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Archive for May 2011


Have I got a book in me?

26th May 2011

They say that everyone has one book in them, and we are also often asked by clients and those considering reputation-marketing programmes “should I write a book?” Having seen and talked through the great benefits that can be gained, but also the not always positive experiences of a number of authors and gurus, we thought it would be useful to pass on a few observations of our own and offer two additional perspectives.

We are very grateful therefore to soon-to-be-published first time author Hugo Tugman of Architect Your Home and to Richard Burton of Publishers Infinite Ideas for sharing their experience of approaching getting a book to publication. Please see their separate Blogs.

Do I really want to do this?
 Read the rest of this entry »

How to get published

26th May 2011

Learn to let go

The big day has finally arrived. You can’t do anything else to your book. It’s perfect. So stop staring at it and get it out there. The world wants to know your name.

As writers, we often like to write for ourselves, but show me a writer who says they don’t ever want to be published and I’ll show you a fibber.

It’s one of the most thrilling experiences imaginable – seeing your own work in print – but the road to success is long and curves in some strange directions, so just remember to brace yourself. Read the rest of this entry »

My experience of writing a book

26th May 2011

While I have written many articles for magazines and newspapers, including a weekly column in the Independent for a year or so, I had no plans to write a book. My area of expertise is home-design and I run a network of architects called Architect Your Home, as well as my own practice with my wife, Jude.

We were approached by a publishing house to write a book called Architect Your Home. The publishers seemed to be a very large and professional outfit, who among other things, specialised in branded books with such organisations as the National Trust, M&S and Good Housekeeping. Having agreed the bones in principle, they made a combined offer of a writer’s fee, an advance on royalty and a fee for the images – all of which we were going to supply.

At this point I sought out a literary agent. An author friend put me onto her agent and this proved to have been a very good move. My agent negotiated all sorts of clauses into the agreement that I would never have considered, such as the royalties on international sales, serialisation rights, the staging of payments etc. etc.

With the agreement in the bag, I made a start. Writing the book can’t be that hard, I thought. Read the rest of this entry »