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'


Female-centered historical novels are dogged by questions of accuracy. Hence the author’s note.

Resistance to books that cast heroines with agency and hidden talents has declined, but only after a hard-fought battle. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-06-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Author Lucinda Riley dies after four-year cancer battle

Bestselling Irish author Lucinda Riley, best known for the Seven Sisters series, has died after battling cancer for four years.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-12 03:14:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #irish author


Walker launches third children's sports writing competition

Walker Books is launching its third Young Sportswriter of the Year competition, in partnership with the Guardian and the Football School series of books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-10 01:41:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #walker books #young sportswriter #year competition


'Libraries saved my life', says Lowborn author Kerry Hudson

Lowborn author Kerry Hudson has told a Scottish conference that libraries saved her life. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 23:41:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Battacharya wins Spread the Word Life Writing Prize

Santanu Battacharya has won Spread the Word’s Life Writing Prize 2021, with "The Nicer One", hailed by judges as a "gut-punch of a piece". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 14:59:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #won spread


McMullan and Millwood Hargrave win Society of Authors awards

Thomas McMullan, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Fredrik Logevall are among the writers and illustrators who have won awards from the Society of Authors this year.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 09:31:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors awards #won awards


HCCB signs children's series from Slay in Your Lane authors Adegoke and Uviebinené

HarperCollins Children's Books has signed a new middle-grade fiction series from Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, the authors of Slay in Your Lane (HarperCollins).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-08 04:03:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #elizabeth uviebinen #harpercollins children #harpercollins


Scholastic Authors Pay Tribute to Dick Robinson

A number of Scholastic’s writers paid tribute to the Scholastic CEO, lauding his vision, his passion, and his unwavering support for children’s books and authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dick robinson #scholastic


Fleet takes two more from Stubborn Archivist author Fowler

Fleet has signed two new titles from Yara Rodrigues Fowler author of Stubborn Archivist, and Sunday Times Young Writer Award shortlistee. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-06 21:30:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The Advantages of Failure: What Thoreau Taught Me About Journal Writing

I have known plenty of failure in my writing life. Inspired partly by Henry David Thoreau, I set out to be a writer after college. Which effectively meant that I worked part-time as a carpenter and bookseller for the next dozen years without publishing a word. My current day job is as a teacher... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-04 08:49:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing life #dozen years #bookseller


The spellbinding ‘Revival Season’ makes Monica West an author to watch

West joins American writers who have tackled the significance of the Black church as a locus for community organizing that can also harm those seeking spiritual refuge. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black church


But what if I want to write about mangoes?

Here I am. Writing about mangoes, while eating a mango. I am a stereotype dream come true. “I try to avoid any mention of mangoes, of spices and monsoons,” said writer Jeet Thayil, in an NPR interview a few years ago. Yes, these are the stereotypes that we are often pigeonholed in. I debated and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-28 09:09:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


'Three Women' author Lisa Taddeo's debut novel is fearless. So what is she afraid of?

Lisa Taddeo, whose book "Three Women" broke the mold of immersive journalism, talks about her first novel, "Animal," and the struggle to write and live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 13:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lisa taddeo #debut novel


Eric Carle, Author Of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' Dies At 91

"In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now traveling across the night sky," his family wrote in a statement. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2021-05-26 22:36:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eric carle #hungry caterpillar #night sky


Author Tayari Jones on Timing at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

The author speaks with Emirates Airline Festival of Literature director Ahlam Bolooki, asserting 'You don't have to write every day.' The post Author Tayari Jones on Timing at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-26 14:44:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Top Arab-World Authors at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

The cultural program at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, curated by the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, features a strong roster of writers from the Arab world. (Sponsored) By Publishing Perspectives Staff s Publishing Perspectives readers will remember, the Emirates... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-05-25 01:43:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cultural program #arab world #physical formats


Writing an Old Friend: Spotlight on J. William Lewis

The teenage protagonist in J. William Lewis’s debut novel, The Essence of Nathan Biddle, seeks to answer life’s biggest questions. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #teenage protagonist #biggest questions


Indian authors speak out over plan to reissue Narendra Modi exam book

Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy attack Penguin Random House India for putting out book by a prime minister they say has mishandled Covid and persecuted writersLeading Indian authors Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy have spoken out against Penguin Random House India’s decision to publish and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-20 12:53:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #narendra modi #coronavirus crisis #london review #publisher announced #penguin random house


In Francisco Goldman’s ‘Monkey Boy,’ an author grapples with the alternative facts of his family history

A train ride becomes a pretext for a long train of thought, as a man looks back at his past. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-18 16:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alternative facts #family history #train ride


Kirstin Innes on Scotland's exciting female writing

Writer Kirstin Innes talks to The Bookseller about some of the most exciting and experimental Scottish female voices being published today. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-15 00:01:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #published today #bookseller