11 June 2018 - What's new
11 June 2018
- ‘"I'm writing a book." The very phrase seems self-indulgent and strange, more so at a time when we count the words and minutes, even the characters and the seconds. In popular myth, the writer is a mercurial figure, and when I started writing I assumed that the process would consist of long periods of staring at a flashing cursor interrupted by flashes of inspiration which would keep me at the keyboard for 50,000 words. Having heard about all those writers' retreats for novelists, I also assumed that it would help to have a beautiful view to look at. All wrong....' Jonathan Conlin, author of Tales of Two Cities, Evolution and the Victorians and four other books, provides this week's Comment from agent Andrew Lownie's excellent archive.
- The Moth Short Story Prize 2018 is closing on 30 June. It's open to any writer over 18 with an unpublished story. The entry fee is €12 per story. 1st prize is €3,000, 2nd prize is a week-long writing retreat in France plus €250 travel stipend and 3rd prize is €1,000
- Our 19-part Inside Publishing series gives you an insider's take on the publishing world, covering everything from subsidiary rights to the world English language market (but, you may be wondering, where does the author stand in relation to all this neat carving-up of the world? What's in the author's best interest and how much control does the author have over who sells their book in which country?), from advances and royalties to the writer/publisher financial relationship.
- Our links: writers are turning to the spoken word as their preferred medium, encouraged by a boom in audiobook sales that is transforming publishing, Audio is publishing's new star as sales soar across genres | UK news | The Guardian; and more on audio - "You're not going to be able to read it, you're only going to be able to listen to it," Listen carefully, book lovers - top authors are skipping print | GulfNews.co; what about the clients of Donadio & Olson, the agency that had a bookkeeper embezzle a minimum of $3.4 million from writers over the past seven years? Business Musings: What It Feels Like To Have An Agent - Kristine Kathryn; and an editor on how to restructure an entire book if it needs a bit of an overhaul, Restructuring your novel - Phoebe Morgan.
- WritersServices can provide a range of six services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 17 years. We have just introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services
- More links: "Good copyright policy is good public policy," At BookExpo, a Look at Copyright Issues: 'It's the Author Who Suffers'; last month, Lara Prescott was preparing to graduate from her three-year creative writing fellowship at the University of Texas. Two weeks later, she is sitting on book deals worth at least $2m (£1.5m), First novel inspired by CIA's Doctor Zhivago plan nets $2m book deal | Books | The Guardian; a word which is thrown around a lot by tech companies trying to get in on the hype, Authors, Don't Be Taken in by the Blockchain/Bitcoin Hype | The Digital Reader; and publisher Salt saved from debt after supporters rally to buy 'just one book' | The Bookseller.
- If you feel like helping, Salt publishes a very useful book for poets, 101 Ways to Make Poems Sell, which we reviewed on this page and you can buy it direct from their site.
- Here's our article on 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...'
- 'Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. ... I have 10 or so, and that's a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.' Gore Vidal in our Writers' Quotes
