This week has been super busy with publishing events, speaking on a panel for The Printing Charity on Tuesday and giving a keynote speech at the lovely Roehampton University Creative Writing Soiree on Wednesday. Both events got me thinking about careers as there were lots of students wanting to know more about publishing and specifically… Continue reading Getting a job in publishing
Tag: publishing
Why reviews are so important for authors
My favourite review I’ve ever received from anyone was from a lady named Margaret, who gave The Doll House one star because ‘she hadn’t read it yet.’ While it did make me laugh, reviews like this are surprisingly common and of course they’re frustrating for authors because they can pull down your star rating. In… Continue reading Why reviews are so important for authors
Pricing and promotions
When you give over control of your book to a publishing house, your publisher will then decide on the pricing - how much the ebook retails for on Amazon and other e-tailers, and, through deals with the stores, how much the book will be sold at at retailers such as supermarkets / WHS / Waterstones… Continue reading Pricing and promotions
Responding to edits on your book
As an editor, part of my job is to send authors feedback on their novels and let them know what I think is working well, and what perhaps needs a little more work. As a writer now too, I’ve also experienced this from the other side and I wanted to do a quick post about… Continue reading Responding to edits on your book
On being kind to each other
I recently had a bit of an odd experience in an author Facebook group, and it got me thinking about the wider writing community. I suppose I have been lucky – this was the first time I’d ever been subjected to online hate, and let me tell you, it wasn’t a picnic in the park!… Continue reading On being kind to each other
Writing a first draft
I had someone ask a question recently about how to write a first draft and thought I'd do a blog post on this. The short answer is: you just have to write it! That's not the most helpful piece of advice in the world, but it is the truth. Writing out that first draft can… Continue reading Writing a first draft
Plotting vs winging it
Whenever I speak to other writers, one of the things I'm always endlessly curious about is whether they plot out every stage of their novel, or simply start writing and see where the book takes them. I'm definitely in the latter camp, although I did try to plot as much as I could for my… Continue reading Plotting vs winging it
Your publisher’s decisions
Signing with a publishing house is undoubtedly a very exciting experience, but it can also come with a side of confusion, especially for debut authors. It can be hard to let your work go, because you’ve worked on it so hard and up until now, you’ve been in control (perhaps with your agent too). I… Continue reading Your publisher’s decisions
Managing your writing time
One of the things people ask me quite often is about time - how there's time to write, especially when you have a full time job/several other jobs/children or a family to look after. I don't have kids so I can't currently comment on that, but I will say that I have the utmost respect… Continue reading Managing your writing time
Dealing with rejection
One of the things that crops up again and again when speaking to writers is the idea of rejection. Hand on heart, I don't think I know a single author who has not been rejected in some shape or form, so believe me when I say it is not uncommon and you are NOT alone!… Continue reading Dealing with rejection
Publicity – what to expect as a new author
I had some great suggestions for blog posts this week from the lovely Book Connectors Facebook group - thank you everybody for commenting! It was really interesting to see some of the questions people were wondering about, and I want to do my best to try to answer some of them in the next few… Continue reading Publicity – what to expect as a new author
That two week feeling…
Yesterday, someone asked me if I was feeling happy about how my first book, The Doll House, is doing. 'I don't know,' I replied, and I wasn't trying to be evasive or modest or cagey or any of those things, I just really found it hard to explain how I am feeling two weeks after the… Continue reading That two week feeling…
The Worried Writer Podcast
Last week, I spoke to the absolutely lovely Sarah Painter, who runs a brilliant podcast called The Worried Writer. I've listened to her podcast for the last couple of years - I used to listen on my walk to work before I got lazy and started taking the bus) and it's honestly such a great… Continue reading The Worried Writer Podcast
Behind the Scenes at the Doll House
I wanted to give a little insight into the inspiration behind my first novel, The Doll House. The book is in no way autobiographical, but the central image is based upon a house my own father made for me when I was a child. We lived in Essex back then, in a tiny village (which… Continue reading Behind the Scenes at the Doll House
The submission process…
I wanted to write a post about the submission process, which can be one of the scariest times in a writer's life. I remember when I first went on submission I spent ages reading blogs about it to see what other people's experiences had been and compare them to my own, but the truth is,… Continue reading The submission process…
Phoebe Morgan 