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BubbleCow

@bubblecow.bsky.social
118 followers 132 following 122 posts

Developmental book editor (Gary Smailes) with over 20 years experience. My first 'real job' in publishing was working on the Horrible Histories series. I am also a traditionally published author with twenty plus books in print. My agent is Andrew Lownie.

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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Hugo winners announced... Novel: The Everlasting by Alix Harrow Novella: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar Short Story: "In My Country" by Thomas Ha Series: Old Man's War by John Scalzi Graphic Novel: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, adapted by Fred Fordham #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The monthly BubbleCow newsletter is out: Self-Editing Your Novel: Part 1 bubblecow.com/newsletter/self-editi… #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The monthly BubbleCow newsletter is out: Get help self-editing or become a professional editor bubblecow.com/newsletter/get-help-s… #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
What writers can learn from The Exorcist: horror works when disbelief delays action. The fear builds because characters try to explain the impossible too rationally. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
What writers can learn from Dracula: suspense grows through limited viewpoints. The reader pieces together the threat before the characters fully understand it. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
What writers can learn from The Shining: horror deepens when the setting pressures the character’s weakest point. The hotel doesn’t create Jack’s flaws; it exposes them. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Horror tip: fear works best when the monster touches an existing wound. The question is not only “what is scary?” but “why is this character vulnerable?” #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The monthly BubbleCow newsletter is out: Don't write meh books bubblecow.com/newsletter/dont-write… #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
What writers can learn from Red, White & Royal Blue: a niche romance works when the external pressure makes every private feeling riskier. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
What writers can learn from The Flatshare: a niche romance hook works when the setup is unusual, but the emotion feels instantly familiar. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
What writers can learn from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold: betrayal hits hardest when the protagonist’s beliefs collapse with the plot. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
What writers can learn from The Bourne Identity: a strong thriller hook gives the hero a mystery to solve and a danger they can’t outrun. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
What writers can learn from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: spy tension often comes from restraint, not action. Secrets feel bigger when characters say less. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The Handmaid's Tale cover often promises control, silence and threat. The novel delivers by making every rule feel like a cage closing. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
Handmaid's tale
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Jaws promises one clean fear: something unseen beneath the surface. The best thrillers know exactly what fear they are selling before page one. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
Jaws
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The orange cover of A Clockwork Orange promises something sharp, strange and unsettling. The novel keeps that promise from the first sentence. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
Clockwork Orange
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
A book cover whispers a promise. The manuscript has to keep it. If the story feels like a different book from the one the cover invited us into, readers notice. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
After each scene, write one note: “Because of this scene…” If you struggle to finish the sentence, the scene may not be creating enough consequence for the story. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Where does the reader first understand what is at stake? If the answer comes later than you expected, your opening may be clear in situation but weak in pressure. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Make a list of your chapters in one sentence each. If two chapters seem to do the same job, one may need cutting, combining, or changing. Repetition is often easier to spot in a chapter list than in the manuscript itself. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Before editing a weak scene, ask what job it was meant to do. Reveal character? Raise stakes? Shift the plot? Change the reader’s understanding? If you cannot name the job, the scene probably needs more than polish. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
A useful revision question: What does the reader understand at the end of this scene that they did not understand at the start? If the answer is “not much,” the scene may be repeating rather than moving the story forward. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
This is a really interesting read about changes in the Sword and Sorcery genre. reactormag.com/the-rebirth-of-sword… #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Reader confusion is not always caused by complexity. Often, it is caused by missing orientation. The reader needs to know whose scene this is, what has changed, what is at risk, and why they should follow this moment. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Unclear stakes do not mean the danger is too small. They mean the reader cannot see what will be lost if the character fails. The question is not: is this dramatic? It is: does the reader understand why this matters now? #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
A passive protagonist does not have to be inactive. They may run, fight, talk, travel, suffer. The problem is this: if the story would reach the same place without their choices, they are not driving the novel. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
A plot hole is often not a missing explanation. It is a broken promise. The story teaches the reader what is possible, likely, and true. When an event ignores those rules, the reader stops trusting the book. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
A slow novel is not always moving too slowly. Sometimes it is walking in circles. If each scene returns the story to where it began, the reader feels the repetition long before they can name the problem. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
If your novel feels slow, check whether your scenes actually change anything. A scene should shift the character's understanding, the stakes, the reader's expectations, or the story's direction. If nothing changes, the reader feels the drag. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writing #writers
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What writers can learn from Station Eleven: Sci-fi does not need constant spectacle to feel large. The novel uses collapse to explore memory, art, survival, and meaning. The world feels bigger because the story keeps asking what people carry forward after everything changes. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What writers can learn from The Hating Game: Romantic tension needs friction, not just chemistry. Lucy & Joshua work because every exchange has emotional charge: rivalry, curiosity, defensiveness, attraction. The banter matters because it changes what they think they know. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
This is a great example of how to market a book to a niche market. It is always better to niche down and write something remarkable for a defined group of readers. No one is talking about that 'meh' book they read. www.reddit.com/r/snooker/comments/1… #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What writers can learn from Beach Read: Romance tension works when the characters want more than love. January and Gus are drawn together, but each is also struggling with grief, trust, and identity. The romance lands because the emotional stakes are bigger than attraction. #writer #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Anyone fancy a free eBook about writing? I wrote this bad boy, it is pretty much a summary of what I've learned about writing after twenty years as a developmental editor. bubblecow.com/writing-manual #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What writers can learn from A Game of Thrones: Fantasy stakes feel stronger when they are personal before they are epic. Ned is not introduced as a man saving a realm. He is a father, husband, and lord trying to protect his family. The world matters because the people matter. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What writers can learn from The Name of the Wind: Voice can carry a novel before the full plot reveals itself. Kvothe’s narration creates curiosity, confidence, and emotional distance. Readers don't only want a world to explore. They want a storyteller to follow. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The cover gets the reader to pick up the book. The opening pages tell them whether the promise was honest. If the cover says tense, atmospheric thriller, the first chapter cannot feel like a family memoir. Reader trust begins before page one, but it is tested immediately after. #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
A cover is a handshake with the reader. Firm, clear, and full of expectation. It says: this is who I am, and this is what I'm offering you. If the manuscript gives them something else entirely, the reader does not feel surprised. They feel misled. #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Before the reader meets your protagonist, they meet your promise. - The cover. - The title. - The genre cues. - The mood. All of it whispers: this is the kind of journey you're about to take. The story's job is not to repeat that promise. It's to fulfil it. #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The cover is the book's first sentence. Not literally, but emotionally. It tells the reader whether to lean in, brace themselves, laugh, worry, settle down, or expect trouble. A good manuscript understands the promise the cover has already made. #writing
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
A good beta reader question: Where did your attention drop? Not “did you like it?” Not “was it good?” Attention is more useful than approval. If several readers drift in the same place, the manuscript is probably asking for revision there. #writing #amwriting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
A useful revision tool is a simple scene list. For each scene, write one sentence answering: What actually changes because this scene exists? If the answer is vague, the scene may need a stronger turn, clearer consequence, or a more definite purpose in the wider manuscript. #writing #amwriting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
One useful way to test a chapter: Could the reader explain why this chapter had to be here? Not what happened in it. Not whether the prose was good. Why the book needed it. #writing #amwriting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
A simple revision framework: For each scene, ask: What changes? Why does it matter? What does it make the reader want to know next? If a scene does not change anything, raise stakes, reveal something, or shift the understanding, it may be slowing the manuscript down. #writing #amwriting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
A useful revision question: What does the reader understand at the end of this scene that they did not understand at the beginning? If the answer is “nothing”, the scene may still contain good writing, but it probably needs a clearer job in the manuscript. #writing #amwriting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
A good editor is not looking for rules to enforce. They are looking for the reader's experience. Where does the reader feel grounded? Where do they feel confused? Where do they lean in? Where do they drift? #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
When an editor says a scene 'isn't working', the useful question is not whether the prose is good. It's whether the scene changes anything. Does the character want something? Is there pressure? Is the reader left with a new question, problem, decision, or consequence? #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Line editing can make a chapter read more smoothly. It cannot give a clear purpose. It cannot create stakes that are missing. It cannot make a passive protagonist drive the story. It cannot fix a scene that leaves the reader in the same place emotionally as where they started. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
A developmental editor looks for patterns. A single slow scene may not be the real problem. The bigger issue might be that scenes keep ending without consequence. Or characters talk about decisions instead of making them. Or tension appears, then disappears before it can matter. #writing #amediting
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BubbleCow @bubblecow.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
When I read an opening chapter, I'm not just asking, 'Is this well written?' I'm asking: - Do I know whose story this is? - Do I understand what has changed? - Is there a reason to keep reading? - Does the scene create movement, or just information? #writing #amediting
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