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.

  • A Genius Bar for Books

    12 May 2016

    Jeremy Dronfield, author, ghostwriter, book consultant and the agency's reader interviewed. You’ve had an unusual career trajectory, going from fiction to non-fiction and ghostwriting. How did that come about? Being a writer isn’t what it used to be. The joy of creation may be timeless, but the way we research, write and sell books is changing constantly. At the same time, being a writer in the other sense – existing, earning a living from the written word – is changing too. Advances are declining in size and getting harder to come by, we have to work harder (and spend more) to do our...Read more

  • Tide of Empires

    05 May 2016

    Celebrated naval historian Peter Padfield describes the origins of his two-book series Tide of Empires, recently published by Thistle Books. I remember discussing what was to become Tide of Empires with Norman Franklin of Routledge. It seems aeons ago, but I remember it well; it was over an enjoyable lunch at the Reform Club – enjoyable I'm sure because in those days I tucked into anything. Now I am a vegan and never so well catered for. At that stage the work was to be Decisive Naval Campaigns from the fifteenth century to the present day in three volumes. I had been led to this after w...Read more

  • No Excuses! Why and How Writers Should Embrace Twitter

    09 Feb 2016

    Paul Jones, author of several word trivia books, shows how authors can use Twitter to promote themselves. “You should get on Twitter, I think you’d like it.” Or so said a friend of mine while we were catching up in our local, four years ago. Frankly, I wasn’t convinced. But partly out of curiosity (and partly to allay the constant badgering) I registered an account, picked my Twitter “handle”—the unique @name that identifies you, to the uninitiated—followed the usual slew of friends, family, and famous names, and tweeted my first tweet. And that might have been that, were it not for ...Read more

  • Five Websites Every Author Should Be On

    08 Jan 2016

    Katy Weitz, author and co-founder of Press My Book training workshops, gives her top website tips. Oh social media! It’s a pain, isn’t it? And yet, in this day and age, all authors are expected to be responsible for their social media profiles. However you are published – whether it is by one of the big four, a small indie or self-published - being visible online is an absolute must. But there are so many sites out there - Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, FlickR - how to know which ones to join and which to avoid? My colleague Emma Donnan and I find the maj...Read more

  • How to promote your books on Youtube

    03 Dec 2015

    David Craig explains how authors can produce their own YouTube videos to promote their writing. Technology has revolutionised the way writers work. Word-processing has made writing and editing infinitely easier than before. Google allows you to research and write a non-fiction book in just a few months from the comfort of your own home. On-line picture libraries like shutterstock .com and istockphoto.com give you access to millions of photos and images for just a few pounds each. On-line music libraries such as karaoke-version.co.uk make almost any song or backing music available for les...Read more

  • An Author’s Guide to Photographic and Picture Permissions

    10 Nov 2015

    Christian Jennings provides some useful tips on clearing permissions You can imagine the moment. You’ve just completed your latest non-fiction book, on deadline. It’s taken you months, if not more, but you’ve got there, and have just clicked ‘send’ to whip it over to the publishers. For now, you feel cross-eyed, from having your eyes eighteen inches from your computer screen for fourteen hours per day for the last month. Physically exhausted from sitting hunched in your chair, your lower back aching as though it’s been used for jousting practice in a mo...Read more