Ever dreamed of writing a novel but didn't know where to start? Now's the perfect time to pick up your pen (or keyboard) and dive into the world of storytelling—no experience needed, just your imagination.
In a new series, author and critic Aimée Walsh offers some tips for the budding novelist.
This is the hardest part to judge: when to know when the right time is to send your work out into the world. You will want to make sure that your work is as good as you can get it before you send it off to literary journal editors or agents to consider working with. I would advise that you try the former before approaching an agent. Having a publication CV before signing with an agent will allow your manuscript to jump out from the others in the submissions pile. In a previous post in this series, I recommended some Irish literary journals. This brilliant literary journal infrastructure, from Tolka to The Stinging Fly, is a huge support for new writers. Get to know what they publish and when their submissions windows open. Submit pieces of your work you think they might love. There are so many avenues to getting your work out into the world, but I will summarise just some here:
Mentorships
Your first port of call for this should be the Irish Writers' Centre in Dublin. This organisation, as the name suggests, is there to support both emerging and professional writers to develop their craft. It’s been pivotal in my literary career, so I hope it will be for you too. They offer amazing mentorship schemes, in which you can ask another writer to read and feedback on your work. They also offer bursaries for writing residencies. One which is specific to emerging writers is the Guthrie Bursary at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. There is also an initiative between the Irish Writers Centre and Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway to support Young Writer Delegates. It’s worth signing up to the IWC newsletter to keep up to date with opportunities and deadlines as they arise. They also collate deadlines for literary journal submissions, too.
Short story competitions
Short story competitions are a great way to get into the practice of submitting to deadline and move towards contentment with your work being judged (hopefully favourably!). I use the phrase judged here, as, I’m sorry to say, that being a writer comes with inevitable rejections. It’s normal and happens to the best writers you can think of. Judges (and editors, agents and readers alike!) are subjective, and will be influenced by their own tastes. Don’t take it to heart. Like heartache, trust me that the first one will sting, but after that it will stop phasing you. Don’t be put off, keep submitting! There are so many competitions in Ireland and beyond. I would recommend the RTÉ Short Story Prize and Cúirt International Festival of Literature Short Story Competition, though there are so many more.
Agents
Once you’ve gotten some writing publication experience, it might be time for you to begin looking for an agent to represent you and your work. While not totally necessary to secure a book deal, in my opinion, having an agent in your corner throughout the submissions process is the best thing you can do. I would have been lost without mine. She kept me right.
My advice would be to first look at who your favourite writers who inspired your manuscript are represented by. This can easily be found in the back of their books in the acknowledgements or by the power of Google.
Before sending an enquiry email to an agent you would like to worth with, check their agency’s website to see if they are accepting new clients and, if they are, what genres they are interested in at that time. It’s worth knowing that when you approach an agent that if they are interested, they will request a full manuscript. So don’t be premature with contacting them! Ensure your manuscript is as tidy as you can make it before sending that email.
Aimée Walsh's novel Exile is published by John Murray Press - read an extract here.
