Friday, 20 February 2009
Anybody heard anything about The Lady competition?
It's been two months since the closing date of the latest competition in The Lady. Has anyone heard anything? Does anyone know when to give up hope, and when your story will be free to send elsewhere? I can't find anything on their website about it.
Monday, 16 February 2009
Woman's Day (Australia) - the WF interview
In the March edition of Writers' Forum there is one of those brilliantly helpful Meet the Editor articles, this one by Glynis Scrivens who I know visits this blog from time to time (hello Glynis! and thanks for the article!)
This month's interview is with Julie Redlich, the fiction editor of the Australian magazine Woman's Day. I was delighted to note Julie was brought up in Dorset, my home county, and also that she will accept stories not set in Australia. Brilliant - I'll send her all my Bournemouth stories then!
She receives 40-50 stories a week, and reads them all herself. Hats off to her. It constantly amazes me how hard fiction editors work. She doesn't give feedback, and talks about returning stories rather than rejecting them. (We could start a collection of euphemisms for the dreaded R-word, couldn't we? I still like remarketing opportunities best.)
It's important your story is something readers can relate to. Realistic dialogue is essential, and they do like a romantic slant to the tale, but no overt sex please. Julie will take a mix of mystery, supernatural, humour, crime - but make sure the message is that crime never pays.
There'e one story per issue (it's a weekly mag) and a few more in a holiday special in January - note to UK writers, that means Summer holiday! Preferred length 1500 words, though sometimes they use a 800-850 worder instead.
They buy First Australian & New Zealand rights, so you can send stories which have previously been published, but do state if and where your story's been published in your covering note. They cannot take stories published in UK Woman's Weekly because that is on sale in Australia.
Send your stories to
The Fiction Editor
Woman's Day
54 Park Street
Sydney, NSW 2001
or email as a Word attachment to womansday@acp.com.au
Payment is AUS$350. Expect a response 5-6 weeks after submission.
This month's interview is with Julie Redlich, the fiction editor of the Australian magazine Woman's Day. I was delighted to note Julie was brought up in Dorset, my home county, and also that she will accept stories not set in Australia. Brilliant - I'll send her all my Bournemouth stories then!
She receives 40-50 stories a week, and reads them all herself. Hats off to her. It constantly amazes me how hard fiction editors work. She doesn't give feedback, and talks about returning stories rather than rejecting them. (We could start a collection of euphemisms for the dreaded R-word, couldn't we? I still like remarketing opportunities best.)
It's important your story is something readers can relate to. Realistic dialogue is essential, and they do like a romantic slant to the tale, but no overt sex please. Julie will take a mix of mystery, supernatural, humour, crime - but make sure the message is that crime never pays.
There'e one story per issue (it's a weekly mag) and a few more in a holiday special in January - note to UK writers, that means Summer holiday! Preferred length 1500 words, though sometimes they use a 800-850 worder instead.
They buy First Australian & New Zealand rights, so you can send stories which have previously been published, but do state if and where your story's been published in your covering note. They cannot take stories published in UK Woman's Weekly because that is on sale in Australia.
Send your stories to
The Fiction Editor
Woman's Day
54 Park Street
Sydney, NSW 2001
or email as a Word attachment to womansday@acp.com.au
Payment is AUS$350. Expect a response 5-6 weeks after submission.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
If you're at home on Saturday evening...
... with no Valentine's date to go on, why not have a go at winning £50 from half an hour's writing?
WriteInvite are holding a special this Saturday. Entry to their regular flash fiction competition is free, and the prize is a guaranteed £50 this week only.
The idea is, you sign up to take part, then at 5.30pm GMT on the dot three writing prompts are published to those who've signed up. You then have 30 minutes to write something using one of the prompts, and you must submit your story by 6pm or be left out in the cold.
A few days later a shortlist is published on site, then those who've taken part can vote for their favourite. Most votes wins. Go look at the site for full details.
Normally it costs £3 to enter and the winner gets half the pot, so this Saturday's competition is a bargain.
Would be great if one of you womag writers out there won it! You don't get long to write, so you'd have to free your mind and just go for it. But you might end up with something that could be expanded into a full length story...
WriteInvite are holding a special this Saturday. Entry to their regular flash fiction competition is free, and the prize is a guaranteed £50 this week only.
The idea is, you sign up to take part, then at 5.30pm GMT on the dot three writing prompts are published to those who've signed up. You then have 30 minutes to write something using one of the prompts, and you must submit your story by 6pm or be left out in the cold.
A few days later a shortlist is published on site, then those who've taken part can vote for their favourite. Most votes wins. Go look at the site for full details.
Normally it costs £3 to enter and the winner gets half the pot, so this Saturday's competition is a bargain.
Would be great if one of you womag writers out there won it! You don't get long to write, so you'd have to free your mind and just go for it. But you might end up with something that could be expanded into a full length story...
Friday, 6 February 2009
Contributor copies
A while back I'd heard My Weekly had stopped sending contributor copies, and we all got in a tizz discussing it.
Well I have it on good authority now that this was a mistake, and they are still sending out contributor copies as usual. Must admit I didn't get one when my last story was published, but never mind.
So anyway, if you've a story due out in My Weekly, you should get a contributor copy. All the other DC Thomson publications send them out as well.
Is it only Take A Break which doesn't?
Well I have it on good authority now that this was a mistake, and they are still sending out contributor copies as usual. Must admit I didn't get one when my last story was published, but never mind.
So anyway, if you've a story due out in My Weekly, you should get a contributor copy. All the other DC Thomson publications send them out as well.
Is it only Take A Break which doesn't?
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
The beach in the snow
This was taken on Monday morning. Our snow's all gone now, though I think the rest of the country is in for another big dump in the next couple of days. Yes, that's me sitting on the groyne.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Snow
So, are we all busy writing snippets on our impressions of snow for next year's winter stories, while it's all around? And yes, even down here on the Dorset coast there's an inch of snow on the ground. First time I've seen it since moving here!
I should have gone to the London office today, but at 6am the combination of snow on the ground and the travel news sent me scurrying back to bed.
Later I went for a quick walk on the beach. Loved how the snow line showed where the last high tide had reached. And the way footprints dissolved the snow, leaving perfect impressions in the sand. Up on the clifftop grass, I got that wonderful squeaky-crunch sound as the snow compacted underfoot.
Just now I went across the road to post a submission. Have you ever noticed the smell of snow - fresh and crisp, subtle as sorbet? And there was a track of animal prints, not accompanied by human prints but too large for a cat. Looks like our resident fox was out on his rounds.
My kids are praying their schools will be closed tomorrow (one was closed from lunchtime today). We'll be listening to the radio in the morning, for the lists of closed schools. Thirty years ago I used to listen to the same radio station on snowy mornings, hoping to hear my school's name announced amongst the closures. I love the sense of continuity that gives me.
I love too, the tiny snowman sitting on our patio table, grinning at me as I sit at my desk. Courtesy of my 11-year old.
I should have gone to the London office today, but at 6am the combination of snow on the ground and the travel news sent me scurrying back to bed.
Later I went for a quick walk on the beach. Loved how the snow line showed where the last high tide had reached. And the way footprints dissolved the snow, leaving perfect impressions in the sand. Up on the clifftop grass, I got that wonderful squeaky-crunch sound as the snow compacted underfoot.
Just now I went across the road to post a submission. Have you ever noticed the smell of snow - fresh and crisp, subtle as sorbet? And there was a track of animal prints, not accompanied by human prints but too large for a cat. Looks like our resident fox was out on his rounds.
My kids are praying their schools will be closed tomorrow (one was closed from lunchtime today). We'll be listening to the radio in the morning, for the lists of closed schools. Thirty years ago I used to listen to the same radio station on snowy mornings, hoping to hear my school's name announced amongst the closures. I love the sense of continuity that gives me.
I love too, the tiny snowman sitting on our patio table, grinning at me as I sit at my desk. Courtesy of my 11-year old.
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