28 June 2021 - What's new
28 June 2021
- ‘When people come together - let's say they come to a little party or something - you always hear them discuss character. They will say this one has a bad character, this one has a good character, this one is a fool, this one is a miser... The writers who don't discuss character but problems - social problems or any problems - take away from literature its very essence. They stop being entertaining. We, for some reason, always love to discuss and discover character. This is because each character is different, and human character is the greatest of puzzles.' Isaac Bashevis Singer, distinguished author of The Magician of Lublin, The Slave, The Family Moskat, 16 other novels and many other works.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Learn on the job to Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Before deciding to go for self-publishing, you should think through what is involved. Certain kinds of books lend themselves to this approach. If you have a book which you can sell after your lectures, or as a promotional tool, or there's some local or specialist interest in what you have written, then self-publishing can be a good idea. If you've written a novel and want to get it published, you should think hard about how you're going to market it...'
- This is the big one for poets! The National Poetry Competition 2021 is open to anyone 18 or over from all over the world to enter an unpublished poem of up to 40 lines. Entry fee £7 for first entry, £4 for subsequent entries. First Prize £5,000, Second Prize £2,000 and Third Prize £1,000, 7 Commendations £200. Closing on 31 October.
- 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 20 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Links about writers and writing: what the agent's percentage gets you, Why do writers need agents? To keep track of the rejections | Publishing | The Guardian; legacy to a writer, My father's best gift; the latest on The History Makers - or whatever it's going to be called, Publication delayed of epic history book amended after being called ‘too white' | Race | The Guardian; how reading your work aloud can change your attitude to it, How Stories Change When They Move From Page to Voice - Literary Hub; using fiction to predict, ‘At first I thought, this is crazy': the real-life plan to use novels to predict the next war | Books | The Guardian.
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- We have a new page which gives an editor's take on using pdfs, So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- From our Endorsements page: '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.
- Links from the publishing world: the first two both changed the shape of the industry, "Enterprise self-publishing" is coming: the third great disruption of book publishing since the 1990s | The Idea Logical Company; how social media is changing the book world, The rise of BookTok: meet the teen influencers pushing books up the charts | Books | The Guardian; and distributing free books to libraries, schools, universities, refugee camps and prisons round the world, Book Aid International: the power of partnerships.
- 'Writing romantic fiction is the second chance that loved ones denied us.' Shannon Alder in our Writers' Quotes.
