This is probably the trickiest area for all new writers. As the publishing industry has become tougher and tougher with more books on release, and most of them selling less and less, the process of getting noticed has become increasingly challenging.

An increasing proportion of sales is coming from celebrity-based non-fiction, often ghost-written memoirs. It is difficult to imagine that publishing books like these is why most publishers started in the business, but ‘needs must’ and these books come with a pre-packaged fan base, receptive media-owners and a huge amount of ‘free’ marketing.

I can remember this dilemma from my years in the music industry. We all wanted to break unknown bands, to be part of creating a legend and to leave our mark. Our reality was, however, driven by budgets and targets and we knew that career success would be driven by Queen’s Greatest Hits, the new Oasis album or the NOW 36 compilation.

My observation of the book publishing industry is that it isn’t so different from the music business and, for every new ‘discovery’, there are thousands of people trying to make it and struggling to be heard.

I’m not one of the many people who believe that all of the people working away in the shadows are as good as those who become successful. As a general rule, I believe that talent will rise to the surface and the gatekeepers do know what they are doing.

But that doesn’t make it quick and it doesn’t make it easy. It seems that every big name has a story of rejection to tell – most recently JK Rowling who published a few of her rejection letters to drive home the point. When I worked at EMI, I knew the people who rejected ABBA out of hand and who sent the Sex Pistols packing. It’s easier than you think when new ideas and proposals are coming at you from all directions.

Publishers will almost never look at unsolicited manuscripts any more; they simply can’t afford the time and resources. Literary agents have become the sole gatekeepers and, for most of them, business is tough as well. They are all looking for the next big thing but the costs of reviewing hundreds of submissions every week is prohibitive. Most will receive a cursory look from a junior employee at best.

As an author, you need an edge in today’s market which normally involves knowing someone or, at the very least having a strong writing CV. Anything to move you out of the slush pile into the super-slush pile.

In my experience so far, I have mostly had rejection after rejection apart from an early ‘bite’ for my first novel which, in retrospect, was pitifully incomplete. I blew that chance and should have known better.

The other more-constructive relationship I have comes via a friend of a friend doing me a favour.

Asking a busy agent to read an entire book is a huge ask, so it needs to be a very good friend. My writing hasn’t yet found a ‘fit’ with that agent but, a year after the original favour, two of their agents read and reviewed two full-length drafts of Best Eaten Cold with very positive feedback.

At the end of the process, they decided that the book wasn’t a fit for them but I am sure that they will look at my future books and give them a chance. If I had more relationships like that, I have no doubt that the process would be much easier.

What I need is more friends …