Q: How difficult it was for you to get published in the first place?
A: "Quite difficult. It took me about a million words and five or six novels before finally doing it. There is a theory that says you have to write a million words of rubbish before you get published. Unless you're really clever - my pal Ken MacLeod, he's clever and he got his very first novel published, which is cheating I think."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20774879