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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Authors and Booksellers Mobilize for Midterm Voters

Writers for Democratic Action, an organization of some 2,600 authors, is mobilizing its membership in a campaign called Book the Vote. WDA will facilitate nonpartisan voter registration for the 2022 midterm election, working with authors, bookstores, and libraries to educate voters about their... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #democratic action #libraries


Patricia MacLachlan, ‘Sarah, Plain and Tall’ Author, Dies at 84

A best-selling children’s book writer, she focused on family life and its difficulties, earning acclaim for her gentle, spare prose. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-04-12 18:33:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #patricia maclachlan #best-selling children #book writer #family life #spare prose #children’s book


Jack Higgins, best-selling author of ‘The Eagle Has Landed,’ dies at 92

The British thriller writer's 85 books have sold more than a quarter of a billion copies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-11 17:59:46 UTC ]
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Conservative lawmaker writes children’s book in praise of solidarity and collective action.

Does the following really sound like contemporary American conservatism to you?  Dawn of the Brave, which is aimed at children age 6 to 10, helps readers recognize that everyone has strengths and weakness, but teamwork allows people to come together for the greater good. I am… confused. Dawn of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-11 14:24:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #collective action #greater good #children’s book


Henry Patterson, author of The Eagle Has Landed, dies aged 92

The bestselling novelist wrote 85 books, mostly thrillers and spy stories, using the pseudonym Jack HigginsHenry Patterson, the bestselling novelist who wrote the The Eagle Has Landed, has died aged 92.The writer died at his home in Jersey surrounded by his family, his publisher HarperCollins... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-04-09 20:18:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestselling novelist #publisher harpercollins #harpercollins


Delia Ephron writes rom-coms. Then her life turned into one.

The author behind such favorites as “You’ve Got Mail” shares her own made-for-Hollywood tale in “Left on Tenth” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-09 12:00:29 UTC ]
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At London Book Fair: A Look at Translator-Author Relations

In London Book Fair's Literary Translation Center, one session was about how author-translator relationships aren't always easy. The post At London Book Fair: A Look at Translator-Author Relations appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-07 20:28:50 UTC ]
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Beloved Children’s Author Patricia MacLachlan Has Died at 84

Patricia MacLachlan, author of beloved children's literature including Sarah, Plain and Tall, died on March 31. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-04-06 10:54:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beloved children #patricia maclachlan #children's literature


Colin Kaepernick talks about his new venture: Children’s book author

The activist-quarterback discusses the defining moment that sparked his new children’s book, ‘I Color Myself Different.' Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-06 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Patricia MacLachlan, author of ‘Sarah, Plain and Tall,’ dies at 84

Millions of young people read her Newbery Medal-winning novel about two motherless farm children and the gentle woman who comes to the prairie to make them whole. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-05 04:20:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #patricia maclachlan #newbery medal-winning


Bestselling Swedish Author to Pen Next Three 'Dragon Tattoo' Books

Knopf will be publishing three new books in its Millennium series, which launched with Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' The new titles will be written by bestselling Swedish author Karin Smirnoff, with the first of them set to be released on September 5, 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“I Write about People Whose Lives Are on Fire”: A Conversation with Sandra Cisneros, by Emily Doyle

Interviews   Sandra Cisneros’s success as a poet, short-story writer, novelist, and essayist is tied to her determination to write about others with awareness and love. Her work is populated by powerful people—powerful in their pain, joy, and hunger for... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-01 16:29:13 UTC ]
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Why Authors Love You When You Leave a Book Review Online

Why do authors always ask for readers to leave reviews? Do reviews really help sell their books? Bottom line: yes. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-03-30 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Children’s Books by Black Authors: A Reading List 

A reading list hints at the richness and breadth of African American children’s writing before Brown v. Board of Education. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-03-19 09:00:07 UTC ]
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Ukrainian author Yevgenia Belorusets presents a portrait of a traumatized community

The Ukrainian characters in "Lucky Breaks" are displaced by a war that has been raging for years. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-18 11:00:44 UTC ]
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In Focus: AAPI Authors Respond to Anti-Asian Violence

New titles support and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Awards: Sheikh Zayed Shortlists: Literature, Young Author, Children’s Literature

The nine shortlisted tiles in the Literature, Young Author, and Children’s Literature categories come from six Arab nations. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson More Category Shortlists Will Follow he Sheikh Zayed Book Award—organized and administered by the Abu Dhabi Arabic... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-18 03:09:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literature appeared #post awards #young author #arab nations #porter anderson #editor-in-chief @porter_anderson #zayed book


Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan on the Freedom of Writing Anonymously

How’s this for fun? Take 27 incredible writers—including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, PEN Awards, Women’s Prize for Fiction, Edgar Award, and more—and invite each of them to write an erotic short story. Then publish the collection in one steamy anthology with the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 08:50:16 UTC ]
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Rare Thoughts on Writing From Cormac McCarthy in This Unlikely Interview

Knopf announced March 8 that it will publish two novels by Cormac McCarthy this fall, his first in 16 years, but don’t expect a book tour. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author lives an entirely private life. “He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t give lectures, and doesn’t do book signings,” Michael... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-15 08:55:34 UTC ]
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Caldecott Medalist Opens Retreat for Authors and Artists in the Catskills

Creating a space for children’s book writers and illustrators to share and connect has long been a dream for Sophie Blackall, who has now realized that goal in her launch of the Milkwood retreat in the Catskills. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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