Suzanne Joinson gives her advice on getting published
Magazine
7th July 2012 at the Wellcome Collection, London
Suzanne Joinson, author of the forthcoming A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar (Bloomsbury), offers her advice to aspiring writers attending the Writers' & Artists' How to Get Published Conference on July 7th at the Wellcome Collection, London:
"My husband thinks my journey through the publishing world has been lined with rose petals, but I did start writing when I was 15 and wrote stories and did an MA in Creative Writing. It took me about 20 years to get to the stage of having a book published. My advice to aspiring writers is to try and make your writing the best that you possibly can.
The difference between writers who get published and those who don't is that they have really strong work ethics. Even though it's depressing to go back and rewrite, that's what they all do. Established writers have tried five different points of view and put in huge amounts of work. People want the agent and book deal and aren't prepared to do the massive amount of work."
In her interview, Suzanne Joinson gives her advice for writers on coping with rejection:
"One of my friends has been rejected eight times; it's brutal and soul dispiriting. Four of them said she needed to think about the foundation of the novel and change it, and I suggested she should try. But she said no, they're wrong. You'll never know until you try. It's easy to think you're finished and feel that's it and get rejected and not go back to it. Just try it, don't get uptight and think ‘how dare you say I should get rid of the first three chapters'. You lose nothing apart from the time."
How to Get Published is a day-long conference that tells writers everything they need to know about getting published. The conference is held at the Wellcome Collection, central London, on Saturday 7th July.
Suzanne Joinson will be giving her advice to an audience of budding writers at the conference. Along with her agent, Rachel Calder, of The Sayle Literary Agency, they will discuss the relationship between author and agent at the How to Get Published Conference on 7th July.
