18 November 2019 - What's new
18 November 2019
- ‘What really annoys me are the ones who write to say, I am doing your book for my final examinations and could you please tell me what the meaning of it is. I find it just so staggering - that you're supposed to explain the meaning of your book to some total stranger! If I knew what the meanings of my books were, I wouldn't have bothered to write them.' Our Comment is from Margaret Drabble, author of 20 novels, including The Dark Flood Rises, A Summer Bird-Cage, The Needle's Eye and The Ice Age.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series: on Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page...'
- On The Writer/Publisher Financial Relationship: 'There's no escaping the fact that publishers and authors are essentially in an adversarial position. Even in the very best and most supportive publisher/writer relationships there is the tension caused by the fact that authors would like to earn as much as possible from their writing and publishers to pay as little as they can get away with...'
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore over 7,500 pages of information for writers.
- Our links: in two decades the audiobook market has grown from a publishing industry side hustle into a huge global business, 'Your throat hurts. Your brain hurts': the secret life of the audiobook star | Books | The Guardian; how do you stand out? Presentations (true for any author), 6 Tips for Securing Speaking Engagements as a Self-Published Author | Jane Friedman; the Chinese children's book market is immense (with 370 million people under the age of 18), Shanghai Children's Book Fair Gets Bigger and More Ambitious; and the new British Poet Laureate's prize for a collection that focuses on the environment, Simon Armitage: ‘Nature has come back to the centre of poetry' | Books | The Guardian.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not their native language and our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Contact us to discuss what you want and take advantage of our free samples - and written assessments - on most of these services.
- More links: the big political books have been huge bestsellers, Why the Publishing Industry Just Can't Quit Donald Trump Jr. and Company | Vanity Fair; a new service designed to help self-published authors reach readers, BookLife Launches Paid Review Service for Self-Pubbed Books; a new biography about the writer, 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About C.S. Lewis; and Book Aid InternationalSupplies much-needed books to developing countries, raising funds from publishers and general public; 'Reverse Book Club' is masterly idea-for just £5 ($10) month you can provide 48 books to go to where they're most needed steams ahead, Books for 10 Million.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making Submissions.
- From the late Fran Lebowitz in our Writers' Quotes: 'All the time I'm not writing I feel like a criminal. It's horrible to feel felonious every second of the day. It's much more relaxing to actually write.'
