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'


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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #middle graders


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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary translators


What Booksellers Can Teach Us About Reading, Writing and Publishing

My longtime girlfriend is a longtime bookseller. Her relationship with bookselling predates ours three times over. It is a surprisingly taxing career path—one that asks of the body, and of the mind. There are the bad days, where she brings home the classic bookseller gripes: failed hand-sells,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-05 09:56:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #longtime bookseller #bad days #bookseller


Trial of Salman Rushdie’s attacker postponed because of author’s memoir

Rushdie’s book about the incident will be published in April, but the delay ‘will not change the ultimate outcome’ of the trial says district attorneyThe trial of the man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie has been postponed because of the publication of the author’s memoir about the attack.A... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-04 13:18:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #salman rushdie #man accused #york state #memoir


‘Historical reparation’: new bookshops in Europe give voice to female authors

Greta Livraria in Lisbon and Rare Birds in Edinburgh are among the new stores dedicated to women’s writingWith its neatly arranged tables and shelves laden with books written by women, Greta Livraria’s small space masks its big ambitions. Since opening earlier this year, the bookstore in Lisbon... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-28 05:00:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #female authors #big ambitions #bookstore #books written


Pietsch Touts New Marketing Efforts in Letter to Authors

In his last annual letter to authors as Hachettte Book Group CEO, Michael Pietsch hit on a number of topics, including the publisher’s steps to improve its marketing efforts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annual letter #marketing efforts #book group


Five years and 2m copies later, self-published author lands UK book deal

Norfolk-based crime writer JM Dalgliesh topped the Amazon and Kindle bestsellers before being signed by a traditional publisher In 2018, JM Dalgliesh was a stay-at-home father when he sent his first crime novel to six literary agents, only to receive polite rejection letters – or no response at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-17 09:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #2m copies #literary agents #traditional publisher #kindle #uk book #self-published author


De Los | Reads: 9 books to read during the holidays by Latinx authors

If you want inspiration for the new year, the nonfiction section has a self-care title that promises a meditative reading and a graphic novel about the Latinx leaders who changed the history of the U.S. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-13 18:42:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latinx authors #graphic novel


Cait Corrain apologizes, checks into rehab after Goodreads 'review bombing' rival authors

First-time author Cait Corrain has apologized on X and announced she is going to rehab after losing her book deal and agent for 'review bombing' on Goodreads. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-12 22:43:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book deal


Stopping the Slide

A recent study assesses school library staffing realities, shedding light on difficult decisions facing administrators. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shedding light


12 of the Most Prolific Children’s Book Authors of All Time

These prolific children's book authors have written hundreds of books over decades working in the publishing industry! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-07 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prolific children #book authors #publishing industry #children's book #children’s book


CBC News analysis finds thousands of Canadian authors, books in controversial dataset used to train AI

A CBC News investigation has found at least 2,500 copyrighted books written by more than 1,200 Canadian and Québécois authors were shared online as part of a massive — and now defunct — dataset used to train artificial intelligence. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-12-07 09:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #canadian authors #train ai #books written


'Know My Name' author Chanel Miller has written a children's book, 'Magnolia Wu Unfolds It'

Chanel Miller’s next book after her prize-winning memoir “Know My Name” will help fulfill a longtime dream to write and illustrate children’s stories Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-12-06 14:46:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chanel miller #prize-winning memoir #memoir


A poignant memoir unfolds the struggle of Cuban Jewish exiles

In “Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile, and Repair,” Rosa Lowinger writes with compassion about the dislocation her parents experienced after leaving Cuba for the U.S. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-12-05 17:16:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Would I use AI to write my novels? I'd get better results from a monkey with an iPhone | Monica Ali

I asked ChatGPT to improve my latest novel and lost no sleep over the results. But I do worry about diverse voices being crowded out This summer two worlds – literature and technology – collided. News stories began appearing about authors suing OpenAI and Meta for using their works to train... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-01 06:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black box #monica ali #english pen #writing north #full version #pen transmissions


Penguin Random House, Authors Sue to Block Iowa Anti-LGBTQ Book Banning Law

Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association, along with four bestselling authors and five plaintiffs from the state of Iowa, have sued the state to block key provisions of its sweeping new law banning books with sexual or LGBTQ+ content in schools. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestselling authors #penguin random house


Publishers launch initiative to highlight Palestinian authors and history

The campaign by Publishers for Palestine will offer more than 30 free ebooks of poetry, fiction and nonfiction as ‘an act of solidarity’A group of publishers has launched a week-long initiative encouraging people to read books by Palestinian authors and about Palestinian history by offering free... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-29 17:20:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read books #palestinian authors #early november #verso books #verso #ebooks


Rebecca Yarros to Write Two More Romance Novels for Montlake

The 'Fourth Wing' author will pen two contemporary romances for the Amazon Publishing romance imprint, which will be published in 2025 and 2026. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rebecca yarros #romance novels #fourth wing #contemporary romances #amazon publishing


A.S. Byatt, British writer and author of Booker Prize-winning 'Possession,' dies at 87

British author A.S. Byatt, who was known for award-winning works including 'Possession' and 'The Children's Book,' has died. She was 87. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-17 17:18:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british writer #booker prize-winning #british author


A. S. Byatt, author of Possession, has died at the age of 87.

Celebrated British author A.S. Byatt—a scholar and novelist whose 1990 novel, Possession, won the Booker Prize and brought her international renown—has died at the age of 87. A statement released this morning by her longtime UK publisher, Chatto & Windus, reports that Byatt “died peacefully... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-17 16:46:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booker prize #chatto windus #longtime editor #british author