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7 May 2012 - What's new

7 May 2012
  • 'An article in a recent edition of the Bookseller focused on the London agency Conville and Walsh, a relative newcomer to the agency business but a successful one. How is the world of agenting being affected by the changes in the book world, and what impact does this have on writers? News Review reports on agenting in a changing world.
  • Our Writing Opportunity this week is the new MslexiaStylish and lively site for quarterly UK literary magazine read by 12,000 'committed' women writers. Good range of quality writing, information and advice with news, reviews, competitions and interviews, all presented in a friendly fashion. Praised by Helen Dunmore as 'astute, invigorating and above all an excellent read.' www.mslexia.co.uk Children's Novel Competition, open to children's novels in any genre by previously unpublished women novelists. First Prize £5,000 and an entry fee of £25.
  • 'I want to make sure that a reader could figure out every twist in the book from what went before. I try really hard to give those clues and suggestions double or triple meanings and steer (the reader) in a different direction. But the opportunity, if one chose to figure out what was going to happen, should be there...' Jeffrey Deaver, author of XO and 29 other thrillers, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
  • Does your manuscript need  Copy editing?  Do you know the difference between copy editing and proof-reading? Divided by a common language? - are you wondering about the difference between American and British copy editing? Our new page on Getting your manuscript copy edited provides a useful overview and clarifies a new feature of our service, which enables you to get two versions of your copy edited manuscript, one showing the editor's changes in 'track changes' and one with the changes accepted.
  • Links to recent stories - Scale and synergy do not drive publishing, people do, Why Writers Need Publishers…Or Do They? and Why smart authors are cutting Amazon out.
  • WritersServices editor Kay GaleWritersServices editor who has worked for many years as a freelance editor for number of publishers. offers her tips on Getting through the Slush-pile, drawing on her own experience as an editorial assistant reading through it.
  • And the same Kay Gale now has her own blog about gourmet food, The Single Gourmet and Traveller, which is highly recommended for all foodies.
  • 'Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer.'  Ray Bradbury in our Writers' Quotes.