Fi Phillips

As you know, this year I began to submit my novel 'Shadowbinder' to literary agents. After ten rejections, a reassessed novel, and a rest over the summer break, I'm about to re-start the process. I'd like to say that I'm revved up and raring to go but the truth is that doubts are beginning to chip away at my self belief. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to get where I want to go is to keep on keeping on so I'm readying my next submission. Novelist, Claudia Cruttwell writes about this whole process in Finding An Agent: Why You Shouldn't Give up . Well worth a read if you too are feeling fraught from submission rejection. 10 easy ways to put agents off in your submission letter Piers Blofeld

Spring starts this month (20th March in the UK) but there are already daffodils and crocuses in the garden, and birds chasing each other around in an amorous fashion. I like spring. Seeing the buds on the trees and petals poking through the earth makes the world seem a happier place to live in. With the milder winters in the UK, I'm not sure if any of our animals hibernate anymore, but spring always feels like the land (and my motivation) is waking up. Writing Not a great deal to report here except that I'm getting on with what I was doing in February. I initially had a plotline for the whole trilogy but after making so many changes to novel 1, I had to rethink the entire story arc. I discussed part of the process of doing this in Cut, Paste, File Away and now I'm dipping back into novel 1 to make sure all the clues needed for the big reveal at the end of book 3 are in place. Literary Agents I'm still waiting on hearing from a couple of agents. The latest ...