Scott Pack - Tips from a Publisher: A Guide to Writing, Editing, Submitting and Publishing Your Book

Scott is the rarest of one-two punches, having a wonderful understanding of both the creative and business sides of the publishing industry. If I could give you one bit of advice, itd be to shut up and listen to everything he has to say. If I could give you two bits of advice, itd be that, plus: people getting punched in the groin is never not funny.

Caimh McDonnell, bestselling author of The Dublin Trilogy

Scott has championed me from the very start of my self-published writing career. In 2011 he quoted that I was as good if not better than any traditionally published romcom author. As I sit at No 1 in the Kindle bestselling chart, I guess he knows what hes talking about.

Nicola May, No 1 bestselling author of The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay

Few people in the publishing world can claim to have such wide and varied knowledge and experience of so many aspects of the industry. As a publisher, bookseller, author and speaker (not necessarily in that order), Scott not only has the breadth and depth of experience to impart but he does so forthrightly and with great humour. I wouldnt trust anyone else to give me advice, he really knows his stuff!

Valerie Brandes, founder, Jacaranda Books

Scott has unrivalled experience as a book buyer, editor and publisher; hes seen and done it all from across the business. If you want to know about any aspect of the book world, what he says really does matter and will make a huge difference.

Michael Bhaskar, co-founder and publishing director, Canelo

Scott is a rare beast who combines pragmatic commerciality with creative flair and sensitivity, all wrapped in a no-BS, tell-it-how-it-is persona. His short cuts on how to win are invaluable guides not only on how to get published but also how to sell books. Unfortunately if he thinks your magnum opus is crap he will happily tell you so.

David Roche, former Chief Executive, Borders UK & Ireland

Not only is Scott Pack the best editor Ive worked with, but as a publisher, hes erudite, passionate and creative must-have qualities every successful publisher should combine.

Ray Robinson, author of The Mating Habits of Stags

From being the key national bookseller at Waterstones to becoming a publisher and champion of digital publishing, the inveterate enthusiast Scott Pack has long been a highly regarded and influential figure in the book trade.

Charley Viney, The Viney Shaw Agency

Scott is truly wise about all aspects of the publishing process and industry. Hes also a tiny bit irreverent, which means he will always tell it how it is.

Abi Silver, author of the Burton & Lamb crime series

A book-shaped boot camp for emerging writers. Essential reading for creative writing students everywhere.

Judith Heneghan, director, Winchester Writers Festival

Part instruction manual, part sat nav, part friendly arm round the shoulder: this is the book every aspiring writer needs to own.

John Mitchinson, co-founder & Chief Publishing Officer, Unbound

Scott is known in the publishing industry for his straight-talking approach he can be relied upon for sensible and honest advice.

Angus Phillips, director, Oxford International Centre for Publishing

Scott is a damn fine editor.

Paul Dodgson, author of On the Road Not Taken

I had the pleasure of working with Scott at HarperCollins and I learned a huge amount from him. As well as possessing a deep understanding of the business of publishing books, he is also forward-thinking and knows exactly how latest innovations can impact his work effectively. Scott brings a hell of a lot to the party.

Sam Missingham, founder, Lounge Marketing

Scott knows the publishing industry inside-out and whenever I work with him, I know my authors are in good hands.

Charlotte Seymour, literary agent

Published by Eye Books

29A Barrow Street

Much Wenlock

Shropshire

TF13 6EN

www.eye-books.com

First edition 2020

Copyright Scott Pack 2020

Cover design by Ifan Bates

Copyedit and typesetting by Clio Mitchell

Proofreading by Alan Smithee

A version of The Mathematics of Publishing chapter has previously appeared in The Writers and Artists Yearbook. A version of the How to Perfect Your Submission chapter has previously been published as a separate ebook. Versions of many of the other chapters have appeared on screwed-up bits of paper in the bin next to Scotts desk.

All rights reserved. Apart from brief extracts for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, projected onto public buildings, copied out by hand using invisible ink (but how would we know?) or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, semaphore, Morse code, recording or otherwise without permission of the publisher. Permission is more likely to be given if Tunnocks Caramel Wafers are offered.

Scott Pack has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work, he said, assertively.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY

ISBN 978-1-78563-145-0

This book is dedicated to every author
who ever wrote a wonderful book that went unnoticed,
or didnt find a publisher, or did get published
but didnt sell nearly as well as it should have done,
or went out of print, or was otherwise neglected.

And heres to those books being rediscovered some day.

Contents

Foreword

I have spent twenty years working in the book world first as head of buying for the Waterstones book chain, then as a publisher, spending eight years at HarperCollins, and latterly as a freelance editor and I think it is fair to say that they have been twenty of the most eventful years in the history of the industry.

We have seen the rise of Amazon and its resultant global domination as well as the clearly linked demise of many traditional book retailers, both big and small. There has been the development of ebooks as a popular reading format and the revolution in self-publishing that has come about as a result. Some of the biggest publishers in the world have merged or bought each other to become even bigger, and independent publishers have become more creative and imaginative to compete with them. Social media has changed the way readers share their love, or loathing, of books while traditional print media just about limps on, albeit with a vastly reduced level of influence, especially when it comes to book reviews.

Pretty much everything has changed, perhaps not quite beyond recognition but enough to give everyone in the world of publishing and bookselling a bloody good shake-up. However, one thing has remained constant, one thing that I dont believe will ever really change, and that is the simple fact that the world is full of unpublished writers who want to be published. And despite the many and increased options available to them, the majority want to be published in the traditional fashion, with an agent representing them and a publisher producing their books and selling them in bookshops.

But heres something that has always struck me as strange: the publishing world tends to keep authors at arms length as much as possible. Unpublished authors have to navigate, alone, the fraught world of the submissions process often receiving nothing but standard, anonymous rejections for their trouble before they can even get a whiff of publication. And once they do get a publishing deal, they are rarely, if ever, allowed anywhere near the many meetings and discussions editorial, marketing, publicity, sales that will decide their fate. Consequently, much of the industry is shrouded in mystery. It is inaccessible and hard to break into. It comes across as elitist and insular. Myths start to develop. Writers get obsessed with being part of the next trend. Unpublished authors, often desperate to get a deal, make myriad mistakes because they just dont know how the whole thing works.