Harry Whittaker is an author and broadcaster. His first fiction title for adults, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, was an instant Sunday Times Number One Bestseller, and was nominated for Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Rosie and the Friendship Angel, from the Guardian Angels series, was named as one of the best books for children in 2022 by The Times. He lives in North Yorkshire with his wife and twin daughters.

How do you discipline/motivate yourself to write and do you set daily targets?
I began writing picture books for children six years ago. Oh, that was a joy! I would spend entire mornings poring over the structure of sentences (in between brewing increasingly eccentric coffees, staring out into the garden and daydreaming). But now I’m a novelist, and things are grimmer. Then only way I can hit a first draft deadline is by locking myself away and forcing myself to write ten pages per day. Sometimes, that provides only three pages of usable manuscript. But every so often, when the stars are in the right place, eleventh, twelfth and even thirteenth pages have been known to appear.

What are the most important qualities required by a writer? Do you have them?
I think discipline is probably the most important quality, and I don’t I possess an ounce of it. I will actively seek out ways to leave my desk – be it to take the dog out, feed lunch to one of my twin daughters, or sneakily watch The Traitors on iPlayer. As an author, you’ve really got to love writing. By which I mean hate writing. By which I mean you’ve got to love to hate writing.
I imagine that forcing out a novel has some crossover with childbirth. It’s hideously difficult, but at the end you have a beautiful baby. Then you immediately forget the excruciating pain and vow to do it all over again in the coming years.

How do you market yourself and your books?
I just say ‘yes’ to anything any publisher asks of me. Once I’ve delivered the product, it’s out of my hands, really. I love talking to readers. I don’t think there’s been a single event or signing I haven’t enjoyed. The key to those is to authentically be oneself. (And for the love of God, not to take your work too seriously.)

Which writing resources have you found useful, e.g., books, courses, organisations, websites etc.?
My mother was the author Lucinda Riley, so she was my number one resource. But if you don’t have a global bestseller on the end of the phone, I think the BBC Writers Room is pretty fab. Though it’s primarily a screenwriting resource, the advice on there is universal. David Edgar’s How Plays Work is essential if you’re wanting to hone your theatrical craft. And then, of course, there’s every book ever written. Each time you pick up something to read, be it in your genre or something new entirely, you absorb, learn and grow.

A top tip for other writers?
Write! It doesn’t matter where, when or how much… just go for it. If you’re writing, you can call yourself a writer. If you’re not, you can’t.

About Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt – The epic conclusion to the Seven Sisters series 
Spanning a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt draws the Seven Sisters series to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion. The sisters must confront the idea that their adored father was someone they barely knew – and, even more shockingly, that his long-buried secrets may still echo through the generations today.