Wearing Two Hats

No, I'm not wearing two hats because here in the Lake District the rain has turned to snow and its freezing cold (although it does look idyllic on sunny days like this - less so on the foggy days I've experienced so far in December!)

The two hats I'm referring to are 'editing hats'. When you edit, do you edit as a writer or as reader?

My novel is now shorter than it was when it first arrived in the Lake District, although it is not as short as I need it to be. Going through the text as a writer has improved it immensely. Not only have I corrected the spellings and the grammar and deleted all those pet phrases of mine (well, merely, just), I've also been improving the punctuation, layout and chapter structures. As a consequence, I now have more confidence in my text.

But with only 12,000 words sent packing so far, the next stage of the editing process is about to begin. I'm going to swap to my 'editing as a reader' hat. This is where I'm asking the question (as a reader), "Do I really need to know this?"

I'm currently reviewing the beginning of my novel and asking this question. I think the novel starts well - at an all important point of crisis (the main character discovers that they are being blackmailed), but could the start be even better?

Many of my students will know from their own assignments that I often strike out the first two paragraphs of their articles and say, "Actually, your third paragraph is your real first paragraph." As a tutor, this jumps out at me, because I am reading your text as any reader would. I haven't been involved in the creative process. As writers, we need to learn to do that with our own work.

This is why we're told to put work aside for a couple of days and then we can look at it afresh. Those days provide a barrier between the creative process and the editing process. However, we are still the creator and it is our creation that we are trying to edit, so we need to learn to be critical of ourselves. I'm now going through the beginning of my novel, cutting all that exposition - the explaining of the setting, scene and characters, that isn't actually needed. Ask yourself the question - Do I REALLY need to know this? If you answer 'yes', then ask yourself another question - Do I REALLY need to know this NOW? Might this exposition sit better, later on in your text?

This means that I am cutting some of my 'darlings' - those paragraphs that I am particularly pleased with. Is that sad? Yes, but they were not a waste of time. It was the enjoyment of writing those paragraphs that kept me writing the novel in the first place. Without writing them, I may never have finished writing the novel. So, they had their place in the writing process. And just because I'm deleting them from this piece of writing, it doesn't mean that I can't use them in another piece of writing, does it? Nothing in this writing game is wasted!

So next time you come to edit your work, set out both hats on your desk. Put your 'Writer' hat on first and edit. Then replace it with your 'Reader' hat and edit again. You will find that the text will be better. There's a cliche that says, 'two heads are better than one' and I'm of the opinion that 'two hats are better than one' too!

Talking of 'twos', last Friday the Cumbrian town of Keswick had 'two' too - two celebs for the Christmas Lights Switch On. The first was HRH Prince Charles, seen here meeting the staff in Booths Supermarket, after having met some of the staff from the Emergency Services, Army, County Council and Environment Agency who are involved in the clean up operation following the flooding. Little did I know when I was sitting in their cafe, that Charlie would walk in for a cup of tea and a sticky bun. I didn't shake hands with him - well, with all the hands he shakes in a day, he must be one of the biggest spreaders of Swine Flu in the UK at the moment!

When refreshed he made his way up into town and joined television presenter, Julia Bradbury, to switch on the lights. The message to the outside world was a clear "the Lake District is open." This is when they need the visitors.

So, good luck with your editing. And good luck with your Christmas shopping. Which reminds me ... I must start doing that soon!

Washing Away Words

Well, what a week it's been, since I last blogged. Anyone would think the Weather Gods had decided that Simon was not going to be distracted from working on his novel by nice weather tempting him onto the fells instead.

I'm sure many of you will have seen the devastating floods in the north Lakes at Cockermouth and Workington on the news, but the people in the South Lakes are suffering too.
The first picture here of the flooded road is my one and only road to civilisation. Just outside Hawkshead, Esthwaite Water had suddenly expanded over night in the early hours of last Friday morning. Nowhere was accessible by car. Luckily, I found a footpath, which enabled me to bypass the flooded road (passable only by tractors) and made it into Hawkshead. I needed bread and milk, and I wondered if the Co-op would be open, because it was currently undergoing a refurbishment.

I was therefore delighted to see that it was (although I think the refurbishment wasn't quite complete, but due to the flooding, the decision had been taken to open early.) The second picture is of the queue. It took over half an hour for me to reach the tills. In the meantime, people kept leaving their baskets in the queue and nipping to a shelf and picking up something else for their baskets. The locals kept joking with the manageress that this was all a cunning plan - just have one till open, keep the queues long, and the customers will keep topping their baskets up whilst they wait! Suffice to say that the Dunkirk spirit is alive and well. The third picture is of a house in Hawkshead that did not fair well during the downpour. Sadly, there are many other places in the south Lakes like this.

I don't know how many of you have been to the Lake District, but if you've ever seen the jetties at Bowness on Windermere, you may be surprised to know that yesterday evening (Wednesday), 6 days after the main weather event, those jetties still cannot be seen because they are under so much water. There are many businesses that will take years to recover from this.

More and more roads are becoming passable each day - I finally managed to get the car out on Monday, although, those roads that are not underwater are littered with branches and stones. At times it's like driving over gravel, so many rocks and stones have been washed onto roads. And many of the stone walls have been destroyed, simply by the force of the water washing them away.

The fourth picture here is of the current weather. If you listen to the weather forecast, Cumbria is having some respite from the rain. I suppose we are in a way - this is hail! Rumour has it though, that there may be some sunshine on Sunday. Wayhay!

So, what with the weather, literally, cutting me off from the rest of the world, how's it going with the novel, I hear you ask. Actually, not bad.

One of the reasons I'm doing this, is because I paid for a professional critique to be carried out on my text. Essentially, I was told two things - the novel was 30,000 words too long, and that the genre was not a particularly commercial one. (i.e. it isn't a crime novel!) but if I deleted those 30,000 words, I would have a novel of publishable quality. Another comment made was that there are no 'nice' female characters in my novel for female readers to empathise with.

I'd been thinking about this a lot, and decided that perhaps this was something I needed to rectify. So whilst I've been deleting words, I've also been adding more! I created a new female character and as I included her in more scenes, I really got to like her. I'd added her into about a third of the book and then I stopped and re-read what I'd rewritten.

I didn't like it. Whilst it wasn't 'padding' because I'd been able to slot her into the plot easily, and she'd enabled me to add some interesting twists to the plot, she had made an impact on the pace of the novel. It was much slower. I'd like to think that novel is a good old fashioned British farce, and therefore pace is important. I had a decision to make.

So, I put on my walking boots and went out (in the rain) and stretched my legs around the ever expanding Esthwaite Water. About an hour later, when I returned, I'd made my decision. My new female character had to go. I liked her, but she wasn't right for this book. (I'm sure she'll have an important role in my next one!)

I therefore spent the next few days deleting and rewriting everything I'd written and rewritten over the past few days. When I reread my text again, I was much happier. The pace was back. Doors are slamming once again, rather than being left ajar. (door slamming is important in British farce.)

What's this taught me? Actually, it's taught me to have more confidence in my text. In the professional critique, the main criticism was the length of the book. The female character for female readers to empathise with was more of a personal opinion of the professional reader, not a criticism of the novel's structure itself. Re-reading the critique reminded me that the plot works, it moves forward at a good pace, and my characters are appropriate for the genre.

In light of this, I'm back to simply cutting and honing my text. Sometimes, the errors I spot are embarrassing! For example, I had a character in a building on her own, and she mutters something under her breath. At the end of the sentence I'd used the phrase "she muttered to herself." Well, if she's in the building on her own, then who else is she going to be muttering to? The reader knows she's alone, therefore the reader knows she's talking to herself! Duh!

So, whilst a lot of the editing is the usual deleting of unnecessary adverbs, there's also a lot of 'common sense' deleting taking place too. It's surprising how often we writers repeat information.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the hail has stopped. It's raining once more. I'm going back to washing away some more of my words from my novel.

Good luck.

Safe and Sound

Just a quick post to thank everyone for their concerned queries during this weather event in Cumbria. I am safe and sound, on high ground, with enough provisions to see me through to the middle of next week, so I have no need to venture out at all.

This is the road to Hawkshead, my nearest village about a mile away, which is only passable if you have a Land Rover (and then, it comes up over the bonnet!). Technically, I am stranded. All roads are blocked. Cumbria has seen 18 inches (about 45cm) of rain since the beginning of November, of which 16 inches (40cm) have fallen since this Tuesday. Locally, the Met office are calling this a 'one in a thousand years' event.

Where I'm staying is above Esthwaite Water (the lake that has flooded the Hawkshead Road above) however, the volume of rain has flooded the cellar here at the property, which has knocked the heating out. Thankfully, it isn't cold though. I still have electricity too!

And even if I lose that, I have a head torch with batteries that last 140 hours, and because I'm working on the novel, I'm using a red pen to highlight the words I want to delete on the manuscript, so I shall still be able to work!

My thoughts though are with the family of the missing Policeman and all those other people who have been flooded out in Cockermouth, Keswick, Coniston, Ambleside, Windermere, Kendal and Ulverston.

Stay safe.

Batten Down The Hatches!

Well, greetings from week 2 in the Lake District. The picture is of my 'office'. How's the weather with you? I only ask because on Monday night I was talking at Carlisle Writers group and it took me nearly two hours to do the 60 miles through wind, rain and hail. It was worth it though because they were a friendly bunch and we had a good laugh.

On Tuesday and Wednesday the Met Office have said that 2.5 inches of rain fell in Cumbria and today they are forecasting another 4 to 8 inches of rain within the next 24 hours! Who knows, by Saturday the Lake District may just have one very large lake - I'll call it Lake Cumbria.

Of course, as far as I'm concerned, this isn't a problem. The family have all gone home now, leaving me on my own to do what I planned to do whilst I was up here - deleting all those words from my novel. I'm stocked up with food, and more importantly, teabags, so I'm set for the next few days. Which is probably just as well because Kendal is no longer accessible by road from the north.

But all this talk of bad weather has got me thinking. Do you mention 'weather' in your writing? Whilst fiction writers should avoid the classic cliche, "It was a dark and stormy night", this does show how weather can set the mood of a scene. It can be a great tool in our "show, don't tell" toolbox.

Reading through the last six of the stories I've written, I've noticed that I've only mentioned the weather once - when a character had to shield their eyes from the sun. This simple action conveys much to the reader. This is not a weak, washed-out sun trying to burn its way through autumnal mist and fog, this is a strong 'glaring' sun, the type that makes you sneeze if you don't take avoiding action. This is the type of sun that appears on days with clear blue skies.

So don't tell your readers that it was raining, show the weather in other ways. Have a character getting drenched by the cheap umbrella which inverted itself in the slightest breeze. That tells the reader that it's raining, is windy, and that the character is too mean to buy a decent umbrella!

Of course, the weather is a useful tool to the non-fiction writer too. Many travel magazines like to see blue sky images accompanying the articles because it inspires readers to go to those places. (They'll have trouble this week in Cumbria, that's for certain!) But it is still possible to write a travel feature using bad weather as the catalyst.

I once spent a week in Wales on holiday, where it rained everyday. (Wales has a lot in common with Cumbria, it seems!) Yet, I still managed to produce a travel article from this. How? I simply wrote about roofs! By the end of the week, I realised that I'd gone to tourist attractions with a roof - well you would if it was raining, wouldn't you? So, I simply created a travel feature entitled, "Roofs of Wales". I produced a tourist drive linking the straw roofs of the Iron Age huts found at Castell Henllys Iron Age settlement, with the striking and ornate roof of St David's Cathedral, and the new 21st Century roof of the glasshouse of the National Botanical Gardens of Wales near Carmarthen. Naturally I had pictures to accompany the piece!

When I moved from Surrey to Shropshire, neighbours said, "ooh, you'll get a lot of weather up there!" Actually, in Shropshire, I get just as much weather as anywhere else in the country, it just happens to be more varied!

So whilst most of the Irish Sea and half of the Atlantic Ocean appears to be hammering at my windows panes, why don't you ask yourselves this ... is there enough weather in your writing?

Before I go, I thought I'd share one more anecdote with you. It isn't one of mine, it's one of Beatrix Potter's, which seems most appropriate seeing as I'm in Beatrix Potter country. (in fact the country house I'm staying in is adjacent to land once owned by Beatrix.) I'm reading a book entitled "The Wrong Kind of Snow" - it's a daily companion of the British Weather, so I read each entry for the relevant day. In light of all the rain we had yesterday (and will get today), I thought yesterday's entry with a quote from Beatrix Potter was quite appropriate.

"After heavy rain the hill sides are slippery, and I saw a neighbour's cow tobogganing as if she had been shot out of a gun - she flew down hill sitting on her tail. If she had not kept all her legs in front of her, she would have broken her neck, but she finished on a flat piece of grass, sitting down like a cat, just before she reached the river."

Beatrix Potter, Lake District, 18th November 1927

Good luck. (And don't forget to put your waterproofs on!)

Will Your Reader Reach The Summit?

Just a quick post this week because I'm preparing to do a talk at Kendal Writers' Group tonight. Here's a picture taken on Monday in the Lake District (the weather was like this on Wednesday too!)

Standing at the top of Wetherlam (2,502 feet above sea level) I could see far and wide. I had a complete overview of my surrounding area - the northern Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, Morecombe Bay and in the very distance, Scotland. Height helps us put things into perspective.

I'm currently re-reading my novel and because I haven't looked at it for about a year, it's like standing at the summit of Wetherlam. Suddenly, I'm rediscovering the journey to the summit and getting a 'feel' for my surroundings. Already I've deleted passages that take readers along the wrong path and hinder them from their journey. Our writing should always push the reader forward (whether it is fiction or non-fiction). If we're giving the reader information they don't need to know, we're merely sending them in the wrong direction, which not only wastes time, but it can be so infuriating it causes the reader to abandon the journey altogether. Not what we want!

So, when you have a few spare moments, have a rummage in your notebooks or on your computer and dig out something you wrote a long time ago. Re-read it. Does it still achieve what you wanted it to when you wrote it originally? If it doesn't, cut out the dead-end paths and make the journey more direct for your reader. You'll find your work will be tighter, easier to read, informative and more authoritative.

Good Luck (with your writing ... and the weather!)

Making Time to Write

Do you 'find' time to write, or do you 'make' time to write?

Is there a difference? Yes. 'Finding' time is when you finish doing a job (mowing the lawn, doing the ironing, preparing a meal) and then realise that you have half an hour until you need to be doing something else or until the rest of the family will descend upon you. Deciding to use this time to write is a wise move. But in reality, 'finding' time should be seen as a 'bonus'. What you need to do is 'make' time - regular time.

'Making' time is all about setting a clear time frame during which you can write. I've just had an article accepted by Writing Magazine on this very topic, so I'm not going to go into too many details here - you'll have to wait and buy the magazine to read about it(!), but I interviewed three writers who have all made the effort to 'make' time for their writing. And of course, all three are benefiting from this decision.

One bought a laptop so she could write during her lunch hour for two lunch breaks a week. Two hours of writing a week doesn't sound much, but add it up and it is equivalent to doing a full time writing job for two weeks of the year. What could you achieve in two weeks? Another writer reduced her working hours, so she spends a few days a week on her writing now, whilst another took a career break.

Some ways of making time are easier than others - finding two hours a week is easier than taking a career break. But the point is, you need to find the writing time that is right for you.

In November, there are hundreds of thousands of writers who have 'made' time. November is 'NaNoWriMo' - National Novel Writing Month and the aim is for writers to start writing a novel on the 1st November, and by midnight on 30th November have completed at least 50,000 words of that novel. It's a tough challenge, but it is achievable. Many do succeed. The reason they succeed is because the 'NaNoWriMo' event gives them the excuse to tell family members that it is a special event just for November. It has a constrained time frame. The family may be annoyed that the writer isn't around much during November, but at least they know that the writer will be back to 'normal' in December!

So if any of you are tackling 'NaNoWriMo' I wish you all the success in the world. Congratulations on making the time to write 50,000 words. But when the 1st December arrives just look back on what you have achieved in November. This is what happens when you 'make' time to write. Just think what you could achieve if you 'made' time to write every month. Obviously making time to write 50,000 words every month isn't sensible, but now you know how to make time (because you did it in November), why not try to 'make' two or three hours of writing time a week in the future?

Talking of making time to write, I too am making some time to write. Yes, I know I'm full time, therefore I can write all day everyday (within reason), but when you're in this fortunate position, you spend a lot of time writing what other people (editors, publishers, other customers) want you to write and not necessarily what you want to write.

So this Saturday I'm off to the Lake District in the north of England for five weeks. I shall not be returning until the middle of December. The picture above is the view from the window of the self-catering apartment that I shall be staying in. Unlike many writers, I actually find a beautiful view inspiring, rather than distracting.

What shall I be doing? Well I have a novel of 130,000 words and basically, I need to delete 30,000 of them. So whilst there are thousands of writers in November creating words, I shall be deleting them. Perhaps I should establish NaNoDelMo - National Novel Deleting Month instead? Will the novel be of publishable quality once I've done that - who knows? Will it help me secure an agent? Who knows? The only way to find out though, is to 'make' the time to enable me to do it. (Yes, I've been busy working overtime in order to write all the articles that I needed to write during those five weeks that I shall be away.) Doing this though, has enabled me to 'make' the time.

I still intend to post to the blog whilst I'm away. I hope to have a mobile Internet connection, although I have been warned that the weather can interfere with this, and let's face it, the Lake District has a reputation for 'weather'!

I'll let you know how I get on with my writing time, whilst I'm away. Good luck to those doing NaNoWriMo, and for those who aren't why not 'make' some regular writing time for yourselves?

Good luck.

PS - Writers Bureau students may be interested to know that the latest Chapter & Verse online Ezine for enrolled students is now available. Use your login details to take a look.

The Chap - A Journal for the Modern Gentleman

I mentioned in last week's post that I'd come across a rather different men's magazine the other day. I discovered this, purely by practicing what I preach - whenever you go anywhere new, stake out the local newsagents because you'll never know what you'll find.

Seeing as last weekend I was at the Writers Bureau Tutor get together in Manchester, I spent a couple of hours browsing the city centre before catching the train home. The WHSmith's there is huge - far bigger than anything I have in my home county.

All in all, I spent about £35 on magazines, and one of them was this one - The Chap. It's strapline is The Journal for the Modern Gentleman. Hmmm, having looked through it, that seems rather tongue in cheek!

One of the main articles in this latest issue is an interview with Adrian Dannatt, who played 'William' in the 1970's TV series 'Just William' (the version that had Bonnie Langford as Violet Elizabeth Bott). I think that sets the age range of the typical 'Chap' reader.

The website hints more at what the magazine is about. It says:

"The Chap takes a wry look at the modern world through the steamed-up monocle of a more refined age, occasionally getting its sock suspenders into a twist at the unspeakable vulgarity of the twenty-first century.

Since 1999, the Chap has been championing the rights of that increasingly marginalised and discredited species of Englishman - the gentleman. The Chap believes that a society without courteous behaviour and proper headwear is a society on the brink of moral and sartorial collapse, and it seeks to reinstate such outmoded but indispensable gestures as hat doffing, giving up one's seat to a lady and regularly using a trouser press."

Whilst you probably need to be of a certain age to really appreciate this magazine, there were a couple of articles, which may have been freelance written, including:

• A Biography of Edward James - an aristocrat who turned his back on Upper Class England and built a magical Surrealist kingdom in the Mexican Jungle.
• A look back at some of the dress codes of the pupils of Eton school.
• How to buy a proper 'vintage' watch.
• John Ruskin - the dapper dresser that many people don't realise.
• La Grande Distillation - a history of the village that became the epicentre of Cognac.

Near the end is a column called 'The Lady and The Cad' - it's a problem page where a reader writes in with a problem, and gets two answers - one from The Lady and the other from The Cad. One reader wrote in to inquire as to the etiquette of whether it is acceptable to go out with a woman who is your father's goddaughter. Hmmm, tricky stuff.

So, for all you gentlemen out there, who are exasperated at the number of women's magazines on the newsagent's shelves, here's one that may interest you.

For more information, visit the magazine's website at www.thechap.net.

Good luck.

What's the collective noun for a bunch of Writers Bureau Tutors?

Every couple of years, the Writers Bureau tutors get together at Head Office to discuss any queries or problems we may have. (Problems with students? Surely not! - Actually it's more to do with administrative processes.)

And after all our hard work during the afternoon, we then meet up in the evening for a relaxing meal. And it was whilst taking this photo, that I suddenly wondered what the collective noun is for a group of Writers Bureau tutors! An assignment? Keep your thoughts clean please - especially if you happen to be one of my students intending on sending in your latest assignment soon!

And here's a note for any Writers Bureau student - have you checked out the Writers Bureau revamped website recently? There's an online forum that enrolled students can join to ask for help from other students and to pass on news and information. One recent post states that The Lady's Viewpoint column has been dropped, which is a shame because this was a good freelance slot. The editor dropped it in the middle of October. (She's new and she's making a few changes - dropping the fiction slot, being another one of the changes.) So if you're a WB student, check out http://www.writersbureau.com/

Non-students can also find useful information on the website. Take a look at the 'resources' page. This has links to the Ezee Writer newsletter, which is free, and past issues can also be found here with their informative articles.

Some of the WB tutors (myself, Lorraine Mace, Stephanie Baudet and Alison Chisholm) were involved in a little bit of future publicity for the Bureau. I'll tell you more in the future (when you can have a right laugh at us), but suffice to say it involved the phrase, "Lights, Camera, Action" and a very annoying camera/sound man, whose pet phrase was "That was great, but let's do it one more time."

Finally, on a completely different topic, is anyone interested in moving to Pembrokeshire and buying a house? If so, you need to visit the website of writer, Lynne Hackles' who is trying to sell her house.

Until my next posting (when I shall tell you about a rather different men's magazine that I came across today), good luck!

Not All Editors Have Horns

I had a wonderful surprise this morning, when the post came. No, not because there's a national postal strike today (the delivery men go on strike on Friday), but because I had a hand written letter from the editor of The Author magazine.

The Author is the journal for the Society of Authors and is published quarterly. I've been a member of this organisation for several years now and they are worth every penny of the annual subscription.

Some time ago, I proposed an article idea to the editor. There's a group of us in my local area who have had books published, and we've got together on several occasions to do 'joint' book signings. It's a bit different from traditional author book signings and we've had a bit of a laugh doing it too. So I proposed an article explaining how other authors could do the same.

The editor accepted it and it was published a couple of weeks ago in the Autumn 2009 issue. I was rather surprised to see it as the first article in the issue - but it was nice to see it there!

Then when I opened the post this morning, I was surprised but delighted to see a handwritten note from the editor, Andrew Rosenheim. He thanked me for my piece and said that it deserved its 'pole position' in the magazine because of it's "inspiring mix of utility and entertainment."

And then he ended with the best words possible - he hoped that I'll think of submitting work to The Author again!

It's so easy these days to imagine editors as half-human/half-devil, setting impossible deadlines and then cutting or rewriting our precious material. But every now and then we should remember that they are human, just like you and I. They don't set out to be
ogres or monsters to be avoided at all costs. In fact many of them began their writing lives as freelance writers.

So, don't think badly of editors. Always be polite, professional and charming to them. And one day you may be rewarded with a little magic of your own.

Good luck.

John's Success

Just a quick post to say congratulations to a previous student of mine, John Rooney, whose work has just been published in an anthology called "Inspirational Thoughts and Stories of Bloggers from all over the World."

To find out more, follow this link: http://gewgawwritings.blogspot.com/2009/10/inspirational-book-is-finally-here.html

Well done John!

Aiming High

Are you aiming high enough with your writing?

I only ask the question this week because of the successes of a couple of friends from my writers' circle this week. Both Di Perry and Julie Phillips have had articles accepted by our local county magazine, Shropshire Life. Now Shropshire Life is THE local high society glossy. It's been around since the early 20th Century and anything to do with Shropshire's high society appears in it.

Both Di and Julie had written articles with a strong Shropshire angle, so the market made perfect sense for them to target. But when they emailed me asking what to do, the tone and choice of language showed that they were nervous of approaching the magazine. The problem with creative writers is that we have creative imaginations! Whilst we're sitting in the corner of our rooms wondering whether to send something off to a specific magazine, we picture the gruff, over-bearing, chain-smoking, alcohol swilling editor at a desk over burdened by freelance submitted material screaming out, "Not ANOTHER amateur!" as they read our submission. Of course, having never met the editor or seen inside their office, we have nothing else but our imaginations to rely on.

Yet what we imagine is nowhere near reality! I've said it before and I'll say it again - every word you read has to be written by somebody, so why shouldn't it be you? If you think that your idea might fit the magazine then try. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT! Don't assume anything.

Both Di and Julie had 'problems' with their submissions. Either their original submission was lost in the post, or the pictures couldn't be emailed through in one batch, or they worried about whether the pictures were of a good enough quality. But they didn't let that stop them. (They may have gone all queasy in the stomach, chewed a few nervous lips and wrung their hands in fear of what they'd started, but they still persisted.) And within 24 hours of each other, each had an email from the editor accepting their work. (Actually Di had another article accepted on the same day by a different magazine, so she had a REALLY good day!)

When starting out in your writing career you need to be realistic. If you've never written anything before and you've never had anything published, the chances of getting your first piece published in VOGUE magazine are quite low. Both Di and Julie have had a couple of articles published elsewhere. Some have been for free, others have been paid for. But they're now at that stage when they have a little portfolio of work proving that they can write and write to a publishable standard.

So why shouldn't they aim high? I'm a firm believer in the maxim, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' If you have a magazine that you always dreamed of writing for, then have a go. No magazine says 'only writers who have had X number of pieces published can write for us,' do they?

When we are first published, it's easy to stay in the comfort zone of the market that first accepted our work. But you'll never know which other markets you are capable of writing for, unless you try! So aim high!

Good luck.

Fiction Fix

This is just a quick posting to tell those of you interested in writing fiction, that next month is NaNoWriMo - or to give it its full title - National Novel Writing Month. To find out more and to register visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/

The aim is simple - to spend 30 days, from 1st November until midnight on 30th November, writing a novel. The task is to write at least 50,000 words. You don't need to worry about perfection, you can hone that later. This effort is just designed to get the first 50,000 words done. Let's face it - it's easier to edit something than it is to start filling in a blank page, so the idea is that come December, you'll have made a huge dent into writing the first draft of your novel!

I know many people who have given it a go - and if you tell everyone that you're doing it - and they leave you alone - you'll be surprised at what you can achieve!

And finally, just before I go, another bit of fiction news. I have a story, "Chief Suspect: Mickey Mouse" in the November issue of Fiction Feast magazine, which is out now. It's taken me a while to get a story in this magazine, but I'm holding a copy in my hands and proved that I can do it. Just have to do it again now don't I?

Good luck.

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

I'm sure many of you will have come across the acronym "K.I.S.S.", which stands for 'Keep It Simple, Stupid'.

It's something we should all remember with our writing. I'm just putting the finishing touches to a very different writing job at the moment. Is it a magazine article? No. Is it a short story? No. Is it a non-fiction book? No. It's a TOOLKIT. A what? Exactly!

For the past few weeks, I've been working for God. Well, actually, it is the Diocese of Hereford who have employed my services. A friend and ex-colleague of mine is organising a conference to be held in November in Hereford. She's invited over a hundred people from churches all over the UK to the event. Her job is to encourage communities to use churches as community buildings - not just as place of worship on a Sunday morning. Historically, churches always have been used for a wider community use, so her conference is designed to explain to community groups how to go about doing this.

In most cases, this involves making some changes to the church building. It may be as simple as removing pews and installing chairs, so they can be moved out of the way to create a space for the community to use. It could be to install some audio-visual equipment. (Some of you may recall the talk I went to in June about the Television series - Victorian Farm. This talk was complemented with a slideshow of pictures, projected from a computer onto a large screen - and yes, this all took place inside a church.)

But of course, these changes require money, which often involves applying for grants. Then of course, there's the need to go through the Church of England's own planning process to 'adapt' a church building.

The 'toolkit' that I have written for the people going to this conference is a basic step-by-step guide on how to deal with this process. Now, admittedly, I spent six years working in the grant arena - both applying for grants and managing grant programmes, so I have some knowledge of this process. But the reason the Diocese approached me is because I'm good with words.

There are thousands of people out there who work in the grant industry, many of who are capable of producing an impressive document, but they wanted someone who could write this information in a clear and simple way.

Applying for a grant involves lots of terminology. There's baseline data, outcomes, outputs, match-funding, leverage, defrayed expenditure, additionality, in-kind support and so the list goes on. I can see your eyes glazing over now! But big words shouldn't prevent someone from getting involved in an opportunity. So my job was to produce a 'toolkit' that ordinary people can understand.

Now, personally, I hate the word 'toolkit'. I would much prefer to have called it a 'guide'. But my customer wanted it called a 'toolkit' so a 'toolkit' it has been called. Because of this, I've given it a D.I.Y. theme. There can't be that many Church of England documents containing the phrases Channel 4's Challenge Anneka, Nick Knowles DIY SOS, Strippers (paint), and colour charts!

It's been written using language that people will understand. I've kept it simple. As writers our aim is to communicate with other people, so if you use words that are easy to understand, then more people will understand you.

One of the books I've written is called "Fundraising for a Community Project" and it tells ordinary people how to go about applying for grant money. I wrote it because I know from experience that this world is full of jargon, and when I used to do the job, I spent most of my time explaining that jargon.

I'm chuffed with the feedback that I've received from readers of this book. In fact, the latest review on Amazon says:

"This book is brilliant. It is most readable, gives examples, where and how to approach funders."

I particularly like the phrase 'it is most readable'. Wow. A book on the stuffy subject of applying for grants is 'most readable'. I feel good when I see phrases like that. It means I did a good job as a writer in keeping it simple.

So keep your writing as clear and simple as you can and your readers will be pleased. And editors love writers who please readers.

Good luck.

Super Thursday

In the book publishing world, today is known as 'Super Thursday'. Some 800 new books are being published today, all with the aim of being the Christmas Number 1. Well that means there are going to be 799 disappointed authors later on in the year then!

It's also a Super Thursday for other reasons though. One of my students, Helen Baggott, has a letter published in the November issue of Writers' Forum magazine, (out today), so she wins herself a Moleskine notebook. (Savour the moment as you unwrap it from its cellophane Helen.)

Her letter provides a tip to other writers about developing writing opportunities. I won't pass the tip on - go and buy a copy of the magazine - but it also demonstrates that the letters page of a magazine is a useful place way of passing on hints and tips. Editors like the letters page to have 'club-like' feel to it where friends can meet and share news, comment and gossip, so hints fall into this category nicely. So if you have a tip you share with friends, why not share it with the readers of a magazine too?

I happen to have the Star Letter in the November issue of MacWorld magazine (a magazine for Apple computers). My prize is a desktop publishing layout programme - a professional tool, with a professional price. There's no way I could have afforded the price - not at over £900!

And if you happen to buy the November issue of Writers' Forum, then look out for Cass and Janie Jackson's regular column on page 45. I'd like to thank them here for the nice words they said about me!

The November issue of Writers' News magazine is just out, and inside are details of the latest achievements of Penny Legg, a friend who was one of my students. I've blogged before about her book successes, but this raises another point to remember if you can... tell the world about your successes! Being writers shut up in our garrets, we don't often get a chance to blow our own trumpets. So if you've had a success then tell someone. You deserve it! It proves that you are a writer! And people will learn to respect you more as a writer too.

To shout about your successes in Writers' News magazine you need to be a subscriber (well worth the subscription - you get Writing Magazine included in the subscription cost). But even if you're not a subscriber you could still write a letter to a writing magazine (and get another success out of it, if that's published!)

A quick glance though the magazines also shows that Fiona from my writers' circle has got a letter in Writer's News and (update to this post) another member, Julie has a letter in Writing Magazine this month too.

(Update number 2 - and I was just about to close Writing Magazine up when I spotted a letter from another of my ex-students, Rob Innis. Well done everybody!)

So I think you'll agree - Super Thursday doesn't have to just be about books!

Good Luck.

Back to Reality ...

Well, I'm back after my little (working) jaunt to Llangoed Hall. All that remains now is to write the article.

If ever you get an opportunity to go and review a place, then go. Having experienced this, I can now say for certain, that I know where I am meant to be in life! Within minutes of arriving in my car (I had to leave the helicopter behind) a member of staff was there to carry my bags and check me in. I met the Activities Manager and we had a most pleasant afternoon tea, whilst we chatted about what was going to happen during my stay. I had a few minutes to settle into my room, before being led on an idyllic walk along the banks of the River Wye. In fact the weather was so good, we were out walking for over two and half hours! When I returned, it felt fitting to test out the bathroom facilities.

Owned by the Laura Ashley family, each room is individually decorated and very comfortable. My room had a very comfortable double bed, with armchairs, LCD television, Victorian double wardrobes along with writing desk and hotel paper and envelopes.

The bathroom had a triple aspect, which meant that I had a choice of three views whilst soaking in the bath, and the view overlooking the Black Mountains was probably the best.

Of course, I had to get dressed once again for dinner, which was a most unusual experience, if only from the fact that I was the only one at dinner that evening. There were a handful of guests in the hotel that night, who decided on eating in their rooms. This did of course mean that I had all the attention from the waiting staff.

I began with a selection of canapes and found I enjoyed the Crayfish, Quail's Egg and Caviar the most. This was followed by my starter of Salmon. Once I had - delicately - devoured this, the waiter brought me a Mandarin Sorbet before my main course, which was a Duo of Welsh Lamb. This was very tasty!

Whilst allowing myself to digest the evening's first three courses, the waiter told me about some of the guests that he'd had the pleasure of serving here. Being only a few miles down the road from Hay on Wye, many of the literature festival's speakers have stayed here, including Salman Rushdie, Sting and his wife, and Cerys Matthews. For dessert, I finished with a Lemon Tart, before retreating to the lounge with some tea and after dinner chocolates, whilst the pianist played a little light music in the background.
Yesterday was the main event - a walk up Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in south Wales at 2,907 feet. Unfortunately it's high altitude meant that we (a selection of walkers from the local walking club, a press photographer, the hotel manager, activities manager and the Head Ranger from the Brecon Beacons National Park) spent all day in thick cloud. Thick cloud gets very wet, particularly when you're walking in it for over three and a half hours, and I must say it's been a long time since I've been soaked through to the skin like I was, on a walk. Still, it didn't matter did it - not when I had that bathroom to look forward to! One of the best things about getting drenched on a walk is the long, hot, steaming, bubble bath you have when you get back! Whilst we didn't see the views from the top of Pen y Fan, it was actually, a really enjoyable day's walk.

Afternoon tea was served upon our return - well we'd climbed nearly 3,000 feet and walked over 7 miles - we deserved it. Hot scones, hot Welsh tea cakes, homemade biscuits and cakes were the order of the day.

For those of you who are now salivating, last night's meal comprised:

• another selection of canapes,
• Seared King Scallops on a bed of Cauliflower sauce,
• Melon sorbet,
• Welsh Black Beef with Bubble and Squeak
• Chocolate fondant and vanilla ice cream
• Tea and after dinner mints

I have now returned home to write up the article. The trouble is, the bowl of Shreddies I had this morning, just don't seem to inspire me the same way as the Full Welsh breakfast did (or yesterday's scrambled egg inside a salmon parcel).

But it's helped me to set a few more goals for myself. When I get asked to attend the Hay on Wye Literary festival as a guest speaker - I now know where I want the organisers to find a bed for the night for me!

In all seriousness though, from a writing point of view it's been quite a challenge. I have pages and pages and pages of notes taken during the event to draw upon, and unfortunately the bad weather climbing Pen y Fan meant I couldn't get any photos, which is a serious drawback. If I'm writing about a walking activity break, pictures of walkers climbing a mountain underneath blue skies and sunshine would have been brilliant, and under a grey sky would still have been acceptable. No pictures though is a problem.

But life is worth these little extra challenges, if it throws a few of these associated experiences with it. So if ever you get an opportunity to be part of a press pack, then give it a go. It may feel very daunting at times, but it'll be an amazing experience.

Now if you'll excuse, there's something I have to do. I'd like a cup of tea and I keep clicking my fingers, but no one seems to come running. I suppose I'll have to do it myself. Ooh it makes me shudder at the mere thought - having to turn a tap on oneself. I really must get some staff in.

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

Just a quick post to say that the latest issue of the electronic newsletter, Ezee Writer is available, and it contains my article entitled, 'Boxes, Boxes, Boxes'. Don't panic - it has nothing to do with moving house - it lifts the lid on boxouts, side panels and further information boxes, which are becoming more important in today's magazine world.

To read the article click here.

The Dangerous World of Writing

It came to my attention yesterday that Rob Innis found himself in a difficult situation when he discovered that another website had published an article of his without his permission. His article had been expanded upon, but essentially, it was his work that had been used without his permission. He had already sold this article to a magazine, so Rob first made enquiries with the magazine to check that they hadn't authorised the use of the material. they hadn't.

The problem with the Internet is that theft (because that's what it is) is all to easy. People simply believe that what is on the Internet is free for anyone to use - it is not. But they simply 'cut and paste' and help themselves.

Sadly, Rob's experience is quite common. It hasn't happened to me ... yet ... or at least I'm not aware that it has, but I am aware that it has happened to others.

When Rob approached the website in question and pointed out that it was his text that had been used without his authority, the website removed the content and apologised. As I said earlier, many Internet users simply don't appreciate that text on the Internet cannot be taken and used freely as they may think, and when this is pointed out to them, in the vast majority of cases the text is removed.

If you find that this happens to you, consider taking the following steps:

1. Contact the website (there should be a 'contact us' link on the website somewhere) and point out that you think your text has been used. Be prepared to quote a date when your text first appeared. Rob's article first appeared in a print magazine, and obviously this could be verified from the issue date of the magazine. Because his article appeared in print first before the text appeared on the website, then Rob had to have been the originator and creator of the text.)

2. Explain that the text has been used without authority. Offer the website the opportunity to correct this. You may be happy to sell them the Electronic Rights so that they can use your material online. If you haven't already sold the Electronic Rights then they are still yours to sell. Name your price.

3. If they are not able to pay you for the rights, then simply ask them to remove the text from their website with immediate effect. If they're not prepared to buy the Electronic Rights, then you have the right to offer them elsewhere. they will not be bought though, if the text appears online already. If the site decides to buy the rights, ask them to attribute the text to you - ask for a byline - for the word "By [Your Name]" to appear by the text.

4. Visit the website to check that the action they've decided upon has been carried out.

What can you do to prevent this from happening? Sadly, not a lot. It merely isn't practical to view every single one of the billions of pages found on a website (a figure which grows every day).

You can use Google Alerts to help you a bit. This free facility allows you to type in a phrase, which Google then stores. Every time it comes across a web page using that phrase it will send you an email with the link to that page. Many writers use this facility to search for their name and the titles of their books because it points out websites that may be using the text from their books. Of course, the less common your name the better. Set up a Google Alert for John Smith and you'll be inundated with tens of thousands of unsuitable page links.

Stay vigilant, and remember, you wouldn't want someone stealing your text, so don't fall into the trap of stealing text from someone else. If you want to quote then tell readers who the source of the quote is. If you want to quote a lot then ask permission. Unfortunately the law in the UK says that people can quote a reasonable amount of text, but there is no definition of 'reasonable'. A 40 word quote may be fine from a 100,000 word novel but is it fine from a 50 word poem? If in doubt, ask for permission. It is the safest way.

Good luck.

Rob's Anthology Success

Rob Innis tackled his course work from his new adopted home in Spain, and he's overjoyed to see one of his short stories has just been published in a new anthology called "Courting the Bull: An Anthology of Expatriate Literature in Spain."

Published by Innoword (ISBN: 978-0-9840928-0-2) it is a collection of short stories, essays and verse aiming to seize the resulting momentum of the expatriate's experience. Here, the writers and artists who have succumbed to the allure of Spain illustrate why there is no place in the world they would rather call home.

Another reason why Rob is so chuffed with this (I suspect) is because the course he studied dealt with just non-fiction! He didn't study fiction. But that's what I like about the world of writing. You may be interested in one specific genre, but suddenly a competition or a writing opportunity will pass before your eyes and for some reason, it just sparks an idea. So you give it a go.

My specialism is non-fiction, but I occasionally dabble with fiction. Regular readers will know that a few weeks ago one of my short stories was placed in the top five of a competition. And at the end of August, an editor contacted me to say that she was going to use one of my short stories in Fiction Feast magazine.

I'm currently drawing to the end of writing a correspondence course, and when I've finished that I shall start working on a project I've been commissioned to do for the Hereford Diocese. So as I say, sometimes an interesting writing opportunity will put itself before your eyes. And when it does, banish that first initial thought that says, "Nah, I don't do XXX." Stop and think for a moment. Consider saying to yourself, "Yeah, why don't I give it a go?" Because you never know where it could lead!

Well done Rob!

Best of British guidelines

Best of British is an excellent market for freelance writers, so i thought I'd take the opportunity to pass on their guidelines for writers and photographers.

Best of British is the country's leading nostalgia and heritage monthly magazine. The publication offers an enjoyable journey down memory lane for a readership that tends to be over 50. (So there will be some readers who are younger, but the majority of readers will be older.)

The 1930s, 19401s, 1950s and 1960s are the most popular periods of interest to the readership. Articles about British people, places, industries, crafts and pastimes of today also fit into the editorial mix.

The magazine welcomes original and previously unpublished articles and pictures for consideration. Articles should be the writer's original work. Although they make every effort to check, copyright issues regarding plagiarised work remains with the writer! (You have been warned!)

Article Submission
The magazine prefers articles to be submitted by post as a paper copy. If possible, include a copy of the article on a CD Rom in Microsoft Word format. The magazine is unable to open Microsoft WORKS format (the filename ends in .wps) Emailed articles are accepted by prior arrangement only. (Usually if you become a regular contributor).

No article should be longer than 1500 words, but preferably 1,000. (So there's no excuse for getting that bit wrong now!)

When submitting your work, include your full name, address, and email address if you have one.

Always enclose a SAE for the return of your work. Submissions without a SAE will be destroyed after 18 months if your work has not been used within that time.

Images
Images should be saved as separate files on a CD Rom, not placed within your text. Articles that are accompanied by pictures stand a greater chance of publication. (How many times have I told you that?) The magazine accepts original photos, prints, digital images (in jpeg format) and colour transparencies. Photographs that capture the period setting of the time (people, street scenes, old shops, etc) are particularly welcome (because they are so difficult for the editor to find.) The magazine cannot use photocopied pictures, however, they can be submitted as an indication of what pictures are available.

You must state if you do not own the copyright in the pictures.

You should ensure that each item in your envelope is clearly labelled with your name and address. Although every care is taken, the magazine cannot be held responsible for items that are not clearly labelled, nor can they accept responsibility for the loss or damage to manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.

Decisions & turnaround
The magazine aims to to respond to submissions as soon as possible, although with 200 submissions a month, this can take time. Acceptance of an article does not guarantee publication. Articles are not used in strict date order, but may be held for some time before it is used. If an article will be used a letter of confirmation will be sent to the writer. Payment will then be made at their normal rates, the month AFTER publication.

As I always say, the best advice is always to look at a couple of copies of the magazine first, to ensure that your idea fits the style and readership of the magazine.

Let me know how you get on with this market!

Good luck!

PS - Severn Trent have just advised me that they won't be cutting the water off today, or tomorrow as planned. Instead, they're going to do it next Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Another whole week of pneumatic drills, JCB trucks and generators all orchestrating their own noisy symphony for 10 hours a day.

Filler Update

You may recall from my "Are Men Daft" posting last week, how one of my students, Dave Cullen, has had tremendous success targeting the letters and filler pages of magazines and newspapers.

Well, he's just email again to say that he's now expecting another £100 for a photo that will be published and two more £15 cheques for jokes sent to That's Life magazine.

So there you have it - proof that these small amounts really can produce a nice regular income!

Well done Dave ... again!

Water Works ... And I'm Trying To

I happen to live in the county where Muller have their factory - the company who make all those yoghurts, and used to run the adverts with the 'Pleasure/Pain' theme. (Whilst someone was enjoying the pleasure of a Muller yoghurt, someone, somewhere else in the world was experiencing pain.) The theory is that in a balanced world, pain will always be counterbalanced with pleasure.

So I thought I'd just let everyone know that following my last posting - about the pleasure of being a freelance writer - here's the pain.

Severn Trent have finally succumbed to local demands to replace the water main at the bottom of the hill. It regularly bursts every few months leaving us without water for most of the day. Still, following a petition and lots of letters (people power does work by the way), Severn Trent agreed that they would replace the faulty water main at the bottom of the road. Hooray!

They are, of course, having the last laugh. They have also decided to replace all the water pipes ABOVE this main water main too. This includes the pipe that runs up my road as well.

So, here I am, sitting at my desk, trying to write a module on the Finance course I am working on at the moment about Break-Even Analysis (don't ask) and Severn Trent are currently using several diggers, pneumatic drills and other noise inducing equipment to dig up all the roads around here. It's compounded by the fact that it is actually sunny here at the moment too - something we've not seen much here in the western half of the UK since June, so I just have to have my window open.

It will be a painful week. Especially as we've been told that we'll be without water on Thursday and Friday. (It's okay, I had my bath three months ago, so I'm not due for another in the immediate future.)

Of course, the irony is not lost on any of us who live up my road. Have you seen the weather forecast for Thursday and Friday?

However, I have a deadline, so I will work. The writer who strives for the perfect ambiance in which to write will spend all their time getting the ambiance right, rather than writing. Severn Trent will make this week painful, but they won't stop me from writing. (Unless they go through the power cable, which they have been known to do once or twice before).

So if you find writing painful, push past the pain barrier. Because the pleasure comes when it is finished and published.

Wish me luck.

Hmmm - 9 to 5 or freelance writing? You decide.

Do you know what I enjoy about this freelance writing lark? The fact that you never know what opportunities may suddenly 'pop' into your inbox when you least expect it.

Take last night as an example. I was just about to switch off my computer when the editor of Country & Border Life (who I do the monthly walking features for) emailed.

The luxury hotel, Llangoed Hall, nestling on the banks of the River Wye in Wales is establishing a series of activity breaks, one of which is walking. The magazine has been offered a free place on one of these walking breaks, so the editor was asking if I'd be interested in going. Hmmm, now let me think about this....

Let's look at the facts:

1 - Each room is individually decorated with antique furniture, fabrics from Elanbach, Sir Bernard's textile printing company based in the grounds, and work by artists such as Whistler, Sickert and Augustus John.

2 - Guest designers such as Tom Parr, have also added their own individual style to the bedrooms. Similarly, seventeenth century antique mirrors, Roberts radios and cast iron baths are just some of the features that make each room both welcoming and luxurious.

3 - Winner of no less than three rosettes, Head Chef, Sean Ballington, is a firm believer in fresh, local produce. From Welsh lamb and local Salmon to Black Beef, his signature dishes are often described as classic with a twist.

4 - Most guests tend to relax at Llangoed Hall. Reading the papers by the fire, playing snooker in the library or, weather permitting, enjoying a glass of wine on the terrace.

However, for those who want to explore more than our wine list, we can offer everything from fishing, rock climbing and clay pigeon shooting to 4x4 driving, orienteering and white water rafting. Team building events can easily be arranged with qualified experts. All we ask is that you make any requests in advance.

Of course, my biggest challenge will be the best way to arrive at the venue.

Based in the heart of Wales and resting on the site of the former Welsh Parliament, Llangoed Hall commands spectacular, uninterrupted views of the Black Mountains.
Surrounded by meadowland and woods, it is an idyll of peace and quiet, with only your fellow guests and the local sheep for company. Just one hour from Newport by car or 45 minutes from London by helicopter, any form of transport can be arranged on request, from taxis and limousines to helicopter or private jet.

Picture the scene .... guests arriving from London in their private jets and helicopters and then there'll be me turning up in my little Vauxhall Astra!

I just hope the weather works out because there's over 10 miles of walking to do across the Brecon Beacons whilst I'm there (hence the need for a full Welsh Breakfast every morning!)

So, which you think sounds better? Working from 9 till 5 for a local council, or this freelance writing lark?

Are Men Daft?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - sending out letters and fillers on a regular basis can be financially rewarding.

I was recently contacted by one of my students, Dave Cullen, who has been very busy and is benefiting from his success. And much of this success has been with the shorter letters and fillers, in addition to some articles too.

Take "That's Life" magazine. Near the back they have a section called 'Rude Joke of the Week' - where they use three of four of these. Now it's not a lot of money, but they do pay £15 if they publish a joke that you've sent in. Dave has had 28 jokes published so far, and for those of you who can't do the maths, 28 x £15 = £420! Now when I used to work in an office, rude jokes were always doing the rounds on the email system. Next time your get one in your inbox, instead of forwarding it round to your office colleagues, why not forward it to That's Life?

His letters have earned him almost £100 and sending funny pictures to the right slots in the magazines has also netted him £150. Add this lot together and you can see, we're talking serious money now.

Being a writer, doesn't necessarily involve sitting down and writing the great novel - merely sitting down and doing some writing. If you only have 10 minutes to spare, writing a letter or a short filler is more than feasible and the rewards are proportionately bigger than for much larger projects.

So if you find yourself with a spare ten minutes, which isn't long enough to start the next short story, or article, don't give up on your writing - produce a letter or joke instead. It's still publication!

As for the title of this posting ... well, That's Life also has a section called "Aren't Men Daft?" where women write in about stupid things their husbands or boyfriends have done. Dave happened to admit to me that he's sent in a few examples of silly things he's done. He's had to do it from his wife's email address, but they've used three of his submissions so far - and they pay between £25 and £50 depending upon where on the page they use the piece. So is Dave daft to do this? I wouldn't call 'being published' daft at all. In fact it's the people who waste that spare ten minutes they have, instead of writing, who I think are daft.

Nice one Dave!

Confession Time!

We saw how last year, many of my students had successes with The Observer's "My Crap Holiday" column in its Travel section ... well here's this year's gauntlet then .... The Sunday Times's "Confessions of a Tourist."

Now I haven't cracked this one yet, but I'm going to, and I wondered if some of you might like to have a go too. Are you brave enough?

The "Confessions of a Tourist" slot appears in the Sunday Times Travel supplement at the weekend, although copies can be found online. They range from between 500 and 650 words in length and are, as the name says on the tin, a confession of a time when you were a tourist. It's a sexual confession though.

If you read through some of the examples online, you'll see that the format tends to fall into three camps:

• the tourist looking for 'an experience' and failing miserably,
• the tourist not looking for 'an experience' and getting the partner of their dreams,
• or the tourist enjoying the 'experience' and then being embarrassed/caught out.

So, lots to get your teeth into there ... I mean that metaphorically, of course!

Here's some links to some existing confessions to get you in the mood!

Midsummer Massage

Michelle got my Motor Running

Only As Old As The Holiday Fling We Touch

He Lived With His Mum, But He Made My Day

My personal Adonis

Shake, Rattle and Roll Over

If that's stirred you into life, then try emailing your submissions to travel@sunday-times.co.uk and mark them for the attention of Stephen Boyd.

This is one piece of writing where you may want to use a pseudonym!

Good luck - and do share your success with us :-)

Quick, Whilst Simon's Not Looking

Tuesday 11th August was 'Blog Takeover Day' as suggested by Sally Quilford. Well, Simon's been so busy bashing away on his computer working on his current big project that I've not had chance to kick him off it. But he's decided he needs some fresh air and gone for a walk, so whilst he's out, I've finally been able to take my chance. I may be two days late, but the opportunity to take over Simon's blog is just too good to miss.

Who am I? I'm known as S.C.S - no, not the furniture store, but "Simon's Caerleon Stalker". I first met him three years ago, but really began following him closely two years ago, much to the amusement of many.

Yet it's not until you stalk someone that you really find their true character. I mean, he always says that he's more of a non-fiction writer, but then, yesterday he got an email from the Vanda Inman Write Space website saying that his short story entry for their 'Families' competition made the top five out of 142 entries! He's been told that his entry should fit one of the fiction slots in the women's magazines, so he's already sent it off. That's why he's gone for a walk - he's posting his submission.

And he's had some feedback from a critiquing service about the novel he's written. Apparently it needs some editing, but then he already knew that. What he wanted to know was whether it was worth him spending the time doing so. Whilst the novel he's written isn't in a genre that booksellers are falling over themselves to publish at the moment, he's been told that it's a good story, with great dialogue and a good pace. He can write a novel it seems.

So what is the genre? Well it's good old fashioned humour, a great British Farce if you like. Having worked in local government, you can understand where he gets his ideas from. Simon enjoys a laugh, although I have noticed the smile falls from his face when I walk into the room.

Does the fact that the publishers are not buying farce-like novels at the moment worry Simon? Of course not. He's always up for a challenge. In fact I overheard him the other day telling someone that "if it's not a challenge in life, then it isn't worth achieving is it?"

So have your specialist subject areas, but don't forget to experiment with your writing too. We all have to take risks in our lives - heck, if Simon finds me tapping away on his computer my life won't be worth living - but we take these risks because the rewards are bigger, aren't they? Risks help us to follow our dreams. As for my dreams, well, I don't want to make you blush but what I've always fancied doing to Simon is .... uh oh... better dash. I can hear Simon walking back up the drive! I'm off out through the window now.

Don't tell him I wrote this will you? But remember what I said. Follow your dream. In fact, why don't you stalk it? Someone who stalks isn't always a psychopath, although my court case comes up next week!

Love and Kisses to you all (especially Simon)

S.C.S

New Markets Keep You Writing

Firstly, thanks to Susan Haniford for emailing me a copy of this picture taken on her camera at Caerleon. (and thanks to Les for taking it in the first place!) Moving from left to right, we have Jane, Lynne, some prat in the middle (that'll be me then), Chris and Susan.

One of the messages that came through loud and clear this year at Caerleon for me, is that writers should be constantly looking for new markets. Literary Agent Theresa Chris, (also known as The Fearsome One by Jane Wenham-Jones) gave a talk on the opening night about publishing today and she confirmed that during this recession, publishers are cutting back. Many midlist authors - those who regularly produce a book a year and make a small profit for the publisher, but aren't a risk to Dan Brown on the bestseller lists - have found themselves being dropped by their publishers. As an agent, Theresa dreaded having to ring these authors up and give them the bad news.

Yet she actually found the exercise quite revealing. Many who had been dropped simply turned around and said, "Oh well, never mind ... well I have been working on something completely different so perhaps I may interest a different publisher in that project."

The point Theresa wanted to make was that REAL WRITERS WRITE! If you are a writer, you will be writing SOMETHING. What struck me though was that many of these writers were already looking at writing for a different market anyway. They were experimenting and trying to broaden their markets. The more markets you try to write for, the less of a problem it is if one suddenly dries up.

For the first part of the week, I went along to Lynne Hackles excellent workshops called Writing for Money.

During those workshops she showed us how we can turn any of life's events into prose to sell to magazines. (She even told us how she sold spells to one magazine!). She made a valid point that writers should always buy one new magazine every week to analyse and then ask the question - what can I write for this? It could be an article, a short story, a reader's letter, a tip or even a funny photo. Just turn the pages and ask, "What can I write for this page?"

Over time, you begin to remember which magazines have which slots and so the job of slotting an idea to a particular magazine becomes easier. In the few days that I've been home from Caerleon, I've submitted a short piece and picture to one magazine, a joke to another and a reader's letter to a third - and that's on top of my existing workload of the correspondence course that I'm writing. (4,334 words on that today - phew!)

So go and expand your markets. Make a point of going out a buying a new magazine that you wouldn't normally buy and then analyse it. Ask yourself, "what can I write for this page?" And then write it!

Good luck.

After Caerleon ...

... comes the explanation.

So, my last posting was a picture of a woman, with the question "Do You Know This Woman and Why Is She Looking At My Blog?"

Well, the woman in question is Anita Loughrey and she was running an After Tea session at Caerleon this year about how to use Facebook, My Space and how to blog. This took place in the Book Room, because it has a large screen which drops down from the ceiling, onto which a computer screen image is projected. Imagine something about 12 feet wide by about 9 foot tall and you get the picture!

Now Anita made the mistake of happening to mention to me that she might visit my blog during her demonstration to show her audience (nearly 40 in total) what a good blog looks like. (Anita has taste, you note). So I decided that if Anita was going to use my blog, then I ought to post something suitable to be viewed on such a big screen!

When Anita clicked on the link to bring up my blog, the audience all laughed, but Anita, being the true professional that she is, merely continued. Actually, it took her ten minutes to realise what I'd done, but thankfully she saw the funny side.

Her talk was really useful in explaining some of the different things you can do with blogging and linking posts with a Facebook account. The time was also used to set up a blog for short story writer, Lynne Hackles. You can view Lynne's blog here ... well you can when Lynne actually posts something on it. (Come on Lynne!)

Katie Fforde gave an excellent talk one evening about writing romances and was very humorous, and her advice for all writers was to put a bum on a chair and to keep writing.

The literary agent, Teresa Chris, told us all about publishing in today's climate, and said that the writers who succeed are the 'real writers' - the ones who actually sit down and do some writing.

I gave a talk on how to be a positively productive writer, where I suggested that the more you write, the more chances of success you have, so get out that pen and notebook and start writing. Zoe Sharp gave an insight and humorous talk about writing crime fiction, and suggested to anyone interested in writing in this genre to read as much as they can, but also to stop that flashing cursor on the screen from blinking idly by hitting some keys on the keyboard and getting it moving.

Hmmm .... can you spot a trend here with the advice being given?

Caerleon isn't just about writing, workshopping and lectures, there is some fun to be had. The last night ends with two 40 minute performances by the Cwmbach Male Choir , after which they retire to the bar in order to re-lubricate their vocal chords. Everyone else piles into the bar and the singing continues. Click here for the YouTube video.

This year's Caerleon was rather a special one because it was the 25th. Anne and Gerry work tirelessly to produce a truly enjoyable event. We couldn't let the anniversary pass without marking it in some way, so we managed to embarrass them both suitably well during the last night's singing. You can see the presentation on YouTube by clicking here.

So, if you get the opportunity to mix with writers, make sure you get involved. You never know what you may learn.

And yes, I'll be at Caerleon in 2010 - I've been booked to run another set of workshops!

Do You Know This Woman And Why Is She Looking At My Blog?

Why is this woman looking at my blog? Well hopefully she'll explain in the 'After Tea' session at the Caerleon Writers Conference!

Apologies for those of you who aren't there and won't understand this blog - I'll explain upon my return! Promise.

Overheard Conversations

Today's post has brought publication of one of those articles 'that just happened.'

You may recall from my post in April "Allow Yourself to get Sidetracked' that I mentioned you should let mind wander unhindered from time to time, just to see where it takes you.

I used the posting to mention a couple of 'snippets' of conversation that I'd heard whilst mountain climbing in the Lake District. Well, when I returned to my holiday accommodation one day, I wrote a short 500 word article about overheard conversations on a Lakeland path. Called 'The Things They Say' it enabled me to open the article with a great sentence that one woman said as she perspired her way past me ... "I want Julia Bradbury's bottom."

This is quite a simple article, merely a collection of comments heard whilst I was on the hills during the week's break, but it demonstrates that even the simplest of ideas can work well.

How many times are we told as writers to carry a notebook with us to jot down thoughts and comments? Well most of the comments I used in the article, I'd written in my notebook. It was only when I began flicking through the notes I'd made over the previous three days that made me realise how many I'd collected in a short space of time. If I hadn't written them down, I certainly wouldn't have remembered them, nor would I have thought I had enough for an article.

Setting out one snippet per paragraph, using the quote and setting the scene, created a short collection of anecdotes, ideal for my target market. In some way you could argue that I didn't write that article, but all those people I passed on those fell-side paths did.

So next time you hear something that amuses you, jot it down. We always say that overheard conversations can generate ideas, but in this case it generated a whole article.

I want to say congratulations to Sarah Hussellmann, who proudly declared when she submitted her seventh assignment to me this week, that's she's now earned more than her course fees from article sales. There's proof that it can be done!

Sarah has succeeded because she hasn't just looked at articles for her non-fiction work, she's also written press releases and reviews too, which have helped to boost her income. Sarah has also just launched her website - which is a must - for any freelance writer these days. Not only is it somewhere where you can advertise your services, but you can also showcase your work. Editors do look at websites - particularly if you've sent them a query letter suggesting an idea. So well done Sarah, and keep up the good work.


I'm taking a short break from posting on this blog, because next week I'm at the Writer's Holiday in Caerleon. I've been asked to run five workshops on "Travel and Other Feature Articles", which will keep me out of mischief!

However, on Sunday, the organisers asked me if I could help out by filling a gap in their schedule of lectures because unfortunately another writer had to drop out. So on Monday afternoon I will be trying to inspire all the delegates with my wisdom. That will probably take five minutes, which is a shame really, because it's an hour's slot I have to fill!

This year's event, the 25th, looks set to be another great time with writers like Katie Fforde, Jane Wenham-Jones, Lynne Hackles, Stephen Wade, Lesley Horton, Lucy Mangan, Zoe Sharp, Solange Hando, Sophie King, Della Galton, Kate Walker, Jane Pollard, Paul groves, Marina Oliver and Steve Bowkett sharing their knowledge and skills.

I'll let you know how it went, when I get back!

Good luck.

Double Vision

I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago, that I'd approached a magazine in America asking if I could buy some sample copies to examine. The editor liked my professional approach and kindly offered to send me a copy, free of charge, to look at.

Well this morning, two copies arrived in the post - the July 2009 issue and the September 2009 issue. Here's an editor who knows how to help a prospective writer! Analysing a magazine is an important way for us to identify who our target reader is. However, it's always best to analyse at least two copies of a publication you're considering writing for. Why?

To increase your chances of publication, you need to identify the 'slots' in the magazine that are freelance written. Studying more than one issue enables you to do this much more effectively. Literally, lay both issues of the magazine side by side and turn each page simultaneously. Do that and you'll spot the layout pattern of the magazine. The Letters page, for example, will usually be on the same page number each issue, the expert advice column and the news round up will too.

Turning the pages simultaneously like this will highlight the pages that do differ - i.e - the freelance written article pages. Once you've identified these, then you can go to work on analysing these articles in more detail. How long are they, do they use fact files or side panels, what style do they follow? Copy this format for your own submission and you know that not only are you targeting the right pages within the magazine, but you'll also stand more of a chance of having your work accepted because you're providing the right material in the right style at the right length.

Looking through the pages like this will also throw up the names of the regular contributors. What might look like a freelance written piece in one issue, can be spotted as a 'regular' column in two or more issues. For example, if you look at one issue of Country & Border Life magazine, you will see my feature article, walk and pictures. I'm listed in the front of the magazine under 'This Month's Contributors' which identifies me as a freelance writer, not staff. Look at another issue of the magazine and you'll see that I fill this slot every month, so although I'm a freelance contributor, those particular pages are regularly filled be me, rather than any other freelance writer. So if another freelancer were to try to submit something for these pages, the chances of acceptance are quite low. (I'm not going to say impossible - the editor is God, she can do what she likes and if the 'right' article comes across her desk then she may want to run with it!)

So looking at two different issues of the same magazine helps you to identify who the regular writers are, and then which pages they DON'T write. They're the ones you should be targeting.

For writers, double vision, can be truly enlightening!

Good luck.

Can You Help Me?

If you by any chance, happen to have bought the Saturday papers today (11th July), can you look through it for this picture? Why? Because it's one of mine!

I'm sure many of you know that I like to take pictures when I'm researching articles, but I'm not finished with them when I've sold the article. I try to upload as many as I can onto the Picture Agency website www.alamy.com.

Well, by pure chance, I happened to log onto the Alamy website today and discovered that this picture has been bought by a UK National Newspaper for use today. Unfortunately, when you make a sale on Alamy, you are not told who has bought the image - it is classified as confidential information between Alamy and the customer!

So if any of you happen to see it, I'm just curious as to which newspaper it appeared in!

Thanks.

John's Just Stepped Out of his Comfort Zone

On Monday, I posted an opportunity for writers living in the Northern Ireland and East of England areas to pitch ideas to the BBC Countryfile magazine.

Well, I've just received an email from one of my past students, John.

Hi Simon,
Having read your latest blog post concerning BBC Countryfile magazine I contacted the editor with an idea for an article on Belfast's Cave Hill. I don't know why but I didn't fancy my chances of even raising an eyebrow. However, I received an email telling me that she thought my idea would be suitable for the December issue. Happy days, I thought.

As I continued reading she informed me that they are always looking for new writers from N Ireland and was pleased to hear from me. She has included a list of themes for future issues (up to December next year), and wants me to come up with ideas for each one. She also wants to see some samples of my work and is sending me a recent copy of the mag.

I'm so excited at the minute that I can barely think never mind put an idea together, so I think I'll take a few days to mull it over before putting anything on paper.
But I'm totally stunned, getting the offer to write for a magazine like this is a dream come true. I know that there's nothing definite yet but it has proved to me that I can generate some interest in my work if I try.

This neatly links into the post I made earlier about stepping outside of your comfort zone. John's email clearly shows that he'd had never have considered approaching BBC Countryfile magazine before. But he did. He stepped out of his comfort zone and took the risk. Not only may his original idea be used later on in the year, but this could become a regular market for him. By stepping outside of his comfort zone, John's created a brand new writing opportunity.

Good luck!

Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

Are you comfortable with your writing? If so, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think every writer should have their own comfort zone - an area of writing where they enjoy writing and submitting work. Psychologically, we need that comfort zone to turn to when things aren't going as well as they could be. But are you purely existing within your comfort zone?

One of my students, Jackie, recently said to me that she found it difficult looking for new markets. I'd commented that the work she was submitting for her assignments was mainly aimed at the specific reader slots - where editors ask for reader's contributions. Think back to the Observer's 'My Crap Holiday' slot that I and so many of my students had success with last year. These are great sections within a magazine to target because you know that the editor is actively seeking material for that section.

Jackie was targeting these slots and having some success, however, this meant that she was writing relatively short pieces - most of these reader slots are between 250 and 500 words. In my opinion, this had become Jackie's comfort zone.

We need to break out of our comfort zones as much as possible. Without stretching our writing muscles, we don't learn new techniques. We don't know what we are capable of. Being self-employed certainly helps you to step outside that zone. If ever I'm asked what inspires me to write, I simply hand out my credit card bill!

I'm currently writing a correspondence course. Now this is something that had never even crossed my mind when I became a full time writer over five years ago. But when someone rings you up and says, "Could you write this for us?" the self-employed section of the brain utters the word 'Yes' before the rest of the brain has a chance to catch up.

The correspondence course I am writing now is my second. Having completed the first earlier this year, when I was asked to do another one, I wasn't quite so scared saying 'Yes' this time. Which brings me to my next point.

What starts out as being outside of your comfort zone, could soon become part of your comfort zone. If you succeed in pushing your boundaries - then the comfort zone inside them becomes much bigger. This means that over time, we become more relaxed about writing in a wide variety of styles and formats.

I suggested to Jackie that she needs to get back to writing longer articles. If you find yourself in a similar situation, start analysing the magazines again for those freelance written articles. Find out where in the magazine those slots are and then come up with an idea for a feature. Have a go at drafting a piece.

If you get stuck, stop what you're doing, go back to your comfort zone and write something for a market you're happy writing for. Then come back to this piece that is stretching you, and continue. Eventually, you'll produce a piece that you can submit. And when you've done that, reward yourself by writing something else in your comfort zone.

So if you write cosy romantic stories, have a go at writing a thriller, or a twist in the tale. If you write humorous articles, try writing something more factual. Could you write something for a national newspaper, if you're used to writing for magazines?

Step out of your comfort zone from time to time and expand your markets. It won't be easy, but you will benefit from it. Do it enough times and your comfort zone will get bigger. The more markets you write for, the better your chances of success. Limit your comfort zone and your narrow the writing opportunities that are out there.

Good luck.

New Opportunities

Well it's been a while since I last posted, mainly because I was taking a short break on the Costa Del Dorset last week for a traditional family seaside holiday. But whilst I was down south, I took the opportunity to meet a friend of mine, Penny Legg, and her 'Writing Buddies' who meet at the Borders bookstore in Southampton every fortnight.

It was great to meet them all and they were all so friendly and welcoming. As the author of "Running A Writers' Circle" I'm a fan of writers' circles, and whilst 'Writing Buddies' are not a traditional writers' circle, they still carry out one of the key elements of a writers' circle - a networking opportunity with like-minded people. It's surprising how much you can learn, just from chatting to people.

Congratulations on 'Writing Buddies' plug on page 20 of the latest issue of Writer's News magazine too!

Whilst I was away there were some interesting emails that dropped into my inbox, which I thought I'd share with you.

BBC Countryfile magazine is looking for contributors for the East of England region and also the Northern Ireland area for its 'Great Days Out' section. This is a section that I have contributed to on several occasions and it's a prestigious magazine to be in. Great days out can be walks, cycle rides or even long car drives. To see the sort of thing they are looking for visit the following pages of their website.

If it looks like the sort of thing you can help them out with then contact the outdoors editor, Jo Tinsley at outdoors@bbccountryfile.com.

The latest issue of Writers News also mentions an American based History magazine group called History Net. Ironically, I'd come across these before I went away and tried to purchase some back copies from their website. However, their website only allows purchases to be made from a USA or Canadian postal address. Not to be out smarted I sent an email to the editor, clearly stating that I was a UK based writer interested in contributing to the magazine, but was having difficulty in obtaining some back copies to look at to analyse for style and content purposes. Here's what the editor said in her email that was waiting for me upon my return:

Hello Simon,

Thank you for your inquiry. Smart man to do your homework.

Yes, British Heritage does accept freelance material, but we are a very difficult market. I receive more good ideas and material in a fortnight than we could publish in a year. Still, every editor is always looking for the next great story and writer.

If you’d like to send along a mailing address, I would be happy to post you copies of our recent issues.

Best regards,

Result! See, proof that if you don't ask you don't get. And whilst she's pointed out that she gets deluged with ideas, my approach to her like this had demonstrated that I am professional in my work. Perhaps she'll remember me when I pitch some ideas to her then!

Remember, there are no short cuts to market analysis in this game, but any work you do put in will be rewarded.

Good luck!

Three Books for Penny in 10 months!

I just wanted to say congratulations to one of my students, Penny Legg, who is rather overjoyed at the moment. She now has commissions to write 3 books, all of which will be published within the space of 10 months.

Her first commission was for 'Folklore of Hampshire' which will be published by Tempus Publishing in July 2010. She's now signed contracts for two more books, 'Haunted Southampton' which will be published in February 2011, and 'Winchester: History You Can See' which will be published in May 2011.

Suffice to say that she's a little ecstatic, although, clearly she now has a lot of work on her hands!

This also demonstrates how far in advance the publishing industry works, particularly for books. There's just under two years between now and when Penny's Winchester book is published, but in order to get that contract she's had to supply a proposal with an outline. She's already had to think of that detail, even though she may not start writing the book for another 12 months.

But this is where writing non-fiction books differs from writing novels. It's possible to sell the idea for a non-fiction book based upon a proposal and sometimes a sample chapter. For a novel, you need to have written the whole book first.

Psychologically, writing non-fiction can be easier, because if you've signed a contract then you know that the book should be published. Whereas with a novel, you can only start trying to sell it once you've finished it. Not knowing whether the idea works until you've written 100,000 words is a big risk to take.

So, good luck with the writing Penny, you're certainly going to be busy for the next year or so.

And I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at the Writing Buddies meeting at the Borders Store in Southampton on 3rd July. See you then!

Motivation Begins The Minute You Wake Up!

Last Saturday at my writers' circle meeting, we had a guest speaker, Liam O'Connell. Now Liam and I share a similar wavelength - we both like positivity. In fact, as I sat listening to him during his workshop, I spent most of my time doing a nodding dog impression!

Liam's attitude though, was one of 'can do'. Instead of saying 'I can't do that'. He told us to say 'I CAN do it' and 'I believe I CAN do it.'

Much of this is down to being focused on what it is that you want to achieve, and this is a core skill with writing. Being focused and determined to get a piece published will result in publication eventually.

Liam played a video of several students all running around one another, passing basketballs between them. He asked us to focus on the basketballs and count the number of passes made that didn't involve bouncing the ball on the floor. This played for about two minutes and required immense concentration - well it did for me anyway! At the end of it, some of the group said they'd seen 15 passes, other guesses ranged up to 23. I'd counted 19. The correct answer was 22. Then Liam asked, "Hands up those of you who saw the Gorilla?"

What? What flipping Gorilla?

About half the group stuck their hands up. (not me, I completely missed it!)

Liam then played the whole sequence again and this time he told us to look for the Gorilla. And there it was, bold as brass, someone dressed up in a Gorilla costume walking onto the set turning to face the camera, waving both arms about frantically before walking off the stage again!

I found that exercise really enlightening, because for me, it was a clear demonstration as to how focused I could be. When I looked around the room at the members of the group who like me had not seen the Gorilla, it was interesting to note that many of them were the members that I would classify as the more 'successful' members of the group too, with their writing.

He then discussed about having a positive attitude. He explained how we all have control over our actions. Yes, we can't control what life throws at us, but we can control how we deal with. Liam told us of a time when he'd filled up his car with diesel instead of petrol. When he realised what he'd done he flew into a rage, cursing and swearing at the hassle this was now going to cause him. His wife, then reminded him that he'd woken up and decided to have a positive day that day. And that's when he realised that all this anger wasn't solving his problem. Thinking positively, he realised that once he'd called his roadside recovery company, he would then be provided with a courtesy car. Within the hour, he and his wife were on their way again, and enjoyed the rest of the day. He made that decision not to let this event ruin the whole day.

Likewise, we can't stop an editor from rejecting our work, but we have a choice what we do when we discover the news. We can either:

• Moan and wail, and throw our arms about in pure misery that our talent and creative genius has not been recognised, or
• review our work, rewrite if necessary and submit our talented creative muse to another editor, creating a new opportunity in which to get published.

Every morning, when we wake up, we have the opportunity to decide whether we're going to have a good day, or a bad day. So when I woke up yesterday, I said to myself, "Today I'm going to have a good day." And do you know what? At 11.45am the deputy editor of Country Walking magazine rang me up and asked me if I could provide an urgent piece of text for him. How positive was that?

So remember, when you wake up tomorrow, make a decision as to what sort of day you're going to have and stick to it. You don't know what might happen!

Liam O'Connell is an excellent guest speaker and I can thoroughly recommend him. For more information, visit his website at www.liamoconnell.co.uk, and you can buy his book direct from Amazon.

Good luck.

Victorian Farm

Living in South Shropshire, means that I am only three miles away from the Acton Scott Museum where the BBC 2 television series "Victorian Farm' was filmed. The series was broadcast in January and February this year and consistently attracted viewing audiences of over 5.2 million, which is very high for the BBC2 channel. In fact, in the last 5 years only 2 programmes have attracted higher viewing figures on BBC2.

This afternoon, two of the show's stars had been invited by our local bookshop to come along and do a talk in the church hall. Both Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn chatted about the making of the television series, and showed us a collection of photos and pictures of behind the scenes events. One common comment was the fact that mother nature and farming, didn't always want to 'play ball' when the film crew was around, particularly the animals!

And we also learnt that if you have a male Shire Horse who won't pull a load, then put a female Shire Horse in a field ahead of him and he'll soon move!

Fans of the show may be interested to know that they are filming 3 one hour shows to be broadcast later in the year, possibly around Christmas time.

Talks are underway about another series, possibly an Edwardian Farm this time, although the talks are at a very early stage.

Both Alex and Peter were quite tired because having listened to the Met Office's weather forecast at the beginning of last week, they decided that this week would be a good week to harvest the hay. For this you need long periods of sunshine to allow it to dry after cutting. Thursday was the chosen day which stayed dry for cutting. Since then, here in Shropshire we've had rain on Friday, Saturday and today, so their hay isn't drying out particularly quickly! They've also lost confidence in the Met Office forecasts too!

What struck me though, was the infinite knowledge these two people had. They merely had to change the photo on their Powerpoint Presentation and immediately they launched into the tricks of the trade, the mishaps and their successes of their time spent on the farm.

Which brings me onto a 'writing' point. Have a specialism. Or two. Or three! If you know about a subject, then writing about it will be easy. If the mere sight of a picture can trigger a series of thoughts and comments then you will probably find that you can write quite easily about that topic. (You should see the size of the accompanying book that Alex, Peter and their co-presenter Ruth have written!)

Too often, writers don't know what to write about and they feel that the regularly trotted out phrase "Write about what you know" doesn't help. But if you have a specialism, writing about that subject is easy. So don't have one interest - writing - have lots of interests. Then you can use the writing to write about your other interests. This is why you should get out an experience life. It gives you something to write about. Alex, Peter and Ruth stayed on the Victorian Farm for a whole year - hence the size of the book! But it will give them lots to write about for the rest of their life.

So next time you get the opportunity, go to an author talk and just watch how they enthuse about their subject. It's proof that they are 'mini-experts' and have a lot of knowledge to share. And what is writing, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, if it isn't the author sharing knowledge of some kind with their reader?

Good luck!

Perfect pitches

This is just a quick plug for this month's Ezee Writer newsletter, which has just been published.

This month's article has been written by yours truly. It's called 'Perfect Pitches' and explains how to go about 'pitching' an article idea to an editor first, before you actually go through all that hard work and effort that is involved with actually writing the flipping article in the first place!

Our work gets rejected for many reasons, some of which may be down to bad luck - the editor has just accepted a piece on a similar idea, for example. A query letter helps to identify this situation and stops you working flat out writing an article which stands no chance of being accepted through no fault of your own.

In this piece, I've included an example of one of my pitch letters. It's a real letter and it worked - it got me two commissions. It's so much more exciting writing an article that you know the editor is actually looking forward to seeing.

So to save yourself some heartache and time, click on this link to read the article in full, if you haven't had it already as an Ezee Writer subscriber.

Ezee Writer is a free email newsletter. To sign up, simply follow this link.

Good Luck!

Independent Booksellers Week

Here in the UK it's Independent Bookseller week, this week, so if you have an independent bookshop in your local town, then pop in and see what's going on.

As you can see from the picture, I've done my bit in my local bookshop already this week, signing books today. (Just mine - I hasten to add!)

But up and down the country, authors are supporting their local bookshops by selling books, standing behind the tills, taking customer orders or just offering tea and coffee.

Independent bookshops can find it difficult to compete on price against the major bookselling chains and websites like Amazon, however, they are able to offer a more individual service, with many regularly running author events, book clubs and book launches.

To find your nearest store taking part in this event click here.

Good luck!

The Talking Writer

Firstly, I want to say congratulations to one of my students, Rosemary Wells, who won first prize in the poetry section of her local Arts Festival competition. Of course, as her non-fiction tutor, I had absolutely nothing to do with her poetry success, but every success is a success and one that should be shared, so well done Rosemary. And believe it or not, the trophy she's clutching here in this picture is the first trophy she's ever won, so I hope she puts it somewhere prominent on her mantle piece and points it out to everyone who walks into her home!

This posting is a little later than usual because for the past week I've been proofreading. I was approached to produce a Proofreading & Copy Editing correspondence course, which was great fun to do, although last week I must admit the fun element certainly wasn't there. It wasn't until I started proofreading, that I suddenly realised the implications of missing an error on a Proofreading & Copy Editing course! Talk about making my eyes go funny as I scrutinised every word!

And this is the problem with our work. We can read and re-read our work until we're blue in the face, and convince ourselves that it is perfect. And then four months later, when the editor rejects it, you read through the piece again and suddenly 3 more errors will jump out at you!

Many of my students will have read my advice in their assignment feedback, which is to read your work out aloud. Now it makes the neighbours think that you've gone completely doolally, talking to yourself, but it has it's benefits.

If you just read through your text, your eyes will 'see' what you THOUGHT you had written, not what you have 'ACTUALLY' written. This means that your eyes tend to gloss over any errors. Whereas, if you read work out aloud, you use a different part of the brain in order to say the words, so you stand more chance of actually 'hearing' what you've written.

Speaking text takes time, so you read more slowly than you do when reading with just your eyes.

Proofreading by talking also picks up those parts in your text where sentences are too long, or where there are complete words missing and they don't make sense. It can help you with your punctuation, whilst also picking up those words or phrases that you repeat without realising!

So next time you finish a manuscript, don't put it in an envelope just yet. Put it aside for a couple of days and then when you do come back to it, find yourself a quiet room and read your work out aloud. Your friends and family may think you've gone mad, but the editor at the receiving end of your submission won't know that!

Becoming a talking writer can also make you an error-free writer!

Good luck.

Scrutinise Your Published Pieces

When you are lucky enough to have a piece of work published, do you crack open the champagne, dance a merry dance and then count the days off until the cheque arrives?

No? Well you should do! But you should also take a look at your piece and see what the editor has done with it. Compare the printed version with the version you submitted. How does it differ?

"What do you mean - how does it differ?" I hear you cry. "Surely if the editor buys it, they buy what I've written, don't they?"

Well, yes they do, but remember that an editor is God and therefore God can do whatever he or she likes. Editors are wordsmiths and no one knows their magazines as well as they do, which means that they know what tweaks and amendments to make to really make the piece fit their readership. Alternatively, they may suddenly run out of space, but really like your article but only have room to use two thirds of it.

So, whenever you have anything published, sit down and see what has changed. I'm not saying that editors always make changes, there are many pieces of my work that get published as I submitted them. But there are pieces that are 'tweaked' from time to time. If your work is 'tweaked' look to see what the editor has done. Try to learn from this.

Some of you may recall that I produce a regular column for Country & Border Life magazine. In the early days, I noticed the editor was always changing my introductory paragraphs. When I realised what was happening and appreciated the style she was trying to achieve with the introductions, I tried submitting future work with my introductions written in that same style. A few months later I received an email from the editor thanking me for doing this. She'd spotted that I was constantly trying to improve my submissions.

Sometimes the changes are for production reasons. I've written articles for example publicising a literary festival, which an editor has accepted and then for various reasons not been able to use. But they've held onto them for another year and used them 12 months later. The editor went through and changed all of my references to the various talks and events that I'd advised readers were going to take place - because obviously they were now a year out of date!

Editors changing your work can also have other positive effects. I've sold a couple of short stories to an Australian magazine. These have been rejected by a British magazine. However, when I saw the published version in the Australian magazines I spotted the changes that the editors have made. Often, they're only subtle but it can be enough to make a huge difference to the story. For example, where I may have used 'he ran quickly', the editor may have changed this to 'he dashed' which is more exciting - and uses fewer words. What I've then done, is rewrite my English versions of the stories to include the changes made by the Australian editor and then resubmitted them to the British magazine. Hey presto! Two of my stories that the British mags had previously rejected have since been bought and published.

So scrutinising your published work can help you improve your writing technique, and also your own sales!

Good luck!

Perfection isn't instantaneous

One of my students, Sameer, from India emailed me today with a problem that many new writers face.

I need your help and guidance in something. There's this plot that has been taking shape in my mind since a very long time now; in fact it's been cultivating since the past whole year. I wish to put it down on paper. The entire plot is ready in my head, but I am facing problems to find the right words, sentences, phrases. I believe I have found my genre, and fiction & mystery seem to be it. This plot too is a fiction story. The problem is, the moment I try to pen it down I do not find it gripping enough. Thus I have three different beginnings to the same story and thus I am stuck.

My queries are:
1. Should I carry on and try to finish my book first?
2. When I am thinking I do find the right words, but somehow cannot put it down on paper.

I'm sure many writers have experienced this, I know I have from time to time. The problem is often down to perception. When you pick up a book in the bookshop, you open the cover and read the first words to chapter one to see if you like it. If it's an author you already know, the chances are you will be captivated by their words and turning the page within minutes. The author has done their job and sold you their book.

But as you pick up the book and read those words for the first time, our minds trick us into thinking that the author just sat down and penned those words in that order. For many writers, this just doesn't happen! Perfection isn't instantaneous - it has to be worked at!

And it doesn't matter what you write, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, writers face the same problems. Here's what I suggested to Sameer.

Step 1. Get your story down on paper. Write the book, don't worry about getting the right words. Books get rewritten, they don't just appear in perfect prose straight from the author's pen. So, just concentrate on getting your story down on paper. If the plot is clear in your head, then it's important to get it written down. The brain can play horrible tricks on you and you may think you'll always remember it, but you probably won't so get it down as quickly as you can.

Once you've written the first draft of your text, then you can go back and try to find the write words. That's when you hone and craft your text. The novelist Jodi Picoult once said, "You can't edit a blank page" and this is so true! As soon as you have something written down, then you have something to work with.

2. It's going to take time to get all this down on paper, but that doesn't matter. It is not time wasted. This is the first part of your investment in creating your text. When someone builds a house they put in firm foundations. This first draft is your foundation. From here you will build upon your text and improve it. No one can see the foundations of a house, but they know they are there. A house benefits from being on firm foundations, and a book benefits from being built upon a first draft.

Once you have those firm foundations, then you can build your text into the highly polished prose that you are looking for. That's when you become a writer. It's not the four walls and a roof built on those foundations that make the house a home, it's the style of decorating that is lavished upon it afterwards that makes the building a home. Editing is where the writer applies the decoration and the style to their text.

So forget about choosing the right words for now - ANY words will suffice at the moment! Fill that blank page. Perfection can be crafted in later.

Good luck.

Three Successes

I thought I'd use today's posting to bring you news of 3 successes. The first comes from one of my students in Malta, Luca Caruana. Luca has just seen his second assignment published in the June issue of Military Illustrated.

Not only is this a great success, he also discovered that his article (about Napoleon) has been used on the front cover to 'tempt' readers into buying a copy off the newsagent's shelf.

Solange Hando is a fellow writer who specializes in travel features and when she's writing an article, she often 'visualizes' it being splashed across the front cover like Luca's is here. Visualization can be a great technique to remaining positive and upbeat about a submission. Next time you're writing an article, try to imagine the magazine's front cover shouting about the article or short story that you are writing about. It can work! What words or phrases do you think the magazine might use? You might find that this exercise produces the perfect title for your piece!

Hope Hamilton also wrote to me, explaining that she'd been sidetracked from the course slightly because she'd become engrossed in writing her father's biography. (Thta's the beauty of a correspondence course - there are no set timescales to complete the course, so it's okay if life gets in the way sometimes!) Already she's 20,000 words into this project. Producing 20,000 words is a success in itself, in my opinion, but it also raises the point about enjoying what you are writing.

I often say to students, "If it's flowing - keep it going!" There are times with our writing when suddenly everything seems to click and the words just flow. Or perhaps, when we're working on a larger project we find it easy to slip back into the writing at the start of each new day. If this happens, try to keep it going for as long as you can, because the enjoyment that you are getting from your writing will show through in your text. I'm not saying that your text will be perfect, but when you come to read it back, you'll find that it has vitality and energy and probably flows better. This is text that the reader will enjoy reading.

So if you're tackling one project and then another seems to take over, listen to what your mind is telling you. Let it take over, because it means that your brain is more excited about this new project. Make the most of that excitement and use it to produce sparkling writing. You can always go back to the other project later on. It will still be there. If you force yourself to finish one project before starting the next, not only will your writing suffer on the 'old' project because you're forcing yourself to finish that, but your writing on the 'new' project will also suffer too. When you finally get around to starting it, you may have lost that initial vitality and that will show through in your work.

Having lots of projects on the go, is one of the joys of writing. It should mean that you can always find something on your desk that interests you and inspires you to write each day!

Finally, the third success is one of my own. I received an email yesterday from Sean Nolan, editor at Ireland's Own magazine. He liked one of my short stories I'd written and was emailing to ask me to email him a copy of the text, so he didn't have to type up the story from the hard copy that I'd submitted. When I read his email though, I didn't immediately recognise the title of the short story. It was only after searching my records that I discovered I'd originally submitted the story to him back in January 2008. So the acceptance arrived some 17 months after submission. Now many of you know that I've often commented here on this blog that this writing game is a waiting game. Now you know it's definitely true! Remember the maxim - no news is good news!

Good luck!

If you only do 5 things this month...

Well according to Country Walking magazine's June 2009 issue, if you only do 5 things this month, one of them should be to read a book entitled "The Bluffer's Guide to Hiking".

All I can say is ... I most definitely agree!

Standfirst ... then sit down

In this week's blog posting, Simon Whaley discusses the occasionally seen 'standfirst paragraph'.

Some magazines, though not all, use what is known as a 'standfirst' paragraph. It's not part of the main article, but it often appears in a slightly larger font than the rest of the piece, right at the beginning. It usually always includes the writer's name.

The standfirst paragraph is very much a stylist device. It's not seen in every magazine, but if there, it is often used in most articles within the issue. The idea is to help trap the reader into reading the article itself.

But isn't this what the opening paragraph of the article is supposed to do? Well yes, but because a standfirst appears in a bigger font size, it is more likely to catch the reader who is flocking through the pages relatively quickly.

It is usually written by the sub/editor, not the writer, however, I take the attitude that if you spot the magazine uses standfirsts, then you won't come to any harm if you have a go at providing one. The worst that can happen is that the editor simply deletes what you've written and decides to write something else. The best that can happen is that it demonstrates to the editor that you've actually looked at the magazine and seen that they use them!

But one other point to examine is the article's start. Does this differ from an article without a standfirst? A standfirst may grab the reader's attention with a startling fact, or set the scene, but it will give quite a lot of information to the reader about what the article will actually discuss. Look at the standfirst I put at the beginning of this blog. Having read it, you knew what I was going to talk about, even if you didn't understand what I was going to talk about. Because of this, an article with a standfirst, can sometimes get to the gritty detail of the piece much earlier, than one without.

It's quite a stylistic point to look out for, but its worth scrutinising for. Because if you write an article with an introductory paragraph that explains what the article will be about, and the editor needs to write a standfirst, he/she may then need to rewrite your introduction. The editor's standfirst will do all the introducing, therefore your article doesn't need to do it. And as we know, the less work an editor has to do, the more chances there are of publication.

So next time you flick through a magazine for analysis purposes, check out whether the style of the publication includes a standfirst paragraph.

Good luck.

Administrative Tips

I thought I'd share some administrative tips with you today. Whilst the world of freelance writing is about creating ideas and producing exciting text, as any business knows, it is only as good as its administration. But here's a couple of tips, which I hope you may find useful.

Firstly, do you get fed up with typing the same addresses into your documents? If so, have you considered Autotext? This is the term used in Microsoft Word for the auto-completion of text, and you'll find it under the 'insert' option in the dropdown menu. (Other word processor programmes have a similar feature.)

To make a new Autotext feature, simply type the address that you want to add to your system, then highlight it. Then go to 'Insert', and select 'Autotext'. A sub-menu appears offering the choices of 'Autotext' and 'New'. Select 'New" and give your selection a name. I usually use the name of the magazine. Then click on OK.

This information is now saved in your Autotext. Next time you want to use that information, simply go to 'Insert', select 'Autotext' and then 'Autotext' again and select the information from the menu offered. The information, in this case the address, will be inserted wherever in your document the cursor is.

You can set Autotext up so that it completes the autotext entry when you begin typing the first few characters of the entry.

All my commonly used addresses are stored in my Autotext section, so I simply have to select Autotext and Insert it, rather than open a Contacts database and copy and paste, which may not always use the right font or formatting.

Folder File Names
How do you save your files? Do you give them the title of your document? That's okay, but what happens if you decide to change the title? What about if you decide to give two pieces of work the same title? (I've used the same title for an article and a short story.) Do you save the document with the new title and delete the old one, or keep the two together? Do you then get confused which version you've sent to someone? Using a numerical file name folder system can make things easier.

Every article or piece of work I produce, I allocate a sequential number to, after the year of creation. So for example, the first piece I wrote this year I filed in a folder called 20090001. The second piece was filed in the folder 20090002, and so on.

By giving my 'writing project' this number, it doesn't matter if I decide to use a title again for a different article or other writing project. It also has a few other benefits. I mentioned in an earlier posting about the practicalities of invoicing. When invoicing, you need to give each invoice a unique identifiable reference number. When I sell a piece of work, the unique reference number I use on my invoice, is the same reference number I allocate to the folder. It makes it much easier keeping track of which invoice relates to which piece of work.

Databases
It's important to keep track of where you send all of your work to, so that you don't send the same piece of work to the same magazine twice in error. And when you do sell a piece of writing, it's important that you know which rights you've sold in that piece. Over the years, I've developed and expanded my own database system using a programme called FileMaker Pro. Now this is quite expensive and I wouldn't advocate you buying something like this when starting out, but when you've written as many articles, short stories, non-fiction books and other material as I have, a card index system becomes completely unwieldy!

A database though is simply a collection of data, and for most people, a simple spreadsheet is sufficient. And this is where my numerical file naming system comes into play again. I record this file number, as well as the title of the piece, where it was sent to, the date it was sent, how many words it contained and whether it was a commissioned piece or a speculative piece. When I get the decision, I record, the date of the decision and then whether it was accepted or rejected. If accepted, I then record how much to invoice, when to invoice etc, as well as which rights I have sold.

The great thing about recording all of your information in a spreadsheet, is that if you decide you need to use a better dedicated database programme, most of these will allow you to import your data from a spreadsheet, which means that you don't have to type it in all over again! (I currently have data going back to 1997, so I'm not going to type that lot in again!)

If you need to think about using a database programme, FileMaker Pro is available for use with Windows PCs and Apple Macs. It is expensive though. Alternatively, for Apple Mac users, FileMaker produce a slimmed down version of the product called Bento, which retails for under £30 and can be used to begin with.

Yes, administration can be a pain in the neck sometimes, but time spent investing in procedures, is time well spent. It is necessarily the sexiest aspect of freelance writing, but it is one of the most important!

Good luck.

Anywhere near Southampton?

Penny Legg is setting up a 'Writing Buddies' group, which will meet at the Southampton store of Borders. It's first meeting will be at 2pm on Friday 22nd May, so if you're in the area, why not pop in and say hello?

Meeting fellow writers is so important in this game, because it offers a chance to chat, swap ideas and also learn. Writers up and down the country face similar problems, and discovering how others cope with the problems that you face, can be a real boon.

Penny's hoping that this will be a relaxed environment, where writers, both professional and non-professional can meet up for a chat, swap ideas, news and views. The good news is that Borders are keen to support the group, so hopefully the first meeting will be the start of many.

And anyway, if you call yourself a real writer, what excuse do you need to go into another bookshop!

For more information read Penny's posting on her blog here.


Good luck Penny!

Getting Sidetracked - Definitely Worth It

Just a quick post to say that getting sidetracked was definitely worth it. Further to my post of 29th April 2009 about why you should allow your writing to be sidetracked, I'm pleased to say that the article this inspired for Cumbria magazine has been accepted! I don't have a publication date yet, but I do have one of those nice emails from the editor!

So, if your writing isn't taking you where you were expecting it to take you, then consider going with the flow for a while. You may surprise yourself with what you produce!

Good luck!

Just look what a simple idea can lead too....

I've written in the blog before about the benefits of networking, and over the last bank holiday weekend, I've seen the result of one of those networking opportunities. Many months ago, at an author event in one of my local bookshops, I mentioned to one of the other authors that it would be nice to do an author event at a National Trust property. Now, this other author happened to be a volunteer at my local National Trust property, and so she approached them. They turned out to be enthusiastic about the idea. For the first May Bank Holiday each year, they hold a Secondhand Book Fair, so it seemed natural to have local Shropshire Authors selling and signing their books at the same fair.

Now both of us are members of the same writer's circle too, so the idea expanded into making it an event where we could publicise some of our work as a group too. We ran a writing competition for children and adults to enter, encouraging them to write about anything connected with their visit to the National Trust property at Attingham Park. We're looking forward to judging the entries as they come in, and we've even got a representative from the National Trust getting involved in the judging too.

Not only did the event turn out to be a useful sales opportunity, but because we'd tried to contact as many writers as we could who lived in the area with books to sell, we met with many whom we'd never seen before.

We also managed to get a local book distributor to come along too, and they wandered around the stalls looking at all of the books on offer. As a result, I know that they will be buying copies of my walking book 'Best Walks in the Welsh Borders' from my publisher's sale rep who happens to be visiting them today! Which also means that my books will soon be in many more local shops and retail outlets, perfect for the market.
So from that one small idea many, many months ago, somehow, through a lot of hard work and determination from several members of the writer's circle and the staff and volunteers at the National Trust, we had a great event. And it was interesting to hear both authors and visitors mentioning an event 'next year' too. Oo-er, what have we done?

And of course, it goes without saying, I shall be 'writing about what I know' and I hope to get an article or two out of this!

This exercise clearly shows that you benefit from the hard work that you put into something. So put the work into your writing, and you'll reap the benefits too.


Good luck!

Market Analysis

A blog posting fell into my intray this afternoon, http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/29/how-to-use-a-magazine-to-improve-your-blog/ which I found interesting and thought I would share with you. It's by Darren Rowse who is writing a blog posting every day about how to write a better blog. Today's posting though suggests how bloggers can analyse a magazine to get some useful blogging ideas. There are certainly comments here that many writers will recognise, but I would encourage you to read the whole post - there's certainly some ideas that benefit writers too. (And carrying out a market analysis whilst sitting in my local cafe - now why didn't I think of that one?)

Enjoy.

Allow yourself to get sidetracked

There can be times when it is useful getting sidetracked with your writing. Whilst it's good to plan an outline of your article, short story, letter or whatever, sometimes your brain decides to take you off in a completely different direction to that sketched out in your notebook.

Deviating from your plan can be the road to ruin if your planned idea remains focused on your target readership, however, as long as you recognise that you are deviating away from your plan (and will have the strength to return to it later) then why not follow where your brain is going to see where the deviation takes you? You may surprise yourself with what you write.

I often think that writing is a lot like mountain climbing. You know where you're going to start (at the bottom) and where you are aiming for (the top) and your outline should identify your route to the summit. But until you actually start wandering along that path, you don't know what lies out there.

Last week I was in the Lake District and the weather on one day was perfect for climbing a mountain. The lucky mountain in question was Skiddaw, one I'd attempted to climb several years ago with a friend but we were beaten back just 500 feet from the summit by bad weather.

Anyway, there I was, climbing up between Dodd and Ullock Pike, (they didn’t mind, honestly), and to be quite frank, having ascended some 1,000 feet, I was looking for an excuse to stop. To the right I spotted a seat, so I wandered off my path. I sat down (okay, call it collapsed) and gazed at the view over Bassenthwaite Lake. Outstanding. When it was time to start moving again, instead of returning back along the route I’d come, to rejoin my main path, I continued to follow this minor path. It gently bent around to the left, and continued in a long arc until eventually, about fifteen minutes later, another amazing vista opened up. Far below, lay Keswick, Derwent Water and the beginnings of Borrowdale. Sheer magic.


But I only saw that view, because I’d been prepared to deviate from my intended route, and there are times when we should allow ourselves to do that with our writing. If a new angle takes over, when you were not expecting it to, let it. See where it takes you. It could be to a better view. And if it leads you to a precipice, well you can still turn round and retrace your steps. But at least you know where that route leads.

Continuing my ascent of Skiddaw, I deviated from the route several times during the day. Near the summit, the map suggested that the path went up a sheer scree slope, but I decided on another deviation to follow a more obvious path through more scree, but this one that looked more survivable.

Now this alternative route was about a foot wide, but had about the same number of people on it as the escalators at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. This meant it was a slow climb to allow people to pass safely, one at a time. I didn’t mind – it offered more chances to stop and breathe, as well as great conversation opportunities or as we writers call them - eavesdropping moments. One woman, who was on her way down, slowed as she passed me. She nodded to the man in front of her then turned and said, “If he wanted a divorce there were easier ways to go about it.” I laughed. She didn’t.

Moments later, a group of school kids rushed by. “Mr Stevenson says that the tuck shop at the top closes in ten minutes. Come on, get your skates on!”

Oh Mr Stevenson, how naughty of you! But there in my mind was the formation of a new article – overhead conversations on a mountain. It’s already on its way to its intended market. Now that wouldn’t have happened, had I not deviated from my planned route.

So next time you start writing, and you find yourself wandering off your intended route, relax. Let it happen. See where it takes you. The worst that can happen is that you end up retracing your steps and then following your planned route. As for the best - well you could get a whole new piece of work out of it!

Good luck.

Exposed!

If any of you happen to get the May 2009 issue of Writer's Forum magazine, then yes, that is me being featured in the "Where I write" column just inside the back page. There I am, exposed, for you all to see.

Since that picture was taken (by me!) there have been a few changes to my office environment. The computer has changed to an all new, all singing, all dancing Apple iMac, which is great (everything just works and I am not sorry to see the back of Windoze), and I also have a new chair. The chair saga has been running for several months and I am probably on my fifth chair in that timescale. No, don't panic, I don't go all heavy metal rock star-type and through a right wobbly, trashing my chair every time I get a rejection. (If I did, I'd have had more than 5 chairs by now.) It's just that being 6 foot 1 tall, means getting the right height chair, relative to the height of the keyboard on the desk, has not been an easy problem to solve. And until retailers will allow you to take your desk 'chair-shopping' with you so that you can check out the height at the actual desk you will be working at, it seems I am destined to follow the infuriating rigmarole of taking a tape-measure with me, identifying how high the seat needs to go and then go around the showroom setting every chair to its highest setting before measuring it. Suffice to say, I think I've now found the right height chair.

On a serious note, when perched at your writing desk, you should be thinking right angles. Your feet should be at right angles to your shins - which means either flat on the floor, or on a footrest (like mine have to be because I have to have the seat set so high). Your thighs, should then be at right angles to your shins, and your back, at right angles to your thighs. Ideally, your elbows should be bent at right angles, so that your hands loosely drape over your keyboard, as opposed to being bent upwards at the wrists.

The correct posture is a necessity, for if you get it wrong, you will be plagued by aches and pains, which are not conducive to being a productive writer.

This will be my last post for a few days or so, because I'm off to stretch my legs in the Lake District next week. Hopefully, when I return, I shall be able to tell you about all the ideas I've had whilst away!

Good luck.

Free Magazines - Ideal for Market Analysis Purposes!

Before you write anything for a magazine, you should analyse the magazine to get an idea as to what sort of person the average reader of that magazine is, so you know who you are writing your article or story for. The trouble is - this means spending some cash on a couple of copies of your target publication.

However, a forum posting on the MoneySavingExpert website has identified a special offer where you can get 3 free copies of some magazines (digital versions) and some physical copies of The Lady magazine. For more information see below.

What's it about?

The Telegraph is giving away three free copies of a magazine of your choice to download digitally. These are the same as what you'd buy in the shops, where their prices range between £2 and £4.90 each. Here's the full list:

Cosmopolitan
Cosmo Bride
Harper's Bazaar
She
Prima
Zest
Esquire
Company
Prima Baby
You and Your Wedding
Good Housekeeping
Country Living
Men's Health
Coast
Runner's World
House Beautiful

You'll need to download a special viewer to read them but it's free. Though depending on your internet speed it can take a while to download each magazine, so bear that in mind.

How do I get them?

Simply go to Magazinesondemand and pick up to three mags of your choice by clicking on each, selecting "single issues". You can only get this month's magazines (ie what ever is there at the time you sign up). You can't sign up for one now, and then get another tomorrow as the promotion code can only be used once.

When going through the online checkout enter the free code "3FREEMAG". You won't need to enter any card details. The confirmation page will provide a link to download the special 'Delivery Manager' software you'll need to install, which is basically a fancy way of browsing the magazines and getting them onto your computer.

Once you've got the copies you can read them whenever you like, plus move them to another computer, or send them to a friend via email or a USB memory key. Or you could print them; but they're pretty lengthy mags so it'd be much more environmentally friendly to just print the relevant articles.

The offer ends 31 May 2009.

What's that about The Lady magazine?

The Telegraph's also offering four free printed copies of weekly magazine The Lady. To get them just fill in the form online form on the Telegraph website or call 0800 917 0006 for free.

Anything else?

There's no obligation to buy any more magazines after you've downloaded them, though if you want to, each costs the same as it would on the news-stands. Read the Magazine Offers thread for more ways to get cheap and free glossies.

Both PC and MAC users should be able take advantage of the freebie. Here are full details of compatible operating systems and browers if you have any problems.

Terms and Conditions

From http://www.magazinesondemand.co.uk/digital/telegraph/

• 1. You must register and provide a valid email address
• 2. No obligation to purchase further magazines on registration
• 3. The offer can only be used once.

Simply Moleskine

I always tell my students that you should endeavour to carry a notebook around with you at all times. You never know when that next great idea will strike, and believe me, it doesn't hang around in the memory for long - well not mine any way.

A notebook is just as important a tool for a writer as a computer is, and I think that writers should 'treat' themselves to a nice notebook. After all, a notebook that is always inviting you to write something in it, must be a good thing to have around because you'll always be dipping in and scribbling in it!

I love the Moleskine notebooks, which are becoming easier to find these days. Many of the larger bookshops stock them as well as numerous stationers, and of course, there is always the internet.

There's one website that I look at from time to time www.simplymoleskine.com and they happen to have a newsletter, which I signed up to. Each month, they run a competition to win a Moleskine book of your choice, so thought I'd have a go and guess what? This month I won! You can read what I said at the site on the 'Me and My Moleskine' page.

As you read through it, you'll see that effectively all I've produced is a letter to a magazine's letters page.

If you want to read about the history of Moleskine books (Hemingway, Chatwin and many more) then click here. But if they were good enough for Hemingway, then they're good enough for me!

Take your notebook wherever you go. In the future you never know where a thought or scribbled comment inside it, could ultimately lead you.

Good luck.

Dig Out Your Sludge And Take A Picture Of It.

We're fast approaching the long Easter break here in the UK, and it always brings back memories of an annual chore that we used to do as family when we lived in Greater London. The Easter holidays meant one thing - the annual clearing out of our fishpond. This meant taking everything out, from our large 10-inch long Koi Carp to all those little tadpoles, Water Boatmen and Pond Skaters. We'd then drain the water, clear out all the sludge that had accumulated over the year from the bottom, before straining the pond water and putting it back in and repeating the process with all the animals and plant life.

One year, I decided to take pictures as we went along. Now these pictures were pretty boring. You can see from the image here (click on it to see a larger version) there's a picture of pond sludge and even one of a pond repair kit. But as you can also see - they were published. Who says you need an A-list celebrity in a picture to sell it?

So how do you sell a picture of a pile of sludge? The answer is as easy as 1..2..3..

The article was published in Water Gardener magazine and was called "Freshen Up Your Fishpond." Along with 9 other pictures and about 800 words it helped to earn me £300. Whilst you come to terms with the exciting life that I lead, why not stop and think about your exciting life too?

Words and picture packages are an editor’s dream, and even better are those step by step practical guides. Not only is the editor getting their beloved words and picture package, but the feature also shows readers how to get involved and learn a new skill. So here are ten steps to creating your own step by step picture guide.

Step 1 – What tasks do you do that could be turned into a step by step illustrated feature? From packing a suitcase properly for your holidays, to growing your own fresh herbs, the ideas are out there.

Step 2 – When you’ve identified a task, write down the individual steps. Try not to think about writing the article at this point, just focus on each of the steps required to complete the task.

Step 3 – Look at your list of steps and begin to think about the photographs that you’ll need to take. For my fishpond article, as well as getting shots of us trying to catch the fish and putting them in temporary storage, I also wanted to take a ‘before’ and ‘after’ shot of the pond. This way, the editor could use these images to show the readers what improvements can be made by following the step by step process. Alternatively, do you need ‘create’ some images? For example, if you are doing an article on how to pack a suitcase, do you need to create an image of a poorly packed suitcase with socks sticking out the sides? Remember to think visually at all times.

Step 4 – Approach or analyse your target market. If you can get an editor interested in your idea before you start your task, the better. If not, study the magazine in detail, with particular focus on the pictures. In their step by step guides are there many close up shots? The photographs in craft articles for example, often include a model’s hands as they make the product in question. Look at the word count too.

Step 5 – Before you begin your task, try and arrange everything you’ll need so that it’s close by. Would it be easier to have someone else help you out and tackle the task so that you can concentrate on taking the photos?

Step 6 – Start by taking any of your ‘before’ shots. Do you need to take pictures of the equipment that’s needed too? If so, take them before you start, whilst they’re still nice and clean, and not at the end when they are dirty. Remember the basics of photography – fill the frame with the subject you are taking. If you’re taking a picture of your friend making an origami sailing boat, don’t take a picture of him or her sitting at a disk, zoom in on his or her hands and the folds they are making in the paper. (Think of those human hands in the close up shots in the TV series “Thunderbirds”!)

Step 7 – Jot down any extra notes as you tackle the task. If it is a task that you do regularly, you may have missed a step out when you originally wrote them down. If your task is too messy to have pen and paper around, use a Dictaphone instead.

Step 8 – Finish off by taking your ‘after’ shots. Remember to capture your completed task in all its glory. If you’ve created a hanging basket for example, leave it a couple of days before you take your final shot, to give it time to settle, bush out and provide you with a picture which will have much more impact.

Step 9 – Now’s the time to write up your article by referring to your notes and your pictures. Catalogue your pictures first and give them a reference number. This enables you to refer to specific pictures in your text. It is also best to do this particularly at any difficult stage in your task. Referring to a particular picture will also encourage the editor to use it, although don’t refer to every picture you’ve taken. The editor won’t use all 349 shots you took on your digital camera for your feature about how to stick down an envelope.

Step 10 – Finally, if you can, do you task one more time purely following your own guidelines. The last thing you want is for readers to mess up because you forgot one vital piece of information.

And there you have it - a recipe for an interesting article. Don’t forget that cookery magazines use step by step features too. Just make sure you don’t burn anything!

I hope you have a productive Easter.

Good luck!

Contacts help you sell.

Last Saturday I was at another author event at a local bookshop in Newport Shropshire. Unfortunately the picture is a bit dark, but there were 7 local authors tempting visitor's to buy books at the shop's opening of it's new first floor section.

The Book Nook in Newport is only a few months old, but the store's manager, Alison, has always supported local authors and thought this would be a great way to launch her expansion.

Alison used to work for WHSmith's in another Shropshire town and first held a 'local author' event there a few years ago. Since leaving WHSmith's to set up on her own, she's obviously kept our details on file and regularly invites us back.

And that's the point I want to make here. It doesn't matter whether you are an author or a article writer, you must keep a decent 'contacts' book. The programmes that most computers offer are perfectly good for the job, Microsoft's Outlook and Apple's Address Book, both provide spaces for 'notes'. Whenever you come across someone new, put them in your contact's book, AND make a comment in the 'Notes' section where you came across them. Then next time you need to talk to them you can 'jog' their memory about where you first met.

My next book selling opportunity will be at my nearest National Trust property over the May Bank Holiday weekend. We spread the word about it at this event and obtained several new contacts - contacts that we shall keep and invite to other author events. And that's how it should continue. Keep adding to your Contacts book and those contacts will stay in touch with you too. Suddenly they'll approach you with an idea for an article.

Whether you're trying to sell articles, or books, keeping in contact and staying in touch is vital.

Good luck.

Proof that being Professional and Courteous Does Work!

I'm delighted to say that Lawrence Pagett emailed me to tell me how chuffed he was that he was finally getting an article published in the Times Educational Supplement. It's a publication he felt he could write for, but like many writers has been exasperated by the delay in getting a response.

(See blog posting -The Waiting Game - 20th February and Gosh What An Impatient Lot We Are - 24th february)

Lawrence was keen to submit more work to TES but didn't want to do so until he knew whether TES were interested in his first piece. As I've mentioned before, it makes sense holding off submitting more work to an editor of a magazine you haven't approached before, until you hear the outcome of your first decision. (If the editor comes back and says their policy has recently changed and they no longer accept freelance written material, any submissions you've made after that first submission, will soon be winging their way back to you too.) Holding out until this first response is received will prevent this sort of situation arising.

Lawrence held off from chasing TES for several months, but then politely emailed them stating that he had other ideas he'd like to submit, but didn't want to do so until a decision had been made on his first piece.

The editor eventually replied stating that his first piece will be published in TES on 17th April. She also apologised for the delay and explained the reason why. Best of all, she ended the email with the most beautiful phrase ... "I look forward to reading your future submissions."

So, although you may want to rant and rave at editors from time to time (which you are perfectly entitled to do, in a sealed room where no one can hear you,) the most productive attitude to take is the professional one. Treat the editor with respect and they are more likely to show you respect.

Which just leaves me with one thing to say. Start writing those future submissions Lawrence!

Good luck.

The Writing Magazines

Jean Stevens recently wrote to me asking .... "I wonder if you can help with with a question..... I am currently doing the Writers Bureau course and thought it would also be a good idea to subscribe to a writing magazine. I have a copy of the Writing Magazine and Writers Forum and wondered if you could advise me what to look for when choosing a subscription. I'm struggling to choose so I thought some professional help might assist me."

Now unfortunately, I don't think I was much help, because in my opinion, if you're interested in writing then you should be subscribed to at least one of these magazines if not more. I subscribe to many, but then writing is my profession, and that's a point I want to make. Don't think of these magazines as 'magazines' but as 'trade journals' for your profession. And yes if you make a profit from your writing, you can claim the subscriptions as a legitimate business cost for tax purposes.

Writing is a lonely business, so a regular 'hit' from the writing world can help to keep you up to date with what's going on. Magazines like Freelance Market News and Writers News, clearly contain 'news items' about new magazines, competition details, publishers seeking new material. But the others, Writing Magazine, Writer's Forum, and The New Writer provide a bit of information, along with a vast array of articles passing on hints, tips and writing skills.

There is also another magazine called Mslexia which is written by women for women writers. As a mere man, I wouldn't dream of commenting on such a publication, but the female writers I know certainly speak highly of it.

If you can only afford to subscribe to one magazine, then try to get hold of one copy to look at to see if you like it. Writing Magazine, Writer's Forum, and Mslexia can be bought from high street newsagents. Freelance Market News, The New Writer and Writers News are by subscription only, but contact them to see if you can obtain a sample copy, with a view to taking out a subscription.

With regards to Writers News magazine, this is subscription only, however, if you subscribe to Writing Magazine (found at the newsagents) you get Writers News included in your subscription.

Do you go to a Writer's Circle, or know of a writer friend? if so, why not consider swapping magazines? You subscribe to one, get your friend to subscribe to another, and then when you've read those copies, swap and hey presto - two subscriptions for the price of one!

At the writers circle that I go to, we often swap magazines. Again, it's another way of seeing what's out there before deciding which to subscribe to.

Remember, make a sale of an article or short story and the fee will cover the cost of an annual subscription.

If you can afford to take out at least one subscription, then I would encourage you to do so. It helps to keep you informed about current events in the writing world. And if you think that subscribing to these magazines is expensive, wait until you start writing books like me and have to subscribe to The Bookseller magazine, at £4.40 PER WEEK! Like any subscription, think of it as paying for information - information that could help your career as a writer to develop.

Good luck.

Are You A Member of ALCS?

Succeeding in the world of freelancing means making the most of all income streams. One such source of money is photocopying income.

If you've had an article published in a magazine (not a newspaper), then the ALCS (Author's Licensing and Collecting Society) may be of interest to you. The Copyright Licensing Authority collect payments from large institutions like Universities and Colleges, and Government Departments and industry for 'photocopying' usage. What this means is that these organisations pay a fee to legally photocopy articles published in magazines. This is then handed over to the ALCS.

The ALCS then distributes that money amongst the writers who are registered with them and have given them details of the articles they've had published. Let's be quite clear here, the ALCS do not pay writers because an article of theirs has definitely been photocopied - but writers can make a claim because their work is available for photocopying.

In order to claim you need to be a member of the ALCS and then provide them with the following information:

• The ISSN of the magazine or journal. This is usually an 8 digit number printed somewhere on the magazine's contacts page and appears like so: 1234-5678. Sometimes it is incorporated into the front cover of the publication.
• The date of the publication (the issue cover date)
• The title pf the publication
• The title of the article
• The word count of your article
• The names of any co-authors.

The ALCS is currently including information for articles published from January 2006 onwards, so if you've had pieces published in the past, you can use them on the next claim.

Money is distributed usually in March and I've just banked my payment, thank you very much. It all helps to keep up afloat!

For more information about the ALCS and membership (there is a membership fee of £25 but this is deducted from your first distribution payment), visit their website at www.alcs.co.uk

The payments that ALCS make vary from year to year because it all depends upon how many claimants there are, and how much money ALCS receive from the Copyright Licensing Authority. There was one year when the number of articles included in my claim had doubles, yet my payment was lower than the previous year. But being paid twice for the same article is nice, no matter how much it is. For the sake of filling out a short form to record each published article, it can be a useful income source, just before the end of the current tax year.

Good luck.

Postage Prices Going Up Again

Although the Royal Mail is telling everyone to put the 6th April in their diaries as the day the postage prices go up in the UK (again), for us writers, we need to be thinking about it NOW. Why? Because those stamped addressed envelopes that we enclose with our work need to be appropriately priced in order to get them back.

If submitting a piece of work by post (some of my regular pieces the editors allow me to submit by email now) I always send my material in an A4 envelope, which means putting a 'Large Letter' stamp on it. First Class for 'Large Letter' stamps is increasing from 52p to 61p! Sending material like this is professional, rather than scrunching it up into the smallest envelope I can get away with. From the practical point of view, there is one magazine I write for where they scan the printed hard copy into their computers to save retyping. A scrunched up submission does not scan very well.

For my SAE, I often enclose an A5 envelope. It doesn't matter how much the editor scrunches it up to get it back to me, I just want it back if he or she isn't interested in it. Enclosing an A5 envelope often means that the article is folded once, but it reduces the cost of the postage for the return journey. An A5 envelope coming back by Second Class post (well you might as well stave off the rejection for as long as possible!) will cost 30p under the new price regime.

The reason you need to be thinking about this now is that any work you submit now which is rejected will probably be returned after the price rises on 6th April. So you need to be thinking ahead and putting the right postage on your envelopes. if you don't the Royal Mail will hold onto it and demand that you collect it from a local sorting office and pay the underpayment as well as a surcharge which could be as much as a pound. Let's face it - it's galling enough to have work rejected, the last thing you want to do is have to go down the Post Office and pay to get your rejected work back!

The best top tip is to buy the stamps with 1st, 2nd, or 1st Large, 2nd Large on them. They don't have the actual price, which means they are just as valid after 6th April as they are on the 5th April. So buy up these stamps now. Pay 52p for a 1st Class Large stamp today and when you use it after 6th April, it will be 'worth' 61p.

For more information about Royal Mail's Price Rises, visit their website.

Good luck!

Show Me The Money!

Julia Wildman mentioned in her latest assignment submission that she's had an article accepted by The Lady magazine. Whilst clearly overjoyed at the news, it then threw up another question in her mind - how do you invoice a magazine? What exactly do you have to do?

Well, The Lady, has an excellent reputation for communicating with its writers. I know from experience that they will write to Julia nearer the time and tell her how much to invoice and where to send the invoice to. But Julia raises an important point. Once over the initial euphoria of receiving the acceptance letter, there is the the practical, professional aspect of getting paid for it.

The picture here is an example of the invoices that I issue and if you click on it you can download a much bigger version to scrutinise. Yet essentially, an invoice needn't be too complicated.

All you need is:

1. The word 'Invoice' on the document, to show that it is a demand for money.
2. Your full name and address. The magazine needs to know who the cheque should be payable to and where to send it!
3. What the invoice is for. Be as specific as you can with this. ideally, quote the article title (and the one used by the magazine when it has been published) and if possible, which pages the piece appeared on in the magazine. List other items if they have been agreed such as payment for pictures, mileage (rare), postage (even rarer!)
4. Give the invoice a date.
5. Give the invoice a due date. In business terms, most invoices are paid 30 days after the date of the invoice. Many magazines pay a month after publication anyway, so this isn't a problem. It can be frustrating writing and article and not being paid for so long, but that's how it works. Last December, I wrote an article for this December's issue of a magazine. So I wrote the article in December 2008, it will be published in December 2009 and I will be paid for it in January 2010. There are not that many professions where delivery of work and payment can be so far apart!
6. Give your invoice a unique reference number. In reality, this is a tax office recommendation. In practice, it can be very useful. I always tell students that once an article has been accepted they should submit more work. Which means that it is quite possible that you could be submitting invoices to the same magazine over a period of time. If they pay a flat rate per thousand words, all your invoices could be for the same amount. What happens if one invoice isn't paid? How do you refer to it when you chat the to accounts department? Exactly! So a unique reference number is really useful. Don't panic, it needn't be complicated. Calling the first invoice number 1, the second number 2 and so on, usually works and is unique enough! What some people do is precede the identifying number with the tax year, so the invoice reference looks like: 08/09-01.
7. Ensure there is a 'total' figure, so the accounts department know how much to pay.
8. Put the address of the accounts department on the invoice too, so you know where to send it. This also makes it clear to the recipient that the invoice is for them and not somebody else. (The Lady is not going to pay an invoice which is addressed to Pipe Fitters Monthly!)
9. I also quote my bank details - Sort Code and Account number, because some businesses like to pay the money directly into the bank. Now, some people throw their arms up in horror when they hear this. Bank details should be kept confidential, they cry! Well, as someone who spent 8 years working for a High Street bank I then tell these people that every time they wrote a cheque out they were giving someone their full bank details, as well as a copy of their signature! As long as you quote your sort code and account number only, there shouldn't be a problem. Let's face it, no one minds who pays in, we're more interested in who takes out, and they should need a signature or some PIN numbers to do that.
10. End with a pleasant comment - 'Thank you for your business' or 'For more information about my work visit ...'. It's not critical, but it rounds the invoice off nicely. In some organisations it may even be the editor who writes the cheques and posts them off, so it may be registered by him/her. In other organisations it will be the accounts department who are probably based in the other end of the country and have no idea as to who you are, but it's always nice to be pleasant and professional at all times.

Make a note of when the invoice is due and then watch out for the payment. If payment isn't made within two weeks, don't jump up and down and start threatening court action. Give the accounts department a ring (NOT THE EDITOR) and make enquiries. Volume of work means that some invoices get pushed back to the next cheque run. Sometimes the post office doesn't deliver the invoice in the first place - stuff does go missing in the post. Most accounts departments I've come across will say that if you submit a duplicate invoice they'll arrange for it to be paid as soon as possible, instead of waiting for the next cheque run.

You can create invoices like this quite simply. A Word processor document is sufficient, but if you're any good with a spreadsheet you can set up a template on there and get it to calculate all the necessary totals for you. But as long as you quote all the necessary information, you should find yourself seeing the financial reward for all that hard work you did many months ago!

Good luck.

Come again?

Sarah Radev emailed me to share a few positive moments of joy, which then leads onto a question.

I was pleasantly surprised this week when I received an unexpected cheque through the post for a letter I wrote to Spirit and Destiny as part of Assignment 4. I have also received an email from Best of British to say they would like to retain an article I submitted about a local Folk Festival. I had submitted another article to them and they wrote to tell me that they were not going to publish it because it was too similar to something they had done in the past. However, they told me that they did really like the article which they thought was very well written and advised me that they would be glad to receive any more articles I wished to submit.

I would actually like to ask your advice on submitting more than one article to a magazine. I have quite a number of ideas for articles, but they are usually all suited to the same few magazines. Is it okay to submit another article to a magazine that has an article of mine on file, such as Best of British now do? Also, is it alright to submit more articles to magazines that are still considering articles? The Lady has had an article of mine that has been being considered since last July, and which after liaising with the editors assistant I have now resubmitted, but I have lots of other ideas for articles that would be suitable for this magazine. Should I wait until the first article is accepted, or published? Or is it okay to keep submitting articles?

Well, congratulations on the success with the letter and the good news from Best of British. And can I also say well done for the piece with The Lady. You'd be surprised the number of students who submit work, get asked a question by the editor to rejig the piece and for some reason are struck dumb into doing nothing at all, which is ridiculous. If you do what the editor asks the chances of acceptance and publication are even higher then!

But I can see what you mean about sending more work to magazines who are still holding onto previous submissions. To answer your question, I would say ‘yes’. If you find magazines that you enjoy writing for, then keep sending them material. You obviously enjoy writing in that magazine’s style, and this enjoyment will show through in your writing. There is nothing wrong in submitting articles to magazines who are currently considering other submissions from yourself. I have never come across a ‘one-at-a-time’ policy. With regards to Best of British in particular, because you have had one piece ‘retained’, the editor now knows your name, and it’s always a good idea to submit another article to an editor who has recently accepted your work. Strike whilst the iron is hot, as they say.

The reason I say that it is okay to do this is because the editor is always considering the actual material they have in front of them. I always say that people are frightened of rejection because they think editors are rejecting THEM. They are not, They are merely rejecting THAT particular piece of work at THAT particular piece of time. This is why it’s okay to send more submissions if the magazine already has some of your work under consideration. They are not considering you as a writer, but the actual piece of work in front of them. So if you’re getting the ideas – then go for it! Write them up and send them in!

The only time I would suggest that you hold off from submitting more work, is if it is a new magazine you are approaching and you don't know whether they accept work from freelancers or not. It would be a waste of time to write three or four pieces of a period of months, only to have the first piece come back rejected because they don't accept freelance submissions.

There is a general principle of life that many things adhere to the 80/20 rule. This basically means that 80% of your work will go to 20% of your customers. In other words, you'll end up sending most of your work to many of the same small group of clients. It's good to do this, because an editor will get to know you as a reliable contributor. But you must also continue to develop the other 20% of your work that you submit to the other 80% of your clients. Because one day, one of the clients in your 20% bracket may change their policy and you'll find that for whatever reason the work with them dries up, forcing you to look elsewhere for a client to fill that gap. This is where one of those other clients from the other 80% comes in.

So yes, submit work to editors who are currently considering other pieces of your work.

Good luck.

Still Crap Then!

I just had to report another success with the 'My Crap Holiday' slot in the travel section of The Observer newspaper. Vicky McMillan emailed to say that her submission was used in last Sunday's paper. You can read it by following this link. Well done Vicky.

It's great to see so many people having success with this slot, but I also want to use it to illustrate another point. There is a great demand for words out there. The Crap Holiday slot needs to be filled EVERY week. And that's just one 400-word column. Multiply this by the number of pages in that newspaper section, then the newspaper itself, then all the other Sunday newspapers, daily newspapers, magazines, trade journals, websites ... and so on, and you begin to get an impression of just how many words the publishing industry has an insatiable appetite for.

It can become very disheartening if you send your work out there and you don't hear anything or it gets rejected. But remember this - editors are dealing with a lot of material in order to fill all of those pages - and, more importantly, they're desperate to fill those pages and need good quality material to be supplied. Which is where you come in.

I was at a writer's workshop once, which was being led by Iain Pattison who tutors for the Writer's Bureau from time to time. One of the workshop attendees had asked him the question "how do you deal with writer's block?". (A word of warning - don't ask Iain this question, he gets quite worked up about this point!) I happen to agree with Iain's answer, which was, "There's no such thing as writer's block. Writer's block is a luxury. Writer's block doesn't put food on the table."

Professional writers produce words. They have to because they have deadlines. To illustrate the point, Iain expanded upon his answer by asking the rest of the group a question. "How many times have you bought a magazine or newspaper and opened it up to find a series of blank pages, followed by an apology from the editor saying 'Sorry for the lack of text, but all our writers are suffering from writer's block today?"

It just doesn't happen, because it can't happen. Those pages have to be filled, and they're only filled by writers who write and submit work.

This is why it is important to continue submitting work on a regular basis. Just because one piece wasn't picked by an editor one week, it doesn't mean to say that another of your pieces won't be picked by them on a different week. So keep sending those words out there. Remember, everything that you read was written by somebody!

Incidentally, this submission was Vicky's answer to the 'filler' question in Assignment 4, which she'd written and submitted at the beginning of February. This is one of the fastest turnarounds I've come across, seeing an assignment submission become a published piece!

Hmmm, have I just thrown down a gauntlet by any chance?

Good luck.

Gosh, What An Impatient Lot We Are!

Well after last week's posting, so many people have commented about the delays caused by editors! What an impatient lot we are! Anyone would think we wanted publication, fame and fortune NOW!

Penny Legg emailed me to describe two different situations that she'd encountered recently where an editor's lack of speed was resulting in lots of frustration. But her first example demonstrates why it is sensible to be cool headed about this:

"I have recently had two experiences which give examples of the behaviour to expect from some editors. I speak as an editor myself, as I edit The Woman Writer for the Society of Woman Writers and Journalists (SWWJ).

Seven months ago, yes, that is right, seven months, I submitted, to a well known UK magazine, a topical article about a ship's visit to the island I was then living on. It was one of several articles I wrote for magazines in the Caribbean and the UK and it had been commissioned. It was supposed to have appeared in the edition out in November but was not then published.

I had already queried the piece with the editor in November, when it did not appear. I was worried because it was becoming out of date. I queried again at the end of January. No reply.

Out of the blue, last Thursday, the editor contacted me and said he was going to run it in the April edition and could I send him the photographs and get the finished article vetted by the MOD by the 27th February! This was a tall order but I had kept in touch with the ship's personnel and it is being vetted as I type. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the OK arrives by the deadline. My query email obviously jogged the editor's mind about my piece."

So, evidence that politeness is the best policy, even when you want to punch an editor's brains out! Penny's other situation is different and at present, unresolved.

"In the meantime, I am really confused by the signals being sent out by another editor. She has already taken and published one article with photographs from me, but has ignored several article proposals since. To be honest, I found her quite difficult to deal with for the article she has published in her magazine, as she kept asking for more than was originally agreed, and I was in two minds whether to pitch a completed article I had written to her. I did so though and this time, not only did I receive a reply but she has taken the article. She has again been demanding and the original article I sent has been revised three times. Each time she emails she types as if we are having a conversation and are good friends. Whenever I have replied in kind, I have been ignored. This I have found disconcerting and, at times, frustrating. I do not feel I know where I stand with her. I am aware that she is a busy person and I am but a lowly contributor, but without lowly contributors there would be no magazine!

I emailed her last week and asked her politely what her magazine's policy on submissions was. Did she prefer to be approached via email, telephone or by post? Could I have a copy of the advertising guidelines for the magazine so that I could target my proposals to the interests of the magazine better? I pointed out that I did not want to waste a busy editor's time and that I was asking her as one professional woman to another. To date, and it has only been a few days, no reply."

The editor / writer relationship is a strange one. It's best if it is friendly, but you should always remember that it is a professional one too. Even though I'm a regular contributor to Country & Border Life magazine, there are times when my emails go unanswered for a couple of weeks. So don't think that editors are doing it because you're new to the game!

And remember, editors are humans too, believe it or not. They're entitled to a two week break in the sun. They get sick too and don't come into work for a couple of days. Their kids throw a wobbly on the way to school putting them in a bad mood.

Finally, Penny also sees the problem from the other side too.

"As I say, I too am an editor. I admit that the magazine I edit does not have the huge circulation of some of the big boys but it is true to say that it is as time consuming to produce as those further up the circulation ladder. As well as editing the magazine I am a freelance writer and photographer, working on articles and ideas everyday. I have been commissioned to write a book and am researching and putting this together. I have started giving talks to writer's groups too. I sit on the SWWJ's Council and have recently been asked to join another professional group. All of which I tell you because it demonstrates how busy an average editor can be. I do, however, make a point of looking at and replying to all emails that come in about The Woman Writer. It may take me some time, [see?] but everyone gets a reply. I can understand the frustration that your students have about the 'not knowing.' I have experienced it and do not like it any more than they do! This is why I try to reply to all queries I receive.

I think your advice to your students is spot on but I would add that it can be very tricky to understand where an editor is coming from when you correspond by email. Do not fall into the trap (as I have done on occasion) of being 'friendly' with editors. They are too busy. They are not your friends. They are emailing you purely because they think you have something they might like. Therefore, be polite but professional. When you come across an editor, such as the one above who confuses with crossed signals, think very carefully about how you reply."

So remember Penny's first experience where she kept in touch but did not lose her temper. It got her piece published in the end - and ultimately she'll be paid for it - the right result in the end.

Perhaps I should end by using a couple of cliched proverbs. Patience is a virtue and Good things come to those who wait.

Until next time. (which I hope won't be long!)

Good Luck.

The Waiting Game

Helen Stafford sent a note along with her latest assignment asking a question that many students ask;

"I've submitted several articles and letters and haven't heard back from many, despite sending a chaser letter too. How long should I wait?"

Welcome to the joys of a buyers market.

The problem is, not every magazine has a huge staff. Yes the Vogues, Cosmopolitans and Country Life magazines may have a long list of staff on their editorial contacts page, but actually, many of them will be working for more than one magazine. The editor may have a PA, but she's probably sharing her with three other editors. Come down the circulation scale and the editorial staff often dwindles to nothing. The editor may be the only member of staff, and whist that means they have the job of editing the magazine, it also means that they are the filing clerk, accounts clerk and chief tea maker too.

Just step into their shoes for a brief moment and answer this question: Do you answer every unsolicited item of mail that comes through your letter box, or email inbox?

I quite agree that common courtesy would suggest that if a writer sends some material and encloses a stamped addressed envelope, then the least an editor can do is return it in the SAE saying 'thanks, but no thanks.' And therein lies the crux of the matter. It isn't really the waiting that is a problem, it's the not knowing, isn't it? I've often said when running workshops at writer's groups and courses that I really wouldn't have a problem if an editor just shoved my work back into my envelope having written **** off! across it. Why? Because at least I know where I stand!

So what's a writer to do? Actually, I believe there's a few steps you can take.

1. Understand the publication's frequency. Weekly magazines work about 6 to 8 weeks in advance, monthlies can work 3 to 4 months ahead, whilst quarterlies may be working 6 to 9 months ahead. So don't consider chasing a weekly magazine for at least 3 months, a monthly for 6 months and a quarterly for a minimum of 6 months, but preferably 9.
2. When you're going to send a 'chaser' letter or email, be tactful. Tempting though it may be, don't demand your manuscript back and if you don't hear from them in 48 hours threaten to send round the heavies (much as you'd like to.) It is not unheard of for items to get lost in the post. The first time I 'chase' a submission I write a letter to the editor enquiring whether he/she can advise me if my manuscript arrived safely in their offices, and if not, could I send a duplicate? You'd be surprised the number of times, this elicits a reply. Now don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that an editor saying, "No, we didn't get it," may be lying - my manuscript could have fallen down the back of someone's desk in the office, but at least now I can get back to the editor enclosing the duplicate with a sentence saying "Please find a copy of the article, that you asked for."
3. If you send a chaser letter - wait a similar amount of time before sending any more, i.e. 6 to 8 weeks for a weekly, 6 months for a monthly, and so on.
4. If you still hear nothing after a couple of letters, you will understandably be quite frustrated. This is when I issue my final letter - I advise them that according to my records I sent them X article on X date(s) and if I have not heard from them by X date (usually one month), I assume that they are not interested in the piece and I am free to offer it elsewhere. After the date has passed, you can then rewrite it, angled at a different market.

This advice differs slightly, if you are writing something topical. I often state in my feedback to assignments that work with a topical hook can have improved chances of publication. It gives an editor a reason for using such a piece in a particular issue. Now obviously, if you submit a piece of work with a topical hook and the editor fails to respond, you are well within your rights to chase it up sooner than the timescales I've suggested above. Editors quite understand the need for topical material to be considered promptly.

Let's imagine that I've written a piece about Halloween now and I've sent it off to a monthly publication. Monthly magazines will be putting their October issues together around July time. So if I've submitted it now at the end of February, I need to hear back quite quickly. Because of the topicality, an editor would quite understand if I queried whether they were interested in the piece at the end of April. Querying then, gives me time to re-jig it and submit it elsewhere before July when the October magazines are being collated. So consider if your submission had a topical angle.

So, follow some sensible guidelines and always be polite when you chase. Remember, there's no law that says an editor has to respond to every letter that he/she gets, so coming across as annoyed and irritated won't help your cause. Offer the editor a 'saving face' option (i.e. it was lost in the post) and you may just encourage them to reply back to you.

Congratulations go to Helen for her persistence with a piece about the Session Courts in Lancaster which will be published in the local newspaper soon. And I'd also like to say well done to:

• Dave Cullen - for his articles in Best of British (he's had one published in the November, December and January issues, and the magazine is holding onto 4 more for possible use - and have yet to make their mind up on another 9!), and his success with the 'Rude Jokes' section in That's Life magazine. They may only be small fillers paying £15 a time, but Dave's had £60 from this one slot int he magazine.
• Rosemary Wells has had a letter published in the Daily Telegraph and an article published in the Methodist Recorder.

Keep up the good work everyone.

Good luck!

And another Tutor and ex-Student joint publication!

After yesterday's posting about an ex-student of mine, John Rooney, getting an article published in the same issue of the same magazine that I had a piece in, I was delighted to see something similar this morning.

The postman battled his way up the icy road to deliver the latest copy of Writer's Forum magazine and flicking through I happened to stumble across the Letters Page. There I saw a letter by Rob Innis from Spain. His letter, was on the same page as my letter! That means that we've both got a Moleskine notebook coming our way - the prize for having a letter published.

If you've never seen these notebooks, they are lovely! Imelda Marcos may be known for her massive shoe collection, well Simon Whaley will be known for his Moleskine notebook collection! The small ones are just perfect for jotting down ideas and thoughts, and I often draft articles, short stories and other bits of writing in the larger ones.

So well done Rob. And I now wonder whether I should be listing all of the other publications that I'm targeting over the next few months so that my other students can have a go at submitting to them at the same time too! But then again, perhaps their pieces may get accepted instead of mine and that would never do! I still have to eat you know!

Good Luck.

Forgot to say ...

I forgot to mention on my last posting that congratulations go to one of my ex-students, John Rooney who's had several of his articles published in Ireland's Own magazine. The last one happened to be published in the same issue that one of my own pieces was published in.

That's what I like to see - a student's and tutor's work in the same issue!

Have Confidence In Yourself.

Lara Haddadin is one of my students based in Jordan and she's just about to start tackling assignment 4. The amazing news is that she's already netted herself 3 columns!

"With Family Flavours magazine, the column has started, 'A Cup of Coffee with a Working Mama' and the first issue was in January. It was a great joy to finally see my name in print. So far I have sent them articles for this up to the May issue. There is another magazine that is published in Arabic (my mother language), in which I have two columns, one that is prose, the other that is a medical article."

This is all brilliant news, and congratulations go to Lara. But next came an interesting comment in her email;

"The same magazine is offering me a job in editing, which I don't feel myself ready for yet."

Wow! Now I quite understand how Lara feels. Having only completed 3 assignments to date, her confidence for doing an editing job is understandably low. But I think most of you know me by now that I like to look on the positive side of things, and I think this sends an amazingly positive message.

What this statement is saying, is that the people in the business believe that Lara has the right skills and abilities to do this role. And remember, these people are professionals. The image that Lara has projected by writing for the market and presenting her work in a professional way makes those magazine staff believe that she's been doing this for years and is capable of the position.

This is why we bang on about presentation and cover sheets, double-spacing and being specific with your targeting. If you do this from the start of your writing career, this is the image that you'll project. The first time an editor comes across your submission in their inbox or post, your professional image will make them think that you've been doing this for years. Your work will be as professional looking as that of one of their regular contributors.

If you do this, an editor doesn't know how long you've been writing for. You know that you're still tackling your coursework, or are just starting out trying to change a hobby into a career, but the editor doesn't. So have confidence in yourself. Just before you pop your submission in the post or click on that 'send' button, stop for a minute and take a look at your work one more time. But this time, look at it from the eyes of an editor. If you're impressed with what you've produced, then hold your head up high and be proud of it. You're playing with the professionals every time you send something off, so be confident that your work can survive out there with the professional's work. And every time you have a success just stop and think about it for a moment. Your work was chosen over that of other professional's work. And that should make you feel super-confident!

Good Luck.

Star for the Month

I would like to say that as a tutor, I get just as big a kick out of the news that one of my students has had a piece of work published, as they do.

I think that many writers who are just starting out, forget that EVERY writer who has had anything published (article, short story, book, novel) has been where they are NOW. I began writing over 20 years ago in my mid-teens and it took me several years to see my first published piece. I know EXACTLY what every new writer goes though. I've been there, done that and got the rejection slips!

This means that I can identify with that moment of elation that a writer experiences when news of publication arrives.

So when I turned the page of my copy of the March issue of Writing Magazine, I was delighted to see a name I recognised. I had arrived at the Letters Page and as I read GEOFFREY ROUTLEDGE's letter, I realised that this was one of his assignment pieces. Not only had Geoffrey got his letter published, but it had been selected by the editor as the issue's Star Letter!

So congratulations to Geoffrey! Proof indeed that assignment work can lead to publication. It's also proof that writing in the English language offers many more opportunities. For whilst Writing Magazine is a British publication, Geoffrey's letter originated from his home town of Taupo in New Zealand.

So my top letter writing tips are:

1. Write your letter to the appropriate length. If all the letters are shorter than 50 words in your target market then yours needs to be less than 50 words too.
2. Consider pictures. Pictures are often paid more money than those letters without. Check your target market. If every letter has a picture then your letter MUST have a picture.
3. If the letters in your target market refer back to an article in a previous issue, then your letter needs to do the same. (Geoffrey's refers back to a previous letter on the letters page.)
4. You can be controversial. Editors enjoy a good debate, so if you have strong views write in anyway. Your letter could be used to provide 'balance' to other more praising letters.
5. And finally - if your tutor tells you that your assignment work should be sent out, then do as he says :-)

Good luck!

Are books recession proof?

Considering that the credit crunch first began to nibble about a year ago, before taking a right mouthful after August, you may be surprised to hear that according to official figures just released, a total of 120,947 brand new books were published in the UK in 2008. That's 4% more than in 2007.

Of those 120,000 odd, about 20% were novels. The rest were non-fiction books, clearly demonstrating that non-fiction books are easier to get published than novels.

Students attempting assignment 10 which asks you to devise an outline for a non-fiction book should not be put off from what may seem a large task. Yes, writing a non-fiction book is more involved that writing an article, but the benefits are you only have to write the proposal first and send that to a publisher. Many of my non-fiction books have been accepted based upon the proposal and first chapter only. With a novel, you have to write the whole thing first before you should start approaching agents and publishers.

Above is the proposed front cover to my next book "The Bluffer's Guide to Hiking" which is scheduled for publication later this Spring, when hopefully the weather will have cheered up and people will want to get out into the great outdoors once more!

Will all these new books coming out, it's easy to think that books are recession proof - and you could say that they are. Historically, during a recession, book publishers continue to publish the same number of books. People will cut back on spending £50 for a day out, but they might still treat themselves to a £7.99 book instead which will give them many hours of pleasure. Where publishers tend to cut back, is on the advance payments.

So if you've written several articles about one specific topic, or you've undergone an experience that you think may offer support to others, why not consider writing a non-fiction book? Once it's been published, it will live on for eternity in the 6 largest library collections in the UK, no matter how many more recessions come and go.

Good luck.

See? I Told You I Was Right!

Following my posting about interviewing, Penny Legg emailed me to say this:

I was so interested to read your blog on interviewing today.

As you know, since I studied with you and the Writer's Bureau I have gone on to interview many people in many walks of life. Some interviews stand out more than others.

I was the only writer on Anguilla (and yes, there was more than one!) to be invited to interview the Captain of a Royal Naval warship when she came in to Anguilla on a good will visit. The Captain thought the interview was going to be a quick 10 minutes on what the ship's company was doing there. I had done my research though and wanted to know about him, the man I had come to interview, as well as the ship's reason for visiting. When I was shown in to see him, the ship's PR officer came in too. The Captain needed moral support! It had not occurred to me until then that he might be a bit nervous! However, we chatted over a mug of tea, he relaxed and soon sent his sidekick away.

In the end we talked for an hour and a half and I think we both genuinely felt sorry when it was time for me to go. I had looked into his background and asked him intelligent and thought provoking questions, which showed that I knew what I was talking about and was interested. I knew the difference between a 1980's Leander Class Frigate and the modern ship he now commanded. I knew which ships he had trained on, where he had worked and all the different steps he had taken to get to his present position. He was delighted that I had taken the trouble to find out so much and in return was happy to talk. He gave me a lovely interview, which was published in The Anguillian the following week.

The point is, I just asked. I asked for the interview and it was granted. This interview has led to my interviewing several other ships masters, including the Commodore of the Cunard fleet, the master of the Queen Mary 2, Bernard Warner. This interview is in the current edition of Hampshire Life magazine.

To all your students I would add the following advice - enjoy your interview. Be prepared for it so that you know what you want out of it and make sure you get the information you need, but enjoy getting it. As you say Simon, chatting over a cup of tea and a scone is a pleasure. The 'chat' needn't spoil the fun!

So there you have it! Interviewing can be fun. Go on, give it a go!

Good luck.

Interviewing ... Or Interrogations?

Firstly, I want to start this post by congratulating, Luca Caruana. He's a Writers Bureau student based in Malta and he's just sold an article to "Sunday Circle" the most popular magazine on the island. This is his third article that he will be paid for and means that he's covered the cost of the course - and he's only completed six assignments so far, so well done.

Rob Innis from Spain has dropped me a line to say "Yesterday I interviewed the British Consul in Alicante - ask and you sometimes get! She was fantastic, very friendly."

I know from many of the assignments that I receive from students that interviewing puts the fear of something horrible inside them it seems. I know what they're thinking. Can I do this without looking amateurish? Will I ask stupid questions? What happens if I get stupid answers? What if I don't like the person?

Forget all of your concerns. Most people, as Rob discovered, are happy to chat. And as Rob says, if you don;t ask, you don't get. Remember, what's the worst they can say to a request for an interview? No. So you go and find somebody else.

Here are my tips for better interviewing:

1. Ask open questions. They're the ones beginning "What?", "Why?", "How?", "Where?", "Who?" and "When?" These questions force people to talk.
2. Try to do some research beforehand and list some questions that you know you want answers to. Often you'll ask one and your interviewee will give you an answer which raises another question you hadn't thought of. That's fine, but before you finish your interview, check that you have answers to all the important questions you thought of originally.
3. If you can write shorthand (that includes me) then get a tape recorder. Tell the interviewee that you'll be recording, BUT TAKE NOTES AS WELL. Murphy's law says the tape recorder will break down or the batteries will go flat. (Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt (if not the interview!).
4. Don't think of it as an interview, think of it as a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. In fact, if you can, do your interview with refreshments. In my earlier blog posting about the Victorian Christmas, I chatted to the Museum's Curator in the cafe over a cup of tea and a very tasty scone!
5. If meeting face to face scares (and there's no reason why it should) you could email your questions to your interviewee. Sometimes this can be more practical than meeting face to face. I've interviewed people abroad in this way.
6. Offer to send interviewees a copy of the MAGAZINE CONTAINING THE ARTICLE. (in other words, buy it yourself and send it to them. It costs a few pennies to do this, but let's face it, what's a few pounds when the article could earn you much more than that? It's also polite, and the interviewee will be more likely to help out in the future too.
7. Don't send the interviewee a copy of the article BEFORE you send it to the magazine. You don't want them 'tweaking' your text. I usually say that as a freelance writer, I can offer no guarantees about what the editor uses. If I sent my article to the interviewee first, I can't guarantee that what the interviewee sees is what the editor will use. For whatever reason, the editor may decide at the last minute to cut something.
8. If you've booked a time slot with your interviewee, be professional and stick to it.
9. Think more than one magazine article. Your questions may be geared around one idea, but you may be able to make use of some other snippets of information that the interviewee gives you, for another article at another publication.
10. And it may seem silly to say, but let the interviewee talk. Don't shut them up when you think they've answered your question - let them keep going. You never know what they may say.

If you have used a tape recorder to record an interview, type it up as soon as you are back at your desk. It's easier to identify the good quotes from the text version that way.

So be brave and get out there an interview people. You never know where it may lead. And usually, you have too much information for what you need. So the article ends up writing itself, and you have more material for other pieces too. It doesn't get much better than that!

Good luck.

Try Travelling Closer to Home

Here in the northern hemisphere, January is often the month that many people start to think about their summer holidays. This is usually because the holiday companies have been bombarding us with adverts on the television since 2 minutes past midnight on Boxing Day.

For those students tackling assignment 6, it also makes them think about that most prized published article - the travel piece.

Ask anyone to describe the job of a travel writer, and most will probably mention a jet setting lifestyle, being sent to all four corners of the globe on an all expenses paid trip to lounge on an idyllic beach somewhere, sipping cocktails served by a beautiful waitress/ handsome waiter whilst watching a golden sun being reflected in the crystal clear waters of an azure coloured sea.

Yeah right - if you happen to get the commission from Conde Nast Traveller magazine you might be sent to the destination, but chat to any travel writer and the lounging bit is a complete piece of fiction. Most 'press organised' travel trips are non-stop shuttle buses, with journalists queuing up to interview selected interviewees before being shuttled off to the next destination.

But you don't have to travel far to be a travel writer. Look at what is on your own doorstep. Remember, your home destination is a tourist destination to somebody else. I've written travel articles about my own home town, and I've written about my county town Shrewsbury. Did I do much travelling to get to Shrewsbury to do my market research? No, I drove up the road and picked up the park and ride service. Not exactly international jet setting, but that doesn't matter. I sold the article to The Lady.

Editors are looking for something different. Your local attraction may be just that. One of my students, Jacki Hartley, recently wrote her travel piece about a trip she undertook to London. Now London is done to death as a tourist attraction, but Jacki chose a more unusual and different angle. She ignored the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. She wrote about the guided tour around Highgate Cemetery! (hence my earlier 'done to death' comment!)

It was interesting to read, she laced it with lots of interesting facts and let's face it, when asked what would you like to go and see in London, Highgate Cemetery would not be near the top of the list would it?

It's always tempting to look outside our own home environment when thinking about travel. But sometimes it can be just as interesting to stay local and look at everything through the eyes of a tourist. One student even wrote a travel piece for their local county magazine, reminding local residents about the exciting venues on their very own doorstep. The phrase 'staycation' is being bandied about at the moment by the media and means staying at home for your holiday this year because the credit crunch means people can't afford to travel far.

So don't let your itchy feet take you too far away for assignment 6. Travel writing is about the destination, not how far the writer had to travel to get there.

Good luck.

The Taxman Cometh .....

If there is one down side to freelance writing, it's the fact that at some point you have to tell the taxman. Actually, I would suggest telling the taxman as soon as possible. Here in the UK it is quite possible to be employed by an employer, and self-employed at the same time.

As long as your self-employed income is relatively low (and by that I mean something like £15,000 - but do check this out on the HMRC website ) then all you have to do is complete the basic tax return each year and the supplementary sheet for 'other income'. On this supplementary sheet you list all your writing related income and all your writing related expenditure. The difference between the two is your profit (hopefully) and this is what you are taxed on. If you make a loss, you may even be able to claim back some of the tax you've paid on your employment salary! Keeping records is therefore important.

Of course, since becoming a full time freelance writer, I'm purely self-employed which means that as well as paying the tax on the income that I earned in the previous financial year, the lovely tax man also decides that I should make a payment upfront towards this year's tax, even though he doesn't know how much I've earned (if anything!). And I can confirm that he is a regular kind of guy - and by that I mean consistent. For the past five years, he's always sent me a tax demand for my upfront payment in time for the postman to deliver it on Christmas Eve. Happy Christmas! Christmas cards arrive late during the Christmas period. My bank statements arrive late too. But my tax demand always arrives on Christmas Eve! Uncanny.

Keeping records is actually straight forward. All I do, is maintain a simple spreadsheet and give every receipt and every piece of income a unique sequential number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on). I write that sequential number on every receipt and remittance slip I get. I file my receipts in one plastic wallet and my remittances in another. That's all there is to it. Then at the end of the financial year I merely print out my spreadsheet, which gives me my total profit (hopefully) and check that I have my uniquely numbered paper records for every receipt and remittance.

This is all the information you need to give to the taxman.

Because I'm purely self-employed I do employ an accountant to check my figures and produce an annual set of accounts for me, but his costs are relatively cheap because he says my paper records are always in good order and my accounts are easy to do.

The reason I mention all this now is because I've just written out my cheque today to pay my tax for what I owe in advance. Murphy's Law says that when the end of the tax year arrives in April, I'll have paid too much and he'll have to give me some of it back.

But if you're in the early stages of your writing career, do take time to get your paperwork in order. Develop a system now, so that when the end of the tax year arrives in April, you can lay your hands on the information easily. Perhaps you can make it a New Year's Resolution to get your business finances in order? Remember, the taxman loves an organised person because they pay their tax on time. But he loves a disorganised person even more, because he can probably charge them more tax, or late payment penalties because a disorganised person doesn't know how much they should be paying! For more information about being self-employed in the UK, click here.

Good luck!

2009 - A New Year with New Anniversaries

Firstly, apologies for not posting anything for a while, but a family bereavement just before Christmas has meant that many of my energies have been diverted elsewhere and will continue to be for the immediate future. But whilst a family death does signify the end of an era, it is important to remember that life goes on. No matter where in the world you are in 2009, events will be happening, and these can all provide useful writing experiences.

I've mentioned in previous blogs that a useful resource is a website called www.expertsources.co.uk and they recently sent me a list of events happening in 2009, which I thought I'd share with you.

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JANUARY 2009
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Thursday 01 January
New Year's Honours
Bank Holiday

Friday 02 January
Bank Holiday: Scotland

Saturday 03 January
Football: England & Wales: FA Cup Third Round

Monday 05 January
Scottish Parliament returns from Christmas Recess
England & Wales: Start of Spring School Term
N. Ireland Assembly returns from Christmas Recess

Friday 09 January - Sunday 18 January
London International Boat Show

Saturday 10 January
Football: Scottish FA Cup Fourth Round

Sunday 11 January
Golden Globe Awards, USA

Sunday 11 January - Sunday 18 January
Snooker: The Masters, Wembley Arena

Monday 12 January
Welsh Assembly returns after Christmas Recess
Houses of Lords & Commons return from Christmas Recess

Tuesday 13 January
Lloyds/HBOS Merger: Open Offer shares begin trading

Saturday 17 January - Sunday 25 January
European Motor Show, Brussels

Monday 19 January - Sunday 01 February
Tennis: Australian Open, Melbourne

Monday 19 January
HBOS / Lloyds TSB Merger: Opening Day of New Business

Tuesday 20 January
Inauguration of 44th US President Barack Obama

Friday 23 January - Sunday 25 January
SDLP Annual Conference, Armagh

Saturday 24 January
End of Suspension on BBC presenter Jonathan Ross
Football: FA Cup Fourth Round

Sunday 25 January
Burns Night

Monday 26 January
Chinese New Year Celebrations: Year of the Ox

Tuesday 27 January
Holocaust Memorial Day, UK

Saturday 31 January
Football: Closure of Mid-Season Transfer Window
UK: Deadline for Self Assessment Tax Returns

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FEBRUARY 2009
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Sunday 01 February
Camelot launch Worldwide Lottery
Super Bowl XLIII, Tampa, Florida, USA
Evening Standard British Film Awards 2009

Monday 02 February
Buddy Holly died 50 years ago

Tuesday 03 February - Sunday 26 April
Buddy Holly Exhibition, Proud Galleries, London

Wednesday 04 February - Sunday 08 February
Cricket: W.Indies v England (1st Test) Kingston, Jamaica

Thursday 05 February
20 years ago: Launch of Sky Television

Friday 06 February
Queen's Accession Gun Salute, Green Park & Tower of London

Sunday 07 February
Rugby Union: England v Italy, Twickenham
Rugby Union: Ireland v France, Dublin
Football: Scottish FA Cup Fifth Round

Sunday 08 February
Grammy Awards, Los Angeles
British Academy (BAFTA) Film Awards

Monday 09 February - Friday 13 February
Church Of England General Synod Spring Meeting

Tuesday 10 February
Israel: Parliamentary Elections

Wednesday 11 February
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Rep of Ireland v Georgia, Dublin
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: San Marino v N.Ireland

Thursday 12 February
Abraham Lincoln born 200 years ago
Charles Darwin born 200 years ago

Thursday 12 February - Monday 23 February
Houses of Lords & Commons rise for Half Term Recess

Friday 13 February - Tuesday 17 February
Cricket: W.Indies v England 2nd Test, Antigua

Friday 13 February
Unlucky Day: Friday the 13th
UK Film Release: Pink Panther 2

Saturday 14 February
Football: FA Cup Fifth Round
Rugby Union: Wales v England
St Valentine's Day
25 years ago: Torvill and Dean won Olympic Gold

Sunday 15 February
Rugby Union: Italy v Ireland

Monday 16 February - Friday 20 February
Scottish Parliament Spring Recess

Monday 16 February
50 years ago: Fidel Castro became Cuban President

Monday 16 February - Friday 20 February
England & Wales: Spring Half Term
Welsh Assembly Half Term Recess

Wednesday 18 February
The Brit Awards: Earls Court, London

Friday 20 February
Gordon Brown is 58

Friday 20 February - Tuesday 24 February
London Fashion Week: Autumn/Winter, London

Saturday 21 February - Tuesday 24 February
Rio Carnival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Saturday 21 February
Robert Mugabe is 85

Sunday 22 February
The Academy Awards (Oscars), Los Angeles

Monday 23 February
Welsh Assembly back from Recess
Houses of Commons & Lords back from Recess
Scottish Parliament back from Recess

Tuesday 24 February
UK: Shrove Tuesday

Thursday 26 February - Monday 02 March
Cricket: W.Indies v England 3rd Third Test, Barbados

Friday 27 February
Rugby Union: France v Wales

Saturday 28 February
Rugby Union: Ireland v England
Rugby Union: Scotland v Italy
Miss Great Britain 2008, London

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MARCH 2009
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Sunday 01 March
Football: Carling Cup Final, Wembley
St David's Day

Thursday 05 March - Sunday 08 March
Crufts Dog Sow, NEC, Birmingham

Thursday 05 March - Sunday 15 March
Geneva International Motor Show, Switzerland

Friday 06 March - Tuesday 08 September
Liberal Democrats Spring Conference, Harrogate

Friday 06 March - Tuesday 10 March
Cricket: W. Indies v England 4th Test, Trinidad & Tobago

Saturday 07 March
Football: FA Cup Quarter Finals
Football: Scottish FA Cup Quarter Finals

Sunday 08 March
Arts: The Laurence Olivier Awards, London

Monday 09 March
Queen attends Commonwealth Day Observance Service

Wednesday 11 March
UK: No Smoking Day

Wednesday 11 March - Friday 13 March
TUC Women's Conference, Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Thursday 12 March
25 years ago: Start of nationwide Miners' Strike

Friday 13 March
UK: Comic Relief Red Nose Day
Friday 13th Unlucky Day

Friday 13 March - Sunday 15 March
Scottish Lib Dem Spring Conference
Horse Racing: Cheltenham Gold Cup

Saturday 14 March
Rugby Union: Italy v Wales
Rugby Union: Scotland v Ireland

Sunday 15 March
100 years ago: Selfridges opened in London

Sunday 15 March
Rugby Union: England v France, Twickenham

Tuesday 17 March
St Patrick's Day
Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2008
1 year ago: Paul McCartney and Heather Mills divorce

Friday 20 March
Spring Equinox

Saturday 21 March
Rugby Union: England v Scotland, Twickenham
Rugby Union: Italy v France
Rugby Union: Wales v Ireland, Cardiff
Alliance Party Conference, Antrim, N.Ireland

Sunday 22 March
UK: Mothering Sunday

Tuesday 24 March - Monday 30 March
Horse Racing: Dubai World Cup

Saturday 28 March
Football Friendly: England v Slovakia, Wembley

Saturday 28 March
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Holland v Scotland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Northern Ireland v Poland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Rep of Ireland v Bulgaria
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Wales v Finland

Sunday 29 March
Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
Motor Racing: F1 Australian Grand Prix
Start of British Summer Time (Clocks Forward One Hour)

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APRIL 2009
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Wednesday 01 April
April Fool's Day
UK: Basic State Pension Rises to £92.25
Inheritance Tax Threshold Increases to £325,000
UK: TV Licence Fee Rises 3% to £139.50
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: England v Ukraine
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Italy v Rep of Ireland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Northern Ireland v Slovenia
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Scotland v Iceland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Wales v Germany

Thursday 02 April - Monday 20 April
Houses of Lords & Commons Rise for Easter Recess

Thursday 02 April - Saturday 04 April
Horse Racing: Grand National Meeting, Aintree

Friday 03 April
N. Ireland Assembly Rises for Easter Recess
Welsh Assembly Rises for Easter Recess
Scottish Parliament: Easter Recess

Sunday 05 April
Motor Racing: F1 Malaysian Grand Prix
Palm Sunday

Thursday 09 April
Maundy Thursday

Thursday 09 April - Friday 10 April
Jewish Festival of Passover

Thursday 09 April - Sunday 12 April
Golf: US Masters, Augusta, Georgia, USA

Friday 10 April 2009
Good Friday: UK Bank Holiday

Friday 10 April - Tuesday 14 April
National Union of Teachers Annual Conference, Cardiff

Sunday 12 April
Easter Sunday

Monday 13 April
Easter Monday: UK Bank Holiday

Wednesday 15 April
20 years ago: Hillsborough Football Disaster

Friday 17 April - Saturday 18 April
Horse Racing: Scottish Grand National Meeting, Ayr

Saturday 18 April
Rugby Union: Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, Twickenham

Saturday 18 April - Sunday 19 April
Football: FA Cup Semi-Finals, Wembley

Saturday 18 April - Monday 04 May
Snooker: World Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

Saturday 18 April
Zimbabwe National Day

Sunday 19 April
Motor Racing: F1 Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai

Monday 20 April
Houses of Lords & Commons Return from Easter Recess
Scottish Parliament Returns from Easter Recess
N. Ireland Assembly Returns from Easter Recess
England & Wales Schools: Start of Summer Term
Boston Marathon

Tuesday 21 April
20 years ago: Start of Tiananmen Square Demonstrations, China

Tuesday 21 April
Queen's Birthday (83)
Worldwide Holocaust Commemoration Day

Thursday 23 April
St George's Day

Friday 24 April - Sunday 26 April
Wales Labour Party Conference, Swansea

Saturday 25 April - Sunday 26 April
Conservative Spring Conference, Cheltenham

Saturday 25 April - Sunday 26 April
Football: Scottish FA Cup Semi Finals, Hampden Park

Sunday 26 April
Flora London Marathon
Motor Racing: F1 Bahrain Grand Prix
10th Anniv death of TV presenter Jill Dando
Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Awards

Monday 27 April
Welsh Assembly Returns after Easter Recess

Thursday 30 April
Extraordinary G20 Summit Follow-Up Meeting, London
Football: UEFA Cup Semi-Finals 1st Legs

---------------
MAY 2009
---------------
Saturday 02 May
Horse Racing: Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Kentucky USA
Football Leagues One and Two: Season Ends

Sunday 03 May
2nd Anniv: Madeleine McCann disappearance in Portugal
One year ago: Boris Johnson became London Mayor
BUPA Great Edinburgh Run
Polish National Day
Football: Coca-Cola Championship: Season Ends

Monday 04 May
30 years ago: Margaret Thatcher became British Prime Minister
Football: FA Women's Cup Final
May Day Bank Holiday

Thursday 07 May - Monday 11 May
Cricket: England v Sri Lanka 1st Test, Lords

Thursday 07 May - Sunday 10 May
Badminton Horse Trials, Gloucestershire

Friday 08 May
VE Day
UK Film Release: Star Trek XI
25 years ago: Opening of Thames Barrier

Sunday 10 May
Motor Racing: F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona

Monday 11 May - Thursday 14 May
Police Fed of England & Wales Annual Conf, Bournemouth

Tuesday 12 May
60 years ago: Lifting of Berlin Blockade

Wednesday 13 May - Sunday 17 May
Royal Windsor Horse Show, Berkshire

Friday 15 May - Tuesday 19 May
Cricket: England v Sri Lanka 2nd Test, Durham

Friday 15 May - Saturday 16 May
Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party Annual Conference

Saturday 16 May
Eurovision Song Contest - Grand Final, Moscow
Rugby Union: Guinness Premiership Final, Twickenham

Tuesday 19 May - Saturday 23 May
RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Wednesday 20 May
Football: UEFA Cup Final, Istanbul, Turkey

Thursday 21 May - Monday 01 June
Houses of Lords & Commons Rise for Whitsun Recess

Thursday 21 May - Sunday 31 May
The Hay Festival 2009, Hay on Wye, Powys

Thursday 21 May - Sunday 30 August
Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2009, Lewes, East Sussex

Friday 22 May - Sunday 24 May
British Rally Championship: Jim Clark Rally, Kelso

Saturday 23 May
German Presidential Election

Saturday 23 May
Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Final, Murrayfield

Sunday 24 May
62nd Cannes International Film Festival Palme d'Or Award
Football: Barclays Premier League Season Ends
Motor Racing: F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Motor Sport: Indianapolis 500, Indiana, USA
200 years ago: Opening of Dartmoor Prison

Sunday 24 May - Sunday 07 June
Tennis: French Open, Roland Garros, Paris

Monday 25 May
Football: Coca-Cola Championship Play-Off Final, Wembley
Whitsun Bank Holiday
Los Angeles Marathon

Monday 25 May - Friday 29 May
England & Wales Schools: Summer Half Term
Welsh Assembly Half Term Recess

Tuesday 26 May
100 years ago: Birth of Sir Matt Busby

Wednesday 27 May
Football: UEFA Champions League Final, Rome

Saturday 30 May
Football: FA Cup Final, Wembley

Saturday 30 May - Friday 12 June
Motor Cycling: Isle of Man TT Races

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JUNE 2009
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Monday 01 June
Welsh Assembly Returns after Half Term Recess
Houses of Lords & Commons Return from Whitsun Recess

Wednesday 03 June
50 years ago: Singapore Independence

Thursday 04 June
20 years ago: Tiananmen Square Massacre, Beijing, China
UK Local Authority Elections
Mayoral Elections
European Parliament elections

Friday 05 June - Saturday 06 June
Horse Racing: Derby Festival, Epsom

Friday 05 June
Derby Ladies Day, Epsom, Surrey

Saturday 06 June
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Azerbaijan v Wales
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier Bulgaria v Rep of Ireland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier Kazakhstan v England
Athletics: SPAR European Cup
Horse Racing: Derby Day, Epsom, Surrey

Sunday 07 June
Motor Racing: F1 Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul
London to Brighton Classic Car Run

Wednesday 10 June
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: England v Andorra

Wednesday 10 June
Duke of Edinburgh is 88

Friday 12 June - Sunday 14 June
Isle of Wight Music Festival

Saturday 13 June - Sunday 14 June
Motor Racing: Le Mans 24-Hour Race

Monday 15 June - Sunday 21 June
Golf: 109th US Open, Farmingdale, USA

Tuesday 16 June - Saturday 20 June
Horse Racing: Royal Ascot

Wednesday 17 June - Sunday 28 June
Edinburgh International Film Festival

Wednesday 17 June
Falklands Memorial Day: Annual Service of Remembrance

Thursday 18 June
Horse Racing: Royal Ascot - Ladies Day

Friday 19 June - Sunday 21 June
Motor Racing: F1 British Grand Prix Meeting, Silverstone

Saturday 20 June
Rugby Union: British & Irish Lions v South Africa, 1st Test, Durban
Hollywood actor Errol Flynn born 100 years ago

Saturday 20 June - Sunday 05 July
Ludlow Festival, Shropshire

Sunday 21 June
Motor Racing: F1 British Grand Prix, Silverstone
Prince William is 27
Summer Solstice
UK: Father's Day

Monday 22 June - Sunday 05 July
Tennis: Wimbledon Championships

Thursday 25 June - Sunday 28 June
Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh

Friday 26 June - Sunday 28 June
Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset

Saturday 27 June
2 years ago: Gordon Brown became British Prime Minister
UK: Inaugural Armed Forces Day
Rugby Union: British & Irish v South Africa, 2nd Test, Pretoria

Saturday 27 June - Sunday 30 August
Scottish Parliament Summer Recess

Sunday 28 June
New European Union Passports: Fingerprints required
Horse Racing: Irish Derby, Curragh, Kildare

Tuesday 30 June
UK Final Deadline for University Applications

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JULY 2009
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Wednesday 01 July - Sunday 05 July
Henley Royal Regatta, Oxfordshire

Friday 03 July - Sunday 05 July
Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex

Friday 03 July
Athletics: IAAF Golden League: Bislett Games, Oslo

Saturday 04 July
Rugby Union: British & Irish Lions v S. Africa, Final Test, Johannesburg

Saturday 04 July - Sunday 26 July
Cycling: Tour de France

Saturday 04 July
10 years ago: Marriage of David Beckham and Victoria Adams
USA Independence Day

Tuesday 07 July
Unveiling of July 7 London Bombing Memorial, London

Tuesday 07 July - Sunday 12 July
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Tuesday 07 July - Friday 10 July
Royal Show, National Agricultural Centre, Warwickshire

Wednesday 08 July - Friday 10 July
Politics: G8 Summit, Rome

Wednesday 08 July - Sunday 12 July
Cricket: England v Australia 1st Test, Cardiff

Wednesday 08 July - Sunday 20 September
Led Zeppelin Exhibition, Proud Galleries, London

Sunday 12 July
Motor Racing: F1 German Grand Prix, Hockenheim

Monday 13 July
Battle of the Boyne Bank Holiday, Northern Ireland

Tuesday 14 July
France: Bastille Day

Thursday 16 July
40 years ago: Launch of first USA manned moon mission

Thursday 16 July - Monday 20 July
Cricket: England v Australia 2nd Test, Lords

Thursday 16 July - Sunday 19 July
Golf: The Open Championship, Turnberry

Thursday 16 July - Sunday 26 July
World Games 2009, Taiwan

Friday 17 July
UK Film Release: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Welsh Assembly Rises for Summer Recess

Friday 17 July - Saturday 12 September
BBC Proms 2009, Royal Albert Hall

Saturday 18 July - Sunday 19 July
Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire

Monday 20 July - Monday 21 September
Welsh Assembly Summer Recess

Monday 20 July - Thursday 23 July
Royal Welsh Show 2009, Builth Wells

Tuesday 21 July - Monday 12 October
Houses of Lords & Commons Rise for Summer Recess

Wednesday 22 July
Various Venues Worldwide: Total Solar Eclipse

Friday 24 July
England & Wales Schools: End of Summer Term

Friday 24 July - Sunday 26 July
Motor Racing: Silverstone Classic

Saturday 25 July
100 years ago: First Cross-Channel Flight

Sunday 26 July
Motor Racing: F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest

Monday 27 July
Three Years to London 2012 Olympics

Tuesday 28 July - Saturday 01 August
Horse Racing: Glorious Goodwood

Thursday 30 July - Monday 03 August
Cricket: England v Australia 3rd Test, Edgbaston

Thursday 30 July - Sunday 02 August
British Transplant Games, Coventry

Friday 31 July
50 years ago: Cliff Richard first Number 1 record - Living Doll

----------------------
AUGUST 2009
----------------------
Saturday 01 August - Saturday 08 August
National Eisteddfod Of Wales

Tuesday 04 August
US President Barack Obama is 48

Friday 07 August - Tuesday 11 August
Cricket: England v Australia 4th Test, Headingley

Friday 07 August - Saturday 29 August
Edinburgh Tattoo, Edinburgh Castle

Sunday 09 August - Thursday 13 August
Fastnet Yacht Race, Isle of Wight

Wednesday 12 August
UK: Glorious Twelfth: Start of Shooting Season

Thursday 13 August - Sunday 16 August
Golf: US PGA Championship, Minnesota, USA

Friday 14 August - Sunday 06 September
Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh

Friday 14 August
Pakistan Independence Day

Saturday 15 August
Cricket: Twenty20 Cup: Finals Day, Edgbaston
India Independence Day

Tuesday 18 August - Friday 21 August
Horse Racing: Ebor Festival, York

Wednesday 19 August
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Norway v Scotland
Afghanistan Independence Day

Thursday 20 August
20 years ago: Marchioness Disaster on River Thames

Thursday 20 August - Monday 24 August
Cricket: England v Australia 5th Test, Oval

Saturday 22 August - Sunday 23 August
V Festival at Chelmsford & Weston Park, Staffs

Saturday 22 August - Sunday 30 August
17th World Transplant Games, Queensland, Australia

Sunday 23 August
Motor Racing: F1 Grand Prix of Europe, Valencia

Sunday 23 August - Sunday 30 August
World Rowing Championships, Poland

Thursday 27 August
England & Wales Schools: GCSE Results

Friday 28 August - Sunday 30 August
Reading & Leeds Pop Festival

Saturday 29 August - Sunday 30 August
Rugby League: Carnegie Challenge Cup Final, Wembley

Saturday 29 August - Monday 31 August
Notting Hill Carnival, London

Sunday 30 August
Motor Racing: F1 Belgian Grand Prix

Sunday 30 August - Monday 31 August
Knebworth Classic Motor Show, Hertfordshire

Monday 31 August
August Bank Holiday
English Football Transfer Window Closes
Scottish Parliament Returns from Summer Recess

----------------------------
SEPTEMBER 2009
----------------------------
Thursday 03 September
England & Wales: Autumn School Term

Friday 04 September
100 years ago: First Boy Scout Rally, Crystal Palace

Saturday 05 September
Football Friendly: England v Slovenia

Saturday 05 September
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Poland v N. Ireland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Scotland v Macedonia
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Cyprus v Rep of Ireland

Wednesday 09 September
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: England v Croatia
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: N.Ireland v Slovakia
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Scotland v Holland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Wales v Russia

Friday 11 September
September 11 Commemorations, Ground Zero, New York

Saturday 12 September
Horse Racing: St Leger Festival, Doncaster

Sunday 13 September
Motor Racing: F1 Italian Grand Prix, Monza

Monday 14 September - Thursday 17 September
Trades Union Congress, Liverpool

Tuesday 15 September
UK: Battle of Britain Day
Prince Harry is 25

Thursday 17 September
60 years ago: First NATO Meeting, Washington

Sunday 19 September - Thursday 23 September
Liberal Democrats Annual Conference, Bournemouth

Monday 21 September
Welsh Assembly Returns after Summer Recess

Thursday 24 September - Monday 05 October
Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan

Sunday 27 September
Motor Racing: F1 Singapore Grand Prix

Sunday 27 September
German Parliamentary Elections

Sunday 27 September - Monday 28 September
Yom Kippur: Jewish Day of Atonement

Sunday 27 September - Thursday 01 October
Labour Party Annual Conference, Brighton

------------------------
OCTOBER 2009
------------------------
Thursday 01 October
Chinese National Day
Cyprus Independence Day

Friday 02 October
Announcement of 2016 Summer Olympics Host City
100 years ago: First Rugby Match at Twickenham

Saturday 03 October
German Day of Unity: East & West (1990)

Sunday 04 October
Motor Racing: F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Monday 05 October - Thursday 08 October
Conservative Party Conference, Manchester

Wednesday 07 October - Sunday 11 October
Horse of the Year Show, NEC Birmingham

Friday 09 October
David Cameron is 43

Saturday 10 October
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Finland v Wales
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Rep of Ireland v Italy
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Ukraine v England

Monday 12 October
Houses of Lords & Commons return from Summer Recess

Wednesday 14 October
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Czech Republic v N.Ireland
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: England v Belarus
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Liechtenstein v Wales
Football: World Cup 2010 Qualifier: Rep of Ireland v Montenegro

Wednesday 14 October
Hollywood actor Errol Flynn died 50 years ago

Thursday 15 October
Sarah Ferguson is 50

Sunday 18 October
Motor Racing: F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo

Sunday 25 October
End of British Summer Time (Clocks Back One Hour)

Monday 26 October - Friday 30 October
England & Wales Schools: Start of Autumn School Term

Saturday 31 October
Halloween
Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline

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NOVEMBER 2009
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Sunday 01 November
Motor Racing: F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, UAE

Monday 02 November
50 years ago: Opening of first M1 section (Watford to Rugby)

Tuesday 03 November
New York City Mayor & City Council Election

Wednesday 04 November
1 year ago: Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States

Thursday 05 November
Bonfire Night: Guy Fawkes' Day
100 years ago: Opening of first Woolworth's shop in UK (Liverpool)

Sunday 08 November
Remembrance Sunday: Queen at Cenotaph Service

Monday 09 November
20 years ago: Berlin Wall Stormed and Part Demolished

Wednesday 11 November
Armistice Day

Saturday 14 November
The Prince Of Wales is 61

Monday 16 November
50 years ago: The Sound of Music Opened On Broadway

Saturday 21 November
20 years ago: Start of live TV coverage of Commons debates

Friday 27 November - Sunday 29 November
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Trinidad & Tobago

Monday 30 November
St Andrew's Day

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DECEMBER 2009
---------------------------
Thursday 10 December
Nobel Prize Awards, Oslo

Tuesday 15 December
25 years ago: Band Aid released ‘Do They Know It's Christmas'
70 years ago: World Film Premiere of ‘Gone With The Wind'

Monday 21 December
Winter Solstice

Tuesday 22 December
20 years ago: Reopening of Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Thursday 24 December
Christmas Eve

Friday 25 December
Christmas Day

Saturday 26 December
Boxing Day

Saturday 26 December
5 years ago: Over 170,000 killed by Asian Tsunami

Thursday 31 December
New Year's Eve

I'm sure you'll agree there are some interesting anniversary subject pieces here - the start of the nationwide miner's strike was 25 years ago, 100 years ago Selfridges opened in London, the Tianamen Square demonstration were 20 years ago, 25 years ago the Thames Barrier was officially opened and Margaret thatcher came to power 30 years ago, to name just a few.

So get your thinking caps on, and I hope 2009 is a creatively productive year for all of you.

Good luck.