Joanna Moult

Thanks so much for having us back! How lovely to catch up and thank you for all the lovely questions! Have a great evening, everyone 😀 #ukteenchat

Badges of honour, showing your courage and determination! 💪#ukteenchat

100% this!

Also, the best way to be really good at writing is to keep on doing it, even if you don’t share it with anyone. Keep writing, no matter if you get rejections from agents or publishers. And reading of course! It really is the best way to understand what is expected of a published writer. #ukteenchat

Write for love. It's not an easy job, at any stage, whether you are just starting out looking for an agent or if you're a best-selling author. You need to love to write to get you through the ups and downs! So enjoy your writing, first and foremost! #ukteenchat

I like that wildness very much! The more you can park your editor-brain for the first draft, the better! #ukteenchat

It can really vary, depending how stacked we are. There are the usual pinch points of the fairs and Christmas, but we are always on the look-out so no time is a disastrous time to submit, really... #ukteenchat

That's so much further than I ever get! 😆 #ukteenchat

Mmmmm. Gelato too!!🍦

Yes, excited to be running our writing competition later in the year! That's always so interesting #ukteenchat

It's genius! #ukteenchat

I just don't think I'm good enough as a writer! So I have so much admiration for every writer! #ukteenchat

No. I have the most ENORMOUS respect for anyone who can put 35,000 words in order and write a whole book. I can't do it - the editor in me is already cutting my writing before I've finished the sentence. #ukteenchat

Ha! Yes, it's so much easier to save it for later, rather than delete it - definitely something I recommend to authors! #ukteenchat

Trust in your agent is so important. The publishing industry is bruising and complicated, so you do need to feel like your agent is guiding you through safely. #ukteenchat

Trust, patience, mutual respect! It's a real partnership and the more you can be honest with each other, the better. Sometimes you hear things you don't want to hear, so taking time to process that before responding is good - on both sides! #ukteenchat

Absolutely. No writing is ever wasted. The more you write, the better you know your characters, your plot, your world-building... #ukteenchat

Yes, simple but utterly BRILLIANT! #ukteenchat

It's good to see more contemporary things on the curriculum. And Sarah Crossan is one of my all-time favourite authors. Such a huge talent! #ukteenchat

For us, voice is everything. We can help craft an stunning opening chapter but we can't change your writing voice! #ukteenchat

A powerful voice or a strikingly different opening scene. Something that I haven’t seen before. I'll be honest, I struggle with submissions that start with a car ride to somewhere new or a wake-up scene. #ukteenchat

Obviously, my mind has gone entirely blank, as it always does when someone asks me what I've read and enjoyed!! But I was talking about HOLES by Louis Sacher the other day and that is a fabulous example for that age group, in my view. #ukteenchat
Not the most contemporary example though!!

And we have a lovely gang of authors on Team Skylark too! They are so fabulous and supportive of each other #ukteenchat

If any writing groups are out there and would like a zoom visit from us, please do DM me or email us on information@skylark-literary.com!

Yes, sadly. We had hoped that titles such as Lottie Brooks might have cracked things open a bit for this age group. It has but it is still a very sparse area for readers and we worry that we lose so many of them at this stage. #ukteenchat

Look at those baby faces!! Haha!

We've never forgotten the wonderfully warm welcome we received from you, Emma, and from all of the groups! We are wondering about doing a zoom version of the tour later in the year if we get enough interest! #ukteenchat

We launched in 2014, with a big tour round children’s writing groups and built up our writer networks from there. It was huge fun. Now we are much more established and hopefully better known but we are still on the hunt for fresh new voices #ukteenchat

Ooh, interesting question! #ukteenchat

We're always very happy to talk about our favourite topic - children's books! Thank you for having us, Emma! #ukteenchat