Isabel Ashdown is the author of bestselling thrillers Little Sister and Beautiful Liars. She walked away from a successful career to focus on her writing and it all stepped up a gear when she entered a competition in a newspaper...

In this episode you will discover…
- Isabel’s working method with her editor Sam Eades (and we hear from Sam, too!)
- Some top tips for growing your social media and newsletter numbers
- The power of epilogues
- And is it better for your thriller to have a twist, have everything tied up, or have an open ending?

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support
Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

CLICHES AND TROPES - how to identify cliches in your writing and tropes in your storytelling, and strategies for making your work stronger.

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Ed McDonald broke onto the fantasy scene with his incredible debut Blackwing in 2017 and has had an amazing year. He’s living the dream! Then a few weeks ago he wrote a very honest blog titled ‘Dear Debut Authors of 2018’ in which he asked the question, “What next?"

In this episode you will discover…

• How to prepare for and navigate the first year of the publication of your book
• Sales anxiety and why you need to treat your writing as a business and a career
• How much should you act on reader feedback for your second book?
• Top tips from Ed for writing fight scenes (he’s handy with a sword in real life, too!)
• And here’s Ed’s original blog: https://edmcdonaldwriting.com/2018/03/10/dear-debut-authors-of-2018/

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now  bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In this week’s Deep Dive Mark Stay is joined by Paul Hussey and they take a deep dive into the production of your publication.

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Michael J Ward is a writer and gamer who has taken choose-your-own-adventure books to the next level. With compelling characters and engaging stories his DestinyQuest books are written in a unique way and he gives us an insight into his process which writers of all genres will find invaluable.

In this episode you will discover…

• How the techniques of games writing can be applied to your writing
• The importance of identifying the turning points for your story
• Why your characters’ choices really need to matter
• And how publishing through crowdfunding can enable you to write without compromise

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now  bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

In this week’s Deep Dive Mark Stay is joined by Andy Bowden and they take a deep dive into the production of your publication.

Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Editor Emad Akhtar has worked with authors like Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and Justin Cronin and was kind enough to join our live show and answer our listeners' questions!

In this episode you will discover…

• Common pacing issues with first drafts
• Why your most difficult scenes might be a reward for readers
• Why editors can be like movie producers, and what questions you should be asking editors
• Why you shouldn't just slavishly follow an editor’s notes
• And why you should consider supply and demand with exposition

To support the show go to bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now  bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality

This week’s Deep Dive is short n sweet and crammed with tips on making your chapters work as hard as possible. We’ll look at the purpose of the chapter, how it fits into the larger story, and what tools you can use when editing to ensure that your chapter earns its place in the story.

Hear more at http://bestsellerexperiment.com/support

We speak to Cavan Scott, an extraordinary writer who writes on licence, meaning that he is hired to write for licenced intellectual properties such as Star Wars and Doctor Who. If you’ve ever written fan fiction and dream of writing for a big franchise then you’ll find plenty of inspiration in this week’s episode.

In this episode you will discover…

• How the world of tie-in and licensed fiction works
• How to work to a brief or with a series bible
• How copyright and public domain works
• How good old-fashioned determination and persistence pays off with an extraordinary career

To hear more of this episode in our deep dive, check out bestsellerexperiment.com/support

Our novel Back To Reality is out now bestsellerexperiment.com/backtoreality