In which Scott/Steve/Pack/Stack talks of white dog poo and pitching non-fiction

Planning to pitch a non-fiction book? Aimed at the general, commercial (as opposed to specialist) market? Would you like advice from someone who is or has been all of these things: a) bookseller (of a rather influential variety) b) a publisher (of general, commercial non-fiction) and c) an author? Look no further.

Today we are talking about 21st Century Dodos: A Collection of Endangered Objects

Never say never self-publish a novel: Catherine Ryan Howard visits

OK, I'll admit it: I'm a bit of a fan of Catherine Ryan Howard. Catherine is one of self-publishing's success stories and that success has come about through her being clever, nice, strategic and a very engaging writer. I think her attitude to the whole business is utterly professional and she is well worth listening to. I read and enjoyed her first highly successful memoir, Mousetrapped: A Year

MRS DARCY VISITS, BRINGING ALIENS

Today, my blog has been invaded by aliens, barely controlled by Jonathan Pinnock. I tried to tell him that this was no666tonbutarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhh...
YOU WILL LET THE MAN SPEAK, MRS MORGAN

"Yes. I will." *eyes wobble alarmingly*

Over to Jonathan.


MRS DARCY VERSUS THE ALIENSOn page 246 of Nicola’s excellent book, Write to be Published, (you have all got a copy, haven’t you?), she

JULIE BERTAGNA INTERVIEW

It's my huge pleasure to welcome a friend and fellow Scottish YA writer, the lovely and talented Julie Bertagna. Julie's latest novel, Aurora, is the final part of the trilogy which began with Exodus, published to great acclaim in 2002. With nine years between then and now, there can be little Julie doesn't know about the enormous task involved in writing a trilogy. And she's generous enough to

THE MIND-BLOWERY OF FLORENCE AND GILES

I don't review books. In the past, I have done so for the Guardian and a few other places, but I don't on this blog. Until today. This is different. Or - and you'll soon see why I say this - it has differented me quite. 
If my language seems somewhat unusual in this post, there is a reason.
Last week a book mind-blew me and it necessaries me to speak about it. I have not yet recovered and I am

BLOG BABY: CAROLINE GREEN

Blog Babies are writers who contact me to tell me of a publishing deal after (but I make no claim that it was caused by...) reading my blog. Today I am delighted to bring you Caroline Green. Did she stuggle? Did she suffer for her art? Find out!
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Caroline is the author of Dark Ride and here is the blurb:
A mysterious boy. A haunting secret. A shiver crawled up my

MARY HOFFMAN ON HISTORICAL FICTION AND DAVID

I am delighted to welcome the award-winning and highly intelligent writer, Mary Hoffman, on publication day for her new historical novel, David. But I don't have people on here only to launch their books - I make them teach us something. So, my questions to Mary are all based around the idea of historical fiction, how it works, what it needs, what the pitfalls are. It's one of my favourite things

THE MASTER CRIMINAL NOVELIST AT WORK

Today we're going to talk about writing a crime series. Well, I'm not, because I don't know anything about it, but I'm going to ask my expert friend, Aline Templeton, hugely acclaimed author of the Marjory Fleming series of crime novels set in rural Galloway, that beautiful and peaceful  - hooray! - South-West corner of Scotland.

Cradle to Grave, Aline's latest, is published in paperback today,

MOIRA MONOLOGUES & ENHANCED DIGITAL THINGUMMIES

Photo by Christopher Bowen, with permissio
Recently, when I was badly, and with impeccably awful timing, losing my voice, I bumped into Alan Bissett on a train journey from Inverness to Edinburgh. Now, since Alan's latest work is called The Moira Monologues, which he has been touring in Scotland to great acclaim and with sell-out shows, I should have been able to rest my voice. Surely, Alan,

SOAP-BOX: ELIZABETH BAINES & A DIFFICULT BIRTH

My blog tries to make sense of the publishing industry, tries to shine a torch on the pitted path to publication, tries to show sensible paths through the madness. Usually, I believe the whole writing world makes a kind of sense. Sometimes, it utterly defeats me.

I recently came upon the story of the re-publication of a book called The Birth Machine, by blogger and writer, Elizabeth Baines.

SOAP-BOX: VANESSA GEBBIE ON IMAGINATION

I have decided to give certain clever and interesting people a Soap-Box platform on my blog. The first one is for Vanessa Gebbie, ace and clever writer, mostly of short fiction. Her brand-new and fabulous collection of short stories, Storm Warning, is published by Salt Modern Fiction. (Hooray - another Christmas present idea!)

Here she is, unplugged.

IMAGINATION versus REALITY by Vanessa

SHORT STORY MAGIC from TOM VOWLER

There's a writer I know who lives all tucked away in Devon where no one can properly see him. He's just got engaged, so obviously someone saw him, but I know many more people are going to see him one day because his first book, The Method, a collection of short stories, is blow-away magic. I cried on a train. I have cried on trains before but that was with frustration. This was proper. And The

INTERVIEW WITH JOANNE HARRIS

I am delighted to invite Joanne Harris onto this blog. She needs no introduction but I'll give you one anyway because that's only polite and I am. She also has pointy shoes and deserves respect for that. Oh, and she has said very extraordinarily lovely things about Write To Be Published, which she, unlike you, has read. Oh, OK, if you insist: to end a beautifully written review which I'll reveal

INTERVIEW WITH IAN RANKIN

The "needs no introduction" cliché was never more true, but it's very rude not to introduce someone, so I will. Ian Rankin is the UK's No 1 best-selling crime author, creator of the lugubrious detective, Rebus, and general all-round star of the Scottish writing scene. (And much further afield, too, of course, but we like to claim him for ourselves.) I used to live round the corner from him, until

HOPE AGAINST HOPE IS PUBLISHED

I bring you happy news, though it won't be news to some of you. Tomorrow is the long-awaited first publication day of Hope Against Hope, the debut novel of one of my most lovely and intelligent blog-readers, Sally Zigmond. I wanted to interview Sally because she has so much to teach us about perseverance, focus on craft, and the roller-coaster ride from idea to publication. This is a story of