20 April 2020 - What's new
20 April 2020
- ‘We have been busy, as there is quite a lot of action out there. It is really lively and major buyers, like Amazon, Disney and Netflix, are calling and saying "what have you got?" They've had to close down their productions, so are putting everything into development. And, of course subscriptions have spiked, so they have money too... Boomtime for film and TV scripts is our Comment from agent Catherine Eccles of Eccles Fisher Associates in the Observer.
- Jason Handleman in our Endorsements page: 'I've used two services with this company: The Editor's Plus Report and the Writer's Edit. I am completely satisfied with the service I received and said service has led to the completion and publication of my first novel: Lightforce. I would recommend any of these services to any aspiring author.'
- The Novel Prize, a new international collaboration between Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo and New Directions, is open to published and unpublished writers across the world. No entry fee. The prize is $10,000 to the winner in the form of an advance against royalties, and simultaneous publication of their novel. Closing 1 July.
- Our 20 Services for writers - just a list of what we offer at WritersServices.
- Another wide-ranging set of links, starting with some inspiration, Margaret Atwood: How to Make the Most of the Uncertain Time | TIME; cheering news about book reading from Thursday, World Book Night: One in three reading more during lockdown - BBC News; with Axel Scheffler's illustrations and Hugh Bonneville's narration, it has been downloaded more than 700,000 times, Nosy Crow's Free Digital Book for Kids About Coronavirus Takes Off; and winning authors explain how the award changed their lives, Women's prize at 25: what it is like to win by Zadie Smith, Naomi Alderman and more | Books | The Guardian.
- Are you writing for children? Our Children's Editorial Services can help you get your work ready for publication or self-publishing. Three reports and copy editing are available from our highly-skilled children's editors, including essential advice on age groups and vocabulary.
- More links from the Coronavirus front line; grim news about authors' income from the US, Authors Guild Finds Writers Are Losing Significant Income; a similar picture from the UK Societry of Authors, Authors especially vulnerable to pandemic's economic impact, SoA survey finds | The Bookseller; and 12 years ago, on the eve of the modern-day indie author revolution, few writers aspired to self-publish. Self-publishing was seen as a fool's errand. It was a different era back then, Are Self-Published Authors Still Indie Authors?
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 7,000 pages of information for writers.
- Even more links: Wendy Holden had not one but three books coming out within the space of two weeks, Counting my lockdown blessings; waiting the tap on the shoulder, Tony Parsons has planned his first James Bond novel | British GQ; recruited by Carol Ann Duffy, poets from around the world write new poems about the recent days past and the weeks ahead, Write where we are now · Manchester Metropolitan University; and a wonderful weekly blog about children's poetry turns to cats - and cat poems of course - Children's Poetry Summit.
- Have you managed to find a publisher for your work and are now enjoying the thrill of knowing that your book will soon be published? If you're wondering what happens next, here is an outline of the processes involved. Preparing for Publication
- 'You have to turn your collar around like a priest. You offer a lot of praise, you have confession and you have faith, and pretty soon they might trust you enough to know that you're not trying to make the book in your own image. It's their book.' Bob Loomis, veteran Random House editor who has just died at the age of 93, offers his thoughts on working with authors in our Writers' Quotes.
