Struggling as an author? Stop writing only what you want to write

Earning a living as a writer is as likely as winning the lottery. Instead of writing books and persuading others to buy them, find out what people want to write, then do it for themPhilip Pullman: professional writers set to become ‘an endangered species’ due to low wagesI left school with a burning urge to lead the life of a writer: travelling like Byron, feted like Wilde before his fall, creating laughter like Wodehouse and crafting sentences like Nabokov. I had no professional contacts, so I wrote my masterpieces speculatively, and every path I went down ended with a rejection slip or total silence. The perceived wisdom then, as now, was that earning a living as a writer was about as likely as winning a lottery.Then I discovered the secret of marketing: instead of writing things and trying to persuade people to buy them, I would find out what writing services people needed and offer to provide them. So, at the same time as begging publishers and editors for commissions, I made myself available to anyone who might want to write an article or a book but did not feel able to do it for themselves. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #rejection slip

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Struggling as an author? Stop writing only what you want to write'

Amid Hachette dispute, Amazon appeals to authors

Amazon.com Inc. is offering authors caught up in its dispute with Hachette Book Group all of the proceeds from the sale of any digital book, seeking to bypass the publisher and appeal directly to the... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon appeals #digital book #appeal directly

Amazon's Latest Proposal Rankles Hachette and Authors

The acrimony between Amazon and Hachette does not appear to waning. And their battle, over ebook sales terms, continues to play out in newspaper headlines. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Amazon offers Hachette authors 100% ebook royalties

The war of words between Amazon and Hachette US escalated overnight, after Amazon offered authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Five-year-old writes book about fairies for British charity

Five-year-old Lydia Port-Burke has self-published a fairy tale now available in the UK. Proceeds for the book will go to BBC Children in Need. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writes book #fairy tale #bbc children

Distribution: Authors Sign with INscribe

Nine romance writers are distributing an anthology of short stories, "Naught Nine," through INscribe Digital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #inscribe digital #authors sign #romance writers #short stories

Authors choose sides in the duel between Amazon and Hachette (+video)

Some 'old guard' authors are joining forces in a letter criticizing Amazon, even as a cluster of self-published authors is rallying around Amazon, charging that traditional publishers like Hachette mistreat authors and readers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published authors #joining forces #traditional publishers

Authors choose sides in the duel between Amazon and Hachette

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #self-published authors #joining forces #traditional publishers

Rowling writes story about 30-plus Harry Potter

J K Rowling has written a new piece about a thirty-something Harry Potter and his friends at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter

Her Struggle

After I recommended My Struggle to a friend, she texted, “What if a woman wrote it?” I wrote back, “or an American?” and I began to wonder what would happen if the literary sensation were written not by the handsome Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard but by Carla Olivia Krauss of Cobble Hill,... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #woman wrote #wrote back #literary sensation #cobble hill #lorin stein #paris review #big problem

Defining ‘Vibrant’: Two Debut Cookbook Authors' Perfect Summer Meals

First-time cookbook authors Kimberley Hasselbrink and Anya Kassoff describe what “vibrant” food means to them and suggest perfect height-of-summer meals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Typical author earnings 'dropped to £11,000 in 2013'

The typical income for a professional author in 2013 was just £11,000, more than £5,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Chipping Norton festival offers profit share to authors

Chipping Norton Literary Festival is to split its profits with authors in lieu of paying... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Five Questions for business author Richie Frieman

Business author says bad manners can tank your careerBusiness author Richie Frieman has studied fine arts at the University of Maryland, launched a music-focused Internet magazine, written children's books, invented a device that keeps shirt collars crisp and created a pop culture-inspired... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2014-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Authors taking sides in Amazon-Hachette dispute

One one side are established authors including Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson. On the other side are self-published authors. They're taking sides in the weeks-old dispute between Amazon.com Inc. and Hachette Book Group. King, Grisham and Patterson have signed their names to a... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon-hachette dispute #john grisham #james patterson #self-published authors #taking sides

Award-winning children's author Walter Dean Myers dies

Myers, author of such books as 'Hoops' and 'Monster,' recently published an essay lamenting what he saw as a lack of diverse characters in children's literature. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #award-winning children #recently published #diverse characters

Cleave: 'authors mustn't be selfish'

Novelist Chris Cleave has called on his fellow authors to exercise a "profound attitude... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fellow authors

Are African Writers Trumping African-American Authors?

In the NYTimes, Felicia R. Lee asks if the 'new wave of African writers' with an international appeal are drawing attention away from African-American voices. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #african writers #international appeal #drawing attention #african-american voices

Authors Pen Open Letter to Amazon About Hachette Dispute

Two weeks ago bestselling author Douglas Preston began quietly circulating a letter to other writers that encourages readers to write to Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hachette dispute #encourages readers