Wednesday 30 January 2013

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. :-)

Monday 28 January 2013

Do You Ever Look At Early Writing and Think ?!!!

More e-books were read over the weekend...

It actually got me thinking whether it is good or bad for authors (who have been published for a long time) to re-release their backlists as e-books.

Obviously they have their older published titles from pre-digital days, which are sitting there not earning them any money, so they will have the freedom to re-issue them as e-books now, and I can see why they would do it- writers need to eat and pay bills too.

We probably all have favourite authors, so when their latest book is released we're likely to buy it fairly quickly- we know we can be guaranteed a satisfying read.

But will that always apply to back-list books written much earlier in a writing career?

Or will we be slightly disappointed because they aren't what we've come to expect from our favourite author?

And of course the style of the time may no longer work now, or elements of the story be as morally, or socially acceptable ...

The heroes of 1980's historical romances were out and out Alpha males, and seduction with a little force thrown in was part of the character... Easy to see why the horrible term 'bodice rippers' became associated with historical romances.

I gave up on reading one download at the weekend because I was mentally red-penning it as I was reading, and if I'm doing that in the first chapter then I'm never going to finish the story...

Now I'm going to try and remember that it was written in an earlier stage, and it can actually be interesting to notice subtle changes as the story develops.

I know that looking back at my writing- even from five years ago I would write very differently now, so it's likely that published writers continue to develop their writing style too...

The advantages of old books being re-released?

Stories you always wanted to read, but couldn't because the book was out of print and you couldn't find a second-hand copy- I may just find that elusive third book that makes up a trilogy I enjoyed, but couldn't finish because no one had the one I needed anymore...

Lots more stories to enjoy...

And when it comes to the basics, enjoying the read is important...

Any thoughts on the subject? Then do leave a comment, I'd like to hear your views...