What's New in 2017
- 'Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out...' William Safire, author of Full Disclosure, Scandalmonger and a long-running column "On Language" for The New York Times Magazine. William Safire's Rules for Writers are still just as relevant as ever. Our Comment.
- 'Should you do what your editor says? And, if you feel uncomfortable, how can you find another editor? Or will you submit through an online organisation which is bypassing editors? The tech solution abandons the editor's input in the book selection process, using instead readers' votes to decide what to publish...' News Review
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Advances and royalties: 'Publishers usually offer to pay authors advances against royalties. How do you work out how much money you might earn from your book? You need to understand for yourself how advances and royalties work and what they mean for you...'
- From the same series, Copy editing and proof-reading explains the difference between the two. Copy editing is the painstaking job of going through a manuscript line by line to correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Proof-reading at a later stage is a separate check through the book when is is set up in pages, before it goes to press or is finalised for ebook publishing.
- Our article on How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers with a manuscript which needs translating or has been written in English by a non-native speaker: "if your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself, or writing in English, and then getting your translation 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.
- Our links: some amazing stories about plagiarism, The 5 Weirdest Lawsuits About Authors Stealing Ideas; as they lined up to board the invasion barges, each was issued something less practical than a weapon, but equally precious: a slim, postcard-sized, softcover book, How Books Designed for Soldiers' Pockets Changed Publishing Forever - Atlas Obscura; a Berlin-based startup is part writing and reading community, and part publishing house, with one aspect feeding the other, Inkitt, a ‘reader powered' book publisher, raises $3.9M to discover the next best-selling author | TechCrunch; and a beautifully written bit of memoir, Searching for My Mother, 16 Years After Her Murder | Literary Hub.
- Our page of Picture library links provides a good starting-point for finding an image for your book, whether it's for the cover or inside. Gograph was recently added with its 18 million stock links.
- More links: Hachette Children's Group's ceo shared concerns over "overuse of social media and time online" and how the current generation of young children is "absolutely beset by anxiety", Murray Hill calls for publishers to be 'agents of social change' | The Bookseller; as a Nigerian-American, I've longed to write an adventure story set in West Africa. But we've come a long way since the days of Allan Quartermain slashing through jungles wearing a pith helmet, Imagining the Future of Nigeria: Accessing Africa Through Sci-Fi | Literary Hub; the themes and tropes laid down by Tolkien continue to shape fantasy to this day, The Hobbit at 80: much more than a childish prequel to The Lord of the Rings | Books | The Guardian; and What should I do when I disagree with my editor? It seems to be happening more and more. Ask the Editor: Working with an Editor.
- 'A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.' G K Chesterton in our Writers' Quotes.
- A new article we've just added to the site, Eleni Cotton's Fact to Fiction is about how she used her own family history as the basis for her novel set in Malawi: 'I had managed to remain fairly objective about the story but, quite suddenly, it hit me that these people I was writing about, whose lives I was describing, were my ancestors - the parents and grandparents of my own parents. For a while, this thought paralysed me. Feelings of loyalty and love strangled the blazing need to tell the story as it was...'
- ‘Write for your audience. By that I mean don't create something that is unfathomable, self-indulgent dross then be surprised when nobody watches. You need to take your audience with you, to help them to understand the world you've created and the characters that inhabit that world. Let them see what your characters are striving for and give them a reason to care if they succeed or not...' Tony Jordan, whose scriptwriting credits include EastEnders, Life on Mars and Dickensian in The Times provides this week's Comment.
- Have you got something you'd like to say to our community of writers? My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Natasha Mostert, 'There are few things as satisfying as typing THE END to a manuscript.' And there's British author Eliza Graham, author of Playing with the Moon and The One I Was, on her route to publication and Richard Hall "Write about what you know" - does this adage always make sense? Contributions should ideally be 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us.
- Next Thursday, 28 September, is National Poetry Day in the UK and a good template of how a national celebration for poetry can achieve real reach. The BBC, schools, poets, publishers, bookshops and readers are uniting to bring about a real celebration of poetry. Poets in particular will be very much in evidence, with a mass of events and school visits to celebrate the day. News Review
- Still avalilable on the Salt Publishing backlist, a book we reviewed a while back entitled 101 Ways to Make Poems Sell, which does just that.
- Our links: what I didn't expect was the internet. Of all the technological developments that have changed the way modern society functions, perhaps none has presented such a disruptive challenge to society, Why science-fiction writers couldn't imagine the internet; some magical people manage to do it all: write incredible books and also edit them, 7 Writers Who Were Also Editors (And the Books They Edited) | Literary Hub; how a multi-million-pound selling writer has hit out after finding fraudulent books that she did not write being sold on Amazon under her name, Milly Johnson condemns fraudulent sales on Amazon | The Bookseller; and, criticized for its imperialist overtones, its unwillingness to take risks, and, above all, its corrupt insularity, Americans Didn't Ruin the Man Booker Prize. Book Publishers Did. | New Republic.
- Do you want to self-publish your work? WritersServices offers a suite of services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers.
- More links: as I wind through the pages of miniscule print, zooming in on articles and reading them only to discover their irrelevance, I feel familiar threads of anxiety knot in the depths of my stomach, How Much Actual History Do You Need for a Historical Novel? | Literary Hub; how do poets make money? The answer, a lot of the time, is: not through poetry, ALCS | Poetry cornered; a few years ago I wrote an article for the Guardian on ageism in the literary world, about the predilection of publications like Granta, the New Yorker and Buzzfeed for authors under the age of 40, All the awards for young writers amount to discrimination | Joanna Walsh | Books | The Guardian; and, from the guru, What's More Important: Author Websites or Social Media? | Jane Friedman.
- 'I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had - I don't know what - the literary equivalent of a shower. Something that would start them thinking in a slightly different way, perhaps. That's what I think writers are for.' Doris Lessing in our Writers' Quotes.
- For quotes fans we have More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- 'If you had asked me a decade ago, I'd have said there was a distinction between how we and the rest of the world valued short stories. There is, however, a difference between what booksellers think we want and what the reading public want... More than one million people tune in live - and that's not counting those who download it afterwards...' Di Speirs, BBC Radio's book editor, and long-time champion of the short story. The shortlist for this year's BBC National Short Story Award Is announced on 15 September with broadcasts of the 5 shortlisted stories the following week. Our Comment.
- There's still time to enter the Manchester Poetry and Fiction Prizes 2017, which are closing on 29 September and are open to all writers internationally. There's a £17.50 entry fee and £10,000 for the winner of each prize.
- Our four-part series from Tom Chalmers, MD of Legend Press, gives a Publisher's view of the submission process and what a publisher is looking for: 'Often a few simple changes in approach can change a manuscript from getting no attention at all to standing out...' He covers Submissions, Judging a book by its covering letter and synopsis, The writer's X-Factor and The changing face of publishing.
- Mixed fortunes for world's 50 largest publishers are shown in a recent report but more recent figures for US audio downloads show that they have been booming. News Review looks at some recent figures.
- Our Services for Writers - just a list of 20 services to help you get your work ready for publication. Browse though the individual services pages or use Choosing a service to have a look at what's available.
- Our links: ten years ago, while sitting at my computer in my sparsely furnished office, I sent my first email to a literary agent, Why I'm Still Trying to Get a Book Deal After 10 Years - The Atlantic; reactions to the just-announced shortlist for the Prize, Man Booker shortlist gets mixed response, Mozley calls for more regional diversity | The Bookseller; for the first time, half of the six nominees for Britain's most prestigious literary award are Americans, Has Britain's Man Booker Prize become too American? Yes. - The Washington Post; and "If you knew the world was going to end in two days, what would you do?" the writer Sara Davidson was once asked. "Take notes," she said without hesitating, Crossing Over: Making Peace with Self-Publishing | HuffPost.
- From our Endorsements page: 'As a total neophyte as a writer, I have been doing a huge amount of research suddenly as to what services are available to writers, on both sides of the Atlantic, and am amazed that you are able to have someone read a whole book and give a serious critique for just 180 pounds. I think that is incredible value for money, compared to other similar services that appear to be available out there. I hope to be back to you again for more assistance, once I've cleaned up my work! Martin Humphries, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- More links: planning an ambitious trip covering four states as a first-time indie author, Creating a Successful Book Tour: Five Tips From an Indie Author; David Lagercrantz's continuation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, The Girl in the Spider's Web, The Pitfalls of Continuing a Series After Its Author's Death | Literary Hub; more on the bestseller list scandal, No, I Didn't 'Game' The New York Times Bestseller List | HuffPost; and a bitter family feud over John Steinbeck's estate escalated this week, when a Los Angeles jury awarded the novelist's stepdaughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, $13.15 million in damages in an intellectual property dispute, Steinbeck's Heir Wins Lawsuit - The New York Times.
- From Kurt Vonnegut, this addition to our Writers' Quotes: 'Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.'
- Authors' services for writers have been in the news lately, with an article in Goodreader last week, Driving Down the Price of Publishing, showing how competitive the market has become. But what should writers be looking for when they shop around for copy editing or other editorial services? Authors' services and what you should be looking for.
- You've only got till 18 September to enter the MslexiaStylish and lively site for quarterly UK literary magazine read by 12,000 'committed' women writers. Good range of quality writing, information and advice with news, reviews, competitions and interviews, all presented in a friendly fashion. Praised by Helen Dunmore as 'astute, invigorating and above all an excellent read.' www.mslexia.co.uk Women's Novel Competition 2017. It's open to women of any nationality and age, and the entry fee is £25. It's for novels of at least 50,000 words written for adults (and young adults) in any genre by previously unpublished women novelists and you need to send 5,000 words of a completed novel. This well-respected competition has a First Prize of £5,000.
- 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...'
- ‘There are things about writing that can be taught. I would say there are fewer people who want to read seriously now, and more people who want to write. But if you can use writing to get people reading, that is exciting... In the last few years I have come to feel that maybe in 50 years there won't be novels, that people won't have the attention for it. Then you feel it's like the last trace of a culture, like the Lascaux paintings or something...' Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's Children and just-published The Burning Girl, provides our Comment from the Observer.
- Finding an agent and Working with an agent - two practical checklists to help set up and maintain this vital relationship. 'Try to find an agency which is ‘hungry' for new clients. To keep their workload under control, an established independent agent might take on something like four new authors a year (this figure came from two agents), 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...'
- A robust view of the agent's role, from the late super-agent Ed Victor: 'I think agents mediate and enhance and improve the publishing process. I regard my role as being independent, I will say to an author, 'No, no, the publisher is right in this case.' It is not my job to blindly support the author. I think you support them better by telling them what you regard as the truth...'
- Our links: can anyone wonder at the fabulous sales success of these books? Hogwarts as Never-Never Land: Stephen King on The Goblet of Fire | Literary Hub; every writer wishes they could write more, some writers who think 1,000 words a day is amazing, and others who think it's average, 7 Habits You Need to Adopt if You Want to Write More; will the novel continue to exist in the future when competing against new entertainment trends such as online streaming and television box sets? Authors question the novel's future in face of declining attention spans | The Bookseller; and, adding flame to the fire on ebook pricing, Amazon's Naggar tells publishers to slash e-book prices | The Bookseller.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't quite know what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? Choosing a service helps you work out which service is right for you.
- More links: Amazon is coming to Australia, is it justified for the book trade to feel apprehensive? The arrival of Amazon and the future of Australian publishing | Pursuit by The University of Melbourne; you may want to carry out research for your writing - to supply some period colouring, or historical detail, or simply to prevent howlers like having Romans eat tomatoes, Want Tips on Conducting Research for Your Project? #amwriting; and from the founder and director of Digitalback Books, an online platform dedicated to African writers, 5 things inspiring Digitalback Books' Gersy Ifeanyi Ejimofo right now | The Bookseller.
- 'If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: ‘Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally new writing, obey it-wholeheartedly - and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.' Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch in our Writers' Quotes.
