What's New in 2017
- Newly released figures show that ebook revenues in the US have declined again. In the first half of 2017, e-book sales declined by 4.6%, according to the AAP. All other categories, apart from paperback books saw increased revenues in the same time period, with some astounding growth. News Review
- From our 19 part Inside Publishing series, The Relationship between Publishers and Agents: 'Why do publishers need agents? Actually they don't need them, although they have come to rely on them. In many ways publishers would prefer to deal direct with unagented authors. It's authors who need agents. Writers need someone to sell their work and then to look after their relationship with their publishers...'
- From the same series, Print on demand is a now widely-used printing technology which delivers, literally, print on demand. It has the power to change the way books are published radically, and even publishers are using it on a very much greater scale. Some writers are still not yet familiar with its possibilities.
- As an aspiring writer, you should certainly start by writing an outline. I explain how to do this in this Masterclass. You solve a lot of problems with an outline. It is far easier to correct your mistakes if you write an outline than if you sat down and wrote, ‘Chapter One' at the top of a piece of paper and started writing. If you work that way, it will take an awfully long time to correct your mistakes. Our Comment is from Ken Follett, author of The Kingsbridge Series and The Century Trilogy, whose latest novel is Edge of Eternity. It's tempting to quote again from the helpful Masterclasses on his website.
- Our links: Michael Bhaskar warns that the strong performance of the book market over the past few years should not disguise the challenges ahead, It's going well - but don't get complacent; why chapter word count is so darn important to writers, Chapter Length Matters. Here's Why; from a goldmine of information about what's most popular with young readers around the world, YA Reading and Writing Trends from Wattpad's 60 Million Users; and this matters whether you're an indie author or have a traditional publisher, Checking Book Proofs in Three Simple Steps.
- 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!'
- More links: 23 years on from Killing Floor - the first Jack Reacher story - his thrillers are a publishing phenomenon, dominating the fiction charts, sparking film adaptations starring Tom Cruise, and enthralling millions of fans, How Lee Child is breaking cover on Jack Reacher secrets - BBC News; what a difference a decade or so makes, how writers down under have prospered, Australia: The Big Not-So-New Thing; and nothing about Britain's 900 independent bookshops adds up, Philip Pullman is right - discounting is the true book lover's enemy | Patrick Barkham | Opinion | The Guardian.
- Earlier this year we launched our latest new service, the Writer's edit, a top-level service for writers who want line-editing as well as copy editing. Does your manuscript need high-level input from an editor to help you get it into the best possible shape for submission or self-publishing? This may be the service for you, offering the kind of editing which publishers' senior editors used to do in-house on their authors' manuscripts - and which is now hard to find.
- From our Writers' Quotes, Albert Camus:'Bad authors are those who write with reference to an inner context which the reader cannot know.'
- 'I guarantee you that no modern story scheme, even plotlessness, will give a reader genuine satisfaction, unless one of those old-fashioned plots is smuggled in somewhere. I don't praise plots as accurate representations of life, but as ways of keeping readers reading. When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell students to make their characters want something, even if it's only a glass of water...' Advice from Kurt Vonnegut Jnr in our Comment column.
- The big writing opportunity of the autumn, National Novel Writing Month 2017, starts on 1 November and is open to all writers of 13 and over with no entry fee. Challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in a month!
- The success of NaNoWriMo has shown the power of a good idea and the way the internet can rapidly spread it to an international audience. The vast number of regions where there are groups signed up shows how successful the project has been - and the great enthusiasm of writers to extend themselves and meet the challenge NaNoWriMo presents. News Review
- Bob's Journal is a long-running column from writer Bob Ritchie described by fellow EastEnders script-writer Pippa McCarthy: 'Just discovered your web page... I've just spent the last hour crying with laughter with periodic yelps of 'been there!'... I'm going to make my entire family read your diary. Then perhaps they will understand own bizarre behaviour every time I start a script... Anyway, will shut up now but just wanted to say you have cheered me up no end. It's brilliant.'
- Our links: when I decided to write my book, many years ago, I was committed, What does it take to write and publish a book? Fire in the belly | HuffPost; a fascinating article from a prominent editor about the acquisition process, 10 Rules for Book Editors; and striking insights from a short story writer turned novelist who won the Man Booker, George Saunders: ‘When I get praise, it helps me be a little bit more brave' | Books | The Guardian.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? This is the question our page Which service? answers and it then goes on to give a quick rundown on our 20 editorial services for writers, which we think is the biggest you can find on the internet.
- More links: challenging, time consuming, and requiring an author to expend a tremendous amount of social capital, What Authors Need to Know About Crowdfunding Their Book: A Case Study by the Numbers | Jane Friedman; a new twist for author Dan Brown, certainly not a stranger to copyright claims and lawsuits, Author Who Lost Copyright Case Over The Da Vinci Code In The US In 2007 Looks To Revive It In The UK In 2017 | Techdirt; and most people would spike an idea if the business plan revealed negative numbers year after year. But Bibi Bakare-Yusuf is not most people, Meet the Small Nigerian Press With Its Sights Set on the World | Literary Hub.
- Have you ever wondered why you don't win any of those competitions? Our check-list gives you tips on Entering Competitions.
- 'The long-lived books of tomorrow are concealed somewhere amongst the so-far unpublished MSS of today.' Philip Unwin in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'When you're writing a book, with people in it as opposed to animals, it is no good having people who are ordinary, because they are not going to interest your readers at all. Every writer in the world has to use the characters that have something interesting about them, and this is even more true in children's books...' Roald Dahl on Brainyquotes provides this week's Comment.
- The September Magazine, just launched, has a new article by Eleni Cotton, Fact to Fiction, about writing a novel based on your family history, and some great links, including Why science-fiction writers couldn't imagine the internet and Creating a Successful Book Tour: Five Tips From an Indie Author.
- Are you thinking of submitting your book to an agent? Try our Finding an Agent page or Your Submission package. Our Submission critique service may also help, as it's essential to get your package into the best possible shape before you start submitting.
- New copyright law in Canada has been described as a disaster that can spread, with dire effects for authors and publishers alike. Considerable concern was expressed in a panel at the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two. about the effect of these changes to the law, the consequences of which are already apparent. News Review
- Our links: some bad news on authors' royalties, From Amazon, a Change That Hurts Authors - The New York Times; Lyra Silvertongue, Lyra Belacqua, but really just Lyra: one of those characters in literature who is on first-name terms with her public, Philip Pullman Returns to His Fantasy World - The New York Times; getting your copyright back, even if you've signed it away, New tool helps authors claim their copyrights back from publishers (even "perpetual assignments") / Boing Boing; and is this what it's really like to work as a freelance writer? A Day in the Life of a Freelancer | Literary Hub.
- 'Hardly any authors can copy edit their own writing. It is notoriously difficult to spot the errors in your own work. So professional copy editing does make sense, either if you are trying to give your work its best chance when submitting it or, even more crucially, if you are planning to self-publish...' Getting your manuscript copy edited
- More links: does the medium you read on affect your reading? This Is How The Way You Read Impacts Your Memory And Pr | Fast Company; for new writers, throwing in a few combat scenes can seem like an easy way to add some excitement to a novel, but the reality is that violence can be incredibly difficult to pull off effectively, How to Get Violence Right in Your Fiction | Jane Friedman; when Catton won the 2013 Man Booker prize, people in the bookstore were crying, How do you win the Man Booker prize? Move to New York or London | Lucy Diver | Opinion | The Guardian; and escapism and connection - this is what buyers are betting readers want, Frankfurt Book Fair 2017: With No Single Big Book, Multiple Memoirs Steal the Show.
- If you want to cheer yourself up, our Rotten Rejections page of awful rejections, often suffered by famous writers and administered mostly by publisher, is worth a look.
- 'Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.' T S Eliot in our Writers' Quotes.
- Are American literary novelists ‘less feverish about pecking order' than the British? Martin Amis, now resident in New York, says: ‘They're more realistic about it. Berryman, when Robert Frost died, said, ‘It's scary. Who's number one?' Very unsentimental. At least status anxiety is overt here. And I think writers have a better time from the press here than in England... (where) they think writers are just pretentious egomaniacs.' Martin Amis, author of London Fields, Money and The Rub of Time in the Guardian. Our Comment.
- Our 19-part Inside Publishing series gives you an insider's take on the publishing world, covering everything from subsidiary rights to the world English language market (but, you may be asking, where does the author stand in relation to all this neat carving-up of the world? What's in the author's best interest and how much control does the author have over who sells their book in which country?), from advances and royalties to the writer/publisher financial relationship.
- International publishing seems to be flourishing, to judge from the reports coming out of the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., and Amazon Crossing now champions translated fiction in a remarkably effective way. It's all go at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where publishers are immersed in half-hour meetings with other publishers, but there is positive news coming back - if, that is, big advances can be viewed as positive! Publishers are flourishing their cheque-books and there have been a run of big deals agreed at the Fair. News Review
- Our links: whether you're an emerging author or one who is well-established, it can be challenging to figure out, What Belongs on an Author Website Homepage? 4 Key Elements | Jane Friedman; a review that caused great offence, Romance readers are not in love with the New York Times » MobyLives; united - not divided - by culture and mulitlingualism, Frankfurt Book Fair 2017: Macron, Merkel Speak of a Europe United by Culture; and birth of a poet, War baby: the amazing story of Ocean Vuong, former refugee and prize-winning poet | Books | The Guardian.
- Get some professional help. If you're self-publishing, you need good quality copy for the cover. Our Blurb-writing service can provide a professionally written piece of cover copy. Submitting to agents but finding it difficult to write your own synopsis? Commission a synopsis which will present your manuscript in the best possible light for submission.
- More links: more than a million poetry books were sold in the UK in the last year, the highest number on record, as the popularity of social media sensations continues to reinvigorate the art form, 'Now it's the coolest thing': rise of Rupi Kaur helps boost poetry sales | Books | The Guardian; showing just what a difference a big prize can make to international rights sales, Ishiguro's Nobel win leads to 20 global renewal deals | The Bookseller; the object of immense international interest across both academic and popular registers, Africa: New African Literature Is Disrupting What Western Presses Prize - allAfrica.com; and a bestselling writer going back to his teenage hero Alex Rider, Four Questions for Anthony Horowitz.
- 'The only way to learn to write is to write.' Peggy Teeters in our Writers' Quotes.
- Great excitement in the UK publishing community over the Anglo/Japanese author's surprise win of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, just announced, Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Nobel prize in literature | Books | The Guardian.
- 'Next week it's the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., the biggest annual book fair and a huge meeting of publishers from all over the world. Publishers are putting together their projects and packing their bags in preparation for five days of intensive back-to-back meetings...' News Review
- We've just launched the August Magazine which has some great links, including Val McDermid: 'Even on a romantic holiday my thoughts turn to murrrder' | Books | The Guardian, The Difference Between a Press Release and a Pitch (You Need Both) | Jane Friedman and 10 Writing Rules You Can (and Should) Break.
- 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, Writer's edit, a new line-editing service, and Translation editing for writers who are not native English speakers.
- The National Poetry Competition 2017 is open to all poets of 17 and over internationally. The entry fee is £6.50 and First prize £5,000, Second prize: £2,000, Third prize: £1,000, with seven commendations of £200 each. Closing on 31 October.
- 'I started with a desire to explore marriage this round. My previous two books were told from the point of view of women who were decidedly single - who didn't really even know how to sustain any kind of relationships, romantic or not. So I wanted to deal with a married couple, and do it as a "he said, she said" kind of narrative, because marriages are, in a way, one long version of a "he said she said" story. No matter how close we are to someone, there will always be a disconnect...' Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl and Dark Places, on her novel Sharp Objects, on her website. Our Comment.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Dialogue, Manuscript presentation and Doing further drafts and Planning: 'The idea of planning doesn't fit well with the idea of the writer as inspired genius, frantically scribbling away. However, I am willing to bet that, no matter what they would have you think, most successful writers plan as much as they write. They just don't tell you about it. The biggest objection that most inexperienced writers raise when someone broaches the delicate matter of planning is that it will get in the way of their inventive powers. A plan will be like a straitjacket. They'll be stuck with this plan and if they come up with a good idea along the way, they will not be able to use it. They are genuinely horrified at the thought...'
- Our links: does reading interfere with your writing? When I'm Writing Fiction, I Cannot Read It | Literary Hub; this is a question we're often asked, How Many Words in a Novel? Our Editors Have the Answers; covers sell books, but how can they be so different, Cover versions: why are UK and US book jackets often so different? | Books | The Guardian; and big relaunch plans reveal interesting romance reader behaviour, Mills & Boon woos new readers | The Bookseller.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 6,000 pages of information for writers.
- More links: advice from a bestselling author, 'You can always fix bad pages. You can't fix no pages. So write. Just write. Try to turn off that voice of doom that paralyzes you.' 5 Writing Tips: Harlan Coben; fascinating insights into his relationship with the famous poet, Philip Larkin and Me: A Friendship with Holes in It | The New Yorker; writers have spoken out against stress on famous names in works chosen, Children's authors slam celebrity-heavy World Book Day lineup | Books | The Guardian; and even if you don't write in the romance genre, don't be too quick to dismiss adding the element of romance to your story, Tips for Weaving Romance into Your Novel - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
- 'Being a writer means you get to live vicariously through your characters.' Lisa Marbly-Warir in our Writers' Quotes.