What Is Camp NaNoWriMo? 7 Tips For A Successful Writing Month
bustle.com – Sunday April 2, 2017
At some point, all budding writers have fantasized about leaving their hectic lives behind and heading off to a cabin in the woods for some uninterrupted writing time. Sadly, most of us are a little too busy to do that — but the upcoming Camp NaNoWriMo in April might be the second best thing. Camp NaNoWriMo describes itself on its website as "an idyllic writer's retreat, smack-dab in the middle of your crazy life" — and can you think of anything more perfect than that?
How to get a job in digital publishing
thebookseller.com – Wednesday March 29, 2017
No doubt you’ve heard many times about how competitive publishing is - and I’m not going to say otherwise. However, as someone ‘on the inside’ who recruits new employees for entry-level roles in the ebooks department at Penguin Random House, it’s part of my job to hold open the door for newcomers. Who might just be you.
7 Tips For Writing A Bestselling Science Fiction Novel
femalefirst.co.uk – Monday March 27, 2017
Don’t try to write a best-selling book. Because you can’t. One, if you just try to copy the current set of bestsellers, you’re already behind. If you can spot a trend, it’s because you’re behind it. Two, because no one really knows what things are going to be bestsellers. Publishers spend a lot of money promoting books that they want to be huge that don’t sell, while other books seemingly come out of nowhere and just perch on the top of lists.
‘Writing is not about youth but about spark’
irishtimes.com – Monday March 27, 2017
I’ve noticed recently that letters to young writers are becoming fashionable, for example, Colum McCann’s forthcoming book. But, in my case, I didn’t get my first story published till I was 30 and my first collection launched till I was 37. I wasn’t so much a late starter as a late knuckle-downer. So, this piece is for the not-so-young writers who should still go for it and make an impact on the world. Here are my pearls of wisdom (hopefully not paste):
Eight reasons that even a good book is rejected by publishers
scroll.in – Sunday March 26, 2017
Several years ago, as an aspiring novelist with stardust in my eyes, I used to spend most of my waking hours in Yahoo’s Books and Literature chatroom in the company of fellow aspiring writers. I clearly remember how one of the main topics of conversations used to be the number of rejection slips one had received on that particular day (or the previous week), agents/publishers who had requested a synopsis or proposal, and those who had just not bothered to respond. All of us were united by the looming sense of uncertainty, suspense, and the palpable realisation that the odds were firmly stacked against us.
Today, having spent more than seven years on the other side, first as a consultant and then an agent, I think many writers have wrong notions about rejections. While most books are rejected because of poor quality and incompetence (as they should be), there are several other factors that play a role in publishing decisions. And these affect “good” books too.
The rise of the Irish literary magazine
independent.ie – Tuesday March 21, 2017
A vibrant new wave of Irish literary journals are offering insights into contemporary trends as well as giving new ideas and new writers an audience
'It's no longer about the vanity press': self-publishing gains respect — and sales
cbc.ca – Sunday March 19, 2017
Vancouver-based author Sharon Rowse was thrilled when after years of trying she finally landed a book deal with a New York publisher.
"It had always been my dream to be published," Rowse said.
Her novel, a historical crime story that takes place in her home town, had been "a bit of a hard sell" for the American market.
But reality poured a big bucket of cold water on her dreams when the publisher was bought out, and its mystery section discontinued.
Is writer’s block a real thing, or just a figment of the imagination?
theguardian.com – Friday March 17, 2017
What do you do when you get writer’s block?” someone asked me the other day. I was happy to answer. I get up from my desk and wander around with a self-pitying expression on my face, sometimes clutching at my scalp in an agonised fashion. I buy sour gummy chews and eat too many; I compulsively click “refresh” on Twitter; I start to hate myself, and express it by snapping at others.
On reflection, I see why this response didn’t satisfy my questioner: he wanted to know what I do to overcome writer’s block. I’ve no idea. I keep eating the chews and snapping, and eventually it’s bedtime, and in the morning the block has usually gone. Feel free to try this solution yourself.
The sums on creative writing degrees don't add up. So why do we do them?
theguardian.com – Monday March 13, 2017
When I tell people I’m doing a creative writing degree there are two questions that people usually ask: the first is “Why?’” and the second, “How?”
The “how” is an interesting place to start. With university course fees rising and incomes for writers falling, the financial outlook of a creative writing degree is at best optimistic, and at worst downright crazy.
Don’t like the way you write? An artificial intelligence app promises to polish your prose
qz.com – Friday March 10, 2017
I am a professional writer, but I often hate my writing. I wish it was more concise and powerful. And it certainly doesn’t read as smoothly as the work of my literary heroes. Recently, I began to wonder: Could a software program make me better at my job?
The Hemingway App, an online writing editor created in 2013 by brothers Adam and Ben Long, promises to do just that. “Hemingway makes your writing bold and clear,” the site claims, so that “your reader will focus on your message, not your prose.” If you listen to the app’s advice, it will rid your writing of run-on sentences, needless adverbs, passive voice, and opaque words. There’s no guarantee you’ll crank out the next Farewell to Arms—but the goal is to get you closer to Ernest Hemingway’s clear, minimalist style.
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