7 March 2022 - What's new
7 March 2022
- ‘There are moments when I'm writing a character, who might be from a different ethnicity to mine, or a different sex or gender or background. I start worrying about what the reaction might be because it's so unfathomable. And that is scary because writers shouldn't be following the agenda, they should be setting it. But that's not happening any more. You get writers making extraordinary statements, like Sebastian Faulks who said he would never describe what a woman looked like any more because that's objectifying...' Anthony Horowitz, author of 36 novels for children and adults, including The Magpie Murders and the Alex Rider series, in the Sunday Times Culture.
- An Editor's Advice on planning, part of our 7-part series, 'Some people like to know exactly what they're doing before they start writing. They make very elaborate diagrams of the plot, note what each character is doing and when - this is particularly useful if you're writing a story which depends very heavily on a complex series of events coming together at just the right moment. Some writers focus on building detailed descriptions of their characters, so they know how they will react in any given situation, and then put them into the action. Once they've made a plan, they stick to it, but they then make a note of the ideas they have as they work, and then go back later and see if they can be incorporated into the story. If not, they might be worth using elsewhere...'
- 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? includes our 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.
- Links from the publishing and bookselling worlds: US bookshop giant scores with backlist sales, Barnes & Noble's 'Solid' 2021; surprise closure of internet retailer's bricks and mortar outlets, Amazon to Close All Bookstores; 'I fell in love with the business all over again as I experienced what the bookshop meant to me, our staff and our customers', Indie View: Chepstow Books & Gifts; and since the two skill-sets are becoming increasingly similar, The Bookseller - News - Pandemic and long hours prompt editors to turn to agenting.
- 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...'
- Are you having difficulty producing a really good blurb to self-publish your book? Or do you need a synopsis to submit it to publishers? Our services can help.
- Links from writers about writing: her breakout book was a bestseller described by Stephen King as a "true nerve-shredder", Catriona Ward: ‘When done right, horror is a transformative experience' | Horror books | The Guardian; packaged in many ways, truth is the backbone of every story that satisfies the reader, no matter if we write murder mysteries, thrillers with its many subgroups, historical suspense, or real-life crime novels, Fiction, History, and Truth ‹ CrimeReads; it's natural for authors to wonder if their own work is suitable for adaptation, What Kind of Book Translates Well to the Screen? | Jane Friedman; a novel solution for a writing riddle, Having Trouble With Novel Structure? Look at It Like a Mixtape ‹ Literary Hub; and my favourite part of writing, The Joy of Researching Historical Fiction ‹ CrimeReads.
- Our 20 Services for writers - just a list of what we offer at WritersServices.
- We have a new page which gives an editor's take on using pdfs, So what's wrong with PDFs? 'If you need your file to be edited, PDF is not the ideal format; in fact, it is practically the worst format you can choose. Why? Precisely because PDFs are designed not to be tampered with or changed. When you stop to think about it, editing is no more or less than a process of changing - and correcting - your file...'
- More links from writers: no city has been a deeper well for espionage fiction, Why Berlin Is the Mecca of Espionage Fiction: A Conversation with Joseph Kanon and Paul Vidich ‹ CrimeReads; 'Ah yes. Writing. Life... That's the problem. You can have a life or you can do some writing, but not both at once...', "When? Where? How?" Margaret Atwood Considers the Burning Questions of the Writing Life ‹ Literary Hub; Grace Paley once said, "Women have always done men the favor of reading their work and men have not returned the favor." Why Are So Many Men Still Resistant to Reading Women? ‹ Literary Hub; and other writers on the late, great children's writer, Shirley Hughes remembered: ‘Everything she shone her attention on turned to gold' | Shirley Hughes | The Guardian.
- From our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services. Rasmus, Chile.'
- 'Always thought being a writer would be one of the most useless things you could be in a zombie apocalypse, but it turns out arts and culture and storytelling is what helps us get through. Along with science, doctors, nurses, delivery people, farm workers and supermarket cashiers.' Lauren Beukes in our Writers' Quotes.