'Don't wait for the perfect moment to start writing - it will never appear!'

The winner of Amazon's Kindle Storyteller Award talks about her work and why it's important to be brave and take the leap into writing!

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of The Honest Editor!

Today I am delighted to be talking to Pip Landers-Letts, an author who won Amazon’s Kindle Storyteller award last year. She talks about quitting a secure career to take a chance on writing, struggling with a sense of purpose before entering the awards, and the importance of not waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment to start writing.

After Pip's win last year, Amazon's Kindle Storyteller Award is now back for its 10th year. The £20,000 literary prize was launched in 2016 to spotlight the work of indie writers and help to propel their careers. Now, after receiving tens of thousands of applications last year, submissions are open for 2026 to those who self-publish via Kindle Direct Publishing before 31st August. The award is open to all genres for both new and established authors, and I'd encourage anyone interested to enter. You can find out more here.

Hi Pip, welcome to the Honest Editor! Firstly, huge congratulations on winning the Kindle Storyteller Award!

Hi and thank you. It’s been a good few months now; I’ve just about stopped pinching myself – yes, that really happened.

Can you tell us about your entry, Pyg?

Pyg is a loose sapphic retelling of Pygmalion. It’s a story about getting a grip of your own life – letting go of the bad stuff to create space for the good. At forty-two, my main character Alice is a hot mess... She’s left her toxic lover, she’s about to lose her job and ruin her expensive heels… when a chance encounter changes the course of her life. Whilst I’m not Alice, I know what it is to feel a bit lost in life when you should have it all figured out, so the inspiration for Pyg was a little about my own struggle to figure out what was next when I hit a milestone birthday (minus the toxic ex… and the heels). There’s transformation, hope, plenty of humour and a hearty side of romance.

What got you into writing in the first place - was it always something you wanted to do?

In the post-pandemic dawn, I woke to find I’d lost my sense of purpose and was struggling to grasp my sense of self. Maybe it was burn-out, or maybe I just needed a change, either way... I took the brave (some would’ve said stupid) decision to step away from a fifteen-year career in retail-banking, not really knowing who I was without it, or what was next. After a couple of weeks navel gazing, I pulled out my laptop and started to write.

Writing became the spark that lit me up, and it was all I wanted to talk about. My first novel just seemed to pour out of my fingertips onto the screen, and I finished my first draft in four months. Somehow it was simultaneously the best thing I’d ever done, and cringe-worthy bad... and I spent another nine-months meticulously taking it apart, putting it back together, and learning the craft, because I owed it to myself to invest in the thing that brought me back to life.

What advice would you give to others who might be in your shoes - those juggling other careers who want to move into writing?

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that you don’t have to wait for the perfect moment to start writing. In a life that already feels full, that perfect moment will never appear. You just need tiny, stolen moments and the willingness to show up. Use your day job and your busy life as material rather than seeing them as barriers. Progress might be slow, but slow is still forward. Keep going, keep scribbling away, and trust that it’ll all add up.

How did you go about entering the Kindle Storyteller Award - did you have high hopes, and can you tell us what it was like to win?

I first heard about the Kindle Storyteller Award while chatting to the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) team at the London Book Fair in 2024, just before I published my first novel. Obviously, my debut novel didn’t win. A year later, when I came to publish my second novel, Pyg, I thought I may as well enter again – I literally had nothing to lose. I typed in the metadata tag and then promptly forgot all about it. Months later, I got a call from the KDP team saying I was a finalist. I was convinced it was a scam. But it wasn’t, and I won. To say I was shocked to take home the prize would be an understatement.

Since starting my writing journey, I’ve had this overwhelming feeling that I’m doing the thing I was always meant to be doing. I often get dunked by big waves of imposter-syndrome and self-doubt, but winning the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award has given me a huge shot of validation and confidence to take up space as a writer. What an honour to be recognised for the thing I love doing the most… writing!

You went down the self-publishing route - what has been the hardest thing about self-publishing, and what is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about that process?

Self-publishing is a steep and constant learning curve, and what seems to work for one author, doesn’t work for another… even those publishing books in the same genre. There is no one size fits all formula that will solve it all for you. Marketing takes a huge amount of effort, and it often feels like screaming into the void and hoping someone hears. I often feel like it takes up my precious writing time too, but I know it’s important, so I shall power on.

Did you consider traditional publishing?

Yes, I queried agents for about nine months. After a couple of promising nibbles (and one hard bite where the agency rejected me on the basis that they already had another queer author on their books – yes, really!) I made the very conscious decision to self-publish because I didn’t want to wait for permission anymore.

What is next for you as a writer?

Three exciting things:

• The audiobook of my latest novel, Chameleon, narrated by the incredibly talented Marisa Calin, is due to be released next month.

• I’m partway through the first draft of a Christmas co-write (only sparing details here as it hasn’t been officially announced yet.)

• And I’m looking forward to starting work on book three in the Leamington Bloom series (another relation to Pyg and Chameleon) soon.

Thank you so much, Pip, for sharing your inspiring story with us and congratulations again on your win!

Above: Pip Landers-Letts at the awards in 2025.

For those wanting to know more about the awards, please do have a look here - you never know, you could be next! There are lots of paths to being a writer, whether you go down a traditional or a self-published route, and I’m wishing you all luck in your writing journeys today.

As always, feel free to comment or DM with any questions or topics you’d like to see on The Honest Editor, and please share with your friends and consider subscribing if you find it helpful!

Phoebe x