The July edition of the Words Worth Reading Ltd newsletter is now available to download

The July edition of the Words Worth Reading Ltd newsletter is now available to download.

The summer is finally here, and there are lots of exciting events taking place to celebrate. 

Here in the office, the Words Worth Reading Ltd team are keeping busy supporting clients complete their information Governance Toolkits and helping writers find their words.

To get the latest news about business, healthcare, jobs, writing, student life, and to find out what the Words Worth Reading Ltd team have been up to, download this month's newsletter from our website by clicking here. 

What's in a name?

It has just been revealed that J K Rowling, best-selling author and creator of the Harry Potter phenomenon, has published a crime novel under another name.  ‘The Cuckoo’s calling’ was published in April of this year under the synonym Robert Galbraith. Rowling described the experience as liberating, being free from the preconceptions and unavoidable comparisons with the Harry potter series. The novel, a first venture into the crime genre for Rowling, was critically well-received, a fact which may well have been different had the author’s real identity been known – her first post-Potter novel ’The Casual Vacancy’ had mixed reviews.

Rowling is the latest in a long and illustrious line of authors writing under pen – names. Writers  often assume an alternative identity for various reasons – sometimes it is because they may be known for or in a particular profession and want the writing career to remain separate, sometimes to preserve a kind of anonymity, sometimes as writers they are producing books in different genres and want to distinguish them.

 Ruth Rendell writes what could be described as conventional detective novels under her own name and more psychological thrillers under ‘Barbara Vine . The former poet-laureate Cecil Day Lewis wrote mystery novels as Nicholas Blake, and contemporary thriller writer Nicci French is actually two people – husband and wife team Nicci Gerard and Sean French. A name change might be stipulated by a publisher for marketing reasons – sometimes, as in J K Rowlings’ case, it was thought better to conceal the author’s gender.

Historically, society did not consider writing – particularly writing novels – as a suitable activity for a woman. The real name of George Eliot, famous for ‘Middlemarch’ was actually Mary Anne Evans. And the Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily, were initially published under the names of three brothers- Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.                                     

Whatever the reason for choosing another name, one intention seems to be consistent – that the writing should be considered on its own merits.

Have a look at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk for help and advice on writing and getting published.

Poll highlights problems for young job seekers

If you’re looking for a change in career or find yourself unexpectedly redundant in later life, looking for a job requires stamina and determination. But for 16 – 24 year olds in trying to get the first foot on the employment ladder is particularly challenging. There are currently around 2.5 million people unemployed in the UK according to official government figures, and almost a million of these are 16 – 24 year olds.

A recent poll by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that many young job seekers felt there was not enough support in helping them find a job.

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 unemployed young people found that only 28% of those who had been out of work for more than six months were optimistic that they would soon find a job.

Almost 6 in 10 of the 16 to 24-year-olds questioned said there is not enough support to help them find a job, and many believe that the main barriers to finding work are lack of available jobs and lack of experience.

There were mixed views on the services designed to advise young people on how to find work. Around two in five (65%) said that Jobcentre Plus had not been helpful because it did not tell them anything new, while around half (52%) said it did not give them the skills or experience relevant for a job. In comparison, 42% said that recruitment websites failed to tell them anything new, along with 30% who said the same about sixth form or college training.

Around a third (34%) did not think recruitment websites gave them the skills they need for a job, while almost half (47%) said this was true of sixth forms and colleges.

There are options – apprenticeships, work placements and a variety of vocational-based courses can provide that essential skills and experience which will give you a better chance in the highly competitive jobs market.

 For general advice and information these websites are a good starting point:

https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk

/http://jobseekersadvice.com/

/http://www.learndirect.co.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/finding-job

And for help with CVs, interview skills and other essential job seeking tools, have a look at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/job-seekers-package.php#

There’s also a comprehensive list of job seekers’ web resources.

Your chance to win tickets to see Michael Frayn

The winner of the 2013 Special Olivier Award after an outstanding theatre career spanning four decades, award-winning playwright and novelist, Michael Frayn will be at the Bloomsbury Institute on Thursday 25th July. You will have the opportunity to see the author in conversation held at Bloomsbury Publishing's headquarters in Bedford Square. It is here that you can enjoy a glass of wine with Michael Frayn followed by an intimate discussion chaired by Geoffrey Colman, Head of Acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  To win tickets to this fascinating talk, email bloomsburyinstitute@bloomsbury.com or, to book your ticket, click here. If you are a writer but don't know how to get published, click here to find out how the Words Worth Reading Ltd team can help. Image: e_calamar, Flickr

You've written your book, now you need an eye catching cover...

It is the first thing a reader sees, the cover of your book. Lets face it, a cover has to appeal to a reader, to make them pick it up, or even consider buying it.

With this in mind, AuthorHouse have come up with eight great tips to help self-publishing authors who are creating the cover to their own book, or having the cover designed by someone else. 


Their tips include:

• Do your research, look at other covers in your genre. Consider why certain covers appeal to you while others don’t.  

• If your book will be available in a bookstore, it may not be displayed with the cover showing, so check the spine to make sure the title and author name are legible. 

• Is your title big and easy to read? Avoid overly stylistic fonts, as this might make your book look amateurish.

• There’s a good chance that most potential readers will see your book online. Look at your cover when it is the size of a thumbnail, is it still readable? Effective?

• Make sure your cover has a focus! Don’t try to incorporate too many elements into the cover, this doesn't work for books. 

• Does your cover fit your book’s mood and genre? 

• Test your cover with a focus group composed of readers of your genre. What do they think? Listen to their feedback!

• Finally, unless you’re a professional graphic designer, with the correct experience, consider hiring one. Money spent on cover design could be as important as the money you spend on your editor. 

The team at Words Worth Reading Ltd can help you edit your book and get it ready for publishing, visit our website to find out more about our editorial services. 

Image: Shutterhacks, Flickr

Postgraduate study - the pros and cons

Now you’ve finally got your degree, have you made a decision on what to do next? Maybe you are already set up in your dream job, or heading abroad for wider life experience. But if your undergraduate degree has introduced a passion for something which you would like to study further, why not consider a postgraduate degree?

Many students embark on their undergraduate degree with only a general idea of what it involves, and in the UK students begin to make decisions about their future careers as early as 15 when they commit to their A level choices.

But after 3 years’ experience at university students have been introduced to a wide range of influences and possibilities, including potential career choices which they would not have previously been aware. For some, a postgraduate course is the opportunity to pursue more advanced study in the same area as their first degree, for others it can be a complete change of direction.

A postgraduate qualification could give you an advantage in the employment market – in fact is essential for some careers, and for many students a master’s degree which focuses on a specific vocational area is very useful. And your first degree doesn’t have to be related to the area of postgraduate study – as an undergraduate, you will have developed a skills base which is readily transferrable to a wide range of careers.

Apart from deciding on your subject, it is also important to consider how you want to study: there are various options including taught courses where you spend most of your time at the university, or distance learning where you study mostly at home with only occasional attendance required. Some courses have a specific curriculum, others are based on your own choice of independent research – it depends on your aims and requirements.

On the down side, committing yourself to a postgraduate course can be expensive  – particularly on top of undergraduate debt. Tuition fees for a master’s degree can typically cost around  £4,000, but there are funded studentships, bursaries and scholarships available.

There is a huge amount of information online regarding the various postgraduate options and funding possibilities; apart from looking at the courses offered by individual universities and other HE institutions, the following websites are very useful:

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/

http://www.educationuk.org

https://www.gov.uk/funding-for-postgraduate-study

Meanwhile, if you need help with Essays, Coursework,Dissertations and Theses, go to www.wordsworthreading.co.uk