Want help selling a book or film?
No book or film reviews today. This week I’m talking about pitching a book or film with Thomas Umstattd Jr, who runs the outstanding Novel Marketing podcast. His podcast is, he assures me, the longest-running…
Is the rise of the topical novel killing literature?
In 2010, I took my then agent for a Chinese lunch. I pitched an idea for a novel about fake news, close elections and knife crime. He said that it was a mistake to write…
Why most people are crap at persuading
GETTING GOOD AT PERSUADING This message was intended solely for writers and film-makers, until I realised that pitching and persuading is something that everyone in the media has to get good at. And then I…
Do’s and don’ts of submitting to agents
Crime writer Dominique Hall has written to me for advice on sending a novel to an agent. She says: I am at the stage of approaching agents as I have written a crime novel, and…
Has Amazon deleted your reviews?
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog in which I said how important reviews were to authors and readers. Imagine my shock, then, when I discovered that Amazon has developed an algorithm to delete…
How to write a riveting review
This week, an art that is both very new and almost as old as writing itself – writing reviews. First, a thank you to everyone who’s written reviews of my books. The number of Amazon…
Bookstore rage: How I came close to losing my temper with an indie bookshop manager
Yesterday I came close to inflicting serious verbal damage on an indie bookshop manager. I’d very much like to know from anyone else who has a similar story, either as an author, a publisher or…
What book blurbs really mean
When the Man Booker shortlist was announced earlier this year, Andrew Holgate of the Sunday Times noted how the judges slagged off the while industry of creative book blurbs along with the celebrity quotes that…
Historical drama on screen – to write or not to write?
Historical drama is big in TV and film at the moment,but is it a good idea to write one? David Oman sent this question: Hello Charles I’m still enjoying your excellent books, and prefer studying…
How the gurus who teach “show don’t tell” could ruin your treatment
All screenwriting gurus teach “Show don’t tell” – it’s one of the few things they all agree on. How can it possibly be bad? And yet, what they don’t tell you is sticking to “show…
How to get what you want – negotiating tricks
In case you missed it, there’s an article you really should read on negotiating tricks and how to get what you want. After all, as writers (and directors, parents, children, friends, customers, comrades, etc) we’re always…
Automatic screenplay query letter generator for screenwriters
Developed by a secret army of specialist software designers, the automatic screenplay query letter generator guarantees you’ll never have to struggle over your screenplay query letter again. Free to use, time and time again.
Two simple ways to add power to your pitching
If you want to pitch with power, here are two powerful ingredients that are often forgotten by script gurus although they are used to powerful effect in almost every successful TV drama or cinema film.
3 Ways to Make Sure Your Script Stands Out
Despite what most writers think, most scripts fail to sell not because they are too different, but because they are not different enough. Many writers, including advanced writers, believe that their cinema or TV script…
Four steps to starting a compelling script
People often ask how to get ideas. Of course ideas are all around. What they mean is where do you find ideas you know will work. Ideas that will stay alive and grow. Nothing is…
Three things you need to improve your script sales
Back from hols and the first thing on my to-do list is to go out and start selling the script I finished last month. Of course as a true artist I should have no truck…
Why do some scripts sell, and some don’t?
Many people ask me if they should learn about selling and pitching scripts before they start writing, or after they’ve finished a draft. My answer is: either and both – and while in the middle…
How to land a top star and the BBC with one treatment
Most people hate writing treatments. Not me, I love them. This is how I used a treatment to hook a top star comedian and the BBC in just five pages – and how you can…