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Comment from the book world in November 2016

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November 2016

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'The great thing about reading is that it's not a competition'

28 November 2016

‘Well, the great thing about reading is that it's not a competition. People tell me: he's read this and he's moved on to this. That's not what it is about. I want them to spend time looking, learn how to turn the page. But I do think these phones are a problem for all ages. I see beautiful young lovers walking by and they are both staring at their phones rather than each other. I mean: really! But as long as they fund the libraries I think books will be fine. If your child is ill, what is guaranteed to cheer them up? Always a book.'

Shirley Hughes in the Guardian

 

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Writing bestselling erotic fiction

21 November 2016

‘I've not lived any of my characters' lives, that's for sure! But I think every author bases much of their writing on personal experience, because it makes it easier to write about feelings and how you deal with certain situations. Although I've not had sex on a rowing machine or anything like that, there are certain things within the pages of all of my books that I've experienced myself. It makes the writing process easier when you can fall back on things that have happened to you...

You can make someone feel really uncomfortable when they ask what you do. I don't just come out with the fact I write erotic fiction. I tell them I write. Then, of course that leads to, 'Oh, what do you write?' But the number of people that say to me on a daily basis, 'Eugh, smut' or 'Eugh, porn!' It's just narrow-mindedness! It's people that are uncomfortable with it and therefore try to bring it down almost...

But the truth is that sex and love make the world go round, just as much as money does. I think now more than ever, erotic fiction is there to be read and people are reading it. It's maybe taken too long to get to this point, but I think it can only be a good thing. The publishing industry can see that, I think, they accept and embrace it just as readers do.'

'Queen of erotic literature' and author of bestseller The Protector Jodi Ellen Malpas in an interview in Bookbrunch

 

'Agents mediate and enhance and improve the publishing process'

14 November 2016

"I think agents mediate and enhance and improve the publishing process. I regard my role as being independent, I will say to an author, 'No, no, the publisher is right in this case.' It is not my job to blindly support the author. I think you support them better by telling them what you regard as the truth...

If there is a person I really like and want to be close to, whose work is OK but doesn't make very much money, I'll do it. If there is another, one who isn't a very nice person but who has written an extraordinary book, [even if] it won't make a lot of money I'll do it, because I love books. If you find something great, you want to disseminate it and bring it to the world. And if there is a book by someone who is not wonderful, and the book is not particularly good, but it is going to make a lot of money, I owe it to my company to do it. I have to feed its hungry maw."

Literary agent Ed Victor of the eponymous London agency, celebrating 40 years in business, in the Bookseller

 

'Should I stop and do something else?'

7 November 2016

‘After Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School I took a pause and was thinking about the future. Should I continue? Or should I stop and do something else?

I'm only about halfway through (he can envisage at least 20 books in the series). If I can keep them fresh, I will definitely keep going. I'm committed to this series...

It would be hard to tell which country I was in based on (fans') reactions alone. The conclusion I've come to is that these books are about childhood and the DNA of our childhoods is pretty similar, there is maybe a 70% or 89% overlap between people of different cultures. Most of us have siblings, parents and homework.'

Jeff Kinney, highly successful author of the Wimpy Kid series, as his eleventh book comes out, in the Bookseller.