The traditional route to publishing

The traditional route to publishing

The days of being able to pitch your proposal to a traditional publisher are pretty much gone.  And, if you’re a first-time author, don’t get excited about getting an advance, you need a substantial track record to get that. There are two ways into traditional...
Finished writing?  You’re just getting started

Finished writing? You’re just getting started

Becoming an author requires you to develop many skills – planning, research and writing for starters.  But when the last full stop of the final draft has been put in place, your career as a marketer is now going to be centre stage. There are five key areas that an...
Turning your gold into a stunning piece

Turning your gold into a stunning piece

Your knowledge, skills and experience are pure gold – and have the potential to become a book that is immensely valuable.  However, to get the most from your prized raw material, you need an expert ‘goldsmith’ to help you can create something really stunning.  In the...
Style it out

Style it out

Everyone can write, but not everyone can write well. What’s the difference between copy that is read and copy that never gets read?  The obvious answer is the headline.  And renowned copywriter king, Ted Nicholas, recommended that you spend 80% of your writing time on...
The author’s marathon

The author’s marathon

From a standing start writing a book seems like a marathon for most people.  It requires lots of preparation and training, after all, you wouldn’t set off on a marathon without putting in the training, would you? Writing a book is more like a marathon than a 100 metre...
If your book doesn’t fit the standard size

If your book doesn’t fit the standard size

Let’s start with what is ‘standard size’ – that’s simple, there isn’t one! Look at your bookshelf, I’m confident that, while many books will be a similar size, there will be quite a few that don’t ‘fit’ that same height and depth formula. When I published my first...