Author Archives: Kirsty

Q and A with Faber editor, Sarah Savitt

1/What’s your job title?
Editor at Faber & Faber
 
2/What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve just published Louise Doughty’s amazing novel WHATEVER YOU LOVE and am now thinking about how to make the paperback massive! I’m also editing a great debut novel and have just bought an exciting non-fiction book but neither has been officially announced yet [...]

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There’s a publishing lesson in every book

LondonWritersClub Live in July
We gathered on a very hot and sticky evening to hear Scott Pack, Publisher of The Friday Project. It was a fascinating and truly inspiring couple of hours.
He brought a stack of books, invited the audience to shout out the title they found interesting, and for each one told us the publishing moral [...]

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How writing a blog can sell books

How can a blog help to sell your book?
A week ago, I had a meeting with a publisher – I was pitching a book and telling them what great hits the author had with their blog. They said, ‘yes, well blog stats don’t lead to sales’ – I only wish I had the presence of [...]

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How to get a million for your debut novel

 A debut novel sold last month to Pan Macmillan by the American author, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, called The Language of Flowers. Pan Macmillan won the nine-publisher UK auction for a six-figure sum. The novel has already been sold in the States for more than $1 million and there have been auctions in every major territory.

It tells the [...]

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May LWC Live with Andrew Crofts

We shared a fascinating evening with the ghost writer Andrew Crofts at May’s LWC Live. He was inspiring, funny and informative. For those of you that missed the evening, here are some notes:
 
Andrew started writing as a 16 year old and although his first novel was rejected by publishers, he wasn’t daunted and came to [...]

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The Importance of Daydreaming by Sam Taylor

 
LWC: Thank you to author, Sam Taylor, for this guest blog on the Importance of Daydreaming.

 
It’s one of my most vivid childhood memories: the sarcastic adult voice, my classmates’ mocking laughter, dragging me rudely from the daydream into which I had, without meaning to, retreated. All my early life, I was told that I [...]

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I’ve found my perfect writing number and it’s 45

by Jacqueline Burns, literary agent and co-founder of London Writers’ Club

How do you get your writing done?
 
I write every day but I don’t always find it easy.
 
I’ve had 3 books published and have co-written 3 e-books to be published soon.
Under my bed, I have a children’s book, a notebook full of partly-sketched out [...]

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Got to be in it, to win it

 

There are two ways to score an agent – be the hunter or be hunted. You can follow the traditional route of submitting your work to a list of literary agents – target them well, following the submission guidelines and be sure to always check for spelling mistakes. Or you can be discovered – you [...]

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Say ‘bah’ to writer’s block

Guest blogger, and writer and journalist, Deborah Dooley, runs rural writer retreats in deepest North Devon - expect support and homemade cake - and the time and space you need to write. Deborah has written this week’s guest blog on the dreaded writer’s block.
“I read an article the other day about a woman who reacted [...]

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Choc Lit, romance and heroes

At LWC, we love indie publishers so grabbed the chance to interview Lyn Vernham, the Marketing Director of Choc Lit. Check out their submission guidelines - they accept novels direct from writers, so you don’t have to have an agent.

1/Please could you tell us a little about Choc Lit
We’re an independent publisher, creating a [...]

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