Publishers Say E-Book Sales Fell in the U.K. Last Year
fortune.com – Saturday May 14, 2016
The U.K. Publishers Association has released its latest annual sales figures, recording the first fall in e-book sales (at least, those from traditional publishers) in the seven years they’ve been tracked.
E-book sales fell 1.6% from £563 million ($811 million) in 2014 to £554m in 2015. Over the same period, physical sales rose 0.4% from £2,748 million to £2,760 million—the first rise in physical sales in four years.
The Five Stages of Writing a Novel
huffingtonpost.co.uk – Thursday May 12, 2016
Few things in life are more daunting than attempting to write a novel. Leaving aside the amount of words you have to write (novels are usually around 80,000 - 100,000 words), there's the enormity of having to create an entire world, peopled by characters that have come straight out of your imagination. Most difficult of all, you have to keep that world spinning; keep it interesting, keep the twists and turns coming, right up to the very end.
The 15 Stages of Sitting Down to Write
bustle.com – Wednesday May 11, 2016
We all know that the life of a professional writer is exciting, glamorous, and filled with unqualified success. The only downside to a career in writing is the actual writing. Writing, as most people already know, is impossible. If you've ever tried to write something, be it a novel or a term paper, you're probably well acquainted with the struggle of actually sitting down to write.
Know a budding writer? Roddy Doyle has ten tips to get them writing
irishtimes.com – Wednesday May 11, 2016
It’s there in front of you - the blank space with the blinking cursor or the empty page in a notebook. Your fingers grasp the pencil or the pen; your hands hover over the keyboard. There’s so much to say but how to start and, once started, how to keep going? That’s the challenge. You and only you can do it, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here's Roddy Doyle with some tips.
Five famous novels turned down by publishers
telegraph.co.uk – Wednesday May 11, 2016
Stephen King received so many rejection letters for Carrie that he kept them all on a spike in his bedroom. When it was finally published in 1974 it was a runaway success, and the paperback sold more than a million copies in its first year.
How To Write A Book When You Have A Full-Time Job
elitedaily.com – Tuesday May 10, 2016
It took me five minutes to write this sentence.
Five minutes of staring into space until the idea of writing an opening line about how long it took me to think of an opening line popped into my head.
In the grand scheme of things, five minutes isn’t all that long. But for a writer, five minutes for nine words can add up.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Tuesday May 10, 2016
Publishes: Fiction; Poetry
Areas include: Short Stories
Markets: Adult
Preferred styles: Literary
Publishes poetry and flash fiction. Submit up to five poems or up to five pieces of flash fiction by post or via online submission system. Online submissions require payment of a $3 fee.
Mark Billingham: why research comes last, and other crime-writing tricks
irishtimes.com – Monday May 9, 2016
Research can get you into trouble. It’s important, of course, but there are pitfalls. An obvious one – especially when writing dark crime novels – is that you can occasionally find yourself dealing with someone who doesn’t see the world in quite the way you do and certainly shouldn’t be left alone with sharp objects. Once, after posting on a forensic anthropology website for information on the speed at which a body might decompose under a particular set of circumstances, I received the following email.
New Literary Agency Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday May 9, 2016
Handles: Fiction; Nonfiction;
Areas: Autobiography; Biography; Business; Historical; Science; Short Stories;
Markets: Adult;
Treatments: Commercial; Literary; Popular
No screenplays, poetry, self-help, or genre fiction, including mystery, romance or science fiction. Send queries by post only, with SASE (or return email address) and up to 25 pages of sample material.
New Magazine Listing
firstwriter.com – Monday May 9, 2016
Publishes: Essays; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry
Markets: Adult
Preferred styles: Literary
Publishes literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and narrative journalism relating to specific themes for each issue. Send one piece of prose between 2,000 and 7,500 words or up to three poems per issue, by email. See website for current theme and full submission guidelines.
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