Is finally writing that novel on your new year’s resolution list? Louise Cole looks at ways of becoming an author.

THE North-East has a huge wealth of writing talent, but aspiring novelists face a tougher publishing market than ever before.

Many of these writers will be gathering at the York Festival of Writing in March for the chance to hear from, and pitch to, many of the top agents in the country.

There are also local groups which will help develop your writing. Darlington Arts Centre runs a creative writing workshop led by crime novelist John Dean, and its students have taken the name Inkerman Writers for producing their work outside the classroom.

“Writing is an exceptionally lonely occupation and groups give people a place to meet like-minded people and share their work,” said Mr Dean. “Lots of people write because they have to.

It’s a compulsion. Often they don’t think in terms of being published initially. They are driven by a passion to write.”

The 40-strong Inkerman Writers are currently working on a talking book, which will showcase their short fiction.

Mr Dean, whose books are published by Robert Hale and read by thousands, mainly through the library system, said: “I’d given up when I submitted to Robert Hale five years ago. I had hundreds of rejection slips.

But, although it’s a very competitive industry, I believe quality will always be spotted.”

The advent of e-books has made the book market more challenging, as it has driven prices down, and piracy is on the rise.

But Mr Dean said e-books have also made it much easier for a would-be novelist to publish their own work through companies such as Smashwords and Lulu.

Unless a writer is already well-known, sales of selfpublished work are typically very low, and it is frowned upon by the industry for a lack of quality, but it can suit the needs of some writers who simply want their work out in the public domain.

“I agree with The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook that, if other people can see that your work has worth, then self-publishing is a viable route,” said Mr Dean.

Malton-based writer Steve Emmett’s first novel, supernatural thriller Diavolino, comes out this month. Like most aspiring novelists, he first tried to gain representation through a literary agent. Many publishing houses will only accept submissions through agents and, as agents are paid by commission, most take on only a handful of the most commercially-viable books from the thousands sent to them.

“I had submitted to around 25 agents in all and some rejections were very encouraging,”

said Mr Emmett.

“Then I submitted direct to US-based publisher Etopia Press. I had flu when their email came in and I completely missed the part where they offered me a contract!”

Mr Emmett had edited and re-written his work with the help of other writers from online writing community Litopia. He said: “I have found agents are probably not the way I want to go.

I’m very impressed with Etopia. A lot of traditional publishing is in the hands of dinosaurs with unhelpful attitudes.”

Etopia does not pay traditional author advances, but gives a more generous royalty payment against sales.

Mr Emmett is working on a novella and a sequel to Diavolino.

“One of the advantages of publishers like Etopia is they do not have the traditional block on publishing shorter fiction, such as stories or novellas,” he said.

But success has brought its own problems. “Now that I’m writing full-time, apart from the occasional trip to Morrisons, I never leave the house,” he said.

Ripon Writers’ Group encourages and showcases the work of writers from the Yorkshire region. Meeting every other Tuesday at Ripon YMCA, the group hosts open manuscript evenings and regular competitions for articles, poems and short stories.

Maggie Cobbett, chairwoman of the group, said: “We have a mix of writers here, some very keen on publication and others who write for fun. My advice to local writers would be to write. Just write and don’t be discouraged. Even wellknown authors have been rejected.”

Advice for new authors

􀁥 Join a writing group or online community such as Litopia.com or WordCloud.

Objective critiques of your work are essential.

􀁥 Learn to take criticism.

Every book needs revision, rewriting and editing.

􀁥 Don’t submit the first draft of your first book.

You’ll only burn bridges.

􀁥 Research literary agents carefully and choose only those who publish your genre. Follow their submission guidelines to the letter.

􀁥 Don’t give up your day job. UK novelists earn an average of £5,000 a year.

􀁥 Some small publishers accept submissions directly within their chosen genres.

They usually don’t pay an advance, but offer royaltybased contracts. Check out their sales and distribution plan carefully.

􀁥 If you only want a book for yourself or your family, self-publishing can be a good route. If you want a wider audience, however, you will need to do extensive real-world and online promotion and few authors sell more than double figures.

􀁥 If you are aiming for a mainstream publishing contract, persevere and develop a very thick skin. Every writer gets rejections.

Writers’ contacts and resources

The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, available from Amazon and bookstores; Litopia.com; The Festival of Writing, www.festivalofwriting.

com, March 25-27, University of York; The Word Cloud, thewordcloud.org; Ripon Writers’ Group, maggiecobbett.co.uk/codex/sections/riponwriters.