<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Sarah Bullen]]></title><description><![CDATA[Do you want to write a book? An expert mentoring team, novels and non-fiction, and a legacy of 150+ published books make it extraordinary.]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2026 15:09:38 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.sarahbullen.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Where's your writing stuck?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Long solo writing stints, rejections and years with no words. Welcome to the painful life of a writer. All writers get stuck.  This is the place we all get to, and there are so many places your writing can get stuck. I can’t tell you how many calls I have with authors who are in a sticky place in their writing.  I know this place well, but my sticky place is  in the promoting of books, not in the writing. I can write them fast, edit them easily and even do the first few book talks like a star. B]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/where-is-your-writing-stuck</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3bd06d96e17da783c6fb94</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 12:45:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_70f46e186b13449581a51588697f6daa~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I've finished my book, now what?]]></title><description><![CDATA['I've finished my book Sarah, but now what?' This is one of the most common conversations I have with authors. These are the ones who get hold of me when they feel they have finished their book.   We sit sometimes thinking….. I've written this book. I'm done and dusted. But truthfully, writing the book is only one step of the process.  I want to guide you through your next steps. My first question is – you sure you are finished?   Finished (for me as a literary agent and potentially as a...]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/i-ve-finished-my-book-now-what</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e0ec4e832a840dd471c2d8</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:09:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://youtu.be/VrzMCvTjrZw?si=K5GpwXfcMTnt2LFL" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What are publishers looking for this year?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Once again, we turn our attention to the publishing market and the trends shaping the upcoming cycle. For authors, understanding what readers are buying is invaluable—particularly in non-fiction, which must tap into the mood of the times. That said, a book can also spark a global trend, unleashing a new concept and capturing imaginations in unexpected ways. The “Let Them Theory,” for example, demonstrates the power of fresh ideas, amplified by podcasters, social media, and celebrity influence.]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/what-are-publishers-looking-for-this-year</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69776b568aff15125e7afbb3</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:33:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_f6e9a7dc15e74a5693496226f8b6dfec~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nokukhanya Mnisi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should you plan or just write?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Should you plan a book? In my view, there is only one answer: yes. If you want to publish, writing with intent matters.

In non-fiction, planning is especially critical. You will know exactly what belongs in your book, how the chapters build, and what material sits where. That outline becomes your proposal and, later, your compass for the entire manuscript.

Many writers assume novels are different. They aren’t. In fiction, your plan becomes your plot.]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/should-you-plan-or-just-write-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69775b4a6b7a080e43d60f3d</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:23:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_7bb65e12fb5a402bb39eb8f40c4b6b28~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Where do most writers get stuck?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most writers don’t get stuck halfway through a book — they get stuck before they’ve even begun. After 17 years of helping writers publish, I’ve seen the same patterns repeat again and again: too much thinking, too much planning, and not enough words on the page. Writing isn’t magic. It’s work. And once you understand where the real blocks are, it becomes much easier to move forward.]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/where-do-most-writers-get-stuck</link><guid isPermaLink="false">694a6f2ca1379837ba175622</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 10:38:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_b274012baf104ed9af945cf657e473ea~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Finishing is the hard part in getting published]]></title><description><![CDATA[Still midway through the book? Or stuck on your first version? Or it’s still sitting unfinished. Oh boy does it take a lot of real grit to finish a book. Starting is the fun bit. I start with great enthusiasm and a spring in my step. Its really fun getting all the information into the right place and doing the interviews and research. ]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/finishing-is-the-hard-part</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935728633dfc21cb5140316</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 22 Nov 2025 16:37:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_b3b70075367e4c839d3581d5bf9f49b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_480,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who is going to write this book?]]></title><description><![CDATA[YOU WANT TO FINISH? Stick to these rules

1. Set a deadline to start ... this means to stop plotting and planning and start writing. This means starting your story at page 1, and not turning back again.

2. Have targets that are outcomes-based not hours-based. Many writers say they will write for an hour a day.  On my mentorships I set targets at 25,000 words a month.

3.  Set a realistic deadline to complete your first draft of the book. Then stick to it. A good goal is to have your first draft]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/who-is-going-to-write-this-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935728633dfc21cb5140315</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:05:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b6b2b7_acd0ecc2c614430d880a0c93ea03c5ae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_669,h_500,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Writing can change your future]]></title><description><![CDATA[Writing can truly change your life. You have heard this before, right? Writing all of mine changed my life in very unexpected ways.  Hint - it wasn't ever about my bank balance.



So often we think the endgame of writing a book is becoming an author or having a bestseller. Well, most of my authors find the real reward is so much more intangible and subtle. One thing I do know after 20 years in the book business is that it is absolutely never about money. Writing is not often for other people;]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/writing-can-change-your-future</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51401c5</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:53:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0790e6_aa2c5e86048c46cc874753ea3334e69b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should you write about yourself]]></title><description><![CDATA[I always used to tell writers NOT to write about themselves. For years and years.
This was in the interests of cultivating good fiction authors. And before memoir stormed the charts. I still believe you shouldn't.... but that's for FICTION (or a novel).
Because if you write about yourself in fiction, you really only have one story to tell. It is also a totally misunderstood maxim of writing that you must ‘write what you know.’
Many writers misinterpret this to mean – write about yourself.]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/should-you-write-about-yourself</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb5140234</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:40:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_54028a3f904747fe99840f7cc2521c38~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who are the writers that actually get published?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who are the writers that actually get published? Starting a book? That is the (relatively) easy bit. Keeping going is a bit harder.



You start off with a bang, writing every day, working on your plot. But as the months drag on and the going gets tough you start to make excuses. Work is pressing, kids are demanding, too much travel, family coming to visit. No time. You will do it later…. Now is not the right time for you. Next year…later in the year.What really happens? The hard reality]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/who-are-the-writers-that-actually-get-published</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51401c4</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 24 Aug 2025 11:53:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_881ea23688da42f2a6d1d6b219c8dea5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet me in the middle of your story]]></title><description><![CDATA[I was stopped at a recent Literary Festival by a debut author who ran up to me, waving wildly. She had just released her book and was very excited. She told me that she had a publishing consultation with me many moons ago, and I had told her to go back on her book, relook at it and ‘take her time'.  I had (apparently) told her that her book was not ready yet. “I will meet you in the middle of your story,” I had told her. “But you need to do the work first. Take a year”]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/meet-me-in-the-middle-of-your-story</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb514020c</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2025 07:31:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_5c7edd927b0140f8857902baa5bd7c7d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Okay, so what book are you going to write?]]></title><description><![CDATA[When I ask you,  'what are you writing?'  what I am really asking is this... what is your genre?



This is the very first thing any agent (like me) or publisher is going to ask you. What genre is your book? This doesn’t mean we want a breakdown of your plot. I want to know what kind of book it is. Now this is a one-concept answer. Like: It’s a crime/self-help guide/children’s book / Young Adult novel / a romance, or a memoir.



Not…  "Well it’s a fable but it is written like a fable based on m]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/okay-so-what-book-are-you-going-to-write</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935728633dfc21cb5140314</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:33:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/14113e59799d43379571d5a1e719e8bb.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Stories Can Save Lives ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Why stories can save lives . When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41 my friend called me up, “make something good come of it,” she told me.  I knew then I would write about it and that became my 5th book Love and Above. My way, like so many other storytellers who have lived through the centuries, is to share stories by writing or telling them. We tell them in social gatherings, on a stage, in a book or in a diary.  But we must tell them because storytellers have a calling.  ]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/why-stories-can-save-lives</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51401e3</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 06:59:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_e4e5485cc45e40e8a6ac4339a7b59298~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The 10 essential steps to find an agent or publisher]]></title><description><![CDATA[As an agent it can take me up to a year to get a book publishing deal for an author. It is a combination of so many elements that come together to make a publisher say YES. To be honest, most of it is luck, contacts, good timing and simply having a good book to show them. 

The truth is that this 'being an author' is a long game, and along the journey you have to keep the momentum up, process any rejection letters, implement any feedback, get back to it, and keep going. Rinse and repeat. ]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/chapter-submission-the-countdown-to-publishing-your-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb5140233</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><category><![CDATA[Get Published]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:06:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_6d474648415f3054576e41~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wild rapture and dance in Botswana ]]></title><description><![CDATA[

It is closing in on three in the morning and sleep is the furthest thing from my mind.



I am in Botswana again. This is the third trip I have taken up here in the two years in which we’ve been on these parallel treatment and healing journeys. Life is slowly returning to a level of relative normality. The well-wishers have tailed off, MRIs are less terrifying and have all come back clear.

Llewelyn is now very firmly on the path to becoming a koma doctor – a doctor of rites. In order to do th]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/wild-rapture-and-dance-in-botswana</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51401e2</guid><category><![CDATA[The Other Side]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hey Baby]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 13 May 2025 13:20:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_236965a3e41c47aeb8520b4d29521a37~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should you plan or just write?]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is only one answer to this question (in my view). YES of course you should plan a book!

I believe in writing with intent if you want to get published.

If you are writing non-fiction you are going to be 100% clear about what is going to go into your book.  You are going to have a clear list of your chapters and what material you will cover in each. Your planning will become your book proposal and it will guide your entire book.

But is a novel different?  No.
]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/should-you-plan-or-just-write</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51402d1</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 08:00:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b9e5bf3d2fe4e27adf0dc9bc2e75cfd.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From 'Hey Baby' to 'The Other Side']]></title><description><![CDATA[It’s been 20 years since my first book was published, and I wanted to reflect on the long journey of being an author, as well as working...]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/from-hey-baby-to-the-other-side</link><guid isPermaLink="false">681b7a70da3abc6a79b26bd5</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Other Side]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hey Baby]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2025 13:37:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_8a57e99f6e0c490bb94e4ab5fb3ee287~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to write poems that get published]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Miriam Sagan for Writers Digest No poet likes to hear the expression "slush pile"_ it implies that our creations have gone into a heap...]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/how-to-write-poems-that-get-published-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb51402d0</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 13:37:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_14015686c64c4f8b9ee362a223643d0d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Proof of Heaven?]]></title><description><![CDATA[When I woke up from the coma in late 2012, the topic of near death was on everybody’s lips. This was due to an American neuroscientist...]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/proof-of-heaven</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935726d33dfc21cb5140232</guid><category><![CDATA[The Other Side]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:05:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0b7ce1_5850020689044764bf96d520795b6629~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What’s the theme of your story?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your book needs a theme. A theme is closely aligned to your plot and often the words are used interchangably. I see them as different howeve]]></description><link>https://www.sarahbullen.com/post/what-s-the-theme-of-your-story-1-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6935728633dfc21cb5140313</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Lessons]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retreat Stories]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:37:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_e3b5c62639aa478b8014f84395ff84c1~mv2_d_5760_3840_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Sarah Bullen</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>