A report of Clare Whitfield’s talk to the Hampshire Writers’ Society 8th November 2022
by Sarah Noon
Clare is a writer who describes herself as “dull and ordinary.” She talks to us this evening about “Standing out from the slush pile” when submitting work. As well as having two books published, Clare has worked in publishing herself. She has also just signed another two-book deal – the first one expected in September 2024.
Clare did her Master’s degree in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Winchester and tells us she is happy to be back (“…it’s handy as at least I know where to park my car.”). Her first book, People of Abandoned Character, was out in October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Not good timing she says, but “People actually did lose their lives, so let’s get that in check”. The book is about what might happen if you found out you were married to Jack the Ripper. The Gone and the Forgotten came out in June and is set in Shetland in the 1990’s, about a girl from a family that is full of secrets.
Clare is 44 years old, married and lives in Bursledon, but is originally from south London. She claims that there is “… nothing remotely interesting about my background or history.” She adds that she is “…from council house stock and working class through and through.” She was the first member of the family to go on to further and higher education. Clare shares that she also has Autistic Spectrum Disorder. She tells us this because, she says, these are all things that she has leaned on to get herself through slush piles.
She also worked as an editorial assistant for a publishing company. She says this wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds because it was mainly newswriting. However, this experience gave her valuable skills. “Writing news,” she says, ”…is very specific and technical.” Clare also tried freelance writing, but it didn’t work for her as she needed a full-time job. She now works full time as well as being a writer.
Clare goes on to tell us that whatever route a writer may go down, they will have to manage their own writing career. “No one will do it for you,” she says. Therefore, we should draw upon all our skills and weaknesses in order to succeed. This also applies when it comes to meeting people within the publishing world. The people within it, she says, are “lovely” but the world of publishing can be completely alien. She says that using her skills and experiences to navigate her way through has enabled her to manage meeting people from within the industry.
She informs us that “self-awareness is the key.” She urges us to question what it is we want and what motivates us. What skills do we have that we can draw upon? She makes no secret of the fact that in order to get a book published, a writer needs to devote many hours a week working to achieve this. She also reminds us to consider that we “…are the product too.” Are we sellable?
When Clare sent her synopsis of her second book to her agent and her publisher, she was devastated to discover that they did not like it and were not interested. She describes herself at this point as being in “…a pit of despair.”
What made her refocus was watching a TV series called “The Offer” about the making of the film The Godfather – in particular the blocks that producer Albert Roddy came up against. Clare says that “…the battles to get that film made appear endless.” The series shows Roddy working incredibly hard to re-pitch, bounce back and not give up. The Godfather was not an easy film to get made and Roddy continued until it was competed. Clare describes this as “…a massive message from the universe” to persevere.
So, what IS a slush pile? Claire tells us that after clarifying with her agent, it is absolutely a real thing – a pile of unsolicited manuscripts that have been sent to a publishing company or agent. She reminds us that to avoid a manuscript being put into a slush pile, there is no big secret “…it’s not magic and fairy dust” she reiterates, “…it’s just hard work.” However, she points out that there are many hoops to jump through, and we have to be able to deal with inevitable rejection effectively. This is where our past experiences can help us get through.
Clare’s experience as a dancer enabled her to cope with criticism and rejection. She reminds us that everyone will have an opinion about what we do “even friends and family.” But, she says, opinions are often unsolicited. She goes on to show us a list of negative comments that people had said to her before and after her books were published (she gets her revenge by writing them into her books!). Clare points out that this is where our strong sense of self comes into play. Without it, we can be led in all sorts of opposing directions.
She urges us to set our goals and make logical steps (she is keen to clarify that it is a goal, not a dream). For Clare to do this, she treated it like a project. She shows us a step-by-step spreadsheet that enabled her to achieve her goals.
A key element of this is getting an agent. Clare reminds us what an agent does (negotiate book deals, sell your book, create publicity, advise on publishers etc). The first and crucial point when sending a manuscript to an agent is to follow the submission rules. “…this is just good manners,” Clare points out. She warns us to follow them to the letter. Clare goes onto advise us on how we should structure our cover letter including an introduction and a synopsis. She points out that having consulted the Writers and Artists Yearbook to establish the best agents to contact, we should tailor our letters to them rather than a “one-size-fits-all” cover letter. This also includes establishing the name of the person to whom you are sending the letter. There should be no “Dear Sir or Madam.” As Clare points out, why should they be bothered if you can’t? She suggests that in our author bios, we should be talking about people in the industry that we may have a connection with (“Agents are people people”). She also reminds us to make sure we include things such as competition awards and magazine articles – this is an industry that thrives upon networking.
Clare continues by talking about the pitch. She explains that the objective for the pitch is to enable the agent to understand what the book is about in order that they can find the right publisher to sell it. “The pitch is to enable an agent to understand at speed what section of the bookshop you belong in.” She advises us to “…get to the pitch quickly.” She asks us to think about how we might explain a movie to our parents.
The pitch will include a hook which is the hinge-point to your entire story. It’s the lure that hooks in the reader. Clare says, “the shorter the better” and make clear comparisons to other books and writers. She suggests that we can practise writing hooks by writing pitches for movies or fairy tales. She reminds us that this is not a synopsis (the synopsis should not be longer than one single page; the pitch should be one line and punchy).
Clare points out that if a synopsis is longer than a page we should consider that we may have too many threads. She also reminds us that a synopsis is not a place for including flowery prose. It is quite simply to relay the story. It should include time, place, protagonist, etc, and any subplots that are important to the ending. There is no need to include any other subplots. And make sure you make the ending clear (some writers are reluctant to give away their ending)! The pitch and the synopsis are not to be confused with the blurb, Clare says.
Clare is giving us all of this information, not just from her own experiences but by talking to other friends and colleagues in the business. She shared quotes from them with regards to avoiding slush piles and they totally concur with Clare’s advice.
At the end of her fascinating talk, Clare shows us her first letter to an agent (whilst cringing), claiming “…it’s not perfect, but it worked.”
Clare’s talk demonstrated what hard work and dedication can achieve, proving that she is far from “dull and ordinary.”
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