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What's New in 2017

October 2017

30 October 2017 - What's new

October 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.'

23 October 2017 - What's new

October 2017
  • '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.

16 October 2017 - What's new

October 2017

9 October 2017 - What's new

October 2017

2 October 2017 - What's new

October 2017
  • 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.