It’s said that everybody has a book in them, and in the words of the late Christopher Hitchins: ‘in most cases that’s where it should stay’.

Paul Carroll’s second novel, Written Off, follows his debut book, A Matter of Life and Death, published by Matador in 2012.

After working in PR for more than 30 years and setting up one of Manchester’s most successful agencies, Communique, Paul took inspiration from the business and penned his first novel based on bereavement in today’s media and reality TV age.

Continuing on the literary path, Paul put pen to paper once more and based his second novel on the publishing world itself. Written Off takes a wickedly satirical look at today’s rush to publish, regardless of whether a book is any good or not.

Written Off follows four, aspiring authors who dream of getting their work into print. Self-publishing is seen as a cop out. But as they strive to attain their goal, they fail to recognise that all is not well in the world of traditional publishing.

Anybody who has ever tried to write a novel, attempted to get published, or knows someone who has, will find Written Off an entertaining and all too familiar account of thwarted ambition, frustration and rejection.

Paul Carroll’s inspiration comes, unapologetically, from his own experiences.

“As I peered over my ever-growing pile of literary rejections, I was forced to ask myself: could anybody help me to land that elusive book deal? Well, there was no shortage of people offering to try. It was then I realised that the only ones making any money out of this particular gold rush were the people selling the spades.”

Behind all the fun, Carroll also points out that Written Off contains more genuine ‘how to get published’ information than can be found in any number of highly expensive courses and workshops currently available to would-be writers.

He says if you don’t agree with that claim after reading it, he’ll give you your money back.

Written Off is available in paperback (£8.99) or as an E-version (£2.99) from Amazon and usual sources.

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