September 2022
- ‘I do think the scope of what studios can do has really proved itself in modern live-action adaptations of fantasy novels. Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings were so huge in scope and delivery that people were able to imagine epic fantasy in live action as something that felt tangible. These huge global franchises have had such a massive impact that it's really opened the door for people to give fantasy fiction a chance when they might have written it off previously.' Claire Ormsby-Potter, editorial assistant at London SF and Fantasy publisher Gollancz.
- An essential read for children's authors is Suzy Jenvey's special series for WritersServices, the four-part Essential Guide to Writing for Children. The first article looks at the all-important question of age groups and what you should be aware of in writing for each one. The second part is Before You Write: What is My Story Going to be? The third part deals with Starting to Write and the fourth part is about Submitting Your Work to Agents and Editors. This series by a hugely experienced children's editorial director and agent helps you get started on your own story or develop what you're already working on.
- Our Children's Editorial Services help you to get your children's book ready for publication or self-publishing. Have you found it difficult to get expert editorial input on your work ? Do you want to know if it might find a publisher? Or are you planning to self-publish? We can also offer copy editing for writing for children.
- The Daily Mail First Novel Competition 2022 is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland and has not had a book published before. There's no entry fee. The prize is a £20,000 advance and publishing contract with Little Brown's Sphere imprint and the services of top London literary agency LBA.
- Links from the publishing world: great news on US book sales, The Bookseller - News - US publishing 'firing on all cylinders' as revenue rises 12.3% and in-person buying booms; what really sells books, For media publishers, Twitter still dominates on social; a sign of returning normality in the international publishing world, The Bookseller - News - Americans to return to Frankfurt Book Fair en masse; the current wave of attacks on books in schools and libraries is disheartening, but There's No Time to Despair over Book Bans - Just to Fight Them; and the team behind Korea's Webtoon is preparing to launch a new serialized fiction app, Exclusive: Sources Describe a New App for Backlist Serialization.
- ‘WritersServices editors are not just excellent professionals, they are persons of letters involved in helping the writers who are trying to enter in the world of British books... I am impressed. I am grateful. I'm delighted. Thank you so much.' Daniela Stanciulescu from Paris on our Endorsements page.
- The most recent addition to our range of reports is the Editor's Report Plus, a substantial report which offers chapter-by-chapter commentary on your manuscript, with a helpful blueprint for any further work which is recommended. It gives you the kind of expert advice which is usually only available from an in-house editor, which is why it has quickly become our most popular report.
- 'So you want to write non-fiction? You've chosen a huge area which can be broken down into a large number of different sub-categories, so the first thing to say is that it's important to think hard about exactly which readership you're going to aim your book at. Once you've worked that out, research into what is available and what the competition might be is a must...' Writing Non-fiction
- Links from writers: in a novel, an effective setting transports the reader, immersing them in the narrative and creating a believable physical environment where plot can flourish, The Importance of Setting in Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads; is the anxiety of writing the anxiety of possibility for you? Five Writers on How Writing with Creative Constraints Unlocked Their Projects ‹ Literary Hub; I knew I wanted to include something about the Enigma machine, Making World War II Relevant in a Contemporary Thriller ‹ CrimeReads; how do you define it and why is it even important to make the distinction in the first place? What it means to be working class; Why do some murder mysteries sell more copies than others? Impossible Murders In Crime Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- If you're aiming at traditional publishing, Finding an agent and Working with an agent are two practical checklists to help set up and maintain this vital relationship. 'Try to find an agency which is ‘hungry' for new clients. To keep their workload under control, an established independent agent might take on something like four new authors a year, but only to replace four departing clients. This may seem obvious, but whether or not an agent is actively looking to build their list of clients is probably the single most important factor affecting how closely they are looking at unsolicited submissions...'
- Our Services for Writers lists the 22 services we offer for writers, which we think is the widest range on the web.
- More links for writers: after hundreds of rejections - seriously, she's been writing books and querying agents since she was 12 years old - she joined TikTok in March 2021, Meet Alex Aster, The TikToker Changing The Publishing Industry For The Better | HuffPost UK Culture & Arts; she is now writing an adult mystery which features Georgia O'Keeffe as an amateur sleuth, A Change in Perspective: Writing for Adults, After a Career Spent Writing for Children ‹ CrimeReads; a growing number of US states, cities, and districts are now requiring schools to teach phonics, How Strong Early Literacy Skills Can Help Kids Learn to Read | Time; and hard times are coming, when we'll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, who can remember freedom - poets, visionaries - realists of a larger reality, Who Was Ursula K. Le Guin? | Book Riot.
- 'All writers are liars. They twist events to suit themselves. They make use of their own tragedies to make a better story... They are terrible people.' Nina Bawden in our Writers Quotes.
