Chapter One | Writing Space

Updated May 2026

Finding the best place – Generally, I go to my writing room (my daughter’s old bedroom which has a view of the town). It’s not a dramatic view but the room is light and airy. Sometimes I might have a change and write downstairs, or outside if the weather is fine. But what’s practical for you? Is your space quiet, comfortable and does it have everything you might need? Ideally, I see myself at my desk on top of a hill in a wooden cabin overlooking a lake and mountains. Maybe when I’ve sold a million copies...

Finding the best time – Writing is generally portable and, unless you are writing to deadlines, is not time sensitive so it can be fitted in around other activities. Having such flexibility is great, but when are you at your most creative? I am a morning person, so that’s a good time for me. I also write better when I set by specific time to doit, rather than squeezing in spare minutes or hours. You might not have the luxury of choice but, if you do, I recommend you block out time for when you want to do it.

Look after yourself – is your writing station good for your posture? You’re likely to spend a long time at it, so get it right. Get up and move regularly if you can. Stretch, walk, exercise if possible. Get into good habits. You can ‘lose’ time when you are in the flow. Set an alarm for every hour, or more often, to remind yourself to move. Even if it breaks the flow, it’s worth it to keep you healthy. Believe me; I’ve learnt the hard way (bad back and neck). And don’t forget to eat and drink! Those pesky characters can keep you away from all the things that you need to sustain you.

Other interests. It might be that you have another job or other responsibilities around the house or elsewhere and you are squeezing in time to write. Writing might be your other interest. However, if you devote most of your time to writing, you might find you need other diversions. I find that if I’ve started writing around 7am or 8am, by about 3pm or 4pm I’m beginning to flag, even with breaks in that time. That leaves a lot of hours left in the day to do something else. Don’t get bored. You need to stay motivated and fresh for another day. Writing isn’t the only thing in my life, nor should it be.

Be realistic. Whatever your reasons for writing, whether just for pleasure or professionally, set yourself goals. It will help both in terms of motivating yourself and giving discipline to your writing. The goals could be word counts, completion of chapters or a character profile, chunks of research done, aims to edit specific sections, or just overall time spent on writing. Set the goal, aim for it, but, again; don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t achieve it. Life gets in the way sometimes.

Maybe you have an overall goal to be published? I enjoy writing and I enjoy publishing my own books. Some authors go down the traditional publishing route. That’s quite hard to achieve (see publishing section). Literary agents are clear that they receive of thousands of submissions, all of them from people who would like to get published. I did my research and knew that. Now, I’m comfortable with the route I have chosen, though that comes with its own challenges. Whatever your reason for writing and your goals, be realistic, but most of all, be kind to yourself. Your dreams may not happen straight away – you have to stick at it. J.K. Rowling did.

Chapter Two | Publishing

Updated May 2026

You’ve written your book, now sit back, relax, have a coffee and wait for the agents and publishers to come knocking at the door... That’s probably not going to happen. There is a lot of advice and information out there, so do your research on how to publish. But I would like to share what I have learnt on my writing journey. Publishing fits into two broad categories: Traditional publishing and Self (or independent) Publishing

Traditional Publishing – If you want to go through a publisher then you need, these days, to get a literary agent. There are a lot of them and they all have existing clients and thousands more who want to be one of their clients. Most of them encourage new authors to submit to them, with that health warning that they receive a lot of submissions. They all give guidance on their sites about what you need to do. It is usually via email and they normally ask for the following;

1. a covering letter in the body of the email

2. a synopsis attached which has to say everything that happens (tricky exercise trying to condense 90000 words down to 5 or 600!)

3. the first 3 chapters or 5000 – 10000 words of your book.

The trick is to try to get them to open the attachments, so your covering letter has to be well thought out and able to sell your concept. Then it is a question of whether they like what they read and whether it is something that is on their wish-list. Remember: they are taking the risk that your book will sell to cover their upfront costs and profit, so they will be very fussy.

Do your research into the agencies first as to who might be interested in your type of book, and then look at the agent profiles to see which agent within the agency specifically might be attracted to it. If I had a magic tip on how to get them to read your work and take it on, I would give it. I don’t. It’s hard and there is some luck involved, I suspect. But your writing must be good, and then it’s a question of what they want at the time you submit. Make sure your covering letter is professional (no spilling mistacks and it sense makes) and that it catches their attention. Most of all, be resilient – there will be rejections (and non-replies). A lot of waiting and patience is required.

Self Publishing – There are two main routes: paying for someone to do it for you, or to do the publishing yourself.

Paying – Some companies will publish your book and then want to charge you for it. There is nothing wrong with that if that is a route you want to go down (some people call these companies ‘Vanity Publishers’, rather disparagingly, I feel, as for some people it might be a good choice). Some charge quite a lot and promise much so do your research to make sure it is what you want and are prepared to pay. I got a positive E-mail from one of these companies early on for my first book. I got very excited (naively) and told some of my family and friends I had a publisher. I was badly let down the following day when I found out they wanted to charge £2500. I felt cheated; it took away that first feeling I hope to get when I do get an offer from an agent or publisher who are prepared to take my book because they think it is good, can be successful and are prepared to take the risk. Do your research before you commit.

Publishing yourself – I submitted my first sci-fi book (Quarton: The Bridge) and my first cosy mystery (Maggie Matheson: The Senior Spy) to literary agents. I was told I was close on the Maggie book by one agent, but it didn’t work out for me. I was keen to get my books out there, so I chose to self-publish through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. I don’t regret it, although it is hard work.

There are several jobs on top of the actual writing: formatting, designing and producing book covers; editing and proofreading; marketing. You can pay for all these services separately without going through a Vanity Publisher - indeed, there are many offers to help you sell your books, much of it hitting your inbox daily and AI generated - but it’s obviously cheaper if you do what you can. I’ve learnt to do these things as I’ve gone along, with the exception of the technical work around book covers. I have creative input on what I want it to look like and then hand it over to a graphic designer, someone I know.

Big advantages of this DIY approach are that you get the bulk of the money from sales - less a fee from Amazon, or whichever platform you use - and you have complete control over the process.

Promotion and Marketing is hard. You can advertise on Amazon, Facebook and through other platforms, but working through the algorithms is tricky. (Bryan Cohen - https://bryancohen.com/ - offers free advertising courses occasionally which I have used and found useful). It can be a full-time job,; one that I’m not experienced in and still struggle with today. It might be time for me to get that professional advice (but see chapter 5 for more about my experiences and thoughts on promotion.)

Social media can help get your book out there. Connecting with authors and readers via various platforms can be rewarding. There are a lot of very supportive people who want to help, and it’s free advice. Connect and build up a following by following others. Support them too and you’ll find readers and reviewers. I’ve found followers on Instagram very good, but all the talk seems to be around BookTok these days.

Getting your name known is part of it. By self-publishing, your book will be one of several million out there. The average self-published book sells about 250copies in its lifetime, with roughly 90% of self-published books selling fewer than 100 copies. Somehow, you’ve got to get your book to stand out. Part of that might mean pushing yourself into the limelight. I’m fairly introverted, but I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone to appear on radio shows and in the local paper, as well as doing the occasional talk. With my teaching experience, plus the fact that I also write children’s books, I’ve been lucky enough to go into schools to do writing workshops. (These are in my comfort zone!) Do what you can, because it might not be as daunting as you think.

Blogs and newsletters can build up your profile. I enjoy writing blogs and people seem to like reading them. They can be a good way to signpost people to your work. I use Mailchimp which is fine and the package I have is free, though building up subscribers can take time. My blogs can be found on this website and via this link. See what you think!

I do have a major tip here though: with the possible exception of social media posts , try to make whatever you publish grammatically correct and ensure the punctuation is good. I don’t always get it right, but it’s an important focus for me as sloppy writing can put off some readers. Which brings me nicely onto editing in the next chapter...

Chapter Three | Editing

Updated May 2026

There is a lot to be said for just writing on your first draft. Go with the flow, get it down on the page and see how it looks. For me, I always read back as I write – short sections at a time. It is something I have always done, even with emails and letters. I know of others who get it all down and then take a look or read back at the end of the day. Whatever suits you is the message, I would say.

There is a danger of ‘over-editing’ and sometimes you read it back and you go ‘word blind’ – meaning you are so familiar with it you would not spot the mistakes. I edit for two purposes, although sometimes they inevitably overlap. They are obvious really: I edit for grammar / punctuation, and I edit for content and quality. My advice is to be clear what you are editing for and make sure your writing is the best it can be before you present for publishing or to agents. Poorly written writing is easy to reject, even if the concept and idea is the best ever.

And ask yourself this question: is it really better after the twelfth full edit?*

I had one of my books – Maggie Matheson: Back in Service – professionally edited. Grammar and punctuation was already good generally so Petra, someone who ran the writing course I went on, edited for content and structure. It cost several hundred pounds but it was worth it on two counts for me:

Firstly, it made it a better book. Petra suggested things I could take out, improve and tweak, making it clear it was my choice at the end of the day as it was my book. Having that independent critical look, on top of opinions and feedback from family and friends, was invaluable. I did a lot of what she suggested but not everything. It was a much better book by the time I had taken on board her feedback.

Secondly, I saw the edit as a development opportunity. I had been writing, more-or-less full time, for less than 2 years and I knew I still had a lot to learn. With 9 novels published, I am a better writer now than I was when I started. I saw the money I paid for the edit as an investment in my future too. You can easily spend that sort of money on a writing course. I would recommend doing courses too, if you have the time and money – sharing ideas and learning the basics of writing does no harm at all.

Editing services cost money. On a tight budget, that’s not always possible. I am lucky to have family members who have edited for me. Those extra eyes - whatever they are targeting - are essential.

Chapter Four | Feedback

Updated June 2026

You have to be thick-skinned to be an author. I’m not, naturally, but I’ve learnt to be more so when it comes to my writing.

As with all aspects of life, constructive feedback is invaluable. It can be more acceptable if it is politely and nicely given, but because writing is often in the public domain, it puts authors into potentially vulnerable positions where some readers think they can say what they like, how they like. Anonymity can protect the online critic, but, regardless, creative work - books, art, films, plays, performances of any kind - lends itself to comment. Most of us will have seen that film or TV show and said afterwards it was ‘great!’ or ‘rubbish’ or something in between. As writers, we have to be prepared for honest opinions, even if they don’t say what we want them to say. I’ve had a few one and two star reviews - ouch, they hurt! But, should they? Most of them have come with no supportive comments, so have been difficult to take on board. The ones that did say something, I can still learn from them and look to improve next time.

The most valuable feedback that can be gained is during the edit. Get your work read before you publish. Listen to the feedback and act on it… or don’t. Either way, your book will be published knowing that you’ve thought about it and got it into as good a state as you possibly can.

Not everyone is going to enjoy my books. And that’s fine. But could I do better? Yes, definitely. Always learning.

Chapter Five | More on Promotion

Updated May 2026

This section has got a health warning: Don’t read this if you’re expecting to learn the best way to promote yourself.

It’s not something I’ve been particularly good at, but I have some limited experience which I would like to share, if only as indications of things not to try! Some of you might identify with my attempts.

When I finished my first book, it was a big thing for me. Actually, it was quite a big thing for a lot of my family and friends. I didn’t personally know anyone who had written a book, and neither did my social group and work colleagues, it seemed. It was an achievement that I was very proud of and there was a part of me that wanted to sing that from the rooftops. Except I was never going to; it wasn’t in my nature, and it still isn’t.

But I soon realised that in order to sell books, you have to put yourself out there. Step out of your comfort zone – something we always encourage our children at school to do. 

I started small. The pest control man visited and I tried to sell him my book. It was never going to work, I found out later. My book has a reincarnation theme, a belief that does not sit comfortably with the religious teachings he, and the small group he was with, tried to convey when they knocked on my door a few weeks later. But it was a start. I had more luck at my dentist a few days after, and, of course, people that knew me were very kind and bought copies with very little persuasion.

Emboldened, I went on the offensive. With no market research whatsoever (and no clue) I printed off some slips of paper and handed them out at the railway station, thinking that for 99p, commuters would want to download a sci-fi e-book from someone they had never heard of. They didn’t, andI hated doing it. I was slightly more comfortable delivering the slips to people’s homes, but even then I lived in fear that someone might open their door as I was about to shove it through their letterbox. Next, I put up a sign on our front fence with a picture of the book cover and a link. Still no one bit. I pointed out the sign to a tradesman who was parked outside our house having a cigarette, joking to him that he must have chosen that spot to look at my advert. He laughed (ironically).

A friend from the writing group I had been to suggested a publicity stunt, of sorts. His idea was that I should visit every mainline station in London and leave a copy of my book on outward bound trains, with a note attached asking whoever picked it up to contact me to tell me how far away my books had travelled. We would generate a story around the activity.  It was a great idea. My son, Joe, and I had a wonderful day in London, bravely hopping on and off of trains leaving the books. We managed to get the local press (Colchester, not London) interested and there was a story printed, but this – indeed none of these things I’ve mentioned – generated any book sales of note.

At least I had tried, I told myself.

I realised – with some dread – that what I was lacking was a decent social media presence. 

In my ignorance, I posted on Facebook in those early days, expecting everyone I knew to bite my hand off, and then share my brilliant book with all their friends. This was going to be easy, I thought. Funnily enough, 200 friends is not a large enough base from which to quickly hit the million sales mark. I quickly learnt that not everyone a) sees your posts and b) even if they do, wants to buy or share your book. This foray into the technological wonders of the internet needed more thought. And more pluck, I realised, because I was going to need to plunge into the world of Twitter and Instagram. (Where, incidentally, I found out that I was not the only person who had written a book!)

I quickly built up a 2000+ following on Twitter by clicking on hashtags (#writingcommunity was a productive one). Surely, that was plenty? All I needed to do now was post about how good my book was and sales would soar! 

Wrong. 

I got very few responses (likes, comments, shares). I know now that you have to be much more subtle across all the platforms. People don’t always like to be told to buy products, unless they have voluntarily clicked on a link or post which is obviously trying to sell them something. You should sell yourself (and hence your books) through what you post about:  interesting things you do, have seen or heard; fun things other people have done; what you like and don’t like; what you read; funny things; sad things; attractive things (pictures on Instagram). Share, like and comment on other posts. It’s a slow build to get engagement, but you will get a following and your profile will increase. These were things I was not used to doing, were not things I necessarily wanted to do, but I learnt by watching what other authors posted. I’ve found that writers, particularly on Instagram, are very supportive.

Actually, now I quite enjoy using social media – it requires creativity and authors should have that, right? – but I still have a long way to go to building up a really good profile. 

I’ve also learnt a little about advertising on Facebook and Amazon which, actually, is much more directly about selling your book rather than the person. I’m more comfortable with that. (I won’t go into it here – I’ll leave that to people who are much more expert than I am. There are free courses available – Bryan Cohen’s was great – but they will want, understandably, to sell you more of their services).

The other aspect about selling yourself –  making real-life public appearances – is even more terrifying than it on social media, as far as I’m concerned anyway.

I was a teacher – put me in front of a class of primary school kids and I’ll sing, dance, tell jokes (they don’t get), even teach. I’ve been into local schools and delivered ‘Inspiration for Writing’ talks. These have gone down well and I’ve sold quite a few paperbacks through this method. Big tick – yes, this works (if you’re lucky enough, like I am, to have contacts that can get you past the front office).

Adult talks, for me, are a different matter because I’m terrified of public speaking.  But I’ve forced myself to have a go and, given the opportunity, I will do more. My contacts are not as strong here. If yours are, go for it. Offer to talk (for free, unless you think they will pay) about your experiences of being an author. Most people are not authors and they will be interested. Take your books along and mention that, if anyone would like signed copies, you happen to have a pen with you. Apart from being another step along the way to getting yourself known, signing books is a lovely boost to the ego.

I do have a small regret. I think, on occasions, I have been a little too pushy, particularly on WhatApp groups which, on reflection, were not the right place to sell books. I don’t think I’ve fallen out with anyone – at least, I hope not – but I soon learnt that the lack of responses to what I was putting on there was a hint that, maybe, I should have been more circumspect.

Self-publishing is not easy, but nor is running any business. And selling your own books is a business. With no business skills, you can feel alone, unsure, lost. As I said earlier – clueless. I have actually paid for some professional advice about book marketing. £75 for a call over Zoom is a small investment to be guided in, what I hope, is the right direction. There are plenty of people out there who I can pay to help, but I’m going to have to cost that up against the returns.

If I keep using phrases like that, I might even convince myself I know what I’m doing.