andrew lownie literary agency

Articles

Andrew Lownie uses his expert knowledge in the publishing field to maximise the potential of his clients and build up their careers. Here Andrew Lownie, and some of his clients and guest columnists, share advice on a variety of topics to writers. Elsewhere on the site you can find a Frequently Asked Questions list on literary agents, as well as advice for submitting work to agents.

  • Another Agency Week

    12 Jul 2010

    Andrew Lownie looks back on a recent 'typical' week. MONDAY Overnight submissions include: a biography of a minor Tudor courtier – no profile and too small; a memoir of driving around the world; a coffee table book "All the Kings Men" about 125 of the worlds very best Elvis Tribute Artists ; a “gothic Victorian novel” ; Pyramids of Britain arguing that Stonehedge etc were inspired by Ancient Egypt; a road trip following the despatch from the Battle of Trafalgar in a 55-year-old Austin A30 from Cornwall to London; Chinese Medicine Secrets : lose weight and boost energy naturally...Read more

  • Using Google Adwords to sell more books

    22 Jun 2010

    David Craig explains how Google Adwords can help sales and publicity. With so many books being published and with so few having a decent PR budget, it can be a struggle keeping sales of your books going after they’ve disappeared off the shelves of Waterstones and WH Smith. Of course, the best way to push up sales is to appear on TV and radio, write articles and give talks. These can both increase book sales and even earn you a bit of money. But once these promotional opportunities have dried up, you need other ways of reminding potential book-buyers of your books. One way is to use Googl...Read more

  • Insider Tips on Pitching to Publishers

    27 Apr 2010

    Publisher Mark Booth gives his insider editorial tips on how writers can best present themselves to agents and publishers. The talk was originally given at this year's London Book Fair in a seminar sponsored by the Daily Mail. I sometimes hear colleagues in the business say that if a script is any good it will eventually get published. Personally I see no reason to believe that’s true. There would have to be some providential order in the universe, some very powerful and benevolent god of publishing. No, I believe that when you try to get a book published, the odds are stacked again...Read more

  • Marketing Tips

    09 Apr 2010

    Jenny Woolf (www.jabberwock.co.uk), whose The Mystery of Lewis Carroll, has just been published in the UK and US, passes on some marketing tips for authors. The Mystery of Lewis Carroll has had some wonderful publicity. Much of the credit for that is due to the publicists who have worked on it, but I've learned a few things from the experience too. So I've written my thoughts down, and whether you are self-published or published by a company, I hope there will be something here for you. TIE-INS or "HOOKS" It helps enormously if your book publication coincides with a news story...Read more

  • An Agency Week

    20 Mar 2010

    Andrew Lownie continues his occasional blog about his working week. MONDAY Phone message left at 6.30am for author in Yorkshire to appear on a breakfast radio show. Pick it up when I come into the office at 7.30am and ring him. Incredibly he makes the show. E mail slush pile includes: “The Fable of Christ – Irrefutable demonstration that Jesus never existed”, “ a practical and not quite traditional guide for the last stage of the Hatha Yoga practice: "Samadhi"", the story of a drug-addicted Polish teenager, an erotic political thriller, “a true story of a bagel that made my wif...Read more

  • Jack and Jill Knew the Score: Coaching for Writers

    05 Mar 2010

    Writing coach Kurt Opprecht describes how coaching can help writers. Sometimes writing feels like tossing pebbles into a well. You stare at your reflection in the darkness and wait for the sound to come. When it does, the echo is so forlorn you want to cry. For an art form that aims to speak to the depths of human interaction, writing can be an incredibly solitary endeavor. In how many art forms does the artist work for years at a time on a single piece without interacting with a soul? We humans weren’t built to work like that. Writers are a species hungry for coaching. Of cours...Read more