Page One - The Writer's Podcast

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereThis week, our series of industry insider episodes continues with a talk with David Downing, a freelance developmental editor who has worked with authors such as Mark Edwards and our very own Tariq Ashkanani, helping them polish their manuscripts and turn them into the brilliant books they now are. Since turning to it full-time in 2012, David has edited more than 300 books—lots of mysteries/thrillers and historical fiction, as well as literary fiction, women’s fiction, romantic suspense, and even a couple of science fiction titles and a memoir. He works primarily for publishers, but also for individual clients looking for a developmental/substantive editor who can help take their manuscript to the next level.We had a really interesting chat with David about exactly what a developmental editor does and heard about how he works with his clients to try and make their story the best it can be. Plus we ask about whether he ever gets pushback from authors and more!Links:Visit David's website, Maxwellian Editorial ServicesPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereOur series of industry episodes continues as we chat with Karen Sullivan, founder and publishing director of Orenda Books. Orenda Books was founded by publisher Karen Sullivan in 2014. In 2016, Karen was a Bookseller Rising Star, and Orenda Books was shortlisted for the IPG Nick Robinson Newcomer Award in 2015 and 2016. They won the CWA Crime & Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger in 2020 and were a regional finalist for the Small Press of the Year Award in the British Book Awards in 2021. They currently publish authors such as Will Carver, Doug Johnstone and Sarah Sultoon.We loved chatting with Karen and hearing how she founded Orenda, discussing what she looks for in books, chatting about open submissions vs agent submissions and much more!Links:Visit Orenda Books websiteFollow Karen on TwitterPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereThis week, our series of industry episodes continues as we chat with Miranda Jewess, Publishing Director of Viper Books, the crime and thriller imprint of Serpent's Tail, which I launched in November 2019. Viper Books are the publishers of the award-winning (and previous podcast guests) Janice Hallett and Catriona Ward, alongside acclaimed books such as Five Minds from Guy Morpuss.We loved chatting with Miranda and hearing about how she became an editor and then Publishing Director at Viper, and what she looks for when she is commissioning books. We also talk about the importance of marketing, what qualifies as a "success" insofar as a publisher is concerned, and much more!Links:Visit Viper Books websiteFollow Miranda on TwitterPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereOur series of industry episodes continues as we talk with leading literary agent Jamie Cowen. Jamie has worked in publishing for 18 years. Before joining Ampersand literary agency in 2013 he was a commissioning editor at HarperCollins, and prior to that he worked in legal and contracts departments at HC and the Hachette Group. Jamie’s clients at Ampersand include Tendai Huchu (The Library of the Dead, Tor UK and US), Adrian Selby (Snakewood, The Winter Road and Brother Red; Orbit), Mark Hill (His First Lie, It Was Her, The Bad Place and The Woman in the Wood; Sphere and Head of Zeus), and even our very own Tariq Ashkanani!We had great fun chatting to Jamie, learning how he became an agent, what he looks for when receiving queries and hearing him explain how he uses a synopsis when assessing a query. We also hear whether he will take on a manuscript that needs some work, how important the agent/editor relationship is and much more!Links:Visit Ampersand AgencyFollow Jamie on TwitterPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereOur special series of episodes chatting with leading figures in the publishing industry to find out how to get your book published continues this week with the amazing Eric Smith. Eric is a Young Adult author and literary agent with P.S. Literary living in Philadelphia. As an agent represents brilliant authors such as Alison Stine and Mike Chen. On the writing front, his latest book, Jagged Little Pill: The Novel, a collaboration with Alanis Morissette, Academy award-winner Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard, is an adaptation of the Grammy and Tony award winning musical.We loved chatting with Eric and hearing about what looks for in queries (both for fiction and non-fiction), discussing the importance (or not) of comp titles, finding out how he works with his authors and get other hints and tips for those of you who are querying now or are about to! We also chat about his own writing and hear how he came to write the novelisation of Jagged Little Pill with Alanis Morissette and Diablo Cody.Links:Visit PS LiteraryFollow Eric on TwitterVisit Eric's websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available on our YouTube channel as a full video episode! Watch it hereIn the first of a special series of industry episodes following a books journey from being picked up by an agent all the way to Hollywood, we chat with superstar literary agent, Juliet Mushens! Juliet started her publishing career in 2008 at HarperCollins, and became an agent in 2011. She has been shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year four times and is currently the number 1 ranked UK fiction dealmaker on Publishers’ Marketplace. In 2021 she was picked as one of the 150 most influential people in publishing by The Bookseller and The Times ran a piece recognising her as the first agent to represent the number 1, 2 and 3 UK bestsellers in the same week: ‘Star literary agent first to top the charts three times’. More than a dozen of her clients are Sunday Times bestsellers and four hit number 1 in 2022 alone. Her clients include million-copy no. 1 bestseller Jessie Burton, multi-million copy NY Times bestseller Taran Matharu, record-breaking multi-million copy no. 1 bestseller Richard Osman. Her guide to YA creative writing was published by Hodder in 2015.We loved speaking to Juliet about how she became an agent, and talking with her about what she looks for in a query letter (including some very important dos and don'ts!) Plus, we hear how she works with authors that she represents, and chat about how she secures such brilliant deals for her clients.Links:Visit Mushens EntertainmentFollow Juliet on TwitterPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Hamdy is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and screenwriter who writes topical, thought-provoking novels, often inspired by real events. His latest novel, The Other Side of Night is out now.We had great fun chatting with Adam, hearing about how he moved from being a strategy consultant to writer - thanks in part to an idea he had for a screenplay involving 80s actor, Judge Reinhold! We also hear about his process, why he needs to frontload his planning, and why The Other Side of Night took five years to write.Links:Buy The Other Side of Night and Adam's other novels now!Visit Adam's websiteFollow Adam on TwitterPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diana Reid is a Sydney-based writer. Her debut novel, Love & Virtue, was an Australian bestseller and winner of the ABIA Book of the Year Award, the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Award, the ABA Booksellers' Choice Fiction Book of the Year Award, and the MUD Literary Prize. Love & Virtue was also shortlisted for the Indie Debut Fiction Award, the ABIA Matt Richell New Writer Award, and Highly Commended at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Diana was also named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist in 2022.We had a really interesting chat with Diana, hearing how she decided to write her debut during lockdown, and discussing the whirlwind journey to it becoming such a huge success in Australia. We also discuss the influences of Donna Tartt and Sally Rooney on her writing, and hear about the challenges of writing her second novel, Seeing Other People.Links:Buy Love & Virtue in the UK now!Bloody Scotland websiteBloody Scotland event with Tariq and Marco!Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gordon J. Brown (AKA Morgan Cry) is the author of nine crime thriller novels set in Spain, Scotland and the US. He is also a founding board director of crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland. His latest book, Any Day Now, is out now.We had great fun chatting with Gordon and hearing about how he got into writing and how real life situations have inspired his fiction writing. We also talk about the pros and cons of pseudonyms, and he tells us about where the idea for Bloody Scotland (Scotland's premier crime writing festival) came from.Links:Buy Any Day NowBuy his Morgan Cry booksVisit Gordon's websiteFollow Gordon on TwitterBloody Scotland websiteBloody Scotland event with Tariq and Marco!Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shauna Lawless is a debut author whose gripping new historical fantasy novel, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, intertwines Irish mythology with real-life history. Released on 1 September 2022, it is already creating huge buzz.We loved chatting with Shauna and hearing how she turned a love of Irish mythology and folklore into such a thrilling novel. We hear how she began her writing career by carving out one hour at a time until she had a full length novel. She also talked to us about the importance of getting and providing criticism of writing, and tells us about her tough but ultimately very successful submission search.Links:Buy The Children of Gods and Fighting Men now!Follow Shauna on Twitter and InstagramVisit Shauna's websiteCritique CirclePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: @ukPageOne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.