Hampshire Writers' Society

Tag: Q&A

  • Q&A with Steve Mchugh, Best Selling Urban Fantasy Writer

    Interview by Lisa Nightingale

    Next month, Steve McHugh will be talking at the Hampshire Writers’s Society. We wanted to find out a little more about his writing process…

    Q. When you first began writing were you aware that you were writing a particular genre and what that genre was?

    I’ve always been someone who liked to write stories, and judging from my interests, I knew that I’d be writing in the fantasy or sci-fi genres. When I was 25, when my eldest daughter was born, I decided to get serious about writing and from there I started to work on what turned into an urban fantasy story.

     That was when I knew I wanted to work in the genre before moving on to a different one, and I wrote Crimes Against Magic.

    Q. Was Hellequinn your first foray into mixing our own up-to-date world with that of fantasy?

    Hellequin was the second. The first was never good enough to be published, but it gave me the ideas that would eventually become Hellequin.

    Q. Were you then able to find out the ‘dos’ and ‘don’t’ of that genre, for example, a limit on description or a taboo on a setting or type and style of character and what about dialogue, is the genre picky about dialect? For a long time, I was put off high fantasy as I was under the impression that it was way too olde English for a contemporary reader like me.

    The good thing about urban fantasy is that it’s such a broad genre, you can really make it your own by adding or removing things you need. The most important restrictions are the ones you set yourself during your world-building. So long as you are consistent with the world you want to create, even if you’re using the real world as a backdrop, there aren’t many dos and don’t.

    I’d say don’t let your book go too long, certainly not epic fantasy size, and try to make sure that whatever you do is more character based and not just about the fantastical world around them, but that’s probably the same for all genres.

    With the setting, you need to have at least part of the book in the real world, but it doesn’t all need to be here, and I’ve not had any problems with dialect or lengthy descriptions, but then I don’t describe everything in detail anyway, so maybe that’s just me.

    Q. Did you find sticking within the genre’s guidelines restrictive at all? Can you give me any tips for appeasing my mind-set to deal with such restrictions?

    I find my restrictions quite easy to deal with. You really just need to decide on what you want your story to be. You want an urban fantasy with lots of romance? Go nuts. Or the same, but with a sci-fi edge? That’s okay too. There’s no hard and fast rule. You just need to ensure that whatever you decide is adhered to. You can’t add new fantastical elements that go against what you’ve already stated was part of your world building.

    Q. Or, did you do your own thing, in which case, please tell me how you got passed the publisher’s requirement and their somewhat strict gatekeepers.

    I self-published my first book, so I didn’t have a lot of gatekeepers to keep happy, but my publisher contacted me after about a year and asked if I’d like to work with them. Since then, I’ve had no issues with making sure I write a book they’re happy with.

     So long as you write the book you want to write, you can always worry about what publishers and agents want after. You’ll need to be mindful of what is and isn’t being published currently, but getting the story down first is more important.

    Q. How long, in your eyes (and I suppose the genre’s) does a novel of this genre have to be? Agents ask for the first three chapters or 10 to 50 pages, perhaps we should take this as a clue to the length of a chapter.

    My books range from 110k in Crimes, to 146k in Scorched Shadows. Each chapter is between 10-15 pages long, on average. For me, that’s perfect as I think people like to be able to read a chapter or two and not feel like they have to put in a long time to do so.

    Anything over probably 160k is too long, and anything under 80k is probably too short. If you aim for that 100k spot, and you go either side by a few, you’ll be fine.

  • Questions and Answers with James Wills

    James Wills - May 14

    Points raised by the questions:

    • Check the agent’s website for submission guidelines and do what they say! Emails are acceptable.
    • Yes, you can contact multiple agents, but be courteous enough to let them know you are doing this, and inform them should you accept an offer; it is very annoying for an agent to spend a weekend studying an author’s work only to find on the Monday that another offer had been accepted the week before.
    • Are literary agents getting fewer submissions due to the rise of self-publishing? No, they are getting more!
    • Has self-publishing affected literary agents? Not really; the agent’s search for serious writers continues.
    • Can the self-published book get the attention of an agent? It can, but it does depend on the degree of success and other factors.
    • Will agents be impressed by a web presence? Broadly, yes; but if you are not good at website creation then get experienced help.
    • What percentage of a book is read by an agent? This depends – enough to make a decision!
    • Do sub-editors have the right qualifications and skills?       Yes, if you pick the right one for your book!
    • What about copyright protection of the MS? Usually quite adequate, but in the event of an infringement the AAA may be able to help.
    • What about the contradictory comment and advice an author gets from different agents? Comments will always be subjective, but are worth analysing and absorbing.
    • Often, “rules” of how to write a novel are offered. When so many classic novels break these apparent rules, can they be valid? There are no real rules, but you need to understand what you are attempting.
    • Must we write purely for commercial appeal? Best to immerse yourself in what is going on at the time and understand what is popular and why, but do not simply duplicate.
    • Is the selection of children’s books for publication purely commercially driven? Are themes of sex and violence creeping in too much? Editors of children’s books are lovely people, but with the changing times slightly darker themes will inevitably creep in.
    • Are the first and last sentences really key? No – but they are a good start!
    • If a book has not grabbed the reader by the throat by the 5th page, will it be binned? Probably, unless you have effectively set the scene by then.
    • Would works of acknowledged genius, if submitted today, get published? If it is not what the intern is looking for, it probably will not.       Newspapers try this out periodically, but fail to appreciate that publishing is market-driven.
    • Should I complete the book before trying for an agent? If fiction, absolutely.
    • Will an agent dump a book after reading just one sentence?  Such brutality is very rare, but the reputation is worth having!

     

    Some general questions from the membership then followed, and James had the following comments:

    • Do not go to an agent who asks for money to read your MS.
    • Are there any truly taboo subjects for thrillers? Yes; truly appalling sexual violence etc.       Discuss your intentions with your agent.
    • How long should an author allow for a response from an agent?       This depends on the time of year, Watson Little try to be under 4 months. A polite nudge is acceptable if you have been waiting for far too long.
    • Some agents ask for 3 chapters; how much material do they think they will get for that? Some people do write with short chapters; use common sense and send 30-50 pages as you believe will do the job.
    • Do film and TV tend to use adaptations or fresh material? Literary agents usually have associates who handle these options; check the agent’s website carefully.