November 2005 - Writers Magazine

News Review

• 'Recent events at the Crime Writers Association read a bit like the plot of a conspiracy thriller but behind it all may lurk no more than a preference to support British – or at least English language - talent.' News Review investigates.
• Irish writers' tax exemption is under threat.  But is it justified for writers and other artists to escape paying taxes, so they are subsidised by everyone else?  News Review looks at the issues.
• The Da Vinci Code has sold 8 million copies sold worldwide, 2.7 million of them in the UK, and has been translated into 42 languages.  Now Dan Brown is being sued for plagiarism.  News Review investigates.
• News Review looks at the 'Google Wars' and how publishers are seizing the initiative in the face of huge schemes capitalising on book digitisation from Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
• Seven million adults in the UK have serious problems with reading and two million can barely read. News Review looks at the new World Book Day Quick Reads initiative.

Comment

• ‘Supporting young people as they find their creative voice is an inspiring business. All of us - writers, teachers, and project co-ordinators - are thrilled by the sheer adventure of it.  Mandy Coe and Jean Sprackland in the foreword to their book Our thoughts are Bees: Writers Working with Schools
• 'I cannot abide those writers who go out of their way to make what we do sound deeply magical; who, in doing so, mystify the craft of writing, going so far as to suggest that it is a vocation rather than a job.'        Mark Billingham, in the Bookseller
• 'As a retailer you are not just competing against other bookstores, you are competing against everyone else on the high street. It is about how you can convince someone to buy a book rather than a pair of jeans.'  Scott Pack of Waterstone's
• 'But there's another kind of block, which is structural, when you've written tens of thousands of words, but can't figure out which are superfluous and what goes where.  Something's wrong, but you don't know what it is, and that can make you desperate…' Blake Morrison on why editors can help in the Guardian

Writers' Quote

• 'A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.'  John Milton

Our Editorial Services for writers

Check out the 15 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Contract vetting. Our latest new service is Coaching (see this page).