3 simple techniques to help busy people ace their 2018 writing resolutions
Some people equate high levels of productivity with high levels of graft. When it comes to writing, they think burning the midnight oil, doubling down…
Editorial
From copyediting and proofreading to commissioning, content creation and strategy, learn how to craft engaging and effective content for print and digital platforms.
The Editorial Topic on the BookMachine Blog is supported by the CIEP, Westchester, Just Content and Oriel Square.
Progress Reports: What’s happening during your edit? [FOR AUTHORS]
It’s 10:00 p.m. Do you know where your manuscript is? It’s like being trapped in a replay loop of the old TV public service announcement…
2017 in review: Interview with Holly Harley
Holly Harley is a senior editor at Weidenfeld & Nicolson, where she works on literary non-fiction including history, science, memoir and current affairs. She joined…
The reinvention of storytelling
Thousands of years ago, we told stories to each other. The best stories were those that could be repeated over and over again, changing little,…
Building Inclusivity in Publishing Conference [event report]
On Monday 13 November, over 120 people came together for the second Building Inclusivity in Publishing conference, organised by The Publishers Association and the London…
Fact Checking: Vital or a waste of time?
I spend a lot of my time editing non-fiction; no matter how much I love fiction, the factual stuff takes up more of my time…
Translating Poetry: A thorny problem
Here Sue Burke writes about the problems of translating poetry, drawing examples from some of her own haiku. Sue is a widely-published American writer and translator, specialising in poetry and…
Stop the race to the bottom, value your writing services
I need an editor … you’ll be rewarded I need an editor … you’ll get great exposure I need an editor … fast I need…
Enjoying reading when you’re a professional reader
I love reading, it’s my favourite activity and has led directly to working in publishing and bookselling. Like everyone else, though, real life has a…
A guide on book title punctuation
For the trained eyes, there is nothing more annoying than looking at a book which is just one letter away from perfect. It is possible…
The Good Journal: Interview with Julia Kingsford
Abbie Headon interviews Julia Kingsford, literary agent and marketing consultant at Kingsford Campbell, about her new project, The Good Journal.
Concept, Creation, Marketing – why we all need a good brief [EVENT NOTES]
It’s ironic that an event all about a good quality design brief started with me totally failing to pay attention to my own brief for…
Lincoln in the Bardo wins 2017 Man Booker Prize
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders has been named winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Lincoln in the Bardo is the…
5 reasons to use social and mobile for scouting new talent
Sweek, a social platform for free reading and writing, and Ravensburger, a well-known German publisher, have successfully completed #SchreibMitRavensburger, a Young Adult writing contest. At…
File name conventions that keep track of your revisions [FOR AUTHORS]
It’s never too soon to start using good file naming habits. When your whole story lies ahead of you, it’s easy to naively assume you’ll…
