AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES MCSILL

 

1.    When was your consultancy, James McSill Ltd. set up and what was the genesis behind it?  What was it that made you turn to helping authors find their way to publication?

There were several factors behind the genesis of my consultancy. Not necessarily in this order, but in short, I graduated from university with a degree in language and literature. The mechanics of writing novels, plays and scripting material for entertainment purposes fascinated me. 
When I was much younger, living in Brazil, I used to write for the theatre and I was quite a prolific playwright. Even though not all of my plays were a success, or indeed staged, the few that were presented to audiences were quite successful. In those days I accepted the first “job”, so as to say, as a “consultant”, however I can’t recall what we called it, but the remit was to help young, and not so young, playwrights to write school plays. Before that I had some four years as part of a team presenting a kids’ TV show, which raised my profile. 

Then, due to my being bilingual, and by that stage enjoying working with education, I moved on to teaching and then ended up spearheading in Latin America an ESL methodology called task-based learning, in which we would use computer programs to create “concordances” (list of most used words in a language) and books, not only for language teaching, but easy readers were produced. Through that I started working with wonderful authors. My keen interest in language led on to a course on Materials Design and Production and after that I never really stopped. I created TV commercials in Brazil; have lectured on language and techniques for crafting some form of texts that would grip a reader, and this is where the idea for McSill Ltd was born.
A few years back when I was writing a novel, later published in Brazil, and informally undertaking on-line coaching a small group of Brazilian writers, I was invited by my publisher to talk at a charity event in São Paulo and the topic was “How do Americans Write Like That?” The reason for the choice of that topic was that the Brazilians I was coaching had suggested to me that what they called the “ordinary aspiring writer” had little or no knowledge of very simple techniques.  These included crafting sharper pieces of dialogue, planning plot and structure for effect, better use of point of view and, yes, that there are ways to streamline a manuscript and transform a draft into a finished product more attractive to publishers. Things that for us in the UK or the USA are run-of-the-mill stuff, for them were big news! 

They found out that with a bit of talent and by applying a few techniques here and there you didn´t have to be an ‘intellectual’ to write a viable book. Those two days of talks changed my life forever. Apart from some two hundred authors, there were literary agents and publishers in the audience. The next day after the event I had more people coming up to me than I had  ever dreamed of, so I informally accepted some of them, got more involved in helping an American authors´ mentor, Mardeene Mitchell, to organise “Write in Atlanta”. Brazilians, Portuguese, Spanish, Kenyans and Canadians flocked to our event. By 2010 I decided to experiment with the model in Brazil, I used the expression (in English) Write-in, and put on successful events in Rio, “Write in Rio”, followed by write in events in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Florianópolis, Canela, so on and so forth in Brazil, then Uruguay and the USA. 
When the number of authors queuing for coaching and mentoring came to a point that I realised that it was impossible to do it informally, I opened my company, McSill Ltd, which has proved to be an ongoing success. Nowadays I accept 55 authors a year in what I call one-to-one mentoring, from helping them structure that story that they always wanted to tell, to simply fine-tuning what they have, to assisting professional writers to fire up their fiction. They have voice-conference sessions or we email. On top of that, under my supervision, a little team of people help me edit books for publication, and recently were branching off into translating and adapting. Our first client will have her book commercially published in the USA in June, followed by two others.  
Publishing and a sheer interest in having all types of books published has grown in Brazil, perhaps made possible by the highly successful economy which is producing the conditions for this boom, which is generating a demand for  good “American-style” prose to be sold above all as “entertainment” not highbrow literature. 

Today, as far as I am aware, McSill Ltd is the only company offering these services in Brazil. Of late, we have branched out again, this time into an agency, to be able to better serve the local demand for more professional writers. Our Write-in events last year reflected that.  The one in April this year is already sold out and we are planning a few extra ones for the second half of the year. 

2.    How exactly do you help authors, particularly new writers? 

Besides what I told you in answer to your first question, apart from helping structure, edit and firing up their novels, as well as a few self-development books recently, I have put great emphasis on networking. Not only in Latin America, but somehow all over the world, networking is key. What I try to do is not to compete with social media, but to organise real opportunities during my “Write in” events for my authors to meet face to face with people in the book industry who can effectively help them. For example, this April I will be holding “Write in Canela –Kids’ Stories” in southern Brazil. One of the sponsors of the event is the publishing house, MQP, who will snap up the thirty best children´s stories developed at the event. MQP have hired McSill Ltd to talent-scout for new authors, which will be done for the very first time during such an event, i.e. meet, greet, write something I love and I will publish you! These Write-in events, inspired by the American authors’ retreats, go down very well in Latin societies. I endeavour to guarantee that good authors will have the opportunity, in a relaxed environment, to make friends with the right people, to network. Publishers obviously have many options, but a friend with the right manuscript will come first. 

3.    How difficult is it in this day and age for a debut author to find an agent/publisher?  How hard is it to actually win a place in the literary universe?

Bridging the gap between writing and finding an agent is a daunting task anywhere. In the case of Brazil, there are very few agencies, which can make direct contact with publishers even harder. As I said before, that is what I try to facilitate for my authors. Through the events or through the consultancy services, I help them with the basics of creating an author´s platform by doing my best to introduce them to the right people; hopefully at the right time. Publishers understand that they need to find exceptional manuscripts that will become exceptional books; some might be written by someone well known, others won´t. Most publishers I come across are very keen to know what´s on offer, most are very happy to hear of an author who has spent time – and money – to improve themselves and their writing. The other day this publisher who´s sponsoring my event in southern Brazil was talking to me about how refreshing it is to meet my authors. She said, quite rightfully in my opinion, that if we have two people with exactly the same level of talent, it is much better to get the one who is better trained in current techniques and understands more about the industry. 

To get a place in any universe in the entertainment industry is difficult, but what I have come to realise is that for those who write lacklustre manuscripts, behave like hermits, and are of the opinion that just by the force of his or her talent they will get there, it is getting harder. On the other hand, for those who grasp that talent is only part of it, that, yes, you write with your heart but publishing is a business, those who understand that they have to get there and fight for what they want, these authors seem to be more in demand. A new author with a poor social network, even if commercially published, won´t sell much. When a new author puts his name forward to be part of the select group of my consultancy, the very first thing I want to know about them is their present platform or how they plan to build one. If they say they would never get on a stage and hate cameras or the microphone, I immediately start having second thoughts as to how I´d be able to market that author in the future.

For the one who really want to make it in the industry I always advise them to write well, as well as you can, edit well, as well as you can, and then, should you not have a platform as yet, it´s platform, platform, platform.

4.    How important is it for an author to take the time to tailor their submission when targeting agents and publishers?
Very important! There is a reason for everything. A properly tailored submission evolved in the industry to make it easy, quicker to go through as many manuscripts in as short a time as possible. When an agent or a publisher sees a manuscript it is wonderful when we can spot the signs that the author has made the effort, the courtesy actually, to present it in a professional way.

5.    What is the most common mistake you see in potential submissions that are sent through to your consultancy?

The author submits a manuscript which is formatted already, as if it was “ready for publication”, usually very little space between the lines, if I want to make notes it would be difficult to say the least. If the submission comes in electronic format, I prefer part of it at least to come as a word document, not pdf. For the same reason I mentioned before; it´s very easy to annotate a word document. 

6.    On average, how many inquiries for your services do you receive each week?

It depends on what type of services. For the main coaching/tutoring I usually only accept 52-hour contracts, so after an event – nowadays I have started delivering one full day online training sessions, projected in 3D, say, in São Paulo Brazil. The attendees have to physically go the theatre or auditorium so I create a very interactive environment, as if I am there. So, in a week after an event for some 60 people, I get at least ten enquiries regarding private consultancy sessions, plus another 20 or so interested in other services. What we have noticed in the days that follow such events is that a lot of people try their luck and submit their unsolicited manuscripts directly to my agency in São Paulo or to my office address in London. Mostly are authors who heard of the event but didn´t take part in it. If I am touring, teaching seminars or doing one of my Write-in events then the enquiries are really many. Late May, for instance, I will be speaking to well over a thousand people at an HR conference. Many of these people have written or want to write a book, so at this point I am preparing myself to take on many more authors in the Write-in´s planned for later this year. Since April last year I have started to share some of my events with invited guests from abroad, I have worked with Mardeene Mitchell and Richard Krevolin, both well established American coaches and text doctors. Richard returned to Brazil in October to assist me in a two-week-long training seminar. The main hurdle is the language barrier; I have someone in my team who does the translating/interpreting, but however positive the feedback is, the attendees do remark that if the translator/interpreter is not around, they cannot communicate with the guest speaker.

7.    You’ve sold a terrific amount of books worldwide in your time – so there is certainly magic in what you do.  How do you manage to transform an average story into a worldwide bestselling epic?

I wish the books were written by me! The magic is in spotting talent; then nourishing and developing that talent. I have also been lucky that some of my authors have had their stories bought by government agencies (the Ministry of Education, in Brazil, for example) to be sold at subsidised prices to schools. Just one of my lady authors has sold over two million books through this governmental tendering system. I have worked quite a bit lately with self-help writers, gosh! They do sell! 

8.    You have been applauded by authors worldwide as the 'bridge" between the Latin and Anglo-Saxon literary worlds.  How do you know when to take literary sales overseas?

The ‘bridge’ (I think this expression was first concocted by the organisers of Write in Atlanta), had first to do with the fact that I was introducing Anglo-Saxon-oriented techniques for the “ordinary aspiring writer” to the Latin World. For that event the Brazilian Embassy had chipped in to support us and the Brazilian Ambassador himself paid a visit and that was what they started to say. I thought it was a good idea and decided to expand from there. To test the waters I started with a couple of “ordinary aspiring” Americans taken to Brazil, a few Brazilians taken to Portugal, and the USA too. Then I joined forces with a Brazilian editor, Giuliana Trovatto, who offered considerable experience as a chief-editor of foreign material for a major publisher. Giuliana quit her job and opened an agency which bears my name. Our mission is to be an agency open to the world. Between both of us we speak five different languages, so nowadays we are dealing with Israelis who might have their work brought over to Brazil, Brazilians who will be published in Italy, Italians in Brazil, Uruguayans in Brazil, Australians in Brazil and the USA, more USA authors in Brazil, and even the odd British author and a possible co-agent in mainland China. We are to sign up a Brazilian guy whose book will become a film in China and also someone from Scotland who wrote about Rio.  Most of all, we are looking for aspiring children´s story writers in the UK. The publisher who I mentioned earlier will be at my event in April scouting for 30 books and is very interested in British authors and illustrators. In her words, she assures me that British kids’ authors have a certain way with subtlety that lacks in the USA-produced stories. I don´t necessarily agree, but I am glad that very soon the British talent and expertise will be brought in as well. 

 

9.    Would you recommend to those, who come to you for help, to enter writing competitions?

Absolutely! It is part and parcel of the platform-building exercise I mentioned before. That author of mine who is a huge best-seller in Brazil has built her reputation through many writing competitions. During my events I have worked with quite a few winners of the prestigious Jabuti Prize in Brazil; indeed one of my lady authors has won it three times! This is one of the main reasons why I think the Brit Writers Award is key to authors’ platform building and future success. That´s why I hope to be part of it. We share the vision that literature is global.

10.    Once you have found an author a publisher, how involved do you get, as a consultant, in the marketing / sales side of things?

You will have gathered from what I have been saying, this depends on many factors. The main one has nothing to do with me, but with the authors - how involved does he or she want to be in the process. If any author comes through, say, our agency, contractually we HAVE to be involved, there is no choice. But if someone just hires my text doctoring services for a single manuscript, when it is done, it is done. Some want to consult on marketing ideas; others have their own marketing professionals. So far I have never got directly involved in distribution. There again, Amazon is coming into Brazil big time, for the purpose of offering world authors to the Brazilian market and vice-versa, we have a budding (free service) which aims to publish e-books on Amazon under the umbrella name of McSill e-Books.