Sarah Marsh: Writing Is a Relationship
Sarah Marsh was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish prize in 2019 and selected for the London Library Emerging Writers program in 2020. She has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA. She is the daughter of neurosurgeon and author Henry Marsh. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Sarah Marsh
Photo by Rii Schroer
In this post, Sarah discusses the exploring and research conducted to write her debut historical fiction novel, A Sign of Her Own, her hope for readers, and more!
Name: Sarah Marsh
Literary agent: Nelle Andrew
Book title: A Sign of Her Own
Publisher: Park Row Books
Release date: February 6, 2024
Genre/category: Historical Fiction
Elevator pitch: A historical fiction that follows a deaf former student of Alexander Graham Bell as she learns to reclaim her own authentic voice, casting new light on the invention of the telephone.
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What prompted you to write this book?
About 15 years ago, I came across a book called When the Mind Hears by Harlan Lane. It gave a very different perspective on the work of Alexander Graham Bell. Specifically, it described his work with deaf students.
I’d grown up deaf, using hearing aids and lipreading to communicate, and learning British Sign Language as an adult, so I was interested in the experience of his students. There was limited information about them in the historical records (mainly from letters, family pamphlets and class notebooks) so I was drawn to this gap in history, and imagining how a young deaf woman might speak out from it.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took me a very long time to write the book—over 10 years! My protagonist, Ellen Lark, came to me early in the process and stayed with me throughout, although I toyed with first and third person perspectives.
When I started writing the book, I wasn’t sure which direction Ellen’s journey would take. As the story developed, I started exploring the deaf community of the 19th century and drawing parallels between Bell’s attempts to connect people via the telephone, and Ellen’s connections with other deaf people. Ellen was quite an isolated figure in early drafts, and I wanted to change that and show the reader how she comes to find her place in the world.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I had a very positive experience working with my editors to get the book ready for publication. However, I wasn’t prepared for the long spells when everything is very quiet, and then suddenly very busy. You never know quite what to expect! It was important for me to learn that I could ask questions of my publishers. I also found the copy edits really hard work, which made me appreciate the creative freedom that comes in the early stages of writing a book. Sometimes that stage can make you anxious, because you don’t know where the story is going, but I hope with the next book I’ll enjoy it more.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I was part of a writing group throughout the entire time I was writing the book, and I was often surprised by people’s reactions to what I sent them. It really helped me clarify what I was trying to achieve with the book. I think it’s so important to have readers as you’re going through the writing process.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Deaf experience is incredibly varied, but I hope the book will give people an appreciation of deafness as an experience, as well as providing an insight into a history that has largely been hidden—in particular, Bell’s role in promoting oralism and suppressing signed languages. This isn’t widely known about outside of the deaf community, and I hope people will become more aware of the negative impact these ideas have had on many deaf people. I also hope people will enjoy spending time on the page with a cast of deaf characters.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Writing is a relationship, and like any relationship, the most important thing is to show up. I didn’t have much time when I was writing the book, and I was juggling a huge amount of research into things I knew little about, like the telephone. But I found it was better to do a bit each day, even it was just making notes for five minutes or revising a single paragraph, than wait for a block of time to materialize. That way the book was always growing, even if it was doing so in very small, often imperceptible steps.
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