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Insider tip
The biggest key to voice is not worrying about it. Bad style often comes from trying too hard to imitate the style of other writers. Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction-
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Writing’s just half the story
Filed under: Authors and Books, Marketing Yourself
There’s more to being a children’s author than writing, says today’s guest blogger Liz Martinez:
I’ve never been one to sit behind a desk for days on end. As a medical negligence lawyer I was always out there talking to groups of doctors, helping Grays Inn train their barristers, or speaking at conferences, and in that sense, not much has changed about me since I’ve become a writer.
As a children’s writer I have learned that there is great fun to be had dressing up as a witch, visiting a junior school, reading my story to lots of little children (in the presence of lots of supportive teachers – essential), and then getting them thinking about being writers themselves.
Small children have such confidence in their ability to do anything. Invariably when I ask them who Read more
Making a scene
A guest post from Derek Neale, Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University:
This is the first in a short series of blogs I’ll be writing about how drama can improve your fiction, each containing an activity for you to try at home.
‘Dramatise! Dramatise!’ was Henry James’ famous maxim to himself and to would-be novelists – and it remains true today. Your storytelling can gain momentum and finesse from looking at how dramatists do things.
More often than not a character’s emotional state is better revealed by being shown in action, rather than the narrator saying ‘he was sad’ or ‘she was angry’. The reader is happier interpreting what characters do, rather than forever being told what is happening.
Drama can inject the vital ingredient that will bring a story alive. I know this from my own writing and from the work of my students. And in most cases Read more
From blog to book deal
Filed under: Authors and Books, Digital publishing
Back in 2007 I had been practising as a barrister for some nine years when I started writing a blog about a fictional young trainee barrister who I called BabyBarista, a play on words based on his first impression being that his coffee-making skills were probably as important to that year as any forensic legal abilities he may have.
One of the most satisfying things I found about blogging was the immediacy of the publishing process. You think it up, type it out on your keyboard and then publish. It also allows the writer in many ways to busk or play around with ideas and see how they work.
It’s a strange thing to say but I Read more
Check your ego at the door (if you want to be published)
Filed under: Getting Published
If the writing of a work isn’t hard enough and if you are like most authors, you’ll want to get your manuscript published.
This second goal can be equally – and in many cases – more challenging, particularly as the internet and self-publishing have democratised the way writers send their words out into the world. Yet many still prefer traditional print outlets for their work – international distribution via trade paperback, for example.
For my next few posts I will talk about the process of getting an agent and then the lesser known steps of selling rights to your work in different markets and languages.
For now: the age old mission of finding an agent. There are many Read more
View from the Cheltenham festival
I’ve just spent the weekend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
I was taking part in several events, an afternoon workshop on how to get published, a weekend workshop on managing your life as a writer, and then the launch of our new book on parenting (with Gill Hines, It’s not fair! Parenting the bright and challenging child, Piatkus).
As part of my preparation, I went through the festival programme and worked out what I could fit around my own commitments, making tough choices (eg Mark Watson or Jack Dee, cruelly scheduled at the same time).
Looking at my programme now I am amused to see that Read more
The delights of diversity
The other evening I went to the British Library to hear Oona King deliver the second 26 Annual Speech. 26 is a membership organisation for writers which I co-founded six years ago, and our aim is to promote the value of writing – in business, in life, in all its diversity.
That’s why Oona was an appropriate choice of speaker. She’s now head of diversity for Channel 4 and was previously the Labour MP for Bethnal Green – a constituency where 79 different languages are spoken by residents. Oona famously lost her seat to George Galloway, notorious for being a cat on Big Brother. Did Oona’s defeat by an embarrassing and chubby moggy with a moustache mean that diversity and multiculturalism are dead? Read more
ISBN news flash
Filed under: Authors and Books
I have a confession to make… After over 13 years of working in publishing, I’ve only just found out that ISBNs are not a legal requirement of the industry.
Am I confessing too much in my position as the editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, I wonder? Well I hope not, but at least you’ll know I’m nothing if not honest.
So what is the lowdown on the humble ISBN? They might not be a legal requirement, but they certainly are a requirement. Read more
The book that changed my life
Filed under: Authors and Books
A section of my desk is reserved for scraps of paper cut from newspapers and magazines on topics which might (or might not) go on to inspire blog posts. I’ve just dug one out entitled ‘Books that changed my life’ and it’s got me wondering what mine is…
Actually, it’s the sort of question that can potentially send you into a bit of a panic. What if I don’t have one? What if it isn’t impressive? Should I make something up!? Read more
Playing by different rules: non-fiction writing
A guest post from literary agent Judy Chilcote:
I wanted to explain that the rules are different for when I decide to take on a non-fiction project than they are for fiction.
For fiction, it’s largely down to personal taste and interest, I think. In non-fiction, it’s more clear-cut to determine if there is a niche for a subject, if the market is over-saturated (as with most mind/body/spirit subjects at the moment) and if it has something new or Read more
I’m here to help you get published
Filed under: Festivals and Events
UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances Alison Baverstock will be talking on ‘How to Get Published’ as Jo Herbert is unable to attend the festival.
The countdown to my next ‘How to Get Published‘ workshop at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on 16 October has started.
Anyone and everyone is welcome, from writers whose book is still a twinkle in their eye, to those who are putting the finishing touches to their manuscript.
In three short hours (it’s ok there’ll be a tea break or two) I’ll give you an overview of the publishing industry and make suggestions of what to do before submitting your work Read more
Buy the 2011 Yearbook
The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook is available at a discount from our online bookshop. Get all the information, contacts and advice you could need.On camera: Jon McGregor
"Being longlisted for the Booker Prize changed everything - it was the launchpad for my writing career." Click to view our video with novelist Jon McGregor »
On camera: Justin Cartwright
"Just write... If you're any good you may not know it, but certainly someone else will." Click to view our video with novelist Justin Cartwright »
On camera: Julie Myerson
The novelist and journalist Julie Myerson on how she got that all-important first publishing deal. Click here to view our video exclusive »