With just over a year since its inception, Compass Books (an imprint
of John Hunt Publishing) already has a diverse collection of titles
in various stages of production. This new writers' resource also
has an impressive stable of authors willing to share their
experience but what makes it different to other writers' how-to book
selections? "People make the mistake of automatically thinking that
how-to books are for beginners," says commissioning editor Suzanne
Ruthven, "but a large number of our titles cater for more
experienced writers looking for a change of direction, or
experimenting with a new genre. The majority of our authors also
have a background in tutoring writing courses, workshops and
writers' weekends, so they have the added advantage of bringing
their teaching skills to the table. They know the how, why, what,
where and when of their particular genre."
As former contributing editor of The New Writer magazine, Ruthven
knows that reader-writers like the inclusive approach and quite a
few of the Compass authors are names that have frequently appeared
in the magazine over the years. "I'm familiar with their publishing
history, style, the ability to work to deadlines, innovative ways of
thinking, humour and, even more important, I've sat in on their
workshop sessions and listened to them in action."
This doesn't mean that unknown writers can't get a foot in the door
as new-comer and life-coach Sarah-Beth Watkins has discovered. This
writer's field of speciality is what is broadly referred to as
'life-style' and her first book Telling Life's Tales was quickly
followed by The Writer's Internet and The Life-Style Writer. How to
Write for the Home and Family Market and Life-Coaching for Writers
are currently in production.
Titles in the Compass Books pipeline include Writing A Chilling
Thriller by novelist Sally Spedding (author of Wringland, Cloven,
Cold Remains, Malediction, etc); A
Practical Guide to Poetry Forms by Alison Chisholm, tutor for The
Writers' Bureau (and "Possibly the best poetry teacher on the
planet," according to Ruthven); The Positively Productive Writer and
Photography for Writers by prolific non-fiction author Simon Whaley;
and How To Write a Western in 30 Days by western author Nik Morton.
Ruthven own titles also reflect her personal writing interests -
Life-Writes, How To Write for the How-To Market, The Country
Writer's Craft, The Pagan Writer's Guide and Horror Upon Horror:
Writing The Horror Novel.
Compass Books will consider all full-length proposals for 'how to
write' books and has recently added Compass Points to cater for
25,000 word titles on the techniques of writing, which are proving
to be extremely popular with those more experienced writers who are
looking to expand their own writing outlets. For more information
go to www.compass-books.net or www.facebook.com/JHPCompassBooks.
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