29 July 2019 - What's new
29 July 2019
- 'I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do - the actual act of writing - turns out to be the best part...' Anne Lamott, prolific author of 7 novels, including Hard Laughter and Imperfect Birds, several bestselling books of non-fiction and a number of collections of autobiographical essays on faith. Our Comment.
- From our Endorsements page: 'Please extend my gratitude to the editor for his/her thoughtful and detailed edit. I could not ask for better work! Its value far exceeded the cost.' Jim, Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)
- Two competitions in one this week, The PBS & Mslexia Women's Poetry and Pamphlet Competitions 2019 both close on 16 September. They're open to all women poets - only women are eligible - for Poetry the entry fee is £10 for up to three poems, for the Pamphlet £20. The Poetry Competition prize is £2,000 (plus optional mentorship and writing retreat) | 2nd Prize £400, 3rd Prize £250. For the Pamphlet Competition the prize is publication by Seren BooksClick for Seren Books Publishers References listing and £200.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information.
- Our links: a writer contrasts traditional and self-pulishing, How indie publishing gave me my confidence back (and why I'm not going back to trad) - Helena Fairfax; Mike Shatzkin, international publishing world commentator par excellence, gives us an overview of what's happened to make for radical changes in publishing, A lot has changed in book publishing in the last ten years | The Idea Logical Company; still the same old story, A woman's greatest enemy? A lack of time to herself | Brigid Schulte | Opinion | The Guardian; and haunted mansion with a secret passage? Check. Vintage wedding gown and century-old sunken treasure? Check. Masked villains, gangsters and goons outwitted by Nancy and her BFFs? Triple badass chick check, The Art of Setting Your Crime Novel in a Not-So-Distant Past | CrimeReads.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- More links: well over half of full-time, published authors in the US now earn below the individual poverty level from their writing, Op-Ed: Online book-selling scams steal a living from writers - Los Angeles Times; not a smattering of talent making a splash but waves and waves of writers, going beyond much repeated names, Why is Irish literature thriving? Because its writers and publishers take risks | Alex Clark | Opinion | The Guardian; doesn't every bibliophile do this, buy books and fail to read them? Why Don't I Read All My Books? | Literary Hub; and welcome to the devious minds of thriller writers, We Asked 13 Novelists, From Lee Child to Ruth Ware, ‘What's the Best Murder You Ever Wrote?' - The New York Times.
- 'I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten, - happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.' Brenda Ueland in our Writers' Quotes.
