Writers' Newsletter
Issue #224
November 2021
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Writers' Handbook 2022 now available to buy
firstwriter.com – Sunday November 21, 2021
The 2022 edition of firstwriter.com’s bestselling directory for writers has just been released, and is now available to buy both as a paperbook and an ebook.
The directory is the perfect book for anyone searching for literary agents, book publishers, or magazines. It contains over 2,500 listings, including revised and updated listings from the 2021 edition, and over 400 brand new entries.
Finding the information you need is now quicker and easier than ever before, with multiple tables and a detailed index, and unique paragraph numbers to help you get to the listings you’re looking for.
The variety of tables helps you navigate the listings in different ways, and includes a Table of Authors, which lists over 3,000 authors and tells you who represents them, or who publishes them, or both.
The number of genres in the index has expanded to over 600. So, for example, while there was only one option for “Romance” in the previous edition, you can now narrow this down to Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance, Supernatural / Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Romance, Diverse Romance, Erotic Romance, Feminist Romance, Christian Romance, or even Amish Romance.
The new edition includes:
- Over 1,000 literary agents and agencies;
- Over 500 magazines; and
- Over 900 publishers that don’t charge fees.
International markets become more accessible than ever, with listings that cover both the main publishing centres of New York and London, as well as markets in other English speaking countries. With more and more agents, publishers, and magazines accepting submissions online, this international outlook is now more important than ever.
There are no adverts, no advertorials, and no obscure listings padding out hundreds of pages. By including only what’s important to writers – contact details for literary agents, publishers, and magazines – this directory is able to provide more listings than its competitors, at a lower price.
The book also allows you to create a subscription to the firstwriter.com website for free until 2023. This means you can get free access to the firstwriter.com website, where you can find even more listings, and also benefit from other features such as advanced searches, daily email updates, feedback from users about the markets featured, saved searches, competitions listings, searchable personal notes, and more.
“I know firsthand how lonely and dispiriting trying to find an agent and publisher can be. So it's great to find a resource like firstwriter.com that provides contacts, advice and encouragement to aspiring writers. I've been recommending it for years now!”
~ Robin Wade; literary agent at the Wade & Doherty Literary Agency Ltd, and long-term firstwriter.com subscriber
The print and ebook versions are both available to buy now at https://www.jpandadyson.com/books/writers_handbook.php.
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News |
Some of this month's news for writers from around the web.
Lowis moves to Viney Agency
thebookseller.com – Saturday November 20, 2021
Amberley Lowis has been appointed literary agent at the Viney Agency.
Lowis previously worked as an agents' assistant at Abner Stein for five years and as an editorial assistant at Kyle Books.
She said: "I feel very lucky to have worked with such brilliant colleagues at Abner Stein and have learnt so much from them. I'm delighted to be joining the Viney Agency and I very much look forward to working with Charlie and further expanding the agency over the coming years."
Agency founder Charlie Viney said: "Amberley’s experience and drive stand her in very good stead to substantially add to the agency in the future and I’m thrilled that she is joining us."
Lowis will take up her new role in December.
Writers' Handbook 2025 - Out Now!
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24th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition Is Seeking Screenplays From Around the Globe
digitaljournal.com – Wednesday November 17, 2021
Screenplays from writers around the globe are invited for the 24th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition. The first deadline is December 13, 2021.
While launching the event the organizers of the 24th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition famously said ”Is your script ready? Are you ready? Is it time to finally let your writing be shown to others?”
Everyone has a story to tell, and your screenplay can win $10,000 and be promoted for a year! The 24th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition is accepting screenplays and shorts.
Follow the journey of the story with this short story writing workshop
ygknews.ca – Wednesday November 10, 2021
Who better to learn short story writing from than Patricia Robertson, former Kingston Frontenac Public Library Writer-in-Residence?
Robertson will lead Sentence by Sentence: the Journey of the Story on Tuesday, November 23 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
If you have no writing experience or are worried that you don’t already have a detailed outline in mind before you begin writing, that’s not a problem. Learn how the very process of writing can help you discover what you want to write about.
“It’s a misnomer to describe writing as ‘discovering what you want to say.’ The fact is that you don’t know what you want to say in advance of the journey,” explains Robertson. “You’re taking a leap into the unknown. All you know is what to take with you — your laptop, a cup of coffee, and your imagina tion. Believe it or not, whole novels have been written using this method.
| Click here for the rest of this month's news > |
Listings |
A selection of the new listings added to firstwriter.com this month.
New Book Publisher Listing: GoldScriptCo
firstwriter.com – Monday November 15, 2021
Co-founded by two writers as a means to share their own works as well as to support other writers and artists in their creative journeys.
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New Magazine Listing: Africa Poetry Magazine
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 18, 2021
Accepts poetry submissions from poets living in Africa. Read the Submissions page and follow the guidelines to submit.
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New Literary Agent Listing: Claire Gillespie
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 18, 2021
Focuses on literary fiction, memoir, cultural criticism, upmarket fiction, and audio.
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| Click here for more of this month's new listings > |
Articles |
Some of this month's articles for writers from around the web.
How to turn your November draft into a polished manuscript
pe.com – Thursday November 18, 2021
November is a month electric with writing energy. There is NaNoWriMo, of course. This column has encouraged writers to ‘win’— that is, to write 50,000 words in 30 days. But it’s also Memoir Writing Month, National NonFiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo), November Poem-a-Day Chapbook Challenge, and National Blog Posting Month. So whatever it is you’re writing, you’re probably getting close to your self-defined finish line.
If you complete any of the above challenges, congratulations. Those are accomplishments to be sure. What they are not is finished products.
Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing: Which Is Best for You?
entrepreneur.com – Sunday November 14, 2021
For many people, publishing a book is a lifelong dream or career aspiration. Regardless of any inspiration or intention, it’s key for an author to treat publishing a book like a business venture. Like any business venture, one can start it by raising external capital or one can use their own funds. We will dive into the pros and cons of the two main avenues of publishing a book.
There are two primary avenues: self-publishing and traditional publishing. Although they may lead to the same outcome of having a book for sale, self-publishing and traditional publishing are vastly different. The former is when an author assumes complete control over the publishing process and how the book is released to the market. In the latter scenario, a publishing house buys the rights to an author’s work and oversees its release.
Ghostwriters Come out of the Shadows
publishersweekly.com – Sunday November 14, 2021
When Penguin Random House announced in July that it would be publishing a memoir by Prince Harry, there was one name that was, conspicuously and appropriately, left off the press release. The man channeling the Duke of Sussex’s voice for the book, J.R. Moehringer, was nowhere to be found among the details the publisher released. But those in the industry know that Moehringer, one of the highest-profile ghostwriters working, will be an essential component in the royal’s book—even if his name never appears on the final product.
Ghostwriting, or “collaborating” as it’s now called, is nothing new. For as long as celebrities have been writing books, others have quietly helped them do it. It’s highly specialized work that requires a blend of skills; industry sources say the best collaborators are equal parts editor, reporter, writer, mimic, and shrink. And in today’s industry, where publishers are more and more reliant on nonfiction projects by authors with significant platforms, good collaborators are in higher demand than ever. It’s also the kind of work, very handsomely paid at the high end, which is appealing to a growing population: writers, journalists, and editors.
| Click here for the rest of this month's articles > |
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