An Editor's Advice
This new series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller
a reviewer, writer, editor and former librarian, is our book reviewer and also works for WritersServices as a freelance editor., a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years. It deals with the most common problems she has encountered in the fiction manuscripts which cross her desk.
In the second article Maureen writes about doing further drafts: 'It must be very disheartening, when you’ve spent eighteen months sweating buckets over 150,000 words of fiction to have a report coming winging back, effectively saying ‘do it again’.
An Editor's Advice 1: Dialogue
Diagram Prize Winner announced
Check out the 2006 winner of the Prize for the oddest title of the year.
How to Write a Novel
Author Donna Grisanti offers some advice on getting started:
'Before starting the exciting journey of writing a novel, check the true level of your enthusiasm.... On average, writing a novel is a 2+ year task, which requires a strong positive attitude...'
Shortlist for the 2006 Diagram Prize
Check out the shortlist for the 2006 prize for the oddest title of last year, which has received unprecedented international coverage, from the Orlando Sentinel to the Hindu.
Which service?
Do you think you need some help with getting your manuscript into good shape for submission, but don't know which service to go for? Our new page helps you work out what's best for you.
Preparing for submission
It is important to think hard about whether your manuscript is ready for submission before you start submitting your work to agents and publishers. Here are some tips on how to go about it.
Our latest contribution is from Eliza Graham on how she finally got her novel, Playing with the Moon, published as part of the Macmillan New Writing programme
Booktrust and Writers
This is the first in an occasional series about organisations of interest to writers. The first article is by Chris Meade, the Director of the British book promotion charity Booktrust, whose work provides a model for new initiatives to promote books all over the world.
