Tips for Getting Noticed in the Slush Pile by Tessa Shapcott

I was asked by my local writer’s group to make a list of tips which might help with getting noticed.  I don’t claim it’s comprehensive.  But it’s based on my experience as an editor, who has spent many years combing slush piles for talent (and spotted a few good ones)!

• Don’t just write what you want to write; write what readers want to read.  This is the insight which successful authors have, and which makes them stand out from the crowd.

• Do your research.  Once you have established what a publisher or agent’s interest is, drill down and find out more about the specifics of what they handle; for instance, do they do general historical fiction, or just sagas or romances?

• Accompany your submission with a professional query letter. Look at it like a job application.  Tell them a little about yourself, and if you’ve had any previous writing successes like winning an award.  Don’t be desperate!


• Include a word count (a fiction novel should be between 45,000 and 100,000 words).  Identify the genre you are aiming at.


• Make sure your story sparkles from the very first page.  The reader must be compelled from the start, and if your book only really gets going around page 100, you are in trouble!

• Pay attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar.  Maybe enlist the help of a literate friend or critique partner to proof-read before you submit.


Tessa Shapcott is a freelance editor and writer.  She can be contacted via www.tessashapcottbookeditor.com

My New Year’s Writing Resolution, Continued by Joanne Walsh

So January is almost done – how did I get on with my resolution to sit down every day first thing and write, with email and other distractions shut off?  Well, it hasn’t turned out to be quite that disciplined, but I am doing better and have accumulated 5,000 words more of my next novel.  And I have discovered something about myself and how I write best.

My big challenge is to balance what I do for a living—I work as a freelance book editor and writer—with my dream of writing romance. Therefore I have deadlines to meet, and also must immerse myself in other people’s novels as well as my own.  I realised I was struggling with that—becoming involved with other writers’ compelling characters, then having to tear myself away to go back into my own fictional world.  The structure of writing a little every day doesn’t work so well for me.  Instead, I have come up with a different plan, of one day writing for myself, one day doing freelance, and so on.  It seems to be rolling out okay.  I find I come back to my book feeling more energised and refreshed.

I am also talking a lot to the authors I work with and asking them for their tips about how to stay focused and produce.  I will be sharing my findings in my February blog.

You can email Joanne/Tessa about freelance editing at tessashapcott@gmail.com.