Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's Blog, page 19
October 31, 2014
Do You Have Any Experience Working with Contently?
There’s a service called Contently that promises brands “access to the best storytelling talent” On a companion website called The Freelancer, Contently encourages writers to build a portfolio on their platform in hopes of being connected with clients in need of articles or other types of copy. They’re saying all the right things about content farms, “deceptive headline schemes and aggregated ‘syndication’... Read more.
October 30, 2014
The Myopia of Privilege
Two weeks ago, Jill Abramson, former Executive Editor of the New York Times and the first female to hold the post, told a room of young women writers to have “some fucking respect” for Alessandra Stanley. Referring to the social media backlash her onetime Times colleague received for her “tone deaf” write-up of Shonda Rhimes (not... Read more.
October 29, 2014
"Game of Thrones" Author's TV Writing Break Came After the Failure of His Fourth Book
George R.R. Martin told the Wall Street Journal‘s Christopher John Farley, “The greatest setback I ever faced was the failure of my fourth novel The Armageddon Rag.” “I was a hot young writer,” explains. “Each novel that I wrote got a bigger advance…and until I wrote The Armageddon Rag that seemed par for the course.... Read more.
October 21, 2014
Simon and Schuster Cuts Multi-Year Deal With Amazon
What does Simon and Schuster’s deal with Amazon mean for the e-tailer’s dispute over ebook pricing with Hachette? The New York Times says: “Amazon told Hachette it wanted e-books to be cheaper while also reportedly seeking a greater share of the revenue from each sale. The negotiations were widely viewed by traditional publishers as an... Read more.
October 17, 2014
Ursula K. Le Guin Earns Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin has joined an esteemed list of writers including Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Philip Roth to receive the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Harold Augenbraum, the Foundation’s Executive Director said of the writer whose career has spanned four decades, “She has shown how great writing will obliterate the antiquated – and never... Read more.
Richard Flanagan Has Won the 2014 Man Booker Prize
Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North beat out To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, J by Howard Jacobson, The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee, and How to be Both by Ali Smith to win the 2014 Man Booker Prize, worth £50,000. According to BBC.com, the chair of judges AC Grayling said he and his fellow jurors... Read more.
Journalism Tips from Wall Street Journal Columnist Teri Agins
Fashionista.com got some great intel from Teri Agins, author of the new book Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities Are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers, for aspiring journalists. Leveraging her 25 years reporting on the fashion business, Agins shares the stories behind some of her biggest pieces to drop some serious gems. Take note of the main points below, and... Read more.
October 11, 2014
Publishers Weekly: In 2013, Industry Salaries a Little Higher, Diversity Sorely Lacking
Last month, Publishers Weekly published results of their annual survey of publishing industry salaries which included questions related to job security, and, for the first time, questions about racial diversity. A few of the findings below: More results of the survey here.
Young People Say They'll Pay More For Print than E-Books
Last week, Adweek.com posted results from a millennial-on-the-street poll that contradict the cliché of the “smartphone-addicted twentysomething who spends her free time posting selfies on Instagram, sharing BuzzFeed lists on Facebook and creating socially conscious hashtags on Twitter”. Nearly two weeks earlier, The Bookseller announced findings from their own poll. Both showed that young people... Read more.
