BPA's Blog
Author and literary agent Q&As, plus advice ranging from submissions to how to improve your craft.
Peggy Lee
Peggy manages Blue Pencil Agency’s editorial department, social media channels and blog. She completed a Master’s in Prose Fiction at the University of East Anglia, where she found a love for editing and decided to pursue a career working with words. Peggy has had stories published by Liar’s League, Every Day Fiction and Coffin Bell. She is currently working on two contemporary novels.
Author Q&A: Julia Kelly, 2021 First Novel Award Winner
Julia Kelly won the BPA 2021 First Novel Award, coming first out of more than 1,000 entries. She then signed with that year's competition judge, literary agent Hellie Ogden. In 2024, Julia signed a six-figure publishing deal with the publishing house Harvill Secker....
“Micro” reports and mentoring
Last month, we looked at the "macro" and the benefits of receiving a full manuscript assessment. However, there are also advantages to focusing on a portion of your work. In this blog post, we ask our clients why they wanted feedback on an extract instead of the whole...
Why get a full manuscript assessment?
Twenty years ago, editors at publishing houses had time to work with an author on their manuscript, if they saw promise. As the market has become more and more saturated, this job has moved to literary agents. Now, agents are so busy they often don't have the time...
The Seven Basic Plots
In 2004 Christopher Booker published his momentous book, The Seven Basic Plots. It is reputed to have taken him 34 years to complete. Through an extensive analysis of stories originating from around the world, he stipulates that all stories can be reduced to seven...
Ask an Agent: Maddalena Cavaciuti from David Higham Associates
Maddalena Cavaciuti joined David Higham Associates in 2017 as Junior Agent Assistant to Lizzy Kremer, now Managing Director. After two years of working with Lizzy on her author list, Maddalena became an Assistant Agent and began to take on her own clients. She was...
Author Q&A: Lindsey Mellon & Philippa Ronan
We recently discovered that, by coincidence, two BPA clients, Philippa Ronan (right) and Lindsey Mellon, were both to be published by the same independent publisher Northside House within only a few weeks of each other. They were happy to share their experience of...
Author Q&A: Triona Campbell
Triona Campbell worked closely with Blue Pencil Agency's head editor and founder Sara Sarre on a YA novel, after which she successfully acquired an agent and a three-book deal with Scholastic UK. In this Author Q&A, Triona describes working as a film producer, the...
How to Write Emotion
Reading is above all else an emotional experience. We read to connect with characters, to experience their emotions and to compare them to our own. Nailing emotion is therefore essential to writing compelling fiction. But how to be sure to write emotion in a way that...
Ask an Agent: Olivia Maidment from Madeleine Milburn
Olivia Maidment joined the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency in 2020. Previously, she worked with award-winning authors and global literary brands during her time at The Blair Partnership and United Agents. As well as representing a list of literary, upmarket and book...
Author Q&A: Saloni Surah
Saloni Surah worked closely with Blue Pencil Agency's head editor and founder Sara Sarre on an Early Reader book Flora Investigates: The Case Of The Missing Gold Eggs which she has recently self-published. We were curious about her self-publishing journey – an option...
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