When you’re writing a book, at some point you will need to review its structure. This approach varies from writers who do this at the very start of their book process and continue refining it as they write their book, to those who just start writing with a very loose agenda. A well-structured book is crucial to its readability: too much jumbling and flitting from one point to the next and your reader will have a hard time keeping up – at worst they will stop reading the boo

Think of this as my take on the National Trust’s ‘50 things to do before your turn 11¾’, but for 40-year-olds. And backwards. Most people set themselves a list of things to do before turning a certain age, and then set out to achieve it, but this isn’t one of those lists. This is me looking back on my 40 years on this planet and cataloguing what I’ve achieved, without even realising it. Me at 40 I’ve tried not to turn this into a list of brags, but I also don’t want to shy

I’m going to start by saying working with an editor doesn’t mean you’re a terrible writer or you are failing with your book. All the best authors out there work with an editor (just take a look at the acknowledgements: the editor(s) is often one of the first people an author thanks!). Taking that first step to work with an editor is a huge one, so well done if you’re thinking about working with an editor to shape and hone your book. Having your book professionally edited wi

Copyediting is your book’s final edit. It’s the line-by-line edit that amends any grammatical or spelling errors, and makes revisions to improve flow and readability. This means once you receive your book back from the copyeditor, you are expected to focus on which revisions you agree with, rewriting or deleting huge chunks of your book. Once your book has been copyedited, the next stages in the publishing process are typesetting (formatting your manuscript into a book) and

When you think about punctuation, do you ever think this applies to bullet points? It took me a while to love copyediting bullet points. I used to get easily flustered by the varying options for punctuating them, especially when the style guide for punctuating bullet points is down to me (as I work with self-publishing authors). But I’ve now honed my bullet point punctuation, so punctuating bullet points is something I now look forward to! Now I’m sharing my perfected pun

Knowing you want to write and publish a book is one thing, working out how to get your book published is another. These days, there are three routes to publishing your book: 1. Traditional 2. Self-publishing 3. Hybrid There is no ‘right’ way to publish your book. It all depends on the goals for your writing and book, along with your lifestyle and spare time (I know, I know, what’s that??). I advise you go through each of the publishing options in turn

Do you write the book you want, or the one you think you should? I hadn’t planned it this way, but the start of a new year (January 2026) is a natural time to think about writing or publishing a book. New year, new goals might be a bit of a cliché, but we just can’t help setting new or revised goals for the year, and for many aspiring authors, this will be the year you write your book. But before you start on chapter one, there’s an important question to consider: are you g

It’s back for 2025! My book wrap-up of the year, where I share my favourite books from the past year (December 2024 to November 2025) and come up with my own awards for certain categories. I share this at this time of year for anyone wondering what to add to their own book Christmas wish list or if you’re wondering which book to buy someone for Christmas this year. The great thing about my list (I know, I’m so modest) is that these are all books I’ve read in 2025, not books

When it comes to publishing your book, I bet you’ve heard of editors (hi!), book cover designers, proofreaders, and marketers. But have you heard of beta readers? You’re not alone if you haven’t. Most first-time authors I speak to haven’t heard of beta readers, but it’s something I recommend any self-publishing author adds to their publication timeline. By the end of this blog post, you'll know: - What a beta reader is - Why you should use beta r

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The amount of time it takes to self-publish your book will depend on many factors, including word count, budget, and deadline. One...

Have you ever wondered when you’re supposed to use digits and when to write out numbers in non-fiction? Perhaps this isn’t something...

A global running magazine recently ran a blog post (no pun intended, but let’s go with it) that recommended 9 books all about running....

Autobiography is not the same as memoir I’ve noticed a growing trend with celebrities writing ‘memoir’ when they really mean...

Does your writing bank comprise various blog posts, journal entries, letters, sheaves of thoughts and notes? And are you now struggling...

3 news stories that prove you need to write and publish your book NOW Did you say that in 2024 you’d write a book, but never finished it?...

What do book editors read in their spare time? The obvious answer for most of us is: a lot. We really do love reading and we try to read...

If you’ve been writing for a while or you’ve studied the writing craft then you’ve probably heard of (and are maybe sick of!) ‘show don’t...