1 November 2021 - What's new
1 November 2021
- '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.