I find that many writers I work with (for those of you new to my site, I'm an editor as well as an author) are a bit fuzzy about theme. Some writing courses and literary "experts" can be pretentious about it, making beginner writers feel they'll never be able to understand the concept fully, let…
Why I Write
I received these emails a few days after my debut novel, The Library of Unfinished Business, launched last week. "Hi Patricia, I loved your book! I couldn't put it down once I got into it, and finished it last night. I think it’s brilliant the way you handle the plot with all its twists and…
Quick Tips #5: How to publish a novel
Write a bad one.Fix it. (This step will take many months, and sometimes years.)Cry. (This will happen during points 1. and 2.)Finish it, to the best of your ability. Wallow in existential angst wondering if the best of your ability is enough.See point 3.Bravely send it to beta readers, then fix it some more.Get thoroughly…
Launch Day!
“I recognised the handwriting, and the words. They were mine. It was the first paragraph of my novel; the first words I had written all those years ago in my tiny university flat, the first brave steps of an odyssey that would ultimately lead me here, to this strange and marvellous Heaven.” So says my…
Interview with the Author
My debut novel launches this Tuesday, 1st March. I have a number of interviews lined up, with various media outlets, and I've been preparing. I put together a mock interview, asking myself questions and answering them. It was very useful, and I'm sharing some of it with you today. It will give you a little…
The Naming of Things: Choosing a Title
It’s only two weeks until my debut novel is launched, and the PR is ramping up. At the beginning of this month I finally revealed the book’s cover and title: The reaction, particularly to the title, was unanimously enthusiastic, with many people saying they were intrigued, hooked already, and that they could not wait to…
Quick Tips #2: Write Small
It's tempting to think you have to "write big" about big issues. It's much more powerful, however, to write quietly; to whisper the most profound things. Even better, to "get out of the way" and let those things whisper their power all by themselves. Often what we leave out - or what we gently brush past…
First Person POV: the risks and rewards
As those of you who visit regularly will know, my first novel is coming out in February next year. It's off to be typeset shortly, then printed. I'm excited and terrified - primarily that as soon as I flick through a printed copy I'll find a typo. These are the fears that keep a proofreader/editor…
The Cover Story
Everything is a bit secret squirrel when you're preparing to have your novel published. The title. The story. The launch plans. How the author managed to write the bloody thing in the first place. (If someone can tell me the answer to that one I'd be much obliged.) One of the most exciting (and terrifying)…
A Novel Contract
Yesterday I signed a publishing contract with New Zealand Publisher Cloud Ink Press. My debut novel will be launched in February 2022. A friend asked me how I felt (which I thought was rather lovely - most people offered their congratulations, which was fantastic and expected, but this friend, perhaps aware that signing a publishing…
Patricia Bell, Author 