What a publisher wants - The view from a publisher's desk No 1
This is the first 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.
Judging a book - The view from a publisher's desk No 2
This is the second 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.
The writer’s X-Factor - The view from a publisher's desk No 3
This is the third 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 is the fourth 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.
‘How many times was I asked while still writing it: "What makes Harry Potter so popular?" I never had a good answer. It has occurred to me since that much of what young people found in the Potter books are the very same things they seek online... But the great thing about a book as opposed to a social media platform is that it puts no pressure on its reader to perform or conform.
In the early 1990s, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth almost became a setting for Dungeons & Dragons. At that time, TSR, the company that created D&D, saw a window of opportunity. Tolkien and his works already had a worldwide following. Creating a game in one of his worlds might bring countless droves of Middle-earth fanatics into the ranks of Dungeons & Dragons. Read more
According to Scottish crime fiction author Denise Mina, Glasgow- her hometown where she lives and works and gets around as a pedestrian and a bicyclist-is a city of brutal frankness where a thick skin is a necessity of life and it's very hard to feel special. "Glasgow," Denise says, "is a place where people come up and talk to you, ... Read more
When I started writing my novel Dark Earth five years ago, friends asked what this new book of mine was going to be about. When I told them it was going to be set in the ruined city of Londinium in the sixth century, they raised their eyebrows.
"Sixth century?" one said. "Sixth? Really? Isn't that a bridge too far?"
Ah, series. Most readers love them, and most writers love to write them. We get to know the imaginary world we've created, and it is fun and rewarding to slip back into that headspace and get caught up on what our protagonist has going on.
This venerable nugget of writing advice is often attributed to William Faulkner, though in fact the British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch said it first. In a 1913-1914 series of published lectures at Cambridge University titled On the Art of Writing, Quiller-Couch said: Read more
What would it be like to travel back in time? That depends on whether you're ready for it. If you're hopping into a time machine, you'd likely have a chance to prepare yourself, and that's certainly the comfortable way to go. Read more
The long, frustrating process of querying seems so one-sided. Most queries receive form rejections with cryptic phrases like "I didn't connect" or "just not for me," or fall into the deep valley of No response means no.
On 5 July Picador, which is part of the Pan MacmillanOne of largest fiction and non-fiction book publishers in UK; includes imprints of Pan, Picador and Macmillan Children’s Books conglomerate, announced that its publishing director, Philip Gwyn Jones, was stepping down "by mutual agreement" after two years in the role. Gwyn Jones, a respected publisher with long experience, had been criticised for his handling of a row over Kate Clanchy's memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me. Read more
In the 2021 Netflix film "Don't Look Up", two astronomers played by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio embark on a media tour to warn the public about an impending comet collision that will doom the planet. The problem: no one really cares. Publishing takes a different approach to such matters. As an industry we assume the sky is falling down, even when it isn't.