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April 2009
The website for writers
News Review
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So how on earth have we reached this extraordinary situation where authors may find their books have been digitised without their knowledge or consent, just because copies of them are in US libraries? Just how has Google managed to gain the initiative and what should authors do? The first thing is that if you want to opt out, you must do so by 5th May. News Review reports.
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News Review looks at persuading the 20 million non-readers in the UK and the one in 4 Americans who didn't read a single book last year to pick up a book.
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This year's Books and Consumers study shows a worrying downward trend in value sales in the UK over 5 years, whilst at the same time pointing up an increasing dependence on heavy buyers. Internet and supermarket sales of books are up, chain sales down. News Review reports.
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News Review looks at how the Focus list in the UK is making big-name authors available to the visually impaired. New technology has made it much easier to produce large print books and self-publishers can also bring out large print editions of their books.
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'Although there were fears that the Bologna Children’s Book Fair was going to be less busy this year as a result of the recession, the most important annual rights fair for children’s publishers seems to have been business as usual.' News Review on Bologna and children's books.
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News Review looks at libraries and how cuts in funding and book budgets are balanced by successful promotions. We argue that we should support them because libraries are a prerequisite of a civilised society.
Comment
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'The idea of what constitutes literary value has changed or become less consensual. It’s harder to establish what is good and what is not, and that is one of the things that forms the canon. Barnes, Amis, McEwan were the last people through the door, and then the door closed, and then the building fell down.’ Giles Foden in the Bookseller.
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‘All writers, unless they’re very fortunate, know how difficult it is to get noticed, to become ‘discovered’. I became an ‘overnight success’ (I clapped when I read the review that said it) after almost twenty years... David Almond on SWBWI site.
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'I've nothing against popular culture, but the idea that there is something divisive about bringing to people the greatest language ever written is utterly wrong.' Josephine Hart, author of the Words that Burn book and CD.
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'There is some hesitancy with publishers fully embracing e-books. We have a 'book love', the printed book is a gorgeous object. We need to communicate that love with e-books, and there is something shiny and new and mobile about them.' Stephen Page, CEO and Publisher of Faber, in the Bookseller.
Writers' Quote
Latest changes in the book trade
Bookselling
Chris Holifield gives an update on recent changes in the bookselling world, including the effects of recession and an even greater focus on bestsellers.
London Book Fair Masterclass 2009
Here's our report from the 2009 Masterclass at the London Book Fair, where a packed audience listened intently to a varied group of speakers in a session chaired by journalist Danuta Kean. Bill Swainson, senior editor at Bloomsbury and Simon Trewin, co-head of the book department at new agency United Agents, were joined by authors Kate Mosse, Lola Joye and Gareth Sibson.
Writing for Children 1
Writing for Children 2
Since many writers who come to the site are interested in writing for the booming children's market, we are delighted, by kind permission of the publisher, to be featuring two extracts from Linda Strachan's Writing for Children:
'One of the most exciting things about writing for children is the sheer diversity. You have different ages to choose from; you can write picture books, easy readers, short books for more confident readers, or novels – each quite different in length and often in content.'
Poetry: Notes from a passionate poet
Benjamin Zephaniah describes his fascinating route to being published in
an excerpt from the Writers and Artists’ Yearbook 2009.
The Slush-pile
WritersServices editor Kay Gale has many years of experience dealing with the slush-pile. Here are her tips on how to get your submission through it.
Tips for Writers 8
The eighth and final set of our new pages of tips for writers deals with the all-important subject of submissions to publishers and agents.
Tips for Writers 1: Improving your writing
Tips for Writers 2: Learning on the job
Tips for Writers 3: New technology and the Internet
Tips for Writers 4: Self-publishing - is it for you?
Tips for Writers 5: Promoting your writing (and yourself)
Tips for Writers 6: Other kinds of writing
Tips for Writers 7: Keep up to date
Keyboard skills
Think how much learning to touch-type would speed up your typing and help you avoid errors! Our new list of free and very cheap software makes it easy to access what's available online.
International Book Fairs 2009
Our annual updated listing of the world's book fairs is now available on the site.
Choosing a Service
Are you having difficulty deciding which service might be right for you? This useful new article by Chris Holifield offers advice on what to go for, depending on what stage you are at with your writing.
New Categories series
Writing Romance
This is the third article in a new series by Chris Holifield which will cover the major writing genres. It looks at romance, which is dominated in the UK and the US by Mills and Boon Harlequin, which brings out 120 books a month. Study their guidelines before you get started or at least before you submit to them.
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy looks at Science Fiction and Fantasy and suggests how you should get started, what special considerations you should bear in mind and what the market's like.
Writing Crime Fiction looks at the international market for crime novels and shows what is working for this readership and how you can give your own crime fiction its best chance of getting published.
Success stories: Seamus Heaney and Eric Carle
Seamus Heaney won the ninth David Cohen Prize for Literature this week, while Eric Carle celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Winner of the 2008 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Title of the Year
Here's the winner and shortlist for the 2008 Diagram Prize. It's been another strong year. So, was it Baboon Metaphysics, Strip and Knit with Style or The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-miligram Containers of Fromage Frais?
Agents' Listings
The new agents' listings are now available on the site. Coming from the 2009 Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, these listings can be searched and provide the most up-to-date information about literary agents across the world:
Agents from the rest of the world
Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2009
Our review of the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook
Our Editorial Services for writers
Check out the 16 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Rewriting.
WritersPrintShop
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
Our huge section on technology and the web, and how writers can make use of them, takes you from beginner-level articles to advanced technology.
Help for Writers
Check out this page to find links to the huge number of useful articles on this site, including Finding an Agent and Making Submissions.
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WritersServices.com Magazine April 2009