Nessa Carey - How We Work Together
11 Jun 2014

 Nessa Carey, author of two popular science books, The Epigenetics Revolution and Junk, discusses her relationshp with the agency.

Picture the scene.  You already have a demanding full-time job and for some reason decide it would be a great idea to write a book as well.  That’s the situation I created for myself, in one of those examples of being too delightfully ignorant of what I was taking on to understand how insane it was.

I just wanted to write a book on a subject about which I felt passionately, and which I felt hadn’t been covered by anyone else.  I had no experience of “proper” publishing at all.  My nearest brush in the past had been scientific papers, and the occasional seventy word paragraph for a wildlife magazine.  Hardly an adequate preparation.

Having looked at a few agents’ websites I thought that Andrew’s looked the friendliest (and if I am honest, he also needed the fewest chapters in the first round) so I followed the instructions carefully and sent off my submission.  I was delighted when he accepted me, and didn’t realise how fortunate I was to get an agent so quickly.  I blithely assumed this must be how it always works.  Where ignorance is bliss……..

I realised quickly how lucky I was to have this agent though.  He led me very patiently through various re-writes in response to his readers’ comments and once we’d agreed on a final version Andrew lined up interviews with various publishers.  I was delighted with the final deal.  The publisher was just right for me.  They were a small company, specialising in non-fiction, and able to give me a lot of help in really polishing the book.  A US deal followed quickly.

I love that I don’t have to get involved in anything contractual, or financial negotiations.  It’s all handled for me, so I just receive the offers and say yes or no.  The same is true with publicity opportunities that are sent my way.  Even the emails that remind me I haven’t done something are gentle enough that I am not paralysed with guilt on receiving them.

Three years on and again I decided it would be a great idea to write a book despite working full-time.  Far fewer re-writes confirmed for me that my original decision of working with people who could help a first-time writer learn to do things well had really paid off.