by Sue Keidan, secretary of the Airedale Writers Circle

IT WAS the second time in two months that Jan Michael had shared her knowledge and expertise with the Airedale Writers’ Circle when she visited our most recent meeting.

Jan presented the children’s competition prizes at East Riddlesden Hall in May, and then returned to the Circle to speak this month about her work as a literary agent.

Jan started her career as an editorial assistant, and then as an editor in London, eventually moving to a job with a large company in the Netherlands.

After a short time she went freelance and made a conscious decision to work alone and not employ staff because she wanted to read everything herself.

In 2009 she returned to live in the Yorkshire Dales where she was brought up and where she now works as a co-agent, trying to place manuscripts in Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

Jan explained that the work of a literary agent is both gregarious and solitary- you need to keep in touch with publishers to follow trends and keep up to date with what they are looking for, but also, inevitably, you spend a lot of your time reading.

After years of experience Jan now knows which manuscripts will work with a Scandinavian audience- for instance, urban chic currently works well.

Jan will take on mainstream books of any genre but, because she works alone, there is a limit to the number of authors she can have on her books. If she gets an author who sells, she will keep working with that author, and can soon reach her maximum.

Jan had useful advice for writers in the current market. It can be frustrating trying to get an agent, but most writers find the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook useful.

There is no room for flannel or flattery in publishing! Editors, agents and everyone involved needs to be totally honest about what they like and don’t like. It can be disconcerting for a writer, but Jan had some advice for those of us who have jumped the first hurdle- and actually written something!

You should always read your own work aloud first, as this can highlight discrepancies with grammar and sequencing, and help you notice parts of the writing that don’t work so well. Secondly, ask a critical friend to read your work.

She suggested some writers overestimate their work, but equally, some underestimate.

Jan also recommended attending festivals such as the Harrogate Crime Writers’ Festival, the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair, as good places to network and meet people informally.

Jan’s final piece of advice? Start your next novel as soon as you finish the last one!

Jan has had 13 books and several short stories published. The latest of these is a children’s book, Moorside Boy, which is set in the Yorkshire Dales and features Benjamin Waugh, the founder of the NSPCC, to whom the proceeds are being donated.

The next meeting of the Airedale Writers’ Circle is at 7.30 pm on August 12 at Sight Airedale, behind Keighley Library. It is a members evening, which will include a writing workshop.