How do I become a published writer?
There's no hard and fast rule about how to get published, and most writers experience rejections and disappointments before they succeed. I think the key things are:
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Practise: Write as much and as often as possible. |
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Experiment: Try as many different kinds of writing as you can. |
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Read: As above – as much and as widely as you can. |
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Persevere: (i.) Don't be disheartened by ideas and projects that don't work out. I've got zillions of half-finished things in boxes, assembled over many years. Individually they may not have been any good, but together they pushed me in the right direction. |
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(ii.) When you're confident you've got something worth showing, send your material to several publishers at once, so you don't waste time if it's rejected. But check to make sure these publishers actually do the kind of book you're proposing! Don't worry if you get rejections, but listen to any advice. |
Who's your favourite character from your own books?
In the Lockwood series, it is hard to choose, because all the main characters are part of me in some way and therefore I love them all! Perhaps it would have to be Lucy, because we see all her doubts and follies, and yet they fall away and behind them are her bravery and decency and love for her friends. These are qualities that I would wish to share. In my other books, Bartimaeus the djinni is my favourite, because he showed me how to properly write jokes, and yet remain serious. With him I first found my voice.
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Do you base your characters on people you know?
Not really. I suppose all writers must create their characters from bits and pieces of people that they've met or seen, but I don't deliberately set out to reproduce a living person. Having said that, the early character of Nathaniel in The Amulet of Samarkand is a bit similar tothe way I was when I was in my early teens – proud, uptight, idealistic, hard-working, over-serious. I hope there's a bit more of Bart in me these days.
What's your favourite book that you've written?
I'm pretty proud of all of them, but perhaps it’s Ptolemy's Gate, because this was the most challenging. I had to bring the original Bartimaeus story to a satisfying conclusion and tie up every thread, and I'm happy with the way it worked out.
Who's your favourite author?
I don't have a single favourite; it depends on my mood. I love Robert Louis Stevenson, who did Treasure Island, because he writes literary books that are also great adventure stories. Other favourites, who are all very different, are Dashiell Hammett, Jack Vance, Evelyn Waugh and PG Wodehouse.
Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment?
I am working on the third book in my ‘Outlaws Scarlett and Browne’ series – it’s a kind of futuristic British western, featuring gunfights, cannibals and giant otters (among many other things). |
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