Jane Yardley
'Cornerstones were invaluable. They shaped my manuscript and got me an agent which led to a five figure sum with Transworld. I’m so glad I went to Cornerstones first.'
Jane Yardley, Painting Ruby Tuesday, Black Swan
'Bright, engaging and very funny.'
The Guardian
Jane is one of my favourite author stories because even though she had raw talent, her first novel needed a lot of work, and to her credit she never gave up. She travelled a lot in her job and wrote her first novel whiling away the hours in her hotel room. She came to Cornerstones before approaching agents or publishers because she felt that she wanted to get her MS in the best shape possible.
Two years and five reports later (we normally recommend no more than three reports per novel) and having been on a steep learning curve, her novel was finally ready to submit. I passed her through to Veronique Baxter at David Higham and Transworld went on to publish her; she's now on her fifth novel.
What she didn't mention at the time was that she threw her first report in the bin, cross that there was so much to revise. 24 hours later she fished it out again and began redrafting. After the initial sting of receiving criticism (it can feel like a blow but it does get easier) she started to enjoy herself as she saw her novel unfolding.
She didn't need us after her first novel as she'd learnt how to craft a story. That's really what we're all about: teaching you to self-edit so that by book two you'll be a pro, and you should find the process easier and quicker.
