How to write a book

Recently a lot of readers have been asking me for advice on how to write a book, so I thought my second blog of all time could be dedicated to that very subject! First of all I have to admit I didn't go the conventional route to get published. When I got my book deal I was working as reviews editor at heat magazine and I knew a lot of people in publishing because they would often take my team and me out to lunch to talk about their authors. I met Nigel Stoneman from Simon & Schuster this way and we became great pals because he's so down to earth and fun - not to mention an excellent publicist! One day Nige said I should write a book - he'd said it to me before, but this time I told him an idea I'd had for a few years. He loved it and said he'd convey it to his publisher when he got back to work. Five minutes after I got back to my desk at heat there was an email from Suzanne Baboneau - now my lovely, lovely editor - saying she also loved my idea and wanted to meet me. I had to write a synopsis (about 5,000 words detailing what my book would be about from start to finish) and I also wrote the first three chapters. Within a week of that lunch with Nige, I met Suzanne for breakfast, and on the basis of my synopsis and those early chapters of Lucy in the Sky, she offered me a two-book deal. I was unbelievably lucky because it doesn't normally work this way. Usually authors get book deals via agents, rather than direct with the publisher like I did. Most agents will expect to see the entire book before they'll approach publishers on your behalf and try to get you a book deal, and before they even get to this stage they will probably work with you to edit your book. Pick up a copy of The Writers & Artists Yearbook - it's published every year - for the most up-to-date contact info for agents, plus excellent advice on how to approach them. Only contact agents that are suitable for the sort of book you're writing - the Yearbook lists who represents who. You could also check out similar authors to yourself and find out their agents - their publishers should be able to tell you (you should be able to find contact details for publishers quite easily on the internet). Of course, before you get anywhere near doing this, you need to write that book... The best advice I can give you is to always enjoy what you're writing. If you don't enjoy writing it, chances are your readers won't enjoy reading it, so if you find you're getting bored, stop where you are and either take a break, skip to the next scene, or sometimes cut that scene altogether. I always write a synopsis so I know where the book is going. I think about my books all the time - in fact, I always think about the next book I plan to write as I write the current one - so I've already got a good idea about what's going to happen. But when I sit down to write a synopsis it forces me to plan the whole book out and that makes it a lot easier to write - and more fun because I'm excited about writing certain scenes months before I get to write them! Finally, just remember that millions of people get their books published so there's no reason why you can't either, so don't give up hope. Just get writing, keep at it and most importantly, enjoy it! Lots of love, Paige xxx