London Writers' Salon

What if the traditional publishing world says “no”? Eleanor Anstruther—acclaimed novelist and creator of The Literary Obsessive—shares her bold leap into indie publishing, serialising fiction and memoir on Substack, and why you need an Artist DNA to draw an audience.

We discuss:

• Her aristocratic background and experience living in a commune
• Navigating rejection and the pivot to serialising work online
• The realities (and surprises) of building a paid readership on Substack
• Advice for writers considering serialisation and indie publishing
• How to build a creative community
• Practical tips: drafting, book sales, pricing subscriptions, and more

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ABOUT ELEANOR ANSTRUTHER
Eleanor Anstruther grew up in London, studied History of Art at Manchester, and spent twelve years travelling the world and starting a commune before turning to writing. Her debut novel, A Perfect Explanation, was longlisted for major prizes. Today, she serialises her fiction and memoir on Substack, where she’s built a passionate readership and runs the celebrated interview series 8 Questions. Connect with her via The Literary Obsessive on Substack.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• 📑Interview Transcript
• The Literary Obsessive on Substack
• A Perfect Explanation by Eleanor Anstruther
• In Judgement of Others by Eleanor Anstruther
• Contact form
• Glitter Balls by Michelle Howarth
• A Memoir in 65 Postcards & The Recovery Diaries by Eleanor Anstruther
• Sarah Fay Substack
• Ben Wakeman's Substack
• Simon K Jones
• Troubador Publishing

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This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has free resources such as helpful tutorials, templates to help you layout a book, design for print, and they have a very watchable YouTube University channel. Our community anthology is in fact published using Lulu. Check them out at lulu.com.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Matt Trinetti, co-founder of the London Writers' Salon, on building the world’s most engaged writing community, the role of creativity in the face of AI and the transformative power of writing for creative and mental health.
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ABOUT MATT TRINETTI
Matt Trinetti is the co-founder of London Writers' Salon, our community, dedicated to helping writers connect, make progress, and launch successful careers. With a background in career coaching and leadership development, Matt has worked with top organizations like Google and Unilever. His writing has been featured in Quartz, Huffington Post, and Business Insider, and shared by influential figures such as Tim Ferriss and Arianna Huffington.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• Join the London Writers' Salon Community
• Writers’ Hour
• Matt's Linked-In
• Matt's Substack: Seeking With Matt
• Book: The Thank You Economy, by Gary V.
• Book: The Art of Community by Charles Vogl
• Book: The Art of Gathering, by Priya Parker
• Escape the City

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This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has free resources such as helpful tutorials, templates to help you layout a book, design for print, and they have a very watchable YouTube University channel. Our community anthology is in fact published using Lulu. Check them out at lulu.com.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Sunday Times Bestseller Beth Morrey (Saving Missey, Lucky Day) on her journey as a writer and TV producer and writing humorous upmarket books while exploring darker themes. We talk about her latest book Lucky Day and what it means to stop saying ‘yes’ and start living for yourself.

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ABOUT BETH MORREY

Previously Creative Director at RDF Television, Beth Morrey now writes full time. Her debut novel, Saving Missy, was a Sunday Times bestseller and longlisted for the Authors' Club First Novel Award. Beth lives in London with her husband, two sons and two poodles.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• 📄 Interview Transcript (unedited)
• Saving Missy
• Beth’s Website
• Beth’s latest book, Lucky Day: US/ UK
• Follow Beth on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

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For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Clara Vulliamy, a children’s author of over 30 books talks about how she approaches collaboration, and what she’s learned from decades in the world of children's publishing as an author and illustrator.

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ABOUT CLARA VULLIAMY

Clara Vulliamy is the daughter of author-illustrator Shirley Hughes and architect John Vulliamy. Her first experience of making pictures was being allowed to use up her Mum’s paints at the end of the day, which she says ‘was like scraping the icing out of the bowl after baking’. She studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art, The Ruskin and The Royal Academy. After graduating she began illustrating in newspapers and magazines, and doing a weekly cartoon in The Guardian. She started writing and illustrating children’s books when she had a family of her own, and she’s been hooked ever since. She’s made 30 + books, including the Dixie O Day series, Marshmallow Pie, Dotty Detective and many others. Her latest series The Dog Squad is out with HarperCollins.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• Clara’s website
• Clara on Twitter and Instagram
• The Dotty Detective Series
• The Dog Squad Series
• The Marshmallow Pie Series
• Orange Beak Studio
• Clara’s mother Shirley Hughes
• London Writers’ Salon course, Write a Children’s Picture Book

Between April 12-13, we’re hosting our epic, annual 🌏 24-hour Writing Sprint! Join us for 1,2 or 24 hours of writing, bring a friend or two, and make serious progress on a creative project.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Practical advice from Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama on writing and editing poetry and expanding your world with poetry. Highlights from a previous episode. For the full episode, listen to interview episode #103

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ABOUT PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA

​Pádraig Ó Tuama is a theologian, writer, and conflict transformation practitioner. His books include In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World; Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community; Sorry For Your Troubles; Borders & Belonging and Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World. He hosts the On Being Studios podcast Poetry Unbound with Krista Tippett’s studio.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• The Butcher Of Eden - Feed The Beast
• Poet Victoria Redel
• Toni Morrison - Paradise

Follow Pádraig

• Pádraig’s Substack, Poetry Unbound

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!