April 2007
The website for writers
News Review
- 'Recent mega-deals for two history-writing superstars show the increasing strength of this genre in both fiction and non-fiction.' News Review investigates.
- News Review looks at authors' names and whether they affect their sales, plus the finding that 49% of readers are influenced by word-of-mouth.
- Print on demand is coming of age. News Review reports on the way it is changing publishing and enabling writers to self-publish.
- Book purchases up by 8% and genre titles strong - News Review reports from the annual Books and the Consumer conference.
- 'A self-publisher has just as much chance of achieving a powerful viral campaign by coming up with a clever way of marketing their book as a big publisher does.' News Review on web marketing
- News Review looks at international book fairs, including the push to make Abu Dhabi's 'the gateway to publishing in the Arab world'.
Comment
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'The past? I don't want to see the past. I want to see the future. I get very jealous of the future, because I know I'm not going to be around.' Douglas Coupland in the Observer magazine
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'It is time to make a distinction between writing which is produced with the intention of being literature, and what I call ‘wreading’, words produced primarily as personal documentation, an activity which has mushroomed online.' Chris Meade of Booktrust
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'It's not easy to convey the impact on corporate thinking of the sheer cataract of money that floods the coffers when a really humungous hit comes your way.' The making of a blockbuster junkie from Anthony Cheetham in the Bookseller.
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'Rejection does not mean no. You wouldn't believe how many scripts of mine have been rejected, only for me to sit on them, re-submit them, and have them accepted.' Lynda la Plante in the Observer magazine
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'The internet has provided the opportunity to reinterpret Bodley's vision of the library's universal value by adding a potential readership of billions to the 40,000 or so individuals who are able to physically visit its premises each year.' Reg Carr
Writers' Quote
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'Publishers don't nurse you; they buy and sell you.'
P D James
An Editor's Advice
This new series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller, a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years. It will deal with the most common problems she has encountered in the fiction manuscripts which cross her desk.
In the second article Maureen writes about doing further drafts: 'It must be very disheartening, when you’ve spent eighteen months sweating buckets over 150,000 words of fiction to have a report coming winging back, effectively saying ‘do it again’.
An Editor's Advice 1: Dialogue
Diagram Prize Winner announced
Check out the 2006 winner of the Prize for the oddest title of the year.
Getting the best from Amazon
Our new article shows you how to work with Amazon to maximise your book sales through them. It is a companion piece to Promoting your book sales online, which outlines online options for selling books through Amazon, including Marketplace, Associates, Astore and Advantage.
How to Write a Novel
Author Donna Grisanti offers some advice on getting started:
'Before starting the exciting journey of writing a novel, check the true level of your enthusiasm.... On average, writing a novel is a 2+ year task, which requires a strong positive attitude...'
Shortlist for the 2006 Diagram Prize
Check out the shortlist for the 2006 prize for the oddest title of last year, which has received unprecedented international coverage, from the Orlando Sentinel to the Hindu.
Which service?
Do you think you need some help with getting your manuscript into good shape for submission, but don't know which service to go for? Our new page helps you work out what's best for you.
Preparing for submission
It is important to think hard about whether your manuscript is ready for
submission before you start submitting your work to agents and publishers. Here
are some tips on how to go about it.
We Watch the web for writers
See also Finding an agent for how to go about getting someone to represent you.
Bob's Journal goes into its 7th volume
Bob ruminates on connections between writers and places, George Orwell and Southwold, and the master of the ghost story M R James and the ghost-town of Dunwich (or was it Aldeburgh?):
'Which only goes to show one shouldn’t associate a writer with a place too closely. Graham Swift aside, either they never lived there, or they just made it up.'
John Jenkins on his ten favourite audio works, censorship, the press, printing and piracy - and what authors earn:
'10% of authors get 50% of the money earned from publishing. Only 20% of authors earn all their income from writing.'
Check out The Best of Writers' Forum for a collection of useful articles.
WritersPrintShop
We have revamped our WritersPrintShop website with lots more information. If you're thinking about self-publishing, this is the place to find out what's involved. If you're ready to go ahead, our high quality service is second to none and there's an economy version for those who want to tackle some of the work themselves. You can estimate the cost for yourself.
Where next for the web
Web 2.0 is the next development for the Internet, and then there's Web 3.0. So what does it all mean?
Our new audio section
Check out our new audio section. This shows you how to record your work using the facilities built into your computer. You can start with Preparing your story and How to start recording.
It's easier than you think, so get recording! We'll provide a site for you to podcast your work soon.
Our Editorial Services for writers
Check out the 16 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Contract vetting.
WritersServices powers ahead
WritersServices goes from strength to strength. Every week over 60,000 visitors come to the site, with over 3 million in 2006 and 4 million expected this year. And there's a big new launch to come...
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Previous serials & extracts
WritersServices.com Magazine April 2007