Writers on Writing is our regular conversation with a writer or industry professional about the writing craft, industry insights, and their own practice. This week, we spoke to Camha Pham about the commercial considerations of publishers, and the value of your own voice as an author.
As a freelance editor, you’ve read your fair share of manuscripts. What are the manuscripts that get you excited?
Obviously, everyone has different reading palates, but the manuscripts that get me most excited are the ones that are often difficult to categorise or sum up in a single sentence, and so often get described as ‘genre-bending’. I tend to gravitate towards astute, nuanced writing that is laugh-out-loud funny yet emotionally gut-wrenching at the same time. Surprise is always a welcome element; if I get to the end of a story and think ‘I didn’t see that coming’ – whether that be through a plot twist or the evolution of a character – that’s an extremely satisfying feeling to have as a reader.
What are some key reasons a publisher might reject a manuscript?
There are plenty of great manuscripts that stay unpublished and plenty of not-so-great manuscripts that get published, although what constitutes ‘great’ is, of course, subjective. At the end of the day, publishing is a business and commercial concerns are top of mind. Writing an original, compelling story is unfortunately only one part of the puzzle; there are also market trends, author profiles and audiences to consider – but those things are often out of your control. What is within your sphere of control is ensuring that you submit to publishers that are a good fit for your work and then delivering the best manuscript that you can. The aim is to give the publisher as few reasons as possible to reject your manuscript, and if I could give one tip, it would be to work on your voice. Your voice is your own – it is your unique proposition. If your voice is unoriginal or lacklustre, it’s not going to stand out from the mountain of manuscripts vying for attention.
I think patience is also key, and sometimes you need to accept that it might not be the right time for a particular manuscript. I know many writers who were able to secure publication with their second or third (or more!) manuscript before coming back to publish their earlier ones.
In the first chapter of a manuscript, what are you looking for?
First chapters matter! This is a chance to hook your reader in, whether that be through a compelling character, a unique voice, a hook, action, whatever it is – don’t waste this opportunity. Think about what you want the point of entry into your story to be. What is the first image that you want to create in the reader’s mind? What is it that you want your reader to feel?
What is your biggest piece of advice for writers intimidated by the publishing process?
The Australian publishing landscape is more accessible than, say, the UK or the US publishing markets. There are opportunities for writers to send in unsolicited manuscripts through publishers’ portals and you don’t always require an agent to submit – so don’t be afraid to shoot your shot. Of course, make sure you shoot your best shot. I always advise getting your manuscript into the best shape on a structural level as you can prior to submitting, rather than getting too fixated on details at the line level. The aim is to have a sturdy foundation on which to build before deciding on the decorative furnishings (I’m pretty sure I’ve used this analogy before but it seems to work!).
Camha Pham is an accredited freelance editor based in Naarm/Melbourne, with over nine years of experience in the publishing industry. She has worked in-house at Oxford University Press and Margaret River Press. As a freelancer, she has worked on copyediting and proofreading projects for publishers including Hachette, UQP, Hardie Grant, Affirm Press, Magabala Books, Allen & Unwin, Wiley and Pearson, among others. She has sat on the Editorial Board of Portside Review and Margaret River Press, and also works in the industry as a mentor and peer assessor.
Join Camha Pham for Manuscript Assessment: Fiction, Thursday 22 May via Zoom/Phone.
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