3 May 2021 - What's new
3 May 2021
- ‘When I was a child I was given a special book just to write stories because my handwriting and spelling were so bad. Suddenly I realised I wasn't hopeless at English. You forget children are always comparing each other, and if it's always about grammar and spelling, and if they don't get it, their self-esteem plummets. My terrible handwriting and sketches have turned into a billion-and-a-half dollar industry with my books and films. Never underestimate the value of allowing children to mess around. Cressida Cowell, UK Children's Laureate and author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, whose 23 books have sold 11 million copies, in The Times.
- From Tom Chalmers, formerly of IPR, two articles about rights for self-publishers, Self-publishing - the rights way and How to get your book in the hands of an international audience. 'It's a fact that most self-published authors understand the process that takes them from a written manuscript to a published book, but few realise the additional elements that make publishing a profitable business. Rights licensing is arguably the most vital element in this equation. Whether it's selling translation rights, audio rights or optioning the film rights, these all help balance the book's books...'
- Our article on How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers with a manuscript which needs translating or has been written in English by a non-native speaker: 'if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself, or writing in English, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?' This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- English Language Editing is our polishing service for writers who have translated their work into English or written it in English when it is not their native language. If you need to make sure it's good enough to publish, or send to a publisher, this service is for you. Acknowledging the growth of world English, English Language Editing is designed for the many non-native English speakers throughout the world who want to publish their work in English.
- Closing on 30 June, the Moth Short Story Prize 2021 is open to all writers over 16. Entry fee €15 per story.1st prize €3,000, 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus €250 travel stipend, 3rd prize €1,000.
- Links from writers: first a big success, then... Kevin Power: My first novel was a hit. I could write full-time. And that made me ... angry; suddenly readers could and would read serious books about economics and social change and history and science and business, How ‘The Tipping Point' Spawned a New Kind of Business Book | by Margaret Heffernan | Apr, 2021 | Marker; talking to the self-described "demon dog of American literature", James Ellroy Gets to the Scene of the Crime; securing an international publishing deal, Author's debut novel written in Hampstead bookshop | Hampstead Highgate Express; and Ian Brown on getting published, 30 years writing and producing for TV - and what it's like working with a tortoise, Getting published: what I learned from my 80 year old pet.
- Advice for writers provides access to the mass of information on the site.
- Links from the publishing world: publishers and booksellers are not in a hurry to resume in-person author tours, In-Person Author Tours Won't Be Back Anytime Soon; crying "Censorship!" has become the right's favorite book marketing technique, Outcry over book ‘censorship' reveals how online retailers choose books - or don't - The Washington Post; a huge rise in sales and a tripling of profits, Amazon hopes pandemic habits stick after profits triple - BBC News; and writers' organisations pursuing the giant film studio, Writers Orgs Form #DisneyMustPay Joint Task Force.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? This is the question our page Which service? answers and it then goes on to give a quick rundown on our 20 editorial services for writers, which we think is the biggest and most comprehensive you can find on the internet.
- Other links: scandal surrounds both the author and his biographer, Philip Roth Bio: Blake Bailey's Incuriosity - The Atlantic; does length matter? Novels and Novellas and Tomes, Oh My! - Counter Craft; an encouraging result from the pandemic, Children read more challenging books in lockdowns, data reveals | Books | The Guardian; and after a stellar year for new books, The State of the Crime Novel in 2021: A Roundtable With the Edgar Awards Nominees ‹ CrimeReads.
- Preparing for publication
- ‘People have many cruel expectations from writers. People expect novelists to live on a hill with three kids and a spouse, people expect children's story writers to never have sex, and people expect all great poets to be dead. And these are all very difficult expectations to fulfill, I think.' C. JoyBell C. in our Writers' Quotes.
