What's New
- 'For God's sake, never use a metaphor and then explain it... You can assume a world from so little and readers will. So I'm more interested in economy than encyclopaedism, in how little you can get away with rather than how much you can cram in...' M John Harrison, author of The Pastel City, Light, Nova Swing, A Storm of Wings and the Virconium sequence, amongst his 16 novels and short story collections, in an interview about his new book, Wish I was Here, in The Times.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Manuscript presentation, Dialogue, Doing further drafts and Planning: 'The idea of planning doesn't fit well with the idea of the writer as inspired genius, frantically scribbling away. However, I am willing to bet that, no matter what they would have you think, most successful writers plan as much as they write. They just don't tell you about it. The biggest objection that most inexperienced writers raise when someone broaches the delicate matter of planning is that it will get in the way of their inventive powers. A plan will be like a straitjacket. They'll be stuck with this plan and if they come up with a good idea along the way, they will not be able to use it. They are genuinely horrified at the thought...'
- The Moth Short Story Prize 2023 closes on 30 June and is open to all writers over 16. The entry fee is €15 per story. 1st prize €3,000, 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus €250 travel stipend, 3rd prize €1,000.
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of nine services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- Other prizes and competitions which are still open till the end of May.
- Links on writing and the writer's craft: we're living in a time when readers don't have to tolerate anything less than a dramtic start, For Today's Crime Novels, the Stakes Are High, Right from the First Sentence ‹ CrimeReads; the benefit of writing in different genres and styles, How Screenwriting Can Help You Write Stronger Fiction ‹ Literary Hub; sitting in my bedroom, reading, disappearing into those impossibly glamorous worlds , On not holidaying on a superyacht; and the best piece of advice writers ever received, How do You Write Compelling Characters? Find the Source of Their Pain ‹ CrimeReads.
- An enthusiastice endorsement from Nancy Jarzombek, Belmont, Massachusetts: 'Thank you! I received the comments - most eagerly awaited - and just sped-read through now. When everyone is off to school I will go back to read through all of the details. It gives me much to think about. I'm most grateful for the thoughtful and articulate response. It's fantastic!'
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique has helped many authors to improve their submission packages, helping them to get published.
- Links about the tech upheaval affecting writers: creative artificial intelligence provokes a strange mixture of contempt and dread, The Future of Writing Is a Lot Like Hip-Hop - The Atlantic; its classic search engine has had an AI makeover, Google's New AI-Powered Search Is Going to Look Very Different; exploring automation of the book business's pitches to readers, ‘Beowulf is lit AF' - could ChatGPT really write good book blurbs? | Books | The Guardian; getting to a demographic with a willingness to pay for news, "More adults use it than Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok or Reddit": How LinkedIn is increasingly driving content discovery for publishers | What's New in Publishing | Digital Publishing News; and preventing today's chatbots discussing taboo topics, Anthropic explains how Claude's AI constitution protects it against adversarial inputs | Engadget.
- Health Hazards is our special series about the various health risks for writers, including the dreaded Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you know you've been spending too much time at a keyboard, it's worth making sure you're being careful about how you're sitting, your eyes and your wrists.
- If you need to clear copyright for your book, Clearing Copyright shows you how to do this: 'Copyright provides a framework for trading in intellectual property. In practice it protects the author's position and ensures that the publisher is able to take on the risk of publication in the knowledge that the publisher's rights are protected. In effect authors, (the originators of intellectual property) sub-license their rights through their book contracts to different parties in individual territories and in specific forms...'
- WritersServices offers a wide range of editorial services to help you prepare your manuscript for submission to an agent or publisher, or for self-publication. Our team of expert editors has years of experience in helping and advising authors; we can help you bring your work to a professional level of excellence. All our editing services offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. If you are not sure which of our editing services you require, we can assess your manuscript, and recommend the service that is most appropriate to your needs. Copy editing services. Get in touch to let us know how we can help.
- Links from the publishing and bookselling world: a fascinating article about different reading tastes, Why is Serious Nonfiction in the US Taken More Seriously Than in the UK? ‹ Literary Hub; would fewer books work better for publishers? The Bookseller - Comment - The 'publishing less' conundrum; the latest on the US book chain, The Bookseller - News - Daunt reveals home truths about 'evolving' Barnes & Noble; and more on bookshops, Good news: there are more bookstores in the US this year than last. ‹ Literary Hub.
- Tips for writers 6 is about other kinds of writing which can extend your writing and develop your writing skills, such as short stories for magazines, anthologies, competitions and short story websites. Although it's still hard to get a collection of short stories published, individual stories are another matter. If you really see yourself as a fiction writer and can't come up with the goods on non-fiction, then research the possibilities for short stories and get writing. Very short stories are currently in vogue and are working particularly well on the web.
- Avoid rejection - it is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. To put it into perspective, you may find it helpful to go through some of the reasons why this happens and to see what we suggest you can do about it.
- A miscellany of links: a new trend in handling authors' estates, The Bookseller - News - Intellectual property rights of Wilbur Smith's novels put up for sale; the author said it 'was not meant to please everybody - only children', Where the Wild Things Are: The greatest children's book ever - BBC Culture; he was as interested in how stylishly the thought was expressed as in what it was expressing, Martin Amis: he stamped his style over a generation of writers and readers | Books | The Guardian; less than a year after an attempt on his life, Salman Rushdie says 'attack on books' in Florida 'has never been more dangerous' | CNN.
- Our publishing and printing glossary is a useful reference tool.
- 'Language leads a double life - and so does the novelist. You chat with family and friends, you attend to your correspondence, you consult menus and shopping lists, you observe road signs, and so on. Then you enter your study, where language exists in quite another form - as the stuff of patterned artifice.' Martin Amis, who died this week, in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'There isn't always a correlation between the greatest works of fiction and the biggest sellers. If that was the case, David Almond would be selling a million copies. Sometimes it's a happy coincidence that something you're working on seems to be doing well elsewhere. But I try not to join the dots, because the single most important thing is writing the book that you want. That's what I try and do, first and foremost... I'm obsessed with underdogs. The kids I was working with had been written off, and they had experienced horrific things that the vast majority of the population won't go through as long as they live. That is something that fundamentally really drives my writing...' Phil Earle, author of When the Sky Falls, While the Storm Rages, Demolition Dad and 16 other books for children, and 6 for older readers, in Bookbrunch.
- This week we have the first in a new series, Ask the Editor 1: What genre is my book? 'I am asked this question surprisingly often. I say surprising because one might assume, most of the time, that the genre of a book is obvious. And, most of the time, it is relatively obvious; authors tend to aim their efforts at specific markets. But once in a while, you come across a book that defies simple classification. In this article, I will look briefly at the main genre categories in fiction, and then zoom in on the problem of books that cross genre boundaries or don't neatly fit the criteria of the publishing industry...'
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our latest top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found that this detail helps them to get their book right.
- Links from the tech world: a huge and growing headache for human authors, Amazon Is Being Flooded With Books Entirely Written by AI; will computers supplant audiobook readers? Unlikely, says Nicholas Jones, The art of the pause; after aggressively promoting its new lifestyle social media platform Lemon8 in the US, TikTok's parent ByteDance eyes a new chapter in book publishing | TechCrunch; and this week BookTok creators considered how many self-published authors are on the platform, The Bookseller - Books - Books on BookTok: how prevalent are self-published authors?
- The 2023 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition is open to unpublished, unagented children's writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20. The prize is a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch of Andlyn. This year also sees the introduction of the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award, a bespoke prize sponsored by leading TV production company Lime Pictures, awarded to the submission which shows the greatest TV development potential. The winner will receive a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation. Lime Pictures will receive an exclusive first look at all shortlisted manuscripts
- Authors often find it difficult to write their own synopsis for submission to agents and publishers, which is where our Synopsis-writing service can help. If you're preparing to self-publish and having difficulty with your blurb, our Blurb-writing service will make your book stand out.
- 'I want to thank Chris and the team at Writers Services for their help and tolerance. My first submission of my rough draft came back with an extremely useful critique. I restructured, rewrote and resubmitted - and got excellent feedback which has helped me to revise the book by highlighting the weaknesses and the development needed... the help received so far is already paying dividends. I have just signed with an agent on the strength of the latest draft.' Patrick Cox in our Endorsements.
- Links from writers: their union represents approximately 11,500 people who write the Hollywood shows and movies we watch in theaters and at home, WGA strike 2023: Hollywood's writers walked off the job. What happens now? - Vox; was it hard, writing your first real book? Stop Acting Like YA Writers Aren't Real Authors ‹ CrimeReads; so I thought I'd put the app to the test against my usual internet searches, Using ChatGPT for Book Research? Take Exceeding Care | Jane Friedman; and attempts to suppress works of literature tend to have the opposite effect, The big idea: what if censoring books only makes them more popular? | Books | The Guardian.
- WritersServices offers a comprehensive range of editorial services for authors writing for the children's book market. All our services are carried out to the highest professional standard and offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. Writing for children is not an easy option. It requires sound writing skills, originality, a clear understanding of the target audience and a good grasp of the market. Our expert editors are specialists in writing for children, and they will help you make your work the best it can be. Children's Editorial Services.
- How Literary Agents Work - an article written exclusively for Writersservices by literary agent Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media in New York: 'I have often heard that authors are interested in how literary agents work. It is very simple: a literary agent exists to provide services to authors...' A short but clear summary of what agents do.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- Links from publishing: a round-up from the London book fair, taking in the essentials of what the publishing landscape will look like for the next 12 months, Meals and deals: five biggest trends from London book fair 2023 | London book fair | The Guardian; publishers are not hiring enough people - or quickly enough, The Bookseller - Comment - Publishing's hiring problem: the agent's view; haven't we always been stretched? The Bookseller - Comment - Publishing's hiring problem: the editor's view; book prices have not kept pace with inflation and earnings, RRPs are rising but books have never been cheaper; and a new study of trends in children's reading, The Bookseller - News - Children reading more but enjoyment and comprehension on the decline, research suggests.
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? What can you do to improve your chances? Our tipsheet on Entering Competitions.
- Writing Biography & Autobiography is a serialisation from our Archives of the book by Brian D Osborne published by A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listing. In the first excerpt, 'Managing the matters of truth and objectivity', the author says: 'Just as you need to remember that letters, reports, census forms, legal documents and so forth were not created simply for our convenience, so you also need to remember that what is written in them may not be true...'
- Our 5th Tips for Writers focuses on How to promote your book (and yourself): 'These days social media offer a huge opportunity to publicise your book. Facebook and Twitter have been good places to publicise your work for some years, but it's increasingly important to think about BookTok, TikTok and Instragram as well. Even if social media don't come naturally to you, it's really worth giving them a go...'
- Links to writers' stories: all told, he completed 34 books, 31 of them either Inspector Banks novels or related short story collections, Peter Robinson, Remembered ‹ CrimeReads; how her boookshop marketing manager has leveraged the platform to promote the bookstore - and what a microcelebrity Patchett herself has become on the app, Ann Patchett: Author, Bookstore Owner, and BookTok Influencer; it's not just hard to get published, but also hard staying published, Q&A: author Jo Thomas; and bringing her own long-running series to an end and reflecting on how other authors have done it, Elly Griffiths on Knowing When to Say Goodbye ‹ CrimeReads.
- Our 22 Services for Writers is just a list of our writers' editorial services, which we think is the most comprehensive in the world.
- If you need to clear copyright for your book, Clearing Copyright shows you how to do this: 'Copyright provides a framework for trading in intellectual property. In practice it protects the author's position and ensures that the publisher is able to take on the risk of publication in the knowledge that the publisher's rights are protected. In effect authors, (the originators of intellectual property) sub-license their rights through their book contracts to different parties in individual territories and in specific forms...'
- 'If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.' Charles Darwin in our Writers' Quotes.
- If you enjoy keeping up with What's New, you can sign up for our newsletter to be emailed to you every two weeks.
- ‘My favourite reading experience, if I was going to choose one, would be a big, fat doorstep of a novel, so I always had in my mind that I would try to write the kind of book that I liked to read, the kind of multi-generational, big bed of a novel that you sink into...' British novelist Joanna Quinn, whose first novel The Whalebone Theatre was published last year, in the Bookseller.
- 'I wrote this book to explore why a privately educated middle-class boy rejected his semi-rural Surrey background to live in the 1970s squats of Hornsey Rise, north London, then reputed to be the largest squatting community in Europe... One significant challenge was in clarifying the relationship between the ‘autobiographical' and ‘fictional' aspects of my work. Jeremy Worman on his just-published book, The Way to Hornsey Rise: an Autobiographical Novel.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market, using our English Language Editing service.
- Our first set of links are from a lively London Book Fair: market forces, Brexit (in the UK), the rising costs of paper, energy and manufacturing, and the pandemic) are forcing all publishers to reconsider book prices, London Book Fair 2023: Despite Recommended Retail Prices Rise, Books Have Never Been Cheaper; 669m physical books were sold in the UK, the highest overall level ever recorded, UK publishing industry reports record-breaking year in 2022 | Books | The Guardian; literay agencies follow the trend to become more corporate, The Bookseller - News - United Talent Agency ‘would not rule out' further buyouts after LBF bow; and agents and publishers have hailed a "proper" return to London Book Fair this year, reporting back-to-back meetings and standing room only at packed-out events, The Bookseller - News - AI and rising costs dominate conversations at packed-out London Book Fair.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, the Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. The Cutting edit and Developmental editing are two new services. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- A glowing endorsement from an enthusiastic author: ‘Absolutely first class job! Very professional. Thank you very much indeed. Wish I'd found you before, it would certainly have saved me a lot of unnecessary headaches. I'll now bin the rest of the editors I've so far dealt with, and hope to keep contact with you.' Steven Kocsis
- More links from a busy publishing world: more than half have said the process negatively affected their mental health, The Bookseller - News - Bookseller survey finds debut authors struggle with lack of support; Tree to Me campaign 'adds authors' voices to efforts to achieve net zero in the publishing industry', Society of Authors creates new campaign to help writers hold publishers to account on sustainability | Society of Authors | The Guardian; an alarming spike in book bans in US schools, PEN Report Shows State Legislation ‘Supercharging' Book Bans; and more on why this matters for young people's lives and careers, The Consequences of Book Bans.
- A new prize has just been set up, the Debut Writers Over 50 Award, which is open to unpublished and unagented writers over 50 living in the UK. There's no entry fee and the prize is £1,000 cash and a week-long residential course at Moniack Mhor. It opens on 1 May and closes on 31 May.
- Links about writers and writing: an important piece of research, The Bookseller - News - Self-published authors earn more than traditionally published counterparts; the worry about children never ends, no matter how big they grow, Writing what terrifies you; living in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, which has a magnificent medieval core, led me to wonder What Do Modern Mystery Novels and Medieval Mystery Plays Have in Common? Sin. ‹ CrimeReads; and a critic thinks Dahl's books are still harmful, Why Roald Dahl Does Not Deserve a Second Chance.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? Which service do you want? Our editorial services have been added in response to demand, so whatever you want we've probably got it covered with our 22 different services.
- The fourth set of our pages of Tips for writers asks: Self-publishing - is it for you? Do you really want to get your book published? Self-publishing offers the chance to control your own publication and, if you are successful, you will make more money. Have you already tried agents and publishers, and made sure that your work is as good as you can get it before submitting it? If so, then you should consider self-publishing or indie publishing as it is often called.
- Our final set of links are to writers' own stories: the series has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, The Bookseller - Author Interviews - Ken Follett | 'I didn't foresee this becoming five books at all. If I had, I would have been more intimidated'; for nearly two decades of her soaring literary career, no one knew that the crime writer "Anne Perry" was actually the teenage murderer Juliet Hulme, Anne Perry dead: Writer murdered friend's mom as teen - Los Angeles Times; the Booker and Pulitzer winner on influences on his writing career, Colson Whitehead: ‘When I read Invisible Man I thought maybe there's room for a Black weirdo like me' | Colson Whitehead | The Guardian; and he went from a career of exciting journalism, and then boredom as a banker, to joining naval intelligence and then became a writer, How Ian Fleming Wrote Casino Royale and Changed Spy Fiction Forever ‹ CrimeReads.
- Get your poetry assessed before submitting it or entering it for competitions with our Poetry Critique service. If you're planning to submit a collection to publish or to self-publish, our unique Poetry Collection Editing service can help to get your work to a publishable standard.
- 'Being a writer in Hollywood is like going into Hitler's Eagle's Nest with a great idea for a Bar Mitzvah.' David Mamet in our Writers' Quotes.
- If you enjoy browsing through quotes, we have large collections on our website, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- 'Stories stay with us: tales of bravery visit us when fear peeps round the corner, comedies sprinkle us in smiles on a train ride to work. Characters become our friends and our confidantes, and worlds explored through the imagination, incredibly, share space with our memories. A story shared transports reader and listeners alike on a joint adventure never to be forgotten. When we open a book there's no telling where it may take us... Joseph Coelho, UK Children's Laureate and author of Werewolf Club Rules, the Luna Loves series Overheard in a Tower Block and How To Write Poems, in Bookbrunch.
- Our unique new service is The Cutting Edit. So you have finished your book, but it is too long; how do you go about reducing the word count without losing important parts of your work? We're here to help. Our experienced editors will work with you to reduce the word count of your book while preserving the main narrative elements and your individual style. This service is available for both fiction and non-fiction, and it's a dual service - as we reduce the word count of your manuscript we also copy edit it as part of the job.
- This new service sits alongside our existing range of Copy editing services.
- The 2023 Page Turner Awards are open to all writers over 18. Entry fees. The £35,000 prize fund is spread over the Writing, Young Writer, Screenplay and Book Awards and the Writing Mentorship. Closing on 31 May.
- The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is closing on 16 April, so there's still time to enter if you're fast.
- Tips for Writers offers easy access to information for writers. Tips for Writers 3 covers New Technology and the Internet: 'Sites such as WritersServices offer a vast amount of free information which can help you develop your writing and get published. Our 9,000+ pages can be accessed through the homepage or through Advice for Writers, which gives a breakdown of what is on the site. Look for other useful sites on the web.'
- Links from publishing and social media: there's a sea change in book publishing that has seen women surge ahead of men in almost every part of the industry in recent years, Women now dominate the book business. Why there and not other creative industries? : Planet Money : NPR; writers are the lifeblood of the publishing industry. Agents and publishers, who work with them every day, should understand and respect them, Writers Can Handle the Truth from Editors; this week, as #booktok hit over 121 billion views on TikTok, The Bookseller - Books - Books on BookTok: real-world impact; and from talking rabbits to schoolboy wizards, the greatest sellers of the last half-century have never been predictable, From Richard Charkin's 'My Back Pages': 'Accidental Successes'.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I've used two services with this company: The Editor's Plus Report and the Writer's Edit. I am completely satisfied with the service I received and said service has led to the completion and publication of my first novel: Lightforce. I would recommend any of these services to any aspiring author.' Jason Handleman, author of Lightforce (Everything Changes Book 1)
- 'So you want to be a crime writer? This is probably a good choice. Crime writing has long been popular with readers across the English-speaking world but it had a real resurgence a few years ago. Although publishers have reined back from the subsequent tendency towards over-production, there is still a solid market for good crime writing and many bestselling writers, such as Richard Osman, write in this category. As well as being a long term publishing staple in the main English-speaking markets, the US and UK, crime novels are much in demand in translation, especially in Europe...' Writing Crime Fiction in our Genre writing series.
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique can help you get your submission package into the best possible shape, giving you a professional view of your submission material and clear suggestions for any improvements.
- Is your synopsis proving tricky? Our Synopsis-writing service can help.
- Links on writers' craft: more on the rapid and troubling progress of AI, On AI and the Intrinsic Value of Writing - The Millions; so often, a writer has spent years of their life working on a novel that runs to 300+ pages before they seek out qualified feedback, 3 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Draft (or Revise!) a Novel | Jane Friedman; the decisions historical novelists have to make to create a compelling narrative overlap with memoir more than you'd think, What Memoirists Can Learn from Historical Novelists | Jane Friedman; "I undertake a significant amount of research - then I let it go and just write my story from the heart." Jacqueline Winspear Considers the Art of Historical Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; the increasingly tricky role of translators, Spokesperson, Intellectual, and... More? On the New and Shifting Role of the Translator ‹ Literary Hub.
- From Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- Choosing a service gives a rundown on all our services, in case you're not sure what you want.
- Are you hoping to submit your book to publishers? Will you plan to do this through an agent? Finding an agent shows you how to go about this: 'Many writers see being taken on by an agent as the first step in getting taken on by a publisher, because it is so difficult to get publishers to pay attention to unagented writers...'
- Our final set of links are to writers' own stories: there were stretches when I made so little money writing or editing that I couldn't blame my parents for assuming they were hobbies, The Costs of Becoming a Writer - Does It Pay to Be a Writer? From one of the most widely banned authors in American history, Judy Blume on Roald Dahl Censorship, Book Bans and Best Queer Books - Variety; two successful authors, ‘We want to read about people falling in love': Curtis Sittenfeld and Marian Keyes on the romcom revival | Books | The Guardian; I am drawn to the first half of the Twentieth Century because it is connected to my own time through my parents, grandparents and their stories, Rhys Bowen on Historical Fiction and Memorable Heroines ‹ CrimeReads; and my amateur pursuit of literary titans, When Literary Legends Meet ‹ CrimeReads.
- From our Writers' Quotes: 'You reach deep down and bring up what feels absolutely authentic to you as you move along with the book, but you don't know everything about it. You can't.' Anne Rice
- ‘When I first started out I wasn't even allowed to kill anyone. People were worried about it. And then it got more and more daring as we went along... I would never do real-world fears. A kid has to know it's fantasy. If I establish that, then I can go pretty far with the scares. One thing kids insist on is a happy ending I did this book called The Best Friend where the good girl is taken away as the murderer and the murderer gets off scot-free. And kids hated this book. The mail was amazing: "Dear R L Stine, You idiot - how can you do that?" They just couldn't accept it. I never tried it again. That book haunted me...' The late R L Stine, author of 530 books for children and young people, including the Goosebumps and Fear Street series, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, the Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. The Cutting edit and Developmental editing are two new services. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Here's an interesting new prize - The Oxford Pushkin Children's Fantasy Prize. It's open to all fantasy novelists at the beginning of their career. The prize is £2000, and the opportunity for mentorship with an editor at Pushkin Children's Books. Closing 31 May.
- The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is also till open.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- Links from publishers: this sounds like the final word in this important case, In a Swift Decision, Judge Eviscerates Internet Archive's Scanning and Lending Program; if it's done well it can offer authors the greatest freedom as well as the greatest rewards, Self publishing: the freedom, the rewards; surprising reading format preferences, Gen Zers Are Bookworms but They're Ditching E-Books for the Real Thing; a stunning 1,269 demands to censor US library books and resources, ALA Reports Shocking Increase in Attempted Book Bans in 2022; it's important for authors too, Book production: why you need to know how it works; and 'an exciting new way of expressing my love for books and literature that also interested thousands of viewers', We are all influencers now.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I am delighted with the feedback and so pleased with all the great suggestions which were so much more than I expected. A really brilliant service.' Sally Gibbins , Birmingham, UK, on her children's copy editing.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for up to 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to Writersservices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- The second part of Tips for Writers is Learn on the job: 'It's really difficult to work on your writing on your own, so think about joining a writers' group. These have sprung up all over the place and offer mutual support, discussion and critiquing. Groups are not for everyone, but for many writers they provide companionship on the lonely road to publication. If you can't find a local writers' group which feels right for you and which is open to new members, you could consider starting your own...'
- Links from writers: for centuries, fictional narratives have used outer difference to telegraph inner monstrosity, The disabled villain: why sensitivity reading can't kill off this ugly trope | Disability | The Guardian; few things in life excite me more than doing research for a new novel, The Joys of Researching Your Next Novel ‹ CrimeReads; how do you plot a murder mystery? Backwards, was Jesse Sutanto's solution, Almost breaking my brain; sales of romantic fiction continue to boom, but with the genre often accused of being formulaic, Are romance authors at risk from book-writing chatbots? - BBC News; I think much of my writing has been an expression of my own longing to have some sort of connective string, Jennifer Rosner on Crafting Evocative Historical Fiction That Honors the Past ‹ Literary Hub; and I've had a manuscript locked in a drawer for three and a half years now, To All the Novels I Never Published - The Millions.
- From Tom Chalmers, formerly of IPR, two articles about rights for self-publishers, Self-publishing - the rights way and How to get your book in the hands of an international audience. 'It's a fact that most self-published authors understand the process that takes them from a written manuscript to a published book, but few realise the additional elements that make publishing a profitable business. Rights licensing is arguably the most vital element in this equation. Whether it's selling translation rights, audio rights or optioning the film rights, these all help balance the book's books...'
- Our Services for Writers provides links to the 22 services we offfer, which we think is the widest range on the web.
- Worldbuilding 2: the basics of writing fantasy fiction, is the second in our new five-part series, 'Fantasy fiction is a niche market, but a very popular niche market. It is particularly popular among new writers, and I suspect this is a consequence of growing up on a diet of best-selling fantasy fiction over the last couple of decades. This article will look at the differences between writing fantasy fiction and other genres, and also the similarities. Then I will look at some of the issues involved in writing fantasy fiction.'
- Our last set of links is about children's writing: my mother, Ursula K. Le Guin, took Roald Dahl's books to task, Why I Decided to Update the Language in Ursula K. Le Guin's Children's Books ‹ Literary Hub; recent research has revealed that although there is a lot of enthusiasm for teaching poetry, there isn't much training available, CLPE and MCB team up for The Big Amazing Poetry Project; it's been the subject of many different debates, A Brief History of Children's Books and Literature | Book Riot.
- From Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- 'Modesty is a virtue not often found among poets, for almost every one of them thinks himself the greatest in the world.' Miguel de Cervantes in our Writers' Quotes.
- If you enjoy keeping up with What's New, you can sign up for our newsletter to be emailed to you every two weeks.
- ‘At their core, cosy crimes are very character-driven stories about unlikely and everyday heroes, and the tone of them is very humorous. The detectives are people who are underestimated - older characters or slightly bumbling eccentrics who make mistakes along the way and get themselves into trouble. The sense of rooting for an underdog and seeing them triumph through setbacks in their investigations is an aspect people seem to have really responded to, and they have a real focus on the communities in which they live as well, something which I think is appealing.' Siân Heap, editor at Canelo, in Bookbrunch.
- The Writer's Edit is an enhanced editing package that offers you all the benefits of our expert copy editing service, plus an extra level of advice and support to help you take your writing to a new level. We will copy edit your manuscript to our usual professional standard, but in addition we will offer you a line-by-line edit specifically designed to improve your style, structure and form, and a set of guidance notes, giving commentary and advice. Our full range of editing services.
- There's still time to enter the 2023 Gingko Prize for Ecopoetry, which closes on 25 March. It's open to all poets from across the world over the age of 18. Entry fees: first submission £7 then £4 for each additional poem. Poems don't need to address a specific theme, but should in some way - thematically, structurally, linguistically or formally - investigate ecology, the environment, or the relationship between human culture and the natural world.
- Tips for writers is our introductory series for writers. First up - Improve your writing: 'Think about the market for your book. Research the category and read widely to see what other published writers in this area are doing. Which writers are successful and why? Visit bookshops and analyse what you find there. If you are reading this you are probably already writing, but it really is worth thinking right from the beginning about your readers, as that makes it far more likely you'll eventually find them.'
- Our first set of links are from the bookselling world: other retailers explain how they are surviving - even thriving - when many people are counting every penny, but ‘We've rediscovered the joy of reading': how customers are rescuing UK bookshops | Books | The Guardian; Brit James Daunt has orchestrated an amazing turnaround in the US, Barnes & Noble is stealing the indie shop playbook, and it's working; in the UK he's also Waterstones managing director, The Bookseller - News - Daunt hails ‘wonderfully robust' market but predicts book prices will rise due to costs; a new trend in bookselling, ‘We're book nerds': the female friends opening bookshops together | Books | The Guardian; and Authors Abroad founder Trevor Wilson explains how the pandemic led to a business development which enabled virtual author visits to schools, Caboodle Classroom brought to you by Authors Abroad.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' The series includes What is Self-Publishing and Print of Demand for Indies.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Links for writers: writers who in real life worked in the shadowy world of national security and intelligence, Two Thriller Writers and Former Spies On Writing and Living Espionage ‹ CrimeReads; blurbs are back cover copy in the UK, favourable advance quotes for your book in the US, but Beware of Book Blurbs - The Millions; no longer just a side hustle, Wearing purple: how agents cornered the book to screen market; a visit to the burial place of her uncle was to set Elsbeth Lindner on an investigation of her Jewish family's history, The gift of the grave; from a highly successful children's author, Q&A: children's author and illustrator Harriet Muncaster; in the last few Highly productive months of his life, a daily walk from his lodging in Winchester, A Walk in Keats's Footsteps - The Millions.
- Have you been working on your book? Are you now ready to submit to publishers or to self-publish? We offer the widest range of editorial services on the web, tailored to writers' requirements and carried out by our professional editors, Our Services for Writers.
- From our Endorsements page, 'Today I only want to say, "thank you". DM has done a truly great job. I have worked with her suggestions which have brought clarity and depth to my subject. Her work on my punctuation is brilliant. As I read through the manuscript now, it is like gliding on silk.' Helena Dodds
- Links from publishing: publishers seem even more delighted to return to the Bologna Children's Book FairThe Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. this year as Covid anxiety continues to fade, Bologna 2023: Back to Business - and It's a Pleasure; the backlash to Puffin Books' decision to update Roald Dahl's children's books has been swift and largely derisive, From Roald Dahl to Goosebumps, revisions to children's classics are really about copyright - a legal expert explains; as books become intellectual property assets, publishers become asset managers trying to future-proof their toxic investments, Publishers are cynically using ‘sensitivity readers' to protect their bottom lines | Books | The Guardian; reading attainment levels improved in 2022, but The Bookseller - News - World Book Day organisers urge focus on reading for pleasure, as National Literacy Trust survey reveals decline; writing and publishing a book about a controversial public figure is like diving into shark-infested waters, ‘We have poorer books as a result': Why Australian publishers are silenced by fear; and the extraordinary story of Simon & Schuster staffer Filippo Bernardini who stole more than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts, The Bookseller - News - Bernardini stole manuscripts because he 'wanted to read books before they hit stores'.
- If you are Writing for the web, you have to grab your readers online. Writing effectively for the web is quite different from writing for the printed page. Writers intending to write web pages should observe some simple rules if they want to attract and keep visitors to their pages.
- 'For those who can do it and who keep their nerve, writing for a living still beats most real, grown-up jobs hands down.' Terence Blacker, former publisher, in our Writers' Quotes
- ‘It is a gigantic nightmare. Where to start? It's increased print costs. It's made it harder for printers to source the materials they need. It's disrupted everything in the UK, helped wreck the economy, and that of course has a big impact on people's ability to buy books... There is no new normal. There is just ongoing agony.' Sam Jordison of Galley Beggar Press puts what other indie publishers are feeling into words in a wide-ranging article on Brexit in Bookbrunch, which regrettably is behind the paywall.
- WritersServices offers a wide range of editorial services to help you prepare your manuscript for submission to an agent or publisher, or for self-publication. Our team of expert editors has years of experience in helping and advising authors; we can help you bring your work to a professional level of excellence. All our editing services offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. If you are not sure which of our editing services you require, we can assess your manuscript, and recommend the service that is most appropriate to your needs. Copy editing services. Get in touch to let us know how we can help.
- The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is open to all writers over 18 with an unpublished short story in English of up to 2,000 words. The winner will receive €1500 and many other prizes, 2 runners-up €750 and other prizes. Closing 16 April.
- Other prizes which are still open.
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Lynda Finn about the isolation of New Zealand writers and their problems with getting published, British author Eliza Graham, author of Playing with the Moon, on her route to publication and Zoe Jenny, who is Swiss, on writing in English and why it was liberating. Send us your contributions, ideally 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us.
- Our first set of links are about the Roald Dahl controversy: 'you cannot create right-thinking in a population by controlling the literature it consumes', The senseless re-editing of Roald Dahl | The Spectator; 'am I shocked that the Dahl empire - and it's quite the empire, with Netflix buying up the rights from the writer's estate for a cool £500m in 2021 - would move to protect its investment?' It's not Orwellian for publishers to edit Roald Dahl, just commercially savvy | Gaby Hinsliff | The Guardian; are they not censors because this was a business decision? The Bookseller - Comment - Good for business? It's still censorship; and more on bowdlerisation, as it used to be called, Richard Charkin: On the 'Desecration of Authors' Works'.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Avoid Rejection.
- Authors often find it difficult to write their own synopsis for submission to agents and publishers, which is where our Synopsis-writing service can help. If you're preparing to self-publish and having difficulty with your blurb, our Blurb-writing service from a professional copy-writer will make your book stand out.
- Links from the AI and social media world: founding editor says 500 pitches rejected this month, Sci-fi publisher Clarkesworld halts pitches amid deluge of AI-generated stories | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian; and as the HarperCollins strike shows, TiKTok has the power to punish publishers, not just reward them, The Bookseller - Comment - The digital picket line.
- From our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services. Rasmus, Chile.'
- WritersServices offers a comprehensive range of editorial services for authors writing for the children's book market. All our services are carried out to the highest professional standard and offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. Writing for children is not an easy option. It requires sound writing skills, originality, a clear understanding of the target audience and a good grasp of the market. Our expert editors are specialists in writing for children, and they will help you make your work the best it can be. Children's Editorial Services.
- Links from publishing: 'a year of exceptional sales and profit growth', British independent publishers thrive despite Brexit and Covid pandemic | Publishing | The Guardian; why senstivity readers are needed, In the far from diverse publishing industry, sensitivity readers are vital; new research shows a downturn in parental purchase, Cost-of-living crisis: one in five parents spend less on books for their children | Books | The Guardian; and, despite working under the uncertainty of who their new owner will be, S&S Sales Topped $1 Billion in Record 2022.
- Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript, which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with submission or publication. Typing Manuscripts.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions
- Our final set of links is on writing and writers: description is critical in good, immersive fiction, Building Worlds and Creating Mood and Atmosphere ‹ CrimeReads; serial killing - both fictional and IRL - has long been the realm of men, but Female serial killers: their time has come; if there's one lesson my agent and editors drilled into me about publishing, it's this: know your reader, How to know your reader (and become an Unreasonable Writer); how do you go about making history so exciting? Steve Berry Talks History, Research, and Preservation ‹ CrimeReads; an amazing story from WW2, How the Armed Services Editions Created a Nation of Readers ‹ Literary Hub; a celebrated children's author zooms to the top, Julia Donaldson ends James Patterson's reign as UK libraries' most borrowed author | Books | The Guardian; and a remarkable find which will delight his fans, Sir Terry Pratchett: Short stories to be published after being found by fans - BBC News.
- Our unique new service is The Cutting Edit. So you have finished your book, but it is too long; how do you go about reducing the word count without losing important parts of your work? We're here to help. Our experienced editors will work with you to reduce the word count of your book while preserving the main narrative elements and your individual style. This service is available for both fiction and non-fiction, and it's a dual service - as we reduce the word count of your manuscript we also copy edit it as part of the job.
- 'Writing is a strange synthesis between the two parts of your mind: the analytical side and the side that knows nothing at all, and you have to allow the dreaming side free rein.' Rose Tremain in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘The level of talent and success we're seeing from self-published authors speaks for itself, so publishers have definitely had to take notice and adapt. I'm sure it's shifted attitudes towards self-publishing but I also think it's shifting attitudes towards our own work: when you're approaching an author who has already had huge success on their own, you have to be very clear and confident about what extra value you're bringing to the table. I've found it makes for very collaborative partnerships with authors who have incredible hands-on publishing experience and a forensic understanding of what works for their audience.' Celia Killen, commissioning editor at Orion Fiction in London, who signed 10 books by Jessa Hastings in October, including her initially self-published Magnolia Parks romance series which went viral on TikTok earlier in 2022, in the Bookseller.
- An essential read for children's authors is Suzy Jenvey's special series for WritersServices, the four-part Essential Guide to Writing for Children. The first article looks at the all-important question of age groups and what you should be aware of in writing for each one. The second part is Before You Write: What is My Story Going to be? The third part deals with Starting to Write and the fourth part is about Submitting Your Work to Agents and Editors. This series by a hugely experienced children's editorial director and agent helps you get started on your own story or develop what you're already working on.
- The Rubery Prize 2023 is open to all writers internationally who have published their work through a small press or self-published their work across a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. The entry fee is £44 and the First Prize is £2,000 plus £200 for three category winners. It closes on 31 March.
- The BBC National Short Story Award 2023 and The Primadonna Prize are still open.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? This page will help you work out which service is right for you. Choosing a Service
- Our links from the publishing world: do authors of memoir, as well as the publishers and agents who work with them, need mental health help? The Bookseller - News - Publishing industry debates safeguarding for memoirists; shallow, fake, showy and performative, BookTok is Good, Actually: On the Undersung Joys of a Vast and Multifarious Platform ‹ Literary Hub; after a long run of surging profits from pandemic-era shopping sprees, Amazon reports its first unprofitable year since 2014: NPR; the recent chaos at Twitter has left many communities on the platform wondering - what happens if we wake up tomorrow and the lights are off for good? Inside Book Twitter's End - What Will Authors Will Do Without Twitter? And after earnings tumbled 52%, Deal Reached in HarperCollins Strike as Publisher Has Another Bad Quarter.
- Two more articles from our Inside Publishing series: Book clubs and Direct Mail: 'The way in which books are sold through book clubs and direct mail has a direct impact on authors' income from these sources. Fierce competition for sales and heavy discounting in the book trade in general has undermined the clubs' core low-price selling proposition and they are no longer the force they once were...'
- Direct Selling: 'The other half of the non-retail market is called ‘direct selling', sometimes known as display marketing. This encompasses selling at home, in the workplace and door-to-door. It has become much more important in the UK and in the US, although it is still relatively rare elsewhere...'
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- Writers' links: US-based Moseley is the author of over 60 books which have been translated into 25 languages, The Bookseller - News - Mosley wins CWA Diamond Dagger 2023; recent experience from a literary agent on behalf of a client, The Sensitive Question of Sensitivity Readers; it's 50 years since the founding of the feminist women's publisher, The Bookseller - Features - Virago looks forward after full five decades; and the development of Young Adult publishing, What Do 10 Years of the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller Lists Say About YA?
- On English Language editing: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' Anthony Fitzgerald in our Endorsements.
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique has helped many authors to improve their submission packages and helping them to get published.
- A miscellany of links: social media is opening publishers' eyes to a new demographic of younger and more diverse readers of romance novels, The Bookseller - Comment - The DNA of BookTok romance; a negative view from another source, In the shallow world of BookTok, being ‘a reader' is more important than actually reading | British GQ; a curious and rather touching story, Man, 30, completes encyclopedia of animals he started at nine | Zoology | The Guardian; and how marriage affected two authors differently, An Unequal Partnership: On the Marriage of Kingsley Amis and Jane Howard ‹ Literary Hub.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information.
- Advice for writers - if you want to delve into the wealth of information on our huge site, here's the page which will help you find what you're looking for.
- 'One of the ridiculous aspects of being a poet is the huge gulf between how seriously we take ourselves and how generally we are ignored by everybody else.' Billy Collins in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world. And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things - childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves - that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers.' Salman Rushdie, author of 13 novels, including Quichottte, The Satanic Verses, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, The Moor's Last Sigh and the Booker-winning Midnight's Children.
- The final part of our new series about Worldbuilding focuses on Culture. 'Culture is a slippery concept; it's one of those terms we all know the meaning of until we actually think about it. For the writer, culture can be a two-edged sword: ignore it and your story lacks depth, colour and context; focus too much on it and you risk bamboozling - or worse, boring - your reader into putting the book down...'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, Writer's edit, providing line-editing, Proof-reading and two new services, the Cutting Edit and Developmental editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from publishers: the backlist boom which surged during the pandemic continues, The Bookseller - Spotlight - Older titles surge with a little help from BookTok; big publishers in the UK have not had it all their own way, The Bookseller - Spotlight - Big Four's market share contracts as mid-range publishers make hay; but in the US HarperCollins Is Cutting 5% of Its North American Workforce; a decade ago fiction was said to be migrating to digital, but now The Bookseller - Spotlight - Print market chalks up a mighty value as Adult Fiction posts all-time TCM record; and book-buyers go for the cheaper format, The Bookseller - News - Booksellers report more customers switching to paperbacks as household budgets tighten.
- From our Endorsements page: 'Many thanks to you and the Editor for the edits, and the comments. I am really pleased with the services of your company. Will definitely use it again.' Merlin, India
- From our Inside Publishing series: The Sales Department - what it does: 'The sales department has a crucial role in publishing companies. It is well worth taking time to understand how it works. This is the department which will have a crucial effect on the sales of your book. Their involvement and support are key to its success...'
- From the same series, Publishers and Pricing: Pricing can be a fraught subject, as it is something which publishers like to control and regard as an integral part of selling the book. It is quite common for authors to find that their book is not priced as they think, or had expected, it would be. Even your editor will not have the final say on this, which will be the decision of the sales department.
- Links about the craft of writing: "I place great importance on being historically accurate in my books", but Does Historical Accuracy Matter in Historical Fiction? ‹ CrimeReads; "edits are a must and I am very receptive to feedback", but When Should Writers Stand Their Ground Versus Defer to an Editor? | Jane Friedman; "Why isn't there more sex in your books?", For a Mystery Novel, How Much Sex Is Too Much Sex? ‹ CrimeReads; everybody wants a good climax, especially when it comes to storytelling, What is a Story Climax? & How to Write One! - The Art of Narrative; and mystery readers savor the hallmarks of their preferred subgenres of crime fiction, Getting the Investigative Details Right in Cozy Mysteries ‹ CrimeReads.
- Since this week's focus is on genre writing, just a reminder about our genre series: Writing Crime Fiction, Writing for Children, Writing SF and Fantasy, Writing Romance, Writing Non-fiction, Writing Historical Fiction and Writing Memoir.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- If you're aiming at traditional publishing, Finding an agent and Working with an agent are two practical checklists to help set up and maintain this vital relationship. 'Try to find an agency which is ‘hungry' for new clients. To keep their workload under control, an established independent agent might take on something like four new authors a year, but only to replace four departing clients. This may seem obvious, but whether or not an agent is actively looking to build their list of clients is probably the single most important factor affecting how closely they are looking at unsolicited submissions...'
- If you need to clear copyright for your book, Clearing Copyright shows you how to do this: 'Copyright provides a framework for trading in intellectual property. In practice it protects the author's position and ensures that the publisher is able to take on the risk of publication in the knowledge that the publisher's rights are protected. In effect authors, (the originators of intellectual property) sub-license their rights through their book contracts to different parties in individual territories and in specific forms...'
- More links for writers: it's been a big year for genre writers, The Bookseller - Spotlight - It must be love: romance and fantasy heat up; in a sense, every detective novel is about the inside of someone's head, Mysteries That Bring You Inside the Workings of Fascinating Minds ‹ CrimeReads; when I pitched One Woman's War, I had no idea that Operation Mincemeat, a movie about the same subject matter, would be released in early 2022, Just the Facts? Not in Historical Fiction; agents' predictions for 2023, The Bookseller - News - Joyful stories tipped for 2023 but darker, genre-busting books may have their moment; and a horrific expose of the life cycle of social media platforms, The ‘Enshittification' of TikTok | WIRED.
- The Primadonna Prize is open to unpublished authors 18 years old or over who are resident in the UK. The entry fee is £8 and the Prize is a book contract with HQ with an advance of £7,500 and agent representation. First stage closing on 13 March.
- 'By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.' Roald Dahl in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘It's a big part of the job. Being able to put yourself in their shoes is really important. I'm not a writer, but I watch a lot of author content online and I read a lot of stuff from authors. Having that perspective is really important for me to be able to give my authors context. Their emotions are important. If they're disappointed we didn't sell, so am I. Being able to sit in that space is important, but my job as an agent is to move the author from despair to strategy, asking questions like: what are we doing to do next? What do we learn from this? It's a skill to sit in the darkness with them, and to get ourselves out into what's next... Hannah Schofield, literary agent at LBA in London, in Bookbrunch.
- Our Worldbuilding series continues. Worldbuilding 4 deals with technology: 'There is a scene in Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark where Jones is suddenly faced with a ninja swordsman. The ninja performs an elaborate show-off routine with his sword, preparing for the kill; Jones takes out a revolver and shoots him. It's a neat comic episode, but it could also stand as a caveat for writers of fantasy fiction: get your technology right or your epic may turn into a comedy...'
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market, using our English Language Editing service.
- The BBC National Short Story Award 2023 has now opened and closes on 13 March. It is open to British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over. There's no entry fee. The winner gets £15,000 and four 4 shortlisted authors get £600. They will all benefit from excellent publicity.
- For other opportunities, including the Carcanet open submissions window for poetry submissions, see this page.
- Links to news from the publishing world: an excellent insider's view of the recent attempted publishing merger, Markus Dohle's Failed Bid to Eat Simon & Schuster; a well-argued article about publishing v self-publishing, When a publisher might not do as good a job as a self-publishing author - The Idea Logical Company; the latest trends in US book sales; The Bookseller - News - US sales of print books dropped 6.5% in 2022 but adult fiction sees increase; a review of the world in publishing from a veteran publisher, Richard Charkin: A Selective Year-End Assessment of Publishing; a terrifying picture of where book censorship could lead, A Perfectly Inoffensive School Library.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, The Relationship between Publishers and Agents: 'Why do publishers need agents? Actually they don't need them, although they have come to rely on them. In many ways publishers would prefer to deal direct with unagented authors. It's authors who need agents. Writers need someone to sell their work and then to look after their relationship with their publishers....'
- From the same series, Marketing: 'If you are looking into publishing from the outside, it helps to understand the different functions of the publisher's internal departments. The last few years has seen the inexorable rise of the marketing department in ‘trade' or general publishing. This is part of the increasing dominance of publishing by sales and marketing, as the more traditional editorial control over publishing decisions has diminished sharply...'
- Our 22 Services for Writers offers links to all our editorial services - the biggest range on the web.
- Links to writers' stories: What began with an innocent flirtation quickly devolved into a full-blown affair, Unguilty Pleasures: My Year of Reading Romance Novels ‹ Literary Hub; how important is it where you are when you're writing, A Thin Place: Carole Johnstone on Moving to Scotland's Outer Hebrides ‹ CrimeReads; "My grandmother said, ‘Hungry dogs run faster,'" says the 75-year-old. "I've always been a hungry dog." How Author James Patterson Writes 31 Books at the Same Time | GQ; the book I came back to, Philip Pullman: ‘I had to grow up before I could cope with Middlemarch' | Philip Pullman | The Guardian.
- 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK, on our Endorsements page.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for up to 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you may feel you need.
- How to prepare your prelim pages: There is a set order for the pages at the beginning of a book (known in the business as 'prelims') and you will need to send them to the designer with the rest of the manuscript for them to work on if you are self-publishing. Here we provide detailed instructions for preparing your prelim pages, according to standard publishing practice.
- More from writers: Happy New Year, book lovers! TBR Pile Threatening to Topple? Let Go of the Guilt . . . ‹ CrimeReads; best known for her novels exploring society and class, The Bookseller - News - Celebrated novelist Fay Weldon dies, aged 91; UK Authors' Earnings and Contracts 2022: A Survey of 60,000 Writers, Surveying the Profession(s), How Much Do UK Writers Earn? and, perhaps the most acclaimed book editor of his time, Robert Gottlieb edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22' but is OK being 'unseen' : NPR.
- Rotten Rejections provides a note of the things publishers wish they'd never said: on Animal Farm by George Orwell ‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA' and Carrie by Stephen King 'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.'
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? What can you do to improve your chances? Our tipsheet on Entering Competitions.
- A miscellany of links: I sought solace in crime fiction, Men Are the Most Likely Victims of Homicide. Why Do Crime Writers Kill So Many Women? ‹ CrimeReads; Aaliyah Aroha's video, posted to her account, now has 2.5 million views and more than 431,000 likes, BookTok trope-ification debate: How hashtagging titles is affecting authors and readers; people from many different industries have watched the rapid erosion of Twitter... but for me, Twitter has and always will be a platform that helped me find my way in book publishing, Finding Connection on Twitter; in 2022, translation has become a disruptive innovation in what has been termed a monoglot and insular world, Gains in translation for fiction readers and publishers - The Irish Times.
- ‘I cannot find any patience for those people who believe that you start writing when you sit down at your desk and pick up your pen and finish writing when you put down your pen again; a writer is always writing, seeing everything through a thin mist of words, fitting swift little descriptions to everything he sees, always noticing.' Shirley Jackson in our Writers' Quotes.
- What are the most interesting trends in publishing? 'Marrying the Victorian tradition of serialisation with the best of modern interactive technology has been one. In terms of the actual content of the books that are being published, it is keeping some sort of equilibrium between the virtues of free speech and protecting sensitivities. The descendants of those who inscribed words in forest clearings or the catacombs in Rome, or wrote clandestinely in Siberian gulags, now have an unprecedented scope for freedom of expression, a limitless potential audience... Alan Samson, Non-fiction Publisher at Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House UKPenguin Random House have more than 50 creative and autonomous imprints, publishing the very best books for all audiences, covering fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s books, autobiographies and much more. Click for Random House UK Publishers References listing, in Bookbrunch.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, Copy editing and proof-reading explains the difference between the two. 'Copy editing is the painstaking job of going through a manuscript line by line to correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Proof-reading at a later stage is a separate check through the book when it is set up in pages, before it goes to press or is finalised for ebook publishing.'
- From the same series, Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page... Post a copy of your manuscript to yourself and then keep it in the date-stamped envelope.'
- Closing on 10 February, The Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize 2023 is open to unpublished and unagented female writers, aged 21 or over, who live in the UK or Ireland. The entry fee is £12 and the winner gets £1,500 and guidance and support from literary agent and sponsor Peters Fraser Dunlop.
- WritersServices offers a wide range of editorial services to help you prepare your manuscript for submission to an agent or publisher, or for self-publication. Our team of expert editors has years of experience in helping and advising authors; we can help you to bring your work to a professional level of excellence. All our editing services offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. If you are not sure which of our editing services you require, we can assess your manuscript, and recommend the service that is most appropriate to your needs. Copy editing services.
- We have some excellent links this week. First, from the publishing and bookselling world: the MD of the UK Booksellers Association, The Bookseller - News - Publishers must support bookshops if they're to survive ‘brutal' 2023, Halls warns; after a three-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, an examination of US publishing remuneration, The PW Publishing Industry Salary Survey 2022; and a look into the used book trade, Napoleonic Conspiracy Theories, Unsociable Shabbiness, and More Occupational Hazards of the Second-Hand Book Trade ‹ Literary Hub.
- 'I used Writers' Services for Editor's Reports three times while I was writing my first novel, The Killing Code, and I must say that their professionalism and expertise was truly impressive. Prices are reasonable and I credit them with helping me to hone my book to a high standard. It's now a top seller on Amazon lists for the thrillers and action/adventure categories, and receiving excellent reviews. Thank you Chris and your team!' Craig Hurren on our Endorsements page.
- How Literary Agents Work - an article written exclusively for Writersservices by literary agent Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media in New York: 'I have often heard that authors are interested in how literary agents work. It is very simple: a literary agent exists to provide services to authors...' A short but clear summary of what agents do.
- Links from writers: an author sticking up for entertaining the reader: The Bookseller - Author Interviews - Eleanor Catton | 'The moral development of people in plotted novels where people make choices is fascinating and important'; a new author who is well on the way to selling more books in 2022 than Stephen King, James Patterson and John Grisham, PW 2022 Notable: Colleen Hoover; "I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for that book." My First Thriller: S.A. Cosby ‹ CrimeReads; "I had the door burst open. And really, almost literally, in came Vera", The Bookseller - Author Interviews - Ann Cleeves | I just didn't fit in, I heard someone on the bus saying I looked like I'd just come off the farm'.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Links from innovators: if you had told me I could make money by writing on the internet a few years ago, I would've laughed, Online Writing: Grow Your Audience in 2023 | The Writing Cooperative; on December 16th, 1901, 35-year-old Beatrix Potter printed 250 copies of a book that she had written and illustrated herself, Beatrix Potter, tired of rejection, self-publishes her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit; the history of self-publishing, like that of publishing itself, is a history of access, Just Do It (Yourself): A History of Self-Publishing; and writing about the attempted merger made me realize just how different the various areas of publishing are now, Business Musings: Tea Leaves: Year in Review 2022 Part 4 - Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
- Our new series The Pedant: how to make your editor happy covers the fields of Accents, Dialogue tags, the use of bold, italics and capital letters in prose fiction, Formats and fonts and The trouble with 'as'. If you want to improve your writing and make your presentation of your manuscript more professional, this series shows the way.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Choosing a service can help you work out which service is right for you, or you could just email us.
- More links from writers: why would I bother switching genres after so many years writing successful fiction? What Memoir Writing Taught Me About Myself; for all mystery-lovers, YOUR GUIDE TO NOT GETTING MURDERED IN AN ENGLISH COUNTRY MANOR HOUSE ‹ CrimeReads; you'll understand the immensity of building out a book from nothing, Catapult | Finding the Secret Door Into Your Novel | Julia Fine; and a Berlin tale with a nod to Hitchcock and a fascinating basis in the memoirs of Stasi spy chiefs, Paul Vidich on the Pleasures of the Literary Spy Novel and the Ethical Ambiguities of the Late Cold War ‹ CrimeReads.
- Get some professional help. If you're self-publishing, you need good quality copy for the cover. Our Blurb-writing service can provide a professionally written piece of cover copy. Submitting to agents but finding it difficult to write your own synopsis? Commission a Synopsis which will present your manuscript in the best possible light for submission.
- So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- ‘I cannot find any patience for those people who believe that you start writing when you sit down at your desk and pick up your pen and finish writing when you put down your pen again; a writer is always writing, seeing everything through a thin mist of words, fitting swift little descriptions to everything he sees, always noticing.' Shirley Jackson in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘The most important skill a writer can have is curiosity... I don't think writer's block exists. I go through phases of hating writing. And I go through longer phases of feeling I've got nothing to say. But the idea of writer's block has never rung true for me. This idea that you're straining to get it out. I've thought, "Oh that's it, I'm finished," then something comes along that makes me interested in stuff again.' Geoff Dyer, author of four novels and ten non-fiction titles, including The Last Days of Roger Federer, But Beautiful, See/Saw and White Sands in the Observer.
- Worldbuilding 3: geography and physical location is the latest in this new series.'Pretty much every time I pick up a fantasy novel and begin to read, the first thing I encounter is a map, or a series of maps, laying out the whole world, the country or city where the main action takes place, two or more separate (and often belligerent) locations, or all of the above. It has become a convention of fantasy literature and, I tend to think, is often rather less use to the reader than the writer. Think of it this way: when you read a realist novel set in a location you are unfamiliar with, how often do you reach for an atlas before you start reading? I'd hazard a guess that it's not often; for most of us, likely never.'
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, The English Language Publishing World: 'Why does the English language world get divided up into publishing territories? How has this come about? How does it affect authors?... English language publishing has worked primarily on a London/New York axis. Publishing in English originated in the UK, primarily in London, as a family business, with British publishers exporting their books to the then British colonies...'
- From the same series, Children's publishing: 'Long regarded as the Cinderella of the publishing world, children's publishing has enjoyed a remarkable rate of growth and is now seen by many as one of the most exciting areas to work in. This is not just because of the Harry Potter phenomenon, as many other children's authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Judy Blume have also produced megasellers which have proved attractive to children all over the world. In some ways children's books are innately more stable, as successful authors sell their backlist strongly, with a new generation coming into each age group every year. For many years the sector as a whole was stable in terms of personnel as well, with editors staying in their jobs over a long period and having the chance to build their lists...'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, Writer's edit, providing line-editing, Proof-reading and two new services, the Cutting Edit and Developmental editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from writers: a really excellent guide to writing suspene from a master of the form, Jeffery Deaver's Guide to Writing Page-Turning Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; the chair of the Society of Authors on authors' earnings, Horribly low pay is pushing out my fellow authors - and yes, that really does matter | Joanne Harris | The Guardian; a useful guide, How to write a short story; murder is a grisly, nasty business...except in the cozy mystery subgenre, where bloodless murders are the order of the day, Killing Them Softly: Getting Away With Murder in Cozy Mysteries ‹ CrimeReads; the star who has deposed Oprah Winfrey as queen of the online literary discussion groups, Legally bookish: Reese Witherspoon and the boom in celebrity book clubs | Books | The Guardian; and a novelist's worst nightmare, Ann Cleeves loses laptop containing draft of new book in Shetland blizzard | Books | The Guardian.
- 'I want to thank Chris and the team at Writers Services for their help and tolerance. My first submission of my rough draft came back with an extremely useful critique. I restructured, rewrote and resubmitted - and got an excellent feedback which has helped me to revise the book by highlighting the weaknesses and the development needed... the help received so far is already paying dividends. I have just signed with an agent on the strength of the latest draft.' Patrick Cox in our Endorsements.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information.
- Links from the publishing world: how did happy ever after come back in fashion? The love boom: why romance novels are the biggest they've been for 10 years | Romance books | The Guardian; who would be a writer? Well, no one who wants to earn a living, if the latest numbers are to be believed, The Bookseller - Editor's Letter - Write on; the contract demands made by the union failed to "account for the market dynamics of the publishing industry", HC Union Update: Authors Co-Host Rally at Harper Headquarters, Agents 'Overwhelmingly' Support Strike; Africa is a continent of 54 countries and some 1.4 billion people, speaking-and sometimes writing and publishing-in hundreds of languages, #ReadingAfrica: Five Writers and Publishers Discuss the Continent's Boundless Literary Landscape ‹ Literary Hub.
- Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript, which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with submission or publication. Typing Manuscripts.
- More links from writers: celebrity authored children's books have become stalwarts of supermarket books aisles, ‘I'm parking my guilt': confessions of a celebrity children's book ghost writer | Books | The Guardian; we all read crime novels, and all crime novels feature guns, 10 Things Crime Writers Should Know About Guns ‹ CrimeReads; three years and 12 entries later, the series has found an audience, mostly through Kindle Unlimited (KU), Paid-by-the-page ebook subscription model a boon for genre writers - The Globe and Mail; his former pupil David Cornwell (aka John Le Carre) "strikes me as the sort who might become either Archbishop of Canterbury or a first-rate criminal!" The Father of All Secrets | Sam Adler-Bell; Writers are calling on parents and grandparents to buy a book by a non-celebrity this Christmas, Steer clear of ‘mediocre writing' by celebrities for Christmas, authors plead | Books | The Guardian.
- Our printing and publishing glossary is a useful guide to some of the arcane terms used in the publishing world.
- Which service? is our guide to the services which are available from Writerservices.
- Are you hoping to submit your book to publishers? Will you plan to do this through an agent? Finding an agent shows you how to go about this: 'Many writers see being taken on by an agent as the first step in getting taken on by a publisher, because it is so difficult to get publishers to pay attention to unagented writers...'
- 'The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof lie detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it.' Ernest Hemingway in our Writers' Quotes.
- Finally we've passed a milestone this week, with over 9,000 pages available on the Writerservices site! The best way to access them is through Advice for Writers.
- ‘If you like to write for yourself only, that is a different matter - you can make it any length, and write it in any way you wish; but then you will probably have to be content with the pleasure alone of having written it. It's no good starting out by thinking one is a heaven-born genius - some people are, but very few. No, one is a tradesman - a tradesman in a good honest trade. You must learn technical skills, and then, within that trade, you can apply your own creative ideas; but you must submit to the discipline of form... The most blessed thing about being an author is that you do it in the private and in your own time. 'Agatha Christie, Queen of Crime, in her Autobiography.
- Worldbuilding 2: the basics of writing fantasy fiction, the second in our new series, 'Fantasy fiction is a niche market, but a very popular niche market. It is particularly popular among new writers, and I suspect this is a consequence of growing up on a diet of best-selling fantasy fiction over the last couple of decades. This article will look at the differences between writing fantasy fiction and other genres, and also the similarities. Then I will look at some of the issues involved in writing fantasy fiction.'
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- The Selfies Book Awards UK 2023 has now opened. Authors who have self-published adult fiction, children's books or adult memoirs/autobiography in the UK between January and December 2022 can enter. Entry fee: £35 per title to include a six-month subscription to Bookbrunch. £750 cash prize for each category plus other prizes. Closing 3 January 2023.
- Links from publishers: you may not be surprised to hear the latest dismal figures, Writers' earnings have plummeted - with women, Black and mixed race authors worst hit | Books | The Guardian; this looks like a first in the history of publishing, More than 150 agents back striking HarperCollins workers - ABC News; it's not over yet, Amazon, Big Five E-Book Price Fixing Suit Is Revived; a frank insider's view, Charlie Redmayne on Costs, Pricing, Sales in Book Publishing; nearly three years after it was put up for sale by its parent company, Simon & Schuster is back at square one, What's Next for Simon & Schuster? How will their Booker win affect writers in one of the world's most overlooked literary regions? What does this year's double Booker win mean for south Asian literature?
- Choosing a service provides a rundown of all our services and can help if you're not sure what you're looking for.
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Advances and royalties: 'Publishers usually offer to pay authors advances against royalties. How do you work out how much money you might earn from your book? You need to understand for yourself how advances and royalties work and what they mean for you... 'On The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...'
- Links from writers: young people are growing up "afraid to ask questions for fear of asking the wrong questions", Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author warns about 'epidemic of self-censorship' - BBC News; the common wisdom tells us that time is money, but for a writer, money is time, Susan Griffin Makes a Case for the Midlist; more evidence of Tiktok's effect on the young, The Bookseller - News - More than half of young readers credit BookTok with sparking passion for reading, PA finds; not so long ago, you couldn't move for celebrity memoirs, Richard Osman, Mel Giedroyc ... every celebrity wants to be a novelist. But can they hack it? | Books | The Guardian; I didn't know the job of book editor existed until I moved to New York, Noir Confidential: On Editing Crime Books and Living a Life Filled With Mystery ‹ CrimeReads.
- ‘Thank you for offering such a wonderful service. As always, I appreciate your professionalism and your excellent rapport with your clients.' Susan Nadathur on our Endorsements page.
- WritersServices offers a comprehensive range of editorial services for authors writing for the children's book market. All our services are carried out to the highest professional standard and offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. Writing for children is not an easy option. It requires sound writing skills, originality, a clear understanding of the target audience and a good grasp of the market. Our expert editors are specialists in writing for children, and they will help you to make your work the best it can be. Children's Editorial Services
- "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." Stephen King. Many other authors believe that reading and being well-read is essential to good writing. Novels show writers what can be done and how. They can be everything from a rip-roaring read to a work of art, and they present the finished article, the puzzle of writing solved and celebrated as a successful story. Writing for Children: Rule Number One.
- Advice for writers gives you access to the massive amount of information available on the site.
- More links for writers: I've watched platforms rise and fall, Why Book Blogs Still Matter In an Age of BookTok | Book Riot; a long but fascinating article about the great SF writer, The Spectacular Life of Octavia E. Butler; massive audio figures for J K Rowling's creation, Harry Potter: Fans have listened to books for one billion hours - CBBC Newsround; "I wonder if I could write a book?", What to put in, what to leave out; I'm not a historian, just a novelist who happens to be a history fanatic, What's the Key to Writing Realistic Historical Fiction? ‹ CrimeReads.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- 'Writing is a strange synthesis between the two parts of your mind: the analytical side and the side that knows nothing at all, and you have to allow the dreaming side free rein.' Rose Tremain in our Writers' Quotes.
- If you've found this newsletter helpful, please recommend Writersservices membership to your friends.
- ‘The TikTok success stories of Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry have done the genre a wonderful favour by putting romance firmly in a spotlight so bright that their popularity cannot be ignored... Romance books are often as deftly plotted as books in other genres, they can be as challenging, the prose as beautiful and yet they're judged harshly by comparison and there is no logic to it when readers buy them in their millions and those sales figures do a lot of talking. A Happy Ever After does not a lesser book make.' Milly Johnson, author of 28 romances, including Together Again and The Woman in the Middle in Bookbrunch.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, Subsidiary Rights: 'My first job in publishing was in a subsidiary rights department. I'm ashamed to admit that I accepted the job without having much idea what subsidiary rights were. Many writers may feel just as vague about this part of publishing, so here's a quick breakdown...' and Vanity Publishing: 'It is natural for writers to be eager to get published but it pays to be wary of the vanity publishers who will take your money and give you very little in return...' Vanity publishing is quite distinct from Self-publishing, you need to be aware of the differences.
- One of the more rewarding - and difficult - things about writing a fantasy novel is having the opportunity to create and describe a world different from our own; one where magic is real, where non-human beings interact with us, and where reality has a shape and texture that is anything but mundane. In this article I'm going to look at one aspect of that process: describing, and more importantly naming, the characters that inhabit the new world you have created in your novel. The first in a new series - Worldbuilding 1: Character names in fantasy novels.
- Our 22 Services for Writers offers links to all our editorial services - the biggest range on the web.
- Here's a detailed article on how to prepare Your submission package - 'Given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript...'
- Links from the publishing world: members of the Society of Authors (SoA) have overwhelmingly voted to keep Joanne Harris as chair of the management committee, The Bookseller - News - Bid to unseat SoA chair Joanne Harris fails after members' vote; thousands of office jobs to be cut amid slowing sales and concerns about an economic downturn, Amazon layoffs 'being prepared' as sales slow - reports - BBC News; Paramount Global has decided not to extend its purchase agreement, PRH, S&S Deal Likely Dead; more fallout from Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, A Twitter Exodus Could Mean the End of Some Online Magazines; and a hugely influential community that has the power to pluck authors out of relative obscurity and propel them into the bestsellers charts, Inspirational passion or paid-for promotion: can BookTok be taken on face value? | Books | The Guardian.
- 'I'd like to thank you so much for the reports on my work... I'm going to read the reports over and over, take the time to think and plan, and you can be sure you'll receive the revision a year from now, maybe less. You offer an excellent service for a very fair cost, and I'm grateful to have found you.' Bill Neenan in our Endorsements.
- Our Developmental editing service: Writing is a continual learning process. The best authors develop their skills over time and constantly strive to improve. And there is a lot to learn: plotting; dialogue; action scenes and set pieces; character development; continuity and consistency; style, language and tone. Our developmental edit is specifically designed to help you bring your writing to the next level. Our experienced team of editors will guide and support you, helping you to grow as a writer, as you take your book project from draft manuscript to finished product.
- Links from writers and about writing: 75 emerging authors from around the US gathered on October 30 and 31 to tape the pilot for a reality show, 'America's Next Great Author' Competition Films Pilot; how on earth do three people write a novel together? How to Write a Novel with Three of Your Friends ‹ Literary Hub; good news on children's books, The Bookseller - News - CLPE data shows sustained
rise of ethnic minority representation in kids' books; the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh Jr. was a national spectacle, Mariah Fredericks on The Heartbreaking Details of Historical Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Rotten Rejections is an extraordinary collection of rejection letters sent by publishers to writers - many delivered to now famous authors of classic books - which will make you laugh and provide comfort if you're having a struggle to get published. 'I regret we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we could not publish it with commercial success...' An unnamed editor at Constable and Robinson, in turning down J K Rowling's first Harry Potter book.
- More links from writers: given London's rich history, it's not surprising that the metropolis has been the setting for many classic novels, The Magic of London ‹ CrimeReads; when it comes to the practical act of writing, use whatever works for you, 11 Digital Essentials Tips for Creative Writing - National Centre for Writing; victims of a drive-by shooting, Threats Around Every Corner-Or, On The What If Questions of Storytelling ‹ CrimeReads; and (with thanks to CrimeReads) how I deal with writing about violence, The Probable and the Personal: How I Grapple With Writing Violent Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- We have developed a special suite of Services for Self-publishers to help get your manuscript ready for self-publishing.
- 'What makes you a poet is a gift for language, an ability to see into the heart of things, and an ability to deal with important unconscious material. When all these things come together, you're a poet. But there isn't one little gimmick that makes you a poet. There isn't any formula for it.' Erica Jong in our Writers Quotes.
- ‘It depends on the state that the manuscript comes in. There are some that need minor tweaks, and others that need to be structurally overhauled. I enjoy editing with authors - a book feels like puzzle pieces to me, and we need to get it in the correct order to understand what that book is before sending it out. It's also fascinating to see what an editor does to make a book even better... Liza DeBlock at London literary agency Mushens Entertainment in BookBrunch.
- The final article in this series - The Pedant: how to make your editor happy 5: The trouble with ‘as'. 'If you edit for long enough, you inevitably develop pet hates and bugbears; constructions or word usages that just get your goat. Sometimes these are frequent errors, such as the confusion of ‘that' and ‘which', or the misuse of punctuation. Sometimes they are constructions that smack of lazy, sloppy writing. In my opinion, lack of grammatical knowledge is forgivable; lazy writing not so much. I have a particular animus for the overuse of the word ‘as' as a connective. It's not always incorrect (though it regularly is) but it often signals a kind of shorthand approach to writing, and used repeatedly it clangs like a car alarm on a Sunday evening...'
- WritersServices offers a wide range of editorial services to help you prepare your manuscript for submission to an agent or publisher, or for self-publication. Our team of expert editors has years of experience in helping and advising authors; we can help you to bring your work to a professional level of excellence. All our editing services offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. If you are not sure which of our editing services you require, we can assess your manuscript, and recommend the service that is most appropriate to your needs. Copy editing services
- The Moth Poetry Prize 2022 closes on 31 December. It is open to all poets over 16 for an unpublished poem with an entry fee of €15 per poem. 1st prize is €6,000, plus three runner-up prizes of €1,000, and eight commended poets will each receive €250.
- Our links show it's been an eventful week in publishing: a substantial article on why the judge has gone against Penguin Random House's Proposed merger, In Written Opinion, Judge Florence Pan Delivers Knockout Blow to PRH, S&S Merger; an overview of the results from indepedent commentator Mike Shatzkin, What the ruling against the PRH-S&S merger means for the publishing business - The Idea Logical Company; publishers are acting to avoid steep rises for readers, Book prices set to rise as production costs soar, say UK publishers | Books | The Guardian; we are a community of book people who thrive when we gather, Frankfurt 2022 from a Children's Book Perspective; we need to shout to the outside world a bit more about how complex and important publishing is, The easiest occupation? A fascinating and substantial article, What Do Women (Publishers) Want?
- A Publisher's View is our four-part series from publisher Tom Chalmers on what publishers are looking for. What a publisher wants from submissions, Judging a book by its covering letter and synopsis, The writer's X factor and The changing face of publishing. On submitting your manuscript: 'While editors may well do some later tinkering, it shouldn't be sent in unless the writer feels it is a manuscript ready for publication, in terms of both grammar and content. Lines like ‘I know it needs some work', or ‘I think it's nearly there' show admirable humility but are an immediate put-off!...'
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- Links on writing and reading: short stories or novels? The Long and the Short of It: Hilma Wolitzer on Returning to Short Fiction in Her 90s ‹ Literary Hub; one of the all-time greatest American writers, Happy 100th birthday, Kurt Vonnegut! Remarkably if you own a relatively calm family dog, you may have all the help you need with literacy, Kids Who Read Out Loud to a Dog See Improved Literacy | Psychology Today; and "I'm not translating any more books without my name on the cover," Translators fight for credit on book covers.
- 'As a total neophyte as a writer, I have been doing a huge amount of research suddenly as to what services are available to writers, on both sides of the Atlantic, and am amazed that you are able to have someone read a whole book and give a serious critique for just 180 pounds. I think that is incredible value for money, compared to other similar services that appear to be available out there. I hope to be back to you again for more assistance, once I've cleaned up my work! Martin Humphries, Vancouver, BC, Canada on our Endorsements page.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? Choosing a service helps you work out which is the right editorial service for you.
- More links on writers and writing: the master storyteller on finding a voice, creative originality and why he has never suffered from writer's block, ‘I want to open a window in their souls': Haruki Murakami on the power of writing simply | Haruki Murakami | The Guardian; "why historical fantasy" and "why this particular time period?" History Is Shouting...All You Need to Do Is Listen ‹ CrimeReads; ready to focus on the singular task of writing, Kirsty Bell on capturing the history of a place; a round of self editing, a round of critique group input, another round of self-editing, a round of professional editing, a round of rewrites and so on, How to Free Yourself from Endless Revision | Jane Friedman; and it's science fiction with heavy emphasis on the fiction, Alternate world, contemporary issues.
- It may surprise you to know that the first of Julie Wheelwright's Top Ten Tips for Nonfiction Writers is: 'Story, story, story. Make sure that your story can sustain several chapters and tens of thousands of words. Keep asking yourself: Why would anyone want to read this story?'
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions
- 'There's an epigram tacked to my office bulletin board, pinched from a magazine -- "Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pâté."' Margaret Atwood in our Writers Quotes.
- ‘Does a dramatist have a duty of care to a public figure and to the audience for whom this imagined version might be their first or only contact with the historical material? (Hilary) Mantel thought it did: "You can select, elide, highlight, omit. Just don't cheat," she advised. I tend to agree - up to a point. When I started writing historical crime novels featuring the 16th century Italian philosopher and heretic Giordano Bruno, I was conscious that, for many English readers, these stories might be their first introduction to Bruno's life and work, and I wanted to do justice to a man who was - as I saw it - charismatic, flawed but ultimately courageous in his defence of free thought... Stephanie Merritt, author of four novels under her own name and ten Giordano Bruno novels under the pseudonym S J Parris, including Heresy, Treachery and Prophecy, in the Observer.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Promoting your writing to Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Be prepared to redraft your work and to rethink it. Many new writers assume that their work will immediately be ready for publication, but the truth is that many highly successful writers produced several drafts of their first work before they got it published.' and 'When you've got your work into the best state you can, put it on one side for a few weeks and then look at it afresh. You'll be amazed what difference a fresh eye will make.'
- The next in The Pedant series is Spoilt for choice: formats and fonts. 'Since the advent of home computing and the easy availability of word processing and publishing software (is it really only a generation ago?), the budding writer has been faced with a wonderland of possibilities; or a tyranny of choices, depending on your point of view. In this article we'll look at the vast range of formats and fonts available and suggest a few tips for negotiating the minefield and avoiding elephant traps...'
- There's still time to enter the most prestigious international competition for a single poem, the UK Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition 2022, before it closes on 31 October. It's open to anyone 18 or over from all over the world to enter an unpublished poem of up to 40 lines. Entry fee £7 for first entry, £5 for unlimited subsequent entries. First Prize: £5,000, Second Prize £2,000 and Third Prize £1,000, Commendations £200.
- Our first set of links cover the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., the biggest international gathering of publishers: now back at full force for the first time in three years, Frankfurt Book Fair 2022: Current Events Make an Impact; a new category was riding high, Frankfurt Book Fair 2022: 'Romantasy' and Revelry on the Fair Floor; the numbers are going back up, The Bookseller - News - Frankfurt Book Fair attracted 93,000 trade visitors; there were a good number of members of the public too, Frankfurt Book Fair Attracts 180,000 Attendees; and the crashing of the pound in recent weeks has hit costs for Frankfurt Book Fair attendees this week, but UK publishers and agents insist there is a silver lining for rights and export sales to the US, The Bookseller - News - Pound's plummet hits Frankfurt costs, but trade finds silver lining in rights and export sales.
- Writing Memoir - If you want to write a memoir or autobiography you're in good company - lots of writers want to try their hand at this category. As with other non-fiction books, do give some thought to your market before you start, if you can. Although writers often actually write their memoir and then think about what to do with it later, it does help to know who you're writing it for, so it' s a good thing to sort this out in your own mind at an early stage if you can...'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. There are also two unique new services, The Cutting edit and Development editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from the publishing world: "we built ourselves to a certain size where we could go no further without a partner." The Bookseller - News - Geller warns ‘tired' publishing model threatens to ‘dry itself out' if role of agent not reimagined; sales of books for young readers on violence, grief, and emotions have increased for nine straight years, Demand soars for kids' books addressing violence, trauma | AP News; and the staggeringly rapid rise of artificial intelligence over the past few decades, from pipe dream to reality, The real threat from artificial intelligence isn't superintelligence. It's gullibility.
- 'I cannot thank you enough!! Your editor has worked her magic and I am delighted with the results!! Please thank her for me, I really appreciate what she has done!' Wendy White in our Endorsements page.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- Links from the ook world: I've resolved to only read the books I really want to read, The Truth About Fiction; the bestseller list is not mathematically objective; it is editorial content, which is protected by the First Amendment, What Counts as a Bestseller? - Public Books; What's new in the translation sector? Travelling through reading; and one of the UK's most successful children's authors says schools should teach black history all year round, Malorie Blackman calls for year-round black history in schools - BBC News.
- Have you managed to find a publisher for your work and are now enjoying the thrill of knowing that your book will soon be published? If you're wondering what happens next, here is an outline of the processes involved. Preparing for Publication
- Get your manuscript typed up! Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our Typing manuscripts service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with revision, submission or publication.
- 'A writer who isn't writing isn't really alive' is from Robin Mckinley in our Writers' Quotes.
- If quotes are your thing we have a very large collection in our Archive, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- ‘When you write something down you pretty well kill it. Leave it loose and knocking around up there and you never know - it might turn into something... My hands do the thinking. It is not a conscious process... I can't explain how one creates a novel. It's like jazz. They create as they play, and maybe only those who can do it can understand it.' Cormac McCarthy, author of The Passenger, The Road, No Country for Old Men, The Border Trilogy and five other novels, in interviews with local papers early in his career, reprinted in the New York Times.
- So you want to write historical fiction? Well, your timing is good, because historical fiction is fashionable again after many years in the doldrums. In fact it's so popular that it has virtually reinvented itself as a category. There have of course always been historical novels being published, but what has changed is that there is now a definable market for them, which means that publishers are looking for historical fiction and are much more open to taking it on. The result has been big reissue programmes involving many old-established favourites but also publishers looking out for authors working in this genre. Writing historical fiction
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Lynda Finn about the isolation of New Zealand writers and their problems with getting published, British author Eliza Graham, author of Playing with the Moon, on her route to publication and Zoe Jenny, who is Swiss, on writing in English and why it was liberating. Send us your contributions, ideally 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- Links from publishers: three-quarters of UK bookshop customers intend to sustain their spending on books, The Bookseller - News - Shoppers keen to support bookshops despite cost of living, BA survey shows; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos knew size was crucial to exacting ever lower prices from suppliers, "Get Big Fast." How Amazon Accelerated the Commodification of Literature ‹ Literary Hub; for an increasing number of people, reading means listening to streamed audio files through a smartphone, Audiobooks: Every Minute Counts - Public Books; redundancy in publishing, The Bookseller - Comment - Brain drain; a new promotion feature on the social media platform, which creators are calling a cash grab, TikTok's Penguin Random House Collab Has BookTok Creators Worried - Rolling Stone; and showing just how effective a small press can be, Four Nobels and counting: Fitzcarraldo, the little publisher that could | Books | The Guardian.
- Writing is a continual learning process. The best authors develop their skills over time and constantly strive to improve. And there is a lot to learn: plotting; dialogue; action scenes and set pieces; character development; continuity and consistency; style, language and tone. Our developmental edit is specifically designed to help you bring your writing to the next level. Our experienced team of editors will guide and support you, helping you to grow as a writer, as you take your book project from draft manuscript to finished product. Our brand-new Developmental editing service.
- Other editing services.
- How to market your writing services online is a useful article from Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk about selling yourself as a writer. 'Recently someone commented to me that I seem to be doing a pretty good job of promoting my writing services on the internet. I was touched by the observation - we writers get so many rejections that a little praise is especially gratifying. And I began to wonder - what does it take to market yourself successfully as a jobbing writer today?...'
- Links from writers: independent authors are changing the face of publishing with figures suggesting they now make up around a third of e-book sales in the largest English-language markets, WGGB launches new guide to self-publishing - Writers' Guild of Great Britain; Jude O'Reilly on her obsession with her protagonist, and on researching the tech that drives her plots, Not the forgiving kind; I wanted to know what books people were turning to in the early days of the pandemic for comfort, distraction, hope, guidance, Where Is All the Book Data? - Public Books; and top tips for creating brilliant non-fiction writing, How to craft creative non-fiction - National Centre for Writing.
- Get your manuscript typed up! Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our Typing manuscripts service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with revision, submission or publication.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? Which service do you want? Our editorial services have been added in response to demand, so whatever you want we've probably got it covered with our 22 different services.
- From our Endorsements page 'The outcome of my experience with Writerservices has far exceeded my expectation and I was amazed by their professionalism, hard work, knowledge and keenness to edit my manuscript of the novel, Uncle Thesiger's Mashhuf, in every detail, thereby ensuring it will appeal to English readers. Their services are very helpful to all writers', Ammar Al Thuwaini, an Iraqi novelist and translator.
- More writers' links: death of well-known British crime-writer, The Bookseller - News - Peter Robinson, creator of the Inspector Banks novels, dies aged 72; Nobel Prize for Literature announced, Annie Ernaux: the 2022 Nobel literature laureate's greatest works | Annie Ernaux | The Guardian; the first time an award-winning novelist gave me feedback on my writing, I was seven. Growing up with a famous writer, Lessons in Writing and Life from My Grandfather, E.L. Doctorow ‹ Literary Hub; and a strangely compelling account, How Jackie O Helped Bring 'Sally Hemings' to Life - The Millions.
- Making submissions gives you the lowdown on making an effective submission.
- 'What makes you a poet is a gift for language, an ability to see into the heart of things, and an ability to deal with important unconscious material. When all these things come together, you're a poet. But there isn't one little gimmick that makes you a poet. There isn't any formula for it.' Erica Jong in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘Poetry Prompts is my invitation to the nation, young and old, to become poets. We turn to poetry at weddings, funerals and births because it goes beyond mere words and translates the soul. But there is baggage associated with poetry that I want everyone to put down - to allow everyone to reclaim the birth right of poet. So often I've met children and adults scared to put pen to paper, terrified of 'getting it wrong' - this has repercussions in all aspects of life. I want to show everyone that poetry is for them, that we can enjoy the rules and break the rules.' Joseph Coelho, UK Children's Laureate, on the launch of Poetry Prompts. His books are Werewolf Club Rules, the Luna Loves series, If All the World Were, Overheard in a Tower Block and The Girl Who Became a Tree.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series - on Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page...' On The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...'
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 21 years. We have introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Our third new article in The Pedant series is Bells and Whistles? The use of bold, italics and capital letters in prose fiction. There are times when, no matter how well you write, you need typographical support to emphasise a point. English is a wonderfully flexible and suggestive language, but it can't do everything by itself, and replacing plain type with, for instance, italics, can really help the reader to understand what's happening in your story. In this article, we will look at the use of these non-standard fonts and suggest a few simple rules of thumb.
- Links about publishing: demand for books slowed this year, Big Publishers Hit a Rough Patch; back to pre-pandemic figures, Frankfurt Preview: Frankfurt Welcomes Back the World; and offering a "lovely, welcoming, independent bookstore kind of vibe", New audiobook platforms are launched to rival Amazon's Audible | Books | The Guardian.
- Poetry publisher Carcanet Press has announced a rare open submissions window in January. Now's the time to prepare your work. Poets with full-length poetry manuscripts in English, or translation can send their work and there's no entry fee. Publication is offered by Carcanet Press.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- Links abut the craft of writing: a book surfaced. All because of the power of incremental writing, a kind of compound investment, Persistence Pays the Weary Writer | Jane Friedman; the hours were gruelling. There were countless cancelled weekends, holidays, dates and family events, How writing adverts helped me write children's books; how to escape the everyday, Denise Mina: ‘All my reading is comfort reading' | Denise Mina | The Guardian; and if there's one thing we love here, it's plot structures! A Definitive Guide to the Seven-Point Story Structure - The Art of Narrative.
- From our Endorsements page: 'Please extend my gratitude to the editor for his/her thoughtful and detailed edit. I could not ask for better work! Its value far exceeded the cost.' Jim, Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)
- The Writer's Edit is an enhanced editing package that offers you all the benefits of our expert copy editing service, plus an extra level of advice and support to help you take your writing to a new level. We will copy edit your manuscript to our usual professional standard, but in addition we will offer you a line-by-line edit specifically designed to improve your style, structure and form, and a set of guidance notes, giving commentary and advice.
- Written exclusively for WritersServices - Trident Media Group Literary Agent Mark Gottlieb explains how literary agencies work. It's no surprise that they do a lot more than you think and that they bring a lot of expertise in a range of different areas to bear on behalf of their authors. How Literary Agents Work.
- Links from writers: controversy continues, Philip Pullman calls for inquiry into writers' trade union the Society of Authors | Books | The Guardian; the author on his latest ‘whole-life' novel, the brutal realities of modern publishing and the inspirational influence of Catch-22, William Boyd: ‘The books world is much tougher now' | William Boyd | The Guardian; crime writer and former policewoman, Clare Mackintosh Finds the Life of the Party; and leading contemporaries pay tribute, Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature' | Hilary Mantel | The Guardian.
- Poets are naturally keen to see their work in print but it's actually quite hard to get a first collection taken on by a publisher. This is because most poetry lists are pretty small. Poetry is not in general given much space in bookshops and it is difficult to achieve any sales for first collections. Self-publishing offers a good approach and the live poetry scene is much livelier than it used to be. Getting your poetry published
- Our Poetry Collection Editing Service - are you ready to self-publish your poetry? Have you concluded that, given the scarcity of publishers taking on new work, it's too difficult to find a poetry publisher who will take on your collection? Are you ready to go ahead on your own, but want to make sure that your poetry is as good as it can be before you publish? Or would you like to get your work into as good a state as possible before you submit it to publishers?
- 'People say, "What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?" I say, they don't really need advice, they know they want to be writers, and they're gonna do it. Those people who know that they really want to do this and are cut out for it, they know it.' R L Stine in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘I do think the scope of what studios can do has really proved itself in modern live-action adaptations of fantasy novels. Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings were so huge in scope and delivery that people were able to imagine epic fantasy in live action as something that felt tangible. These huge global franchises have had such a massive impact that it's really opened the door for people to give fantasy fiction a chance when they might have written it off previously.' Claire Ormsby-Potter, editorial assistant at London SF and Fantasy publisher Gollancz.
- An essential read for children's authors is Suzy Jenvey's special series for WritersServices, the four-part Essential Guide to Writing for Children. The first article looks at the all-important question of age groups and what you should be aware of in writing for each one. The second part is Before You Write: What is My Story Going to be? The third part deals with Starting to Write and the fourth part is about Submitting Your Work to Agents and Editors. This series by a hugely experienced children's editorial director and agent helps you get started on your own story or develop what you're already working on.
- Our Children's Editorial Services help you to get your children's book ready for publication or self-publishing. Have you found it difficult to get expert editorial input on your work ? Do you want to know if it might find a publisher? Or are you planning to self-publish? We can also offer copy editing for writing for children.
- The Daily Mail First Novel Competition 2022 is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland and has not had a book published before. There's no entry fee. The prize is a £20,000 advance and publishing contract with Little Brown's Sphere imprint and the services of top London literary agency LBA.
- Links from the publishing world: great news on US book sales, The Bookseller - News - US publishing 'firing on all cylinders' as revenue rises 12.3% and in-person buying booms; what really sells books, For media publishers, Twitter still dominates on social; a sign of returning normality in the international publishing world, The Bookseller - News - Americans to return to Frankfurt Book Fair en masse; the current wave of attacks on books in schools and libraries is disheartening, but There's No Time to Despair over Book Bans - Just to Fight Them; and the team behind Korea's Webtoon is preparing to launch a new serialized fiction app, Exclusive: Sources Describe a New App for Backlist Serialization.
- ‘WritersServices editors are not just excellent professionals, they are persons of letters involved in helping the writers who are trying to enter in the world of British books... I am impressed. I am grateful. I'm delighted. Thank you so much.' Daniela Stanciulescu from Paris on our Endorsements page.
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- 'So you want to write non-fiction? You've chosen a huge area which can be broken down into a large number of different sub-categories, so the first thing to say is that it's important to think hard about exactly which readership you're going to aim your book at. Once you've worked that out, research into what is available and what the competition might be is a must...' Writing Non-fiction
- Links from writers: in a novel, an effective setting transports the reader, immersing them in the narrative and creating a believable physical environment where plot can flourish, The Importance of Setting in Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; is the anxiety of writing the anxiety of possibility for you? Five Writers on How Writing with Creative Constraints Unlocked Their Projects ‹ Literary Hub; I knew I wanted to include something about the Enigma machine, Making World War II Relevant in a Contemporary Thriller ‹ CrimeReads; how do you define it and why is it even important to make the distinction in the first place? What it means to be working class; Why do some murder mysteries sell more copies than others? Impossible Murders In Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- If you're aiming at traditional publishing, Finding an agent and Working with an agent are two practical checklists to help set up and maintain this vital relationship. 'Try to find an agency which is ‘hungry' for new clients. To keep their workload under control, an established independent agent might take on something like four new authors a year, but only to replace four departing clients. This may seem obvious, but whether or not an agent is actively looking to build their list of clients is probably the single most important factor affecting how closely they are looking at unsolicited submissions...'
- Our Services for Writers lists the 22 services we offer for writers, which we think is the widest range on the web.
- More links for writers: after hundreds of rejections - seriously, she's been writing books and querying agents since she was 12 years old - she joined TikTok in March 2021, Meet Alex Aster, The TikToker Changing The Publishing Industry For The Better | HuffPost UK Culture & Arts; she is now writing an adult mystery which features Georgia O'Keeffe as an amateur sleuth, A Change in Perspective: Writing for Adults, After a Career Spent Writing for Children ‹ CrimeReads; a growing number of US states, cities, and districts are now requiring schools to teach phonics, How Strong Early Literacy Skills Can Help Kids Learn to Read | Time; and hard times are coming, when we'll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, who can remember freedom - poets, visionaries - realists of a larger reality, Who Was Ursula K. Le Guin? | Book Riot.
- 'All writers are liars. They twist events to suit themselves. They make use of their own tragedies to make a better story... They are terrible people.' Nina Bawden in our Writers Quotes.
- 'One of the virtues of writing historical fiction is to remind yourself that earlier generations had things much worse. The Blitz. The First world War. The English Civil War. The Great Fire of London. The Plague. I was born in the 1950s, which is to have won God's lottery, really. It meant you could live a life of 60 or 70 years without having to put on a uniform and fight. But that is a rarity in human history unfortunately and what we're seeing now is far more like normality.' Robert Harris, author of 14 bestselling novels, including just-published Act of Oblivion in the Sunday Times Culture.
- The next article in The Pedant series is about accents. This demonstrates the pitfalls of trying to convey accents when you are writing fiction. The Pedant: how to make your editor happy 2: Dialogue tags. In this article editor Noel Rooney explores the difficulties in writing in accents or dialects and suggests some simple ways round the problem. 'Remember, we all have an accent; there is no absolutely correct way of speaking English, or any language, for that matter. The problem for the writer is how you deal with this in your work...'
- Are you having difficulty producing a really good blurb to self-publish your book? Or do you need a synopsis to submit it to publishers? Our services can help.
- Live competitions in our listing.
- Links from the publishing world about workload and the sensational trial and its fallout: workloads have never been this bad, Is the Publishing Industry Broken? It will have a massive impact on both the multibillion-dollar book publishing industry and on how the government handles corporate consolidation going forward, The antitrust trial of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, explained - Vox; more on the three-week trial over Penguin Random House's $2.2bn merger with Simon & Schuster, The Bookseller - News - Agents react to 'offensive' advances claims but say PRH could be a better home for S&S.
- So you want to be a romance writer? You've made an interesting choice because, although a lot of people scoff at romance, it is the most stable genre of all and has continued to keep its faithful readers when other categories have changed radically and sometimes lost their audiences. It has changed a bit in recent years and embraced a more complex story, sometimes with more explicit sex in it, but essentially this is a category which marches on, providing happy endings, when all around it the world has changed. Writing romance.
- Our Services for writers - just a list providing links to our 22 services.
- More links from the book world: A deep drop in orders and sales from Amazon at many companies since mid-July has prompted rumors and speculation, Amazon Stands by Books; attitudes toward free speech, blasphemy, and Islam have all changed considerably over the last three decades, How Woke Put Paid to Publishing | City Journal; and becoming a BookTok sensation, TikTok is driving book sales.
- An Endorsement from Elspeth, a UK writer: ‘A wonderfully detailed and helpful report. The editorial advice and knowledge sharing is extensive and generous. Your editor has identified the points where and why my novel falls short and provided clear and practical advice on how to remedy the shortfalls... I would not hesitate to recommend your service to other writers both in terms of output and value for money.'
- Links about the craft of writing: after leading writing workshops for over 20 years and still feeling gobsmacked by how stubbornly writers cling to certain myths, Don't Fall for These 5 Writing Myths That Can Set Back Your Writing | Jane Friedman; just don't go back and spend a bunch of time revising, Susan Choi on Powering Through a First Draft ‹ Literary Hub; one of the most important decisions you can make in creating a character is their name, Seven Tips For Choosing the Perfect Name For Your Characters ‹ CrimeReads; and how do you start on your first non-fiction book, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency | Writing your first non-fiction book?
- Writing is a continual learning process. The best authors develop their skills over time and constantly strive to improve. And there is a lot to learn: plotting; dialogue; action scenes and set pieces; character development; continuity and consistency; style, language and tone. Our developmental edit is specifically designed to help you bring your writing to the next level. Our experienced team of editors will guide and support you, helping you to grow as a writer, as you take your book project from draft manuscript to finished product. Our brand-new Developmental editing service.
- Our other editing services.
- More writers' links: it's been tough not to notice the increase in dramatic rights deals in the book industry, How Are Books Adapted for the Screen? Two Agents Demystify the Process | Jane Friedman; can you trademark a description? Queens of crime: Val McDermid reveals legal threat over Agatha Christie title - BBC News; now enjoying a golden summer of talks, workshops and a booming merchandise line backed by high-profile influencers, The Bookseller - Spotlight - Women's Prize flourishing after charitable pivot as year-round strategy pays off; and a grisly story, Why Are Stories of Captivity and Abduction So Extraordinarily Terrifying? ‹ CrimeReads.
- Don't give up the day job. Perhaps you've even been indulging in thinking about it as you lay on the beach this summer, or more likely spent your precious holiday working on your latest novel. But how practical is it? Is it something you can realistically aspire to, or just a distant fantasy? What are your chances of making your dream come true?
- Get your manuscript typed up so that you can revise it, submit it or publish it. Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? Our service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with submission or publication. Typing manuscripts
- 'I know I am finished with a book when I never want to see it again. And if you have worked at it long enough to hate the sight of it, I promise you will come to love it again some sweet day. That is when you will know you did a writer's work.' Robert Benson in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘It's great that I can support my family by doing something that I love. It's great that I'm able to utilise the talent that was given to me and write stories that make people happy. When I'm writing, I'm all about myself and about the reader, so that's a great thing to have. I won't say that I never in my wildest dreams dreamt of huge amounts of success, but what I really wanted was to be able to do it for a living. The rest has just been what us Americans call gravy. It's all gravy now.' Stephen King, author of over 50 novels, novellas and short stories, including The Shining, Carrie, The Stand, It and The Shawshank Redemption, with sales of over 350 million books, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- We are launching a new series this week which will help you improve your writing. The Pedant: how to make your editor happy 1: Accents and dialects comes from one of our top editors, writing from years of experience. In this article I will explore the difficulties in writing in accents or dialects and suggest some simple ways round the problem. We all have an accent; there is no absolutely correct way of speaking English, or any language, for that matter...
The people reading this article, and by extension reading your book, boast an impressive range of accents.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Learn on the job to Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Before deciding to go for self-publishing, you should think through what is involved. Certain kinds of books lend themselves to this approach. If you have a book which you can sell after your lectures, or as a promotional tool, or there's some local or specialist interest in what you have written, then self-publishing can be a good idea. If you've written a novel and want to get it published, you should think hard about how you're going to market it...'
- It's been an unexpectedly busy time in the publishing world, so here are links to substantial articles about the DOJ antitrust case and its implications: the outcome of the antitrust trial which has been underway in Washington could reshape the kind of books Americans read - and who writes them, Op-Ed: How an antitrust trial could limit the books you read - Los Angeles Times; both sides made their closing arguments in court, The Bookseller - News - DoJ says PRH and S&S merger will create duopoly as trial over $2.2bn deal concludes; the DOJ says that the proposed merger announced in 2020 between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster would stifle competition, The possible effects of the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster merger: NPR; a picture of publishing as a labor of love? Is Publishing About Art or Commerce? | The New Yorker; and more revelations from the coverage of the trial, The PRH Trial Has Revealed a Barely Hidden Scorn for Independent Publishers ‹ Literary Hub.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- We also have two new services, The Cutting edit and Developmental editing service.
- Here's a detailed article on how to prepare Your submission package - 'Given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript...'
- More publishing stories: thanks to hit TV shows like Stranger Things, which reintroduced the public to the seminal role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, all types of tabletop games have become more mainstream - and they're exploding in growth, and raking in big bucks, The Great Nerdification; the latest on film and tv rights, The Bookseller - News - Streamers taking on 'less risky' TV and film rights as subscribers fall but market remains strong; the viral app has profoundly shifted how books get publicity and find new audiences, TikTok Has Changed Everything, Especially Book Publishing | Observer; and new trends in tv and film rights, The Bookseller - News - Surge in interest for rom-coms, stealth-help and 'cli-fi', agents and editors say; and a steady decline since 2017, Where Are Mass Market Paperbacks Headed?
- The Moth Nature Writing Prize 2022 is open to anyone over the age of 16 with an unpublished piece of nature writing. Entry fee €15 per entry. The Prize is €1,000 and a week-long stay at The Moth Retreat in rural Ireland. Closing on 15 September.
- Other live competitions.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Writers' links: from a two-book deal with a large publishing house to self-publishing, Why I've gone solo; a new author with huge sales, Colleen Hoover books: The author's success is due to much more than BookTok; Aster didn't expect much, ‘More zeros than I've seen in my life': the author who got a six-figure deal via ‘BookTok' | Books | The Guardian; probably the most famous poet in America, Amanda Gorman on Her Poems, Poetry Influences, and Inaugural Poem Message.
- From our Endorsements page: ‘This report is so incredibly helpful, both for improving Gone to the Sky and my future work. Absolutely worth its weight in gold.' Ada Fox, Virginia, US.
- More links from writers: shocking news from The Satanic Verses author, The Bookseller - News - Trade hails courage of Salman Rushdie and shares shock after New York stabbing; a call for unity among its members, The Bookseller - News - Society of Authors attempts to draw line under Harris criticism with call for unity; and few authorial choices are more important to the tone and verisimilitude of our stories, What's In a Name? ‹ CrimeReads.
- From our Writers' Quotes: The more you read, the more you write, and the more you free yourself to do so, the better writer you will become.
- ‘Gone are the days when authors could afford to be reclusive, knowing that their publishers would be active on their behalf. Nowadays, authors are routinely expected to be performers, salespeople and marketers all at the same time. And to do that, we need to let go of certain toxic narratives, not least the myth that artists shouldn't care about money or sales, or sully their art by trying to make a living... I've had to face the fact that a certain amount of online self-promotion is not only necessary but that sometimes it's the only promotion an author is likely to get...' Joanne Harris, author of 27 books, including the bestselling Chocolat, current Chair of the Society of Authors in the UK in the Bookseller.
- So you want to write fantasy or science fiction? You are in good company, as many of the writers who come to WritersServices are writing fantasy, with science fiction as a less popular choice. Science fiction was an important category during much of the twentieth century, with a growing cult audience, until it was overtaken by fantasy. It's often seen as more cerebral, a way of trying out new ideas of the future or other worlds. These days there's a relatively small demand for new science fiction writing, and you have to have a distinctive voice and something interesting to say to stand much chance of getting published. Writing science fiction and fantasy
- Our unique new service is The Cutting Edit. So you have finished your book, but it is too long; how do you go about reducing the word count without losing important parts of your work? We're here to help. Our experienced editors will work with you to reduce the word count of your book while preserving the main narrative elements and your individual style. This service is available for both fiction and non-fiction, and it's a dual service - as we reduce the word count of your manuscript we also copy edit it as part of the job.
- This new service sits alongside our existing range of Copy editing services.
- Closing on 9 September, this generous new prize is from London publisher Faber. The Imagined Futures is open to YA writers resident in the UK or Ireland and there's no entry fee. The first prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Faber and a £15,000 advance, while the second and third prizes also receive publishing contracts with advances of £8,000 and £5,000 respectively.
- Links from the publishing world: the US government's bid to block Penguin Random House's acquisition of rival Big Five publisher Simon & Schuster, DOJ Trial to Block PRH/S&S Merger Begins; Evidence Dispute Looms; the second day, DOJ v. PRH: Jonathan Karp and Stephen King Take the Stand; a UK perspective, Stephen King testifies against merger of publishing giants - BBC News; and "We aren't banning books. Anyone can buy it on Amazon if they want." Book Banners Don't Know What a Book Ban Is.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this succinct series is full of essential background information.
- Links for writers trying to improve their work: a superb and informative article, 25 essential tips for writing gripping crime fiction from the experts; do you struggle to make time for reading? How to get back in the habit of reading - Vox; have you spent years or even decades trying to write a book on your own and floundering? 7 Questions to Reboot a Nonfiction Book You've Been Writing Forever | Jane Friedman; and if you've never tried before, ignite a passion for poetry! How to Write a Poem: In 7 Practical Steps with Examples - The Art of Narrative.
- Choosing a service - How to work out which is the right editorial service for you. 'Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? If you have finished writing your manuscript and don't know how to proceed, I would strongly recommend considering having a report done on it first. Most writers need to do further work on their manuscripts before submitting or publishing them...'
- Links about writers' lives and opinions: why readers on TikTok love this sentimental slop, The Good Little Pig Problem (a great title!); the beloved creator of Fungus the Bogeyman and Father Christmas brought a distinctive strain of melancholy to the genre, Snowman author Raymond Briggs dies aged 88 | Raymond Briggs | The Guardian; from the author of the Alex Rider series as well as numerous other successful series, The Bookseller - News - Horowitz says authors ‘running scared' of halving sales by sharing opinions; in 1978, Bill Grose, editor-in-chief at Dell, decided to make a star of a young author from San Francisco, The Sublime Danielle Steel: For the Love of Supermarket Schlock; and her touching verses about heartbreak, fat-shaming and body hair have made her Britain's most-followed poet on social media, Poet Nikita Gill: ‘I worry about people getting tattoos of my work. What if I made a typo?' | Poetry | The Guardian.
- Getting your poetry published. 'Poets are naturally keen to see their work in print but it's actually quite hard to get a first collection taken on by a publisher... Poetry is not in general given much space in bookshops and it is difficult to find poetry sections that go much beyond some bestselling backlist and a few new volumes from well-known names. It's hard therefore to achieve any sales for first collections and the publishers are cautious about who they take on...'
- 'Nothing annoys a writer who doesn't write as much as being asked what he's writing.' Javier Cercas in our Writers' Quotes.
- If quotes are your bag, we have substantial collections in More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- ‘How many times was I asked while still writing it: "What makes Harry Potter so popular?" I never had a good answer. It has occurred to me since that much of what young people found in the Potter books are the very same things they seek online... But the great thing about a book as opposed to a social media platform is that it puts no pressure on its reader to perform or conform. Like a friendly common room, it's there to retreat to, but it doesn't judge. It makes no crushing demands.' J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the Cormorant Strike series, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 21 years. We have introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- 'So you want to be a crime writer? This is probably a good choice. Crime writing has long been popular with readers across the English-speaking world but it had a real resurgence a few years ago. Although publishers have reined back from the subsequent tendency towards over-production, there is still a solid market for good crime writing and many bestselling writers, such as Richard Osman, write in this category. As well as being a long term publishing staple in the main English-speaking markets, the US and UK, crime novels are much in demand in translation, especially in Europe...' Writing crime fiction in our Genre writing series.
- Young poets will have to be quick to enter the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2022, which closes on 31 July. Poets from anywhere in the world aged 11-17 years can enter their poems written in English and there's no entry fee. This really is the leading international competition for young poets, the Top 15 winners get publication in the Foyle Young Poets 2022 Anthology and there's plenty of other useful activity around the Award.
- Links from the publishing world: this closely watched case holds major implications for the US publishing industry, Showdown: DOJ's Bid to Block PRH Acquisition of S&S Is Heading to Trial; turmoil in the prizes business, The Bookseller - News - Desmond Elliott Prize on hiatus for 2023 while Sunday Times Short Story Award could be discontinued; more on this, The Bookseller - News - Organisers concerned for future of prize sponsorship after spate of cancellations; as an industry we assume the sky is falling down, even when it isn't, The Bookseller - Editor's Letter - Tick Tok; and the latest chapter in British publishing's increasingly furious fight with itself, From morality clauses to sensitivity readers: inside UK publishing's identity crisis - New Statesman.
- How Literary Agents Work - an article written exclusively for Writersservices by literary agent Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media: 'I have often heard that authors are interested in how literary agents work. It is very simple: a literary agent exists to provide services to authors...' A short but clear summary of what agents do.
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique can help you get your submission package into the best possible shape, giving you a professional view of your submission material and clear suggestions for any improvements.
- Links from writers: the long, frustrating process of querying seems so one-sided, Why Agents Don't Give Feedback-And Where to Get It Instead | Jane Friedman; placing your novel in another period? The narrator will be forced to figure it all out, Adventures in Writing Time Travel ‹ CrimeReads; murder your darlings, Repeat After Me: "I Am Not the Great American Novelist." ‹ Literary Hub; and a key value of most diaries is that they capture the moment, Diaries: without benefit of hindsight.
- 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK in our Endorsements page.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- More links from writers: most readers love them, and most writers love to write them, Why do so many long-running series work so well? ‹ CrimeReads; "Sixth century?" one said. "Sixth? Really? Isn't that a bridge too far?" The Challenges of Writing Fiction About the "Darkest Corner of the Dark Ages" ‹ Literary Hub; 'Take out another notebook, pick up another pen, and just write, just write, just write.' Writing practice is a way of life; living in a city of 'brutal frankness', Full Faith and Confidence: A Conversation with Denise Mina ‹ CrimeReads; and how J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth almost became a setting for Dungeons & Dragons, How a Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons Crossover Almost Happened ‹ Literary Hub.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for up to 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you may feel you need.
- From Lidia Longorio in our Writers' Quotes page 'Write what you know. Learn what you don't.'
- 'In many ways writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It's an aggressive, even a hostile act... there's no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer's sensibility on the reader's most private space.' Joan Didion, author of 19 books including The Year of Magical thinking, Slouching towards Bethlehem, Play It As It Lays and The Panic in Needle Park.
- Writing is a continual learning process. The best authors develop their skills over time and constantly strive to improve. And there is a lot to learn: plotting; dialogue; action scenes and set pieces; character development; continuity and consistency; style, language and tone. Our developmental edit is specifically designed to help you bring your writing to the next level. Our experienced team of editors will guide and support you, helping you to grow as a writer, as you take your book project from draft manuscript to finished product. Our brand-new Developmental editing service.
- Our other just-launched and unique new service is The Cutting edit.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' Articles include Formatting your book for Kindle and Marketing and Promotion for Indie Authors: Online.
- The Bridport Prize 2022 Check on the individual category on their website for entry and fees for Poetry, Short Story, Novel, Flash Fiction and new Memoir category. Entry fees various, please check with them. Most are open to authors throughout the world. The Memoir Prize closes on 30 September.
- Links from the publishing world: the latest trend in US book sales, Is the Book Sales Boom Finally Over? In the UK the position of many small presses is difficult, The Bookseller - News - Rising costs mix 'bitter cocktail' for small indies; a historical perspective on children's publishing, Making Room for Children's Books; a matching article on children's book sales, Whither Children's Bookselling? And the extraordinary story of copyright under massive threat, Publishers File for Summary Judgment Against the Internet Archive.
- Writing Biography & Autobiography is a serialisation from our Archives of the book by Brian D Osborne published by A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listing. In the first excerpt, Managing the matters of truth and objectivity, the author says: 'Just as you need to remember that letters, reports, census forms, legal documents and so forth were not created simply for our convenience, so you also need to remember that what is written in them may not be true...'
- Our 22 services for writers, just a listing of what we provide to help you get your manuscript ready for publication. We think it's the widest range on the web.
- Links from writers: let's look at Gone Girl as literature. Gone Girl is not just clever marketing and good timing. It's art, Gillian Flynn Is the Real Gone Girl ‹ CrimeReads; children's poet appointed laureate, Joseph Coelho chosen as Britain's new children's laureate | Books | The Guardian; every now and again, a character steps into a book fully formed and sheds a special kind of narrative glow, Meeting with a killer; and, for fans of the FAS, The Enduring Appeal of the Female Amateur Sleuth ‹ CrimeReads.
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of twelve services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- Links on agencies, prizes and readers: if you're going to build a bigger agency you need to have a global strategy, The Bookseller - News - UTA and Curtis Brown deal is opportunity to respond to big publishers and streamers, says Geller; the USP of the Whitbreads, which morphed into the Costas 14 years ago, was that they didn't buy into literary snobbery, Shock ending: how the Costa book awards changed reading - and pitted husband against wife | Books | The Guardian; and depressing US survey, Over 50% of Adults Have Not Finished a Book in the Last Year.
- It may surprise you to know that the first of Julie Wheelwright's Top Ten Tips for Nonfiction Writers is: 'Story, story, story. Make sure that your story can sustain several chapters and tens of thousands of words. Keep asking yourself: Why would anyone want to read this story?'
- Links from writers' lives: how do you write a book about a tween who lives for TikTok when you aren't on TikTok? When Authors Play the TikTok Game; "Why don't you start something new. See what happens. Have fun. Play." Marcy Dermansky on Revising Without Losing Your Mind ‹ Literary Hub; something you can practice, a skill you can develop, everyone can learn it, Negotiation Tips for Writers and Creatives; and Goethe's The Sorrows of Werther is an example of both art's cultural power and also the unpredictability of its influence, When Will Novels Fix Society Already? - by Lincoln Michel.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- 'There's an epigram tacked to my office bulletin board, pinched from a magazine - "Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pâté."' Margaret Atwood in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'We've only been publishing for three years, having started just before the pandemic did... The digital vision we had formulated was vindicated and validated by the pandemic - but that doesn't mean it's not still relevant. As we grow, we're doing a bit more print, but we'll continue to adapt and survive. So far we've published about 300 titles, we've got 80 authors, and we're publishing another 150 titles this year.' Amanda Ridout of Boldwood Books, a new publisher focusing on popular fiction and publishing worldwide in ebook form in Bookbrunch.
- Introducing our unique new service - The Cutting Edit. So you have finished your book, but it is too long; how do you go about reducing the word count without losing important parts of your work? We're here to help. Our experienced editors will work with you to reduce the word count of your book while preserving the main narrative elements and your individual style. This service is available for both fiction and non-fiction, and it's a dual service - as we reduce the word count of your manuscript we also copy edit it as part of the job.
- This new service sits alongside our existing range of Copy editing services.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series: on Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page...'
On The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...'
- Links from publishing: surprisingly good news from the UK, The Bookseller - News - Author advances and auctions still 'buoyant' despite cost pressures, agents and publishers say; although it's only just over two years old, it is taking the publishing world by storm, Is TikTok the Future of Book Marketing? 'There is really nothing more special than working with someone you both respect and treasure as a friend', Ask An Editor: Katie Packer, senior commissioning editor at Headline; and another May has come and gone without BookExpo or any other in-person, industrywide spring show taking its place, A New Book Expo? Not By a Long Shot.
- A new endorsement from our Endorsements page: 'Many thanks to you and the Editor for the edits, and the comments. I am really pleased with the services of your company. Will definitely use it again.' Merlin, India
- Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2022 is open to all. Entry fees: Poetry entries £12 | Short Fiction entries £18. £2,500 awarded to both the Poetry and Short Fiction winners and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology, which is awarded to 60 writers shortlisted by the judging panel. Closing on 31 August.
- There's still time to enter The Moth Short Story Prize 2022, closing on 30 June.
- Links on writing and schools: It's one of the most familiar bits of writing advice there is: "Write what you know." Author to Authors: Take a Chance; school libraries make all the difference, The Bookseller - News - Report reveals 'transformative' impact of Cowell's Life-changing Libraries initiative; only a "trend or fashion", Bernardine Evaristo fears publishers may lose interest in black authors | Bernardine Evaristo | The Guardian; and there are four books that have been on the curriculum in every school I have found myself in, with no exception, Why are books on the English school curriculum still in the grip of straight, white men? | Jeffrey Boakye | The Guardian.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Avoid Rejection.
- More links from writers: writers buy plotting books by the dozen and do their best to create the plottiest plot that the world has ever seen, The Vital Difference Between Plot and Story - and Why You Need Both | Jane Friedman; how changing technology motivated a former naval intelligence officer to revisit his dreams of writing fiction, M. P. Woodward: Why It Took Me Twenty Years To Write My First Spy Thriller ‹ CrimeReads; a memoir about teaching which won the Orwell prize, The book that tore publishing apart: ‘Harm has been done, and now everyone's afraid' | Kate Clanchy | The Guardian; and a strange copycat craze, Why popular book titles all use the same weirdly specific formula.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- Stephen Coonts in our Writers' Quotes: 'The most crucial thing is to learn the craft: how to string sentences together, how to make your dialogue sound like real people, how to properly pace a story, how to develop interesting characters.'
- 'For years I have put off writing short stories and have written novels instead. And now I finally have the courage, because I believe the moment for short stories has come again. Why have they been in the doldrums? Why do we hear so much about novels and so little about short stories?... After all, the short story is at the very heart of our culture...' Sally Emerson, journalist, travel writer and author of six novels, three poetry anthologies and a volume of short stories, Perfect, Stories of the Impossible, to be published this month, in Bookbrunch.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Manuscript presentation, Doing further drafts and Planning: 'The idea of planning doesn't fit well with the idea of the writer as inspired genius, frantically scribbling away. However, I am willing to bet that, no matter what they would have you think, most successful writers plan as much as they write. They just don't tell you about it. The biggest objection that most inexperienced writers raise when someone broaches the delicate matter of planning is that it will get in the way of their inventive powers. A plan will be like a straitjacket. They'll be stuck with this plan and if they come up with a good idea along the way, they will not be able to use it. They are genuinely horrified at the thought...'
- Have you been working on your book over the holidays? Are you now ready to submit to publishers or to self-publish? We offer the widest range of editorial services on the web, tailored to writers' requirements and carried out by our professional editors, Our Services for writers.
- Links from the publishing and bookselling world: a big change in bookselling, How Amazon surrendered in its war on bookshops - New Statesman; astonishing decline in ebook sales, The Bookseller - News - E-book sales fell in 2021 to lowest point since 2012, Nielsen data reveals; a proposed re-alignment of book rights territories, The Bookseller - News - Call to ‘decolonise' publishing by promoting local houses and stop presses grabbing world rights; and more than 1,300 children's authors work together, Kid Lit Authors Petition Congress to Condemn Book Banning.
- A complimentary entry from our Endorsements page; On English Language editing: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' Anthony Fitzgerald
- Are you having difficulty producing a really good blurb to self-publish your book? Or do you need a synopsis to submit it to publishers? Our services can help.
- Links from writers: Do we write in a specific genre because it aligns with our interests, personality, and expertise? An Author's Dilemma: How to Write Across Genres While Maintaining Your ‘Brand' ‹ CrimeReads; bestselling author of the Alex Rider books speaks out, The Bookseller - News - Horowitz ‘shocked' at notes for new book, saying children's publishers scared of causing offence; lit agencies and publishers are changing the rules, How the Publishing World Is Muscling in on Hollywood Deals - The Hollywood Reporter; it is much easier to doctor someone else's work than to see faults in one's own, Six Things I Learned in Moving from Editor to Author | Writers & Artists; and an entertainingly cynical summary of ten plots used by canonical authors, The Fence, All Possible Plots by Major Authors.
- Writers' stories - they're just a bit of fun, but in a rare moment of inspiration we wrote some fictionalised stories of how the services could turn out, to give you a better idea of how they might work for you. Joe's fantasy novel benefited from some professional editing, when he signed up for an Editor's Report Plus. Tony needed Copy editing to get his manuscript into shape for publication or self-publishing.
- If you're planning to submit to agents, you'll want to get your submission package into good shape before getting started, to give your book its best chance.
- Links about marketing and reading: with social media coming so much to the fore, Is BookTok Changing the Way We Talk About Books? | Book Riot; still going strong, The Bookseller - News - Book subscription services continue to deliver post pandemic boom; a key market for books, The Bookseller - Comment - Women over 45 love books - it's time the book trade loved them back; and today's media ecosystem is dramatically different from the one in which I grew up, How Growing Up In the Digital Age Impacts Young Minds ‹ Literary Hub.
- From Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- Links from genre writers: when I became a novelist, I formulated this question in more technical terms, What Really Distinguishes a Crime Novel? ‹ CrimeReads; "Mistakes might be inevitable, but I think they are worth mitigating." Maggie Shipstead on Dealing with Mistakes in Writing ‹ Literary Hub; friends and fans of each other's work talk frankly about the highs of writing and the lows of addiction, The king and queen of popular fiction: Marian Keyes and Richard Osman on their successes and struggles | Books | The Guardian; a literary sensation which still casts a long shadow over the psychological thriller market, 'Gone Girl' Legacy: How the Bestseller Changed the Psychological Thriller Market; and have you ever claimed to be working toward a deadline when you most definitely, assuredly were not? George R.R. Martin Gives 'The Winds of Winter' Update.
- 'Writers must fortify themselves with pride and egotism as best they can. The process is analogous to using sandbags and loose timbers to protect a house against flood. Writers are vulnerable creatures like anyone else. For what do they have in reality? Not sandbags, not timbers. Just a flimsy reputation and a name.' The late, great SF writer Brian Aldiss in our Writers' Quotes.
- If quotes are your thing we have a very large collection in our Archive, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- ‘I never planned to be a writer at all. For years, maybe even today, sometimes I think, "What exactly am I going to do with my life What is my career going to be? I'm only 80, for God's sake!... I am fascinated by endurance. Human beings really do lead lives of quiet desperation. It's admirable really. Families are basically the only group that can't easily split up. It is my version of a disaster movie, you put people in a burning building and see how they behave under duress...' Anne Tyler, author of 26 novels, including The Accidental Tourist, Ladder of Years and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' Articles include Formatting your book for Kindle and Marketing and Promotion for Indie Authors: Online.
- Closing on 1 June, the 2022 Times/Chicken House writing competition is open to unpublished, unagented children's writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20. First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Louise Lamont at LBA Books, Second Prize: a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our latest new service Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from publishing, bookselling and reading: celebrated authors used to write essays chronicling the horrors of their tours, What Do We Lose-and Gain-As Book Tours Move Online? ‹ Literary Hub; a different point of view, The Bookseller - Comment - The wonder years: why adults should read kids' books; just a prejudice? I'm sure rightwingers read books. But you'll never meet one at a literary festival | Zoe Williams | The Guardian; and 89% of staffers responding to the survey had experienced stress, The Bookseller - News - Trade facing industry-wide burnout, Bookseller survey finds.
- It may surprise you to know that the first of Julie Wheelwright's Top Ten Tips for Nonfiction Writers is: 'Story, story, story. Make sure that your story can sustain several chapters and tens of thousands of words. Keep asking yourself: Why would anyone want to read this story?'
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Choosing a service can help you work out which service is right for you, or you could just email us.
- Writers' links: why did this bestselling author end the Falco series and switch to his adopted daughter, Flavia? Amphitheaters of Blood: PW Talks with Lindsey Davis; after all these years I can actually call myself a professional author, but The Bookseller - Comment - Should writers ever engage with trolls? Useful tips for writing any novel, How to write a Mills & Boon book - by Marguerite Kaye | Metro News; how difficult it seems, gazing back just seventy years to the late 1940s and 50s, to truly appreciate what a confusing and fraught era it was for our grandparents, Writing History When the Crime Is Stranger Than Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- More writers' links: how writers and others have contributed to change minds, Economics: too important to leave to the economists; I flip the page, my heart in my throat, as the modern world vanishes in the foul-smelling mist, 10 Reasons Why Victorian England Is the Perfect Setting for Murder ‹ CrimeReads; the work of the curator of the Instagram account @allwaysblack, on behalf of publishing giant Penguin Random House, All Ways Black: How one Instagram account is championing Black literature : NPR; the poet who's published 6 books of poetry, but still doesn't think she knows how to put a collection together, Ada Limón on How to Write a Poetry Collection ‹ Literary Hub; the fascinating identity people get from their families, Ten Close Families in Literature ‹ CrimeReads.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Avoiding rejection
- 'The most helpful quality a writer can cultivate is self-confidence - arrogance, if you can manage it. You write to impose yourself on the world, and you have to believe in your own ability when the world shows no sign of agreeing with you.' Hilary Mantel in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'In our world authors may grumble at poor advances, royalties and meagre sales, but at least - in the main - the money flows, as it should, towards the author and availability in shops is a given. In the alternative reality of hybrid, subsidised or contributory publishing, it is authors who provide the investment in return for giving up their rights. The rewards can be dubious... I take an old-fashioned view of such things. If authors are having to invest their own money in their publishing then they need to be clear on their goals and how their money is being used...' Philip Jones, editor of the Bookseller, in his editorial.
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Advances and royalties: 'Publishers usually offer to pay authors advances against royalties. How do you work out how much money you might earn from your book? You need to understand for yourself how advances and royalties work and what they mean for you...'
- From the same series, Copy editing and proof-reading explains the difference between the two. Copy editing is the painstaking job of going through a manuscript line by line to correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Proof-reading at a later stage is a separate check through the book when it is set up in pages, before it goes to press or is finalised for ebook publishing.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Links to articles about publishing: all told, it's rarely had a better decade, The Bookseller - Editor's Letter - Book publishing will have rarely have had a better two years than during the Covid-19 pandemic; the US Big Five and how they got there, Over the Past 25 Years, the Big Publishers Got Bigger-and Fewer; a challenging article about the UK Publishers' Association, Is the PA's leadership representative enough of the industry it serves? It's amazing just how much there is still to talk about, and how vital book publishing remains even as many newer technologies have come along, Book Sales in the U.S. Are Stronger Than Ever; the impact of the pandemic and continuing efforts to make the industry more inclusive, Michael Pietsch on Publishing at BISG: 'Best of Times, Worst of Times'; and an overview of how book fairs are doing now, International Book Fairs Still Thrive in the Digital Age.
- The Novel Prize 2022 is open to a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers from round the world. There's no entry fee and the winner gets $10,000 and publication of their novel by Fitzcarraldo Editions in the UK and Ireland, Giramondo in Australia and New Zealand, and New Directions in North America. It closes on 1 June, so not long to submit.
- Other competitions which are still open.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- Links from writers: many UK authors end up out of pocket if they sign deals with ‘hybrid' publishers, The Bookseller - Features - Author unions call for reform to address concerns over paid-for publishing deals; some of my readers don't seem to think that I should have been allowed to write the book that I wrote, Let Fiction Be Fiction; why should your average non-author know what an author actually does in the process of writing, publishing, and promoting a book? The 9 Biggest Myths About Nonfiction Trade Publishing, Debunked; and a survey shows an 11% increase in children's reading, The Bookseller - News - Children reading more books but enjoyment levels in 'worrying decline', report suggests.
- Have you been working on your book? Are you now ready to submit to publishers or to self-publish? We offer the widest range of editorial services on the web, tailored to writers' requirements and carried out by our professional editors, Our Services for writers.
- From our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services. Rasmus, Chile.'
- More links from writers: the long, rich history of private eyes - and why contemporary novelists keep on turning to them, Why the Mystery Novel Is a Perfect Literary Form ‹ CrimeReads; Swiss author tries his hand at publishing his own work, Bestselling Swiss author Joël Dicker tries his hand at self-publishing - SWI swissinfo.ch; how do you portray violence with some sense of morality? The Complicated Ethics of Writing Violence in Fiction | Time; and a real problem relating to writing fiction involving cutting-edge technology, How to Fictionalize New Technology Even As It's Constantly Changing ‹ Literary Hub.
- 'I don't choose my characters, rather, they come to me. Books choose their authors, at least that's what I believe.' Suzy Davies in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘And then I was away, because you've got that structure with traditional crime fiction. You don't have to worry about the plot, really. You've got a body, you've got a limited number of suspects. And you've got some form of resolution. Somebody said it's like a corset to hold you up.' Ann Cleeves, author of 39 crime novels, including the Palmer Joe, Vera Stanhope, Matthew Venn, Jimmy Perez and Inspector Ramsay series in the Bookseller.
- From Tom Chalmers, formerly of IPR, two articles about rights for self-publishers, Self-publishing - the rights way and How to get your book in the hands of an international audience. 'It's a fact that most self-published authors understand the process that takes them from a written manuscript to a published book, but few realise the additional elements that make publishing a profitable business. Rights licensing is arguably the most vital element in this equation. Whether it's selling translation rights, audio rights or optioning the film rights, these all help balance the book's books...'
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for over 20 years. We have introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Closing on 30 June, The Moth Short Story Prize 2022 is open to all writers over 16. The entry fee is €15 per story. 1st prize €3,000, 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus €250 travel stipend, 3rd prize €1,000.
- Links from publishers and bookellers: not so much a business meeting, more a family reunion, LBF: The verdict; it has grown from a weekly trade circular edited single-handedly into a publication that has recorded the history of the American book publishing business for a century and a half, ‘Publishers Weekly' at 150: Anatomy of a Magazine, 1872-2022; unit sales of print books in the US fell 8.9% in the first quarter, The Book Sales Boom Is Over; visiting Ukraine during the Soviet era, and searching in vain for Ukrainian books to read, and now Ukrainian publishing industry upended by Russian invasion : NPR; and 'we set up our tiny bookshop on a 1920s barge 12 years ago', Indie View: Word on the Water.
- If you're planning to submit to agents, you'll want to get your submission package into good shape before getting started, to give your book its best chance.
- 'Today I only want to say, "thank you". DM has done a truly great job. I have worked with her suggestions which have brought clarity and depth to my subject. Her work on my punctuation is brilliant. As I read through the manuscript now, it is like gliding on silk.' Helena Dodds on our Endorsements page.
- Links about writing: we all use it daily, but First Person Point of View: What it is & How to use it - The Art of Narrative; every writer I know has a finely honed system for avoiding writing, For This Historical Novelist Writing About Gilded Age New York, There's Always More Research to Be Done ‹ CrimeReads; writers have long been fascinated with themselves and their craft, 10 Essential Books About Writing | Bitch Media; why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? Why Write This Book? | Jane Friedman; and I had never written about the mysterious death of my mother - quite possibly at the hands of my father. My first true crime, On Writing and Living True Crime ‹ CrimeReads.
- Which service? provides a run through of our services so you can check what's right for you.
- Our printing and pubishing glossary is a useful tool for every writer.
- A miscellany of links: an interview with the bestselling children's writer, Jeff Kinney on his rise from ‘Wimpy Kid' to celebrated children's author | PBS News Weekend; so what did we learn from the deals made at LBF? What will we be reading next year? Five biggest trends from the London book fair | Books | The Guardian; the well-liked HarperCollins Children's executive publisher on her job, Questions for: Cally Poplak; and an ominous attempt to give politicians control of libraries, New Kentucky Law Hands Control of Libraries to Local Politicians.
- A cynical note in our Writers' Quotes from the bestselling thriller writer Jack Higgins, who died this week: 'The one thing you learn is that nobody knows what will sell.'
- The more I know about the characters, the easier it is to find the humour. How do I make it more exciting, funnier, more heartwarming? I'm aways asking myself these questions. The message of the book is finding friends who accept you for who you really are. It's about loving people even when it's hard, about doing the right thing even when it's scary.' A F Steadman, whose debut children's novel Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, the first in a five-book fantasy series, is published this month, in the Bookseller.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Promoting Your Writing (and Yourself) to Self-publishing: is it for you? from Keep up to date to Submission to publishers and agents. 'Be prepared to redraft your work and to rethink it. Many new writers assume that their work will immediately be ready for publication, but the truth is that many highly successful writers produced several drafts of their first work before they got it published.' and 'When you've got your work into the best state you can, put it on one side for a few weeks and then look at it afresh. You'll be amazed what difference a fresh eye will make.'
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of nine services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- Links from publishing: the first in-person fair for three years, London Book Fair 2022: Back to Britain; a spirit of international collaboration was in the air, The Bookseller - News - Excitement and international buzz in the air as publishers flock to LBF; some progress, but still a way to go, The Bookseller - News - Progress made on diversity but socio-economic background still 'major barrier', PA survey finds; and a graphic account from the front line, Ukraine's Vivat Publishing House Fights to Survive.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- Links from the Society of Authors and bookselling: a clash between personal views and organisational responsibility, The Bookseller - News - Philip Pullman quits as Society of Authors president in wake of Kate Clanchy criticism; customers can receive a full refund within 14 days of purchase, even if they have read every word, depriving authors of royalties from those sales, The Bookseller - News - SoA calls on Amazon to cut e-books refund window as petition against policy passes 33,000; in order for bookstores to thrive in the 21st century, we must rethink the whole enterprise, The endurance of good bookstores; and maybe booksellers have been written off too soon, Bookstores Tap Nostalgia for Borders, Barnes & Nobles - Bloomberg.
- If you are not a native English speaker but you want to publish your book in English to make it available to the international market, what do you do? If your English is good enough, what about writing it in English or translating your book into English yourself, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker? The result should be a publishable manuscript at a relatively low cost, provided by our English Language Editing Service. How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth).
- Links from writers and about genres: labels are fraught, but they are "highly useful" and we "actually need them more than ever", How Important Is Genre When Pitching and Promoting Your Book? | Jane Friedman; writing books that sell, How Writing a Serialized Novel Helped Carley Moore Connect With the World During a Time of Disconnection ‹ Literary Hub; is this a new genre? The Disaffected Narrators of Internet Gothic Fiction; and a fascinating account of how new covers - and a TV series - worked, Bridgerton's Netflix book covers reflect changing attitudes toward romance over the years.
- Have you ever wondered whether there's any point in entering competitions? Someone must be winning, but why is it somehow never you? Here's some tips to help you achieve a better result. Entering competitions.
- And finally, more links from writers: "Writing is a business and a business needs to be promoted or it will fail."My Tips on Public Speaking for Authors - Caroline James Author Blog; the ways adult gatekeepers encourage girls to read books about boys but discourage, prevent, or even shame boys from reading about girls, Soapbox: Have We Solved the Problem of Boy Books and Girl Books? How are stories about diversity, sexuality and even contemporary world events being deemed inappropriate for younger readers? ‘Out of touch': children's authors describe increasing censorship of books on diversity | Books | The Guardian; a poet describes how her poem reached a huge audience, When Poetry Goes Viral; and in the global refugee crisis millions of young people are in need of books, Book Aid International: now more than ever, books are a lifeline.
- Rotten Rejections provides a note of the things publishers wish they'd never said: on Animal Farm by George Orwell ‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA' and Carrie by Stephen King 'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.'
- 'Writing after many years becomes a place you can hide. Because you acquire a certain amount of craft, it allows you to do something while not revealing yourself.' Anne Carson in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'After all, one of the great things about books is that they don't disappear after the first year of their publication - barring floods and thieves, they can loiter forever on your shelves, waiting to be picked up and rediscovered, manic publicity cycle be damned. They can be revisited, loaned out, traded, forgotten and found. They can have strange, long lives.' Emily Temple, managing editor at Lit Hub and author of The Lightness.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, Subsidiary Rights: 'My first job in publishing was in a subsidiary rights department. I'm ashamed to admit that I accepted the job without having much idea what subsidiary rights were. Many writers may feel just as vague about this part of publishing, so here's a quick breakdown...' and The English Language Publishing World: 'Why does the traditional publishing world get divided up into publishing territories? How has this come about? How does it affect authors?'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- The Laurel Prize 2022 closes on 17 April. Entries are open to all poets writing in the English language anywhere in the world. Self-published collections are not eligible. No entry fee. UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is supporting this prize of an annual award for the best collection of nature or environmental poetry to highlight the climate crisis and raise awareness of the challenges and potential solutions at this critical point in our planet's life. First Prize - £5,000 Second Prize - £2,000 Third Prize - £1,000. Prize for Best First Collection - £500
- Links from publishing: People in the book community have strong feelings about it, Is Goodreads a good thing? | Book Riot; and reading is cool again, The reading renaissance: could the #BookTok bump save publishing? A local school board had voted to remove Art Spiegelman's Holocaust classic Maus from its curriculum, ‘It's a culture war that's totally out of control': the authors whose books are being banned in US schools | Books | The Guardian; until I started doing research for this article, I had no idea that Book of the Month is almost 100 years old, The Effect of Book of the Month on Book Sales | Book Riot; two links to articles about the key international children's book fair, Bologna 2022: The Bologna Book Fair Is Back for 2022; and Bologna 2022: Quieter Fair, But Good to Be Back; and from the largest trade publisher in the country, Russia's Eksmo Asks World to Rethink Boycott
- How to market your writing services online is a useful article from Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk about selling yourself as a writer. 'Recently someone commented to me that I seem to be doing a pretty good job of promoting my writing services on the internet. I was touched by the observation - we writers get so many rejections that a little praise is especially gratifying. And I began to wonder - what does it take to market yourself successfully as a jobbing writer today?...'
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- Links from writers: I never once aspired to be a screenwriter in the glamorous world of film. It simply didn't occur to me. Until I moved to Los Angeles. Novels, Screenplays, and the Writers Who Do Both ‹ CrimeReads; it is a truth universally acknowledged - at least among romance readers - that whenever someone brings up the Regency romance, the sentence that follows must inevitably mention Jane Austen, When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer? - Vox; there was nowhere else Saunders would rather be than here, chopping it up with commenters young and old, near and far, longtime fans and first-time callers, Why Novelists Are Embracing Substack - Can Substack Reinvent the Social Internet? Crime fiction, what is it, anyway? The Two Camps of Crime: Christie's Cool, Cozy Tales of Ratiocination and Highsmith's Psycho-Sexual Deep Waters ‹ CrimeReads.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- More links from writers: it's no wonder that so many spy writers have tunnelled their way into East Berlin over the years, Can Contemporary Spy Novels Ever Live Up to the Cold War Classics? ‹ CrimeReads; a writer on the fascinating subject of writers' relationships, ‘I couldn't face the resentment and rage': can artistic couples have successful relationships? | Books | The Guardian; Nancy Allen urges readers not to turn away from the dangers women face, In Defense of a Thriller Trope: "Damsels in Distress" ‹ CrimeReads; and Scotland's western metropolis, Glasgow: City of Business, City of Crime ‹ CrimeReads.
- 'An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself.' Irwin Shaw in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘There are moments when I'm writing a character, who might be from a different ethnicity to mine, or a different sex or gender or background. I start worrying about what the reaction might be because it's so unfathomable. And that is scary because writers shouldn't be following the agenda, they should be setting it. But that's not happening any more. You get writers making extraordinary statements, like Sebastian Faulks who said he would never describe what a woman looked like any more because that's objectifying...' Anthony Horowitz, author of 36 novels for children and adults, including The Magpie Murders and the Alex Rider series, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- An Editor's Advice on planning, part of our 7-part series, 'Some people like to know exactly what they're doing before they start writing. They make very elaborate diagrams of the plot, note what each character is doing and when - this is particularly useful if you're writing a story which depends very heavily on a complex series of events coming together at just the right moment. Some writers focus on building detailed descriptions of their characters, so they know how they will react in any given situation, and then put them into the action. Once they've made a plan, they stick to it, but they then make a note of the ideas they have as they work, and then go back later and see if they can be incorporated into the story. If not, they might be worth using elsewhere...'
- If you've come to the site looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one would suit you best? Which Report? includes our top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Links from the publishing and bookselling worlds: US bookshop giant scores with backlist sales, Barnes & Noble's 'Solid' 2021; surprise closure of internet retailer's bricks and mortar outlets, Amazon to Close All Bookstores; 'I fell in love with the business all over again as I experienced what the bookshop meant to me, our staff and our customers', Indie View: Chepstow Books & Gifts; and since the two skill-sets are becoming increasingly similar, The Bookseller - News - Pandemic and long hours prompt editors to turn to agenting.
- Here's a detailed article on how to prepare Your submission package - 'Given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript...'
- Are you having difficulty producing a really good blurb to self-publish your book? Or do you need a synopsis to submit it to publishers? Our services can help.
- Links from writers about writing: her breakout book was a bestseller described by Stephen King as a "true nerve-shredder", Catriona Ward: ‘When done right, horror is a transformative experience' | Horror books | The Guardian; packaged in many ways, truth is the backbone of every story that satisfies the reader, no matter if we write murder mysteries, thrillers with its many subgroups, historical suspense, or real-life crime novels, Fiction, History, and Truth ‹ CrimeReads; it's natural for authors to wonder if their own work is suitable for adaptation, What Kind of Book Translates Well to the Screen? | Jane Friedman; a novel solution for a writing riddle, Having Trouble With Novel Structure? Look at It Like a Mixtape ‹ Literary Hub; and my favourite part of writing, The Joy of Researching Historical Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- Our 20 Services for writers - just a list of what we offer at WritersServices.
- We have a new page which gives an editor's take on using pdfs, So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- More links from writers: no city has been a deeper well for espionage fiction, Why Berlin Is the Mecca of Espionage Fiction: A Conversation with Joseph Kanon and Paul Vidich ‹ CrimeReads; 'Ah yes. Writing. Life... That's the problem. You can have a life or you can do some writing, but not both at once...', "When? Where? How?" Margaret Atwood Considers the Burning Questions of the Writing Life ‹ Literary Hub; Grace Paley once said, "Women have always done men the favor of reading their work and men have not returned the favor." Why Are So Many Men Still Resistant to Reading Women? ‹ Literary Hub; and other writers on the late, great children's writer, Shirley Hughes remembered: ‘Everything she shone her attention on turned to gold' | Shirley Hughes | The Guardian.
- From our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services. Rasmus, Chile.'
- 'Always thought being a writer would be one of the most useless things you could be in a zombie apocalypse, but it turns out arts and culture and storytelling is what helps us get through. Along with science, doctors, nurses, delivery people, farm workers and supermarket cashiers.' Lauren Beukes in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'Normally agents and editors read a book thinking. "Do I love this, would other people love this?" Now a new concern has sprung up: "Will other people object to it?" You're worrying about whether what characters say can be taken out of context, screengrabbed and put on Twitter, and that the author will be punished. Books are judged by people who haven't read them more than ever before...' An unnamed publishing editor in the Sunday Times Culture.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- English Language Editing is a polishing service for writers writing in English who are not native English speakers. It is specially designed to help non-native speakers of English to find success in the international publishing market. If English is not your native language, you may require extra help to take your work to a professional standard and a native level of fluency.
- The 2022 Page Turner Awards are open to all writers over 18 across the world in five categories. Entry fees and £35,000 prize fund. Closing 31 May 2022.
- Other live competitions.
- Links from the publishing world: encouraging news about US book sales, Bookstore Sales Rose 28% in 2021; a few years ago, I dove into romance novels again with absolute delight, How to get into romance books - and why you should - Polygon; more on romance, the romance sector from a representation point of view, The Bookseller - Features - Love without limits: editors and authors on the barriers to a diverse romance sector; and one author's experience of having her prize-winning book assessed by experts who would detect and reform its problematic racism and ableism, How sensitivity readers corrupt literature - UnHerd.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 17 years. We have introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Health Hazards is our special series about the various health risks for writers, including the dreaded Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you know you're spending too much time at a keyboard, it's worth making sure you're being careful about how you're sitting, your eyes and your wrists. Although Coronavirus may be the main health risk you're focused on at the moment, these special dangers writers face are worth thinking about.
- Links about writing: are authors artists who should worry first and foremost about creating the best art they can, or is it more important to understand the business side of the equation? Some Words About Word Counts - by Lincoln Michel; a strong character arc really is the key to an emotionally affecting novel, one that will make a strong connection with readers, Want to Write a Great Novel? Be Brave. | Jane Friedman; five poets on their work, A Zoom of One's Own: Poetry 2022; and "I don't remotely feel as if I've been ‘cancelled'", Author Joanne Harris turns down US book deal over censoring of ‘f-bomb' | Joanne Harris | The Guardian.
- Poets are naturally keen to see their work in print but it's actually quite hard to get a first collection taken on by a publisher. This is because most poetry lists are pretty small. Poetry is not in general given much space in bookshops and it is difficult to achieve any sales for first collections. Self-publishing offers a good approach and the live poetry scene is much livelier than it used to be. Getting your poetry published
- More links from writers: the author who had his manuscript knocked back by publishers 44 times, The Bookseller - Author Interviews - Douglas Stuart | 'Mungo was a way to explore masculinity and how we teach little boys how to be men'; the freedom for anyone to reproduce or reimagine books once they are out of copyright is corrupting classic texts, The Great Gapsby? How modern editions of classics lost the plot | Publishing | The Guardian; the difficult set of decisions which face a literary executor, When a Writer Dies: Making Difficult Decisions About the Work Left Behind | Jane Friedman; and I've found darkness lurking in some of the most unexpected places, The Darker Side of Jane Austen ‹ CrimeReads.
- Our 20 Services for Writers.
- ‘Words may, through the devotion, the skill, the passion, and the luck of writers prove to be the most powerful thing in the world.' William Golding in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘We are getting more and more manuscripts in English from all over the world. A decade ago we'd get two but mostly from scientists or journalists but now we get a lot in fiction and YA... But also with a lot of fan fiction in Holland and Scandinavia, these people will write in English straight away because they also want to get published in the UK or US. Back in the day the largest goal for authors was to be published in their own language but nowadays... if they write in English, the world is their audience.' Paul Sebes, founder of Amsterdam-headquartered Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency, which has just opened a London office, in the Bookseller.
- A must-read for children's authors is Suzy Jenvey's special series for WritersServices, the four-part Essential Guide to Writing for Children. The first article looks at the all-important question of age groups and what you should be aware of in writing for each one. The second part is - Before You Write: What is My Story Going to be? The third part deals with Starting to Write and the fourth part is about Submitting Your Work to Agents and Editors. This series by a hugely experienced children's editorial director and agent helps you get started on your own story or develop what you're already working on.
- Our Writer's edit is a top-level new service for writers who want line-editing as well as copy editing. Does your manuscript need skilled professional input from an editor to help you get it into the best possible shape for submission or self-publishing? This may be the service for you, offering the kind of editing which publishers' senior editors used to do in-house on their authors' manuscripts and which is now hard to find. Our other copy editing services.
- The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2022 is for adults writing poetry for children. It's open to all poets across the world over the age of 16. The entry fee is €14 per poem and the prize is worth €1,000. Closing 31 March 2022.
- There's an interesting crop of links this week. From the publishing world: not unexpectedly, year one of the pandemic was an e-book bonanza, The Bookseller - Features - Digital sales contract by 13% at the Big Six as large houses report e-book dip; the hot topic of the week is AI and audiobooks, AI Influence on Audiobooks Grows-As Does Controversy; more on this, Synthetic Voices Want to Take Over Audiobooks | WIRED; at last there's some movement on improving accessibility, Publishers Are Increasing Accessibility to Content; and the extraordinary growth of a challenger to Amazon, Interview: Andy Hunter on Bookshop.org's Second Anniversary.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I am delighted with the feedback and so pleased with all the great suggestions which were so much more than I expected. A really brilliant service.' Sally Gibbins , Birmingham, UK, on her children's copy editing.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- Links about writing: a surprising new trend, Tales of the unexpected: the surprise boom in UK short stories | Short stories | The Guardian; beware sites which charge thousands of pounds upfront for ghostwritten books, The Bookseller - News - Okri warns authors over ghostwriting sites claiming to have written string of bestsellers; you'd think that being a senior publicity manager at a children's publisher, I'd be in a great place to do PR for my own book, Putting on my second hat; and the ring of the doorbell, the pop of a champagne cork, a peal of laughter from another room, The Art of Throwing Truly Memorable Parties - In Suspense Novels ‹ CrimeReads.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Avoiding rejection.
- More links from writers: they're often the star of the show, but Why Do We Feel So Much Empathy for Villains? ‹ CrimeReads; a desperate resolution - get up an hour earlier than necessary six days a week and spend those sixty minutes writing short fiction, Here's What Can Happen When You Resolve to Write a Little Every Day | Jane Friedman; those who have mastered the art of influence, attracting social media followers and fame, do have a book inside them - and it seems publishers don't want to let it stay there, Writing under the influence: how social media stars are taking over publishing; and an extraordinary story from WWII, The Diabolical Witchcraft of MI9: How British Intelligence Encouraged POWs to Escape and Gather Intelligence ‹ CrimeReads.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? Our editorial services have been added in response to demand, so whatever you want we've probably got it covered with our 20 different services.
- 'Our lives are spent plopped on the gluteal upholstery for eight hours a day with only imaginary friends for company, spinning lies, marinating in envy, and wondering when the Pulitzer committee is going to twig to our brilliance.' Sarah Bird in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘There's a whole debate about... whether we're just constrained to write about ourselves. But it's always seemed to me to be an absolute base fundamental that imagining my way into somebody's else's consciousness and what makes them yearn, what makes them happy, what makes them anxious - this kind of projection into another soul's being and, in many cases, into people's consciousness who are very unlike me, a different gender, a different age - has always been what writing has been about. Supposing Dickens had only written about himself?... Rose Tremain, author of 15 books, including Restoration, Sacred Country, Music and Silence and The Gustav Sonata.
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Lynda Finn about the isolation of New Zealand writers and their problems with getting published, British author Eliza Graham, author of Playing with the Moon, on her route to publication and Zoe Jenny, who is Swiss, on writing in English and why it was liberating. Send us your contributions, ideally 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us.
- The BBC National Short Story Award 2022 is open to British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over. There's no entry fee and the winner gets £15,000 plus 4 shortlisted authors receive £600. There's lots of publicity through the BBC. Closing 21 March.
- Three other competitions are closing very shortly.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links on writing: don't forget: all great writers (and many of their now-beloved books) have been rejected, some of them many, many times, 20 Famous Writers on Being Rejected ‹ Literary Hub; Guadalcanal Diary made a steady climb up the bestseller charts, Creating a Classic of Military Literature; since the pandemic arrived in early 2020, the publishing community has turned its eye toward online events as a key way to spread word of mouth about books, How to Plan and Host Worthwhile Online Book Events | Jane Friedman; publishing has seen any number of innovative ideas that for one reason or another failed to thrive, Five Obscure But Interesting Publishing Experiments | Tor.com; and a long article about an extraordinary man, The Story of 18th Century England's Booming Graverobbing Industry, and the Man Who Inspired ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' ‹ CrimeReads.
- From Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- Authors often find it difficult to write their own synopsis for submission to publishers, which is where our Synopsis-writing service can help. If you're preparing to self-publish and having difficulty with your blurb, our Blurb-writing service from a professional copy-writer will make your book stand out.
- Links from the publishing world: after authors including Kate Mosse and Philip Pullman warned that proposals to change the UK's copyright laws could be "devastating" for writers, Government pauses plans to rewrite UK copyright laws after authors protest | Books | The Guardian; a children's author has a seemingly unstoppable record-setting run of earning eight figures in the UK, Donaldson reigns supreme as backlist surge sees new authors make top 50; there's good news and bad news, Americans are buying more books-but reading fewer of them than ever. What gives? ‹ Literary Hub; are we confronted with an unprecedented "new illiteracy"? The History of Book Banning; and how publishers with a very local brief are thriving, Hackney author talks independent publishing | Hampstead Highgate Express.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- Links from writers: what I want to do here is poke around a little bit in the who and the when and the how of writing these murder scenes, On Where We Get Our Ideas ‹ CrimeReads; what some call science fiction, I prefer to call science possible or sometimes science probable, Malorie Blackman on seeing her sci-fi novel about a pig heart transplant come true | Malorie Blackman | The Guardian; is he the quintessential Californian crime fiction writer? California Son: A Conversation with T. Jefferson Parker ‹ CrimeReads; like listening to your own soul speaking quietly as you turn the pages, My Year of Reading Every Ursula K. Le Guin Novel ‹ Literary Hub; it takes years to write a book, Annie Dillard on How Writers Learn to Trust Instinct ‹ Literary Hub.
- Advice for writers gives you access to the mass of information on the Writersservices website in our more than 8,000 pages.
- Hanya Yanagihara, who has just published To Paradise gives us the counter-approach to finding your audience in this week's quote: 'It never occurred to me to write something people want to read.'
- ‘If there is anything I believe to be foundational to the business of writing then it is this: writing is work. To frame it in this way is to acknowledge that good writing doesn't come out, fully formed, at two in the morning; and nor does it require anything extraordinary in the way of genius or education, although of course it's possible to have an aptitude for it, and reading helps. Instead, good writing happens, in increments, between everything else that needs to be done... Jessie Greengrass, author of Sight and The High House: A Novel in an article entitled Learning, Practice, and Repetition: Why the Act of Writing Is Work.
- Our article on How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers with a manuscript which needs translating or has been written in English by a non-native speaker: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself, or writing in English, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- English Language Editing is our polishing service for writers who have translated their work into English or written it in English when it is not their native language. If you need to make sure it's good enough to publish, or send to a publisher, this service is for you. Acknowledging the growth of world English, English Language Editing is designed for the many non-native English speakers throughout the world who want to publish their work in English.
- Other editing services.
- It may surprise you to know that the first of Julie Wheelwright's Top Ten Tips for Nonfiction Writers is: 'Story, story, story. Make sure that your story can sustain several chapters and tens of thousands of words. Keep asking yourself: Why would anyone want to read this story?'
- Our links from the publishing world: good news that there's a booming appetite for crime, sci-fi and romance and it's driving fiction sales, UK book sales in 2021 highest in a decade | Booksellers | The Guardian; a major win against book piracy, Authors Win $7.8 Million Default Judgment in Global Piracy Lawsuit; the stagnation in the industry was stark and filled me with despair, As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing's lack of diversity | Natalie Jerome - Verve times; as the London Book Fair announces a face-to-face fair, Bologna Affirms In-Person Plans, Opens Awards to Non-Exhibitors; and it's not always so predictable what they're going to say, 2022 predictions: Industry leaders look at what lies ahead | The Bookseller.
- A new comment from a writer on our Endorsements page: 'Many thanks to you and the Editor for the edits, and the comments. I am really pleased with the services of your company. Will definitely use it again.' Merlin, India
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information.
- Links from writers: 'a blazing book of rage and light, a grand opera of liberation from the shadows of indifference and oppression', Joelle Taylor wins TS Eliot poetry prize for ‘blazing' C+nto & Othered Poems; here's a writer who loved how her book was adapted for the screen, I Wrote A Book. It Was Adapted Into a Movie. Everything Went Really Well. ‹ CrimeReads; what on earth was he doing it for? For want of a motive for the book thief, let's run through some possibilities | Stephanie Merritt | The Guardian; conventional wisdom in the Western literary tradition holds that character determines plot, I'm not mad about Ben Smith; I'm mad at all of this - Poynter; how her teaching career affected her writing, Joanne Harris on how her career as a teacher shaped her career as a writer ‹ CrimeReads; and some writers won't read a word of any novel while they're writing their own, Zadie Smith on Reading While You Write ‹ Literary Hub.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- Our Services for Writers is a simple list of the 20 services we offer.
- More links from writers: "Isn't that just vampire romances?" is what they say, but YA is leading the way | The Bookseller; it just shows how much money authors can make, Revenues up £1.3m at Roald Dahl Story Company before Netflix deal earned £370m | The Bookseller; for the boy who would one day become Lee Child, reading was all about escape, The Obscure French Thriller That May Hold the Secrets to Jack Reacher's World ‹ CrimeReads; a 2022 Audit Wish List for publishers, Richard Charkin: A 2022 Publishing Resolution; and my psychotherapy training has been the best preparation for becoming a writer - even more so than my publishing career! Psychotherapy and fiction.
- 'Half the people I know want to be writers... Why do you say want? If you're already doing it, then it's not about the future. It already exists in the present.' Paul Auster in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘Quite a few of my authors have wanted to move into screenwriting which makes sense because publishing doesn't always pay them enough to keep them going in that particular way. I know publishers will disagree but I think there are some ideas that are better for screen than necessarily for books and vice versa, so that actually that is the thing I think agents should start to begin pivoting towards more rather than seeing it as an adjunct... particularly because film and television companies are desperate for IP and this is kind of a glorious time...' Agent Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary in London in conversation with the Bookseller's managing editor Tom Tivnan at last month's FutureBook conference.
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Advances and royalties: 'Publishers usually offer to pay authors advances against royalties. How do you work out how much money you might earn from your book? You need to understand for yourself how advances and royalties work and what they mean for you...'
- From the same series, Copy editing and proof-reading explains the difference between the two. Copy editing is the painstaking job of going through a manuscript line by line to correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Proof-reading at a later stage is a separate check through the book when it is set up in pages, before it goes to press or is finalised for ebook publishing.
- The 2021 Manchester Writing Competition is open to writers across the world. Entry fee for both prizes £18. Two £10,000 prizes are awarded: the Manchester Poetry Prize for best portfolio of poems and the Manchester Fiction Prize for best short story. Closing on 28 January 2022.
- Our links on writers and writing: from the astoundingly prolific author of 40 novels, James Lee Burke on Organized Labor, Corporate Evils, and the Plot to Dumb Down America ‹ CrimeReads; two authors who have published memoirs that peel back the curtain on their careers, Jami Attenberg and Bernardine Evaristo discuss their new memoirs | EW.com; there are wonderful stories in publishing, but this one is pure magic, A Forbidden Love Grows in Douglas Stuart's Glasgow; a conversation which ended up touching on almost every hot button topic in the genre, Sara Gran Talks Publishing, Sex Magic, and Ownership for Authors ‹ CrimeReads; and, a late addition which was originally published earlier this year, revived now to mark her recent death, California cool and Magical Thinking: Joan Didion at 86 | Joan Didion | The Guardian.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links on the craft of writing: a key marketing tool which must prompt potential readers to pick up the book in a bookstore or click on it online, Choose the Perfect Title for Your Novel or Memoir: 7 Authors Offer Tips | Jane Friedman; for a long time, I believed that my only hope of becoming a professional writer was to find the perfect tool, Can "Distraction-Free" Devices Change the Way We Write? | The New Yorker; nothing stresses me out like having too much work on my plate; too little time to do it, When Time Is the Enemy: The Ticking-Clock Thriller ‹ CrimeReads; it's all about a beautifully designed book, The 101 Best Book Covers of 2021 ‹ Literary Hub; and why do I ponder falling action so regularly? Falling Action: What it is & How to use it - The Art of Narrative.
- If you are trying to get your work into shape for publication, or for self-publishing, there's plenty of information on the WritersServices website which may help. Advice for writers
- A miscellany of links: what can we say about 2021, as a whole? It was a little bit better than 2020, if still not the greatest year in recent memory, The 10 Biggest Literary Stories of the Year ‹ Literary Hub; handwritten material by the Brontës, Austen, Scott and Burns, Rescued library of literary treasures evokes closeness to authors | Books | The Guardian; novels containing any commentary about race, sexuality and sexual content were put under the microscope, US conservative parents push for book bans - and unintentionally make reading cool again | US education | The Guardian; and his ascent to national treasure status was fuelled by a 70-year career as an illustrator, the late Quentin Blake: ‘I'm not so committed to cheering everybody up, you know' | Quentin Blake | The Guardian. (Thanks to the Guardian for its brilliant coverage.)
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- 'The more you read, the more you write, and the more you free yourself to do so, the better writer you will become.' Adrienne Posey in our Writers Quotes.
- If quotes are your thing we have a very large collection in our Archive, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- "I never give advice to young writers. They don't need someone to tell them to write something every day. The one thing I will say is: have fun with it. Don't listen to all these authors who tell you that writing is such hard work... If you go into it thinking that, it's going to be a chore for you. If you instead go, "Hey! Look at me writing. I'm creating something! I'm having a good time!" that's the way to go. Writing is a lot easier when you have that attitude." R.L.Stine, celebrated author of dozens of children's books, many in the horror genre, who died recently.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Manuscript presentation, Dialogue, Doing further drafts and Planning: 'So, you need to provide good-sized margins, double-spacing, Times New Roman or Courier, and not at a microscopic point size. This applies as much for on-screen reading as for reading on paper. Why? Because editors and readers are human rather than automata, and we do not have bionic eyes. We read a lot every day. Well-spaced text in a typeface and point size that are easy on the eye make all the difference between a pleasant day's work and hours of agony.'
- 'Professional copy editing does make sense, either if you are trying to give your work its best chance when submitting it or, even more crucially, if you are planning to self-publish. But how are you supposed to tell who will do a good job, when the editorial services on the web all sound pretty much the same and it's tempting to go for the cheapest?' Getting your manuscript copy edited
- The Selfies Book Awards UK 2022 is open to authors who have self-published adult fiction, children's books or adult memoirs/autobiography in the UK between January and December 2021. Entry fee: £30 per title to include a six-month subscription to Bookbrunch. There's a £750 cash prize for each category plus other prizes. Closing on 3 January.
- Other competitions which are still open.
- Links from the publishing world: would it really affect most authors? PRH Fires Back at the DoJ's Effort to Stop Its S&S Purchase; 'in an article claiming to include every genre, romance was nowhere to be seen', RNA 'demands respect' as romantic fiction excluded from Sunday Times best books list | The Bookseller; the publishing industry had an unexpectedly good year in 2020, but what's next? Michael Pietsch Looks at Publishing's (Near) Future; booksellers have kept readers around the UK going throughout a series of lockdowns, Crowdfunding offers the UK's independent booksellers a pandemic lifeline | Books | The Guardian; and more crowd-funding,this time for a literary magazine, The White Review launches £10k crowdfunder to support its future | The Bookseller.
- Our Children's Editorial Services help you to get your children's book ready for publication or self-publishing. Have you found it difficult to get expert editorial input on your work ? Do you want to know if it might find a publisher? Or are you planning to self-publish?
- A new entry to our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services. Rasmus, Chile.'
- Links for writers: Why would someone like me want to write about trauma? Why would anyone read it? The Psychology of Reading and Writing Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; 37 books which have sold more than 150 million copies around the world, 'Interview with a Vampire' Author Anne Rice Dies at Age 80; "I write my first draft in longhand," Robert Caro's Journalism Lessons | The New Republic; isn't it astonishing that someone working for the other side would have two Russian flags in their apartment? The Story of Espionage Is (Often) the Story of Incompetence ‹ CrimeReads.
- Are you thinking of submitting your book to an agent? Try our Finding an Agent page or Your Submission package.
- More links from writers: lost - the lovely, easy flow - the gush, often - of language, The Ironic Twist of Age: What It's Like to Keep Writing at 91 ‹ Literary Hub; it's difficult to predict whether a book will be a hit, Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It's Unreliable'; there will always be another James Bond movie, James Bond: acclaimed writers explain how they would reinvent 007 | James Bond | The Guardian; and for English speakers, there seems to be an expectation that the entire world should be instantly legible, Why Book Translators Are Fighting for More Credit.
- Get your manuscript typed up! Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our Typing manuscripts service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with revision, submission or publication.
- 'The biggest mistake you can make as an author is to think while writing "What does the reader wants to hear"? Because unique worlds & characters are built inside an individual mind. And also your readers do not know what they want to read until they read it.' Laura Chouette in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘By the time you get to a company that's bigger than, say, 300 or 400 people, an amazing amount of the energy that's expended is internal, it's all about filling out forms and attending meetings and setting standards and training and it's got very little to do with publishing. As an editor with a book you really believe in, you don't tell the world about it... We're nimble, we're flexible, we're not numbers driven in the same way, so we can publish books at the optimum time which is best for the book and best for the author and not because we have to fit it in as the 1,000th book that has to slot in with 999 others... Andrew Franklin, publisher of UK indie Profile Books, speaking at a recent IPG conference on Why indie publishers are better than conglomerates.
- Bob's Journal is a long-running column from writer Bob Ritchie described by fellow EastEnders script-writer Pippa McCarthy: 'Just discovered your web page... I've just spent the last hour crying with laughter with periodic yelps of 'been there!'... I'm going to make my entire family read your diary. Then perhaps will understand own bizarre behaviour every time I start a script... Anyway, will shut up now but just wanted to say you have cheered me up no end. It's brilliant.'
- New - the PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2022. Anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and who is un-agented and in the process of writing a piece of fiction is eligible to enter. No entry fee. Three category winners will receive representation at PFD and guidance for completing their novel. Closing on 22 March, so plenty of time to prepare your entry.
- Have you been working on your book? Are you now ready to submit to publishers or to self-publish? We offer the widest range of editorial services on the web, tailored to writers' requirements and carried out by our professional editors, Our Services for writers.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I've used two services with this company: The Editor's Plus Report and the Writer's Edit. I am completely satisfied with the service I received and said service has led to the completion and publication of my first novel: Lightforce. I would recommend any of these services to any aspiring author.' Jason Handleman, author of Lightforce (Everything Changes Book 1).
- Our links for writers: can you write anywhere? Ann Patchett on Creating the Work Space You Need ‹ Literary Hub; the early days of forensics, From Superstition to Science ‹ CrimeReads; lockdown offered many frustrated writers a key to unbolt the constraints of daily routine and an opportunity to work on your manuscript, Authors and experts on how to get your book published; this year's key prizes have gone to writers from Africa and the diaspora, From the Booker to the Nobel: why 2021 is a great year for African writing | Books | The Guardian; and languages rich in imagery and metaphor, Languages and fiction.
- Advice for writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- Links from the publishing world: a well-informed but common-sense view from Mike Shatzkin, Doubts about the Department of Justice's objection to the PRH acquisition of S&S - The Idea Logical Company; the publisher's initial diversity report, Penguin Random House Authors and Creators Skew Heavily White; audio is booming, The UK's Publishers Association Charts a 'Steep Rise' in Audiobook Sales; small decline but Will Publishing Sales Grow Again? The huge potential of the backlist, A reprinted 1934 book going viral on BookTok sends an unequivocal message to publishers sitting on backlists and to publishers who still think the internet is the enemy of reading - The New Publishing Standard.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- More links for writers: "What is the feeling you want to leave the reader with, when they finish this piece?" Nailing the Walkaway - The Millions; "There is really so much to admire in this manuscript," the email began. The Kindest Cut: On Rejection - The Millions; fascinating background reading, The British and Reading: a short history; and ripping up the traditional book publishing paradigm in politics, Trump allies launch publishing house with an eye on upending the book industry - POLITICO.
- Have you managed to find a publisher for your work and are now enjoying the thrill of knowing that your book will soon be published? If you're wondering what happens next, here is an outline of the processes involved. Preparing for publication.
- ‘All fiction is largely autobiographical and much autobiography is, of course, fiction.' P D James in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘What Hollywood needs is more and more content because of all the outlets, but in many cases, before studios buy the rights to a book, they need some form of validation, so they know something is good. I don't think [exclusively] writing books ever was a way to make a living. I mean, in the old days, authors were doctors and lawyers and had real jobs. Writing was rarely considered a full-time job. The difference is now, there are so many other opportunities for authors to write.' Peter Gethers, Knopf editor-at-large and co-producer.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series: on Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page...'
- On The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...'
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 17 years. We have introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Links about writing: film and tv offer more and more opportunities for writers, How Authors Are Becoming Hollywood Power Players | Marie Claire (US); how your book can contain dreadful errors, Getting It Wrong: How Thomas Perry Learned to Live With His Books' Errors ‹ CrimeReads; one name that is, conspicuously and appropriately, left off the press release, Ghostwriters Come Out of the Shadows; how do you write about real people in historical fiction? The Ethics of Literary Revivification - Writer's Digest; that so many former spies became novelists is not surprising, From Tradecraft and Trench Coats to Magic and Adventure: When Spies Write for Children; and literature that makes integral use of or is generated by digital technology, How Collaborating With Artificial Intelligence Could Help Writers of the Future ‹ Literary Hub.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- Links from the publishing world: a cracking read in the niche genre of antitrust litigation? A $2.2 Billion Penguin Deal Can't Be Good for Books - The Washington Post; but there's another side to this story, Book-Industry Insiders Back the Biden Administration's Bid to Stop a Publishing Mega-Merger | Vanity Fair; how distribution problems are affecting authors, Singing the Supply Chain Blues; quadrupled but 'still not there', Report shows fourfold rise in minority ethnic characters in UK children's books | Children and teenagers | The Guardian; and book fairs (surprisingly) combine, Shanghai Children's Book Fair Postponed to Next Year.
- Authors often find it difficult to write their own synopsis for submission to publishers, which is where our Synopsis-writing service can help. If you're preparing to self-publish and having difficulty with your blurb, our Blurb-writing service from a professional copy-writer will make your book stand out.
- More links from writers: paratext fascinates me to no end, Why Don't Books Have A Credits Page? Embedded firmly between the cozy and the hard-boiled, like middle-aged and elder women ensconced between siren and senior, Soft Boiled Mysteries for Women Over 50 ‹ CrimeReads; a global bestseller whose novels have sold more than 140 million copies worldwide in over 30 languages, Tributes paid to 'icon' Wilbur Smith after death, aged 88 | The Bookseller; "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't." (Mark Twain) When Reality Is Too Strange To Make It Into Your Novel ‹ CrimeReads; and, to cheer us all up a bit, The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year 2021 Shortlist is Revealed | The Bookseller.
- WritersServices editor Kay Gale on The Slush pile: 'When I started working in publishing over thirty years ago it was part of my job to check through the pile of unsolicited manuscripts that arrived on a daily basis, and like every other enthusiastic young editorial assistant, I dreamed of finding the next bestseller in the ‘slush pile'. I was soon disillusioned...'
- ‘Poetry might seem like an inconsequential side-casualty in a larger, noisier war, but in fact it is central to the story of ownership of ideas and expressions.' Sam Riviere in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'One of the shining exceptions in personalities is that writers do not need to be charismatic in their own persons; they are free to be dull by each of the human senses as a void for other, more powerful realities. Some have the ability to dwell almost completely in their imaginations, living vicariously through the stunning characters and fascinating worlds they create by using only words on paper. In this way, people are much like books: we can try judging them by their covers, but alas, there is always the possibility of our being deluded in doing so.' Criss Jami, author of Killospophy, Healology, Venus in Arms and 4 other books.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Promoting your writing to Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Be prepared to redraft your work and to rethink it. Many new writers assume that their work will immediately be ready for publication, but the truth is that many highly successful writers produced several drafts of their first work before they got it published.' and 'When you've got your work into the best state you can, put it on one side for a few weeks and then look at it afresh. You'll be amazed what difference a fresh eye will make.'
- What can really let your work down if you self-publish is not having your work copy edited before you do so - Copy editing for self-publishers.
- The Gingko Prize for Ecopoetry 2021 is open to all poets from across the world. Entry fee: first submission £7 then £4 for each additional poem. First prize £5,000, second prize £2,000 and third prize £1,000. Closing 31 January 2022.
- Our links from the publishing world: a significant move on behalf of authors, US Department of Justice sues to block Bertelsmann's S&S deal | The Bookseller; the biggest book fair in the world is still affected by Covid, Frankfurt Book Fair 2021: A Quieter Affair; and "IP is the new primetime", Business Musings: Untapped (Part One) - Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
- Our article on How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers with a manuscript which needs translating or has been written in English by a non-native speaker: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself, or writing in English, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- English Language Editing is a polishing service for writers who have translated their work into English or written it in English when it is not their native language. If you need to make sure it's good enough to publish, or send to a publisher, this service is for you. Acknowledging the growth of world English, English Language Editing is designed for the many non-native English speakers throughout the world who want to publish their work in English.
- Links from writers: a vital, nuanced chronicler of the deep hurts of South Africa, past and present, Damon Galgut's layered feat of fiction is a clear Booker winner | Booker prize | The Guardian; haunting us like a horror-movie villain who just will not die, Why Stephen King keeps coming back - Polygon; contemporary writers were asked to share the Black authors who have inspired them, and who deserve to be better known, My favourite overlooked Black writer - by Bernardine Evaristo, Margaret Atwood and more | Books | The Guardian; reading these beats staring at the walls, For One Writer, Rediscovering the Novels of Dick Francis Was the Answer to a Personal Crisis and a Mysterious Illness ‹ CrimeReads; and M Briscoe on how she realised she had written a sci-fi novel, The science behind the Green Eyes.
- An editor's take on using pdfs, So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- More links of interest to writers: new prize announced, Realists of a larger reality wanted: Ursula K Le Guin prize for fiction to launch in 2022 | Ursula K Le Guin | The Guardian; 15 tips on how to make your submission letter stand out from the pack, How to write the perfect pitch letter to an agent - Curtis Brown Creative; so, let's talk about sex, How to Have Sex in Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; things are changing in the poetry world, Poetry is experiencing a new golden age, with young writers of color taking the lead - CNN Style; more on poetry, The Way We Talk About Poetry Is the Problem - The Millions; and I need to put this in a book, I thought, Why shouldn't children's writers talk of refugees, persecution and genocide? | Books | The Guardian.
- 'All writers are liars. They twist events to suit themselves. They make use of their own tragedies to make a better story... They are terrible people.' Nina Bawden in our Writers' Quotes.
- My teacher said: ‘Stories? How do you at the age of 13, come to me brazen-faced and say, "I'm not studying because I want to write stories?" Explain: how can you be so brazen-faced?... I decided I would start writing again, but I wouldn't tell anyone... The humiliation got to me and later, in spite of the swagger of youth, I really was very cautious. I didn't believe, for example, in the convention that we have a single face and that face is our identity. We are changeable organisms... ' Elena Ferrante, bestselling author of the Neapolitan quartet, My Brilliant Friend, The lying life of adults and many other novels, who has steadfastly concealed her or his true identity from the world.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' Articles include Formatting your book for Kindle and Marketing and Promotion for Indie Authors: Online.
- From the same author, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from publishing and bookselling: the publishing industry looks at the post-pandemic picture, Frankfurt Book Fair 2021: Attendees Asked to Answer Important Questions; an astonishing boom, Social video sharing revolutionising book sales in China; good news from the bookselling front, Another Pandemic Surprise: A Mini Indie Bookstore Boom; Mark Zuckerberg recently predicted that Facebook will be a "metaverse company" in five years. What does that mean for kids? The rise of VR and the metaverse could pose unique risks to children; and, easy to disrupt because it is particularly slow to change, What It Would Take to Disrupt the Publishing Industry.
- From our Endorsements page: ‘Absolutely first class job! Very professional. Thank you very much indeed. Wish I'd found you before, it would certainly have saved me a lot of unnecessary headaches. I'll now bin the rest of the editors I've so far dealt with, and hope to keep contact with you.' Steven Kocsis.
- Links from writers: it took me thirty years to get published, but now the second in the series of Albert the tortoise picture books is launching, A lifetime of writing; time to give up on the distractions of social media, A Writer Says Goodbye to the Twittersphere; I still remember a one-star review my first novel got on Goodreads. It simply said, "The problem with this book is that it's bad", How Negative Goodreads Reviews Affect Authors; I don't really like the term "win" when it comes to NaNoWriMo because anything writers do to cultivate a regular creativity practice is a win, Want to Win NaNoWriMo? The Secret Is Preparation • Jane Friedman.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Other links about books and writing: 'Young Women With Long Hair Running Away from Spooky Houses in Nightgowns', That Gothic Feeling: 11 Masterpieces of Romantic Suspense ‹ CrimeReads; the legitimacy of a child's world - which is a world away from being child-ish, The Guardian view on children's books: take them seriously | Editorial | The Guardian; what do we talk about when we talk about science fiction? The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books Of All Time; and "In general the market for translated fiction is buoyant," Frankfurt Book Fair 2021: In Translated Crime, a Name Brand Hero Is Key.
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? What can you do to improve your chances? Our tipsheet on Entering Competitions.
- 'Sometimes people dismiss SF and fantasy for being escapist...however, it is anything but. SF comes from its respective authors' societies, a reflection of the world's present, its history and its future. That world used to be overwhelmingly American, but it isn't anymore, and needn't be.' Lavie Tidhar in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘I write in my head on the way home from work, or when mowing the lawn, or on a night out with friends. Sometimes I find the time to capture those words that are rolling through my mind, quivering and drumming and swimming, banging into each other until I can finally trick them and leak them out onto the page. And sometimes I don't. Writers are like that.' Karl Wiggins, indie author of Calico Jack in Your Garden and three other books.
- A Publisher's View is our four-part series from publisher Tom Chalmers on what publishers are looking for. What a publisher wants from submissions, Judging a book by its covering letter and synopsis, The writer's X factor and The changing face of publishing. On submitting your manuscript: 'While editors may well do some later tinkering, it shouldn't be sent in unless the writer feels it is a manuscript ready for publication, in terms of both grammar and content. Lines like ‘I know it needs some work', or ‘I think it's nearly there' show admirable humility but are an immediate put-off!...'
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of nine services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- Links from the publishing world: a dearth of what can be called midsize publishers that fall between the Big Five and the many independent publishers with sales of $20 million or less, Where Have All the Midsize Book Publishers Gone?; there's more to authoring than conquering the blank page, Ten Things Nobody Tells You About the Publishing Industry; children's book criticised for using "harmful stereotypes", HarperCollins to remove Chinese character from Walliams book after criticism | The Bookseller; the long coronavirus lockdowns gave many of us a lot more time to read, Booksellers hope soaring sales will continue as we read more - BBC News; still avoiding international book fairs, For American Agents, It's Another Year of Managing the Frankfurt Book Fair from Home; and how did you get into publishing?; Ask An Editor: Ailsa Bathgate, Barrington Stoke editorial director.
- Have you managed to find a publisher for your work and are now enjoying the thrill of knowing that your book will soon be published? If you're wondering what happens next, here is an outline of the processes involved. Preparing for Publication
- Links from writers: deepening your appreciation of life, and empowering you as an agent of positive change? Can creative writing be taught?; writing a story that feels like a movie, Roy Peter Clark on How to Write Cinematically ‹ Literary Hub; when a former student of hers was murdered, Nicola Garrard set out to write a story challenging the racist stereotypes that had devalued his death, How grief and anger fuelled my inner city novel; and a thoughtful article reflecting on what makes an excellent Regency romance, Stephen Fry on the enduring appeal of Georgette Heyer | Books | The Guardian.
- Are you working to prepare your PhD for submission? Professional editing can help you improve the presentation of your work and iron out any grammar or spelling errors, so that you can achieve the best possible result. Our PhD editing service
- Are you thinking of submitting your book to an agent? Try our Finding an Agent page or Your Submission package.
- More links: a fascinating and well-informed article about one of the world's biggest literary prizes, Inside the Booker Prize: arguments, agonies and carefully encouraged scandals | Booker prize | The Guardian; the plight of the high street bookshop, Dave and Goliath: maverick writer Eggers makes a stand against Amazon | Books | The Guardian; are they being written out of novels at a similar rate to their extinction in the real world?; Animals have dwindled in novels since 1835. Is fiction undergoing its own extinction event? | Books | The Guardian; and personalised poetry collections, Faber and Wonderbly pioneer new personalised poetry platform | The Bookseller.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- 'Some day people will put faith in poets, who saw things centuries ago in perfect clarity.' E.B. White in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘Fiction is good at contradictions and flaws; it doesn't deal just in cause and effect, but in the inconsequential, the incidental, the half-formed, half-understood, and what is too ephemeral to write itself into the record. To a degree, historians have to believe that people meant what they said and said what they meant, and that their actions can be interpreted by the logic of their lives and times. But fiction redirects us to mystery and chance, and doesn't assume that people know their own minds or hearts.' Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, two books from which won the Man Booker Prize, and six other novels, in the Sunday Times.
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Eliza Graham on her route to publication, Zoe Jenny (who is Swiss) on writing in English, Richard Hall on "Write about what you know" - does this adage always make sense? - and Lynda Finn on the isolation of writers in New Zealand and their problems with getting published.
- Our 20 services for writers, just a listing of what we provide to help you get your manuscript ready for publication.
- You'll need to get your skates on to enter the Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2021, which closes on Monday 27 September. It's open to all poets internationally for unpublished poems. Entry fees are £5/€6/$7 per poem. The 1st Prize is £2,000, 2nd Prize £1,000 and 3rd Prize £500, plus 20 commendeds.
- Links from the publishing world: big American publishers seems to be doing well, Book Publishing's Rousing First Half of 2021; serialisation - is this the death of the novel? Can Salman Rushdie and Substack "Disrupt" the Book? | The New Republic; it's having a massive effect on sales, How TikTok Makes Backlist Books into Bestsellers; a sympathetic article for fans of 'bookishness, Why Are Ebooks So Terrible? - The Atlantic; and US agency professionals on some of the trends they are observing from their unique vantage point, Literary Agents Assess the Middle Grade Landscape.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK
- Links from writers: book awards - especially for self-published authors like myself - are a critical litmus test in the writing journey, Why I chose indie publishing and never looked back; former UK children's laureate criticises the "lazy" assumption that "creating work with children in mind is easier or less demanding, Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child says children's books should be taken seriously | Books | The Guardian; 'I'd like to have a go at writing a full one myself', Felix Francis: how I took over my father's life; Booker winner turns to crime, Colson Whitehead: Why a Heist Novel Was the Best Way to Tell the Story of New York ‹ Literary Hub; and writing spy novels and why the government censor 'made me do it', For a writer, exile has a lot to recommend it.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- More links on writers and writing: selling more than seven million copies through publishing your own work, LJ Ross: The self-published crime writer making a killing - BBC News; reading David Copperfield cover to cover? Jai Chakrabarti on how to get unstuck while writing; something 'gritty but fun', Why News Reporters Write the Best Crime Novels - InsideHook; a really useful list of UK opportunities, Places to Submit your Poetry in 2021 • Poetry School; an unfair lack of transparency? Why translators should be named on book covers | Fiction in translation | The Guardian; and - latest news - Netflix lands golden ticket by buying Roald Dahl estate - BBC News.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Rejection.
- ‘It's not my job to populate my books with characters that other people find relatable. It's my job to write about whatever comes into my head. If you don't want to read novels about writers, or women, or Irish people, don't read my novels. I won't mind.' Sinéad Gleeson in our Writers Quotes.
- If quotes are your bag, we have superb collections in More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- ‘I have often been asked how I came to write. The best answer is that I needed the money. When I started I was 35 and had failed in every enterprise I had ever attempted. . . I had gone thoroughly through some of the all-fiction magazines and I made up my mind that if people were paid for writing such rot as I read I could write stories just as rotten...' Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of 91 novels which have sold hundreds of millions of copies, who is best known for Tarzan of the Apes, the first of 26 Tarzan books which were translated into more than 56 languages.
- There are 19 articles in the Inside Publishing series, Children's Publishing provides an introduction to this: 'Long regarded as the Cinderella of the publishing world, children's publishing has enjoyed a remarkable rate of growth and is now seen by many as one of the most exciting areas to work in. This is not just because of the Harry Potter phenomenon, as many other children's authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Judy Blume have also produced megasellers which have proved attractive to children all over the world.'
- From the same series Print on Demand: 'Print on demand is a now widely-used printing technology which delivers, literally, print on demand. It has the power to change the way books are published radically, and even publishers are using it on a very much greater scale. Some writers are still not yet familiar with its possibilities...'
- An unusual opportunuty for children's authors, the publisher Chicken House is offering Chicken House Open Coop, for one day only on 20 September. It's open to writers of children's novels for 7 up including YA and there's no entry fee. The prize is Mentoring from the editors at this very successful publishing house.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from the publishing world: how publishing has persisted and morphed in the digital environment, The Publishing Ecosystem in the Digital Era: On John B. Thompson's "Book Wars"; this could fatally undermine an exceptional system that plays a vital role in the life of the global book trade, Post-Brexit changes to the copyright system would be a betrayal of authors | The Independent; agreeing it's a powerful new threat, The Guardian view on changes to copyright law: book lovers beware | Editorial | The Guardian; book sales exploded during the coronavirus pandemic, so 'Hot vaxxed summer' fizzled, but 'hot books fall' might work - Los Angeles Times; and US thriller sales have dropped six percent in the last year, NPD BookScan: Mystery Solved on US Thriller Sales' Lag?
- Here's a detailed article on how to prepare Your submission package - 'Given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript...'
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? Our editorial services have been added in response to demand, so whatever you want we've probably got it covered with our 20 different services.
- Links about writers' inspiration: all children's worlds are an inextricable mixture of fantasy and reality, Imaginary Kingdoms: On the Power of Literature That Speaks to Children and Adults Alike ‹ Literary Hub; thirty years ago, Helen Mirren stepped into the role of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, and an icon was born, A Rumination on DCI Jane Tennison ‹ CrimeReads; every so often I set out to read as many books as I can by a single writer as I can in a single year, My Le Guin Year: Craft Lessons From a Master | Tor.com; how should I incorporate research into fiction? On the Fine Art of Researching For Fiction ‹ Literary Hub; and how the elements of cinematography and sound establish the important formal elements of the police procedural, How The French Connection Reinvented (and Exploded) the Police Procedural ‹ CrimeReads.
- Rotten Rejections is an extraordinary collection of rejection letters sent by publishers to writers - many delivered to now famous authors of classic books - which will make you laugh and provide comfort if you're having a struggle to get published. 'I regret we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we could not publish it with commercial success...' An unnamed editor at Constable and Robinson, in turning down J K Rowling's first Harry Potter book.
- More links from writers: Salman Rushdie is just the latest in a growing number of authors writing serialised fiction delivered straight to the inboxes of subscribers, Why authors are turning down lucrative deals in favour of Substack | Books | The Guardian; at 30, she's already the most talked-about novelist of her generation, Sally Rooney on the hell of fame: ‘It doesn't seem to work in any real way for anyone' | Sally Rooney | The Guardian; trying to build the tension in both the suspense and the romance at the same time, What's the Secret to Writing Great Romantic Suspense? ‹ CrimeReads; her young witches stole the hearts of generations of children, selling more than 3m copies, Jill Murphy, children's author and illustrator, dies aged 72 | Books | The Guardian.
- Get some professional help. If you're self-publishing, you need good quality copy for the cover. Our Blurb-writing service can provide a professionally written piece of cover copy. Submitting to agents but finding it difficult to write your own synopsis? Commission a synopsis which will present your manuscript in the best possible light for submission.
- And while we're on the subject of Sally Rooney, here's a quote from her from 2020: 'I certainly never intended to speak for anyone other than myself. Even myself I find it difficult to speak for. My books may well fail as artistic endeavours but I don't want them to fail for failing to speak for a generation for which I never intended to speak in the first place.'
- ‘I always wanted to write books, and always crime. I'd read Agatha Christie as a child and in the late 1980s I discovered the US crime writer Sara Paretsky. I thought: wow, these are the kind of books I want to write - books with strong female protagonists with a brain and sense of humour; women who didn't have to get the guys in for the heavy lifting. I wanted my characters to be three-dimensional, and if some of those characters happened to be gay, they were not defined by it. Val McDermid, whose latest book is 1979, who is the author of 45 books which have sold over 17 million copies worldwide, in the Sunday Times magazine.
- An Editor's Advice is our seven-part series on how to become a better writer. On Genre writing: 'I've been reading science fiction, fantasy and crime novels since I was a teenager, and I can spot when a writer doesn't fully understand the mechanics of their chosen genre. It may not matter to a casual reader but it really matters to the fans, and if they don't like what they find, they'll be telling their friends why the novel is rubbish. So, what do you do about it? How do you become a successful genre writer?...'
- Last year we launched the Writer's edit, a top-level new service for writers who want line-editing as well as copy editing. Does your manuscript need high-level input from an editor to help you get it into the best possible shape for submission or self-publishing? This may be the service for you, offering the kind of editing which publishers' senior editors used to do in-house on their authors' manuscripts and which is now hard to find. Our other copy editing services.
- Another big crop of links, these are from writers: the feedback from my readers is what drives me to keep writing, From Unconsecrated Ground: PW Talks to Lynda La Plante; I suddenly heard a burst of noise upstairs... Who's There?: Every Story Is a Ghost Story - The Millions; whether it's the language, the tradecraft or the folk legends of American Mafia life, it reads like a voyage through the underworld, The Power of Reading Mario Puzo's The Godfather as an Immigrant Story ‹ CrimeReads; a new poet laureate is announced, Scotland's new makar Kathleen Jamie: ‘Poetry is at the heart of our culture' | Poetry | The Guardian; and suppose you've played any video game in the past twenty years. In that case, you'll know there are two camera positions developers can use, Second Person Point of View: What it is & How to Use it - The Art of Narrative.
- Our Children's Editorial Services help you to get your children's book ready for publication or self-publishing. Have you found it difficult to get expert editorial input on your work ? Do you want to know if it might find a publisher? Or are you planning to self-publish?
- It may surprise you to know that the first of Julie Wheelwright's Top Ten Tips for Nonfiction Writers is: 'Story, story, story. Make sure that your story can sustain several chapters and tens of thousands of words. Keep asking yourself: Why would anyone want to read this story?'
- Links to stories from the publishing world: since the start of the Covid pandemic, there's been a rise in instances of government censorship of books, Censorship on the Rise Worldwide; more than 60 bookshops launched in the UK and Ireland in the past 18 months, ‘I'm giddy to be here': the risk-takers who opened bookshops during Covid | Booksellers | The Guardian; with in-person talks and signings out of the question, would the whole system collapse? Authors, Publishers, & Booksellers On The Future Of Book Promotion; an excellent article explaining this to writers, The Value of Book Distribution Is Often Misunderstood by Authors | Jane Friedman; another takeover of a major independent as consolidation continues, Hachette Book Group Will Acquire Workman Publishing for $240 Million; and the realities of indie publishing life, Richard Charkin: Notes From a Small London Publisher.
- From our Endorsements page: on English Language Editing: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' Anthony Fitzgerald
- More links about writers and writing: how lockdown has changed a small children's publisher, Ask An Editor: Tom Bonnick, Nosy Crow senior commissioning editor; plagued by fake pornographic e-books listed under her name, Author Szereto 'horrified and angry' over Amazon fake e-book scam | The Bookseller; like almost every other children's writer I know, my overwhelming desire is to get children reading, Tackling complex themes for children; 'There's more than one way to burn a book', Kate Clanchy and the new censorship in publishing | The Spectator; and only 2-4% of children's books published in English are translated, The Most Popular Children's Books From Every Country In The World.
- Don't give up the day job. Perhaps you've even been indulging in thinking about it as you lay on the beach this summer, or more likely spent your precious holiday working on your latest novel. But how practical is it? Is it something you can realistically aspire to, or just a distant fantasy? What are your chances of making your dream come true?
- 'It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.' W. H. Auden in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘The outlook may sound bleak. But the internet has been a lifeline, enabling authors to lean on their peers. With fewer events and chances to meet face-to-face, the virtual author community has never been more important. And boy, have we needed moral support the past year or so!... More people turned to reading during the pandemic, in particular using their e-readers when they couldn't get to physical stores. A lot of authors I know have seen this reflected in their digital sales, which have positively boomed during this time.' Tracy Buchanan, creator of Savvy Writers, a blog which offers help and resources for published authors, in Bookbrunch.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, we have The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...' and Vanity Publishing: 'It is natural for writers to be eager to get published but it pays to be wary of the vanity publishers who will take your money and give you very little in return...' Vanity publishing is quite distinct from Self-publishing, you need to be aware of the differences.
- Our Children's Editorial Services help you to get your children's book ready for publication or self-publishing. Have you found it difficult to get expert editorial input on your work ? Do you want to know if it might find a publisher? Or are you planning to self-publish?
- The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2021 is open to all. Entry fees: Poetry entries £12 and Short Fiction entries £18. £2,500 is awarded to both the Poetry and Short Fiction winners and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology is awarded to 60 writers, shortlisted by the judging panel. Closing 31 August.
- Links from the writers' world: Creative writing courses have always been viewed sceptically, and yet more than 100 universities in the UK, and many more in the, US now offer them, Creative writing: a 'con job'?; it's as basic as a bar-room brawl. They're fighting over a woman, Pat Barker on The Silence of the Girls: ‘The Iliad is myth - the rules for writing historical fiction don't apply' | How I wrote | The Guardian; it's increasingly making the life of an author a little easier, but Can technology help authors write a book? - BBC News; 'It was incredibly difficult to find a publisher... I finished the novel in 2017. And no one was interested.' ‘I've been poor for a long time': after many rejections, Karen Jennings is up for the Booker | Books | The Guardian; 'Revision is my favorite part of the writing process. I relish the creative problem-solving more than the rush of getting it down', Maggie Smith on How to Revise Poems Without Losing the Initial Spark ‹ Literary Hub; and should we be expected to write free stuff as part of a publisher's ‘PR' plan? Savvy Writers - Blog.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- An endorsement from Anthony Fitzgerald for our English Language Editing Service: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' More endorsements.
- More links from writers: narrative and imagination, this comes from science fiction, Militaries plunder science fiction for technology ideas, but turn a blind eye to the genre's social commentary; 84% majority for this recognition of how crime-writers work now, CWA now open to self published authors; should archives be closed because of their embarrassing content? Lownie campaign sees some Mountbatten archives released but tribunal looms | The Bookseller; and as we teach computers to use natural language, are we bumping into the inescapable biases of human communication? The Chatbot Problem | The New Yorker.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? This is the question our page Which service? answers and it then goes on to give a quick rundown on our 20 editorial services for writers, which we think is the biggest and most comprehensive you can find on the internet.
- Writing Biography & Autobiography is a serialisation from our Archives of the book by Brian D Osborne published by A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listing. In the first excerpt, Managing the matters of truth and objectivity, the author says: 'Just as you need to remember that letters, reports, census forms, legal documents and so forth were not created simply for our convenience, so you also need to remember that what is written in them may not be true...'
- Links from the publishing world: growth has cooled, Amazon Sales Only Rose 27% in Q2; you're really only renting, not buying, Sell This Book! | The Nation; encouragingly, book sales rose last year because people were reading more, Reading Time Rose 21% in Second Half of 2020; and the literary agent who is successfully getting Korean writers to the world, 'Zitwer factor': Before her, few readers outside Korea heard about Korean thrillers.
- ‘It's an accepted fact that all writers are crazy; even the normal ones are weird.' William Goldman in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘The pandemic has been a period of caution, safe bets and, understandably due to the restrictions in distribution, a time of low experimentation. I hope this will change over the summer and through the personal connections that will infuse a new energy in the business... One thing the lockdown has proven without any doubt is that the relationship between agent and editor cannot be conducted via Zoom. We need to know what is going on in editorial commissioning rooms and understand the changing tastes of acquiring editors. Jonny Geller, CEO at Curtis BrownSee Curtis Brown listing UK, in the Bookseller.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information. From Submissions: 'Few editors will give any reasons for rejecting your work. However, if in turning it down they pay you any compliments, you can take them at face value. Publishers don't encourage would-be writers unless they mean it. If your work is rejected six times or more, without any snippets of praise, you should look at it again, to see if you can discover what is wrong. It may be a long time since you last read it, and with fresh eyes you may see glaring faults.'
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our latest new service Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from writers: films are about 25,000 words, with TV shows half that. A novel is five times longer, Screenplays and novels: transferable skills?; unlike in the movies, Jack Ryan's not in a great position to fight back, Are Fictional Characters Protected Under Copyright Law? | Jane Friedman; Penguin Random House cancelled his book about the British army, The Changing of the Guard, and demanded back his advance, ‘A terrifying precedent': author describes struggle to publish British army history | Books | The Guardian.
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? What can you do to improve your chances? Our tipsheet on Entering Competitions.
- More links on writers' affairs: literary adaptations to television have been on a steady climb, How TV Adaptations Are Changing Fiction - The Atlantic; I've been self-employed for decades. No one has paid for my health insurance, or into a pension fund, or given me sick days or workers' comp, in a million years. This is the way it is for writers, The Business Side of Being a Writer | by Susan Orlean | Jul, 2021 | Medium; is the idea of being a novelist just a ridiculous dream? The prize that opened prison doors.
- Our 20 services for writers gives a simple list with links.
- Links from the publishing world: a publicity chief's view of changes in the publishing world, Questions for: Alex Hippisley Cox; see how Amazon dominates book sales, Every Book Lover Should Fear This Graph | by Andy Hunter | Jul, 2021 | Medium; there's just something satisfying about turning the page and holding a physical book in one's hands, Survey: Most people prefer reading paper books over digital books on tablets, phones - Study Finds; and when we assume we as adults know what's best for teens, we make a bigger mistake, White Gatekeeping in YA Harms Teen Readers | Book Riot.
- Working with an agent explains how to get the best out of the relationship with your agent: 'It can be hard work finding an agent to represent you. Make sure though that, when you set up the relationship, you do so in a professional manner Don't let your eagerness to find representation mean that things are left vague. You will be depending on the agent to process all your income from the books they sell, so you need to have a written record of your arrangement, preferably a contract...'
- Get your manuscript typed up so that you can revise it, submit it or publish it. Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript, which needs re-typing before the writer can proceed with submission or publication. Typing manuscripts
- 'The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof lie detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it.' Ernest Hemingway, currently the subject of a wonderful BBC series available on the IPlayer, in our Writers Quotes.
- ‘The impact of Amazon dwarfs all the other changes, even the rise of digital. Of course, the idea of ordering a book in the morning and having it delivered in the afternoon still thrills and amazes me. But it has led to the erosion of earnings for most authors and smaller publishers, and that should worry all of us who want a diverse and healthy ecosystem for books... I am encouraged by the way (mostly) independent publishers are beginning to innovate in their direct-to-reader offerings. Subscription services, crowd-funding, exquisitely produced merchandise: the communities that Rough Trade, Galley Beggar, Influx Press and others are building offer a commercially viable alternative to the Amazonian race to the bottom... John Mitchinson, publisher and co-founder of Unbound, in Bookbrunch.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, Subsidiary Rights: 'My first job in publishing was in a subsidiary rights department. I'm ashamed to admit that I accepted the job without having much idea what subsidiary rights were. Many writers may feel just as vague about this part of publishing, so here's a quick breakdown...' and The English Language Publishing World: 'Why does the traditional publishing world get divided up into publishing territories? How has this come about? How does it affect authors?'
- A new comment from an enthusiastice author on our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services.' Rasmus, Chile.
- 'If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our four would suit you best? Which Report? includes our top-of-the-range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- We have a bumper crop of links this week. Links to articles about writers: now he's on his way to becoming a senior citizen, Immortalizing Jack Reacher ‹ CrimeReads; for a decade I moved around from town to town, itinerant and rootless, Connections and disconnections: England on the eve of Covid; no one before him thought to write such spooks and frights into a children's book, RL Stine has sold 400 million books: ‘And people say kids don't read'; everything from poetry, short stories, essays and more esoteric forms of writing can now find a home in what has become a welcome and flourishing scene, Why Ireland's literary journals are brilliant stepping stones for emerging writers - Independent.ie; and composed for an audience not of one friend but of many fans, Email Newsletters Are a New Literary Genre.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- General links: Agatha Christie wasn't overly fond of her iconic detective, Hercule Poirot, describing him as a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, egocentric little creep," 14 Works Of Literature That Authors Regretted Publishing; now more than ever, novelists are facing up to the unthinkable, Stories to save the world: the new wave of climate fiction | Books | The Guardian; the big annual UK celebration of poetry, National Poetry Day to spotlight over 40 books in recommended lists | The Bookseller; the publishing industry's self-examination, Richard Charkin: An Age of Aquarius; now becoming an essential part of writing and publishing fiction in the US, The rise of the 'sensitivity reader' | The Spectator.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? Choosing a service helps you work out which is the right editorial service for you.
- Links about publishing and bookselling: James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones, Can bookshops survive in the era of Amazon?; a surprising picture on US sales, Print Book Sales Soar in Year's First Half; a new challenge to Amazon? Sales have reached $29 million this year, Bookshop.org Continues to See Strong Sales; pre-Covid - 'a time of innocence, of happy, purblind naivety', Faber and the Blitz spirit; racism on the job in the US? Survey Reveals a Need for Greater Workplace Inclusivity; has there been a migration of conservative book publishing from the mainstream houses to smaller companies? Interview with Eric Nelson of Broadside Books, a conservative imprint at HarperCollins.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- 'The really heroic thing about Nick Hornby is that he lives in north London and rarely leaves it... Every English writer needs their corner that is forever England - but only a few brave men choose to make that corner Highbury.' Zadie Smith in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘When people come together - let's say they come to a little party or something - you always hear them discuss character. They will say this one has a bad character, this one has a good character, this one is a fool, this one is a miser... The writers who don't discuss character but problems - social problems or any problems - take away from literature its very essence. They stop being entertaining. We, for some reason, always love to discuss and discover character. This is because each character is different, and human character is the greatest of puzzles.' Isaac Bashevis Singer, distinguished author of The Magician of Lublin, The Slave, The Family Moskat, 16 other novels and many other works.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Learn on the job to Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Before deciding to go for self-publishing, you should think through what is involved. Certain kinds of books lend themselves to this approach. If you have a book which you can sell after your lectures, or as a promotional tool, or there's some local or specialist interest in what you have written, then self-publishing can be a good idea. If you've written a novel and want to get it published, you should think hard about how you're going to market it...'
- This is the big one for poets! The National Poetry Competition 2021 is open to anyone 18 or over from all over the world to enter an unpublished poem of up to 40 lines. Entry fee £7 for first entry, £4 for subsequent entries. First Prize £5,000, Second Prize £2,000 and Third Prize £1,000, 7 Commendations £200. Closing on 31 October.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 20 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Links about writers and writing: what the agent's percentage gets you, Why do writers need agents? To keep track of the rejections | Publishing | The Guardian; legacy to a writer, My father's best gift; the latest on The History Makers - or whatever it's going to be called, Publication delayed of epic history book amended after being called ‘too white' | Race | The Guardian; how reading your work aloud can change your attitude to it, How Stories Change When They Move From Page to Voice - Literary Hub; using fiction to predict, ‘At first I thought, this is crazy': the real-life plan to use novels to predict the next war | Books | The Guardian.
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- We have a new page which gives an editor's take on using pdfs, So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- From our Endorsements page: 'Today I only want to say, "thank you". DM has done a truly great job. I have worked with her suggestions which have brought clarity and depth to my subject. Her work on my punctuation is brilliant. As I read through the manuscript now, it is like gliding on silk.' Helena Dodds.
- Links from the publishing world: the first two both changed the shape of the industry, "Enterprise self-publishing" is coming: the third great disruption of book publishing since the 1990s | The Idea Logical Company; how social media is changing the book world, The rise of BookTok: meet the teen influencers pushing books up the charts | Books | The Guardian; and distributing free books to libraries, schools, universities, refugee camps and prisons round the world, Book Aid International: the power of partnerships.
- 'Writing romantic fiction is the second chance that loved ones denied us.' Shannon Alder in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'Writing is rewriting. The first draft is the jabber you forced on that blind date. She was hoping for someone to ask her what she was feeling, but all you said was, and then I, and then I, and then I, and then . . . The first draft is meant to be discarded. The first draft is the beginning of the idea, the slender thread of a story. The second draft is little better, as is the third, and the fourth and fifth...' Walter Mosley, author of Devil in a Blue Dress, The Long Fall, Blood Grove and dozens of other books in LitHub.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Manuscript presentation, Dialogue, Doing further drafts and Planning: 'The idea of planning doesn't fit well with the idea of the writer as inspired genius, frantically scribbling away. However, I am willing to bet that, no matter what they would have you think, most successful writers plan as much as they write. They just don't tell you about it. The biggest objection that most inexperienced writers raise when someone broaches the delicate matter of planning is that it will get in the way of their inventive powers. A plan will be like a straitjacket. They'll be stuck with this plan and if they come up with a good idea along the way, they will not be able to use it. They are genuinely horrified at the thought...'
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of nine services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers.
- Links from writers: writing historical fiction is more than just creating a simulacrum of the past and letting your characters frolic around in it, Balancing historical fiction and historical fact; every fiction writer understands the need to include elements of rising tension in their stories, Don't Tease Your Reader. Get to the Tension and Keep It Rising | Jane Friedman; Creativity and change are key to any successful poetry publishing venture, 35 pioneering years at the Poetry Business; an author who became writer and executive producer, 'Shrill,' 'Summer I Turned Pretty' Adaptations Allow Authors Agency - Variety; and 'That's how we did it': writing about the special forces.
- New on our Endorsements page: 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't quite know what you want - or even if you need any help? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? Choosing a service can help you work out which service is right for you.
- Links from the publishing world: bestselling writers including Philip Pullman and Kate Mosse are warning of a "potentially devastating" change to the UK's copyright laws, Leading authors sound alarm over post-Brexit changes to copyright | Publishing | The Guardian; misleading or downright bad book blurbs, Book jacket descriptions for titles like Luster and The Silence are terrible; predictions from a top corporate publisher, HC's Murray Sees Higher Sales, More Consolidation Ahead; and an interesting article on Harry Potter, The boy who lived and lived and lived | The Bookseller.
- If you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself, Typing manuscripts is a service for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript or audio tapes, which need typing before they can proceed with reworking, submission or publication.
- Don't know what they're talking about? Here's our Publishing glossary, featuring printing & publishing terms & abbreviations.
- ‘All fiction is largely autobiographical and much autobiography is, of course, fiction.' P D James in our Writers' Quotes
- 'Editors can be stupid at times. They just ignore that author's intention. I always try to read unabridged editions, so much is lost with cut versions of classic literature, even movies don't make sense when they are edited too much. I love the longueurs of a book even if they seem pointless because you can get a peek into the author's mind, a glimpse of their creative soul. I mean, how would people like it if editors came along and said to an artist, "Whoops, you left just a tad too much space around that lily pad there, lets crop that a bit, shall we?" Monet would be ripping his hair out.' E A Bucchianeri, author of Little Month of Saint Joseph, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly, Faust and 5 other books.
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page...' and Subsidiary Rights: 'My first job in publishing was in a subsidiary rights department. I'm ashamed to admit that I accepted the job without having much idea what subsidiary rights were. Many writers may feel just as vague about this part of publishing, so here's a quick breakdown...'
- Our 20 Services for Writers is just a list of our writers' editorial services.
- Our links about writers: I had always thought that I would be a writer, Never too late: ‘In my late 40s I realised writing a novel had become like Everest' | Life and style | The Guardian; death of celebrated children's author, whose book sold 50 million copies, Eric Carle: Very Hungry Caterpillar author dies aged 91 - BBC News; new author has written a scorching portrait of the British class system, Author Natasha Brown On Writing The Debut Novel Of The Summer | British Vogue; winner reflects on her writing process, The Selfies children's fiction winner Kate Claxton on her self publishing success; and writing historical fiction, What the Romans smelled.
- Are you hoping to submit your book to publishers? Will you plan to do this through an agent? Finding an agent shows you how to go about this: 'Many writers see being taken on by an agent as the first step in getting taken on by a publisher, because it is so difficult to get publishers to pay attention to unagented writers...'
- Get some professional help. If you're self-publishing, you need good quality copy for the cover. Our Blurb-writing service can provide a professionally written piece of cover copy. Submitting to agents but finding it difficult to write your own synopsis? Commission a Synopsis which will present your manuscript in the best possible light for submission.
- Links from the publishing world: Publishers WeeklyInternational news website of book publishing and bookselling including business news, reviews, bestseller lists, commentaries http://www.publishersweekly.com/'s inaugural book show, U.S. Book Show: An Oprah-Style Kick Off; a once-thriving literary subgenre, Why the YA dystopia fad sparked by The Hunger Games finally crashed and burned - Polygon; and a new scheme dreamed up by used booksellers, Authors to earn royalties on secondhand books for first time | Booksellers | The Guardian.
- If you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself, Typing manuscripts is a service for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs typing before they can proceed with reworking, submission or publication.
- Links on writers' affairs: so many fantasies of what the writer's life is like, The End of Editing; writers and critics are raising questions over the role that agents and estates play in limiting access to biographical material, The reputation game: how authors try to control their image from beyond the grave | Philip Roth | The Guardian; and the challenges facing historical novelists, A rollercoaster called Romanov: the joys of hidden historical heroines.
- From our Writers' Quotes: 'I don't need inspiration from real children. The real test is the child within me.' The late, great Eric Carle, who died this week.
