27 December 2021 - What's new
27 December 2021
- ‘Quite a few of my authors have wanted to move into screenwriting which makes sense because publishing doesn't always pay them enough to keep them going in that particular way. I know publishers will disagree but I think there are some ideas that are better for screen than necessarily for books and vice versa, so that actually that is the thing I think agents should start to begin pivoting towards more rather than seeing it as an adjunct... particularly because film and television companies are desperate for IP and this is kind of a glorious time...' Agent Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary in London in conversation with the Bookseller's managing editor Tom Tivnan at last month's FutureBook conference.
- From our nineteen-part Inside Publishing series, you can read up on Advances and royalties: 'Publishers usually offer to pay authors advances against royalties. How do you work out how much money you might earn from your book? You need to understand for yourself how advances and royalties work and what they mean for you...'
- From the same series, Copy editing and proof-reading explains the difference between the two. Copy editing is the painstaking job of going through a manuscript line by line to correct the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Proof-reading at a later stage is a separate check through the book when it is set up in pages, before it goes to press or is finalised for ebook publishing.
- The 2021 Manchester Writing Competition is open to writers across the world. Entry fee for both prizes £18. Two £10,000 prizes are awarded: the Manchester Poetry Prize for best portfolio of poems and the Manchester Fiction Prize for best short story. Closing on 28 January 2022.
- Our links on writers and writing: from the astoundingly prolific author of 40 novels, James Lee Burke on Organized Labor, Corporate Evils, and the Plot to Dumb Down America ‹ CrimeReads; two authors who have published memoirs that peel back the curtain on their careers, Jami Attenberg and Bernardine Evaristo discuss their new memoirs | EW.com; there are wonderful stories in publishing, but this one is pure magic, A Forbidden Love Grows in Douglas Stuart's Glasgow; a conversation which ended up touching on almost every hot button topic in the genre, Sara Gran Talks Publishing, Sex Magic, and Ownership for Authors ‹ CrimeReads; and, a late addition which was originally published earlier this year, revived now to mark her recent death, California cool and Magical Thinking: Joan Didion at 86 | Joan Didion | 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, 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 on the craft of writing: a key marketing tool which must prompt potential readers to pick up the book in a bookstore or click on it online, Choose the Perfect Title for Your Novel or Memoir: 7 Authors Offer Tips | Jane Friedman; for a long time, I believed that my only hope of becoming a professional writer was to find the perfect tool, Can "Distraction-Free" Devices Change the Way We Write? | The New Yorker; nothing stresses me out like having too much work on my plate; too little time to do it, When Time Is the Enemy: The Ticking-Clock Thriller ‹ CrimeReads; it's all about a beautifully designed book, The 101 Best Book Covers of 2021 ‹ Literary Hub; and why do I ponder falling action so regularly? Falling Action: What it is & How to use it - The Art of Narrative.
- If you are trying to get your work into shape for publication, or for self-publishing, there's plenty of information on the WritersServices website which may help. Advice for writers
- A miscellany of links: what can we say about 2021, as a whole? It was a little bit better than 2020, if still not the greatest year in recent memory, The 10 Biggest Literary Stories of the Year ‹ Literary Hub; handwritten material by the Brontës, Austen, Scott and Burns, Rescued library of literary treasures evokes closeness to authors | Books | The Guardian; novels containing any commentary about race, sexuality and sexual content were put under the microscope, US conservative parents push for book bans - and unintentionally make reading cool again | US education | The Guardian; and his ascent to national treasure status was fuelled by a 70-year career as an illustrator, the late Quentin Blake: ‘I'm not so committed to cheering everybody up, you know' | Quentin Blake | The Guardian. (Thanks to the Guardian for its brilliant coverage.)
- If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our three reports would suit you best? Which Report? includes our new top-of-the range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- 'The more you read, the more you write, and the more you free yourself to do so, the better writer you will become.' Adrienne Posey in our Writers Quotes.
- If quotes are your thing we have a very large collection in our Archive, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
