As your tutor/assessor, I function as a paid on-line friend/mentor. My charges are generally lower than most assessors', and I don't give marketing advice. As an assessor, I provide assessments/letters of recommendation to publishers on request, but the content is honest opinion. In other words, you can't pay me to write a positive letter of recommendation if I don't believe the ms is excellent. I'm a good structural editor and plot builder, and I make specific (not only general) suggestions.

 

To maximise your chances of selling your writing, you should make sure you are up to date with modern examples of whatever genre you choose to write.

If you write children's fiction, don't rely on your memory of books you enjoyed in your own childhood, unless you are under fifteen years of age.  Go to a local bookshop and browse the shelves to find out what new books are like in style and content.

If you write picture books, make sure you know how modern picture books are structured. Make sure your word count is appropriate.

If you write non fiction, make sure it conforms to one of the three strands publishers want;

1.   Does it offer something specific to the reader? (Lose weight, improve self image, earn more, feel better.)

 2.   Does it have "gossip" value? (Expose, celebrity bio, high-level survival story.)

3.   Does it have a powerful and fascinating subject, written in an approachable, enthusiastic manner? (Think of the TV programs "Meet the Ancestors", "Descent to Saturn" and "The Adventure of English", and of books by David Attenborough.)

If it doesn't fit any of these broad categories, the chances of selling are pretty low.

 

To see exactly what you'd be learning from Affordable Workshops, click HERE.

 

Best wishes - Sally Odgers.