A better way to get your book read by publishers — Trust the Bubblecow!
Recent weeks have seen a growing debate regarding the best route to publication, and perhaps more importantly, the role of self publishing. Matthew Watkinson’s story is one of a vet-turned-writer who wrote a book that secured representation from an agent, only to give it all up to self publish his own book.
This interview will not only tell you why Matthew turned his back on the traditional publishing world but offers timely advice and guidance to any writer looking to get published.
On the Destiny of Species is a full frontal attack on the sentimental corruption of natural selection that has led to all sorts of unnecessary suffering in the domestic species and to the complete destruction of objective, Charles Darwin style natural history. Based on my experiences as a veterinary surgeon, it’s a brutally honest assessment of the relationship between superficial appearance (i.e. fashion) and compassion.
To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I did decide to write it. I just kind of started writing. Perhaps there was some sort of subconscious cathartic motivation but, when I look back, all I really remember is a complete inability to not write it (if that makes sense?). I just had to find an outlet and this book is the result.
Having left the veterinary profession for good I started writing full time. Like a demented robot I remortgaged the house to fund a totally unnecessary search for the truth. I wasn’t even pursuing a dream of becoming a successful writer. I just wanted to get to the bottom of everything and work out why I disagreed so vehemently with orthodox cultural belief. The clearer it became, the more I worked. Day and night sometimes. Sometimes my brain would wake me up at three in the morning and force me to carry on. I have never been poorer but, also, I have never been happier.
The idea for the book emerged while reading On the Origin of Species in November 2008 and the rather naïve plan was to write it in a few months, get an agent and then get it published on the 24th November 2009 (the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species). I really thought a year was more than enough time to write it, get it edited (absolutely critical), write it again, get it edited again (absolutely critical) etc. etc. and then find a publisher. The system works at a snail’s pace and Bubblecow’s 10 day guarantee is very definitely the exception, not the rule. Each reply from the agent I was working with was taking a month and I was getting more and more frustrated (patience has never been my strongest point). Indeed, he was working with a publication date in 2011 which, given that one of the most important goals was to publish it on the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s original, was clearly not going to work. I even gave up on the goal to stay with the traditional route at one point, but then, after another month long wait for an email reply, I served notice on my contract with the agent and decided to go it alone. Publishing this book on that date has always been a very important part of my plan and, for better or for worse, that meant self-publishing.
By the time I started thinking about sacking him, the decision was already made. All that was left then was to work out how to do it without being rude (or blacklisted). The really hard decision was the one I made when I accepted his offer of representation in the first place. That cost me five months and was almost entirely based on the fact that representation is such a difficult thing to secure.
Another critical edit (edit, edit, edit!) and then it was all about finding a quality self-publishing company. I have to admit, I haven’t really worked out the difference between a vanity press and a self-publishing company, but I have always thought that I would have to do all the publicity myself so I was never going to trust a publishers marketing promises either way. Of much more importance to me was the quality of the final book and that’s where Bubblecow helped out (again). They were able to recommend a high-quality self-publisher (matador) who focused on production standards rather than wild sales promises and the rest is history. All I have to do now is sell some books.
Not sure really. I only did it because I needed control of the publication date and because I knew that someone in the publishing industry thought the book would sell. That doesn’t guarantee that it will sell of course, but it was an independent opinion (beyond family and friends) that confirmed that my belief in the project wasn’t just hopeful optimism and that gave me the confidence to go it alone. I guess each case is different. Perhaps the real advice is don’t rule it out. Self-publishing is a legitimate option and, if you can ensure the book won’t be poorly produced, it’s an option that definitely should be considered.
I always knew the veterinary controversy would be of interest to the press. It is my ace in the pack and so I have managed to convince the Daily Mail to run a double page spread on it in the next couple of weeks. That should generate a bit of publicity and inspire people to find out more by buying the book (available through amazon.co.uk or destinyofspecies.com). Other than that I have just sent sixty copies to key opinion leaders in the field of natural history in the optimistic hope that one of them will read it and comment publicly. I suspect that most will dismiss it without a second thought, but all it takes is one. Indeed, Sir David Attenborough has replied to say that he is looking forward to reading it. Whether he will or not is a different matter, but if he did there would at least be a possibility that he would comment publicly and generate some more publicity. If nobody comments and the Daily Mail article doesn’t work I will just have to keep plugging away. As an unknown author the task will be enormous, but I know that the case is strong and I know that I mustn’t give up, however many times I get ignored.
The full (and unedited) interview will appear in BubbleCow’s newsletter and you can read it by subscribing below before the end of November 2009…
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Imagine how much easier it would be to get published if a writer could think like a publisher or agent. This was Caroline Smailes’ goal when she set up BubbleCow.
After securing a multiple book deal with HarperCollins, editor and writer Caroline realised that most writers stood almost no chance of getting published due to a lack of understanding of how the publishing industry really worked. BubbleCow was set up to give writers the best possible chance of securing a book deal.
I also self-published and did everything myself. I did not use a self-publishing company. I wouldn’t know about sacking an agent!
The key thing, for anyone who may decide to go down the SP route, is to get plenty of feedback from people whose opinion you value, not necessarly your best friends who may hold back in a critique. Do this before it goes to print.
I spoke about my experience on The Write Lines BBC Oxford on Sunday 22 November. You can still listen to this – for 6 days after the broadcast. I also have a blog on blogspot called Miriam’s Ramblings with some Top Tips on Self-Publishing and a piece on Genre.
My novel is called Gypsies Stop tHere and does not slot easily into a given genre, other than ‘modern/contemporary novel’. Other people may have written something like that, or perhaps a niche topic, and have difficulty in persuading an agent or publisher that it is commercially viable; so yes, self-publishing is a possible avenue – but watch those costs, and be prepared to work hard on the marketing.
Miriam – I heard you on Write Lines and you were great! BubbleCow co-founder (and writer) Caroline Smailes was also interviewed. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks Gary – well we have sort of come full circle then, haven’t we?! It was an excellent programme overall wasn’t it? And I’m glad whatever I said made some sense.
While I don’t think self publishing is the route for me, I truly admire you, Matthew, for doing it. I think it’s a ballsy thing to do (in a good way), and I wish you the best of luck! I really hope that it picks up and sells well.
Thanks for the comments – I will pass them onto Matthew.
you talk about ruthless pursuit of money – you obviously find slandering an entire profession (rather than engaging in constructive dialogue to prevent malpractice by a group who are, in the majority, caring professionals) a more morally acceptable way of earning a living. spotted a niche in the market and went for it. Just in time for Christmas.
For anyone interested in facts rather than sensationalist money spinning slander please visit
http://www.rcvs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=5071884
which addresses some of the key points in a reasonable and balanced fashion.
Kate: As a person who has read this book more than once (I edited the manuscript, though I am not the writer!) I can vouch that this is not a money making exercise. In fact, knowing Matthew personally, I can also vouch that the whole experience has left him severely out of pocket. He is pursuing a heart felt examination that is much more than a criticism of the vet industry.
If you wish to email me a constructive review of the book (gary@bubblecow.co.uk) I would be more than happy to publish it on the blog.
With all due respect, Mr Smailes, Kate’s reply – just like mine – is not about the validity of the book’s contents.
Mr Watkinson has chosen to portray the veterinary profession essentially as money-grabbing creatures who will, and I quote The Daily Mail, “squeeze the most money out of treating family pets”. In light of that comment, I find it interesting that he has chosen a marketing strategy which so closely mirrors it. The negative experience he claims to have gained at the Royal Veterinary College, described in the opening paragraphs of the article, has clearly served him well.
Mr Watkinson seems to have no qualms about slandering the veterinary profession in order to generate publicity for his book. This automatically disqualifies him from the moral high ground he seems to have adopted. Would you listen to lectures on ethics from a person in clear breach of them?
Mr Watkinson’s view of the veterinary profession is extremely short sighted and self-indulgent. Rather than vilify veterinary surgeons in national newspapers, how about working to improve the profession from within? That would require thought, dedication, passion for helping the animals we are priviliged to treat, hard work – and no claim to fame or playing the hero in print. Which path did Mr Watkinson choose? And is he willing, or able, to examine his reasons why?
Sincerely,
Dalya Koch BVSc MVS CertVA MRCVS
Veterinary surgeon and darn proud to be one
Do call me Gary,
I assume that you have not read the book in question, which is the topic of this post. In fact the topic of this post is the process of bringing a book to publication. I once again extend my invite for you to provide a constructive review of Matthew’s work and ideas.
Mr Koch.
[...] RCVS accuses me of doing this as a publicity stunt 02/12/2009 Posted by fishsnorkel in Uncategorized. trackback I have had to give up a career I worked very hard to get because I was so disturbed by the professions unintentional effects and complete lack of rational thought. I have spent the last year going further and further into debt to get to the bottom of why I was so disturbed. That case requires a book to explain it (the case for why we no longer understand natural selection in general, rather than it being all on vets specifically). If I wait to explain the controversy properly in a book, why on Earth would I not use the controversy to try and get publicity for the controversy? Who knows, but the RCVS thinks I have done this just to sell books even though I have to sell books to explain things properly: We would also urge Daily Mail readers to consider this article in light of the fact that his new book is about to be published. Further details about Mr Watkinson’s book marketing views are available here. [...]
Mr Smailes, in defending his writer, appears to have completely missed the point of the comments above which is to condemn the Mr Watkinson for his blatent moneymaking self publicising (excuse the pun) sensationalistic set of lies in the Daily Mail. He even boasts that the Veterinary controversy was his ‘Ace in the pack’. His article reads like bile filled torrent of resentment. He sounds like someone who had a bad job in a bad practice and became a ‘Burn Out’ and feels that experience qualifies him to slander the profession. Mr Smailes wants us to read the book and review it but the Daily Mail article has given me enough of a taste of Mr Watkinson MRCVS’s writing style to prevent me from ever wanting to read his work again.
Hi Martin (oh please do call me Gary),
Since I didn’t write the Daily Mail article, or even link to it in my post, I feel unqualified to ‘defend’ the writer’s comments in that article. However, what I was suggesting is that since this blog post is about the ‘book’ and its birth, I would be more that happy to publish a blog post that is a review of the book.
If you read the post carefully you will see that I don’t pass a judgement on Matthew’s work. In fact, I worked with the author of the book for more than six months and he still has no idea of my feelings of his ideas.
Gary
“I always knew the veterinary controversy would be of interest to the press. It is my ace in the pack and so I have managed to convince the Daily Mail to run a double page spread on it in the next couple of weeks. That should generate a bit of publicity…” Martin Watkinson, above.
Dear Gary Smailes,
clearly Mr Watkinson has strong feelings on his former colleagues within the veterinary profession, of which I am one. I find it interesting that he has kept those views to himself until he was able to gain most significant advantage from doing so.
I have every sympathy with ‘whistle-blowers’ who have the courage in any profesison to speak out for their beliefs, and many professions have benefitted from their actions. However, the cynical hoarding of such views until one is able to benefit personally from their use should cause the reader to carefully question their authors motives. If Mr Watkinson felt so strongly that he had to speak out in defence of th nations pets, how could he live with himself for waiting so long (until conicidentally he needed a sniff of the oxygen of publicity. If he genuinely believes that in speaking out he is going to relieve sufferring of pets under vets care, then he must lay their continued sufferring whilst he was waiting for his publication date to arrive, at his own door.
I speak as a vet who ensures that I offer the range of treatment options to all my clients, and pride myself on transferring my clinical knowledge to the client so that they can make as informed a decision as possible.
Today I have been presented with three different acute spinal trauma cases, all in moderate to severe pain; in each case I discussed fully likely survival / recovery rates, costs, and when asked what I would do if the pet were my own, answered honestly. One dog presented with a broken and severely displaced spine, (incidentally he was insured). I made him comfortable with very strong painkilers while I discussed his condition with his distraught owners. I advised he had a very slim chance of recovery, and that if he was mine I would put him to sleep, and the owners followed my advice. My discussion included the full range of outcomes, showing photos of a patient with a broken back runnign on the beach post-surgery, and another spinal in-patient recovering in our kennels; however, given the severity of his injury I still recommended euthanasia as the action I would take if he was my own pet.
Another dog presented, again in great pain, with a slightly less severe injury and I advised he had a better chance of recovery with immediate surgery; we operated, and he is already doing incredibly well, his pain has been relieved and this evening he can already tentatively stand, and the veterinary and nursing staff involved have shared in the owners delight. Personally I am proud of my efforts and those of my team in all cases, and we have relieved sufferring for each of these patients- in different ways, but appropriately for each.
I do not recognise Mr Watkinson’s jaundiced view of the entire profession I am proud to serve in, and I am saddened that he has felt that my work, and the work of my thousands of colleagues, together with our profession’s good name should be exploited merely to top up his book sales.
Yours sincerely,
Colin Whiting BVSc CertSAS MRCVS
Colin,
Thanks for sharing! As I have already said, I am the editor of this book not the writer. I am therefore unable to comment on the content of the book. If you wish to email me (gary@bubblecow.co.uk) with a constructive review of Matthew’s book I would gladly post this for my reader’s to read.
Gary
plenty of reviews on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1848763069/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
Just noticed it has gone down 1000 places in the bestseller chart since yesterday. just outside the top 6500 now!
I did ask for a constructive review from someone who had read the book, but I suppose Amazon reviews may be slightly helpful in the meantime.
I wish Matthew luck in self-publishing. I went that route and will continue to do so, but the marketing of the book doesn’t get any easier! However, I will recommend tracking your Amazon sales rank to see how well your marketing efforts are going. I’ve started tracking your book for you on the site I created for myself and then made available for others: http://www.novelrank.com/asin/1848763069
Cheers, and good luck!
If you are looking for a serious review by someone who has actually read the book, I have done one. I *wanted* to like this book, but … there are some problems. And a lesson.
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2010/02/unintended-lesson-about-charles-darwin.html