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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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What to ask your new agent
The day has come – a literary agent has accepted you as a client and your career as a published writer is taking off.
It’s hugely exciting – and only too easy to forget that you are entering into a professional partnership where it’s worth asking a few questions of your own before you Read more
Do you read or write blogs?
Of course you do! Well, you must at least read them, because you’re here, right now, reading… The reason I ask is that I’m supervising Tina, a postgrad at Kingston University, and she’s keen to ask you about a few things. I very much hope you can help!
Now… I’ll hand you over to Tina:
“My name is Tina Mories and I am currently studying for an MA in Publishing. I am in the midst of researching my dissertation which is about blogs and the people who read them. I want to find out – with your help – more about Read more
Getting lost in London
I went to an important meeting in London yesterday – held at a venue I know well, in a part of London I know well.
Given those facts, I didn’t bother to print out a map, just had a quick check on a bus stop and leapt on a bus bound for Farringdon Street.
It gradually dawned on me as I headed in an unfamiliar direction that this wasn’t going well. The Read more
The accidental writer
Filed under: Competitions and Offers, Getting Published
This month I find myself behind on a deadline that I agreed to nearly two years ago.
Finishing a manuscript can be a daunting task – especially when you are 30,000 words short as I am and it is not fiction but non-fiction. Not to say that writing is ever easy but when you are dependent on facts rather than imagination, the word count meter can seem Read more
This morning I am writing like…
… Isaac Asimov. How do I know this? Because I’ve just been dabbling on the new ‘I Write Like’ website that has been taking the internet by storm.
If you visit I Write Like you can find out which famous writer your writing most closely resembles. All you need to do is copy and paste a few paragraphs of your writing, hit the ‘analyse’ button, and hey presto! The Read more
Pindar Diamond winners!
We’re thrilled to announce the 5 winners of our recent Pindar Diamond book giveaway.
We’d like to congratulate Jenny Hampshire, Ruth Doughty, Eve Fleetwood, Nick Surgey and John Robson, who each win a copy of The Pindar Diamond by Katie Hickman, published by Bloomsbury.
And keep an eye on the website as we’ll be running more book giveaways soon!
Writers’ & Artists’ masterclass – the result
Filed under: Festivals and Events
We’ve just run our two-part Writers’ & Artists’ masterclass about submitting your manuscript as planned.
In part one we tackled the tricky job of drafting the covering letter, and one week later we followed up with a look at the art of writing a synopsis.
This was the first time that I’ve taught alongside editorial consultant Cressida Downing and, if I say so myself, we make a really good team. I think the reason for this is that I understand the theory (I talk to the people involved in turning a manuscript into a book and I gather information for writers), while Cressida is actually on the front line. She reads people’s submissions Read more
Why do you write?
Part of the work I do is advising writers on what they’ve written, giving them a realistic assessment of how likely it is they will get published, and how to improve what they’ve done.
Something I hadn’t considered until recently is why writers write. But last week I had a series of emails from clients which addressed this very specifically.
One writer wants to Read more
Have you thought about self-publishing?
Filed under: Getting Published, Marketing Yourself
If you have not had the time or energy to keep going in your search for a publisher, or simply want to get a manuscript into a finished format quickly, self-publishing ought to be a convenient option. The reality can be much less positive.
At a recent literary conference, the room where the various self-publishing firms were displaying their wares had all the charm of the first day of our holiday in Tenerife when Read more
Make yourself heard
Filed under: Authors and Books, Festivals and Events
You’ve written a novel. That’s good. It’s being published. That’s better. You’ve been asked to perform a reading at a literary event. Very encouraging, but give it some thought before you accept – unless you’re an actor or a school teacher.
When you last sampled your own book, perhaps for the umpteenth time, was it 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 »