22 February 2021 - What's new
22 February 2021
- ‘Poetry is definitely having a renaissance. There's been a real sea-change in terms of how it's seen, especially in lockdown. Poetry is the perfectly transportable art form. Owning a book is all you need to experience it. Poetry doesn't necessarily give us the answers, but it does give us the tools to think with and helps us process issues. Writing poetry might be a slow art - but publishing it well is an extremely slow art...' Jane Commane, publisher of Nine Arches Press in Bookbrunch.
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Natasha Mostert on typing 'The End', Mary Garden on writers' block, Timothy Hallinan on The Writing Session and Dominae Primus on WritersServices.
- Links from Hollywood, Netflix and the Canon: a marmite book, but a huge success in the end, Netflix smash Behind Her Eyes: Sarah Pinborough on writing 'that ending' | Books | The Guardian; 17 million people use Blinkist alone. What is going on? Why are there so many book summary apps? ‹ Literary Hub; a look behind the book-to-screen deals to the people who made them happen, 8 major players behind Amanda Gorman gigs, book adaptations - Los Angeles Times; and what should we read? Will Self on What to Read: Canons to the Left, Canons to the Right, and Everything in Between ‹ Literary Hub.
- 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 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 have been providing our services on writers' manuscripts through skilled professional editors for 20 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Links from the publishing world: the industry as a whole is a dismal underperformer, Big Fail for publishers? Just $92 per household spent on rec reading in 2019-and even that may decline long term; Which? found 10 websites selling fake reviews from £5 each, Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online; in the short term, sales of print books continued to ride a hot streak into February, New Releases Spark Another Big Book Sales Week.
- 'If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.' was Stephen King's view and Sarah Taylor-Fergusson argues that it's essential for nearly all authors to do a lot of reading. Writing for Children: Rule Number One.
- Links on writers adn writing: the second lockdown has been far bleaker and harder for creativity, Writer's blockdown: after a year inside, novelists are struggling to write | Books | The Guardian; a fascinating article about the writer's less-known role as an editor, Toni Morrison as an Editor Changed Book Publishing Forever | by Arielle Gray | Feb, 2021 | ZORA; and 'If you would be a poet, create works capable of answering the challenge of apocalyptic times, even if it means sounding apocalyptic...', Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Peerless Poet-Publisher, Dies at 101.
- Advice for Writers provides access to the huge amount of material for writers on the site, including many series we've commissioned and published
- 'Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.' Neil Gaiman in our Writers' Quotes.
