VAL PENNY

Let me preface this article by staing the obvious! Agents are individuals and their opinion is just one opinion. (Although I appreciate that when you've been on the receiving end of several rejections, it may not feel that way.) Also bear in mind that because they are indiviauals different agents will be attracted by different aspects of your pitch. A visual person might be attracted to a mood board, while others may find a list of tropes or themes helpful. There is an elemen

Inexperienced authors have often asked me if they need beta readers, where to find beta readers or even what beta readers are, so let me try to explain what they are, where to find them and why they are important. Beta readers are those to whom you entrust your manuscript after you have finished with it, but before you send it to your editor for polishing. They are a vital part of your book's journey to publication and must be familiar with your genre, fluent in the language

Authors are story tellers and whether for love or for money the want to share their stories with the world. There are many ways to do...

Some people say that everybody has a book in them. I doubt this is true. Even if it were so, I do not believe that everybody has the...

It may seem like a basic instruction, but before you seek any kind of representation or publication, make sure the first draft of your...