Blog: Preparing your writing for publication – why it matters
But what skills, techniques and approach are needed for this stage of the creative process?
In the tutored retreat at Tŷ Newydd Writers’ Centre from Monday 27 – Friday 31 July 2026 ‘Preparing your writing for Publication’, I’ll be doing a deep dive into the tricky terrain of how best to send your manuscript out into the world – whether that’s because you’re looking for a literary agent, a book deal, or publication elsewhere.
The reality is that, within ‘traditional publishing’ (as opposed to self-publishing), slots are limited so writers will be in with the best chance of finding a home for their work if they are strategic around how they approach the submission process.
During the retreat, we’ll workshop different strategies for submitting both poetry and prose and we’ll improve our pitches in masterclass sessions. I’ll be bringing my 25 years of experience in publishing to bear on the advice I’ll be sharing with emerging writers. I’ll share tips I picked up when, in one my first jobs in publishing, I had the task of sifting the submission pile in a literary agency – I never liked calling it a ‘slush pile’, because I found many literary gems within it!
Six years working on the Literature Wales bursary panel also demonstrated to me what made one writer’s funding application stand out above another, while my job as a publicist meant I had to develop a craft around honing pitches to convince literary editors, radio producers and festival programmers to invite the writers I was representing to be reviewed, write features or appear on stage. The truth is that details really matter, as does a positive mindset.
In the hands-on and interactive workshops we’ll critique a range of pitches I’ve prepared so that you will come away having learnt how to amplify your chances of success in the journey towards being published. I’ll also be engaging in 1:1 sessions with writers to coach them on how to improve the presentation of their creative work.
But that’s not all… Bestselling novelist Carole Hailey and publisher at Lucent Dreaming Jannat Ahmed will also be adding their experience to the mix from both sides when it comes to hooking the interest of a major publisher and on what makes a submission stand out to an editor. I’d love for you to join us!
Julia Forster is a published author across multiple genres, an author coach and a writer development specialist who is running the ‘Preparing your writing for publication retreat’ at Tŷ Newydd from 27-31 July 2026.