Jericho Writers

 Here are the latest newsletters:

 

 

 

 

Genre Focus: Thriller and Suspense How to write a killer thriller I’ve handed the newsletter reigns this week to our in-house bestselling thriller expert, Holly Seddon. We have tips for building suspense, mastering the genre and creating brilliant bad-guys – as well as an exciting announcement for members. Having trouble with links? View this newsletter in your browser: https://community.jerichowriters.com/page/view-post?id=215

 

MEMBERSHIP: Webinar masterclasses from the summer have landed Watch some of the best webinars from the Summer Festival of Writing now free when you become a member of Jericho Writers. That’s around 70 new videos from tutors such as Neil Gaiman, Amazon and Joanna Penn!

 

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Spotlight:

 

MASTERCLASS: DOs and DON’Ts for strong pace (FREE for members) No one knows how to keep a reader on the edge of their seat like Eve Seymour. Join her for this masterclass on how to maintain the pace in your writing. WATCH NOW

 

BLOG: How to write a thriller Covering everything from character through to tips for self-editing, this article covers the seven things you need to know about writing in the thriller genre. READ NOW

 

UPDATE: Meet the Jericho Writers team! Behind these emails sit real-life people. Find out more about the individuals that make up Jericho Writers on our newly-updated Meet the Team page. SAY HELLO

 

 

 

How to write a believable baddie (that people will root for) - by Holly Seddon A key component of every thriller is a really good ‘baddie’. Or, if you want to be posh, an excellent antagonist. But for readers to really buy your bad guy or gal, they have to believe in them. Reasons: Whatever your antagonist’s predilection, they need to have a reason for it. It can be a warped reason that only makes sense to them and their world view. But a really complex and believable baddie will have reasons that we find ourselves contemplating and often agreeing with. See Kilmonger from Black Panther, or Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley. Back story: Killers, con artists, even cat burglars, don’t just appear out of thin air. Even if you don’t include most of their backstory in the final draft, spend some time fleshing it out for yourself. Get to know them, the way you do a protagonist. Where did they grow up? What dreams did they have? What was their final straw? See Walter White from Breaking Bad or Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes. Avoid stereotypes: Every principal character deserves to be nuanced and multi-layered – a baddie is no exception. Give them contradictions and grey areas, play with their language patterns and add interesting hobbies. Make them as whole as you can, and they will make your story whole in return. See Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter or Patrick Bateman from Brett Easton Ellis’s American Psycho. Who is the best book baddie you’ve read? Tell us your favourites on Townhouse (and you can join for free if you haven’t already!) Holly S x

 

 

As always, happy writing and remember, you can contact our customer service team on +44 (0) 345 459 9560* or info@jerichowriters.com for any writing-related advice. Sarah J Author | Jericho Writers *or if you're in the US, give us a call on +1 (646)-974-9060

 

 

Plus, don’t miss: WEBINAR: Ask the Agents Anything (FREE for members) 9 October: In this session, you’ll have the chance to ask two leading literary agents in the USA anything, from the perfect pitch and what they’re looking for, to what the North American market is looking like. Manuscript Assessment (Discounts available for members) Our most popular editorial service matches you to your dream editor and gives you tailored feedback on your work. It doesn’t get better than that. Complete Novel Mentoring (Discounts available for members) Write or edit your book alongside one of our expert mentors, including multi-bestselling authors and commissioning editors.

 

 

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Jericho Writers 4 Acer Walk Oxford OX2 6EX United Kingdom UK: +44 (0) 345 459 9560 US: +1 (646)-974-9060

 

 

Seek no more, oh ye seekers of truth

 

Over the past couple of months, we’ve released two books: GETTING PUBLISHED and 52 LETTERS. Reader response to those books has been lovelier than a basket of white roses brought to you by a unicorn. This week, we’ve released the third book in that trilogy. It’s called HOW TO WRITE, and it’s about – duh! – how to conceive, plan, write and edit your novel. It’s a massively practical book. With lots of “how to” and “how very damn not to” examples taken from a huge variety of actual bestselling books. If the book doesn’t help you write better, I promise to eat my own leg in penance. Now, as a way to celebrate the completion of the trilogy, and as a way to wave goodbye to the Summer Festival, for just a few days only, we’re making all the books as cheap as we can:   HOW TO WRITE Ebook $0.99 / Print $10.99 / Kindle Unlimited $0.00 My best attempt to set down everything I know about conceiving, planning, writing and editing a novel. “I must have read 50 books on writing, style, editing etc, but I found Bingham's book in a way the most useful of all.”—Reader Review View on Amazon   GETTING PUBLISHED Ebook $0.99 / Print $9.99 / Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Your one-stop bible for everything to do with getting an agent, getting a book deal – and getting published well. “Truly, the best book I've read on publishing. The truth and nothing but the truth no matter how hard hitting. It will save you much heartbreak.”—Reader Review View on Amazon   52 LETTERS Ebook $0.99 / Print $8.99 / Kindle Unlimited $0.00 A compilation of my Friday emails – mad, discursive, practical, and enthused. “Not since Stephen King’s On Writing have I so valued a writer’s writing on writing! These aren’t just 52 Letters—they’re 52 love letters.”—John David Mann, NYT bestselling author View on Amazon

 

 

All prices ping back to full price on Sunday, so grab your bargains while you can. And just think. For just three crinkly little dollars you could give your writing library a fancy new lease of life. Be crazy not to, huh? Next week, I’ll have some data on this promo. What worked and what didn’t. It’s the first time we’ll have used Facebook ads at scale for a book promotion, so we’ll let you know how those went. As ever, we’ll be ruthlessly honest about our experience, so you can start to get a feel for exactly how online publishing works. As you know, I’m an author first and a Jericho Writers person second – and author-me would really love it if you went out and bought one or more of those books. I raise my hat to you, and will name my next child after you to boot. Till soon. Harry

 

PS: Want the full technicolor version of this? Then scurry over to Townhouse, where our scientists have just invented a Whole New Colour: https://community.jerichowriters.com/page/view-post?id=203 Want to write to me about anything else? Then pick up your quill, you brute, and write. PPS: No real PSes this week, because this email is Nakedly Commercial – and with a body to die for. Those links again: How To Write - $0.99 / $10.99 – View on Amazon Getting Published - $0.99 / $9.99 – View on Amazon 52 Letters - $0.99 / $8.99 – View on Amazon PPPS: I have four children already. I am never, ever having more.

 

 

 

Jericho Writers 4 Acer Walk Oxford OX2 6EX United Kingdom UK: +44 (0) 345 459 9560 US: +1 (646)-974-9060

 

 

 

 

Writing for Children and Young Adults How to write for young people I’m super excited about the content of this week’s newsletter, as writing for young people is one of my personal passions. We have some amazing upcoming events to shout about, some gems to unearth and a special announcement for those of you looking for an agent right now. Having trouble with links? View this newsletter in your browser: https://community.jerichowriters.com/page/view-post?id=211

 

WEBINAR: Writing for Children with Catherine Johnson (FREE for members) TODAY. Learn about the art of writing for children from the master herself. Catherine Johnson is an award-winning children’s novelist and also writes for film, television and radio. FIND OUT MORE

 

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Recommended this week:

 

FEATURE: An interview with Young Adult author Non Pratt (FREE for members) In this revealing interview, we chat to Non about what it really means to make a career out of writing for young adults, including writing process, dealing with rejection and school visits. WATCH NOW

 

BLOG: How to write a children’s book This article is your one-stop-shop for everything to do with writing for children. From how to come up with an age-appropriate idea, all the way to how to get it published. READ NOW

 

NEW: Book a one-to-one with a literary agent! (Discounts available for members) We’re excited to announce that we’re now offering exclusive fifteen-minute one-to-one phone calls with our favourite agents. Choose your agent; choose your time and get feedback on your submission and opening 5,000 words. Warning: these sessions will book up fast! BOOK NOW

 

 

 

Age groups and word counts in the children’s fiction market What does ‘writing for children’ mean when that includes babies all the way to teens thinking about university? The market tends to shift every few years, but in general, the categories within children’s books look a bit like this: Picture Books (0 – 5 years) Between 300 – 1000 words, depending on who the book is aimed at (babies 300, toddlers 500, pre-schoolers 1000). Early Readers (5 – 7 years) Less than 10,000 words. These books can be illustrated and are divided up into chapters. Lower Middle Grade (7 – 9) Between 10,000 – 40,000, depending on the reading age they are best suited for. The lower the reading age, the lower the word count. Middle Grade (9 – 11) Between 30,000 and 60,000. There is a bit more room in Middle Grade to push the boundaries of wordcount and theme, within reason. Teen (12+) Usually around 70,000, but there are books in this category as low as 40,000 and as high as 90,000! YA / Crossover (14+) Over 60,000 words. Fantasy books in this category can push the wordcount to more like 100,000+, but usually around 60,000 – 80,000 is the magic number. So – what age range are you writing for? Do you feel like you’re writing in the middle of these somewhere? Sign up for free and share your thoughts and experiences in the Townhouse.

 

As always, happy writing and remember, you can contact our customer service team on +44 (0) 345 459 9560* or info@jerichowriters.com for any writing-related advice. Sarah J Author | Jericho Writers *or if you're in the US, give us a call on +1 (646)-974-9060

 

 

Plus, don’t miss: In Conversation with Alice Oseman (FREE for members) Another brilliant one for those writing for young people, Alice has had an unusual journey to publication and will chat to us about that, LGBTQ+ representation and graphic novels. Manuscript Assessment (Discounts available for members) Our most popular editorial service matches you to your dream editor and gives you tailored feedback on your work. It doesn’t get better than that. Complete Novel Mentoring (Discounts available for members) Write or edit your book alongside one of our expert mentors, including multi-bestselling authors and commissioning editors.

 

 

JOIN JERICHO WRITERS

 

 

Jericho Writers 4 Acer Walk Oxford OX2 6EX United Kingdom UK: +44 (0) 345 459 9560 US: +1 (646)-974-9060