The Bestseller Experiment

The highlights from our live show with Children’s Literary Agent Amber Caravéo! Amber was formerly a commissioning editor at Random House Children’s Books and Editorial Director at Orion Children’s Books and is co-founder of Skylark Literary - an agency specialising in children’s authors. Amber has worked some incredible children’s authors including Liz Kessler, Caroline Lawrence, Holly Black and the Rainbow Magic series. We were delighted to welcome her to the Youtube Live show that we host exclusively for our Patreon Chart Topper supporters.   To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Mr. Stay spoke to a pair of his TV writing heroes at the MCM Comic Con in London recently. Rob Grant is the co-creator of the classic science fiction comedy Red Dwarf, and Andrew Marshall is best-known for the BBC comedy Two Point Four Children. Together they have created a fantastic BBC radio comedy series and accompanying novel The Quanderhorn Xperimentations. They talked about its creation, how they work together and with the cast, and we also get a mini-comedy writing masterclass and an exclusive excerpt from the audiobook (with thanks to Orion Audio). In this episode you will discover… Tips on writing with a partner and why visualisation is so important Why it can be important to have your concept clear before you write How situation, character and comedy come together for the perfect sitcom And why writing is like looking for a perfect table The Quanderhorn Xperimentaitons will start on BBC Radio Show 4 on Monday 25th June at 11:30 am, or you can listen via the BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b8cx2z

Crowdfunding is an increasingly common and way for authors to make their project come to life. But how to do this if you’re queasy about asking for money? Jimmy is the Head of Crowdfunding at Unbound Books and he talked us through to dos and don’ts of raising money for creative projects. In this episode you will discover… Effective strategies for making your crowdfunding campaign work What motivates people to pledge and why the personal touch works so well Why you shouldn’t rely on social media alone, and how to use it more effectively And how to build your crowd, realise your value, and what do when people say no... To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In one of our Industry Insider Deep Dives we talk to Jessica Purdue from the Orion Publishing Group's Rights department about TV/Film rights, royalties, licences, renewals, translations, co-editions and all sorts of other fascinating ways for authors to make money from their work. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Gareth L Powell is one of the most generous authors on social media and a font of writing wisdom. He’s also the award-winning author of the Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy, his short stories have appeared in Interzone, Clarkesworld, and The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and he has written for The Guardian, The Irish Times, 2000AD and SFX. With his new book Embers of War he has returned to his love of space opera. We discussed apes, outlining, and answered a few listener questions... In this episode you will discover… An outlining method that will help you work through the muddy middle What you can offer to your Patreon and Kofi supporters to create a community and generate revenue How to deal with characters who insist on hanging around in your story And how a short story about a monkey became an award-winning trilogy... To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

This week's topic of adaptation came from one of our Patreon supporters and listeners Julian Barr, who joined me to discuss the various methods for adapting from one medium to another, including radio, epic poems, novels, TV and feature films.  Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support  

In this Deep Dive we take a look at one of the hardest parts of being a writer: coping with criticism. It can come in many forms: from writing groups, reviews, social media and more. We look at strategies on how to deal with criticism and how you can make it work for you. Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Julie Wassmer is an EastEnder who has written for EastEnders and she’s now bumping off the locals in her wonderful series of novels The Whitstable Pearl Mysteries. I met Julie by the seaside on a beautiful summer’s day at Whitstable and we chatted about the town, its strong sense of community, and how it has influenced her writing. Julie’s new book, Disappearence at Oare, is out now! In this episode you will discover… - Why location is so important to a novel - How to keep a series character fresh - And why you should live in fear of a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

Sharon Bolton (aka SJ Bolton) is the bestselling and award-winning thriller author of the Lacey Flint series and her writing continues the tradition of gothic mystery, mixed with the pace of page-turning modern crime thrillers. It was great fun to discuss her new novel, The Craftsman, we played backlist bingo, and we answered listener questions. In this episode you will discover… - Tips for historical research and how you can turn local history into thrilling fiction - How you can keep readers on the hook with delayed gratification - How your short stories can interlock with your novels and create a greater universe - And why you have to write the books you love to read To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

This week we go to the movies with writer/director Deborah Haywood whose debut feature film Pin Cushion will be released in cinemas in July… Deborah is BIFA-nominated and was one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow and she’s an incredible writer who deftly combines the deeply personal with the magical. In this episode you will discover… How an obsession with being a writer can get you on a movie set How writing without compromise and self-censorship can pay off How the screenplay development process works for independent filmmakers And strategies for dealing with notes (involving a hot bath, long walks and chocolate) To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality