The writes and wrongs of publishing

When I submitted to Hobeck Books they were (they may not have realised) my last hope (I'm tempted to say Obe Wan but I won't).

Within weeks of sorting out the contracts, all done during lockdown, we were off and riding the four fifteen to Successville. (If you miss the four fifteen there is an express that comes through half an hour later).

What really impressed me with Rebecca and Adrian from Hobeck was their enthusiasm and genuine energy - the way they critique the books, your books, is superb. "Consider this..." "Just alter this one word..." Nothing life altering, nothing worth writing home about. Everything worthwhile.

To find so few changes in my manuscript tells me three things. One, they were strong in the first place. Two, the hard work to ensure they were as good as one person could make them had paid off and three, I had chosen the right publisher.

IF you can get those three factors into place and are considering submitting a manuscript to a publisher (I recommend Hobeck obviously) then you are a third of the way there. With so many people wanting to write these days, which is truly great, you need just a sprinkle of fairy dust now and then to allow your work to struggle to the top and shout "Over here! Look over here..."

But before you reach that stage, the stage of the rejection letters, the Land of Literary Disappointment, remember even Charles Dickens was rejected once upon a time...and his expectations were great too.

Never give up.

Lewis