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Glossary beginning with A

Glossary terms

A & B Personal Management Ltdsearch for term
See A & B Personal Management listing Synonyms: A & B Personal Management
A & C Black Publishers Ltdsearch for term
Click for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listingSee also: A & C Black Publishers Limited, A & C Black Publishers Ltd, Methuen Drama, Methuen independent publisher Synonyms: A & C Black
A.M. Heath & Co. Ltdsearch for term
See A.M. Heath & Co listing Synonyms: A.M. Heath & Co.
Abe Bookssearch for term
Extraordinary Canadian site linking network of 10,000 booksellers of rare, secondhand and out-of-print books internationally. English, French and German sites give access to over 40 million titles. Booksellers pay subscription based on number of titles for the online capability of selling their books anywhere in the world. www.abebooks.com
Abner Steinsearch for term
Fiction, general non-fiction and children's (home 10%, overseas 20%).

Commission:

  • Domestic: 10%
  • Overseas: 20%

Not taking on any new clients at present.

AcademicInfosearch for term
An American online education resource centre with extensive subject guides and distance learning information which seeks to provide free, independent and accurate information and resources for prospective and current students. Founded in 1998 by Mike Madin, a librarian coordinator, and now maintained by multiple contributors. Currently features over 25,000+ hand-picked resources and updated on a daily basis. www.academicinfo.net/

Academy of American Poetssearch for term
The website of the wonderful Academy, which was founded in 1934 to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry. Any poet or poetry lover would find it worth a visit.
Adam Maxwell's Fiction Loungesearch for term
Author Maxwell's website offers a Character Name Generator and a Writing Prompts Generator which is quite fun if you're stuck on what to write next, plus short stories and flash fiction, all served up in a sardonic tone. www.adammaxwell.com

Adams Literarysearch for term
Agence Hoffmansearch for term

Represent other agencies in Europe

Website - http://www.agencehoffman.de/index.htm

Agence Michelle Lapautresearch for term
Agencia Riffsearch for term
Agenda Poetrysearch for term
Highly-regarded international literary journal founded by William Cookson and Ezra Pound as long ago as 1959. Poetry and fiction. http://www.agendapoetry.co.uk/
Agents Informationsearch for term
WritersServices agents' listings compiled from the information they publish and especially their web presence. Most agents have some useful information about making submissions - check these
agentur literatur Gudrun Hebelsearch for term
Agenzia Letteraria Internazionale SRLsearch for term
AirTeamImagessearch for term
New website for the largest global aviation photo library. You can purchase prints, posters and images online for delivery anywhere in the world. A powerful search facility enables you to locate a specific aeroplane, airline, location or operator. A plane-spotter's dream.
Aitken Alexander Associates Ltdsearch for term
Accepts fiction and non-fiction. No plays or scripts.See also: Anthony Sheil in association with Aitken Alexander Associates Synonyms: Aitken Alexander Associates, Gillon Aitken Associates
Ajanta Books Internationalsearch for term
Agent based in India see http://www.writersservices.com/node/4135/edit
Alamy Imagessearch for term
This huge site has one million images, acting as a portal with content from more than 2,600 worldwide photographers and agencies. It specialises in royalty-free material, though not exclusively.
Alan Brodie Representation Ltdsearch for term
Specialises in stage plays, radio, TV, film (home 10%, overseas 15%); no prose fiction or general MSS. Represented in all major countries.

Represents screenwriters and specialises in film and TV rights. Also represents stage and radio plays.

Commission: home 10%, overseas 15%

No unsolicited scripts; recommendation from known professional required.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Represents script for stage, screen and radio. Does not represent fiction, non-fiction or poetry.
  • Does not accept unsolicited manuscripts and accepts no responsibility for any material sent to their offices. If you are seeking representation as a writer, send a letter and CV in the first instance together with a letter of recommendation from an industry professional. You will then be contacted if they wish to read a sample of your work.
  • You should expect a response within three months, but please be aware that they are unable to give detailed feedback on work which they do not choose to represent. Please enclose an S.A.E if you wish your work to be returned to you; all rejected scripts not accompanied by return postage are destroyed.
Alexandra Nye, Writers & Agentssearch for term
Literary fiction, Scottish history, biographies; no poetry or plays.

Commission: home 10%, overseas 20%, translation 15%

No phone calls. Preliminary letter with synopsis preferred; sae essential for return. Reading fee for supply of detailed report on MSS.

Founded 1991.

Alfred Bradley Bursary Awardsearch for term

Award Up to £6000 over two years and a BBC Radio Drama commission, the opportunity to develop further ideas with Radio Drama.

c/o BBC Radio Drama, Room 2129, New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, Manchester M60 1SJ

Phone 0161 244 4255

Fax 0161 244 4248

Contact: Coordinator

Established 1992. Biennial award in commemoration of the life and work of the distinguished radio producer Alfred Bradley. Aims to encourage and develop new radio writing talent in the BBC North region. There is a change of focus for each award, e.g. previous years have targeted comedy drama, verse drama, etc. Entrants must live in the North region. The award is given to help writers to pursue a career in writing for radio. The next award will be launched in spring 2004, with a deadline for scripts in autumn 2004. Previous winners: Lee Hall, Mandy Precious, Peter Straughan, Pam Leeson.

 

Aliseipresssearch for term
Italy-based photographers' collective specialising in topical photojournalism, documentary and editorial photography.
Alison Picard, Literary Agentsearch for term
Alison Touch Typing Trainingsearch for term

A free training course but you must register to use it. ALISON* claims to be the world's leading free online learning resource for basic and essential workplace skills and all courses are accessible for free to individual learners. Its mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to educate themselves for free via interactive self-paced multimedia and they are working to remove the cost of access to high-quality education.

All About Romancesearch for term

Lively romance book site for readers and writers of the genre. Quite interactive and includes historical articles, interviews with authors and articles such as 8 Male Stereotypes. http://www.likesbooks.com/

All Expertssearch for term

Free Question & Answer service using thousands of volunteers, who are committed to answering within a day, to provide organic storehouse of knowledge. www.allexperts.com

All Readerssearch for term

Rather unusual site which allows you to look up books and their authors by searching on plot lines and other elements. www.allreaders.com

Alliance of Independent Publisherssearch for term

The only non-profit association for the self-publishing writer. Started by Orna Ross as a response to her own experience of leaving trade publishing to try the independent route, this global organisation offers guidance and helpline, connection and collaboration and a host of benefits and incentives.

Alma Classicssearch for term
Click for Alma Classics Publishers References listingSee also: Calder Publications UK Ltd Synonyms: Oneworld Classics, Overture Publishing
Altair-Australia Literary Agencysearch for term
Alternetsearch for term

American site offering an alternative view of the news, supported by the not-for-profit Independent Media Institute. The database contains more than 7,000 articles on all aspects of current affairs and recent events. Also runs the Alties alternative movie awards. www.alternet.org

AMA Sports Photo Agencysearch for term
Contemporary collection of sporting images from around the world shot by their of award winning photographers. Supplies shots of live sports events to news-desks around the world. You need to register to browse and find what you need.
Amazon Book Clubsearch for term

Online selection and helpful reading group guide from the world's biggest online retailer www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/

Amber Lane Press Ltdsearch for term

Amber Lane Press is a small independent publisher specialising in drama. We are based in the Cotswolds market town of Charlbury between Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon, and have been publishing plays and books on the theatre for over 30 years. We have many well-known modern and established dramatists on our list, including 'Biyi Bandele, Steven Berkoff, Ronald Harwood, Julian Mitchell, Martin Sherman, Hugh Whitemore
and Sir Arnold Wesker.

Browse our booklist

American Play Company Inc.search for term
Synonyms: American Play Company
Analytical Eye Technologiessearch for term

Analytical Eye Technologies’ provides free zip files with their typing course to download. Beginners may need help downloading files. Has had over 100,000 downloads in just a year.

Andrea Brown Literary Agencysearch for term
Andrea Semplesearch for term

Rather cheeky but entertaining author's site which carries authors' interviews and a tongue-in-cheek list of what those agents' rejection letters really mean. http://www.andreasemple.com

Andrew Lownie Literary Agencysearch for term

Full-length MSS. Biography, history, reference, current affairs, and packaging journalists and celebrities for the book market (worldwide 15%).

Submission Guidelines:

  • 1 page mini-synopsis highlighting with bullet points what makes the book new and special
  • 1 page cv
  • 1 page with a few lines on the five most recent competing and comparable books giving author, title, publisher and date of publication together with a note on how the books relate to the author's own book
  • 1 page on sources used
  • 1 page on any specialist marketing outlets such as websites, organisations or magazines
  • 1 page synopsis per chapter
  • A sample chapter and, if appropriate, some photographs

No reading fee; will suggest a revision.

Authors include Juliet Barker, the Joyce Cary Estate, Tom Devine, Duncan Falconer, Jonathan Fryer, Laurence Gardner, Cathy Glass, Timothy Good, David Hasselhoff, Lawrence James, Damien Lewis, Julian Maclaren-Ross Estate, Norma Major, Nick Pope, Martin Pugh, Desmond Seward, David Stafford, Daniel Tammet; The Oxford Classical Dictionary , The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English .

Founded 1988.

Association of Authors' Agents

Andrew Mann Ltdsearch for term

Handles fiction, general non-fiction, children's books, film, T.V, theatre and radio scripts.

Affiliated to the Association of Authors' Agents & Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

Submission guidelines:

  • Send a preliminary introductory letter, a one-page synopsis of book or script and first 50 pages double spaced
  • Include an S.A.E if you would like the material returned
  • Prefers hard-copy initially but will look at a brief synopsis is included in an email - no attachments.
  • Because of the volume of submissions manuscripts may be rejected with a standard letter
  • Does not accept unsolicited manuscripts

Commission: home 15%, USA/Europe/translation 20%

No reading fee

Children's authors include Gina Douthwaite, Joe Hackett, Judith Heneghan, Shirley Isherwood, Kate Lennard, Jude Wisdom, Sarah Mussi, Savita Kalhan.

Founded 1975.

Association of Authors' Agents

Synonyms: Andrew Mann
Andrew Motionsearch for term
English poet, novelist and biographer; Poet Laureate of United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009; during his laureateship founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own workSee also: Poetry Archive
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Balticsearch for term
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Chinasearch for term
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Ltdsearch for term

Sells rights internationally on behalf of UK/US agencies and publishers. Agent for UK and international authors, including children's writers. Fiction, non-fiction and children's fiction. Does not represent children's picture books, poetry or scripts for film, T.V, radio or theatre.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Send a short, 1-page synopsis and the first three chapters (double or 1.5 spaced) with a covering letter. If sending by post include an S.A.E for the return of your material.
  • Email submissions@andrewnurnburg.com with files of less than 3mb and in .doc or .pdf format

Founded 1977

Association of Authors' Agents

Synonyms: Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Prague, s.r.o.search for term
Andrew Nurnberg Associates Warsawsearch for term
Andy Edmonsonsearch for term
Managing Director, Purely Digital, a quality digital printing service based in Derby; over 20 years' experience in printing industry; written for various publications including Print Week and popular blog Just CreativeSee also: Andy Edmonson
Angie's Diarysearch for term
Anita D. McClellan Associatessearch for term

Runs a comprehensive service for writers including representation.

The website includes many essays and pages of advice about the book business.

Ann Elmo Agency Inc.search for term

Romance, History, Nature, Ecology,Parenting, Family, Pop culture, Entertainment
Science, Technology

Accepts queries by post but only for people referred.

Works with foreign agencies.

Ann Tobias, Literary Agentsearch for term
Annette Green Authors’ Agencysearch for term

Full-length MSS (home 15%, overseas 20%). Literary and general fiction and non-fiction, popular culture, history, science, teenage fiction. No dramatic scripts, poetry, science fiction or fantasy. No reading fee. Preliminary letter, synopsis, between 5,000 and 10,000 words, ideally the opening chapters and S.A.E essential.

Submission Guidelines:

Send or email a short covering letter, a brief synopsis, and between 5,000 and 10,000 words from your book: ideally the opening chapters. If you are submitting material to other agencies at the same time please tell us in your letter. If you are sending hard copy please also includea stamped self addressed envelopefor our reply and for anything you need returned. If you do not include an s.a.e. or an email address we will be unable to reply. Submissions should be addressed simply to the agency, not to individuals.

Authors include Andrew Baker, Bill Broady, Meg Cabot, Simon Conway, Fiona Gibson, Justin Hill, Maria McCann, Adam MacQueen, Ian Marchant, Lembit Opik MP, Prof Charles Pasternak, Kirsty Scott, Peter Shapiro, Bernadette Strachan, Elizabeth Woodcraft. Children's authors include Meg Cabot, Mary Hogan.

Founded 1998.

Anthony Sheil in association with Aitken Alexander Associatessearch for term

Accepts fiction and non-fiction. No plays or scripts.

No reading fee.

Submission Guidelines:

  • With your letter, you should send a synopsis/summary, ideally a paragraph, but no longer than one page, plus the first thirty pages of consecutively written sample material (in other words, do not send sample chapters from beginning, middle and end).
  • Your typewritten pages should be double-spaced, single-sided, loose-leaf A4, and you should tell us whether you'd like the entire submission to be returned to you (if not suitable) - if you do, you need to include an adequately sized stamped addressed envelope. Otherwise, you can simply send us a stamped addressed envelope for our reply. For fiction, we require that books be completed before submitting.

Permissions:

All requests for permission to use copyright material by any of the clients of Aitken Alexander should contain the following information:

(i) Title and Author of book / material in which extract concerned appears;
(ii) Length (and page reference) of such extract;
(iii) Territories and Languages for which permission sought;
(iv) Title / Publisher / Price / Publication date and estimated first print-run of book / material in which extract will appear;
(v) All other relevant information.

Requests should be submitted to the Permissions Department in writing, by post or fax, or by email to: reception@aitkenalexander.co.uk

Authors include Caroline Alexander, John Fowles, John Keegan, Patrick Leigh-Fermor, Robert Wilson.

See also: Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd
Antony Harwood Ltdsearch for term

Fiction and non-fiction in every genre and category except for screenwriting and poetry.

Terms of business include commission at 15% on all contracts for British Commonwealth rights and 20% on all contracts for American and translation rights.

Commission on all contracts for film and/or television rights is 10-15%, subject to the involvement of sub-agents and associated agencies. Full details of terms of business are agreed with authors when they become clients.

Submission Guidelines:

If you wish to submit your work for consideration, send a brief outline by email. If you want to post your material please be sure to enclose an S.A.E or the cost of return postage. Make sure that you keep a copy of all material you send as no liability for the loss or damage of any material received is accepted.

Will suggest revision. No reading fee.

Clients include Amanda Craig, Louise Doughty, Peter F. Hamilton, Alan Hollinghurst, A.L. Kennedy, Douglas Kennedy, Dorothy Koomson, Chris Manby, George Monbiot, Garth Nix, Tim Parks. Children's authors include Garth Nix.

Founded 2000.

Anubis Literary Agencysearch for term

Genre fiction: science fiction, fantasy and horror. No other material considered.

Send 50pp with a one-page synopsis (sae essential).

No reading fee. No telephone calls.

Works with the Marsh Agency Ltd on translation rights.

Founded 1994.

AP Watt Ltdsearch for term
Click for AP Watt Ltd Agents References listing Synonyms: A P Watt, AP Watt
Arenapalsearch for term
UK based image library specialising in the performing arts. With an online digital collection of 250,000 high quality and well captioned images plus many thousands of slides and negs waiting to be scanned. Free specialist searches by experienced and knowledgeable picture researchers, providing clients with instant access to a further 2.5 million images across their entire collection in addition to a series of UK and overseas private archives.
Art Cyclopediasearch for term

Highly impressive site which offers links to 1200 art sites (belonging to museums and art galleries) and enables you to link directly to the exact page housing the painting you're looking for. With 32,000 links to 100,000 works of art by 7,500 artists, this is an art-lover's dream. www.artcyclopedia.com

Art Images at Lebrechtsearch for term
Lebrecht Photo Library's new website covering fine arts in the history of many cultures, a specialist archive for art and artists. Extensive coverage of Russian, French, Italian and British art.
Arts and Letters Dailysearch for term

Stunning site run by the chronicle of Higher Education and providing a vast number of links to stories, reviews, news etc in other media six days a week under the headings articles of note, new books and essays and opinion. This site really does link you in to what's going on in the world of letters and current affairs. www.aldaily.com

Arts Council Literature Bursaries, Irelandsearch for term

Awards up to £12,000.

An Chomhairle Ealaíon (The Irish Arts Council), 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland

Phone 00 353 1 6180200

Fax 00 353 1 6761302

info@artscouncil.ie

www.artscouncil.ie

Literature Officer:

 

Bursaries in literature awarded to creative writers of fiction, poetry and drama in Irish and English to enable development or completion of, specific projects. A limited number of bursaries may also be given to non-fiction projects of a contemporary nature. Open to Irish citizens or residents only.

 

Arts Journalsearch for term

A daily digest of some of the best arts and cultural journalism in the English-speaking world. Each day ArtsJournal combs through more than 200 English-language newspapers, magazines and publications featuring writing about arts and culture and provides links to the best. Great coverage of the arts, including music, art and books. http://www.artsjournal.com

Artsonlinesearch for term

Newly updated website providing news and events about UK arts. www.artsonline.com

Arvon Foundationsearch for term
The celebrated Arvon creative writing courses cover four and a half days and range from Novel Writing to Starting to Write. Some grants are available. (http://www.arvonfoundation.org)
Arvon Friendssearch for term

The website for the friends' network supporting the Arvon Foundation, which runs creative writing courses for writers. This has a miscellany of writers' own work and articles on associated topics. http://www.arvonfriends.org/

Ashley Grayson Literary Agencysearch for term
Ask a Librariansearch for term

Useful service from the UK public libraries. Type in a question about information and get an answer in two working days.  Operates 24 hours, 365 days a year. www.ask-a-librarian.org.uk

Ask about writingsearch for term

Useful introduction and weekly newsletter. www.askaboutwriting.net

Association of American Publisherssearch for term
The national trade association of the American book publishing industry; AAP has more than 300 members, including most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies
Association of Authors' Agentssearch for term
The association of UK agents. Their website (http://www.agentsassoc.co.uk/index.html) gives a Directory of Members and a code of practice, but no information about the agencies other than their names. The association refers visitors to the UK agent listings from The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook on the WritersServices site.
Association of Authors' Representativessearch for term

The website of the American agents’ association (http://www.aar-online.org) offers a list of members, suggested points to raise with an agent who offers to represent you, and some further guidance on the author/agent relationship.

Association of Canadian Publisherssearch for term

Brisk and informative site offering tips on how to get published, information on Canadian publishing and a media list for self-publishers. http://www.publishers.ca

Aura-Pont, Theatrical and Literary Agency Ltdsearch for term
Australian Literary Agents' Associationsearch for term

Lists some Australian agents and also a guide to Finding an Agent.

Author Literary Agentssearch for term

Novels, thrillers, faction, non-fiction, graphic novels, and children's books, and graphic and illustrated media edutainment concepts (home 15%, overseas/translations 20%, advertising/sales promotion one-third).

Pitches to publishers and producers. Send first chapter, scene or section, and graphics samples (if any), plus a half to one page plot or topic outline together with sae. No reading fee.

Founded 1997.

Author Pictures at Lebrechtsearch for term
Claims to have every author who ever published a book, which may be an exaggeration, but it does have over a million author photos and they're available as high-res downloads.
Authors on the Websearch for term

A labour of love for a group of academics who have compiled biographies of innumerable authors and links to other authors’ websites.  Will you be there one day? (http://www.people.virginia.edu/~jbh/author.html)

Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Societysearch for term

The British rights management society for all writers. A non-profit organisation owned by writers. Membership costs £5 and you have to register (not join) to receive payments. The Society takes commission to cover costs. It collects and distributes fees for writers whose work has been copied, broadcast or recorded and also works on industry-wide solutions to problems such as digital rights management.

Aviation Picturessearch for term
50,000 colour photos and a black and white archive pictures covering aviation, skyscapes and travel.
Avon Romancesearch for term

Useful submission guidelines for romance writers on the publisher's corporate site. www.HarperCollins.com

--Anchorage Press Incsearch for term
Leading American publisher of plays for children. Many classic children’s novels have been adapted by Aurand Harris, Madge Miller and Virginia Glasgow Koste: Tom Sawyer, The Doctor In Spite of Himself, The Pinballs, Little Women and the Wizard of Oz.
--Axis Mundi Bookssearch for term
An Imprint Of John Hunt Publishing. Axis Mundi Books provide the most revealing and coherent explorations and investigations of the world of hidden or forbidden knowledge. Take a fascinating journey into the realm of Esoteric Mysteries, High Magic (non-pagan), Mysticism, Mystical Worlds, Goddess, Angels, Aliens, Archetypes, Cosmology, Alchemy, Gnosticism, Theosophy, Kabbalah, Secret Societies and Religions, Symbolism, Quantum Theory, Conspiracy Theories, Apocalyptic Mythology, Unexplained Phenomena, Holy Grail and Alternative Views of Mainstream Religion. See also: John Hunt Publishing
--Ayni Bookssearch for term
An Imprint Of John Hunt Publishing. Complementary and Alternative approaches to health and well-being essentially follow a holistic model, within which one is given support and encouragement to move towards a state of balance, true health and wholeness, ultimately leading to the awareness of one's unique place in the Universal jigsaw of life - Ayni, in fact.See also: John Hunt Publishing
--Association of Authors and Publisherssearch for term
Houston-based networking group with a friendly site containing advice for writers, info on their meetings and other assistance for writers.
--Australian Society of Authorssearch for term
Well-designed site with a lot of useful content, including List of Publications, Getting Published and list of Australian agents.
--Attaché softwaresearch for term

Attache - mainscreen

 


Attaché

Reviewed by Chas Jones

Introduction

If you take your writing seriously, you want to be published. And if you want to land a publishing deal the recent survey conducted by WritersServices showed having articles and short stories published was a good pointer that you will eventually get a publishing deal.

So how do you manage to keep a flow of articles going while you focus your creative juices on your masterpiece? If, like most writers, you can’t give up the day-job, you really need somebody to run your office. A new piece of software might be all you can afford to help keep track of your writing and marketing efforts.

Attaché says it is ‘a new concept in document storage and submissions management, especially designed for writers who want to organise their projects in a professional and resilient manner.’

What it does

You might immediately think ‘I already put my files into folders so I can find them’. But Attaché provides you with another layer of organisation. You probably have your files structured in a logical way but this software lets you re-group relevant files around themes. So you could organise your writing into distinct projects that you can turn into stories and articles without actually dragging files around. Even better, the same file can appear in several places at the same time without having to make copies of the original.

If you write nothing but fiction then the idea of chunks of source material that can be sculptured into a new form might sound like an electronic version of fridge poetry. But if you are writing a crime novel or historical romance, research notes, picture and images you have assembled could provide inspiration.

There is a second layer of organisation. If you are creating a textbook you can have each project as a chapter and then bring the chapters together as a group.

Organising your work

Articles make money and seeing yourself in print is excellent for your morale. If you do not think that this sort of jobbing writing is for you, try this little experiment. Have a look at a magazine or scan the supplements of the bloated weekend newspapers and see if you can come up with the titles of a few articles you might be able to write. Now scan through your computer files and see if you have written anything similar. Attaché would then let you do this without moving a single file around.

The first problem you will encounter when you start looking through your older files is remembering their contents. You can of course open the file and read it and all word-processors provide a facility to include a summary which you can access by inspecting the file’s properties. With Attaché, the short notes are displayed alongside, which makes it a lot easier. You could use the notes to explain the relevance of a document to a particular project. If you have a number of writing projects underway, this makes life much easier.

The main difference between regular documents and Attaché documents is that the latter allow you to store multiple versions of the same document with the same name inside a project. Each version of the document is treated as unique and can be accessed at any time. If stored regularly, these can provide a complete history of the development of a particular project, as well as allowing you to go back to any earlier version that you have saved.

Attaché puts these copies in another directory so it does not alter or clog your existing directory or file structure.

Sales and Marketing

You still have to do all the editing and writing but once your piece is ready for submission the software can offer more assistance. Attaché presents you with an address book containing a long list of journals and magazines which might want to receive your work, although everybody will tell you that it is good practice to identify your target magazine first. It is only another address book but it is one that is designed to work for you as a writer.

Attaché then helps you to keep track of submissions you make. You can set a date to track what is happening. You can also set a response date so you know when to abandon hope and send the article elsewhere or to chase up your contact to see if they have any plans or suggestions.

You can also track any sales within the system. Anyone who has written articles knows what slow payers magazines can be, as the time from submission to publication can be months. So keeping track of billing is important. There is a financial report feature that I suspect will provide fairly depressing reading for most writers.

Backup

The final feature worth mentioning is the backup facility Attaché provides. Project files can be backed up and restored to and from a single backup file. You are reminded when backup is due. This is also useful for transferring the files from the laptop to a desktop and back again.

Editing

Attaché has a slightly awkward interface with the editor. The recommended way is to export the file, edit and add it back, overwriting or adding the version as a new version. You can also only have one file open for editing at a time. This is an issue being addressed by the developers so look out for the next upgrade.

Conclusions

I have a confession. I have sent off some draft articles and had them accepted while other carefully crafted words have been rejected. Timing, it seems, is everything. The more articles I send, the more articles I get published. Now if I could get myself properly organised…

Attaché can help you to organise your sketches, ideas, exercises and essays in a way that will help you extract articles. Attaché is not going to help you write your literary novel but it might be excellent for a work of non-fiction.

Software is only a tool and this is one worth having in the toolkit to make your path to publication a bit smoother.

Good luck - but - Get organised!!

 


 

You can download a 30-day free trial which is 11.6Mb. Installation and setup was well-behaved and fast. It needs 14.5mb on your disk.

A free copy of Attaché is available for download from
http://www.kelltium.com/attache/download.asp

You have to pay $49 to keep it running when the free trial expires.

 


 

Reviewed October 2005

back to Writers Software


Attache - organiser




Attache - submissions





Attache - sales

 

See also: Muse names, review newnovelist, Storybase, Whitesmoke, writers blocks software