I was excited to be on a webinar, run by The Society of Authors, with Harper North Publishing Director, Genevieve Pegg and Alice Murphy-Pyle, Head of Marketing, talking about their ambitions for Harper North, what makes a good submission and how they work with authors. Their passion and enthusiasm for rebalancing the London-centric view of publishing with the creative talent of the North are infectious. And the good news is they are open to submissions.
What makes a good submission for Harper North?
Fiction and non-fiction but not currently children’s books, young adult fiction (YA), fantasy, short stories, poetry or plays. Novels of 80,000-word length. Click here to access How to Submit a Fiction Manuscript.
Genevieve tried to distil the essence of what a book would be for her. Of course, it is the voices, character and setting but how the book concludes which, for her, is the real magic. Those astounding word of mouth bestsellers that people press into each other’s hands usually have unique premises and great hooks, but it’s more about how they leave you. A book that delivers on an ending is often the one that stays with you. Which is why she likes to see complete manuscripts.
The commissioning editors are looking for good writing. Immediately they know precisely where they’d like it to go. When they see how to sell and position it, they know they’ve got the vision for it.
Harper North wanted an open channel to make it easy for un-agented authors to submit their manuscripts. There is an open submission route through their website harpernorth.co.uk. But it’s not just about submissions. Equally, they wanted a forum to ask questions about proposals, the industry, or explaining jargon. A place where people could relate. And that place is hello@harpernorth.co.uk.
Commissioning has always appeared as a closed, dark art it seems that Harper North is trying to draw back the curtains and be as open, honest and direct as possible.
Am I Northern enough?
The answer to that question is ‘it’s not a kind of strict geographical demarcation the shorthand we use when we are talking to agents and colleagues in house is ‘writers of, from or for the North.’ North is quite a broad category exploring issues that feel particularly pertinent socially, politically, culturally, or historically. It is also a fantastic fiction rooted either in a place, character, or something that comes off the land, a northern mindset. It’s an attitude or state of mind as much as a piece of geography—a broad remit.
How Harper North works with Authors
It’s imperative finding new voices and discovering those incredible debuts and bringing those voices to the page. Still, it is also about promoting and growing existing authors and making sure they are working with writers in a career building way, connecting all those groups. For instance, working with the rights team to take those voices internationally. It will be working with all the different retailers, from the big High Street names, in the supermarkets, to all the online platforms and of course those critical relationships with indie booksellers that have worked so well.
Alice Murphy-Pyle explained that they could be nimble and look at each publication in terms of what is best. So, the default will be that every single one of their books will publish in physical copy and, in audio and, in ebook.
Authors must have the ability to be self-starters. She stressed that authors don’t have to have substantial social followings of their own, but it’s a bonus if they already have a brand or an audience to speak to. Even if they have only a small presence, she suggests launching a newsletter or some way of building an audience.
For help with branding check out this video.
Harper North is dedicated to working with the authors to make sure that they feel confident in speaking to their readers. They are making sure that there are news angles around each author. The ability to talk to readers in a way that is engaging is essential. Somebody who is open to talking to their following and Harper North can support in whatever way is best.
The final word
There is a business side to Publishing, and it’s doing writers a disservice to pretend successful careers and financially viable books are not at the heart of it. To build a useful business enterprise writers and publishers must be aware of the numbers. Numbers in terms of the production side, how much is it going to cost to make this beautiful object or record this fantastic audiobook? It is vital that authors bear this in mind, and the publisher is open about the financial model.
Harper North appears to be intent on having transparency with its authors and explaining to authors and agents why an offer is where it is or, the fine print in the contract. They acknowledge if they only talk about the books they fall in love with and not how they’re going to sell them; then they’re not doing the full end to end of publishing. It’s clear this new team Harper North, want to make a splash and I could not help feeling energised by their optimism.
Links
Submission guidelines for Harper North are here.
To submit directly: submissions@harpernorth.co.uk
Website: HarperNorth.co.uk
Twitter: @HarperNorthUK
For help with creating a brand take a look at this video.