I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 23.
If there’s only one book on your shelf or ebook and you want to target UK markets, make it this one (although there are some overseas markets too). Even older versions contain loads of useful material. You need to check the listings for the most recent information anyway, but the articles and advice remain the same.
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is published every year – this one came out in around July but older versions are available, both used and new. The longer you wait, the more the price comes down.
Aside from all of the usual listings, articles inside this 2018 edition include Writing features for newspapers and magazines, Writing a synopsis, Understanding publishing agreements, Writing short stories, Notes on becoming a novelist, Writing bestselling women’s fiction, The world of the literary editor, and many, many more.
Authors of articles include Alexander McCall Smith, Benjamin Zephaniah, Simon Trewin, Martina Cole, Peter Finch, JK Rowling, Katie Fforde, Mark Billingham, and so and so forth.
I usually buy the hard copy edition and find myself dipping into it at any time – sometimes for contact or submission information, sometimes for one or more of the useful articles. This time I have it on Kindle, which means I can go anywhere and it’s with me – if only on my mobile phone.
Buy the latest copy you can afford (in the States), otherwise the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2018 can currently be bought for £14.29 ($19.42) on Kindle or £17 ($28.47) in paperback (this was £22 earlier in the year).
