Blood, Sweat and Ink: The Pleasure and Pain of Writing a Novel

All novels are amazing at the point of conception and it is Hayley Sherman’s job to make sure that they make it to the last word in the same condition. She has worked with hundreds of authors around the world to bash their novels into shape and help pursue the dream of publication. She has seen the good, the bad and those books that are only ever destined to prop up the wonky desk in the author’s study. Her mission is to give writers confidence in themselves and their output as well as boosting skills and working towards creating a unique writing identity.

In Blood, Sweat and Ink, Hayley condenses her years of experience into a guide for new authors, including examples, quotes and more than 40 exercises to help you create great fiction. Beginning at that amazing point of conception, Hayley will coach you through all of the big subjects involved in novel writing, from mental preparation and generating ideas, to learning the craft of structuring and bringing a three-dimensional world to life, right through to the re-drafting process and editing your work to perfection.

Where there is great fiction there is originality. By contrast, the short-comings of mediocre fiction can be seen again and again, endlessly repeated across genres and styles. This book also takes an in-depth look at these short-comings so that you have no excuse to include them in your novel.

Writing a novel is a long, lone and often arduous task, which requires steely nerves, consistent confidence, dedication, blood, sweat and ink. If you’re taking this journey, make this book your companion.