14 May 2018 - What's new
14 May 2018
- 'I think I am starving for publication: I love to get published; it maddens me not to get published. I feel at times like getting every publisher in the world by the scruff of the neck, forcing his jaws open, and cramming the Mss down his throat - 'God-damn you, here it is - I will and must be published...' Tom Wolfe, journalist extraordinaire and author of The Right Stuff, From Bauhaus to Our House and The Bonfire of the Vanities, who died this week. Our Comment.
- Tips for writers is our 8-part crash course for writers who are starting out, taking you from Promoting Your Writing (and Yourself), from Self-publishing: is it for you? to Keep up to date and Submission to publishers and agents. 'Think about the market for your book. Research the category and read widely to see what other published writers in this area are doing. Which writers are successful and why? Visit bookshops and analyse what you find there. If you are reading this you are probably already writing, but it really is worth thinking right from the beginning about your readers, as that makes it far more likely you'll eventually find them...'
- The Daily Mail Penguin Random House First Novel Competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland. There's no entry fee and the prize is a generous £20,000.
- Other current Writing Opportunities.
- 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'. Here's a page on what you should send.
- Our links: whether you're an author, publisher or book discovery startup, a mailing list might well be the most valuable asset in your toolbox, Drawing subscribers to your book-related newsletter: 7 insider tips | The Bookseller; ah, book writing. For most people, it is not a viable (or at least not a reliable) source of income, but for the lucky and/or talented few, it can be pretty lucrative, A Brief History of Seven-Figure Book Advances | Literary Hub; the thriving market for ebooks has prompted many authors to turn to Amazon Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP) for book distribution. But with great sales opportunities come great pitfalls, Rants and Revelations : Avoiding the Pitfalls of Publishing With Amazon Kindle Self-Publishing Platform : Authorlink; and a contrary view of success through Amazon, How Amazon enabled my dream career.
- 'Hardly any authors can copy edit their own writing. It is notoriously difficult to spot the errors in your own work. So professional copy editing does make sense, either if you are trying to give your work its best chance when submitting it or, even more crucially, if you are planning to self-publish...' Getting your manuscript copy edited
- More links: the death of a superstar, Tom Wolfe, 88, ‘New Journalist' With Electric Style and Acid Pen, Dies - The New York Times; a contrasting view from the Guardian, Tom Wolfe and the bonfire of male literary reputations | Emma Brockes | Opinion | The Guardian; and a remarkable story of a successful writer stepping to support an adult literacy progamme which had been proved to work, Jojo Moyes steps in to save Quick Reads from closure | The Bookseller.
- If you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself, Typing manuscripts is a service for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript or audio tapes, which need typing before they can proceed with reworking, submission or publication.
- And a quote from an obsessive writer 'I never want to see anyone, and I never want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to write.' P G Wodehouse in our Writers' Quotes.