Interview with Hookline CEO Yvonne Barlow 

LCR: Welcome to Library of Clean Reads and thank you for allowing me to chat with you about your publishing company Hookline Books. Your selection process is unique. Unlike other publishing companies that let their editors choose which manuscripts get published, you consult with book clubs in choosing the novels that go to print. Can you tell us more about this process?

YB: I invite submissions from students and graduates of MA writing courses – they submit the first three chapters and I email these to book groups interested in that particular genre and also post a link to these early chapters on our website. Book groups and readers contact me if they wish to read the rest of the manuscript. I ask readers to look at the plot and whether it flows well, whether the characters are well developed, their opinion of the writing style and whether it was a satisfying read.

I encourage all readers to give feedback and this is passed back to the writer. If a manuscript garners favour then I contact the writer and we discuss a publishing contract.

Writers are only allowed to submit one manuscript a year. This means they have to submit their best and not a work in progress. It also means that at the end of each year we scrub the slate clean and begin each January with new submissions.

LCR: Can any book club be a part of this process or do they need to be vetted by you first?

YB: There is no vetting process. I believe book groups are made up of keen readers who like to give their views. Some book groups take time out to read other novels and then come back – it is a fluid process. No one has to read anything – rather, it is up to the writer to draw the reader into the novel in the early pages.

LCR: How do book club members go about helping you select which manuscripts go to print? And how do book club members benefit from the time and effort they put into this process?

YB: Book group readers help by simply reading and giving their point of view. If a manuscript is dull and they tell me this then so be it. I particularly like when readers give differing opinions on a read, with some saying, ‘I hated this,’ to others, ‘I couldn’t put it down.’ Many successful novels elicit varied reviews and I love when a novel brings forth strong opinions. For instance, a novel published last year, A Coin for the Hangman by Ralph Spurrier – some readers loved the unreliable narrator while others wanted to know exactly who did it.

LCR: What type of submissions qualify for Hookline?

YB: Any genre as long as the writers is enrolled in or has graduated from a post-graduate writing program.

LCR: How ​can ​other publishers learn from this publishing model​?​

YB: I think we should listen to readers. They are the mainstay of the industry – if they don’t like what we produce then we fail. Too many publishers run after trends created by the top sellers. I love when a reader says, ‘This isn’t what I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ It means they have left their comfort zone and tried something new.

LCR: What is your mission for your publishing company?

YB: Like all publishing companies I want to sell lots of books and make money. I believe MA writers are overlooked, and I hope to find gems in their work. They have sacrificed time and money to fine-tune their craft and deserve to be read.