3 February 2025 - What's new
3 February 2025
- ‘It encapsulates everything I love about medieval history. I'm interested in power and how it worked in an age where you've got no standing army, no professional police force, no modern communications - how does a government in Westminster rule a whole country? You've got these two individuals - first cousins, almost exactly the same age but such utterly different men - brought to the point where the failings of one mean that the other has to take over, causing a whole different set of problems. If you wrote it in fiction it would look too neat. And of course the fact that Shakespeare has told their story so gloriously is a whole other layer drawing you in... Helen Casto, author of The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry V, She-Wolves: the Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth and Joan of Arc, in the Observer.
- The 16th article in our Ask the Editor series is about Points of View: 'One of the more basic options - or quandaries if that's how you see it - in writing a novel is whether you write in the first or third person (I know; in theory you can write in the second person too but examples are few and far between). The question of point of view (POV) is not quite as straightforward as it might seem; there are advantages and pitfalls in every choice. In this article I'll look at the pros and cons of different POVs and how to decide what's right for your book...'
- The 15 other articles in the Ask the Editor series cover subjects as diverse as Writing non-fiction, How I assess a manuscript, The submission letter and The limitations of editing software: 'A new writer, setting out on that curious and occasionally perilous journey that, sometimes, ends in publication, needs help getting there; very few writers get it all right without advice or intervention. The internet has made the task of finding appropriate help and advice much easier; if your ivory tower is connected, that is. Recently, however, the limpid waters of literary support have been muddied somewhat by the advent of a plethora of AI tools. In this article, I'll consider the advantages - and limitations - of editing software...'
- If you've come to the site looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one would suit you best? Which Report? answers this question. The Reader's Report is a short, introductory report. The Editor's Report offers more detail. The Editor's Report Plus, which we introduced comparatively recently, is our most popular report and offers an overview and a detailed chapter-by-chapter report, which makes it the most substantial of the three and can help the writer by providing a framework for further work.
- If you are a children's writer then we have our Children's Editorial Services, a suite of services specially for you, carried out by our skilled children's writers. This includes reports and copy editing.
- Links from publishing: it was a mixed performance in 2024, with Brazil's exports surging 266% while European markets faced declines, Global Publishing Markets See Mixed Results in 2024; you would be forgiven for thinking that bookshops were caught in a landslide of fantasy fiction in 2024, The Bookseller - Bestsellers - Critical Maas: Is this real life? Is this just fantasy? Six of the 14 Fiction sub-categories posted record returns last year, as the genre's annual haul surpassed its previous record by more than £50m, The Bookseller - Features - Review of the Year - A certain romance: Fiction soars, with romantasy and love stories leading the way.
- You'll have to get your skates on to enter The Emma Press open submissions 2025, as it closes on 18 February. They are looking for non-agented submissions in English from anywhere in the world. Instead of an entry fee, there's a 'submission ticket' of £0 to £25. the Prize is publication by The Emma Press and small advances. Poetry collections, memoir, essay, creative non-fiction and novellas can be submitted, as well as children's poetry and fiction for 8+.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing 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.'
- From the same series, Copyright: 'Many writers worry about losing their copyright. Before sending out your manuscript it is always advisable to put a copyright line consisting of the copyright sign ©, the year and your name on the title page... Post a copy of your manuscript to yourself and then keep it in the date-stamped envelope.'
- Advice for Writers is a quick way of accessing the mass of information on our enormuos site.
- Links to writers' stories: Once upon a time, I was writing contemporary romance, but now I'm celebrating the launch of my second YA historical, Historical Fiction 101 ‹ CrimeReads; Erin Connor on writing romance, rom-com shenanigans, and her debut novel Unromance, Confessions from an unromantic romance author; the age-old and hugely inefficient system of trial and error, I've deleted every book I've ever written; and "It's not a job for the faint of heart, or the impatient. But for those of us with brains that crave this kind of work, it is bliss." Gemma Tizzard on Researching for Historical Fiction ‹ Literary Hub.
- From our Endorsements page: On English Language editing: 'The result? A book that reads like it's written by a native speaker for only 13% of the price a complete translation would have costed. Thank you, writersservices.' Anthony Fitzgerald
- Are you ready to submit your synopsis and sample chapters to agents or publishers, but worried about whether you are presenting your work in the best possible way? It's dispiriting to receive rejections just because your submission package is not up to scratch. Our Submission Critique has helped many authors to improve their submission packages, helping them to get published.
- From Tom Chalmers, formerly of IPR, two articles about rights for self-publishers, Self-publishing - the rights way and How to get your book in the hands of an international audience. 'It's a fact that most self-published authors understand the process that takes them from a written manuscript to a published book, but few realise the additional elements that make publishing a profitable business. Rights licensing is arguably the most vital element in this equation. Whether it's selling translation rights, audio rights or optioning the film rights, these all help balance the book's books...' These articles also explain subidiary rights, which are important for any author.
- More links: The Gruffalo has taken a bite out of Harry Potter, The Bookseller - Features - Julia Donaldson supplants JK Rowling to become the UK's all-time top author by volume; author Richard Beard discusses the growing trend for people to document their lives, and outlines the benefits the process can bring, Doing it by the book - Rathbones Review 2025; and 44% of parents think children do not need to know how to use books before they start school. Not so, say the educators - learning - and reading - begins at home, Almost half of parents believe it's not their job to teach children how to use books.
- We have a suite of services for self-publishers, helping you to prepare your manuscript for publication. Services for Self-publishers
- So you want to be a romance writer? You've made an interesting choice because, although a lot of people scoff at romance, it is the most stable genre of all and has continued to keep its faithful readers when other categories have changed radically and sometimes lost their audiences. It has changed a bit in recent years and embraced a more complex story, sometimes with more explicit sex in it, but essentially this is a category which marches on, providing happy endings, when all around it the world has changed. Writing romance
- There are six other articles in our Genre Writing series, including Writing Memoir and Writing for Children.
- 'Why would you, as an unpublished writer, want to find an agent? Agents use their contacts and knowledge of the publishing business on their clients' behalf, selling their work and then continuing to look after their authors' interests...' Finding an agent
- Links on AI and social media: it has a stay of execution at the moment, but A TikTok ban means losing the one platform making Americans want to read books; a serious concern for writers, The Bookseller - News - Authors and literary agents 'angry and frustrated' by plague of Facebook impersonations; and the Human Authored online portal allows members to register their book and use a specially designed logo on covers and promotional materials, US Authors Guild to certify books from ‘human intellect' rather than AI | Books | The Guardian.
- 'Read More than You Write. If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.' Stephen King in our Writers' Quotes.
