The magically strange story of how competitions can lead to publishing success
Celebrating five years of The Last Chance Hotel - Part 1!
Five years ago my debut novel, The Last Chance Hotel was published. I started out as a writer long before I had the chance to become a published author. But even The Last Chance Hotel started life long before it hit the bookshops in June 2018.
I was hugely lucky for it to happen at all - even luckier, as I look back on the last five years, that I have managed to build on this and have gone on to publish a further four books. Not every book goes on to become a success story, not every author finds a readership.
And in the eight years since I wrote my debut novel I have learned so very much, not just about writing. But that no success happens without a huge team of people supporting your book.
So this post is a big thank you to everyone who has made this happen. I am here, five years on, still celebrating. I’ve taken the chance to share a little behind how it all came about, because few get to see the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.
My writing journey started in the same place as so many writers - by being a huge reader. I was a little different perhaps that I love books so much I opened my own bookshop!
As a bookseller, I read a lot of children’s books (I still do). I sold a lot of children’s books too, and between the school fairs, shop signings and taking authors into schools I also listened to a lot of children’s authors talk about their journey to publication.
And I started to wonder if I could possibly be one of those incredible writers who get children hooked onto books, even the more reluctant readers. I felt what they achieved was possibly the most important part of the book trade.
Talking to children, recommending books and seeing what they loved gave me a lot of insight. I got hooked into reading largely through intriguing mystery stories and stories of discovering magical places that exist right on your doorstep. Those stories seem to have an evergreen appeal.
Meeting so many authors in my shop meant I learned writing takes time and getting published is incredibly tough. I learned that you cannot send manuscripts to big publishers, only agents can even get your book looked at by them. But that finding an agent was often even more difficult and time consuming than actually writing a book. At least I went into this expecting it to be tough.
But I decided to go down a different route when I had a finished manuscript and submitted to The Times Children’s Fiction Competition run by indie publisher, Chicken House.
It was terrifically exciting to be longlisted at my first attempt in 2013 with a mystery story called ‘The Sleeping Beauty House’ and that gave me the confidence and courage to continue.
That confidence was important as I wanted to try something I knew would be ambitious and combine my two favourite genres - a murder mystery set in a fantasy world where the murder takes place among a group of sorcerers. I had an idea for a locked-room crime that could only have been committed using magic.
This time when I submitted to the competition, amazingly, it won.
The prize was that my book would be published.
It was announced at a posh Mayfair dinner at which I (as a total introvert) was already overwhelmed. The whole thing quickly become a blur.
At one point this photo was taken with Chicken House head Barry Cunningham and there were some interviews for camera, but we were sworn to secrecy because the official announcement was a week later.
When the news broke on June 17 the next few days were bonkers: messages of congratulations pouring in from different people in the book trade, authors, customers coming into the shop to congratulate me, picture in the local paper and even a slightly surreal email exchange late one evening from a production company in the US looking to see if rights were available (I had to explain that the book hadn’t actually been published yet).
Barry had said the book “mixes the best elements of several genres to come up with something original” and I think that’s what made the next step of the journey so hard for me. I had such a strong idea of what I wanted the book to be and who I was writing for. Now things got real. I had an editor and publisher to please - and they thought the story was too complex and did there really need to be a murder? Too dark for children?
Trying to juggle what I wanted with what they wanted I can look back and honestly say what an utter nightmare this was, with bits going in, then coming out again, things being moved around. What about placing clues without giving away the denouement? I started to lose track as we could not seem to agree.
And far from winning a competition as being a soft route into publishing, it was incredibly high profile. I had well-meaning people constantly asking when the book would be published. I was already receiving speaking invitations - and me having always seen myself as an engine room person, never the one in the spotlight. And the book would not seem to come right and be what I wanted, but also what my publisher wanted.
No one ever takes the time to explain what goes into the journey from initial manuscript to finished book or what is expected.
It was incredibly stressful as the book made its way through the editorial process from winning the competition and finally being published; two hard years when I often had little to do except wait and feel anxious. Had my publisher changed their minds and weren’t going to publish my book at all?
I was too afraid to ask any questions. I suppose I should have been more courageous, but like many authors I was so grateful for the chance I never wanted to upset any apple carts or appear awkward. I did know all they wanted was for the book to be the best it could be.
A very wonderful and smart move my publisher did was to really appreciate my background as an independent bookseller, and they produced an exclusive independent bookshop edition with sprayed edges (or ‘spredges’ as they are now officially known) for which I was incredibly grateful. I even had the opportunity to take my mum and sister to watch the book being printed (which was amazing).
Then it was time for the launch!
Coming up in Part 2: Highlights of being a published author. Getting your book out to the world. And . . . spoilers . . . The Last Chance Hotel has gone on to sell over 50,000 copies in the UK alone and has been translated into 14 languages.
Again, before being published I never appreciated what an incredible achievement this is, so this is why to celebrate I am telling the story of how Seth, Nightshade and Co travelled around the world, and what came next.
So many people make a bestseller happen.
As well as the wonderful team at Chicken House, my friends, family and writing buddies, my biggest thank you is to the booksellers, librarians and reviewers. But I think mostly to the readers who have read and connected with the book – in different countries and languages.
So very many people have read and loved the book and loads still contact me five years on who are just discovering it and that never stops being wonderful. I really wouldn’t be still writing with you lovely readers out there or support from so many people.
Thank you!