The bad sex award inspired me to work harder at writing good sex
theguardian.com – Friday December 1, 2017
What makes a sex scene badly written? No doubt we all have our views on the specific offences that make us shudder. A glance at past offenders shortlisted for the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction award reminds me of some sins that I find personally unforgivable.
How to get your novel published – according to a literary agent
inews.co.uk – Friday December 1, 2017
Former literary agent, and author of five novels (which have been published across the world in over 20 languages) Anna Davis shares some insider knowledge on how to get your manuscript published.
How publishers are using augmented reality to bring stories to life
econsultancy.com – Wednesday November 29, 2017
Print sales might be on the rise, but that does not mean publishers are turning their backs on digital content altogether.
While pop-up books used to be the only way to make reading an interactive experience, the rise of augmented reality means that publishers are now able to bring stories to life in a whole new way.
But is there a demand for AR-driven books? And what are the benefits for the brands and publishers involved? Here’s more on the story, along with a few new and innovative examples.
Writing a bestselling book
independent.co.uk – Friday November 24, 2017
Every author hopes their novel will earn that elusive but much-desired tag of bestseller – can there possibly be any better branding to have on your paperback, one that will open more doors, attract more readers, and set the writer on the path to fame, riches and a warm glow every time they check Amazon?
But is it possible to actually set out to write a bestseller? We could all write a novel, given enough time, inspiration, and ink and paper. It might not necessarily be a very good novel, but we can be taught the mechanics. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of would-be novelists have been trying their hand at doing just that this past month as part of National Novel Writing Month.
Romance and the bloke — Aussie male romance writers tap into billion-dollar industry
abc.net.au – Thursday November 23, 2017
The romance novel is mainly written by and for women, but there are a few men like Jeff Kenneally willing to tackle the billion-dollar industry.
The Craft of Writing: How Crucial It Is to Maintain a Daily Practice
skyword.com – Wednesday November 15, 2017
Long before I was a freelance writer, I wrote fiction. One of the key things I learned from my writing mentor, the late novelist Les Plesko, was the importance of writing daily. “Write every day, even on your birthday,” he would say with a toothless grin. Maintaining such a practice is crucial in your success as a writer.
On writing: nine quotes from classic authors
blog.oup.com – Monday November 13, 2017
You’ve gotten through the first week of National Novel Writing Month. Have you’ve been hitting your word count? Writing 1,665 words every day may not sound like a lot, but sitting down in front of a blank page each day begins to feel like a struggle. Find some inspiration from these Oxford World’s Classics authors!
Trick Yourself Into Writing Well by Telling Yourself to Write Badly
lifehacker.com – Sunday November 5, 2017
One of the best things about NaNoWriMo, or any terrifying deadline, is that it forces you to write quickly. (Hello, procrastinators.) If you’re writing quickly—if writing quickly is your stated goal—then you don’t have time to do the number one thing that interrupt your writing flow: think about whether what you’re writing is good.
The secret of how to write a bestseller
independent.co.uk – Saturday November 4, 2017
The one thing that stops people being good writers is the myth that there is such a thing as good writing, says Andy Martin. The point of the creative writing course is to get you over the delusion.
Why I Dumped My Famous Literary Agent
huffingtonpost.com – Thursday November 2, 2017
Back in the eighties when I had one novel done and had been publishing short stories, I landed Harriet Wasserman, a big-time agent who had previously worked at the prestigious Russell and Volkening agency. Snagging her made me feel I was truly launched as an author. Up to that point, I had only one fiction publication: a short story in Redbook which had won a prize at my MFA program, made me a lot of money at the time, and garnered fan mail. The judge of the contest was Martha Foley who had been editing the yearly anthology Best American Short Stories, and Redbook had an audience of 4.5 million readers. But after that, I hit a wall and couldn’t get anything else published for five years.
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