8 Newsletters Demystifying the Publishing Industry
electricliterature.com – Monday January 6, 2025
The publishing industry can feel like an opaque, black box to aspiring authors, with countless gatekeepers—agents, editors, publicists, book buyers and more—shaping the process behind the scenes. Even established authors can find the sector confusing as they attempt to read the tea leaves behind changing advance sizes, varying levels of publicity support and shifting print run amounts.
Fortunately, there are now dozens of newsletters that aim to demystify the publishing business. I’ve been fortunate enough to have found many of them through my book recommendation newsletter, What To Read If, and now love seeing their names pop up in my email. (Given the state of my inbox, this is the ultimate compliment.)
From publishers and publicists to authors and reviewers, the eight newsletters below provide valuable insights and analysis to anyone looking to get smarter about—or to survive in—the publishing world.
New Magazine Listing: Micromance Magazine
firstwriter.com – Monday January 6, 2025
A flash fiction lit mag dedicated to romance, love stories and romantic poetry. Publishes one story or poem a day on both the site and directly to the inbox of its nearly 400 subscribers. Receives 10,500 views a month and was just voted by readers and writers the 4th favorite flash fiction lit mag in Chill Subs' Community Favorites. Submissions are open year-round with special anthology calls throughout the year. Considers submissions of all writers regardless of experience level and is all inclusive.
New magazine for alternative comedy writing launched
chortle.co.uk – Sunday January 5, 2025
Comedian Will BF has launched a magazine for alternative comedy writing.
Co-created with comedy producer Amber Ash, the first 36-page edition features contributions from Rosalie Minnit, Alex Franklin, Rosie Nicholls and more.
Will BF said: ‘There didn’t seem to be any spaces for creating surreal, spontaneous, and – most of all – creative written comedy with a little heart and just for the sake of it. I craved a space where I could write
something with a bit more joy than Will BF’s Guide To A Perfect Fringe, sandwiched between ad-crammed pages.
‘I hope the freedom of format and content is something that contributors and readers alike will find refreshing. With only one edition down - I hope Chaff will continue to grow, spread and mutate - like a lovely virus
The magazine has been funded by Croydon Council – despite the authority having a £1.6billion debt – and is available for £5 on Etsy.
The 13 secrets to writing a really good novel
inews.co.uk – Sunday January 5, 2025
One would imagine that the glamour professions of today – YouTuber, influencer, star athlete, crypto millionaire – would not include the humble old novelist. But guess what? “Writer” often storms to the top of dream career surveys, and it seems that the multitudes still believe they have a novel in them, and not only a video game or an OnlyFans site.
Writing fiction, if taken seriously, is a compulsion, and many who want to complete a whole novel end up living a lifetime of frustration. There are a couple of issues here. Firstly, they think that publication will solve all their problems. It won’t. And secondly, they are often stymied by the same mistakes, both technical and psychological. There are ways around some of these.
Can creative writing be taught? Yes and no. Pure talent cannot. Most of the rest of it really can. As a novelist, literary critic and creative writing tutor, I’ve taught for more than 20 years, and I’ve seen the same problems emerging through my time at Arvon, Birkbeck, City University, and, for the past 14 years, Faber Academy, a writing school which nurtures hundreds of students through its six-month Writing A Novel programme, and has also seen more than 200 of those students’ novels published – including plenty of bestsellers.
So here, I offer a few insights.
Winston-Salem Writers presents Three-in-a-Row Writers Workshops
wschronicle.com – Friday January 3, 2025
Registration is now open for Winston-Salem Writers’ annual Three-In-A-Row workshops. The following workshops will be on Zoom on three Saturdays in January: Critiquing and Revision on Jan. 11, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Agents on Jan.18, and Writing Short Plays on Jan. 25.
All three workshops are from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost is free for Winston-Salem Writers members and $25/workshop for non-members. Registration ends three days before each workshop. For more information, to read speakers’ full bios, and to register, visit www.wswriters.org/workshops-and-seminars. To join or renew your WSW membership for $40, visit wswriters.org/membership. Dues are for January – December 2025.
PB and Yay! Books
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 2, 2025
Traditional publisher. No advance. High royalties. Picture books only. Welcomes submissions from authors based in the United States and Canada exclusively.
8 Craft Books to Inspire Your New Year’s Writing Resolutions
electricliterature.com – Thursday January 2, 2025
Many New Year’s Resolutions are health-centric—a promise to eat healthier, exercise more, or finally quit smoking. But for writers, caring for your creativity is just as central to your wellbeing.
To give you some extra motivation, we’ve rounded up books on writing that are filled with new ways of approaching the craft and practical advice from well-known authors. Whether you’re looking to start a new writing practice or finally get to work on the novel idea you’ve been chewing on for the past few months, these books will give you the inspiration you need to begin.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
With more than 70 books under his belt, Stephen King is a pop culture icon. On Writing is a memoir of his writing career, beginning with his childhood in Maine, where he would submit short stories to science fiction and horror magazines; to publishing his first novel, Carrie; to surviving a car accident that nearly killed him.
The revolution in Irish literary journals
rte.ie – Tuesday December 31, 2024
One of the most frustrating things about trying to break into the writing game is having to listen to the advice of people who have already made it.
They'll tell you to be patient. They’ll tell you that with talent, persistence and a little luck, anyone determined enough will eventually have their day. All of which is fine and may actually be true, though it trivialises for many what can often be incredibly difficult in the moment. Not all of us have the luxury to be persistent, and there are a myriad of reasons why this should be so: Financial pressures, the responsibilities of being a parent, disabilities which take up so much of our time and energy that devoting ourselves wholly to the pursuit of one thing is not only undesirable, it seems nigh on impossible.
What those writers miss, therefore—well-meaning as their advice may be—is that support structures need to be in place to facilitate that necessary persistence. Funding from public bodies is one crucial strand of this. Being able to plug into a network of like-minded artists and writers who are struggling with the same thing is another. But perhaps one that doesn’t get talked about enough is the role of literary magazines; those places we submit to when we’re finally ready to share our writing with other people, which give us the ego-boost we need that we’re on the right track.
Writing competition marks 20th anniversary in 2025
bbc.co.uk – Sunday December 29, 2024
A writing competition in Surrey will mark its 20th anniversary in 2025.
The Elmbridge Literary Competition was conceived as a one-off event in 2005, but has developed into a contest that attracts entrants from around the world.
The theme for the 2025 event is the river.
This has been chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of local writer R C Sherriff, author of the play Journey's End and a keen rower.
The author's link to the area is marked by the Rowing Eight, a sculpture close to Molesey Boat Club.
Entry to the competition costs £8 for adults, but is free to under-18s, and the closing date is 24 February.
Simon Waugh, portfolio holder for leisure, culture and commercial strategy at Elmbridge Borough Council, said: "Over the last two decades, it has grown significantly, attracting an increasing number of participants.
A reminder of how good writing happens
poynter.org – Saturday December 28, 2024
Call in the metaphor squad and other writing tips from Poynter's Beat Academy
ew York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek was stalled on a story. She wanted to describe how people of her generation — millennials — were distorting the economy, and all she knew for sure was there was an image she didn’t want to use: the snake and the egg.
“The snake metaphor was gross,” Smialek said. “You don’t want to talk about food moving through a snake in a nut graph. And I’m like, that’s the energy I want to go for, but less disgusting.”
What she came up with was similar, and better. She compared her generation’s economic impact to a person “squeezing into a too-small sweater.”
“At every life stage, it has stretched a system that was often too small to accommodate it, leaving it somewhat flabby and misshapen in its wake.”
We can pause to appreciate the line, but for us at Beat Academy, the real take-home lesson is how Smialek found it.
“If you could only see the hours of time and debate that went into the sweater metaphor,” she said. “I probably made 16 people talk about metaphors with me before I finally came upon one that worked.”
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