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 ]
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Booker Prize-winning author Hilary Mantel dead at 70

Hilary Mantel, the best-selling British author known for her award-winning Wolf Hall historical trilogy, died on Thursday at the age of 70, her publisher said on Twitter on Friday. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2022-09-23 11:29:52 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel, celebrated author of Wolf Hall, dies aged 70

‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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Acclaimed British Author Hilary Mantel Dead At 70

Mantel was credited with reenergizing historical fiction with “Wolf Hall” and two sequels about the 16th-century English powerbroker Thomas Cromwell. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-09-23 10:42:20 UTC ]
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In London and New York, Authors’ Trade Groups Hail Amazon’s Change on Self-Service Ebook Returns

Amazon's change reportedly will prevent a self-service return of a Kindle ebook for a full refund if a consumer has read more than 10 percent of the text. The post In London and New York, Authors’ Trade Groups Hail Amazon’s Change on Self-Service Ebook Returns appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-22 19:04:47 UTC ]
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UAE: Sharjah Book Authority’s New Awards Honor Rights Professionals

During this year's Sharjah International Book Fair Publishers Conference, rights professionals will win two new awards. The post UAE: Sharjah Book Authority’s New Awards Honor Rights Professionals appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-21 00:42:21 UTC ]
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Javier Marías, celebrated Spanish author, dies at 70

His books sold nearly 9 million copies around the world with intricate and multilayered plots of crime, espionage and moral quandaries. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-13 23:18:42 UTC ]
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‘Maus’ Author Art Spiegelman Honored by US National Book Foundation

Art Spiegelman, whose 'Maus' is an example of his groundbreaking work, is to be introduced at the National Book Awards by Neil Gaiman. The post ‘Maus’ Author Art Spiegelman Honored by US National Book Foundation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-12 04:09:42 UTC ]
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She Writes Press and SparkPress: Hybrids That Lead by Example

When these sister hybrid houses merge their knowledge and expertise, their authors—and the entire publishing industry—benefit. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Morgan James Publishing: Supporting Authors and Building Community from Page One

Since founding Morgan James Publishing in 2003, entrepreneur David Hancock has helped launch the careers of thousands of authors. Whether it’s a business- or faith-based title, a novel, or a children’s story, the books’ accolades speak for themselves. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rabih Alameddine on Only Writing When You Have Something to Say

Rabih Alameddine’s The Wrong End of the Telescope is out now in paperback from Grove Atlantic, so we asked him about writer’s block, the best books to re-read, and procrastinating. * How do you tackle writer’s block? I don’t, nor do I wish to anymore. Not unless I have an external deadline,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-09 08:53:14 UTC ]
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Wattpad gave authors a boost. TikTok launches them to new heights.

On Wattpad, authors retain a lot of the control, but on TikTok, it’s hard to know when and how a story will go viral. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-03 13:00:59 UTC ]
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Barbara Ehrenreich, author who challenged American Dream myths, dies at 81

For her book 'Nickel and Dimed,' Barbara Ehrenreich tried to live on minimum-wage jobs and advanced debates on labor inequalities. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-03 01:14:21 UTC ]
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Schoolchildren’s pandemic struggles, made worse by U.S. policies

Alongside heartbreaking snapshots of kids' challenges as schools closed, Anya Kamenetz explains the systemic failures that made so many vulnerable. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-02 10:00:24 UTC ]
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All Things Are Possible: Mario Vargas Llosa on the Eternal Youth of Flaubert’s Writing

Translated by Charlotte Whittle At some point in the last century, I arrived in Paris and that very day bought a copy of Madame Bovary in a bookstore called Joie de Vivre in the Latin Quarter. I stayed up nearly all night reading it and by dawn I knew what kind of writer I wanted […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-29 08:52:14 UTC ]
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Register Today for AAPI Communities in Conversation #9 Featuring Andrea Wang, Author of 'The Many Meanings of Meilan'

Wang is set to appear in conversation with Crystal Chen of the New York Public Library. The live stream is set for Tuesday, September 6 at 1 PM ET. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Here are the songs Bob Dylan is writing about in his forthcoming book on “modern song.”

As some of you may already know (and sure, some of you may not care) Bob Dylan is publishing a book this November about his “philosophy of modern song” called… The Philosophy of Modern Song. If you are among those who do care (like me) the table of contents of the Nobel laureate’s foray into […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-26 15:37:43 UTC ]
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In post-apartheid South Africa, dashed hopes and moral struggles

In South Africa's challenges, Eve Fairbanks sees parallels to the U.S. efforts to undo white supremacy. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-26 10:00:53 UTC ]
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Coding and Creative Writing Have More in Common Than You Think

While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
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Chateaubriand on Writing Memoir between Two Societies

“It was an ‘I‘ of early days long gone who lived in these places, and that ‘I’ has already succumbed, for our days die before us.” Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2022-08-22 15:42:39 UTC ]
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Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture warIt is a literary row that threatens to consume the very organisation set up to protect authors’ rights. And, in spite of the involvement of three prominent names in children’s books, it has... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-08-21 09:00:05 UTC ]
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