Chris Paling
I’ve seen the writer’s life from both sides now. In fact I’ve seen it now from three sides: author, librarian and, for many years, Radio 4 producer with responsibility for filling hours of airtime for shows like Woman’s Hour, Midweek, The Afternoon Shift. You know the kind. So what does all of that experience add up to? Well, chances are you don’t know my name so you could argue ‘not much’. I mean I’ve published nine novels with two very good publishers – Cape and Portobello. I’ve been reviewed (generally positively) in most of the nationals and I’ve written a play which toured the UK a couple of years back. But still I’m sure you’ll say, ‘Chris who?’
You’re reading this so you’re a writer. So I’m going to try and distil what I do know and maybe offer it to a younger version of myself: the naive twenty-something who sold a ‘Morning Story’ to Radio 4 and went on to write his first novel, and then his second and then his third in fairly quick succession. Perhaps that should be lesson one: don’t write too much too quickly. Writers write because they need to be heard. Being heard is an addiction that needs feeding with regular publications. But too much product not only tries the patience of your editor, it bores literary editors. ‘Writer writes a new book’ is not a story – however good that novel is. And even if it is good – possibly a work of genius (most debuts are), you’re going to find it hard to get noticed. You’ll already have recognised that the newspaper review column inches are shrinking and those lucky enough to have earned a reputation will always get the lion’s share, be stocked, Amazon front-paged, blogged about, noticed and invited onto Andrew Marr or Start the Week.
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April 2017
 
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