As this blog approaches its 11th birthday, I can see a certain pattern in my posts. Each year at around this time, in response to reader enquiries, I write a 'how to achieve your writing goals this year'. I particularly liked this one, which is now five years old but...
There are a lot of writing tips washing about on the internet, in books, at conferences, in bars. Some of them are helpful writing tips, some not so much. In my role as co-host of the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, I not only give out helpful writing tips, I also...
With publications closing and book review sections of newspapers and magazines getting smaller and smaller, authors need to work very hard to find publicity opportunities for their books these days. Whether traditionally- or indie-published, authors must seek out new...
For some authors, writing a series is a lifelong-held dream. For others, like me, it's something they stumble into and then flail about wildly hoping it will work out. In an effort to help you avoid the flailing, I've invited Helen Scheuerer to visit. Helen is a YA...
There's a lot of talk on the internet at present about the bind that debut authors find themselves in, trying to launch their first book when the usual things like launch parties, author talks, writers' festival and other literary fun are not available. And it's been...
In case you missed it, the latest round of #writeabookwithal is over and I have finished the first draft of my latest manuscript. It is, brace yourselves, the 15th first draft fiction manuscript that I have written. Fifteenth. Four were written before my first...
Last week I found myself compiling a list of books about writing for a young writer I know. She's 15, enthusiastic, stymied by the parameters of writing for school assignments, hungry for information, encouragement and advice. I tried to give her book suggestions that...
Being presented with the teachers' notes for your novel is one of the great joys of being a children's author. Teachers' notes are a curriculum-linked resource for a novel, offering teachers background information, insight into everything from themes to setting, with...
Regular readers of this blog will know that I run an irregular series called Industry Insider, in which professionals offer their insights into some of the big questions about writing, editing, reading and publishing. This week, Matt Davies, Australian author of debut...
