A Published Author Told Me To Stop Writing Fan Fiction — But The Lunar Chronicles Author Marissa Meyer Disagrees
bustle.com – Wednesday July 25, 2018
"If you ever wanted to be a published author, you need to stop writing fan fiction immediately."
I blinked, wondering how I'd gotten from standing in line for a snorkel at the beach to having my entire geeky world upended in one sentence. Several minutes earlier I'd struck up a conversation with the woman in front of me, who turned out to be a published author. It was January of 2016, so I was about 15,000 words deep into what would eventually become a monstrous, novel-length fan fiction sequel to The Force Awakens, and was so hopped up on having someone to talk writing with that I told her as much.
Cue the existential crisis.
2 Big Book Writing Myths That Will Keep You From Achieving Big Profits
entrepreneur.com – Wednesday July 25, 2018
When my first book was published, I thought it would be an overnight success based purely on the topic and the fact that I knew the world needed it. My genius marketingplan was to simply publish it. If it exists on the internet, people will find it, right?
As you can imagine, that didn't work. It's a bit like showing up to a party, not knowing anyone, trying to make a grand entrance and having zero people pay attention. In fact, it was a lot like that. Hardly anyone blinked an eye or turned their head when my book became available.
Undeterred, I decided that the ticket to my success was that coveted Amazonbestseller ribbon. That will solve all my problems, I thought.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Wednesday July 25, 2018
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Literary and visual arts magazine published each spring. Founded in 1976 as a print publication. Online only since 2012. Prefers email submissions, but will accept submissions by post. See website for full guidelines.
US audio booms by 29% but overall publishing sales dip
thebookseller.com – Tuesday July 24, 2018
American publishers’ total industry sales dipped slightly in 2017, but audio downloads continued to boom, rising by 28.8% year-on-year.
The Association of American Publishers' (AAP) annual StatShot puts 2017’s industry sales at $26.23bn, showing a slight decline from $26.27bn the year before.
The figures contain publishers’ net revenues from trade, higher education, course materials, school instructional materials, professional books and university press, across all formats from all distribution channels and do not represent retailer or consumer sales figures.
How to write your first novel, according to experts
standard.co.uk – Friday July 20, 2018
Everyone’s got a novel inside them, right? According to Richard Skinner, director of the fiction programme at the highly-esteemed Faber Academy, and author of one of several new books offering advice to aspiring novelists, while this may be true, “very few manage to arrange themselves and their lives well enough to get it out”.
Thank goodness for that, judging from the mountains of novels that do get written, mostly rather badly, which daily arrive at literary editors’ offices by the sackload. If ever there was a good reason to keep it inside you forever, a week spent watching how ruthlessly we dispatch books like so much waste paper should do the trick.
But that’s not the prevailing wisdom. Nowadays, even if mainstream publishers reject your manuscript, you can still be a novelist, thanks to the proliferation of self-publishing companies and creative writing courses, both booming businesses.
Robertson to leave Faber to start new literary agency
thebookseller.com – Friday July 20, 2018
Charlotte Robertson, sales and marketing director and paperback publisher at Faber, is to leave the company to become managing director of a new literary agency in association with Arlington Management.
Robertson will leave the company at the end of the year and start her own literary agency with Arlington Management, a talent agency which represents people such as Kirstie Allsopp and Ben Fogle. Faber will announce plans regarding the appointment of a successor in due course.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday July 19, 2018
Publishes: Fiction; Poetry; Reviews;
Areas include: Short Stories; Sport;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Literary baseball magazine, publishing poems, fiction, prose, art, and book reviews relating to baseball. Potential contributors must publish a sample copy ($6) before submitting. See website for full guidelines.
Writers, Editors, Illustrators, Publishers aim to create a book in 8 hours
jpost.com – Wednesday July 18, 2018
How long does it take to create a book from start to finish? For 44 authors, 33 illustrators and 29 editors, publishers and marketers gathering in Jerusalem Thursday night, they’re hoping the answer is eight hours.
The project, being hosted at the JVP Media Quarter, is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Uriel Shuraki.
“Writing a book usually takes months or years,” Shuraki told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. “And I decided to do it in one day – in eight hours, the length of a normal working day.”
How to hook time-poor readers: 16 tips for publishers, booksellers and authors
thebookseller.com – Wednesday July 18, 2018
I’m a mom of four kids, and a book lover. These two facts don’t typically mesh too well. For years, the only time I could find to read was when I finally crawled, exhausted, under my covers at night. It would sometimes take months for me to get through even a short, mindless read. Many nights I’d have to backtrack a few pages because I couldn’t even remember what I’d read in my half-dazed, zonked state the night before. Short chapters were my savior.
It got to the point where I felt guilty buying books because I would never get through any of them. My book-buying slowed down, despite my interest in new releases. I felt like a book failure! In my most stressed out, time-short kid-raising moments, I needed to escape into someone else’s story more than ever, yet couldn’t figure out when and how to do it, or even what to read. And in today's frantic, information-overloaded world, I don't think this issue is restricted to moms.
New edition of award-winning mystery writing guide
firstwriter.com – Wednesday July 18, 2018
A new, revised edition of G. Miki Hayden's award-winning guide for mystery writers has just been released, and is now available to buy both in print and as an ebook.
G. Miki Hayden is a long-time member and former board member of Mystery Writers of America, and regularly teaches a mystery writing workshop (and other courses) at Writer’s Digest online university. This third edition of her book, Writing the Mystery: A Start-to-Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional, provides invaluable step-by-step advice on shaping plots, developing characters, and creating a fast-paced and compelling mystery for the modern market. It includes practical exercises, guidance on how to approach agents and publishers and get your novel to market, and a whole new section on the self-publishing phenomenon that has exploded since the publication of the first edition.
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