Why using exciting words can make you a worse writer
chicagotribune.com – Thursday December 31, 2015
"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."
— Ernest Hemingway
Leilen Shelton, a middle school teacher in Costa Mesa, Calif., might translate that famous dictum from the famously plain-writing Hemingway this way: "All you have to do is write one illuminating, ineluctably verifiable sentence. Author the most perspicacious sentence that you comprehend."
Shelton wrote "Banish Boring Words," a crusade against milquetoast words like "good," "bad," "fun" and "said." Some of her disciples also eschew "go," "run," "happy," "walk" and "see."
What the tools of the trade tell us: Emma Barnes
thebookseller.com – Wednesday December 30, 2015
I founded a little publisher that I still run, called Snowbooks, in March 2003. And in about April 2003 I realised that there weren’t any decent or affordable tools to run my company properly. So I spent the last decade and a bit learning to write code so I could create my own. Over that time we’ve all witnessed other amazing software come to market. Cloud-based apps and web services help us to do everything nowadays, from ordering the weekly shop to developing complex character arcs.
Print survives as a new literature is born
theguardian.com – Sunday December 27, 2015
This Christmas, in a tradition almost as hallowed as carol singing and turkey dinners, more than half of all the titles sold annually in the UK will have been traded in the frantic bazaar that dominates autumn business. This festive bonanza remains one of the few landmarks in an environment that, roughly since the millennium, has been rocked by a succession of seismic aftershocks, apparently threatening the very existence of Grub Street.
Physical Book Sales On The Rise, But It Doesn't Mean What You Think
inquisitr.com – Saturday December 26, 2015
Book sales for physical books are certainly on the rise, according to recent numbers reported by Mic.
Referencing Nielsen BookScan data, writer Jon Levine notes that physical paper books are enjoying a bit of a renaissance with 571 million sold in 2015, up from 559 million in 2014 and 501 million in 2013.
This data flies in the face of what some were predicting from the indie author community, who believed that print books were on their way to becoming a niche market.
Naturally, those in the traditional publishing camp are touting their “I told you so’s,” but that may be a bit premature if you dig deeper into the report.
The Book Is Risen! Publishers Say Physical Book Sales Are Back on the Rise
mic.com – Saturday December 26, 2015
This Christmas, the best gift to get your loved ones might be a book — an actual one with pages made from dead trees.
Long considered doomed, the physical book has been making a comeback in recent years with sales surging in 2014 and continuing to increase at a more modest pace this year. According to raw data from Nielsen BookScan,Quartz reported, 501 million books were sold in 2013, a number that grew to 559 million for 2014, and 2015 now stands at 571 million.
Are small independent publishers doing the work for big publishers?
theguardian.com – Tuesday December 22, 2015
Here’s an observation: it sometimes feels as though smaller independents are the research and development departments for the big publishers, where literary fiction is concerned. We find great writers, nurture them, wipe their brows, polish their work and buff it until it shines. Then we send them out, readers love the books and they get shortlisted and win major literary prizes.
On Star Wars, The Craft of Writing and What Novelists Can Learn From 'The Force Awakens'
huffingtonpost.co.uk – Monday December 21, 2015
I was 4 years old when I saw Star Wars for the first time. It was on a 12-inch cathode-ray television that had 4 buttons, 2 knobs and looked like a giant microwave (not, I'm guessing, what Lucas had in mind) and I got sent to bed during the trash compactor scene. It was 1982. The subsequent 50 or so viewings (making it to the trench run and victory) took place my Grandma's top-loading Betamax.
Author Publishes 5 Books with 5 Different Publishers in 10 Months
expertclick.com – Monday December 21, 2015
While many authors struggle to get one book published by a traditional publisher, author Gini Graham Scott has published 5 books with different publishers – and she helps other writers find publishers and agents. Plus she has a feature film in release and a second feature in production – and she helps screenwriters and filmmakers find producers, agents, and distributors, too.
Scholastic seeks Editor/Senior Editor Nonfiction
publishersweekly.com – Saturday December 19, 2015
Scholastic seeks an experienced Editor/Senior Editor with solid project management skills with the ability to work well within a high-volume product development group. The Senior Editor/Project Manager will take on a variety of nonfiction book and book plus projects (e.g., science kits). Fun, fast-paced environment with a huge range of products developed in a variety of ways (packagers, in-house manufacturing, purchased from other publishers). This is a highly creative position that requires excellent communication skills, organization and staff management experience.
Winners and losers: publishers pick the 2015 books they loved, missed and envied
theguardian.com – Friday December 18, 2015
Which books did well, which were left on the shelves, and which made editors green with envy?
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