Bloodhound Books on surviving and thriving as an indie publisher
telegraph.co.uk – Monday January 8, 2018
Indie crime fiction house, Bloodhound Books, is killing it right
now – and to such a degree that its doors have had to be temporarily shut for submissions.
"Our schedule is full up; we're set to release seven or eight books a month until June," says Betsy Reavley, who co-founded the company with her husband, Fred Freeman.
2018 Book Publishing Predictions - Are Indie Authors Losing their Independence?
huffingtonpost.com – Tuesday January 2, 2018
Welcome to my annual publishing predictions post where I prognosticate about the future and share my views on the state of the indie nation.
Each year around this time I polish off my imaginary crystal ball and ask it what the heck is going to happen next.
Why should we subsidise writers who have lost the plot?
theguardian.com – Monday January 1, 2018
Following the announcement from Arts Council England that sales of literary fiction are plummeting, it is suggested that arts subsidies be deployed to help writers survive. I have another idea. They should write better books.
I barely read literary fiction any more. When I do it is almost always American writers: Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, Anne Tyler, Donna Tartt. Not only are the aforementioned brilliant writers, they are accomplished storytellers. But here, the form of storytelling and literary novel writing has become largely divorced.
Interesting Video on “The Basics of Writing a Screenplay”
tvovermind.com – Sunday December 31, 2017
This interesting video on the basics of writing a screenplay is something that a lot of aspiring screenwriters should think about watching if they’re serious about getting their story noticed and made into a film by someone that is looking for an engaging story. Having written a few myself, but obviously never having sold one yet, this kind of a lot of review but it’s still something I think that anyone with an interest would be wise to look at. One thing you have to remember about a screenplay however is that it’s not a book. You’re not writing prose, and as a result you don’t need to be that descriptive. Instead of writing to create pages and expanded content you’re writing to create something concrete that can be filmed and idealized by those that read the script.
Bloodhound Books - A Crime Fiction Publisher That’s Killing It
huffingtonpost.com – Sunday December 31, 2017
Since I launched into the publishing industry in 2007, I have seen it morph from traditional publishers holding the reins to self-published authors trying to make a name for themselves to the newer model of independent (also known as hybrid) publishers finding a balance and niche between it all.
Today, it’s the independent publishers that are making their mark on the industry by offering a safe-haven for authors to see their books published in a professional manner without the worries of landing an agent and a deal with a big publishing house. With the right independent publishing company, marketing, and social media approach, many authors are doing quite well with this route.
How to Write a Great Book Fast—From the Author of 47
huffingtonpost.com – Sunday December 31, 2017
Is writing a book one of your goals for the new year? If so, these 10 tips can make the difference between dickering and done.
Now that I’m 47 full-length books down the road (all sold to major publishing houses), plus more than a dozen other compilations, I can attest that these principles work. A couple of my books were written in two days. The longest (95,000 words) took me 28 days to write. Several have been book club selections and won literary awards. Writing fast does NOT mean cutting corners on quality.
Here’s hoping these same tips will be helpful to you as you write your first or next book!
11 Essential Books On Writing, Based On The Genre You Want To Write
bustle.com – Saturday December 30, 2017
If you're an aspiring writer, you know that you have to read all kinds of books in order to hone your technique, but sometimes it might seem as if every writing book you look at is tailored toward people who want to write books in other genres. Not to worry, wordsmith, I have the No. 1 must-read book for aspiring writers in every genre below, so you can start building a library of writing references that work for you and your craft.
7 Online Writing Workshops That Will Help You Write Your Novel In The New Year
bustle.com – Saturday December 30, 2017
So you want to "write more" in the new year. But now that the new year is nearly upon us, you're starting to spiral into a writerly panic. How will you find the time to write? What are you going to write about? How do you take that beautiful, gleaming vision of a novel that's in your head and cram it onto the page? If you're looking for a little more structure and guidance in your writing life, but you don't have the time or the funds for an MFA, you might want to try joining a writer's workshop from the comfort of your own bed. Here are a few online writing workshops to help you write more and write better in the new year.
The Guardian view on literary fiction: in need of support
theguardian.com – Wednesday December 27, 2017
Literary fiction, you might think, is in wonderful health. Book festivals, from Edinburgh and Wigtown in Scotland, to Hay-on-Wye in Wales, to Cheltenham and Bath in England, are flourishing. There is certainly no shortage of people eager to become authors of literary fiction: creative writing courses have proliferated. The British, you could argue, are more at home tucked up with a decent novel than with any other artform. Britain is, after all, the country of Austen, the Brontës and Eliot; of Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith and Hilary Mantel.
Children’s book publishers turn to ‘sensitivity readers’
seattletimes.com – Sunday December 24, 2017
Late last year, novelist Keira Drake said her publisher was giving away copies of her upcoming young-adult novel, “The Continent,” a fantasy set in a world where two nations have been at war for centuries. “It’s raining books!” she wrote.
Her enthusiasm was quickly punctured. Online reviews poured in, and they were brutal. Readers pounced on what they saw as racially charged language in the descriptions of the warring tribes and blasted it as “racist trash,” “retrograde” and “offensive.” Drake and her publisher, Harlequin Teen, apologized and delayed the book’s publication.
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