We were very pleased to welcome bestselling novelist Sue Moorcroft as tutor for our commercial fiction-writing workshop in London on 19th October. Sue is so busy these days, writing two novels a year and teaching courses abroad, that this was to be her last UK-based course for the foreseeable future. How lucky we were!
Having talked a little about her own path to success, Sue then went on to explore what makes a novel commercial, covering genre, brand, theme, and how to ‘sell’ both our book and ourselves as something an agent or publisher will get excited about!
It is a fact these days that books are very much a product, and sales are the measure of commercial success. The right cover (plenty of snow and glitter for a Christmas title for instance) and cleverly targeted marketing will hopefully bring your book to the attention of the right readers. But who are they? It’s something we really need to know, even before we begin to write, and certainly before we submit our work to a publisher. Where does your book fit in the market? What other authors’ books might your work be similar to? How might you find readers of your particular genre and reach out to them through special interest groups and social media? What makes you the ideal person to write this book? What is your ‘Unique Selling Point’?
Through a series of short tutorials, discussions, hand-out sheets and exercises, including writing a three-paragraph submission letter and the dreaded synopsis, Sue was able to help guide each delegate towards planning just how they were going to categorise, submit, present and ultimately promote and sell their book. It was a very enjoyable and productive day for all concerned!
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