Cornerstones: 'tis the season for book deals!
Alumni news, publishing chatter, and a reminder about our online editing course
Dear all,
We hope you’ve had a restful start to spring, and are feeling energised as lockdown restrictions start to loosen a little. 2021 is shaping up to be a brilliant year for several Cornerstones alumni who have secured publishing deals for their works, and we’re excited to shout about them! Read on for more.
Congratulations to…
Julie Ma, Happy Families (Welbeck Publishing Group, 2021) *Winner of the Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller 2020*
“For me, the most important aspect of working with Cornerstones is the feeling of taking yourself seriously as a writer. Thanks for providing the expertise to help me on my way and long may you continue to help many others on the road to publication too!”
Vanessa Moore, One Thousand Days and One Cup of Tea (Octopus Books, 2021)
“I’ve just had the thrilling experience of signing with a top agent, which would not have happened without Cornerstones’ help. Helen and her team read my MS from start to finish, provided invaluable feedback, arranged agency introductions and here I am! It was worth every penny and I can’t thank you enough.”
Stay tuned for Vanessa’s upcoming blog post, where she talks about her journey to publication!
Alison O’Leary, The Cat Noir series (Red Dog Press, 2020-21)
“I owe a real debt of gratitude to Cornerstones – they really helped me to take my writing to the next stage. The editors are friendly and encouraging but, most of all, professional. They became what I would call my ‘critical friends’. I now have a three-book contract with Red Dog Press for The Cat Noir series, and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Beth Merwood, The Five Things (The Wild Rose Press, 2021)
“I would describe Cornerstones as a doorway into the world of publishing (having first walked round the outside peering in through the windows).”
Another big congratulations to Cornerstones alums Misha Hussain – whose novel Sakthi will be published by Bluemoose Books next summer – and Tom Benjamin, who has signed a deal for a further three books in the Daniel Leicester series with Constable (the second book in the series, The Hunting Season, is due to be published 13 May).
Have you signed with an agent or been offered a traditional publishing deal? We love hearing about your successes, so let us know if you have any news to share!
We’re thrilled to be running our Edit Your Novel the Professional Way online course again in September, and we’ve got some exciting events up our sleeve. If you’re:
interested in joining a supportive and like-minded online writing community
on a quest to learn how to edit like the professionals
looking for a taster of what the course might include
… watch this space!
Our recent course alum, Rachel H, said: “As an agent and published author, I found the session on synopsis writing incredibly useful. I've always struggled with these, and the same is true for all authors I know. I doubt you'd find a writer who wouldn't benefit...Kathryn is the perfect course tutor. I'd recommend her a thousand times over to anyone – published or unpublished.”
That’s all from us for now – but we’ll leave you with an industry tip (below) and well wishes for a productive April!
Until then,
The Cornerstones Team
Industry tip:
Wondering how to use constructive criticism to better your novel? Try to step back from your work and view it as an outsider, as if for the first time. Remember that the criticism is there to help you make your work the best that it can be – it’s always helpful to keep an open mind and be receptive to suggestions. Ultimately, it is up to you to gauge whether an alteration could lead your story to stray too far from your vision.
Might I give you some feedback, Cornerstones? Removing a thread of discussion because the content doesn't suit your marketing goals makes a forum less useful for the people who populate it.