HOPE McINTYRE
CAROLINE UPCHER

WELCOME TO FIRST BASE - an editorial service that will guide you through the writing of your first novel - and beyond - and put you in touch with a literary agent.

"I recommend Caroline Upcher's editorial service without any reservation. She helped me develop my stories in ways I never imagined. She helped me dig up the treasure I knew was there. She helped me maintain the integrity and uniqueness of my voice, while coaching me about the market and how my work might be more accessible in today's publishing world. She was that vital step between being ready and being published, and understands the point of view of both writer and publisher."

SIMON VAN BOOY, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF PEOPLE IN LOVE (published by Turtle Point Press) and LOVE BEGINS IN WINTER and WAITING FOR GOD, to be published by HarperCollins in 2009 and 2010.

"The Secret Lives of People in Love, Simon Van Booy's debut, concerns many kinds of human love. After such a breathtaking first book of fiction, you wonder what this some-time poet could possibly do for an encore."

LOS ANGELES TIMES


"Caroline is a miracle worker. She helped me break a creative deadlock with my publisher by suggesting the perfect compromise. HER IDEAS ADDED A NEW, UNEXPECTED TWIST TO THE STORYLINE THAT MY PUBLISHERS AND I BOTH LOVED. You can't ask for more than that from an independent editor. I'll continue to be working with her on my upcoming books. She's the real deal."

JAMES DUFFY, author of SAND OF THE ARENA and THE FIGHT FOR ROME, published by McBooks Press


"I first approached Caroline Upcher with a manuscript I knew wasn't working, but didn't know how to fix. In short order, she was able to point out what worked, what didn't, and give me suggestions as to how to go about my revisions. Over the course of a year, she worked with me both on individual chapters and the work as a whole, helping me to hone my story, my characters and my point-of-view. THE RESULT IS A MANUSCRIPT THAT I AM PROUD OF, ONE THAT HAS BEEN PICKED UP BY A PROMINENT AGENT. I cannot recommend Ms Upcher's editorial services enough!"

VANITHA SANKARAN, author of WATERMARK


FIRST BASE is an editorial service designed to help and encourage people writing fiction for the first time. What I try to do is to help you get to 'first base', to reach that first step on the ladder to becoming a published author.

Publishing has changed considerably over the last fifteen years. There was a time when an author could submit a manuscript to an agent or a publisher and even though there might still be a lot of work to be done on the book, the publisher would make an offer. They would see beyond the surface problems to the potential talent and set an editor to perfect it for publication.

Those days are almost over. Now a book has to be virtually ready for publication to get anybody's attention, let alone command an offer. Yet in my twenty-five year career as an editor at major publishing houses both in London and New York, I have seen writers progress in leaps and bounds once they received a little bit of encouragement and interest in their work. And from my own experience as a writer, I know how valuable individual input from an editor can be. A fresh and objective take on your work can help you overcome problems you never even knew were there. ?

"Working with Caroline has been pivotal for me. She was patient but firm as I struggled to move beyond the plateau I was on with my novel. While I had a clear vision of setting and characters, my plot was hopeless. On my own I could not seem to do anything about this, but with her insight, suggestions and prodding, I was able to create a compelling story, the one the characters and setting deserved. In addition to her skill as an editor, she is capable and knowledgeable about the publishing world and swiftly arranged for agents to read my work who probably wouldn't have taken an interest otherwise, and certainly not so quickly. Her help has been invaluable, and I'm glad to have worked with her through the full process, from writing to revising to submitting."

ELLEN AIRGOOD, author of STONE LAKE, who now has an agent.


"One does not get to the heart of Caroline's thought provoking comments until re-working and editing. Each of her insights inspires new ideas. Without being heavy handed, Caroline is able to pose questions that challenge. She draws out good writing."

EVE KARLIN author of THE MANHATTAN WELL MURDER


HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK

1. Send me an email at caroline@carolineupcher.com telling me about the novel you are writing, where it is set and when, who the main characters are and give me a one-liner about the story. Also, tell me a little bit about yourself. I am interested to hear about what books you read and enjoy, and to learn which are your favorite films and TV series.

DO NOT MAIL OR ATTACH MANUSCRIPTS AT THIS STAGE.

HOW I WORK

I will respond to your email and invite you to send me your material. Once I have read it,I will write you an editorial letter - which can be anything from 3 - l0 pages in length - outlining, among other things, the potential market for your book, its strengths and weaknesses, where it needs cutting or expanding and which characters need work. For this I charge a flat fee.

If you decide to go further and have me edit and guide you through subsequent drafts, then I charge by the page with the amount decreasing with each draft.

I also charge $10 (UK: 5 pounds)for printing costs if you email me your work. I can edit online email it back to you. I request that you enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you send your manuscript via regular mail and woulld like it returned.

MANUSCRIPTS SHOULD BE DOUBLE SPACED AND THE PAGES MUST BE NUMBERED WITH AT LEAST A ONE INCH MARGIN. IF YOU ARE MAILING YOUR MANU8SCRIPT, PLEASE DO NOT BIND, STAPLE, FOLD OR PUT YOUR STORY IN A FOLDER.
USE A LEGIBLE STANDARD FONT SUCH AS COURIER or TIMES NEW ROMAN at 12 pt size.

I have been an editorial director for fiction at the following publishers: Pan Books, Macmillan, Heinemann, Random House UK, and Fourth Estate. In New York I was editorial consultant for Miramax Books, and now edit freelance for HarperCollins from time to time. Over the years I have acquired and published hundreds of authors, among them: Anne Tyler, Louise Erdrich, Nora Ephron, Joyce Carol Oates, Douglas Adams, Ellen Feldman, Ann Patchett, Susanna Moore, Gail Godwin, Joan Didion.
Among the FIRST NOVELS I have published in hard and/or soft cover are those of the following authors: Alice Hoffman, Terry McMillan, Robert James Waller, Tony Parsons, Kristin Gore, Sue Miller, Elizabeth Buchan, Bebe Moore Campbell.

I cannot guarantee representation of your work by a literary agent - or its subsequent acceptance for publication - but I will be happy to recommend to you literary agents who I feel would respond to your work. I am in constant touch with agents in New York and London and often alert them to novels by authors
with whom I am working. Since I started FIRST BASE two years ago one novel has been taken by Farrar,Strauss & Giroux, two by HarperCollins, another by a small literary press, three authors have acquired literary agents and many more have reached the stage where they are sending their work out to agents. Many more are working on second or third drafts.

Coco Myers and Kay Spear Gibson, whose first novel DUSTBUNNIES I have been developing for the past year and which currently has inerest from three New York agents, have written the following description of how I have helped them.

"You helped us take what was an idea of a novel and turn it into a story with a beginning, middle and end. You encouraged us to keep the voice and the spirit of the book, but craft it into something someone else would want to read. You guided us in the development of the plot, making suggestions as to what needed cutting or expanding. You were able to tell us when something wasn't ringing true, or when to take something further. You advised us on the characters' inner lives - what motivated and moved them. You pushed us to create their biographies, which made them so much more real ... the brainstorming sessions ... and the outside perspective that you brought to the book, through your editing experience and your appreciation of nuance, humor and word play, were all invaulable. As was your unwavering support for the whole darned creative process!




BIOGRAPHY for Hope McIntyre/Caroline Upcher

I was born in 1946 in Westminster Hospital in London. Six months later we moved to Holland and then to Germany. My father was an officer in the British army and when I was about four, he was seconded to The Camel Corps in the Sudan and I spent the next five years accompanying him on trips while he visited troops in varying outposts in the Sahara desert. From the Sudan we went to Paris when my father was posted to SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe).
When I was twelve my mother decided it was time I was properly educated so I was shipped home to Wiltshire in the south west of England to a boarding school. I lasted until I was fifteen when I left school more or less by mutual agreement. That was the last education I ever had.

After twelve years working as a junior literary agent and in the film industry as a script editor and production assistant, I moved into publishing on the editorial side. I was Editorial Director at numerous publishing houses in London including the paperback house Pan and Random House UK, Heinemann,Fourth Estate and in New York I was an editorial consultant at Miramax.

In the 1990's, I published two novels under a pseudonym, SASKIA and NEXT OF KIN and also ghosted the supermodel Naomi Campbell’s novel SWAN which was Number 4 on the London Sunday Times list and sold in 22 countries around the world. I did a fair amount of journalism, writing profiles for Conde Nast and Mirabella as well as national newspapers and other publications. I began writing novels under my own name in 1996 starting with FALLING FOR MR WRONG. I bought my house (thanks to SWAN!) in Amagansett, Long Island the same year and moved from London to live there full time in 2001. That year I also devised and coordinated an online competition to find the Greatest Love Story in America, co-sponsored by Redbook Magazine and HarperCollins Publishers. I wrote the novel telling the story of the winning entry, WITHIN A WHISPER and this was published by William Morrow.

When I began writing crime fiction, I decided to do so under a different name. I chose Hope McIntyre because I like the name Hope and McIntyre is my mother's maiden name. The first three novels in my series featuring ghostwriter Lee Bartholomew are HOW TO SEDUCE A GHOST, HOW TO MARRY A GHOST and HOW TO COOK FOR A GHOST.