10 August 2015 - What's new
10 August 2015
- Our Writing Opportunity this week is the poetry part of the Manchester Writing Prize, with a first prize of £10,000 and open to poets across the world. It closes on 25 September.
- A recent report from Enders Analysis has said that it would be a mistake to see the ebook revolution as the key disruption in the book trade. The authors of the report are much more concerned with the reduction in the time people spend on reading, due to time spent on mobile devices, which is eating into book reading time. News Review
- Have you got something you'd like to say to our community of writers? My Say gives writers a chance to air their views. So we have Natasha Mostert: There are few things as satisfying as typing THE END to a manuscript, Richard Hall "Write about what you know" and Jae Watson with his 'magic formula' for writers. Contributions should ideally be 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Email us.
- 'That's the essential goal of the writer: you slice out a piece of yourself and slap it down on the desk in front of you. You try to put it on paper, try to describe it in a way that the reader can see and feel and touch. You paste all your nerve endings into it and then give it out to strangers who don't know you or understand you. And you will feel everything that happens to that story...' Our Comment is from Stephen Leigh, author of The Crow of Connemara.
- 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' The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- Our links of the week; Once writing was the most solitary of professions. Now it's the most social. What has changed? Digital writing: If only community weren't so communal | The Bookseller; ebook sales for the big publishers seem to be declining, but what does Mike Shatzkin think the real catalyst for change might be? The publishing world is changing, but there is one big dog that has not yet barked - The Shatzkin Files The Shatzkin Files; an amazingly revealing interview with the great Sara Paretsky, Sara Paretsky interview: ‘I start each VI Warshawski book convinced I can't do it' | Books | The Guardian; and the inspiring story of how indie women writers are using ebooks, Kindle turns five: independent women thrive in ebook bestseller charts | Books | The Guardian.
- Getting ready to publish your book? Do you want to self-publish your work? WritersServices offers a set of Services for Self-publishers which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. From Copy editing to Blurb-writing with much else as well.
- More links: one writer's account (with video) of how he used YouTube to promote his work, Teymour Shahabi on YouTube for Writers; you might not have known that reading for pleasure can result in increased empathy, improved relationships with others, reductions in the symptoms of depression and dementia, and improved wellbeing, Why is reading for pleasure important? | Reading Agency; and a powerful account of one writer's route to success as a self-publisher - through his agent, "My Agent By My Side": An Author's Assisted Publishing Experience - Publishing Perspectives.
- 'When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.' Enrique Jardiel Poncela in our Writers' Quotes.
