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14 June 2021 - What's new

14 June 2021
  • '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