Life, Publishing, and how time doesn't respect either
It’s May, and the weather is finally lifting. Blue skies, green leaves and that fresh breeze through an open window - incredible how healing these small things are.
Thanks so much to my lovely subscribers and to anyone who has come back to check out my very new Substack. This month I’ll give you a (brief) insight into my publishing journey so far, INTRODUCE THE DISASTER WIZARD HIMSELF, pay my pet tax, share some events, and recommend some LUSH books I read this month.
Publishing doesn’t have a map
I think the only universal truth in publishing is that no one has a universal truth for publishing (though I say this as someone incredibly new to the whole process). I thought I’d share a little bit about how I got here with THE OUTCAST MAGE, in case anyone is wondering what my personal journey looked like - but I share with the HUGE caveat that this is what happened for me. For a million books, there are a million journeys, and no one of them is better or any more likely to work out than another.
Embarrassingly, I actually started what would become THE OUTCAST MAGE when I was 13 years old (I am now 37… I had to count that on my fingers). Before you run screaming, please be reassured that it is in no way the same book it was back then. Those early ‘drafts’ will die with me, and may well be considered the ‘shelved novels’ that all writers have in their past. Like a lot of young women, I self-rejected myself out of publishing for many, many years. I listened to cruel outside voices, I put writing away for more ‘sensible’ pursuits, and spent a long time trying to squish myself into a mould I did not fit.
I’ll fast forward through these years, but I’m sharing because I’m sure they’re familiar to many creatives. The only person you hurt when you self-reject is yourself. If this is you, know that no creative pursuit is foolish, no dream is stupid. This isn’t to say that finding the time and energy for them isn’t often impossibly hard (and comes with a hefty dose of privilege and passion tax), but don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell yourself it isn’t worthwhile.
Also, my absolute favourite quote from Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is this:
There is a time for any fledgling artist where one’s taste exceeds one’s abilities. The only way to get through this period is to make things anyway.
So what happened next? My grasp of dates is pretty bad, so bear with me for some fudging, but I think it was 2018 when I picked the bare bones of the idea for THE OUTCAST MAGE out of the dust (a glass city on the edge of a desert, a girl with mysterious elemental powers, her disaster wizard mentor, and the least priestly priest of all priests) and started writing it seriously again. In 2020, I had most of a draft (it was messy and the ending sucked/didn’t properly exist yet).
The pandemic was in full swing and my brain was somewhat broken, but I saw an advert for a mentorship program with a literary agency and thought ‘fuck it, why not?’… So, I didn’t query (I wasn’t ready), but I did get representation through this mentorship program. And BAM, just like that, I had a literary agent.
Now, in hindsight, I have feelings about whether this was actually the right first step for me. I might revisit this in a later post, but there are lots of factors at play when you’re looking for a literary agent, and overall I would recommend being ready with your final manuscript and doing a shed-load more research than I did. To be sure, I met some incredible writing friends during the mentorship, I worked hard on my book, and I took my first small steps into the publishing world. I won’t dwell on why, but in January 2023 I ended up parting ways with my literary agent because it wasn’t the right fit. It was one of the toughest decisions I made on this journey, but it was also the right one.
The following months were rough. I won’t sugarcoat it. Querying sucks. The waits are long, the ghosting is high. Literary agents are overworked and they all have different tastes and expectations. There’s so much rejection; even if you’re utterly brilliant and have the perfect book, no doubt someone will squeeze in a ‘not for me, thanks’. And hey - that isn’t personal. It doesn’t mean your book is terrible. There’s taste, there’s timing, there’s luck. And here’s me, with my book of disaster mages, knowing I walked away from one agent and that there was every chance I might not get another one.
I was incredibly lucky when my now agent, Robbie Guillory, reached out to me and asked to see a full of THE OUTCAST MAGE. This was April 2023 and things moved fast from there. I honestly went from the abyss of despair to high-as-a-freakin-kite in the space of one email. I reckon I was probably insufferable to be around for the full first third of last year (sorry lovely friends). This time, I had researched. I had queried many agents. I knew a lot about what I wanted from an agent and I knew some of Robbie’s clients (intimidatingly brilliant people), and I was really happy this would be a good fit.
We turned some edits around in a couple of months (THE OUTCAST MAGE had already changed a lot from that 2020 draft by this point), with a plan to go on sub in September. BUT THEN - we saw a MSWL from an Orbit editor (manuscript wish list for us newbies) and the shape of it looked a lot like THE OUTCAST MAGE. Huh. Better to strike while the iron is hot, right? So we did! THE OUTCAST MAGE went on an early exclusive submission to Orbit (over summer, which is universally thought to be a terrible time to submit things in publishing). We got an offer in September, from the incredible James Long at Orbit, for world rights, with Orbit US taking it on for America. I don’t think I can quite describe how much this exceeded anything I’d imagined for myself.
And then here we are! So I’ve been working with Orbit from September 2023, and the book isn’t out until January 2025! In my next post, I’ll try to explain what’s happened between then and now, and some of what goes into the next steps (but, you know, bear in mind I’m still learning!). For now though, I’ll leave this here, since that’s quite enough publishing chat for one newsletter!
The Disaster Wizard Himself
Okay, okay, okay. So you might have guessed, I love a messy wizard mentor. In fact, I borderline fall in love with every single one I encounter in books, film and TV. Sarkan? Yes. Akkarin? Yes. Viktor from Arcane? HAS MY WHOLE HEART (okay, not a wizard, but SAME VIBE). Obi-Wan Kenobi? Hell yes.
So, meet Haelius Akana, wizard of the mage city of Amoria. He is everything I love about wizards, mentors, scattered academics, and the ‘he-seems-stern-but-is-squishy’ types. Once again, I have incredible art to share from the amazing Chris Simmonds Illustration.
Haelius was born to a family without magic, something that wouldn’t have mattered, had he not turned out to be the most magically gifted mage in a city of powerful magic users. As a result, Haelius finds himself as an outsider in both mage and non-mage societies. He’s brilliant, passionate to the point of obsessive, forgets to eat, barely functions outside of his study and has a spectacular gift for rubbing people up the wrong way.
He’s worked ten times harder than anyone to prove his place in the Academy and is proud of it too (maybe a little too proud), but of course he always finds himself wanting. His dearest friend is a powerful politician on the Senate, and it is quite obvious (to everyone else) that he’s loved her for many years. However, an accident early in Haelius’s career left him scarred and put other mages in danger, and since that day, Haelius has considered himself a risk to himself and everyone else around him.
Side note - one of the reasons I knew Robbie was the right agent for me was because he described this relationship as ‘taut all the way through, kind of like the relationship in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON’ and I died a million happy deaths because, oh my god, seen. I was obsessed with that movie, and with the relationship between Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien in particular. So yes, if you like slow-burn romance and yearning, I hope you will also be here for this.
ISN’T THE ART GREAT? I was like CHEEKBONES and Chris delivered. Haelius is such a hot mess, and I dearly hope that people love him.
Pet Tax
Obligatory pet pic of the month. Here is Leon, my dog, demanding love and absolutely getting whatever he wants. Do we think my editor will accept this picture in place of delivering on deadlines? Watch this space to find out.
Events
I almost forgot! I was lucky enough this month to attend a writing retreat with some incredible writing pals I met through the Edinburgh Science Fiction and Fantasy group - we bonded via therapeutic screaming at each other throughout the submission process, which I highly recommend. If there’s one piece of advice I can offer as a new writer, it is find writing pals and treasure them.
If you’re curious as to what a writing retreat looks like, in this case, it’s a bunch of like-minded writers heading to a beautiful rented house in the countryside, eating amazing food, chatting, heading into the hot tub, doing puzzles and playing games. And writing, of course, but I’d say the rest and healing is just as important. Let me just say that if you encounter the writing of any of the above writers in the wild, you are in for a treat. So make sure to check them all out!
CYMERA 2024 - 31st May to 2nd of June
Edinburgh’s genre literature festival is back this year, with more wonderful events than ever! The best SFF and horror event in Scotland? I certainly think so. Over 50 events and 70+ authors - workshops, panels, readings. You name it!
AND this idiot will be doing a reading of THE OUTCAST MAGE! Every year, Cymera runs the BRAVE NEW WORDS readings, where new authors can read from their upcoming book ahead of one of the author panels.
I will be supporting these lovely authors above (starstruck, much?) on Saturday 1 June at 3.15pm. So come along if you want to hear a short ‘it’s complicated’ reading from THE OUTCAST MAGE. Am I excited? Yes. Terrified? Hell yes. Convinced I’ll trip and fall off the stage somehow? Also yes.
Delicious Books
Don’t hate me, but the first book is one you can’t buy yet. BUT you can pre-order it, and you absolutely should.
A Song of Legends Lost (The Invoker Trilogy) by M.H. Ayinde. I was super lucky to get an early copy of this epic fantasy from Orbit, and it was a truly stunning read. This debut offers you everything you could possibly wish for from epic fantasy: a rich new world inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures, complex characters all vying for their place in this world (often against each other, and yet you can’t help but root for all of them), and SUCH cinematic battles. But then Ayinde gives you even more. Towering ancestors who fight like Final Fantasy summons, glittering and deadly techwork, all wrapped up around this delicious mystery that comes together in the most satisfying way. You will gasp, you will cry, and most of all, you will not stop turning the pages.
A Song of Legends Lost is coming out in April 2025, and let me tell you that I am already planning to beg Orbit for a copy of book 2. Get it pre-ordered!
This next one is at the opposite of the length spectrum, as it’s a delicious bite-sized novella (though don’t think that means it doesn’t pack a powerful punch).
The Last To Drown by Lorraine Wilson, available now from Luna Press Publishing. Lorraine’s Substack can be found here, and you should absolutely check it out. Unlike my rambling, Lorraine writes these gorgeous, thoughtful posts about writing and publishing. I highly recommend.
Every time I read a Lorraine Wilson book, I feel changed. Her prose, her careful dissection of human emotion - every time it leaves me with something new. THE LAST TO DROWN is no different (and I would heartily recommend all her books). This novella is such a beautiful study in pain and grief, and what it costs to move on from terrible loss. Wilson transports you to the wild, untamed coast of Iceland and asks you what it means to be the one who survived.
Alright! And that is that for another month. Next month I’ll share a little of the process from offer to … well, as far as I’ve got at that point, as well as more character art (meet Larinne, the other half of the yearning, who might just be as bad at relationships as Haelius) and delicious recommended reads.
Thank you so much for reading!
I absolutely LOVE Haelius!! He is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and my favorite in the book. I adore outcast, misfit wizards and sorcerers too, and I love that you made him a bit nd too! I just want to hug him!!