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Ed Wilson is an agent and director of Johnson & Alcock, representing a vibrant list of fiction and non-fiction, from new voices to established, bestselling and award-winning authors, including RJ Barker, Shauna Lawless and Sam Holland.

We had great fun chatting with Ed about all things agent-related. He tells us about how he first got into agenting, and we discuss the all-important query letter and the mistakes that will result in a quick pass. We also talk about the role that luck can play in the publishing world, as well as the current state of the industry and whether the outlook is getting bleaker for authors. Plus, he tells us about the time a client named a car after him...

Links:

Ed's page at Johnson & Alcock

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On this week's episode, we discuss Ireland's UBI experiment for artists and writers, and why we would love to see other countries follow suit (but aren't holding our breath). Plus, we look at why indie presses are pressing the panic button, and discuss the latest BookTok marketing scheme - theme-scented books (a topic Tariq gets very excited about!)

00:00 Intro

01:10 Luck of the Irish - UBI for writers

13:45 Indie Presses - Time for trade support?

24:34 Smell of Success? TikTok, Trends and Garlic Mayo

39:56 Off Script - Nadine finds another stranger than fiction story for inspiration

46:18 Off Script - Horror Movie updates and True Crime chat

Links:

Ireland's Basic income for the Arts Scheme made permanent

Indie Presses in existential crisis call for support

Garlic Mayo Book Marketing

Nadine's Stranger than Fiction story

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channel.

Liza DeBlock began her publishing career as an assistant at Eccles Fisher Associates in 2018, where she gained a deep understanding of the international book market. After moving into literary agenting and working with Robert Caskie and Silé Edwards, she honed her skills selling rights for bestselling authors including Richard Osman, Claire Douglas, Abigail Dean, Saara El-Arifi, and Hannah Kaner and was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2022. Now at Greenstone Literary, she is building her own curated list of fiction and non-fiction authors, including them Sally Abé, Dominic Franks, Stacey Thomas, Natalie Chandler, Carys Green, and Pim Wangtechawat.

We had great fun chatting with Liza and hearing how she moved into agenting after being a literary scout and what she wants (and doesn't want!) to see from a query letter. Plus, we talk about the importance of international rights to an author, and hear her views on the latest literary trends and what direction the industry may take in the future.

Links:

Liza's agency profile at Greenstone Literary

Follow Liza on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

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Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

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Watch this as a full video episode on our YouTube channel

We all know that querying is the main method for finding an agent, but are there other ways? Many of the guests on Page One have spoken about different experiences in how they finally found an agent, and we ourselves have also tried things like competitions and so on. On this episode, we discuss the pros and cons of some of these alternative methods.

Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!

Drafting Notes episodes are available early if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!

You've finished your book and you're ready to send it off - but what should you include in the query letter? And perhaps more importantly, what shouldn't you include? We discuss it all on today's Drafting Notes!

Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

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Drafting Notes is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video on YouTube

On this week's episode, we are talking about a scarcity of books for the Booker Prize and wondering if that is due to poor books or too narrow a category for prizes. Plus, we join the Alchemised train and wonder if fanfic turned to publishing gold shows publishers are unwilling to gamble on new stories, and more generally discuss how risk-averse the industry can be and why that narrows the chances for new authors.

00:00 Intro

01:04 Anthropic Settlement Update

03:22 Booker Prize in crisis?

17:46 Alchemised success - Turning FanFic into Gold

24.20 Betting on Bestsellers - Do Publishers Play the Odds?

36:56 Off Script - Nadine finds another stranger than fiction story for inspiration

43:14 Off Script - Our Favourite Horror Movies

Links:

Sign up for Anthropic settlement

Doyle says Booker Prize struggled to find good novels

Alchemised - Fan fiction turned into a bestseller

Why Romance Readers can't quit Dramione

The Publishing Industry has a Gambling Problem

Nadine's Stranger than Fiction story

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video on YouTube

On this week's episode we share some exciting awards news involving Tariq and Marco (both winners at the recent Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival!), Nadine reveals a new cover (check her instagram to see it!), plus we discuss the latest in the Anthropic settlement, wonder about whether cosy crime is a reductive term, and in the wake of the Evelyn Clark author reveal, wonder whether marketing gimmicks work for the general public. Plus, Nadine finds another strange story to inspire some fiction, and we pay tribute to Robert Redford with a discussion of our favourite movies featuring him.

00:00 Intro

00:26 Bloody Scotland Prize Winners!

05:26 Is the Anthropic AI settlement in trouble?

17:38 Richard Osman says "cosy crime" is a reductive term - is he right?

28:01 Evelyn Clark reveal - are hidden author reveals marketing genius or gimmicks?

38:22 Off Script - Nadine finds another stranger than fiction story for inspiration

44:56 Off Script - Robert Redford - Our Favourite Movies

Links:

Judge stalls Anthropic settlement

Sign up for Anthropic settlement

Richard Osman says cosy crime is reductive

Evelyn Clark reveal

Nadine's Stranger Than Fiction story

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are taking a short break, but don't despair, we will be back with some exciting new episodes soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this chat that our STET Podcasts colleague Nadine Matheson had with MW Craven!

Adventures in Publishing-land on Apple Podcasts

Adventures in Publishing-land in Spotify

Adventures in Publishing-land on YouTube

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

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Follow us on Bluesky

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Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are taking a short break, but don't despair, we will be back with some exciting new episodes soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this chat that our STET Podcasts colleague Nadine Matheson had with Elvin James Mensah!

Adventures in Publishing-land on Apple Podcasts

Adventures in Publishing-land in Spotify

Adventures in Publishing-land on YouTube

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are taking a short break, but don't despair, we will be back with some exciting new episodes soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this chat that our STET Podcasts colleague Nadine Matheson had with Louise Minchin!

Adventures in Publishing-land on Apple Podcasts

Adventures in Publishing-land in Spotify

Adventures in Publishing-land on YouTube

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a video episode on YouTube!

Ideas are like gold dust, they say. But are they? Should you hold some back to put in future books, or should you put everything you have into the one you are writing now? We discuss the common pitfalls that some new writers can make.

Drafting Notes is a new series of podcast episodes in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!

Drafting Notes episodes are available early if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!

You've finished your book and you're ready to send it off - but what should you include in the query letter? And perhaps more importantly, what shouldn't you include? We discuss it all on today's Drafting Notes!

Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Bluesky

Follow us on Threads

Drafting Notes is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.