'In middle age, there is mystery, there is mystification'. Editor of fiction, Ghostwriter. Book Doctor. Mother. Violinist. Outdoor Swimmer. Rep Eugenie Furniss.
My friend died on Thursday from
#COVID19
. And I keep thinking that when this is all over, he & I will meet for lemon sodas in ‘my’ cafe as we did for years, to share novels & Leonard Cohen & we will discuss how he died during the lockdown, he was one of the numbers on the news.
Please DM me if your child needs help with History or Politics A Level re-sits; any Creative Writing element of English or re-writing Personal Statements. We would like to offer our combined help as a family.
#alevels2020
Please RT
@NickyAACampbell
@ShelaghFogarty
@DavidLammy
It’s impossible to explain what this novel did for me.. I wrote to her aged 15 to try and explain. She wrote back and understood. And this may be why my whole life since has been devoted to literature.
#JoanDidion
Two novels I edited pre-sale are lead titles next year for two major-league publishers. The memoir I ghosted recently is an official best-seller. Makes me very happy. Sometimes, there are days like this..
#Background
#Ghosting
#Editing
Have you ever seen a more dreamlike gift. In a rare & unintended moment of disclosure I mentioned something of my past. He was listening and heard me and then this and - sometimes, sometimes - I feel deeply appreciated in my professional life for being me
#CreativeCollaborations
I'm about to throw it all in. As a freelance editor & ghost of BESTSELLERS, PRIZE WINNERS, I help fuel this industry. And yet, no invitations to summer parties, any parties, book awards. And the fees my colleagues and I are being offered are at an all time low. And no-one cares.
Tomorrow, I’m heading for my cafe and I’m going to sit down and order two lemon sodas and while I drink mine, I will listen to the Leonard Cohen song my friend and I both loved most 🍋
My friend died on Thursday from
#COVID19
. And I keep thinking that when this is all over, he & I will meet for lemon sodas in ‘my’ cafe as we did for years, to share novels & Leonard Cohen & we will discuss how he died during the lockdown, he was one of the numbers on the news.
Just got my first vaccine - disclosure: I had open heart surgery and have a rare condition, Anomalous Pulmonary Venus Drainage - so I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed with gratitude all over again and again and again. Thank you
#NHS
#AstraZeneca
Inspired by
@Phoebe_A_Morgan
, who inspires me a lot, I’m also offering a free critique of your first three chapters - literary fiction . Please DM me. Last year I placed 5 - 5! - debut novelists with top agents. One went on to secure a 7 - 7! - figure deal.
I have an idea. One day a year, the publishing industry celebrates all us
#freelancers
who day in, day out, fuel the industry. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Maybe
@thebookseller
could feature some of us and the roles we play, how we too shape things. Thoughts?
Shared copies of my 12, 20-question General Knowledge Quizzes for 9 & 10 year olds to well over 2,000 families & teachers & they seem to be going down well. I'd love to share them some more. Be in touch if you'd like a set. Please RT
@ShelaghFogarty
@matthaig1
@RevRichardColes
Barry, Barry she called. You can come in. And into my kitchen walked
#BarryHumpries
He said, I won’t disturb you and headed into the garden where the kids were playing. He kicked a ball around with them, and then came in for fish fingers. He was beyond charming.
So, was coming to
#LBF
tomorrow but instead I shall be at my swimming friend Maurice's funeral. Maurice and I wait(ed) outside the pool together at 6.30 am every morning for years & years and I adored him. He was 90. Every lap I swim will be his for a long time to come.
First batch of homemade - by my wonderful 12-year-old neighbour, Audrey - biscuits, to be delivered to our local GP/Vaccination centre tomorrow. We’ve set up a rota on our road to bring some sweetness and gratitude to our frontline staff and volunteers
#COVID19
@ShelaghFogarty
My sister & I fan-girled
@Emmabarnett
this morning as we passed her along the canal and she was charming, gracious and luminescent and we completed our
#moonwalk
training energised and full of the joys of sister-sisterhooded.
Publishers!! Agents!! Prize Ceremony organisers!! I work on, edit, ghost very many of your books, discover new writers that I send your way. I champion your books, your authors. And yet. And yet. Why do you never invite me to your summer - or any - parties?
#FreelanceDespair
Extremely distressed that I can’t get any slot AT ALL - for my frail, house-bound 89-year-old-mother-in-law, a loyal
@Ocado
customer, spending thousands of pounds over the years. People up & down my road get deliveries every week. All I get is platitudes from customer service.
In the past few months I have placed five debut writers - edited/mentored by me - with leading agents. I can help you with that extra fairy dust that will make your manuscript sparkle.
I jumped into a cab back in the day up in Stoke and the driver and I got around to Neil Diamond (as you do) and he started singing Song Sung Blue. Turns out he was the UK's most popular ND tribute act at the time and we went round the block so he could sing me I Am..I Said.
Happy birthday
#NHS70
I received pioneering 12-hour open-heart surgery back in the day, heart-stopped, blood frozen, life suspended until Mr Bonham-Carter sewed me up. 5 scars, 3 children later, swimming 80 lengths front-crawl outdoors, I am grateful every single day of my life.
Some years ago an author asked to drop her manuscript off at my house. She arrived, I asked her in, made coffee etc. we were chatting away for about twenty mins when she gasped. My husband is in the car, can he come in. Of course, I said. She went to the front door……
Despite EDITING one of the shortlisted titles and ASKING to be invited, I’m not there because I was told there wasn’t room. This is how the publishing industry treats
#freelancers
and truly, it’s deplorable.
Set your alarms!
On Thursday 13th June from 6:45pm join us live for the announcements of the winners of the 29th Women's Prize for Fiction and the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction!
Watch here:
Thanks for all your replies to my reading-three-chapters offer. As soon as I’ve finished reading to this little bundle of joy and after she goes back to Beijing on the weekend (before moving to Addis Ababa in Feb), I will reply to you all.
1984. Women’s Officer. My life was an ongoing campaign for safer streets and an end to violence against women. We marched. We got lights put up. We educated, debated, discussed. We were briefly hopeful. And tonight 37 years later, a candle for
#SarahEverard
Philip Jones of
@thebookseller
reminds us of why the UK book market continues to grow, and why books will always survive the challenges of a changing industry.
#BritishBookAwards
I couldn’t do more championing & helping women writers - passionately & joyfully - yet as a freelancer, despite editing several long & shortlisted novels over the years, I’ve never been invited to the
@WomensPrize
party. I even asked to be invited. And you know what. It hurts.
Oh sometimes this crushing invisibility - my soul in your books and everyone, everyone else lavishly praised - is incredibly tough. I know. I know. Don't @ me.
#Ghostwriter
#Editor
#ShouldHaveBeenAViolinist
1978. Youth Orchestra. When I met my husband’s parents for the first time, they showed me this as my husband was in the orchestra. Funny thing was, I am in it too. He was cellos and 16. I was violins and 12. Worlds apart.
.
@NickyAACampbell
joins the
@HodderBooks
family, with his memoir on family, adoption, mental health and "miracle dog" Maxwell, with One of the Family! See more about the "very special book" here:
Post editing, this week I’ve placed two as-yet-unpublished novelists with leading agents. I am confident both will be published. This makes me very happy
#FreelanceSatisfaction
Absolutely extraordinary that us
#ghostwriters
aren’t mentioned here. Beyond. We are the ones that carry the burden of the ‘memorists’ with almost no support from the industry, as witnessed here.
Following the publication of Prince Harry's Spare, some members of the publishing industry have called for more support for authors who write memoirs.
Read here:
And he’s off. Enroute via via via and a LOT of quarantining - to Beijing. First long-term diplomatic posting. Sadness has been overtaken by excitement (for now). A new adventure for our family (and my daughter-in-law is still here until July)
#NewChapter