The Writer’s Practice

A literary consultancy providing in-depth readers’ reports, manuscript assessment and expert editorial guidance from a small team of published writers. We advise on fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, screenplays and radio plays. We also offer all our writers free follow-up advice on the market.

Our aim is simple: we want to get you published, we want to get you on air and we want to get you on screen.

We offer clear and focused advice on manuscripts – whether novels, screenplays or radio plays. And unlike other consultancies and agencies, we don’t send your work off to disparate editorial “associates” – your manuscript will be read by one of us.

Plus we don’t make promises we can’t fulfil. We’re not agents or publishers, but expert, editorial-based tutors. Between the four of us, we have 21 published novels, more than 90 children’s books, 31 radio plays, 28 television episodes and an Oscar nomination. In addition, we have taught at UEA, Bournemouth University, City University London, The National Film and Television School and for the Arvon Foundation.

While it’s up to you to supply the talent, we aim to nurture it. As professional writers we know about the craft, but we also have a thorough understanding of the current market-place – from the literary to the highly commercial, from the BBC radio play to the Hollywood feature film.

We know how to get the right material into shape, out there and recognised. We are all working writers – we know what it’s like to have your work analysed and criticised. So we bear this in mind in every report we write.

However, please consider that because we are so small – and we guarantee that you will be working with one of the four of us – we like it if you ring or email us first to discuss how we could best work for you, and who your preferred tutor would be. We want our writers to feel comfortable with exactly what we can offer, before any agreement is entered into. But if you would prefer to simply send us your manuscript and communicate entirely in writing, that’s fine too.

We’re very serious about the help we can give. We will always endeavour to stick to a very swift timetable – one month is the longest you’ll ever have to wait for a full manuscript assessment. And we won’t burden you with a complicated fee structure. We want you to concentrate on your writing. As much as possible we’ll take care of the admin.

We can help with
Literary fiction
Commercial and genre fiction – from crime to romantic comedy and science fiction
Literary and commercial non-fiction, travelogues, autobiographies and memoirs
Blogs into books
Radio Plays
Scripts for TV and Feature Film
Children’s stories – from picture books to young adult fiction

“The Writer’s Practice provided invaluable advice, particularly
when it came to addressing the commercial aspects of my novel,
and helped me along every stage thereafter. Consequently I have
written a much better book than I could have done by myself.
Since then, I have also secured a great agent.”

                                                                                                                  Alison Potter