When you last sampled your own book, perhaps for the umpteenth time, was it a silent appreciation, or did you voice it aloud in your den, while your puzzled dog reckoned it best to wag his tail?

Had you thought of recording it, to share the dog’s satisfaction? If so, was it loud enough to keep the loyal beast awake, or did he turn turtle and dream of a walk in the field?

Did you make the right emphases? Perhaps you discharged the opening confidently and trailed away by the end. Before you read for half an hour to a fee-paying audience, some of whom may not hear very well anyway, you could practise.

You may be asked as a swansong to take part in a discussion on, for instance, “Was Tolstoy at 200 the greatest ever?” Don’t just confide your view sideways to the panel, but give it to the audience straight between the ears. (I’d plump for the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, what about you?)

The great George Canning, who lent his weight to the liberation of Spanish America, was said to have acquired a house in Brighton so he could pitch his oratory against the roar of the waves. A model for us all. Though it doesn’t have to be Brighton.

Indeed, you might try your local library, and see if you can make yourself heard above the new fashion for live gigs.

Best wishes,
Alex Hamilton

About Alex: Guest blogger Alex Hamilton is an award-winning travel writer. He contributes articles ‘The growth of travel guidebooks’ and ‘One hundred years of fiction bestsellers’ for the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook.

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I’m always excited but slightly anxious at the prospect. I love the look of the uncreased cover, the perfect un-thumbed pages and the unbroken spine (I’ve never been one to treat books very well – does that make me a bad book person?). I can’t wait to give it a quick smooth, a quick fan and a quick sniff  before I get out the post-its and spoil another perfect copy with my scribbles and coffee stains.

But what about you – the reader? Do you need a new copy?

It’s a question I’m often asked because I know some people are loathed to buy a new edition every year – and I get that – the Yearbook is designed to help writers make money, not take it from them. But sometimes you have to spend to save, and I can promise that the Yearbook will save you time – lots of it.

So much happens in the publishing industry in the space of a year – companies move, merge or go broke, new trends sweep the market then drop off the radar,  new technologies make an impact, submission policies change, editors move jobs and so on.

I spend my year gathering up-to-date industry information and putting it all in one convenient, red-jacketed place, so that you, the writer, can go direct to the right place and the right person at (hopefully) the right time.

What else? Well the Yearbook is second to none when it comes to editorial content. This year I’ve made space for lots of new articles.

We have a brilliant foreword by John Boyne, author of bestseller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about her experiences of writing short stories and her book The Thing Around Your Neck. Kathy Lette reveals the serious business of being a comic writer and Simon Trewin, literary agent at United Agents, offers invaluable advice to the unpublished author.

You can also read how Alexandra Pringle, editor-in-chief for Bloomsbury, spots a bestseller; journalist and author Nicholas Clee discusses the state of book commissioning in today’s publishing climate and expert coach and trainer Alison Straw gives her pointers for coping with the rejection – handy for manuscripts and life in general.

So buy cheap, buy twice? Not so with the Yearbook. It’s worth every penny.

Warm wishes, Jo

Click here to buy the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook »

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Nice as it is to put a face to the work, it’s really not necessary. Very few readers will judge a book by the author photo – it’s all about the writing. The one exception to this might be if you’ve written a book about exercise or dieting, when readers DO judge the author by their appearance.

So thanks for the photos – but no need!

Cressida
(Editorial Consultant)

PS I am aware that it’s slightly hypocritical to be writing this post with my photo beaming out at you – but apparently blog readers like photos – so there you go!

Cressida Downing will be joining Jo Herbert, Editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, to co-host ‘Submitting Your Manuscript’ – a two-part evening masterclass for writers.

Note: this masterclass is now sold out but we expect to run more events later in the year. Read the course outline here »

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When I first started writing I used to think that there was nothing in the world quite as intimidating as a blank sheet of paper. A thought I was reminded of only a few days ago when staring at one myself, waiting for the inspiration to begin my new novel, the next in the series after The Pindar Diamond.

There is something about it that always seems – well, so improbable somehow.

It always feels as though there’s something else I should be doing. Some sort of preparation: reading, researching, dancing round a maypole, perhaps? It’s the reason that writers’ houses are always supposed to be so terribly clean. We are forever putting off the evil moment.

It’s hard beginning any book, but novels are particularly difficult. Before you start it, a novel is something that does not yet exist. It is – what? A thought. A feeling. A castle in the air. In my own case, a ghostly presence (the character of John Carew) who has been stalking me for the last 15 years, damn him, wanting his moment in the sun.

Here are a few strategies that I’ve tried over the years. If beginning at the very beginning seems too daunting, I try writing small fragments (a description of a character or a place, or a piece of dialogue) which might end up at any point in the novel.

On Monday I started by writing a scene that I’ve had in my head for many months now. It’s rural England, 1606. Sometime towards a winter nightfall. A man in ragged clothes is making his way down an ancient drover’s path. Who is he? Where has he come from? Where’s he heading?

At first, it’s all horribly creaky, but I spend all Monday and Tuesday fleshing out a description of the man and the drover’s path (it helps that I have a real location in mind), and by Wednesday, suddenly, things are beginning to happen.

Everything I’ve been doing this week begins to feed into that one scene. I think of the photographic portraits I went to see at a friend’s exhibition on Bankside (Tessa Traeger: Voices of the Vivrais) and somehow they insinuate their way into my description of the man – who then mysteriously becomes two men.

My mystery man now has a companion, some sort of… well, he looks like a vagabond, or a country type that used to be called a ‘moocher’. Who is he? What’s he doing there? And where is he going?

(Want to know more? I will be writing a detailed, almost daily description of the process of writing this new novel in my blog.)

So: how do you begin a new novel?

Firstly, don’t wait for inspiration. Inspiration comes during the actual process of writing, not while you’re waiting to begin.

Instead: put a date in your diary. Sit down. Start writing.

Katie Hickman will be talking at the Writers’ & Artists’ How to Get Published conference on Saturday 19 June. Read the full programme and book your ticket now »

For more on Katie Hickman see her Bloomsbury Publishing page and her official website.

Read her blog now »

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Venture inside the writing process, says guest blogger Laura Jane Cassidy:

Often when authors are asked to give their number one tip to aspiring writers, they reply with ‘Read, read, read’.

I know that reading is important, but I think rewriting is even more so.

When you read a book you are looking at the finished product, and in most cases it’s the result of a lot of rewriting. I watch an insane amount of movies, but that doesn’t mean I’d be any good at making one.

Just like a budding filmmaker has to get off her couch and out with a video camera, as an aspiring writer you have to venture right inside the writing process. You have to try things out, move chapters, delete paragraphs, add plotlines, scrap characters, change sentences and change them back again.

I wrote three drafts of my first novel Angel Kiss before I sent it out to agents, and I found rewriting tough. But it was an exhilarating kind of exhaustion and when I saw my book improving with each draft, I knew it was worth it.

During the rewriting process I asked a few people I trusted to read my book. I considered their opinions, listened to the advice of published writers, went with my gut instinct and didn’t stop rewriting until I knew my book was the best it could be.

When I got a publishing deal there was even more rewriting to be done.

Since signing with Puffin last November I’ve been steadily working with my editor, making changes to my book. People often ask if I mind changing things. Initially it was difficult, seeing all that red pen on my manuscript was a little disheartening. But now I absolutely love the editing process. Every piece of advice my editor gives helps to evolve Angel Kiss into something I’m really proud of.

These days it’s very easy and very tempting to diverge from the traditional publishing path, and thus risk bypassing the editing process. I naively thought that an editor’s job was just to check things like grammar and continuity, but since signing with Puffin I’ve realised the extent of the invaluable direction an editor gives.

Just like a rising actor can’t excel without a good director, I believe that an emerging writer needs the guidance of an editor. They are the Tim Burton to your Johnny Depp, and they are definitely worth holding out for.

So what’s my number one tip? ‘Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.’

Best wishes,
Laura Jane

Laura Jane Cassidy writes supernatural crime for teens and her first novel Angel Kiss will be published by Puffin in summer 2011. She blogs about writing, reading and other stuff at First Three Chapters.

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I commonly get asked at writing festivals how authors can be sure that ideas they submit to publishers and agents won’t just be pinched and developed by someone else. My answer is that while you can’t be entirely sure, in truth we are all responding to the same ether – of ideas and influences – and it’s perfectly possible for two people to come up with the same thought at the same time - and one find a publisher first. Most publishers and agents have enough good combinations of author and material submitted to them, without needing to plunder ideas with a transfer value.

I have to draft the next bit carefully. I don’t want to sound smug, just convey my growing excitement. I don’t know if, like me, you are glued to the second series of A History of the World in 100 Objects, which has recently returned to Radio 4, written and presented by the director of the British Museum, Neil Macgregor? Apparently it’s a massive success, with huge numbers of people hitting the website to see what the objects look like.

And the reason for my excitement? Surely all these people listening and looking are going to be thinking about how they too would like to work in a museum or gallery (or maybe that it’s a good option for their children). And meanwhile, I have just published a book on the subject.

I must rapidly confess that the book was not my idea. I have often felt that being a publisher requires a lot of altruism. The idea for the book came from A&C Black’s commissioning editor for reference, Lisa Carden. She wrote the initial proposal, commissioned me to write it and someone else to produce the elegant cover, persuaded her colleagues to invest in it, and having instructed the copyeditor, promptly went off on maternity leave.

My hope is that right now, at home with her new daughter Lucy, she is listening too - and having similarly excited thoughts that now working in a museum or gallery looks such an exciting career option, we have produced the perfect guide to getting started. A felicitous case of commeth the hour, commeth the man(ual).

All best, Alison

Alison Baverstock is the author of Marketing your book, an author’s guide (A&C Black) and is course leader of the MA Publishing at Kingston University.

She is speaking at the Writers’ & Artists’ Insider Guide to How to Get Published conference on Saturday 19 June. Places are limited so early booking is advised »

Her latest book, How to Get a Job in a Museum or Art Gallery (A&C Black), is out now.

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Believe it or not, I’m in the throes of getting the 2011 edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook ready for press. There are new articles to edit, listings to update, pages to make up, the jacket to finalise and the index to compile.

This will be the eighth time I’ve put the Yearbook together and I have to say I have a love/hate relationship with the last-minute drama. There is usually some sort of crisis to deal with, whether it’s a frantic attempt to make everything fit into the page extent, a typo on the cover, or an upsidedown illustration. But there’s nothing like the sense of satisfaction and relief when the book is finally ready to go to printers, and all the sweat has been worth it.

All editors feel that way when a book comes together. All the stresses, the negotiations, the tensions, the slog are worth it for the end product – and we didn’t even write the books. We get a little taste of how it must feel to have actually finished your own book, your own masterpiece, your very own creation.

So, I’ll carry on in my corner and you in yours. Keep going. Between us we make the book world go round.

Warm wishes,
Jo
(Editor, Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook)

Jo Herbert will be joining editorial consultant Cressida Downing to co-host Submitting Your Manuscript – a new two-part evening masterclass for writers, focusing on the all-important covering letter and synopsis. Places are strictly limited and early booking is recommended. Read the course outline here »

She is also speaking at the June How to Get Published conference for writers. Book your ticket now »

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To give you all a sneak preview of this new book, we have added an article exclusively to this website. It’s called Tips for Your Specialist Non-Fiction Proposal – and if you are pitching any kind of specialist non-fiction title, it’s ideal.

There’s lots more in the forthcoming book, of course! The Writers’ & Artists’ Guide to Getting Published will enable you to market your work more professionally, understand the relationship you will have with both agent and publisher and offers a contemporary inside view of the publishing industry.

The Writers’ & Artists’ Guide to Getting Published will be published by A&C Black Sept 2010, RRP £14.99.

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“Where does it all come from?” runs that favourite query of literary festival audiences. “Where do you get your ideas and your inspiration?”

Oh dear, I’ve always dreaded that question. I can answer anything, lierally anything at all, about the writing process. I can talk at length on word counts, publishers, how to get an agent – but this one has always stumped me.

Writing in my own blog, which I started just recently in the run-up to the publication of my new novel The Pindar Diamond, I seem – bizarrely – to have written more entries about walking my dog than about the process of writing.

It seemed quite entertaining at the time – certainly more immediately entertaining (to me, anyway) than trying to write about the ‘good agony’ that is writing and publishing a novel, which might seem off-puttingly earnest when written down in black and white. But reading back over them I realise that perhaps it’s not so much the dog as the walking that’s the key.

I need to walk. I need the space that it creates inside my head. I need to create the space – as I heard Paul McCartney once say of his song writing – ‘for the tunes to fall into’.

And walking is the perfect medium. It is a day-dreamy, freefalling sort of state. You are wide awake, but not concentrating on anything in particular; you are alone with your thoughts, but not trying to marshal them in any particular way. It creates, rather like staring out of a train window, a very mild form of self-hypnosis. And, for me, that’s when things start to happen.

A novel is the sum of everything you know. It’s everything you’ve read, everyone you’ve loved or hated, everywhere you’ve been. It’s the sum of everything you are. In short it’s the process of accessing those things – those memories, feelings, experiences, dreams – that’s the real mystery.

I’ve just found a book by Norman Mailer on my bookshelves, a collection of observations about the process of writing called The Spooky Art.

Spooky? Too true.

Writing, especially fiction writing, is spooky sometimes, scary even, because you are never quite sure what your subconscious is going to come up with.

It was another Beatle – John Lennon, I think – who said something like ‘life is what happens when you are making other plans’. Could it be that novels are what happen when you’re walking the dog?

Katie Hickman will be talking at the Writers’ & Artists’ How to Get Published conference on Saturday 19 June. Read the full programme and book your ticket now »

For more on Katie Hickman see her Bloomsbury Publishing page and her official website. She is blogging daily in the run-up to the publication of her latest novel, The Pindar Diamond. Read her blog now »

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First off, praise from Richard and Judy or winning the Nobel Prize – which is the bigger honour? Before you say the Nobel, let me say this, a new survey has revealed that more people have heard of the Richard & Judy Book Club (despite it now being defunct) than the Nobel Prize for Literature. If your aim is to get book sales, you might want to ponder this a while.

Also, a new writer, who is just 16, is making waves in the blogosphere, thanks to her post about whether age matters in publishing. If you are a young author then Steph Bowe has some great advice for you, from not thinking of publication as a race, to when exactly you might want to mention your age. And what does everyone here think, does age matter? Can you be too young or too old? Or is it just plain irrelevant?

What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.

Claire
(Publisher, A&C Black)

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