How to Write a Thriller
wsj.com – Friday July 22, 2016
The works of Megan Abbott, Blake Crouch and James Patterson diverge in style and form, but they’re all about creating a thrill. The three authors, who all have new books out this summer, answered questions about the mechanics of storytelling, the genre’s best works and finding success for a round-table conversation. Here, an edited compilation of their responses from separate interviews.
5 Writing Tips: Donald Ray Pollock
publishersweekly.com – Friday July 22, 2016
Donald Ray Pollock's The Heavenly Table is one of the most delightfully twisted novels of the year, a terror ride through an early 20th century hillbilly hellscape that puts the family of a swindled, good-hearted farmer on a collision course with three brothers on a crime spree. Pollock, whose previous novel, The Devil All the Time, was named one of the 10 best books of 2011, shares five writing tips.
When I decided to learn how to write, I didn’t know any writers, or anything about how to get started. I was forty-five and had worked at the same paper mill in a small town in southern Ohio for twenty-seven years at that point. However, thanks to a program the mill had that helped with tuition for employees who wanted to go to college part-time, I did have a degree in English. Plus, I loved to read. I determined to devote at least five years to writing, and worked at it almost every day. By the time I turned fifty, I had published five or six stories in small literary magazines. Granted, this doesn’t seem like much, but over time, I slowly discovered that it was what I wanted to do; and that’s always a good thing, actually, the very best thing, knowing exactly what you want to do with your life, no matter how hard or frustrating it might be, and writing is, more often than not, pretty damn hard and pretty damn frustrating. Still, I wasted a lot of time in the beginning, and with that in mind, here, mainly for the benefit of beginners, are the major things I’ve learned about writing:
firstwriter.magazine Issue 29: Summer 2016
firstwriter.com – Thursday July 21, 2016
The latest issue of firstwriter.magazine has just been released, featuring quality fiction and poetry submitted from around the world, plus your first chance to see not just the winning poem from our Fourteenth International Poetry Competition, but also all the Special Commendations. To view the magazine click here. To enter your work in our Fifteenth International Poetry Competition click here.
Madeleine Milburn Agency launches writing competition
thebookseller.com – Thursday July 21, 2016
The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency will tomorrow (22nd July) launch a competition to find unpublished authors.
The theme of this year’s ‘Madeleine Milburn Summer Writing Competition’ is ‘make us scared’, and entrants can send any genre of writing as long as it fits the brief. Writers from anywhere in the world that are un-agented and unpublished are eligible, although their manuscripts must be in English.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday July 21, 2016
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Online journal publishing short fiction up to 5,000 words, flash fiction up to 500 words, micro-fiction up to 100 words, short nonfiction up to 5,000 words, first chapters of graphic novels up to 5,000 words, and poetry (submit up to 5). Submissions must be sent by email with the subject line "Submission". See website for full details.
New Publisher Listing
firstwriter.com – Friday July 15, 2016
Publishes: Fiction;
Areas include: Autobiography; Biography; Fantasy; Historical; Horror; Humour; Mystery; Sci-Fi; Self-Help; Suspense; Thrillers;
Markets: Adult; Children's; Youth;
Preferred styles: Commercial; Literary
Accepts submissions by email only. For fiction, send one-page query, one-page synopsis, and first three chapters, in the body of your email. For nonfiction, send one-page query and book proposal. No attachments. No children's picture books, novellas, gift books, poetry, or religious books. See website for full details.
8 things I wish I'd known before writing my first novel
marieclaire.co.uk – Tuesday July 12, 2016
Award-winning author Kate Mosse reveals her top tips for making a career out of writing books
'As a former editor in publishing, I had a bit of a head start,' says Kate Mosse author of best sellers from Labyrinth to The Taxidermist's Daughter.
'I'd seen all the pitfalls and traps for a first-time novelist, so had a notebook full of "avoid this at all costs" and "always remember to..." tips, before I ever became a writer myself. But, for the record, here I learned a few hard truths along the way.'
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday July 12, 2016
Publishes: Articles; News; Poetry;
Areas include: Arts;
Markets: Adult; Professional; Youth
Publishes the finest literary achievements in modern poetry. We are searching for outstanding talent, a beautiful play of words, emotionally stirring poems that have deep meaning and will withstand the test of time.
We strive to highlight talent and bring to light gifted poets of all ages and nationalities.
Publishes both poetry as well as striking visual art.
Our bimonthly magazine is available both as a free digital edition and in print.
Here's Why E-Book Sales From Major Publishers Are Plummeting
fortune.com – Monday July 11, 2016
But growing sales of self-published e-books may offset the drop.
Book publishers are winning in their quixotic war against their own electronic books as sales dropped 11% last year, according to a new report from the industry’s leading trade group.
Russell Smith: Why publishers think pink for book covers
theglobeandmail.com – Thursday July 7, 2016
It has just occurred to me that my last four books, all works of fiction, have had an image of a woman on the cover. The books, however, largely represent masculine points of view. One of the books is even called Young Men. It still has a beautiful girl on the cover.
The reason for this repeated imagery is simple and economic: Most readers of fiction in North America are, by a wide margin, women. The books are being marketed to them.
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