My Date with an Agent

It’s exactly six months since I publicly stated my goals for 2016: to write a book and buy a house. Here’s an update on my progress…

Goal No.1 is complete. I’m now the proud owner of a perfect little house in south London and it really is a dream come true. I’m looking for a nice little writing desk so that I can stop straining my back by sitting on my sofa typing for hours.

24 tips on how to get published

On May 28 I went to the annual Getting Published Conference, part of the International Literature Festival Dublin, hosted by the brilliant Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin of writing.ie.

Having last attended in 2013, I was particularly impressed to see they’d taken it up more than just a notch, and I came away with new friends, heaps of good advice and a ton of things to add to my ‘to do’ list. I’ll definitely go again next year.

What happens in the Writers’ Retreat…

Two months ago, I attended my first Writers’ Retreat. The purpose of the day was literally to sit in a room and write, but it was thoroughly worthwhile because I often don’t have the motivation to spend a full day writing, let alone turn off my phone from nine to five.

Despite spending a good while staring into space and wondering what everyone else was writing, I managed to pen about 10,000 words and firm up some of my earlier chapters, so it was worth the spend. I also made a new friend, a fellow writer (obvs) who is working on her second novel whilst pitching her first to agents. Said writer and I are now planning a little group where we’ll read and give feedback on each other’s work.

2016: the year I wrote my first book

So, two and a half years ago I wrote a blog about writing your first book. I still haven’t written mine.

I know that having my first book published will be the happiest day of my life, so I need to achieve this goal. But sadly I suffer from all those things that stop even the best writers from writing: self-doubt; having a full-time job; arriving home knackered and wanting to do nothing other than have a long, hot bath; spending hours on Facebook/Instagram/Tinder (it’s all research, I swear); and just generally sitting down and having f*$k all to write.

So You Want to Be a Writer?

Everyone’s got a book in them, right?

Last month I was lucky enough to attend Publish and Be Famed, an event at the Dublin Writers’ Festival focused on publishing tips for budding authors. The session turned out to be extremely helpful, so I thought I’d share a few of my learnings with you.

Find What You Love

The day I quit Bloomberg in March 2012, I expected my managers to be mad at me. I was abandoning the company to which I’d devoted most of my 20s, and I was leaving my colleagues in the lurch.

Instead, the wise bureau chief gave me a hug and said “You’ll never regret leaving any job. Every time you leave a company or make a big change, things always work out for the best.”