13 February 2023 - What's new
13 February 2023
- ‘The level of talent and success we're seeing from self-published authors speaks for itself, so publishers have definitely had to take notice and adapt. I'm sure it's shifted attitudes towards self-publishing but I also think it's shifting attitudes towards our own work: when you're approaching an author who has already had huge success on their own, you have to be very clear and confident about what extra value you're bringing to the table. I've found it makes for very collaborative partnerships with authors who have incredible hands-on publishing experience and a forensic understanding of what works for their audience.' Celia Killen, commissioning editor at Orion Fiction in London, who signed 10 books by Jessa Hastings in October, including her initially self-published Magnolia Parks romance series which went viral on TikTok earlier in 2022, in the Bookseller.
- An essential read for children's authors is Suzy Jenvey's special series for WritersServices, the four-part Essential Guide to Writing for Children. The first article looks at the all-important question of age groups and what you should be aware of in writing for each one. The second part is Before You Write: What is My Story Going to be? The third part deals with Starting to Write and the fourth part is about Submitting Your Work to Agents and Editors. This series by a hugely experienced children's editorial director and agent helps you get started on your own story or develop what you're already working on.
- The Rubery Prize 2023 is open to all writers internationally who have published their work through a small press or self-published their work across a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. The entry fee is £44 and the First Prize is £2,000 plus £200 for three category winners. It closes on 31 March.
- The BBC National Short Story Award 2023 and The Primadonna Prize are still open.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? This page will help you work out which service is right for you. Choosing a Service
- Our links from the publishing world: do authors of memoir, as well as the publishers and agents who work with them, need mental health help? The Bookseller - News - Publishing industry debates safeguarding for memoirists; shallow, fake, showy and performative, BookTok is Good, Actually: On the Undersung Joys of a Vast and Multifarious Platform ‹ Literary Hub; after a long run of surging profits from pandemic-era shopping sprees, Amazon reports its first unprofitable year since 2014: NPR; the recent chaos at Twitter has left many communities on the platform wondering - what happens if we wake up tomorrow and the lights are off for good? Inside Book Twitter's End - What Will Authors Will Do Without Twitter? And after earnings tumbled 52%, Deal Reached in HarperCollins Strike as Publisher Has Another Bad Quarter.
- Two more articles from our Inside Publishing series: Book clubs and Direct Mail: 'The way in which books are sold through book clubs and direct mail has a direct impact on authors' income from these sources. Fierce competition for sales and heavy discounting in the book trade in general has undermined the clubs' core low-price selling proposition and they are no longer the force they once were...'
- Direct Selling: 'The other half of the non-retail market is called ‘direct selling', sometimes known as display marketing. This encompasses selling at home, in the workplace and door-to-door. It has become much more important in the UK and in the US, although it is still relatively rare elsewhere...'
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- Writers' links: US-based Moseley is the author of over 60 books which have been translated into 25 languages, The Bookseller - News - Mosley wins CWA Diamond Dagger 2023; recent experience from a literary agent on behalf of a client, The Sensitive Question of Sensitivity Readers; it's 50 years since the founding of the feminist women's publisher, The Bookseller - Features - Virago looks forward after full five decades; and the development of Young Adult publishing, What Do 10 Years of the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller Lists Say About YA?
- On English Language editing: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' Anthony Fitzgerald in our Endorsements.
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique has helped many authors to improve their submission packages and helping them to get published.
- A miscellany of links: social media is opening publishers' eyes to a new demographic of younger and more diverse readers of romance novels, The Bookseller - Comment - The DNA of BookTok romance; a negative view from another source, In the shallow world of BookTok, being ‘a reader' is more important than actually reading | British GQ; a curious and rather touching story, Man, 30, completes encyclopedia of animals he started at nine | Zoology | The Guardian; and how marriage affected two authors differently, An Unequal Partnership: On the Marriage of Kingsley Amis and Jane Howard ‹ Literary Hub.
- Our 19 Factsheets from the legendary Michael Legat are full of tips for the new writer or anyone who is trying to get their book published. From Literary agents to Copyright, from Libel to Submissions, this series is full of essential background information.
- Advice for writers - if you want to delve into the wealth of information on our huge site, here's the page which will help you find what you're looking for.
- 'One of the ridiculous aspects of being a poet is the huge gulf between how seriously we take ourselves and how generally we are ignored by everybody else.' Billy Collins in our Writers' Quotes.
