How Not to Write a Novel; Confessions of a Midlist Author
Our eleventh excerpt from David Armstrong's entertaining book:
This month the author looks at vanity publishing and self-publishing, warning writers about the pitfalls of each, whilst showing that self-publishing has an honourable tradition, having been practised by authors from Jill Paton Walsh to Virginia Woolf.
'So, if you have a spare few thousand pounds, if you are desperate to see your book in print and want to give copies to friends and family and try to sell a few to your mates at the pub or squash club, then go ahead... ' concluding 'As a last resort; if you can't get anyone to buy (or even read) your book, consider self- or vanity-publishing it.
New links
A major review of our recommended links has just added 20 new ones, including a new listing for book group links.
2005 London Book Fair Masterclasses
Book now for the Masterclasses to be held on 12th and 13 March at the London Book Fair. Organised in association with English PEN and involving many well-known authors, these cover:
- How to get published
- The Daily Mail Book Club Fiction Masterclass
- How to write Historical Fiction
- How to write popular poetry
New poster
Here's our new poster in the Writers on Writing series, which includes gems such as:
'Every time I read a Jane Austen novel, I feel like a bartender at the gates of heaven.'
Mark Twain
The 2005 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Title of the Year
Check out this year's peculiar winner!
