Almost every step of the writing process has elements that can mess with your head. There are the characters that won't stop talking when you're writing. The endless editing that has you correcting words in your sleep. Writing queries or a one-page synopsis (one page!) and dealing with generic rejections that give no clue about …
Continue reading How To Keep Yourself Sane When Self-Publishing
If you ask most writers which publisher they'd like a contract with, they'll probably tell you one of the big five. They'll do the best job, right? Yes… and no. A few weeks ago, I attended the KidLitVic conference where a panel with Jane Pearson (Text Publishing), Suzanne O'Sullivan (Hachette Australia and Lothian Children's Books), …
Continue reading The One Thing That Matters When Looking For A Publisher
If you're wondering what makes the manuscript selected by a publisher so special, you're not the only one. I recently attended the KidLitVic conference where that question was put forward to publishers Susannah Chambers (Allen & Unwin), Clair Hume (Affirm Press), and Zoe Walton (Penguin Random House Australia). And a room packed full of writers …
Continue reading 6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes And 6 Reasons They Say No
If you've been following my blog since the start, i.e. the simpler time of June 2017, you'll know one of my early posts was about the first rejection I received. After Careful Consideration... was the opening line for the rejection and are words that still haunt me to this day. I'd received said rejection February 2016, …
K.M. Allan 