Jon and I first came to know each other through a shared professional connection: Jon's agent, Greenhouse Literary Agency, is part of Working Partners, where I work as an editor. Here we are together at last year's SCBWI-UK conference at Winchester.
Sarah Davies of Greenhouse signed Jon up and swiftly sold his debut novel, Mortlock, to Bloomsbury publishers. Bloomsbury must really love Jon as they've given him his very own YouTube trailer for the publication of his book on 5 April 2010. Jon is currently working on his follow-up novel, the Demon Collectors. Exciting times for this marathon-running, mandolin-playing writer. So I was very grateful to Jon for agreeing to an author interview as part of this blog.
You're known for your cheery disposition, Jon, but your writing is saturated with dark, gruesome, gothic and scary detail. Where does this macabre creativity come from?
My favourite saying is you've got two choices: laugh or cry and believe me, some of the things that have happened in my life whilst trying to get published have not been funny. I do try to keep a positive outlook on life and paradoxically, writing dark gruesome stuff helps me do that! So it could be an out-pouring of all kinds of subconscious angst! Or it might be to do with the fact that, as the youngest child in my family, my brothers and sister loved to frighten me with ghost stories and dark tales which have kind of stuck with me. I also loved watching the old Hammer Horror films which would be considered corny today but they terrified me. I find it hard top watch horror because I 'buy into' any film or TV programme totally. I am there running from the zombies, hiding from the killer, about to stake the vampire but just don't have the strength!
How important was the SCBWI-UK to you as you were writing Mortlock? Are there any other networking tips that you could give to a fledgling writer?
This is a brilliant question. I wasn't a SCBWI member as I wrote Mortlock but SCBWI gave me the introduction to an editor that made people sit up and take Mortlock seriously. I'm certain that if it weren't for the 2007 SCBWI conference, I wouldn't have got an agent the following Spring.
In terms of tips, I think you have to go to where the agents and editors are. That doesn't mean sleeping outside the front door of their flat or office, I mean going to events such as the SCBWI Winchester Conference or writing days, writing events, those kinds of things. When you meet an editor or agent, be ready to pitch your book, sum it up in thirty seconds. Have a card or a synopsis handy so you can leave it with them. Don't be weird, don't haunt or stalk people. Also, humility is a hugely underrated virtue. Nobody likes a big head and there is so much to learn from those in the writing and publishing industry.
Since receiving your publishing contract from Bloomsbury, has the lead up to publication held any surprises or has the world of publishing turned out to be just as you thought it would be?
I had no idea what the publishing world was like so every development has been a revelation and a surprise. I'm continually thrilled by how pleasant, professional and enthusiastic the team at Bloomsbury are. You kind of expect your work to be taken off you in some way and manipulated but every change of comma, indentation of line has been checked with me which is amazing. I also love the social side, I've been taken to lunch and to a pub quiz by the publisher too and the Bloomsbury Christmas party was great. I don't need much encouragement to jump on a train down to London for free food or beer! The Bloomsbury Christmas party was great.
How has your family reacted to these new developments in your life and how do you juggle family commitments and writing commitments?
With great excitement as you'd expect. My kids are my little 'sleepers' in school, waiting in April to jump up and start promoting Mortlock to their mates! My eldest sees his role as keeping my feet firmly on the ground and has spent the last few years pouring cold water on each piece of good news but he's secretly excited about it. I have a special dedication to him in the book. My wife has been behind my writing from the start and so when the deal came through, she sees it as her role to push me into bookshops everywhere we go to introduce myself. The family/day job/writing balancing act is a tricky one but made easier by the fact that I have been able to go down to working four days week. Friday is now my writing day, in theory although it often gets eaten into.
You have a three-book deal with Bloomsbury. Is your planning of book two different to the process you used on book one, or is the writing pretty much the same?
Mortlock kind of evolved over a relatively long period of time and it was trial and error until Sarah Davies took me on. I don't have that luxury with The Demon Collector and so I had to be quite specific and focused on who the main protagonist was (Mortlock see-sawed between Josie and Alfie, I could put
together the same story from Alfie's point of view quite easily) what was going to happen and how he was going to change. I had a synopsis for Demon Collector ready when I submitted Mortlock but it wasn't set in stone and I still managed to surprise myself with the ending!
Finally, we have to mention the powerhouse that is Greenhouse Literary Agency - your agent. From your experiences with Sarah Davies, what tips would you give other writers when deciding on an agent.
I was lucky enough to have a choice and I can understand anyone who feels flattered to have any kind of offer from an agent these days. The instinct is to bite the agent's hand off but it is worth doing your homework. The other agent I talked with was lovely and would have championed my work to her utmost, but she didn't have the grounding in children's literature that Sarah Davies had. So I suppose 'check that your agent knows the market you are in' is the first tip. A bit obvious but again, if you're desperate you might not look before you leap. Similarly, a quick trawl of the internet will reveal a host of agents. I would also ask yourself (and them) who are their contacts? Do they know more people in the industry than you? Again it may sound dumb but I could set up as an agent tomorrow. Would I have any greater access to editors and publishing houses?
Thanks, Jon. Some invaluable advice there for all of us.
Did I mention? Mortlock is published in April! If you have a weakness for Victorian horror with a big dollop of the gruesome and the magical, then this is definitely the book for you. And his follow-up novel, the Demon Collectors, promises even more excitement and stomach-churning gore and danger. Go, Jon!
Sarah Davies of Greenhouse signed Jon up and swiftly sold his debut novel, Mortlock, to Bloomsbury publishers. Bloomsbury must really love Jon as they've given him his very own YouTube trailer for the publication of his book on 5 April 2010. Jon is currently working on his follow-up novel, the Demon Collectors. Exciting times for this marathon-running, mandolin-playing writer. So I was very grateful to Jon for agreeing to an author interview as part of this blog.
You're known for your cheery disposition, Jon, but your writing is saturated with dark, gruesome, gothic and scary detail. Where does this macabre creativity come from?
My favourite saying is you've got two choices: laugh or cry and believe me, some of the things that have happened in my life whilst trying to get published have not been funny. I do try to keep a positive outlook on life and paradoxically, writing dark gruesome stuff helps me do that! So it could be an out-pouring of all kinds of subconscious angst! Or it might be to do with the fact that, as the youngest child in my family, my brothers and sister loved to frighten me with ghost stories and dark tales which have kind of stuck with me. I also loved watching the old Hammer Horror films which would be considered corny today but they terrified me. I find it hard top watch horror because I 'buy into' any film or TV programme totally. I am there running from the zombies, hiding from the killer, about to stake the vampire but just don't have the strength!
How important was the SCBWI-UK to you as you were writing Mortlock? Are there any other networking tips that you could give to a fledgling writer?
This is a brilliant question. I wasn't a SCBWI member as I wrote Mortlock but SCBWI gave me the introduction to an editor that made people sit up and take Mortlock seriously. I'm certain that if it weren't for the 2007 SCBWI conference, I wouldn't have got an agent the following Spring.
In terms of tips, I think you have to go to where the agents and editors are. That doesn't mean sleeping outside the front door of their flat or office, I mean going to events such as the SCBWI Winchester Conference or writing days, writing events, those kinds of things. When you meet an editor or agent, be ready to pitch your book, sum it up in thirty seconds. Have a card or a synopsis handy so you can leave it with them. Don't be weird, don't haunt or stalk people. Also, humility is a hugely underrated virtue. Nobody likes a big head and there is so much to learn from those in the writing and publishing industry.
Since receiving your publishing contract from Bloomsbury, has the lead up to publication held any surprises or has the world of publishing turned out to be just as you thought it would be?
I had no idea what the publishing world was like so every development has been a revelation and a surprise. I'm continually thrilled by how pleasant, professional and enthusiastic the team at Bloomsbury are. You kind of expect your work to be taken off you in some way and manipulated but every change of comma, indentation of line has been checked with me which is amazing. I also love the social side, I've been taken to lunch and to a pub quiz by the publisher too and the Bloomsbury Christmas party was great. I don't need much encouragement to jump on a train down to London for free food or beer! The Bloomsbury Christmas party was great.
How has your family reacted to these new developments in your life and how do you juggle family commitments and writing commitments?
With great excitement as you'd expect. My kids are my little 'sleepers' in school, waiting in April to jump up and start promoting Mortlock to their mates! My eldest sees his role as keeping my feet firmly on the ground and has spent the last few years pouring cold water on each piece of good news but he's secretly excited about it. I have a special dedication to him in the book. My wife has been behind my writing from the start and so when the deal came through, she sees it as her role to push me into bookshops everywhere we go to introduce myself. The family/day job/writing balancing act is a tricky one but made easier by the fact that I have been able to go down to working four days week. Friday is now my writing day, in theory although it often gets eaten into.
You have a three-book deal with Bloomsbury. Is your planning of book two different to the process you used on book one, or is the writing pretty much the same?
Mortlock kind of evolved over a relatively long period of time and it was trial and error until Sarah Davies took me on. I don't have that luxury with The Demon Collector and so I had to be quite specific and focused on who the main protagonist was (Mortlock see-sawed between Josie and Alfie, I could put
together the same story from Alfie's point of view quite easily) what was going to happen and how he was going to change. I had a synopsis for Demon Collector ready when I submitted Mortlock but it wasn't set in stone and I still managed to surprise myself with the ending!
Finally, we have to mention the powerhouse that is Greenhouse Literary Agency - your agent. From your experiences with Sarah Davies, what tips would you give other writers when deciding on an agent.
I was lucky enough to have a choice and I can understand anyone who feels flattered to have any kind of offer from an agent these days. The instinct is to bite the agent's hand off but it is worth doing your homework. The other agent I talked with was lovely and would have championed my work to her utmost, but she didn't have the grounding in children's literature that Sarah Davies had. So I suppose 'check that your agent knows the market you are in' is the first tip. A bit obvious but again, if you're desperate you might not look before you leap. Similarly, a quick trawl of the internet will reveal a host of agents. I would also ask yourself (and them) who are their contacts? Do they know more people in the industry than you? Again it may sound dumb but I could set up as an agent tomorrow. Would I have any greater access to editors and publishing houses?
Thanks, Jon. Some invaluable advice there for all of us.
Did I mention? Mortlock is published in April! If you have a weakness for Victorian horror with a big dollop of the gruesome and the magical, then this is definitely the book for you. And his follow-up novel, the Demon Collectors, promises even more excitement and stomach-churning gore and danger. Go, Jon!
Great interview, Karen and thanks for the agent tips, Jon - always good to hear from authors beating down a track in the wilderness ahead.
Can't wait til April.
Good Luck!
Great interview and some very insightful questions karen. I can't wait until April either!
Great interview. It's always good to know how things work and even better to hear other people's own stories. So...don't be weird, don't haunt, don't stalk....