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 ]
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A second petition about the Amazon Hachette dispute has been launched - this time a pro-Amazon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than a thousand readers have signed a petition in support of Amazon in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook’s most recently published study is not unique. This is a call to action. We should work together to demand that companies promise not to make us involuntary accomplices in corporate activities that compromise other people’s autonomy and trust. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Jacqueline Wilson and Alan Gibbons have spoken out in defence of libraries as part of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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And whoever comes out on top, you can bet the poor old writer won't be any better offA few weeks ago, we published a book called Denglisch for Better Knowers, a (hopefully) humorous book about how the English language could be improved by taking new words and concepts from German. Like "ear... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ron Capps, author of "Seriously Not All Right: Five Wars in Ten Years, A Memoir" (Schaffner Press, 9781936182589) will appear on PBS's "Tavis Smiley" on Monday, June 30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Freshman Fifteens, a group of 15 authors with debut Young Adult novels in 2015, are teaming with the online writing community Wattpad to organize The Common Room Teen Mentoring Contest, a writing and mentoring contest that opens for entries on June 30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?People first started to notice last year when Kate Atkinson's Life After Life coincided in the US with Jill McCorkle's Life After Life, which had... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Marcoux, author of "Cooking with Fire" (Storey Publishing, 9781612121581) will appear on NPR's "The Splendid Table" on Saturday, June 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Europa Editions UK has acquired its first title by a British writer, a historical fiction novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bruce Kraig, author of "Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America" (Taylor Trade Publishing, 9781589799325) will appear on "CBS This Morning Saturday" on Saturday, June 21. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A.J. Baime, author of "The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 9780547719283) will appear on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" and MSNBC’s "The Cycle" on Friday, June 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Columnist of 20 years given ultimatum by Sydney Morning Herald: its us or the Saturday PaperRichard Ackland says he has ended 20 years as a columnist for Fairfax Media after the Sydney Morning Herald asked him to choose between writing for a rival publication, the Saturday Paper, and the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe, author of "Pork Chop: 60 Recipes for Living High on the Hog" (Chronicle Books, 9781452113678) will appear on the CBS’s "The Talk" on Wednesday, June 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taylor Trade’s editorial director, Rick Rinehart, will appear on "Weekend Edition Sunday" on Sunday, June 15, to discuss his grandmother, the mystery author Mary Roberts Rinehart. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Paul Pope, Colson Whitehead and Roz Chast are among more than 100 literary figures presenting at the 9th annual Brooklyn Book Festival, slated for September 21, 2014 at the Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild released a statement in response to the Second Circuit's affirmation of Judge Harold Baer's October 2012 decision in the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kenneth Turan, author of "Not to be Missed: Fifty-Four Favorites from a Lifetime of Film" (PublicAffairs, 9781586483968 ) will appear on the "Diane Rehm Show" on Tuesday, June 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thom Shea, author of "Unbreakable: A Navy Seal’s Way of Life" (Clovercroft Publishing, 9781940262376), will appear on the "Sean Hannity Show" on Thursday, June 5. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has launched InkedIn, a new online community for S&S authors that lets them hold one-on-one or group discussions on publishing related topics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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