Avoid These Bad Habits in Your Writing
lifehacker.com – Tuesday February 19, 2019
The top copy editor at Random House has a book out about what you should and shouldn’t do in your writing, and people are already arguing about it. All writing advice is relative, because language is not physics, it’s something people made up. That doesn’t mean writing advice is useless, so if you like to write and are trying to get better at it, you should read this excerpt from Benjamin Dreyer’s book Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.
Blockbuster author James Patterson to visit UK for crime writing festival
home.bt.com – Monday February 18, 2019
American author James Patterson will make his first visit to the Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival later this year, it has been announced.
The event, which is described as the world’s biggest celebration of the crime genre, will also feature an appearance by Bodyguard and Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and will see Safe author Harlan Coben in conversation with Rebus creator Ian Rankin.
'Write what you know' is essential
theboar.org – Monday February 18, 2019
I am a firm believer in write what you know. If you are planning to write about something you have no experience of, it will show in your characters and in your plot line. Why not just go and experience it? However, I know there are limits. Fantasy is one genre particularly affected by the statement ‘write what you know’, because how can you know about something that doesn’t exist? Personal experience can only go so far.
Writing a Book: It’s Harder than You Think
goodmenproject.com – Sunday February 17, 2019
If I have heard it once, I have heard it one hundred times. “I can write better than that. I will just write my own book.” Or another one is “that book had so many grammatical errors. I can do better than that.”
The same mantra goes for web articles, blogs, case studies, and more. However, let’s look at this realistically. Writing a book is a lot harder than you think. It takes longer, saps more of your energy, and requires a determination that frankly, most people don’t have, at least not for writing. I’ve written 12 so far, and I can tell you this for sure. It doesn’t get any easier.
So, what is it like to actually write a book, front to back, opening to the end? Here are a few reasons writing a book is harder than you think.
Bestselling authors “spread their wings and challenge themselves,” an interview with authors Sara Connell & A.G. Howard
thriveglobal.com – Tuesday February 12, 2019
As part of my series on the “5 Things You Need to Know to Write a Bestselling Book,” I had the pleasure of interviewing A.G. Howard.
A.G. Howard, the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult retellings and adaptations. Her titles include theSplintered series,a gothic Alice in Wonderland spin-off; RoseBlood, a Phantom of the Opera–inspired adaptation; and her latest release, Stain, a gritty fairy tale/high fantasy inspired by The Princess and the Pea.
I’m not the grammar police. But writing well is an act of resistance.
washingtonpost.com – Saturday February 9, 2019
Spend more than a few minutes in the word business — I’ve spent going on 30 years in it, as a proofreader, copy editor, publishing-house copy chief and, recently, the author of a guide to writing style — and you’ll quickly learn that the English language, to say nothing of its practitioners, is irrational, irregular and anarchic. You can choose either to embrace that or to rail against it, but I assure you that the former is more fun and less taxing.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Friday February 8, 2019
Publishes: Fiction;
Areas include: Fantasy; Short Stories;
Markets: Adult
Electronic magazine publishing fantasy fiction based in a shared world, where authors write in a common milieu, sharing settings, mythos, and characters. To submit, writers need to join (free until a year after first publication) and work with a mentor to produce a piece of work that will fit the shared world.
When Social Media Goes After Your Book, What’s the Right Response?
nytimes.com – Thursday February 7, 2019
The culture of internet book criticism is passionate and intense. Last week, Amélie Wen Zhao, a debut author, canceled her young adult fantasy novel after early readers accused her of racial insensitivity online. Here are two different perspectives from writers who have had similar experiences.
Abrams Artists Agency Hires Simon Green To Run Book & Publishing Division
deadline.com – Tuesday February 5, 2019
Abrams Artists Agency has hired former CAA agent Simon Green, with the industry veteran set to lead the company’s Book and Publishing division. He will be based in New York and begins immediately, marking the latest move to bolster the entertainment talent and literary agency’s agent and client roster under new ownership.
Green launched CAA’s Book Publishing Department in 2009, growing that division’s biz from scratch before exiting in the spring. He had spent 17 years before that at Pom Inc., a lit agency started by his dad, Dan, the longtime Simon & Schuster publisher.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 31, 2019
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories; Translations;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Submit four to six poems, or one story or one essay at a time. Wait at least six months between submissions. Submit via online submission system.
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