Let's write a book today

It's pretty much a sure thing that I'm not the only writer stumbling about in the dark trying to make sense of this eBook revolution, and trying find a place in it.  Now from time to time I write about the mechanics of writing on the Archive, but I've decided to start a new blog that will concern itself with the writing life in this brave new eWorld - you can find it HERE. At the moment it's dominated by my free eBook promotion but over time I hope to turn it into a useful resource for writers both new and seasoned.

Pop on over.

The Hack - all the Writer's News you need

Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush, it's the Hack's report.

* The once lucrative UK female short fiction market is in turmoil - according to a report in Writer's Forum eleven magazines have dropped fiction in the last few years, and those that do still buy fiction are now only doing so from established writers. In 2005 virtually all women's magazine on the newsstand carried fiction and also accepted unsolicited fiction, but today that market has shrunk to a third of its size with magazines such as Take a Break, Bella, Woman's Weekly no longer running fiction amongst its articles. Of today's women's magazines only People's Friend, Weekly News, My Weekly, Woman's Weekly, Your, and Take A Break Fiction Fest are using short stories.


* US genre publisher, Library of the Living Dead are looking for original well written werewolf stories for a forthcoming anthology to be edited by Bill Tucker and Mike Michell. Find details HERE

* J K Rowling has parted company with her agent, Christopher Little which cuts him out of the forthcoming Pottermore initiative to sell the Potter books as eBooks.Christopher Little signed up an unknown writer, Joanne Rowling, in 1995, she was newly divorced, living in a one-bedroom Edinburgh flat, and had a six-month-old daughter to take care of. He secured the Harry Potter scribe a six-figure book deal and transformed her into a literary superstar. Both made a fortune. Now their fairytale partnership has come to a crashing conclusion.Mr Little, 69, is considering legal action against Ms Rowling, whose books have sold almost half a billion copies, after it emerged that the author has defected to a new literary agency, The Blair Partnership, set up by Mr Little's former business partner Neil Blair.

* The Duchess of Cornwell has become the patron of Booktrust, which is a charity set up to encourage reading in people of all ages.Booktrust is an independent UK-wide charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to enjoy books. The written word permeates all our activity and helps us to fulfil our vision of inspiring a lifelong love of books for all. 

* Argos which launched its online books store this April are to expand their range to include 5,000 titles.

*Big Issue Magazine has made several of it regional editors homeless by merging all of its editions into a single UK wide magazine edited by Paul McNamee

* The BBC are seeking scripts for dramas and comedies. Find details in their Writer's Room

* A late report added to this post with thanks to Keith Chapman for directing me towards this. Go HERE for an  interview with  comic legend, Pat Mills about his attempts to  revive a girl's comic line.

The Writing Biz News

* Forward Press have gone into liquidation with debts estimated at £1.6 million. The collapse of the small publisher will see 105 people put out of work and is another blow to the troubled publishing industry.

* Peter James, who used to write effective horror thrillers, but is now better known for his crime work is to take over as Chair of the Crime Writer's Association.

* Julian Assange will publish his autobiography in April - governments the world over are expected to be quaking in their boots.

* Some good retail news for a change - Foyles are one of the few success stories in book retailing and the company are to open a sixth branch, which will be its first store outside of London. The venue is Bristol and the shop will stock over 13,000 books.

ASDA (Part of the Walmart Group) are now selling an eReader for £52 - The Quest Mediabox is the cheapest eReader available in the UK.

THE WRITE STUFF - THE ARCHIVE'S NEWS FOR HACKS

*A survey by the copywriting firm, Cooper, Murrey Web revealed just 36 percent of Brits with iPads prefer printed books. Cooper Murphy Webb also said more than two in five (43 percent) use their iPad for ten hours or more, although just five percent 'always' leave home with the device. The majority of iPad owners use the device inside their homes and don't leave home with the device.



 * Four billion books translated into 100 languages and a play that has been running in London for over 50 years - whodunnit? Why Agatha Christie, the world's bestselling writer and September 15th sees the 120th anniversary of her birth - expect lots of Christie related happenings across the globe.


* Terry Practchett and publishers Transworld are launching a competition for first time writers where the winner will see their book published and recieve an advance of £20,000 - it's like the X-Factor but with genuine talent. The theme of competition is "Anywhere but here, anywhen but now." Entrants must submit a finished novel of 80,000 to 150,000 words - for more details go to Terry Pratchett's official web site.

* Crime writer, Martina Cole has launched her own record company. The label, Hostage Music - it's like the X-Factor but with talent - is actively looking to sign both singers and songwriters.

* As always when the government f***s things up it is the important services that are cut and with British Councils being told to make a 1.2 billion saving, the unimaginative moronic bland self serving tossers have targeted British libraries and have warned of a severe cut to the £96 million spent on books each year. David Cameron's "Big Society" concept also includes public libraries and suggests that library's should be run by local volunteers. I wonder if sell out, Nick agrees? The Archive is needless to say  horrified and is currently looking at a viable way to arrange some sort of mass protest against library cuts. Libraries must be protected and should be there for all. Any ideas are welcome.

* Stick it to the man - writer Henry Perez has just done that and scored a number one eBestseller on Amazon with Mourn the Living. The book was originally given away free and yet now that the promotion has ended, it is the number one paid for item on Amazon's US Kindle store, raking in a considerable sum for the author.


* Strong rumours are that Borders are due to go out of business and are very nearly bankrupt. This is terrible news but not a big shock if, indeed it does turn out to be true. I'm still in mourning at the loss of the chain from UK stores as Borders was the most varied bookstore there was.  Sad times, indeed.