Welcome to the second guest post in our new series, From the Author’s Mouth. We’ve invited some of our incredible published Ink Academy alumni to share their journey from aspiring writer to published author.

Alumna Laure Van Rensburg completed her Ink Academy course in 2017 with tutor Marina Kemp. She was subsequently signed by literary agent Juliet…

Welcome to our new series of guest posts, From the Author’s Mouth. We’ve invited some of our incredible published Ink Academy alumni to share their journey from aspiring writer to published author.

First up is Sussie Anie, who completed her Ink Academy course in 2017 with tutor Marina Kemp. She was subsequently signed by literary agent Juliet…

We’re here to help! This is where we post and share everything we think might help you most in your writing journey: competitions to apply for; prizes to win; opportunities for writers from under-represented backgrounds; writing advice from published authors; the best Twitter accounts to follow; advice on agent proposals for those of you seeking agent representation; and publishers open to unagented submissions, for those of you who aren’t.

Writers of children’s, middle grade and YA books – we’re here to help you, too! This is where we post and share all the resources we think will be most helpful to you as you work on your writing: competitions and prizes; useful Twitter accounts to follow; inspiring writing advice from authors and industry professionals; opportunities and resources for writers from under-represented backgrounds; advice on pitching your book; and which publishers are open to unagented submissions.

So you have written your book, and even better, you’ve made sure that the work itself is worthy of a literary agent’s attention. You have used this brilliant checklist compiled by Electric Literature’s Brandon Taylor on escaping the slushpile: your work has plot, interesting characters, and originality.

Now you just need to show an agent that…