Stop writing and learn to be a better writer
thedrum.com – Tuesday February 27, 2018
A woman walks up to a construction worker in Manhattan.
“Excuse me young man,” she says. “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”
He puts his pickaxe down and wipes his brow. Finally, he speaks.
“Lady, you gotta practise.”
He’s right. Every skilled, or would-be skilled, tradesperson needs to practise. But what does practise mean? For copywriters, specifically? It might seem obvious. You write. As much and as often as you can.
Ads. Blog posts. Emails. Landing pages. Scripts. Sales letters.
The more you write, the better you get. Right? Wrong.
Book clinic: why do publishers still issue hardbacks?
theguardian.com – Sunday February 25, 2018
Q: Years ago, I read that publishers were going to end the practice of bringing out hardback editions before paperbacks. But it never happened. Why do they still do this, and does anyone apart from libraries buy hardbacks? I never do.
Phil Goddard
A: From Philip Jones, editor, the Bookseller
Yes, hardbacks are still popular. Hardback fiction brings in about £70m annually (roughly 20% of the printed fiction market), according to sales data from Nielsen BookScan.
14 Stephen King quotes about the writing process
mashable.com – Friday February 23, 2018
The first Stephen King book I ever read was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I was still in my teens, and my gran — a huge King fan herself — thought it was the one I'd have the best chance of reading without getting too scared.
She was wrong about that (I scare pretty easily), but she was right to introduce me to King. He's been my favourite author ever since.
Lindsay Literary Agency launches scholarship for under-represented children's writers
thebookseller.com – Tuesday February 20, 2018
The Lindsay Literary Agency is sponsoring a scholarship place for an "under-represented" writer of children's fiction at the Winchester Writers’ Festival 2018.
Open to unagented YA and middle grade writers, of any age, from an under-represented background (including but not limited to LGBTQIA, BAME and people with disabilities), the scholarship will cover the cost of three days at the festival which takes place 15th - 17th June.
The scholarship includes access to all workshops and talks at the Winchester Writers’ Festival, four one-to-one appointments with industry experts, all meals, accommodation and travel.
9 writing and reading tips from writers
artshub.co.uk – Monday February 19, 2018
Are you are an emerging or professional writer? Maybe your day job consist of writing, reading and replying to numerous emails. Perhaps you may want a better understanding of the craft of writing, which in turn will allow for a different perspective when you are reading other people’s words.
As Margret Atwood stated in The Guardian, ‘Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones.'
To help you traverse this global culture of constant communication, ArtsHub spoke with five writers to ask them for some helpful reading advice.
Nourry: 'the e-book is a stupid product'
thebookseller.com – Monday February 19, 2018
Hachette Group c.e.o. Arnaud Nourry has expressed frustration with the e-book format, calling it a "stupid product" and forecasting its sales would continue to plateau because of a lack of innovation.
Nourry, who was speaking in an interview with Indian news site Scroll.in as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for Hachette India, said he didn't think declines in e-book sales seen in the US and UK markets would reverse any time soon, because of the limitations of the format.
'Defend and nurture' UK publishing, Wise urges policymakers
thebookseller.com – Monday February 19, 2018
Curtis Brown agent Gordon Wise, former president of the Association of Authors' Agents, has urged parliamentarians to defend the achievements of UK publishers.
Wise stood down as AAA president last month, making way for David Higham agent Lizzy Kremer. Reflecting on his time at the helm of the group, Wise was buoyant about the contributions of the publishing industry to the UK economy after its revenues totalled £4.8bn in 2016, according to the Publishers Association, with "significant growth" of exports in recent years.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday February 19, 2018
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry;
Areas include: Arts; Biography; Criticism;
Markets: Adult;
Preferred styles: Literary
Open to work by New Zealand and Pacific writers or by writers whose work has a connection to the region in subject matter or location. Work from Australian writers is occasionally included as a special feature. Send up to 10 poems or up to three pieces of prose per issue. Preferred length is 3,000 words, but longer pieces will be considered.
John Grisham to appear with Lee Child at crime writing festival
home.bt.com – Sunday February 18, 2018
John Grisham will be a headline author at a UK crime writing festival where he will appear with writer Lee Child.
The author of The Firm, The Pelican Brief and A Time To Kill will be interviewed on stage at the Theakston Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate by Child, who is responsible for the Jack Reacher series.
Grisham will join previously announced special guest and Savages author Don Winslow.
What I Learned From Bestselling Author Andrew Neiderman
publishersweekly.com – Saturday February 17, 2018
I grew up in South Fallsburg, New York about 100 miles from New York City. I went to Fallsburg Central Schools, where it took nearly 10 villages and rural towns to create a district. And in my junior year of high school, I convinced the school leadership to allow me to graduate a year early, and I convinced my parents to let me escape small town life for college.
The main requirement for early graduation was doing double English in my junior year. So I signed up for the required New York State Regents English course, and took a creative writing elective. I was neither creative, nor showing any potential as a writer, but I was always a reader. And my creative writing teacher, Andrew Neiderman, nurtured that love of reading with the eclectic novels he chose for his syllabus, among them, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, books that have stayed with me nearly 50 years later.
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