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Article for The Drum magazine, 9 May 08
CREATIVE CHARACTERS
Everyone may have one book in them, yet not everyone ever manages to pen it. Or, for that matter, secure a literary agent or a publishing deal. However, those in the creative industries seem to be more adept at this than others. The Drum speaks to a quartet of industry players who have secured a successful sideline in writing books.
Liz Holt
Copywriter
Author: Um and Em, and others
My head’s a nicer place to be since I started writing fiction. Spaceships, dream thieves and penguins zoom between headlines for tea and toothpaste. The ideas pop up from somewhere like Narnia or Pullman’s other worlds. No doubt there’s some fancy explanation involving neural pathways. I just see it as my job to catch the little critters before they fly away, and turn them into something exciting to read.
Once upon a time, I worked for a succession of direct marketing agencies. Then, about five years ago, a big idea for a Young Adult novel hit me so hard I turned freelance to write it. Being an author was a childhood dream. Why did I take so long to start? Truthfully, I don’t think I had my ‘voice’ till then.
A literary agent fell into my lap almost straightaway, when I wasn’t looking. But the first publishing contract has taken longer. ‘The Fairy Pools’ will be published this autumn by Scholastic, for 5+ readers. My YA novel, ‘Stolen Dreams’, has morphed into a historical magical realism story with the help of an editor at Oxford University Press. The latest draft is about to wing its way down there for consideration. To help make this happen, The Scottish Arts Council awarded me a New Writer’s Bursary. It took care of the bills while I breathed in the sixteenth century, enough to make this dark and glittering time feel real in the writing. As for picture books, Puffin nearly bought ‘Pebble the Penguin’, but it was culled during Acquisitions. Walker Books ummed and ahhed over the ‘Um and Em’ series; this met a similar fate, though my agent hasn’t abandoned hope and still sends them out. New picture book ideas tend to populate my head more than any other genre – perhaps a result of thinking visually. I see all my stories as films as I write. Also, picture books closely resemble advertising; the illustrations and words both tell 50% of the story.
So my own journey has had a few deviations and hesitations. I wouldn’t describe myself as a ‘successful author’ - just published. Quite apart from the state of the children’s book market, raising my daughter and putting bread on the table through copy must always come first. But I love the ride. It’s great to have one foot in the corporate world and the other in Narnia. I’m learning from authors up here, down there and in faraway places like Bologna. I’m collaborating on projects with illustrators. And I’m enjoying unusual opportunities, such as contributing to ‘Bard & Co.’, a book published last year by Cyan (for 26 and The Globe Theatre).
There’s no doubt that copywriting has given me useful skills. I can spot a good idea. I can connect with and target different audiences (especially helpful in manoeuvring the authorial gap between words and the child’s level of understanding – an issue you don’t encounter when writing for adults). I know how to climb inside a brand and make it real – it’s the same when you want your character and their world to feel utterly believable, especially in historical and fantasy fiction. However, the learning curve in writing for children has been like climbing Everest. I know a foothold when I see one and can skip up parts, but it’s still steep.
Likewise, writing fiction also makes me a better copywriter. The two work well together. Good job too because, unless I write a blockbuster, I’ll be writing copy alongside books forever; I’m told that the average UK author earns around £5k a year...
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