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'Amazon has just announced that ebooks for its Kindle are now outselling
paperbacks... For bricks and mortar booksellers, the news from Amazon was almost
totally bad. The rapid increase in ebook sales as the Kindle gains market share
is due to the ease with which people can download ebooks on to their devices. In
the US a large proportion of paperback buyers are opting for ebooks instead. But
it also shows that Amazon are getting a much bigger proportion of the e-book
market than they have of the paperback market.' News Review reports.
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'An interesting study published recently in the US
suggests that writers are at greater risk of depression than most other
occupations. The study puts artists and writers among the most vulnerable of
professionals, alongside other "at risk" jobs including care workers, teachers,
social workers, maintenance staff and salespeople. Irregular pay and
isolation contribute to the tendency for writers to succumb to depression, says
the site, with nearly 7% of male artists and writers likely to suffer a major
episode of the illness.' News Review looks at the evidence.
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'Bestselling author J K Rowling is in the clear as
regards a case brought against her by the estate of the late Adrian Jacobs in
relation to his book Willy the Wizard, which she was accused of using as
the basis of the Harry Potter books. The judge said: "The contrast
between the total concept and feel of the work is so stark that any serious
comparison of the two strains credulity." ' News Review looks at
accusations of plagiarism and attempts to defend work against passing-off.
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'The old idea of sentimental and formula-driven
romances of the sort produced by Mr Mills and Mr Boon has been replaced by a
highly efficient publishing machine which has an exact idea of what readers want
and long ago set about delivering it. Many of the books they publish now
would have scandalised the ‘spinsters’ of the past. New series deliver a much
more raunchy read and their books are avidly consumed by a wide-ranging, almost
totally female, readership of all ages and from all backgrounds – and across the
world, with new markets like India developing fast.' News Review on why
romance is perfect for e-readers.
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‘Publishers are
relevant. We have practical expertise and, of course, money. We give our authors
advances which enable them to concentrate on their work in hand… My idea of hell
is a website with 80,000 self-published works on it – some of which might be
jewels, but, frankly, who's got the time? What people want is selection and
frankly that's what we do.' Gail Rebuck, CEO of Random House UK, in the
Guardian.
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'I was lucky. Susan
Watt (his editor) said: "It will take four or five books to establish you."
HarperCollins sat out those first books and the fifth Sharpe took off. I really
don't know if publishers would have the patience to do that in the current
climate.' Bernard Cornwall, author of The Fort and many other novels,
in the Observer.
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'Through all this
"wither the industry" debates, I feel I'm looking on from the outside. It's
frustrating not to understand the implications and, truthfully, I realise I
resent having to think about it all. Like many writers, I just want to
concentrate on the book that I'm working on...' Kate Mosse, author of
Sepulchre, in the Bookseller.
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'Since 2000, the Anglo-American book business has
been rocked by seismic convulsions. Google has digitised some 10 million titles,
Barnes and Noble is for sale. Borders, bankrupt in the UK, clings on in the
US. Here, Waterstones's parent company, HMV, wants to sell. Amazon's market
share continues to soar...
Robert McCrum in the Observer.
'Beware of
self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries
several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one
must be cantankerous and objectionable in order to be bright; that ego
is paramount over skill; that one can rise to a level from which one can
tell the reader to go to hell. These myths, if believed, can ruin you.
If you believe you can make a living as a writer, you already have
enough ego.'
David Brin
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The 2011
T S Eliot Prize
The winner of this year's Prize has just been
announced. It's been a fantastic shortlist and the Readings in the Royal
Festival Hall were a glittering success, attracting an audience twice as big as
last year's event.
International Book Fairs 2011
Bang up to date, our list of the key international
books fairs for 2011. Some are growing in this competitive sector, some
have vanished, and others are still a bit vague, but here's the list as it
stands at present.
My e-book reader
Chas Jones relates his own experience with a new
e-book reader and looks at what's going on in the e-reader world.
What is bandwidth?
Chas Jones investigates: 'High bandwidth has been
likened to a multi-lane highway. This is a poor physical analogy because the
carrying capacity is increased by packing the digits nose to tail rather than
side by side but it will do.'
Crowd-sourcing
'The idea of turning a blog into a story is not
original but the idea of bloggers getting together to co-operate on the story
did seem to be original, combining the contributions, whether they are art work,
a soundscape, or a few words, which are brought together by an editor: or is the
editor really the author...?'
Chas Jones on crowd-sourcing 'one of the most
exciting ideas as the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Epub: Version 3
The business of international standards is not
normally the most exciting story in the world. But there was an infectious buzz
at the meeting where the latest version of Epub was being discussed at the
Frankfurt Book Fair 2010. Chas Jones' latest report from the Frankfurt Book Fair
looks at thisimportant new standard and what it means.
What is a
widget?
Chas Jones looks at how writers can use widgets to
promote their work and how viral marketing works.
Matera Women's
Fiction Festival: Writing historical fiction
Elizabeth Edmonson gave a masterclass at the Matera
Women’s Fiction Festival 2010.
Her opening point was that
'you must know yourself... creating a historical fiction
requires an extra dose of confidence, plus a real feel for the period and
subject. The challenge for the writer is to generate the complete,
imaginative environment for the reader which often means that they have to
distance them from their familiar frame of reference.'
Great review of WritersServices
We're complimented by Stuart Aken's review of our site in his blog
for 27 July:
'It is the Resources pages that really make this site stand out from the
crowd. Here you’ll find reviews of books and software, listings of agents,
self-publishing facts, educational matters, health and safety advice, and
there’s a new feature, reviewing writing magazines. You’ll see there is a
great deal of information on this site. It’s well presented and easily
navigated, which is as well, considering the number of pages. It’s a site I
browse often and I think you’ll benefit from a good look at this one.'
Read more.
Writing Memoir and
Autobiography
Writing
Historical Fiction
Writing Romance
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writing Crime Fiction
Writing non-fiction
Our Editorial
Services for writers
Check out the 17 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to
Copy editing, Typing to Rewriting.
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Gaining publicity is one of the biggest hurdles a new fiction or non-fiction
writer faces. After all, without it, no-one will even know your book exists.
Here, media agent Alison Smith-Squire offers some top tips…
This month John looks at the eternally
fascinating question of rejection and how some successful writers have overcome
it.
He also quotes from our
Rotton Rejections page.
Inside Publishing
series
This extremely useful 19-part series is in the
midst of being revised to take account of changes in the publishing world. The
introduction, How the publishing business
works,
Advances and royalties,
The Relationship between agents and
publishers, Subsidiary rights,
The English-speaking publishing
world and The Marketing
department have all just been brought up-to-date.
This second week we're on to
The Frankfurt Book Fair,
the Sales Department,
the Production Department,
Pricing and
Distribution.
And the third week it's
Books clubs and
Direct selling. The fourth
covers Creative Commons.
John Jenkins' December
column'Show the reader, don't
tell him:
Sooner or later most good
tutors will advise you to stop "telling" the reader what has happened and
instead "show them." The point is to involve the reader. There are many times
when tell is more important but nine times out of ten go for show.'
Agents'
listings
Our agents'
listings have been compiled from agents' own websites and other
information they publish about what they're looking for. You can use
them to research which agents to submit to.
The listings cover UK and US agents,
with separate listings for children's agents in the UK, and
international agents from all over the world.
Improving your writing, Learning on the job, New
technology and the Internet,
Self-publishing - is it for you?,
Promoting your writing (and yourself), Other kinds of writing, Keep up to date
and Submission to
publishers and agents
Previous magazines:
August 2010
July 2010
Magazine index
Check out this page to find links to the huge number of useful articles on this site,
including Finding an Agent
and Making Submissions.
Our huge section on technology and the web, and how writers can make use of
them, takes you from beginner-level articles to advanced technology.
Are you having difficulty deciding which service might be right for you?
This useful new article by Chris Holifield offers advice on what to go for,
depending on what stage you are at with your writing.
WritersPrintShop
If you're thinking
about self-publishing, this is the place to find out what's
involved. If you're ready to go ahead, our high quality service is second
to none and there's an economy version for those who want to
tackle some of the work themselves. You can
estimate
the cost for yourself.
Our book review section
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