Featuring regular Q&A interviews with indie and traditionally published authors, writing advice, self-publishing news, marketing tips and creative inspiration.
The Poetess: How a female writer found her voice in front of 75 million viewers
There is a lovely moment in The Poetess, a documentary that recently had its London premiere at the British Film Institute, in which the star, Hissa Hilal, reflects on how the money she made from her writing paid for the roof over her head. She recounts how she often...
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Nick Brown: ‘My writing takes me somewhere totally unexpected’
Nick Brown, a former teacher and sixth form college principal, was awarded an OBE for his work before leaving his career at the age of 55 to become a writer. In the decade since then, he has established a loyal readership for his supernatural thriller series based...
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Obidos – A Book Lover’s Utopia
For bookish folk, an image of utopia isn’t hard to conjure up, as it no doubt involves a comfy place to sit and endless shelves stuffed full of novels, memoirs and every other genre under the sun. Perhaps even a trip to the grocers would involve a browse through some...
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‘Indie publishing pays considerably more money’
Author Sue Welfare turned down a deal from a large publishing firm to try her hand at indie publishing – and she has never looked back. Sue achieved her dream of becoming an author in her mid-30s after winning a Mail on Sunday fiction competition in the early...
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Banned Books
Many years ago, when I was in my teens, I had a vivid dream in which I walked into a library and discovered that all the books had age ratings slapped on them, like films. I’ve never forgotten it, or how much it used to amaze me that certain films were out of...
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Language Pet Peeves
My latest blog post on language pet peeves was inspired by a recent rant by Today presenter John Humphrys. In a rail against Melvyn Bragg using present tense when talking about the past, Humphrys got on to the subject of the words he hates. He admitted that the word...
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Author A. Bello: writing children’s books
A. Bello describes how she went from being a 12-year-old comic fan with a cracking idea for a children’s book to becoming a successful self-published author. When I was a kid, the female characters in children’s books often had to wait patiently for Prince...
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Writing a book: An author’s personal account
When journalist Barbara Copperthwaite decided to write a book, she entered the most challenging, and exciting, phase of her career. Here, she describes the highs and lows of self-publishing her resulting novel, a psychological thriller called Invisible. Naively, it...
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Commuting spawns a self-published bestseller!
Indie author Andy Leeks’s commuting hell changed his family’s fortunes. Working from home has its disadvantages, but a big plus factor for me is that my daily commute from my kitchen or living room to the office takes all of three seconds. I’ve left...
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Typesetting: A guide for self-publishers
Let’s face it, no one purchases a book on the basis of its beautiful typesetting, but well-presented pages will enhance the reader’s experience without them even noticing. It’s a bit like viewing a famous painting in an art gallery; we are not meant...
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IPR License: The indie authors making money by selling their work internationally
Ambitious indie authors know that successfully self-publishing an ebook or paperback involves getting to grips with the business side of their venture. They become experts in marketing, social media and the ins and outs of editing and cover design. But there’s...
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Interview with Dr Carol Cooper: The award-winning medic on becoming an indie author of racy romance
Dr Carol Cooper was on a plane on her way to her father’s funeral in the States when the idea for her debut novel One Night at the Jacaranda – which she has recently self-published as an ebook and paperback – first popped into her head. She scribbled...
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A true story with a happy ending: How writer Tom Mackenzie finally got the recognition he deserved for his emotional memoir…
When Tom Mackenzie self-published a memoir, focusing some of it on his extraordinary early life as Britain’s last foundling, his son Grant, 26, advised him that he needed to ‘put himself about a bit’ in order to get noticed. So Tom, 74, duly went...
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From indie author to New York Times bestseller: A.L. Jackson shares the secret of her success
Bestselling author Al Jackson jokes that she has always worked with words, only now the ones she writes are far more interesting. The mum-of-three from Arizona used to type and edit medical notes for a living, but decided to turn her hand to fiction five years ago...
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Caribbean dreams: Indie author Elaine Spires is a writer who divides her time…
When reading the author bio in a book, there is a certain much used phrase which is always liable to send me a little green with envy. It’s the one that begins: ‘the author divides their time between…’ What follows is usually a perfect...
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No Place Like Home: Finding inspiration is a walk in the park for author Tom Brown
As writers, we’d all love to travel to far-flung places in search of inspiration, but often we’re stuck with mining for ideas right where we are. And this was no bad thing for indie author Tom Brown, whose two novels were born from experiences at work and...
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Valentine’s Day Massacre: Why indie writing twins C L Raven have taken the romance out of February 14th
Identical twins and writing partners, C L Raven (Cat and Lynx), are so in tune with each other that whenever they write a book or short story together, they take it in turns to type two pages each. Their ideas flow together so naturally that you would never...
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Mysterious deaths and government cover-ups: Keith McCloskey on how he turned his fascination for history into a writing career
Case open: The strange circumstances surrounding the Dyatlov Pass incident. Sometimes, if we’re lucky enough, the idea for a good story can fall into our laps. Writer Keith McCloskey was doing some research on the Internet when he stumbled across a fascinating...
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The art of ghost writing: Indie author L K Jay is inspired by paranormal activity
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it’s hard to resist the lure of a good spooky story. From Catherine Earnshaw’s blood-curdling presence at the window in Wuthering Heights, to the destructive supernatural forces at work at the Overlook Hotel in The...
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“All that I know about my life, it seems, I have learned in books.” Jean-Paul Sartre
Words for thought: Inspirational quotes about writing and reading. The approach of a New Year is always a time for reflection. Our thoughts turn to what we’ve achieved in the time that’s passed as we simultaneously make resolutions for the coming...
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Sun, sea and self-publishing: How Tenerife-based writer Joe Cawley tweeted his way to sales success
As the nights draw in and the thermostat gets turned up, it’s not uncommon to dream of escaping to warmer climes where enjoying some proper heat doesn’t result in a costly energy bill. Twenty years ago, writer Joe Cawley had such fantasies as he toiled...
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A self-published author at 90! Writer Marion Sharville proves that it’s never too late…
People self-publish their work for a host of different reasons, and I’ve discovered that there’s often a touching tale behind the printed story. As a boy, Tim Sharville loved it when it his mum, Marion, read to him. Only the imaginative stories she told...
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Self-publishing landed writer Kit Berry a SIX-FIGURE book deal
I first interviewed Kit Berry back in 2008 for a national magazine. She told me how she was in her mid-40s when she had a ‘now or never’ moment and decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The former teacher finished her first book – Magus...
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Writing for a Good Cause
There’s no doubt that our life experiences influence what we end up writing about, but sometimes it can be years before we notice the connection. I was reminded of a past endeavour that may have unwittingly pointed me in the direction of certain editorial...
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