"I just wanted to write a really good story initially"
From lawyer to international author, this is Emma Steele's Second Chapter story.
I love a love story. Especially a love story that’s set in Edinburgh and constructed a bit unconventionally (think The Time Traveller’s Wife). That’s exactly the type of story that Emma Steele is giving us with The Echoes of Us. I’m about halfway through, already captivated by Robbie and Jenn’s and well aware multiple tears will be streaming down my face as I continue.
Lucky for us, Emma’s now giving the readers of Second Chapter her own story of how she went from being a lawyer to an international author, all while raising two children.
Let’s start in the past. Tell us about your pre-author career journey.
When I was around nine, I knew I wanted to become an author as I read all the time, but then life sort of got in the way and I pursued a more “sensible” degree in law.
After the birth of my first child, I realised it was now or never. I’d been dabbling in creative writing around law for years at that point, but that was the moment I sat down to properly write. I just wanted to write a really good story initially, and I didn’t think too much about how it was done professionally. I just started writing.
Juggling anything with a day job is hard work, especially something as in-depth as writing a book. Can you set the scene for what your life looked like when you started writing?
I had a young baby and a reasonably pressurised legal job. After mat leave I slightly reduced my hours to four days a week, 9-4 and my first child (not my second!) was a great sleeper. So every night after she’d gone down around 7pm, I would write for an hour, then go and watch a TV program with my husband to relax, then read after that. I did that almost every day for about two years. Reducing my work hours for home life and writing helped a lot. You can’t do it all. But, my love of story kept me going. I just love writing, and I hoped that maybe I could make it into a career.
Did you employ any tips and tricks to help you write? If so, what were they?
Routine, routine, routine.
Did your first career help in your writing at all?
Absolutely. I reviewed contracts all day long, making sure everything tied up and was consistent, so that was very helpful for manuscripts.
A huge element of writing and the path to publishing comes from a cultivated community. What is your writing community like?
I found a local writing group in Edinburgh called Skriva who were fantastic. I then applied to Curtis Brown Creative which I got a lot from, and I have some great author friends through social media now. I feel like I’ve learnt different things from different groups/people along the way.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors re: cultivating a community?
Although I have some reservations with social media generally, particularly for my children, I do find it’s excellent for growing a book community.
The Echoes of Us is published by Mountain Leopard Press - congrats on your debut! Could you tell us a bit about how you got published?
I don’t think I ever really considered self-publishing due to the extra marketing work involved, but hats off to those who take it on! I think the traditional route has its challenges too, but ultimately I don’t need to worry about marketing/promotion too much. For me, it’s a good way to go if you’re not that into marketing. I enjoy it.
I met my agent at a “one-to-one” online writing festival during COVID! I sent her the opening of my book and she made an offer off the back of that.
Although I sent out around fifty queries out for my first book (which ultimately got rejected) for The Echoes of Us, I technically sent out none because I met my agent at a one-to-one.
After I got an offer of a book deal, that’s the point I met my editor. However, she then left to go to Penguin, so I now have a new editor who is also very lovely. We’ve yet to work on editing a book together but she did a great job on promoting my first.
After my agency sent the book out, I had an ”overnight” pre empt from a German publisher, which basically means they come in with a high offer to take it off the table. The UK took longer, however, so I had an offer here months down the line. Later on, I got more translation deals.
I did a few revisions before it was ready to publish, I think. It wasn’t too onerous with my first book, but I definitely did more for my second – second book syndrome!
That’s so interesting that you had a deal with a German publisher first and The Echoes of Us was published in Germany over a year before the UK! Can you tell us more about that?
My agency sent the book internationally from get go, and that’s why a German publisher picked it up very fast. The different countries are all unconnected though so it means that you can end up with a gap between Germany, for example, and the UK/US.
It should have only been a publishing gap of a few months but then I think my UK pub date got pushed back by a year because my UK publisher was in the process of being taken over by Headline (or that’s the likely reason anyways).
To be able to pivot any career, there’s usually a supporting financial element tied to it. Did you have any financial support that helped you on your journey? Could you share what that looked like?
I had a funny route in, as I’d stopping working during COVID already: my husband was the breadwinner and we had two small children so it just made sense for me to resign for their sakes. I wouldn’t have otherwise.
However, it really spurred me on with my writing, and when I got a six-figure deal from Germany, I felt that I was financially getting back on track.
There’s also a blackhole when it comes to how much authors make, enabling a myth that once you’re a published author you can write full-time as the only source of income. But it's not always that simple or linear! Could you tell us a bit more about how this is working for you financially?
It sounds more glamorous than it is – I work part time as a writer and look after my kids and the home the rest of the time (a full-time gig in itself). I do also currently make money from a movie option Amazon has. At the moment, the split is about 90% book advances, 10% movie option, but if the movie actually got made then that second figure would go up.
I would love to keep writing full time, but the industry is very unpredictable and I tend to get paid quite randomly from translation deals, options etc. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll get the same amounts again. My goal is to either write in a second genre, which I’m trying to do, or to have a book-related side hustle, which I’m also working on! It’s quite unusual that publishing once a year is going to provide a steady enough income in this current economy.
Luckily my husband’s income helps, but we’re not huge spenders generally and we still have income from The Echoes of Us too.
Okay, time to put on your wise Hindsight Glasses. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don’t quit your day job! I sort of fell out of mine due to COVID, but I never actually “quit”. Earning an income through books is very hard, but it’s totally worth going after alongside other things.
What resources would you recommend?
All the craft books, particularly Save The Cat Writes a Novel. You should know your craft inside out before submitting to agents/editors.
What did you learn about yourself?
I have a tougher skin than I realised!
Are there other Second Chapter authors that inspired you? If yes, who are they?
I loved listening to David Nicholls recently speak about everything he did before he started writing novels: stand up comedy, acting, script writing. He said he had two “failed” shows before he started writing novels and look where he is now…anything is possible with a little self-belief and perseverance.
Thanks so much to Emma for appearing on Second Chapter! I’ve loved watching her promote The Echoes of Us. With each post, she’s opened up a new bookstore, literary festival or just general reading / writing group that I wasn’t aware of before. As she says, the power of connecting through social media!
You can find THE ECHOES OF US here, and follow Emma on Instagram @emmasteeleauthor.