We're still away in the mobile writing retreat (I'm up to chapter 6 of the first draft of my current WIP) but I'm back on the blog today. I hope the photos go some way to explaining why I'm not around much.
As I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with things at the moment, other than an 'over to you post' this will probably be my last one until early December.
Womag news
Best are running a festive fiction competition with a £500 prize.
I've been told that The People's Friend have large stocks of both 1,200 and 1,500 word stories, so aren't looking for more of these at the moment.
I can't tell you what they do want – for most writers there seems to be a long waiting time before any lengths are read.
Free entry writing competitions
If you've not already signed up for Globe Soup then take a look. They run a range of interesting free (and paid for) competitions, plus a supportive online group.
There's still time to enter the Love Letters to London competition. There are good cash prizes, a wide variety of writing types can be entered and you don't need to be a Londoner to take part.
Other publication opportunities
Timber Ghost Press are looking for flash fiction, poetry and short stories about 'things which go bump in the night'. A small payment is offered.
The Short Fiction Journal are looking for ... well, you can probably guess. They pay 2p per word.
12 comments:
Thank you, Patsy, there are some very interesting comps to consider. Well done on getting to chapter 6 in your WIP, although I am concerned you have been sent to the Tower for your troubles! Onwards and upwards!
Your trip away must be filling you with tons of ideas, the photos are intriguing.
Thanks for keeping this blog going it is very much appreciated but time consuming for you, so hope you enjoy some time off from it you deserve it.
Totally agree with Elizabeth, I don't know how you do it all to be honest. Thanks for all the competition info here, I'm definitely going to get going on the Best competition as I didn't get around to submitting any Christmas stories this year. Enjoy your travels Patsy.
Thanks for the competitions, Patsy. I joined Globe Soup after an earlier post from you and have entered some of their competitions.
As far as I know from my editor, PF want 2000 and 3000 word 'anytime' stories.
Hope this helps
Alyson
I'm trying to guess what your new book is called... 'The haunting on the spiral staircase'? Yes, have a good break, Patsy, and thank you for these. Short Fiction looks good because, well, like you say... I am half way through the London one and have written the Christmas 'Best' - which is probably not remotely what they're looking for but I had fun writing it! Enjoy the rest of your holiday.
Thank you Patsy for all your hard work and posting about the competitions and subbing ops, I really appreciate it. I will be submitting to Timber Ghost Press. Have a good seasonal break all best Alyson x
Thanks so much for the info Patsy! Hugely appreciate all you do, and like others here, have no idea how you do it all! Good luck with your WIP, and happy travels!
Julie
Many thanks for these, Patsy. I'm entering the Best Christmas story competition and I'm trying to plan one for the Love Letters to London. I hadn't registered for Globe Soup, but I've just done it now, so thank you for the prompt.
@ Elizabeth – Being sent to the tower is a regular thing for me! (It's a common photographic location, when we're home and I'm helping Gary.)
@ Sheelagh – It rains as much in Scotland as it does in Ireland. That helps with getting stuff done.
@ Alyson H – That's what they say, but six months plus after submission mine of that length remain unread.
@ Marguerite – Ooooh, that's a great title!
@ Alyson F - Thanks. It's good to know that different links are of interest to different people.
@ Julie – It's rained so much I'm on chapter 7 now!
@ Marian – Best are going to get a lot of entries (I've just sent mine). Someone has to win though, so why not one of us?
Thanks, as always, for taking the trouble to research and write this latest blog post,Patsy. I haven't entered the competitions before, but the Best comp looks intriguing, so I'll definitely be having a think about that one. Wishing you lots of happy writing time with your WIP, and looking forward to hearing about it when you're ready to share.
Happy travels, Patsy.
Alison N
Hello and Happy New Year to you all!
This is the first time that I have posted a comment. Hopefully, I'm posting in the right place:)
I would love some advice regarding submitting to "The People's Friend." After receiving half a dozen rejections, I was asked to rewrite one of the stories I had submitted. This request made me feel hopeful and I took it as a positive sign. I listened to their feedback and rewrote my story as requested. I resubmitted it last September but haven't heard anything since. I am aware that they have a heavy backlog but wondered if there might be a shorter turnaround if a writer is submitting a rewrite? I am reluctant to chase it up, as I'm not sure if this would be a good idea. It's possible that they didn't receive the rewrite but I'm not sure what the process is. Would they inform me if they were no longer interested in my story, even after the rewrite? Should I contact them to check that they received my tweaked story, or should I just wait and hope that I will still hear from them? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you and happy writing!
@ Alison – It's fine to leave a comment on any post, but you're likely to get responses from people other than me if you do so on the latest one.
I can understand your reluctance to chase this up as it's not something I like doing myself – We don't want to add to editors' workloads uneccesarily thereby adding to the delays. On the other hand we don't want to wait indefinitely if the story has somehow got lost, which does sometimes happen.
I'd have expected a rewrite to have had a response by now. If you were assigned an editor I suggest emailing them to check they've recieved it OK, and attaching your rewrite just in case they didn't.
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