17 June 2024 - What's new
17 June 2024
- 'I like David Foster Wallace's notion that writer's block is always a function of the writer having set a too-high bar for herself. You know: you type a line, it fails to meet the "masterpiece standard," you delete it in shame, type another line, delete it - soon the hours have flown by and you are a failure sitting in front of a blank screen. The antidote, for me, has been getting comfortable with my own revision process - seeing those bad first lines as just a starting place. If you know the path you'll take from bad to better to good, you don't get so dismayed by the initial mess. So: writing is of you, but it's not YOU...' George Saunders, the author of nine novels, including the Man Booker Prize winning Lincoln in the Bardo, and Liberation Day, a collection of stories.
- If you're wondering about having a report on your manuscript, here's a summary of the reports we offer. Which Report? includes our top-of-the-range service, the Editor's Report Plus, our most popular report. This substantial report takes the form of an overview and a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, providing a framework for further work. We also provide reports on manuscripts from children's writers from our skilled children's editors.
- Our new series by a seasoned editor, The Pedant: how to make your editor happy, covers a range of subject-matter if you want to improve your writing and avoid common errors. The series covers Accents and dialects, Dialogue tags, The use of bold, italics and capital letters, Spoilt for choice: formats and fonts, The trouble with ‘as' and What's all the fuss over hyphens?
- 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!'
- Writers stories and writers' craft: it's key to pulling the reader into your story, What Do We Really Mean When We Say "Show, Don't Tell"? | Jane Friedman; writers say investments in book promotion to augment publishers' in-house staff are key to success, Cutting their own checks: authors seek help to plug their own books after cuts by publishers | Publishing | The Guardian; in 2023, romance fiction was the top-earning subgenre of fiction in the United States, Genre Euphoria: Why More Poets Should Read (and Write) Romance Fiction ‹ Literary Hub; show of hands, writers, how many of you love book marketing? I can't see through your screen, but I know very few of you have your hands up, 3 Book Marketing Misconceptions and What to Do Instead | Jane Friedman; Freakslaw is your debut novel - how have you found the publishing process so far? Q&A: debut novelist Jane Flett; and she became an author after 15 years as a professional photographer, The Selfies questions for 2024 fiction winner Julia Boggio.
- ‘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.
- Our newly-revised FAQs page answers questions you may have, such as: Why do I need a report on my manuscript?
- Links on AI and social media: 'I have been trying to convince writers of the value of a consistent email newsletter for more than a decade', Substack Is Both Great and Terrible for Authors | Jane Friedman; the world's favourite French misanthrope writer is too controversial for the world's new AI tools, which find his views so offensive that they cannot be repeated, AI tools refuse to write in style of controversial French author Michel Houellebecq, publisher says; and the publishing house behind the books has already completed a content rights project with one major tech company this quarter, 'For Dummies' books publisher gets in on AI craze.
- 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, or a printed book which needs re-typing, before the writer can proceed with revision, submission or publication. Typing manuscripts
- 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 concise and essential background information. From Submissions: 'Few editors or agents 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.'
- Do you want to self-publish your work? WritersServices offers a suite of services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- More links: the trade union representing writers wants the next government to implement its recommendations around fair pay, fair treatment, sustainability, and copyright and AI, The Bookseller - News - Writers' Guild of Great Britain demands fair pay for writers ahead of general election; in the mountain of papers he left behind, his widow found parts of an unfinished novel centered around a huge volcanic eruption, How James Patterson completed Michael Crichton's "Eruption" - CBS News; post-Covid absences from school and a lack of dedicated reading time contribute to lower reading abilities, Children reading fewer, less challenging books, UK and Ireland study finds | Books | The Guardian; and young readers are enthralled by murder-centric stories, making mysteries and thrillers such hot genres in YA publishing today, Why YA Readers Love Murder.
- The Winchester Poetry Prize 2024 is open to all poets aged 16 or over from across the world. The entry fee is £6 for the first poem, £5 for subsequent poems. The prizes are First Prize: £1,000, 2nd Prize: £500, 3rd Prize: £250. It closes on 31 July.
- Three other competitions are still open.
- From Rotten Rejections, here are these gems from publishers turning down their work: Jack Kerouac 'His frenetic and scrambled prose perfectly express the feverish travels of the Beat Generation. But is that enough? I don't think so.' Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence 'for your own sake do not publish this book.' and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 'an irresponsible holiday story'.
- Links from the publishing world: you have to go all the way down to number 81 on Amazon's bestseller list to find a book by a "literary" writer, Book Publishing in Crisis as Self-Help, Airport Fiction Dominate Amazon, Literary Publishers Fired - Showbiz411; last week Baillie Gifford withdrew its financial support for all UK-based literary festivals, The Bookseller - News - Literary festivals look at uncertain future after 'massive' Baillie Gifford loss; Maris Kreizman on the Importance of Acknowledging the Labor That Goes in a Single Title, It's Time We Added Full Credit Pages to Books ‹ Literary Hub.
- 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.
- 'Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything.' Stephenie Meyer in our Writers' Quotes.
