Jane Holland is a published poet, and a bestselling, award-winning novelist who writes in multiple genres under multiple pen-names, including her popular WWII Cornish Girls saga series as Betty Walker.
She’s written over 70 novels, and lives in Cornwall with two adorable cats and a large family.

How do you discipline/motivate yourself to write and do you set daily targets?
Thankfully, after 70-odd novels, writing is still hugely exciting to me, but I do usually need to manipulate myself into starting work because, like most people, I prefer thinking about work rather than doing it. I may go to a coffee shop, turn off WIFI, listen to music on headphones, and bribe myself with coffee and a treat. As soon as I’ve got a few words down, it gets easier. Or I may write longhand for a few hundred words, which feels more creative, and add more as I type it up. Increasingly, I use dictation software – Dragon Anywhere app on my phone – and upload my rambling thoughts straight into a Word doc for editing. I can achieve a 1000-word rough draft (my daily minimum) in ten minutes like that.

What are the most important qualities required by a writer? Do you have them?
Leading on from my answer above, you need self-motivation and self-discipline. Talent is common. Skill can be acquired. But if you frequently let days slide by without writing, you’ll struggle to make it as a professional. You must be dogged too, robust and able to shrug off criticism, to keep going and believe in yourself regardless of rejections and mockery. You need to be a workaholic egotist. And yes, that’s me. Humility is corrosive to a writer.

How do you market yourself and your books?
I run occasional ads on Facebook and Amazon, though increasingly these yield little return. My mainstay is X/Twitter which I enjoy, though a bearpit at times, and I’ve found many new readers by chatting there. I really like YouTube but I’m inconsistent with posting, so my videos don’t get many views. I underuse TikTok and Instagram for the same reason. My new Substack has brought a few sales, but its longer content requires too much energy that I’d rather put into writing new books. Producing new, readable novels several times a year seems the best and most organic way to find a readership.

Which writing resources have you found useful, e.g., books, courses, organisations, websites etc.?
I’ve consulted The Writer’s Journey (especially the original edition) by Christopher Vogler for every single novel I’ve ever written. It’s endlessly useful at helping me structure my novels and avoid things dragging partway through.
The Bestseller Code by Archer and Jockers is also worth a read if you want to write commercially.
I’ve been on many Arvon Foundation residential courses and recommend going on at least one, if only for the unique experience of being stuck in the middle of nowhere for 5 days with a group of other writers. In particular, it can kickstart a project if you’ve lost your way.

A top tip for other writers?
Finish your novel. No excuses. Until you’ve done so, even if it’s disintegrating under you, you cannot hope to fully understand what you’ve done, and then do it again, and do it better. Leaving a novel unfinished is the kiss of death. Ignore self-doubt and push through to the bitter end. Then start a new one soon after; don’t linger over edits. (Also, I find planning the novel out in advance hugely helpful when it comes to finishing what you start. I used to worry this would stop me writing it, but the opposite is true!)

About The Spiritualist’s Daughter – published November 2025
Victorian London is under siege. Who are you going to summon?
After the death of her spiritualist father, Ophelia Savage must continue their psychic evenings or risk losing everything. But a series of macabre events leaves Londoners panicked, and then rival psychics start mysteriously disappearing.
Will she be next?