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8 January 2018 - What's new

8 January 2018
  • 'I do put in complicated ideas because I think children are highly intelligent. Thinking outside the box is natural to them. The heroes of my books are always the creative, inventive thinkers.' She wants her books ‘to feel like sweets not brussel sprouts. Not something that you ought to be doing but something you want to be doing.' Cressida Cowell, author of the How to Train Your Dragon series and The Wizards of Once in the Bookseller, on writing for children.
  • For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'In this series of articles we'll be looking in more detail at the various self-publishing routes currently available to new indie authors. When you first start out on your indie journey, the array of options can be overwhelming. I know that when I began researching my options in early 2012 I was stunned by two apparently contradictory facts: there is so much information out there it's almost impossible to sift through it all, but at the same time a lot of the information is vague and generalised, and it can be hard to find real facts and figures - like expected sales figures and actual costs...'
  • 'We don't often cover a specific event, but if you like poetry and are in reach of London this weekend, don't miss a wonderful evening of poetry. Get your tickets for the fabulous T S Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings, to be hosted by Ian McMillan, with all ten shortlisted poets expected to read...' News Review
  • Putting together Your submission package - 'given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript'.
  • Our links: what the heck is going to happen next? 2018 Book Publishing Predictions - Are Indie Authors Losing their Independence? A collection of musings, tips and essays from some of our favourite authors about the business of writing, Buy a cat, stay up late, don't drink: top 10 writers' tips on writing; and the publishing industry hasn't produced a must-read adult book in several years, but that drought came to an end in the first week of January, 'Fire and Fury': Anatomy of a Bombshell.
  • If you're thinking about getting a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
  • More links: I'd rather describe my darkest, dirtiest sexual fantasies than tell you how much I've earned writing novels. But this essay is about my corporate career, which means it's mostly about money; to tell it right I have to come clean, If It Wasn't For My Corporate Office Job, I Couldn't Be a Novelist; "we've decided that the world has moved on from blogs-so this is the last post here." The Rise and Fall of the Blog; and, does it really make sense? - Paying to Play: On Submission Fees in Poetry Publishing.
  • 'The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.' Ursula K. Le Guin in our Writers' Quotes.