20 July 2020 - What's new
20 July 2020
- ‘If something in the script did not ring true in the context of early post-independence India - and how could Andrew possibly have known every detail of that? - I pointed it out, and he took it on board. As for plot cuts and changes; it had been a long time since I wrote A Suitable Boy, so I was somewhat teflonised against what happened to every minor incident or character...' Vikram Seth, author of A Suitable Boy, talking in The Times about his working relationship with scriptwriter Andrew Davies on the dramatisation of the book which is just about to be shown by the BBC in the UK and by Netflix in India. Bestselling book to major TV series.
- From Tom Chalmers, formerly of IPR, two articles about rights for self-publishers, Self-publishing - the rights way and How to get your book in the hands of an international audience. 'It's a fact that most self-published authors understand the process that takes them from a written manuscript to a published book, but few realise the additional elements that make publishing a profitable business. Rights licensing is arguably the most vital element in this equation. Whether it's selling translation rights, audio rights or optioning the film rights, these all help balance the book's books...'
- It's well worth entering this unusual prize in terms of the oppportuities it offers. Closing on 24 September, The Bodley Head/FT Essay Prize 2020 is open to anyone from across the world aged between 18 and 35 years of age and there's no entry fee. The First Prize is £1,000 cash and an e-publication with The Bodley Head, publication in the FT of their winning essay and a mentoring session with The Bodley Head. Two runners-up get £300.
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, English Language Editing for those for whom English is not a native language, our latest new service Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Our links: it's been almost thirty years since I laid eyes on this single xeroxed sheet, but I can still remember one rule: You will not write stories about serial murderers, or even regular murderers, How I Stopped Worrying About the Rules and Learned to Write a Mystery Novel | CrimeReads; being able to describe yourself as a bona fide bestseller is key to conferring your career with a certain gravitas, An author bought his own book to get higher on bestseller lists. Is that fair? | Books | The Guardian; two initiatives that made sense for all publishers to employ to raise revenues and profits, Both the supply chain and book marketing are forever changed by Coronavirus | The Idea Logical Company; Ann and Jeff VanderMeer Preview The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, On the Biggest Collection of Fantasy Tales Since WWII | Literary Hub; and new CEO James Daunt began his tenure with a baptism by fire, Barnes & Noble Regroups and Looks Ahead.
- Finding an agent - 'Try to find an agency which is ‘hungry' for new clients. To keep their workload under control, an established agent might take on something like four new authors a year (this figure came from two agents I spoke to recently), but only to replace four departing clients. This may seem obvious, but whether or not an agent is actively looking to build their list of clients is probably the single most important factor affecting how closely they are looking at unsolicited submissions...'
- More links: Could the Covid-19 pandemic create a moment of opportunity for writing? How does a young writer pay the rent? | Books | The Guardian; in this moment of political upheaval, we must ask what role has crime fiction played in getting us here, Crime Fiction Is Complicit in Police Violence - But It's Not Too Late to Change - Electric Literature; what matters is that I've spent that time with my work. The most important thing, for me, is to keep at it, day by day, How I Started Writing Every Day; dubbed "the nation's favourite storyteller", since 1998 she had sold 6.13 million books in the UK alone, Bestselling novelist Josephine Cox dies, aged 82 | The Bookseller.
- If you are not a native English speaker but you want to publish your book in English to make it available to the international market, what do you do? If your English is good enough, what about writing it in English or translating your book into English yourself, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker? The result should be a publishable manuscript at a relatively low cost, provided by our English Language Editing Service. How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth).
- 'In my experience, writing doesn't get any easier the more you do it. But there is a growth of confidence, not much, but a nugget, like a pearl, like a tumour.' The late Jenny Diski in our Writers' Quotes.
