Chatting with Art of Writing Alumni, Suzanne Daniel Suzanne Daniel’s debut novel, Allegra in Three Parts, took the Australian publishing industry by storm. Its success was something we can only dream of. A bidding war with ultimately a two book deal with Pan Macmillan for Australia & New Zealand. Then came Knopf (Penguin Random House) for the US & Canada. It has also been picked up by the ‘book to film’ department at UTA in Los Angeles. Chatting to Suzanne last week, we discussed about how books take time, love and care to submit. Allegra in Three Parts took 5 years to finish. But, lik ..read more

Will Publishers Allow You to Use Previously Published Blog Text in Your Book. It’s a common concern. If you have a strong internet presence, how much text can you lift off your Blog to include in your new book? How do publishers react when they find your work has already been ‘published?’ I had this experience with Naples, A Way of Love. I had already written a section on Christmas in Naples for internet publication in my Blog. However, once I submitted my manuscript, Penguin ran a standard on-line plagiarism check. When they saw about 1,000 words of the Christmas text had already appeared in ..read more

Hello dear writer friends,  We are all set for 2020! Make a note in your diary for the Art of Writing retreat in Florence next year – June 7-11. Palazzo San Niccolò is ready to receive us so Florence is on notice. The dates are in concrete! Not only have we confirmed our 2020 dates, we are also especially thrilled to announce our main creative writing tutor for next June. Currently at number 3 on the UK Best Seller chart, Jane Corry will be back to help us get a handle on our suspense. Jane’s last four novels have all been on the UK Top 10 Best Sellers list.   The Art of Suspense As a trainin ..read more

It is siesta time after yet another lunch that really was too big. My mother-in-law and I are alone in the living room, sharing the couch. She sits sleeping while I lie reading. Her arms are folded across her chest and her chin dips into her cleavage. With every breath her bottom lip puffs out a ‘piew.’ It’s a light, airy sound that isn’t annoying. In the quiet of our repose, I hear my husband’s vespa pull up in the drive way. From some distant corner of her slumber she hears it too. As she registers the imminent arrival of Paolo, she springs out of the couch like it’s on fire.  Flustered, s ..read more

Hello dear writer friends, It is summer in Florence and Tuscany is at its most beautiful. The days are hot, with a background symphony of deafening cicadas and the evenings are full of infinite gelato consumption – all the summer fruit flavours! If you’re in the southern hemisphere, mid-winter is unfolding. In the northern hemisphere, summer vacations/ holidays are in full swing. Wherever you are, we’re thinking of you. And hoping you are finding time to pause, reflect and write. 2019 Art of Writing Retreat This year’s June Art of Writing retreat was bliss. Not only did we make some wonderful ..read more

In anticipation of the Florence Writers Publishing Day discussion on the author agent relationship, let’s continue our look at what kind of creative allegiance we owe our agents. I’ll moderate this question with a panel of agents, publishers and authors, so I thought some interviews on the author/agent rapport might fortify me. Should we trust our agents to know the market so well that we give them permission to dictate our work? How wise is it to hand our creative direction over to our agents? This is without doubt a writer’s burning question. They say an experienced writer, on say a third or ..read more

Continuing our look at the agent author relationship, here is the second part of my series, with questions I’ve asked UK Faber and Faber Academy creative writing teacher, Shelley Weiner. Shelley Weiner is this year’s Art of Writing June 2-6 writers retreat creative writing teacher. Here’s what Shelley thinks. What do you think is pertinent or important between you and your agent? The most important element that binds agent and author is trust: from the author’s perspective this means that the agent will care for the work both financially and (as vital) in essence. The first is self-evident, an ..read more

The agent author relationship has always been a sticky point for me. Trust issues go way back for me, so unquestioned faith in my agent’s taste and industry knowledge is a big ask.  How much sway should my agent have over my story? When an agent says, ‘this isn’t working,’ do I accept their opinion as gospel? Then rewrite all they have asked me to rewrite? Even if I feel the original was working? If I don’t accept my agent’s guidance will they feel as though they cannot sell my manuscript (henceforth referred to as MS)? That they won’t stand by my MS? A brief history of my own rather colo ..read more