Indie Publishers Cope with Covid
publishersweekly.com – Sunday June 21, 2020
Though many independent publishers interviewed by PW last week reported a drop in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, several said sales are—surprisingly—up for the year, buoyed by strong interest in backlist titles, direct sales to consumers, and enhanced digital initiatives. Most also said their staffs are working remotely and will continue to do so until at least the end of August. Some are allowing limited staff to go to their offices irregularly to fulfill orders and do necessary administrative tasks.
Effective Writing Advice That Is 100 Years Old
news.clearancejobs.com – Friday June 19, 2020
Regardless of your job, writing is an important communication skill that when fostered, improves over time. If you want to become a writer or improve your craft, I would highly recommend studying the techniques of a few of the American masters. While these men mostly wrote fictional books, they were strongly based on real events. Hemingway was also a correspondent over the years for many newspapers and magazines; his coverage of current events is worth a study as well. Below are some of the useful tips I took from a few of my favorite authors, and one editor who knew them all.
New Literary Agent Listing: Simon Targett
firstwriter.com – Friday June 19, 2020
Interested in a wide range of nonfiction, including business and leadership, history, journalism, current affairs, biography, sport, music, popular science, nature, travel, genealogy. Will also consider historical fiction. The common factor is an emphasis on big ideas, great stories, and fine writing.
A deliciously cautionary tale about writing groups
ocregister.com – Tuesday June 16, 2020
Ask any writer how it’s going during quarantine, and they will respond, “Not much different than my regular life.” That’s how creativity works for writers. You hole yourself up in your house, plant your butt in your chair, stare at the computer screen, get up, pace the floors aimlessly trying to figure out the next scene, check the fridge for snacks, walk the dog 18 times a day waiting for ideas to come.
Or, if the writing is going well, you sit at your desk clattering away at the keyboard, telling your dog, “In a minute Mommy can take you for a walk. In a minute. Be a good dog.” When the writing is going well, a blessed day is when no delivery person rings the doorbell, no meetings have to be showered and dressed for, and no friend is suggesting you meet for happy hour because they have to tell you about their day. Not all writers love quarantine, but almost all self-quarantine to get the work done.
Writing is work and requires a time commitment and showing up – all the things that any job requires, even meetings. Meetings with agents and editors and psychotherapists. But even before publication, there are writing group meetings.
BBC local radio to boost new comedy writing
chortle.co.uk – Tuesday June 16, 2020
The BBC is showcasing new comedy writing across its network of local radio stations this weekend.
Sketches, stand-up, comedy songs and more will be included in a series of Upload Festival programmes running on 39 stations across the UK.
There will also be a live video stream on the BBC website, which will also be available on iPlayer.
And as part of the event, the BBC is running free online workshops on writing both sketches and comedy in general.
Independent Publishing in a Post-Covid World
publishersweekly.com – Sunday June 14, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has already had a big impact on independent publishing. Some changes—working at home, employee furloughs, curbside shopping—were thrust upon the industry suddenly. And though they weren’t part of a concerted effort to change old and inefficient business practices, they may indeed have that effect. Here are several new realities that are likely to survive the disease itself and lead to evolutionary leaps in book publishing.
National Writing Day launches 24-word challenge
entertainment-focus.com – Sunday June 14, 2020
First Story, the charity behind National Writing Day, has launched a 24-word story challenge to mark the annual nationwide celebration of the pleasure and power of writing and words. This year it will take place on 24th June. Together with its National Writing Day partners, a coalition of leading literacy organisations and publishers and a host of the nation’s much loved children’s authors including Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, Malorie Blackman and Frank Cottrell Boyce, First Story is challenging everyone – especially young people – to come together to share their experiences.
With a nation in lockdown, and the extreme experiences of the past few months keenly felt, the power of words to give voice to our stories is timely. Many pupils and students are still home-learning; and schools are closed to most of their cohorts.
National Writing Day is leading the charge with a simple writing call to action: a challenge to everyone to write just 24 words, in 7 minutes, starting with the prompt ‘One day…’ and to share their work on social media using the hashtag #247challenge. The challenge involves everyone, and participants can enjoy writing together and take a moment to express themselves.
New Literary Agent Listing: Megan Burkhart
firstwriter.com – Thursday June 11, 2020
Looks for YA fantasy and children’s picture books, especially those with a strong narrative voice. Closed to picture book submissions as at June 2020.
Fall is now jam-packed for book publishers. That could be a problem.
chicagotribune.com – Sunday June 7, 2020
In March, when parts of the United States began shutting down because of the coronavirus, the best-selling children’s book author Jeff Kinney faced a quandary.
“Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure,” part of his popular Wimpy Kid series, was due out in April with a first printing of 3 million copies. His publisher had lined up a 10-city tour.
In a matter of days, those plans crumbled. “The book was about to land in stores that were closed to customers at the height of a pandemic,” Kinney said.
He and his publisher decided to postpone the release until August, in hopes that by then, his tour could be resurrected. Millions of copies are now sitting in warehouses. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” he said. “We knew lots of kids would enjoy the book while in lockdown.”
'Crunch point' is yet to come, say indie publishers
thebookseller.com – Thursday June 4, 2020
Two indie publishers have shared their concerns about the coming autumn, and emphasised the importance of flexible plans moving forward.
Speaking at the IPG Virtual Spring Conference, Sarah Braybrooke, managing director at Scribe UK, and Atlantic Books managing director Will Atkinson aired concerns on the packed line-up of titles expected this autumn because of coronavirus delays.
"I'm concerned about the massive concertina effect that might last into next year," Atkinson said. "I am much more worried now than I was a month ago." He said that approximately 30% of Atlantic's titles due for July had been moved.
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