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Insider tip
Trying to create a comedy game through dialogue or regular one-liners when the gameplay takes itself too seriously is likely to give the player the feeling of a game at odds with itself. Writing for Video Games by Steve Ince-
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When self-publishing makes sense – and how to market your book
New chapter online now – and free to read
If you’re a fan of our Writers’ Zone, you’ll almost certainly be following our serialisation of Alison Baverstock’s Marketing Your Book: An Author’s Guide.
Alison’s book is essential reading if you plan to see your work published.
From the moment you reach the first page, Alison is by your side guiding you through the labyrinth of the publishing world.
She provides you with practical and proven tips every step of the way – from submitting your manuscript, finding an agent and approaching a publisher, to working with booksellers and even organising a great launch event.
We’ve now added a new chapter – the eighth – where you’ll find advice on Read more
Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2011 – now available
Filed under: Authors and Books, Getting Published, Writing Advice
It doesn’t seem long ago that I was writing a post to announce the publication of the 2010 edition of the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. How time flies when you’re having fun…
That’s not far from the truth when it comes to the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. I love putting this book together for the simple reason that I love what’s in it. I truly think the content is more than good – it’s great: 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
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
Short stories, poems – what’s the point?
Filed under: Competitions and Offers, Getting Published
I am often contacted by authors who are writing short stories, and want to know what their chances of getting published are. There is good news and bad news.
The bad news is that most publishers will only publish short stories if you are an established author. Even the most well-known authors will sell fewer books if they write short stories, and bookshops stock fewer short story collections on their shelves.
So what’s the good news then? Read more
The 2011 Yearbook – do you need it?
Filed under: Authors and Books, Getting Published, Writing Advice
The brand new Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is published today, 30 June!
I’m always excited but slightly anxious at the prospect. I love the look of the uncreased cover, the perfect un-thumbed pages and the unbroken spine (I’ve never been one to treat books very well – does that make me a bad book person?). I can’t wait to give it a quick smooth, a quick fan and a quick sniff before I get out the post-its and spoil another perfect copy with my scribbles and coffee stains.
But what about you – the reader? Do you need a new copy? Read more
I’ve finished so I’ll get started
Filed under: Getting Published, Writing Advice
With the 104th edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook now safely at the printers, I’ve hit a bit of a mental slump.
After months of hard work – updating all those 5,000 or so listings, adding new ones, updating articles and making room for more – the buzz of having finished what I started has been short lived.
This is the pattern – I’ll rush to the finish line and then find it’s followed by a strange feeling of Read more
Sneak preview of Getting Published!
We are thrilled to announce that a new title for writers, the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Guide to Getting Published, will be coming out this autumn. It’s a companion book to the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook so this is all very exciting!
To give you all a sneak preview of this new book, we have added an article exclusively to this website. It’s called Read more
Rules are made to be broken…
Filed under: Getting Published, Writing Advice
… so why have rules?
You will see time and again on this site, and others dedicated to writing advice, ‘you must write this long or this short a novel’, ‘you can’t have characters who do this or that’, ‘make sure you obey all grammar rules’.
Do you feel rebellious?
Do you wonder why Read more
Book now, and claim your discount!
We’ve got two great events for writers coming up, and if you book by the end of tomorrow, 30 April, you will get an amazingly good deal as you can claim your early-bird discount!
For all writers who are starting out we have our How to Get Published conference, which is a one-day event packed with 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.-
Tweet and Win! We are giving away free copies of our 2011 yearbooks - and you can win one in less than a minute. Visit our competition page now to be in with a chance...
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 »