Abigail Fenton

Five Quick Ways to Level Up Your Manuscript Wherever you are in the writing process

This week on Substack: quick tips to level up your novel draft, wherever you are in the writing process!

Unreliable Narrators Or how to hoodwink your reader

On narrators who aren’t quite telling the whole story… (Warning: watch out for the spoiler alerts at the top!)

What We Mean When We Talk About ‘Fitting the Market’ And how to do it

What agents and editors mean when they say a book 'doesn't fit the market' – and how to make sure your book does:

Plotting for Pantsers How to plan a novel without tying yourself down

My latest post – on plotting for pantsers (not for panthers, as my autocorrect kept insisting): abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/plotting-f...

Query Letters that Make Me Sit Up and Take Notice And those that don’t

If you're in the query trenches, here is the secret to a query letter that makes me desperate to read your pages – and what the letters of the authors I've signed so far had in common.

Write Your Novel in 2026 Part One: What Story Are You Telling? If you want to write a novel this year, let’s get it done!

If your new year's resolution is to write a novel, I have a Substack series for you! Step by step I'll walk you through – whether you're yet to start or partway through and stuck, if you want to finish a novel this year then come and join us! abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/write-your...

What to Do When You Don’t Have Time to Write And planning to write your novel in 2026!

Ready to write a novel? This week on Substack I wrote about making the time for your writing. If 2026 is the year you want to write a novel, come and subscribe to get advice and help month by month to get you from your opening lines to writing ‘The End’!

What to Do When You Don’t Know How to End Things And a competition for paid subscribers

Coming to the end of your draft and need to craft a satisfying ending? My latest Substack will help! abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

Why I Turn Down Submissions And why I don’t give feedback, by a literary agent

Exactly what it says on the tin: why literary agents turn things down but can't give feedback (about which I will forever feel guilty) abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/why-i-turn...

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Write Next On writer’s block, getting stuck, and finding a way forward

This week on Substack I wrote about what to do when you get stuck. If you're staring at a blinking cursor and don't know what your characters should do next, these tips will help!

abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

What to Do When You Don’t Know Where to Start And getting past the dreaded blank page!

A new Substack series (of sorts!): What to Do When... This week it's What to Do When You Don't Know Where to Start, and are faced with an overwhelming blank page.
abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

How to Make a Dual-Timeline Novel Work Adding layers, not confusion

Multiple timelines can add layers of narrative complexity and depth to your novel – here's how to handle them without getting in a tangle abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...

Great Plot, No Emotion Why plot twists fall flat

New Substack post! If your plots twists aren't hitting hard enough yet, here are some tips on making sure they have emotional heft behind them: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/great-plot...

If there's a reason a UK agent would be a good fit then I'm happy to consider US authors (and already have one on my list!). If it's a US-set book about US characters by a US author then it's likely a US agent would be best.

Here’s the Secret to Finishing Your Novel Spoiler alert: there is no silver bullet

Want to know the difference between the manuscripts of unpublished novelists and published ones (which might help you finish your novel)? This week's Substack breaks it all down: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/this-is-th...

On Self-Publishing When, Why and How to Do It

Thinking about self-publishing? This week on Substack I dig into the things to consider before taking the leap: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/on-self-pu...

The million-dollar question: how do I get my book noticed? This week on Substack I wrote about getting attention for your book from agents, publishers and readers. abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/how-to-get...

How to Write a Query Package That will make agents sit up and take notice

Ready to start querying your novel? This week on Substack I run down everything you need to know to create the perfect submissions package: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/how-to-wri...

Narrative Summary, Dialogue and Action The building blocks of a book

This week on Substack: how to balance action, dialogue and narrative summary for maximum impact! abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/narrative-...

How to Plan a Novel Even if You're a Pantser

My latest Substack: how to plan your novel's structure, whether you're a plotter or a pantster (wall of Post-its optional): abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/how-to-str...

Literary Agent Abigail Fenton's manuscript wishlist

Genres I'm looking for: women's fiction, romance, crime and thriller, book-club reads, historical

I love crime with a clear hook or unique twist, women's fiction with sparky dialogue and a strong protagonist, campus novels or those set in boarding schools, stories of forgotten women from history or retellings of myths, epic multigenerational novels, book-club reads which ask big juicy questions.

I don't represent: science-fiction and fantasy, children's, graphic novels, short stories, non-fiction

Hi! 👋🏻 I’m a literary agent at The Ampersand Agency actively building my list 📚 Here is my manuscript wishlist 👀 #mswl

Send three chapters/50pp to abigail@theampersandagency.co.uk, along with a synopsis and a brief bio.

Are You Done Yet? On word count and knowing when your book is finished

This week's Substack is on word count – what to aim for, how to know you're done, and what to do if you're vastly over or under the ideal...
abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/on-word-co...

Finding an Idea for Your Novel that Actually Works Finding the right idea – and the right way in

Struggling to come up with an idea for a novel? This post will help! open.substack.com/pub/abigailf...

This is What’s Wrong With Your Novel Or how to test your plot (plus a special discount on annual subscriptions!)

Making sure your plot is as strong as possible is key to crafting an impactful and compelling novel. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you test your plot and ensure it's watertight: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...

This is Why Your Novel Feels Flat How to choose the right POV and narrative perspective for your book

Is your novel lacking impact? You might have the wrong POV. Here's how the choice of POV – who tells the story and how – can make or break your book: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/this-is-wh...

I Would Stop Reading Your Book on Page One But here’s how to make me read on

Make sure your first sentence, paragraph and page are working as hard as possible for you – my post on hooking readers in immediately is up on Substack: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/i-would-st...

Readers Don’t Care About Your Story – and Here’s Why Plus, some news from me!

This week's Substack post: What editors mean when they say "raise the stakes!" – and how to raise them: open.substack.com/pub/abigailf...

Katie Blagden and Abigail Fenton appointed agents at The Ampersand Agency

The Ampersand Agency has appointed Katie Blagden and Abigail Fenton as new literary agents to work alongside founder Peter Buckman, Jamie Cowen and Anne-Marie Doulton 👇 #BookSky

Katie Blagden and Abigail Fenton appointed agents at The Ampersand Agency The Ampersand Agency has appointed Katie Blagden and Abigail Fenton as new literary agents to work alongside founder Peter Buckman, Jamie Cowen and Anne-Marie Doulton.

Some news! I'm thrilled to be joining The Ampersand Agency from September – whilst I'll still be working on freelance editing projects, I'll also be slipping on my literary agent hat, and working to build a brilliant list of authors. Can't wait to get started! www.thebookseller.com/news/katie-b...

Nobody Talks Like That How to write dialogue so readers will listen

Sharpen your dialogue so it really pulls its weight – this week on Substack we're talking about writing dialogue: abigailfentoneditorial.substack.com/p/nobody-tal...