30 January 2023 - What's new
30 January 2023
- 'Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world. And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things - childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves - that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers.' Salman Rushdie, author of 13 novels, including Quichottte, The Satanic Verses, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, The Moor's Last Sigh and the Booker-winning Midnight's Children.
- The final part of our new series about Worldbuilding focuses on Culture. 'Culture is a slippery concept; it's one of those terms we all know the meaning of until we actually think about it. For the writer, culture can be a two-edged sword: ignore it and your story lacks depth, colour and context; focus too much on it and you risk bamboozling - or worse, boring - your reader into putting the book down...'
- 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, Writer's edit, providing line-editing, Proof-reading and two new services, the Cutting Edit and Developmental editing. 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 publishers: the backlist boom which surged during the pandemic continues, The Bookseller - Spotlight - Older titles surge with a little help from BookTok; big publishers in the UK have not had it all their own way, The Bookseller - Spotlight - Big Four's market share contracts as mid-range publishers make hay; but in the US HarperCollins Is Cutting 5% of Its North American Workforce; a decade ago fiction was said to be migrating to digital, but now The Bookseller - Spotlight - Print market chalks up a mighty value as Adult Fiction posts all-time TCM record; and book-buyers go for the cheaper format, The Bookseller - News - Booksellers report more customers switching to paperbacks as household budgets tighten.
- From our Endorsements page: 'Many thanks to you and the Editor for the edits, and the comments. I am really pleased with the services of your company. Will definitely use it again.' Merlin, India
- From our Inside Publishing series: The Sales Department - what it does: 'The sales department has a crucial role in publishing companies. It is well worth taking time to understand how it works. This is the department which will have a crucial effect on the sales of your book. Their involvement and support are key to its success...'
- From the same series, Publishers and Pricing: Pricing can be a fraught subject, as it is something which publishers like to control and regard as an integral part of selling the book. It is quite common for authors to find that their book is not priced as they think, or had expected, it would be. Even your editor will not have the final say on this, which will be the decision of the sales department.
- Links about the craft of writing: "I place great importance on being historically accurate in my books", but Does Historical Accuracy Matter in Historical Fiction? ‹ CrimeReads; "edits are a must and I am very receptive to feedback", but When Should Writers Stand Their Ground Versus Defer to an Editor? | Jane Friedman; "Why isn't there more sex in your books?", For a Mystery Novel, How Much Sex Is Too Much Sex? ‹ CrimeReads; everybody wants a good climax, especially when it comes to storytelling, What is a Story Climax? & How to Write One! - The Art of Narrative; and mystery readers savor the hallmarks of their preferred subgenres of crime fiction, Getting the Investigative Details Right in Cozy Mysteries ‹ CrimeReads.
- Since this week's focus is on genre writing, just a reminder about our genre series: Writing Crime Fiction, Writing for Children, Writing SF and Fantasy, Writing Romance, Writing Non-fiction, Writing Historical Fiction and Writing Memoir.
- 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.
- 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...'
- If you need to clear copyright for your book, Clearing Copyright shows you how to do this: 'Copyright provides a framework for trading in intellectual property. In practice it protects the author's position and ensures that the publisher is able to take on the risk of publication in the knowledge that the publisher's rights are protected. In effect authors, (the originators of intellectual property) sub-license their rights through their book contracts to different parties in individual territories and in specific forms...'
- More links for writers: it's been a big year for genre writers, The Bookseller - Spotlight - It must be love: romance and fantasy heat up; in a sense, every detective novel is about the inside of someone's head, Mysteries That Bring You Inside the Workings of Fascinating Minds ‹ CrimeReads; when I pitched One Woman's War, I had no idea that Operation Mincemeat, a movie about the same subject matter, would be released in early 2022, Just the Facts? Not in Historical Fiction; agents' predictions for 2023, The Bookseller - News - Joyful stories tipped for 2023 but darker, genre-busting books may have their moment; and a horrific expose of the life cycle of social media platforms, The ‘Enshittification' of TikTok | WIRED.
- The Primadonna Prize is open to unpublished authors 18 years old or over who are resident in the UK. The entry fee is £8 and the Prize is a book contract with HQ with an advance of £7,500 and agent representation. First stage closing on 13 March.
- 'By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.' Roald Dahl in our Writers' Quotes.
