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With an impressive background in the finance world, Nuala\'s TUNE IN is a practical guide on how to make decisions in an increasingly chaotic world. We caught up with Nuala to chat all about her writing journey from first draft through to becoming a bestseller. Complete with new directions, lessons learned along the way and a little help along the way from one of our editors, this is the story of how TUNE IN was published... Hi Nuala, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your writing journey that led up to the publication of your book TUNE IN: How to Make Smarter Decisions In a Noisy World? As a former Chief Marketing Officer in the investment industry, I went back to school after 30 years and did a MSc in Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. Although I always thought I would write a book, being able to make sense of the psychology of decision-making and apply it to real-world situations was the catalyst. I think it’s easier to get decisions right and avoid regret than we think - and when we hold power, it’s an obligation to do so. As I sit on boards that span sport and non-profits, I see misjudgement impact people’s lives, I wanted to apply behavioural insights to set people up for success and provide a simple framework to prevent error. What is TUNE IN about and why is it different? Despite popular opinion, the most underestimated risk isn’t economic, technology or climate risk. It’s human decision risk, triggered by our tendency to tune out what really matters especially in high-stakes political or emotional situations – i.e. when we feel under pressure, crisis, conflict or uncertainty.  I draw attention to a neglected source of misinformation which is ironically a source of opportunity. I make the case that human decision risk is an underestimated source of misinformation but also a source of advantage and opportunity. Every day we hear less and misjudge more. TUNE IN explores the rising threat of misjudgement and explains why so many feel unheard and tune out who or what really matters. I introduce a practical framework of ten traps to avoid regret and prevent error. Can you tell us a little bit about the process your book went through from writing the first draft, through to publication? I wrote the first draft of TUNE IN initially and looked for an agent and publisher. The final product was vastly different of course as the idea took a slightly different direction. I think this is the case whether fiction or non-fiction.  The agent search was tough as mostly focused on fiction rather than non-fiction so I engaged Jericho Writers to help refine the pitch. I eventually went direct to a publisher and secured a deal with Harriman House, an imprint of Macmillan. Then, I worked with a wonderful Jericho Writers manuscript editor. This was helpful before I submitted my first version to the publishers. From there, I had three different editors. I found all varied in terms of their focus, interest and attention to detail but together the product was enhanced. My final editor was especially patient interested in the topic, allowing more last-minute changes than I thought possible. Finally I pressed the send button in Dubai. And TUNE IN was born! Is there anything you found particularly useful on your journey? The process is a lot harder than it looks and can be really off-putting. I had read a book on how to make a pitch and found that incredibly useful as full of samples. I also scoured existing books to find agents from other authors. I found that made little difference as psychologically they compared you. The fact that I was in the Jericho Writers community was terrific for a debut non-fiction author. Scribes was also a very good resource for first-time authors which helped TUNE IN. By far the resource I valued most at this early stage was an editor who gave excellent directional feedback and confidence to keep going. Were there any surprises along the way? Or perhaps anything you wished you had known earlier, or been prepared for? I underestimated how much marketing the author needs to do for launch and thereafter; and how you can’t rely on publishers alone. It also costs. Part of this process requires securing endorsements which is very time-consuming. For TUNE IN, I secured 14 phenomenal endorsements from across business, sport, academia and even an FBI Investigator, including some well-known individuals who were extremely generous in their praise. I think it’s worth the effort to do this even though you’re getting tired, and it feels like a luxury. What advice would you give to writers working on their first draft? I had surprises throughout! I don’t think my idea was articulated sharply enough when I first approached agents. Now I think I know what they want. I tried to cover too much in an area people think they’re good at already. For the first draft, I would structure it better and also write the elevator speech. It focuses the mind better. I think it’s important to write the PR pitch in the beginning. If its not strong enough, don’t write at all as it will go nowhere. After having spent years working on your book – how did you know it was time to submit? I had a deadline, so I had no choice about when to submit. That said, once I was excited about the message and the fantastic breadth of stories, that was a signal that TUNE IN was good enough to submit. I had incorporated a lot of real-life characters that made it interesting, pacy and relevant. Most people now comment on the vast range of examples and are pleasantly surprised at the number of current industries and professions covered. I think I will enjoy listening to this again  - with so many facts and stories to make a serious point, I need to remember them all now too! Can you let us know what are you working on now? Within the first few days, TUNE IN was an Amazon #1 new release in six different categories, the most wished for and a top three bestseller in three categories. Of course, this changes regularly and can still get better or worse. I am now having a holiday then focusing on gathering reviews and spreading the word – this is the next stage of the journey!

We were thrilled to hear that Samuel Burr\'s debut had found a home with Orion books. We caught up with Premium Member and now Sunday Times bestselling author, to hear all about his writing journey so far. Hi Samuel, congratulations on the publication of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers! You\'ve had a whirlwind writing journey that includes being a part of our community but also writing for TV, and now having your debut novel come out. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got here? Thank you! It’s been a mad few years, but I’m thrilled to finally be sharing my Puzzlemakers with the world! Ever since I started dipping my toes into the world of novel writing, I’ve tried to embed myself into as many writing communities as I can - not least for the brilliant resources that are so widely available, but also to build my network and make friends with fellow writers. Writing a novel is no mean feat and it’s also a very solitary pastime, so having people to lean on for help and support is totally invaluable. Jericho Writers has been a brilliant for that. I started writing my debut at the Faber Academy, having previously completed an online course with Curtis Brown Creative, but I realised quite quickly after graduating from Faber (and securing an agent) that I wasn’t done learning! In fact, I was hungry to continue developing my craft, and to meet more writers! So that’s when I joined Jericho Writers as a Premium Member, whilst editing Puzzlemakers, which ended up selling in an auction in Feb 2022. It’s being translated in 14 languages around the world, which is something I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get my head around! My role in television involved devising, developing and selling new unscripted TV formats, so I’ve always been someone full of ideas. During my career I’ve also learnt to develop my pitching skills. I understand that the most sellable ideas can be pitched in just a few lines, and so I\'ve honed the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers elevator pitch over and over! We’re thrilled to have been part of your journey, and, we’re always keen to talk elevator pitches. They are so tricky, but once you’ve nailed your book’s concept, they can be a secret weapon. If you’re up for it, could you share your pitch with us? (And anyone who isn’t familiar with The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers). Of course! It’s the story of Clayton Stumper - a young man who is a bit of a young fogey. Clay dresses like your grandad and drinks sherry like your aunt. At 25 years of age, he finds himself as one of the surviving members of a very British institution. The Fellowship is a retirement community made up of some of the smartest minds in the country and it’s where he was abandoned at birth. Among the residents are a mazemaker, a quiz setter, and a jigsaw artist to name just a few. But there’s a mystery at the heart of the Fellowship…. a puzzle that’s yet to be solved…. and that’s how Clayton came to be there, and where he came from.  When the founder of the Fellowship – an esteemed cruciverbalist (or a crossword compiler) called Pippa Allsbrook passes away, she bequeaths her final puzzle to the young man she’s raised as her own. And so, we follow Clayton on a quest, as he pieces together the clues of his past, and finds himself at the same time. At its heart, it’s a story about young man finding his place in the world. But it is also a celebration of the wisdom of age and the friendships that can exist between the old and young. We know how much a manuscript can transform during the process of writing the first draft through to publication, what was that process like for The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers? As one of my characters points out in the book, ‘…nothing worth solving is ever easy…’ and it was no exception with this book. I think editing any novel is a bit of a puzzle in itself – trying to work out where all the parts belong, searching for missing holes to fill in. I suppose what made my novel particularly challenging to write (and specifically to edit) were the interactive elements embedded into the story.  I knew I wanted to feature actual puzzles within the text for readers to solve – to make it a book you can read and play. After countless revisions and tweaks we finally got there! But it was anything but easy! Were there any surprises along the way? Or perhaps anything you wished you had known earlier, or been prepared for? Adapting the text for the audiobook was another very unique challenge as you obviously can’t see the puzzles while listening, but I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out. I think that’s something that doesn’t really cross your mind when you’re writing, at least it didn’t for me. It was only after signing the deal that I realised we’d be making an audio version of the book and that’s when I had to put my thinking cap on! I must say, our readers Dame Penelope Keith and Russell Tovey are just perfect and it’s a fantastic listen! You were developing your craft for several years before you were published, is there anything you found particularly useful on your journey? I’m always impressed by how many brilliant resources there are out there for aspiring writers. I benefitted hugely from plugging into the community as quickly as I could. Coming from television, I didn’t really know anyone in books, so I knew I needed to build my network of contacts in the same way I had done in TV. I attended countless events – in real life and virtually – signed up for courses, followed my favourite writers on socials, as well as the big influencers, publishing houses etc, just so I could understand how the industry worked, learn from other people’s experiences, and build my own writing tribe. It’s been completely invaluable, particularly in the run-up to publication. I’m so lucky to have people cheering me on, helping to spread the word. Of course, I’m now keen to pay it forward and do the same for other debut writers. After spending so long writing and re-writing the same story, spending infinite amounts of time with your characters – how did you know it was time to submit? It’s so difficult to know! Someone once told me a book is never finished, but it is ready, and I found that immensely helpful. I think by the time my agent and I were going out on submission I had reached a point where I knew I couldn’t continue without the input of someone else. I needed fresh eyes on it. I had done as much as I physically could with the story, honed every sentence countless times, and I felt proud of the story I’d created. I think that’s quite key. Are you comfortable sharing this with others? Do you feel good inside about it? Do you have any advice for writers hoping to get published?   Nail your comp titles! I really think this is key. There is so much competition and agents are so overworked that you need to be able to say where your book might sit figuratively on a shelf. I always encourage people not to go too literally when coming up with comps. Think about the core elements of your book – its identifying features – and find other books that have similar touchstones. If you can’t think of any, you might have a problem. Selling a book that is entirely ‘unique’ (i.e. It can’t be compared to anything else in the market) makes it almost impossible to sell. Publishers can be risk averse so make it easier for them to say yes. Nail your comps!  Before we go, can you let us know what are you working on now? I’m delighted to have the opportunity to write a second book with Orion Fiction, which is another standalone novel. While I can’t say too much at this point, I hope that anyone who has read and enjoyed The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers will also enjoy my second book. Nostalgic joy. That’s all I’m saying for now!

Author (and Jericho Writers Premium Member) Liz Webb is back with THE SAVED, an utterly gripping thriller with a chilling premise set on an isolated Scottish island. If you haven\'t read our first interview with Liz charting her writing journey through to publication of her brilliant debut THE DAUGHTER, do catch up here. Hello Liz, thank you so much for joining us again. The conversation did take some interesting turns! We spoke about what it’s like to write your first book versus your second, how supportive your publisher Allison and Busby is and the perils of googling ex-boyfriends. Thanks so much for having me back. Well, my 2nd book was easier to write because of what I’d learned with the 1st one, but simultaneously harder, exactly because I knew more and had expectations to grapple with. But I’m very proud of both books. My publisher Allison & Busby continues to be marvellously supportive. And googling ex-boyfriends could turn out to be a great source for future plots: last interview I mentioned discovering that one ex was in prison for fraud and I recently found out that another is now a clairvoyant: oh that I could stop my heart for a couple of hours and visit him for a haunting! And talking of stopping hearts, that’s the theme of my 2nd novel THE SAVED, published on Jan 25th 2024: Nancy discovers the body of her partner Calder floating in the freezing sea near an isolated Scottish island. Paramedics fail to resuscitate him but mysteriously say ‘you’re not dead till you’re warm and dead’. Because people can be brought back to life up to 6 hours later if they have a heart attack while extremely cold. Calder does indeed ‘come back from the dead’ and everyone says he’s fully recovered. But Nancy looks into his eyes and knows that something is very wrong. Now she’s going home with a stranger… One thing that came through last time we spoke was your sense of humour. You’ve done many things, but as a former comedian (and a very funny person) what brought you to writing psychological thrillers? If you hear a good joke, you’re laughing. Read a tense thriller, you’re on edge and gripped. Laughter and fear are both immediate visceral reactions. So trying to make someone laugh is not that dissimilar to making a book tense. In both, I’m trying to elicit a gut reaction. It’s just that a joke is short and you succeed or fail immediately; whereas a book takes aaages to write and the publishing process is glacial before you reach readers. Secondly, both comedy and thrillers grab attention and take you out of yourself. I get bored easily, am super-lazy and can be tediously self-analytical. So I’m drawn to anything that shakes me out of my listlessness and navel-gazing and love comedy and thrillers. My most recent favourite comedy comes from the US comic Nate Bargatze, with his deceptively simple slants on everyday life. And my most recent favourite psychological thriller is Yellowface by R F Kuang: in which rabid publishing jealousy fuels theft, paranoia and payback; what’s not to like! And thirdly, with both comedy and psychological thriller writing, I’m fulfilling my inexplicable compulsion to show off for praise. I’ve merely massively increased the buffer between the work and the reaction. I did stand up in my early 20’s when I was especially wild and needy, so I was on a roll enough to risk instant failure for the instant hit of laughs. In middle age, I’ve become more private and less desperate (ha!) and now I prefer to provoke more distanced reactions. As well as being a former stand-up comedian, you’ve worked a variety of roles across the entertainment industry (including as a classical ballet dancer, voice-over artist, radio producer). Would you ever be tempted to set one of your books in the entertainment world? My 1st book, THE DAUGHTER, featured an annoyingly confident actor as the brother of the narrator, even though the actors I’ve directed have been lovely people. Well, most of them. In my 2nd book, THE SAVED, the protagonist Nancy is an ex-Radio Drama producer, like me. And I’ve made her as jaded as I felt when I stopped. She’s become an online film script editor and is working on a modern reimagining of Frankenstein. When I was a producer, people were always trying to sell ideas which were ‘re-imaginings’ of famous books. As my character Nancy says: ‘Yawn. Why does everything have to be re-imagined? … But hey, I’m getting paid shedloads to sleek up this tech-y confection, so, onwards.’ The Frankenstein theme of meddling with science to bring someone back from the dead runs through the book and one of my character’s motivations is inspired by this terrifying Frankenstein quote: ‘I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.’ For my 3rd book I’m toying with a voice-over artist character, a job I did for many years, for Persil, Kellogg’s and Herbal Essences, and it’s such an odd world of lies. I’d be standing at a microphone with my dirty greasy hair pulled back in a straggly knot, watching a glamorous model with thick flowing tresses on the screen, as I tried to sync my voice to her pouty lips: ‘I love how my hair feels, so strong, so silky, so alive’. That kind of angry dissociation could really drive a character to dark deeds… Your second book The Saved is set on a spooky and isolated island off the west coast of Scotland. Was there a particular place or trip that inspired this location? I knew I wanted to write about the unusual medical phenomenon that if you have a heart attack in freezing conditions, there is a slim chance of being brought back several hours later. So, I needed to set my book somewhere very cold, but wanted to stay in English speaking territory. Scotland in winter seemed appropriate and by chance I heard that a writer called Sarah Clayton (author of The Wrong Daughter) was running a writing retreat on one of the slate islands off the western coast of Scotland. It was a great workshop and my book came alive on this stunning but stark slate island: the single storey white cottages with their un-unnervingly thick walls, the wild ever-changing weather, the atmospheric small single church, the bizarre whirlpools out at sea, the tightknit community, and the steep hills with sheep clinging precariously to the edge, from which they sometimes plummet to their deaths. I had fleshed out the whole plot by the time I left. I wrote it up and then returned for a second trip in the autumn to really experience the details: the odd woody Jenga block sound as you walk over the slates; the shockingly clear night skies with their piercing stars; and as I have a character lost at sea, I swam in the freezing waves in winter, which was so exhilarating and other-worldly. I knew that being alone and submerged in that icy water would change someone for ever. In The Saved, your main character Nancy is living in a nightmare situation after a near-death experience transforms her partner Calder into a total stranger. When I heard that I instantly got chills and I need to know how it ends! Writers can often struggle to know whether an idea is strong enough to carry an entire novel. How did you come up with the concept and know it had the legs to become The Saved? I saw a short film online about an incident in 2011 when seven teenagers were found floating in the ice-encrusted Præstø Fjord in Denmark after a school trip boat overturned in a storm. Their bodies were brought to shore two hours later. Everyone was shouting ‘they’re dead, they’re all dead’. But they were rushed to hospital, warmed up 1 degree per 10 minutes and, miraculously, their hearts started again at 26 degrees, six hours after they had stopped. I instantly knew that this would be the start of my book. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of ‘not being’ given that consciousness is so vivid. So the idea that you could be in a strange in-between place, dead, but with the potential to come back was catnip to me. I was interested in what it was like for the person who ‘died’ and for relations who fully believed that their loved one had died, but then they came back. I felt that the idea of someone coming back from the dead and appearing changed was a great initial hook and this pulled the story along to the middle. From there, I used awful revelations about the accident to gradually unearth deeper secrets which led to the final terrible consequences. You’ve mentioned how slate (the main substance the island in The Saved is made up of) is a particularly important motif in the book. Did this emerge naturally whilst you were working on the novel or did you always know you wanted to build your idea around this motif? I had zero thought of slate initially. It was pure luck that the place I went to research cold seas off Scotland, happened to be a slate island. Once I saw the stunning beaches of Seil, Luing and Easdale, I knew my island had to be a slate one, because a slate beach is such a stunning sight. As Nancy says in my book: ‘It’s an awesome expanse of glinting angles, endless jagged grey shards, as if this huge gunmetal sea all around us had risen up into the air, frozen, and then exploded all over the shore.’ Slate mining stopped on the Scottish islands by the 1960s and moved to Wales but the old winches and water-filled pits left behind seemed to suggest buried secrets waiting to be brought back to the surface. I discovered that while slate is a hard-wearing substance used for roofs, once broken it can never be put back together again because pieces sheer off. This seemed like a perfect motif for a strong marriage pushed to extremes: if you start to think negative things about your partner, when do you reach the point of no return? Last time we spoke you took us through your journey from writing your first draft, polishing it using Jericho Writer masterclasses during the Summer Writing Festival in 2020, through to publishing The Daughter in 2022 with Allison and Busby. Do you have any advice to writers hoping to follow in your footsteps? Writing is a million times easier than so many jobs: eg. abattoir worker, sewage-spill-cleaner and anal-hair-bleacher (that is a real job). But writing is hard: to start, to traverse the middle, to finish, to edit, to entice an agent and to basically just stay sane in the hall of distorting fairground mirrors that is publishing. My advice to would-be-writers is: be a writer if you actually like writing rather than just imagining being a writer; if you like writing most of the time then keep writing even when you don’t like writing; and when you really hate writing, go for a walk, have a toasted sandwich while watching CSI Las Vegas, get a good night’s sleep and then get back to writing. With plotting, push your initial idea beyond where it seems to rest at first, because I think readers of psychological thrillers want to be constantly surprised. And try to find a regular writing group of perceptive honest writer friends who will gently put bad ideas out of their misery while helping spark good new ones, commiserate with your hiccups and applaud your successes. Any top tips on how they can make the most of writing resources? I connect with Jericho whenever I need help. When I started work on book 3 a month ago, I was feeling pretty adrift ideas-wise, so I went on the Jericho website, put ‘ideas’ in the search box, and pressed enter. 198 videos and articles instantly flashed up. 198! I straightaway felt less loopy and seized-up. I watched several videos including: Generating Ideas with Rosie Fiore, New Ideas Hour with Sarah Ann Juckes, and How To Know If Your Story Idea Is Any Good With ​​​​​​​S J Watson. And as I watched, I started forming an idea which will hopefully become my 3rd book. It’s so much easier to be creative when you’re reacting and interacting. And Jericho is the perfect place to spark your creativity, with its wonderful, ever-growing resources of videos, articles, blogs, masterclasses, courses, events, forums, groups and mentoring. Thank you so much for joining us again. We really can’t wait to read The Saved when it comes out on the 25th of January. We have one final question before you go. Last time you mentioned that you don’t quite feel like an author yet, has this changed? Ah ha, ha, haaa. ‘Feeling like a writer’ is very hard to hold onto. I feel like one when I’m in-the-flow of writing or for about ten seconds after I read a nice quote about my writing. But there are so many ups and downs in writing, that the feeling is pretty ephemeral. Hey ho. Since I’m getting into the flow of writing my next book and am seeing lots of nice quotes about my soon-to-be-published book THE SAVED, I guess I am ‘feeling like a writer’ at least some of the time. Liz Webb Liz Webb originally trained as a classical dancer, then worked as a secretary, stationery shop manager, art class model, cocktail waitress, stand-up comic, voice-over artist, script editor and radio drama producer, before becoming a novelist.  She lives in North London. Both her debut THE DAUGHTER and latest psychological thriller THE SAVED are available now. You can follow Liz on Instagram, Twitter/X and Facebook.

We were thrilled to chat to author Freya Berry about her second book, The Birdcage Library, and hear all about how she quit her job to write her first book and how she ended up meeting her agent at our Festival of Writing. Thank you so much for catching up with us, in midst of what we expect is a very busy time for you. I sort of been recovering since The Birdcage Library came out on the 22nd (June), and I\'ve just been trying to lie down in a dark room. I always feel like publishing a book is slightly like a slow motion nervous breakdown, so it\'s nice to be sort of blinking in the daylight again. And yeah, getting back to my normal life and thinking about book three. After your well-deserved rest, what is next on the horizon? So I had to book contracts with The Dictator’s Wife and the and The Birdcage Library, I\'m sort of coming out of that for the first time since my career started. I\'ve got the idea for the third book, which I\'ve been working out with my agent, and next it’ll be taking it to my editor and seeing what she thinks and all that absolutely not nerve wracking stuff. Can you tell me a little bit about how your first book came about? So I used to work in journalism and now I think I really love taking fact and making that into fiction. The Birdcage Library is based on real life people, real life animal dealers who lived in New York in the Gilded Age and the Dictator\'s Wife is very much based on real life dictator\'s wives and those kind of people. So, I was working in journalism and realized that wasn\'t for me. I preferred making stuff up (to a point). So, I gave myself a year to write a book. I had been working in journalism for about four years and I spent a year and a half of that writing a first novel, which was terrible. I\'ve never gotten back to it. But I think it was a good way to understand what the process involves, at least. I sent that novel out to a few agents not really knowing what I was doing and I got some feedback which was really helpful. It kind of made me understand that the book was never going to work. I kind of knew that, but it was helpful in encouraging me to try again. So, I quit my job. I gave myself a year. I lived off savings and was able to live my parents’ house for a few months. That’s amazing, such a brave move. There was this one amazing agent who gave me pages of feedback, which was unbelievably kind of him. And so that did make me think that maybe this is something that I could do. I also spent a hell of a lot of time agonizing with myself. Should I quit my job to write? You can sort of reverse engineer it to make it sound like it was a plan, but it was a massive chance to give myself a definitive amount of time to do it. I’d saved up but it was definitely a leap of faith. It was a good thing I didn’t know what I was doing otherwise it would have been too scary!So I took that year out, I just been reporting on the 2016 US election, which was obviously the one where Trump won for the first time, and it was Melania Trump, this sort of fake news concept and what is truth and so on, that became the roots of The Dictator\'s Wife. I didn\'t know what I was going to write before I decided to quit, it just grew out of that experience. I wanted to set the Dictator\'s Wife in a fictional eastern European country where I had spent a bit of time in the past. I went back and I spent four months researching.I turned up in Bucharest in February. There was snow on the ground, it was ten o’clock at night and my Airbnb host was late arriving and I thought what am I doing? As I was waiting in this dark stairwell for him to turn up, he arrived and said ‘I\'m so sorry. I\'ve just been to the protest.’ It turned out they were having the biggest protest they\'d ever had since 1989 that night. So I went along with him and 300,000 people in the square chanting against the government and ended up in an underground bar in this abandoned palace. It became a protest scene in the book and was a real instigating moment for that whole process. So, I was in Eastern Europe for four months, writing every day and talking to people and learning about the area and immersing myself. After about four or five months, I had that first draft. I did another two or three drafts before I signed. I thought I\'ve taken it as far as I could go. And that was around the time that I found the Festival of Writing. I came up to York and scoped out which agents I was interested in and one of my one-to-ones was with James Wills. Then he became my agent. So, York was really integral to that. It got a couple of other offers from agents at that festival too. It was a real turning point for me to be able to feel like this is a real thing. Amazing. So, you met with James for your one-to-one, can you tell us how the other offers came about? Yes, so I sent I sent James and a couple of the other agents who were interested the full manuscript. James had read the first chapter already and the others I pitched to while I was there. That’s amazing. So, you pitched agents whilst you were at the Festival of Writing? I think the good thing about being a journalist is you have to be utterly shameless in going up to people. So I think that was quite helpful. I think writing, as I\'ve learned, is more about hustling than you think. If you can go up to people, be nice and not aggressive, just to tell them in a few words whether it might be something they might be interested in, I think that\'s a really helpful skill to develop. So, I went up to a couple of agents who liked the sound of it and they asked for the full manuscripts and I got a couple of offers off the back of that. But James seemed to really get the vision and we aligned. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for those conversations! How do you go up to an agent and pitch in person? I perfected a little elevator pitch. What it is at the heart of this book and what makes it unique. The art of the sell is very different obviously to what you\'re writing. So, it\'s just kind of understanding what is important about your story and taking enough of a step back to understand the things that make people go, ‘ooh.’ It can be really hard to distil a 90,000 word novel into a sentence or two, removing things you have your heart set on. I think agents do understand that they\'re not getting the full book in the sentence. For example, I think for The Dictator\'s Wife, my pitch was - dictator’s wife stands trial for her dead husband\'s crimes and weaves a web of secrets and lies around her young female defence lawyer - or something like that. And The Birdcage Library was: an adventuress discovers an old diary hidden in the walls of a Scottish castle which contains clues about this woman who vanished 50 years before, or something like that. Can you tell us more about what happened after you signed with your agent? Yeah, with, with my agent, we worked on the Dictator\'s Wife for a good year. There\'s no guarantees in this industry and so my work was very much focused on getting the manuscript to where it needs to be. And then James took the book and pitched it to editors. What advice would you give to writers? It’s interesting to hear you wrote an entire book before The Dictator’s Wife. I didn’t expect how much perseverance it takes to get a book published. You read the stories of people who say that they wrote a book on a whim, sent it off and got fifteen offers by the next morning. From the vast number of writers I\'ve spoken to, that is not representative. I’m grateful that I didn’t know how long and arduous the process would be before I started. It’s really important to be honest with yourself and make your book the best it can be. After I got an agent, I rewrote the entire book from third person to the first person. I remember it so well! I literally opened up a blank document next to the manuscript and just started. You just can’t give up, that is the biggest differentiator. It might not be the first book or the second, but it’s just the people who don’t give up and are prepared to go through that mill who make it. It is the only industry that I’ve ever encountered that talks about ‘positive rejections’ which tells you everything! It’s hard to put yourself out there. And then afterwards, it’s easy to say well done to you for coming through it. But at the time, no one is cheering you on, it’s only you and your self-belief, and hopefully your friends and family. It’s a big thing and I think anyone who is doing it is really brave and should feel loads of self-respect for themselves. No one will make you do it but that’s sort of the joy and the terror of it. Freya Berry studied English Literature at Cambridge. She graduated with a double first and worked as a financial and political journalist at Reuters and the Daily Mail in London and New York. Her debut novel The Dictator\'s Wife was featured on the BBC\'s Between the Covers and was The New European\'s novel of the year. Her second, The Birdcage Library, is a story about an adventuress, part-based on her namesake Freya Stark. Freya lives in London. Freya’s second novel, The Birdcage Library, is out now.

We caught up with Hamish to chat all about his whirlwind journey to publication that involved an exciting three-book deal with Pan Macmillan and selling the film rights. But these things don’t happen overnight. To understand how Hamish go to where he is today, we have to go back to the beginning. JW: Hi Hamish, congratulations on such an exciting book deal. Can you tell us a little about your path to publication? In March of 2020, Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown of the UK to prevent the spread of the Covid 19 virus and the business world that I was a part of shrugged its shoulders and carried on. At the time, I was working in the retail sector and shops remained open so Head Office and other functions found ways for the long working days to continue via endless Zoom calls. By the end of the year, the seriousness of the pandemic had become apparent and the restrictions had become more stringent and so for the first time in thirty years, I found myself at home without a full schedule of meetings and an angry inbox brimming with unread messages. This was quite refreshing for a couple of days and then as the novelty wore off, I found myself wandering around the house looking for things to do. The inbox was clear, the impossible to-do list had vanished and an idea that had been lurking in the back of my mind since my school days began to take shape. It was Boxing Day 2020 and I came to breakfast refreshed and alive with energy. “I am going to write a book!” I announced victoriously (I may have used the word bestselling in this sentence). My wife and children laughed. It was the first of many reality checks that would happen over the next three years in navigating the very unique and often frustrating world of publishing a novel. So, at aged 48, equipped with my ‘B’ in A-Level English and a huge pile of books that I had read over the years, my plan was set; I would dash off a beautiful manuscript, sent it off to a big publisher  and wait for the seven-figure advance cheque to arrive in the post. My only dilemma was whether to have Bollywood star Deepika Padukone in the lead role for the film or let the big guns from LA fight it out for Hollywood. This was the start of my historical series The Harveen Gill Mysteries.  My solution to this impossible problem was simple. Cheat. As the story began to take shape, I started looking into the process of getting my book published and realised that major book companies would not accept an unsolicited manuscript. It would have to be submitted by a reputable agent and it appeared that getting such an agent would be a task in itself.  The best agents seemed to be getting hundreds of queries a week and response times went from non-existent to many, many months. Some analysis of deals announced over the last two years would suggest that authors with a South Asian background account for a little over 2% of all deals and historical fiction as a category accounts for around 3% of deals. I would be shooting at a pretty small target. My solution to this impossible problem was simple. Cheat. I looked for a writing community that would help to fill in all gaps in my knowledge and skill set. Joining Jericho Writers was an important step in this process. It allowed me to access comprehensive information on editing, refining my query and getting an agent without having to take the scary step of actually talking to someone (we writers can be a pretty reclusive group).  I used the Jericho Writers agent 1-2-1 service to better understand what agents were looking for, and then used my own network to find people who were in the book industry.  I found that by being brave and telling people  about my journey and asking for help, a number of introductions happened that led to both the agents  that I worked with including the lovely Jane Compton who secured my deal. Initially, The Muziris Empire, at 130k words, received detailed and mostly enthusiastic responses, editors taking time to explain why they were passing, but passing nonetheless. Entering competitions, working with a couple of beta readers and then finding an editor, the wonderful Holly Domney, who transformed the manuscript into a tight, all-action, historical adventure at just under 100k words. The second round of submissions to publishers went much wider, to major publishers from both India and the USA as well as the UK. We had strong interest from the start resulting in a number of interested parties and a pre-empt from Pan Macmillan India into what had become a three-book series. Looking back, there are so many things that I didn’t know at the start of the process and kind people that helped me along the way, so I am always keen to help other along their journey, especially those from traditionally underrepresented parts of the writing community. JW: Is there anything you wish you knew before becoming a published author? Looking back, there are so many things that I didn’t know at the start of the process that I wish I had. If you’re a writer, my advice is to: Get out to live events. The writing community is generally open and supportive, I found that meeting people really helped me on my journey. Join a writing community, ideally that has members that write in your chosen genre as they all have nuances. Historical fiction writers talk about the joys of deep research, staying true to history, best publishers for the category and other things that may not be relevant for YA writers for example. Enter competitions, especially those that give feedback. Writers often complain about the lack of agent comments on rejections. For many reasons this type of feedback can be misleading. Better sources of constructive advice can come from competitions, betas and writing groups. Get busy on socials: follow writers, agents, publishers. Do interact with their posts. Do not slide into their DM’s asking for help with your project straight away! It’s a great source of information and upcoming events. Refine and edit your manuscript. I have recently blogged about the query trenches and why writers may get into a loop of sending out the same query over and over. It took me many versions of both manuscript and query letter to get it right. Eventually I worked with the amazing Holly Domney on a developmental edit which really opened my eyes to some ways to improve the book. Submit to agents/publishers outside of the UK. AgentMatch is a great resource to find potential agents, looking at the latest #MSWL on X also put me in touch with some great people. My deal was sold outside the UK.Read, read and read. There is so much to learn from what is being published. Find your own routine and be kind to yourself. Lots of authors advocate for writing so many words a day and at set times. Everyone has a unique life situation and to be the most productive and creative, I think your writing needs to fit in with that. Don’t beat yourself up using someone else’s yardstick! Keep going, it can be a long process but, I believe in you. Many kind people helped me along the way, so I am always keen to help others along their journey, especially those from traditionally underrepresented parts of the writing community. About Hamish Hamish Morjaria was born and brought up in North London. Having spent three decades in the business world, working for leading brands and retailers, he finally indulged his passion for ancient history and fast-paced thrillers to create The Harveen Gill Mysteries. When not writing, Hamish can be found watching cricket or walking his dog Simba during the day, and sitting in front of the fire with a cup of tea and a good book in the evening. Hamish lives with his wife Kalpa, two children and dog in Buckinghamshire. You can find more about Hamish on his website here or keep up with him on X/Twitter and Instagram. About the Harveen Gill Mysteries series An edge-of-the-seat trilogy rooted in ancient Indian history that blends conspiracy theories and ancient secrets as ambitious Indian archaeologist Dr Harveen Gill races against time to make the discovery of a lifetime. But there are greater powers at play, watching her every move. As she pursues the fame and glory she craves, how much is Harveen ready to risk? The Muziris Empire is the first book in the series and is slated for a summer 2024 publication. The Da Vinci Code meets The Magicians of Mazda in this enthralling alchemy of mythology, science, religion and cryptography, told across three interweaving perspectives, moving back and forth in time and set in present-day Kerala, which was once home to the ancient city of Muziris.

We caught up with Nitin Lakhani, Simply Self-Publish course alum and Jericho Writers member to celebrate the release of his debut novel Lalji\'s Nairobi and hear about his journey to publication. JW: Can you tell us a little bit about the process your book went through from writing the first draft, through to publication? I came to writing quite late after retiring from medical practice in the NHS. My first novel, ‘Lalji’s Nairobi’ had a long incubation period as I wanted to write it from when I was a teenager, the story being loosely based on my grandfather’s life story. It is a story of four young men who leave Gujarat as economic migrants to escape famines and high taxes under the British Raj. Led by Lalji they travel across the ocean and arrive in British East Africa where their skills are required but the politics is against them. Lalji, their leader, chose to put roots down inland in Nairobi which at that time was a small market town. Through sheer determination and strong business abilities, Lalji achieves success against difficult odds. It is a ‘rags to riches’ tale with unexpected danger that puts Lalji’s success at risk when he is at his most vulnerable. JW: Can you tell us a little bit about the process your book went through from writing the first draft, through to publication? Although I started with a story ‘in me’ it is fair to say I had little confidence or knowledge of how to go about publishing it. I was certain I wanted to self-publish as I saw many advantages there compared to the traditional route, especially as I knew my novel was going to be different from other historical novels. My initial research led me to join Jericho Writers on a monthly subscription to see what I made of the writing world. I was inspired by one of Harry’s blogs where he encouraged budding authors to start writing and worry less about issues like genre. His stance was to get writing and doing it well. Then edit the book to near perfection before pitching or self-publishing. Before I started putting any words down I spent umpteen hours researching. That was an essential step to ensure accuracy, especially for a historical novel. By the time I had finished my manuscript - accelerated by the pandemic lockdown - I was ready to have it read by an author. Here, Jericho Writers helped identify an experienced manuscript reader. The next step was to immerse myself in polishing the plot, cleaning up the text and cycles of self-editing. All this required my personal input before engaging a copy editor. So far so good. However, the area that was most challenging, of which I had little knowledge, was the world of self-publishing. I read and listened to self-published authors and I was convinced it was the right way for my novel. But there was a steep learning curve, especially if one wanted to do it properly and do it well. That’s when I decided to do the Jericho Writers Simply Self-Publish course. The course over ten weeks covered the full breadth of how to get self-published. Debbie Young runs the carefully crafted course with talks, discussions and homework which are available for future reference. There is a lot to learn to self-publish successfully and Debbie’s excellent course set me firmly on the right path. Her feedback and encouragement on a personal level were particularly helpful for me. JW: Sounds like it was a lengthy process, did you lose heart at any stage? The process could have been shorter if I had been more engaged, and perhaps more disciplined. But I also found going away from writing for spells helped me regain my creative drive. Similarly, I did not mind starting the self-publishing course after the final draft was complete. And no, I did not lose heart! Writing is so engaging. Knowing you are producing something original which hopefully others will enjoy spurs you on. JW: You were developing your craft for several years before you were published, is there anything you found particularly useful on your journey? Two things come to mind immediately. Firstly, research, which was great fun. I could lose myself for hours on a subject. It was all quite relevant to get a feel for the period even if I did not use individual pieces. Secondly, the talks and material on the Jericho Writers site. The wealth of material on the site is fantastic. For a budding author, the content by experienced authors, agents and publishers in one place is a great boon. JW: What advice would you give to writers working on their first draft? I am not sure I am qualified to give advice! But seriously, the advice I received and which helped me most was what I gained from the talks and reading on the JW site. Secondly, your writing environment is also unique like your book. How, when and where you write must feel right for you. Get all the externals right so that you can be in an undistracted and comfortable place with your writing. Changing the environment is allowed but always make sure everything feels right and distractions are avoided. JW: You mentioned you first thought about writing what would become ‘Lalji’s Nairobi’ when you were a teenager. After having spent years working on the story, spending infinite amounts of time with your protagonist, and waking up sporadically in the middle of the night with edit ideas – how did you know it was time to publish? Isn’t it strange about the middle of the night gems? After re-editing multiple times, you realise further editing reduces the returns, and it is time for a copy edit. That break from self-editing I found therapeutic. In my case, it prepared me to be able to look at the copy-edited version with fresher eyes. Then it was a case of engaging a cover and internal designer which was the fun part. JW: Can you let us know what are you working on now? Firstly, a long trip to North America which I had promised my wife before Covid. Her patience, support and encouragement kept me going. I would like to see how ‘Lalji’s Nairobi’ is received before deciding on my next venture. Writing is a lonely occupation and feedback is important for all of us. I expect that will help crystallise what comes next. About Nitin Nitin is a historical novelist who came to writing his debut novel after retiring as a doctor. Born in Kenya before its independence he came to England at the age of fifteen. His parentage is Indian, his grandfather having moved during the British Raj from Gujarat in India to Colonial East Africa as an economic migrant. His debut novel, Lalji\'s Nairobi, was released in the summer of 2023 and is available from Amazon Books and Waterstones.

We caught up with Helen Parusel, a Self-Edit Your Novel course alum and Jericho Writers member (who\'s also used our AgentMatch and editorial services) to hear about her journey to publication. JW: We’re so pleased to hear your debut A Mother’s War was published with Boldwood Books recently. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your writing journey that led you up to this point?   I come from London but have been living in Hamburg, Germany for over 25 years. Like so many of us, I always wanted to write a book, but there never seemed an appropriate time in daily life. In order to avoid empty nest syndrome when my daughter left home to study, I decided that was the moment to start my writing journey. But how? I had no formal writing qualifications, had never had anything published and had no idea what skills were required to actually write a novel. Stumbling around the internet I came across Jericho Writers and that changed everything. Working my way through every teaching video available, I studied the craft of writing and learnt about the fascinating world of publishing. I completed a novel and using the Jericho Writers AgentMatch service, I started the tortuous process of submission. I didn’t receive a full manuscript request but one particular encouraging response from an agent at Curtis Brown inspired me to keep going. When lockdown arrived I joined a Curtis Brown Creative online writing course. By this time I had a new idea for a book, and the manuscript I worked on with Curtis Brown became A Mother’s War which was published in May. JW: Can you tell us a little bit about the process your book went through from writing the first draft, through to publication? I sent out my manuscript on submission, again using AgentMatch. This time, I received a full request. The agent felt it wasn’t quite ready and kindly gave me detailed feedback. She also invited me to resubmit. Not wanting to mess up this amazing opportunity, I decided I needed a professional manuscript assessment and turned to Jericho Writers. I read the profiles of their editors and came across Clare Coombes of the Liverpool Literary Agency. Amongst the things that attracted me to Clare was her love of WW2, historical fiction which was the genre of my novel. Clare did a detailed, brilliant assessment which shone with knowledge and passion for the genre. She also loved my book! After a couple of video calls and numerous emails, she offered me representation; an unbelievable and wonderful moment. After that, things moved very fast. We edited for about six weeks and Clare submitted to about 12 publishers. Within three months I had a publishing deal! JW: You were developing your craft for several years before you were published, is there anything you found particularly useful on your journey? Definitely being part of a writing community such as Jericho Writers. The support, feedback and friendships are invaluable. Also a shout out for Debi Alper’s incredible Self-Edit Your Novel Course, and of course for Clare’s astute manuscript assessment. JW: Were there any surprises along the way? Or perhaps anything you wished you had known earlier, or been prepared for? I was stunned how many times a book is edited before it goes to print! I also didn’t realise I would be working on three books at once: marketing the one out now, finishing book two, and starting book three. It is all very intense, but I love it and am very grateful to have this opportunity. JW: What advice would you give to writers working on their first draft? Every writer has to find a way that works for them. Some throw out a messy first draft and just get the words down, others like me edit as they go. But what I would suggest is getting feedback and another perspective on your work, either through the Jericho Writers community or an online writing group. No one needs to write in isolation. JW: We understand A Mother’s War is part of an exciting three-book deal with Boldwood Books. Can you let us know what are you working on now? I have just submitted book two to my editor which is another WW2 story, this one set at the time of Austria’s annexation with Germany. Like my first book, it contains themes of romance, resistance and impossible choices. About Helen Helen is from London and now lives in Hamburg Germany with her husband, daughter and rescue dog. After giving English lessons to retired Germans for twenty years, she became intrigued by many of their wartime stories which has inspired her writing. Helen’s childhood summer holidays were spent with family in Austria and she draws on her experiences for her second book. Her debut novel, A Mother\'s War, was released in the summer of 2023. You can follow Helen on Twitter and Instagram.

No publishing journey is ever the same, so it\'s always interesting to hear different writers\' perspectives. We spoke to Cate Green, a former Festival of Writing prizewinner (who\'s also used our agent one-to-ones, mentoring, and editorial services), about her experience. JW: Please tell us a bit about you: how long have you been writing, and what was your journey to finding an agent like?   I’m one of those writers who always says, ‘I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember’, and it’s true! I loved writing as a child at school and at home and had a special notebook for my stories and poems. I was a prize-winner in my first national essay-writing competition at the age of 18 and, although it took me many, many years to finally write a novel (let alone have one published) I never stopped writing one way or another. I’ve had a career that has spanned news journalism, copywriting, and communications in the UK and France, where I have lived for almost thirty years.  I started seriously trying to write a novel just over ten years ago and, after a couple of near misses, won the 2019 Exeter Novel Prize. That led to offers from a few agents, including one from the Prize judge, Broo Doherty of DHH Literary. I’m delighted to say that Broo now represents me and negotiated my two-book deal with One More Chapter, a Harper Collins imprint. My novel, The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W., will be published in paperback, digital and audio in the summer of 2023.  I find that mentoring is a great way of moving ahead with a manuscript as it’s so helpful to have objective feedback and support that’s completely personalised to you, whatever stage you’re at with your novel. JW: What resources have you found useful along the way? I’ve never been on any writing courses as such and my first Festival of Writing back in 2012 was both a real eye-opener and a huge help in learning more about the craft of writing, and standing back to understand how to edit your own work. The agent one-to-ones were just fantastic in giving me confidence about my writing – although they didn’t lead to representation, both agents asked to see my first three chapters and gave me some incredibly helpful feedback. In fact, York was also the place where I met Broo Doherty for the first time. We were both sitting at the back of a workshop and after the talk, I plucked up the courage to do a quick pitch of the novel that I’d brought to the Festival that year (the first one I’d written, which is now deep in a hidden drawer, where it will stay). Broo was kind enough to listen and interested enough to ask to read the first three chapters – proof that agents actually are approachable people and that sometimes things do come full circle.   I went back to York in 2014 and this time actually won the Best First Chapter Competition and came runner-up in Friday Night Live – second to Joanna Cannon, for whom the rest was history! I had lots of interest from agents then, but I had only written the first five or so chapters of my second (unpublished) novel and, in the end, it wasn’t to be – that time.  I naturally turned to Jericho Writers for help with manuscript critiques and mentoring. I worked for a few months with a great mentor, but we decided to part ways – for the best of reasons: I had come runner-up in the Yeovil Prize and through that found an agent. Sadly, I also parted ways with the agent several months later (see below), but hey, onwards and upwards.  I find that mentoring is a great way of moving ahead with a manuscript as it’s so helpful to have objective feedback and support that’s completely personalised to you, whatever stage you’re at with your novel. I later went on to work with another mentor who encouraged me to enter the Exeter Prize, so huge thanks to her!  And book Twitter has been a great resource. I’ve had so much encouragement and support from other writers, agents and editors on there – many people are so approachable and generous. Plus, it’s a great way of finding out who’s who and who does what in publishing.  JW: Did you experience any setbacks? How did you cope with them?   I’ve had lots of rejections from both agents and editors. To be honest, I think that having worked as a journalist and copywriter for so long means that I’ve grown used to having red ink all over my work (as well as using it on other people’s work!) and grown quite a thick skin.  I’d say my main setbacks were parting ways with my previous agent and, before that, coming down from the First Chapter Prize cloud when I realised that, unlike Joanna, I wasn’t going to get seven agent offers and a fast track to publication. That was a blow to my morale, but the Prize meant I knew I could write and that my idea had legs, so in the end it made me determined to finish the novel and get that agent. When I finally did though, being ‘fired’ by the agency after coming very close to a publishing deal was the most difficult setback to cope with. It was a fairly big London agency which was going through some internal restructuring, including a change of role for my agent, and it made me realise that sometimes you just fall through the cracks. They didn’t like the idea for my next novel – the one set for publication next year – but I really believed in it so, after a few weeks of tears and soul-searching, I just dusted myself off and decided I was going to write it.  … Working with an agent while I was still writing the book was just wonderful. I had someone to bounce my ideas off and to give me honest, constructive feedback, as well as some great ideas – and who was rooting for me the whole time! JW: What was it like having an agent while you were still writing your book? In what ways do you think that a more collaborative approach (working with an agent/editor) changed or will change the way you approach your writing?  I was incredibly lucky that Broo Doherty signed me on the strength of my first ten thousand words because working with an agent while I was still writing the book was just wonderful. I had someone to bounce my ideas off and to give me honest, constructive feedback, as well as some great ideas  – and who was rooting for me the whole time! True luxury after so many years of working on my own or paying for editorial services. I’ve also enjoyed working with Charlotte Ledger, my editor at One More Chapter – again, fresh eyes and a collaboration with someone who’s totally on your side, loves your work and wants to make it even better is just such a positive experience. I’m looking forward to working on book two with both of them. It’s in the early stages for now, but I think the biggest change will be the challenge of a tight deadline. I know it’s not the most orthodox approach, but for my first three novels, I didn’t write a “messy” first draft as such. I tend to keep editing until I’m happy and then move on to the next chapter of the novel. But having just under a year to write the next book (and keep doing the day job and running family matters!) means I’m not sure that I’ll be able to work in the same way this time. I hope I can make it!  JW: What has it been like working with a digital-first publisher? What are the benefits? I haven’t had any concrete experience of any difference the digital side might make – except for the fact that the royalties are significantly higher than for print and audio, and that’s a bonus since OMC are very experienced in selling and marketing in the digital arena.  About Cate Cate Green grew up in Buckinghamshire and moved to France over twenty years ago. She now lives just outside of Lyon with her husband and three daughters. Cate is a copywriter and a broadcast and print journalist, with more than twenty years\' experience in television, international radio, and corporate communications. Her debut novel, The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W, won the 2019 Exeter Novel Prize and will be released in the summer of 2023. You can follow Cate on Twitter here.