I'm writing the second draft of my first novel at the moment. Next year, I'll be going to the UK to study, and I'm hoping to have the book ready to send out to publishers by then. What I'm wondering is: is the wisest move to send it out to UK publishers so that I actually have a chance to meet them and their editors/agents in person, or will I find the best business from US publishers? I don't know much about the publishing world so any information about this that is even loosely related to this topic is much appreciated.
I can't speak to being able to meet agents in person being a help; I don't know either way. I do know, though, that there are an awful lot of published authors who've organised their careers over borders and generally long distances. I live in Latvia and I'm planning on pursuing US/UK publication (because my Latvian is nought but asking where the sour cream is).
I live close enough to my agent/publishers that I could meet them in person if I wanted to take a weekend trip, but it's never occurred to me to make the effort and none of them have ever suggested it might be a good idea. I'd say you should focus on the market. In-person meetings are completely unnecessary.
I'm in the UK but wanted a US publisher. There were many reasons, but a big one was the size of the market and the differences in agent cuts for domestic and non-domestic sales. Genre is another consideration, as some do better in the UK and some do better in the US.
@Tenderiser , I am curious, what kind of feedback did you get from the US publishers. I have beta read a few stories from writers in the UK and one thing I noticed is that the writing style was very clean to me. What I mean is, when I was reading the stories I know they are based in London or somewhere in the UK. If you were to take away all the parts that were associated with the UK, your stories could be from anywhere. I could read them and in my mind your characters could be living here in Philadelphia. Did any of your US publisher tell you that they thought your story was too British and would not work here? There is something about the way Americans write that they can't escape where they are from. You see it in our dialog and storytelling. Yet somehow, writers from the UK and other countries surpass these pitfalls?
I suppose it also depends on where the interest comes from. Sometimes it also depends on the style of writing. Some UK writers write in a style that appeals to a US audience and sometimes US authors write in a style that appeals to the UK market. The diversity in our style of writing is what makes us all unique. I think the UK market tends to favour ''omniscient'' type writing as it's been rooted in UK writing culture through the likes of Austen and George Eliot (seeing the world through the lens of multiple characters) as opposed to ''limited'' which is favoured by US markets (seeing the world through the lens of one character) and as a statement of modernity. I think when a writer masters the ''limited'' it has a better chance at the ''popular market'' since the classicists (as educational as they are) is like favouring eating boring vegetables, which are nutritious and good for you, instead of a slice of scrummy pizza (the more popular food choice). So, yes, it probably depends on your writing style, the themes you write about and the sort of audience who this appeals to. umm.. but it might also be something that an author needs to be aware of so that they know which market he or she should be targeting.
