Mat Coward by Sandy Auden

'copyright Sandy Auden 2005'

Ed here: The Alien Online is one of my must-reads every morning. It is packed with news, interviews, reviewers author links, all done in high style. The Brit science fiction-fantasy-horror scene(s) gone as riveting reads. Here is a piece by Sandy Auden about our friend Mat Coward.

Mat Coward - trying to avoid success and failing
More than you ever needed to know about being a writer…
Submitted by: Sandy Auden
On: 09.02.2005



Mat Coward's new non-fiction book, Success…And How To Avoid It, is out now from TTA Press and takes a look at the true life of a freelance writer – something he knows a lot about having been part of the writing profession for nearly two decades.

Using many anecdotes from his own life, Coward has put together an invaluable guide for all kinds of writers, from journalists to novelists; but the difference with this book, compared to most How To Write tomes, is that Coward takes off the rose-tinted glasses, throws them on the floor, and jumps up and down on them. He delivers an honest description of what being a freelance writer is all about, and includes some solid advice for any writer, whether you're just starting out or more experienced.

"It's interesting to me," said Coward, "that every review so far has highlighted the 'honesty' of the book. It seems obvious that a book of this kind would be worthless (and wouldn't sell, and wouldn't get rave reviews) if it wasn't honest - that is, to a large extent, its selling-point. But I suppose people's surprise and pleasure at the book's honesty tells us a lot about previous books for writers."

There are many anecdotes from Coward's life included in Success. Many of them are highly entertaining but a few show how badly things can go wrong. Did Coward find it therapeutic to write down these bitter experiences? "I'm not sure it was, no," he said. "I think to be truly therapeutic for the author, a book of this sort would have to consist of detailed accounts - including names, dates and amounts - of actual conflicts between the writer and his various editors, sub[-editor]s, agents, producers, and so on. And that would, of course, be unpublishably dull; unless you were to fictionalise it and pass it off as literary fiction, and I've never yet sunk low enough to dabble with literary fiction.

"Rather than being therapeutic, dredging up all this stuff – the disappointments, the failures, the letdowns - just brought it all back to the front of my mind. I've never understood the idea of hypnotherapy; memories are buried for a reason."

For fledgling writers, yet to have their optimism ripped from them, the book highlights some harsh realities. "I wouldn't want to discourage people from writing, if they enjoy it, as a hobby, or even as a paying hobby," Coward said. "But I certainly want to discourage people from trying to do it as a main source of income; from committing their lives to it.

"Unfortunately, it is one of those things that almost everyone thinks they could do, and almost no-one actually can do. It is, for the most part, extremely hard work, pretty boring, and almost impossible to make any money at. By 'any money', I mean an income at the level of the minimum wage.

"If I were to give one really useful bit of advice to young people dreaming of a writing life it would be something that people of my parents' generation used to be told by people of their grandparents' age: get a trade. Do not go to college, because that won't equip you to earn money in a hurry; education only makes you good at feeling resentful. Get an actual trade, like plumbing or hairdressing or care-home nursing, do an apprenticeship or a day-release course, get a certificate.

"At the very least, get a lot of experience of bar work or waitressing. Not only will you always have something to write about - which is a very rare gift, as any contemporary fiction reader will agree – but you will be able to earn money through self-employment, as and when you need to. You can work a few days, write a few days, take it as it goes, ride out the famines and take full advantage of the feasts, and you will survive long enough to get something written. Every creative writing course should be required by law to include a Central Heating Servicing module."

Once you start to understand Coward's point of view, you have to ask: if it's so bad, why don't you go back to a day job? "I fantasise about doing that - getting a job," he replied. "I'm not sure about a corporate robot job, but something nice and regular, anyway. It would, after nearly twenty years of this, be a pleasant change. Obviously, it would have to be something without a stringent dress code - I've spent twenty years working in my dressing gown and slippers, I'm not about to change that.

"I never really intended to do this full-time, all the time, forever. But as it turned out, personal circumstances dictate that I'm stuck with it. Even if I could get a job, I'm not sure who'd employ me. I've been a writer most of my adult life; I have no significant qualifications, no relevant skills and no recent experience of ... anything.

"Can you imagine the job interview? 'OK, Mr Coward, and what have you been doing since 1986? We don't seem to have those pages here ...' Oh, post-86? Well, I've been sitting in a room smoking and making stuff up. 'Mr Coward, are you aware that you're wearing a dressing gown here today?'

"People starting out in writing really do need to beware of this - suppose it doesn't really work out, but it takes quite a long time not to work out? Think about this: who is going to give you a job when you're 45? Keep up that hairdressing, please!"

You can find more information about the author at the Mat Coward website or for purchasing information, head on over to www.ttapress.com.

Source: Mat Coward

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