The five-step manufacturing process that could make you a better writer
theconversation.com – Monday January 16, 2017
If you want to be a better, faster writer, you should treat your writing as a lean manufacturing process. “Lean” is an engineering technique for making manufacturing less wasteful and has been used in industrial production for decades. Today it has spread to sectors from software development to customer services. But I’ve found the principles of lean can even help improve the practice of writing, whether you’re producing a report or a novel.
Lean was developed from Japanese manufacturing ideas in the 1980s and 1990s. It involves applying five principles to minimise waste and increase productivity: flow, value, waste, pull and perfection. The key goals in lean manufacturing are to learn and continually improve. For writing, we have to first start with a finished piece of work in order to get feedback. Then we can start to apply the circular lean process and principles.
Aphelion celebrates its 20th birthday
firstwriter.com – Saturday January 14, 2017
Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy began it's run as a non-profit, free webzine promoting new and upcoming writers in February, 1997. On February 5th, 2017, Aphelion will celebrate the publication's 20th birthday. The magazine is still provided for free, and without ads or subscriptions. To mark this anniversary, the magazine will feature "Best Of" selections from throughout it's long history in each issue during the year, in addition to its usual fiction offerings.
How to Not Waste Your Words: The Secret to Writing a Crappy but Usable First Draft
observer.com – Saturday January 14, 2017
Okay. Let’s get this out there: your first draft of anything is going to be bad — I mean, really bad. Because that’s the job of a first draft. To be bad. And your job is to write it.
Once you write the terrible first draft, you can write a better second one, and an elegant third one, and so one. But you must start somewhere. As writer Anne Lamott says, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.”
Is 2017 Your Year To Write And Publish A Book?
forbes.com – Thursday January 12, 2017
Should you write a book this year? Do you have an idea that you’re convinced the world needs to read about? Consider the strange experience of Mr. Franz Kafka.
You Can Write a Best-Seller and Still Go Broke
slate.com – Wednesday January 11, 2017
In 2012, a month after the publication of her memoir, Wild, Cheryl Strayed was on a book tour, soaking up the wonder of her first big success as an author, when her husband texted her to say that their rent check had bounced. “We couldn’t complain to anyone,” Strayed told Manjula Martin, editor of the new anthology Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living: “My book is on the New York Times best-seller list right now and we do not have any money in our checking account.”
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 11, 2017
Publishes: Articles; Essays; Fiction; Interviews; News; Nonfiction; Poetry; Reviews;
Areas include: Arts; Criticism; Culture; Literature; Media; Short Stories;
Markets: Academic; Adult; Professional;
Preferred styles: Contemporary; Literary
An independent international quarterly publication, based in New York and Lisbon. Founded in 2015, the magazine's aim is to publish quality poetry, fiction, nonfiction, artwork, and photography, as well as interviews, articles, and book reviews, written in English and Portuguese. Most of our content comes from unsolicited submissions.
We publish print, digital, and online editions of our magazine four times a year, in Fall (September), Winter (December), Spring (March), and Summer (June). The online edition is updated continuously. There are no charges for reading the magazine online.
What to look out for in 2017 from independent publishers
irishtimes.com – Tuesday January 10, 2017
This time last year Sarah Davis-Goff of Irish publisher Tramp Press wrote an Irish Times article predicting success for independent publishers in 2016. She was right. Oneworld had a second Man Booker Prize winner in a row with Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, following their 2015 success, A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. Two-man publisher Contraband had a Man Booker shortlisted bestseller in Graham Macrae Burnet’s His Bloody Project while Salt’s Belfast author Paul McVeigh won the Polari Prize for The Good Son. Independent publishing now has a reputation for being at the forefront of scouting out new literary talent.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 10, 2017
Publishes: Fiction;
Markets: Children's; Youth
Publishes fiction of any genre for Middle Grade and Young Adult audiences. Accepts submissions from Canadian writers only, but seeks to appeal to a worldwide market. No adult fiction, holiday stories, graphic novels, poetry, short stories, illustrations, picture books, nonfiction, erotica, or previously published work (including self-published material). Send query with CV, one-page synopsis, and first three chapters by email. See website for full guidelines.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday January 9, 2017
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry
Areas include: Short Stories
Markets: Adult
Preferred styles: Literary
Literary journal publishing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Submit up to three poems or prose up to 5,000 words between August 1 and November 1 annually, via online submission system. No postal submissions. $250 awarded to one piece selected from each category.
Revealed: The line-up for Aberdeen’s new crime writing festival, Granite Noir
pressandjournal.co.uk – Sunday January 8, 2017
Some of the most celebrated talent from the Nordic Noir scene will join Scotland’s own Tartan Noir authors for Granite Noir, which takes place in the city from February 24-26.
Among the names from the Nordic Noir genre will be Norway’s Gunnar Staalesen, Sweden’s Kristina Ohlsson and Thomas Rydahl from Denmark.
Already announced as headliners are renowned crime writers Denise Mina and Christopher Brookmyre – as well as the north-east’s very own crime fiction stalwart Stuart MacBride.
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