Four Years Have Gone By...

A couple of days ago I realised that I'd been blogging four years- where has that time gone?

Persuaded by writer friends that I should try writing a blog- and if I didn't like it I could always delete it- it was with a big amount of trepidation that in September 2010, I set up Carol's Corner.

The appearance of my blog has undergone a few changes, and I'm going to be looking at adjusting a few minor things soon, but my blog will continue to be a mixed bag: my writing and research, my travels, along with book related news, and competitions of course.

I won't be changing the wallpaper either as I really like it. :D

Over the years my writing life has undergone a number of changes too.

Quite a few of my writing plans got disrupted by the accident I had just over three years ago, and it has resulted in my slowing down and re-evaluating how I'm going to handle my work-load in future.

I'm not going to say I'd never try for a publishing contract, but for the moment self-publishing is going to be my likely course.

I know it's a lot of work, but at least I'm in control and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I get a little bit edgy when I see stuff going wrong, but I can't do anything about it.

So, in these past four years:

• I've won a couple of the annual competitions at the writers' club; most importantly the Romance Novel trophy, and in January this year, the Writer of the Year trophy to add to earlier successes: the Manuscript of the Year (a 250 word story voted by the audience on the competition night) and The Little Moe trophy for a Drama.

• Four of my very short stories- 200 words each- originally written for the One Word Challenge competition on the Writers Online,Talkback forum- were published by small publisher Alfie Dog Fiction, in the 'One Word Anthology' as both an e-book, and a paperback via Amazon's Createspace.

• I launched the existence of my pseudonym, Serena Lake.

• I've read some of my short stories and flash fiction in front of the public at the Lowdham Book Festival's 'Fringe at The Ship' event.

• A few months ago I heard that my short, 'A Tight Squeeze', will be in 'The Best of Cafe Lit 2014'.

• I have the first draft of my historical romance novella completed.

• A synopsis and first three chapters for my Dorset novel.

• And the current WIP which is a contemporary romance, which I will eventually self publish.

• Numerous other ideas, characters and notes for further stories.

• I've found what works for me- at the moment.

• I've been Chairman of my local writers' club- my three year term finishes in April 2015.

Best of all I've made new friendships both personally and professionally- thank you all. :)

So what are my plans for the rest of  2014 and into 2015?

'Just keep writing' is going to be my motto.

I've found life tends to throw curve-balls when I make too definite plans, so I'm going to be flexible and take up the challenges as they approach, and aim for getting one of my projects published sometime next year...

I hope you'll continue to pop in and read my posts- I'm certainly intending to read more blog posts by others too.

So do continue to leave comments as it's good to know you're there.

Meanwhile, full steam ahead... :D

The Image Board Works!

That cork board for pinning images has been really worthwhile.

Since last weekend additional pictures have been added - bearing in mind the senses I know what cologne my hero wears and there's a picture of the bottle on the board now.

I also didn't have a title I was happy with when I  bought it, but three days later the new title jumped into my conscious, and a quick check on existing book titles on Amazon didn't show a book with that exact title. It also fitted the plot perfectly.

Sadly it will be a few months before I can reveal the new title, as my first three chapters and synopsis have gone off for submitting to the judge.

The first three chapters went through intense rewriting, and I needed to take bits of chapter 4 and make them part of chapter 3, which in turn created a better, but new, Chapter 3 ending. Then it was minor tinkering, changing a word here, a sentence there, or cutting a complete paragraph.

No doubt by the time I finish the complete first draft there will be more ideas I need to include early on, but I'm going to get on with it while my brain is co-operating.

I will certainly be carrying on using the image board with my other stories in future too, as they just made the connections between characters and ideas easier to include or discard.

Also I've realised that for me, writing a little and often soon builds up, and may actually work better for my sometimes hectic family life...

Working hard...






Image courtesy of supakitmod/ http://freedigitalphotos.net

Historic Houses Short Story Competition...

I've been busy getting on with my entry for the Mary Street Romance novel competition at the writers club, so I've been missing blog posts.

It's progressing well, but I don't know if it will be one for putting to one side and giving it time to develop, or just writing it and getting it out of my brain, then putting it away until I have time to redraft it...

I do want to get back to the first draft revision of my Nottinghamshire novella.

In the meantime I've come across a short story competition that opened for entries earlier this year in March, and closes to online submissions at 4 pm on the 26th September 2014.

The Historic Houses Association (HHA) has partnered with the publisher Corazon Books for this short story competition.

You can only submit one story between 1,500 and 2,500 words; the story must be set in or inspired by a historic house. You can enter whether you're published or unpublished. And entry is free.

Corazon state, "We are looking for a compelling tale with lots of atmosphere. It can take place in the past or present, in either a real or fictional setting, so writers can let their imagination take them, and us, whenever and wherever they wish!"

The only drawback for the winner will be the cost of taking up the main part of the prize, unless you live close, or have friends you can stay with: the winning writer and their guest will receive a private tour and afternoon tea with the owners of Levens Hall in Cumbria, a cash prize of £150, and a double Friends membership for the HHA. 

There are two runner-up prizes of the double Friends membership of the HHA.

Corazon Books intend to publish an e-book anthology of the best entries, and the writers included will receive royalties for their published story. The author retains the copyright of their contribution.

There's a lot to read, and do make sure you follow the instructions on submitting your manuscript.

Royal Naval College Greenwich
(not part of the HHA)

So here's the links:

General information here.
Submission here.
Terms and conditions here.

You can find out more about the Historic Houses Association here.







Image courtesy of Robert Radford/http://freedigitalphotos.net

A Fun Competition...

Words with JAM are running a fun Genre Spoof Competition in association with Bookmuse, and best of all, it's FREE.

Your entry needs to be a condensed spoof of your favourite genre, up to 1,000 words- plenty of space for creativity there...

Their favourite entries will be published in a Bookmuse Reader's Journal later this year; and all published entrants will get a copy of the journal. The overall winner gets a £30 Amazon voucher.

Entries close on the 30th September, and the winners will be announced 31st October, this year.

There's online entry, but your entry must not have been previously published, either online or print, nor accepted for publication elsewhere (though these are unlikely to be relevant in this case). You can enter stories that have been on a critique forum, or if currently submitted to another competition.

You keep copyright, but must be 16+ to enter.

If you're not sure what writing a spoof in your favourite genre entails, they Words with JAM have helpfully included a couple of examples...

For full details of the competition, and the address for submitting your entry, follow this link.

Have fun. :D

Historical Heroes Writing Competition 16th June to 6th July...

Mills and Boon have a writing tournament for historical heroes for the next three weeks, and you could win a detailed editorial consultation on your full manuscript...

Each week Mills and Boon will be looking for first chapters that feature particular categories of heroes.

This Monday, 16th until Sunday 22nd June it's Regency/Victorian heroes.

Then from the 23rd to 29th it's for Medieval/Tudor Knights/Lords.

For the third week 30th June until the 6th July, it's Warrior Heroes. (This is where your Vikings and Highlanders fit.)

So when Monday rolls round what do you need to send?

A short pitch: Setting,- where and when; a short blurb. You've got 100 words to pitch your story, so you need to make every word count. And there's a link to their current historical books so you can see the sort of thing you're aiming for. Then the big question to answer, why is your hero the best, and "what makes your hero the most delectable man in history".

Your first chapter: 3000 to 5000 words. Don't forget your contact details.

You can only submit once to each of the categories...

Then the editors for the M&B Historical will pick their favourites from the three sections, and they will feature on the Mills &Boon website for a public vote. 

Finally three different chapters will go online on the 14th July and the public votes again.

Midday (GMT) on the 18th July the winner will be announced. 

The winner (Tournament Champion) receives a detailed editorial consultation of their 'full manuscript'. 

There will be a variety of tips, blogs and other snippets across social media, so look out for during the three weeks with the #HistoricalHeroes.

The full competition details are here. 

You'll also find the Twitter handles for the editors of the historical books, so you can follow them and hear the latest news on the competition, with the #HistoricalHeroes.

If you haven't read any of the M&B Historical then have a peek here.

It's good to see historical romance getting some attention...

Started a Competition Entry...

I know I should get back to the editing of the novella, but my brain is in create mode, not edit mode.

Some time ago I discovered that no matter what I wanted to do, there was no point trying to edit when my brain was constructing, because I just have to go back and re-do it! So I'm taking the time to work out the best method for resolving the plot problem that arose after receiving the answers to the query about (my hero, Hugh) inheriting a baronetcy...

Meanwhile the plot of another story has been developing- and it's been a long time.

As this year at the writers' club it's the turn of the bi-annual novel competition for romance- the Mary Street trophy which I won in 2011 (it didn't run in 2012 due to not enough entries), and then the competition became bi-annual, so I've had time to come up with an entry but not enough time to write it.

Today I made a start.

Now I can't tell you what goes on in the story-at least not until the judge has read entries and chosen a winner, but I can tell you where the idea for it started.

Many years ago the Mail on Sunday used to run an annual competition for the start of a novel (usually announced July/August time) in 150 words, and you were given a word that had to be used; well I had a picture in my mind that particular year, so I entered.

Sadly, this was another story that didn't get shortlisted, but I think I knew that would be the case, as the moment I finished it I realised it was a longer story...

I need to write a synopsis and the first three chapters- there's a maximum word count for both parts.

Once it's been entered I can put it aside and get back to 'After the Storm'- the edits won't do themselves!

Says it all...

Image courtesy of: SalvatoreVuono /http://freedigitalphotos.net

Competition Alert - Wells Festival of Literature Competitions...

You may remember that last year I entered the Wells Festival of Literature short story competition. Sadly I didn't get into the shortlist, but that's life!

You can read the winning entries from 2013 via these links: short story, poem, crime novel.

The details for this year's competitions are now available: short story, poetry and a crime novel. Online entry is available, and the instructions for this method of entry are here.

The short story judge for this year is Kate Fforde.
Your story can be on any subject, but must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length.

Poetry is being judged by Andrew Motion.
Any subject, but must not exceed 40 lines in length.

The crime novel is being judged by Janet Laurence.
Submit the opening chapter of an original crime novel (no longer than 3,000 words), and the plot synopsis. For this competition "entrants should not have had a full-length work of fiction published before."

Competition rules for each category can be found here.

Prize money is as last year.

The closing date for all 3 categories is 31st July 2014.

You can keep up to date with the Festival via their website, or like them on Facebook at Wellslitfest.

I won't be entering this year as I have longer works planned for this year, but if you do submit an entry, then good luck.

First Novel Award for the Bridport Prize 2014...

Must say a big thank you to Claudia on the Writing Magazine, Talkback Forum, for letting everyone know there were details available of this addition to the competitions on the Bridport Prize website.

This is the Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award for a first novel extract ( first chapter of a novel, minimum 5,000 words, maximum 8,000 words in total, plus a 300 word synopsis), with a £1,000 prize, expert mentoring and possible publication.

This will be a popular competition, so only the best will get through to the longlist and shortlist...

Entrants must be resident in the UK, 16 years old or over. Nor currently represented by a literary agent.

They can either have a completed, or a part-written novel. But do be aware that for the latter case, if you progress through the competition to the longlist stage, you will need to have a minimum of 15,000 words available, and for the shortlist a minimum of 30,000 words.

The longlist will only consist of 20, sifted by the Bridport Prize readers from all entries. Those 20 will go on to The Literary Consultancy and A. M. Heath Literary Agents, who will shortlist to 5.

The winner and runner-up (receives £500, plus other elements) will be chosen by them and the named judge, Alison Moore. There are qualifying criteria for the winner- not agented or previously published a novel (self-published is okay, as is being published in another genre, such as short stories, poetry, non fiction).

(Full details of entry, prizes, terms and conditions can be found via the above link.)

Bridport's entry fees are high, £20 an entry. Entries can be submitted online or by post (see the relevant links in the Entry Format section of the terms and conditions).

Closing date is 31st May 2014.

There is a lot to read on both the main page, and the one with the terms and conditions, but do read them fully.

When you have to pay a high entry fee, it's a shame to waste both your time and money by missing an essential piece of information that could result in your hard work being disqualified.

If you enter, good luck.

The Great British Write Off Competition...

" Are you the next big women's fiction writer?"

Well if you think so, then have a look at this competition showing on the handbag.com website. They've teamed up with booksandthecity.co.uk and publisher Simon & Schuster UK.

They want to find and publish a debut women's fiction writer. Full details here.

"The plotline can be anything; the only requirement is that it must fall within the women's fiction genre."

Entrants are required to: " submit your short story, which should be a maximum of 2,500 words" (and this is done by copying and pasting into the entry form on the main page).

The closing date is 5.30pm on the 31st January 2014.

The winner will get some fantastic opportunities.

• Publication of the winning e-book short story in April 2014.
• An agent advice session with Lizzy Kremer, director of David Higham Associates.
• An author mentoring session with Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson.
• And a book jacket and feature on Simon & Schuster's social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The winner gets a standard e-book contract.

(details from www.handbag.com)

You'll find full details, t&c's, and links you need on the main page- see my link at the top.

Apologies to overseas writers once more, this is only for UK residents aged over 18 years.

If you enter, good luck. 

APOLOGIES for the appearance of white blocks behind quoted text. I haven't been able to get rid of it. 

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.

Disappointment is a Fact of a Writer's Life...

The short story that I entered into this year's Wells Literary Festival short story competition, didn't get into the shortlist.

I know it isn't that my story was utter rubbish, nor was it the victim of poor spelling and grammar, or even that I'm a rotten writer.

It's just didn't make the grade against other entries, those that were eventually chosen for the shortlist.

But that's life.

I now need to decide this story's future.

I still believe it has potential. And it doesn't deserve to just be put away in the box file and forgotten about.

So it will be going off to another place for consideration.

Fingers crossed it will be third time lucky... :-)

But if it's another no, then it may just end up in that file box for a while...

Getting Brave- A Submission...

Not sure what has changed, but I'm finally feeling brave enough to start sending my short stories and flash fiction out into the world.

So far I've sent an entry into the Wells Literary Festival short story competition- closes on the 31st July so you still have time to enter online if you're interested.

Today I sent a piece of flash fiction off to e-zine CafeLit. Submission details here.

I have looked at it before but never felt I was good enough- lots of writers feel like that at some time I'm sure.

But I decided this little piece of flash fiction might fit. I suppose it's a slightly quirky story.

At the Fringe event at Lowdham last month, when I read it to an audience, I referred to it as the 'underwear story', especially for the males in the audience who may have never come across shapewear before, or even known that's what it's called!

It's surprising what unusual items can create a story... :D

Now I have to get on with life while I await a yea or nay on my submission.

While I hope it gets a yes, I'm realistic enough to accept that it may be a rejection. That is the less pleasant aspect of the writers' life.

But at least the waiting for an answer time, is very much shorter than for some magazines...

I decided that this year I'd take up opportunities that arise, even if they weren't in my plan for the year.

I'll let you know the good or bad news when it happens...

A Long Wait but Worth It...

Last November I wrote a 500 word flash fiction for the Autumn prose competition at Nottingham Writers' Club.

We'd been fortunate to have the wonderful Sally Quilford setting and judging this flash fiction competition. Sally had done a mini workshop in the summer on the subject, so the competition was an opportunity to show what we'd learnt with our entries.

When the competition opened I had three months before the final submission date, and I had a few ideas rolling around my brain to fit the theme of 'A Christmas Visit'.

My first idea was a parent visiting their baby in a neonatal unit on Christmas morning. That thought was inspired by my own memories of going to see my premature triplets in hospital on Christmas Day- they were only a few weeks old at that point.

But I couldn't write it, the words wouldn't form, the emotions too deep to catch and share with my characters.

The weeks went on and the deadline approached.

Then a vague idea that had been lingering began to demand attention. What if you had to go and deliver the sad news of a death at Christmas? And bad weather hampered the task too (heavy snow).
And because I inevitably write romances, how would the messenger feel if they are giving that bad news to someone they have been in love with for years?

Generally we think of good things happening at Christmas, but we know that isn't reality, and that must have happened in the 19th century too. But the story could still have a positive ending.

I settled down and wrote about 550 words, cutting and changing to get it to the 500 word limit.

Then I realised that it was just an advance snippet of a longer story- this usually happens with my short stories, I just can't keep them small, they all want to be full scale productions... :-)

Then disaster struck, in the New Year we discovered the entries had never reached the judge, so we had to re-run the competition- and a big thank you to Sally for having fitted the new judging dates into her busy writing schedule.

So last night at the May speaker meeting, the results were finally announced, and my entry 'A Second Chance' won.

It will be turned into a longer story.

The judge's comments:

(I chose the pseudonym, Fiona Faddy for my entry)

"I chose the first prize winner, A Second Chance by Fiona Faddy because I’m a sucker for unrequited love! Fiona packed so much emotion in to so few words. The opening lines immediately set the scene and let us know we were in the past. The ending was just sweet!"

If I hadn't been intending to use the piece in future, I would have posted it here. But I hope you'll get the opportunity to read it when the longer story is completed- and hopefully published somewhere...





image courtesy of Stuart Miles www.freedigitalphotos.net.

 

Spring Into Opportunities with Wells...

Today has been wonderful. Sunshine and a comfortable temperature has finally allowed the spring tidy-up in the garden to take place (too busy to stop and take photos).

Mind you not everything survived. Three frogs have had to be buried after expiring in the garden at some point. Not sure if they were victims of old age or all the snow and bad weather.

The hawthorn has suddenly opened it's leaves, though it is a month behind last year.

There's now a wheelie bin full of dead branches, and old wood from last year. The fruit bushes may actually produce their crops at the appropriate times this summer, rather than a month or two early. :-)

And just as the gardens are springing into life, lots of competitions are around.

I'm considering entering a short story for one of the Wells Festival of Literature competitions. One recognisable name from the judges is Della Galton.

There's a competition for poetry- judged by Sean Borodale. Short stories and a Crime Novel.

The Festival is the 11th to the 19th October this year; there's a great selection of speakers- have a look here.

If you're interested in entering any of the categories, have a look here.

You can enter online or by post. Deadline 31st July. You can find details of the reasonable fees here.

And yes there is prize money for those who get judged 1st, 2nd, 3rd. For the poetry and short story First Prize £500, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100.

If you happen to have a crime novel ready then you may find the prize for the winner very attractive...

"The winning entry will be read by a major publisher and by a leading agent.  In addition there will be a cash prize of £100.  The judge may also arrange for an exceptional runner-up entry to be read by an agent or a publisher."

(The judge for this competition is Janet Laurence.)

But note for the crime novel competition: "Entrants should not have had a full-length work of fiction published before."

The prize-giving is on Sunday 13th October 2013.

I've been to Wells a couple of times over the years, but not to the literary festival.

If you enter, fingers crossed you do well.

The Times/Chicken House Competition...

This is quite a high profile competition which has been running for a few years now.

When The Times went behind a paywall I did think this competition would suffer, but I'm pleased to see it is still running despite the difficulties in finding the info.

The entry cost is high- £15, to cover the administration costs for the large number of entries received- but if you do get into the longlist you will get an editorial report on your entry.

"Your full-length manuscript (no more than 80,000 words, with a suggested minimum of 30,000 words), suitable for children aged between 7 and 18, must be received by the closing date of November 1, 2013."

But you will also need to include: a brief synopsis- no more than one page and it should give an overview of the whole story etc. A submission letter explaining the book's appeal to children, and a plot plan. (see the requirements in the terms and conditions).

There will be a longlist of 20 authors announced in January 2014. Then in March 2014 the shortlist of 5 entries will be announced. The revelation of who has won is just listed as spring 2014, but t&c's state expected result about the 29th March 2014.

"The winner will be the entrant whose story, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the greatest entertainment value, quality and originality.
The prize is the offer of a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House, with a royalty advance of £10,000, subject to a signed contract."

And these terms are really important; but it's good to see self-published books aren't excluded.

"Entrants must be aged 18 or over. One entry per person. Entries must be submitted by the author, not an agent. Entries must be the original work of the entrant and not previously commercially published and distributed, however, self-published works are allowed. The entrant must not have previously commercially published any whole children’s novel in any country. Resubmission of previous entries (excluding previous winners) is accepted. Entries must be written in English, picture books and graphic novels will not be accepted and illustrations will not be considered. " (Details from The Times here.)

But do read all the detailed terms and conditions here on the Chicken House web pages. (And note number 11.)

You can't enter by e-mail, entries have to be received by post, so don't leave it to the last few days before the deadline...

The instructions on the Chicken House terms and condition pages are very precise, even down to how your manuscript should be presented.

There's an alternative prize for the best entry if the judges decide that none of the finalists are of a standard to be offered the stated contract.

This is a serious competition to enter, so double-check you are fulfilling the terms and conditions to the letter before sending your entry... And good luck.

*   *   *

 

But if you aren't ready for the Chicken House competition yet, or just starting out, then you might want to consider a workshop.

 

11th May, 10am to 4pm, Writing for Children- is it kids stuff? With Coventry based author, and Raring2Read winner, Ann Evans.

 

The cost is subsidised, so you will only be paying £20 for the day, including tea and coffee.

 

If you're interested download the booking form here and follow the instructions on the bottom of the sheet. 

Two New Short Story Competitions with Added Appeal...

This week there's been two new competitions brought to my attention, and both have appealing prizes.

First we have National Express who are highlighting a competition in association with Little Brown Book Group, and the author Jenny Colgan.

Here's the brief: "We're offering you the chance to become a published author. To enter, we would like you to write a short story no more than 2,000 words long with the premise of 'take us on a journey'. You can use your own creativity to elaborate your journey into a literary masterpiece."

The winner's story will be published in the back of the e-book edition of Jenny Colgan's next book, published in August 2013.

The Competition runs from 28th January until the 28th April 2013. For this competition you must be 18 and over, and a UK resident.

You'll find the terms and conditions here, along with a registration form. You fill in your details and submit the form, where you will then see the e-mail address and closing date for your entry, so don't forget to make a note of it and put it somewhere safe.

The Second comes from Kobo Writing Life  (via Talkback writer SusieM .) Enter the Jeffrey Archer Short Story Challenge!

Now this competition is for those who are writing a novel. " One lucky winner will be awarded the grand prize of free enrolment in an upcoming Curtis Brown online novel writing course. "

"Authors should submit a 100-word short. The short can consist of any genre of fiction, as long as it stays within the 100-word limit. "

The deadline for submissions is the 15th February 2013.

The 20 semi-finalists will have their 100 word story, name and photo in a free anthology from Kobo.

And 3 finalists will be chosen (from the 20) by Jefferey Archer, and announced at the London Book Fair. Those 3 will be asked to submit a 3,000 word excerpt of their novel in progress to Curtis Brown Creative who will judge them, and give written feedback.

The winner gets the free enrolment on the Curtis Brown course.

Read the terms and conditions for the competition here.

The good news is that you can enter (even if you are not in the UK) as long as you live in the areas specified.

"The Contest is open only to legal residents of the forty eight (48) contiguous United States, District of Columbia, the United Kingdom and Canada (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their respective jurisdiction at the time of entry (each entrant, an “Entrant”). Void in Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and where prohibited by law. The Prize consists of free enrolment in one (1) Curtis Brown writing course. The voucher is valid until December 31, 2013. "

Good luck. :-)

Competition Opportunity- But Read the Terms and Conditions...

First day of my resolution to write a minimum number of words each week- I should add I'm not counting my blog posts in that figure, otherwise I would manage my target every Monday
morning... :-)

I was having a quick browse on Twitter this morning and saw details of a new competition 'Racy Reads' on ITV's 'Lorraine'. ITV  and Mills and Boon are running a competition for new writing talent, with the winner having their book published, and a trip to the USA to meet Jackie Collins...

Sounds great doesn't it?

I'm all in favour of encouraging new talent with competitions, but however attractive it seems on the surface ALWAYS READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

First to the basics. The competition runs from today, the 14th January, and closes at 12pm on the 28th January.

To start with you need to submit the first 1,000 words of your 'Racy Reads' novel. It can be done online, but - "Please note that an entry of 50 words or more over or under the 1000 word limit may be disqualified at the discretion of the producers."

The really important thing to note, is that "Entrants must be able to complete the novel with a 50,000 minimum word count by 5 June 2013 at the latest."

You can read about the selection criteria (among other elements ) in the terms and conditions here.

From the shortlist, up to ten finalists will be selected and they will need to attend a London location to meet a new final judging panel:

 "to present their submission, explain their storyline for a full novel should they be the winner and talk through the plot of their book, where it is heading and what will happen to the characters."

With me so far...

There will be a winner and two runners-up. The winning story will be available from Monday 15 July 2013 to Thursday 25 July 2013. Along with that comes six copies of their book and a £1,000 advance payment.
Plus there's " a three-night trip for the winner and a companion to Los Angeles, USA to have lunch with Jackie Collins. The lunch will be filmed for and broadcast on the programme."

Now to the nitty gritty general terms. And this is where I was really disappointed that they felt it necessary to include such terms. Hence my warning earlier on.

(The Promoter in this case is ITV, while Mills and Boon are the Prize Provider.)

"By making an entry and participating in this competition, you grant the Promoter permission to use the entry in any way it wants in relation to the Promotion. This means that, in relation to the Promotion, the Promoter can use, edit, reproduce, record, modify, translate, distribute, play, perform, broadcast, make available and display your entry and/or participation (or part thereof) and/or prepare derivative works of the entry and/or participation (without prejudice to any rights acquired by the Prize Provider) by any medium or method whether now known or later developed, including without limitation on the website or any other website in its sole discretion anywhere in the world. The Promoter may permit third parties to use the entry. You acknowledge that (unless you win the Prize) you will not receive any fee or royalty payment from the Promoter, the Prize Provider or any third party for the consents and grants given by you in relation to your entry and/or participation."

And a little further down; " You agree to waive any moral rights that may exist in relation to your entry and/or participation."

Sadly there will be unwary writers who will not understand that those terms mean they are giving up all their rights to that submission by entering.

Yes, this competition is a great opportunity, but remember only the winner gets paid for their hard work.

Yes, you are only giving up those 1,000 words by entering, but if your book is almost complete and you then give away those first 1,000 words, you're giving yourself an unnecessary headache.

If your story is good enough for Mills and Boon, then go through the normal submission process. I've been told by writers who know personally, that they are encouraging to potential authors.

On their website you can find information for aspiring M&B authors, here and also the submission details.

If you enter this competition with your eyes open to all the terms and conditions, then I do sincerely wish you good luck.

Weekend Catch-Up and Belly Dancing...

Yes, I know this post is very late...

(Update: The photos of me belly dancing are at the bottom of this post.)

Wednesday was Awards Night at Nottingham Writers Club, and for the first half hour I was standing up front and announcing the presentations- one of the responsibilities of being the current Chairman- no sitting back with a glass of wine, or other alcoholic/non-alcoholic refreshment and relaxing...

There weren't as many trophies as in past year's- a couple of the


A few of the NWC annual trophies

competitions sadly didn't run, as not enough entries were received.

Some years that happens, and it's a disappointment, but hopefully next year those trophies will be presented.

I'm sure that most writers would have no problem when the subject is open, but it can be much harder when you have to fit it to a specific age (as with children's books) or a set theme.

Blogger and NWC member Keith Havers was the worthy winner of three trophies, including Writer of the Year. You can read his blog here.

Wednesday afternoon I was actually writing a 500 word flash fiction on the theme of 'a Christmas visit' that needed to be handed in to the competition Secretary that evening.

By the end of my story I had my usual issue of realising that I'd just written a scene from a much bigger story. So I don't expect it to do well.

Last December I promised I would do a party piece this year- some belly dancing. I kept my promise, and I will release the photographic evidence as soon as a copy of the photo arrives in my inbox from the club photographer. I only danced for a few minutes... :D

Otherwise the audience were royally entertained by a number of recitations, from the club president and two club members- both serious and fun pieces. And our newest member, Kate, read out the poem she'd been inspired to write during the merriment. Which proves inspiration truly does come from everywhere...

Enjoying the dance

I was going for the Christmas glitter look

and the flowing sleeves to waft about when my arms were
moving.

Below left: striking a pose...

Delays and Competition Reminders...

I had hoped to have completed the redesign of my blog by this week, but technology and the new Blogger interface have decided otherwise. It isn't as simple anymore...

So I think the changes will be occurring slowly.

Now for the competition reminders- just in case you missed them the first time round.

These are free to enter:

You only have until tomorrow ( 23rd) to get your 50 word ghost story competition entry submitted to The Times. Details here.

The competition closes at 5pm, and even though e-mails should be instant, they don't always arrive a moment later, so don't leave it to the last minute to press send.

A little longer for submission is the Mail on Sunday Novel Competition with a deadline of 29th October- but this is a postal entry only.

50-150 words of a novel opening using Train in it somewhere. Details here.

(You'll also find details of the Erewash Writers current competitions on the link above too.)

Entry fee competitions:

And finally the current Words with Jam competitions, closing on the 31st October. These can be entered online. You can find the details here.

A Very Short Ghost Story Competition...

A big thank you to Jenny who passed the information on about this Times competition.

Can you write a ghost story in 50 words? Well if you can then this competition is for you.

Susan Hill has launched the prize and you can find her suggestions for how to write a good ghost story here.

"Write your own ghost story in 50 words. The best entry will win £200-worth of selected books chosen by Random House and Profile, plus a signed set of Susan Hill’s ghost stories. Three runners-up will also win signed copies of Hill’s ghost stories."

And of course the essential information about terms and conditions, here. (They cover two pages, so don't miss the 'next' link at the bottom.)

"Send your entry to bookscomp@thetimes.co.uk with Ghost Story in the subject line or post it to Ghost Story, Books, The Times, 3 Thomas More Square, London E98 1TT. Include your name, address and daytime telephone number."

Don't send it as an attachment- it's easy to forget rules like this when you can enter online.

Entries must be received by 5pm on Tuesday 23rd October.

"Winners will be notified by October 29 and their names and answers printed in The Times on October 27. There will be one winner and three runners-up. One entry per person. UK and Republic of Ireland only."

Good luck.

Image courtesy of Simon Howden http://freedigitalphotos.net