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How To Write A Book

Daylight Productions and Sony Music Entertainment

Released: 2025-04-02

Free 0%

13 Episodes

Audio

Free 0%

13 Episodes

Audio

Released: 2025-04-02

Most Recent Episode

How to Write a Book | 1. IDEA (Part 1)

In this first episode of How to Write a Book, Elizabeth Day’s new podclass series, hosts Sara Collins, Sharmaine Lovegrove and Nelle Andrew discuss coming up with ideas. Just where do ideas for books come from? How do you know if they’re any good,

Time: 30:24

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In this first episode of How to Write a Book, Elizabeth Day’s new podclass series, hosts Sara Collins, Sharmaine Lovegrove and Nelle Andrew discuss coming up with ideas.

Just where do ideas for books come from? How do you know if they’re any good, or even if they’re right for you to pursue? Our expert podclass provides answers to all of this - and even a lesson in how to know when your idea might be ready to send to an agent.

And we could not have a more experienced bunch to guide you on this journey. Sara Collins is the bestselling novelist and screenwriter currently serving as a judge for the 2024 Booker Prize. Her debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, won the Costa book awards in 2019 and she later wrote the TV screenplay. Nelle Andrew is a literary agent and former Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards, and Sharmaine Lovegrove is the co-founder and managing director of Dialogue Books, an inclusive imprint at a major publishing house. Each of them is an expert in one stage of the publishing journey…. and all are literary nerds (in the best possible way).

Together, Sara, Sharmaine and Nelle are your on-hand writing community giving you the push you need to get started on that novel, memoir, or piece of non fiction you've always dreamed of writing.

We hope you enjoy our part 1 & part 2 on IDEA. If you don’t want to wait for next week’s episode, you can subscribe now and binge them all at once by tapping ‘subscribe’. You’ll get to listen to all episodes ad-free and get exclusive subscriber access to How To Fail and Failing With Friends.

Books discussed in these episodes include:

• The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

• Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker

• Scissors, Paper, Stone by Elizabeth Day

• Paradise City by Elizabeth Day

• Magpie by Elizabeth Day

We also talk about Christopher Booker, Kit de Waal, The Seven Basic Plots and Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park.

Executive produced by Elizabeth Day for Daylight Productions and Carly Maile for Sony Music Entertainment.

Produced by Imogen Serwotka.

Please do get in touch with us, your writing community, with thoughts, feedback and more at: howtowriteabook.daylight@gmail.com

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Episode ID: 1000701940442

GUID: a9346289-e53a-4f07-aee1-3b1dd63c96df

Release Date: 02/04/2025, 05:00:00

Description

We all have a story in us. But how do we get it out there? How To Write A Book is a 12-week podcast that guides you through the writing process: from developing ideas to experimenting with your voice and getting your finished manuscript ready for publication. Packed full of frank, funny and practical insights as well as listener exercises to help your creative juices flow, we offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of books. Hosted by bestselling author Sara Collins, powerhouse publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove and superagent Nelle Andrew (with additional reflections from executive producer, Elizabeth Day) this is the podcast for anyone who wants to write a book or simply wants to know how great books get written.

A Daylight and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcasts

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Feed URL

https://feeds.megaphone.fm/htwab

Apple Podcasts: Customer Reviews

2025-07-27

The best writing pod

Really inspiring and entertaining podcast with tons of accessible and useful tips - I kept having to pause to write down the advice!

2025-06-19

Was really looking forward to this…

Unfortunately I do not find the guests as relatable or likeable as Elizabeth Day. With one of them saying “to write a book you need to be arrogant”, I switched off there. A shame.