"It’s work, so turn up on time and get the job done."
Tips on writing from industry legend Sara-Jade Virtue: plus find out more about Love Stories Etc festival, and tickets are on sale now!
If you love reading women’s fiction, you’ll almost certainly know the name Sara-Jade Virtue from Simon & Schuster UK. Whether in a book’s acknowledgements from a grateful author, or winning a Romantic Novelists Association Editor of the Year award, or sharing the joy across her socials for the books she loves, she shares her enthusiasm far and wide.
Sara-Jade (SJ) is one of the first people I ever met during my first job in publishing, at Simon & Schuster UK, and I was totally in awe of her! She is without doubt the best-read romance reader I know. Our Love Stories Etc book festival, in partnership with Manchester Central Library, was so successful last year that it’s returning for a second year this July - and tickets are on sale now!
SJ is always very practical on how to go about writing, and I am delighted that she’s agreed to answer some questions about her role. Read on for more…
Hi SJ, what does a brand development director do?
My role is to help shape our commercial women’s fiction list, develop strategies for growth for our brand and emerging authors, and identify new talent – but what I actually do varies every day, week, and month to be honest. Much of my time is spent on email and in meetings – creatively planning for future publications to ensure we are building the best possible campaigns for our books, liaising with colleagues in art, sales, marketing and publicity. Much less of my working day than you would imagine is spent with my head in a book – both reading novels we have on submission either from agents or directly from debut authors as part of our #OneDay open submission and #DigitalOriginals projects, and editing books that I’ve acquired.
It’s a very open secret in publishing that most people who work in the industry read for work outside of their actual working hours!
I’m very lucky though, that my role enables a certain amount of flex and freedom. I get to launch and collaborate on really exciting projects, and act as an ambassador of sorts for Simon & Schuster, building and cementing relationships with authors, agents, retailers, media, readers, libraries, influencers and third-party businesses. I’m forever looking for the next hustle!
You have had quite an unusual route into editorial, via sales - how has your role adapted to fit your incredible skills?
I spent 12 years in the Sales team here, working in the non-trade (Special Sales) side of retail, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t ever imagine I’d end up in editorial! It wasn’t a goal or ambition, and I certainly didn’t feel anywhere near qualified enough for the role when it was initially offered to me. But as a lifelong reader of romance, someone who prides themselves on instinctively knowing good love stories and has a 360 degree understanding of publishing and bookselling (I previous worked in the Buying team at Waterstones Head Office), it didn’t feel like too big a leap to make the transition. My role enables me to use everything I’ve learned in my 23 years of experience in the industry and that’s an incredible privilege that I don’t take for granted.
What are you looking for when you sign up a new author?
It sounds so obvious, but it’s all about the storytelling.
Tell me a story I haven’t read before, featuring characters that are wholly believable.
I’m obsessed with a clever pitch and plot, something truly page turning, that will either make me laugh or cry, preferably both.
Which authors do you recommend at the moment?
I’m in my ‘reading for pleasure’ audio book era right now, and having novels read to me by a brilliant narrator is a complete joy. I’ve read eight love stories by non Simon & Schuster authors so far this year, and can highly recommend I Loved You In Another Life by David Arnold, The No-Show by Beth O’Leary, and The Situationship by Taylor-Dor Rumble. Outside of listening on audio, I’m completely obsessed with Tia Williams – A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is incredible, Rebecca Serle’s Expiration Dates is breathtaking, and no self-respecting romance lover should miss Lindsey Kelk’s Love Story!
What has made you most proud in your career to date?
I’ve been lucky enough to experience many life-changing moments during my career – but winning the RNA Publisher/Editor of the Year Industry Award in 2022 was a real pinch-me moment.
How do you balance creativity in your own career?
For a long time, like most people with a demanding full-time job that very much bleeds into evenings and weekends, I didn’t. But then lockdown happened, and I discovered crafting. Always book aligned, I now create lino-cut bookstack cards, sew little book bags, card purses, scrunchies, bookmarks and the occasional full-sized tote. I always ask people I give them to, to not look too closely at the stiches as I’m very much still learning!
What do you think are the biggest differences between full-time and part-time authors, and how can part-time writers start to bridge the gap between writing in snatched hours and writing full time?
Something I talk about A LOT with the part-time writers I work with is how important it is to carve out dedicated time in your diary to write. We’re all busy, but if you don’t respect your writing time, no one else will.
Treat your writing time with the same importance you do everything else. It’s work, so turn up on time and get the job done.
If your life allows a writing window every other Thursday night for a couple of hours and the first Sunday of every month from 10am till noon, then stick to that.
If you could write on the commute for 30 minutes three times a week, brilliant. Get an earlier bus or tube to get a seat and crack on.
If your job allows you to take a proper lunch hour, grab a sandwich, find somewhere quiet, stick in your noise cancelling headphones and give 45 minutes of that hour to your writing, every day.
Don’t put a wash on, don’t do your online shopping, don’t get stuck into a box set, don’t pop out for a quick run, don’t sit on the sofa mindlessly scrolling through insta-reels of cute puppies...
If you live with other people, move to another room, shut the door, and tell them you’ll be busy for a few hours.
Create a quick and easy word count grid.
Remember, your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect – embrace the fact that it’s unlikely to be anywhere near ‘finished’ by the time you type The End – you just need to get the words down on the page.
Staring at that dreaded empty first page can feel hugely daunting, but, if you start on March 1st, average at about 750 words an hour, and can find 3 hours every single week to write, you will have finished the first draft of a 90k word book on 6th December.
Something I notice a lot when reading submissions from part time writers is how the voice, dialogue, and overall direction of their manuscripts can feel a little ‘bumpy’. If you’re only catching ad hoc snatches of writing time, it’s easy to fall victim to the vagaries of how everything else going on in your life can affect your mood and the tone of your novel can completely change.
Be mindful of how potential shifts in your mental, emotional, and physical health can affect your writing style.
We're bringing Love Stories Etc back Manchester later this year - what can visitors expect?
Working with you, Alice, to bring a second festival dedicated entirely to love stories is quite literally a dream come true! Whilst we both work in the industry, at our hearts, we’re just like every other reader of the genre, and huge fans of the authors who write the love stories we both love. I think we’ve bought together the perfect mix of writers, hopefully offering something for everyone, and I think it’s going to be a phenomenal two days.
Thanks to SJ for her time - and we hope to see lots of you at Love Stories Etc!
Tickets for Love Stories Etc 2025 are selling FAST so if you are thinking of joining, grab a ticket. Come alone, come with friends, come with your writing group, and hear from the very best women’s fiction authors, leading literary agents and industry experts. Two days not to miss!
About Sara-Jade Virtue: Sara-Jade has worked in the book industry for 23 years. She joined Simon & Schuster UK in 2007 and moved into Editorial in 2019 as Brand Development Director. She runs the Books and the City community, manages the #DigitalOriginals publishing programme and #OneDay open submission project, leads the Jackie Collins legacy publishing programme, works with the RNA as industry spokesperson for the #RespectRomFic movement aiming to increase the profile of romantic novelists in the UK, and is co-founder and co-director of the #LoveStoriesEtc literary festival that returns to Manchester Central Library for a second year in July 2025.
What a great interview, Alice! I sure hope I can attend the Love Stories Etc Festival.