Diane Parkes talks to an author on a mission to help others publish their work.

A Birmingham author is hoping he can help other writers into print by holding a one-day literary festival.

Andrew Killeen, author of historic thriller The Father of Locks, is holding the inaugural LitFest 2011 in Moseley later this month.

And, by bringing together published writers, agents, publishers and future Ian Rankins and Margaret Attwoods, Andrew is aiming to help local people see their own words in print.

“People do tend to see being published as a wall they cannot climb over and so much of publishing is based in London,” he says. “This is a way for them to come into contact with people from that world and to ask them what they want to know.

“This day will give people a real opportunity to find out how that industry works, what agents and publishers are looking for and to ask them questions.

“It is bringing that kind of really useful information directly to writers here. It is providing the kind of support and information I wish I had had with my first novel as I got there by trial and error.

“I was literally picked up off the slush pile but that doesn’t happen very often. In fact very often it is a case of someone knowing someone in the business.”

Knowledge and contacts are often the key.

“I did a lot of research into finding the right agent,” recalls Andrew, who has just signed the contract for a sequel to The Father of Locks.

“I spent hours trawling the internet as you need to ensure the agent has a good reputation. Finding the correct agent for your book is absolutely essential as these days they are often the gatekeepers. A lot of publishing houses will not look at manuscripts unless they have come from an agent.”

And he says writers also need to be realistic.

“Selling books is a business and people need to realise that and know that they will need to put in a lot of hard work. Writing the book is only the first part of the task. You need to be very informed about the industry and how it works and then you need to be prepared to push at it.

“When you are writing the book you have to believe that it is the best novel ever written, that it will change the world, will be a best-seller and will win the Booker Prize. You are spending hours and hours at a computer writing it and you need to believe in it. But at the end of that process you then have to face the reality of the publishing industry.

“And there are very few writers who have made a fortune from their books. Everyone thinks of J K Rowling but most writers have to publish a good many novels before they can even begin to think of doing it full time.”

Andrew should know. Based in Kings Heath, he has spent most of his adult life working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He now works part-time as a project manager for children’s services for Solihull Council.

“And then I try to find some spare moments to actually do some writing,” he laughs.

The festival, on September 17 between 1-11pm at the Prince of Wales in Moseley, evolved from a weekly writing group Andrew launched at the pub last autumn. Each Tuesday night a group of literary hopefuls meet for the Prince of Wales Writers on Writing or PoW WoW sessions.