Pre-publication Nerves

On August 26, 2011 · In Festivals and Events, Getting Published, This Writer's Life
Out Next Week!

I have two books out this month – Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas and Sally Go Round the Stars: Rhymes from an Irish Childhood – and as always I’m dreadfully nervous. Will readers like them? Will they pick them up in a bookshop? Will they buy them? Are the covers right? Did I find all the typos?

This morning I woke up at 6am, my head already full of my To Do list: finish putting content on my new website (more on that in a second), write Amy 5, think about the short story I have to write for a Walker Books anthology called ‘And Then He Kissed Me’, write articles for the launch of both books, write this blog, and let’s not mention the tax return hanging over my head or the rewrite of Shoestring 2! I also programme the children’s section of a book festival, Mountains to Sea in Dun Laoghaire which starts in, gulp, a week.

My new website is almost ready to go live – on 6th September. Lisa, the designer has done an amazing job. It’s fresh looking and easy to navigate, it has a Facebook feed and all kinds

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A Who’s Who of Popular Fiction Agents

On August 8, 2011 · In Getting Published

Who is Marian Keyes’s agent? Who looks after Cathy Kelly and Sheila O’Flanagan? Who helped Melissa Hill climb to the top?

If you write popular fiction, live in Ireland and would like to get published, these are the agents to try first as they have a proven track record with Irish authors. Now, because they have such high flying clients they may not have the time to take on new authors, but if they spot talent, they may pass you on to another agent in their company.

I secured my first agent (who was with Curtis Brown at the time) via a recommendation by Cathy Kelly. This agent and I have since amicably parted ways, but I found my new agent via another writer friend, the wonderful ‘Vampirate’ Justin Somper. I’m currently represented by Peta Nightingale in Lucas Alexander Whitley on the adult side (I also write for children). I’m her only Irish popular fiction client, but many of the other agents on my list have several ‘Irish girls’ in their stable, such as Sheila Crowley in Curtis Brown.

Peta has been a wonderful asset in many different ways. She worked as an editor for many years and has a …

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