FFJ Guest Voices: How I got a book deal
Anna Turns talks about her first steps into the world of publishing
In our Guest Voices slot, we’re on the look out for diverse and different takes, advice, tips and projects. If you have an interesting (and practical) idea there is a Google form for your pitches here.
This month’s contribution is from Anna Turns, a journalist writing about the environment and sustainability and a journalism lecturer at Plymouth Marjon University. You can find out more about Anna at https://www.environmentaljournalist.co.uk
I just published my first book - here’s how it happened
In July 2020, I was preparing to start lecturing to journalism students at Plymouth Marjon University, I had not been enjoying juggling homeschooling with my freelance work and I most definitely didn’t think I had time to take on anything extra.
But… opportunities have a weird way of turning up when you least expect them.
Out of the blue, I received a friendly email from an editor at Michael O’Mara publishers in London. They were looking for someone to write a user-friendly guide to chemical pollution and had found me online. They liked my style of writing and the fact that I’d done a biology degree, plus I was used to translating complicated science into bitesize nuggets.
Internally, my gut reaction was “wow I’m flattered to be asked but obviously don’t have time to write a book” but I wanted to find out more and arranged a phone chat. It turns out, the book was right up my street and something I’d been fascinated by ever since running my own single-use plastic pollution campaign – what actually was inside all those bottles, where did everything go once we chucked it away and how could we all reduce our chemical footprints?
Within two weeks, we were at the contract stage and I was advised to get an agent so approached Amanda at LBA Books who had been recommended to me. I emailed her with the subject line in caps: TIME-SENSITIVE SUBMISSION FOR AMANDA so she couldn’t miss the email. She called straight back that day, a Friday, and by the Monday lunchtime I had signed a contract with her. It all happened remarkably quickly and I now realise that’s very unusual.
In fact, this entire process has happened in quite an unconventional order but it worked out brilliantly. And it’s all thanks to one simple thing. I had a good portfolio website that represented my personality and style of working as well as demonstrating a good track record of writing for nationals and it was EASY TO FIND. If you search for an environmental journalist, my website comes up top. That’s all down to my brilliant web designer, Sue Thomason, who runs JournoSites. As an ex-journalist herself, she understands the importance of selling my storytelling ability, illustrating my niche through visuals and maintaining the SEO behind-the-scenes.
My first piece of advice would be to never underestimate the importance of having a good website – that’s your shop window. This is something I bang on about to my Marjon students – without it seeming too cringeworthy, think of your website as a core part of your brand. And for that reason it is worth having good headshots, testimonials, an easy-to-navigate site and of course, your contact details.
You can find Anna’s book Go Toxic Free at https://www.mombooks.com/book/go-toxic-free/
What’s coming up
Our popular Journalism Work Experience Initiative is opening again in March. All you have to do is sign up to our webinar that provides advice on how it works and tips on how to get the most out of it and then you get one year of access to a database of 50 freelance journalists willing to offer remote work experience opportunities. If you can’t attend the live event - don’t worry - purchase a ticket and we will send you a recording.
There is a wide variety of specialisms and interests on our database across print and broadcast. Once we start promoting the initiative places tend to go very quickly. The webinar fee covers the admin involved in the scheme but there are bursary places available so please do contact us at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com if you need more information.
The January sale on all our Quick Guides will end very soon - at the moment they’re just £3.50 each and our downloadable webinar on podcasting is £7. If you want one, be quick! There are several topics including Branding and Networking, Developing Ideas and Finding Sources and of course Pitching.
Triumph of the week
Getting a good tip off for a story from someone in the FFJ community. Still investigating but thanks for reaching out!
That feeling when
After a week of being shut in a house with lots of Covid positive kids, the lateral flow test finally turns positive.
We love to hear your feedback on everything we do, so feel free to drop us an email anytime at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com
Bye for now!
