All is well here and I’ve got loads of news – about our new books, about Aidan Martin, about a (possible) new anthology, and about my new Pitch Your Book course.

I’ll start with the course, because I’m thrilled about it and I get lots of emails from writers looking for publishers and agents. Not just submissions, but let’s just say I get emails from around the world on a regular basis about publishing. And I wish I had more time in each day so I could reply to all of them because I love sharing information and helping writers to publish their work. Alas, my days are so full that I rarely can.

So, the course is what I consider insider information about publishing based on my own personal experience of reading submissions. The aim here is to help a writer get their foot in the door. Because that’s the hardest part. It’s similar to my Pitch Your Book 1-to-1 but about half the cost. And, we’ll have a max of five students so you'll get lots of personalised attention.

The course dates are: 8-29 November 2022 and 9-30 January. The full description is on our website which you can read here: gutspublishing.com/publishing-coach

In book news, Lotte Latham (Dear Mr Andrews) has been busy pitching a personal essay on sugar-dating to media outlets and I’m delighted to announce that iNews picked it up (rather quickly I might add) and published it last week. Congrats Lotte! It’s a great intro to her memoir with some details about the recent rise in sign-ups to sugar-dating sites by UK college students. Yeah, that would be due to the increased cost of living.

Here's the opening paragraph:

"With the cost of living crisis casting a shadow over our lives, there’s been a spike in signups to sugar-dating sites this year. Seeking a “daddy” to pay your heating bill is an appealing option. At least it was to me, as a former sugar-baby. But having seen a murkier side to this popular lifestyle choice, lately, I’ve been wondering how it’s become so… normal?"

Well done Lotte.

The full article is here: inews.co.uk/opinion/sugar-dating-no-easy-way-improve-finances-murkier-side-1905035

I also have some news about Sam Thomas and his memoir Smashed Not Wasted (April 2023) – The Bookseller mentioned it this week in their Disability Issue! We’re just thrilled about that and somehow it now feels like we’re upwardly mobile in the publishing world (hilarious!).

Here’s the blurb from The Bookseller:

“Candid recovery narrative from award-winning mental health campaigner, writer and public speaker Sam Thomas detailing his alcohol addiction and the toll it took on his mental and physical health.”

Well done Sam.

Aidan Martin (Euphoric Recall) is as busy as ever and last week announced that his charity The Scheme was granted official charitable status. Apparently this took 2 years, so big congrats to Aidan on that! He and his artist friend Mark Deans are now offering free workshops and seminars on all things creative in West Lothian, Scotland. Last week it was an ‘Introduction to Filmmaking’ workshop by Scottish Bafta award-winning filmmaker Garry Fraser.

I’ll have some more news about Aidan coming up soon – there is something somewhat top secret which I’m not allowed to tell you about except that it’s ‘an exciting and important TV project about trauma.’ Sorry, what a tease! But hopefully we can share details soon. In the meantime, you can follow Aidan on Twitter for updates: twitter.com/AidanAuthor

And finally, here’s the news about a possible new anthology. I have a new client who’s a tattooist and I posted this photo of her on social media, looking all tattooed and edgy, which got a conversation going about an anthology about, you guessed it, tattoos. I’d really love to do another one but have been waiting for the right topic and I think this one just might work.

Here are some possible themes – taboo tattoos, private tattoos, secret tattoos, hush-hush tattoos. Or just ‘stories about tattoos’ although that might be too general. At any rate, let me know your thoughts. If we do it, I’ll open this up to all writers, not just UK. Send me your ideas!