She bangs.

Jessica Au

The Whole Shebang is only for the hardcore. A 6-hour seminar clocking up seventeen writing and publishing experts who just want to help, it’s one of MWF’s flagship events.

I slipped in just as Meanjin‘s Jessica Au was discussing publishing internships and how they can assist you with writing. Jessica started out as an intern at Sleepers Publishing, then moved on to an internship at Meanjin, where she is now employed as an editorial assistant. Her tips? The task of going through the slush pile, also known as the unsoliciteds, can help you find out what publishers are looking for. She also found internships good for building up a basic industry knowledge. Networking? Check. They’re a good way of getting a foot in the door, and help open up opportunities organically: Jessica found out about the Meanjin internship through contacts she made at Sleepers. But above all, she urged, make sure you still have time for writing.

The audience was curious to know what else she had learned, particularly in regard to submissions. More wisdom: cover letters shouldn’t just be like a blurb. Don’t feel like you have to sell your writing too hard; publishers love reading good stuff. Put as much care into the cover letter as you do into the story itself.

Next! Elise Hurst of the Australian Society of Authors (ASA), who referred to the energy of the keyed-up audience and presenters

Elise Hurst

as speed dating for writers. The ASA’s mission is to promote and protect the rights of Australian authors and illustrators, and offers member services such as a magazine recounting industry news, competitions and articles. It also runs mentorships, and has grants for emerging writers and illustrators. Yes, it’s an organisation for illustrators, as well. Even if you’re not dealing with the ASA directly, they do amazing things for writers, for example, negotiating library lending rights, which is a good source of income for some writers.

Next! Dr Euan Mitchell, the doyen of self-publishing in Australia. Wow. Okay, then Euan. Tell us more. He asked the big question: Why self-publish? And then he answered it, too, which was good. First, some publishers simply don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, such as Penguin. Publishers who do accept them get inundated, and the chances of getting picked up by them are about one or two in a thousand. Because an author’s public profile has become a very important part of the ‘can we sell this book?’ equation, self-publishing can break up the ‘vicious circle of anonymity’ that can prevent people from getting the attention of publishers. Hot tips? Bookfind, Thorpe-Bowker, TitlePage, Dennis Jones & Associates.

And that was all in just one hour. Yeah, you should probably have bought a ticket.

Estelle Tang, 3000 BOOKS
Festival Blogger