Posted by Stella Calvert-Smith on 9 April 2021, in Byte Connects, News

Byte the Book loves bringing people from all areas of the publishing world together so that they can learn from each other and collaborate, and we want to highlight some wonderful collaborations that have come about via the Byte The Book.

Here's  Lucy Tertia George (author) talking about working with Editor and co-founder of Francis Literary Consultants Helen Francis, - both members of the Byte the Book family!

If you've found some great collaborators through Byte The Book and are keen to share your stories in this series please send us an email to info@bytethebook.com.

Over to Lucy!

What did you ask Helen to do?

My second novel was in its second draft and I needed input on structure and character development. I’d had feedback from readers but required an expert’s view. Wanting to pitch the novel to an agent, I needed someone with up-to-date knowledge of the publishing world to review the manuscript and advise me if I was close to having something that’s compelling, original, and (dare I say it), marketable.

What project have you worked on together?

I heard Helen speaking at a Byte the Book event and got in touch to find out if she was willing/available to help me with my manuscript. The Whistle Test is a rather quirky feminist look at female hierarchy and motherhood, involving adoption, secret families, and karaoke.

What’s Helen like to work with? 

Helen’s feedback was invaluable and led me to draft three which I’m really proud of.  Her report was thorough and full of great ways for me to improve the story. Helen was encouraging without pulling any punches, which was just what I needed. She knows her stuff, took my work seriously, and even got my jokes. I hope that working with Helen will be part of my process on every future book – if she agrees.

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More on Helen Francis – Co-Founder of Francis Literary Consultants and Editor