It's been a funny six months since I got my literary agent. Time seems to have slowed down, or is passing in larger chunks, I'm not sure which. I no longer speak about the process of writing in weeks, but in months, or years even. At a micro-level, things are happening. My first novel hasContinue reading "That difficult second album"
A New Chapter
I have to be honest and say I'm feeling pretty good about life right now. Because today is the day I signed an agreement with an agent to represent me. Yes, folks, three years, sixteen rejections and endless revisions since I first started writing The PTA Assassin, I FINALLY have an agent. And it feelsContinue reading "A New Chapter"
Sliding Doors
Fuck, fuck fuckitty fuck. I have just made a decision that could be the best or worst thing to ever happen to my writing career. Yes, people: I turned down an agent's offer to represent. I know. WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING? As a first time author, it's safe to assume I don't knowContinue reading "Sliding Doors"
What I learned about pitching at the London Book Fair
Being ready can take a long time I started writing The PTA Assassin two and a half years ago. When it was done, I followed up with the first edit. Then a second one. Then a massive third edit took place last year when I paid someone professional to look at it. Since then it'sContinue reading "What I learned about pitching at the London Book Fair"
What I learned about self publishing at the London Book Fair
I decided to brave the London Book Fair for the first time this year. The LBF isn't really for authors, but they do have a special little corner for us where talks are given and, if you were quick off the mark when the tickets went on sale, where you can get a 10-minute agentContinue reading "What I learned about self publishing at the London Book Fair"
Winter blues
Winter is my least favourite time. Some people love it. They wrap up warm, enjoy hot chocolates by the fireside and remain resolutely cheerful throughout the darkest, coldest months. I am not these people. I spend most of winter feeling perpetually cold, almost always miserable, I pile on weight from eating stuff I would usuallyContinue reading "Winter blues"
Conformity
The brilliant Matt Haig posted on Twitter yesterday. Anyone who follows him will know this is hardly unusual, but this particular tweet stood up, grabbed the microphone and shouted 'Faye! I'm talking to YOU.' Deep, huh? It immediately made me think about the past few years, of moving country and returning to London, and ofContinue reading "Conformity"
Write what you know
When you first start out learning the process of writing, a lot of people will encourage you to 'write what you know'. Feeling I had loftier ambitions than writing about being a 40-something housewife from London, I decided that for my first novel, I'd saunter directly into the unknown world of a fantasy sci fi,Continue reading "Write what you know"
The one about winning.
Last month, I wrote about failure at some length on my business blog. I'm a big fan of failure. HUGE fan. I've done a lot of improv comedy in the past five years and it's not something you can enjoy or get good at without accepting that you're going to have some unfeasibly bad moments,Continue reading "The one about winning."