
Literary Agents Database upgraded
firstwriter.com – Friday June 3, 2016

Following the upgrades to the Magazines Database and Publishers Database in April and May, this month the Literary Agents database has now also been upgraded.
The new-look Literary Agents Database features the same enhancements to the search, navigation, and listings as was introduced for the Magazines and Publishers Databases, making finding the right literary agent for your work easier than ever.
For full details of all the new features, see the news item on the launch of the Magazines Database at https://www.firstwriter.com/news/?New-Magazines-Database-launched&GUID=584
To try out the new database yourself (anyone can try it out – you don't need to be a subscriber), go to https://www.firstwriter.com/Agents/

If Writing Books Were Easy, Everyone Would Do It
huffingtonpost.com – Thursday June 2, 2016

A debut novelist wrote to me the other day about his manuscript. I had first “met” this author a year ago through email. A friend of a friend. The email he sent me back then, I’ve received many times over, albeit from other writers.
I’ve even sent that same email myself, years before I published my first book.
The letter goes something like this:

Writing a series? Here’s a series of things to think about
irishtimes.com – Thursday June 2, 2016

The concept of serialised fiction is not a recent one. A significant number of nineteenth-century novelists (Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas among them) were published for the first time in serial form, some even reacting to readers’ responses while they continued to write.

How to Start a Blog: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need
onblastblog.com – Thursday June 2, 2016

I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
Everyone wants to feel and achieve success and happiness in their lives.
You’re here because you’re considering starting a blog.
Forget what you’ve heard about making a blog. Creating your own is very simple and rather quick when you know what you’re doing.
This step-by-step guide below will show you EXACTLY how to get started, so that you can have your blog up and running within minutes.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday June 2, 2016
Publishes: Articles; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry; Reviews
Areas include: Short Stories
Markets: Adult
Preferred styles: Literary
Online literary magazine. Publishes anything from poetry to artwork, flash fiction to graphic story, life writing to photography, plus reviews and articles. Send submissions by email. See website for full guidelines, and for current issue theme.

Why Do Magazines and Book Publishers Rip Off Ideas? (Because They Can.)
huffingtonpost.com – Wednesday June 1, 2016

There’s nothing new under the sun. This old saw is one of the first things you learn on the job if you’re a writer, artist, or other drudge who tries to earn a living making things up.
I can still remember my astonishment when, a few years after my first book for kids was published by Henry Holt in 1994, an almost ridiculously similar children’s title (though in pop-up form) came out from Little Simon.

First-time author bags $1 million deal to write true story about his adopted dog and its fatal tumour
telegraph.co.uk – Wednesday June 1, 2016

A first-time author has landed a $1million (£691,371) book deal for his true story about Lily, an adopted dachshund who died of cancer.
Steven Rowley's book Lily and the Octopus was written in just one hundred days, and it was acquired by Simon and Schuster after 48 hours of negotiation.

Top writing tips
theguardian.com – Wednesday June 1, 2016

From that killer first line to dealing with writer’s block, author Chris D’Lacey shares his top writing tips.

Book industry unites against Productivity Commission changes to copyright rules
smh.com.au – Wednesday June 1, 2016

The peak bodies representing book publishers, authors, printers, literary agents, children's book writers and booksellers have come together for the first time to oppose calls to scrap certain copyright protections.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday May 31, 2016
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas include: Cookery; Culture; Erotic; Health; How-to; Humour; Lifestyle; Medicine; Mystery; Self-Help; Short Stories; Travel
Markets: Adult; Youth
Digital-first publisher. Particularly keen on work that lends itself to media enhancements such as illustrations, videos, music, sound effects, animations, hyperlinks, etc. Send query by email with synopsis and author bio. See website for full guidelines.
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