Meet me in the middle of your story
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”
Okay, so what book are you going to write?
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 lik
The 10 essential steps to find an agent or publisher
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 i
Should you plan or just write?
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.
What’s the theme of your story?
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
Six Things Authors Can Do To Get Your Book Move Visible
You have written the book and finally launched it. It’s loaded on Amazon and you have exhausted your own marketing network and harassed your
Top 10 Best-Selling Fiction Authors of All Time
10. J.K Rowling * 400 million copies Surprised? I suppose not, but I bet you though she would be higher on the list. J.K Rowling has...
Villainous characters
The Mastermind The Mastermind does not commit the crime, but is the brains behind the big event, whether it is a stealing, a scam or some...
Character Profile Worksheet
Basic Statistics Name: Age: Nationality: Socioeconomic Level as a child: Socioeconomic Level as an adult: Hometown: Current Residence:...
Non Fiction Book Structures
You have established your genre – now how will you book play out in terms of how you present the information. A lot of this is a choice...
How to structure your non fiction book
Memoir writers, you need to take a different approach to plotting than writers tackling a straight NF. When you plan a memoir or...
Do you need to be an expert to write?
Here's the question that lurks in the back of the mind of many writers … am I actually qualified to write a book? The book could be about...
Book Lengths What Are You Aiming For?
Where are you going with all this writing? Well, you are mostly likely shooting for a minimum of 50,000 words. Why 50,000? It is the...
7 questions writers most often ask me
1. How long will this book take?
2. Can I get on the New York Times Bestseller list?
3. Where do I start?
4. Why are publishers
