Well, not ‘all’. A third is changing, to be precise.
After two years of hard work, Justin Lee Anderson is stepping back from the business to concentrate on other commitments. While his wisdom, insight, and good humour will be much missed, we have lined up a rather stellar replacement: none other than Sunday Times bestseller Thomas D Lee!
Hello, budding writers and future bestselling authors. My name is Thomas D. Lee and, from February 2026, I will be taking over from the wonderful Justin Anderson as a member of The Write Advice. These are very big shoes to fill, partly just because Justin is a very big man (and one of the founding members of the Tall Authors Club) but also because he is a very talented author and, from what I’ve heard, an excellent mentor as well. I hope I can do the job half as well as he’s been doing it, and I’m very grateful to Anna and Steve for bringing me onto the team.
I could use this blog post to talk about my books and my qualifications for the role, but you can find all of that on Google. Instead, I will use this post as a soapbox to talk about writing, and the art of doggedly persevering in the face of everything the universe can throw at you. It often feels as if the hostile winds of the universe do not want us to write books, or to succeed as authors, and that is especially true in times of existential peril. You might very well be looking at the world around you and wondering why anybody would want to read your silly little book in the midst of all of this uncertainty and violence and geopolitical tension.
Well, I have good news for you. Your silly little book is actually the antidote to all of this uncertainty and violence and geopolitical tension. I’m not saying that your book will single-handedly prevent World War Three or solve the climate crisis. I’m saying that the act of writing your book is a heroic act of defiance, worthy of song and story. People wrote books during the covid pandemic, they kept diaries during the Holocaust, they told folktales during the Black Death, they recited epic poems during the fall of the Roman Empire. Writing a book and sharing it with others is one of the best methods I can think of for banishing misery and preserving the candleflame of hope and holding the hostile winds of the universe at bay for a little while.
It is a difficult process, even for those who are brimming with talent, suffused with determination, and uncommonly blessed with luck. You will get knocked down a few times on the way, and you will need help from your friends to pick yourself back up again. You will get lost and confused and turned around, and you may have to start the whole thing over from the beginning. There are treacherous bogs ahead of you, and jagged mountains to climb, and odious little goblins who fly around hurling poison barbs of doubt and criticism. But somewhere in the distance, on one of those snow-capped peaks, is a finished novel that can be sent to agents and sold to publishers, and which might one day make it into the hands of somebody who really needs to read it.
I have one more piece of good news for you. You don’t have to make the journey all by yourself. You can hire the services of a guide who’s been down that road before, an experienced mentor who knows the path with all of its highs and lows, who will help you to wade through the bogs and fight off the goblins. I myself was mentored by the brilliant Beth Underdown, who taught me everything I know about being a writer. I feel that the best way I can pay her back for her wisdom and guidance is to pay it forward, and share my own knowledge and experience with other writers who are making the journey for the first time.
Here endeth the first lesson. If you want another lesson, then you can click on the Services tab to view our rates and coaching plans. I’m looking forward to working with you, and I hope you find the determination to keep writing stories, despite it all.
Welcome to the team, Tom!
The Write Advice 