And while that works for some writers, trying to get the visibility for a novel amongst the sheer numbers of other writers all attempting the same thing is never going to be easy. With so many publishers and agents having closed their lists for submissions, many writers feel that the only option is to go down the self-publishing route.

However, we do know how frustrating it is for non-published authors to try to get their work into a traditional publishing house. To be honest, with so many submissions from agents, plus manuscripts from existing authors and actually publishing books – there’s little to no time to actually go through what we used to fondly designate the 'slush pile'.

Until recently Tor UK followed the submission policy of Macmillan in that we didn't accept direct submissions. One of the most popular questions aside from, 'How do I get my novel published?,' was 'Do you have a direct submission policy?' With the aim to perhaps dispel some myths, maybe impart some unknown information - that kind of thing. We do like to chat to our readers and, during one such conversation on Twitter, we asked you what sort of things you'd like to know about publishing.

Tor publishing house