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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Rupert Murdoch says Trump should stop focusing ‘on the past’ in rare rebuke

Fox News boss has made few public comments about ex-president who was championed by many of the network’s commentatorsFox News boss Rupert Murdoch has said Donald Trump should stop focusing “on the past” in a rare public rebuke of the former US president.On Wednesday addressing the annual... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-17 23:11:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rupert murdoch #annual meeting #economic opportunity #news corp


Amazon to stop accepting Visa's UK-issued credit cards over high fees

Amazon has announced it will stop accepting UK-issued Visa credit cards over high fees. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-17 17:57:09 UTC ]
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Canadian booksellers are struggling, but not in the way you might think

Ongoing global supply issues and a paper shortage have conspired to create the "perfect storm" for the book industry as publishers, booksellers and authors are all finding it difficult to keep up with reader demand. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2021-11-17 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #canadian booksellers #paper shortage #perfect storm #reader demand #book industry


John Lewis sued by self-published children’s author over Christmas ad

Fay Evans alleges a ‘striking similarity’ between the 2019 Excitable Edgar TV campaign and her 2017 book Fred the Fire-Sneezing DragonThe author of a self-published children’s book about a dragon that causes havoc with its fiery sneezes is suing John Lewis over its 2019 Christmas ad about a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-16 14:46:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #christmas ad #picture book #trouble-making dragon #fire-sneezing dragon #self-published children #striking similarity #john lewis #children’s book


Wilbur Smith, best-selling author of African adventure tales, dies at 88

His novels — filled with bloodshed and bodice ripping — sold more than 140 million copies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-16 01:36:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wilbur smith #best-selling author


Authors support Women's Prize Trust's T-shirt celebration of female icons

Authors including Elizabeth Day, June Sarpong and Dolly Alderton are among those supporting a new T-shirt initiative to spotlight iconic female writers, launched by the Women's Prize Trust. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-14 18:47:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prize trust #june sarpong #dolly alderton


Goth-rock queen PJ Harvey is publishing a book-length narrative poem that took six years to write.

PJ Harvey is trying her hand at poetry again. In April 2022, Picador Poetry in the UK will publish the hardcover edition of Orlam, Harvey’s book-length narrative poem. A special collector’s edition featuring the musician’s original artwork will follow in October 2022. The long-form poem, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-12 18:12:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #original artwork #picador


12 Free Short Stories by Your Favorite Authors

These free short stories by your favorite authors will entice and enchant you with bookkeeping aliens, ant writing, and sentient drones. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-11-10 11:34:00 UTC ]
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Art of Writing 2021 Highlights Diverse Characters, Mental Health

Hosted annually by the ECPA, 2021’s Art of Writing took place virtually from Sept. 30—Nov. 4 with webinars touching on the need for authentic representations of diverse people, the impacts of Covid-19 on writers, and other challenges within the Christian publishing industry today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mental health #place virtually #diverse people #publishing industry


Myleene Klass writes modern household manual for HQ

Myleene Klass has written an “essential” modern household manual for HarperCollins imprint HQ, based on her TikTok series. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-09 21:35:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins


Authors Guild doubles down on support of antitrust suit against publisher mega-merger

The Authors Guild likes what it sees in the federal antitrust suit aiming to block the $2 billion merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-11-05 22:15:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #antitrust suit #simon schuster #penguin random house #authors guild


‘Still a long way from being realized’: A Q&A with author and metaverse inventor Neal Stephenson

Science fiction author Neal Stephenson shares his thoughts on the metaverse, a term he coined, after Facebook's rebrand brought new light to the topic. The post ‘Still a long way from being realized’: A Q&A with author and metaverse inventor Neal Stephenson appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2021-11-05 04:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction


Paul Newman’s memoir—which he started writing in the 80s—will finally be released next fall.

If you’re like me and have a deep appreciation and love of classic Hollywood, then you’ll be delighted to hear that Knopf plans to publish Paul Newman’s memoir in the fall of 2022. The actor, who died in 2008 at the age of 83, began working on his memoir in the 1980s; according to the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-03 14:46:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paul newman #started writing #deep appreciation #began working #memoir


H.G. Wells wanted to change the world. A new book explores the author’s outsize ambitions

Claire Tomalin’s ‘The Young H.G. Wells’ is a fascinating look at the prolific writer’s rocky beginnings and complicated personal life. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book explores #claire tomalin #prolific writer


US files antitrust suit to stop major book publisher merger

The Justice Department is suing to block a $2.2 billion book publishing deal that would have reshaped the industry Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2021-11-02 21:39:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #justice department #book publishing


Children's book on Governor General's Literary Award short list a win for Indigenous publishing, author says

A children's book shortlisted for a 2021 Governor General's Literary Award was written by a University of Guelph associate professor who specializes in the history of Indigenous Peoples and illustrated by an Ojibway multidisciplinary artist. ... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2021-11-02 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #governor general #indigenous peoples #children's book #literary award


Writing while caring

Many people who read this month’s column will be carers. If you are not one now, you may be later and some of us will always be in this role. What does this mean? A carer (I use the NHS definition) is anyone who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-01 15:01:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family member


CWA Daggers cash prizes return as authors allowed to self-nominate

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers will award cash prizes again after more than a decade, with the rules also changing to allow authors to nominate their own books.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-01 00:27:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #crime writers


Canadian Author Catherine Mavrikakis at Frankfurt: ‘Serious Thinking’

'My mother didn’t want us to live wars,' said Canada's Catherine Mavrikakis in a conversation at Frankfurter Buchmesse. The post Canadian Author Catherine Mavrikakis at Frankfurt: ‘Serious Thinking’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-10-28 16:58:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #frankfurter buchmesse #canadian author


Next Stop After Frankfurt Book Fair: Sharjah’s Publishers’ Conference

Some 520 publishing professionals are traveling to the UAE for the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair and its Publishers' Conference. The post Next Stop After Frankfurt Book Fair: Sharjah’s Publishers’ Conference appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-10-28 14:20:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #conference appeared