Writers' stories

It's 10 years since David Nicholls' novel One Day became a publishing phenomenon - a word of mouth sensation that has sold more than five million copies around the world. Five years later came Us and now five years after that he's back with a new novel. But can he repeat the success with Sweet Sorrow - a story of falling in love for the first time?

When he joined the army, the author had the reading age of an 11-year-old. But he can still remember the pride he felt at reading his first book

I joined the army straight out of juvenile detention at the age of 16. I was no criminal mastermind - I burgled the same block of flats repeatedly and was always going to end up getting caught.  Read more

It is rare, in this day and age, to see a good tweet on the internet, but I did love this one, from New York Times writer Erin Griffith, which includes a graph she designed to depict the dramatic ups and downs of a writer's self-esteem, which are entirely dependent upon the stage of the writing/editing process they're in.  Read more

"If you're an author seeking a marketing advantage for your books, then a writing conference is one of the best long-term investments you can make," says Jane Friedman, publishing veteran and author of Publishing 101.  Read more

Lee Child has had the kind of success most authors can only fantasise about. He's written 23 thrillers featuring American hero Jack Reacher - with total sales of at least 100 million copies worldwide. He's just been named author of the year at the British Book Awards. And if he hadn't lost his job in TV none of it would have happened.