We've been crowned Small Press of the Year for the North of England!!

The Likability Trap: Why agents shouldn't judge characters by how much they like them, and why commercial-minded editing may not be right for your novel

Happy Friday Scribblers,

It has been a head-spinning week. Each year we enter the British Book Awards, run by The Bookseller Magazine, and I’ve been thrilled with our finalist status for the past four years. Small publishers in the North know each other well and I usually make good predictions about which publisher will win, based on the amazing projects I’ve seen them work on over the past year.

I certainly did not predict that we would win!! The judges praised our revenue increase, our packed events schedule, the PR achieved for what the industry regards as niche genres of books and our charitable output. It felt like a real nod to the elbow grease required to run an unfunded press - because it is a fight (and perhaps the fight is another newsletter entirely haha…)

I rung the Manchester Evening News to tell them, in the hopes they might cover our good news, and had to leave a voicemail. One minute after, my writing group texted me with this picture:

So it seems like they already knew! I couldn’t believe what a gorgeous write up it was, complete with quotes from our blog and social media pictures - what’s on the internet is out there forever, kids.

As is often the case in the Arts, you don’t get anything monetary for winning - but self belief and determination can’t be valued, really, and that’s what I’m taking away from this one. That and extreme pride in our authors.

Now today I have a quirky thought-piece which has plagued me for years now, and perhaps divides readers into two groups: those that want to like a main character, and those who are happy simply to be fascinated by them. Also includes 20% off The Dark Within Them! Enjoy.

The Likability Trap: Why agents shouldn't judge characters by how much they like them

…and why commercial-minded editing may not be right for your novel

As a writer drawn to darker, more complex characters, I've often been advised by editors and agents to make my protagonists more ‘likable’. The assumption is that readers want to root for a character they'd enjoy spending time with in real life. But must we like a character to become invested in their story?