Taking the fiction plunge

One of the most challenging aspects facing us as we look to carve a small niche for Nemesis comes in the form of novel submissions.

With non-fiction, the subject of your book will, generally, identify your market for you. Our next book, Steve Joughin's autobiography, Pocket Rocket, is a prime example; being a local lad, the Isle of Man market should be receptive, and with Steve still being renowned and respected within the UK cycling fraternity (and further afield), we know that the market for his life story should be there. What's more, we know where we need to go and what we need to do to hit both of those markets.

We have other non-fiction projects in the pipeline, along with the first issue of the Vertigo anthology, which, while fiction, is being aimed at a niche market. (There's another fiction anthology we're looking at, but I can't tell you anything here. Far too top secret and all that)

But what we're really looking for is one or two novels to launch that side of Nemesis. The problem is this; fiction is so bloody subjective, it's difficult to know what might sell. And being a small publisher trying to get established, we need each project we take on to do one thing - make some money, as that's the only way we're going to grow and, in turn, be able to publish more books.

I've put aside this week to read the submissions that have built up recently, with a view to clearing the decks by this time next week, although that might be a tad ambitious. I read a lot of fiction, and review some, but when you're reading a manuscript, with a view to backing it with your hard-earned, it's somewhat tricky to be objective about something that is so subjective.

As with most fiction, you're flying blind. You can only trust your instincts, go with what you have a feel for, the kind of story and characters that hook you in the same way as all those good books you've read over the years. And even then, that's no guarantee that a particular story will be marketable. If I had a quid for every time I've heard an unpublished writer moan that agents and publishers overlook good manuscripts 'just because' it might be a tough sell, I'd be relaxing in the Maldives right now. Okay, maybe the Orkneys.

Will any of the current raft of submissions hook me? Tune in next week. Or maybe the week after that.