Happy New Year!

Happy 2018!

I'm wishing us all peace, happiness and correctly placed apostrophes in the year ahead.

What are your hopes for 2018?

The bit in the middle

The few days between Christmas and New Year always have an odd feel to them, I think. I'd assumed magazine editors would all be at home, until I got an acceptance from Woman's Weekly. That made me feel guilty about not working, so I sent off a couple of submissions and got auto responses saying the people concerned would be away from their desks until well into the New Year.

What about you – are you still on holiday or back at work? (If you feel you should be working but can't get motivated, you might like to try this marvellous book .)


Coming soon ... Clare Cooper will be sharing her excellent tips for getting writing fit in 2018.

Season's Greetings

Wishing you all a wonderful Winter Solstice, fabulous Yultetide, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Cheerful Mōdraniht, Joyful Soyal, fun Pancha Ganapati and a good time at any other celebration, gathering, feast or festival you may wish to get involved in.

And if you decide to skip the whole lot and stay in with a mug of tea and a good book, I hope you enjoy doing that.

Here's a mince pie for everyone who has supported this blog through guests posts, comments and sharing links on social media. I really appreciate your support.

Another change at Woman's Weekly

Those of you who're currently able to submit to Woman's Weekly should have heard that the new fiction editor, Danni Dawson is leaving on 12th January. From today onwards, submissions should be submitted to Emma Shacklock, who is the 'new full time fiction coordinator'. Any stories already accepted by Danni will still be used.

Emma is already hard at work buying stories and has just accepted one of mine!

Your Go

Each month I'll be making a posting just like this one, so blog readers can ask any questions*, share any womag news, tips, advice they may have, or make womag related comments or observations.

*If you can answer these, please do.

Have you written anything lately? Had an acceptance or rejection? Got a story in one of the current magazines? Waiting for a reply to your submission?

Contracts

I've said this before, but I think it's worth repeating - If you are asked to sign a contract, PLEASE be sure you understand it and agree to the terms BEFORE signing it.

No reputable publisher will mind you asking questions about points you're not sure of.

If you sign something you don't understand then there's a danger you'll accidentally break the contract terms.

If you don't agree, then say so and don't sign. In some cases it may be possible to negotiate (I've successfully done this in the past when a publisher requested full exclusive rights, which I wasn't prepared to give up.)

Once you have signed (if you do) be sure you keep a copy for future reference.

Might I suggest...

It's the time of year when many of us are asking or being asked, 'What would you like for
Christmas?'. How about asking for, or giving, a subscription to one of the womags which publish fiction?

Just by making the suggestion you're reminding people these magazines exist and are of interest, and if you give one as a gift you may well turn the recipient into a loyal customer. If those of us with a vested interest in keeping them going aren't willing to support them, then who else will?

Another good gift idea (in my opinion) is this very nice writing book.

Are you giving, or hoping to receive, any writing related gifts this year?

Back ... for now

The blog got a few unpleasant spam comments yesterday. I deleted them and then got a few more. It wasn't loads, but more than the number of genuine comments I'd got in the entire previous week, which was very disheartening.

Rather then spend what would otherwise have been writing time trying to keep the blog free of the spam, I took it down as a temporary measure. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

Joint ventures

My writing friend, the editing expert Anne Rainbow, and I are running a Writers’ Workshop Weekend at Hope Cove in Devon next March.

We hope (excuse the pun) some of you will be able to join us.

Another of my writer friends Rosemary J Kind and I have set up a Facebook group called From Story Idea to Reader as a companion to our book of the same name. We’ll be offering writing tips and support. 

Group members are invited to ask questions about any writing related subject (including womag fiction!). It will be nice to see some of you there.



And on Saturday 25th November I'll be at Elmore Angling Club's Christmas Fair (10-2 Lee-on-the-Solent seafront) with my husband Gary Davies, where we'll bot be selling our books (trying to at least.) It's free entry, so if you're in the area, do come in and say hi.

Bit of a shocker

Last week the editor of Australian magazine Yours contacted me to say they were making changes at the magazine and would be including longer fiction. She was particularly looking for serials and asked if I thought my blog readers might be interested in submitting these. As I thought some of you might, I invited her to write a guest post.

Lisa sent me details of what she was looking for both in serials and short fiction and I scheduled the post. Before it could go live, she emailed to say they were closing the magazine. Not dropping fiction, or reorganising a department, but completely closing it.

This magazine is owned by Bauer media - as are several other titles, some of which currently publish fiction.

Guest Post by womagwriter Julie Day

My guest today is Julie Day, who has recently sold her first ever womag story.

Congratulations on becoming a womagwriter, Julie! Who bought your story?

You (S. Africa)

Can you tell us a bit about it? 

It's a 1,500 word Xmas ghost story, with humour, set around a panto.

That sounds fun. How did you feel when you got the news? Did you celebrate?

Couldn't believe it. At last! To celebrate I bought a few children's books I wanted.

Some writers have rituals to get them in the mood to write, lucky pens, or even wear particular clothes when writing. Do you do anything like that?

I like to write in silence or with the TV on low.  I have to write with pen and paper.

How long have you been submitting stories to womags?

2-3 years.

How many stories do you think you've sent to get that first acceptance?

About 20, including the same stories to different magazines.

You sent out fillers too, I believe. Did that help keep you motivated?

Yes, knowing that magazines do like my writing helped.

Do you have any advice for writers who've yet to have their first success?

Read and study the magazine and their guidelines. Keep writing. Find your voice. Find the magazine that likes that voice, and stick with them for a while.

Writers need fuel - what's your favourite snack when you're writing?

Kallo dark choc rice cakes, Houmous chips with Violife soft cheese. Or Tesco Free From plain crackers with Violife soft cheese.

I know you have Asperger's; how does that impact on your writing?

I can only write for 30-45 mins before my head goes fuzzy. I have to have an afternoon nap to recharge.

That must make things difficult for you, yet I understand you write books too? 

Yes. Magical realism for adults and children. Such as Billy and The Sparkling Socks and One Cood Turn. You can find all my other books here.

You also produce a newsletter, what's that about and how can people sign up?

I send out tips about writing and marketing esp for indies. Writing exercises. News about my books, events and other stuff. People can sign up here.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

If you like writing one genre, eg for me it's magical realism, then concentrate on that and do it well.

Guest post by womagwriter Maggie Cobbett

When I saw that one of Maggie Cobbet's short stories had been published in Love Sunday magazine, I invited her onto the blog to tell us about it.

Although by no means making my whole living at it – and how I envy those who do – I generally only write for paying markets. However, an opportunity occasionally comes along for some free publicity. One such occurred after I failed to win the Love Sunday (colour supplement of the Sunday People) short story competition this year, for which there was a decent prize. I was contacted to see if I’d allow my entry to be used in a future issue. Having enquired about a fee and been told with regret that no budget was available for fiction, I agreed but made it clear that this was definitely a one off as far as I was concerned. A nicely illustrated double page spread of ‘Crocodile Tears’ appeared on 12^th November and included my name, website address and, as promised, a plug for my novel. 

Submissions of 1500 word stories on any subject are welcomed, so it’s up to you if you’d like to contribute one of yours on the same basis. If so, the person to contact is Flavia Bertolini. You can email her at f.bertolini@mirror.co.uk

The novel Maggie plugged is Shadows of the Past.

Your Go

Each month I'll be making a posting just like this one, so blog readers can ask any questions*, share any womag news, tips, advice they may have, or make womag related comments or observations.

*If you can answer these, please do!

Of course your comments are welcome on all the other posts too. It's these responses which let me know which kind of posts are of interest and value and therefore worth continuing with.

Btw, the libraries poll is still open.

Yours Magazine non-fiction guidelines

The current non-fiction guidelines for Yours magazine.

NOSTALGIA NON-FICTION ARTICLE GUIDELINES
Every article is read with interest but the Features department receives more than 100 manuscripts a month, and is able to publish only one a fortnight. Due to the number of articles submitted we aren’t able to reply to everyone. If we are able

to use your article we will of course let you know. 


IMPORTANT

• Any article submitted must not have been published elsewhere and, if published by us become exclusive to Yours magazine on an all-rights basis.
  
• Yours magazine reserves the right to edit, alter or shorten any article submitted and it may not appear in its entirety and it may appear in any of our publications.
  
• Although all reasonable care is taken, Yours magazine can assume no responsibility for the safety of unsolicited articles or photographs, so it is a good idea to send copies. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you would like your manuscript returned.
  KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
  Before submitting any articles, it is essential that you study at least six issues of Yours magazine. Most submissions are rejected because the subject matter and/or the style of writing is unsuitable for readers.
  

Submissions should be up to 300 words approx for a half-
page article. It is rare for Yours to read, or to publish any article of greater length than this.
Manuscripts must be typed on one side of the paper and the title page should include: an accurate word count and your full name, address and telephone number.
Please try to enclose relevant photographs to illustrate your article, marked with your name and address on the back
You should include a short CV of yourself, together with a clear, colour head and shoulder picture of yourself
All photographs should be marked with your name, address and telephone number
If you would like your manuscript return please state that and include an SAE.

Reading back issues will give you a good idea of the sort of person who reads YOURS and the general tone we use - which is informal and chatty.
SUBJECTS
We are currently looking for inspirational stories and adventures to inspire our readers.
STYLE AND TONE
Your article should grab the reader from the first sentence. Our style is friendly and warm - after all, your contributions are what makes YOURS the magazine it is! And 400,000 readers a fortnight can't be wrong.
Send your manuscript marked ‘Follow Your Dream’ to:
Non Fiction Submission Yours Magazine
Bauer London Lifestyle Media House
Peterborough Business Park Peterborough, PE2 6EA
Or by email to: yours@bauermedia.co.uk (Subject: Non Fiction Submission)
*PLEASE NOTE: If you would like us to return your submission, please include an SAE with the correct postage amount on it. We regret that any submissions without an SAE will not be returned.

Change at YOU magazine

I've recieved a message from blog reader Chris - 

"... the new requirement at You magazine in S. Africa for a scan of overseas writers' passports before payment can be made on accepted stories. This is a new stipulation by the SA banks apparently and fiction editor Lynn Ely assures me that the information will only be shared with the bank in question. Still, I am very doubtful about the wisdom of sharing my passport details (showing photo, ID number, DOB, etc.) this way, given the growth in ID fraud. I've sold around twenty stories to You mag over the past few years and payment has always been promptly made by BACS transfer but this new requirement concerns me. Has anyone else had experience of this and what did you decide to do?"

I've not sold anything to YOU since this change came in, but have heard from others who've been asked to do this, and expressed concern. Have you been asked? What did you do? Can anyone reassure Chris?