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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On the sunny spring morning that we speak, Harriet Evans has been going through the page proofs of her 12th novel, The Beloved Girls, with a forensic eye—long before she was a bestselling author, Evans was a highly regarded editor—and it has not met her exacting standards. “I’m actually... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-14 16:27:00 UTC ]
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At this reading festival, kids pick the winners and authors are rock stars

The Forest of Reading book festival in Ontario, where kids pick the winning authors, is more important than ever during the pandemic. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-05-13 18:23:27 UTC ]
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More support needed as Covid-19 hits author earnings, say MPs

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-11 05:20:25 UTC ]
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The Rise of Virtual Foreign Author Tours

The shift to virtual author events during the pandemic has prompted booksellers and publishers to put together events for overseas authors who would not traditionally tour the U.S. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucinda Franks, Pulitzer-winning journalist and author, dies at 74

At age 24, she was one of the youngest Pulitzer winners in history and the first woman to be honored in the national reporting category. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-06 15:50:51 UTC ]
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex writes debut children's book for PRH

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-04 02:52:11 UTC ]
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For author Jenny Lawson, life is brutal — and hilarious

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-01 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Paris Lees | 'I grew up feeling like I wasn’t good enough, so to feel respected for my writing is really moving'

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-01 02:56:30 UTC ]
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Joffe Books launches crime writing prize with Koomson and Yearwood

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-30 23:20:48 UTC ]
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'I believe in romance': remembering Valerie Parv, the Australian author who sold 34 million books

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[ The Conversation | 2021-04-30 05:02:04 UTC ]
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Rachel Hollis, Lifestyle Author, Faces Backlash

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[ The New York Times | 2021-04-29 12:17:18 UTC ]
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DisneyMustPay: authors form task force to fight for missing payments

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[ The Guardian | 2021-04-28 17:07:11 UTC ]
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Publishers, Authors to Raise More Aid for Indie Bookstores

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Spirituality Authors Draw on Their Heritage and Identities

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In-Person Author Tours Won't Be Back Anytime Soon

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Writing a Memoir is Like Making Kimchi

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-20 03:20:29 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-20 02:37:35 UTC ]
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Finding 'value in the valley': YA authors at a Festival panel on Black life and self-love

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-18 01:13:11 UTC ]
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