How Not to Write a Novel: Confessions of a Midlist Author

By David Armstrong

Allison & Busby £9.99

Every week, agents and publishers receive hundreds of manuscripts from would-be authors. Of these, fewer than 1% will make it into print. David Armstrong was one of these, his first crime novel, Night’s Black Agents, was plucked from the slush pile at a major publisher and published to acclaim.

So far, so good. But what rapidly became clear to Armstrong was that being a published novelist is not always as glamorous as it seems from the outside. There are the depressing, ill-attended readings, the bitchy writers’ conventions, the bookshops which have never heard of you and don’t stock your book. All of these will be familiar to any writer who, like David Armstrong, falls into the category euphemistically known as ‘midlist’. The reality is that for every J K Rowling, there are a thousand David Armstrongs; for every writer who is put up in a five-star hotel and flies first class courtesy of their publisher, there are 1,000 who sleep on friends’ floors during book tours and travel economy.

Witty and biting, How Not to Write a Novel lifts the lid on publishing. From agents to editors, publicists to sales reps, it explains the publishing process – and how to survive it – from the point of view of a non-bestselling writer. Its advice to writers can be summarised as: 'Don't do it.'

Described by Terence Blacker on Radio 4’s Front Row as ‘the best guide out there’, David Armstrong’s wry look at the author’s life is essential reading for any writer trying to get their work published, providing an entertaining warts-and-all view of the realities of life as a mid-list author.

Other titles by David Armstrong:

Night’s Black Agent 1993

Less than Kind 1994

Until Dawn Tomorrow 1996

Thought for the Day 1998

Small Vices 2001

By arrangement with Allison & Busby, WritersServices will be publishing excerpts from How Not to be a Writer in our Magazine over the next few months.

This month's excerpt

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