Writers' News - Matthew at double

Matthew at double

A remarkable success story from a relative newcomer to writing, who has managed to secure an agent and a two-book deal.

Matthew Ravden, 40, Henley-on-Thames whose first novel Bloke Miles, £18.99, is to be published by Orion this summer, is delighted.

‘I had been seeing the success of books such as Alison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It,’ Matthew, 40, explains, ‘and I wanted to write a funny, fast commercial read too.’ He started with short stories and then a novel Ten Paces drawing on his twenty-year PR career but was advised by an appraisal service that it was not ‘genre-specific’. ‘This is a commercial business and I didn't see the point in busting a gut for no return whatsoever,’ he says. So he ditched Ten Paces and began another.

The idea of ‘bloke miles’, similar to an air miles account, where men can earn points from wives and partners to be redeemed against ‘bloke’ activities like watching rugby matches in peace was conceived and the book tells the story of hands-on Dad, Rob, and his thirty-something mates.

Matthew thinks he got his break because he thought commercially and advises others to do the same. ‘Imagine that an agent has to sell something to a publisher, and ultimately someone has to sell it to a bookseller. You need to know where on the shelf your book will sit.’

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