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'A recent study shows that a higher percentage of the British than of the US population bought books
in 2008.'
There are other fascinating differences - and similarities - between the two
book markets. News Review reports.
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News Review reports on Frankfurt and after: 'But even when the book business comes out of this recession it’s still
going to be a different world. Publishers will rebuild their lists cautiously,
with an emphasis on the tried and tested, and what is already bestselling.
Unpublished authors will continue to think hard about self-publishing. And
digitisation and the growth in e-books may yet change the market so radically
that we are really talking about a whole new ball-game.'
-
'This was the week when, in the middle of an unsurprising Booker and an
unremarkable Nobel Prize for Literature, Amazon launched its much-heralded
Kindle 2 international edition... ' But what about the other devices,
which enable buyers to shop elsewhere? And have Amazon left it too late? New
Review reports.
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'The annual Frankfurt Book Fair starts on 14 October and already publishers
from around the globe are gearing up for the many meetings, arranged weeks ago,
which they will be packing in with publishers from all over the world... '
News Review is gearing up.
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‘The difficulty always, for any book, is the reveal. How much does
the reader know at any given moment? Are you being fair if you hold that
behind your back and don’t tell them until later?... That’s what
mystery writers do and I’ve always had a lot of respect for them because it’s
such an amazing craft.' Audrey Niffenegger, author of Her Fearful
Symmetry, in the Bookseller
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‘In the Fifties, when a strong child was dealing with difficult
circumstances, there was always a rescue at the end of the book and it was
always a middle-class rescue... Books for children became much more
concerned with realism, or what we see as realism. But where is the hope? How do we offer them hope within that? It may be
that realism has gone too far in literature for children. I am not sure that we
are opening doors for children who read these books, or helping them to develop
their aspirations.' Anne Fine in The Times
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'The short story is a moment of enlightenment. A moment of vision. The story is going to fall on my head like an apple. But the
novel… there is a school of thought, and I agree with it, that we do not have to
invent novels; we discover them. The novel exists in my heart and in my
mind and I must concentrate to get it out.'
Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany in the Observer.
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‘Publishing is often an extremely negative culture… The sheer
book-length nature of books combined with the seemingly inexorable reductions in
editorial staffs and the number of submissions most editors receive, to say
nothing of the welter of non-editorial tasks that most editors have to
perform...' Daniel Menaker, former Random House US executive
editor-in-chief, in the Barnes & Noble Review
'You just have to work with what God sends, and if God
doesn't seem to understand the concept of commercial success, then that's
your bad luck.'
Michael Frayn
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.
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We feel very honoured that the British Library has asked to archive
www.writersservices.com in its web archive.
The UK Web Archive is a corpus of websites selected by leading UK
institutions for their historical, social and cultural significance in the UK.
Also listed in this article on their
archive are other international web archives.
New Categories series
This is the fourth article in a new series by Chris Holifield which will
cover the major writing genres.
So you want to write non-fiction? Here are some suggestions about how to
approach it, covering the competition and marketing, planning, research, selling
your book and self-publishing.
Writing Romance
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writing Crime Fiction
How to kickstart a biography
'In my writing classes I always urge
people to have two pieces of work in progress simultaneously. And the easiest
and most satisfying second option is a family history.
Tackling a family history employs
all the qualities you need to be an entertaining writer –and anybody who has a
clear mind and can write a letter can write such a book...'
Four reports by Chas Jones from
Edinburgh
At the Edinburgh Book
Festival
The Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
comedy - no laughing matter?
Edinburgh snippets
'Before publication I wondered what the key was, the magic formula. I
attended conferences and literary festivals, nurturing a fading hope of
finding the answer. Here are the things I gleaned, helping me cross that
fine, elusive line dividing unpublished and published writers...'
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.
Check out this page to find links to the huge number of useful articles on this site,
including Finding an Agent
and Making Submissions.
Improving your writing, Learning on the job, New
technology and the Internet,
Self-publishing - is it for you?,
Promoting your writing (and yourself), Other kinds of writing, Keep up to date
and Submission to
publishers and agents
Our book review section
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In the third part of this series, Chris Holifield gives an update on
developments relating to Print on demand and the Long Tail.
Print on demand makes it possible to produce just one book at a time,
opening up the possibility of keeping everything in print forever and
offering writers the opportunity to self-publish.
First article:
Bookselling
Second article:
Publishing
Maureen Kincaid Speller reviews this useful new book and concludes that:
'It is true the handbook asks for a lot from the reader in terms of
participation and active thought, but for those writers who are extremely
serious about improving their work, it provides a valuable course in how to
think about the art and craft of writing.'
'Very few works of non-fiction can do without an index of some description...
If the reader is lucky, the index will allow them to find the term they seek and
take them immediately to a relevant and useful mention of that term or
concept... So why can’t a computer programme achieve this?
Joanne Phillips' article on Indexing looks at why non-fiction books need
them, why it's a specialist job and why computers can't achieve the same result
as a skilled indexer.
A professional index is essential for any work of non-fiction. Readers expect
to find a useful, well-presented index at the back of a book, and can get very
frustrated if the index doesn’t quickly lead them to the information they seek.
- Are you an author planning to compile your own index?
- Have you been asked by your publisher to provide an index for your
book?
- Are you self-publishing your work? If so, don’t let your readers
down by offering them a sub-standard index.
A professional index will set your work apart from other self-published
books. Indexing need not be expensive – and an effective index is the key to a
good non-fiction book.
It’s a common enough fantasy for writers: maybe now I can leave that dreary
job and devote myself whole-heartedly to writing... Perhaps you’ve even been
indulging in it as you lay on the beach this summer, or more likely spent your
precious holiday working on your latest novel.
by Joanne Phillips
'Writing is undoubtedly a creative art... But writing is also a
business, with invoices to raise, accounts to be submitted and records to be
kept. Writers, like artists, can find themselves floundering when it comes to
the ‘business end’ of the job. Read on for our easy-to-follow guide to the
business of writing...'
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.
Our Editorial
Services for writers
Check out the 17 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to
Copy editing, Typing to Rewriting.
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