Category Archives: reading

Wyldblood Press by Mark Bilsborough

Posted on 20 October 2020 by

Ever wake up one morning and do something really stupid? Well one day recently, suffering heavily from lockdown fever, I did just that: I set up a publishing imprint. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I’d just … Continue reading →

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Twelve Ways To Be Better at Writing by David Gullen

Posted on 6 October 2020 by

I believe there are only two rules of writing, true rules that are unbreakable in the same way ‘Ye canna break the laws of physics’. (Except with the laws of Physics  we’re still not sure whether we have the full … Continue reading →

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Ghostly Services of the A1 by Kari Sperring

Posted on 29 September 2020 by

Service stations have a weird place in my heart. When I was small, we lived quite a long way from the rest of our families, and as a result holidays were often spent driving cross country to visit aunts and … Continue reading →

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Forward Momentum! On loving Lois McMaster Bujold by Una McCormack

Posted on 22 September 2020 by

Back in the late 1990s, I was a member of a mailing list (remember them?) devoted to the discussion and analysis of Blake’s 7 (remember that— yes of course you do). We were a lively, eclectic, opinionated and – though … Continue reading →

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8) The irresistible end by Colin Brush

Posted on 9 September 2020 by

The last instalment in Colin Brush’s series on how to write the perfect blurb for your book. ‘But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a … Continue reading →

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7) The Many Shaped Blurb by Colin Brush

Posted on 1 September 2020 by

‘Poetry is precise a thing as geometry’ – Gustave Flaubert We’ve looked at beginning our blurb and structuring it utilising opposites and tension and now we’re going to see how different blurb shapes can help us write different blurbs. The … Continue reading →

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6) Middling: the power of opposites to structure your blurb by Colin Brush

Posted on 25 August 2020 by

‘Elric knew that everything that existed had its opposite. In danger he might find peace. And yet, of course, in peace there was danger. Being an imperfect creature in an imperfect world he would always know paradox. And that was … Continue reading →

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5) Beginnings or How to Get People’s Attention by Colin Brush

Posted on 18 August 2020 by

‘It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell We’re just over the halfway point in my guide to writing blurbs and you’re probably wondering when we’re going to get around … Continue reading →

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4) Pitching your story’s emotional hook by Colin Brush

Posted on 13 August 2020 by

‘I never take on a client unless I can pitch their book in twelve words.’ UK literary agent The pitch is perhaps the most crucial aspect of understanding and selling your book. It is how you connect it to other … Continue reading →

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3) Who are we talking to? by Colin Brush

Posted on 4 August 2020 by

‘Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half’  John Wanamaker, US Postmaster General & marketing pioneer ‘It’s for everyone.’ I’ve heard these words from authors, agents and publishers too many times … Continue reading →

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