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Comment from the book world in October 2005

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October 2005

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'Being a romance writer'

31 October 2005

'It really is just a regular job... It's about marketing yourself and really selling yourself. It's a business. You have to be business-savvy.

Being a romance writer is good and bad news. I will often get, "Oh, you write those kind of books." But at the same time, these are the books women are buying. I know I'm not going to change the world but I am going to brighten your weekend.'

Debbie Macomber, bestselling romance writer, at the 25th Romance Writers of America convention, as reported in the Reno Gazette Journal (romance novels are reckoned to comprise 50% of paperback sales in the US)

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What makes an agent decide to take on a new client?

17 October 2005

'That's an impossible question to answer. You know it when you see it. Something just makes you feel 'must have' - you think 'wow'! You have the little tingle at the back of your neck. All of those things happen, and you just know. You've just got to fall for it in such a big way that you're bowled over, you have to run with it, it thrills you. You've got to feel those emotions, I think, really.'

Sophie Hicks, joint MD of the Ed Victor Agency, in Publishing News

'Know thyself'

10 October 2005

'I work office 9 to 5 most days, I do a half day on Saturdays and I have Sunday off... Often I'll write 5,000 or 6,000 words. But then I'll spend the next morning cutting and reworking it.'

'Know thyself... If it interests you it's got a good chance of having some life to it... Most of all I think it's a question of not being selfish. You've got to think of your reader - even if you haven't got one yet. For so many people, the act of writing seems to be enough and I don't think it should be.'

Charlotte Bingham, author of many novels, including Coronet and Lucinda, in Writers' ForumBritish writers' magazine which is highly recommended for all writers. It features wide range of news and articles which help writers to improve their work and get published: www.writers-forum.com

'An enormous rich and living heritage'

3 October 2005

'We need to remind our country that we have an enormous rich and living heritage of writing and illustration for children. It is second to none in the world. In a way we have been careless with this heritage. Readers care about it but I don't think the government does...

There are a number of people who should be recognised as a 'thank you' for a lifetime of very good work, but who are unable to fulfil a role like the children's laureate--I am thinking of such people as Philippa Pearce, Peter Dickinson or John Burningham...

It is comparable to the Jamie Oliver situation in the classroom. The SATs are the equivalent of junk food--devoid of nourishment--while the Schools Library Services that provide living, organic books struggle to survive.'

Philip Pullman in the Bookseller on why the British government should set up an award for children's writers and illustrators.