There was a publisher who loved the writing, loved the story, but didn’t fall in love with the characters. Which is fine, what can I do with that? Well, I don’t want my book in a place where people don’t fall in love with the characters. There were other editors that didn’t pick it because they thought it was going to be competing with another book they thought was similar.
yvonne battle-felton
In this extract, Yvonne Battle-Felton discusses her publishing experience and how she found an editor for her first novel, Remembered. This is a heartbreaking story about two sisters living as slaves in 19th century America, and what became of her lives once slavery was abolished. Yvonne wrote it as part of the Creative Writing PhD she did at Lancaster University, researching real-life letters and other documents which inspired her characters.
Listen to this extract to find advice on:
- Knowing if you have found the right editor for your manuscript.
- Submitting short pieces to magazines and journals.
- Finding publishing opportunities such as the Northern Writers Awards, that Yvonne won in 2017.
I always research a publication before I submit regardless of what their call is, because I think there’s nothing worse than getting rejected from a publication that you haven’t even read… Look at what they publish because then you can see if that’s the sort of place where you’d like to see your work…. I’d never submit to a publication that I wouldn’t read.
yvonne battle-felton
Connect with Yvonne:
Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook
The Wandering Bard podcast is also available on Spotify. You can also find us on Twitter at @TheWBmag.
THE WANDERING BARD 