What's New in 2021
- ‘I feel sorry for people who have massive success when they're young. I was 48 when Eats, Shoots & Leaves became a bestseller and that helped me deal with it. All the time it was happening I was thinking: "In 10 years' time I'll look back on this with fond memories," because at the time I was quite anxious. I was also quite amused by it, because it was hilariously unlikely that a book of punctuation would be the number one bestseller in America...' Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves and 30 other books, including four crime novels.
- How to get your book translated into English (without it costing the earth) - for non-native English speakers wanting to reach the international English language market. If your English is good enough, what about writing your book in English or translating it into English yourself, and then getting your translation polished and copy edited by a professional editor who is a native English speaker? The result should be a publishable manuscript at a relatively low cost, ready for you to publish or submit to publishers.
- The International Rubery Book of the Year Award 2021 is open to all writers internationally who have published or self-published their work in a wide range of categories. The entry fee is £37 and the prizes are £1500 plus £150 for at least three category winners. This closes on 31 March, so you need to move fast.
- Other competitions which are still open.
- 'Professional copy editing does make sense, either if you are trying to give your work its best chance when submitting it or, even more crucially, if you are planning to self-publish. But how are you supposed to tell who will do a good job, when the editorial services on the web all sound pretty much the same and it's tempting to go for the cheapest?' Getting your manuscript copy edited
- Links from the publishing world and Black Lives Matter: there's fear of the fallout if the deal goes ahead, Authors fear the worst if Penguin owner takes over Simon & Schuster | Publishing | The Guardian; good news from Italy for the children's book world, Bologna Confirms In-Person June Fair, New Programs; more on tranlators, Translators Weigh In on the Amanda Gorman Controversy - Asymptote Blog; and treating authors of colour as tools for self-improvement is an impoverished response to centuries of harm, White people, black authors are not your medicine | Books | The Guardian.
- A new addition to our Endorsements page: 'I cannot emphasise enough my gratitude to writerservices.com. I more or less expected that they would treat me and my texts professionally - after all, this is what the site offers. What I hadn't expected was the extra mile they were prepared to go on my behalf, their beautiful attention to both the letter and the spirit of what I had to say. My manuscript has now found an agent - a happy development in which they have definitely played a role. All I can say is that if I ever produce anything else, I will definitely be their client again. Sveta, Windsor, UK.
- Links to writers' stories: an author who turned 83 last month and has sold 1 million books for every year she's been alive, Are You There, Judy Blume? It's Us, the Generation of Writers You Inspired; one of the most wildly imaginative writers of any generation, Douglas Adams' note to self reveals author found writing torture | Douglas Adams | The Guardian; how did it all go wrong How I (Barely) Survived the Abject Failure of My Much Hyped Debut Novel ‹ Literary Hub; and I, too, assume that much of the contemporary fiction I read is autobiographical, Our Autofiction Fixation - The New York Times.
- Our services for writers page is just a list with links to the 20 services we offer.
- Links on audio and children's books: a year ago, very few audiobooks listeners would have realised that duvets were a valuable asset for recording audiobooks as well as for listening to them, Don't close the studio; the inside story, How audiobooks get recorded: Narrator Abby Craden shares her process; the format children read in can make a difference in terms of how they absorb information, How Children Read Differently From Books vs. Screens - The New York Times; and the Sunrise Movement contact they'd been "bossing about" was a 13-year-old, who was organising the whole thing between her classes, Naomi Klein: 'We shouldn't be surprised that kids are radicalised'.
- 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...
- James Baldwin in our Writers' Quotes: 'Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be seen as untimely. This is because a real writer is always shifting and changing and searching. The world has many labels for him, of which the most treacherous is the label of Success.'
- ‘I think these shows have an innate sense of decency and optimism that underpins them all. It's compassion and a belief that people are essentially good. If I had to define the essential DNA of Unforgotten, it's that good people can do bad things... I think it's Priestley who says you have to put it on paper in order to formulate your views. Nothing comes fully formed. It's only in a detective story that the answers are always clear and unambiguous. Maybe that's why I like writing them so much.' Chris Lang, writer and creator of over 85 hours of prime time drama, including Unforgotten, Tom, Amnesia and A Mother's Son in the Sunday Times.
- 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 Vanity Publishing: 'It is natural for writers to be eager to get published but it pays to be wary of the vanity publishers who will take your money and give you very little in return...' Vanity publishing is quite distinct from Self-publishing, you need to be aware of the differences.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for 20 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Links from writers and writing: just published, the 30th book in the series, Donna Leon On Thirty Years of Inspector Guido Brunetti ‹ CrimeReads; from one of the few children's book authors to host in-person events throughout the pandemic, Jeff Kinney, Meg Medina and other children's book authors discuss pandemic author events - The Washington Post; every one of my grandmother's dishes was full to the brim with history: the nation's, my family's, my own, Food is Love: Weaving Together World War II History and Family Recipes ‹ Literary Hub; everything depends on the writer and their goals, but Blogging Versus Email Newsletter: Which Is Better for Writers? | Jane Friedman; it's become routine for many people to discuss their self-care and wellness practices, The delicate relationship between grief and fanfiction, explained by a psychologist - Vox; and an older, more instinctive art form, How to Arrange a Poetry Collection Using Mix Tape Rules - Electric Literature.
- 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 new 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.
- How to market your writing services online is a useful article from Joanne PhillipsUK-based freelance writer and ghostwriter. She has had articles published in national writing magazines, and has ghostwritten books on subjects as diverse as hairdressing and keeping chickens. Visit her at www.joannephillips.co.uk about selling yourself as a writer. 'Recently someone commented to me that I seem to be doing a pretty good job of promoting my writing services on the internet. I was touched by the observation - we writers get so many rejections that a little praise is especially gratifying. And I began to wonder - what does it take to market yourself successfully as a jobbing writer today?...'
- Links from publishing: the biggest international fair has recommitted to running a hybrid meeting in 2021, one which will feature in-person and virtual elements, Frankfurt Commits to In-Person Fair, Opens Registration; enthusiasm from head of Penguin Random House, ‘This is the best time in publishing ever,' says Markus Dohle - Atlantic Council; Dr Seuss Foundation to withdraw six books, 'It's a moral decision': Dr Seuss books are being 'recalled' not cancelled, expert says | Dr Seuss | The Guardian.
- Poets are naturally keen to see their work in print but it's actually quite hard to get a first collection taken on by a publisher and self-publishing may make a lot of sense. Getting your poetry published.
- 'If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.' Lillian Hellman in our Writers' Quotes.
- 'Booksellers have had many years of making themselves resilient, having had to live through the advent and growth of Amazon - they are entrepreneurial and hard-working, resourceful and creative. Despite having spent years building up USPs which the pandemic stripped away (gathering, meeting, conversation, events, in-person meetings and social spaces) they have managed, by hard work, to keep themselves visible to their customers and to the wider media, public, government and trade audiences.' Meryl Halls, MD of the UK Booksellers Association, in Bookbrunch.
- Health Hazards is our special series about the various health risks for writers, including the dreaded Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you know you're spending too much time at a keyboard, it's worth making sure you're being careful about how you're sitting, your eyes and your wrists. Although Coronavirus may be the main health risk you're focused on at the moment, these special writers' risks are worth thinking about.
- You'll have to hurry, but the the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prizes 2021 are open till 7 March. They're open to writers of any nationality writing in English in two classes: Best Unpublished Novel, which offers an advance of £15,000 on a publishing deal with Bonnier - entry fee £49 - and £10,000 for Best Published Novel.
- Which service should I choose to help me get my work into good shape for submission or self-publishing? This is the question our page Which service? answers and it then goes on to give a quick rundown on our 20 editorial services for writers, which we think is the biggest and most comprehensive you can find on the internet.
- Our links on writers and writing: it's a tough decision for a writer to make, one of the toughest: is now the moment to go for self-publishing? 11 Signs You're Ready to Self-Publish | Jane Friedman; a hugely admired author shares his thoughts, Jeff VanderMeer Talks Noir, Suspense, and His New Eco-Thriller With Meg Gardiner ‹ CrimeReads; nine books and three pseudonyms later, time for the lighthouse book, The sea in my bones; young authors may be self-censoring because they worry they will be "trolled" or "cancelled", Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear' - BBC News; and are you serious about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and finally starting that novel idea you've had for years? 5 top tips for writing your novel - National Centre for Writing.
- Writing Biography & Autobiography is a serialisation from our Archives of the book by Brian D Osborne published by A & C BlackClick for A & C Black Publishers Publishers References listing. In the first excerpt, Managing the matters of truth and objectivity, the author says: 'Just as you need to remember that letters, reports, census forms, legal documents and so forth were not created simply for our convenience, so you also need to remember that what is written in them may not be true...'
- Links on diversity issues and publishing: does a black poet need a black translator? 'Shocked by the uproar': Amanda Gorman's white translator quits | Books | The Guardian; four years after the first report, Diversity in Romance Books Still Lags; the amazing move of a bestselling author with her full back catalogue to a publisher who has never handled fiction before, Fifty Shades author E.L. James to anchor new imprint | EW.com; and since the human appetite for celebrity self-abasement and atonement, the raw materials of the well-turned tell-all, is unquenchable, Why the Political Memoir is 2021's Hottest Book Genre.
- If you need to get your material typed up, but can't face doing the job yourself, Typing manuscripts is a service for writers who have an old or handwritten manuscript which needs typing before they can proceed with reworking, submission or publication.
- 'I have discovered that I cannot burn a candle at one end and write a book with the other.' Katherine Mansfield in our Writers' Quotes.
- For quotes fans we have superb collections in More Writers' Quotes and Even More Quotes.