Writers' careers

CAROLINE CALLOWAY'S CAREER so far has been indicative of many publishing trends. With help from her parents, she paid to develop her craft as a writer, studying at NYU and then art history at Cambridge. She started building her online presence by purchasing an initial bank of Instagram followers.  Read more

Tom Stoppard, playwright  Read more

2020 hasn't been the greatest year but, if you're a fan of crime fiction, it does come with an important anniversary. In October 1920, the world had the first opportunity to read a murder mystery by a new writer called Agatha Christie.  Read more

When I dipped my bicycle tires into the Atlantic Ocean in Yorktown, Virginia, in early November 2000, my yelp for joy was followed by a lengthy sigh.

At last, I had finished my absolutely-must-do, solo, cross-country trek of 4,250 miles. Completion liberated me to focus solely on conservation and energy articles for newspapers, magazines and online publications. Or, so I thought.  Read more

The Society of AuthorsThe British authors’ organization, with a membership of over 7,000 writers. Membership is open to those who have had a book published, or who have an offer to publish (without subsidy by the author). Offers individual specialist advice and a range of publications to its members. Has also campaigned successfully on behalf of authors in general for improved terms and established a minimum terms agreement with many publishers. Recently campaigned to get the Public Lending Right fund increased from £5 million to £7 million for the year 2002/2003. Regularly uses input from members to produce comparative surveys of publishers’ royalty payment systems. http://www.societyofauthors.org/' third survey of the financial impact of Covid-19 on author incomes has found that the pandemic is taking a rising toll on earnings, with 65% of authors, illustrators and literary translators now saying they have suffered a loss of income, up from 57% when the last survey was conducted in May.  Read more