Have a finished manuscript and want to know what to do next? Try submitting to a competition and see what happens.
Category: Writing
How to write a novel when you have a newborn (and preschooler)
It’s very challenging to find a spare moment when you have a four year old and a four month old baby. I mean, just getting dinner on the table is a struggle most days.
Is your writing commercial enough?
Is your story going to appeal to an agent, publisher or readers? I tried looking at my novel from a new lens and it made my novel 100% better.
How trying to be a ‘plotter’ nearly ruined my writing…
Plotting the novel In 2018, I entered the Richell Prize (yes I’m blaming you!) for my current WIP. At the start of last year, I wrote the first 25,000 words and since I’d entered my other manuscript in every other award the year before I decided I’d give it a go. This is the first… Continue reading How trying to be a ‘plotter’ nearly ruined my writing…
Getting back to basics: The benefits of writing by hand
A new year, a new plan. Last year, I had a big goal in regards to my writing career. This year, I just want to stay on track, write regularly and keep moving forward. In recent months, the thought of sitting at my keyboard and having to produce a word count felt utterly overwhelming. The more… Continue reading Getting back to basics: The benefits of writing by hand
9 Competitions to enter your unpublished manuscript in 2019 (Australia)
If you have a manuscript near completion or lying around, it's time to give it a polish and mark these dates in your diary.
Reflections and Projections: One writer’s highs and lows of 2018
It's that time of year when we inevitably begin to reflect on the last twelve months and begin to think about how we'd like the next 12 months to pan out. For me, 2018 has been a year of highs and lows. The first half of the year saw me make much progress in my… Continue reading Reflections and Projections: One writer’s highs and lows of 2018
I paid for a structural edit on my novel: This is what I learned about my writing
"I knew that if I wanted an agent (and to be published) I had to try something new. I had to make sure my novel was the absolute BEST it could be, and I knew I had got it as far as I could on my own."
Tess Woods: How I Got An Agent
"I worked hard on my MS for years making sure it was as strong as I could possibly make it before I wasted any agent’s time asking them to read it."- Tess Woods
Joanna Nell: How I Got An Agent
"I did have a clear idea of what the book was about and how it fitted into the market. In the case of The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, it meant identifying a social trend in positive ageing and a gap in the market for novels featuring older women."- Joanna Nell
