Are you a fiction writer eager to navigate the world of traditional publishing?

Look no further!I’m thrilled to announce my upcoming masterclass, designed specifically for authors like you who want to demystify the process and collaborate effectively with marketing teams.

I’ll be teaming up with Karen Bultiauw who brings bags of experience in successful marketing campaigns for books, so we can share this essential knowledge about the industry.

Do you want to get your novel traditionally published?

Some writers think that their publisher will take care of all the marketing for them. This is not the case.

You need to know about marketing and be ready to take an active part – and there are very specific ways to market if you sign with a traditional publisher.

Find out how by attending our workshop.

If you sign with a traditional publisher you need to be ready to take an active part in your book’s marketing.

The word ‘marketing’ gets a lot of attention in author and writer circles, but what does marketing entail in a traditional publishing journey? In this masterclass with Karen Bultiauw, you’ll learn what marketing and publicity mean in publishing (and the difference between public-facing and trade marketing). You will also find out where the marketing and publicity department fits into the publishing journey and understand the cycle of writing and marketing/promotion in a traditionally published author’s career.

I’m a non-fiction writer or a self-publishing fiction writer. Is this masterclass for me?

There will be some overlap with non-fiction in the basic process in traditional publishing, but some of the requirements for you as the author will be very different from fiction debuts. Similarly, knowing about these processes as an indie author is helpful, but you will fulfil all roles yourself.

How do writers know what to write about? Where do they get their ideas?

Not by some winged inspiration fairy whispering in their ears, that’s for sure. Wish it was. In my head she looks a bit like me… only her pixie-cut hair ALWAYS behaves itself and she’s got a perfect cheeky grin.

Writers know what to write about by writing it. There’s often a bit of daydreaming, sure – the three-day Take Five Writing Anti-Challenge that’s available with my writing partner-in-crime is where you can give that a go. But the real story? The details? The order of things and the why and the how? That comes about by starting to write. It grows as you write it. Then you get other ideas – they multiply like alien spawn. (Unpleasant simile, maybe… but you get my point.)

I am doing that myself. I’ve been sitting on the ideas for my second novel for a while. (First one an historical thriller set in the Tudor era called The Heretic’s Servant… go look it up!) Now I’ve properly got going with it, writing a bit every day, and taking that action is making the story come to life. Before, I was trying to get my little inspiration fairy to tell me what the story was going to be like and making a promise that when I knew what was supposed to happen, I’d write it down.

Big mistake. And I knew it was wrong. But I was letting my fear of writing the ‘wrong’ thing stop me from writing at all. No more.

Fear of writing? No more!

I’ve got my motivation, my simple rules (write 200 words a day, five days a week), my tools (Free progress tracker from Book Forge, my plan and reminders of what works for me) and my support network. If you don’t know what to write about, do one simple thing… write. Even if it’s about what happened when you went to the supermarket. It doesn’t matter. Just. Write. You can absolutely do this on your own – writing is one of the lowest cost activities there is. And if you want support, motivation, encouragement, community, it is here, waiting for you.

Perhaps you have ideas for novels that you’ve started but put away saying you’ll come back to them when you’ve got more time. Or you’re making painstaking, stop-start progress on your book. People keep asking how it’s going and you feel a bit embarrassed or guilty that you don’t have much to report. Maybe it’s not you that’s the writer but your nearest and dearest and you’d like to know how to help them.

Meeting your writing goals in 2024

Here is the solution. More than the awareness of the problem of your time shortage. You know that. You also know that the book will only get written if you write it. Hazel Hitchins Author and I have a brand new offer for you that supports you to actually write it. You can carve out the time, get your head in the right space, and develop the habits that will see your writing progress take hold. You can be one of our founding members. There are loads of writing groups on Facebook. You’ve probably joined some (or your writing friend has). They’ve got their good points but they don’t help you sit in the chair and write. They don’t help you carve out the time to put words on the page.

Support, guidance, accountability and community for new writers

Fiction Academy is an end-to-end programme to help you get a novel into the world. It is ideal for new writers and those who have written short fiction.

Long-form fiction writing – typically novels – requires particular knowledge and skills. You also need support, guidance, accountability and a community that wants you to succeed.

You also need honest feedback so you know when you’re ready to publish. Then comes the challenge of publishing – cover design, manuscript formatting… and the tech side, such as adding categories to KDP.

I have teamed up with Authors & Co., a fabulous partnership publisher. We would like to offer you Fiction Academy to take care of all those needs.

First, you will learn all the essentials of writing a novel through a full digital course. How to write a scene, character creation, plotting, narrative perspective and voice are some of the lessons you will get to grips with. This will give you confidence and a whole range of lightbulb moments to help you begin creating your novel.

Then, you receive twelve months’ membership in my Storytellers Elite group. This is a supportive community based on hivemind learning and support, including monthly group sessions and one-to-one sessions, writing challenges, feedback and writing sprint sessions, all with the aim of keeping you focused on making progress with your project.

How do you become a successful novelist?

Perhaps you expected me to say ‘talent’. You hear authors being praised for being talented. It’s written in buyers’ reviews and newspaper reviews, it’s said when awards are being given out, and it’s mentioned when someone recommends a book to a friend.

Writing talent is overrated. In fact, the word ‘talent’ is unhelpful. Talent suggests that a particular author can ‘just do it’ naturally, almost without thinking. It makes new writers think they can’t become authors because they aren’t good enough.

The writer who is willing to learn and who sticks with it will do better than the writer who tries to get by on talent alone. Every single time.

A writer with a little bit of natural ability with words, plus a willingness to learn and keep at it will do better than someone who imagines fantastic scenes but hardly ever writes them down and never seeks to deepen their understanding.

That little bit of natural ability lives in all of us because we are all people. That means it lives in you too. Telling stories is fundamental to being human. The difference between those ‘talented’ authors with fantastic stories on offer and the rest of the human population is just those two things: learning and practice… unglamorous as that might sound!

How do you become a successful novelist?

You can do it too if that’s what you really want. You can put a novel (or several novels) out into the world. Perhaps you’ll read reviews about how ‘talented’ you are!

By working with a fabulous publisher, I can offer you something that gets you from beginner fiction writer to published author. First, a full digital course teaches you all the essentials of writing a novel. You’ll understand structure, character creation, and how to write a scene that speaks to your readers’ imaginations. You’ll develop confidence and experience lightbulb moments of understanding.

Then, you continue your journey with me in my small, supportive community of writers, learning in a hivemind manner through monthly group sessions, weekend writing challenges, feedback sessions, writing sprint sessions, as well as monthly one-to-one sessions with me to discuss your project and keep you on the right lines. This is a whole year of support.

Many writers stay with me much longer than twelve months. You have the option to continue if you wish – but there’s no obligation.

By then, you could have your manuscript ready to begin the publication process. You receive a copyedit of your manuscript from me to make sure it is the best it can be. The wonderful team at Authors & Co. take care of your book’s professional formatting, beautiful cover design and publishing.

How to have more time to write

I don’t have time to exercise. I’m far too busy running the business, taking care of the household stuff, and all the other things in life. I’d like to exercise more, of course. I know it would be good for me and it would help me gain that sylph-like figure I want. I just don’t have time. Life keeps getting in the way. Plus, I’m not naturally athletic. I don’t have what it takes. Genetics and all that.

Yep. Bulls**t.

The real reason I don’t exercise as much as I know I should is because I can’t be arsed. As a result, I’m not going to achieve a goddess physique any time soon.

Making time to write

When you really want something, you will make the time for it. Not One Day – it’ll be Today that writing becomes your priority. You don’t have to commit hours and hours all at once to it. But if you’re new to writing longer pieces, like a novel, you need to find time to hone your skills. It won’t happen overnight, but small bits of time writing all mount up.

When you choose to make writing your priority, I can help. I’ll teach you solid techniques for writing a great story without red-faced bootcamps or quick fixes. Instead, you’ll be motivated to make new writing habits that become part of your busy life.

Together, let’s make those habits easier, quicker, and more fun. I’d love to know about your ideas and support your dreams to write a novel. Get in touch and say hello – it’s the first step to you becoming an author!

Helping writers to write

Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers tells us what makes someone an expert at what they do. It’s the ten thousand hours rule. Practice makes someone brilliant at something… ten thousand hours of practice. I’ve been thinking lately about what makes me the person who’s best placed to help writers. I mean… why me? I read Outliers a few years ago and it should have dawned on me before now.

I asked myself, what exactly do I do? I help people to write the best book they can. I teach people to write novels that other people will want to read. I mentor those people to become more confident in their writing.

A teacher for writers

I was a teacher for fifteen years. Do I have ten thousand hours of practice at that? Hell, yes.

I have written for years. Do I have ten thousand hours of practice at writing? Totally.

And what is a teacher other than a kind of mentor? Not only a mentor of students but of other, newer teachers… I mentored student teachers for years.

Writing fiction with confidence

I love to help people grow in confidence, to express the stories they have within them, and to help them see that they already have the potential and power to become the writer they want to be. I help budding authors write their first book, and emerging authors prepare their manuscripts for publishing.

So if you’re dreaming of becoming a published author, then I can help. I can help you gain the clarity you crave regarding what you want to achieve with your writing. My coaching helps you see how you can get there, and to help you experience those ‘light bulb’ moments regarding your writing style and structure. My membership community for writers –  Storytellers Elite – gives you direct, regular access to me plus other benefits. Even my book helps people learn to tell stories!

And that book by Gladwell… you should definitely read that.

What is a Writing Sprint?

Writing sprints are all the rage with writers and authors. It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction or non-fiction. They work whatever genre or sub-genre you write. 

A writing sprint is a closely focused period of time spent writing. Some writers do twenty-minute sprints. Others prefer half an hour or forty minutes. Most authors find that their words start running dry after this time period, but some keep going for an hour. There’s no right or wrong in this. Writers are human too (honestly!) and we are all different.

The benefit of writing in sprints is that it makes you get the words out. You know what happens to your writing time otherwise. You stare at the screen for ten minutes. Then you get up for a cup of tea. Then you decide to edit what you wrote yesterday (big mistake). You change three words. Then you change them back.

Or you decide you’re going to write the scene, produce twenty words, then go down a research rabbit hole about something. You spend an hour on websites searching for the perfect name for a character you’ve just invented.

You meant to get loads of writing done, didn’t you? You’ve got maybe another couple of hundred words to show for it. At this rate, you’ll be ninety before you complete this book.

How do I know this? Because I do it too. If I don’t sit down and set a timer, I’m done for.

How to do a Writing Sprint

Sprints are easy to do on your own. Decide what you’re writing and what you want to achieve (this fight scene between your Lead and Opposition; that arrival scene on the planet Norbling). Set a timer for a realistic period. Nothing fancy required – just your phone. Write for that period of time. When the time is up, check your progress against your goal. 

Maybe you’ve achieved your writing goal entirely. Maybe you managed half the scene. It doesn’t matter. Progress is progress. Let yourself feel good about it. Give yourself a reward or a break (that cup of tea; put the washing on if you care about such things). If your day allows it, come back and do another sprint, then another and another. It depends on your schedule/children/work/dog/mother-in-law and so on.

The Storytellers’ Academy

I keep this Facebook group quite small. It’s a space where writers feel safe to share their early drafts, to celebrate their wins, to get feedback (I run weekend challenges) and to be part of a supportive community of writers who care about writing.

Should I get an editor before a publisher or agent?

Before you start querying agents or publishers, you should write a great book. Whatever means you use to achieve it, you need to write the best book you can. That is the simplest answer possible. Publishers in the traditional publishing industry want books they can publish with as little extra work as possible. Literary agents want books they can easily pitch to their publishing contacts. No traditional publisher or literary agent wants to take on a book or a writer who hasn’t already come a long way on the road to being a polished author.

Your job as author is to show them that your book is ready for that. This is true whatever genre you’re writing: general fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, children’s fiction, non-fiction, memoir… 

If you want anyone to be interested in reading your book you need to go through editing. Professional editing highlights problems with your manuscript you won’t spot yourself. Plot holes. Weak character arcs and development. Narrative viewpoint problems. Style issues. 

Write a Great Manuscript 

Editing is highly valuable. Before you query publishers and agents, you should get a professional edit of your manuscript. You can learn a lot from getting an edit too. You can take this learning with you into the next book you write. 

That sounds frustrating to any writer, though. You want your manuscript to be sellable, don’t you? You don’t want that story and all those hours of writing to be just a learning experience.

The Business of Writing

Writing can feel pretty lonely. It can feel like you’re meant to figure it out all on your own, especially when you listen to some of the ‘advice’ in writing forums and groups. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Being a writer doesn’t have to be a solitary lifestyle. Being a writer doesn’t mean you have to learn through slow, painful experience. Investing in support means you can get where you want to be faster. You can get through the uncertainty about how to structure a novel, create great characters with strong motivations and goals, and hone a style and voice that your readers will love. You can make progress in leaps and bounds, not just in tiny steps.

This doesn’t mean you don’t need an editor before you try to land yourself a publisher or agent, if you’re planning to take the traditional publishing route. You still do. But it means that your editor will be able to help you tweak your manuscript enough to give you the best chance of attracting attention with it.