Author Interview – Anne Corlett
Immersive theatre, criminal defence law and spinal surgery – this interview has it all. The Space Between the Stars author Anne Corlett talks luck, edits and how she landed that all important first book deal.
Anne, tell us a bit about your writing journey…
As a teenager, I was always writing, but during my twenties, I did very little – probably due to the demands of my job as a criminal defence solicitor. I came back to it very suddenly about 12 years ago, when we were right in the middle of a move from London to Bath, with an eighteen month-old to add to the chaos. I have no idea why that felt like the right time to embark on a novel, but it did, and I wrote it and took it to the York Festival of Writing, where it was the judges’ pick in the famous Friday Night Live competition, leading to an offer of representation. That book ultimately didn’t sell, despite some initial interest from editors. Nor did my second – although that one did get as far as an acquisitions meeting at a Big Five publishing house.
In 2015, I started the Bath Spa Creative Writing MA course, intending to write the book that eventually became The Theatre of Glass and Shadows. I plugged away at it for two terms, conscious that there was something missing, before a trip home to Northumberland sparked the idea for The Space Between the Stars. I asked for permission to change my MA manuscript proposal, technically never got that permission, and did it anyway, writing a fast draft in three months. It sold to Pan Macmillan in the UK and Random House in the US in early 2016. I had baby number three around the time the edits were due, which made for an interesting few weeks, but we got there in the end. After The Space Between the Stars came out, I returned to my original MA project, but, due to a number of complications, including spinal surgery, a series of potentially sight-threatening eye infections, and the Covid lockdowns, it took a long time to see light of day. The turning point for it came when I made the decision to change agent. My new agent breathed fresh life into it, and it was pre-empted by Bonnier just days after going out on submission.
How does your writing fit around ‘real-life’?
When I first started doing freelance writing work and was trying to get a novel published, I was still working four days a week as a solicitor. Criminal defence work involves an awful lot of waiting around for your cases to be called on, and I managed to snatch some writing time while twiddling my thumbs at the back of the local courtrooms. Not long after The Space Between the Stars came out, it became clear that criminal law wasn’t sustainable as a career, with a fair bit of freelance work on the go, three children, and a partner working away for half the week. I therefore crossed my fingers and made the move to full-time writing.
Tell us about The Space Between The Stars. Where did the idea come from?
The idea came to me pretty fully-formed during a trip to Northumberland. I walked over the dunes onto Beadnell Beach as the sun was going down, with Alive by Chase & Status playing in my headphones, and had an image of someone seeing that spectacular view after an impossibly long journey. I wrote it fast, using a method I’d read about in an article about James Ellroy, involving writing a long, detailed synopsis – his are about 30,000 words, followed by a fast first draft. My synopsis was about 15,000 words and it gave me a clear path to follow through the story. People seem to respond most positively to the themes about home and what that means.
How did you pitch the idea to agents?
I didn’t actually go through the standard pitching process for either book, as I met my first agent after the Friday Night Live competition at the York Festival of Writing, and that offer of representation related to my first unpublished novel. I did do a round of submissions for The Theatre of Glass and Shadows, but I think pitching as an author with a novel under your belt is very different to trying to attract interest as a brand new writer. For my covering email, I used a variation of a letter that agent Juliet Mushens posted on her website as an example of a strong pitch. It’s worth having a look at it, as it covers most bases.
What was the single biggest thing that helped you to be published?
I persevered. As a writer, rejection is inevitable, and you have to be able to pick yourself up after the most crushing disappointment. One caveat to that – I do get a little bit frustrated when I hear people talking about perseverance as though it’s the only thing you need in order to succeed. I wish there was more acknowledgement of the fact that it’s not just about perseverance. You must be willing to learn everything you can, and to make your work as marketable as possible – but there is an element of luck involved in the process. You can spend years studying the craft, and writing the most beautiful, profound book in the world, but if it lands on editors’ desks the day after a big deal for a similar book has been announced, chances are it’s not going to be picked up. I think writers do need to be aware of the luck factor, as there’s nothing more soul-destroying than near miss after near miss, where everyone is saying ‘this is wonderful, but….’
What happened after your offer?
After the offer is accepted, there’s usually an initial round of structural edits. Then it’s into copy editing and proof reading, along with the marketing plan. The advance is split into instalments and paid across two or even three years, depending on publication date, which means that some of these big deals you read about actually result in a very modest income for the writer.
Tell us about The Theatre of Glass and Shadows…
I had the initial idea for this book during a very strange night at an immersive show. It was The Drowned Man by Punchdrunk, and it was the first time I’d been to anything remotely immersive. I came away knowing that I wanted to write about it, but I didn’t pin the story down until I stumbled across an online group of fans of the show, who had worked together to produce maps and accounts of the characters’ stories, and to share theories and experiences. The book is set in an alternate version of London, where a vast theatre district has grown up on the south bank of the Thames. At its heart is an immersive show that’s been running for centuries, and generations of dedicated fans have worked together to uncover its secrets and piece together its stories. When a neglected young woman discovers that she was born in the district, she thinks she has a chance of finding somewhere to belong at last, but not all stories are meant to be told.
What have you learned about the editing process?
That 99.9% of writing is actually editing, and that 99.9% of writing advice is actually editing advice. Get the first draft written, by whatever means necessary, and then turn it into what you want it to be. Also, learn about psychic distance and perspective – almost every aspect of the craft of writing is rooted in an understanding of the window through which the reader looks onto the fictional world.
Tell us about your relationship with your agent?
When I decided to look for a new agent, I took recommendations and did all the due diligence I possibly could. I was ultimately in the lovely position of having more than one offer of representation. I had in-person meetings with the agents in question, and only made a decision after those meetings. Laura Williams won me over with her enthusiasm and her pages of detailed notes – mainly about things I’d entirely failed to notice in all the many drafts of the book. She’s very editorial, which has been wonderful, as you spend so much time without eyes on your work, meaning that it’s incredibly difficult to have any sort of perspective on it.
What does ‘success’ mean to you as a writer?
I’d like to have a long career and be publishing books regularly. I also really enjoy working with other writers, so I’d love to teach creative writing in a formal setting.
++ Anne Corlett is the author of The Space Between the Stars and The Theatre of Glass and Shadows. Follow Anne on her website here.