Writing Lessons

Still midway through the book? Or stuck on your first version? Or it’s still sitting unfinished. Oh boy does it take a lot of real grit to finish a book. Starting is the fun bit. I start with great enthusiasm and a spring in my step. Its really fun getting all the information into the right place and doing the interviews and research. 

YOU WANT TO FINISH? Stick to these rules 1. Set a deadline to start ... this means to stop plotting and planning and start writing. This means starting your story at page 1, and not turning back again. 2. Have targets that are outcomes-based not hours-based. Many writers say they will write for an hour a day. On my mentorships I set targets at 25,000 words a month. 3. Set a realistic deadline to complete your first draft of the book. Then stick to it. A good goal is to h

Writing can truly change your life. You have heard this before, right? Writing all of mine changed my life in very unexpected ways.  Hint - it wasn't ever about my bank balance. So often we think the endgame of writing a book is becoming an author or having a bestseller. Well, most of my authors find the real reward is so much more intangible and subtle. One thing I do know after 20 years in the book business is that it is absolutely never about money. Writing is not often

I always used to tell writers NOT to write about themselves. For years and years. This was in the interests of cultivating good fiction authors. And before memoir stormed the charts. I still believe you shouldn't.... but that's for FICTION (or a novel). Because if you write about yourself in fiction, you really only have one story to tell. It is also a totally misunderstood maxim of writing that you must ‘write what you know.’ Many writers misinterpret this to mean – write ab

Who are the writers that actually get published? Starting a book? That is the (relatively) easy bit. Keeping going is a bit harder. You start off with a bang, writing every day, working on your plot. But as the months drag on and the going gets tough you start to make excuses. Work is pressing, kids are demanding, too much travel, family coming to visit. No time. You will do it later…. Now is not the right time for you. Next year…later in the year.What really happens? The

I was stopped at a recent Literary Festival by a debut author who ran up to me, waving wildly. She had just released her book and was very excited. She told me that she had a publishing consultation with me many moons ago, and I had told her to go back on her book, relook at it and ‘take her time'.  I had (apparently) told her that her book was not ready yet. “I will meet you in the middle of your story,” I had told her. “But you need to do the work first. Take a year”

When I ask you, 'what are you writing?' what I am really asking is this... what is your genre? This is the very first thing any agent (like me) or publisher is going to ask you. What genre is your book? This doesn’t mean we want a breakdown of your plot. I want to know what kind of book it is. Now this is a one-concept answer. Like: It’s a crime/self-help guide/children’s book / Young Adult novel / a romance, or a memoir. Not… "Well it’s a fable but it is written lik

Why stories can save lives . When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41 my friend called me up, “make something good come of it,” she told me. I knew then I would write about it and that became my 5th book Love and Above. My way, like so many other storytellers who have lived through the centuries, is to share stories by writing or telling them. We tell them in social gatherings, on a stage, in a book or in a diary. But we must tell them because storytellers have a c

As an agent it can take me up to a year to get a book publishing deal for an author. It is a combination of so many elements that come together to make a publisher say YES. To be honest, most of it is luck, contacts, good timing and simply having a good book to show them.  The truth is that this 'being an author' is a long game, and along the journey you have to keep the momentum up, process any rejection letters, implement any feedback, get back to it, and keep going. Rinse

There is only one answer to this question (in my view). YES of course you should plan a book! I believe in writing with intent if you want to get published. If you are writing non-fiction you are going to be 100% clear about what is going to go into your book. You are going to have a clear list of your chapters and what material you will cover in each. Your planning will become your book proposal and it will guide your entire book. But is a novel different? No.

It’s been 20 years since my first book was published, and I wanted to reflect on the long journey of being an author, as well as working...

By Miriam Sagan for Writers Digest No poet likes to hear the expression "slush pile"_ it implies that our creations have gone into a heap...

Your book needs a theme. A theme is closely aligned to your plot and often the words are used interchangably. I see them as different howeve

Once again we look forward to the publishing market for the upcoming publishing cycle. It is so useful for an author to be aware of...

What does it actually t ake to write a book? Below is a list of 10 things (five short and five longer ones). Join me in 2025 and finally...

Think of your back cover blurb like a movie trailer. There is a good reason movie trailers are not made by the writer. It’s so hard as writer to think of your book as a product. It feel like an oversell and a bit awkward to hype it so much right? Not true. This tight piece of writing needs to be SO crafted and SO clever. It also needs to make your book seem dramatic and desperately exciting (far more than it really is). Look, no book – or movie – can sustain that level of exc

Here's the question we all ask. What if my book sucks? It doesn’t matter how many books you have written (like me); lalunching a book is a

Chapter excerpt from “ABOUT ORIGINAL & WILD VOICE IN SPEAKING AND WRITING”, from “Tending the Creative Fire manuscript” by Dr. Clarissa...

See if you can find yourself and your writing style in my article below where I detail The 7 Kinds of Writers. You may have a laugh. Are...

My authors are often blindsided by how much a good editor actually costs. I want you to think of it this way – most editors take a...