Prepublished

As well as her journalism, memoirs and a novel inspired by Daphne du Maurier, Justine has written an acclaimed biography of Coco Chanel. She tells me how she has to be 'haunted' by a story before she can write it. Her latest book, Miss Dior, tells the story of Catherine, Christian Dior's sister and muse. A fighter in the French Resistance, she was a survivor of Ravensbruck concentration camp who received the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'Honneur. Catherine became a rose farmer in Provence and died a dozen years ago aged 90. Justine's account of her life and her huge influence on Dior is published in September 2021.Notes: Justine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinepicardieMiss Dior by Justine Picardie: https://www.waterstones.com/book/miss-dior/justine-picardie/9780571356522 The Wasteland by TS Eliot: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-wasteland-prufrock-and-other-poems/t-s-eliot/9781434101693 Clothes in Books: http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.com 

I was interested to know the part that RSI played in Thomas's shift from illustrating and writing picture books to writing middle grade novels. You might think that his cover art – for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – woud be the key moment in his career, but what is truly fascinating is that it isn't. That moment came over twenty years later, in 2018. I found it honestly inspiring. Listen out, too, for Thomas's top tip, which corrects a mistake that many prepublished writers I know have made.   Apologies for the sound quality of this episode. The technology defeated us on the day and we had to record on Zoom. However, Thomas's story and his insights definitely merit listening until the end . NOTES: Thomas's website: http://www.thomastaylor-author.com

In my first conversation with Sophie , we discussed her successful career as a poet and thriller writer and the support she gives to other writers through the Dream Author programme. Many listeners have already been inspired by her words about resilience and self belief in the face of repeated rejection, which is something most of us are familiar with. If you haven't heard that episode yet, I strongly suggest you give it a listen. In part 2, as well as telling me about her writing process and using the blurb as a 'story promise', she intriguingly mentions her exclusive ‘gnocchi' technique for planning and drafting. As she says, you can apply to her directly for this and she will send it to you for free. Sophie is hugely generous with her advice. You can see why she's been my guest twice this season.    NOTES: Sophie's website: https://sophiehannah.com The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-killings-at-kingfisher-hill/sophie-hannah/agatha-christie/9780008264550 Dream Author website: https://dreamauthorcoaching.com'How I Prepare to Write' by Sophie Hannah: https://sophiehannah.com/how-i-prepare-to-write/'The Four Tendencies Quiz' by Gretchen Rubin:  https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com (Turns out I'm a Questioner by the way.)The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sophie-hannah/the-couple-at-the-table/9781529352832/ Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/306/306877/apples-never-fall/9780241396087.html 

After a false start in standup and comic strip writing, Jenny's career took off with her first novel, Amanda's Wedding. She is one of those rare authors who has been successful from the word go.  She talks about the auction for her first book, the limo that arrived to take her to the successful publisher's, and the importance of good timing, the Great British Bakeoff and her ‘wolverine tenacity'. Among writing about writing that she admires, I thoroughly recommend her suggestion of The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davis and Benjamin Cook, which I'm pleased to have discovered. She also gives me her tips for writing romance. They are good ones, so listen up. Links: Jenny Colgan's website: https://www.jennycolgan.com The Martian by Andy Weir: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-martian/andy-weir/9780091956141 Hail Mary by Andy Weir:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/project-hail-mary/andy-weir/9781529100617Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason: https://www.waterstones.com/book/sorrow-and-bliss/meg-mason/9781474622974 Russell T Davis & Benjamin Cook ‘The Writer's Tale': https://www.waterstones.com/book/doctor-who-the-writers-tale/benjamin-cook/russell-t-davies/9781846075711 

I first encountered Amanda when she was children's book critic for The Times, and was a judge on the Times/Chicken House competition that won me my first book contract, for Threads. As a journalist and reviewer she has been a huge champion of what she calls the third golden age of children's literature, spotting Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and The Hunger Games in their early days.  As she is also the author of nine novels, I was keen to find out about her own writing process. We also discuss the hard truths about sustaining yourself as a novelist, the importance – as always – of libraries, and what is it that makes a busy book reviewer sit up and take notice of a new fiction title.  We recorded this episode in May 2021. I hope you enjoy our conversation.   NOTES: Amanda's website: https://www.amandacraig.comWidowland by SJ Carey: https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/c-j-carey/widowland/9781529412017/

I wanted to talk to Sophie about many things – her career as an international bestselling thriller writer of books such as Little Face, The Carrier and the Monogram Murders­, her work with the Agatha Christie estate, what got her into writing, and how she helps writers with her Dream Author coaching programme. This was more than we could fit into the time available, so we had to save crimewriting, the Christie estate and Sophie's special tips for planning for part 2, which I'll be releasing soon.  In part one, we discuss the essential urge to write. Sophie explains having to fight to do a typing course as a teenager, and why stuffing envelopes and cataloguing library cards were the perfect jobs for someone with powerful ambition.  She describes the good bits, such as what happened when she released a collection of rhyming poetry, and got a letter out of the blue from Trinity College Cambridge. And the tough bits, such as the years and years it took to get her first novel published.  Over those years Sophie learned a lot. She tells me about her Dream Author coaching programme: how it helps writers to deal with negative feelings and find your own self belief and validation. You will feel Sophie's positivity, so I'm not surprised that she can help authors learn to enjoy the process, right here, right now, despite however many rejections the industry may throw your way.  Buckle up. We have a lot to talk about.  We recorded this episode in June 2021. I hope you enjoy our conversation.   NOTES: Sophie's website:  https://sophiehannah.com Dream Author coaching: https://dreamauthorcoaching.comBrooke Castillo Life Coach School: https://thelifecoachschool.com   

Way back in the mists of time, when I was too scared to simply sit down and write, I did a PhD in Italian Literature. The focus was reading other people's work, not creating my own. So I was fascinated to know how a creative writing PhD works. Why do it? Does it help you get published? What about right brain/left brain? Does studying a subject academically for three years help or hinder the creative process?  Luke is an aspiring crime writer who has published in various literary magazines and journals; Alex already has three published historical crime novels to his name. They describe how the creative writing PhD process is its a combination of the writing itself and studying an associated topic that you've chosen – such as the appearance and disappearance of trans characters in historical crime fiction, as in Alex's case, or the presentation of socio-political issues in hard-boiled fiction, as in Luke's. In fact, having the opportunity to investigate an area that fascinates you can feed the writing, as well as providing a welcome change from the putting on the wordcount sometimes. It was great to get their different perspectives on it. I love their tips and recommendations. Especially the exhortation NOT to do a PhD unless you're a particular sort of person. Maybe you weren't planning to anyway, but there is a lot in this episode about the process and the craft of writing to get your teeth into all the same. Guardian review of The Butcher of Berner Street by Alex Reeve: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/20/the-best-recent-and-thrillers-review-roundupLuke Deckard: https://thecwa.co.uk/find-an-author/deckard-luke Surrey University English Literature PhD: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/postgraduate/english-literature-phdKingston University PhD: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/available-degrees/phd/Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters: https://www.waterstones.com/book/tipping-the-velvet/sarah-waters/9781860495243Collected Stories by Raymond Chandler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/collected-stories/raymond-chandler/9781857152579 Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/farewell-my-lovely/raymond-chandler/colin-dexter/9780241954355The World of Jeeves collection by PG Wodehouse: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-world-of-jeeves/p-g-wodehouse/9780099514237The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces/joseph-campbell/9781577315933 

Jo is the author of the Penny Dreadful series and the Rachel Riley books, and we discuss the importance of funny books for children, and her tips on how to write them. I think her partnership with Chris Hoy and the illustrator Clare Elsom in the Flying Fergus series is the model for celebrity publishing, so listen out. It can be done well!  We discuss the habit of writing, the accountability of Zoom writing sessions in lockdown – highly recommended, even now – and getting your book made into a BAFTA-winning TV show. Does it change your life? Am I talking to Jo as she lounges by her pool in the South of France? What are the average hourly earnings for writers, by the way?  When we spoke, Jo's latest adult novel, The Talk of Pram Town, was about to be launched. I absolutely loved this book. It's set between the 1980s of the royal wedding, and the late 1960s, telling the story of Jean, her runaway daugther Connie and her daughter Sadie. When Connie dies, Jean takes her granddaughter back to Harlow in Essex, where Connie grew up. I think of it as a story of Essex, sex and secrets. It's heartbreaking and funny and true. Jo's prose is brilliant and her dialogue is spot on. It didn't get the launch it deserved because of lockdown, so do look out for it. Links: Jo's website: https://joannanadin.com Bath Spa MA for writers for children and young adults: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-writing-for-young-people/ Bristol University MA Creative Writing: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/2021/arts/ma-creative-writing/ Jo All Alone TV series: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8047424/ Lollies book awards (for laugh out loud books): https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/lollies. Be Amazing! An inspiring guide to being your own champion by Sir Chris Hoy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/be-amazing-an-inspiring-guide-to-being-your-own-champion/sir-chris-hoy/9781406394733 Jo and Sir Chris Hoy talking about writing the Flying Fergus series together: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors-live-on-demand/chris-hoy-and-joanna-nadin Into The Woods by John Yorke: https://www.waterstones.com/book/into-the-woods/john-yorke/9780141978109 The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-science-of-storytelling/will-storr/9780008276973 The Bestseller Experiment podcast with John Yorke as guest: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep034-into-the-woods-with-john-yorke/ 

Michelle's titles include Carnevale, The Water's Daughter, and The Book of Human Skin. She also helped Gemma Dowler write about her late sister Milly. Michelle's novels are usually set in Venice, which she knows intimately, and are always imbued with history, vivid imagination and an element of fantasy. She has taught Guardian Masterclasses in How to Write for Children and is a consultant editor for The Writers Workshop and The Faber Academy, as well as hosting writing boot camps of her own. Her environmentalism and work with her community were sides of Michelle's work I didn't know so well. She describes her campaigning against the cruise ships in Venice and the threat of a partyboat as big as a three-storey football pitch on the Thames in London, and what happened after the London Bridge terror attacks, in which she became deeply involved, bringing her writing and listening skills to bear.  Links: Michelle's website: https://www.michellelovric.com Writers With Faces: https://www.sylviabishopbooks.com/writers-with-faces.htmlLondon Writers Salon: https://londonwriterssalon.comMy Sister Milly by Gemma Dowler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-sister-milly/gemma-dowler/9781405927574Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters: https://www.waterstones.com/book/detransition-baby/torrey-peters/9781788167208No Grandi Navi: http://www.nograndinavi.itWe Are Here Venice: https://www.weareherevenice.org GCAN: https://globalcruiseactivistnetwork.com/about-us 

Natasha has been a children's writer for a long time, and awards such as the Costa weren't always on the cards. You might be interested in her answer to my question about when she felt ‘safe' as a writer – I wasn't surprised at all.  We met through her job as a book scout for my first publisher, Chicken House. Listen to my lockdown brain failing to grapple with what exactly scouts do, despite the fact that I have first-hand experience of it.  Back to the writing, she describes taking an editor's advice about what to write next after a difficult moment in her career, and what happened when the pressure was off to write a better a book. I love her suggestions of the books she goes to when she needs inspiration. A couple are already on my list.Links: Natasha's website: https://www.natashafarrant.com Costa book awards: https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/costa-book-awards/book-awards Faber: https://www.faber.co.uk The Science of Storytelling by William Store: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-science-of-storytelling-why-stories-make-us-human-and-how-to-tell-them-better/9780008276973 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-pocket-edition/9780007586325 What Ho, the Best of PG Wodehouse: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/what-ho-the-best-of-wodehouse/9780099551287 Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/journey-to-the-river-sea/9781529066197 The Greengage Summer by Rumer Golden: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-greengage-summer/9781447211013 

Anthony McGowan is the author of various children's books but the one that won the Carnegie Medal was Lark, which he wrote for one of my favourite publishers, Barrington Stoke. As well as Anthony's contemporary books featuring young, male protagonists, I was curious to hear about the Carnegie Medal process and I think Anthony explains very well why the shortlist is exciting, for readers as well as for writers. The Carnegie tends to favour a certain kind of book, but he reminded me about the range of other prizes out there too, and the absolute importance of libraries.  It just takes one book to resonate with someone and turn them into a reader. Anthony talks about the book that did it for him when he was nine, and how he read it over and over, and it taught him what a novel was. You want to know what it is now, don't you?  We recorded this episode in April 2021, before the latest winner of the CILIP Carnegie medal was announced. He is the US poet and author Jason Reynolds, for his book Look Both Ways, published by Knights Of … a small, brave, young publishing company whose success I'm happy to celebrate today. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Anthony. Links:Barrington Stoke: https://www.barringtonstoke.co.ukAnthony McGowan at Penguin Books: https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/68003/anthony-mcgowan.html Anthony McGowan at Faber & Faber: https://www.faber.co.uk/author/anthony-mcgowan/CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards: https://carnegiegreenaway.org.ukCILIP: https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/AboutCILIP  

Phil was born in Hull, where he grew up wanting to play football for Hull City. His first job was as a care worker in a children's home. Nowadays, when he's not writing, he works as head of sales and marketing for the independent book publisher, David Fickling Books, who publish Philip Pullman.  We talk about getting into reading through comics and graphic novels, agree on a book that's a masterclass in structure and characterisation – a checklist of excellence, Phil calls it – and the joy of the rollercoaster of writing a story for the first time. When it comes to marketing, Phil believes in the power of the voice and is reassuringly passionate about supporting a writer through their career, and not just the debut, when they are the shiny new thing. But writers must put the work in too. Links: Phil Earle website: http://www.philearle.com When The Sky Falls: https://www.waterstones.com/book/when-the-sky-falls/phil-earle/9781783449651 David Fickling Books: https://www.davidficklingbooks.com The Outsiders by SE Hinton: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/575/57559/the-outsiders/9780141189116.html Skellig by David Almond: https://davidalmond.com/tag/skellig/ Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/609/60993/goodnight-mister-tom/9780141362717.html Holes by Louis Sachar: https://www.waterstones.com/book/holes/louis-sachar/9781408865231 

How many of us dream of meeting a glamorous Frenchman, finding a tumbledown house by the sea and restoring it together, whiling away our afternoons in the sparkling pool between writing sessions and heavy manual labour on crumbling walls? Well, anyway, I do. The first of Carol's Olive Farm book makes it clear that money was very tight, and while I was reading it I wanted to know how she felt when she took the risk of writing it. After all, she couldn't be sure it would earn the money she so desperately needed.  I had thought that perhaps Carol's acting life and writing life would be two separate things, but she is enlightening about the ways in which she brings her training as an actress into the way she writes.Links:An Act of Love: http://www.caroldrinkwater.com The Olive Farm: http://www.caroldrinkwater.com/books/theolivefarm On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: https://stephenking.com/works/nonfiction/on-writing-a-memoir-of-the-craft.htmlOn Writers and Writing by Margaret Atwood: https://www.virago.co.uk/titles/margaret-atwood/on-writers-and-writing/9780349006246/ 

As we’ll hear, Julia's writing and teaching careers developed side by side. I wanted to talk to her because over 60 students on her courses at Bath Spa have gone on to be published writers, some, like Elen Caldecott and Sally Nicholls, with stellar careers.We talk about Julia’s path to teaching, and how it feeds her writing, the importance of staying grounded and keeping the day job, getting a PhD after a career and bringing up children, and the effect of lockdown on writing. We also discuss the process and the benefits of something like an MA in creative writing. They’re not for everyone, but with the focus on workshops, on experimentation, and on reading as a writer, they have a lot to offer. These are ideas you can take for your writing too, however you do it.Julia talks about the importance of keeping writing alive, rather than getting too serious about black and white lines on a screen. I like that.

After two dozen episodes of Prepublished, who's next? Sophia introduces some of her guests in the upcoming weeks and the topics they talk about, including creative writing courses. Are they worth it? What can they teach?

In this episode, Caroline Green returns to Prepublished to interview Sophia about switching genres. The sale of The Windsor Knot and its sequels in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series coincided with the start of the pandemic. For Sophia, alongside all the fear and uncertainty, it was also every writer's dream come true.

It’s no secret that the publishing industry is predominantly white and middle class, and still struggles to represent diverse voices. I talk about what needs to change with YA writer Attiya Khan, whose debut novel Ten Steps to Us is out soon, and Abiola Bello, co-founder of the publishing house Hashtag BLAK.

In this podcast, I try to reveal as much about the publishing process as I can to new writers. Holly Tonks has seen it all. She has worked in a literary agency, edited books in large publishing houses and a small indie, and she is now a Lecturer in Publishing at Bath Spa University.

Sheena Wilkinson has been described in the Irish Times as ‘one of our foremost writers for young people’. From her home in Belfast, she talks to me about her writing process, and how the story you end up writing is often not the one you started out with.

I talk to Fraser Grace about making plays, writing poetry, and the website he built in lockdown called The Word Cage, where he shares his own poems and those of his special guests.

In this episode I talk to Sarah Wooley about writing for radio. Sarah’s plays about real characters and moments in history are regulars on Radio 3 and Radio 4 on the BBC. This year she won a BBC Audio Drama award for her adaption of Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates. Her career included a stint as a staff director at the National Theatre and she has worked with Trevor Nunn, Stephen Daldry and Harold Pinter, as well as writing and directing plays of her own.

Ruth Ware is the author of several stand-alone crime novels. Her adult debut, In a Dark Dark Wood, was a Richard and Judy book club choice that went on to top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. She's a #1 New York Times bestseller whose books sell around the world.

(Apologies if you downloaded an earlier version.) Adele Geras has been published since 1976. Like me, she didn’t find it easy to get a publisher at first, but she’s lost count of the number of books she’s written since then. We talk about writing for different age groups, being a planner, and the subjects that inspire us to write.

Emma Darwin is the author of two historical novels and a guide to writing historical fiction. Her latest book, intriguingly, is the story of not being able to write a novel about her famous family. I got to know Emma through her blog, ‘This Itch of Writing’. She investigates the craft of writing in real depth, giving plentiful illustrations of what she means, and I usually end up pointing my students there at some point, so it was great to be able to talk to her in person for this episode.

James took various writing courses while he honed his craft, and I wanted to discuss the value of these with him. Is it worth it? Should one do it? What do you get out of it? All useful things to know. As always, it was good to talk to a fellow writer about the ups and downs of the road to publication. I loved his comment that ‘you can’t fix a blank page’. If you want to be a writer, however hard it is, you first have to write.

The Masterminds were a writing group formed out of a course Sophia ran with Keren David at City Lit in 2016. They have been meeting ever since, occasionally mentored by Sophia, to workshop new work and support each other through the prepublished years. It was a pleasure to get four of them together for this episode, to talk about the group and what it means to them.

Sophia talked to Catherine in Hastings via the Cleanfeed app. The topics ranged from Catherine's time as a screenwriting student at St Martin's art college in London, to her many award-winning YA novels and why she was inspired to write about black people in history, from enslaved people to aristocrats and adventurers. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/catherine-johnson

Jasbinder and Sophia both got their publishing break by winning the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. Jasbinder went on to win the Costa Children’s Book Award with 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'. Sophia talks to her about the experience of writing that book and the slow and tortuous process of getting it good enough to publish. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/jasbinder-bilan

Stephanie tells Sophia what she’s looking for in children’s fiction at the moment, and why the covering letter is so important. If you’ve ever wondered who is reading that submission you slave over, and how to make it stand out, Stephanie has the answers. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/stephanie-thwaites

Keren and Sophia talk about writing fiction for the first time, what you can learn about structure from writing a musical, writing for dyslexic readers with publishers Barrington Stoke, and address the ‘own voices’ debate. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/the-bridget-jones-method-talking-about-writing-ya-fiction-with-keren-david

'The Confessions of Frannie Langton', winner of the 2019 Costa First Novel Award is a dark gothic mysery, set in Georgian London and the plantations of Jamaica. It has a voice that leaps off the page and this is what Sophia wanted to talk to Sara about. They discuss how she undertook her research, the importance of reading Regency novels in your teens, and The Confessions’s tremendous success from the moment it was published. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/writing-the-book-teaches-you-how-to-write-it-talking-about-voice-with-sara-collins

Robert calls his genre ‘attainable fantasy’. He talks about how quickly he writes, how important structure is, how he tries to make each chapter work as standalone excitement, and how the series grew by word of mouth. In fact, he says ‘it almost survived through benign neglect’. His first advance was small for the times, but he has since become a millionaire through writing. His latest Robin Hood series will be out in 2020. View the show notes here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/the-role-of-luck-talking-about-series-with-robert-muchamore

Annie Eaton disputes the label ‘legend’ – but she is one. Annie started her editorial career at Puffin in 1984. Since then she has worked as an editor and senior publisher at Transworld, Random House, PRH and Faber, and worked with authors including Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, Siobhan Dowd and Helen Cooper. Full show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/there-are-no-rules

Award-winning author Candy Gourlay talks about finding your place as a writer, her blog 'Notes from the Slushpile', and what it takes to get a manuscript ready to submit. We cover issues such as ‘do authors pay taxes?’, why submitting to lots of agents can be traumatic, and why you mustn’t do it as soon as you’ve finished writing the book. Show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/put-it-in-a-drawer

Children's editor Karen Ball unwittingly gives Sophia the name for this podcast … and talks about her 25-year career, from launching the multi-million selling 'Beast Quest' series with Working Partners, to setting up her own consultancy with Speckled Pen. Full show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/start-with-the-beast

Prolific children's author Caroline Lawrence tells Sophia about how John Truby helped her get off to a stellar start with her 'Roman Mysteries' series, and shares some inspiring writing tips from her new book, 'How to Write a Great Story'. Full show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/nancy-drew-in-ancient-rome

International bestselling author Cliff McNish shares his thoughts about getting to the deep core of characters, and how to avoid cliché by ‘never accepting your first idea’ and ‘staying in the moment’. We discuss the effectiveness of giving your protagonist seemingly insuperable problems, the darkness of picture books, and the need for a ‘desire line’: “Whenever you respond really deeply to a character, you always know what they want.” Full show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/you-can-t-make-it-dark-enough

Sophia disagrees with Young Adult and thriller writer Caroline Green about the usefulness of plotting formulas, and Caroline shares some great ideas from the creators of South Park, as well as the various ways she has plotted different books. Full show notes available here: https://www.prepublished.net/episodes/and-then-is-not-good

The children's writer Sophia Bennett explains her long journey to publication, and why she wanted to make this podcast. She introduces some of the guests, who'll be talking about their experiences and sharing their favourite tips for making you and your writing stand out.