So you want to write a book, eh? For a rather big dream, it’s one that an awful lot of people share. However, the idea of writing a book tends to be a lot more romantic than the reality. If you’re picturing yourself seated at a beautifully polished oak desk, perched beside an open window overlooking a garden, wearing a white floaty dress and sipping a cup of tea – then stop. While you might spend day one like this, day thirty will be rather different. By day 300 you’ll resemble a hungover Kath and Kim character, as opposed to a Victorian era piece of art.

I wrote most of my first book in a bustling café, complaining about intermittent internet connections and wired up on coffee. It was one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life but also one of the hardest. And as it turns out, for most writers the actual writing is generally one of the easier parts of the “getting published” process. Finding someone to turn your ideas into a real life, hold-in-your-hands thing with a cover and all that jazz, is a complex and intimidating process. I sat down with two brilliant and experienced editors to give me the low-down on how it all works. Here is the long and short of what you need to know.