What's New in 2020
- ‘I often write everything all at once. Memory isn't linear for me, nor is experience, but I try to keep it as straight as I can. A sense of fluidity and shift, and that energy, that is about change. It's really integral to my work, which is not about the past becoming a stable object. The past very rarely settles down. It shifts under our gaze all the time...' Anne Enright, author of just-published Actress, Booker Prize-winning A Gathering, The Green Road, The Forgotten Waltz and three other novels in the Bookseller. Our Comment.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for us for 19 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Closing on 31 August, The Kindle Storyteller Award 2020 is open to writers publishing in English in any genre, who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing. No entry fee. The Prize is £20,000. You need to read their terms and conditions carefully.
- Other competitions which are still open.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Rejection.
- Our links: is this heresy? Letter to the Editor: Why These Agents Argue Books Aren't Essential; Mike Shatzkin casts a clear eye on the basics, The supply chain for book publishing is being changed by Coronavirus too | The Idea Logical Company; given all the disruptions to the global economy caused by the new coronavirus, unit sales of print books held up relatively well in the first quarter of 2020, The Pandemic Is Changing Book-Buying Patterns; and the situation is critical in South Africa, ‘SA could lose its book industry.' Top authors urge Ramaphosa to allow trade.
- Writers' stories - they're just a bit of fun, but in a rare moment of inspiration we wrote some fictionalised stories of how the services could turn out, to give you a better idea of how they might work for you. Joe's fantasy novel benefited from some professional editing, when he signed up for an Editor's Report Plus. Tony needed Copy editing to get his manuscript into shape for publication or self-publishing.
- More links: a complete, essential guide from the wonderful Jane Friedman, How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors | Jane Friedman; some authors have really bad luck - My first novel bombed spectacularly. This was about 20 years ago, Two Novels, Two Global Catastrophes, Two Decades Apart | Literary Hub; Nicola Upson on how to get started on a new project, How to start writing crime fiction - National Centre for Writing; and crime writers in residence, Waines, Veitch Smith and Watt headline virtual National Crime Reading Month | The Bookseller.
- 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 added a while ago with its 18 million stock links.
- A few more links: coming down the track - "truly authentic ... prestige adaptations", Terry Pratchett novels to get 'absolutely faithful' TV adaptations | Books | The Guardian; a writer's life-long obsession with Florence Nightingale, Revisiting Florence; Rights are invariably seen to be the poor relation, but showing their value at the moment, Richard Charkin: Let's Hear It for Book Rights Sales People Worldwide; and what are we looking for? Why Are We Obsessed With Writers' Houses? | Literary Hub.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Choosing a service can help you work out which service is right for you, or you could just email us.
- Finally, Anita Diamant in our Writers' Quotes: 'I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters. And only write what you love.'
- ‘We have been busy, as there is quite a lot of action out there. It is really lively and major buyers, like Amazon, Disney and Netflix, are calling and saying "what have you got?" They've had to close down their productions, so are putting everything into development. And, of course subscriptions have spiked, so they have money too... Boomtime for film and TV scripts is our Comment from agent Catherine Eccles of Eccles Fisher Associates in the Observer.
- Jason Handleman in our Endorsements page: 'I've used two services with this company: The Editor's Plus Report and the Writer's Edit. I am completely satisfied with the service I received and said service has led to the completion and publication of my first novel: Lightforce. I would recommend any of these services to any aspiring author.'
- The Novel Prize, a new international collaboration between Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo and New Directions, is open to published and unpublished writers across the world. No entry fee. The prize is $10,000 to the winner in the form of an advance against royalties, and simultaneous publication of their novel. Closing 1 July.
- Our 20 Services for writers - just a list of what we offer at WritersServices.
- Another wide-ranging set of links, starting with some inspiration, Margaret Atwood: How to Make the Most of the Uncertain Time | TIME; cheering news about book reading from Thursday, World Book Night: One in three reading more during lockdown - BBC News; with Axel Scheffler's illustrations and Hugh Bonneville's narration, it has been downloaded more than 700,000 times, Nosy Crow's Free Digital Book for Kids About Coronavirus Takes Off; and winning authors explain how the award changed their lives, Women's prize at 25: what it is like to win by Zadie Smith, Naomi Alderman and more | Books | The Guardian.
- Are you writing for children? Our Children's Editorial Services can help you get your work ready for publication or self-publishing. Three reports and copy editing are available from our highly-skilled children's editors, including essential advice on age groups and vocabulary.
- More links from the Coronavirus front line; grim news about authors' income from the US, Authors Guild Finds Writers Are Losing Significant Income; a similar picture from the UK Societry of Authors, Authors especially vulnerable to pandemic's economic impact, SoA survey finds | The Bookseller; and 12 years ago, on the eve of the modern-day indie author revolution, few writers aspired to self-publish. Self-publishing was seen as a fool's errand. It was a different era back then, Are Self-Published Authors Still Indie Authors?
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 7,000 pages of information for writers.
- Even more links: Wendy Holden had not one but three books coming out within the space of two weeks, Counting my lockdown blessings; waiting the tap on the shoulder, Tony Parsons has planned his first James Bond novel | British GQ; recruited by Carol Ann Duffy, poets from around the world write new poems about the recent days past and the weeks ahead, Write where we are now · Manchester Metropolitan University; and a wonderful weekly blog about children's poetry turns to cats - and cat poems of course - Children's Poetry Summit.
- Have you managed to find a publisher for your work and are now enjoying the thrill of knowing that your book will soon be published? If you're wondering what happens next, here is an outline of the processes involved. Preparing for Publication
- 'You have to turn your collar around like a priest. You offer a lot of praise, you have confession and you have faith, and pretty soon they might trust you enough to know that you're not trying to make the book in your own image. It's their book.' Bob Loomis, veteran Random House editor who has just died at the age of 93, offers his thoughts on working with authors in our Writers' Quotes.
- ‘I've taken on four new clients over the last couple of weeks for various non-fiction projects, and as an agency we're very active in pursuit of new clients and ideas. It's a great time to work on manuscripts and proposals with authors, while we've all got additional time and space. And it's hugely important that, when we all emerge from this, we're in good shape for the remainder of this year, and next...' Tim Bates of the Peters Fraser + Dunlop agency in Bookbrunch (behind paywall). Our Comment
- 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.
- From a new UK publisher, the Guppy YA Novel Competition Open Submission will run from 11 to 15 May. Unagented YA authors from all over the world can enter and there's no entry fee. The prize is publication.
- Are you getting ready to publish your book - perhaps planning to self-publish? WritersServices offers a suite of nine services which help writers get their work into shape before they self-publish. Services for Self-publishers
- Our links - from our Coronavirus world: when is the best time to submit their clients' new manuscripts? Agents Weigh Whether to Submit Projects During the Pandemic; writing a novel presupposes the existence of a stable reality, Coronavirus effect on book publishing: The virus is messing up the plot of my novel set in 2020; it's hard to imagine what the world and publishing will look like even six months from now, Starling Days: how Covid-19 affected the release of Rowan Hisayo Buchanan's second novel; and from the patron saint of staying at home and doing nothing, Fran Lebowitz Is Never Leaving New York | The New Yorker.
- 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.
- More links about writing and writers: the historical novels I've loved best were edgy and featured characters who were not only deeply flawed, but downright dubious, Historical Novels and the Morally Gray Character | CrimeReads; Elizabeth George's impressive schedule, My Writing Schedule is for Satisfaction, Not Fun | Literary Hub; and over the last 25 years, this prize has become arguably one of the three most important literary prizes for novels in the UK, 'A prize for readers' - Kate Mosse on the Women's Prize for Fiction.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- Our final links, fascinating literary history and two lighter-hearted articles: T S Eliot: 'This woman lives in a most beautiful dilapidated old square, which I had never heard of before; a square in the middle of town, near King's Cross station, but with spacious old gardens about it,' In a quiet London Enclave, Five Iconic Women Writers Forged a Home | Literary Hub; How Did England Get Its Bizarro Street Names? | Literary Hub; and Here Are People's Strongest Unpopular Young Adult Book Opinions.
- William Gibson in our Writers' Quotes: 'To present a whole world that doesn't exist and make it seem real, we have to more or less pretend we're polymaths. That's just the act of all good writing.'
- ‘We're still getting submissions from agents around the world - it's clear that agents are working just as hard as ever. And when it comes to acquisitions, we've got a great video meeting in place. It's certainly weird, as an editor, not to be able to champion and enthuse in person (it has made me realise what a powerful thing that can be), but we're all aware that next year's schedules aren't going to fill themselves, and luckily the team at Little, Brown are receptive to being enthused at remotely...' Darcy Nicholson, editor at Sphere, Little Brown in Bookbrunch. Our Comment on Editing in Isolation.
- A Publisher's View is our four-part series from publisher Tom Chalmers on what publishers are looking for. What a publisher wants from submissions, Judging a book by its covering letter and synopsis, Making the submission and The changing face of publishing. 'While editors may well do some later tinkering, it shouldn't be sent in unless the writer feels it is a manuscript ready for publication, in terms of both grammar and content. Lines like ‘I know it needs some work', or ‘I think it's nearly there' show admirable humility but are an immediate put-off!...'
- The brilliant Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2020 is open to 11-17 year olds from all over the world writing in English. There's no entry fee and all 100 winning poets (top 15 and 85 commended) will be notified in early September 2020 and invited to an award ceremony in October 2020. Closing 31 July and there's some great stuff on their website.
- Our links: so how are writers managing life in isloation, Tiger King and a bloody mary: Hilary Mantel, Simon Armitage and other writers on lockdown life | Books | The Guardian; governments are cracking down on journalists and implementing sweeping restrictions, COVID-19 is spawning a global press-freedom crackdown - Columbia Journalism Review; their record of choices for the literature prize is spotty at best and in some cases purblind and scandalous, Why Don DeLillo deserves the Nobel - Gerald Howard - Bookforum Magazine; and how can we write a well-developed villain who is a worthy opponent to your protagonist? How to Write a Killer Villain | Jane Friedman.
- 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 new 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.
- More links: as he read John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, "I began to see how he was doing it. I could almost see the skeleton under the skin, MY FIRST THRILLER: LEE CHILD; an astonishing list of children's resources, How Kids' Lit Is Responding to the Coronavirus; now is your chance to get yourself efficiently set up at home, How to Organize Your Home Office | Literary Hub; and it may never have felt so necessary to escape into the printed word, 'The perfect time to start': how book clubs are enduring and flourishing during Covid-19 | Books | The Guardian.
- How to market your writing services online is a useful article from 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 about selling yourself as a writer. 'Recently someone commented to me that I seem to be doing a pretty good job of promoting my writing services on the internet. I was touched by the observation - we writers get so many rejections that a little praise is especially gratifying. And I began to wonder - what does it take to market yourself successfully as a jobbing writer today?...'
- Even more links (a bumper crop this week!): if you happen to have been a teenage girl anytime in the last half-century, you likely need no introduction, Why We Can't Wait for Judy Blume's Books to Hit Movie and TV Screens | Vogue; a horrific but beautifully written article from the Indian author, Arundhati Roy: ‘The pandemic is a portal' | Free to read | Financial Times; and 'indie publishing is one of the best things I have ever done', The Selfies - questions for children's fiction winner Jemma Hatt.
- From our Writers' Quotes, the late, great P D James: 'It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.'