An Editor's Advice
This new series is based on the advice Maureen Kincaid Speller a reviewer, writer, editor and former librarian, is our book reviewer and also works for WritersServices as a freelance editor., a long-serving WritersServices freelance editor, has given writers over the years. It deals with the most common problems she has encountered in the fiction manuscripts which cross her desk.
In the fourth article Maureen deals with planning, using the example of three different kinds of walkers to illustrate different approaches:
'The point is that in some respects it doesn’t actually matter when you do the planning; the important thing to remember is that you’ll have to do it at some stage in the process of writing a novel, and to find the point in the process that works best for you.'
An Editor's Advice 1: Dialogue An Editor's Advice 2: why you need to do further drafts An Editor's Advice 3: genre writing
Setting as character
Timothy Hallinan, author of A Nail through the Heart on understanding the importance of the setting in a novel:
'Whatever your setting may be, I'd hope you'll work to make it active rather than passive... It will play a role in the story. It will affect your characters. In some ways it will reflect them.'
My Say
Our latest contribution is from Eliza Graham on how she finally got her novel, Playing with the Moon, published as part of the Macmillan New Writing programme
Booktrust and Writers
This is the first in an occasional series about organisations of interest to writers. The first article is by Chris Meade, the Director of the British book promotion charity Booktrust, whose work provides a model for new initiatives to promote books all over the world.
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.
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.
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...