A NOVEL JOURNEY... TJ COOKE
What do you do when you’ve written two excellent crime fiction novels, been taken
on by two of London’s most respected literary agents, been recommended by other
literary professionals, have a track record in writing numerous television and radio
commercials, have penned some of the nation’s most popular tv dramas... and you
still can’t secure a ‘traditional’ book deal?
That was the dilemma facing Devon author Tim Cooke.
Tim had been legal advisor to Eastenders before going onto write for shows such as
The Bill, London’s Burning, Bad Girls and Madson starring Ian McShane. He’s also
written two novels under TJ Cooke, legal thrillers ‘Kiss and Tell’, and the recently
released ‘Defending Elton’.
However he had to wait so long for publishers to bite that he decided to publish both
books direct via Amazon’s KDP [for ebooks] and Create Space [for paperbacks].
Since then his books have received a series of five star reviews, including a fair few
from fellow authors.
Tim’s journey as a writer attracted the attention of the organisers of this year’s
London Book Fair, where he was invited to share his journey with others by taking
part in two panel discussions and to do book signings.
His books have been very well received, being described as inventive, original and ‘a
fresh take on the crime fiction genre’. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and
persistence, with Tim’s rollercoaster journey being far from straightforward, with
plenty of highs and lows along the way.
His first novel, ‘Kiss and Tell’, was picked up by top agent Peter Straus at RCW
[Rogers Coleridge and White] whilst his second ‘Defending Elton’ was agented by
Broo Doherty at Wade&Doherty.
Peter Straus responded quickly, taking the time to contact Tim whilst away on his
holidays. Tim still has the scribbled note on the back of his draft. “You write so well
and I’d like to do for you what I did for Sophie Hannah,” Peter wrote, whilst adding,
“Jill Shadow [the lead in Kiss and Tell] seems a most bankable franchise.”
Tim recalls: “When someone like Peter Straus says that you take note, not least
because he is Sophie Hannah’s agent too. She has had a number of books
published and some have gone on to be adapted for television dramas, which is
ultimately what I’d like to do with the Jill Shadow series.”
This was probably the high point of his journey, with optimism abound. After all,
Peter Straus had been a publisher at Picador and editor-in-chief at Macmillan, so
perhaps Tim could be forgiven for thinking that a deal would soon follow.
Broo Doherty also came back to Tim with a favourable response, describing
‘Defending Elton’ as “fabulously entertaining, and a clever swipe at our criminal
justice system”. She also made optimistic soundings about getting that book picked
up too.
On the face of it he had two books, each supported by a leading literary agent, who
had at one time or another held senior positions at major publishing houses. “I guess
I was waiting to see who would bite first.”
Tim waited patiently, and kept waiting, but found that the economic climate had
made publishers more cautious when it came to handing out advances. “Eventually I
came to understand that my timing couldn’t have been worse. The credit crunch had
really hit home by then and I kept reading articles about how publishers were feeling
the pinch.”
It must have been extremely frustrating, as Tim explains: “Perhaps if I’d received
negative feedback I would have given up a long time ago, but with all those positive
responses the ‘so near yet so far’ scenario was hard to take. There were still some
smaller publishing houses and independents to try, but by now others were
suggesting that I may as well crack on and publish direct.”
“It was only when I started to read a little more about the changing face of UK book
publishing that things fell into place. I found out about Amazon’s publishing options,
KDP for ebooks and CreateSpace for paperbacks.”
Tim now has both books out, and hasn’t looked back. He has received excellent
reviews for his novels, with their striking cover designs created by renowned
designer Jamie Keenan, who has backed Tim for success.
Tim explains, “Jamie’s used to doing covers for writers such as Stephen King, Nick
Hornby and Irvine Welsh. He read a draft of ‘Defending Elton’ on his kindle and
called me, saying he had to design the cover because he’d enjoyed the book so
much. He couldn’t understand how it hadn’t been published previously and told me it
was one the most enjoyable reads he’d ever had. I was pretty chuffed by that.”
Tim’s work is a fine example of the high quality novels now available through direct
publishing, but he hasn’t given up on securing a deal with a traditional publisher.
“I guess there’s a certain irony in the fact that the books are now attracting the
attention of mainstream publishers. I met my agent at the London Book Fair and
she’s now in talks with a number of them. I’m sure if an offer was forthcoming I’d
consider it favourably, but so much is changing in the literary world, and so quickly,
that it would have to be right for me. It wouldn’t necessarily mean that I’d sell more
books, but it would provide some added security, and I’d be able to plan a little more
easily.”
Indeed many would be surprised to discover that over a quarter of Amazon’s best
sellers are now written by Indie authors.
There are now a mixture of successful authors out there, including the traditionally
published, the Independents and the hybrids, as Tim explains.
“The ‘hybrid author’ has only emerged in the last 12 months. They tend to have a
traditional deal with a publisher for their paperbacks but hold onto the rights to their
ebooks so they can sell them directly via Amazon. It’s difficult to keep up with just
how quickly things are changing.”
Whether fully independent, hybrid or traditional Tim intends to carry on. “As soon as
the London Book Fair is over I will start my third novel, which will see the return of Jill
Shadow from ‘Kiss and Tell’.”
Both ‘Kiss and Tell’ and ‘Defending Elton’ by TJ Cooke are currently available via
KDP [Kindle Direct Publishing] as an ebook and Create Space as a paperback, both
via Amazon or Tim’s website www.tjcooke.com