Authors hit back at Self's claim 'the novel is doomed'
thebookseller.com – Monday March 19, 2018
Authors have hit back at writer Will Self's assertion that the novel is “doomed to become a marginal cultural form”.
Self’s interview in the Guardian, published on Saturday (17th March), featured insights into his thoughts on the Iraq war, e-readers, the future of fiction and female writers.
The headline of the interview with journalist Alex Clark, ‘The novel is doomed’, attracted much debate on social media with writers such as Colin Barrett, Roxane Gay and Joanne Harris disagreeing with Self.
Odds and Ends: The false romance of writing
thepostathens.com – Monday March 19, 2018
A great book was written way back in 1918, then expanded on in 1959 and in other editions. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White is essentially the Swiss army knife of writing – small and bland, but wildly useful when you need it. The book aside, the foreword written by Roger Angell, White's stepson, resounds with all writers: “Writing is hard, even for authors who do it all the time.”
There is a pretty big misconception about writing, and that is that it’s this romantic affair between the author and a blank piece of paper or an empty Word document. Media outlets make writing out to be some odd thing in which you go on a date with your words; in reality, it’s a long-term relationship in which you sit at opposite ends of the couch and argue over what to watch on TV.
Romance so white? Publishers grapple with race issues amid author protests
theguardian.com – Monday March 19, 2018
Readers, writers and editors of romance books are grappling with the genre’s record on diversity, after a week where a report found that books by authors of colour were on the decline, an imprint specialising in diverse romances closed, and another publisher was forced to apologise for telling a writer they avoided putting people of colour on book covers because they didn’t sell.
Queer romance writer Cole McCade came forward last week to reveal conversations with editor Sarah Lyons of the New Jersey-based publisher Riptide. McCade, who also writes as Xen Sanders, described Riptide as “at all levels hostile to me as a person of colour”. He published an email from Lyons in which she told him: “We don’t mind POC But I will warn you – and you have NO idea how much I hate having to say this – we won’t put them on the cover, because we like the book to, you know, sell :-(.”
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday March 19, 2018
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Poetry
Areas include: Short Stories
Markets: Adult
Preferred styles: Experimental; Literary; Progressive
An online multimedia literary magazine where we celebrate stories in all their forms, no matter how bizarre or unconventional those forms may be. We want to create a platform that embraces diverse, exciting, and inventive narratives. Whether it's a poem, a short story, a photo set, a performance piece, or something even weirder, if it's quality and has a narrative we can sink our teeth into, it's for us. We help tell the stories that would otherwise be lost, and yours could be next. Send us something that helps us see the world in a new way.
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Thursday March 15, 2018
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction
Areas: Cookery; Lifestyle; Self-Help
Markets: Adult
Treatments: Commercial
For fiction, send complete ms by email with 250-word pitch. For nonfiction, send pitch with proposal and details of your platform. No fantasy, space-operas, horror or gothic fiction, historical nonfiction, YA or children's fiction, or poetry or short stories. See website for full details.
Literary Agency Assistant/Associate
publishersmarketplace.com – Tuesday March 13, 2018
DeFiore and Company, a mid-sized, high-profile literary agency based in Flatiron/Union Square, seeks assistant/associate. At least one year prior related experience in mainstream book publishing essential-and a background in foreign rights particularly helpful. The right person will have a mix of qualities not often found in one person: an ability to track multiple details, an ease with a calculator and computer, and a creative spirit and discerning editorial eye.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday March 12, 2018
Publishes: Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Literary journal publishing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Submit via online system available at the website.
What is your writing goal? Digging into the real reason to write
montclairlocal.news – Saturday March 10, 2018
“So,” the literary magazine editor said, peering around the classroom at us over his wire-rimmed glasses. “As a writer, what’s the goal?”
We all glanced at each other and laughed nervously. This was the last formal class of a week-long writer’s retreat at the Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, and so far, it had been a dream.
For five whole days, I had done nothing but write, talk about writing and take classes about writing with 20 other people who also wanted to do nothing but write, talk about writing and take classes about writing. At night, we would sit around the kitchen of the seminar house, discussing our projects while the ocean breeze flowed through the open screens.
It was like the best summer camp ever. With wine.
But by Thursday morning we were starting to wilt.
Writing a novel is hard but the story shouldn’t be. It should be your favourite thing
irishtimes.com – Friday March 9, 2018
It took me a long time to find the story I was able to tell. For years I carried around the seeds of something different – I had the characters, the setting, the incident that would kick the story off, but I could do nothing with it. I gave it time, poked it and prodded it but it was stale. A dead thing. It was only when I gave that up, turned away from it entirely and wrote something new, something closer to home, that I found my rhythm. I’ll never make that mistake again, try to create something that my head tells me I should write but for which I feel very little.
Writing a novel is hard, but it shouldn’t be hard in that way. What is hard is finding the time, fitting it around a day job and children. It’s hard too to build your confidence in your work when the first 20,000 words are, inevitably, rubbish. But the story itself shouldn’t be hard. The story should be your favourite thing. It should call to you in between making the lunches, doing the school drop, between the pages of other novels.
Traditionally Published Authors Want What Indies Have
goodereader.com – Friday March 9, 2018
When self-published authors like Amanda Hocking became book industry names, it was for reaching incredible sales figures on the fairly new Kindle e-reading platform. After reaching newsworthy levels of success, Hocking and others like her attracted the attention of literary agents and publishers looking to reach consumers. Experts would often question why an author who was already on the bestseller list would possibly be convinced to give a sizeable portion of their royalties; the answer was almost always the same: “I’m tired of being a businessman, I want to go back to being a writer.”
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