What's New in 2021
- ‘Fiction is good at contradictions and flaws; it doesn't deal just in cause and effect, but in the inconsequential, the incidental, the half-formed, half-understood, and what is too ephemeral to write itself into the record. To a degree, historians have to believe that people meant what they said and said what they meant, and that their actions can be interpreted by the logic of their lives and times. But fiction redirects us to mystery and chance, and doesn't assume that people know their own minds or hearts.' Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, two books from which won the Man Booker Prize, and six other novels, in the Sunday Times.
- My Say gives writers a chance to air their views about writing and the writer's life. So we have Eliza Graham on her route to publication, Zoe Jenny (who is Swiss) on writing in English, Richard Hall on "Write about what you know" - does this adage always make sense? - and Lynda Finn on the isolation of writers in New Zealand and their problems with getting published.
- Our 20 services for writers, just a listing of what we provide to help you get your manuscript ready for publication.
- You'll need to get your skates on to enter the Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2021, which closes on Monday 27 September. It's open to all poets internationally for unpublished poems. Entry fees are £5/€6/$7 per poem. The 1st Prize is £2,000, 2nd Prize £1,000 and 3rd Prize £500, plus 20 commendeds.
- Links from the publishing world: big American publishers seems to be doing well, Book Publishing's Rousing First Half of 2021; serialisation - is this the death of the novel? Can Salman Rushdie and Substack "Disrupt" the Book? | The New Republic; it's having a massive effect on sales, How TikTok Makes Backlist Books into Bestsellers; a sympathetic article for fans of 'bookishness, Why Are Ebooks So Terrible? - The Atlantic; and US agency professionals on some of the trends they are observing from their unique vantage point, Literary Agents Assess the Middle Grade Landscape.
- From our Endorsements page: 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I haven't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again.' Sveta, Windsor, UK
- Links from writers: book awards - especially for self-published authors like myself - are a critical litmus test in the writing journey, Why I chose indie publishing and never looked back; former UK children's laureate criticises the "lazy" assumption that "creating work with children in mind is easier or less demanding, Charlie and Lola author Lauren Child says children's books should be taken seriously | Books | The Guardian; 'I'd like to have a go at writing a full one myself', Felix Francis: how I took over my father's life; Booker winner turns to crime, Colson Whitehead: Why a Heist Novel Was the Best Way to Tell the Story of New York ‹ Literary Hub; and writing spy novels and why the government censor 'made me do it', For a writer, exile has a lot to recommend it.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our more than 8,000 pages of information for writers.
- 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.
- More links on writers and writing: selling more than seven million copies through publishing your own work, LJ Ross: The self-published crime writer making a killing - BBC News; reading David Copperfield cover to cover? Jai Chakrabarti on how to get unstuck while writing; something 'gritty but fun', Why News Reporters Write the Best Crime Novels - InsideHook; a really useful list of UK opportunities, Places to Submit your Poetry in 2021 • Poetry School; an unfair lack of transparency? Why translators should be named on book covers | Fiction in translation | The Guardian; and - latest news - Netflix lands golden ticket by buying Roald Dahl estate - BBC News.
- 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.
- ‘It's not my job to populate my books with characters that other people find relatable. It's my job to write about whatever comes into my head. If you don't want to read novels about writers, or women, or Irish people, don't read my novels. I won't mind.' Sinéad Gleeson in our Writers Quotes.
- If quotes are your bag, we have superb collections in More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
- ‘I have often been asked how I came to write. The best answer is that I needed the money. When I started I was 35 and had failed in every enterprise I had ever attempted. . . I had gone thoroughly through some of the all-fiction magazines and I made up my mind that if people were paid for writing such rot as I read I could write stories just as rotten...' Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of 91 novels which have sold hundreds of millions of copies, who is best known for Tarzan of the Apes, the first of 26 Tarzan books which were translated into more than 56 languages.
- There are 19 articles in the Inside Publishing series, Children's Publishing provides an introduction to this: 'Long regarded as the Cinderella of the publishing world, children's publishing has enjoyed a remarkable rate of growth and is now seen by many as one of the most exciting areas to work in. This is not just because of the Harry Potter phenomenon, as many other children's authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Judy Blume have also produced megasellers which have proved attractive to children all over the world.'
- From the same series Print on Demand: '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...'
- An unusual opportunuty for children's authors, the publisher Chicken House is offering Chicken House Open Coop, for one day only on 20 September. It's open to writers of children's novels for 7 up including YA and there's no entry fee. The prize is Mentoring from the editors at this very successful publishing house.
- 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.
- Links from the publishing world: how publishing has persisted and morphed in the digital environment, The Publishing Ecosystem in the Digital Era: On John B. Thompson's "Book Wars"; this could fatally undermine an exceptional system that plays a vital role in the life of the global book trade, Post-Brexit changes to the copyright system would be a betrayal of authors | The Independent; agreeing it's a powerful new threat, The Guardian view on changes to copyright law: book lovers beware | Editorial | The Guardian; book sales exploded during the coronavirus pandemic, so 'Hot vaxxed summer' fizzled, but 'hot books fall' might work - Los Angeles Times; and US thriller sales have dropped six percent in the last year, NPD BookScan: Mystery Solved on US Thriller Sales' Lag?
- Here's a detailed article on how to prepare 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...'
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? Our editorial services have been added in response to demand, so whatever you want we've probably got it covered with our 20 different services.
- Links about writers' inspiration: all children's worlds are an inextricable mixture of fantasy and reality, Imaginary Kingdoms: On the Power of Literature That Speaks to Children and Adults Alike ‹ Literary Hub; thirty years ago, Helen Mirren stepped into the role of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, and an icon was born, A Rumination on DCI Jane Tennison ‹ CrimeReads; every so often I set out to read as many books as I can by a single writer as I can in a single year, My Le Guin Year: Craft Lessons From a Master | Tor.com; how should I incorporate research into fiction? On the Fine Art of Researching For Fiction ‹ Literary Hub; and how the elements of cinematography and sound establish the important formal elements of the police procedural, How The French Connection Reinvented (and Exploded) the Police Procedural ‹ CrimeReads.
- Rotten Rejections is an extraordinary collection of rejection letters sent by publishers to writers - many delivered to now famous authors of classic books - which will make you laugh and provide comfort if you're having a struggle to get published. 'I regret we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we could not publish it with commercial success...' An unnamed editor at Constable and Robinson, in turning down J K Rowling's first Harry Potter book.
- More links from writers: Salman Rushdie is just the latest in a growing number of authors writing serialised fiction delivered straight to the inboxes of subscribers, Why authors are turning down lucrative deals in favour of Substack | Books | The Guardian; at 30, she's already the most talked-about novelist of her generation, Sally Rooney on the hell of fame: ‘It doesn't seem to work in any real way for anyone' | Sally Rooney | The Guardian; trying to build the tension in both the suspense and the romance at the same time, What's the Secret to Writing Great Romantic Suspense? ‹ CrimeReads; her young witches stole the hearts of generations of children, selling more than 3m copies, Jill Murphy, children's author and illustrator, dies aged 72 | 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.
- And while we're on the subject of Sally Rooney, here's a quote from her from 2020: 'I certainly never intended to speak for anyone other than myself. Even myself I find it difficult to speak for. My books may well fail as artistic endeavours but I don't want them to fail for failing to speak for a generation for which I never intended to speak in the first place.'