It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book.

As it stands there is a very strong argument that as the book trade becomes increasingly corporate it's our literary heritage that is at risk - a vital part of our culture.

In the industry, trying out new genres is not always encouraged but what I've discovered is that as a writer, a jaunt outside my comfort zone generally brings new skills to the main body of my work.

I'm a professional writer and I consider it part of my job to publicise my work and these days part of that job is done online.

I hope that, whatever happens within the publishing industry, because of the increased control writers have of their own careers, better sales information and the advent of the internet, that ultimately this change in our working environment will be a change for the better.

Writing is such a solitary occupation that it takes a long time to build up a group of professional peers with whom you genuinely identify.

I don't choose between my house phone and my mobile. I don't choose between my laptop and my notebook. And I don't intend to choose between my e-reader and my bookshelf.

This is the cusp of an age at least as exciting and as brimful of potential as the early days of the printing press.

Readership is highly dependent upon format and distribution as much as it is on content.