Welcome to publishingtalk.org
Welcome to Publishing Talk – an online educational community for new and emerging authors. You are very welcome here.
Read More
Latest Posts
How to write an Amazon bestseller – advice from JD Kirk and LJ Ross
The 2025 London Book Fair included a panel discussion featuring two hugely successful independent crime fiction authors: JD Kirk and LJ Ross. They shared their self-publishing journeys and insights into creating bestselling books.
Masterclasses
MASTERCLASS: How to Build a Writing Habit That Lasts – with Bec Evans and Chris Smith
Get your writing year off to a flying start with this masterclass packed full of advice and inspiration from the
Getting Published
How many words in a novel? Average word count for books by genre
How many words in a novel? Here are the average word counts and page numbers by genre – so that you know what to aim for!
Writing
How to write an Amazon bestseller – advice from JD Kirk and LJ Ross
The 2025 London Book Fair included a panel discussion featuring two hugely successful independent crime fiction authors: JD Kirk and LJ Ross. They shared their self-publishing journeys and insights into creating bestselling books.
Marketing
10 ways to market your book if you really don’t like marketing
You need to market your book. But what if you really, really, don’t like marketing? You became a writer to write, after all – not to sell. Here are some ways to approach marketing if you really don’t like marketing.
Ask an Agent
MASTERCLASS: How to Perfect Your Submission to Agents and Publishers – with Scott Pack
If you want to get traditionally published, you need to submit a compelling book proposal to agents or publishers. This masterclass with Scott Pack will maximize your chances of success.
Self-Publishing
How to write an Amazon bestseller – advice from JD Kirk and LJ Ross
The 2025 London Book Fair included a panel discussion featuring two hugely successful independent crime fiction authors: JD Kirk and LJ Ross. They shared their self-publishing journeys and insights into creating bestselling books.
Interviews
INTERVIEW: Kindle bestseller Nicola May considers the pros and cons of self-publishing v. traditional publishing
Nicola May is a self-publishing sensation, and the author of a dozen romantic comedies. In 2019 she hit the #1 Kindle bestseller spot in the UK with The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay. Now she’s signed a three-book deal with Hodder. Jon Reed asked her why.
EVENT: How to Get Published – Saturday 9th February 2019, London
Do you want to get published? Have you written a book but have no idea how to take the next steps? Brought to you by Publishing Talk, the How to Get Published masterclass is an essential day for all authors starting out.
Read More
7 ways to use pay per click marketing to promote books
From Google Ads to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter there are lots of options for paid advertising online. So where do you start – and what works for books?
Read More
INTERVIEW: Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman, the former Children’s Laureate and champion of children’s literature, talks to Lucy Coats about her path to publication, the obstacles she faced as a writer of colour, and her top writing tips.
Read More
8 things to include in your author social media strategy
Social media is one of the best ways to connect with readers, build a large, engaged audience – and promote your books. To succeed, it pays to think strategically about what you want to achieve.
Read More
Narrative nonfiction: 7 tips for turning your idea into a book
Narrative nonfiction is nonfiction’s equivalent of the novel, says Daniel Smith. Here’s how to turn your idea into a compelling read.
Read More
How to write a memoir that matters
Want to write a memoir? Adam Kay’s “This is Going to Hurt” is part of a new trend of immersive memoirs with a message. But what does it take to write and publish one?
Read More
Why your book is your greatest marketing tool
The book used to be the thing you marketed. Today it’s also a tool to market yourself or your business. Business coach, content consultant and publisher Alison Jones shares her advice for using self-publishing as a business strategy.
Read More
What does a literary agent do?
Children’s agent Hilary Delamere answers a frequently-asked and fundamental question about agents: What are they for and what do they do?
Read More
5 rules for setting a writing goal you’ll stick to
New Year’s resolutions rarely make it past January. How can you make sure your writing resolution sticks? Chris Smith shares his rules for setting a goal you’ll stick to.
Read More
How to choose an agent – which of these 7 types is right for you?
You choose an agent as much as an agent chooses you. But which one is right for you? Kirsty McLachlan looks at what different types of agent can offer.
Read More
Room to Write – Isabel Losada writes narrative nonfiction anywhere and everywhere
Writing in exotic locations – and occasionally shop windows – is all in a day’s work for narrative nonfiction author Isabel Losada.
Read More