P.J. McKay 2020 1st Place - on trusting your instinct, deciding on those first pages
P.J. McKay - 2020 1st place, The Telling Time
What made you decide to submit your work to the First Pages Prize?
I came across a social media post about the competition from a fellow New Zealand writer. I hadn’t heard of the competition before but it appealed because I already had a complete manuscript which made it very easy for me to submit (or so I thought . . . read on!) The entry fee wasn’t astronomical and the competition had a quick turnaround. Why not? I thought.
How did you decide what you wanted to submit?
I’ll let you in on a secret . . . although at the time of entry I had a completed novel, I was still at the stage of tweaking (isn’t that always the case?!!) My editor had just prior to Christmas made a comment that gnawed and was causing me to re-think how the book should begin. I decided on a whim to enter a chapter that was 2/3 of the way through the novel (the opening chapter of part 3 in fact). Why? I was confident this was a strong piece of writing and despite where it currently sat in the book it was in fact where Gabrijela’s story began. But to be absolutely truthful given I had missed the initial entry period — in New Zealand we were still at the beach enjoying our annual summer holiday—I was scrambling to meet the extended deadline. There was very little time to think and I acted on my hunch!
And then, what was it like to be one of the final winners?
The longlist for the 2020 competition was announced while New Zealand was in a very strict lockdown. My decision to publish The Telling Time independently had been influenced and accelerated by COVID. Life felt fragile and having spent six years working on this project I was determined to see it in print.
When I heard by email that I had made the initial list of 36 I was excited but also realistic in my expectations. Later, when I learnt by phone I had actually won the competition I was dumbstruck and elated all at once. It was the absolute best ‘bubble-breaking’ news and yes, the champagne was cracked! This delight continued over the following months. Often I would catch myself grinning and feeling that bubble of excitement all over again. It was an infectious feeling and one that I will always treasure.
My biggest disappointment—that I wasn’t able to travel to Paris to celebrate and accept my prize!
What changed for you as a result of being a final winner?
For me, the timing of this prize couldn’t have been more serendipitous due to my decision to publish. Once I knew that my opening ‘sardine chapter’ had won the First Pages Prize competition, with Sebastian Faulks as judge, it cemented my earlier gut-feel decision to pull that chapter forwards. I set about making the edits required to achieve this and then sent off my baby to the printer. You could say that the three months between submitting for the competition and hearing the result changed the trajectory of The Telling Time.
In addition, doors were opened for me. A local distributor, Bateman Books, agreed to distribute The Telling Time meaning it was then available in bookstores all around the country. As part of my launch plan I had engaged a PR company and publicity opportunities came knocking. The Telling Time was featured in many newspapers, magazines and radio shows and of course winning an international prize was a hot topic. This was almost certainly a major factor in driving sales for the novel and it featuring on the top ten fiction list for ten weeks.
Best of all for me was being picked up by High Spot literary agency as one of their authors. Now the translation rights have been sold to Croatian publisher Znanje d.o. and the Croatian editions will launch in June 2022.
What was your experience with the editorial guidance that came with the prize—how was the process and what impact did it have on your work?
The editorial guidance both helped clarify my decision to move my winning pages forward and advise on what changes would be required in doing this (remember they were still buried 2/3 of the way through the novel).
To clarify, the premise of the novel is as follows: in 1989, Luisa, a young New Zealand woman of Croatian descent, returns to Yugoslavia, her mother’s homeland, to unpick her mother’s secret. Why had her mum been sent out to New Zealand in 1959? The challenges Luisa face are the catalyst for Gabrijela’s story to unfurl.
The beginning of the novel had actually moved around plenty from when I first began writing in 2014. I initially started with Luisa’s story—“there was no late bus”—these earliest pages remain but now sit around the midpoint of the novel. It was in 2017, when completing a Masters of Creative Writing course at Auckland University, that our tutor, Dr Paula Morris, suggested that for the novel to work, Gabrijela must tell her own story and this was where the novel should begin. When I entered the First Pages Prize my opening chapter was Gabrijela arriving in New Zealand in 1959—“I never wanted to move to New Zealand. It wasn’t my choice.”—These lines now sit at the beginning of chapter two.
I mentioned that at the time of entry for the First Pages Prize I was still tossing up ideas about how to structure the novel. Winning the competition helped crystallise my thoughts. It now seemed obvious that I should open the novel with Gabrijela at her detested place of work, the sardine factory; the reader is provided with an important glimpse into Gabrijela’s home life and her character prior to her arrival in New Zealand as a frightened new immigrant. It is also where the story actually starts—Gabrijela coming home to find her mother bent in shock over a letter which has just arrived . . .
In short, the editorial assistance provided by the First Pages Prize team gave me the confidence to make the changes necessary to bring this chapter forward.
Similarly, what impact did the agent consultation have? What did you learn from it?
I spoke with Caroline Hardman, in London and I was extremely grateful for the helpful advice and tips provided by the First Pages Prize team when preparing for this interview. I learnt how to pitch the selling points for my novel which proved invaluable when being interviewed by members of the press in later months. Caroline was generous with her feedback and advice and whilst I didn’t secure a literary deal with her I’m sure this experience helped in being taken on by local agent, Nadine Rubin Nathan, from High Spot Literary.
What has surprised you most about being part of this prize?
The value of becoming connected with other writers from around the world and the continued support from the First Pages Prize community.
What advice or tips might you have for people thinking of submitting to the FIRST PAGES PRIZE this year?
Trust your gut feel. Step away from being the author and think of what’s important to readers. I love being transported somewhere, and fast. For me, part of the joy of reading is jumping into someone else’s world. A strong opening first line, one that stands out as unique or shocking can help to draw the reader in but from there I feel the first pages shouldn’t be too complicated or confusing.
Your first pages can reveal a lot in a short space of time and I think it’s important to take time over them to ensure you are delivering up that strong opening which grips your reader and draws them into the story’s world. Throwing in sentences that have your reader asking why and leaving them wanting to know more is also important.
And be accepting that your first pages can change many times as you write the novel. Sometimes they don’t reveal themselves until the very end!