Ask The Agent: Gyamfia Osei

Simon Whaley chats to Gyamfia Osei of Andrew Nurnberg Associates about writing for the middle grade and young adult market. Gyamfia Osei’s career began as a bookseller at Waterstones before …

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Negotiation Nightmares

Getting published means dealing with contracts. Simon Whaley explores how to succeed with the negotiation process. I experienced a range of emotions when Hodder & Stoughton sent me the contract …

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Flounders’ Folly

My piece exploring Flounders’ Folly in South Shropshire has been published in the July 2025 issue of Country Walking magazine. Save the route for a day when the tower is …

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Virtual Assistants

The problem with the business of writing is that all the business stuff leaves less time for writing. Ultimately, as writers, we’d rather be writing than messing around creating social …

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Ask The Agent – Jessica Woollard

Jessica Woollard has been a literary agent for over thirty years, working at Toby Eady Associates and The Marsh Agency before moving to David Higham Associates in 2016. She was …

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Becoming A Productive Writer

When I had a full-time day job and could only write in my spare time, I yearned to be a full-time writer. To have all that time to write would …

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Historic Hawkstone Follies

“And here’s your torch,” said the young man behind the desk.“I need a torch?”He nodded. “There’s no lighting in the tunnels and the ground is uneven underfoot.”I took it from …

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Captivating Cannock Chase

Sometimes my imagination sends me on a wild goose chase. I was sitting in a Cannock supermarket cafe, eavesdropping on other people’s conversations, as most writers do, when two women …

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Pursuing Patrons

Can writers have patrons who support their writing business? Simon Whaley chats to two writers about how they use the Patreon platform. The subscription-based platform Patreon launched twelve years ago …

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Ask The Agent – John Baker

Simon Whaley chats to John Baker of the Bell Lomax Moreton agency about the weird world of speculative fiction. John Baker is an agent passionate about science fiction, fantasy, and …

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