The unavoidable aspect of submitting (10,000 words/first 3 chapters/50 pages and the variations therein of different literary agents and whether they want a synopsis to be one page/full synopsis/chapter by chapter and how much personal information they want, if any) is the, so far, inevitable rejection, short polite and unhelpful.

It sees to be that the agents are more interested in marketing and trend.  No definitive evidence for this opinion but looking at the books being promoted by Bloomsbury or Waterstones there is a preponderance of women writers and modern settings exploring daily experiences.  I sit at the other end of the spectrum from this trend and the ‘romantasy’ trend both aimed principally at female readers.  Another trend, heavily promoted and typically ‘ghost written’, is the celebrity autobiographies after that cookbooks and other self-help volumes on any and every topic!

It feels like an uphill struggle on a rarely travelled path – trying to reach the agent who can see the potential and audience for my writing.  I have picked an unfamiliar niche with the Romano-British setting at the time the Roman Empire abandons Brittania and withdraws what little resources and administration still remains leaving the British to fend for themselves against the increasing incursions from the Scotties of Hibernia (Ireland) on South West and Welsh coasts, the Picts and other warring tribes in the North and from the near continent in the East and South East. 

It’s a fascinating period with increasing archaeological evidence that it wasn’t a ‘dark age’ but that life continued arguably with little difference to the day to day lives of the majority of people in the same way that changes of Government make little if any marginal difference to most people today.  I’m telling the story of how Brittania responded to the challenges before the ‘English’ (Brythonic Celtic for’ foreigner’ or ‘stranger’) arrived and then the impact they had and what has become identified as

 ‘The Age of Arthur’ during their expansion and colonisation of much of Britain.

It’s a good read!

Feeling the vacuum

As a writer most of the endeavour is isolated hope that what you are doing is what you meant.  That the story characters, prose and language convey the world, places and events you imagined to a reader.  It is a leap of faith in your ability to write and to write well.  This is nevermore tested than when you submit your work to literary agents, the gatekeepers of the publishing world ultimately looking at marketing and potential sales markets  and income.  That is looking backwards at what has worked, what is trending and following the market.  There seem to be few market leaders or market makers.  Each new book offered up to an agent is a possible future genre but gambling is a risky business and I am getting the impression that too many agents are risk averse or focused on niche.

I have submitted to 22 agents to date and have many more lined up.  So far I have only had two actual responses, rather than automated emails for receipt.  Both short but polite rejections.  The majority of presumed rejections have simply passed the agents’ 8 or 12 weeks window for ‘If we have not responded to you in …’ etc..  It is very much a vacuous place with no one offering a little oxygen in the unpublished writer’s space.  My next trick is going to take some agencies from the middle and the other end of the alphabetical array.  I suspect that those at the beginning get the most bombardment, like Google searches with few progressing to the subsequent pages of the search results.  Meanwhile the research for the next volume and its writing continue.

I picked up a novel to read whilst we were away for a few days this week in Dartmouth.  Mythologically wet and unreliable weather encouraged staying inside and I wanted to read something different.  I picked a novel that appeared to be about Dartmouth or some similar estuary small historical town.  I normally tend to read non-fiction either research for my own writing or economics/politics tomes, my all time favourite academic area.

What I noticed was how hard to read another writers work is for me now.  I wanted to rewrite everything.  I didn’t like the school boy fantasist approach to the main character’s back story and the carboard cartoons of local characters.  The repetitive opt-outs for describing the local scenery; the estuary is always “beautiful”, the sea “shiny”.  It was a cacophony of cliches.  I threw the book down twice in frustration and never got further than the second chapter in three attempts.

Walking round Dartmouth enjoying the variety of the Georgian and earlier architecture I thought about my reaction and recognised that unknowingly my voice has matured.  Learning to choose words to ensure descriptions capture imagination leading the reader through their mind’s eye to see some idea of what I saw, has honed my sensitivity to the use of words.  It was a rewarding thought.  My next thought was if something that awful can get published I should too.  However, I am still waiting for an agent to be hooked.  Only one rejection so far but the calendar is turning daily away from the ‘six weeks windows’.  Another round of submissions is going to have to be made.

The DfE is calling for evidence and ideas about post 18 education.  Their document published on 21st March 2018 is focused on Higher Education rather than the whole remit of adult education – including HE.  (Link here)

I want to gain your views about the potential for reform and the risks this presents and present some ideas and alternatives to the limited thinking of government that reflects the needs of learners and the practical needs of learning providers other the HEIs.

The pages of this site will provide an opportunity to share views and arguments for and against possible policy directions and strategies for funding and organising all post 18 education.

Many of the proposals reflect my own experience and understanding based on 30 years in education spent in further education, adult and community education, and  in Policy  for the funding agencies.