More Waterstones, 'Dear Agent' and an Agatha Cristie Moment...

You may remember that's my post last weekend mentioned that book seller Waterstones were changing their store guidance on events in response to complaints, and also 'handselling' authors.
If you missed the item you can read it here.

Well today the Bookseller website has an article saying that the Society of Authors (SoA) and Waterstones are "engaged in dialogue" about creating a list of guidelines.

(Sadly the article is only available to subscribers (with a subscription cost of £186) so we'll have to wait for public release of information at some point in the future, either by Waterstones or the Society of Authors.)

Unfortunately I'm not yet within the eligibility criteria for even Associate Membership of SoA, but it's an organisation worth joining if you're eligible...

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If you've bought and read any of Nicola Morgan's books, or e-books ('Write to be Published'; 'Tweet Right'; and 'Write A Great Synopsis') then you'll know her books are invaluable for the serious writer- and worth every penny.

Well today (Friday) is the publication day of her latest e-book, 'Dear Agent'. For this weekend it is only 77p on Amazon.co.uk, so a great opportunity to get a helpful advice in clear language that we can all understand and act upon.

It's also available on Amazon.com here.

Agents better watch out, because they're going to be receiving some sharp submissions as a result of this e-book.

I've only had enough time for a brief scan, but I'm looking forward to having some quiet to read it and absorb the advice.

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E L James may be selling million of her 50 Shades trilogy, but she can't compete with the Queen of crime fiction, Agatha Cristie- she's apparently sold 4 billion books, and not only is it in Braille but in 50 different languages...

"Westminster council this week granted planning permission for a statue, designed by sculptor Ben Twiston-Davies, to be erected. It will be placed in the heart of Covent Garden, between Great Newport Street and Cranbourn Street. The location, in the middle of London's theatreland, was chosen to represent Christie's contribution to the stage." (The Guardian Books)

Good to hear of a statue being put up to celebrate a writer, rather than some strange obelisk of modern sculpture.

Have a good weekend.


Just Catching Up...

I think this post really should be called Dust Catching Up!

Dust just gets in the most awkward places sometimes...

I'm just having a short break before it's back to the sorting, but I can report that the printer is finally in its new position- and I can start printing things again; I only need to swivel in my chair a little and I can reach out for the resulting paperwork.

If only I knew where my stapler had disappeared to...

It's surprising how many things get lost falling down the back of furniture. My OH pulled out a few relevant books on the 18th century that I'd forgotten I had; a quick dust and they're now relocated to my office shelves.

There are still a few pictures to put up but that will need my OH to do, as I can't fix anything up without it being lopsided- close up it looks straight but once it's fixed and I move away, it will have a definite slant that doesn't change however many times I try straightening the picture...

At the moment I'm trying to locate A5 size magazine/book files. (They come flat packed and you open them out and put in a few flaps, and hey prest you have a holder for booklets/magazines.
I can get the normal size but can't find the smaller ones. I have quite a few thin booklets from historic places, plus the magazine produced by our writers' club that I want to store.

So if you know of somewhere that sells them, please let me know. It may be they have a specific name and that's why I'm not finding them. So any information, I'd be grateful.

I have winning annual competition entries in the last two NWC Competition Specials (produced annually, early in the New Year) and these are A5 size too.

I keep a record of anything I've had printed since I've started writing again, either a photocopy or the printed publication. It's a good reminder if I ever get dispirited.

Well that's my rest time over, I better get back to the sorting...