Pioneer Readers: fair trade publishing for new writers and previously unpublished novelists

Pioneer Readers:

The fairest fair trade for writers?

The modern publishing industry is virtually closed to new writers - and it is suffocating the breath of fresh new talent.

Even so, it is consumer choice which makes the world the way it is. We might bemoan the demise of the corner shop but we all contribute to the problem by shopping in the supermarket.

In the same way we all as readers follow the 'must-have' advertising campaigns of the big publishers. But does it have to be that way? Consumer power carries a great weight, if it can be harnessed: the rise in Fair Trade goods would not have been possible if it wasn’t for everyday customers lobbying their local supermarket to stock them.

Why don't the big publishers make more opportunities for first-time writers?

The reality of marketing a book means that publishers will give priority to someone who is well-known - even if they are famous for something other than writing. So the problem for unknown authors is that fame sells books - and publishers need to sell their books to do business!

It is risky business for a big publishing company to launch a new author because they have to invest so much to make it work - hence not many book offers for all the writers out there. There always seems to be someone who can jump the queue and get a big advance just because they are famous for something else.

An unknown author can write a good book but never get their lucky break. Some people do get lucky after sending their synopsis off for the hundredth time, but it is impossible to count how many go back to a dull office job feeling a failure. This means the big publishers are also (inadvertently) causing a filter on the topics and subjects available for others to read about.

For this reason Fygleaves has launched its Pioneer Readers initiative, in order to create a market for previously unpublished authors. Although we are still bound by the need to accept only those manuscripts which we consider to have the quality and enough appeal to interest general fiction readers, we exist to publish novels by writers who have never been given their opportunity before: in this way we aim to be a springboard for talented authors reaching for bigger things.

Join us in becoming a pioneer reader, and you too can help change the publishing world.

Have you ever read a Booker prize nomination and felt its reputation was over-rated? If so you are starting to get a feel for the power of the literature establishment.

You may say that buying from a mainstream publisher means you can be sure of getting a good book. Maybe. But not always. Somebody somewhere needs to be reading the unknowns so that the new novelists can be found. This is the age for pioneer readers.

So join us as we find debut authors whose work is worth reading.

We invite submissions from writers who have never previously had a novel published, and choose the best: there is plenty of talent out there, so you can be sure of reading a quality book, while the author receives royalties without having to pay anything towards publication: is there a fairer version of fair trade anywhere in the book industry today?