26 March 2018 - What's new
26 March 2018
- 'Bologna seems to have been a lively occasion as usual, with considerable interest in Middle Grade fiction and some reviving interest in YA too at the children's book fair. Picture books are still difficult but there is interest in talented new writers and illustrators. Bonnier's decision to close down its Australian children's publishing arm was a real shock...' News Review
- ‘For the past 10 months I've spent a lot of time thinking, is this for real? I had a lot of different reasons for writing the book but at its core was the desire to write for black teenage girls growing up reading books they were absent from. That was my experience as a child. Children of Blood and Bone is a chance to address this. To say you are seen... In my perfect world, we'd have one black girl fantasy book every month. We need them, and we need fantasy stories about black boys as well...' Tomi Adeyemi, author of debut YA novel Children of Blood and Bone in the Observer provides our Comment.
- You need to get going immediately to be ready to take part in National Poetry Writing Month, which is open to all with no entry fee and runs from 1 to 30 April. It sets poets quite a challenge - to write a poem a day!
- As well as our highly-regarded Copy editing service, which will help you prepare your manuscript for submission or self-publishing, we have Manuscript Polishing, which provides a higher-level polishing service, Translation editing for those for whom English is not their native language and our new Writer's edit, providing line-editing. Get the right level of editorial support for your needs. Contact us to discuss what you want and take advantage of our free samples - and written assessments on most of these services.
- Our links: when I was first published I had no idea how the industry worked, Writing: the dream verses the reality; a real upheaval is going on in the publishing world, Canceled Deals and Pulped Books, as the Publishing Industry Confronts Sexual Harassment - The New York Times; unusual situation where writers connected with one prize try to get another changed, Top authors make mass call on Man Booker to drop American writers | Books | The Guardian; and a report from the most important children's book fair, Bonnier's Five Mile bombshell fails to derail buoyant Bologna | The Bookseller.
- From our Archive, Writing for Children: Rule Number One - Read More than You Write by Sarah Taylor-Fergusson: 'Author opinion falls into two camps on this one, with some writers maintaining that reading fiction while writing is a very bad thing. To this I might say that if you have been working for years as a published author, and you have that degree of sophistication, dexterity and confidence, then maybe sometimes yes. But for the majority of us who are not at that level...'
- More links: here's the truth: I never had a freelancing dream. I was happily and continuously employed for 15 years after college graduation, What I Earned (and How) During My First Year of Full-Time Freelancing | Jane Friedman; a lively conversation Between Hugo Award-winning authors Neil Gaiman and N.K. Jemisin, On Writing the Comics - and Queer Characters - We Need | Literary Hub; and a big freebie for SF fans, A free anthology collects stories from 2017's new sci-fi and fantasy writers - The Verge.
- It's National Index day today, so if you're writing a non-fiction book, here's The Ins & Outs of Indexing to tell you why you need one.
- From our Writers' Quotes, Rick Riordan: 'You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear thorough the search.'