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 ‘excluded from Hugo awards over China concerns’

Leaked emails reveal organisers of leading science fiction and fantasy awards flagged works of a ‘sensitive political nature’Leaked emails from the organisers of the prestigious Hugo awards for science fiction and fantasy suggest several authors were excluded from shortlists last year after they... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-15 18:16:42 UTC ]
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Court Trims Authors’ Copyright Lawsuit Against Open AI

A federal judge in California has dismissed a host of claims made by several groups of authors in a now consolidated lawsuit and gave the authors until March 13 to file an amended complaint. The suit’s core claim of direct infringement—which Open AI did not seek to dismiss—remains active. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #copyright lawsuit #open ai #federal judge #claims made


3 New Debut Novels by Black Women Authors

Three Black women novelists make their debut with tales of inheritance, friendship, and alternate futures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In the dark days of the pandemic, 36 famous authors found light in a collaborative novel

In 'Fourteen Days,' the Authors Guild shows off its storytellers, including Dave Eggers, Celeste Ng, Scott Turow, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange, Tess Gerritsen, R. L. Stine, Weike Wang and Ishmael Reed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #celeste ng #scott turow #mira jacob #tommy orange #tess gerritsen #authors guild


Pulitzer-Winning Author N. Scott Momaday has Died

N. Scott Momaday was the first Native American author to win a Pulitzer Prize. He passed away on January 24th at age 89. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-30 20:02:44 UTC ]
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Jonathan Escoffery: ‘I was trying to write novels aged nine’

The If I Survive You author on the suspense of the Booker ceremony, Americans’ warped view of the Caribbean, and writing his next novel on the roadJonathan Escoffery, 43, was born in Texas and lives in Oakland, California. His debut, If I Survive You, about a second-generation Jamaican in Miami,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-27 18:00:42 UTC ]
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Winter Institute 2024: Adult Authors to Meet

Fiction and nonfiction writers presenting their work at this year’s Winter Institute range from renowned keynotes and all-star bestsellers to love-at-first-read newcomers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors

Concerns raised about interference or censorship after documents showed writers were barred despite receiving enough nominationsA prestigious literary award for science fiction, which was hosted in China for the first time, has come under fire for excluding several authors from the 2023 awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-24 15:53:48 UTC ]
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‘There is joy, and there is rage’: the new generation of novelists writing about motherhood

From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
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‘The levels of attack are extraordinary’: Gary Lineker on punditry, podcasts – and why he won’t stop speaking his mind

The football broadcaster and podcast mogul keeps tweeting about the Israel-Gaza war, despite arguing with friends and getting into hot water with the BBC. What drives him?Gary Lineker has asked me to meet him at his house in Barnes at 2.30pm. It’s a miserable wet day in London, so I give myself... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 07:00:52 UTC ]
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Terry Bisson, Award-Winning Sci-Fi Author, Dies at 81

The award-winning science fiction author, whose short story “Bears Discover Fire” swept the genre's major awards in 1990, died on January 10 following a recent cancer diagnosis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Banning Will Not Stop at Schools: Book Censorship News, January 12, 2024

Public libraries need to prepare for what's happening at school libraries to happen to them. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-12 11:40:00 UTC ]
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Lisa Marie Presley started writing a book before she died. Riley Keough completed it

Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous memoir will hit shelves later this year, with the help of her daughter Riley Keough, who picked up the pieces. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-11 20:25:14 UTC ]
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Writing as an Act of Grieving

In her essay for PW, author E.L. Shen reflects on the experience of losing her father as a teenager and the catharsis of writing about grief in her forthcoming book for middle graders, 'Maybe It's a Sign.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Surveys Literary Translators on Labor Conditions

The 2022 Survey of Literary Translators' Working Conditions collected data on income, royalties, copyright, and more from the responses of nearly 300 literary translators in the United States. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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