Design Options for Self-Publishers
publishersweekly.com – Saturday October 22, 2016
Book design may be the most self-effacing form of design anywhere. After all, its mission is to so perfectly smooth the interaction between author and reader that the designer disappears from the equation. If a book is readable, enjoyable, easy to interact with, and seamlessly communicates the ideas of the author, I would say the design is a success because nobody notices it.
This week in fiction: Ottessa Moshfegh on writing predators and their victims
newyorker.com – Monday October 17, 2016
The inspiration for writing “An Honest Woman” came when I met someone who was so physically unattractive I felt sorry for him, and so I kept mum and polite while he lamely attempted to seduce me. I never called attention to the fact that his motivations were transparent and that, by ignoring him, I was protecting his dignity. I was in denial, and he was delusional.
10 Writing Prompts To Get You Started On Your Next Manuscript
bustle.com – Thursday October 13, 2016
The best part about writing for yourself, and not for a class, is that there's no teacher to tell you what to write... but the worst part aboutwriting for yourself is also that there's no teacher to tell you what to write. Even the most accomplished writers occasionally find themselves staring at a blinking cursor on a blank screen. Inspiration doesn't always strike on command. So here are a few helpful writing prompts, to get you started when you can't quite find the right words.
What really happens to manuscripts sent to publishers?
abc.net.au – Monday October 10, 2016
There's a lot of mystery surrounding the book publishing process. But what really happens to the slush pile of unsolicited manuscripts that are sent to publishers by wannabe writers?
BBC National Short Story winner – a plea to publishers to take risks
theguardian.com – Friday October 7, 2016
Since winning the BBC National Short Story award this week for “Disappearances”, I have been asked whether I am writing a novel. This is something that happens to short story writers. I have responded obliquely. There are good reasons for this: most importantly, one of the exciting aspects of writing is finding the form appropriate to the subject you are exploring – whatever it may be.
Greg Jackson: 'Writing a novel is like an interminable family vacation'
theguardian.com – Thursday October 6, 2016
"Hello?” Skype blinks across the Atlantic to reveal Greg Jackson in his Brooklyn apartment on a boiling afternoon. One of his characters may use the video chat app to keep in touch with her “dysphoric” dogs, but the debut author confesses he’s unused to such communication himself. And though he’s warm and forthcoming, with the air of a slightly worried Buddha, he does seem a little cautious.
This is unsurprising for a number of reasons – he’s new to media scrutiny, he describes himself (and the other writers he knows) as a “stay-at-home introvert”, and Skype is a peculiar way to talk. But caution, qualification and a keenness to include nuance seem to be part of his style as a person. And they are also characteristic of his striking debut short-story collection, Prodigals, for which the US National Book Foundation last week named him as one of five writers under 35 expected “to make a lasting impression on the literary landsape”.
How Jonathan Ames Approaches Writing for TV
splitsider.com – Tuesday October 4, 2016
Jonathan Ames began his career writing novels and performing in small theaters around New York City before landing a job writing and starring in his own pilot for Showtime. As a newcomer to running his own TV show, Ames acclimated himself to the fast-paced position through on-the-job training. After creating and working on three seasons of the HBO cult classic Bored to Death, Ames moved to STARZ to help develop and oversee the Seth MacFarlane-produced Blunt Talk, a comedy centered around popular TV newsman Walter Blunt (Patrick Stewart). Blunt Talkpremiered its second season last night and Ames appears to have found his rhythm as a showrunner. He approaches each season of the show by constructing an “idea document” which is later molded into ten scripts. I spoke with Ames about what it’s like writing comedy for Patrick Stewart, the difference between crafting novels and television scripts, and working on a talk show with Moby.
How writing an audio-first novella changed John Scalzi’s writing process
theverge.com – Tuesday October 4, 2016
Audiobooks are more popular than ever, and as more people listen to novels on their phones or computers, publishers are beginning to experiment a bit more with the form. One example is John Scalzi’s The Dispatcher, which arrives today from Audible. The novella is debuting as an audiobook months before a print edition, and presented some interesting opportunities for its author.
Challenges for Publishers in Uncertain Times
publishersweekly.com – Saturday October 1, 2016
The demise of print has been famously and erroneously predicted for years. In the early 1990s, the CEO of a major professional publisher announced that “print is dead.” To his credit, he publicly recanted that statement several years later. Despite the incredible advances in digital technology and new opportunities for selling e-products, print sales have remained the bread and butter of almost all publishers.
The ins-and-outs of good writing: how great novelists tackle a sex scene
inews.co.uk – Thursday September 29, 2016
About three years ago, The New York Times asked a group of novelists to give their views on whether it was possible to write convincingly about sex. By far the most thoughtful contribution was from Edmund White, who has written powerfully about gay sex in several of his books. He began: “Sex is our most intense form of communication in a language no one can decipher or interpret.”
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