Get a Book Agent: The Traditional Publishing Masterclass

This lecture focuses on the importance of the literary agent in being traditionally published by a major publishing house. By the end of it, you will understand what a literary agent does, how the roles of a publishing house and a literary agent differ, and why you should be wary of Vanity Publishers.

In this lecture, we define genre and explain its importance as a promise to the reader that everyone in the publishing chain is committed to upholding. By the end of the lecture, you'll understand what agents are looking for in your submission when it comes to genre.

In this lecture, I explain what 'comp' titles are and why they're so important to agents. I'll also explain why not reading enough is one of the most common mistakes I see in writers submitting to agents.

By the end of this lecture you will have an understanding of why the hook is one of the most important things to get right when writing a novel. I'll take you through all of the steps in the publishing process which use your hook and help you gain an understanding of what makes a killer hook through activities and resources which you can then apply when working on your own hook.

In this lecture, I take you through a step-by-step process for creating your agent shortlist. I'll provide you with a list of agents and their websites, as well as the resources recommended by top agents on how to find them. By the end of this lecture, you will have created an agent longlist, which I will then help you whittle down to your shortlist.  You'll also fill out my spreadsheet template which will set you up with a step-by-step guide on how to approach agents.

This lecture helps you avoid one of the most common mistakes I've seen while reading thousands of submissions for book agents: submitting before you're ready. This lecture will support you to take the time you need when preparing for the submissions process so that you don't scupper your chances at the final hurdle. I'll provide you with a checklist that takes you through "How to Know You're Ready to Submit".

This is a practical lecture which guides you through preparing to submit. By the end of it you'll have created your own Cover Letter and Synopsis using my templates and insider tips. You'll also be able to download a guide to Troubleshooting Your Writing Sample, based on some of the common mistakes I see.

This lecture gets real and talks to you about the one thing everyone in the publishing industry knows but perhaps isn't always totally transparent about: you will get rejected at many points in your writing career. As such, it's essential that you examine your relationship with rejection. By the end of this lecture you will understand that rejection is inevitable and nothing to be ashamed of, and we will have worked on reframing your mindset into a growth mindset that looks for the learning opportunities in every rejection.

This lecture looks at the importance of building resilience when undertaking the marathon process of writing and publishing a novel. By the end of the lecture you will understand why it's resilience that will see you through to the end of publishing your novel when other forms of motivation have failed. I also guide you through understanding why your story is so important and matters deeply to the world and how knowing this helps you build resilience. .