The Australian/Vogel Literary Awards

"Get someone who knows about spelling, grammar and layout to go through it carefully and point out your mistakes - it's very difficult to do it yourself. Work extra hard on the first couple of chapters: whether you're sending your manuscript to a judge, an agent or a publisher you really have to grab them from the very beginning. Don't use anything but double-spaced 12 point Times New Roman, and either indent or separate your paragraphs. You can almost always improve a book by cutting it by 50 pages."

"Write every day, write what you care deeply about, learn to produce polished work; and try to collect rejection letters as accolades. Being published too early is a mixed blessing and can damage your development."

"There's no getting past the fact that you can't please everyone. If a review is thoughtful and seems to engage with your intention, try and listen to any wisdom it may impart. There can be gems there as with any kind of feedback, and these do crystallise your intentions, so you can develop them in future. Some are so dismissive that you tend to dismiss them yourself. Enough said."

"Blogs and online magazines etc provide great motivation for young writers to keep developing their craft because they are writing for a real, immediate, audience - as opposed to, say, writing at home in their private journal. Also, the internet can help them to be part of a writing community in which they can exchange ideas and learn from others. I think both of these things are essential for anyone thinking of forging a writer career and eventually being published."