Martin Cavannagh

Contributor

Writer, presenter, and Head of Content at Reedsy. As the host of Reedsy Live, Martin has had the pleasure of sharing cutting-edge insights from some of the world's best editors, designers, marketers, and the occasional bestselling author. His newsletters, live streams, and blog posts reach millions of writers each month, inspiring the next generation of beloved writers. 

Martin has appeared on various panels (both virtual and in-person), including the Writer's Summit at the 2024 London Book Fair. Outside of books, his interests include hillwalking, the films of Wong Kar-Wai, and discovering great local noodle dishes.

Recent posts

How many words are in a novel? Finding the right book length

How many words are in a novel, on average? It’s a question aspiring authors often ask. Book lengths vary widely. Every now and then a true doorstopper is published. Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 (which runs to 928 pages) is one example. Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy (published in 1993) runs to a whoppin...

January 21st, 2016

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End writing procrastination now: 7 steps

What if you could stop procrastinating now and start or finish writing a book? We recently asked you what your largest writing challenges were. Many of you responded that procrastination keeps you from fulfilling your dream of finishing a novel. In this post you can read 7 steps to take to end w...

October 22nd, 2015

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How to find book ideas: 15 easy methods

Story ideas lie waiting in the unlikeliest (as well as most obvious) places. If you're wondering how to find book ideas, these 15 methods will help: How to find novel ideas: Try Burroughs' 'cut-up' method Get story ideas from music Find inspiration in interesting facts Do physica...

October 5th, 2015

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How to write a romance novel: Choosing subgenres

If you want to learn how to write a romance novel, it's important to familiarize yourself with genre's many subgenres. After deciding whether you want to write category or single title romance novels, it's time to choose your romance subgenre: There are two different formats for romance novel...

September 25th, 2015

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Genres of writing: How to choose your story's vehicle

Genres of writing serve multiple purposes. Classifying a book by genre signals to potential readers whether your story fits their reading interests. When a book has an identifiable genre, publishers can also market it to the right readers more effectively. Here are some reasons why you need...

September 21st, 2015

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Creating fantasy worlds: Social critique

Creating fantasy worlds can be an excellent means for social critique because writers have the opportunity to imagine worlds that are entirely different from our own. This allows highlighting its quirks and issues through contrast and similarity. Here’s why it is important for writers to do so a...

July 30th, 2015

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