Coaching A Dream To Reality
Feelings follow action. A story about the power of coaching. KAREN MARGINOT MAY 03, 2024 This is a guest post by KAREN MARGINOT OF SOBER...
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Writing
Advice and Tips
Sarah Bullen is a literary agent and writing coach. This page is a blog of her writing advice, publishing tips as well as calls for submission for publishers. Sign up to get the latest publisher briefs, tips and advice on writing your book.
- May 1
- 0 min
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
- Apr 27
- 6 min
The madness begins
Prologue to Love and Above What am I doing here? It’s an easy Sunday morning and I am sitting on a cold concrete floor with my legs...
- Apr 18
- 3 min
Self publishing your book? Independent Publishers in South Africa
Should you pitch a traditional publisher or simply bite the bullet and self-publish (or indie publish)? This is an important question and...
- Apr 11
- 2 min
How to get a barcode and ISBN for books in South Africa
There are two steps to this process. Step 1: Get an ISBN Step 2: Order a barcode The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) is the...
- Mar 18
- 2 min
Book titles really do sell books
‘When you write non-fiction, you sit down at your desk with a pile of notebooks, newspaper clippings, and books and you research and put...
- Jan 7
- 4 min
Writing is about keeping going
‘The pathos, and the gift of life, is that we cannot know which will be our defining heartbreak, or our most victorious joy.’ Alexandra...
- Jan 7
- 3 min
The types of scenes all books need
‘I am 54 years old. Large important parts of my life receive virtually no attention in my memoir — a sentence for a traumatic love...
- Oct 10, 2023
- 3 min
Should I traditionally publish or indie publish?
One of the biggest questions I hear from authors is this. Should I traditionally publish or indie publish? Since 2013 Jane Friedman has...
- Aug 3, 2023
- 4 min
Key things authors can do to get a book promoted
So you have got a book out there into the world. Massive congratulations. But getting a book published is one step, getting it to...
- Jul 5, 2023
- 4 min
Editing your book – Second Draft Rules
I just got back from the annual month-long writing residency in Greece, and I read a LOT of working manuscripts there. Many authors came...
- Jul 5, 2023
- 5 min
Sending your book off to publishers and agents
Now that you have done all the hard work, it’s time to press play. If you want to get a publishing deal, this is where the rubber hits...
- Apr 12, 2023
- 6 min
Beta Reader? Manuscript Appraisal? Editor? How to take the next steps
You have written your best possible version of your book, and now you may just need someone to make it better. The good news is that...
- Feb 16, 2023
- 3 min
Rewriting (and rewriting and rewriting)
Rewriting (and rewriting and rewriting) is not only completely essential – it is the lifeblood of an author. In writing the first draft...
- Jan 10, 2023
- 2 min
Let's Netflix your book
AUTHORS are having to adapt and adjust with reader demands. That means you have to get tighter on delivering a book that is ‘on point’...
- Nov 9, 2022
- 3 min
Create your Author Brand - with brand expert Tessa Graham
As authors, we need to be savvier than ever about who reads our books. We have the ability to market our books directly to our readers....
- Nov 9, 2022
- 3 min
Writing your story - how do you hook a reader from the start?
Where should your story start? Few stories start at the beginning. Most stories start in the middle. All stories - whether it’s a novel,...
- Oct 16, 2022
- 3 min
How to sell that book (once its published)
‘I didn't know how much marketing would be involved in actually getting my book sold.’ ‘My publisher did some PR for the first few months...
- Sep 28, 2022
- 3 min
Why Your Book Needs a Single Big Idea
You start structuring a book by being very clear on what you are writing about. Sounds simple? You (sort of) know what you want to say...
- Jul 10, 2022
- 4 min
What are publishers looking for in 2023?
It has been a busy year in publishing – and its only July. The good news is that reading has not been hit by the two years of lock...
- Jun 22, 2022
- 2 min
Write, Publish, Profit
Where are you going with all this writing? What is the end game? Do you simply love writing with no real outcome required? Is it profit?...
- Apr 27, 2022
- 4 min
Write a movie-style logline for your book
What is your book about? The dreaded question. The answer is most likely 'a HELL of a lot - do you have two hours?' People don't, so...
- Apr 14, 2022
- 3 min
What is a ghostwriter and why may you need one?
What is a ghost writer and why may you need one? And when should you actually write your own book? I'm just going to unpack that a...
- Mar 30, 2022
- 2 min
Who’s causing trouble in your story?
What! You ask. Why trouble? Why would I need anyone to do this in a book? Have you ever heard that books are driven by conflict? This...
- Mar 30, 2022
- 4 min
Memoir writing - 5 characters you need in your cast
Even though you may be the 'main character' in a memoir, this book is not just about you. Even non-fiction needs other characters. And...
- Mar 6, 2022
- 6 min
A decade of no writing... then this
I had no name. No attachments. No family. No form. No purpose. I was a floating, formless, light being. Totally at peace in the vast,...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 7 min
Post Traumatic Bliss
I was carrying all my otherworldly secrets with me. Sometimes at night I would just close my eyes and feel myself shooting through the...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 5 min
He's going to die tonight.
I had been to see him the day before and sat next to him a while as his chest heaved and rattled. I whispered to him. Stroked his...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 3 min
Fighting my way out of a long coma.
The ICU at night is a terrifying nightmare world. Not even Dean Koontz or Steven King could imagine the nights of terror. It was cold and...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 3 min
Waking up from a long coma
I have watched movies about people waking from a coma. They opened their eyes and the fog cleared. It’s nothing like that. Waking up from...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 3 min
Called to come home
Floating. Aeons ago I left the world of men, of form and substance. I am floating away in the universe. I know it is the universe as I...
- Feb 1, 2022
- 3 min
The Coma Stage 3: Limbo in a coma
I have shot out of the hospital. I have long left my body. It was so fast I didn’t even notice it. One second I was hovering somewhere...
- Jan 24, 2022
- 3 min
The 4 Questions Every Author Should Ask
It’s a romantic idea ... to ‘write a book’. It gives us a purpose and something to do. It gives us somewhere to pour our time into. It is...
- Jan 11, 2022
- 6 min
The Madness Begins
What am I doing here? It’s an easy Sunday morning and I am sitting on a cold concrete floor with my legs stretched out in front of me and...
- Jan 1, 2022
- 14 min
Find your novel's genre (and sub-genre). Don't start until you are clear
Choosing a genre is the starting point in all fiction writing. I cannot stress this enough. Please do not start your book until you are...
- Dec 14, 2021
- 7 min
I stopped mucking about and finally wrote my book - Zoe Scholz
Zoë Scholtz, June 2020 Early in January 2020, it was a weekday, a day like any other. I was at the office minding my own business,...
- Dec 8, 2021
- 3 min
The types of scenes your book needs
Books are loooooong and so many can be really boring. As an author that is your problem to solve, and it often means you need to engage...
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
How to Write About Yourself
Writing about yourself is an exercise in both honesty and storytelling. You are narrating your own life or experience, but you are also...
- Nov 20, 2021
- 3 min
Rainmakers, Initiation and Climate Change
If Einstein was right, and a problem cannot be solved using the mindset that created it, perhaps we should be discussing our climate...
- Oct 27, 2021
- 4 min
How to Build a Book (hint... scene by scene)
Writing a non-fiction story is like cracking a safe. It seems impossible at the beginning, but once you're in, you're in.’ Rich Cohen ...
- Oct 4, 2021
- 3 min
The real work of writing
We write and write and write, and then someone asks the dreaded question… ‘so what is your book about?’ What happens? You stammer and...
- Sep 10, 2021
- 3 min
Finding your book's golden thread
"We are all part of the old stories; whether we know the stories or not, the old stories know about us." Leslie Marmon Silko Below in...
- Jun 21, 2021
- 9 min
My Greek Writing Adventure - Not Shirley Valentine but close!
As I faced the prospect of retrenchment a year ago, I spent some time with my friend Google, searching his pages for direction to my...
- Jun 16, 2021
- 5 min
A writing retreat on a lesbian island? It shouldn't happen to a lawyer
Write your Book' the post read. 'Join us on a writing retreat on the beautiful Greek Island of Lesvos’. I had in fact written a book,...
- Apr 19, 2021
- 4 min
Ten lessons from self-publishing romance novels
Francine Beaton writes romance novels. We asked to help us out by sharing some of the lessons she has learned. As a self-publishing...
- Mar 26, 2021
- 3 min
Books that shine a light
What books have been important to you in your life? Which books do you keep on your shelf, no matter how many times you move and box and...
- Feb 21, 2021
- 4 min
What publishers are looking for in 2022
People are devouring books in lockdown and stories that capture imaginations are rising. We did a talk recently on what books are being...
- Jan 18, 2021
- 5 min
5 reasons you are not writing right now
We are all stuck at home. Life is slower and smaller. Is this not the place all writers want to find? A quiet, empty place to allow the...
- Jan 4, 2021
- 3 min
How to write a memoir
Writing your own story is sometimes not an option - it is something you have to do. I'd Iike you to do it well. These tips are to take...
- Jan 2, 2021
- 4 min
How to send your book to publishers and agents
If you have done all the long and hard work writing and polishing your book, it’s time to press play. If you want to get a publishing...
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