I met with an editor of commercial fiction recently who had plenty of ideas for novels she wanted to commission. They were okay set-ups; each one had a decent premise, or character idea at their heart. The ideas all took inspiration from something that had already been successful, in books or on TV, and then combined that plot or…
It's summer so we have left our desks and we're throwing ourselves into Beauty: diving into waves or paragliding into the big blue from cliffs or lying in long grasses or basking in the sun or losing ourselves in music or reuniting with loved ones. And so if we write, let's write about something beautiful…
We were walking in lush green fields, alongside a river that maybe used to be deep and mysterious and now tumbled lazily over rocks – or maybe on a dry day was just a muddy ditch but that day tumbled lazily over rocks for us; and we were with our children, inhabiting the world with…
Most of us walk the same streets every day; catch the same train; buy coffee from the same shop; sit at the same desk; choose the same spot on the sofa; look out at the same view. And we learn to take the familiar features of our daily landscape for granted, so that we hardly…
I have been shortlisted as a possible Agent of the Year by the British Book Industry Awards*, which is a great honour. But oh, I nearly didn't make it. All I had to do was to write a 1500 word essay about myself and my agenting, together with an account of my achievements and successes during My…
To my fellow literary agents, gathered this week at the London Book Fair: let's take this opportunity to consider why it is in the author's interest for the Halls for one year to go quiet, to shrink and go small. For the noise from the IRC to roar above - for the agents to take over Olympia. Agents are under increasing pressure from the big…
What if you wrote something for burning, or for burial? Perhaps it would be the most beautiful or important thing you ever wrote. You would be your only reader, and you would read your words only once. Your text would be designed not to offer understanding or illumination but would simply reflect some truth about…
At some point last year I realised I had become afraid of too many things. It wasn't rational. I don't know how it began. But this is how it ended: I started running, which meant I strengthened the body of which I had become too protective. I ran without company, which meant I learned to enjoy…
When authors meet publishers for the first time, they always ask me: What are they expecting? Should I say X? Will they expect me to know Y? May I mention Z? I tell them what I know but it always ends with the same advice: Just Be Yourself. Of course, I mean to offer the…
I'm just going to say it: I love contracts. But that's not enough. I want you to love them too. Contracts are not a dull, essential adjunct to our activity. They are the sure ground on which our business is built, the tracks along which the publishing train steams. All the creative, innovative work you…