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

Let me start at the very beginning. You will often hear people say - everyone has a book in them … This is not true. Others will tell you – I’m going to write a book when I retire … Most of them don’t. This is because writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes months of creativity, weeks of editing, time to work through the comments of beta readers and the editor and ends with continual marketing. So, if you have completed writing a novel and whatever state it is in

The synopsis is every author's nightmare. If you have written a novel of 90,000 words, to condense it into a few hundred words is a...

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

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

Whether you are submitting to an agent or a publisher, it is imperative that you follow their specific guidelines and requirements for...