I write the text using word-processing or desk-top publishing software on my computer. I work through the book from beginning to end, following my synopsis as closely as possible. It reminds me of all the things I found out when I did my research, and helps me put my ideas into words.

I try to write the correct number of words for each page. It’s quite a challenge writing about a big subject in just a few words. I choose the words carefully, writing and re-writing a sentence several times before it says what I want it to mean. Someone once said to me: ‘One fact in one sentence’. I do my best to remember this advice, but sometimes I forget.

When the text is finished I send it to my editor, either by email or on a CD (I might also send a hard-copy printout in the post). She asks me questions about what I’ve written, and might ask me to rewrite some parts of the book.

If the book has a consultant (an expert who double-checks my facts) I might be asked to change some details to make it more up-to-date. If there are foreign editions of the book, the overseas publishers will ask questions of their own. Everyone needs to feel happy, and everything has to be checked, double-checked, and treble-checked.

If I get stuck for words or ideas, I listen to my favourite music, or go for a walk in my garden (there’s always something to do there). And then, as if by magic, when I go back to my computer I find I can carry on writing.

A layout of one page from an encyclopedia.
The designer has positioned the images,
and left spaces for the text (the red boxes).

The same layout after I have written the
correct amount of factual text to fill the
spaces. It’s not as easy as it sounds!