Goodreads asked Samantha Bruce-Benjamin:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Samantha Bruce-Benjamin My advice probably mirrors that of all other authors: never give up. Having worked as literary editor at Random House and the BBC, however, I am intimately acquainted with the reality of how difficult it is for any author to gain a foothold in the industry: from securing an agent to having an editor pay attention to a submission to ultimately being published.

The reality is that most editors will only ever read the first fifty pages of any submission, due to time constraints. People are probably unaware of how arduous the editorial role is: we often read late into the night, juggle multiple projects, contribute second opinions on our colleagues' submissions under consideration, proofread cover design and copy, write up sales sheets for all titles to be presented at the quarterly seasonal sales meetings, liaise daily with publishers, agents,and the advertising, art and marketing departments. We also have to keep abreast of all of the latest works of fiction or non-fiction that have been published. At the end of the day, there is very little time to read a submission in full unless it truly arrests our interest. So, the best piece of advice I can give is to ensure that by the time of submission, your first fifty pages are as arresting as they can possibly be. Everything else in terms of the narrative must also be in place, but if you find an editor who will read deeper than fifty pages, you have achieved a home run.

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