Last week’s attack on Salman Rushdie underscored, for me, one of the harder realities of being a writer. You get hated by total strangers. And sometimes they go berserk. Its sad that authors get targeted, physically or otherwise. One might argue that Rushdie was a special case; but on my experience it’s a risk all … More Salman Rushdie and author danger: a cautionary tale
Although I can’t spill too many beans just now, as it were, I can tell you that 2020 is going to be a bumper year for me. My book Living On Shaky Ground was reissued in new and updated form a few weeks back. This week there’s been another new issue. Back in 2018 I … More A bit of publishing news
One of the things I do besides write is advise other people on it – I’ll assess manuscripts, offer ways to fix them and so on. I also edit, and have done that professionally for many years. And I know the publishing industry. I actually worked as a corporate publisher where, among other things, I … More Writing advice services
By late 2003 my publications list included three books on the adventures of the Second New Zealand Division in the First World War: Battle for Crete, Desert Duel and Italian Odyssey. They sold well individually and by 2006 had gone out of print. The question then was what to do next with them; there was … More Book of the week: ‘The Division’ – putting it all together with another oxymoron
Back in 2001 my publishers of the day, Reed New Zealand, offered me an unheard-of deal: a multi-book contract. This was an absolute rarity in New Zealand, and I jumped at the chance. It involved writing three military histories in a series. I’ve covered the first two in earlier posts. The third was on New … More Book of the week: ‘Pacific War’ – sneaking an oxymoron into the title
I often envisage the difference between non-fiction and fiction writing as similar to the distinction between a photographer and a representational artist. Both have to produce something well-structured and appealing. The difference is that the photographer has to work with what is there, whereas the artist can, if needed, use license to achieve the same … More Book of the week: ‘Italian Odyssey’ – a drama in three acts
Back in 2001 my publishers of the day, Reed New Zealand, offered me something unheard of in local publishing – a multi-book contract. Of course I was keen. The contract involved three books: two follow-ups to A Near Run Affair, telling the story of the Second New Zealand Division through its North African and Italian … More Book of the week: ‘Desert Duel’ – a PUNishing title
Twenty years ago my publishers, Reed New Zealand, approached me with the suggestion that I might like to write a book on the battle for Crete, which was approaching its sixtieth anniversary at the time. The battle for Crete played out during late May 1941. Part of the defences were held by New Zealand forces … More Book of the week: ‘Battle for Crete’ – the 20th anniversary reissue
Nearly two decades ago, now, I was on interview on National Radio about a book I’d written: Quake – Hawke’s Bay 1931 (Reed, 2001). Why, oh why, the interviewer asked, in a fairly big build-up to what he imagined was the clincher of the interview, why had I written something about a tragedy of this … More Introducing the book of the week
One of the early terms I learned in the publishing business is ‘bind-up’. It wasn’t the first term I learned. But it came close. It’s not what you might think. I mean, all books are bound, by definition. But ‘bind-up’ has a specific meaning. It refers to collecting several related books under one cover and … More Book bind-ups and how to avoid stepping in them
Matthew Wright 
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