Karen Stevens's collection of essays offers practical advice and inspiration for those embarking on the long, lonely journey of writing a novelAccording to Karen Stevens, "writing a novel is the longest and loneliest journey a writer can embark upon". Her collection of essays by established and new writers splits that journey into four stages: inspiration, research, voice and form. There is also practical advice from a literary agent and an editor who notes honestly that "chance does play a part" in getting published. Lionel Shriver is equally frank about what comes after the acceptance of your first novel: "struggle and disappointment". Although Hanif Kureishi candidly admits, in an excellent piece from 2002, that "most writers do not entirely understand what they are doing", these essays are both perceptive and inspiring. Alison MacLeod writes beautifully on the voice of a novel: "It is the unknown quantity every novel needs." Kishwar Desai admits to being driven by "the demons of insecurity" to over-research, and Jane Feaver, writing about form, advises authors to develop "an alertness to the collective materiality of words". But all agree with Wena Poon: the process of writing a novel is a "strange and wondrous journey".PublishingPaperbacksEssaysPD Smiththeguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
This month’s starred reviews of self-published books includes a pair of notable new novels, one about dysfunctional childhood in Western and another about a busy single mother. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred reviews of self-published books includes a "stellar" historical novel and a "touching" memoir of life as a teacher of disadvantaged students. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an interview with Poynter back at the beginning of November, BuzzFeed book editor Isaac Fitzgerald said that the site will not include negative reviews. "Why waste breath talking smack about something? You see it in so many old media-type places, the scathing takedown rip. If you can’t say... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred self-published books of note include a fictional tragedy in pre-colonial Nigeria and a memoir where beer pong meets sado-masochism. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's recipients of starred reviews from BlueInk include a novel about a schizophrenic New Yorker who believes he is Beethoven and a timely look at profiteering in American medicine. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's “starred” reviews of self-published books include a collection of spiritualist lectures, an examination of the Andean Q’ero faith and a pair of compelling novels. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Among this month's starred reviews: a novel in which the discovery of a sexy 19th-century manuscript leads to erotic adventures, and a comprehensive guide for psychotherapists. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred reviews from BlueInk Review of self-published books includes several "stay-up-all-night-until-your-eyes-bleed" thrillers, as well as a memoir from the ringmaster of The Big Apple Circus. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published books receiving starred reviews from BlueInk this month include a novel about a wisecracking cat that investigates the death of its owner and a memoir of escaping Romania under Soviet rule. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred self-published titles include a novel about lesbian nuns in pre-WWII Germany and a memoir from the daughter of 1960s cult leaders, among others. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Language of Survival and Resistance: A Review of Shereen Malherbe’s Yassini Girls, by Zeynep Alp Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 11/18/2024 - 15:22 Yassini Girls (Beacon Books, 2024), the new novel by Shereen Malherbe, invites readers into... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-11-18 21:22:51 UTC ]
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The latest Amazon Fire HD 8, updated last month and starting at $100, is a modest refresh, offering more RAM, a nominally upgraded camera and some new AI features. The general sales pitch, however, remains the same: You get a just-competent tablet for the essentials at a dirt-cheap (and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-15 14:19:25 UTC ]
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Yang Shuang-zi’s “Taiwan Travelogue,” a National Book Award finalist, is a nesting-doll narrative about colonial power in its many forms. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-15 13:18:52 UTC ]
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2024 has been a rough year for Sonos. The company’s would-be triumphant entry into the crowded headphones market was overshadowed by a disastrous app redesign. In the fallout of the botched software update, the company decided to delay products that were ready to be shipped to give itself more... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-11 13:00:11 UTC ]
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Techtober rolled straight into November this year. The first week of the month was a busy one at Engadget HQ as we published a number of high-profile reviews over the last few days. There's the MacBook Pro and Mac mini from Apple alongside the beastly (and expensive) PS5 Pro. Plus, we've got yet... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-09 15:00:04 UTC ]
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In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman recover from the election by discussing our final thoughts on the PlayStation 5 Pro, as well as Apple’s M4 Mac mini (so cute, so powerful!) and new MacBook Pros. The M4 chip is a solid upgrade, but the M4 Pro is shockingly fast (so much so that... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-08 12:30:09 UTC ]
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Amazon completely revamped its Kindle family in October when it debuted the entirely new Colorsoft ereader along with updated generations of the other three existing models: the standard Kindle, the Paperwhite and the Scribe E Ink tablet. The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen, a bigger... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-04 16:30:36 UTC ]
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I think my colleague Cherlynn Low jinxed us in the last installment with her mention of a slower than usual October. The last week of the month was jam-packed with news, especially from Apple, so we're in for a busy few weeks of reviews to finish out the year. This week, we tested Amazon's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-02 14:00:46 UTC ]
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As the Erotic Review is joined by dating app Feeld’s literary magazine and Gillian Anderson’s anthology of women’s fantasies, there seems to be a fresh appetite for writing about desire‘Sexual liberation must mean freedom to enjoy sex on our terms, to say what we want, not what we are pressured... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-30 14:32:58 UTC ]
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Well, it finally happened. After years of waiting and requests, Amazon debuted the $280 Kindle Colorsoft, its first ereader with a color display. The company’s ereaders have dominated this space since the original Kindle came out 17 years ago, but in this case, it feels like Amazon is playing... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-10-30 13:15:29 UTC ]
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