I’ve been in London for the past two weeks. In this newsletter I’m reporting back from the rather grand-sounding Youpreneur Summit where I spent two intense days with 347 entrepreneurs from all industries. I heard about the conference when listening to The Creative Penn podcast with...
First off, no-one likes a bad review. It makes us feel sensitive and vulnerable about our writing. Just remember all writers have had their fair share of bad reviews but what you do next separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Consider the following: It’s very...
I promised I’d write about all aspects of the creative process and these past weeks I’ve been dealing with a rush of insecurities about my writing. I think we’ve all been there. Those days when self-doubt and overwhelm take over. When you’re afraid about rejection or negative...
On 09 November, I'm doing a Book Discussion about Lost Artistry, Lost Humanity and a Collision of Cultures in 18th Century India with author and renowned journalist Mick Brown at the Nehru Centre in London from 6.30 - 7.30pm. The event is FREE admission so please RSVP by sending me an email at claire@wordstruck.com.au so I can get an idea of...
I'll be having a live Twitter Q&A on 01 November at 7 pm UK time (02 November 6am AEST) with The Reading Agency @readingagency & Unbound @unbounders. You can ask me @clairescobie anything about the book and I'll live tweet back! Go on… would love to hear from you....
Answer: I wish this was straight forward but it’s not. The most important thing about indie publishing is to think about the overall strategy for your book promotion. This should focus on understanding your audience and getting people to find your book. The more specific...
Last week my mum gave her first talk at the Thame Arts and Literature Festival in the UK. People laughed at her jokes, asked interesting questions and she sold 10 copies of her memoir A Baboon in the Bedroom. At 79 years old she’s finding...
Often your story idea may dictate your choice of genre. This is why whenever I teach creative writing, I cover the different genres in the first class so students get a sense of where their idea will fit into the literary landscape. As part of this,...
The central idea in a story has different names: through line, spine, narrative thread among others. Essentially, a story is about a series of events that happen. Usually, you have one protagonist or hero and the story is the journey we go on with him...
I’ve got a new name to call myself: I’m a hybrid author. I’ve got one book traditionally published (Last Seen in Lhasa, Random House), then The Pagoda Tree through Unbound and I’m soon launching A Baboon in the Bedroom as an indie-publishing project. The big difference...