Blog | Sarah Bullen Author

WRITING ADVICE FOR AUTHORS

How literary agents get paid: Standard commission practices and payments for literary agents

Have you ever wondered how literary agents make money? Or how much commission a literary agent makes on the sale of a book or novel? The...

How to write a query letter

A query letter is pasted into the body of an email. It is the first thing an agent or publisher is going to see. You are going to send...

How well do you know your market

In a non-fiction proposal you need to be specific. Who did you write this book for? Who is most likely to buy it, and why? When you...

How to work out your estimated book sales

How many copies do you think your book will sell? A publisher wants to know what your expected sales are. But how do you work that...

Are you doing the work to get your book placed at a publisher?

Sending off a manuscript is terrifying. It is adrenalin inducing, heart-stopping stuff for any writer. But so many writers bail or fail...

Some mistakes writers make

I have been coaching writers for some years now and I wanted to address some of the most common reasons queries or questions that I get....

Finding the G spot

Genre is a funny thing. Ask most writers what they HATE and they will tell you ‘generic fiction’. Just the word ‘generic’ will strike...

Some killer opening lines from memoirs

Here are some strong openers for memoirs that kick the reader straight into the story. Do you have a favourite one? Share it in the...

What does a book editor cost?

All books need to have a professional editor to take them from manuscript to finished product. First, these are the variables that...

Here are the basic plots

I love this below list of plots and they do ring true. Find your own plot below: The list below is from 20 Master Plots & How to Build...

Just getting to Greece is a journey

So we arrived after a mammoth 2-day journey. 8 hours in Dubai airport (never again it wasn’t terrible as we slept, but just too long). Then

A year after my near death experience

By Sunday I was in a coma in ICU and on a life support machine that kept me breathing. I stayed in the coma for a month

Sarah Bullen is an international writing mentor and literary agent. She works with writers all over the world to tell their stories, and write that book. Founder of The Writing Room and Kent Literary, she has had over 180 books published by writers she has mentored over the last two decades. As well as being a regular guest on talk shows, podcasts, literary festivals and writers’ circles, Sarah has been leading international writing retreats and adventures since 2014.