The pitch

A verbal account of your story is called a pitch. It’s also the answer to the question what is your book about? A test to see if can pitch your story is to imagine you’ve just met an agent or publisher in a lift. They are getting off on the next floor. Can you tell them what your book is about in one minute? Julian Friedman, of the literary, TV and film agency, Blake Friedmann, recommends making an impact with as little information as you can. The legendary one sentence pitch is what everyone should be aiming for.

Laurence Olivier’s toes

Unless you live totally alone, in a cave on Bodmin Moor, nerve-racking situations are unavoidable. Even nice ones like accepting an award or a reunion with old school friends can set off those butterflies. Laurence Olivier’s grounding technique was to pay attention to how his feet felt. Wiggling your toes or ‘feeling each toe’ will help shift your focus to the now.

Let's all shine

Whenever any of us wonder if our work will ever be read and all we want to do is pull back into our shells, remember these words by Nelson Mandela.

'Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people around you won’t feel insecure. We are all meant to shine as children do. And as we let our light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.'