What's New in 2014
- This week we take a look at some encouraging signs in the book world, including an improvement in print sales, and feature the National Poetry CompetitionAnnual poetry prize run by the UK-based Poetry Society established in 1978; accepts entries from all over the world; over 10,000 poems submitted each year.
- The book trade internationally does seem to have turned the corner after a difficult few years when a major format change at the same time as a deep global recession turned everything upside down... Bookshops are working out new ways of surviving, with a focus on events, local authors, school supply and so on. No doubt the fallout will continue but in the UK and US there are definite signs of more bookshops surviving and is the online competitors to Amazon who are having a hard time. Our News Review this week covers the good news that print book sales have recovered a bit, while children's leads the way.
- We've added the prize-winning Guardian children's books site to our recommended links to children's sites, but would welcome other suggestions for this section or any of the 23 other listings, which include Writers Online Services.
- This week's Writing Opportunity is the 2014 National Poetry Competition 2014, which closes on 31 October. With a first prize of £5,000 and an entry fee of £6, it is open to all poets from around the world.
- 'Publishing is the process of getting an author's thoughts and ideas to the mind of a reader. Book publishing was carried out in the traditional manner for so long that everyone began to believe that publishers, agents, publicists and bookshops were essential to the process. The multiplicity of options brought about by the digital age remind us that there are only two constants in the process: the author and the reader...' Nicola Solomon, CEO of the UK Society of Authors in the Bookseller in this week's Comment.
- Do you have an old typescript or even hand-written manuscript which you can't work on? Or even audio recordings which need typing up? Our manuscript typing service can do the job for you cheaply and efficiently.
- This week's links to topical stories: Futurebook's digital Survey, Measure for measure: the Digital Census since 2009 | FutureBook; should Agent Hunter have the right to demand that literary agents should be transparent, Row over literary agents' 'transparency' | The Bookseller; the prize-winning site about children's books, Guardian children's books site scoops World Young Reader prize | Books | theguardian.com; should famous authors be allowed to write stories about famous dead people, Mantel defends Thatcher story | The Bookseller; and a surprising preference for print amongst young people, Nearly three quarters of young people prefer print | The Bookseller.
- 'Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.' Francoise Sagan in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'So just how do you go about promoting poetry and poets? There are lots of answers to this and many poets are very successful at promoting themselves through a combination of their publisher's efforts or self-publishing, through readings, performances and getting their work into poetry magazines, online or other kinds of promotion...' This week's News Review looks at a big new poetry promotion - Next Generation Poets 2014.
- Next Generation Poets 2014 press release has the full list of 20 poets and details of the promotion, including video material of the poets, 23 events and a British CouncilThis government-supported body is best-known for its activities overseas, but in fact provides a great deal of information which is of interest to writers. http://www.britishcouncil.org/
Their UK Literature Festivals provides a full listing, but this is only as up to date as the information supplied by the individual festival organizers. international tour to follow.
- If you're more interested in how to get your own poetry out there, we have Getting your poetry published.
- A new page on Which Report? gives the lowdown on the three reports we offer.
- 'I think I will write, in my 70s, more novellas. I love the idea of sitting down to read something in three hours - about the length of an opera, or a long movie, or a play where all of its structure can be held in the mind. A novella is a great length, and it's a demanding genre in which things have to be settled quickly.' Ian McEwan, author of The Children Act, in the Observer, quoted in our Comment column.
- We've updated our New Articles listing, which directs you to new material on the site.
- Our Writing Opportunity this week is the Troubadour International Poetry Prize, smaller than the National Poetry CompetitionAnnual poetry prize run by the UK-based Poetry Society established in 1978; accepts entries from all over the world; over 10,000 poems submitted each year but with an equally generous first prize and closing on 20 October.
- Our links this week: the latest chapter in the Amazon/Hachette saga, Authors United threatens next Amazon move | The Bookseller; changing times in East Africa, East African Writers Embrace Self-publishing and Promotion | Publishing Perspectives; what difference have the new Man Booker rules made? Has the Man Booker prize really opened up? | Books | The Guardian; her own take on diversity in children's writing, Author Malorie Blackman on Diversity in Children's Books | Publishing Perspectives; and market-savvy responses in the latest literary agent interview from Publishing Perspectives, Literary Agent Q&A: Madeleine Milburn, UK | Publishing Perspectives.
- The WritersServices Glossary gives an A-Z listing of every name on the site and is another way of finding what you're looking for.
- To complete a poetry-heavy week: 'The majority of poems one outgrows and outlives, as one outgrows and outlives the majority of human passions.' T S Eliot in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'John Lewis of the Bookseller has argued strongly that the paperback edition is still a major factor in book sales and what's more that its position doesn't seem to be changing in the face of ebook sales nearly as much as had originally been assumed, now that things are settling down. What's surprising about this is that the paperback edition is coming out 6-12 months after the hardback and ebook are available. Even more important in terms of sales, you would expect the ebook to completely cannibalise the paperback sales as it's invariably not only available sooner but also considerably cheaper...' News Review on why paperbacks still have legs.
- Ever wanted to understand what's involved in indexing? The Ins & Outs of Indexing by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk show how you could do it yourself or what you might gain by having a professional tackle the job.
- ‘I write by hand, then type it up. When I've finished a scene, I'll read it and, if it needs editing, I write all over it, then retype it. I fax the copy to a typist, who puts it on a disc, and she faxes it back, then I edit it again. When I start a new novel I already have the story in my head, including the ending, so I begin by doing an outline and then write it consecutively - page one is always page one...' Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of A Woman of Substance and Cavendon Hall, in The Times, quoted in our Comment column.
- Michael Legat's Factsheets are short introductions for writers from the former publisher, novelist and author of 12 books on writing. These specially commissioned information-packed lists from our Archives cover the essentials for writers. From Research to Revision, Plagiarism to Copyright, Legat always has something pithy but on the nail to contribute.
- Publishing Perspectives are offering a Frankfurt Preview which provides an intriguing look into what goes on at the Fair.
- Our links this week: the Bookseller's trenchant article on paperbacks, Pulp fiction | FutureBook; Margaret Atwood's new work will remain unseen for a century | Books | theguardian.com; why would you think publishers fact-check? Book Publishing, Not Fact-Checking - The Atlantic; a really useful guide, 5 Steps to Increasing Your Book's Marketability with Research | Publishing Perspectives; and, about a well-deservedly popular author, Kate Mosse: my skill is storytelling, not literary fiction | Books | The Observer.
- 'Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.' Barbara Kingsolver in our Writers' Quotes.
- This week we have another article on the key subject - for all authors - of international rights, News Review on a plunge in print on demand titles in the US, Anthony Horowitz's comments on writing and some tough subjects in our links, such as whether ebooks are destroying bookselling culture.
- The second article from the MD of IPR, How to get your book in the hands of an international audience, expands on his theme of authors and rights and shows how the international book rights business works: ' It's clear that experience and market knowledge, as well as good contacts, are key elements in the placement of titles and getting deals done. Our licensing manager Caroline Sloan was recruited from Penguin Random House and has a number of years' experience working in foreign rights so she has a wealth of knowledge across a number of territories but that doesn't mean she knows every single intricacy or quirk attached to every single marketplace. But throughout her career what she has done is to make sure that she engages with people on the ground who do. These people are called sub-agents and literary scouts...'
- This week's Comment is from children's writer Anthony Horowitz: ‘A writer is over when they think they're perfect. Sometimes you just have to rewrite a book: the new Sherlock Holmes novel wasn't working, so 42,000 words in I'm back to the beginning... All writing comes from tension. If you have a nervous energy, a sort of discontentment and unanswered questions, you want to rub and scratch and examine yourself. I tend to get stressed about everything - that is how I am. But if it all comes out on the page, well, at least it's got a home.'
- Our useful series of articles from and interviews with publishers, Talking to Publishers, gves a direct insight into the approaches of nine different editors and what they're looking for for their lists.
- Our literary agents' listings offer information on agents in the UK, the US, international and children's agents. Browse through them or use the search to find what you you're looking for.
- 'Recent figures from Bowker in the US show a startling plunge in the number of titles printed print-on-demand by 46% year-on-year. Even more surprising perhaps is that this decline is not part of the major shift from print titles to ebooks, as the overall print figures declined by only 1.6%. This figure reverses the sector's growth from 2011 to 2012 and shows that the number of print books being produced is remarkably stable. So much for the theory that print books would disappear and be replaced entirely by ebooks as the digital revolution proceeded...' This week's News Review is on Print on demand plunges and the Frankfurt Book Fair sets up self-publishing programme.
- Our links this week address some tough questions: Are eBooks Destroying Bookselling Culture?; Malorie Blackman faces racist abuse after call to diversify children's books | Books | The Guardian; Ian Grant's authoritative take on the Amazon situation, BookBrunch - Authors demand Amazon's patronage; and, something slightly different, VIDEO: How Fiction Can Change Reality | Electric Literature.
- From our Writers' Quotes we have Neil Gaiman: 'Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.'
