The Road to Getting Published: Gary Murning’s Story

This is the second installment in a month-long series of speaking with different authors who are at various stages in their attempts in getting their works published. There isn’t a “typical” experience when it comes to navigating the world of agents and publishing houses. There are as many different experiences as there are works being shopped around!

Gary Murning knows what it takes to get your books on people’s bookshelves. His is a bit of a Cinderella story as his first novel, If I Never, was published on August 29th through Legend Press. FYW is lucky to have Gary as a regular contributor of content aimed towards helping writers develop their talents in the hopes of one day living their dream.

Gary William Murning

Have you been published prior to If I Never?

No — If I Never is my first published work.

How long had you tried to get it published before it happened?

All things told, not that long at all, really. It was less than two years between completion and acceptance — which isn’t bad going, compared to some.

How many places did you contact regarding this piece?

Funnily enough, just the one! Very different to my previous experience of submitting work!

What hurdles (if any) did you run into when you tried to contact these companies?

None whatsoever. The Legend Press team has been and continues to be very responsive and easy to get in touch with. They involve the author in the whole publishing process — even to the point where I had input regarding the cover design.

Before finding a publisher for If I Never, what kind of feedback were you given from other publishers?

Well, most feedback these days comes from agents. In the vast majority of cases they are the first contact for a writer with work to submit — and, I have to say, I’ve received some very positive and encouraging comments from agents over the years. The problem for many (which says a lot, most not very good, about the industry today) was that my work didn’t neatly fit any particular genre or niche. It has strong “literary” elements but it isn’t “literary” enough to be classed as “literary”! (My publisher favours the terms “literary mainstream” or “light literary” — which works well for me!) The overwhelming sense I got, I suppose, was of an industry extremely cautious about taking a chance on new and slightly different talent.

How is the novel that the reader will get different from the one that you shopped around to publishing houses?

There’s hardly any difference at all, actually. Apart from proof corrections I’d say there were about, in total, no more than ten pages excised.

Was it hard to accept the comments/critiques on “your baby?” How did you get past that?

Generally speaking, critical comments usually only serve to confirm what I already know. Most writers quickly learn their own strengths and weaknesses and, if they’re willing to be truthful with themselves, they soon learn when to make a stand and when to accept the criticism. It’s something that comes with time, I suppose. I now know what I want my work to do and I’m fairly confident about my ability to achieve it.

What frustrates you the most about the getting published/publishing process?

Prior to being accepted by Legend Press, I’d probably have said just about every aspect of it! The need for agents was always a big one with me, though. Not being able to submit directly to many of the bigger publishers was something that really annoyed me. One of the reasons I decided to have a go at submitting to Legend was that they accepted work directly, without the need for an agent. That’s not to say that agents are all “evil”, of course! On the whole, they do an excellent job. It’s simply that it always seemed to me that the aspiring writer was kept “at arms length” from the industry — which wasn’t how it was when I first started writing.

Working with legend, however, has been a breath of fresh air. They’re a pretty young and dynamic bunch — forward-looking in their approach to publishing and, yet, old-fashioned (in a good way!) in the way they work with their authors. I’m as surprised as anyone when I say that I really have no gripes about my experience of working with Legend. Very good team (and I’m not just saying that because they’ll be reading this!)

Have you considered self-publishing? Had to considered it for this book?

I briefly considered it for an earlier book — print on demand, that kind of thing — but, no, it isn’t really a road down which I wanted to travel.

What is one thing that you wish you knew before contacting anyone in the industry?

That’s a difficult question. To be honest, I’ve been reading about publishing etc for so long that I’ve been pretty clued up on how best to approach/pitch etc for quite a while. The information is out there — especially now we have wonderful websites like this — and it doesn’t take too much effort to find the best way to approach publishers/agents.

Do you think it will “get easier” now that you’re published? (do you feel that the door has been opened and so the “hard part” is over, etc.)

Well, there are no guarantees, of course. We none of us know what tomorrow will bring — especially in the wild and wacky world of publishing! But, yes, it is looking quite “promising” for me. I have another completed project that Legend has expressed an interest in, and I’m fairly sure they’ll go with that — as long as If I Never doesn’t sink without a trace!

What tips can you give to those writers out there who are about to jump into this?

Don’t expect it to be easy. Learn as much as you can about the right way to approach agents/publishers and follow the guidelines rigidly — but don’t be afraid to try something new when the opportunity arises. I originally found my publisher on MySpace, believe it or not, and they are now the fastest growing independent publisher in the UK. The industry is changing (it’s being forced to) but many of these changes will not happen overnight. So follow the tried and tested submission/pitch methods, but keep an eye out for publishers with an innovative approach. My prediction is there’s going to be a lot more of them… more opportunities but also more competition. Therefore, do what you do to the best of your ability.

What are your next steps?

Well, at the moment it’s all go with the promotion of If I Never. I’m also working on what will hopefully be my third Legend Press novel, As Morning Shows the Day. Exciting times with plenty to think about. I’m very aware just how fortunate I am so I’m making sure I enjoy every minute!

A big ‘thank you’ to Gary for sharing his story with us! If you have publishing story that you’d like to share with our readers, please drop us a line!