14 September 2020 - What's new
14 September 2020
- Translating Elena Ferrante - 'The first draft is the words as they are, more or less in the order they appear. It is pretty straightforward. But most of the time there is then some shaping of that language into an English that reads like English but still contains some suggestion of the Italian. In my first draft I look at the Italian; in the second I am still working with the Italian and trying to solve problems I couldn't solve first time around. Then, eventually, I try to read just the English, without the Italian, but I never can, because there's always something I need to go back to check. Sometimes I find I've gone too far away from the Italian; sometimes I find I need to go further away...' Ann Goldstein, who has worked with Elena Ferrante for 16 years and translated the work of Primo Levi, Jhumpa Lahiri and many other great Italian writers, in the Observer.
- A new endorsement: ‘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.
- Our My Say series has contributions from writers: Natasha Mostert on 'There are few things as satisfying as typing THE END to a manuscript, Richard Hall on "Write about what you know" - does this adage always make sense? and Deborah Durbin, about rejecting rejection. If you'd like to make a contribution of between 300 and 500 words, please get in touch.
- Discoveries Women's Prize for Fiction is open to all women aged 18 and above, residing in the UK or Ireland and writing in English, and there's no entry fee. The winner receives £5,000. All longlisted and shortlisted authors will be offered tailored mentorship packages from a Curtis BrownSee Curtis Brown listing agent or industry expert and free or discounted places on Curtis Brown Creative's creative writing courses. Closing 17 January.
- Links by and about writers: 21 books whose core lies not in the cases his private detectives solve, but in the way they go about it, Alexander McCall Smith: A Crime Reader's Guide to the Classics | CrimeReads; a famed writer and activist who is selling the audio version of his upcoming book via Kickstarter, Cory Doctorow is fighting back against Amazon's Audible; write according to your own strengths and instincts, Women's Prize for Fiction Diana Evans: Writing Tips - Women's Prize for Fiction; we should be wary when one review in the Telegraph is reproduced without question, JK Rowling's Troubled Blood: don't judge a book by a single review | Books | The Guardian; and more on this, Will JK Rowling's controversial trans tweets hurt the sales of her new Robert Galbraith book? - ABC News.
- 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, our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing, and Proof-reading. 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 publishing, Goodreads, reviewing and Prizes: just exactly where is publishing heading? Business Musings: Trainwreck Fall Edition; an author who had assumed identities within a blackness that she had no right to claim, Publisher denounces Jessica Krug for pretending to be black | Books | The Guardian; there should be nothing in the world more benign than Goodreads, a website and app that 90 million people around the world use to find new books, but Why Goodreads is bad for books; in 1930, I could have earned the equivalent of $2,130 for one lousy review, Once upon a time, I could have lived like a king reviewing one book a week; American writers made a near clean sweep of this year's shortlist, Most diverse Booker prize shortlist ever as Hilary Mantel misses out | Books | The Guardian.
- Working with an agent: 'Don't ever take on an agent you don't like or don't trust, however desperate you may feel. You have to be able to work with them in what should be an extremely important relationship for you as a writer. You must also feel confident that they are competent, enthusiastic about your work and can be trusted, both in terms of the advice they offer and in relation to handling your money...'
- 'There was a day when I looked up and realised that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby. I started answering fewer emails, and was relieved to find I was writing much more.' Neil Gaiman in our Writers' Quotes.
