Submitting Three Chapters - some thoughts

Ready to edit

I know, it has been a while. I am sorry but there has been a lot going on. Also I am great believer in not posting unless you have something useful to say, which I believer I do now!

In one of my roles  I have to read submissions. We ask for three chapters and I have noticed recently that more and more often people are insisting on submitting later chapters or non consecutive chapters, perhaps starting at chapter 3. I find this intriguing because to me it automatically rings alarm bells. They obviously do not believe the beginning of their book is good enough for submission or they don't have enough faith in their story or their writing to let it speak for itself. I end up asking myself - why would you submit something that is not perhaps good enough?

We are not expecting it to be perfect because if it was why would you be submitting it to be us? People need to trust in their writing to showcase themselves and show that their writing is doing its job. For me when reading random chapter it is difficult to know whether the writer has done the job properly beforehand. Have they set up their characters properly, created their world because I am coming in blind and have no idea who these people or why this world works the way it does. I am more likely to be hesitant to take someone on if they do not send me the first chapters.

One of the Eggs who will be published later this year nearly didn't get taken on because they sent in random chapters. It was just something in the writing that made me email them and ask them to send me consecutive chapters so I could see how the story really worked. That was the best decision I ever made because on the basis of those chapters I could assess the writing properly and I realised my gut niggle was right. We took him on and the rest is history. But it could so easily have been a different story.

So what is the point of this blog? To suggest to writers if you are thinking of submitting to seriously consider what you are submitting. What image are are you creating? You might think you are being very clever by submitting those few chapters in the middle of the book, which you think are the most exciting. Potentially what you are actually doing is making the reader wonder why isn't the beginning good enough.

Write your whole story, get it down on the page as a complete novel, then go back and polish it. Get the beginning as good as you can get it before you submit it. Then, personally, I would submit those first three chapters, let them do your talking. If you haven't got confidence in them, I suggest you look at them again until you do. They are your hook, your selling point.

Obviously, this is my personal opinion, and other people may be happy to receive submissions in different ways, which is why it is always so important to read the website of the organisation you are submitting to plus any guidelines /videos/tips they offer. Make sure you follow them.

On a different note this is my music to go to at the moment to escape. I was introduced to it by Danuta Kean and it is just beautiful. It is Sufjan Stevens and is the first song from their album Carrie and Lowell.

Why do a Creative Writing degree?

I have been considering writing this post for a while but now seems timely following Danuta Kean's interesting blog post on How to choose a Creative Writing Degree and Keren David's post on the course she taught at City University. First, I think I should be upfront and honest, I teach on a Creative Writing degree at the University of Winchester, both at undergraduate and post graduate level. This is very much my opinion and how I see it but it is based on my experiences at Winchester both as a lecturer and a student. I am coming from both sides because I also have an MA in Writing for Children and my PhD is a creative writing one, both from Winchester. (I would have a BA in creative writing but it wasn't on offer then, instead I have an English degree with a creative writing thread)

 In my opinion, a Creative Writing degree is not there to teach you how to write. This may seem a strange thing to say, but you have to have the passion there first. The degree hones your skills. Most importantly, what a degree can do is to give you a chance to try on lots of different voices and find the one that fits you best. When I first did creative writing at University, I had a very set idea as to what sort of writer I was, by the end of my undergraduate degree I found that I couldn't have been more wrong. The voice I thought I had didn't exist instead I found I was a writer for young adults. It is easy to say that you could do these things away from university but actually it is not that feasible. It takes dedication and effort and constructive feedback to help work out what is right for you. All of which a degree can provide. At Winchester, for example, you can have a go at various types of scriptwriting, writing song lyrics, short story writing, poetry, writing for children and non fiction writing to name but a few. As lecturers we are all practitioners. We understand what it means to write - both the good bits and the bad.

To reiterate one of Danuta's points, please be wary of any course that says by the end you will have a publishing contract and an agent. That's not what it should be about and no one can promise that. We can, and will, introduce you to agents and publishers but at the end of the day your work has to be good enough and different enough for them to want it. At Winchester, we are aware that very few writers can support themselves on writing alone, therefore, a few years ago, the department made a conscious decision to create modules that are outward facing. Consequently, we not only show you how to submit your MSS, pitch your script, and create your own online presence, we also encourage you to engage with the 'real world' and future employment. For example, two modules we offer look at writing for display in exhibitions/museums or you can explore teaching creative writing. Several students have gone on to work in these sort of areas as a specific result of these outward facing modules. Make sure any degree you are looking at considers all aspects of your future.

In a previous post I spoke about employability and despite many people's preconceptions a creative writing degree prepares you for so much. You are equipped with so many transferable skills but not all of them are obvious immediately. I do a lot of Open Days and I have rooms full of very excited prospective students and some fairly glum looking parents who quite obviously do not believe doing a Creative Writing degree is the intelligent choice. As I do my whole presentation on employability and what our students have gone on to do  after their degree it is wonderful to watch these parents as a smile appears and their whole bodies relax because they have realised doing a Creative Writing degree is actually a very good choice. (Check us out at http://www.writingatwinchester.com/)

So in answer to my question 'why do a creative writing degree?' the answer is simple it prepares you for your future life, it gives you a chance to polish your passion. My suggestion for all writers who are considering doing a degree, whether at undergraduate or post graduate level, is to follow your heart.

 For all doing exams or contemplating the future here is Jack Johnson's Sitting, Waiting, Wishing....stop wishing and go for it ;-)