Seven Days

The new womag Seven Days is out now – and I'm delighted to say that I have a story in the first issue and several readers of this blog have also had stories accepted.

I do hope that as many of you as possible will consider buying an issue, subscribing and/or spreading the word about this publication to those who might be interested in reading it. Editors can only buy our stories if enough people by the magazines.

Along with my story they published a mini bio and mentioned my romance novel, Escape to the Country

Isn't this illustration great? Until you've read the story you'll have to take my word for it that it's perfect for the story.

Just a quickie

Here's a photo from my novel research, writing competition and one of my short stories for you to read.

The Hysteria Writing Competition is free to enter, has categories for poetry, flash fiction and short stories with a £50 prize for each. Writers of any nationality may enter. Unpublished work only and this must be available for the anthology. 

Over To You

Do you have any womag news?

Are you researching, writing, subbing? Had any acceptances or rejections? Any other news?

Feel free to use the as a picture prompt. If you'd like other writing prompts, short exercises and story/scene suggestions then you might find this book useful.

I'd love to hear your competition news.

Have you entered any writing comps? Had any luck? Heard about interesting contests? Got any tips to pass on? (Although I only feature free to enter competitions in my posts it's fine to share news about other competitions too.)

Do you have writing tips to share, questions to ask, or suggestions for this blog?

My news is that I had a story in last week's Hemmets magazine, I'll have one in the 26th September issue ofMy Weekly, and two in the next People's Friend Special.

I also have a story up on Longshot Island. Submissions are open for this market, which offers a small fee. Previously published work will be considered – provided the author has retained copyright.

My short story collection Coffee & Cake won't be released until December 1st, but as an experiment, it's available to 'pre order'.

Very friendly

I'm very pleased to have a story in the current issue of The People's Friend, along with some virtual writing friends.

There will be another one of mine in a fortnight's time, and more to come in the future as I've just heard I've sold them two more.

See here for some tips from 'my' editor, for writing stories for The Friend.

Uplifting stories for crazy times

Fran Tracey and Julia Underwood have set up a new Facebook group offering free cheery reads to help distract ourselves from virus related worries. They say 'we are always looking for new published authors. Pm the admins for details.' 

If you do decide to offer a story, keep in mind that according to Facebook's terms you're technically giving them non-exclusive copyright and won't be able to sell the story or offer it into a competition as unpublished.

I've contributed a daft little piece, and Ginny Swart has a fun story there  to help get things going. New stories will be added periodically.

You can join the group here.

Re-using short stories

After my stories have been published* or placed into competitions, I put them together in themed collections. The latest of these, Slightly Spooky Stories III is out now. As you may have guessed these are 24 ghost stories and the like – not too scary as they're mostly womag type stories.

I've also produced four collections each of garden and family related stories, three of romances, one concerning time and one about work. You can find them all, plus my other books, here, if you fancy a nose – or even want to buy one or download the freebies.

*I can because I retain the right to do so. For those who give up all rights, this isn't an option.

What do you do with your stories after they've been published? (If you'd like to put a link in your comment, I'll add it to this post, so everyone else can see.)




Fay Knowles has produced Sunbeams from the Heart - A Collection of 12 romantic short stories.

Good start to the year

I have a story in the current (February) edition of Woman's Weekly. It was accepted over a year ago under the old terms. Voodoo Val is about a change of management upsetting all the workers, and someone deciding to release tension by sticking pins into an image of the new boss. There's a happy ending not because of any black magic, but because everyone stuck together.
In other news, I've had acceptances so far from three different womags. Two more editors are either holding onto stories for possible use, or have passed them on to the senior team for consideration. 
Thanks to Sharon Boothroyd's guest post I've also had a story accepted by Love Sunday magazine (it comes with the Sunday People newspaper.) I gave it a try for research purposes and as a result will have a story in the 20th January issue. I'm hoping it might encourage more people to take a look at my books.
Guest posts, relevant to womag writing, are always welcome. If you'd like to share information or an experience, pass on tips or news, even just ask a question do get in touch. (Auto correct keeps trying to change womag to wombat – if you do happen to be a wombat who writes fiction, I'd be delighted to hear from you too!)
There's a People's Friend special, due out on 23rd January which will contain one of my stories. That's a 1,200 word one. It seems they still get a good supply of these and that longer stories may stand a better chance.
How are you getting on so far this year? Have you submitted anything, had replies, or are you expecting work to be published soon?

Time for a bargain.

My latest short story collection, Perfect Timing is for sale at the introductory offer price of 99p / 99c for the next few days.

Perfect Timing

Whether we have long hours to fill, or not a moment to spare, time plays an important part in all our lives. We might not watch the clock, but we can't escape the impact of the seconds ticking away. Time waits for no woman, neither will it accelerate at her command. It's no more considerate of men, children and teddy bears.

Being a little early, or late, can have a big impact; it could mean missing a train, inheritance, or much needed meal. Or help us catch a crook, rescue a neighbour, show us what's really important. Maybe it's not our own timekeeping we have to worry about, but that of loved ones, colleagues or adversaries.

You can read each of the stories in this book in just a few minutes, or enjoy all 25 at once over several hours.

Womag – a genre?

"How would you define womag fiction?" is a question I was asked recently.

The simple, although perhaps not very helpful, answer is, "It's any fiction which is published in a magazine aimed at women."

They do have other things in common. Usually they'll be an easy read – no overly complicated sentences or words requiring use of the dictionary and Google searches in order to follow the plot. There are exceptions, but generally they won't be shocking, or seriously disturbing – though they might surprise you and make a reader think. They'll be intended to appeal to women – but not just women. Many womags have male readers and are a keen to encourage more. Usually the stories have a happy ending, and generally the main character will have brought this about themselves, rather than relying on a handsome man to save her (often, but not always, the main character is a woman.)

Perhaps it's easier to say what they're not? They aren't all the same. They're not all written to a standard formula. They don't comprise just one genre or style. You're as likely to read a tearjerker as something which makes you laugh, a modern ghost story might well be in the same issue as a historical romance.

The lengths are different – anything from around 500 words to 25,000 for some serials. Then there are pocket novels, at twice that length, which are still often considered womag, despite not actually being printed within the pages of a magazine. Word length is the easiest thing to know you've got right. Simply get your computer to count the words in your document and compare it to the guidelines (found in the quick links in the right hand column of this blog.) A few words out will usually be fine, but the closer you can get your story to the required length, the easier it will be for the editor to fit it on the page(s).

Sometimes editors will also give guidance on the type of stories they'd like and subjects they do, or don't, want covered. Again the guidelines might help. Sometimes editors send newsletters, or write blog posts (Shirley Blair of The People's Friend has her own blog) with this information, or you may get clues from editorials or even rejections.

Reading the fiction in a particular magazine is, I think, the best way to get a feel for the genres and subjects they're likely to publish. If you can, do read several issues – and make sure they're current ones, not those your great-granny bought when she was courting!

Reading the magazines also helps with what I think is the hardest aspect to get right – the tone. With some the stories will all be warm, maybe even quite gentle. Others will feature some with a bit of edge or darkness to them. Some editors prefer traditional stories, with a single POV and linear layout. Others like twist endings, or something a little more experimental, even quirky.

Relationships are always a popular topic for womag stories. These can be romances, friendships or  stories about families. Keep It In The Family is my latest collection of 25 short stories, all in this latter category.  Most of them have previously been published in womags.

Do you agree with my description of womag fiction? Do you have anything to add? Can you think of any genre or category of story which couldn't be adapted to suit a womag?

A good moment

A while ago I posted the guidelines to a new (to me) magazine. Of course I've sent them a couple of submissions since then. Although it's taken some time to get an acceptance, I'm delighted that my story Absolutely Nothing will be in issue 15 of In The Moment, which will be out on 24th July.

The process with this publication is that stories are acknowledged by email within a few days. The acknowledgement contains the warning that they receive a large number of submissions and the promise that someone will be in touch if the story is suitable. I've not had a rejection, so assume they don't send these.

When my story was accepted, around three months after submission, I was given details on invoicing (it's done after publication), asked to sign a contract for single use rights and invited to ask if I had any questions. There was one line in the contract I didn't fully understand, so I took them up on that and received a quick and clear response.

I was also asked by the production editor for my photo and a short bio. Once it was all put together I received a pdf proof and was invited to say if I felt any amendments were needed. The story had been edited; it's always interesting to see what has been changed and to attempt to work out why. In this case I think it was made slightly more gentle and a little shorter.

I made a couple of small suggestions, including using a capital N in the title. That wasn't done, because it's the house style not to, but the other change was made and I was sent a new pdf to confirm that. The images in this post were taken, with permission, from that pdf.

The story will be published in a pull out section, along with a drink recipe and a crossword, which I think is rather nice.

Do you find it helpful/interesting for me to post about my experiences with different magazines? If not, I'll spare you all the gory details in future.

Just A Job

My latest collection of short stories, most of them previously published in womags, is Just A Job.

BLURB: Work is a huge part of our lives; from the first time someone asks us what we'll be when we grow up, until we're drawing our pension and looking back with relief or regret. Through training for and obtaining them, travelling to and actually being there, to winding down at the end of a busy day, our jobs take up much of our time.

Whether full time, part time, or can't wait for home time, working from home, working away, carer or career, paid or volunteer, we all have a job to do. Most people have friends at our place of work, and perhaps there are rivals. It's where many of us meet our partners. Love or hate it, like almost everything else in life, our job is what we make it.

Bosses, employees and colleagues all have a story to tell. Just A Job contains 25 of them.

If you've had stories published and are wondering if you can reuse them elsewhere, take a look at this post.

Remember To Write

Remember To Write is the title of my story in the current issue of The People's Friend. (If you'd like to write for this magazine, click here 

for the guidelines and on their name just below this post for more information.) The setting for my story is a writing workshop. I'm co presenting one of those in Devon next March and making arrangements to run one in Cornwall this winter. (I'm not restricting myself to the West Country – that they're both close together is pure coincidence.)

Remember to write would also be good advice for me to follow at the moment. I'm currently away in the mobile writing retreat and let's just say I'm doing much more of the collecting inspiration part of the job than the getting words down part. Perhaps you can see why?

When Patsy met Adam

My story 'Always Adamant' is in the current (May 12th) issue of The People's Friend. Isn't the illustration nice?

I met Adam Ant once, which was rather nice as I was a big fan more years ago than I can believe have actually passed since then. He was totally charming, and I like to think I hardly blushed or giggled at all.

We discussed Georgian medicine, which is one of his many interests and was part of the day job I had at the time. Afterwards he invited me to his concert later that week, as his guest. Obviously I went.

That story is true. It's not the inspiration for the one in The People's Friend. There is a connection though, honest.

The People's Friend magazine will consider submissions from all writers, whether or not they've been previously published. You can find their guidelines here. You can also click on the magazine name below this post, or in the magazine quick links over on the left, to read other posts about this publication, including advice to improve your chances of success, including some comments from the fiction editor.

Re-using previously published stories

Several people have asked me what, if anything, they can do with stories after they've been published.  The answer is – it depends!

You'll need to check which rights (copyright) you've sold. This information will be in your contract if you have one, or will have been included in the guidelines (or competition rules) or on the letter or email of acceptance. If, as is the case with Yours magazine, you've sold all rights then you no longer own the copyright – you can't do anything at all as it's no longer your story. You can't sell it, put it on your blog, enter it in a competition. Nothing.

If, as is far more usual, you've sold first rights, or first rights with extensions, then you can offer the story elsewhere after it has been used by the first publication. There may be a time period before you are permitted to do that. Again, this information will be in your contract. (This is one reason it's so important to read and understand contracts before signing them.)

When submitting a previously published piece of work, you must also take into account the requirements of the publication you hope will accept it. Some will consider reprints without restrictions, but more usually they won't want work which has already been published wherever their publication is on sale. You may think that because you've only sold to a UK publication that the story will only have been published in the UK. That may not be the case. Depending on the terms of your contract, the buyer may have the rights to print it in other magazines within their group (at no extra cost to them) – and if they do, it's unlikely you'll be informed.

If the publication you hope to sell to only publishes work on a first use, first rights, or all rights basis, then you'll have to write something new. That doesn't just mean changing the title and character names!

Depending on the terms of the contracts, it may be possible to sell the same story multiple times. I do that whenever I can.

Assuming you haven't sold all rights, the buying publication have used the story and any exclusivity period has passed, then you may also publish the stories yourself.

I've just put together another collection of my short stories. The stories in With Love And Kisses originally appeared in My Weekly, YOU (South Africa), Allas (Sweden), Woman's Weekly,  Woman's Weekly Fiction Special, That's Life (Australia), The Lady, Pages of Stories (Canada), Stories That Lift (U.S.) Cafelit, Ireland's Own, Take A Break's Fiction Feast, The Weekly News, or were placed in competitions.

Buy it (or read free with kindle unlimited) here.

See my other blog to discover how one of these stories was written at the instruction of Norah McGrath (former fiction editor for Take a Break's Fiction Feast), and to see my wearing a peculiar hat.

The Weekly News – update

I have a story in the current (7th April) issue of The weekly News (TWN). Of course I'm always pleased to have a story accepted, but a TWN acceptance brought me the greatest joy as it was my first ever. That was back in 2005. (And today sees my very first publication in The People's Friend!)

TWN is open to submissions of 1,200 to 1,500 word stories, from all writers, whether or not they've sold stories previously. They usually publish two each week, but ocassionally use a few more. The publication is actually a newspaper, not a womag, which is important in several ways – the stories aren't always aimed at women and don't always feel typically womaggy, no ALCS is paid on published stories, and you'll need to look for it amongst the papers in most newsagents.

If you click on 'The Weekly News' immediately below this post, you'll find lots more information on TWN and the type of stories they're looking for, but I also strongly suggest reading a few current issues. You may need to ask your newsagent to reserve copies for you (a good thing to do as anything which prompts more sales is in the best interests of all womag writers).

Submissions are not acknowledged (a shame as at one time an automated response was sent after each submission – I do wish that would be reinstated). There isn't a dedicated fiction editor for TWN; submissions read by the fiction team for The People's Friend (PF).  For more detail on this, see the response by Shirley Blair (head of PF fiction team) to this post.

If no response is recieved within three months, the story has not been accepted and you're free to submit it elsewhere.

Occasionally a rewrite will be requested. In this case, you'll be told which changes are wanted and it's your choice whether you make them or withdraw the story. There's no guarantee the rewrite will be accepted, but there's a good chance of that happening.

If/when the story is accepted, you'll be emailed with that information, plus the intended publication date. If you've not previously signed a contract with DC Thomson then you'll be requested to do so. (As with every contract, please do read it and be sure you understand and agree before signing!). You'll also need to provide your bank details (nothing confidential – just what they need to make payment).

No complimentary copies are sent (very few publishers now have the resources to do this).

Payment is made soon after publication. You'll be emailed a 'self billed PO' and a 'remittance advice' with the details shortly before the money arives in your bank account. (I don't post payment rates for any markets on this blog unless the publishers make them public knowledge as in some cases rates vary and/or our contracts prohibit this.)

Whilst searching for information online, I came across this history of The weekly News, which you might find interesting.

Look, cute dog!

I'm hoping that as I'm posting a really cute illustration, you're going to let me get away with a bit of bragging ...

Currently I gave a story in Woman's Weekly, The Weekly News and Take A Break's Fiction Feast, plus two in both Woman's Weekly Fiction Special and Allas.

I promise not to irritate the heck out of you by mentioning every story I get published, but this week has been exceptional and I just couldn't resist.

The illustration is from Allas. I almost always like the illustrations and photos selected to go with my stories in the various magazines, but there's something about the Allas ones which particularly appeals to me.

Valentine Gimmick

I have a story called Valentine Gimmick in the Valentine's Special issue of Ireland's Own. It's on their website too.








If you enjoyed that story, you might like All That Love Stuff – a collection of 24 short stories which is currently on offer for 99p/99c.