no more slush

Harper Collins, despite being part of the Murdoch evil empire, may well have done a truly wonderful thing. Other than the truly terrible name, I have yet to find anything not to like about www.authonomy.com.

In olden days (when a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, etc), an author had only to knock on the door of a publishing house to be invited inside, given a hearty meal with ample ale, together with a few shillings for his trouble, and relieved of his latest scribblings with thanks. How things have changed since the 1980s.

First the publishers rang down their iron curtain. If they don't know you then they don't want to know you. Next the literary agents drew down their 'position closed' blinds.

When publishers have more authors than they can use and literary agents have more clients than they can represent, who will look at the work of the poor benighted unpublished author?

That's an easy one - editors will read anything for a fee and, depending on the size of the fee, return any amount of feedback. Alternatively, for no charge (to anyone), send in unsolicited work to agents and publishers anyway and wait as unpaid interns grind their way through the slush pile until they move your work into its return envelope with a impersonal 'good luck and clear off' form letter.

But then 2008 could be the year that everything changes. If Authonomy (for shame, couldn't marketing have vetoed that and come up with something better?) is as good as it looks, it will provide an opportunity for unpublished authors to unite, select their own champions and send them to the nirvana of the Harper Collins editorial board. We upload our work; we criticise, praise, encourage, console each other. And at the end of each month, the best five will get a trip round the block in the Harper Collins limo. That's not to say that the limo will drop them off at the Oxo Station to get on the gravy train - it might simply open its door suddenly while going around a tight corner - but, oh, the joy of possibly getting any sort of ride at all is one not to be sneezed at.

So, to my wide readership, I say this. Please avail yourself of Authonomy - join up, take a look around, read some of the books, praise the good ones, help them on their way to stardom and, if you pick winners, then your votes will be given greater weight by the system and so will become worth more to me when I finally upload my work and you tell the world of Authonomy how marvellous it is. Signed first editions to everyone who helps. (Depending on the advance, you may need to buy them yourselves. And if it's really small, you might need to supply me with a pen.)

Come on - get going. I might be ready to upload next week.

Today, I have given much thought to this exciting new route, this thrilling hairpin road up the mountain to bestsellerdom. Previously, we unpublished authors have been Laurel and Hardy heaving our piano up the neverending staircase. Harper Collins may have built us a road that the UPS van can get up.