<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Writing Room]]></title><description><![CDATA[Do you want to write a book? An expert mentoring team, novels and non-fiction, and a legacy of 150+ published books make it extraordinary.]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:45:56 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[What are publishers looking for in an author?]]></title><description><![CDATA[When you approach a publisher or agent, they aren’t just reading your book — they’re looking at you. In non-fiction, the author is part of the product. Publishers want writers who show up, take a stand, and are already in conversation with the world. A platform doesn’t have to be huge, but it does need to be alive. They want voices that are visible, engaged, and unafraid to be heard. They’re also asking practical questions: What’s the big idea? What does the reader gain? ]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/what-are-publishers-looking-for-in-an-author</link><guid isPermaLink="false">694007ffb33afcf13e95b8d1</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:14:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_5adcf4eb879d44f598f03ba90928e0b8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[ Finishing is the hard part in getting published]]></title><description><![CDATA[Still midway through the book? Or stuck on your first version? Or it’s still sitting unfinished. Oh boy does it take a lot of real grit to finish a book. Starting is the fun bit. I start with great enthusiasm and a spring in my step. Its really fun getting all the information into the right place and doing the interviews and research. ]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/finishing-is-the-hard-part</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6921e5f20acaec3132796900</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 22 Nov 2025 16:37:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_b3b70075367e4c839d3581d5bf9f49b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_480,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who is going to write this book?]]></title><description><![CDATA[YOU WANT TO FINISH? Stick to these rules

1. Set a deadline to start ... this means to stop plotting and planning and start writing. This means starting your story at page 1, and not turning back again.

2. Have targets that are outcomes-based not hours-based. Many writers say they will write for an hour a day.  On my mentorships I set targets at 25,000 words a month.

3.  Set a realistic deadline to complete your first draft of the book. Then stick to it. A good goal is to have your first draft]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/who-is-going-to-write-this-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68ff25f50b31cbff20facc33</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:05:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b6b2b7_acd0ecc2c614430d880a0c93ea03c5ae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_669,h_500,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Writing can change your future]]></title><description><![CDATA[Writing can truly change your life. You have heard this before, right? Writing all of mine changed my life in very unexpected ways.  Hint - it wasn't ever about my bank balance.



So often we think the endgame of writing a book is becoming an author or having a bestseller. Well, most of my authors find the real reward is so much more intangible and subtle. One thing I do know after 20 years in the book business is that it is absolutely never about money. Writing is not often for other people;]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/writing-can-change-your-future</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68f5f6ce81fa6764066384ff</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:53:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0790e6_aa2c5e86048c46cc874753ea3334e69b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should you write about yourself?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I always used to tell writers NOT to write about themselves. For years and years.
This was in the interests of cultivating good fiction authors. And before memoir stormed the charts. I still believe you shouldn't.... but that's for FICTION (or a novel).
Because if you write about yourself in fiction, you really only have one story to tell. It is also a totally misunderstood maxim of writing that you must ‘write what you know.’
Many writers misinterpret this to mean – write about yourself.]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/should-you-write-about-yourself</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b0208a6297e2dd01fda450</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:40:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_54028a3f904747fe99840f7cc2521c38~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who are the writers that actually get published?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who are the writers that actually get published? Starting a book? That is the (relatively) easy bit. Keeping going is a bit harder.



You start off with a bang, writing every day, working on your plot. But as the months drag on and the going gets tough you start to make excuses. Work is pressing, kids are demanding, too much travel, family coming to visit. No time. You will do it later…. Now is not the right time for you. Next year…later in the year.What really happens? The hard reality]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/who-are-the-writers-that-actually-get-published</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68aafbfe07451e29b69d851c</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 24 Aug 2025 11:53:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_881ea23688da42f2a6d1d6b219c8dea5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet me in the middle of your story]]></title><description><![CDATA[I was stopped at a recent Literary Festival by a debut author who ran up to me, waving wildly. She had just released her book and was very excited. She told me that she had a publishing consultation with me many moons ago, and I had told her to go back on her book, relook at it and ‘take her time'.  I had (apparently) told her that her book was not ready yet. “I will meet you in the middle of your story,” I had told her. “But you need to do the work first. Take a year”]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/meet-me-in-the-middle-of-your-story</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6890609779a7f6de131ad87b</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 07:31:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_5c7edd927b0140f8857902baa5bd7c7d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Okay, so what book are you going to write?]]></title><description><![CDATA[When I ask you,  'what are you writing?'  what I am really asking is this... what is your genre?



This is the very first thing any agent (like me) or publisher is going to ask you. What genre is your book? This doesn’t mean we want a breakdown of your plot. I want to know what kind of book it is. Now this is a one-concept answer. Like: It’s a crime/self-help guide/children’s book / Young Adult novel / a romance, or a memoir.



Not…  "Well it’s a fable but it is written like a fable based on m]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/okay-so-what-book-are-you-going-to-write</link><guid isPermaLink="false">688720c2594e3699b615d681</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:33:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/14113e59799d43379571d5a1e719e8bb.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Stories Can Save Lives ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Why stories can save lives . When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41 my friend called me up, “make something good come of it,” she told me.  I knew then I would write about it and that became my 5th book Love and Above. My way, like so many other storytellers who have lived through the centuries, is to share stories by writing or telling them. We tell them in social gatherings, on a stage, in a book or in a diary.  But we must tell them because storytellers have a calling.  ]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/why-stories-can-save-lives</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6847d5cd3f9d19c9671013cd</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 06:59:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_e4e5485cc45e40e8a6ac4339a7b59298~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The 10 essential steps to find an agent or publisher]]></title><description><![CDATA[CHAPTER SUBMISSION:  The Countdown to Publishing Your Book

Essential Steps to finding an agent or publisher
By Sarah Bullen 

‘I wasn't going to give up until every single publisher turned me down,  but I often feared that would happen. JK Rowling
As a literary agent with 17 years working with authors I read a lot of manuscripts, and I get a lot of query letters. It always amazes me the huge effort and investment it takes to simply write a full length book. When I get a MS in my inbox I know th]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/chapter-submission-the-countdown-to-publishing-your-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6846cad6e0f98f52e29e82c9</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:06:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_6d474648415f3054576e41~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wild rapture and dance in Botswana ]]></title><description><![CDATA[

It is closing in on three in the morning and sleep is the furthest thing from my mind.



I am in Botswana again. This is the third trip I have taken up here in the two years in which we’ve been on these parallel treatment and healing journeys. Life is slowly returning to a level of relative normality. The well-wishers have tailed off, MRIs are less terrifying and have all come back clear.

Llewelyn is now very firmly on the path to becoming a koma doctor – a doctor of rites. In order to do th]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/wild-rapture-and-dance-in-botswana</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6823463350ab578f3a1ba230</guid><category><![CDATA[Near Death Experiences]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hey Baby]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 13 May 2025 13:20:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_236965a3e41c47aeb8520b4d29521a37~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should you plan or just write?]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is only one answer to this question (in my view). YES of course you should plan a book!

I believe in writing with intent if you want to get published.

If you are writing non-fiction you are going to be 100% clear about what is going to go into your book.  You are going to have a clear list of your chapters and what material you will cover in each. Your planning will become your book proposal and it will guide your entire book.

But is a novel different?  No.
]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/should-you-plan-or-just-write</link><guid isPermaLink="false">681327360fba5f58f12108f8</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 08:00:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b9e5bf3d2fe4e27adf0dc9bc2e75cfd.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From 'Hey Baby' to 'The Other Side']]></title><description><![CDATA[It’s been 20 years since my first book was published, and I wanted to reflect on the long journey of being an author, as well as working...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/from-hey-baby-to-the-other-side</link><guid isPermaLink="false">680ce0ab02e22389d10cac96</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Near Death Experiences]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hey Baby]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2025 13:37:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_8a57e99f6e0c490bb94e4ab5fb3ee287~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to write poems that get published]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Miriam Sagan for Writers Digest No poet likes to hear the expression "slush pile"_ it implies that our creations have gone into a heap...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/how-to-write-poems-that-get-published</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67f6776c6986efc420f39d90</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 13:37:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_14015686c64c4f8b9ee362a223643d0d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Proof of Heaven?]]></title><description><![CDATA[When I woke up from the coma in late 2012, the topic of near death was on everybody’s lips. This was due to an American neuroscientist...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/proof-of-heaven</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67c865a74a016f063aa7841f</guid><category><![CDATA[Near Death Experiences]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:05:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_5850020689044764bf96d520795b6629~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What’s the theme of your story?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your book needs a theme. A theme is closely aligned to your plot and often the words are used interchangably. I see them as different howeve]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/what-s-the-theme-of-your-story-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67ab2524788b01d3fc5b25e1</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:37:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_e3b5c62639aa478b8014f84395ff84c1~mv2_d_5760_3840_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What are publishers looking for in 2025-2026?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Once again we look forward to the publishing market for the upcoming publishing cycle. It is so useful for an author to be aware of...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/what-are-publishers-looking-for-in-2025-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">677d1dd55f52ddb7c660caef</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:35:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_6d8f5250831c4c0c9897cb8b71760b25~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_820,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Some Things You Need to Know as an Author]]></title><description><![CDATA[What does it actually t ake to write a book? Below is a list of 10 things (five short and five longer ones). Join me in 2025 and finally...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/some-things-you-need-to-know-as-an-author</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67480cb6ab2e23aa5738f592</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 28 Nov 2024 06:35:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9a0057cc4234442ca2298a5208d25a97.jpg/v1/fit/w_500,h_333,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to write a great back cover book blurb]]></title><description><![CDATA[Think of your back cover blurb like a movie trailer. There is a good reason movie trailers are not made by the writer. It’s so hard as...]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/how-to-write-a-great-back-cover-book-blurb</link><guid isPermaLink="false">670fd4719fca9b5c5ed9f053</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 16 Oct 2024 15:00:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_b686bad327684eb1bcfcea56443b6435~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What if my book sucks?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Here's the question we all ask. What if my book sucks?

It doesn’t matter how many books you have written (like me); lalunching a book is a ]]></description><link>https://www.thewritingroom.co.za/post/what-if-my-book-sucks</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66f534610b14334dfec3f9f6</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:21:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0790e6_7a446b5f35d54f87bd02402d7f8a6379~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_284,h_177,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>