What's New in 2017
- A new article from Jane Sandwood: 'We all know what makes for a good novel - an intriguing plot line, beautiful language, a cast of inimitable characters, and always, a shocking twist. As a writer, you are probably conscious of all the ways you can keep your reader reading, but what about your own reading? Many writers can make the mistake of not reading - in general, and in the particular genre or market they wish to enter into with their own book...' From Want to Be a Better Writer?
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Lynda Finn about the isolation of New Zealand writers and their problems with getting published, British author Eliza Graham, author of Playing with the Moon, on her route to publication and Zoe Jenny, who is Swiss, on writing in English and why it was liberating. Send us your contributions, ideally 200 to 400 words in length and of general interest. Please email them to us.
- ‘I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a novelist, but my father thought I should have a proper job, with a proper salary, a proper pension. The idea of being a writer struck him as the height of foolhardiness. He died very young (58), so he never saw how things worked out... We were very lucky. For 10 years literary fiction was the thing, paperback imprints were starting up, advances huge, every publisher wanted the spin to their list so the literary novelist suddenly found himself in demand with auction bids for the next novel...' Our Comment is from William Boyd, author of A Good Man in Africa, Any Human Heart, The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth and eight other novels in the Sunday Times.
- Here's our article on Your submission package: 'Given the difficulty of getting agents and publishers to take on your work, it's really important to make sure that you present it in the best possible way. Less is more, so don't send a full manuscript, as it's very unlikely to be read. Far better to tempt them with a submission package that will leave them wanting to see the rest of the manuscript...'
- Our links: skilled editors have transformed hundreds of manuscripts from ordinary to extraordinary, Why All Self-Publishers Need a Good Editor; a helpful article on starting and maintaining an author website even if you're not yet published, Unpublished Writers and Websites: Should You Have One and What Should It Say? and how romance authors and editors address tricky issues of communication and safer sex without killing the mood, Let's Talk About Sex: Romance Publishing.
- Do you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself? We can provide a clean typed version of your work at very competitive rates. Our service offers help for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript, or audio tapes, which need re-typing before the writer can proceed with submission or publication. Just email us to find out if we can help.
- More links: anyone who can talk and type can write a book, but how can you do it in a year? The One Thing You Can Do TODAY to Get Your Book Written This Year; and 'I enjoy writing and I enjoyed the kids', the great science fiction writer on her career, Writing Nameless Things: An Interview with Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Are you planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers.
- A quote from the late, great Seamus Heaney in our Writers' Quotes: ‘If you find a poem that sets you alive, gives you daydream time, then you are in fact transported. You are carried a little bit further, either into yourself, or perhaps out of yourself. If there is a difference.'
- 200,000 books published a year (just in the UK)! An optimist may think this abundance marvellous: a sign of publishing virility, of a lively literary culture. They would be wrong. It is a disaster for readers and for writers... Do we really think that we need all 200,000 books? Robbie Millen, Literary Editor, The Times, comments on the vast number of books published.
- The Moth Poetry Prize 2017 closes on 31 December. It is open to anyone over the age of 16 with an entry fee of £12 per poem. First Prize €10,000 with 3 runner-up prizes of €1,000, making it one of the most lucrative awards in the world for a single unpublished poem.
- For anyone thinking about or embarked on self-publishing, our ten-part WritersServices Self-Publishing Guide by 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 is an essential starting-point, taking you through the process step-by-step. 'Self-publishing has changed so much over the past few years it's hard to believe it was once looked down upon by the publishing industry as the last resort of the vain and desperate. At the time of writing many self-publishing authors are identifying with the term ‘indie author', which acknowledges that to professionally publish today, you don't actually have to do everything yourself!' Articles include Formatting your book for Kindle and Marketing and Promotion for Indie Authors: Online.
- British publisher Richard Charkin of Bloomsbury on the blind spots that might keep the publishing industry from seeing what's ahead. Charkin, formerly of Macmillan and past president of the International Publishers Association, is known for being outspoken and radical in his approach. He condemns the fact that in this age of instant news, it still takes a year for traditional publishers to bring out a book. News Review
- Under 24 different headings we have hundreds of recommended links to sites for writers, including Poetry Sites and Writers Online Services. Share with us any new links you'd recommend.
- Our links: useful tips on writing, Writing Tips for Indie Authors; why has the percentage of Americans who have read a book in the last twelve months (73% according to Pew Research) stayed mostly unchanged since 2012? The Politics of Print & Why We Need It | HuffPost; from a literary agent who receives roughly 500 queries, or book pitches, a month, 10 Novels Agents Have Already Seen a Billion Times; and a massive deal - said to be close to $250 million - to acquire global TV rights, Amazon: ‘The Lord of the Rings' TV Series With Multi-Season Commitment | Deadline.
- Getting Your Poetry Published has some suggestions on how to get started with this. 'Don't even try to approach publishers until you have a collection-length amount of material to offer. Your chances will be much better even then if you can point to publication of your poems in magazines. Don't waste any time trying to get a literary agent to represent you...'
- More links: writing a book and getting it published used to be a huge endeavor but not any more, A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing (and Other Avenues to Sell Your Books) | HuffPost; to celebrate her new book, some gems: Susan Sontag on Being a Writer: "You Have to Be Obsessed" | Literary Hub; from the Economist, the provocative 24-year-old poet who releases her short verses onto the slippery, reactive sphere of social media, Rupi Kaur reinvents poetry for the social-media generation - Insta iambs; and a curiosity which shows that you can never tell what will work, Why A 19th Century American Slave Memoir Is Becoming A Bestseller In Japan's Bookstores.
- Are you looking for an assessment of your book? Which Report? helps you work out which of our three reports might be the right one for you. Or do contact us, we'd be glad to advise.
- Since he's in the news this week, we thought J R R Tolkien should provide our Writers' Quote: 'One writes such a story [The Lord of the Rings] not out of the leaves of trees still to be observed, nor by means of botany and soil-science; but it grows like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mold of the mind: out of all that has been seen or thought or read, that has long ago been forgotten, descending into the deeps.'
- ‘There were some things about Agatha Christie's writing that I did want to emulate: not the prose style itself, but her blueprint for what the ideal crime novel should be and do. She often started with an outlandish, almost impossible-seeming plot premise that cranked up the suspense level to maximum right from the start; her stories have the strongest bone structure I've ever read..' Sophie Hannah, author of two Poirot novels and 19 other novels in the Observer. Taking on Poirot.
- The Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers' Award 2018 closes on 13 December. Prose writers must must write in the English language and reside within the British Commonwealth and Eire. There's no entry fee and a prize of £10,000. Our Writing Opportunity.
- Our Health Hazards series which looks at all the particular dangers faced by writers, from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to Looking after your eyes, and advises on how to position your desk and chair. Essential reading for anyone who spends a lot of time at the computer, especially if you're already anxious about your mouse hand, back or eyes.
- Our links: in the battle for people's attention, Nick Wells writes, we must be where our readers want to be, Finding readers in a perma-free world; this particular piece in my collection was taking a long time, How Long Is Writing Supposed to Take? - Electric Literature; an author who chose not to hire a publicist. Without one, I wondered, who but she would promote her book? Taking Charge of Your Book's Buzz; and three-volume novels, it turns out, get better (at least in terms of reviews), while film trilogies get worse (ditto), Triple trouble: why book trilogies are better than film | Books | The Guardian.
- 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, Translation editing for those for whom English is not a native language and our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- More links: most writers these days are advised to keep their day jobs, How to Keep Your Day Job from Destroying Your Writing Dreams | Writing and Wellness; an interview with the author and illustrator of the beloved and bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Four Questions for Jeff Kinney; "How did you do you it?" people want to know, Do You Dream of Writing a Book? | HuffPost; Despite its usefulness, "show don't tell" is probably the most commonly given advice in writing. So why is it so hated? Changing Telling into Showing - The Manuscript Shredder.
- 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, the biggest range you can find on the internet.
- From our Writers' Quotes we have 'There is nothing more dreadful to an author than neglect, compared with which, reproach, hatred and opposition are names of happiness.' from Dr Samuel Johnson
