March 2007
The website for writers
News Review
- 'A self-publisher has just as much chance of achieving a powerful viral campaign by coming up with a clever way of marketing their book as a big publisher does.' News Review on web marketing
- News Review looks at international book fairs, including the push to make Abu Dhabi's 'the gateway to publishing in the Arab world'.
- A new study shows that authors' incomes are declining, often to subsistence levels. 'Copyright is still the only way to secure the financial return necessary to keep us writing. It is a battle we cannot afford to lose.’ Maureen Duffy of ALCS
- News Review on Stef Penney's surprise win and its effect on Quercus: ‘The company has moved, in one startling lurch, from the margins to the mainstream, where the current is faster and more dangerous.’ Chairman Anthony Cheetham
Comment
-
'The internet has provided the opportunity to reinterpret Bodley's vision of the library's universal value by adding a potential readership of billions to the 40,000 or so individuals who are able to physically visit its premises each year.' Reg Carr
-
'I'm not quite sure why literary publishing should deserve more support than, say, educational publishing in Zimbabwe.' Richard Charkin, in his blog.
-
'You either rest on your laurels and wait for retirement to tap you on the shoulder, or you think: 'Now what can I do?' John Harvey, on being awarded the Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers' Association, in The Times
Writers' Quote
-
'In other countries, art and literature are left to a lot of shabby bums living in attics and feeding on booze and spaghetti, but in America the successful writer or picture-painter is indistinguishable from any other decent business man.'
Sinclair Lewis
An Editor's Advice
This new series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller, a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years. It will deal with the most common problems she has encountered in the fiction manuscripts which cross her desk.
In the first article Maureen writes about dialogue - A Word In Edgeways: Letting Your Characters Have Their Say …
Shortlist for the 2006 Diagram Prize
Check out the shortlist for the 2006 prize for the oddest title of last year, which has received unprecedented international coverage, from the Orlando Sentinel to the Hindu.
Which service?
Do you think you need some help with getting your manuscript into good shape for submission, but don't know which service to go for? Our new page helps you work out what's best for you.
Preparing for submission
It is important to think hard about whether your manuscript is ready for
submission before you start submitting your work to agents and publishers. Here
are some tips on how to go about it.
WritersServices powers ahead
WritersServices goes from strength to strength. Every week over 60,000 visitors come to the site, with over 3 million in 2006 and 4 million expected this year. And there's a big new launch to come...
Promoting your book sales online
Here are some online options for selling books through Amazon, including Marketplace, Associates, Astore and Advantage.
Win a website of your own - winners announced
Londoner Rebecca Hazel is one of the two winners. Here's her winning story, An Introduction to the Internet and also the winning story from the second winner, Jeanette Smith, Caught in the Web.
Notes for designers
If you want to self-publish and plan to design your own book, here are some notes to help you do it.
Bob's Journal goes into its 7th volume
Bob ruminates on what works on stage, fashions in things Japanese and books - and the idea for a novel which strikes him suddenly in bed one morning:
"I’ve just had this amazing idea for a novel…"
Partner raises her eyes to heaven. "Not another one. When are you going to finish that bloody play?"
John Jenkins on submitting a Faulkner story, which didn't get accepted; Andrew Crofts; Andrew Lownie; the London Book Fair; and Stef Penney:
'SO MUCH for write about what you know. Stef Penney, who has never visited Canada, has won the Costa Book Award with her first novel, The Tenderness of Wolves... '
WritersPrintShop
We have revamped our WritersPrintShop website with lots more information. 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.
We Watch the web for writers
See also Finding an agent for how to go about getting someone to represent you.
Where next for the web
Web 2.0 is the next development for the Internet, and then there's Web 3.0. So what does it all mean?
Our new audio section
Check out our new audio section. This shows you how to record your work using the facilities built into your computer. You can start with Preparing your story and How to start recording.
It's easier than you think, so get recording! We'll provide a site for you to podcast your work soon.
Our Editorial Services for writers
Check out the 16 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Contract vetting.
Most recent Magazines
Previous serials & extracts
WritersServices.com Magazine March 2007