T H E U K ’ S B E S T S E L L I N G W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E JULY 2016 What’s the story? Create a page-turning plot Your self-publishing success stories NEWS YOU CAN USE! 20 PACKED PAGES OF Exclusive competitions Win over £31,000 in prizes What to write Where to get published MASTERCLASS thrill your readers like Andy McNab p001_wmagJuly.indd Feature perfect H ow to hook readers from yo ur first line MAGGIE O’FARRELL “Starting to write seriously was life-changing” 24/05/2016 10:03 Inaccurate ePub files We personally check all formats Visit us Help For Writers JUNE 2016 p002_wmagjuly16.indd @HelpForWriters helpforwriters www.writers-online.co.uk 20/05/2016 16:52 E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R Welcome T H E U K ’ S B E S T S E L L I N G W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E JULY 2016 What’s the story? Create a page-turning plot Your self-publishing success stories NEWS YOU CAN USE! 20 PACKED PAGES OF Exclusive competitions Win over £31,000 in prizes What to write Where to get published MASTERCLASS thrill your readers like Andy McNab Feature perfect How to hook readers from your first line MAGGIE O’FARRELL “Starting to write seriously was life-changing” p001_wmagJuly.indd 24/05/2016 10:03 Published by Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JD, UK Main office: 0113 200 2929 Fax: 0113 200 2928 Subscriptions: 01778 392 482 Advertising: 01354 818012 Editorial: 0113 200 2919 Marketing: 0113 200 2916 Creative Writing Courses: 0113 200 2917 Website: www.writers-online.co.uk Publisher: Janet Davison Email: jand@warnersgroup.co.uk Editor: Jonathan Telfer Email: jtelfer@writersnews.co.uk Assistant editor: Tina Jackson Email: tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk Dear Reader We hear a lot of statistics and analysis about the publishing industry these days, much of it contradictory It’s sometimes difficult to follow the ups and downs of writing and publishing, but how much should you let it bother you? There are trends that self and e-publishers need to be aware of on a practical level (for example, see p11 for a thorough analysis of the current e-publishing options available), but as writers, I’d say not at all You’ll tie yourself in knots trying to second guess the market, and by the time you’ve noticed a trend and reacted to it, the landscape has changed again The beauty of writing is its freedom We create our own worlds, we populate them We describe them in our own unique ways We express ourselves And isn’t that what why we’re all drawn to writing? Judging the Self-Published Book of the Year Awards (p24) this month, it struck me how many of the titles would suit mainstream publication, if publishers’ lists weren’t already too crowded And how many of them wouldn’t But that’s irrelevant What matters more is that all those authors have invested themselves fully in their titles All of them are labours of love and their fulfilment is its own reward So go ahead, write that 250,000word epic Invent a new genre Diligently double space your manuscript or scribble it on the back of envelopes Shout it from the rooftops or hide it in your bottom drawer Just create, and enjoy it for its own sake TAP HERE TO WATCH A WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR Jonathan Telfer Editor Senior designer: Nathan Ward Email: nathanw@warnersgroup.co.uk Editorial designer: Mary Ward Email: maryw@warnersgroup.co.uk Editorial designer: Laura Tordoff Email: laura.tordoff@warnersgroup.co.uk Marketing: Lauren Beharrell lauren.beharrell@warnersgroup.co.uk Advertising sales: Sarah Ng Email: sarahn@media-shed.co.uk Tel: 01354 818012 Advertising copy email: writersproduction@warnersgroup.co.uk Subscriptions: Collette Smith writingmagazine@warnersgroup.co.uk Creative Writing Courses: writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk Competitions: writingcourses@warnersgroup.co.uk Competitions Department, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JD, UK Typeset by: Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD Printed by: Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH Distribution to the news trade by: Warners Group Publications plc, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it JEFF LYONS is an author and professional screenwriter with more than 25 years’ experience in film, television and publishing as a writer, story development consultant, and editor He teaches craft-of-story workshops through Stanford University’s Online Writer’s Studio and guest lectures through UCLA Extension Writers Programme, and is a regular presenter at leading entertainment and publishing industry conferences in the US and UK Visit him at www.jefflyonsbooks.com and follow on Twitter @storygeeks is the ebook manager for the Troubador Publishing Group She oversees the ebook department while working alongside retailers’ merchandising teams to push titles into promotions She educates authors and colleagues about developments in the digital publishing field Rachel is also the editor of the Self Publishing Magazine website: www.selfpublishingmagazine co.uk, which is a free online resource that informs authors about indie publishing DAVE GRIFFITHS is a freelance proofreader, writer, copy editor, journalism tutor, reporter, and page designer for various organisations, newspapers, and magazines He has been a journalist for 27 years, working for the Manchester Evening News series of newspapers, PA New Media/Ananova, and newspapers in Congleton, Ormskirk, Wigan, and London Visit Dave on his personal website: http:// davegriffithsjournalist.tumblr com/ and check out Barmcake here: http://barmcakemag tumblr.com/ All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Warners Group Publications plc No responsibility can be taken for artwork and photographs in postage Whilst every care is taken of material submitted to the editor for publication, no responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage Email submissions preferred All mss must be typewritten and accompanied by a sae for return © Copyright Warners Group Publications plc ISSN 0964-9166 Warners Group Publications plc are not able to investigate the products or services provided by the advertisers in Writing Magazine nor to make recommendations about them Readers should make sensible enquiries themselves before sending money or incurring substantial costs in sending manuscripts or other material Take particular care when responding to advertisers offering to publish manuscripts While few conventional publishers seek a financial contribution from authors, many such advertisers seek a payment (sometimes thousands of pounds) and readers should remember there can be no guarantees such publishing arrangements will prove profitable There have been cases in which subsidy publishers have provided unduly optimistic reports on manuscripts to encourage authors to commit themselves to financial contribution Readers should be aware of this and should not allow their judgement to be blurred by optimism Manuscript advisory services normally charge for their time, but agents normally not (although some agents quote a reading fee) While Warners Group Publications plc cannot act as a licensing or accreditation authority, they will investigate complaints against advertisers Complainants must, however, send complete documentation and be willing for their names to be disclosed Cover Image © Colin Hattersley/ Writer Pictures p3 Editor's letter.indd RACHEL GREGORY www.writers-online.co.uk JULY 2016 24/05/2016 10:20 In this issue INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES PUBLISHING 10 Grumpy Old Bookman: Printing money COVER STORY Explaining the big bucks behind the big books 16: Star interview: Maggie O’Farrell 11 Ebooks: Beyond Amazon The leading contemporary novelist says personal relationships are at the heart of all her novels and her own family is her muse Understand the constantly changing e-publishing landscape COVER STORY 28 Beat the bestsellers 32 Publishing behind the scenes: Arriving at the end point The style and technique of Andy McNab Our Matador novel comp winner reaches final marketing and preparations for launch 30 On writing: Lewis Carroll 85 Research tips: Group focus 13 From the other side of the desk: Piers Blofeld Plan your questions to get the best answers from a focus group 30 How I got published: Women’s fiction author Anna Bell 44 Shelf life: Donna Leon WRITING LIFE The esteemed crimewriter shares her five favourite reads 20 Beginners: Boxing clever COVER STORY 52 Subscriber Spotlight Join the writers’ training programme WM subscribers share their writing success stories 22 Author experiences: The one-man magazine 58 Circles’ Roundup How Dave Griffiths launched his own indie magazine Writing groups share their interests and activities 34 Ten top tips: Keeping your cool as a writer 74 Crime file: Sarah Hilary Don’t let writing stress make you hot under the collar 86 Author profile: Belinda McKeon 46 Talk it over: Find your voice The award-winning writer talks about swapping her writer and editor hats Advice on finding your unique writing voice 108 My writing day: Scott Mariani The prolific thriller writer’s approach is to get his head down and get on with it 47 Novel ideas WINrvon A 6-day A eat writer’s retr worth £60 p21 WRITERS’ NEWS 56 Subscriber Spotlight: Escape Learn Explore Create Our Iceland Writers Retreat competition winner shares her experiences in the Land of Fire and Ice 78 Technology for writers: Digging deep Secrets of successful research 110 Notes from the margin Technology troubles drive our columnist to thoughts of destitution 88 Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news p4 contents.indd 23/05/2016 12:57 CONTENTS POETRY FICTION COVER STORY 26 Story structure: What’s the story? Do you have a story or just a situation? What’s the difference and why should you care? Hollywood script doctor Jeff Lyons explains 40 Open short story winner Read the winning entry in our First Line Short Story Competition 48 Under the microscope We critique the first 300 words of a reader’s YA novel 50 Fiction focus: Whose life is it anyway? Putting real-life characters into fictional stories may be tempting, but consider it carefully 42 Poetry competition winners Read the winning entries in our Open Poetry Competition 62 Subscriber-only competition winner 64 Poetry workshop: A verse monologue Read the winning entry in our Anticipation Short Story Competition Alison Chisholm explores a subscriber’s scene-setting poem 74 Behind the tape Crimewriter and police officer Lisa Cutts answers your crime procedure queries 65 Poetry in practice 76 Fantastic realms: Town & country 66 Poetry primer: Poetry from A to Z Assess the quality of your imagery with practical poetry advice Horror has a rich tradition of rural settings, but urban locations are increasingly common We explore the Writing landscape and fo r children: current trends An alphabetic guide to the language of poetry Animal Magic! RESOURCES Miscellany Letters 31 Editorial calendar p70 80 Writers’ Web Watch 81 Computer clinic 82 Helpline OUT AND ABOUT 33 Away from your desk Get out of your garret and feed your head with some writer-related cultural activities COMPETITIONS AND EXERCISES 36 Pen pushers: Setting the scene Exercises to inspire creative use of setting 37 Train your brain: Red editing pen THE SELFPUBLISHED BOOKS OF THE YEAR p24 Back soon! NON-FICTION 14 Non-fiction: Five mistakes beginner writers make Start your non-fiction writing on the right path 68 The business of writing: Time travel 39 Open competition launch Win cash prizes and publication in our 1,000-Word Short Story Competition, open to all writers 61 Subscriber-only competition launch Win cash prizes and publication in our Travel Short Story Competition, open only to subscribers Work several months ahead to meet print deadlines 72 Features desk: Feature perfect How to structure your feature article from snappy first line to satisfying conclusion 83 Going to market 103 Travel writing know-how www.writers-online.co.uk p4 contents.indd JULY 2016 23/05/2016 12:57 MISCELLANY THE WORLD OF WRITING Audience gripping, bodice ripping, jargon busting, magic making and cutting lit it’s all go on the worldwide writing stage Editors rule Love is all around Sisters Bea and Leah Koch own The Ripped Bodice, in Culver City, California, claimed to be the only exclusively romance bookstore in the United States Bea looks after Regency and other historical romance, and Leah checks out the contemporary, paranormal and erotica subgenres, especially witches and sports romance Destiny Jackson, writing in the Hollywood Reporter, said Bea Koch had told her: ‘I was writing my thesis, Mending the Ripped Bodice, about the portrayal of romance in fiction We realised there was no dedicated bookstore to the genre Which is crazy! It seemed like it should lend itself to a bookstore experience because romance is such a personal genre for so many people.’ Men make up twenty percent of the readership of romance novels, Bea said ‘But I think there is a taboo topic around it There is an issue to talk openly about sex and books There is some embarrassment that might have contributed to it, but that’s the exact opposite of we’d like to present There should be no embarrassment when walking into The Ripped Bodice.’ Figures of speech Revealing snippets about the relationships between famous writers and their editors were revealed by Miriam Cosic, writing in Australia’s Financial Review ‘Literary history is sprinkled with stories of tempestuous relations between famous writers and their editors,’ she said But she pointed out: ‘There’s a flipside Editors are also a writer’s coach, psychiatrist and chief advocate, and the masterpieces that thrill us would never reach our outstretched hands without them.’ She explained that Max Perkins had told Ernest Hemingway, ‘that epitome of gun-toting, punch-swinging masculinity’, to ‘tone it down’… and survived Max Perkins (pictured) fought for Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, which in 1926 was considered too profane to publish by conservatives at his firm And she described how the world eventually ‘found out that Raymond Carver’s famously spare writing style was the result of his editor, Gordon Lish, slashing and burning every sentence’ Bravo for the Bard peare gushed Praise for William Shakes appreciation in from the wells of literary his genius 400 a worldwide celebration of years after his death Observer, Robert McCrum, of the : ‘As well as rds wo sen added his well cho a kick-start, ge gua lan h giving the Englis jure characters Shakespeare can also e, giving ‘to airy apparently out of nowher and a name’ nothing a local habitation nation like agi He has populated our im iet’s Nurse, Jul et, no other writer: Haml Lear, Othello, ly, ick Qu ss Macbeth, Mistre and Romeo… Shylock, Portia, Prospero s stretches out the list of classic archetype acbeth), a cast of to the crack of doom (M real to us than any characters perhaps more ’ others in our literature plays, ‘often Robert explained that the p6 Miscellany.indd Image: Andrea Vail CC/Flickr rooted in ancient myth, in ends appear, which these theatrical leg ries, too’ have become archetypal sto ‘More He added with a flourish: ethe for Go s, than Dante for the Italian ssia, Ru for in the Germans, or Pushk Englishfor n ico an s Shakespeare remain ut the world speaking peoples througho urally From the Such ambitions came nat ng his work on first, he was always pitchi le The motto the biggest stage imaginab s Totus wa e, of the Globe, his theatr whole he (T nem mundus agit histrio ).’ use world is a playho 23/05/2016 09:14 MISCELLANY Short focus Journalist Anthony Cummins was obviously disappointed when a friend did not want to read the book of short stories he recommended ‘Short stories are for magazines,’ she told him; ‘if I’m reading a book, I want it to be a book.’ Anthony told the tale in The Daily Telegraph, adding Spot the difference: Mark Haddon’s that he didn’t think she is alone in assuming that the The Pier Falls in the UK (left) and US (right) short story is the novel’s poor relation in this country, whereas ‘North American writers are more likely to make a name for themselves from stories…’ Anthony, who also writes for the Big Issue and the Times Literary Supplement, said it is now fashionable to build novels out of short stories Two of the writers to publish short story collections this year have previously written novels in this style – Mark Haddon (The Red House), and Philip Hensher (The Emperor Waltz) He praised recent collections – ‘a new crop of short fiction proves how nimble the form is’… ‘several new collections of short fiction are as carefully designed as a pre-iTunes LP.’ Anthony concluded: ‘It’s a form that asks for more attention, not less But going by the current crop, it deserves it.’ The magic of books American popular scientist Carl Sagan (1934-1996), who was author, co-author or editor of twenty books, including The Dragons of Eden (1977), which won a Pulitzer Prize, once wrote: ‘What an astonishing thing a book is.’ He continued, the Goodreads website recalls: ‘It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs Books break the shackles of time A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.’ www.writers-online.co.uk p6 Miscellany.indd Make it easy to understand Successful non-fiction authors are, by definition, experts in their subject matter, but should avoid using too much specialised language, suggested Phil Stamper-Halpin, manager of publishing development and author platforms for Penguin Random House, on the company’s News for Authors website Phil, who wrote an article on this topic, together with editors from several publishing imprints, said this tendency could lead to ‘overuse of jargon or professional lingo, or to explain things in a way that’s difficult for a layperson to understand’ He emphasised the importance of knowing your readers ‘What is their background? How much they already know about the subject matter? When you connect with readers and develop a relatable but unique author voice, you can become a permanent part of your readers’ lives ‘The writing process is full of pitfalls that writers of all experience levels can slip into, but great stories are made by how you address and overcome them Whether by focusing on showing your story to readers or drawing out the lesson for a richer reading experience, you will end up with a stronger story by watching out for these pitfalls in revisions And in this way, your readers will stay engaged and learn from your words,’ he added SEPTEMBER JULY 2015 2016 23/05/2016 09:14 TITLE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers – and don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk (Include your name and address when emailing letters Ensure all STAR LETTER Don’t give up, submit Giving up? I’ve thought about it When I first told my friends about my plan to submit my novel to agents and publishers, they all cried ‘No!’ in horror They worried how I’d cope with rejection ‘You’re too sensitive,’ said my girlfriend ‘You are! You changed the voice on your SatNav, because you said the default voice sounded… “too judgemental” of your driving.’ Well… I am a little sensitive, it’s true But, this was different I had confidence in my book Secretly, I thought I’d get a handful of rejections before someone recognised my genius and signed me up Don’t we all harbour that secret hope when we submit our work? It didn’t happen like that To date, I’ve had seven rejections For someone like me, that’s a lot I dread opening my email now, but you can’t read email with your eyes screwed shut You have to this with your eyes and your heart wide-open Yeah, it’s scary Rejection isn’t all bad, though I’ve received some great feedback from publishers This whole experience has been a lesson in humility, reality and it has definitely made me stronger I know there will be many more rejections, and I’m ready for them In the meantime, here is my submission survival-guide: Take any rejection gracefully, and not personally Watch all the Rocky movies for inspiration Keep reading and writing, to improve your work Keep trying NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED The star letter each month earns a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2016, courtesy of Bloomsbury, www.writersandartists.co.uk JULY 2016 p8 Letters.indd letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing Magazine Letters may be edited.) When referring to previous articles/letters, please state month of publication and page number Inspiring features I found Tina Jackson’s advice in Basic Features (WM, May) about generating a good idea and constructing a story quite inspiring It’s not enough to just attend a workshop or a gallery opening and think you have a story – you need to have an angle I found this out last year when I walked the Isle of Wight coastal path and pitched the idea of walking round an island to a national magazine well in advance of the Isle of Wight Walking Festival and they snapped it up You don’t have to travel far to find a good story; explore your home town with a pair of fresh eyes, as if you were a tourist on your first visit and seek out a good idea and an upcoming event to hang it on Perhaps someone famous stayed there and the anniversary of their birth or death is later in the year Just remember that national magazines usually plan months ahead, so make sure you pitch your idea at least six months in advance Happy explorations! FIONA TROWBRIDGE Sandown, Isle of Wight ://FILE_FULFILLED In my work as event director, I plan the project month by month; keep on top of deadlines; have great notes in readiness for meetings – yet, when it comes to meeting competition deadlines, I’m pants 2016 was to be the year when I took myself in hand, and entered every competition in Writing Magazine but here we are, April, and not a single entry submitted Paper Post-it notes drop off the board; computer Sticky Notes get overlooked on an over-crowded screen, and the wall calender is overcrowded with dentists, doctors, rowdy suppers – all the good things in life – so no hope there Then a flash of inspiration! When the March issue dropped through my letterbox, I worked my way through the competition and the Writers’ News pages, picking up the pieces I wanted to target For each one, I created a blank Word doc using the story’s subject, word count and deadline as the file name, bringing them all together in one folder Now, when I open the folder, whatever I am working on, I am gently reminded of the other deadlines I know it sounds a bit anal but here we are: file “01 : Letter to the Editor_ wordcount open_end_April” mission accomplished “02.Paranormal_ May16_1500” is in hand, so this may indeed be the year that I actually write The only problem is – where to file the folder? JO SCOTT Broadstairs, Kent www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 09:15 Flash of inspiration I’ve just discovered a sneaky writing trick In the past I’ve found that if I’m given a prompt or a theme for a writing competition, I’ll think up scenarios that I would never have dreamed of had I been given the ‘any genre, any theme’ open brief The constriction acts as a kind of creative pressure with successful results (I’m just one of those people who find too much choice daunting.) In April’s issue of WM I noticed a flash fiction competition with a certain theme Inspiration came immediately and in no time I had my piece written However when I read the guidelines I realised it wouldn’t quite fit I was disappointed as I thought the story good Then I remembered another flash fiction competition advertised in WM This one had an open brief, but I’d already put it aside as I hadn’t come up with any good ideas for it With a little bit of editing down to the shorter word count, my story now fitted perfectly So from now on whenever I see the ‘dreaded’ any genre, any theme open brief in WM, I’ll just have a sneaky look at the themed competitions and see if they’ll give me the inspiration I need MARY SHEEHAN Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Ireland Walking in someone else’s shoes May I share a revelation that I hope might help others struggling with the choice of first or third person for their novels? I was fifty pages (all in the first person) into my family saga when I ran into a brick wall My protagonist – my fault not his – had become a bore His point of view, his feelings, his problems He was strangling my story I rewrote it in the third person Ever take off a pair of tight shoes? Or get out of your girdle, ladies? Or stop watching paint dry? Wow, what a relief! My characters danced for joy and skipped onto the page laughing and shouting and turning cartwheels Free! Thank God we’re free at last! Here we are, now write about us! Never mind him and his boring same old feelings My book was transformed from a wishy-washy watercolour to a brilliant eye-watering Jackson Pollock Now I can see for miles, not just to the end of the street Now you can see the circus – not just the ringmaster Even my protagonist was impressed and bloomed and blossomed like a rampant bamboo First person? Last choice! FRED CANAVAN East Cowes, Isle of Wight CHILDREN’S BOOKS poetry NOVELS SHORT STORIES photographs family histories p8 Letters.indd In almost every interview in WM the author says ‘Read extensively.’ I’ve tried – I really tried I tried historical fiction – two pages in I put it down never to pick up again I tried romance I got as far as the heroine swooning (or the modern version of it) and dropped it in disgust I’ve never seen a woman swoon for love in my life I tried a gritty chicklit (my daughter loves them) and hated it Women behaving like thugs doesn’t interest me Erotica is a non-starter – I must be one of the few who never read 50 Shades of Grey I love sci-fi and detective – but I was trying to keep away from them so I tried fantasy Mostly werewolves and vampires Can’t get my head around them being ‘nice’ – well, nicer than the original Dracula Even modern sci-fi mostly leaves me cold The most recent one I read starts with robots making love – another concept I struggled to assimilate I got past that and waded through the book – waded being the word and wondered why I bothered I pick up a book, attracted by the cover, read the blurb on the back and put it back Sometimes I read the opening pages of a book online I would love to read extensively, but I can’t find anything to read Am I the only one to find modern book trends uninspiring? CATHERINE SMARIDGE Ivybridge, Devon Find some books you love and read them for pleasure, Catherine! Don’t worry if they’re not contemporary – Ed COOKBOOKS Self-publishing a book is cheaper and easier than you think biographies From design to distribution Widely disappointed YORK PUBLISHING SERVICES LTD Tel: 01904 431213 email: enquiries@yps-publishing.co.uk www.yps-publishing.co.uk YPS are recommended by the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 23/05/2016 09:15 GRUMPY OLD BOOKMAN Printing money Michael Allen explains the big bucks behind big books T here has always been big money in publishing I’ve never seen much of it myself, and you probably won’t either – but it’s interesting to know how it’s earned So we’ll start with Sir Walter Scott In the early nineteenth century Scott was a highly successful novelist, but he was also a partner in a printing firm owned by his friend James Ballantyne In 1825 this firm went bust Scott was left with a personal liability for debts which amounted, in present values, to over £9.6 million He refused the many offers of help and dedicated himself to writing more books at a prodigious rate By the time of his death in 1832 he had almost paid off the debt, and it was fully discharged shortly after he died The fact that the right sort of book could generate huge sums did not go unnoticed As a result, books which were thought capable of being big sellers (particularly novels) became valuable properties Publishers began to offer big advance payments just for signing the contract By the end of the 19th century the smell of money had attracted a new breed of middleman into the bookpublishing business He (and to begin with it was usually a he) became known as a literary agent Publishers, such as William Heinemann, despised him and referred to him as a parasite But writers soon realised that having an agent could be a big help in negotiating a contract and maximizing income AP Watt was arguably the first important agent, and he represented such famous names as Wilkie Collins, Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling In the 20th century there were further developments that affected the way in which serious money was made The first was the growth of sales in paperback form, particularly after the end of World War II This increased 10 JULY 2015 p10 Grumpy.indd 10 against each other, just for the right to the power of the agents still further, represent one promising new author because now they could sell the same A lady called Felicia Yap, who has book twice, even in the home market taken a course at Faber’s creativeFirst they could sell it in traditional writing academy, has produced a hardback form; and secondly they thriller which has been considered so could a deal with those distressingly absolutely red-hot that no less than vulgar upstarts, the paperback guys For eight literary agents were willing to example, in 1980 the paperback rights bid for the right to represent her to Judith Krantz’s Princess Daisy sold Who dreamed up this cunning for a then-record $3.2 million plan, and how the auction was It took the traditional conducted, I am not in a publishers some time to position to say In any event, wake up to reality (it the winner was Jonny Geller, usually does), but once An agent who acquired the joint chief executive they noticed the large a thoroughly commercial of that venerable firm of profits being made in agents, Curtis Brown Mr paperbacks, the bigger author – either through G is well known, to those firms either bought skill or pure chance – was paying proper attention, as up one of the new in a powerful position the representative of such other paperback companies as successful thriller writers as Sam a going concern, or they Bourne and SJ Parris built their own paperback However… Before we get too divisions from scratch excited, let us remember that things Either way, an agent who can sometimes go pear-shaped, even acquired a thoroughly commercial with a powerful agent behind you author – either through skill or pure Back in the noughties, 4th Estate chance – was in a powerful position was persuaded to pay a reported Armed with a potentially valuable £350,000 for the rights to Gautam piece of intellectual property, the Malkani’s novel Londonstani But agents could drive a hard bargain sales did not go quite as expected So And they soon found a way to pit one Malkani is no longer with his original firm against another: they did it by publisher and is being obliged to selling the anticipated bestseller via crowd-fund the publication of his an auction The agent sent the same new novel through Unbound book to the ten biggest publishers in Similarly, Louise Walters’ first novel, town Simultaneously The biggest offer Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase, published in secured the deal This didn’t make the 2014, had respectable sales figures for agent popular but it certainly made a debut book and did particularly well him and his author a pile of money in foreign rights: the book has been And so we continued, much until translated into fourteen languages, and the present day, with large sums of two of her foreign deals were for money occasionally being paid in six-figure sums But the publishers advance, sometimes to previously have flatly rejected her second novel unknown authors And now, courtesy (‘too difficult’) and now she is taking of a report in The Bookseller, I the self-publishing route can tell you of a further dramatic So, my advice, as ever, is to tread development Some really smart carefully though the minefield of thinker has come up with a kind modern publishing And don’t get of preliminary auction This time, too excited about the money the agents are being invited to bid “” www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 09:16 WRITERS’ NEWS INTRODUCTIONS Writing Magazine presents a selection of vegetarian and vegan publishing outlets currently accepting contributions We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with their publications before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission guidelines Vegetarian Living, edited by Lindsey Harrad, is a colourful, accessible ethical lifestyle magazine where the emphasis is on the positive VL is not just a food magazine, but includes ethical and community features, articles on sustainable living, natural, organic and cruelty-free beauty, interviews with eco-entrepreneurs and profiles of eco-businesses as well as features on vegetarian and vegan food, chefs, gardening and producers Features lengths and payments vary, and Lindsey commissions on a case-by-case basis Contact her with strong, specific story pitches by email, showing evidence of familiarity with VL Details: email lindsey@vegmag.co.uk; website: www.vegetarianliving.co.uk Vegan Life is a food and lifestyle magazine edited by How to campaign Maria Chiorando that offers Jack Monroe attractive, positive coverage of the Too many people? vegan way of life Eat to beat Contents include anxiety vegan recipes but also cover a wide range of related lifestyle topics ranging from light-hearted to hard-hitting Maria has no freelance budget but is very happy to look at article submissions from prospective contributors Contact her by email Details: email: maria@veganlifemag.com; website: www.veganlifemag.com Bringing Vegan into Vogue By the man behind #GourmetMurderKitchen My cooking has a new lease of life WIN prizes worth over £500! The strain on the planet Raspberry and Rose Tartlets with Pistachio Frangipane p.66 Also inArt this issue Vegan Collections April 2016| issue 14 | £4.25 Deer in focus p.48 National treasure p.86 Cheesy does it p.52 The Vegetarian, edited by John Soonaye, is the quarterly supporters’ magazine of the Vegetarian Society As well as being the newsletter reporting on this national charity’s activities, it also covers a wealth of vegetarian-interest topics such as cookery, celebrities, book reviews, places to eat, the latest academic research, vegetarian products and more The Vegetarian has a positive tone, avoiding being critical of other people’s choices or using shocking images or copy Features always have a strong vegetarian angle and are usually 1,000 to 2,000 words long John accepts freelance contributions He occasionally accepts full pieces, but usually commissions pieces agreed with him Ideas for contributions from freelancers are welcome Contact him by email Payment rates vary Details: email: editor@vegsoc.org; website: www.vegsoc.org Senior editor Ryan Ritchie warmly welcomes international contributions for the magazine (paid) and for its website (currently unpaid although he hopes that will change) Send him pitches by email for travel features, recipes, food features, restaurant reviews, interviews, business profiles, feature articles and stories for the back page Payment rates vary Details: email: editorial@vegnews.com; website: http://vegnews.com Viva!Life Magazine, the supporters’ magazine for the UK-based vegetarian and vegan campaigning charity Viva!, is edited by social justice journalist and author Tony Wardle Available as a free download or pdf three times a year, it carries features, much of it related to Viva!’s campaigns, ranging from hard-hitting political articles to more general-interest and lifestyle-related content Tony describes Viva!Life as ‘a lifestyle magazine with teeth’ and is happy to consider contributions for features, particularly of stories that are quirky, innovative and fascinating, outside the magazine’s usual remit of farmed animals Payment varies Details: email: info@viva.org.uk; website: www.viva.org.uk/resources/vivalife The Australian Green Lifestyle media title, edited by Caitlin Howlett, offers lively, practical, positive advice and inspiration on every aspect of simple, ethical living, covering every aspect of a green lifestyle, including travel, current affairs, fashion, gardens, gadgets and ethical, vegan and vegetarian food Professional writers who can provide relevant news stories, feature articles are welcome to send pitches of ideas (approx 200 words) Writers new to the title should send clippings or links to examples of writing The tone is always warm and friendly Feature articles range from 800 words to 2,500 words and there are slots for shorter fact-based stories and inspirational pieces Payment varies Details: email: submissions@gmagazine.com au; website: www.greenlifestylemag.com.au The award-winning VegNews is the US’s leading vegan lifestyle magazine, covering everything involved in leading a flesh-free life Contents include recipes, city guides, advice, events, travel features, health coverage, interviews, wedding features and celebrity coverage www.writers-online.co.uk p96 News/Introductions.indd 97 Vegan Publishers is an independent press founded by Christen Mailler and Casey Taft in 2013 with a mission to publish vegan lifestyle titles for adults and children with the emphasis on positive themes emphasising justice and respect for all living beings Vegan Publishers is based in the US but accepts submissions of pitches for ideas for new vegan-related titles from writers worldwide Interested writers should not send manuscripts, but should complete the form on the website If VP is interested, it will ask for a partial or completed manuscript Authors are paid royalties Website: http://veganpublishers.com JULY 2016 97 23/05/2016 09:30 WRITERS’ NEWS FLASHES Jake Davies is new editor at monthly publication Poultry World News stories and article ideas on breeding, packing, processing and marketing are always considered and payment is negotiable Details: Reed Business Information, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS; tel: 0208 652 3500; email: poultry.world@ rbi.co.uk; website: www.fwi.co.uk/ poultry/ Research conducted for World Book Night 2016 found that 80% of recipients who said they previously never read, or read less than once a month, said that they have read more since taking part 85% of infrequent readers said they had talked to others about books more since being involved 47% said they had bought more books, and 32% that they had borrowed more from their local library Full report: http:// worldbooknight org/resources/1530 Immediate Media is suspending publication of glossy monthly Prima Baby & Pregnancy magazine, edited by Kelly Beswick ‘When I write a novel I’m writing about my own life; I’m writing a biography almost, always And to make it look like a novel I either have a murder or a death at the end.’ Beryl Bainbridge 98 JULY 2016 p98 News.indd 98 UK POETRY MARKET Fit the bill BY TINA JACKSON Platypus Press is a boutique press that is expanding its remit ‘Currently, we are focusing on poetry manuscripts, however, over the next year we hope to expand our catalogue to include short story and essay collections, and eventually, novellas,’ said Michelle Tudor, who set up Platypus Press with Peter Barnfeather Platypus Press was initially founded to publish Michelle and Peter’s own work ‘We started the press in April 2015 after spending the best part of the previous year discussing what it was we wanted to create Initially, as we’re both writers, we decided to release our own collections We did this, primarily, as a means to gain an understanding of the publishing process At the time, and from our continued discussions within the community, we began to realise just how many great unpublished writers there were, and so decided to push forward with the press.’ Michelle and Peter also publish a literary journal, Wildness ‘We hope to continue along this trajectory, whilst also increasing the variety of our releases; moving away from primarily releasing poetry collections and into essays/novels/etc We also hope to release a print version of our literary journal, as well as organise Apocalyptic triple US based TANSTAAFL Press – named after an acronym coined by Robert Heinlein in The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress, There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch – is reading for a trilogy of anthologies, Enter the Apocalypse, Enter the Aftermath and Enter the Rebirth The volumes are to be edited by Thomas Gondolfi, with respective deadlines of 15 June, 15 September and 15 December Stories for Enter the Apocalypse must involve the lead up to or start of some sort of apocalyptic event Submissions for Aftermath should be set during or just after an apocalypse, while stories in Rebirth will be about the world coming back to a new stability after an apocalypse The disaster itself can take any form, including but not limited to nuclear, epidemic, supernatural, bioweapons, cosmic catastrophe, alien invasion, etc Submit just one story per volume, though you can submit a trilogy of tales intended to run through all three books if you wish Stories must be previously published and no longer than 8,000 words Payment is 1-8¢ per word, averaging 3¢ per word, for first English language publication rights Submit a txt, doc or docx files, or pasted into the body of an email Details: email: submissions@tanstaaflpress.com; website: http://tanstaaflpress.com a chapbook contest during the summer.’ Platypus’s aim is to publish six titles per year, and submissions are invited of both poetry and prose ‘Three or four poetry collections, one essay collection and one or two novellas/short-story collections We simply say we want to be left breathless by the work We want collections that hold together but are not necessarily linked by a specific theme, we want something new, but mostly we want to feel something.’ To submit poetry, send at least 25 poems Short story and essay submissions should consist of at least five stories or essays For novels, send the first three chapters Attach the manuscript as a pdf and include a short thirdperson bio with the submission (eg, who you are, any other publications, etc) Platypus Books are published in both paperback and Kindle versions Authors are paid royalties Details: email: submissions@platypuspress.co.uk; website: http://platypuspress.co.uk UK HORROR MARKET Horrifying opportunity BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON Horrified Press is a UK small press specialising in horror It has several imprints and is currently closed to novel submissions but always needs stories for anthologies There is a long list of them at the open submissions page, some with open deadlines, others with fixed dates Forthcoming open anthologies are Jack O’Lanterns, for Halloween horror stories, and Welcome to the Dance, for stories about dancing (eg dance with the devil, dance with death, although wider interpretations of the theme are encouraged by Horrified Press) For each, deadline is 31 July, upper limit is 5,000 words, and may include flash or poetry, but 2,000-5,000 is preferred Payment is in royalties for ‘exclusive publishing rights for six months from the date of publication’ Details: email: dorothystaticm@gmail.com; website: https://horrifiedpress.wordpress.com www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 09:31 WRITERS’ NEWS Lunar lines GLOBAL JEWISH MAGAZINE The Battered Moons Poetry Competition, which is part of Poetry Swindon Festival, is inviting entries for this year’s contest The judges are Daljit Nagra and Cristina Navazo-Eguía Newton, and the first prize is £700 The second prize is £200, the third prize is £100 and there will be four commendations of £25 each All the winning and commended poems will appear in the Battered Moons Poetry Pamphlet 2016 alongside a poem by each of the judges To enter, send original, unpublished poems on any subject, up to forty lines All poems must have a title The poet’s name must not appear on the manuscript If entering by post include a separate sheet with personal details If entering by email, send the poems as attachments and include poem titles, contact details and the PayPal transaction number in the body of the email The entry fee is £5 per poem, or £3.50 per poem for multiple entries Email entrants pay by PayPal and postal entrants can pay it by cheques (with the name and phone number on the back) made out to Battered Moons The closing date is 30 June Details: Battered Moons Poetry Competition, c/o Hilda Sheehan, 28 Brunswick Street, Swindon SN1 3NB; email: batteredmoonsentries@gmail.com; website: http://batteredmoons.com/ Take the Tablet BY GARY DALKIN Tablet is a new bimonthly print magazine launched to compliment the successful daily online magazine of the same name devoted to Jewish news, ideas, and culture The web version is now seven years old, and both editions of Tablet are projects of the US based not-for-profit organisation Nextbook Inc, which also produces the Nextbook Press Jewish Encounters book series The online and print editions have entirely discrete content and editor-in-chief Alana Newhouse welcomes submissions from freelance writers for news and articles on all aspects of Jewish life Don’t send completed work but submit a full pitch Give a detailed description of what you intend to write about, a brief biography, links to previously published articles (if any), and, if possible, a short writing sample Arts, culture, news and politics pitches should go to Matthew Fishbane, mfishbane@tabletmag.com, life and religion pitches to Wayne Hoffman, whoffman@ tabletmag.com, Vox Tablet pitches to Julie Subrin, jsubrin@tabletmag.com Payment ranges from around $400 for a personal essay of 1,000-2,000 words, and up to $1,000 for a well-researched feature article between 2,000-4,000 words It’s essential to be familiar with Tablet’s content before pitching, read the website, and follow the full guidelines Details: Tablet Magazine, 37 West 28th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10001; email: info@tabletmag.com; website: www.tabletmag.com Whining Puppies spoil Hugos’ fun The world’s most prestigious science fiction awards, the Hugos, have announced the nominations for best novel as: The Aeronaut’s Windlass, Jim Butcher (Roc); The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin (Orbit US); Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie (Orbit UK); Uprooted, Naomi Novik (Macmillan UK); Seveneves, Neal Stephenson (The Borough Press) The winners in all categories will be declared at the World Science Fiction Convention which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, USA over the long weekend of 17-21 August However, as per last year, there have been successful attempts to game the nomination process by two activist groups, the Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies The former group advocates traditional adventure fiction with a conservative leaning Founder Brad Torgersen has complained that the sort of novels favoured by the Hugo have become, ‘niche, academic, overtly to the left in ideology and flavour, and ultimately lacking what might best be called visceral, gut-level, swashbuckling fun’ The latter group operates from an extreme rightwing position and is headed by the openly racist Theodore Beale/Vox Day – described by The Wall Street Journal as ‘the most despised man in science fiction’ In order to have the Hugos reflect their visions of SF the Puppies again, as last year, suggested ‘voting slates’ for their members to follow This time however, they have been more subtle, mixing the sort of works they profess to dislike in among their slates, works by respected ‘literary’ genre writers which likely would have been nominated anyway Thus voting slate titles which were nominated in the Best Novel include works by Naomi Novik, Ann Leckie and Neal Stephenson The purpose was twofold To be able to argue that they have only chosen books on merit, and to pressure nominated authors who oppose the Puppies’ positions to feel they should withdraw their works from a process they consider to have become irreparably corrupted – by the Puppies UK author Alistair Reynolds has done just that, withdrawing his novella Slow Bullets, which was included on both the Sad and Rabid lists The result of all this mischief, apart from pressuring awardworthy authors to drop out of the Award process, has been a set of nominations which mix some of last year’s best science fiction with the likes of Space Raptor Butt Invasion by Chuck Tingle, SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) Always Lie by Vox Day, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Website: www.thehugoawards.org www.writers-online.co.uk p98 News.indd 99 JULY 2016 99 23/05/2016 09:32 WRITERS’ NEWS FLASHES Practical Sportsbikes editor Jim Moore welcomes wellillustrated feature ideas about bikes and restoration projects from those with relevant knowledge Contact him with ideas and to negotiate payment Details: Bauer Automotive Ltd, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA; tel: 01733 458792; email: jim.moore@ bauermedia.co.uk Sir John Lister-Kaye has been awarded the inaugural Richard Jefferies Society Writers’ Prize for his ninth book Gods of the Morning, ‘his critically acclaimed celebration of a natural year through the lives of British birds’ The Society’s Writers’ Prize, founded in memory of long-term member John Web, has a prize of £500 awarded for any length or format of writing on themes or topics broadly consistent with Jefferies’ writing One Media, which already publishes the Times of Tunbridge Wells, has added the Times of Tonbridge to the business, holdthefrontpage website reported ‘I have always loved playing around with words I didn’t know it was called poetry I was just an innocent kid messing around with words when an adult said “You’re a poet, be published or be damned”.’ Benjamin Zephaniah 100 JULY 2016 p100 News/ Zine.indd 100 UK LETTERS MARKET Put a stamp on your submission BY TINA JACKSON The Letters Page, the literary journal in letters that is edited by Jon McGregor and produced by the School of English at Nottingham University, is open for submissions for Issue Since its inception in 2013, The Letters Page has published letters by writers including Colum McCann, Magnus Mills, Kevin Berry and Naomi Alderman Issue 8, out in October, will be the first print issue Send submissions of letters (in envelopes): stories, essays, reportage, travelogue, memoir, conversation, criticism, speculation and anything that could be sent as a letter The correspondence-based journal has no strict guidelines other than that submissions must take the form of letters, but it values literary qualities, shortness and smallness Include a name and postal address with each submission The author of each accepted letter is paid £100 The closing date for issue is 25 September Details: The Letters Page, School of English, University of Nottingham NG7 2RD; website: www.theletterspage.ac.uk Create50 a community Create50, which launched in 2014, is a collaborative creative initiative that provides a platform for emerging screenwriters, filmmakers, short story writers and allied artists Writers participating in Create50 upload work for submission calls, which have included screenwriting and short story projects, and must provide feedback on at least pieces by other writers Writers then have the opportunity to redraft and resubmit their work Currently, Create50 is accepting short story submissions for: • Twisted Tales Vol 2, a collection of fifty horror and paranormal tales Submit at least two original, unpublished stories of no longer than 2,000 words each There is a submission fee of £5 per story The closing date is 31 October • The Singularity 50, a collection of fifty SF stories exploring the journey to the moment when technology overtakes us There will be cash prizes of £250, £100 and £50 Submit at least two original, unpublished stories of up to 2,000 words There is a submission fee of £7 per story The closing date for submissions is December Submissions should be uploaded as doc or rtf files Website: www.create50.com Novel and poetry prizes from PENfro As part of the PENfro Book Festival there are two competitions, one for novelists and one for poets The Festival takes place 9-11 September in Rhosygilwen, Pembrokshire, where the winners will be announced • The First Chapter competition offers the winner a full feedback of their entry by literary consultant and talent scout David Llewelyn who will help your novel to reach a publishable standard Second and third prize winners will gain a review of their first chapter, synopsis and cover letter and ten shortlisted SPONSORED Competition winner Rachel Mills, Alnwick, with her brand new PC, courtesy of PC Repair Leeds finalists will be offered a face-to-face or email consultation Submissions must be works of fiction for adults, including teens Fantasy, sci-fi and novels for children cannot be accepted The competition is open to writers who have never had a novel broadcast or published in print or online, and entries should not be currently under consideration for publication or as an entry in any other competition To enter, send your first chapter of a maximum 3,000 words, in 12pt Times New Roman, in a doc or pdf, by 15 July Entry fee is £10 • The poetry competition invites entries of original poems of a maximum forty lines on any theme or subject, with prizes of £300, £125 and £75 No entry should have been previously published anywhere, been broadcast or won any prize The deadline is 31 July Entry is £4 Details: The Competition Organiser, PENfro Competition, Croeswen Isaf, Betws Ifan, Newcastle Emlyn SA38 9QL; website: http://penfrobookfestival org.uk/competitions Let PC Repair Leeds look after all your IT needs When you need help with your PC, look no further than PC Repair Leeds Owner Carl and his team of IT experts can provide fast, friendly and professional help to residents throughout the UK Using the latest software, PC Repair Leeds is able to remotely and securely connect to your computer with optimal speed and efficiency, saving you time and money. Business and residential clients are welcome Remote support is the most costeffective method of support, allowing the PC Repair Leeds team to connect within minutes should any problems arise. Not only can PC Repair Leeds provide you with PC support, they can also provide you with everything from annual maintenance of your hardware, to data recovery, backup solutions, home network setup, anti virus, PC and Mac setups to laptop repair and even 24/7 monitoring And as a proud Which? Trusted Trader, you know your PC is in safe hands Get in touch today and see how PC Repair Leeds can help improve your PC health Call the friendly, expert team on 0113 8000192, email admin@pcrepairleeds.com or visit www.pcrepairleeds.com www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 11:28 WRITERS’ NEWS INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE BY PDR LINDSAY SALMON Syntax and Salt: Stories is a delightful new zine devoted to magic realist short stories The next issue, deadline 15 September, needs submissions on the theme ‘Myths, Monsters, Legends, and Fairy Tales’, of stories up to 3,500 words, which can be retellings of old myths and legends Sad endings without gimmicks or shocks and happy endings that hurt a little bit would be welcomed No reprints, multiple or sim subs Response time is ‘within sixty days’ Payment is $10 via PayPal, with one editor’s choice each issue earning $25, for first worldwide Englishlanguage serial and electronic rights Website: http://syntaxandsalt.com Donut Factory is a new zine calling itself a ‘quirky and wondrous literary journal’ It needs prose poetry and flash fiction, preferably ‘pieces that have a bit of an odd shine about them’ Submit up to 1,000 words of any genre ‘Quirkiness is encouraged.’ Reprints and simultaneous submissions are accepted Payment is in PDF copies Details: Donut Factory, email: DonutFactoryExpress@gmail.com; website: http://donutfactorypress.wix.com/ donutfactory indicia is a biannual literary magazine featuring poetry, flash and short fiction, and art It aims to showcase dynamic, passionate and profound new voices Submit previously unpublished poetry, flash fiction, and visual art Feel free to experiment Submit: 1-6 poems, up to ten pages in total; flash fiction, no more than three stories, each under 750 words Details: indicia, editors.indicia@gmail.com; website: http://indicialit.com drDOCTOR is a website tied to a reading series and weekly podcast ‘A weekly podcast on art and the artists who make the art’, the series regularly features three doctors: one fictional, one nonfictional, and one poetical Sam Farahmand, Mila Jaroniec, and Luke Wiget are the three doctors/editors, who want a literary magazine ‘but we not believe in being literary with a capital L We are not interested in obscurity or cleverness, or pretence for its own sake We like work that is difficult, but not difficult to read.’ They are happy to consider any genre or style as long as the writing is ‘good and true’ Keep all submissions under 5,000 words Response time is ‘reasonable’ Payment is one copy of the magazine Website: https://drdoctordrdoctor.com/ GLOBAL SF MARKET New worlds down under BY GARY DALKIN Editor Robert N Stephenson is reading for the second volume in a new Australian anthology series, The Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror volume II The book will be published electronically on 31 January 2017 by Altair Australia PTY Ltd, and distributed free for promotional purposes Volume I can be freely downloaded in various The Pinch is a biannual literary journal published by the students of the University of Memphis MFA Program and English Department Submissions are welcomed from new and established writers of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction There is no reading over the summer, so prepare your submissions for when the window reopens on 15 August Submit fiction and creative non-fiction, under 5,000 words, no more than three flash pieces, whether fiction or creative nonfiction, or up to five poems There is a fee of $3 for some submissions Response time is ‘slow’ Payment is two copies of the magazine, with one writer each issue receiving a $200 Featured Writer award Website: http://www.pinchjournal.com formats from the website All authors will be paid Aus$100 on the day of acceptance Required are science fiction, fantasy or horror stories, 4,500-10,000 words Stories must be original genre fiction which both explore and entertain Stephenson urges writers to create bright characters and strange worlds, not just slight variations on the work of Tolkien or Martin No fan fiction or erotica of any kind No polemics – the emphasis should be on entertainment, not politics Email submissions as rtf or doc attachments to author@altairaustralia.com; website: www.robertnstephenson.com/anthology.html www.writers-online.co.uk p100 News/ Zine.indd 101 Tallow Eider Quarterly is an online journal of art and writing, interested in ‘the most experimental, innovative and engaging art and writing available today’ It needs writing and artwork in any genre which ‘highlights all things archaic, anomalous or simply weird’: ‘This is not a venue for poetry about poetry, prose about doves in the morning, nature meditations, rhyme schemes, overly-depressing break-up poems, vampire stories or anything remotely basic.’ Submit up to five pieces of poetry in a single document, no more than three pieces of flash fiction, each under 1,000 words, or one story around 1,500 words Response time is around three months Website: https://tequarterly.com JULY 2016 101 23/05/2016 11:28 WRITERS’ NEWS FLASHES Ben HackneyWilliams edits the new title Park & Holiday Home Inspiration, which launched in February and publishes four issues per year Details: Warners Group Publications plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9NB; website: www outandaboutlive co.uk US humour website FrostedTip welcomes new contributors and responds to all submissions Aim for under 1,000 words Payment rates are $20 for lists and $25 for features, regardless of length Submit a PDF attachment with your full name, contact details and if you have them, your website and twitter handle details by email: frostedtip submissions@ gmail.com Website: http:// frostedtip.com/ submissions/ L0w L1f3 is an online cyberpunk zine featuring ‘stories from the neon lit gutter’ Submit short stories, 2,000-8,000 words, with an original take on cyberpunk Articles ‘of interest to the cyberpunk/tech community’, 2,0008,000 words, are also welcome but query first Response time is ‘as soon as we can’ Payment is $20 via Paypal for ‘the usual rights.’ Details: L0w L1f3, email: l0wl1f3mag@ gmail.com; website: https://l0wl1f3 wordpress.com ‘If I had not existed, someone else would have written me, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, all of us.’ William Faulkner 102 JULY 2016 p102 News/Travel writing.indd 102 GLOBAL SHORT STORY MARKET Centre in BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON Centum Press is a new imprint for short stories and flash fiction from Allegiant Publishing Group, to publish alongside their existing imprints, Snow Leopard, for mainstream and contemporary fiction, and Wizards Keep, for SF, fantasy and paranormal The group is in favour of a co-operative contract with their authors, and Snow Leopard even invites writers to pick their own contract Centrum is ‘founded on the principle of giving authors of short stories and flash fiction advantages that they can’t get anywhere else’, hoping to give writers ‘freedom and fair pay’ Centum will publish anthologies of short stories and flash fiction by 100 authors each (hence the name), 500-1,500 words, with royalties for each author Include with your submission a ‘basic statement’ about promoting the anthology Response time is quick and rights and payments are discussed with the contract Website: www.centumpublishing.com Any colours you like Entries on the theme of ‘colours’ are invited for the Eyelands 6th International Short Story Competition The winner will receive a week’s holiday for two in a studio on Triopetra beach on the island of Crete The first, second and thirdprize winners will be published in anthologies in English and Greek, and will receive Greek handmade ceramics Shortlisted stories will be published in the anthologies, which will be published by Strange Days Publications All entries must be original, unpublished short stories on the theme of ‘colours’ Stories may be in any genre and may be up to 2,500 words Send stories by email as Word documents Only email entries will be accepted There is an entry fee of €10 per story, payable by PayPal The closing date is 20 June Details: email: info@eyelands.gr; website: http://writ.rs/eyelandscolourscomp Big winners The £30,000 International Dylan Thomas Prize, given for the best work by an author of 39 or under, was won by Max Porter for his debut, a hybrid novella/poem/essay/playscript, Grief Is the Thing With Feathers The regional winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize are: Pacific: Black Milk, Tina Makereti (New Zealand); Asia: Cow and Company, Parashar Kulkarni (India); Africa: The Pigeon, Faraaz Mahomed (South Africa); Canada and Europe: Eel, Stefanie Seddon (UK); Caribbean: Ethelbert and the Free Cheese, Lance Dowrich (Trinidad and Tobago) The overall winner will be announced on June at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica South Korean author Han Kang and her translator Deborah Smith have won the International Man Booker Prize for The Vegetarian The £50,000 award is shared between them Dominic Lieven has won the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize with Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia Suzanne Sullivan has won the £30,000 2016 Wellcome Book Prize, given for books that illuminate an aspect of medicine, for It’s All in Your Head, which is about the mystery of psychosomatic illnesses Club Best First Novel Award is: Jakob’s Colours, Lindsey Hawdon; The Last Pilot, Benjamin Johncock; The Good Son, Paul McVeigh; The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Natasha Pulley; Belonging, Uma Sinha, and Rawblood, Catriona Ward The shortlist for The Royal Society’s Young People’s Book Prize 2016, for the best science books for kids, is: Lift-the-flap First Questions and Answers: How Do Flowers Grow?, Katie Daynes, illustrated by Christine Pym; How Machines Work, David Macauley; TreeTops in Fact: How to Change the World by Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Esme Lonsdale; Project Body, John Farndon; Rebel Science, Dan Green, illustrated by David Lyttleton, and The Usborne Official Astronaut’s Handbook, Louie Stowell, illustrated by Roger Simo The winner will be announced in November The £30,000 2016 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award was won by Jonathan Tel with The Human Phonograph, described by judges as ‘a beautifully observed story of a marriage lived in the shadow of the Chinese nuclear weapons programme of the 1960s.’ The story already won the The Commonwealth Short Story Prize last year, and can be read on the Guardian website: http://writ.rs/efgwinners The shortlist for the £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize, which is given for the year’s best debut novel, is: Mrs Engels, Gavin McCrea; The House at the Edge of the World, Julia Rochester, and Glorious Heresies, Lisa McInerney The shortlist for The Authors’ The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was announced in April as, The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Grove Press) The Prize for General Nonfiction was won by Joby Warrick for Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS The Biography or Autobiography Prize went to Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, by William Finnegan (Penguin Press) Each winner received a $10,000 cash award and a gold medal www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 11:17 L W RI T G TR GLOBAL TRAVEL MARKET VE IN A WRITERS’ NEWS BY GARY DALKIN K N Roads & Kingdoms is an independent online journal of food, politics, travel and culture, a well-presented high-end site with very strong visuals It was founded five years ago by former Time Magazine foreign correspondent Nathan Thornburgh and Matt Goulding, co-author of the bestselling food series, Eat This, Not That! It 2012 it was voted the Gold Winner for Best Travel Journalism Site by the Society of American Travel Writers, and last year international celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain became an investor in the website Roads & Kingdoms is based in New York and Barcelona, publishing feature articles, dispatches, interviews and global ephemera daily It is essential to read the website at http://roadsandkingdoms.com/ to get an idea of the sort of eclectic content sought: recent articles have documented a changing nation from a single waterway in the wilds of northeast Scotland, offered a travel guide to Bamako and Timbuktu, explored the popularity of Quakerism in Kenya, and considered the KFC chicken sandwich’s impact in Pakistan Do not send full articles, but submit a pitch with a pithy sample paragraph or two of your proposed project to pitches@roadsandkingdoms.com Payment is $150 for articles of 1,000-2,000 words Website: http://roadsandkingdoms.com Multiple chances for thoughtful SF Thoughtful and well written science fiction, horror and fantasy stories, especially those which push the boundaries or cross between genres, are the fare of the Irish Albedo One magazine and all stories submitted to the magazine will also be considered for the online Albedo 2.0 Fiction Showcase series Stories of 2,500-8,000 words are preferred and payment for published work is €6 per 1,000 words up to 8,000 words Simultaneous and multiple submissions will not be considered and neither will previously published work unless it has been published in a language other than English If your story has been posted online in fiction workshops for critique and improvement it will be considered but must be removed from the workshop site if accepted for publication Both postal and email submissions will be considered No work is returned so keep a copy Submit to: Albedo One, Batchelor’s Walk, Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland; email: bobn@yellowbrickroad.ie; website: www.albedo1.com • Allied to the magazine is the International Aeon Award Short Fiction Competition which has a prize pot totalling €1,300 and publication in Albedo One on offer There are four rounds of submissions throughout the year and upcoming deadlines are 30 June, 30 September and 30 November Submissions should be under 10,000 words and not have been previously published There is an entry fee of €7.50 per story and entries should be pasted into the body of an email with ‘Aeon Award Submission’ in the subject line Aeon Award entries to: fraslaw@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.albedo1.com/aeon-award/rules/ www.writers-online.co.uk p102 News/Travel writing.indd 103 W See the world differently O W-H O More than a place It’s not just where you go that creates a commission says Patrick Forsyth I ’m off to Peru Actually, no, sadly I’m not But it gets us started: if I was then maybe I could find something about which to write This might occur in two ways First, I might set out with a clear intention; perhaps I plan to visit Machu Pichu, the renowned Inca citadel, in which case there must be lots to write about its construction and history and also the people of the times Or, secondly, there might be things that happened on the journey that were unexpected or amusing Clearly you cannot pitch the latter in advance – the core of the piece will be about someone falling off the top I don’t think so, not unless you plan to jump But pitching in advance must not be somewhat like my opening line: ‘I’m off to Peru in October, would you be interested in an article?’ To which the best answer could only ever be: ‘Maybe, but what about?’, and, more likely such an approach will prompt no interest at all Suggestions – query letters – need to be clear and specific and they perhaps best make several suggestions in terms of different topics and tone (for instance will a piece be factual or amusing?) Address the ‘so what?’ question that will often come into an editor’s mind Describe why your ideas would interest readers of the magazine you pitch to (which of course means reading an issue or two and doing some research; it is fatal to ignore something specifically stated in any published guidelines for submissions) And say also why you are the one to it – and that means selling yourself, not just saying, ‘I’m going to be there.’ After all Peru may be interesting, but it is not uncharted territory and others may be suggesting writing about it too As well as a topic and a style you also need structure – something other than the chronological journal approach – and perhaps a theme It is the latter that can make your offering stand out and get its hooks into an editor tired of similar overworked approaches So, for example, maybe you could link something to eating and drinking If a group are out for a beer together in Peru they use the same glass and pass it round and of course the dish of the day may be guinea pig (cuy) – something I have been sworn never to mention to my guinea pig-owning granddaughter, particularly coupled with the thought that it’s tasty, but the fur tends to stick to the roof of your mouth Of course, you will doubtless need more than a couple of odd food facts to create an interesting idea, but the first rule is to remember not to pitch the destination alone, but some ideas too JULY 2016 103 23/05/2016 11:17 WRITERS’ NEWS FLASHES The organisations celebrating Roald Dahl 100 that will be funded though Chapter 1’s Invent your Event have been announced by Literature Wales They are: Hay Festival; Oriel Davies, Galeri Caernarfon, the National Eisteddfod of Wales, The Urdd National Eisteddfod, North Wales International Music Festival, Spread the Word festival, Swansea International Festival, Denbighshire County Council, RawFfest, and Beyond the Border storytelling festival Website: www roalddahl100.wales This year’s Althorp Literary Festival takes place between 30 June and July and has the theme of ‘originality’ It is the largest event in the festival’s history, and authors taking part include Bill Bryson, scriptwriter Andrew Davies, Brian Blessed, James Naughtie, John Suchet and Paula Byrne Website: www.spencerof althorp.com Paul Holden, a former weekly newspaper editor, has founded a monthly magazine, The Worthing Journal, to campaign to restore civic pride to the Sussex Town, Holdthefrontpage website said ‘My favourite poem is the one that starts “Thirty days hath September” because it actually tells you something.’ Groucho Marx 104 JULY 2016 p104 News.indd 104 INTERNATIONAL LITERARY MARKET Honeyed words BY PDR LINDSAY-SALMON Miel is an independent press based in Belgium Its editor in chief, Éireann Lorsung, started the press in 2011 ‘to promote and publish difficult, innovative, intelligent, and deeply felt writing and visual art’ The major focus was initially on women writers, but has now widened and especially welcomes people of colour and LGBTQ writers The press publishes chapbooks of poetry and prose, and ‘non-book book-objects’ perhaps ‘reproductions of print editions, artists’ books, comics, posters’ Éireann particularly enjoys producing non-traditional book forms, such as a micro-series: ‘10cm-square chapbooks containing 8-12 pages of fragments or short poems’ Book submissions are only open during June but enquiries (not a formal query) about non-book books and the micro series, and anything else a writer thinks might be ‘right’ for Miel, may be sent anytime Miel also publishes a magazine, 111O, twice a year Submissions are open until September for issue 10, of poems, prose, and photography The editorial team ‘prefer work that is experimental, unusual, considerate of form, politically awake, rich in longing and in image, woven with allusion reference/citation, hungry for justice’ Submit with brief (eighty-word) bio and full contact information, through the website: prose, up to twenty pages; poetry 14-20 pages Writing that crosses genres can be sent as either prose or poetry Response time is ‘slow’ Payment and rights are ‘by group agreement’ Website: http://miel.ohbara.com/ For the next generation of poets Founded in 2006 to mark the centenary of the former Poet Laureate, the freeto-enter Betjeman Poetry Prize ‘aims to foster creativity in young people whilst discovering and encouraging the next generation of British poets’, and is open to entries of poetry on the theme of ‘place’ from poets aged 10-13 who live in the UK or Ireland The ‘place’ can be anything that chooses to inspire and is important to the writer whether that be a city, a garden, a street or a bedroom Entries must be the entrant’s own original work and not have been published, including on a website, selfpublished or broadcast Poems published in a school magazine will be eligible There are no limitations on the number of words or lines, or the number of entries that can be submitted but all entries must have a title and be typed/printed or legibly handwritten Judges for the competition are Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and poet, artist and documentary filmmaker Imtiaz Dharker The winning entrant will receive £500 plus £500 for the English Department of their school Home-educated children can nominate their local library to receive the prize Two runners up will receive £50 each and all three prize winners will receive four Eurostar ticket to Paris, Brussels or Lille Highly commended poets will receive a book token and the top fifty poems will be printed in an anthology And there’s more The teacher entering the most poems from their school will win a sponsored place on Manchester Metropolitan University’s three-day Teaching Creative Writing course Entries close at midnight on 31 July and submissions can be made via the website, or an entry form can be downloaded and attached to postal entries Details: Betjeman Poetry Prize, Princes Crescent, Hove, E Sussex BN3 4GS; website: www.betjemanpoetryprize.co.uk Feel the fear and paint it blÆk Blyant Publishing is inviting submissions on the theme of fear for the second edition of its blÆk anthology blÆk is a hand-bound quarterly with illustrations Send short fiction of either 1,000 or 2,000 words There are no genre specifications but writers are encouraged to think beyond horror Include a brief author bio of approximately 100 words Submissions should be in William Shunn manuscript format, 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced Payment is £10 for a 1,000-story and £20 for a 2,000-word story The closing date is July Details: email: hedvig@ blyantpublishing.ccom; website: www.blyantpublishing.com Heroic venture Crossed Lines is a brand new indie press and their first publication will be the Super Hero Anthology The team is looking for ‘well written stories about super heroes.’ It is flexible about the definition, but insists you create your own character Aim for a PG13 rating Submit stories, 2,500-10,000 words, as a doc file by email: crossedlinespublishing@gmail.com There is no deadline, probably ‘until filled’ as the anthology is due out in November Response time is ‘quick’ Payment is $25 for selected stories Website: https://crossedlinespublishing wordpress.com www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 11:15 WRITERS’ NEWS PROOF! NEW TEAM S CAN STILL SOAR IN F1 by Mark Hughes UK MOTORING MARKET www.motorsportmagazine.com Get your Motor Sport running Chris Rea My Ferrari passion NEW! Darren Turner column Newey’s hyper Aston Martin BY TINA JACKSON Motor Sport magazine was founded in 1924 ‘We’ve got a great history and a lot of fantastic characters associated with the magazine,’ said editor Damien Smith ‘Bill Boddy edited the magazine between 1936 and 1991, and carried on writing until he was 97 Denis Jenkinson – motor racing’s most famous journalist -– was our key writer for many years, from the 1950s to the early 1990s Everything we produce is in the spirit of Bod and Jenks.’ Motor Sport may be rooted in tradition but it is also a contemporary motoring magazine ‘If Jenks was around now he’d barely recognise what we do,’ said Damien ‘The print magazine continues, of course, but we have a thriving website, digital editions, bookazines, supplements and a Motor Sport Hall of Fame We’ve got an old-fashioned reputation because our masthead is very traditional, but it’s our calling card We’re a modern magazine heavily framed by history.’ Motor Sport is a specialist magazine, reflecting a readership with a lifelong interest in the sport ‘Our readers tend to be very loyal, a bit older, and one of our aims is to keep them happy and keep them with us We’ve got a unique approach to what we’re doing – it’s a well-known and well-loved brand We’re independently owned, too Everyone here has a lot of pride – it’s an honour to be part of it.’ Motor Sport covers a wide range of motoring subjects ‘We have a wide remit Modern Formula 1, international motor racing, grassroots racing around Britain, the historic racing scene We tell lots of stories about the history of motor racing We cover new road cars and we dip into motorcycles – a lot of car mags don’t cover anything with two wheels, but our title allows us a lot of width – and we’re about telling good stories The sport’s past is rich in adventure stories – colourful characters with all sorts of different backgrounds In the modern sport there are still fascinating people, too The sport may be more technical and corporate but there are still fantastic people doing fantastic things Modern Formula is very important to us – it’s the shop window for everything we stand for and an access point for a lot of readers.’ Each issue has key features: Nigel Roebuck’s column and Simon Taylor’s Lunch With feature, where he takes a motor racing personality out to lunch and talks about their career ‘Pace is important, we’re known for our long-form approach and those features are each about 5,000 words but we mix it up with shorter elements There are around A ‘pay driver’ called Schumacher, another in jail – and Michael Jackson’s hair… MAY 2016 £4.99 05 770027 201186 Cover Jordan.indd 23/03/2016 13:42 55,000 words in each issue – it’s a luxury, an indulgence,’ said Damien Motor Sport has a network of trusted freelances, ‘but I will look at good ideas from anyone,’ said Damien ‘Understand the magazine and our approach to things by reading it Original ideas are key – coming up with something we haven’t run before in a way we haven’t done before Send a short pitch by email with clear ideas about what the story is they want to tell, and why they want to tell it.’ The tone is considered, and perspective is very important ‘We try not to shout It’s trying to put forward our stories in a way that’s stylish and entertaining, like the sport We take pride in being very opinionated and we enjoy our independence.’ Payment varies between £350 and £400 per 1,000 words Details: email: info@motorsportmagazine com; website: www.motorsportmagaine.com Writing in Funny Times Join an august roll-call Originally launched in 1732, The London Magazine is the UK’s oldest literary periodical, and during its long history it has published poets including John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and William Burroughs The London Magazine’s annual poetry competition seeks out the best new poetry to publish some of the most celebrated poets writing in English The 2016 competition, which is now open for entries, has prizes of £300, £200 and £150 Poems may be in any form or style and on any theme, but all entries must be no longer than forty lines, original and unpublished The London Magazine is looking for bold, innovative, diverse work Send entries by post or email as doc, pdf or txt files typed in 12pt Times New Roman, with your name, address and email address on the front page Include a completed entry form with all entries Email entries should have the filename authorname/poemtitle and the subject line should include the name, the competition and the poem title The entry fees are £7 for the first entry and £5 for any subsequent entries Pay entry fees by credit or debit card or cheques payable to The London Magazine The closing date is 30 June Details: TLM Poetry Prize 2016, The London Magazine, 11 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5EL; email: competition@thelondonmagazine.org; website: www.thelondonmagazine.org Founded in 1985 and still published by husband and wife team Susan Wolpert and Raymond Lesser, US monthly newspaper The Funny Times pokes fun at American politics, news, relationships, food, technology, pets, work, death, environmental issues, business, religion and the human condition Not much is off limits, and with no advertisers to offend the title can print whatever it likes, as long as it is funny There is an online sample issue to give you a flavour at: http://funnytimes.com/ funny-times-sample-issue/ Submissions should be the funniest you have ever written between about 500 and 700 words If your material relates www.writers-online.co.uk p104 News.indd 105 25 YEARS ON How Jordan put the fizz in F1 to a particular season or calendar event, send four months ahead: for example, submit Christmas humour in September Payment is $60 per story for one-time reproduction rights Content does not need to be exclusive and reprints are paid at the same rate Cartoons are also required (don’t send originals) at $25-$40 a time Submit by post only, including an sae for return and response Details: The Funny Times c/o The Editors, PO Box 18530, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118; email info@ funnytimes.com; website: http://funnytimes.com JULY 2016 105 23/05/2016 11:15 Tel: 01354 818012 or email: sarahn@media-shed.co.uk Box (min 3cm): £13 per single column cm for subscribers; £15 per single column cm for non-subscribers Competitions The WriTer’s AssisTAnT Manuscript Critique and Editing Service Editing, Proofreading, Typing & Kindle Self-publishing Services Your writing critiqued by a professional editor, story structure expert and long-time Writing Magazine contributor www.thewritersassistant.co.uk T: Michelle 07887 685 922 E: thewritersassistant@sky.com The One-Stop Shop for Writers Gary Dalkin – To The Last Word Tel: 01202 579640 / Mob: 07552 220438 gary.dalkin@live.co.uk www.tothelastword.com/wm Book Design Short Stories always required for Scribble, the short story magazine Over £100.00 in prizes every quarter, with critiques offered on any unsuitable material Each issue of Scribble contains 82 pages of quality fiction, readers’ letters and advice for writers For further information and submission guidelines, please visit www.parkpublications.co.uk or send a s.a.e to Park Publications, 14 The Park, Stow on the Wold, Cheltenham, Glos GL54 1DX BEST SELLI THE UK’S 09:30:05 neeANdINSIDER’S VIEW OF ing you PUBLISHING Everythw before you to kno r novel WRITTEN write you YOUR BOOK? INCLUDINGED PAGES OF in prizes Win £43,000+ Where to get published REINVENTING e spear ake Bard Shinspi red by the PEN PUSHERS Be BES TSE How to SELL and re-sell your GRAM • writing R overseas rules MA • CREATE a screenplay yo u your novel from need to WIN a 4-d ay Writers’ Iceland WORT Retreat H £1,50 NEW THESYEA YOU CAN S CE USE … AN FR ✓ 19 Scandalous E competi ING tion ✓ 50 s oppoRD HA historian rtunities to enter ✓ Insid to HALLIE £4.10 22/03/2016 13:04 WR RESOLU ITING TIONS YOU’LL STICK TO IN 201 770964 26/04/2016 09:18 Call 0208 994 7893 or email 01 916259 17/11/2015 14:10 Contact 16:31 Experienced editor offering a range of services to help prepare your manuscript for publication www.alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com Email: alisonewilliams@sky.com Tel: 07891 065 012 SfEP member ADVERTISE HERE! hilary@hilaryjohnson.com joanedmonds200@btinternet.com E tackles big que the stions S br SUCCESea OF BOOKk COSTA R WINNER Jan16.indd ay.indd MAG AZIN Life, dea th & hum anity… by ste p p Why you strong need a male • WRITE better features p001_wmag p001_wmagM WRI TING A 6-DAY roMANce READER LLIN G WRITER’S ARVON RETREAT get er ✓ Esse industry new published Exercises and ntial advi s ideas to inspire ce916259 from profe 770964 your writingTHE SCENES ssional RUBENHOLD n IND to publicatio writers PLUS t ING: BEH manuscrip PUBLISH book from Follow a Self-publishing? 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NEW SERIE O Forma KS £600 life YEARthePL t and learn from the bard Shelf pu targets, JEAN HENDERSON www.dabhands.uk.com WIN £47, 350 MAGA ZINE inN G T H E U K ’ S B E S T S E LLI writin W R I Tg I Nprizes G M AG A Z ITHE NE HANDLING For more information contact Give me a call or send me an e-mail: carole@cwhadmin.com 07762 268 677 NG NG WRITI May 2016 £4.10 LOOK NO FURTHER! Have your book or short story typed, proof-read and formatted ready to publish 15:41 Sarah Ng Tel: 01354 818012 Email: sarahn@ media-shed.co.uk 13/7/11 09:58:11 WEB DIRECTORY Abi Truelove 4x1.indd lornamariamurphy@hotmail.com manuscript For novels - short stories etc Professionally prepared presentation Prompt, efficient, friendly service Are you a creative writer? Do you want someone to the boring bit? Need a reliable service? Freelance CWH Admin 4x1.indd www.LMBookart.com ✑ AN EAGLE EYE AND Critique & Advisory CWH ADMIN SWIFT FINGERS Dalkin July.indd 12/05/2016 14:53 Park publications.indd 17/10/12 michelle emerson.indd 11:54 SERVICES LTD16/04/2014 To word-process - type your Book Design & Illustration 06 Services 770964 916259 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISE HERE Contact Sarah Ng Alison Williams.indd 19/05/2016 15:46 21/03/2016 09:14 Used by thousands of writers each month, our Writers Online Directory highlights a wide range of products and services for writers To promote your organisation here and online, enter your details at www.writers-online.co.uk/writers-directory or contact hilaryjohnson 5/22/06 9:44 AM Sarah Ng at sarahn@media-shed.co.uk for more information on enhanced listings Planning tools to help you write a better novel • Story structure • Character outlines Hilary Johnson Affordable, fully technically compliant conversions to Kindle, ePub, fixed-layout ePub and PDF/POD formats • Synopsis • Log lines • and more www.storyplanner.com Keep up to date with Writing Magazine online: Story Planner web.indd Be the first to know about our latest competitions, news updates, interviews and more! 106 JULY 2015 p106_wmagjuly16.indd 106 www.ebookversions.com TAP & GO! ebook webbo.indd 16/10/2015 15:38 www.writers-online.co.uk Page Authors’ Advisory Service High quality appraisals of authors’ work Our website shows the extent of our unmatched success www.hilaryjohnson.com 12/12/11 10:41:29 Ads on this space are LIVE on our digital edition: one tap and readers go directly to your website £45/month + premium business listing on writers-online.co.uk www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 11:06 C O M P E T I T I O N D E TA I L S Competition rules and forms Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk or by post, with the ref code in the address, to: Sally Bridgewater (Ref Code xxxxx), Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD Remember to add a front sheet with full contact details (see Rule 3) To enter: • 1,000-word Short Story Competition (see p39) No theme; 1,000-word limit; entry fee £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 15 August; Ref Code: Jul16/1000words • Writing for Children short story competition (see p39) Suitable for children, theme ‘coming to terms with’; 1,500-1,700 words; entry fee £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 14 July; Ref Code: Jun16/children • Poetry for children competition Christmas theme, target age 7-11; 40-line limit; entry fee, £5, £3 for subscribers; closing date, 14 July; Ref Code: Jun16/kidsxmaspoetry • Subscriber-only Travel Story Competition (see p61) Travel theme; 1,500-1,700 words; free entry; subscribers only; closing date, 15 August; Ref Code: Jul16/Travel • Subscriber-only Three Words Short Story Competition (see p61) No theme; incorporate three words, ‘recount’, ‘jam’ and ‘run’ (please bold them within your text); 1,500-1,700 words; free entry, subscribers only; closing date 14 July; Ref Code: Jun16/3words How to enter Poetry Competition Short Story Competition I am enclosing my entry for the I am enclosing my entry for the Eligibility All entries must be the original and unpublished work of the entrant, and not currently submitted for publication nor for any other competition or award Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form, printed here (photocopies are acceptable), unless stated Open Competitions are open to any writer, who can submit as many entries as they choose Entry fees are £5, £3 for subscribers Subscriber-only Competitions are open only to subscribers of Writing Magazine Entry is free but you can only submit one entry per competition New Subscribers’ Competitions are open only to those whose subscriptions start during 2016 No entry form or fee is required Ref code .and agree to be bound by the competition rules Ref code and agree to be bound by the competition rules TITLE TITLE FORENAME FORENAME SURNAME SURNAME ADDRESS ADDRESS Entry Fees Cheques or postal orders should be payable to Warners Group Publications or you can pay by credit card (see form) No entry fee is required for New Subscribers’ competitions POSTCODE POSTCODE EMAIL o I’m happy to receive special offers via email from Warners Group Publications plc EMAIL o I’m happy to receive special offers via email from Warners Group Publications plc TELEPHONE (INC AREA CODE) TELEPHONE (INC AREA CODE) Competition Rules Manuscripts Short stories: Entries must be typed in double spacing on single sides of A4 paper with a front page stating your name, address, phone number and email address, your story title and word count Entries will be returned if accompanied by sae Electronic entries should be a single doc, docx, txt, rtf or pdf file with the contact details, etc, on p1, and your story commencing on the second page Poetry manuscripts: Entries must be typed in single spacing with double spacing between stanzas on single sides of A4 Entrant’s name, address, telephone number and email address must be typed on a separate A4 sheet Entries to poetry competitions cannot be returned Electronic entries should be a single doc, docx, txt, rtf or pdf file with the contact details, etc, on p1, and your poem on the second page All manuscripts: Receipt of entries will be acknowledged if accompanied by a suitably worded stamped and addressed postcard Entrants retain copyright in their manuscripts You are advised not to send the only copy of your manuscript Enclose an sae if you want your manuscript to be returned Competition Judging Competition judges will be appointed by Writing Magazine and the judges’ decision will be final with no correspondence being entered into Notification Winners will be notified within two months of closing date after which date unplaced entries may be submitted elsewhere Winning entries may not be submitted elsewhere for twelve months after that date without permission of Writing Magazine who retain the right to publish winning entries in any form during those twelve months Tick here if you wish to receive our FREE monthly e-newsletter ENTRY FEE (please tick one) ENTRY FEE (please tick one) ■ £5 ■ £3 for subscribers ■ Free entry (subscriber only competition) ■ £5 ■ £3 for subscribers ■ Free entry (subscriber only competition) I enclose my entry fee (cheques/postal order payable to Warners Group Publications) OR I wish to pay my entry fee by: I enclose my entry fee (cheques/postal order payable to Warners Group Publications) OR I wish to pay my entry fee by: o Maestro o Delta o Visa o Access o Mastercard o Maestro o Delta o Visa o Access o Mastercard CARD NUMBER CARD NUMBER VALID FROM EXPIRY DATE VALID FROM EXPIRY DATE ISSUE NUMBER ISSUE NUMBER SECURITY NUMBER SECURITY NUMBER CARDHOLDER NAME CARDHOLDER NAME SIGNATURE SIGNATURE DATE DATE www.writers-online.co.uk p107 comp rules.indd 107 Tick here if you wish to receive our FREE monthly e-newsletter JULY 2016 2015 107 23/05/2016 09:21 M Y W R I T I N G DAY Writing SCOTT My day MARIANI The prolific thriller writer gets his head down and gets on with it, he tells Lynne Hackles ‘M 108 JULY 2016 p108 My Writing Day.indd 108 trying to re-read the manuscript of the previous book in a single day, searching for those elusive little errors before it goes to print, while at the same time having to battle on a dozen fronts with the publishers ‘There are now thirteen Ben Hope novels published by HarperCollins, plus two vampire books by the same publisher in a series that went nowhere, as well as four indie ebook novellas and one short story That’s all since 2008, so it’s been a busy few years And in all that time I’ve never done a single book signing! I’m not being anti-social or reclusive, I’m just too busy Twitter is something I’ve never done Does it have any real value? There’s a Facebook group that was set up by an avid Ben Hope fan; I pop in there now and then to say hello It’s my way of saying thanks to that hardcore group of fans In the wake of the research I did for The Cassandra Sanction (Ben Hope 12, published in January), I started a blog called The Cassandra Files It explores the link between solar science and Earth climate It’s not likely to draw millions to the Ben Hope series, but it’s a fun thing to ‘The latest release is Star of Africa, which came out in May It’s something of a departure for the series, being the first part of an extended story spanning two novels It’s quite epic in scope, set in and around Africa It was too big a story to tell in a single novel, so the tale ▲ y day is surprisingly structured, considering that once upon a time I’d never have described myself as an organised person,’ says thriller writer Scott Mariani ‘The pressure of writing book after book, within a tight schedule, forces you to develop an effective routine I don’t work a hundred hours a week or anything, but I’m quite disciplined Up at around 7am to attend to the dogs and other creatures; then comes a sort of power breakfast that usually stretches from eight to something approaching nine, and is a time for answering emails and attending to work-related business If I can be at the desk by ten, that’s doing okay Three hard hours in the morning are very much the core of my writing day As John Grisham says, three hard hours writing and you’re pretty much done ‘The afternoon’s for edits and by four I’ll generally grind to a halt Not many hours compared to some professions, but it’s intensive and mentally tiring ‘When you’ve a contracted string of books to write and tight six-month slots to produce them in, you can’t afford to procrastinate It would be all too easy to fall behind and lose that essential rhythm and one missed deadline would impact on the following book ‘A good sustainable and productive routine means I shouldn’t end up running around like a headless chicken Having said that, some days get a little more fraught, when maybe the writing doesn’t go as well as it should and I struggle to make my daily target, or when I’m Click here to listen to an extract of Star of Africa Or TAP HERE to buy the book from Audible concludes in The Devil’s Kingdom, published in November ‘Because it’s an ongoing series, I’ll always have a sense of what’s happening in the life of the main character, and that influences where I’m going with it Then it’s just a question of figuring out the main themes, twists and turns of the storyline, and putting it all together I’ll often get the idea while still in the middle of the previous book so by the time I’m ready to start there’s a clear outline in my head and I’ll have done much of the key research into the little details from real life that have to be authentic: everything from geographical details to technology, cars, planes, weapons, and the historical element that’s generally present in my books Once that’s in place, the building process begins, 1,500 words a day, one brick at a time ‘I’ve recently finished the fourteenth Ben Hope book, The Devil’s Kingdom, and am working on the next one, The Babylon Idol I can’t say too much about it but, following on from the twopart extravaganza of Ben’s African adventures, book 15 is set to mark a return to the character’s roots with a historical puzzle to solve, ancient clues to decipher and the return of some old, familiar characters from way back in the first Ben Hope novel, The Alchemist’s Secret.’ Website: www.scottmariani.com MY WRITING PLACE ‘My study is a large room at the top of the house, with exposed beams, all rather traditional with leather chairs, a big Chesterfield desk, Persian rug, marine art on the walls, a stand of old muskets, and a view across the fields with no houses in sight – to which I keep my back firmly turned so as not to be distracted! I sometimes write in the ‘mobile office’ – a motorhome used for the odd research trip We additionally have a place on the Pembrokeshire coast, a stone’s throw from the water, which is a great environment to work or not ’ www.writers-online.co.uk 24/05/2016 10:34 DON’T MISS THE AUGUST ISSUE! ON SALE JULY STAR INTERVIEW WITH FORWARD PRIZE WINNING POET AND NOVELIST KEI MILLER Be inspired by animals for your YA fiction • HOW ‘REAL’ IS REALISM IN FICTION? • YOUR PUBLISHING SUCCESS STORIES Don’ t lose the plot • What’s your story really about? Develop stories to the full and prune irrelevant characters and subplots 10 Perfect your INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES • TOP TIPS: How to get your reference book published Set yourself up as a proofreader Meet PETER BREAKSPEAR, who won our competition to have his novel published • BE YOURSELF – UNLEASH YOUR INNER WRITER PLUS DON’T MISS THE AUGUST ISSUE, ON NEWSSTANDS ON JULY OR SUBSCRIBE NOW AND GET IT EARLY Call 01778 392482 or visit www.writers-online.co.uk April 2016 - Writing Magazine p109 next month.indd 109 ALL OUR USUAL PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES, PAYING MARKETS, COMPETITIONS TO ENTER AND PUBLISHING INDUSTRY NEWS 109 23/05/2016 12:55 N OT E S F R O M T H E M A R G I N A Lovers’ SPAT Technology troubles drive Lorraine Mace to thoughts of destitution I have a confession to make I am suffering from an unrequited passion I have always loved technology I adore receiving emails, tweets, texts and enjoy interacting with other writers on social media I knew my love was not reciprocated In fact, I assumed technology didn’t even know I existed, other than as one of its many devotees What I hadn’t realised until recently was that the object of my affections actively hated me How did I make this sad discovery? It all started when my emails – for all my accounts – stopped coming through I have several email addresses for different aspects of my writing enterprises There is the one I use for my critique service and general writing activities Another for any correspondence to with Frances di Plino (I always feel I need to keep her contaminating presence in quarantine) I have two for the Flash 500 competitions – one for entries and another for queries about the various categories All of these are connected to the three websites I run So, when a few hours went by without any emails at all arriving in any of the inboxes, alarms sounded At first I assumed the problem lay with my internet service provider, but everything else was up and running, so it clearly wasn’t that The next discovery was that none of my three websites was operational This was much more serious as it meant no work would be forthcoming – no work meant no income, no income meant destitution In no time at all my overactive imagination had me sleeping rough on the beach, begging wealthy holiday makers for 110 JULY 2016 p110 Notes from the Margin.indd 110 the price of a coffee Then I thought maybe I could hang a sign next to my makeshift campsite, offering to pen happy messages on postcards for it came to my rescue in the form of people who couldn’t be bothered to Google Translate I used the app on write their own, in exchange for the my mobile to listen to the message odd euro or two coming through the landline – about I managed to drag myself out of twenty times – and finally got a that nightmare to find out what had translation that came out roughly as gone wrong, only to discover the call back on Monday hosting service for the websites had Fortunately, when I did as gone into liquidation I immediately requested, there was a nice man set about finding a replacement who spoke better English than I service and felt much better mangled any of the languages when I signed up with one of I’ve tried to master No the larger hosts Maybe I could hang a problem, he said I’ll send Panic over, one would you the codes you need think, but no… this sign next to my makeshift And that should have was just the beginning campsite, offering to pen been the end of my of the real problem happy messages on postcards worries, but it wasn’t To move websites from The technology on the one host to another for people who couldn’t be new host was completely requires a special code bothered to write their own, different to anything I’d to be given to the new in exchange for the used before It took many, host The only drawback many phone calls begging for to this is that you get this odd euro or two help before I was able to upload magic code from the existing the first of my websites host – in my case from the By this time, the three sites had company that had been liquidated and been down for the better part of a so had no one I could contact week and my mind was frazzled by Not to be daunted, I looked online imagining all the people who might through company records, forums, have sent me requests for critiques, techy advice columns, Google, Yahoo or wanted to enter one of the writing and many other search engines until competitions Frances di Plino was I discovered the parent company was also out of action, but that could located in Holland Having tracked only be a good thing as most of her down the owners I hit another communications deal with how to kill problem When I called (it was people in original (and painful) ways Saturday) I was confronted with a But then my world was set recorded message – in Dutch! right again Websites were up and Far from being a linguist, I can running and lots of lovely emails manage some poor French, dreadful arrived Maybe technology doesn’t Spanish and diabolical Italian, but hate me after all Maybe it was just Dutch not a word! However, my love a lovers’ spat of technology remained strong and “” www.writers-online.co.uk 23/05/2016 09:19 The University for World-Class Professionals Master of Fine Arts / MA Creative Writing Join the most successful Creative Writing course in the UK and complete a full-length book under the guidance of established writers directed by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy MA English Studies with specialist pathways available in Contemporary Literature, Film & Theory and The Gothic • Online distance learning available for MFA / MA Creative Writing • A range of English short courses are also recruiting now Visit our Postgraduate Fair on Wednesday September Find out more: mmu.ac.uk/english/postgrad Or email: postgradenglish@mmu.ac.uk The Manchester Writing Competition is now accepting entries for the 2016 Poetry Prize and the 2016 Fiction Prize Both prizes are open internationally and offer the chance to win £10,000* Find out more: manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk * Terms and conditions apply p111_wmagjuly16.indd 111 www.writers-online.co.uk JULY 2016 111 18/05/2016 11:05 [...]... their cut in many cases According are too significant to be overlooked (it to analysts of the Author Earnings is home to almost 75% of all ebooks, Survey (www.authorearnings.com), including indie titles, and around when considering indie ebooks as 85% of all self-published ebooks) well as those published by the trade, Apple and Nook hold joint second “” www.writers-online.co.uk p11 Changing ebooks.indd... are predicting the end of the ebook, there is still plenty of growth in the market; self-publishing is a prime example but there is also related progress in the form of new start-ups who are introducing innovative ways to publish In the wake of each closure, other companies inevitably fill the void, bringing ingenuity Existing businesses may step in and salvage the useable elements, combine them with... from being an ordinary bloke to being a Hollywood movie star In a week I remembered being in Soho with him and everyone stared and then looked away It filled me with horror and I thought, I wouldn’t want to be you I’d hate not being able to hide.’ Maggie began her writing career when she was editing TV listings at The Independent in the mid 1990s, but she’d been obsessed with reading and writing since... on a seductive price Now that print is in resurgence, authors need to pay ever more careful attention to their readership, as well as to the products that they are producing In a changeable industry, there is one constant – as an author, your motivation lies in gaining readers The catch is that the reduction in indiscriminate ebook buying coincides with the diminishing distribution options that are... yourself to think you’re being defined It would feel like being hemmed in You’ve got to let it go out into the world, and write the book you want to write The idea of writing with an imaginary reader is very off-putting – I don’t think about it being read It’s a satisfying conversation in my own head.’ MAGGIE’S WRITING ADVICE: ‘I don’t feel qualified to give advice! But I’d say, keep going I went on... spacing/leading • Serif fonts are more readable • Attention to detail during page layout • Allocate ISBN FINAL PROOF CHECKING • Check page proofs • Finalise cover design with correct spine width • Check cover proof Timescale will depend on printing method PRINTING • Print management • Check and approve printer’s proof • Confirm size of print run • POD can be as quick as 3–5 days • Bulk printing up to... at, and most of all, what you enjoy If you’re not enjoying writing, go do something else, otherwise you’ll never convince yourself or anyone else Learn ringcraft As with all undertakings, there’s a way of doing something well… and a way of ending up on the floor Writing is all about telling a good story and keeping the reader hooked (Bear in mind, this is especially important with editors and agents... formatted and finished to the highest publishing industry standards How can our friendly and supportive team help you…? Discuss your next book with Publishing Director Helen Hart: E: info@silverwoodbooks.co.uk T: +44 (0 )1 17 910 5829 www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk p19 Silverwood.indd 19 23/05/2016 12:38 BEGINNERS Boxing clever Seconds away, Adrian Magson isn’t pulling his punches in his writer’s training programme... price (in a bid to maximise the return they receive for every hard-earned sale) Increasingly, suppliers are seeing publishers as competitors as opposed to collaborators, which in turn creates complications in the form of competitive pricing, hefty retailer-imposed discounts, price matching as the norm across the industry and more limited merchandising opportunities for independent authors Also concerning... purse-strings, we often throw everything we have at self-publishing projects in an attempt to create a definitive reference, where commercial publishers might be more conservative with the page count Emma Harding makes the right choice in Thinking About Fostering?, a slim, visually appealing, guide, crammed with practical information rather than purple prose It’s easy to imagine the book being shared