18 April 2022 - What's new
18 April 2022
- ‘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.'
