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.

  • Writing History: Thriller or Chiller?

    01 May 2007

    Robert Hutchinson, author of widely-praised lives of Henry V111, Francis Walsingham and Thomas Crowwell, gives his rules for writing readable and authoritative history. Writing books on history for the mass market is reminiscent of travelling in one of those Victorian “pea-souper” fogs in Victorian London. You know your destination – a compelling, entertaining read – but the huge volume of letters and documents thrown up by your research contains material that can all too easily divert you from your chosen route and you end up in a number of cul-de-sacs. The result ...Read more

  • Publicity - Giving Your Book the Help It Needs

    01 Apr 2007

    Milton Kahn, one of Hollywood’s best known publicists and now specialising in authors, draws on his own experiences in the US to explain the importance of taking on a publicist and gives his advice on how authors can best publicise themselves. He has kindly allowed the article to be reproduced from his website www.miltonkahnpr.com. In today’s highly competitive literary marketplace publishers and authors are finding that it takes more than reviews and book signings to make a book successful. The reality of publishing today, even among the mainstream, big-name houses, is that ...Read more

  • More marketing tips from Lovejoy

    03 Mar 2007

    Ex-bookseller and publicist, Lovejoy, offers his monthly marketing tips. He welcomes questions c/o Andrew Lownie. I AM A FIRST TIME AUTHOR AND I AM FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO SECURE EVENTS IN BOOKSHOPS. CAN YOU HELP ME? Well let me first say that, if it’s any consolation, you are not the only author (first time or otherwise) to encounter increasing difficulties in pitching events to bookshops. Very few authors nowadays, particularly biographers, can justify a stand alone event in a Waterstone’s or independent book store. There is strength in numbers. For years crime authors have...Read more

  • Lovejoy’s Marketing Tips

    01 Feb 2007

    Former bookseller ‘Lovejoy’ answers some common questions and gives advice on how authors can help promote themselves. Do send questions to him c/o me via Andrew Lownie. How do I get the most out of my Amazon page? Amazon can be more than just a tool for checking on how many places a rival’s book has slipped in the chart due to a spiteful review from The Sunday Times. There is an option at the bottom of your page called “I Am The Author”. Click on it, fill in the requisite contact details and a number of options will then open up to you to improve your page. ...Read more

  • From Russia, With Polonium

    20 Jan 2007

    In light of the Litvinenko assassination, Kris Hollington, author of the forthcoming How to Kill: The Definitive History of the Assassin and whose website www.assassinology.org will launch in March 2007, explains the culture of assassination in Russia and why we can expect several more Russian hits to take place in the UK in the coming years. As I researched How to Kill, I became interested in and started to collect the ‘odd’ stories of assassination; particularly fascinating were the relatively unknown attempts made on political leaders by lone nuts. One intriguing story came...Read more

  • Magic Words

    08 Jan 2007

    Jimmy Lee Shreeve explains how writers can use their skills to maximise their income. I'm not joking. You can live like a king from writing. You can make £100 an hour or more and have decent cash flowing in while you sleep (and I'm not talking about book royalties here). But only if you do it right. Hype? No. I've done it myself. But before I tell you how, let's get one thing straight... The majority of authors don't strike it rich. They don't become literary megastars like J.K. Rowlings or Stepthen King. They get by ... but only just. Many authors maintain a day job or are propp...Read more