Martine Bailey
My advice to aspiring writers is to write what you would love to read and then be persistent. I have been trying to break into fiction for a long time, so it has taken many years to get this far. Not having the time or money to do a Creative Writing Masters degree I decided to send off for course outlines and designed my own programme to follow at home.
Firstly, I read a lot, especially the best classic and prize-winning writing and analysed books by market and genre to try to understand what does well. Unsurprisingly, I concluded that strong characters and a good pace are essential in a very competitive market. A writer also has to be strong and be prepared for rejection. Over the years I have probably had a hundred rejections, or even no replies at all. If someone shows a shred of interest in your work, be politely persistent about showing them new work. The agency in London I signed with had rejected a previous novel of mine after long deliberation, and would have rejected An Appetite for Violets if I hadn’t worked closely with them and been prepared to make changes and cuts. I’ve learned these are serious businesses, laying their money out for you and we writers need to be team-players, putting in long hours both writing new material and promoting it on social media. But I do believe anyone with real talent can and will make it, whatever your background, so good luck and follow your writing dream!
Firstly, I read a lot, especially the best classic and prize-winning writing and analysed books by market and genre to try to understand what does well. Unsurprisingly, I concluded that strong characters and a good pace are essential in a very competitive market. A writer also has to be strong and be prepared for rejection. Over the years I have probably had a hundred rejections, or even no replies at all. If someone shows a shred of interest in your work, be politely persistent about showing them new work. The agency in London I signed with had rejected a previous novel of mine after long deliberation, and would have rejected An Appetite for Violets if I hadn’t worked closely with them and been prepared to make changes and cuts. I’ve learned these are serious businesses, laying their money out for you and we writers need to be team-players, putting in long hours both writing new material and promoting it on social media. But I do believe anyone with real talent can and will make it, whatever your background, so good luck and follow your writing dream!
More Answered Questions
Laura
asked
Martine Bailey:
I LOVED "An Appetite for Violets" so much - thank you for writing it! The descriptive passages regarding the food were so amazing that I felt like I could actually smell and taste many of the recipes. I was wondering, since there is so much cooking in the book, do you enjoy cooking in your real life? Also, please tell us you're working on [many] more books! -Laura, TX
Lisa
asked
Martine Bailey:
How did you find all that great food history? I did a magazine for our town's 375 anniversary last spring and found researching things fascinating. Did not go into such depth as foods eaten, but can now imagine what our earlier settlers had available and how they used their resources. Really liked your tale....oh a sequel would be fun!
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