You should write a book
Get publishers interested: find an angle
Mar 16, 2018
Readers like learning something new. Is your life the story of Mr or Mrs Average? A plod through school, going ‘off the rails’ in your teens, running a pub, getting married, going bankrupt, getting back on your feet, getting divorced, getting rich, and retiring to an executive home in Ma... Read More
How many words to a page?
Mar 16, 2018
Tell a writer or a self-publisher that your work is, or will be, ‘about two hundred pages’ and you’ll get a polite but exasperated response. Writers and publishers think in thousands of words, not pages. This is because pages can be the size of a large broadsheet or as small as the... Read More
How to find a real ghostwriter
Jan 26, 2018
Sadly, anyone can set themselves up as a ghostwriter. This means that when you search for ‘ghostwriter’ many of the first-page results will be Wannabe writers who may never have published a book probably work as part of a team offer a short packaged ‘life story’ product may ... Read More
Diamonds in the sandbox: self-publishing for beginners
Aug 31, 2017
Basics Let’s say you’re sure your book is well written, absorbing and fun to read. So why self-publish? Why not just look for a traditional publisher? Intellectual snobbery Traditionally published books have a certain cachet because they’ve gone through a rigorous editorial pr... Read More
A book, really?
Apr 27, 2017
You have to write something. An article, a dissertation, a how-to book – or maybe you want to write about something you’ve done or the life you’ve lived. “Help! I need a ghostwriter.” Can’t write, haven’t time to write, arm’s in a sling – maybe you should find a ghost-write... Read More
Ghostwriting. Whatever next?
May 09, 2017
I have been a successful ghostwriter for over 25 years. What d’you write about? I write about a huge range of subjects and experiences for English-speakers from all over the world. Life stories, extraordinary adventures, court cases, self-help, wild success, dangerous jobs, how to get fit, lif... Read More
Editorial help
Apr 27, 2017
If you’ve written a book, you need an editor to read it and offer honest advice before you submit it for publication. A dispassionate, uninvolved gimlet eye is always necessary (and the same goes for theses and dissertations). First impressions matter. Readers are to books as Building Inspecto... Read More
Writing history: company history, family history, house history, biography…
May 27, 2017
Writing history means giving the world a good read. I’ve had many books of history and biography published under someone else’s name. Some have been made into TV programmes. With every new commission and fresh research project, my understanding improves. I can bring a well-founded sense ... Read More