While fossicking through the books I have in the back shed the other week I found my copy of Gavin McLean’s Whare Raupo, the official history of New Zealand’s oldest publishers, Reed New Zealand. They are no more, alas – vanishing in 2007 when parent company Elsevier sold their worldwide publishing interests to the Pearson … More What a publisher’s official history has to say about meeeeeeee

The hardest thing to write is a title. Seriously. Titles for anything – be it a short story, book (fiction or non-fiction) or whatever – are a nightmare to figure out. Even when an author comes up with a good name for their project, publishers often have other ideas, and with good reason. A standard … More How to write a compelling title for your book

Today I’m going to tell you about proof-editing, which is when an editor goes through an author’s work looking for large-scale stuff – style, voice, consistencies and structure. One of the best lessons I ever had in proof-editing was also the quickest. Let the writer’s own voice through. And don’t suppose that you know better … More Quick tricks for better proof-editing

The other day, in fairly quick succession, I found myself writing (a) revisions to a second edition of a non-fiction history book I wrote years ago, (b) a fantasy story I’ve recently been commissioned to write, and (c) a grant application. All of them demanded utterly different writing styles – and I had to jump … More Why it’s vital to have full control of your writing style

I drew a line in the sand the other day. Or chipped it in granite. Or something. It was the same line Will Wheaton drew with the HuffPo last year – saying ‘no’ to commercial enterprise offering ‘exposure’ in lieu of actual payment to authors. I’m approached reasonably often to contribute to publications or give … More Why I said ‘no’ to the old ‘get paid by exposure’ trick