Kate Leaver
Amy Baker
Specialises in:
Humour, non-fiction, travel and life writing, stream of consciousness, first person.
Services offered:
Three and six month mentoring, Mini, Midi and Mighty Manuscript Shakedowns.
About Amy:
Amy Baker is the founder of The Riff Raff and the author of Miss-Adventures: A Tale of Ignoring Life Advice While Backpacking Around South America. Miss-Adventures is a personal and funny account of Amy's travels around South America. It was listed as one of the Best Books of 2017 by Suitcase Magazine and in Stanford's Be More Adventuress series showcasing female travel writers. Amy writes travel, lifestyle and property content for a range of publications including Metro, Huffington Post and Hostelworld.
Amy is interested in honest and funny writing that touches on who we are as people, how experience changes us and who we hope to become.
Amy is incredibly passionate about all things books as well as helping aspiring writers to boss it (and get published). She's also all about positive thinking and appreciating the magic of the creative process - so will be just the champion you need.
Miss-Adventures:
Blurb:
"Watch out for men with too much wooden jewellery, Amy. I know what you’re like . . . you’ll let them sucker you in with their yoga chat but essentially, they’re unwashed . . . and you don’t want to put your face anywhere near an unwashed penis, let me tell you." —Carol, receptionist
Having announced her plans to quit her job and backpack around South America, humorist and journalist Amy Baker found herself on the receiving end of a whole bunch of over-the-top and seemingly unnecessary advice. Amy shrugged it all off of course—that is, until she ran into trouble.
After falling into a crevasse, swimming in crocodile-infested waters, dodging cocaine con artists, and encountering handsome soothsayers, Amy soon starts to wonder if her mother, her boss, and Carol from reception really were onto something. Weighing up their advice against that of known "Clever People" like Tina Fey, Salvador Dalí, and Mother Teresa, Amy finally establishes once and for all who it might actually pay to listen to.
Reviews:
'I think this book would resonate with a lot of young women, I know it did with me. Amy’s quest for meaning and actually packing up her life and going in search for it is inspiring for those feeling at a similar crossroad in their life.' The Girly Book Club
"The book is scattered with genuine laugh out loud moments . . . If you like books written by Tony Hawks, then this is right up your street." —Nudge Book Blog
"Amy’s writing genre could be called ‘Comedy Travel’ and it’s definitely an area I would love to see expanded with more books. I’d say she’s like a funnier version of Michael Palin, or a slightly less cynical Kyle Pilkington. She’s quite happy putting her innermost thoughts on the page. There’s a real honesty and relatability there that I immediately connected with." Jon Doolan.
'Her book feels like adventuring with a best friend, laughing, crying, getting high, and falling head over heels, even if only for one night — all while adding unexpected destinations and experiences to every wanderluster’s bucket list.' Pink Pangea
Read more about Miss Adventures here >>
What folk have to say about working with Amy...
"Amy’s feedback on my manuscript was considered, detailed and immeasurably useful. It
accurately pulled up loose ends which I had thought might magically crochet themselves in
and helped me make decisions in line with making my book marketable and publishable and
less in line with my usual argument to myself of: Well, I made that choice 18 months ago and I can’t remember why but there must have been a reason, right?
Amy infused in me a new wave of energy to get my book in a state worth sharing.
You’ll find approximately 25 billion pages on the internet called 'how to write a banging
synopsis' - they all say pretty much the same thing and none of them helped me. Amy,
within two sentences, enabled me to write a concise synopsis which not only put an end to
the dreaded feeling of opening yet another blank document to begin yet another attempt but
also, revealed to me the true skeleton of what I’d written and therefore, what I need to
keep/edit/burn."
Naomi Stafford
"Amy was very supportive and detailed in her feedback for three chapters of my first book. She was sensitive to my vision, whilst also being honest, constructive and insightful with her advice. She took into account my writing style, the themes and concepts which hold it together and gave practical bits of advice as to how it could be improved. I really couldn't have asked for much more. Definitely recommend the service if you need fresh eyes for your work."
James Rowland
"The Manuscript Shakedown was nothing short of a revelation for me. I was feeling fatigued with my WIP and frankly a bit lost as I embarked on the early stages of editing my 1st complete draft. I had niggles I didn't know how to fix and lots of doubts. The whole experience was mind-blowing from the first call which led to some 'lightbulb' moments before we'd barely started. The quality and insight of the verbal and written feedback was way beyond my expectations and Amy was motivating, encouraging and extremely detailed. I felt inspired, with renewed enthusiasm for my story and I felt like I had a much improved sense of direction in terms of what I want my novel to be. I've gained a sense of ambition which has led to me making some pretty critical changes to strengthen the plot and drive a much more compelling narrative. I will definitely continue to work with Amy to make this story the best it can be."
Beverley Jandziol