A Day in the Life of a Cover Designer - with Mark Ecob

A Day in the Life of a Cover Designer - with Mark Ecob

So it's not just the publishers and editors that make a book work in publishing. The content is vital, yes - but what's also really important is the package. The whole 'don't judge a book by its cover'? Yeah right! If retailers don't like the cover they wouldn't support it, if the consumer didn't like the cover they wouldn't buy it. Ensuring that a book has a commercial, appealing and original cover - considering just how many books are published each year - is one hell of a job. Hats off to all the designers out there who do such a cracking job.

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A new client joins the list!

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A new client joins the list!

Aside from the huge pile of rejection letters I still have to send out - far from my favourite part of the job, I've also been doing a lot of reading and editing.  

Both Sam and Ashley are busy reworking their scripts ready for me to send out a little later to publishers and, in the meantime, I've taken on another client. Yay! 

Say hello to Heather Child.

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A Day in the Life of an Editor - with Anne Groell

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A Day in the Life of an Editor - with Anne Groell

New Year, new start and I thought we'd dive straight back in and continue with our insight into the publishing industry and who does what. Having been an editor for 15 years, and still doing rather a lot of it now - I suppose I could have done this myself - but really - so much more interesting to talk to someone else. :-D

So from across the other side of the pond, we chat to Anne Groell who is an SFF Executive editor over at Random House USA. 

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The Doctor will see you now

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The Doctor will see you now

It's not often I'll diverge from books and publishing business on the blog to talk about other things. And I rarely rave about TV or other books - I usually don't have the time to read much other than submissions and the only TV I watch is on catch-up!

However, as a long-time Doctor Who fan I have been watching the progression and coming-of-age of the Doctor with great interest . . .

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A Day in the Life of an Agent - with Juliet Mushens

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A Day in the Life of an Agent - with Juliet Mushens

Do authors actually need an agent to get traditionally published? What is it an agent actually does? How easy is it to get one and what will they do for you that you can't do for yourself? Juliet Mushens takes us through a typical day for her in the life of an agent. 

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A Day in the Life of an Author - with Paul Cornell

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A Day in the Life of an Author - with Paul Cornell

Having worked in publishing for so long I know that, from the outside looking in, it can seem a rather bewildering and daunting industry.  Most readers don't know how long it takes to put a book together, the process involved in getting a script from (a)uthor to (b)ookshelf. It takes a hell of a lot of work both from the author and publisher and all those in between including typesetters, printers and booksellers. It's usually between 12-18 months before a delivered script will see the inside of a bookshop. So what happens during that process?

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The art of fear

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The art of fear

We all know that the majority of the mainstream would be happy to watch a horror flick and yet most would baulk at the idea of picking up a horror novel. Why is that when the genre has evolved so much in the last few years? And how do the authors who excel in the genre go about writing something that makes other people afraid? I ask two of the best UK horror writers writing today for their tips on how to send shivers down your spine. 

Not all girls like pink . . .

Not all girls like pink . . .

Last year on the Tor Books blog I wrote a piece about how frustrated I was that there were so few decent girl's figures for my daughter to play with. I even challenged a toy buyer I knew for one of the major chains as to why this was the case - she seemed not to have really given it much thought but suspected it may well be because the toy makers thought they wouldn't sell.