I\u2019m going to talk, in a moment, about the worst-best experience of my writing life, and the lessons learned.<\/p>\n
First, a couple of words on Townhouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve been signing up in your 100s since our launch last week. Hooray for that. I hope you\u2019re enjoying the experience. Secondly, yes, we know, we know: the site is working far too slowly. We have some site speed specialists working on that problem right now. We\u2019re hoping to have a fix in the next two weeks or so. And third, it\u2019s just brilliant to see the variety and wisdom of the discussions that are taking place. If you want a peer-to-peer critique, then get involved<\/a>. Or the \u201call about writing<\/a>\u201d forum is already crowded with conversations about (among other things) creative writing degrees, points of view, the use of foreign words, child characters who do bad things, writing contest submissions and more. There\u2019s loads more too.<\/p>\n As Townhouse fills up and speeds up, the quality and depth of those conversations is only going to increase.<\/p>\n But now, let\u2019s talk car crashes.<\/strong><\/p>\n What if you have a writing car crash? A complete and total failure?<\/p>\n And, by the way, we need to be a bit careful to define terms here. If you\u2019re writing your first novel and you make some plotting cock-ups, that\u2019s not a failure \u2013 that\u2019s just writing.<\/p>\n If you complete your work, edit it hard, then come to us for a manuscript assessment, only to be told that there are still a lot of issues, that too is not a failure. It\u2019s just writing.<\/p>\n Same thing, indeed, if you go through the whole process, and send your stuff out to agents, and get some agents wanting to see the full manuscript only, ultimately, to say no. That\u2019s disappointing, of course, but really, that\u2019s a success. You wrote your very first novel and got it good enough, on that first outing, to have serious agents toying with the idea of taking you on? How is that not impressive?<\/p>\n So, yes, I have high standards for what constitutes a car crash. I think the key ingredients are (A) your work is way below the standard to be expected from someone of your experience \u2013 plus, (B) you\u2019re completely in the dark about how bad things are. If you have the first element without the second, you don\u2019t have a car-crash, you just have an unresolved editorial problem, and we all have those. Again: that\u2019s just writing.<\/p>\n But, even on a strict definition, I had a total car crash early in my career<\/strong> \u2013 my only really bad experience.<\/p>\n I\u2019d already sold my first book, via a highly contested auction, and the book went on to be a bestseller. So: good outcome, right?<\/p>\n Better still, I\u2019d delivered the draft of my second book before the first was even launched. So: good author, right?<\/p>\n The trouble was that second book was AWFUL. I haven\u2019t kept a draft of it and never re-read it, so I now only have a nightmare-style recall of what was in it. But \u2013 plotting, bad. Elevator pitch \u2013 worse. Writing \u2013 subpar. Characters \u2013 patchy and (yeugh) a bit icky too.<\/p>\n The draft was so bad that I got called into HarperCollins\u2019 nice London offices for an editorial discussion. My editor and publisher, both very nice humans, told me \u2013 gently \u2013 how bad the book was.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t need a lot of telling. I wasn\u2019t defensive. As soon as they started to talk it through, I realised they were right. Luckily, I had plenty of time to do a re-write. So I got home, copied the document into a Drafts folder that I could plunder for paragraphs here and there, then selected the whole document and hit delete.<\/p>\n This bestselling author had just deleted his second novel.<\/strong><\/p>\n My redraft was about a million times better than the version before, and it was still the least good thing I\u2019ve ever written. But it\u2019s also where I really learned to be a writer. My first novel had just come too easily. The core idea had been a good one. My delivery was fine, or more than fine. But the absence of struggle had also meant an absence of knowhow<\/em>. I\u2019d read nothing at all about the craft of writing. It hadn\u2019t occurred to me that I might need to do so. (We all know how to write, no? You just glue enough sentences together.)<\/p>\n That second novel was a wrestling match, start to finish. I read every book I could find on craft. I didn\u2019t agree with everything I read, but even the process of disagreeing made me more reflective, more considered.<\/p>\n And that second book didn\u2019t do badly. I got a sort-of film deal for it, which admittedly never quite materialised. The book was shortlisted for one of the big annual writing prizes. It sold a plump five-figures number of copies.<\/p>\n I still don\u2019t love the book, but it did OK.<\/p>\n My reasons for offering you this story is threefold:<\/p>\n They\u2019re not terminal. Don\u2019t fret. Move on.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a huge believer in the importance of craft.<\/p>\n Writing technique is the sword and shield that protects you from disaster. It won\u2019t protect you from mistakes \u2013 nothing does. But the better your basic writing craft, the quicker you\u2019ll pick those issues up and the more rapidly you\u2019ll solve them.<\/p>\n The best way to avoid major problems, however, is to stop making them in the first place. The single strongest tool you have for doing that is a powerful idea for your book. The stronger that idea, the better your delivery is likely to be \u2013 and the less any errors of execution are likely to matter. Dan Brown is the ultimate exemplar here. He is a poor writer \u2013 but his Da Vinci Code<\/em> idea was (for his particular market niche) one of genius. You could, I guess, say the same about EL James and Shades of Grey<\/em>, except that her writing is even worse.<\/p>\n The reason I called my own personal car-crash a worst-best experience is because it made me a far better writer. It was the single biggest learning development of my writing life.<\/p>\n My first book was gifted to me. The rest? They were all worked for. And if I\u2019m technically competent now, that\u2019s largely because of the kick in the pants I got from that terrible second novel of mine.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n That\u2019s essentially it from me, but, as it happens, we have a \u201cMeet Your Match\u201d pitch session later this month, where you all get to pitch your ideas to agents \u2013 either via Townhouse or Twitter. Agents have requested full manuscripts following these sessions in the past. I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll do so again.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a free member<\/strong> of Townhouse, I strongly encourage you to get peer-to-peer feedback on those pitches before you put them in front of agents. Just put your pitch out there, and ask for input.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a Premium Member<\/strong>, then by all means get peer-to-peer feedback, but additionally, I\u2019ll be looking at your elevator pitches from 12.00 to 2.00pm UK-time next Thursday. We\u2019ll also point you to some great video resources on what a great elevator pitch looks like \u2013 and how to create your own. For pitches that impress us, we\u2019ll have some free literary agent 1-2-1s to give away.<\/p>\n Hey ho. What a week.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve promised to take the kids out mushrooming this afternoon. My wife is always terrified that I\u2019m going to feed the kids toadstools, but I\u2019ve not lost a child yet.<\/p>\n Till soon, old buddies. Till soon.<\/p>\n\n\n Harry<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n PS<\/strong>: This post appears on Townhouse right here\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Best way to get a response from me on the issues raised \u2013 chat on Townhouse, of course! Let’s have an after-party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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