I’m really excited to start my author interviews with Polly Phillips. I discovered Polly and her killer debut novel, My Best Friend’s Murder– published by big guns Simon & Schuster, while stalking agents over in the UK. I’ve always had an obsession to know the finer details about what got an author over the line with an agent. I, like Polly, feel as though once you’ve jumped that hurdle, you’ll feel taken care of and can relax in their supportive, managerial embrace. They are the gate-keepers to the publishing world and therefore I, like most wannabe authors, are really in need of one.
Polly and I share a bit in common (including the last 4 letters of our name). Like me, Polly took part in a Curtis Brown Creative course back in 2019. We both live in Perth, Western Australia and we both write thrillers. Gosh, now I’m sounding like one of the characters in Polly’s book.
For those of you who remember the film, Secret White Female, you may be familiar with the frenemy relationship, which haunted any potential future friendships between women. My Best Friend’s Murder by Polly Phillips delves deeper into the toxic relationship between two life-long friends, Bec and Izzy who have been through life’s ups and downs, bound at the hip. When Izzy is found bloodied at the bottom of the stairs, police question whether it was accidental. However, authorities haven’t even begun to investigate Izzy’s best friend Bec, who is sure to become their prime suspect. For readers who adore devouring a thrilling, dark, fast-paced read, pre-order a copy of My Best Friend’s Murder today available on British and Oz Amazon amzn.to/3iYBlco
Now, down to the nitty-gritty. Let’s find out how Polly scored her agent, Sarah Hornsely from The Bent Agency in London.
How long have you been writing?
This is such a hard one to answer as on one hand, I dreamed of writing a book as a child, wrote an incredibly angst-ridden diary as a teen and feel like I’ve been writing forever… but when it comes to taking it seriously, probably only 4 years. I started a novel course with Faber Academy for a book I later shelved at the beginning of 2016. I worked away on that for about 2 years before deciding it wasn’t going anywhere. Then I began writing My Best Friend’s Murder in September 2018.
What led to your offer of representation by Sarah Hornsley?
I was lucky enough to win the Montegrappa fiction competition at the Emirates Literature Festival (I was living in Dubai at the time). This gave me the chance to get some editorial feedback with agent, Luigi Bonomi of London agency LBA. He was extremely helpful and very blunt about telling me what was working in my plot and what wasn’t. You need a murder, he kept saying (obviously the novel wasn’t called My Best Friend’s Murder at this point!). I brainstormed with him and then sent him my first 3 chapters. He said to go away and write the rest. I did and then offered to send it to him. He was away at the time so told me to hold onto it for a couple of months. In the meantime, I’d been part of an amazing mentor programme with Sophie Hannah called Dream Author. One of the things she teaches is that you shouldn’t feel that agents are doing you a favour, that they need you just as much as you need them. Although when you’re scared of never getting any representation that’s incredibly hard to believe, I decided to try and follow her principles and send out to a couple of other agents at the same time as I sent to Luigi. Sarah had been recommended to me by someone I knew in publishing. I went onto her website and loved the sound of her and was impressed by some of her authors so I made sure to send to her. I did a bit of research on a couple of other agents too and in the end, I sent it out to 4, including Luigi.
How long did you have to wait to hear back and was it a partial or full request?
Because I had Luigi already reading the full ms, I think I jumped the queue a bit. I sent it out to him on the Thursday I think and everyone else on the Friday. All of the other three requested a full manuscript within the next few days. Luigi then offered representation on the Monday (I think) and I immediately let the others know. One immediately declined as it didn’t have the ‘one line pitch’ she was looking for. The other two offered representation and suggested we have phone conversations to talk things through. It was such a mad week but by the end of it I had an agent!!
Any tips on cover letters/synopsis/pitches?
Do your research. I think the cover letter template on Holly’s website is pretty bang on. I often read on Twitter agents complaining about getting mass mail outs so be sure to personalise your letter. Look at who your agent is publishing and what you think would make your book fit into their stable. Fundamentally, these are probably the reasons you want that agent to represent you so it makes sense to include them in the letter. I find writing synopses (is that the plural – sounds grand!!) excruciating but the one thing I’ve learned is not to stress about them too much – everyone hates writing them – and don’t leave out any spoilers. The synopsis is not a blurb to sell your book, it’s a factual account of EVERYTHING that happens in it.
Why did you choose your agent?
I chose Sarah because even on our first phone conversation, she was coming up with ideas for how to shape the book, including a major plot device that was so perfect I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it. She also outlined the strategy she’d take to sell the book really clearly and was extremely positive.
Your first reaction when she offered the contract?
Disbelief, jubilation and huge anxiety!! It was such a different experience to the first book I had plugged away at, which got nowhere. I almost couldn’t believe it. I was then of course extremely excited – champagne might have been drunk!! – but also anxious as I knew it was a huge decision to make and I was unsure about which agent to choose and I didn’t want to get it wrong. Once I’d accepted the offer, that anxiety disappeared and I went back to celebrating… and worrying about whether or not I’d get published!!
What’s next for you?
My Best Friend’s Murder is being published in Oz on January 6th (and in e-book and audio in the UK on 22nd January with paperback to follow in July). I’ve also just submitted the draft of my second novel, The Reunion, to my agent so I’m waiting for her feedback. It’s another dark, twisty tale with one character looking to get revenge on another… After that, it’s onto Book 3!
Thanks so much for being my first author on here, Polly! Can’t wait to see My Best Friend’s Murder on the shelves, not to mention the next few books to follow.
Thanks for stopping by!
Holly
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