Friday 22 November 2013

Competition News...

If you know a new writer, or one who has been writing for a while, and who is starting to send stories out, then please spread the word about the inaugural Nottingham Writers' Club Short Story Competition.

The club want to encourage new, and less experienced writers to enter.  As the club's ethos has always been to support and encourage writers, it's especially important to those newer writers building up essential skills...

It's open to non-professional writers in the UK.

(For clarification, non-professional has been defined as a writer who has not earned more than £500 from short story writing in a year -in this case 2013.)

And yes, there is money for the winner, and also for 2nd and 3rd place. Plus 12 extra prizes donated by Random House, Tesco and Morrison's.

1st: £200, 2nd: £100, 3rd: £50. The winning entry will be posted on the Nottingham Writers' Club website. All writers retain copyright of their entry/entries.

The subject is 'Emotion' and stories can be up to 2,000 words.

The story can be any subject or genre.

The entry fee is £5 per entry, or you can enter 3 for £12.

The judge is short story writer, and author, Sally Quilford.

Sally is well-known for her long-running column in Writers' Forum magazine (which she recently passed over to Helen Hunt) so she could pursue other projects.

The competition is open for submissions between the 1st January and the 31st January 2014.

For full details and an entry form, use the contact form here.






Friday 15 November 2013

Fun and Learning at The Festival of Romance...

I finally have time to share a few snippets from my visit to Bedford last weekend for The Festival of Romance.

I had to write a piece about my trip to the festival for the Nottingham Writers' Club magazine, with the deadline of yesterday (Thursday).

I also ended up writing a couple of other items for inclusion in the forthcoming issue, in between appointments.

Next time I go, I will keep the week following, clear...

So what did I learn?

So much. From being able to talk to other writers, listen to them reading their work aloud, and on the Sunday from the editors of the various romance publishers talking about what they're doing currently, to what they're looking for in submissions - and encouragement to submit.

There were one to ones available, but I wasn't ready for that this year, so didn't put in a request when the opportunity was offered a few weeks prior to the festival.

After an evening of readings, from authors in historical dress, set against a background of drawings and paintings by the pre-Raphaelite artists in the art gallery on the Friday night, I was glad of a good night's sleep before Saturday's events.

There was the Romance Fair where you could buy a wide selection of books by various authors attending the festival. I moved onto the Coffee and Cake to listen to more authors reading excerpts from their novels.

I did the 3 hour workshop in the library run by Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney on 'Irresistible Heroes'. I learnt a bit more about one of my heroes in waiting, Hugo, during the practical sessions.

And following that the talk, How to Stand Out, Get Published and Stay Published, given by author Miranda Dickinson and her HarperCollins editor, Sammia Rafique. Miranda described her journey to publication, while Sammia explained her role in the author’s books. 
There was a very useful question and answer session. I wanted to know the current length they required, and for their books it’s at least 90,000 up to 120,000. (Other publishers have their own specifications.)

I can actually be seen at the Ball (on Table 4 in purple and glasses) in the video of the after dinner entertainment- I'm in the background for a while; amazing I was still wide awake as that was at 11pm and I'd been up since 7am that morning...

http://vimeo.com/icundell/professorelemental

Sunday was conference day, with an early start of 9.30am.

Spread throughout the day there were author led panels, including one on building an author platform.

The presence of editors from the main romance publishers was keenly anticipated.

Mills and Boon covered the 5 UK acquired series they deal with: Modern/Presents, Cherish, Historical, and Medical. Guidelines can be found on their website.

I've read their historical novels on and off over the years, and they have changed a lot in that time- length has increased too, they're now at 70,000.

Piatkus Entice is a digital first imprint at Piatkus Fiction.

The important message that came over was that stories needed to be a commercial proposition. And like all the other publishers they wanted 'voices' - fresh, engaging and consistent.

Carina UK - this is an imprint of Harlequin UK. They are a digital first publisher, with their first print title due out early 2014. They talked about their interest in trans-media projects, a different method of reaching readers...

And the good news is that they don't just publish romance. They're seeking, women's fiction, new adult, contemporary young adult, and erotica. And if you happen to have a WW1 romance ( considering next year's anniversary of 100 years since the outbreak of war) it could find a home.

Mira publish Women's Fiction and Crime, aimed at the older reader. Heroines 40+, well written, a hook, and commercial were important words, and they will accept unagented submissions.

Harper Impulse, another digital first publisher. Again like other digital first publishers length is not an issue. You could send a 1,000 word short story that could be read on a phone. They like to get a full manuscript, covering letter and short synopsis.

Generally: They all had a presence on Twitter. Many of the editors can be followed on Twitter; and writers having a social media presence was very useful.

Just as with any publisher, they want good stories, and fresh voices, stories that will sell.

But again and again the editors kept saying submit it! Don't worry if it's not perfect, or you're not sure it's quite right for them, just submit it.

There was so much useful information, that it was hard to take it all in. That's why I made good use of my notebook.

I learnt a lot, and have started putting into action the elements that I was missing- in social media.

But most reassuring was that my writing seems to be going in the right direction...






Tuesday 5 November 2013

I'm Back!

Life has been catching up with me this past month.

Romance
With my sons new college days, my previously settled writing schedule has been disrupted and I've been finding it difficult to settle, or find a new routine that works for me.

I'm struggling to get used to short writing sessions, rather than longer ones-which is more natural for me and my longer work.

I have added to the novella, but I'm finding the penultimate chapter slow going, as I'm dealing with the final confrontation between the hero and his cousin.

Everything is getting busy at the writers' club too, as we approach the Christmas party and Awards Night at the beginning of December.

This year I'm a contender for the Writer of the Year trophy, alongside two other very good writers- one of whom is fellow blogger and club member Keith Havers.

Only the two Competition Secretaries will know who the judge has chosen (someone from outside the club, who has read the four winning prose competition entries from the past 12 months); and the winner only finds out when their name is announced on the night.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 6th) is the club's annual Manuscript of the Year competition. Members are given a theme and have 250 words to write a story.

Now my mind is in blank mode at the moment, so no 'Why Me' story. This theme was one of the suggestions from club members, on another evening, earlier in the year. For the poets there's a Verse of the Year that happens each March - same formula.

One day I may astound myself- and everyone else - by entering a poem! :D

The Festival of Romance in Bedford happens this weekend. There's still just enough time to buy tickets...

It's going to be a busy information packed, and fun, couple of days.

There are so many things I'm looking forward to - an Irresistible Heroes workshop with Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtney early Saturday afternoon, and the ball in the evening, among the numerous events on Saturday.

I finally found a suitable outfit for the Ball, last week, after searching for months. I no longer need worry that I'll look like Cinderella before the transformation... :-)

There's a conference on the Sunday, with romance publishers doing one to one sessions- I'm not ready for that this year so didn't apply. But they have editors doing short talks, among lots of useful topics.

I'll also get to meet a few of the writers who I know from Facebook, at some point...

So I'm finally leaving the men in the family at home to look after themselves, while I immerse myself in romance...

I'll review my weekend experience when I post next week. And I'll try and get some photos taken in between events.

And if you're going to the Festival and see me, do say hello.



Image 'Rose Petals and Glass Heart' courtesy of Victor Habbick and http://freedigitalphotos.net