Margaret Hollingsworth - Toronto, Canada

Margaret Hollingsworth is an award winning writer of short stories, plays and fiction. Originally from the UK, Margaret emigrated to Canada in 1968 where she has lived and written since. For a full biography and profile go to her website.

FE: How did you get your first novel published?
MH: It's all who you know! Without an in, even a small one, it's a real uphill slog to get anything published or produced. I'd advise people to socialize at literary or writer's gatherings, go to readings and talk to whoever is there, take writing courses, one of your fellow students will probably get into some sort of position of power - or maybe it will be you - read the journals, contribute stories to literary mags. subscribe to Quill and Quire so you have an understanding of the Canadian scene. (Libraries usually have it behind the counter and are loathe to part with it).

1st book of fiction was a collection of stories 'Smiling Under Water' and thereby hangs a tail and a tale. The editors at Collins read it, courtesy of a friend who was 'well in', and decided it would be the lead volume in their new line of fiction. Just before it was due to be published they were bought up by a consortium led by my agent. I thought I was made for life until he decided not to publish my book! I was too upset to send it to other large publishers (this always takes months or years and I'd already waited two years), so, when an acquaintance who has a small publishing firm offered to publish it I said yes please. It's out of print now of course, but still available on sites like Amazon.

FE: Why do you write?
MH: I think I write to punish myself. Sadly it's the only thing I feel I do well, the thing that gives me most pleasure (and pain) i.e. makes me feel alive, connects me to the world of words which has always been my structural underpinning, and theatre which I fell in love with when I saw my first amateur production of an Agatha Christie play when I was six.

FE: What’s your greatest challenge with writing?
MH: The greatest challenge right now is motivating myself - I've had a career and I'd like to rest on my laurels. I don't feel like having to make the effort to keep reinventing myself as is the case for all but the lucky few of 'senior' writers - if I don't make the effort I'll be starting from ground zero which is pretty much where I am now.

FE: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
MH: Keep writing, keep schmoozing, don't be discouraged - it's a very competitive world out there and opportunities seem to be diminishing. It goes without saying that you should look to the electronic media as a means of broadcasting your skills and maybe inventing new forms. Don't let rejection discourage you - be playful.

FE: What are you currently working on?
MH: I'm working on a play and I have ideas for a novel - I swore I'd never write another - and a memoir revolving round my father and his connections with the British communist party in the North of England.

FE: What's the worst 'day job' you've had to hold to support your writing habit?
MH: Day jobs? So many - I think the most boring was being a facer at the Post Office - i.e. I had to spend days and weeks making sure the stamps were in the top right hand corners and the mail was the right way up. I was also a filing clerk in the United Africa Department of Unilever, filing cables about Ground Nuts waiting to be promoted to the heady heights of the typing pool - it never happened.

FE: Who are your inspirations?
MH: Inspiration? I don't think I have any - certain authors give me a real lift and urge me to try harder - I've always had an affinity with Japanese writers - my current favourite is Haruki Murakami. I like the seemingly careless mixture of surreal and earthbound.I'm not a great fan of conventional narrative.

FE: Are there any writing programs, workshops or courses that you're a big fan of?
MH: I don't think it matters which workshop or writing programme you attend. If you find a teacher who inspires you, or who is willing to spend time over your work, stay - if not think about leaving. Beware of creative writing teachers who teach their own style and preferences as an example. Look for a teacher who is well-read, eclectic, flexible and intent on drawing out the best in their students rather than imposing 'rules' and 'should-be's'.

What do I know anyway?

The 'What do I know Anyway?' section (located towards the bottom of the write hand column) is here for the purpose of sharing the ups and downs of a new writer.

I started writing casually around 1999 as a creative outlet. I'd always painted until then but found words easier and more rewarding to shift around on paper. I abandoned my first attempt at a book in 2002 after writing about 200 pages which I thought were pretty good. I sent it out to about 20 publishers and received 3 rejections and a lot of silence.

Over the next years I took some writing courses, joined a writing club, built up a network of readers to give me constructive feedback and learned how to critique others' work. I would also say that I learned how to read properly; to really notice what was being said and how the author constructed characters, events and drama. During that time I became enamoured with the short story, reading as many as I could and writing about 5 myself. I also wrote a screenplay and another novel- which for the sake of argument we will call my first novel. The only thing I ever tried to get published during that time was non-fiction pieces in local publications- articles, interviews and reviews.

By the time I started on my second novel in 2005 I was starting to feel like I might possibly-one day be...gulp... a writer. I couldn't not write.

I approached my second book in a totally different fashion- I felt equipped, like I knew what I needed to do to make this work. Starting it's life as two different short stories, the characters grew and started to feel like friends- the events and people were with me for the entire 3 years that it took me to write it. During this time I also worked a full time professional job, renovated an apartment and had a couple of children. I'm not trying to show-off or anything, just point out that real people with real lives can still write- it just takes time.

In January 2009 I decided that I would start trying to find an agent. That brings us up to date with the launch of the Fiction Exchange and if you're interested, you can find other random incidents from my writing career in this section- posted as they occur.

The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published

I got a copy of this book last year because it was well reviewed and was obviously on a subject that I need help with! It's an easy read, well laid out, easy to jump in and out of and it's not at all pretentious or patronizing, which some of these books are. The author, Rachael Stock has worked for three major publishing houses and has had a lot of experience making decisions about what to publish and what to bin.

This is one of those books where nothing is a surprise but you are constantly surprised that you that haven't done the things that Stock is recommending, so therefore I would say that it's a big help. I found it especially helpful in regards to writing a query letter for an agent. Put it this way, the very first query letter I wrote, I received this rejection: "Not for me, thanks".
I then read 'The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published', wrote a proper query letter and my second rejection was fantastic. Really! You can check it out here.