14 August 2023 - What's new
14 August 2023
- 'Lots of people ask me for advice on getting published. All I can really offer however is what happened to me. I wrote my first novel while working full time as a journalist. The first draft took me about year to complete and while it was dreadful (it had characters changing name in the middle of a sentence and had plot holes you could drive an articulated lorry through) it was at the same time a complete novel, something I could work on, fix and improve, which is exactly what I did... After a long wait I received a rejection followed by another rejection and then just as I was beginning to lose hope the third agent got back to me and informed me that she loved the book. We worked on the manuscript together for three months ironing out the creases before sending it to seven publishers on a gloomy Friday afternoon in October...' Mike Gayle, author of 17 novels, including My Legendary Girlfriend, Wish You were Here and All the Lonely People, on his website.
- 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, the Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. The Cutting edit and Developmental editing are two new services. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs from our professional editors. Our low-cost services represent exceptionally good value. Contact us to discuss what you want.
- Closing on 18 September and open only to women writers across the world, the Mslexia Women's Fiction Competitions 2023 are well worth entering. The prizes are various and entry is for Novels, Short Fiction and Flash Fiction.
- Our first set of links are on tech, AI and social media: screenwriters, actors, authors, and artists are fighting to ensure that human beings are not shunted to the margins of our culture, Hollywood's Fight Against A.I. Will Affect Us All | The New Republic; what if AI could help us visualize what fairy tales for the climate crisis could actually look like? Orion Magazine - We Tried to Create AI Fairy Tale Art. Results Were Mixed; TikTok recommendations are driving sales and launching authors' careers as the social media app continues to reshape the industry, ‘I can't stress how much BookTok sells': teen literary influencers swaying publishers | Books | The Guardian; BookTok is beloved as a guerrilla democratizing force, but the platform's pivot risks killing the thing that makes it great, TikTok Is Becoming a Publisher. Will It Ruin the Book Industry? | The Walrus; and YouTube is the most popular way of discovering books online for young adults, The Bookseller - News - YouTube narrowly beats TikTok for young adults discovering books online, according to Nielsen report.
- Worldbuilding 2: the basics of writing fantasy fiction, the second in our new series, 'Fantasy fiction is a niche market, but a very popular niche market. It is particularly popular among new writers, and I suspect this is a consequence of growing up on a diet of best-selling fantasy fiction over the last couple of decades. This article will look at the differences between writing fantasy fiction and other genres, and also the similarities. Then I will look at some of the issues involved in writing fantasy fiction.'
- WritersServices offers a comprehensive range of editorial services for authors writing for the children's book market. All our services are carried out to the highest professional standard, and offer competitive rates and excellent value for money. Writing for children is not an easy option. It requires sound writing skills, originality, a clear understanding of the target audience and a good grasp of the market. Our expert editors are specialists in writing for children, and they will help you make your work the best it can be. Children's Editorial Services.
- ‘A wonderfully detailed and helpful report. The editorial advice and knowledge sharing is extensive and generous. Your editor has identified the points where and why my novel falls short and provided clear and practical advice on how to remedy the shortfalls... I would not hesitate to recommend your service to other writers both in terms of output and value for money.' Elspeth, UK, on our Endorsements page.
- Links to writers' stories: I'm a writer who also works in publishing, Seeing Novels from Both the Writing and Publishing Sides; a children's writer who's a legend, ‘I wanted to be No 1. But a certain JK Rowling came along': Jacqueline Wilson on rivalry, censorship - and love | Jacqueline Wilson | The Guardian; and now making her adult debut after YA success, The Bookseller - Author Interviews - Cassandra Clare| 'I want the characters to drive the story not the magic';
- From Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk, The Business of Writing for Self-publishing authors offers terrific advice for all writers: 'Self-publishing authors - also known as ‘indie' authors or author-publishers - have had a steep learning curve these past few years. Getting to grips with the various sales channels available to them, producing top quality ebooks and paperbacks, and finding a place in mainstream outlets have left many writers struggling to keep up with the paperwork. What follows is a brief guide to the essentials your self-publishing business needs - because it is a business, even if you only publish one book!'
- 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.
- Links from the publishing world: Paramount Global has agreed to sell S&S to one of the world's largest investment firms, The Bookseller - Comment - The questions raised by KKR's S&S buy; some in the industry will welcome it as putting at least a temporary stop to industry consolidation, KKR Wins S&S for $1.62 Billion; and copyright infringement case appears headed toward final phase of the litigation, Judgment Phase of Internet Archive Copyright Case Appears Imminent.
- 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...'
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) asks writers who are not native English speakers with a manuscript which needs polishing or translating: "If your English is good enough, what about translating your book yourself or writing in English, and then getting your work polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker?" This could be a cost-effective way of reaching the international English-speaking market.
- Our final set of links from writers: "Are you a volunteer?" "No. I'm a passenger," I told her. She was mortified because it was clear to us both that she had assumed that I - a young brown woman - was a member of staff, Breaking into cliquey crime fiction; the independence of self-publishing, The Selfies questions for 2023 non fiction winner Sarah Ziegel; 'What strikes me after almost 25 years in the industry is that publishing and bookselling still attract enthusiastic, occasionally eccentric people who love and understand books', Q&A: bestselling novelist John Connolly; and writing for the golden age of childrens's writing, The Shifting Middle Grade Market.
- 'Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.' Stephen King in our Writers' Quotes.
- If quotes are your thing we have a very large collection in our Archive, More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.
