18 October 2021 - What's new
18 October 2021
- My teacher said: ‘Stories? How do you at the age of 13, come to me brazen-faced and say, "I'm not studying because I want to write stories?" Explain: how can you be so brazen-faced?... I decided I would start writing again, but I wouldn't tell anyone... The humiliation got to me and later, in spite of the swagger of youth, I really was very cautious. I didn't believe, for example, in the convention that we have a single face and that face is our identity. We are changeable organisms... ' Elena Ferrante, bestselling author of the Neapolitan quartet, My Brilliant Friend, The lying life of adults and many other novels, who has steadfastly concealed her or his true identity from the world.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by 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 is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' Articles include Formatting your book for Kindle and Marketing and Promotion for Indie Authors: Online.
- From the same author, 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!'
- 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 a native language, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Links from publishing and bookselling: the publishing industry looks at the post-pandemic picture, Frankfurt Book Fair 2021: Attendees Asked to Answer Important Questions; an astonishing boom, Social video sharing revolutionising book sales in China; good news from the bookselling front, Another Pandemic Surprise: A Mini Indie Bookstore Boom; Mark Zuckerberg recently predicted that Facebook will be a "metaverse company" in five years. What does that mean for kids? The rise of VR and the metaverse could pose unique risks to children; and, easy to disrupt because it is particularly slow to change, What It Would Take to Disrupt the Publishing Industry.
- From our Endorsements page: ‘Absolutely first class job! Very professional. Thank you very much indeed. Wish I'd found you before, it would certainly have saved me a lot of unnecessary headaches. I'll now bin the rest of the editors I've so far dealt with, and hope to keep contact with you.' Steven Kocsis.
- Links from writers: it took me thirty years to get published, but now the second in the series of Albert the tortoise picture books is launching, A lifetime of writing; time to give up on the distractions of social media, A Writer Says Goodbye to the Twittersphere; I still remember a one-star review my first novel got on Goodreads. It simply said, "The problem with this book is that it's bad", How Negative Goodreads Reviews Affect Authors; I don't really like the term "win" when it comes to NaNoWriMo because anything writers do to cultivate a regular creativity practice is a win, Want to Win NaNoWriMo? The Secret Is Preparation • Jane Friedman.
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- Other links about books and writing: 'Young Women With Long Hair Running Away from Spooky Houses in Nightgowns', That Gothic Feeling: 11 Masterpieces of Romantic Suspense ‹ CrimeReads; the legitimacy of a child's world - which is a world away from being child-ish, The Guardian view on children's books: take them seriously | Editorial | The Guardian; what do we talk about when we talk about science fiction? The Most Influential Sci-Fi Books Of All Time; and "In general the market for translated fiction is buoyant," Frankfurt Book Fair 2021: In Translated Crime, a Name Brand Hero Is Key.
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? What can you do to improve your chances? Our tipsheet on Entering Competitions.
- 'Sometimes people dismiss SF and fantasy for being escapist...however, it is anything but. SF comes from its respective authors' societies, a reflection of the world's present, its history and its future. That world used to be overwhelmingly American, but it isn't anymore, and needn't be.' Lavie Tidhar in our Writers' Quotes.
