advice | Alison Morton Author

Using your reader report

This is one for the writers, but readers might be interested in a vital part of the process that goes to producing a story. I say producing, because like a piece of pottery, a story starts as a heap of dull, wet mud. Writing the first draft is like throwing that heap on to the […]

Writers' resolutions? Er, no...

No, I’m not making resolutions for 2015; they are easily made and easily broken. It’s a bit like dieting – it never works.

So what’s a writer to do? I have a few recommendations…

Have your vision and write your story – tap, tap, tap. Make a beautiful world or an ugly one – it […]

You don’t want to be alone!

Sitting by yourself in a spare bedroom, study, or even at the dining room table, and tapping away on a keyboard can be a lonely business. People wonder why you don’t go outdoors on a sunny day or wander into the village for a leisurely drink at the local bar or browse around the market. […]

Debbie Young - marketing superstar

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Debbie Young as my guest. Author, journalist and blogger, she’s especially keen on short-form writing, such as flash fiction, short stories and blog posts. Commissioning editor of the Alliance of Independent Authors’ (ALLi’s) blog of self-publishing advice at www.selfpublishingadvice.org, she has co-authored ALLi’s groundbreaking new book, “Opening Up To Indie […]

Carole Blake on ‘Does a writer still need an agent?'

Photo: Jack Ladenburg

I’m delighted to welcome my friend Carole Blake to my blog today to give an insight into one of the hottest questions in the publishing today. Carole has just celebrated 50 years in the publishing business, so she probably knows a thing or two. In 1977, after 14 years in […]