January 2007
The website for writers
News Review
- 'We’re only just coming up to the end of the first month of the new year, but already there are signs that the pace of change is not going to slow.' News Review looks at big changes in the book world.
- 'Following the recent furore relating to the Decibel Penguin Prize, the organisers have been forced to back down.' News Review on whether you can single out particular ethnic groups with special programmes of support without discriminating against others.
- It’s pretty unusual for a novel to start an international movement, but Catherine Ryan Hyde can claim to have done just that. News Review looks at Pay it Forward.
- Fast forward into the digital future? News Review looks at what the futurologists are saying.
Comment
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'The acquisition of Serpent's Tail by Profile... guarantees that Serpent's Tail remains within the independent sector. It also means I can devote myself to publishing and editing – a dream come true.' Pete Ayrton of Serpent’s Tail
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'Large advances attract huge publicity, not all of it good. Literary critics will be more inclined to review whether the book is value for money than whether it is a good read.' Danuta Kean in Mslexia
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'I never set out to write historical fiction: it's just that history keeps being what I want to write about.' Emma Darwin, author of Mathematics of Love, in Writers' Forum
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'When I first considered self-publishing I worried that it might be career suicide. But my experience has been really great.' Frances O'Brien, author of Sheer Bliss.
Writers' Quote
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'What a blessed thing it is, that Nature, when she invented, manufactured, and patented her authors, contrived to make critics out of the chips that were left!'
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jnr
Win a website of your own
by entering our very short story competition. Closing date:
31 January 2007
Stories should be no more than 500 words and should be on the subject of the web.
Pop-up Blockers
Do some things just not work on your computer? You might need to deal with any software that prevents pop-up windows. They can be a nuisance but they are also useful when you want to access the many features offered by websites.
International Book Fairs
Our updated listing for 2007 of book fairs across the globe. Perhaps there's one near you?
T S Eliot Prize for Poetry
The 2006 winner is Seamus Heaney, and the announcement has just been made after the judges chose from the extremely strong shortlist of 10 collections.
Review
Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb is: 'an
excellent tutorial and reference source for anyone who wants to become more than
a weekend scribbler... with a book like this on your desk, you stand a much
better chance of succeeding.'
The view from a publisher's desk
This is the fourth and last in a series of articles by Tom Chalmers, MD of Legend Press, giving a publisher's view of the submission process and what a publisher is looking for.
This month: The changing face of publishing:
'Writers shouldn’t be deluded into thinking they can just write a good thriller, send it around and they will get an offer to get it published over lunch with an editor.'
Free 20 minute telephone coaching session
We're relaunching our Coaching service and offering a free 20 minute telephone coaching session with Julia McCutchen if you register for any of the individual Coaching service packages by Friday 9 February 2007!
How does email get from one place to the other?
Are you baffled by email error codes and wondering what SMTP actually stands for? Our latest Writers Web Watch article will fill you in.
Vanity publishing
The latest in the Inside Publishing series deals with how to avoid being conned by the vanity publishers.
Bob's Journal goes into its 7th volume
Bob grapples with research for his stage play, taking another look at his TV thriller and finding someone in the news has appropriated his main character's name:
'Turn on TV to be informed about the goings-on in the world, only to discover a name in the news is exactly the same as that of my hero.'
John Jenkins on the short story and Alice Munro's new collection, freedom of speech and a warning about 'participatory media' or 'citizen journalism':
'These organizations are intent on filling their online sites and hard copy publications on the cheap. It’s just like local radio stations which fill hours and hours with phone-ins. '
Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Flaubert were pretty good at it.'
WritersPrintShop
We have revamped our WritersPrintShop website with lots more information. If you're thinking about self-publishing, this is the place to find out what's involved. If you're ready to go ahead, our high quality service is second to none and there's an economy version for those who want to tackle some of the work themselves. You can estimate the cost for yourself.
We Watch the web for writers
See also Finding an agent for how to go about getting someone to represent you.
Our new audio section
Check out our new audio section. This shows you how to record your work using the facilities built into your computer. You can start with Preparing your story and How to start recording.
It's easier than you think, so get recording! We'll provide a site for you to podcast your work soon.
Where next for the web
Web 2.0 is the next development for the Internet, and then there's Web 3.0. So what does it all mean?
Our Editorial Services for writers
Check out the 15 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Contract vetting. Our latest new service is Coaching.
Most recent Magazines
Previous serials & extracts
WritersServices.com Magazine January 2007
Competitions
Try the survey
Can you spare a moment to tell us what you think of future formats for the written word?