12 July 2021 - What's new
12 July 2021
- ‘The impact of Amazon dwarfs all the other changes, even the rise of digital. Of course, the idea of ordering a book in the morning and having it delivered in the afternoon still thrills and amazes me. But it has led to the erosion of earnings for most authors and smaller publishers, and that should worry all of us who want a diverse and healthy ecosystem for books... I am encouraged by the way (mostly) independent publishers are beginning to innovate in their direct-to-reader offerings. Subscription services, crowd-funding, exquisitely produced merchandise: the communities that Rough Trade, Galley Beggar, Influx Press and others are building offer a commercially viable alternative to the Amazonian race to the bottom... John Mitchinson, publisher and co-founder of Unbound, in Bookbrunch.
- From our 19-part Inside Publishing series, Subsidiary Rights: 'My first job in publishing was in a subsidiary rights department. I'm ashamed to admit that I accepted the job without having much idea what subsidiary rights were. Many writers may feel just as vague about this part of publishing, so here's a quick breakdown...' and The English Language Publishing World: 'Why does the traditional publishing world get divided up into publishing territories? How has this come about? How does it affect authors?'
- A new comment from an enthusiastice author on our Endorsements page: 'The copy-editor perfectly captured the spirit of my story, making not only pertinent corrections, but also a string of brilliant suggestions and comments that inspired me to improve the text on my own. So happy I chose Writers Services.' Rasmus, Chile.
- 'If you're looking for a report on your manuscript, how do you work out which one of our four would suit you best? Which Report? includes our top-of-the-range service, the Editor's Report Plus, introduced by popular demand to provide even more detail. This very substantial report takes the form of a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and many writers have found this detail helps them to get their book right. Through our specialist children's editors we can offer reports on children's books.
- We have a bumper crop of links this week. Links to articles about writers: now he's on his way to becoming a senior citizen, Immortalizing Jack Reacher ‹ CrimeReads; for a decade I moved around from town to town, itinerant and rootless, Connections and disconnections: England on the eve of Covid; no one before him thought to write such spooks and frights into a children's book, RL Stine has sold 400 million books: ‘And people say kids don't read'; everything from poetry, short stories, essays and more esoteric forms of writing can now find a home in what has become a welcome and flourishing scene, Why Ireland's literary journals are brilliant stepping stones for emerging writers - Independent.ie; and composed for an audience not of one friend but of many fans, Email Newsletters Are a New Literary Genre.
- Are you struggling to get someone to look at your poetry? Our Poetry Critique service for 150 lines of poetry can help. Our Poetry Collection Editing service, unique to WritersServices, edits your collection to prepare it for submission or self-publishing. Both can provide the professional editorial input you need.
- General links: Agatha Christie wasn't overly fond of her iconic detective, Hercule Poirot, describing him as a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, egocentric little creep," 14 Works Of Literature That Authors Regretted Publishing; now more than ever, novelists are facing up to the unthinkable, Stories to save the world: the new wave of climate fiction | Books | The Guardian; the big annual UK celebration of poetry, National Poetry Day to spotlight over 40 books in recommended lists | The Bookseller; the publishing industry's self-examination, Richard Charkin: An Age of Aquarius; now becoming an essential part of writing and publishing fiction in the US, The rise of the 'sensitivity reader' | The Spectator.
- 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...'
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Are you a bit puzzled by the various services on offer, and not sure what to go for? Choosing a service helps you work out which is the right editorial service for you.
- Links about publishing and bookselling: James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones, Can bookshops survive in the era of Amazon?; a surprising picture on US sales, Print Book Sales Soar in Year's First Half; a new challenge to Amazon? Sales have reached $29 million this year, Bookshop.org Continues to See Strong Sales; pre-Covid - 'a time of innocence, of happy, purblind naivety', Faber and the Blitz spirit; racism on the job in the US? Survey Reveals a Need for Greater Workplace Inclusivity; has there been a migration of conservative book publishing from the mainstream houses to smaller companies? Interview with Eric Nelson of Broadside Books, a conservative imprint at HarperCollins.
- If you are submitting your work to an agent or directly to a publishing house, check through our guidelines to give it its best chance. Making submissions.
- 'The really heroic thing about Nick Hornby is that he lives in north London and rarely leaves it... Every English writer needs their corner that is forever England - but only a few brave men choose to make that corner Highbury.' Zadie Smith in our Writers' Quotes.