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August 2008
The website for writers
News Review
- 'The book trade is beginning to wonder if books will weather the economic storm. The received wisdom is that they do well in a recession because they are small-ticket items, but is this really true?' News Review asks: are books recession-proof?
- 'A new star has burst upon the publishing firmament. Stephenie Meyer, whose new book Breaking Dawn already has 1.3 million copies in print in the US, recorded the largest-ever first-day sale when it was published there on August 4th.' News Review on the latest superselling author.
- The Sony Reader launches soon in the UK, with the international launch of Amazon's Kindle expected to follow. So is this the autumn when e-books finally arrive in most of the world? And what effect will they have? News Review has the story.
- The closure of Publishing News on 25 July marked the end of an era in book trade journalism. News Review looks back over the years.
Comment
- 'The internet has changed print... What's the difference between junk email and a letter that has been written to you? It's relevance. That's what publishers do, add relevance.' Roger Horton of Taylor & Francis on academic publishing in the Bookseller
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'America suited the book I wanted to write much more than Britain. British crime stories tend to by very internal, psychological, claustrophobic, very limited in terms of geography... I wanted to do something that was more wide-ranging in terms of geography, empty spaces, distant horizons.' Lee Child, British author of number one bestseller Nothing to Lose in the Observer
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There has to be a whole-school approach to reading and enjoyment of books which must include parents. We must find ways in which parents can enjoy books with children. It must be as much a part of the education process as doing science or history.' UK Children's Laureate Michael Rosen in the Independent on Sunday.
Writers' Quote
'The King died and then the Queen died. That is a story. The King died and then the Queen died of grief. That is a plot.'
E M Forster in Aspects of the Novel
Page sizes
Does page size matter in terms of how many pages your manuscript will be in book form? The intriguing answer is - not as much as you might think.
Work out your pagination and do an rough cost estimate online in the pages of our our WritersPrintShop self-publishing service.
Review of Writers and Artists' Yearbook 2009
Our reviewer concluded that what makes this book an outstandingly good buy is the many articles about every aspect of getting published and called it: 'an essential companion for all writers'.
Services stories
We've added Manuscript Polishing to the fictionalised stories which show how our Services can help writers get their work into shape.
Makito Sato has successfully completed the research for his PhD on an obscure new area in molecular biology, but is finding it difficult to get the work into good English to submit to his tutor at MIT...
Also available, stories on the Reader's Report, the Editor's Report, Editing, Contract vetting, Private publishing and Self-publishing.
Review of The Self-Publishing Magazine
Our reviewer concluded: 'You wouldn’t really compare it to the other magazines reviewed here, but for anyone who is thinking about self-publishing it provides advice and reassurance.’
Writers' magazines reviews index
Writing for the web
Writing effectively for the web is quite different from writing for the printed page. Our latest new checklist shows you how to write web pages to attract and keep visitors.
Changes in the book trade
This new series by Chris Holifield looks at the book trade and investigates how fundamental changes in how it works are affecting writers.
The seventh deals with Creative Commons, an innovative new way of licensing material which makes it widely available and also protects and controls the license given.
The first article is on Bookselling, the second on Publishing, the third on Print on demand, the fourth on Self-publishing - 'really great' or career suicide?, the fifth on Writers' routes to their audiences and the sixth at at copyright under pressure.
My Say
Timothy Hallinan's 'The Writing Session' offers 6 tips on how to approach your writing: 'The universe has a vast amount of material to offer you, free of charge, for your book. If you write regularly, you’ll recognize that material when it comes along. It could, ultimately, be the thing that either saves your book or takes it to a higher level.'
WritersPrintShop
We have revamped our WritersPrintShop website with lots more information. If you're thinking about self-publishing, this is the place to find out what's involved. If you're ready to go ahead, our high quality service is second to none and there's an economy version for those who want to tackle some of the work themselves. You can estimate the cost for yourself.
We Watch the web for writers
Our huge section on technology and the web, and how writers can make use of them.
Our Editorial Services for writers
Check out the 16 different editorial services we offer, from Reports to Copy editing, Typing to Rewriting.
Help for Writers
Check out this page to find links to the huge number of useful articles on this site.
Choosing a Service
Are you having difficulty deciding which service might be right for you? This useful new article by Chris Holifield offers advice on what to go for, depending on what stage you are at with your writing.
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WritersServices.com Magazine August 2008