Hannah Ferguson of the Marsh Agency reminds us that writing can be a beautiful process in itself

What inspired you to become a literary agent?

It wasn’t really a conscious decision really. I seemed to fall into The Marsh Agency as a rights assistant, which I realise now was so lucky! In that role I supported the other agents in selling rights in all English language territories.

I still do this as part of my job but also, more recently, I’ve been made Junior Agent, which means I’m able to start to build up my own list of authors to represent directly.


Did you receive any formal training?

No formal training as such, but the best kind of training I think you can get in publishing - I was an intern. As an intern you can gain as much or as little as you want from your placement. Yes, you have to do a lot of the boring jobs, but you are in just the right environment to learn about the ins and outs of agenting.

I was a sponge - trying to absorb as much information as possible, and making the most of opportunities that came my way, be it, meeting new authors, meeting editors, tagging along to book launches, sitting in on meetings.

I was all eyes and ears, and still am to a certain degree! The industry continually evolves and changes, but that’s what makes it exciting.

How did you come to work for The Marsh Agency?

I like to tell the story of how I won my job in a raffle… although that’s not completely accurate. I met Geraldine Cooke, already an agent at The Marsh Agency, at a book reading (where I won an amazing collection of books in a raffle drawn by Jung Chang!). We got talking and, as I was just finishing my MA and had one month left in London, she suggested I come to the agency as an intern, which I did.

I did my one-month internship, and after that was offered a part-time job (I live in the Midlands and also worked part time there, so travelled down to London and slept on my friends floor for a couple of nights a week). I was then offered a full time job, which enabled me start living in London full-time. 


What makes The Marsh Agency different to other literary agencies?

I haven’t worked for any other agency, but I know what I think makes The Marsh Agency good. We have a real sense of family here at the agency and work collaboratively on many projects.

Paul Marsh set up a really dedicated company full of a diverse bunch of people who wouldn’t necessarily have got into the industry via the well-trodden paths. We have all kinds of accents, are all ages and have eclectic tastes within our offices, but it works.

What kind of books do you take on?

As an agency we don’t rule anything out, but for me personally, I’m focusing at the moment on women’s commercial fiction and young adult fiction.

However, I love a story with a strong voice, one that may not normally be given the space to be heard. It’s difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly that you’re looking for, but I think it’s a beautiful voice that captures your attention and imagination on the very first page.

Which publishing houses have you worked with?

There are so many publishing houses out there, but we have worked regularly with all the major ones as well as many others. The Marsh Agency not only sells its own author’s rights, but we also sell rights on behalf of other literary agencies and publishers.

We work with Tindal Street Press, Beautiful Books, Icon Books, Arcadia, Umuzi and many more to sell their rights in other territories.


What happens to a submission once it reaches your office?

Submissions generally reach us in one of two ways - either in hard copy sent through the post, or electronically via the submission page of our website. I think the electronic submission is great - it’s very simple, and saves the author a lot of money in terms of postage and packaging.

However, there are also benefits to the postal submissions. The large pile of submissions sit behind me, staring at the back of my head all day, asking to be read! It’s also the first thing to greet me in the morning, and often the last thing I look at as I leave at the end of the day.

I feel a great deal of guilt for not being able to get through the submissions more quickly, but it would literally take up all my time if I let it.

Once it gets to us though it gets logged. We keep a record of every submission that comes our way. Once logged, it waits in the queue to get looked at. I generally at least glance over most submissions, then give them to the agent I feel it’s most suited to (or addressed to!) That agent will then consider the manuscript for themselves.

For manuscripts that come addressed to me, I read as much as I need to before making a decision. If there’s something I like, I tend to email the author and find out a bit more about them, ask to see the rest of the manuscript (in the first instance we usually only get sent a synopsis and the first three chapters). After a lot of careful consideration, I will either offer to represent that author, or sadly have to let them go.

What do you look for in a submission?

Sounds basic, but great writing. The more experienced you get the easier it is to judge a submission more quickly. When I first started I would spend ages debating what do with work I read, but now I think you get a good feel for it and a gut instinct more quickly. But I’ll give everything a chance.

How can a new author get past the slush pile?

This seems to be the magic question. And I’m not sure I know what the answer is. I think, again, it comes down to the writing. If you can write and have a story to tell, then that’s a good starting point.

I think also, don’t give up just because you’re not be successful first time round. Learn as much as you can from the process, and move on. Your next submission will be better.

Once you have accepted a manuscript for representation, what happens next?

Meeting the author is an important part of the process.  It’s vital to know that you can work with them successfully. I would tend to do a general edit, suggesting any changes I feel necessary.

Once the manuscript is ready, I would draw up a list of editors I feel might be interested in it and send it out to them. It’s great during book fairs and other meetings to be able to talk about manuscripts face to face. It’s then possible to follow up with an email, sending them the work.

What is your favourite part of the process?

There are lots of parts of the process that I enjoy. Working in such a creative environment is fun and gets me walking to work with a spring in my step (believe you me I’ve had jobs before where that would be near impossible to achieve on the way to work!!).

I really like reading through new work, especially when you come across a gem of a manuscript that stays with you once you get home - that’s often a good way of judging whether you really like it or not!

But the best part is definitely hearing an editor say they’d like to make an offer on a book, and then being able to tell your author the great news!


What is the most challenging part of it?

I think when you have a novel that you believe in and you feel should be published and yet you get rejection after rejection from publishing houses. You have to keep up momentum and enthusiasm for the work, and I think that can sometimes be the hardest part.

You have to truly believe in the work 100% and be like a personal cheerleader to the author when you get the knockbacks to be able to keep going.

Whose writing has excited you recently?

My first author that I signed up as my own, Ali McNamara, has really excited me. Her first book is to be published by Little, Brown imprint Sphere at the end of next year and her writing is wonderful. She writes so lightly and yet so fully, with fun and feisty characters that take you on a whirlwind tour through the funniest and most heart-warming events. She is so creative she is able to reel off new book ideas like she’s writing a shopping list; she really is a dream author to work with.

Also, a new young writer, Zoë Nightingale, who has just finished her first young adult novel. Zoë is only 16 and has an amazing talent. I’m very excited about her future!

What would you say the main challenges are for an aspiring author?

I think finding someone who has the same amount of passion and excitement about your work as you do is the biggest challenge for an aspiring author.

And it doesn’t end there; even once you’ve found that person who will rally your work, some authors can find it difficult to adjust to working with someone else who is slightly different ideas to their own.

The editing process can be a difficult one for a new author to adjust to. Writing is such a personal and isolating process that it can often be challenging to open yourself up to the new process of editing. Hopefully, if the relationship between author and agent is strong, a working style to suit both should quickly be reached.


What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?

Always keep writing. Even if you forget why you’re writing, or feel despondent or angry at the publishing industry for not recognising you, remember that writing and storytelling is a beautiful process in itself.

I, too, am an aspiring author, and I’m all too aware of difficult or heartbreaking feedback, those times when you feel you want to give in and wonder to yourself “Why do I want to do this?”

But the thing is, if you enjoy writing, do it, if you don’t, then don’t! If you would write regardless of ever being read, then keep going. Publication isn’t the be all and end all; it’s just a nice side effect for the lucky few. 

For further information please visit www.marsh-agency.co.uk

Other literary agencies interviewed for this series include Annette Green Author’s Agency

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