How to Write a Stand-Out Cover Letter

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

SO, WHAT IS A COVER LETTER? Literary agents and many literary competitions require a cover letter along with your sample chapters and synopsis. This is a formal introduction to you and your novel. Note: It is not a CV, a bio or a blurb for the book. It’s a...

Common Mistakes Writers Make: A Q&A with BPA’s Editors

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Blue Pencil Agency offers editorial reports to writers who want their manuscript to be in the best shape possible before they approach a literary agent or self-publish. Our editors are bestselling authors and industry experts with shrewd eyes and a passion for...

How to Write a Synopsis

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

SO, WHAT IS A SYNOPSIS? A synopsis is a functional document summarising the story of your novel. It usually fits on a single side of A4, but always check the agency/competition website for specific requirements. Third-person, present tense, reasonable font size…...

Writing Advice with Mandy Robotham

Monday, March 11, 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mandy Robotham is the author of “Breeder”, the story that was awarded the runner-up prize in the BPA First Novel Award Competition 2018. After completing a masters in creative writing at Oxford Brookes University, Mandy...

Writing Advice with Jules Lampshire

Monday, March 4, 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Jules Lampshire is the winner of the Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award 2018 for her novel My Poor Deluded Girl which she wrote while attending the six month Faber Academy Writing a Novel programme in 2017. Our judges praised her...

Beth Underdown’s advice for writers entering our First Novel Award

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Beth Underdown, our author judge and lecturer in creative writing at Manchester University gives writers some tips to get their entries noticed. What will you be looking for in the competition line up? Somebody who really wants to...