“Strange. Exciting. Genre.”
Dr Rob O’Connor is Creative Writing and Publishing lecturer at York St John University. Having recently established the MA Publishing programme, Rob’s extensive knowledge of the contemporary publishing industry gives him a unique perspective as a writer. As part of our Writers in Our Midst series, I conducted an interview with Dr Rob O’Connor, discussing his experience as a published writer and the writing process that has led to his success.
Writing Journey
Rob’s writing journey began at the age of 15 when he wrote his first fantasy novel – an unpublished novel that he is still writing now. Being a creative writing tutor has allowed him to continuously develop his writing, providing the opportunity to ‘write the best stuff [he’s] ever written’. Though the fantasy novel may remain a ‘life-long project’, Rob has many projects on the go including a ‘weird fiction short story’ entitled ‘Jellyfish’, which he believes to be ‘the best writing [he’s] ever done’, with a central theme and ‘prominent’ social commentary. As well as this, he is currently working on a book proposal for an academic monograph on tentacular monsters. With the newly established MA Publishing programme now firmly in place, he hopes there will be more time to devote to his writing.
The writing process
Rob advocates for having a routine, something that he teaches his students as one of the many keys to being a successful writer. Despite this, he finds that maintaining a routine can be difficult and this is something that he struggles with now, writing ‘when [he] can’ and finding his own routine to be ‘haphazard’ due to the very nature of work-life balance. He prefers to write in a private space, with no distractions. Though he tries to maintain a sense of routine and order, Rob does not believe in writing to word counts. For him, it is about productivity; whether that be in character building or scene sketching, rather than writing bulk amounts of text each time he sits down to write. For Rob, it is about ‘trying to produce the best work [he] can in the framework that [he’s] got’. As a lecturer, he is inspired by his students, as their writing highlights that ‘creative writing is worthwhile’. This inspiration fuels his own writing endeavours.
Rob discusses free writing to be an important part of the writing process, allowing the writer to create space for new ideas and encouraging the writer to engage in the act of writing without the pressure of writing something perfect. Although free writing does not always result in usable writing, it helps the writer to maintain their craft and explore their ideas in a space that is free from critique and harsh self-reflection.
Research is undoubtedly an important part of the writing process, but it relies on balance. As Rob suggests, too often research can ‘get in the way of writing’. Although Rob does not personally write many things that ‘demand’ research, his fantasy and science fiction writing has allowed his to expand his research into the realms of the fantastical and strange, for example, for one project he researched how swords are made.
Rob states that editing is ‘where 90% of the work happens’. Preferring to edit on paper rather than screen, Rob values the editing process as a necessary and vital part of the writing craft, encouraging the writer to reflect, review and improve. In his work as a Creative Writing tutor, he enjoys adopting the role of an editor on a smaller scale. This is just one of the many ways in which his publishing experience feeds into his work as both a writer and educator.
A strong support system underpins the foundation of any good writer. For Rob, his wife acts as his biggest champion, his ‘biggest critic and [his] best editor’, whilst his friends keep him ‘grounded’, ‘challenging [his] ideas’. Though few writers are every unwaveringly happy with their writing when it is submitted for publication, Rob states that for him, it is about ‘getting to a point where [he is] happy for it to go out into the world’. He believes that being a good writer is ‘all about confidence’ – having knowledge and knowing how to present that knowledge in a comfortable and confident manner.
Publishing Experience
Rob only has positive things to say about his current publishing experience. He favours working with independent presses in which the experience is ‘much more personable and one-to-one’ with ‘more time to talk through editorial decisions and more opportunity to be involved with editorial decisions’. He speaks favourably of the communities surrounding independent presses such as Greenteeth Press in which anthologies like Over Yonder have provided opportunities to form bonds with other writers and establish small, intimate communities.
Rob also believes a major benefit of working with independent presses to be autonomy. Where larger conglomerate presses are more likely to ‘change’ the writer’s text, independent presses will work with writers to improve rather than change the work entirely, aided by the growth of hybrid presses such as IdeaPress Publishing, which seek to give the author more control over their publishing experience. From his personal experience, Rob has never received heavy editorial feedback, which he credits to his refusal to submit a piece of work that he isn’t happy with.
Although he doesn’t have an agent, Rob would be open to having one. Agents can be hugely beneficial to the writer, particularly when it comes to the financial and legal sides of publishing. However, with many independent presses now paving the way for writers without agents, it is proving to be less of a necessity in the contemporary publishing industry.
Rob is an advocate for self-publishing when it is done right. He warns that when self-publishing the writer must be aware that ‘you are everything’ – a writer, editor and publicist. When done right, however, it can kickstart a writer’s career, allowing them to gain recognition and be picked up by more established publishers later in their careers.
Rob’s knowledge of the publishing industry and his experience as a bookseller allows him to know where his writing may fit in the current market. An up-to-date knowledge of the industry is therefore something that he believes to be advantageous for any writer, allowing them to know what to expect and to have an ‘agent’s understanding’ of the process when seeking to publish their work.
Read more from our Writers in Our Midst series here!