Category: Fiction writing

Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

7 Tips for Success as an Indie Author

by Jodi Gibson There’s more to success as an Indie author than simply writing your book and hitting publish. As an indie author, you’re not only the author but the publisher, marketing specialist and bookkeeper. And with all of those roles comes many responsibilities. With three indie published books under

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Judy Wollin’s creative collaboration leads to her middle grade novel

When Judy Wollin heard young family members say they didn’t like reading, she decided to write something they would love! As an education professional, she knew that she could benefit from learning the practicalities of how to write a novel, and so she turned to the Australian Writers’ Centre.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

AWC alumna Brooke Graham’s picture books helps kids with anxiety

As a mum and a primary school teacher, Brooke Graham knew the value of good children’s books. Reading to kids was one of the most enjoyable parts of her job. Then after completing the Writing Picture Books course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Brooke became hooked on writing and was determined to write her own. Her debut picture book Go Away, Worry Monster! has now been published by EK Books.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Liz Foster on the steps she took to get published

Liz Foster always imagined being a published author one day. She says: “Imagine being the key word there.” But it was while doing courses through the Australian Writers’ Centre that she learned the difference between writing well and writing well for an audience. “I literally would be nowhere without AWC’s

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Getting back to writing after a break

Are you ready to get back into writing? Gearing up to return to your writing practice after a break is never easy, no matter whether you’ve been away from your computer/typewriter/notebook for a few days, a few weeks or a few months. Sometimes you’re mid-manuscript and you need to pick

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

VIDEO: Allie Reynolds on her novel ‘The Bay’

Allie Reynolds is the author of The Bay and Shiver. She’s also a former professional freestyle snowboarder who spent five winters in the mountains of France, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. Her short fiction has been published in magazines in the UK, Australia, Sweden and South Africa. Allie swapped her snowboard

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

5 lessons from publishing 3 books in 15 months

There’s nothing quite like having three traditionally published books in 15 months to give you a crash course in the world of book publishing! Things I had no idea about just over a year ago are now like second nature to me. Here are my five biggest takeaways so far:

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Michelle Upton goes from school teacher to successful author

A few years ago, Michelle Upton made the life-changing decision that she wanted to be a writer. So she focused her efforts on learning about the craft and getting as much practical experience as possible. This included entering literary competitions, enrolling in the Romance Writing course at the Australian Writers’ Centre and taking part in the Centre’s Furious Fiction competition.

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Author Madeline Te Whiu working at her desk, surrounded by editorial notes and bookcases.
Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How Madeline Te Whiu became a fantasy author

For veterinary nurse Madeline Te Whiu, her writing dreams started with a simple scene. As an avid reader, she thought she’d give writing a go by sketching out a few scenes for her own story. She wasn’t quite sure what to do next, but committed to writing 4000 words a week.
“After that, I really threw myself into writing. I was very strict with myself to try and reach my word count every week; I spent many of my days off at my local library in an attempt to keep myself distraction-free.”

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Build your profile and promote your book
Australian Writers' Centre Team

The secret ingredient in a book’s success: Part 2

Welcome to part two of my short series on book distribution. If you read part one, you’ll know that distribution is an integral part of a book’s success – but it’s also an area that many emerging authors don’t know much about. Book distribution is essentially what it says on

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Build your profile and promote your book
Australian Writers' Centre Team

The secret ingredient in a book’s success: Part 1

Write the book, edit the book, market the book… there’s a lot for a new author to think about when publishing a book. But there’s something else in the mix when it comes to a book’s success. Distribution is something that most emerging writers never think about – and many

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Scarlet Stiletto Awards shortlist announced

Sisters in Crime have announced the shortlist for the 30th Scarlet Stiletto Awards, and we’re so thrilled that a whopping 13 out of the 25 writers on the shortlist are AWC graduates! Here are the details from the Sisters in Crime website: Sisters in Crime Australia is proud to announce

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Lucy Lever’s journey from aspiring writer to published author

Lucy Lever had been writing on and off for years, but could never quite finish the novel she dreamt of writing. That all changed when she discovered the Australian Writers’ Centre. “Stumbling across AWC was like discovering a treasure trove of wonderful courses, and I wanted to do them all,” Lucy told us. “I realised that I should have started rather than finished here, given that AWC offered a step-by-step guide to novel writing and many other wonderful courses with lots of workshopping along the way and highly skilled teachers.” Lucy went on to complete several courses with the AWC and her debut novel, Mystic Ridge, has now been published by HarperCollins HQ.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Apsara Baldovino’s picture book ‘The Lucky Shack’

“I sent one of my stories to Cathie and she told me that she felt that I should consider starting with the foundations first and recommended the Australian Writers’ Centre Writing Picture Books course before taking on a mentor,” Apsara told us. “It was the best advice I could have ever received. Cathie had designed the course so, in a way, I was able to learn from the best in a structured way with a group online.”

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Three writing tips from Katherine Rundell

Katherine Rundell is a bestselling author whose novels for children include Rooftoppers, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer and The Good Thieves. She has won the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, amongst many others. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide.

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

The creative magic of the mundane

“The best time to plan a book is while you’re washing the dishes.” You don’t have to wander too far across the wild plains of the internet to discover this quote from acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie, and it’s one I’ve used myself in author talks for many years –

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