Writing – Anna Britton

Three months

It’s wild to be able to say this, but Shot in the Dark was published THREE WHOLE MONTHS ago. It simultaneously feels like my debut novel has been out in the world forever, and yet I can’t believe how little time has passed since I held the finished copies in my hands. Having a bookContinue reading “Three months”

Signing

May not be perfect If you’re anything like me, then you’ve daydreamed extensively about signing your first publishing contract. For me, this moment came at the end of long years of drafting and hoping and redrafting and wishing and reredrafting. There had been crushing rejections and moments of hope, encouragement and criticism, and a wholeContinue reading “Signing”

Debut

But not the first I started writing my first novel about ten years ago. It was a speculative YA that I worked my bum off to make the very best it could be before I sent it off to agents. While querying that, I wrote a (terrible) YA trilogy set during a zombie apocalypse. AfterContinue reading “Debut”

Submission Thoughts

Things I wish someone had said to me before my book was submitted to publishers Being on submission to publishers is a weird, mysterious time. There’s a certain level of secrecy around the whole thing, which sometimes becomes not talking about it at all. At least not publicly. I wanted to chat about the thingsContinue reading “Submission Thoughts”

Main Characters in romcoms

I’ve been reading a fair few romcoms lately (both as an editor and for funsies), so I thought I would do a thread about how to make sure that your main character pops right off the page and lodges themselves right in your readers’ hearts. A little disclaimer: previous clients – please don’t worry thatContinue reading “Main Characters in romcoms”

Impostor Syndrome

My experience of this beast Impostor syndrome is the little voice in our heads saying, ‘Are you really good enough? Have you got enough experience to do that? Do you even know what you’re talking about? Surely there is someone out there who is better at this than you? Shouldn’t you go learn some moreContinue reading “Impostor Syndrome”

Querying

How I signed with an agent For more context about where I was at before I started querying, take a gander at this blog post. But for those who only have time to read one lot of my ramblings today, a summary: I queried two books before I signed with an agent with my third.Continue reading “Querying”

Specifics in Query Letters

I love helping editing clients make their query letters shine and a thing I find myself saying repeatedly is that there are more specifics needed. To help make sure that your query sticks in agent’s minds, the letter needs to be snappy and original. The only way to do this is by being as specificContinue reading “Specifics in Query Letters”

Disappointing Climaxes

in novels… I’ve seen a few disappointing climaxes in client’s stories recently (cue childish giggling), so thought I would share some ideas to make sure your story climaxes are as satisfying as possible (cue more giggling). A little disclaimer: previous clients – please don’t worry that I’m talking about you. I will NEVER reference specificContinue reading “Disappointing Climaxes”

Block

What to do when you’re hit with writer’s block First off – writer’s block is HARD. It’s MEAN. And it’s COMMON. All writers suffer from it to differing degrees. So, if you’re suffering from writer’s block right now, the first thing to do is to stop beating yourself up about it. This is such aContinue reading “Block”