Guest post by Della Galton – Selling All Rights

Today's guest, Della Galton, is probably known to all of you as a very successful womag writer.

Selling All Rights

Long ago when I joined a creative writing class – which was what got me started as a writer – I was told by the tutor never to sell All Rights to my work.

All Rights meant that you no longer owned your work. You literally handed it over lock stock and barrel to a new owner, who could if they wished make a film script from it, put their name on it, sell it on to someone else, enter it in a competition, all without asking your permission, or, of course, paying you any extra fee.

For the above reasons selling All Rights was a financially unsound thing to do, especially in the days when you could sell the rights more than once. However it could possibly be considered as an option if the buyer paid handsomely. Not many writers did it though. Not ones who knew what they were selling anyway.

There was another very good reason not to do it. After all, if a few writers were to start selling All Rights to their work then what was to stop all markets demanding that all writers did it?

If this happened then sooner or later writers would be redundant. Why would a market pay for new work when they could simply reprint old work without payment?

Have things changed? Is it OK to sell All Rights now? Obviously it’s up to the individual writer what they do with their work, just as it always has been. But everything I’ve said above still applies.

I often hear writers say that it’s OK for well paid bestselling authors but that the poorer ones among us have no choice.

We ALL have a choice. Although not necessarily a very palatable one.

Everyone has bills. Lots of us – myself included – are self supporting with no partner to help and no other income but writing related earnings. When Woman’s Weekly decided to buy All Rights I made my choice not to sell them any more work. This meant I took on a cleaning job, to supplement my writing income. Not a choice I particularly relished. But a choice none the less.

So now Take a Break has followed suit and I know some writers will be saying, Oh no, but I have no choice. If I don’t sell All Rights I won’t be able to pay my mortgage/rent/bills.

There is actually still a choice.

I have now added an invoicing job to my cleaning job and my writing job. I think they call it portfolio working. This enables me to continue working for markets that don’t take All Rights for fiction. I’m very happy about that.

To end on a very positive note, I’ve been approached twice recently by publishers asking if I still owned the rights to my short stories. I now have an anthology of short stories aimed at teaching people English coming out in Russian and English. I can’t wait to see what my work looks like in Russian.

I was also approached and given a very good fee for a story to be reproduced as part of an educational course used by Oxford University Press. Neither of these things would have happened if I’d sold the rights to what is MY work. Please think about it before you sell the rights to what is YOURS.

If you enjoy Della's writing, you might like to take a look at her latest novel, Sunshine Over Bluebell Cliff Hill. I've not read that one yet, but I've read and enjoyed several of her other books. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Guest post by womagwriter Della Galton

Today, my guest is Della Galton.

Is it possible to make a full time living writing for magazines? If so, how?

I started writing for womags after joining an Adult Education class called Writing for Profit and Pleasure. The teacher was Jean Dynes (she writes as Barbara Dynes – see her column in Writers’ Forum.) In that first class, back in September 1987, Jean asked if there was any news.

A girl in the row in front, put up her hand and said, ‘I’ve just sold my 27^th story this year to Loving Magazine.’

Wow, I thought. I want to sell a story. Just one would do. (ho ho, little did I know how addictive it was). But how was it done?

By researching the markets, I learned, which meant reading the magazine. So off I went to buy a copy of Loving, which I read from cover to cover, several times. They bought the 3^rd story I sent. Then the 4^th, then the 5^th. I was on the verge of giving up the day job when they rejected the 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and 9^th.

We all know how it works. There are far more rejections in this business than successes

It’s always been like that for me. It still is. And blimey the market is much harder than it was. Back in 1987 there were 100 plus womags that carried fiction. In 2000, which was when I did finally give up the day job to write full time, there were 21 markets. Everyone said it was impossible to write short stories for a living.

It wasn’t! But back to my original question.

Is it impossible now? When there are a handful of magazines that still take stories from writers (who aren’t on their list). I think sadly that it may be. There are just too many of us out here. I know so many fabulous writers who get their stories rejected because there are only so many slots. So can we still follow the dream of being a full time writer?

I once heard a brilliant quote from Linda O Byrne, who at the time was fiction editor of Bella magazine. She said, ‘Don’t give up. There is always a market for excellence.’

The truth is, I came on to Womag today, thank you, Patsy, to talk about my novel, The Reading Group, which is out in paperback, audio and kindle on 2^nd November. But I find myself being sidetracked because I feel so passionately about writing.

I’ve been a full time writer for 17 years. Here’s how I do it. I write short stories for the remaining markets. I am the agony aunt for Writers’ Forum. I have several self published books on Amazon which earn me £200 plus a month. I do some journalism. I do the odd spot of teaching. The Reading Group is coming out with a huge publisher (Quercus is part of the Hachette Group) but I wasn’t paid a living wage (advance) to write it. In short, I diversify. My income is made up of lots of bits of writing related work.

I live in hope of having a best selling novel that will mean I don’t have to worry about money so much.

The bottom line is that I love writing. I can’t stop. I won’t stop. I think Linda O Byrne’s advice still holds true. Don’t give up. There is always a market for excellence. I don’t think I’ve quite reached excellence yet – but I shall never, ever give up aiming for it.

The Reading Group is published by Quercus. Click here to buy/find out more.

£7.99 (paperback) £3.99 (kindle)

A visit from womagwriter Della Galton

Today's guest is Della Galton and she's talking about a very important subject -Keeping track of your short stories

It is vital to keep track of where your stories are. You might think you’ll remember, but you won’t – trust me.

I keep paper records – although you might prefer to have electronic ones. It’s a quirk of mine – I spend so much time sitting in front of a screen that I like to have a break between stories and fill in a paper record – I find it more satisfying. I keep three lots of records.

1) A card index box. Each story has its own card and they’re filed in alphabetical order. The story title and number of words is at the top of the card. Beneath that, I write a list of markets to where I’m intending to send the story, plus the date of submission and return and any comments the editor might make. If more than one editor makes the same comment, for example, this is contrived, or predictable, then I’ll rewrite the story. I might do it on one such comment unless I feel strongly otherwise.

2) I keep an A4 sheet, headed up with my markets, see example. (This shows at a glance, how many stories out where and how long they’ve been there). When a story is sold or rejected I cross it out. When the sheet is full I use a new one.

Woman’s weekly	My weekly	Take a Break	People’s friend	Fast Fiction	Yours	The weekly news	Others
title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	title and date	Title, date and market

3) I also keep a monthly sheet with my work completed on it, see example. I find that seeing exactly what work I’ve done motivates me. It’s all too easy to let weeks slip by with nothing actually having been sent out.

week/c	Type	title	words	Market aimed	Market achieved	payment	Comments
5 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
12 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
19 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
26 Oct	New
	Submitted
	Others
	Totals

4) I’ve just realised there’s actually a fourth set of records. I list all the stories I write on a separate sheet with dates, just so I can keep an annual tally. It’s quite good fun filling in the market achieved section and means I can keep an accurate record of percentage sold. It also means I can analyse which markets I sell the most to in any given month or year.

month	Title	market	Type	fee	Date paid	Total earned
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

As you can see I’m obsessed with records!

It’s only strictly necessary to keep one set of records and that’s where your work is, when it was sent and when it was returned or bought. I’d be interested to hear what everyone else does. It might save me some time. 

If you’d like to know more about writing and selling short stories please check out my writing book, The Short Story Writer’s Toolshed. It’s only 99p for kindle till Friday. A bargain if I do say so myself! Here’s the link.

TheShort Story Writer's Toolshed

Interview with womagwriter Della Galton

My guest today is Della Galton. I don't think she actually needs an introduction, so I'll get straight to it...

1. When I first started writing short stories, two names appeared in every magazine I looked at - yours and Teresa Ashby's. How long have you been writing womag stories and how did you get started?

I joined an evening class called Writing for Profit and Pleasure in 1987. I was inspired by a young woman – Tina Wade – who stood up in that class and announced she’d just sold her 27^th short story that year. I wanted to be her! She was writing for a teenage magazine (now gone) called Loving. I studied them carefully, and a few months later they accepted a short story from me. It was the most thrilling moment of my life! (I don’t get out much!)

2. After so many acceptances do you still celebrate after a 'yes' and if so how?

If it’s a big one – say a novel – then yes. I buy myself something I can keep, an item of jewellery is good. Or something writing related. I bought my iPad, for example. Is that writing related? I do love it though.

3. You teach writing. Do you think that's made a difference to how you write?

Yes, because teaching is a learning experience. Always be both student and teacher – that’s my motto. I still attend other people’s writing courses as well as teaching my own. I think I always will.

4. Despite writing loads of short stories and non fiction you've found time for novels. Care to tell us a little about your latest release?

The Morning After TheLife Before is the sequel to my last novel, Ice and a Slice. It has the same central character, SJ, who is a very flawed, but I’m told, very lovable character with a teeny weeny drink problem.

5. I'm guessing you must be very disciplined about your writing and stick to a rigid timetable in order to get everything done?

Just work all hours – that’s another of my mottos. Mornings are my best time. I usually write before I do anything else – admin, blogs, social media, teaching etc. Once the writing is done, then I’ll do whatever else I need to do. But writing is my priority.

6. I've heard that some writers use real people and situations in stories to work off frustrations or put something right. Do you ever do that?

Yep, frequently. I can’t give you an example. I might get sued!

7. The right writing snacks are very important - what's your fuel of choice?

Coffee. Oh and Nutella Sandwiches, or if I’m feeling virtuous I stir Nutella through a 0% fat yoghurt. You can get quite a lot in if you use a big spoon! 

8. What has been your happiest or proudest writing moment so far?

Actually, this recently changed. Last month I gave a talk to 200 people at Swanwick Writers’ conference. At the end of my talk the chairman asked for questions and a lady stood up at the back. She said, “My name’s XXX and I’m an alcoholic. I want to tell you that your novel Ice and a Slice saved my life. I read it last year, and I could relate to the main character so much. It motivated me to seek help for my own drinking problem. Now I have been sober for 8 months. Thank you so much.”

I cried. Right there on stage. In fact, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. What a courageous lady. Her comments completely blew me away.

You know yourself how much blood sweat and tears go into writing. When you get feedback like that, it makes every single moment worthwhile.

9. Can you pass on a tip for other womag writers?

Write from the heart. Write the story you really want to write. Don’t follow convention. I think that readers – and editors – recognise authenticity.

Thank you so much for having me.

Coincidentally, Della and I both have novels on promotion this week. You can get Della's Ice and a Slice and my A Year and a Day for 99p each.