Despite my best intentions, I haven’t had much time for blogging lately – so this week, I’m going to cheat slightly and repost an article that I’ve written for Jericho Writers!
As you may know, as well as writing my novels for Boldwood Books and self-publishing short fiction, I teach an online course called Simply Self Publish for the global writers’ group Jericho Writers. This course runs twice a year, April-June and October-December. I also offer mentoring services to aspiring authors and give talks online and at various events for them, including the London Festival of Writing.
That’s where the header photo was taken, with Zena Unitt, author of Cloud Mother. She’d very sweetly sought me out to thank me, having published her debut novel following my encouragement and advice at the previous LFoW. (Read my review of Cloud Mother here.)
To help raise awareness of the course, I also write the occasional article for Jericho’s newsletter and website. Today, they’ve just published the article I wrote recently about why some traditional publishing companies are headhunting successful indie authors and offering them publishing contracts. That’s exactly what happened to me a few years ago, and that’s how I came to have both a publisher (Boldwood Books) and an agent (Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency), without even trying.
Yes, I know, I’m very, very lucky, but as the old saying goes, the harder I work, the luckier I get.
So, if you’d like to know more about this topic, click below to read the article in full:
Why successful indie authors are being sought out by publishers’ talent scouts
If you’re interested in joining me on my next Simply Self Publish course, click here to find out more. There’s still time to to sign up for the next one, which starts on Tuesday 13th October! You can also find out more about my mentoring and teaching work here.
The Latest Self-Publishing Success Stories for Jericho Writers
I’m also thrilled to share success stories of two former students of this course’.
One Foot in Front of the Other by Judy Heminsley
Congratulations to Judy Heminsley for the launch on Saturday of her new book about grief, One Foot in Front of the Other: Grief After Life-Changing Loss, written after the sudden death of her husband to help anyone who is bereaved. Here’s a picture of Judy (far left) as part of the speaker line-up at last Saturday’s Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival‘s Mysterious Ways event, at which she gave a moving interview about her book.
Rachel: A Life in a Turbulent Century by Stella Darvey Joory
And just today I’ve learned that Stella Darvey Joory, who published the memoir of her mother’s life, Rachel: A Life in a Turbulent Century, has been given a four-page spread in the October issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, affiliated to the BBC’s popular television series of the same name.
The magazine is now on sale in bookstores nationwide and from its website. If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow the magazine as part of your subscription and read it that way. You can also read my review of Stella’s book via Goodreads here.
Now, back to my writing desk – I hit the halfway mark in the first draft of Death at the Village Knitting Circle yesterday, and can’t wait to press on with the next chapter! This fifth Cotswold Curiosity Shop cosy mystery is due to be published in March 2027 by Boldwood Books.
