I was recently asked during a Q&A about historical fiction authors who have influenced me and I completely blanked. Of course Stacey Halls and Jessie Burton came to mind immediately because their levels of readership are my aspiration, but while I love historical fiction – because it’s fiction AND it’s historical – the authors who’ve…
We all know that if you want to write a novel, you have to WRITE a novel. But sometimes writing is the last thing you want to do. Sometimes our brains go on strike. And sometimes life is too full on to give it the attention it requires – can I just mention here the…
Last night I had the absolute privilege of speaking alongside my agent, Lucy Morris, with the current cohort of Curtis Brown Creative’s Three Month Novel Writing Course. I was completed the Six Month course with CBC back in 2014 so it felt like not just an opportunity to connect with other writers, but to close…
OR, HOW DOES THE SUBMISSION PROCESS WORK FOR UK AUTHORS IN THE US? I googled the arse out of this when my UK agent suggested a US agent might want to take my book out in the US. Was the process the same? Was it quicker? Was it – GOD FORBID – slower?? Would I…
When my book was about to go out on submission to Editors, I spent a loooot of time Googling book deal stories. I wanted to read about those overnight pre-empts, the five way auctions, the clamouring of Italian publishers. But I also wanted to read about the slow-burners: the ones who waited months for the…
When I was out on submission, this was a question I asked Lucy in various forms probably a hundred times. This is her brilliant response: They have to rally their team! Usually it would go something like: editor reads and loves > circulates to their wider team > pitches at editorial meeting > pitches at…
If you’ve not read Part 1 yet, you probably should or this will be high-octane level confusing. *RECAP* My book has gone out on submission. Responses are positive. A date of Tuesday 14th June is set for deadline of expressions of interest. By THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY I am at PEAK sweat. PEAK SWEAT. By 5pm…
Once you’re represented by a lovely Literary Agent, you’ll be glad to know that the 3am endless searching for stories on how people got their Agent will be vanquished, and finally you will sleep through the night once more. Here’s the thing I’ve Googled the most since I signed to my wonderful Agent, Lucy (book…
I am currently on Submission. Or, more accurately, Mrs Wood is on Submission. Whenever I think about what’s happening in the ether, I hear this weird mash-up of both the theme from Jaws and Here Comes The Sun. A discomfiting medley indeed. But there is no time, nor need, for glibness. Because submitting my novels…
My book went out to editors in the UK and US last week. Having never got beyond … well, my own laptop, before all of this is new and bewildering. I’m constantly looking for blogs with an in on what happens and how it happens, so now … why not add my own? Getting Ready…
