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Can I Pitch My Unfinished Projects?

  Unfinished Projects Many thanks to Bang2writer Jon Ryan, who asks this question on the FB page: “I often speak to journalists about a story I’m working on and if they’re interested, they say to ‘check in’ later when it’s closer to being ready for them to cover. Is it ever worth doing that with a producer? I’m thinking of at LondonSWF if you don’t have a final draft. Or do they get so many pitches that it would be wasting their time? You often say concept is king – if that is rock solid, can it hurt to pitch… Read More »Can I Pitch My Unfinished Projects?

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5 Steps To Writing The Perfect Cover Letter

Congratulations – you have written a novel! This is no small thing, for in the words of Hemingway, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” After the effort that has gone into your manuscript, it’s understandable that you’re eager to secure a literary agent, but you need to be patient for long enough to write a great cover letter. It’s the gateway to getting your book published. Here are 5 tips to help you on your way: 1. Write concisely Your letter should be no longer than one page. Not one-and-a-bit,… Read More »5 Steps To Writing The Perfect Cover Letter

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5 Career Strategies For Writers

All About Careers Various Bang2writers have been asking me, especially on Twitter, about career and submissions strategies, so here’s a quick breakdown of approaches you may want to consider/try. As ever, the usual disclaimer: “buyer beware” and do your homework on all submissions opportunities … Plus, *obviously* nothing “guarantees” success and you may find you want to/need to tweak various elements of these approaches to suit your own life. Equally, if you have a strategy you feel I’ve missed here, let me know in the comments section and I’ll add it. Before we get started, here are resources that are… Read More »5 Career Strategies For Writers

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7 Submission Don’ts! From The Person Who Has To Read Your Script

Avoid These Submission Don’ts A brilliant list of Submission Don’ts from Sophie Wing today! I especially love her “don’t over-package” tip, which I will back up with another submissions horror story of my own … One of my first interning jobs, I opened a script held together with butterfly pins. One of the little feckers sliced right through my palm and I have a SCAR THERE TO THIS DAY. Even *better*??? Because it was a paper submission (wow, I feel so old), the writer wrote back to the literary agent and complained there was blood on his rejected script!!! Yargh.  Over… Read More »7 Submission Don’ts! From The Person Who Has To Read Your Script

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15 Guidelines For Submitting Your Articles To Small Press Magazines

Small press magazines are a great little institution, and still one of the best ways to get your writing work published. They may not have an audience of millions and they may not pay out a great deal for your work, but having small press magazines on your writing CV will mean a lot to publishers, agents and other writers, who understand just how important they are to the grand scheme of things in the writing world. Ignore them at your peril. If you are thinking of approaching small press magazines as a way of getting your work published in… Read More »15 Guidelines For Submitting Your Articles To Small Press Magazines

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29 Ways To Find A Literary Agent

Many thanks to Harry from Agent Hunter for today’s guest post – some absolute submissions GOLD here, not just for novelists but screenwriters too. Enjoy – and pass on to all your writery friends! Since super-agent Carole Blake recently advised on how not to get an agent, I thought it might be helpful to suggest some good ways to secure one. Truth is, only the first few of these tips really matter, so readers with attention deficit issues can just read the opening items, then move swiftly on to playing computer games or swallowing food additives, or whatever else helps… Read More »29 Ways To Find A Literary Agent

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3 Killer Typos That Blow Writers Out The Water

I have an imaginary friend who wrote a 900-page novel about a secret war in a remote land under the snows of the Arctic; a land where five-year-olds carry mammoth-killing swords, all dwarfs speak with a Glaswegian accent, and warrior women wear chain-mail bikinis to the beach. Let’s call my friend Hubert. Hubert Q. Wetherill. Hubert’s novel, Age of Chronicles: Dragons of the Dark Demonic Kingdom of Frostbitten Darkness, took him seven years to write. Hubert is now in the market for an agent. But one piddling detail is going to sink his plans for total fan-girl domination at the… Read More »3 Killer Typos That Blow Writers Out The Water

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How To Get A Literary Agent

So, You Want An Agent One question I get a lot is “How do I get an agent?” My first reply is usually, “Do you REALLY NEED one?” If you are a screenwriter and just starting out, then you probably don’t. Here’s an epic rundown of how to get produced WITHOUT the need for an agent. If you are a novelist, you still might not need an agent. Check out Authors Publish, which carries listings of publishers who accept manuscripts without agents. Alternatively, you may want to self publish – here’s 5 strategies for doing that on a budget. How… Read More »How To Get A Literary Agent

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Can’t Get Read? Yes You Can! 16 Top Tips On Becoming A Writer

Updated  1) No Unsolicited Material? I hear all the time from Bang2writers who say they can’t get read, citing the “no unsolicited material” a lot of prodco and publishing websites carry as the reason. Sometimes these writers will point out some agents will only consider referrals; other times they say independent producers won’t read their work either. These writers cite their lives as the epitome of *that* old Catch 22 “no work without experience; no experience without any work.” The answer? GET YOUR WORK SOLICITED! Le duh. Or, get your project produced without an agent. YES, it can be done! CHECK… Read More »Can’t Get Read? Yes You Can! 16 Top Tips On Becoming A Writer

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5 Pitching Tips (Includes A Model Pitch)

Pitching … Love it or hate it, it needs to be done if you’re going to sell your work. Sometimes this will be on paper via one pagers and treatments; other times it will be in a formal pitching environment like the Pitchfest at London Screenwriters Festival, or for virtual opportunities.  With the festival on everyone’s radar, here are my top tips for those planning on pitching face-to-face, whether that’s across a desk or via a Zoom screen … 1) Know your logline inside out Knowing the central concept yourself and relaying it as clearly as possible is an absolute… Read More »5 Pitching Tips (Includes A Model Pitch)

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