The Write Place (formerly The Joined Up Writing Podcast)
Joined Up Writing is now The Write Place! A new name but the same great content - hundreds of interviews with writers giving the stories behind their books and paths to publication. Packed with advice, inspiration and tips and hosted by crime writer, producer and writing coach, Wayne Kelly, The Write Place is a regular podcast for writers and book lovers. Tuesdays on the Web, iTunes, Android and Spotify.
The Write Place (formerly The Joined Up Writing Podcast)
Heather J Fitt: Reclaiming Your Books and Going Indie
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Scottish crime writer Heather J Fitt joins Wayne Kelly to discuss reclaiming the rights to her three published novels and taking control of their future as an independent author.
Heather has recently released new independent editions of Open Your Eyes, The Flight and The Boat Trip. We explore what happens when an author’s books become part of a publisher’s backlist, the practical process of getting those rights returned, and the benefits and challenges of republishing your own work.
The conversation focuses particularly on Open Your Eyes, Heather’s dark psychological thriller about an ambitious Edinburgh journalist investigating a series of attacks against women. Heather explains how reading Laura Bates’s Men Who Hate Women introduced her to the online world of incels and the manosphere, and why she chose to explore those disturbing issues through fiction.
Heather also discusses:
• Researching dark subjects without damaging your mental health
• Creating balance and complexity when writing an antagonist
• The persistent stigma surrounding independent publishing
• Why more traditionally published writers are reclaiming their backlists
• Searching for an agent after already publishing three novels
• Blending crime fiction with elements of horror
• Her evolving approach to plotting and discovery writing
• Finding time to write around freelance work and everyday life
• Overcoming self-consciousness and giving yourself permission to begin
Heather also reveals why Men Who Hate Women is her Book That Saved Your Life and shares her advice for writers who are still waiting to take themselves seriously.
Heather J Fitt is a Scottish crime writer and the author of Open Your Eyes, The Flight and The Boat Trip. She is also an experienced editor and proofreader who has worked within independent publishing.
Find Heather and her books:
Website: https://www.heatherjfitt.com
Books: https://www.heatherjfitt.com/heatherjfitt-books
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherjfitt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherFittAuthor
Support independent bookshops: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/heatherjfittauthor
Find out more about The Write Place Podcast and Wayne’s writing, publishing and mentoring work: