Log of the weekly changes on the site on 2009

This week's changes  2001 2002  2003  2004 2005 2006 2007  2008 2009

Some of the links are broken when items are archived - Please check the page address (url) and it should be fairly easy to find the original page or section. The site search facility on each page is also a great way to trace articles.

21 December 2009

	'This has been a week of dramatic developments in the publishing world, as publishers scramble to work out how to navigate a completely new playing field. The debate centres around four crucial issues: who controls e-book rights, the timing of e-book editions and what the prices and royalty rates for e-books should be.' News Review reports from the battlefield.
	In Latest changes in the book trade 5, Chris Holifield gives an update on writers' routes to their audiences: 'It is a supreme irony that at time when creative writing courses are turning out large numbers of keen writers and almost everyone seems to think they have a book in them, it has never been so hard to find a publisher.'
	The first article was on Bookselling, the second on Publishing, the third on Print on Demand and the Long Tail and the fourth on Self-publishing - career suicide or 'really great'?
	'As a screenwriter you have to be succinct and cut out any extraneous words or descriptions, so when I started writing prose for the first time it was really difficult to make it last.  I'd write Chapter One (and it would take up) three-quarters of the page!' Belinda Bauer, author of Blacklands, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
	If you want editorial input from our professional editors, have a look at our Services, especially our Editor's Report,  Submission Critique and Children's Services.  Also available is Copy editing, Manuscript Typing and our new service, Indexing.
	Our Success story this week is Evie Wyld, first-time novelist and winner of the distinguished John Llewelyn Rhys Prize.
	'I hate the term "mystery". That's not what I write. I think the Scarpetta novels are much more character-driven than an average puzzle solver. Writing should be like a pane of glass - there's another world on the other side and your vision carries you there, but you're not aware of having passed through a barrier to get there.' Patricia Cornwall in our Writers' Quotes.

14 December 2009

	'Is it possible that the short story is at last getting a new lease of life? The form, long beloved of writers, seems to be reaching new audiences through the Internet and benefiting from new opportunities in the form of prizes. ' News Review investigates the latest good news.
	Winning poems from the Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition - read the two winning poems from  the gifted young 7-8 and 9-11 year-old poets who have won first prizes in this international competition.
	Self-publish your way through the recession Our article by Chris Holifield, first published in The Self-Publishing Magazine, looks at what's going on in the publishing world and why it might make sense to consider self-publishing.
	John Jenkins' December column - John is on feisty form this month as he attacks the 'log-rolling' of reviews and the silly results from best books of the year round-ups - for which he gives his own suggested list.
	'I am concerned about those very young people being trained up in creative writing courses and universities around the country; being taught how to present, how to sell as if they were heading for careers in advertising, being snapped up by agents and scraping it all in the first - only? - book.' Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast in the Sunday Telegraph, quoted in our Comment column.
	Doing research for your book? Have you tried our page on Using the web as a research tool? There's also Advanced Searching to help you make the most of this wonderful tool.
	'Poems are made by fools like me                     But only God can make a tree.' Alfred Joyce Kilmer, in our Writers' Quotes.

7 December 2009

	News Review reports on a typewriter saga: 'It didn’t seem a slow news week, but the amount of coverage which has been given to the sale of Cormac McCarthy’s typewriter in the last few days has been truly astonishing. The American writer bought the machine, an Olivetti Lettera 31, from a pawnshop for $50 (£30) in 1963...'
	Our latest Writing Opportunity is the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award 2010, closing date 26 February.  The Award is for a children's manuscript from an unpublished writer that celebrates cultural diversity in the widest possible sense . Prize of £1500 ($2,471) plus publication.
	Thinking about subscribing to a writers' magazine?  Our Magazine Reviews  offer a unique service, guiding you through what's available for writers: Writers' News, Mslexia, Writers' Forum, Writer's Digest, Scriptwriter and Self-Publishing Magazine.
	‘I know that what I do is not literature. For me, the essential component of fiction is plot. My objective is to get the reader to feel impelled to turn the pages as quickly as possible. If I want to achieve that, I can’t allow myself the luxury of distracting him. I have to keep him hanging on and the only way to do it is by using the weapon of suspense.' John Grisham in the Sunday Telegraph, quoted in our Comment column.
	What does it take to market yourself successfully as a jobbing writer today? Joanne Phillips provides the answer, which is that the internet is a fertile ground for writers. You just need to know how to make it work for you...
	'I think what I love most [about writing] is that feeling that you really nailed something. I rarely feel it with a whole piece, but sometimes with a line you feel that it really captured what it is that you had inside you and you got it out for a stranger to read, someone who may never love you or meet you, but he or she is going to get that experience from that line.' Andre Dubus III in our Writers' Quotes.
	The December Magazine is ready!

30 November 2009

	'The troubled British book chain Borders went into administration last week. The chain, which had been the subject of a management buyout in July, proved unable to trade its way through the recession. It was already in the process of closing down its Book Etc stores when the end came.' News Review reports on further turmoil on the high street.
	My Say 9 is from Zoe Jenny, who was born in Switzerland but is shortly publishing her first book written in English: 'Now that I am writing in English I have to start all over again, earning my credentials in a new market. I am essentially back to square one. But maybe that is the most exciting place to be.'
	From our Archives My Say 7: Timothy Hallinan on the Writing Session and My Say 8: Jae Watson on the magic formula which enables writers to 'cross that fine, elusive line dividing unpublished and published writers'.
	Have you got a problem relating to a publishing contract or subsidiary rights?  You could decide to go in for our Contract vetting service or our contracts expert may be able to offer some advice.
	'The main thing the music business didn’t realise at first is that digitalisation isn’t about distributing the same content in another way.  It changes the way people consume content and what is consumed.' Danny Ryan, intellectual property specialist at LEGC, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
	Have you explored our extensive section of recommended links?  Writers' web resources and Writers' magazines and writing sites are of special interest.
	'Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.' is the advice from William Wordsworth. Dive into our extensive Writers' Quotes to find out what writers have said about the craft across the ages.

23 November 2009

	In the fourth part of Latest changes in the book trade, Chris Holifield gives an update on developments relating to Self-publishing and discusses how the possibility of publishing your own book is transforming authors' routes to publication.
	The first article in this updated series dealt with Bookselling,  the second article with Publishing and the third with Print on Demand and the Long Tail.
	'In his essay 'Politics and the English Language' George Orwell set out a series of rules for writing that are worth repeating in full... I would add three more tips...  3. Write. As much as you can.  The more you do the better you'll get at it. Damian Whitworth in The Times, quoted in our Comment column.
	So what's the Google  Settlement all about? You may be thoroughly bored with  it, but this is a battle of the titans as Google and Amazon square up to each other and the Settlement  has a significant impact on authors’ rights.  News Review  looks at what both sides have been saying.
	The Bad Sex Award for 2009 has come up with some entertaining shortlised titles, including this excerpt from Philip Roth.
	Are you worried about hackers getting into your computer? In our Writers' Web Watch there are several articles to help with this, including What's a hoax?, Am I infected? and Identity fraud.
	‘Writing is a deeply immersive experience.  When the words are flying, the house could be burgled and I wouldn’t notice.  I have a low boredom threshold and I like intensity – writing is a way of escaping the quotidian.’ Monica Ali in our Writers' Quotes.

16 November 2009

	'The New Google Settlement  looks like a reasonable resolution of a thorny set of problems. Bowing to pressure from foreign governments and the US Department of Justice, the revised Settlement presented to the district Court in New York shortly before midnight on Friday limits the scope of the scheme to works registered with the US Copyright Office and books published in the UK, Canada and Australia.' News Review reports.
	I'll Take a Community With That Book, Please! Fauzia Burke, founder of a an Internet marketing firm specializing in creating online awareness for books and authors, shows how successful niche publishers are reaching communities of readers on the web.
	Martin Amis in the Sunday Times, quoted in our Comment column: 'It's my belief that the relationship between writer and reader is a love relationship.  How do you make someone love you?  You present yourself at your best, your most alive, your fullest, your most considerate.  An author must be love-flushed: you must give them you most comfortable chair; you want to give the reader the seat nearest the fire, the best wine and food.  It's a sort of hospitality gesture.'
	If you feel like some seasonal charity, spare a thought for Book Aid International, a charity which sends 500,000 books a year to sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
	An Editor's Advice is a useful series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller, a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years.  The series covers dialogue, doing further drafts,  genre writing,  planning, points of view, autobiography and travel and manuscript presentation.
	This week's Writing Opportunity is the Good Writing Awards just announced by the UK's National Academy of Writing.
	'Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.' William Saroyan in our Writers' Quotes.

9 November 2009

	'So you want to write historical fiction? Your timing is good, because historical fiction is fashionable again after many years in the doldrums. In fact it’s so popular that it has virtually reinvented itself as a category...' The latest article in Chris Holifield's Categories series explores the market and approaches to Writing Historical Fiction.
	Other articles in the series cover Writing Romance, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, Writing Crime Fiction and Writing Non-fiction.
	News Review looks at 'the tragic saga of a bestselling author', the story of Stieg Larrson, who died suddenly just as he was becoming a megaseller His girlfriend of 30 years has been disinherited and, regretably, it is just like an episode out of one of Larsson’s own books.
	Are you looking for a bit of light relief?  Our Rotten Rejections show how writers have always been turned dwn.  Lord of the Flies by William Golding was described as: 'an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull' and John le Carré's The Spy who Came in from the Cold was turned down with the words: ‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’
	‘I’ve always felt that I have tried to give women of a particular generation a voice.  I do think chick lit has potentially been very powerful as it has looked at things like our awful relationship with our bodies, our relationship with food, with the beauty industry, our relationship with work – the fact that we’re still not equal…' Marian Keyes, author of The Brightest Star in the Sky, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
	Interested in writers' software? There's a number of packages which can help you with your writing reviewed in our Writers' Software section.
	'Anyone could write a novel, given six weeks, pen, paper, and no telephone or wife.' Evelyn Waugh's cynical comment is from our Writers' Quotes.

2 November 2009

	John Jenkins' November column is entitled 'Booker winner Mantel deserves the accolades'. He dismisses the Booker judges but applauds their choice: 'Many good – and many great – writers go through life without ever getting close to the Booker award. It’s nice to see one winning who thoroughly deserves it.' John looks at Mantel's Tudor subject-matter and the hard slog of her eleven previous books: 'Her secret as an author? To keep a notebook and to write every day that she possibly can.'
	'These are nervous times in the book world. Too much seems to be happening too fast and no-one is sure what it means or where we’re all going to end up.'  News Review looks at the the pace of change in e-books and internet selling.
	Are you trying to get your work ready for publication? There are hundreds of pages on this website which will help with this - access them from this page: Advice for writers.
	If you want editorial input from our professional editors, have a look at our Services, especially our Editor's Report,  Submission Critique and Children's Services.  Also available is Copy editing, Manuscript Typing and our new service, Indexing.
	Quoted in our Comment column, Kate Mosse on the Sony Reader: 'But, actually, I think the most significant thing about the Reader is not the issue of convenience, but its potential for transforming non-regular readers’ relationship with books... We know there is a problem with literacy rates in the UK.  If we are to solve it, we need to be more imaginative.  We need to accept that the tools are not what matters – voice, print, audio – but the narrative itself.  And acknowledge that, for some, a resistance to the physical book itself is a problem.’
	Are you a poet who is trying to get your work published? Have a look at Getting your poetry published and there's also a review of Chris Hamilton-Emery of Salt Publshing's 101 Ways to Make Poems Sell, the best book on the subject.
	'The art of writing, like the art of love, runs all the way from a kind of routine hard to distinguish from piling bricks to a kind of frenzy closely related to delirium tremens.' H L Mencken in our Writers' Quotes.
	The November Magazine is ready!

26 October 2009

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	We feel very honoured that the British Library has archived www.writersservices.com in its web archive. The UK Web Archive is a corpus of websites selected by leading UK institutions for their historical, social and cultural significance in the UK. Also listed in this article on the British Library archive are other international web archives.
	In the third part of Latest changes in the book trade, Chris Holifield gives an update on developments relating to Print on demand, which has radically changed the way books are produced, making it possible to produce just one book at a time, a boon to self-publishers. It's also opened up the possibility of keeping everything in print forever creating the 'Long Tail' in bookselling.
	The first article is the series dealt with Bookselling and the second with Publishing.
	The difficulty always, for any book, is the reveal.  How much does the reader know at any given moment?  Are you being fair if you hold that behind your back and don’t tell them until later?...  That’s what mystery writers do and I’ve always had a lot of respect for them because it’s such an amazing craft.' Audrey Niffenegger, author of Her Fearful Symmetry, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
	The shortlist for the 2009 T S Eliot Prize has just been announced and the Poetry Book Society's Shadowing Scheme and reading groups have just started.
	'A recent study shows that a higher percentage of the British than of the US population bought books in 2008.' There are other fascinating differences - and similarities - between the two book markets.  News Review reports.
	There are just a few days left to get your poem entered for this year's National Poetry Competition, open to all poets writing in English and closing on 31st October.
	'You just have to work with what God sends, and if God doesn't seem to understand the concept of commercial success, then that's your bad luck.' Michael Frayn, in our Writers' Quotes.

19 October 2009

	Maureen Kincaid Speller reviews A Creative Writing Handbook  and concludes that: 'It is true the handbook asks for a lot from the reader in terms of participation and active thought, but for those writers who are extremely serious about improving their work, it provides a valuable course in how to think about the art and craft of writing.'
	News Review reports on Frankfurt and after: 'But even when the book business comes out of this recession it’s still going to be a different world. Publishers will rebuild their lists cautiously, with an emphasis on the tried and tested, and what is already bestselling. Unpublished authors will continue to think hard about self-publishing. And digitisation and the growth in e-books may yet change the market so radically that we are really talking about a whole new ball-game.'
	This week's Writing Opportunity is the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2010 short story competition, open to all and closing on 14 February 2010.
	Thinking about publishing your own book? Is self-publishing for you? helps you think this through and our WritersPrintShop provides the best writers' resource on self-publishing on the web, 90 pages of information, as well as a first-rate service.
	‘In the Fifties, when a strong child was dealing with difficult circumstances, there was always a rescue at the end of the book ...  Books for children became much more concerned with realism, or what we see as realism. But where is the hope? How do we offer them hope within that? It may be that realism has gone too far in literature for children. I am not sure that we are opening doors for children who read these books, or helping them to develop their aspirations.' Anne Fine in The Times, quoted in our Comment column.
	Want to know how to pitch your script? If you want to turn your book, dream or idea into a performance script for film, stage or radio, it is going to be a very tough pitch. Chas Jones's two part article Sell, don't tell shows you how to make a successful pitch.
	'What creates a writer is huge, psychological dysfunction.' Kathy Lette in our Writers' Quotes

11 October 2009

	So you want to write non-fiction? Writing Non-fiction is the fourth article in a new series by Chris Holifield which will cover the major writing genres. Here's how to approach it, covering the competition and marketing, planning, research, selling your book and self-publishing.
	The other genres covered so far are Writing Romance, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy and Writing Crime Fiction.
	'This was the week when, in the middle of an unsurprising Booker and an unremarkable Nobel Prize for Literature, Amazon launched its much-heralded Kindle 2 international edition... '  But what about the other devices, which enable buyers to shop elsewhere? And have Amazon left it too late? New Review reports.
	Julie Wheelwright, programme director, MA Creative Writing Nonfiction, City University, London, offers her Top Ten Tips for Non-fiction writers.
	‘I wish popular novelists wouldn't get so het up about the Booker. They seem to believe that their exclusion from the most prestigious literary award is a symptom of the snootiness of the literary establishment. No doubt some people are literary snobs; but most writers and readers accept that there are different genres, that the Booker is for literary fiction, and that's that... ' Nick Clee in BookBrunch, quoted in our Comment column.
	Welsh literature organisation Academi has just launched an online resource, written by New Welsh Review editor Kathryn Gray, designed with the writer in Wales especially in mind, but which also shows writers in general how to navigate the business and maximise your chances of success.
	'Those of us who had a perfectly happy childhood should be able to sue for deprivation of literary royalties.' Chris Patten, in our Writers' Quotes.

4 October 2009

	John Jenkins' October column shows you how to kickstart a biography: 'In my writing classes I always urge people to have two pieces of work in progress simultaneously. And the easiest and most satisfying second option is a family history. Tackling a family history employs all the qualities you need to be an entertaining writer –and anybody who has a clear mind and can write a letter can write such a book...'
	'The annual Frankfurt Book Fair starts on 14 October and already publishers from around the globe are gearing up for the many meetings, arranged weeks ago, which they will be packing in with publishers from all over the world... ' News Review is gearing up.
	Ready to submit? Our page on Making submissions helps guide you through the process and Your Submission Package shows you what to send.
	This week's Writing Opportunity is the BBC's  My Story, a new story telling competition to find the nation's most remarkable true stories. Enter with a short story of 300 to 1500 words + a brief summary. The closing date is 16 December 2009 and it's open only to UK residents who are over 18. First prize: a publishing deal with HarperTrue.
	'The short story is a moment of enlightenment.  A moment of vision.  The story is going to fall on my head like an apple.  But the novel… there is a school of thought, and I agree with it, that we do not have to invent novels; we discover them.  The novel exists in my heart and in my mind and I must concentrate to get it out.' Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany in the Observer, quoted in our Comment column.
	An Editor's Advice is a useful series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller, a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years.  The series covers Dialogue, doing further drafts,  genre writing,  planning, points of view, autobiography and travel and manuscript presentation.
	'There is no need for the writer to eat a whole sheep to be able to tell you what mutton tastes like. It is enough if he eats a cutlet. But he should do that.' W Somerset Maugham in our Writers' Quotes.
	The October Magazine is ready!

28 September 2009

	Why do non-fiction books need an index? In The Ins and Outs of Indexing Joanne Phillips provides an answer, explains why it's a specialist job and why computers can't achieve the same result as a skilled indexer.
	'Very few works of non-fiction can do without an index of some description... If the reader is lucky, the index will allow them to find the term they seek and take them immediately to a relevant and useful mention of that term or concept... So why can’t a computer programme achieve this?
	Our new Indexing service, which can help if you have been asked by your publisher to provide an index for your book or  if you're planning to self-publish your work.
	'Authors’ advances are being cut radically as a result of the recession. Together with the cancelling of contracts because a delivered manuscript is ‘not good enough’ or is late, this is all part of publishers’ attempts to cut their costs..  New authors are experiencing greater difficulty than ever before in getting their books taken on by a publisher. Now evidence is emerging that even big authors are having their advances cut.' News Review investigates.
	Our fourth article from Edinburgh looks at Fringe comedy: 'Beyond the named performers who dominate the large venues such as the Pleasance, its formulaic nature has rather degraded the genre of fringe comedy.'
	Get your children writing! In the Old Possum's Children's Poetry Competition the Children’s Poetry Bookshelf is asking 7-11 year-old children across the world to write a poem on the theme of ‘Heroes and Heroines’, with cash prizes, books and memberships. UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy chairs the judges and it closes on 19 October.
	‘Publishing is often an extremely negative culture… The sheer book-length nature of books combined with the seemingly inexorable reductions in editorial staffs and the number of submissions most editors receive...' Daniel Menaker, formerly of Random House US, quoted in our Comment column.
	Have you just started a creative writing course? Our WritersServices Education Resource Centre is for students and those providing writing courses. It draws on the resources of the WritersServices site to deliver nearly 90 pages of useful material formatted as A4 pages and ready for use as handouts or in course material.
	'It is splendid to be a great writer, to put men into the frying pan of your words and make them pop like chestnuts.' Gustave Flaubert in our Writers' Quotes.

21 September 2009

	News Review reports that Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol is a huge bestseller but, as agent Jonny Geller commented: ‘If the most popular book on earth is a fiver, what does it tell the punter? Books are worthless. Retailers are just throwing away their industry.’ Amazon has also announced that the Kindle e-book version has been outselling the hardback edition in the US. So, it this Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘tipping-point’? Well, it just might be.
	Edinburgh snippets - Chas Jones' third report from Edinburgh includes a mysterious piper and some hilarious signs, including 'Don't fall down!'
	Are you worried about computer security? If you want to read up and take preventative measures, try Hoaxes and Phishing and Identity Fraud.
	‘I was already writing The Lost Symbol when I started to realize The Da Vinci Code would be big...  I temporarily became very self-aware... Then the furore died down, and I realized that none of it had any relevance to what I was doing. I'm just a guy who tells a story.’ Dan Brown in Parade, quoted in our Comment column.
	Our Endorsements from writers who have used the site speak for themselves: 'I want to thank Chris and the team at Writers Services for their help and tolerance. My first submission of my rough draft came back with an extremely useful critique. I restructured, rewrote and resubmitted - and got an excellent feedback which has helped me to revise the book by highlighting the weaknesses and the development needed... the help received so far is already paying dividends. I have just signed with an agent on the strength of the latest draft.' Patrick Cox
	This week's Writing Opportunity is the first Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.  First prize is £25,000 and it closes on 30 November, but is only open to writers already published in the UK and Ireland.
	'In the old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by anybody.' Oscar Wilde in our Writers' Quotes.

14 September 2009

	This week we launch our new Indexing service. Are you an author planning to compile your own index?  Have you been asked by your publisher to provide an index for your book?  Or are you self-publishing your work? If so, don’t let your readers down by offering them a sub-standard index. A professional index will set your work apart from other self-published books.
	So why is it that the Man Booker Prize manages to generate so much interest across the world? Entries are limited to novels written in English and American writers’ work is excluded, but in spite of all this the Prize seems to generate considerable interest year after year. News Review reports on an extraordinary success.
	The Edinburgh Fringe - 'Talk of a ‘fringed’ tail, wagging the ‘festival’ dog has been heard many times over the years as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has grown up to become the largest performance festival in the world...' Chas Jones in Edinburgh.
	‘I find it bewildering how often people are rude about commercial fiction and how many really mediocre pretentious literary books are published every year. A lot of attention is paid to books that I quite often think are really shoddy.' Harriet Evans, editor turned author of I Remember You in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column.
	Does your book need copy editing, either to prepare it for submission or so that you can self-publish with confidence?  Our team of skilled copy editors is ready to help. Here's an article about UK and American copy editing and another about the difference between proof-reading and copy editing.
	We have fifteen downloadable posters, four of them with writers on writing in our poster collection.
	'I don't believe in it (writer's block). All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don't get plumber's block, and doctors don't get doctor's block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?' Philip Pullman in our Writers' Quotes.

7 September 2009

	News Review investigates the Google Book Settlement: 'Was it ever reasonable to think that such a revolutionary, unprecedented pact, negotiated in secret over three years by people with loose claims of representation, concerning a wide range of stakeholders, both foreign and domestic, involving murky issues of copyright and the rapidly unfolding digital future, could be pushed through as a class action settlement within a period of months, in the teeth of a historic media industry transition?’
	At the Edinburgh Book Festival Chas Jones reports: 'Frankfurt, New York and London have their book fairs where the business side of publishing is the focus. It is a pity that Edinburgh does not afford a better showcase for new as well as aspiring writers.'
	'Although I don’t wish to be a harbinger of doom, I don’t think it’s unrealistic to predict that that the global book market will reduce by 30% to 50% in the next 10 years...  It is perhaps worth thinking of alternative ways that publishers, authors and booksellers can survive.' Andrew Crawford of The Book Depository, in the Bookseller, quoted in our Comment column..
	Thinking about publishing your own book? Is self-publishing for you? helps you think this through and our WritersPrintShop provides the best writers' resource on self-publishing on the web, 90 pages of information, as well as a first-rate service.
	Here are answers to the essential questions: How much will it cost? How long will it take? & How much might you earn?
	This week's Writing Opportunity is the Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition, closing date 29 November 2009 and with an entry fee of £25 ($41).
	'Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.' G K Chesterton in our Writers' Quotes.
	The September Magazine is ready!

 

31 August 2009

	Don't give up the day job - 'It’s a common enough fantasy for writers: maybe now I can leave that dreary job and devote myself whole-heartedly to writing... But how practical is it? Is it something you can realistically aspire to, or just a distant fantasy? What are your chances of making your dream come true?'
	'Some chapters on a hard drive in a spare room, increasing by 500-word increments every day, will change the publishing landscape from 2012 and beyond. That is a certainty. And that’s what makes the business of books so thrilling.' Julia Churchill, UK children’s agent at The Greenhouse, in Writers’ Forum, quoted in our Comment column.
	Chris Holifield's 19-part Inside Publishing series gives you an insight to what's going on in publishing. From Advances and royalties to Subsidiary rights,  from  Copyright to Children's Publishing, this is the place to find the inside story on publishing.
	'You can’t have missed the news that Dan Brown’s latest thriller, The Lost Symbol, will be released worldwide on 15 September. As readers queue up to place advance orders for one of the most eagerly anticipated books in history, there are also anxieties about how this one book will distort the performance of the book trade. News Review investigates the biggest book of the year.
	Downcast by rejection? Stephen King's bestseller Carrie was first rejected because: 'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias.  They do not sell.' John le Carré  was damned with: 'You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’ Our Rotten Rejections page should raise a laugh.
	'Nobel Prize money is a lifebelt thrown to a swimmer who has already reached the shore in safety.' Attributed to George Bernard Shaw in our Writers' Quotes.

17 August 2009

	John Jenkins - our first regular monthly column from the former editor of Writers' Forum is entitled 'Move over Harry Potter' and  is about Joe Delaney, who followed his agent's advice to switch to writing for children - and is having a remarkable success.
	The romance genre is doing very nicely, thank you, in spite of the recession. While conglomerate publishers such as HarperCollins and Simon and Schuster have been announcing sharp downturns in sales (see last week's News Review ), Harlequin/Mills & Boon (the US and UK companies respectively) just go from strength to strength. News Review looks at a success story.
	Writing romance is our third article in the Categories series, the others deal with Writing Crime Fiction and Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.
	‘Some people think they know what my books are about when they haven’t read them. They feel I’m in favour of bad behaviour or swearing.  Some even think I write about drugs.  There’s nothing of that kind.  Mostly, my books are about outsiders, kids who don’t fit in.' Jacqueline Wilson, bestselling children's author, quoted in our Comment column.
	'If you want to turn your book, dream or idea into a performance script for film, stage or radio, it is going to be a very tough pitch. There are some pretty strict ‘rules’ which you need to follow if you are to maximise your chance of success.' Sell, don't tell is Chas Jones' two part article and it's essential reading for all aspiring scriptwriters.
	'What literature can and should do is change the people who teach the people who don't read the books.' A S Byatt in our Writers' Quotes.

10 August 2009

	Morpurgo on writing for children - a report from the Winchester Writers' Conference: 'The road which led to Michael Morpurgo’s appointment as Children’s Laureate did not get off to a good start. His primary schools in the 60s taught him to fear words. But then, like many boys of that time, he discovered that there were comic books that told all the classic stories with skilful imagery and a minimal use of words which might be challenging to their young readers.'
	'Recent results from two big international publishing companies show that the recession is hurting quite badly.'  News Review looks at the rather dismal results from Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins.
	Our helpful series An Editor's Advice will help you get your writing up to scratch: 1 on Dialogue,  2 on doing further drafts, 3 on genre writing, 4 on planning, 5 on points of view, 6 on autobiography and travel, and 7 on manuscript presentation.
	'I completely understand people’s reluctance to pick up a literary novel that is not going to entertain them in the 30 minutes they have before they go to sleep at night.  I think the world of books forgets that because so many of us do our reading during the day. That’s a luxury so many people forget.’ Nick Hornby in the Bookseller, in our Comment column.
	Getting published, we all know, is difficult. Some books pose a particular problem and A Sumerian Observation of the Köfels’ Impact Event, self-published through WritersPrintShop, was one of them. But in the end the authors succeeded in reaching a global audience through the Internet...
	'Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents and everyone is writing a book.' Cicero, circa 43 BC, quoted in our Comment column.
	The August Magazine is ready!

27 July 2009

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