NO SHORT CUTS
Not all writers have quiet lives. It’s a wonder how some of them found the time to write anything. Byron springs to mind, and Ernest Hemingway also seemed happiest in a war zone. Charles Dickens had more energy than seems... Read More
A New Start
I’m in the process of signing up a new client. It’s an exciting moment. I am about to get to know a complete stranger really quite intimately. And the complete stranger is also entering a new world, one in which... Read More
It’s not always you – often it’s them .…
Rejection – it’s not something anyone finds fun. And in the world of book publishing, there’s a lot of rejection to be had. Writers’ submissions are turned down by agents; agents’ submissions are turned down by publishers; books which do... Read More
Prizes, Surprises – and Persistence
A week ago I got an email telling me a friend’s first novel had been longlisted for the Booker Prize. The Booker is the pre-eminent prize for literary fiction written in English, and winning it is generally reckoned to be... Read More