26 August 2019 - What's new
26 August 2019
- ‘I think people don't often realise that a lot of the joy of Jane Austen is that these books are funny. People think that, to adapt her, you've got to use long words and fancy sentences, and that's not the case at all. She could be very succinct and to the point and had a great sense of humour... Andrew Davies, acclaimed 82-year-old screenwriter of Pride and Prejudice, War and Peace and many other successful TV series, whose version of Sanditon has just started airing on the BBC, in the Observer. Our Comment.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Promoting Your Writing (and Yourself), from Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Be prepared to redraft your work and to rethink it. Many new writers assume that their work will immediately be ready for publication, but the truth is that many highly successful writers produced several drafts of their first work before they got it published.' and 'When you've got your work into the best state you can, put it on one side for a few weeks and then look at it afresh. You'll be amazed what difference a fresh eye will make.'
- 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. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value - contact us to discuss what you want.
- Our links: celebrating the generosity of writers, I'm not surprised Olivia Laing is sharing her book prize money - I did the same | Daniel Hahn | Opinion | The Guardian; copyright is under attack this week, first - actions undertaken by a goup of American publshers, American Publishers Sue To Stop 'Audible Captions'; then - a contrary view, Audible Captions vs. The Publishing Industry - EContent Magazine; and are celebrity book clubs undermining literary culture? The new literary tastemakers: can they be trusted? | The Bookseller.
- Literary magazines with one week's response time is Sandeep Kumar Mishra's useful list, which we added to the site. They range from literary fiction to non-fiction and include science fiction and fantasy, popular non-fiction, politics, flash fiction, reviews, humour, social issues, the economy, lifestyle, horror, artwork and much more. If you've ever despaired at how long magazine submissions can take, or wanted to extend your range, this is the list you need.
- More links: ironically, while creative nonfiction and memoir writing can be a tool of self-discovery, you must have some distance from the self to write effectively, The Big Memoir Pitfall to Avoid | Jane Friedman; more on the subject of piracy and copyright from an author's SOA blog, Blogs | The Society of Authors; looking at celebrated children's author Malorie Blackman, ‘Do black people read?' What my years in publishing have taught me about diversity in books | Natalie Jerome | Opinion | The Guardian; and had the beloved author not had the confidence to publish the book on her own terms, we might not have ever known her name, Why Beatrix Potter Ended Up Self-Publishing The Tale of Peter Rabbit | Mental Floss.
- WritersServices editor Kay GaleWritersServices editor who has worked for many years as a freelance editor for number of publishers. on The Slush pile: 'When I started working in publishing over thirty years ago it was part of my job to check through the pile of unsolicited manuscripts that arrived on a daily basis, and like every other enthusiastic young editorial assistant, I dreamed of finding the next bestseller in the ‘slush pile'. I was soon disillusioned...'
- 'Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.' Jane Yolen in our Writers' Quotes.
