Seven sensible steps to success as a writer

Step 1 (continued): Inspiration….

I’ve published eighteen books in my career – but only twice has the Muse whispered and a book leapt fully formed into my mind.

The first was The Grandfather Clock. A thought struck in the bathroom one day: ‘What about a girl who gets trapped inside a grandfather clock, and the only way out is to climb the chain and through the clockwork until she falls into the picture on the dial?’

I have such a clock at home. The idea must have worked itself out in my unconscious before surfacing. But it became so compelling that I could only start to write it down.

It was like taking dictation. .........

Next steps...

I've mentioned the first seven steps towards success as a writer. But of course there is an eighth step … and a ninth, a tenth and many more.

In large part they concern the business of writing: the myriad questions of design, illustration, cover art, marketing, promotion, and networking that are ever more important for a writer to understand in these days.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when an author generally left these matters to other professionals. But with the extraordinary growth of the Internet and self-publishing in recent years, not any more.

These are things that authors increasingly  have to understand and master for ourselves.

But insofar as this series of posts is .........