25 June 2018 - What's new
25 June 2018
- ‘You don't necessarily choose the books you write; they choose you, in a way. Sometimes one arrives when you are least expecting it, a bit like an unplanned pregnancy. This book was very much like that. But I had huge trepidations about publishing it. I only let my publisher give me a £1 advance in case I changed my mind...' Our Comment this week is about 'A memoir that didn't fleece the people I love' and is from Maggie O'Farrell writing about her latest book, I Am. I Am. I Am in the Observer. Her seven novels include The Hand That First Held Mine and This Must Be the Place.
- An Editor's Advice is a series of seven articles by one of our editors on really useful subjects for writers such as Manuscript presentation, Doing further drafts and Planning: 'The idea of planning doesn't fit well with the idea of the writer as inspired genius, frantically scribbling away. However, I am willing to bet that, no matter what they would have you think, most successful writers plan as much as they write. They just don't tell you about it. The biggest objection that most inexperienced writers raise when someone broaches the delicate matter of planning is that it will get in the way of their inventive powers. A plan will be like a straitjacket. They'll be stuck with this plan and if they come up with a good idea along the way, they will not be able to use it. They are genuinely horrified at the thought...'
- The Daily Mail PRH First Novel Competition for 2018 is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland. There's no entry fee and the prize is a £20,000 advance, a publishing contract with PRH imprint Century and the services of literary agent Luigi Bonomi. We've featured this before but get your skates on now as it closes on 13 July.
- 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, Translation editing for those for whom English is not their native language and our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Contact us to discuss what you want and take advantage of our free samples - and written assessments on most of these services.
- Our links: aspects of being an author that I wasn't prepared for, 10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Becoming a Published Author - M. Shannon Hernandez; a strange thing happened this week: my dreams came true, ‘It is like being on psychedelic drugs': Benjamin Myers on the strange world of literary prizes | Books | The Guardian; it is harder than ever for authors to make a living, ALCS survey finds 15% drop in average author earnings since 2013 | The Bookseller; Philip Pullman, Antony Beevor and Sally Gardner are calling on publishers to increase payments to authors, after a survey of more than 5,500 professional writers revealed a dramatic fall in the number able to make a living from their work, Publishers are paying writers a pittance, say bestselling authors | Books | The Guardian; and you get more thrills listening to the audio adaptation of a novel than you do from its equivalent on Netflix, Neuroscience research shows audiobooks are more emotionally engaging than film or TV | The Bookseller.
- 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...'
- More links: suddenly "autofiction" - fictionalised autobiography that does away with traditional elements of the novel such as plot and character development - is everywhere, Drawn from life: why have novelists stopped making things up? | Books | The Guardian; the smartest people in the world own tons of books they don't read, The Way You Read Books Says A Lot About Your Intelligence, Here's Why; there's been an unprecedented boom in India's publishing industry during the past two decades, Future of books brighter in India than most parts of world: Publisher David Davidar - Times of India; and I believe that all novels begin with an old lady in the corner opposite. I believe that all novels, that is to say, deal with character, Essential Writing Advice from Virginia Woolf | Literary Hub.
- Advice for Writers is a really useful page which takes you into our archive and helps you explore our 6,500 pages of information for writers.
- 'Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.' Virginia Woolf in our Writers' Quotes.