We recently discovered that, by coincidence, two BPA clients, Philippa Ronan (right) and Lindsey Mellon, were both to be published by the same independent publisher Northside House within only a few weeks of each other. They were happy to share their experience of going indie in our latest Author Q&A.
Philippa, can you give me a quick summary of your writing journey?
I always wanted to write but am dyslexic so felt I could never be a writer. But still, I kept writing stories and had ideas for novels. I finally applied for an MA in creative writing at Sheffield Hallam University. It was the best thing I could have done. It gave me the confidence to write.
How did the Blue Pencil Agency fit into that journey?
I had written a novel called Dreaming of Mermaids and received rejections. One agent suggested I try the Blue Pencil agency. I contacted BPA founder Sara Sarre and, after reading some of my work, she agreed to take me on. I was thrilled. For a year during the pandemic, we pulled my novel apart and I completely rewrote it. I learned so much from Sara and grew as a writer. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
Your novel Apple from the Tree was published March 21, 2024 with indie publisher Northside House. Congratulations! How were you acquired by the publishing house?
Sara sent my novel to Chris Jackson, the owner of Northside, and he agreed to take me on straight away. He only deals with quality literary fiction, so it was a good fit.
Can you take us through the process of acquiring a book deal? What has surprised you? What has proven a challenge?
Northside is a small publisher, so I had to be extremely patient. It was almost a year between Chris agreeing to take me on and then signing a contract. I think that has been the biggest challenge.
“Independent publishers are more inclined to prioritise artistic integrity and creativity over monetary gains and commercialism.”
Do you think there is any part of the experience that is particular to indie publishing?
I think the traditional publishing route is quite conservative at times. Chris loved my novel and was willing to take a risk on a previously unpublished author for which I am extremely grateful. Independent publishers are more inclined to prioritise artistic integrity and creativity over monetary gains and commercialism. Profitability is still a consideration but it seldom compromises the artistic vision.
Do you have any advice to budding authors about acquiring a book deal without an agent? What should they be prepared for?
You have to trust your publisher, which I do.
Do you have any advice for budding authors specific to getting published by an indie publisher?
I would do your research carefully and see which publisher is a good fit. You should never have to pay for being published. Make sure you have edited your novel many, many times and it is ready to be seen. Spend time on preparing a good pitch.
Can you tell us a little about the novel?
The novel is about grief and love. The novel opens with Jess, one of the main characters getting a letter from her mother, a famous artist, exactly 500 days after her mother took her own life. The letter urges Jess to go home to the remote Scottish island where she grew up. There she uncovers uncomfortable truths her mother kept from her and the relationship she had with her friend Rory. She also finds out the part Rory played in her mother’s death.
Apple from the Tree is available to order here.
Philippa is an English teacher who writes. She is an avid reader, traveller, and animal lover. She lives in South Yorkshire with her son, her mum and their three dogs and two cats.
Facebook: Philippa Ronan Writer
Lindsey, can you give me a quick summary of your writing journey?
Thanks be to Covid! I’d harboured a lifelong ambition to write, to tell stories. But there was always ‘something else’ until I found myself locked down in the Berner Oberland, with no credible excuse for procrastination.
I signed up for a one-year Faber ‘Work in Progress’ online course and started down the humbling road of discovering how little I knew of the art of writing.
How did the Blue Pencil Agency fit into that journey?
Coming across Blue Pencil was much good fortune! Sara Sarre paired me up with the youthful Oliver James, who has been a wonderful mentor and editor. His exhortations that ‘the wastepaper basket is your friend’ have frequently been unwelcome. When I wander off the path, he asks me: How does that move the story forward? And it orients me back towards the straight and narrow. During this painful process I have learned that those bits of prose to which I am most avidly attached are all bound, in due course, for the waste paper bin and, eventually, I won’t miss them!
What is your experience with literary agents?
Very little! Until his health declined, very sadly, Christopher Little was encouraging and supportive. Thereafter, except for one agent, who asked for the full MS and finally turned it down, after clearly taking the trouble to read it, I suffered a litany of rejections, or worse, of no replies. Which is no doubt good for the soul.
Your novel Straw Man was published by Northside House on February 29, 2024. Congratulations! How were you acquired by the publishing house?
Sara and Oliver made the introduction to Chris Jackson, who has been delightful to work with, detailed in his criticism, and unwaveringly supportive.
Can you take us through the process of acquiring a book deal?
Chris is a hands on type. I think he felt confident as the direct result of BPA / Sara’s imprimatur. He did a surprisingly detailed pencil edit of a proof copy, picking up all manner of errors that had slipped through the cracks. He did have concerns about one chapter, which I rewrote, and there was a marked improvement.
“I have learned that those bits of prose to which I am most avidly attached are all bound, in due course, for the waste paper bin.”
Can you tell us a little about the novel and what inspired you to write it?
I started my first draft writing a scene in the Libyan Sahara, a single man on camelback in an empty panorama of sand dunes. I love deserts, and it felt good writing it, but… it soon finished in the bin. Writing the scene stimulated me to research the colourful Libyan enfant terrible Colonel Qaddafi, his tortuous relationships with Italy and the UK, and his obsession with obtaining nuclear weapons.
I came across a newspaper cutting about a CIA sting which lured the Soviets into stealing sensitive software, containing flaws, which in due course triggered a monumental explosion in a Siberian pipeline, seen from space and reported by US satellite to be a possible nuclear explosion. I stumbled upon more articles detailing other Western successes ‘helping’ our enemies to obtain forbidden goodies; goodies which didn’t work. This form of creative deception seemed an apt solution to explain why, in the end, Qaddafi just handed over his entire nuclear weapons programme to the US. Thus, the story started to unfold in my head.
Are you working on anything else at the moment?
I’m finishing a First Draft of a sequel, The Sheikh, set in Sudan in the early 1990s during the heyday of the hard-line Islamic regime of Hassan el-Turabi and the sinister birthing of what later became known as Al-Qaeda. Again, I started writing in a desert setting, and am finishing in a grey, wintery Hyde Park.
Would you have set off on the lonely journey of writing a novel if you’d known how long it would take and how arduous the process would be?
Oh YES! A humbling journey. So daunting. Each morning to be confronted by my Scrivener ‘Project Targets’. Which reads 85,000 words, and 750 words per day. Then I remind myself of the Taoist mantra: “A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step”, and I start to tap away.
Straw Man is available to order here.
Lindsey Mellon was born in London. He is passionate about history, travel and current affairs and has harboured an ambition for six decades to write fiction, but never quite got off the blocks.
Widely travelled, he has lived in the UK, Ireland, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. He has worked, among other things, as a pilot, a painter, an entrepreneur, an oil explorer and as a Producer in Film & TV.
He lives and works in Oxfordshire.
Tiktok: @lindseymellon
Christopher Jackson, co-founder of Northside House.
“Tell us a little about Northside House. What do you do?
Myself and Dan Whomes founded the publishing house at the start of the pandemic with the aspiration of discovering new authors. In particular, we felt that the mainstream publishing world had become a little staid and we wanted to change that. From our conversations with the film industry, we’ve found that much too often promising works get bowdlerised and watered down in search of the next big thing – which usually comes unannounced anyhow. We’re excited about the list.
What do you have to offer authors?
We work closely with the film sector. We have a quick turnaround in terms of saying yes or no to manuscripts. Last but not least, we have an excellent track record of having lunch with our authors where possible.
What are you looking for?
The truthful answer to this is that you never know – but you know it when you see it. One thing that’s definitely coming through in the list at the moment – from Jayne Swinton to Jack Charles, Lesley Mellon, Tim Robinson and Philippa Ronan – is the sense of the author really having lived and saying something about the world which seems to lie outside the consensus.”