Just my news

 

I'm currently away in the mobile writing retreat, so apologies if posts are a bit thin for a while. (If you fancy seeing where I go and what I get up to, take a look at the blog on my website – I'll be sharing lots of photos there.)

My News

The ebook version of Firestarter is currently on sale for 99p (99c).

Another of my romcom novels, Escape to the Country, has been accepted by Ulverscroft for a large print book as a Linford Romance.

Here's some information about how to submit to them. I'll be sharing some of the details of the publication process as I go through it. So far, I can tell you that books are bought quarterly, so depending on when you submit and how recently they've accepted some, you may have a wait of up to three months to hear back.

What are you all up to?

Some things to try...

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you the photo is a metaphor for taking steps to... um... something to do with writing.

Free to enter writing competition

Thanks to Marguerite for the link to Toasted Cheese's latest winter competition. They want a horror story of 1,000 to 5,000 words. First prize is an Amazon voucher of at least $20.

Other opportunities

The Hudson Review is currently open to fiction submissions of up to 10,000 words. I believe they're a paying market, but couldn't find pay rates on the site. Note - this is NOT a womag type market. They have some samples of previously published work you can read to try to gauge the style they like.

Here's an opportunity for self published and aspiring authors. You need to describe your intended projects in up to 250 words, to apply for a $1,000 grant (although this figure could rise).

My news

Another of my ebooks is currently on offer for 99p / 99c.

Some better news

You may remember that after I'd posted about TABFF using stories, I was contacted by a journalist who quoted me, and some of you, in an article. I've since been contacted by someone at the BBC! I gave a statement, but haven't heard back so don't know if anything will come off that. I also had another email, which some of you may be interested in. I've copied it, with permission.

Hi Patsy,

I hope all's well with you! I am writing on behalf of Ulverscroft Ltd, a specialist large print publisher.

I saw the sad news regarding AI use in Fiction Feast, which led me to your blog, and it concerned me that this will leave less space for womag writers and their creativity. 

At Ulverscroft, I acquire rights for a large print list - Linford Romance (Linro), which publishes shorter romances (typically 25-60k words). I was wondering whether yourself or other womag writers would be interested in publishing with us? I realise that the Fiction Feast stories tend to be shorter than the typical Linro length, but if you have something slightly longer that wouldn’t fit the magazine submission guidelines, that could work really well.

Please feel free to share this with your peers, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Very best wishes,

Ceri

Ceri Jones

Publishing Executive - Large Print Lead

Ulverscroft Ltd

If you wish to submit something, you can send a pdf or Word document, saying you saw the info on this blog, to editorial@ulverscroft.co.uk 

As a guide to the style, they often use MW and TPF pocket novels, although Ceri told me she can consider titles with 'a bit of spice'. They pay royalties only, with no advance. Their books are often available in libraries, so plr payments are a possibility.

I know that not everyone will have something suitable to submit, but isn't it nice that something positive just might come from all of this for a few of us?

The photos are all from my garden this week. Some plants are suffering, but these have coped with very little water, including none at all for the 15c days I was in France earlier this month.

AI news

I seriously hope this isn't going to be a regular blog section, but I thought you might be interested to know that a BIG name has got involved with the Take a Break Fiction Feast issue. (alternative link)

Sorry, I hadn't realised that you can't see this without an Instagram account. Short version - TABFF are replacing ALL writers with LLM (AI) and this is pretty rotten as they're a big magazine and don't pay writers much anyway. Richard says 'It's crazy'. I think some of their info is out of date (they pay 'low hundreds' per story - I wish!) and they may have confused TAB FF with the weekly mag.

Womag news

Sharon tells me there will be a September issue of TABFF. Neither of us have heard of anyone being asked to submit work. Have you?

Free entry writing competitions

Thanks to Sharon for this competition for empathy boosting stories of up to 550 words. You can submit poetry or prose, in written, video or audio formats. 

This competition is for horror novellas of up to 40,000 words. The prize is $300 plus royalties.

Other publication opportunities

Untold Tales of the Round Table want Arthurian stories, without Merlin as the central character, for an anthology. 4,000 - 10,000 words. Payment is per word.

Getting away from it all

We're still on our adventures, still having a great time. The pictures are recent views from the mobile writing retreat. I post these daily on Facebook and Bluesky

Magazine news

Thanks to Fiona for the news that Freya at Aquila is looking for short stories (1,000 to 3,000 words) suitable for children 8-13. They're also looking for puzzle writers and historians. 'Basic rate is £150 for 700 words. For non-fiction, send a short paragraph about you with your ideas and a couple of examples of published work. For fiction, send completed short stories. In both instances, email Freya: editor@aquila.co.uk.'

Free to enter writing competitions

Have you written at least one book (fiction, non fiction or poetry) and feel that having time away in an Airbnb property (or more than one) might help you write the next? If so, explain that in Hay Festival's room to write competition and win £1,500 worth of vouchers.

Thanks to Fiona for this competition from The Scottish Wildlife Trust. They want up to 1,000 words in any form, on the theme of changing seasons and Scotland's wildlife and wild places. There's an interesting array of prizes on offer for the winner - plus a couple of small runner up prizes.

Thanks to Alyson for this 6 word competition, with a $100 prize. Hmmm, maybe I do have time to write a whole story after all.

 Free entry writing competitions

On the Premises have a new mini competition. This time they want two stories, but even if you use the maximum word count for both, it's still only 150. The first prize is $45.

Other publication opportunities

If you're a Scottish writer of romance novels, or a writer from anywhere writing romance set in or inspired by Scotland, then this might be of interest. Thanks to my friend Pauline for passing on the details. She's not a writer, yet is still looking out for interesting opportunities for us.

UPDATE - Sorry, I didn't get around to finishing off this post. There's been 'stuff' - you might know how it is. Still, my plan of adding stuff when I can and scheduling seems to be sort of working. 

Here are some tulips by way of apology.

Looking again

We're making plans for our next trip away in the van (which is why you've got pictures of a previous one). Most of the places we intend to go will be return visits. Things will look different though, as we've always gone in the second half of the year. The biggest changes will be in the gardens and landscape, but even a castle can appear very different depending on factors such as the light, weather and number of visitors.

Writing can be like that too. What we spot when editing just after we've drafted it will be different from what we notice much later - especially if it's been submitted and rejected in that time. Thinking about our intended audience or market, or expected time of publication can also make us read and edit our work differently.

What are you looking for when you read your own work?

Free entry competition news 

Thanks to Dee for telling us about this sonnet competition from New Writers. To enter, you need to sign up to their newsletter, which you can do here. 

Their site is interesting and includes details of lots of other writing competitions and opportunities. Most have fees, but there are some excellent prizes, so you might feel it's worth a try.

And thanks to Sharon Boothroyd for info on the Meetcute competition for romance novel writers from the Kate Nash agency. They want the first chapter and offer a prize of £500 plus representation. UPDATE - We've since discovered that although there's no mention of it until you get to the submissions page, there's a £12 entry fee. Sorry I didn't spot that!

Other publication opportunities

Here's a wrtiing challenge from Chris Fielden. He wants 100 words, with as many as possible being adverbs. Entries,  plus a short bio, will be published in an anthologu which will be sold for charity.

Eleventh Hour are looking for prose which has been previously rejected and since revised. We've all got some of those, haven't we? I'm not entirely sure what you get out of submitting your work there (sorry, I did look but I'm very short of time at the moment.) 

I'm mostly mentioning it because it makes the point that a rejection, or several, doesn't have to mean the end for that particular piece of writing. That was always the case, but with there now being more competition for every fiction slot, there must be loads of great womag submissions which don't get accepted.

My news

I'm taking part in a couple more promotions. This time they're both for books available through kindle unlimited (although they're also on sale). This one is for sweet romances and this one is has a mixture of genres.

Happy Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's! I've picked you some flowers (from my photo archives).

We're away in our campervan for a couple of days – just because we can. Hopefully I'll be surrounded by flowers today, as we're going to Kingston Lacy to look at the snowdrops. I'm becoming a galanthophile! We're doing something for Gary too, which will involve a bracing and character building walk.

Free entry writing competitions

This month, The Scottish Book Trust want 50 words about a fox, and offer an appropriately small prize. Thanks to Alyson for the reminder about that one. I know it's a regular thing, but keep forgetting both to mention it her, and to enter.

The Libraro Prize is somewhat bigger, being valued at £50,000 and including a publishing contract with Hatchette. They do want a whole book though - fiction or crossover YA, and you'd need to have finished it already as it's just about to close. Sorry for the late notice. I'm hoping late is better than never. There are reader prizes too, so it might be worth looking at even if your novel isn't quite ready (or not yet started) as it looks as though this is an annual competition.

The Jay Yes competition is for stories of 2,500 to 4,000 words, by unpublished writers. The prize is publication and publicity. There's plenty of time to get something written for this one.

Here's a romance novel writing competition for UK writers from a Black, Asian, mixed heritage and/or multiple ethnic background. The prize package includes £1,000 cash and help to get your book written and published.

Womag / competition news

Best have a new competition, this time with the theme of cosy crime. Thanks to Hazel (HB) for the picure with the details. Best take all writes for winning and runner up stories.

Over to you

We're having a party on 23rd December. Your invitation is here - just in case you missed it.

Please share writing related news – successes and failures, details of free entry writing competitions, updates about the womags you submit to, any other publication opportunities, and raise any queries you may have. All these things will help other readers of the blog, and help me to keep it going!

As always, feel free to use my photos as writing prompts. If you prefer words to images for that purpose, take a look here. or visit the blog on my website for the Wednesday word of the week.

Free entry competition news

Here's a great opportunity for unpublished novelists. There are generous cash prizes, mentoring, courses and agent representation on offer.

Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd for the link to The Cheshire Prize. There are cash prizes on offer for poetry, short stories, flash fiction, scriptwriting and children's literature. Unfortunately you must live in Cheshire to enter. Or, if you do live there, fortunately you will only be competing against a limited number of other writers.

Womag / competition news

Best have announced a new competition - for romance stories. Sorry, I haven't been able to get a photo or screenshot yet. I think the rules are the same as usual.

It's the winter solstice tomorrow (in the northern hemisphere). I like to celebrate the turn of the seasons and the fact the days will gradually be growing longer. This year, weather permitting, that will take place at Avebury. Do you celebrate or mark the solstice in any way?

Don't climb the walls!

There aren't many rules around here, but that's one of them. I think it's perfectly reasonable, if a bit random.

As always, feel free to use my photos as story prompts. If you prefer word prompts, you might like to know that the blog on my website has a word of the week every Wednesday. They're a bit random too.

Free entry writing competition news

If you're a British or Irish, unpublished (self published is OK, I think) and unagented female writer who has written, or is writing, a novel then the Discoveries women's prize may be of interest. The winner will get £5,000 and agent representation.

A while ago I posted a link to a competition supplied by Sharon Boothroyd. The Welkin Prize for micro fiction hadn't actually opened when I posted about it, so I'm mentioning it again now it is. There's a first prize of £75 for up to 100 words of narrative prose, fiction or non-fiction.

Other publication opportunities


Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd* for letting me know that ezine After Dinner Conversation, accept short stories. Here's a link to their submission requirements. They pay $75. If you like, you can pay them to read your story more quickly! (I wouldn't pay - would you?)

*She kindly sent me lots of info, which I'm still working through.

The Fiction Desk publish anthologies of short stories of between 1,000 and 15,000 words and pay £25 per 1,000 words, plus two paperback copies. They charge a £5 submission fee. (I wouldn't pay that either - would you?)

Btw, I do understand why both these charges are made. I'm not saying they're wrong, or that authors who do pay are wrong, it's just not something I personally choose to do.

In case you missed my post earlier this week - the submissions database is now done! (For now - I'll add to and update it as much as I can.)

This isn't one of my rules. You can write virtually anywhere you like round here. (See what I did there?)

I had an idea...

Does anyone fancy a virtual Christmas party?  I was thinking of early evening, 23rd December. Of course it won't be the same as meeting up in person, but it might be nice for some of us to be online together, and chat as we enjoy our choice of snack and drink.

When womagwriters meet

After years of knowng her virtually, it was great to meet Alyson Hilbourne in person recently. If you read women's magazines you're very likely to be familiar with Alyson's lovely stories, and unless you're very new to this blog you'll know she often contributes links to competitions and comments as Ados123.

We had an informative guided tour around our meeting place. I wonder which of us will be the first to feature an archeologist in a story? 

(This might be a slightly easier 'guess where we are' challenge - but only if you concentrate on the top image. The others are random places we stopped on the way.)

Don't panic - contributing to this blog doesn't automatically mean I'll be heading off in your direction demanding a chat and cup of tea!

Free entry competition news

Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd for sending me the link to this novel writing competition. The prize is £5,000 and representation by Curtis Brown. There are runner up prizes of writing courses. To enter you must be female, resident of the UK, Republic of Ireland or the Channel Islands and not previously been traditionally published.

Thanks to Vivienne Moles for this ghost story competition. You have up to 5,000 words and until 21st December. The prize is publication and a small Amazon voucher.

And thanks to Suzan Lindsay for this poetry competition. It closes on Sunday night, so work quickly if you want to win the £50 of book tokens.

Big and small

Here I am, wandering around a stone circle. Anyone recognise it? I like the way the relatively large, man made circle is dwarfed by the natural landscape around it.

For those who were wondering, the avenue of trees in last week's post is growing on the site of Erddig castle (a motte and bailey) in Wales.

Free entry competitions

Here's a crime novel competition for authors who've not yet published a novel. The prize is publication and a $10,000 advance.

If a whole novel seems a bit daunting, how about a story in 50 words? The prizes are correspondingly smaller, but that's fair enough. This month's theme is quite appropriate for this blog.

More free entry writing competitions

Free entry writing competition news

Thanks to Ruth for the link to this competition from the Scottish wildlife trust. They're looking for up to 1,000 words in any form on the theme 'from source to sea'. You can write in English, Scots or Gaelic. (I confess, that despite sometimes having needed a translator for my mother-in-law, I hadn't realised Scots was a separate language!) There's a prize bundle of stuff likely to appeal to wildlife lovers. UK residents only.

Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd for sending this - 

In case you can't read the small print, it says unpublished (when it comes to novels) UK residents without an agent, over 18  only. Self published is OK.

Sharon and Alyson both found this short story competition. It's open to everyone, they want up to 550 words featuring braille, audio , community, or all three. The first prize is an echo dot. Second prize is a book token. The fact I understand the second one but don't know what the first does probably says something about my age, or technical abilities. Honestly, you're lucky this blog doesn't come in the form of totally unreadable handwritten notes.

Thanks to Aly Rhodes for sharing the details of this short story competition. They're looking for a murder mystery story with a fun twist. 

I asked the organiser for clarification on the rules and have been told, 'It’s open to anyone over 18 with an original story that’s not published elsewhere."

Calls for submissions

Thanks to Liz for the info that Flametree are looking for romantic fantasy submissions for two anthologies. They pay 6p per word for first publication and 4p for reprints. 

Here's the rest...

These are the things I didn't get the chance to include in Saturday's post. My life hasn't got any less busy so, although I'll try to post each Saturday, be prepared for some randomness!

The photos were taken at Bodnant Gardens in Wales a few days ago. It's looking magnificent!

Womag news

Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd and others for alerting me to the fact that My Weekly are advertising for a new fiction editor. The details are here, in case you fancy applying. I don't yet know what difference, if any, this will make to submitting fiction to this magazine, or what is happening with Kirstyn – something nice, I hope.

Free entry competition news

Thanks to Fiona for all the following ...

This competition is for UK authors who have been published at least once. You'll need to send a proposal, first three chapters and a statement about how your work 'contributes to the sustainability discourse'. First prize is £15,000.

This one is for true, 50 word stories on friendship. The details state that entries from those resident in Scotland will be considered for a book, but it seems you can still submit something if you live elsewhere. Unpublished authors only.

You definitely have to be resident in Scotland to enter this 'Gothic Aberdeen' short story competition. Having been to Aberdeen several times, I can see why the organisers consider it a suitable location for a gothic tale. Prize is £300.

Are any of you resident in Scotland? If not, I won't continue to post details of competitions with that restriction.

My news

Thanks to Alyson Hilbourne for reminding me I'm the People's Friend writer of the week. I'm sure I was told the date the interview would appear, but had completely forgotten about it.

Three free writing competitions.

 

Free entry writing competitions

Here's a 'micro fiction' competition. You're allowed up to 1,500 characters to write a story 'related to Africa in some way'.  There are three cash prizes, €750 for first - plus the possibility of runners up and special mentions.

The Oxford/42 New Writing Prize is for novels, stage, radio or screen plays. Experimental writing is welcome. You must be 'unagented' to enter. The prize is £1,500 pounds and an agency contract with 42 M&P

The Baen fantasy adventure award is for fantasy stories of up to 8,000 words. First prize is paid publication, $500 of Baen books and an engraved award

Regarding the AI issue mentioned in my last post, there's a petition by the Society of Authors here. It has some 'big' names on it.

Please sign even if you're not directly affected in this particular case, as if this goes unchallenged then it's likely that even more of our work will be stolen.