Six Things All Self-Publishers Should Know
huffingtonpost.com – Sunday May 29, 2016
Last year I self-published my first real book - by this I mean a book that I physically launched and is in bookshops and everything. A book I have promoted and sunk time and money into; a book that I’ll be spending the next 18 months focusing on continuing to push out into the world.
Carol Shields posthumous Master Class in writing
thestar.com – Sunday May 29, 2016
Carol Shields, author of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning Stone Diaries, left a big hole to fill in CanLit when she died in 2003.
Now, we are able to read and hear some new thoughts from Shields in Startle and Illuminate, an eloquent collection of essays, speeches and letters penned by the Chicago-born Shields throughout her career. This refined collection of Shields’ creative musings is the passion project of her daughter, novelist Anne Giardini, and Shields’ grandson, Nicholas Giardini.
How to Turn Your ‘Off’ Writing Days Into ‘On’ Days
huffingtonpost.com – Saturday May 28, 2016
When it comes to the discipline of writing, there’s a lot of talk about showing up. Butt in chair. Schedule the time. Keep your dates with yourself. All of this is good advice, and the most successful and prolific authors have the disposition or the drive or the self-governance required to stay the course on the long and arduous journey of writing a book, or multiple books.
Tom Hiddleston hits right note at 500 Words creative writing final
dailymail.co.uk – Friday May 27, 2016
Tom Hiddleston performed a song from his first acting role as Toad Of Toad Hall as he was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall to honour winners of a children's creative writing competition.
He treated the finalists of Radio 2's 500 Words short story competition to a brief rendition of "Beep beep crackle bang" on stage at Shakespeare's Globe after telling host Chris Evans that Wind In The Willows was the first school play he was in.
After Evans asked for a performance, the star of The Night Manager said: "I walked right into that one" before launching into: "Crackle bang, crackle bang, like a a vintage car, hey!"
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Friday May 27, 2016
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry; Reviews;
Areas include: Literature; Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Online journal publishing short fiction, poetry, essays, book reviews, and excerpts from novels. Reads submissions from March 1-August 31 and from October 1-January 31. Poetry and nonfiction submissions closed until summer 2016.
The secrets behind the practice of good writing: Respect the tools of your trade
joannerichards.bookslive.co.za – Thursday May 26, 2016
Imagine you were an artist. Would you sketch the broad outline, and then step back and expect someone else to execute the shading? Probably not.
The same is true of writing. While the big idea is really, really important – the execution is critical.
Harry Potter and the Minotaur’s Rage: how fanfiction got me into writing
newstatesman.com – Wednesday May 25, 2016
My fanfiction was almost uniformly awful, like most of the things I did or liked when I was becoming myself.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday May 25, 2016
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry
Areas include: Culture
Markets: Children's
Publishes picture books, multicultural books, poetry, picture books and information books. Submit by email. See website for full guidelines.
Big Publishing is Not as Big Anymore
flavorwire.com – Monday May 23, 2016
Books by self-publishers and small presses are eating the Big Four's market share.
According to Publisher’s Weekly, a report by the Association of American Publishers’ shows that overall publishing industry sales fell by 2.6% last year when compared to figures from 2014. Now that we have a clearer picture of the industry’s struggles in 2015, we can tell that sales declined in five of the seven major markets. The only industry segments to show improvement, in fact, were adult books and books from religious presses, which increased sales by 2.2% and 1.2% respectively. Overall industry revenue fell from $15.82 billion in 2014 to $15.41 billion in 2015.
Writing a book with your dad is hard. It's harder if your dad is Thomas Keneally
theguardian.com – Monday May 23, 2016
There’s a thick and slightly battered volume on my bookshelf, with a line drawing of a man in a deerstalker hat. The book, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, has an inscription on the cover page. It reads: “To Meg, who has made and will make great fantasies of her own. Love, your father.” The date he has written is that of my 12th birthday.
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