Too Much Social Podcast

Welcome to episode 5 of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication, the podcast for every industry-outsider who, like me, has lots of questions about how a book goes from being an idea, to landing in readers’ hands.
In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears by answering alllll my nosy questions!
If you’re enjoying the series so far, please share with all your writerly friends to help me reach more listeners, or if you rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts this will help the algorithms do their magic 🪄
Questions like…
✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 Which is the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How to snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion, whether you’re indie or traditionally published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

This week I quizzed the excellent Phoebe Morgan who you may know from her brilliant Substack, The Honest Editor where she is dedicated to telling the truth about publishing. When Phoebe is not writing her illuminating essays on how the publishing industry works, she is working as Executive Publisher for Commercial Fiction at Simon & Schuster, and today she has been incredibly generous with her time and insights into this notoriously opaque industry.
You can find her on Substack:
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebeannmorgan/
On her website: https://phoebemorganauthor.com/
And find her books here: https://phoebemorganauthor.com/books/
If you’d like future episodes of the podcast to land in your inbox, subscribe to Too Much by Nicola Washington, and you’ll be notified every time I release a new episode



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicolawashington.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to episode 4 of this brand new series, Serving Books: from inspiration to publication. The podcast where I map what it takes for a book to go from being a glimmer of an idea to landing in your readers’ hands.
In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears, because I am an industry-insider with lots of questions about the inner workings of this mysterious industry - and I know I’m not the only one!
So far, I’ve released episodes about:
✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 How do you choose the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How do you snag an agent and negotiate a book deal? THIS EPISODE!
COMING UP:
🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion whether you’re indie or traditional published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

In this episode I speak with two guests - Lauren Currie, who took the bold step of negotiating her own book deal, followed by Literary Agent and founder of Portobello Literary, Caro Clarke.
This conversation is filled with truth-bombs and uncompromising reality that is somehow weirdly comforting at the same time. I hope you enjoy listening to me chat to my guests as much as I enjoyed talking to them!
If you’re new to the podcast you can listen to the first episode here:
If you’d like future episodes of the podcast to land in your inbox, subscribe to Too Much by Nicola Washington, and you’ll be notified every time I release a new episode ❤️
🔗 Links to my guests
Caro Clarke
Substack
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/portyliterary/
Website https://www.portobelloliterary.co.uk/
Extra resources to support your understanding of publishing
Courses - available inside the paid tier of Caro’s Substack which you can pay to access, or you can buy a copy of one of Caro’s client’s books, send her the receipt and she will comp you a subscription!
Lauren Currie
Books https://www.laurencurrie.co/books
Website https://www.laurencurrie.co/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_laurencurrie_/
I obsess over Instagram so you don’t have to 😉
Join the TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM membership for uncomplicated Instagram advice curated especially for writers. In the membership you will:
✨ be supported by me and the TMI community as you step into a scary new era of publicly claiming your identity as a writer✨ save time with post ideas curated to suit your needs so you stop wasting your time ‘scrolling for inspiration’✨ gain clarity about what you should be doing next thanks to my uncomplicated advice
To become a member, click the button and upgrade your subscription 👇🏼
Membership benefits include:
* lists of trending and proven post ideas to support you with your planning every month 💡
* accountability, and an opportunity to pick my brain, every Monday in the check-in chat 🧠
* personalised, detailed advice every month in the Ask Me Anything calls (replays available) 🧐
* opportunities to get the work done in company in fortnightly co-working sessions 💪🏼
* being part of a lively, warm and supportive community of fellow writers and authors who are all working towards the same goal: getting to grips with Instagram! 💓
To become a member, click the button to upgrade your subscription



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicolawashington.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to episode 3 of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication, the podcast for every industry-outsider who, like me, has lots of questions about how a book goes from being an idea, to landing in readers’ hands.
In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears by answering alllll my nosy questions!
✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 How do you choose the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How do you snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion whether you’re indie or traditional published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

This week we’re hearing from editors who are experts in getting your book ready for readers whether you decide to self-publish or go the traditional route to publication.
My brilliant guests in this episode are:
Adrienne Dines is best known for her work as a storytelling mentor, novelist, and creative writing educator. Over the past two decades she has become highly regarded in UK writing circles for teaching the craft of storytelling
I’ve invited Adrienne onto the podcast to talk to us about how writers can work on the stories they are telling until they can be confident they are putting their best book forward, whether they are pursuing a traditional publishing path, or one of the alternative I talked about in the last episode.
Next, I speak to Joe Sedgwick, Head of Writing Services at The Literary Consultancy who are the largest provider of editorial services in the UK, about why authors might want to invest in a developmental edit of their work before they send it out to agents or readers.
Joe is a literary agent, editor, and publishing consultant with extensive experience helping writers develop their work and navigate the publishing industry. At The Literary Consultancy, he works closely with authors at every stage of their writing journey, offering editorial guidance, mentoring, and insight into what makes a manuscript stand out in today’s publishing landscape.
And finally, Catriona Turner is a writer and editor who understands the publishing journey from both sides of the desk.
Through her business, The Word Bothy, Catriona helps indie authors transform polished manuscripts into professional books through expert copyediting, line-editing, proofreading, and one-to-one publishing support.
Catriona is also an author herself. Her memoir, Nest: A Memoir of Home on the Move, explores questions of identity, belonging, and what it really means to feel at home. That experience gives her a unique perspective on the creative and emotional realities of bringing a book into the world.
Today Cat is going to talk us through some of the last - but far from least - stages of the editing process: line editing and copy editing.
If you’d like future episodes of the podcast to land in your inbox, subscribe to Too Much by Nicola Washington, and you’ll be notified every time I release a new episode
Further advice about finding editors
Cat is a member of the CIEP - Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading - and their website has a directory of their Professional and Advanced Professional members, who have experience, training, and extensive professional development under their belts.
Other editing organisations that have directories include the Editorial Freelancers Association, ACES - The Society for Editors, and Editors Canada.
Reedsy and the ALLi partner member directory are also useful. If you’re interested in learning more about ALLi, Catriona has an affiliate link - click here.
Other tips for finding editors:
* Word of mouth - ask for recommendations in your writing groups and communities.
* Look in the acknowledgements of books that align with your theme/genre/topic.
* Look at the portfolio and/or testimonials on an editor’s website to see what they have worked on in your genre.
One more thing: a way to reduce your line/copyediting costs is to send your editor a manuscript you’ve already cleaned up as much as possible, so that they can focus on the nuance and consistency of your language. I have a free checklist for this. Click here to get it.
🔗 Links to my guests
Adrienne Dines
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556654917713
Joe Sedgwick, The Literary Consultancy
Website: https://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theliteraryconsultancy
Catriona Turner
Website: https://thewordbothy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catrionaturnerbooks/
I obsess over Instagram so you don’t have to 😉
Join the TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM membership for uncomplicated Instagram advice curated especially for writers. In the membership you will:
✨ be supported by me and the TMI community as you step into a scary new era of publicly claiming your identity as a writer✨ save time with post ideas curated to suit your needs so you stop wasting your time ‘scrolling for inspiration’✨ gain clarity about what you should be doing next thanks to my uncomplicated advice
To become a member, click the button and upgrade your subscription 👇🏼

Membership benefits include:
* lists of trending and proven post ideas to support you with your planning every month 💡
* accountability, and an opportunity to pick my brain, every Monday in the check-in chat 🧠
* personalised, detailed advice every month in the Ask Me Anything calls (replays available) 🧐
* opportunities to get the work done in company in fortnightly co-working sessions 💪🏼
* being part of a lively, warm and supportive community of fellow writers and authors who are all working towards the same goal: getting to grips with Instagram! 💓
To become a member, click the button to upgrade your subscription



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicolawashington.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to episode 2 of this brand new series, Serving Books: from inspiration to publication. The podcast where I map what it takes for a book to go from being a glimmer of an idea to landing in your readers’ hands. In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears.
Last week I started at the beginning with how writers can get support with getting words on the page, when we heard from the excellent Penny Wincer, Caro Giles, and Huma Qureshi.
If you haven’t already done so, you can listen to that episode here:
Next week you will hear from editors who are experts in getting your book ready for readers whether you decide to self-publish or go the traditional route to publication so before we get to that I thought it would be worth talking about the different routes to publication that are available.
My three brilliant guests that you’re going to hear from today are:
Holly June Smith - is a self-published author of 8 romance novels, as well as being a scriptwriter for spicy audio platform, Quinn. More recently she has secured a literary agent for herself and we’ll be talking about what that might mean for her career as an author.
Steph Caswell - is a seven-times published author, and a non-fiction book coach, who has recently launched Areta Press, a hybrid publishing company exclusively for women writers. I’m going to be asking Steph about her own routes to publication as well as about the founding of a hybrid publishing company and why that might be the right choice for some authors.
And my final guest is entrepreneur, speaker, author, and artist Lauren Currie . I’ve spoken to Lauren on the podcast before about confidence because she is the founder of UPFRONT, a movement helping women build confidence and lead with courage but today I’m going to be asking her about her experiences of both self and traditionally publishing books, as she has done both.
If you’d like future episodes of the podcast to land in your inbox, subscribe to Too Much by Nicola Washington, and you’ll be notified every time I release a new episode
🔗 Links to my guests
Holly June Smith
website: hollyjunesmith.co.uk/
Instagram: instagram.com/hollyjunesmith/
Books: hollyjunesmith.co.uk/books

Steph Caswell
Instagram: instagram.com/stephcaswellauthor/
Podcast: stephcaswell.com/podcast/
website: stephcaswell.com/
Areta Press: stephcaswell.com/aretapress/

Lauren Currie
website: laurencurrie.co/
Instagram: instagram.com/_laurencurrie_/
Books: laurencurrie.co/books



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicolawashington.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to episode 1 of this brand new series, Serving Books: from inspiration to publication. The podcast where I map what it takes for a book to go from being a glimmer of an idea to landing in your readers’ hands. In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears.
Today we are starting at the beginning - where else? - and I’m going to introduce you, in a moment, to Penny Wincer, a non-fiction book coach and founder of writing community, The Fold; Caro Giles, author of two memoirs, Unschooled and Twelve Moons, who also works as a mentor for memoirists; and author and creative writing teacher, Huma Qureshi.
Because - basically - writing a book is hard and lonely sometimes we need someone in our corner to turn to when we’re trying to get the words on the page but we get stuck and don’t know what to do, or feel like we can’t keep going.
So if you’ve ever been in that situation - I mean, who hasn’t - and you’ve wondered whether seeking support might help, hopefully today’s episode will help as I am going to be asking Penny, Caro and Huma about their work, what it can help with, and how they help writers get the words on the page.
If you’d like future episodes of the podcast to land in your inbox, subscribe to Too Much by Nicola Washington, and you’ll be notified every time I release a new episode
🔗 Links to my guests
Penny Wincer
website: https://www.pennywincerwrites.com/
The Fold: https://www.pennywincerwrites.com/the-fold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pennywincer/
Podcast, Not Too Busy To Write: https://podfollow.com/not-too-busy-to-write
Books: https://www.pennywincerwrites.com/books
Caro Giles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carogileswrites/
Books: Unschooled, Twelve Moons
Substack, Open In The Middle:
Huma Qureshi
website: https://www.humaqureshi.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humaqureshiwriter/
Books
Substack:



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicolawashington.substack.com/subscribe