How I (Finally) Got Published

Tags

Fish Publishing, How I Got Published, HWA & Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award, London's Foundling Hospital Museum, The Historical Writers Association, The Servant, writing groups, Writing Magazine

 

Back in 2015 I visited London’s Foundling Hospital Museum for the first time. It is an emotive place and I couldn’t get the heart-breaking stories it told – about the tokens desperate mothers left in the hope that they might, one day, be able to retrieve their precious child – out of my head. My book, The Servant, is the result.

Founded by Royal Charter in 1739, The London Foundling Hospital came into existence after seventeen years of effort by retired sea captain, William Coram, to make ‘Provision for Foundlings’. His eventual success was due, to a great extent, to his gaining the support of sixteen ladies of high rank, headed by the Duchess of Somerset. Their signatures on The Ladies Petition was presented to George III in 1735.

Initially, it was a short story – The Gingham Square – sent off to a Fish competition which also offered the bonus of a critique of your entry. The story itself (fortunately, as it turned out) failed to be placed, but the feedback I received from their editor was more than positive. It suggested that while the scope of what I had written was overwhelming for the short story form, it had the potential for something larger: a book.

Reader, I set my shoulder to the wheel.

Producing The Servant been a tortuous process which would have been impossible without the support of the outstanding input of other members of ninevoices. Extracts were read out loud at our WIP meetings, red pencils were flourished over purple prose, tactful hints made about pruning my obsessive use of research material, with even the odd encouraging cartoon added in the margin. 

Finally, last September, I learned from the invaluable pages of Writing Magazine that the Historical Writers Association, in partnership with Sharpe Books, were promoting a competition to find an unpublished historical novel. The prize was £500 and a publishing deal. To my delighted amazement, after the excitement of being shortlisted, I discovered that I had won.

Our followers will know that I have been writing and submitting for years and, despite having a couple of short stories published and some encouraging feedback from agents, rejection was the absolute norm. Until now.

Please let me encourage all you other writers out there to keep going. To keep entering competitions. And to find some like-minded writing friends. Not to mention a few supportive beta-reading dogs to rest an encouraging head on your knee.

 

‘The Servant’ is available to buy on Kindle from today, at £2.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087N8H9PB/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+servant+maggie&qid=1587807272&sr=8-2

 

The Rejection Diaries – and Why Persistence Might be More Important than Talent

Tags

Fish Publishing, Getting Published, HWA & Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award

A writing competition spurned my entry last week. Well, they didn’t spurn the thing – they were too nice for that – but they gave it a firm thumbs down. No place on their shortlist; no place on their longlist. Not even a commendation. 

But do I care? I do not, for reasons you will find below.

Rejections are normally the occasion for private breast-beating and lamentation, however much we put on a brave front to family and friends. I recently received a rejection from an agent who added that they offered professional advice to ‘beginner writers’. As someone who has slaved not only over computer keyboards but, once upon a time, actual typewriters, that made me want to heave a brick through someone’s window.

But let me tell you a story. Back in 2015 I visited London’s Foundling Hospital for the first time. It is an incredibly emotive place and I couldn’t get the stories it told out of my head. So I did what writers do. I drafted a short story, The Gingham Square – about the tokens those tragic mothers left in the hope that they might one day be able to retrieve their precious child. The story was entered into a Fish Publishing competition and, while it failed to earn a prize, their senior editor said that she felt it had the potential for a book.

Reader, I wrote the thing. Not with either ease or expedition, because considerable research was needed and I had never tried to be a historical novelist before, but a year or so ago I started showing the result to agents and entering competitions. Many drafts had been taken apart at ninevoices‘ meetings. Many discussions had ensued about whether a ‘happy ending’ would dilute the story’s force. Many red pencils had crossed through purple prose and lamentable grammar. It went through four different titles.

I also sent it back to Fish for a professional critique by the editor whose vision had made it all happen. It was a sound investment, for her suggestions made it a better book.

This month I received the wonderful news that I had won the HWA/Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award and that my book, The Servant, will be published next year. I have actually signed a contract.

I am always nagging people to enter competitions and do not intend to stop since acting on such advice has, amazingly, worked for me. That, and being a member of a tremendously supportive writing group. So when you see my next Competitions to Enter post, I suggest you do not dither. Winning IS possible. And even if you don’t win, be inspired by Sylvia Plath’s famous quote: I love my rejections. They prove that I am trying.

What are you waiting for? It CAN happen. 

Oh, yes. A poem, for which I had high hopes, was also rejected in the middle of the week – and my longlisting for the Exeter Novel Award did not translate into a shortlisting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, yes. A poem I had high hopes for was also rejected in the middle of the week.

Writing Competitions to Enter in March

Tags

BBC National Short Story Award 2019, Evesham Festival of Words, Fish Publishing, Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition, Henshaw Press Quarterly Short Story Competition, Neil Gunn Writing Competitions, The White Review Short Story Prize, Writer's Forum, Writing Magazine

 

What better time than spring to begin a new short story, enter a competition, or perhaps create a children’s book about the creature whose magical home is under this tree…?

The White Review Short Story Prize is for ambitious short fiction between 2,000 and 7,000 words by UK writers who have yet to secure a publishing deal. There is a first prize of £2,500, with the winning story being published in the print edition of the quarterly White Review. Shortlisted entries will be published online and their authors will receive feedback from The White Review editors. The entry fee is £15 and the closing date 4 March. For full rules and entry details: http://www.thewhitereview.org/prize

Neil Gunn Writing Competitions. Short story: 2,500 words max. Poetry: 40 lines max. Prizes: £500; £300; £200 in each category. Entry fee: £8. Deadline 8 March. Details: http://www.highlifehigh-land.com/neilgunn

Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition for writers aged 16-plus. 2,500 words maximum. Prizes: £150 plus trophy. Entry fee: £5. Deadline 22 March. Details: eveshamfestivalof-words.org/competition

Evesham Festival of Words Junior Competition for a story of 500 words max (age 8-11); 1,000 words (age 12-15). Prizes: £30 gift voucher plus trophy in each category. Details: eveshamfestivalof-words.org/competition

Fish Publishing Poetry Contest for a poem of 300 words. Prizes: 1,000 Euros; week at Anam Cara retreat; 200 Euros; top 10 published in anthology. Entry fee: 14 Euros, then 8 Euros thereafter. Deadline 31 March. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com/writing-contests

The BBC National Short Story Award 2019, with Cambridge University, is open for entries until March 11. This prestigious award has a first prize of £15,000, and four shortlisted authors will each win £600. All winning stories will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in an anthology. Stories should be aimed at adult readers and up to 8,000 words. However, to enter writers must have a previous record of publication in creative writing (prose fiction, drama or poetry) with an established book publisher, newspaper, magazine, journal or periodical in the UK, or broadcast by a UK national broadcaster or content provider. Self-published work is not eligible. Entry is free, and each author may submit just one story. Full details from https://writ.rs/bbcnssa2019

Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition for 500 words maximum. Entry fee: £5 or £8 for two. Prizes: £300, plus publication in Words with Jam; £200 and £100. Details: http://www.flash500.com

Henshaw Press Quarterly Short Story Competition for short stories of 2,000 words. Prizes: £100; £50. Deadline end March. Details: henshawpress.co.uk

Not a vast field, but there are always other, themed, competitions run by Writing Magazine and by Writers’ Forum which you can enter – some of which are open to non-subscribers.

As always, please remember to double-check the latest entry details before pressing that ‘send‘ button.

[My picture, incidentally, was taken last Tuesday, at Scotney Castle, in Kent. Bravo for our wonderful National Trust, and the wit they show in the notices displayed for visitors…]

Competition Opportunities in November

Tags

Bath Children's Novel Award, Congleton Players, Erewash Writers Free Entry Competition, Fish Publishing, Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, Speldhurst Village Scarecrow Competition

I’m a couple of days late with this – for which, my apologies, I was off on my broomstick – but here are some competitions worth entering in November.

Bath Children’s Novel Award, for 7-17 years. 5,000 words plus synopsis. Entry fee £25. Prizes: £2,000; £500 Cornerstones voucher. Deadline: 19 November. Details: bathnovelaward.co.uk/childrens-novel-award

Erewash Writers Free Entry Competition. Poem: 40 lines. Flash Fiction: max 500 words. Story: 1,500-2,000 words. Theme: Live in the Moment. Entry, as said, is free, but is limited to two entries max per person. Prizes: £25 story; £10 poetry/flash fiction, plus publication. Deadline: 23 November. Details: erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2017-free-entry-themed-writing-competition.html

Fish Short Story Prize 2017.  Word limit, 5,000. Entry fee: 20 Euros. 10 stories will also be selected to go into the 2018 Fish Anthology. First prize: 3,000 Euros. Second prize: Week at Anam Cara Writers Retreat, plus 300 Euros. Third prize: 300 Euros. Fish also have an on-line short story writing course and a critique service. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com

Congleton Playwriting Competition for one-act plays from new and emerging playwrights with a running time of 20-30 minutes (3,500-4,000 words). Ideally plays should have between two and six characters, but monologues will be considered. Shortlisted plays will be performed at the Congleton Players One-Act Play Festival in 2018, and the writer of the play voted the audience’s favourite will get £150. ENTRY IS FREE. Deadline: 30 November. Details: http://congletonplayers.com/

There are also always competitions to enter in Writer’s Magazine and Writers’ Forum.

And, finally, November is National Novel Writing Month, the challenge to use November to get your word count up to 50,000 words and your book properly under way. Although this started on November 1st, you can still sign up. There are badges for reaching important targets and a prize draw for people who get successfully to the end. Along the way are pep talks, support and the chance to meet fellow writers on-line. Details: https://nanowrimo.org

 

The picture, incidentally, was one of my entries into the annual Speldhurst Village Scarecrow Competition. It didn’t win, nor did it get placed (maybe it should have been featured in my Rejection Diaries), but was great fun to create. My friends tell me the likeness is remarkable, apart from the hair length.

To Pay or Not to Pay (or How Much to Pay)

Tags

Cornerstones, Curtis Brown, Daniel Goldsmith, feedback, Fish Publishing, Hilary Johnson, Manuscript submissions, mentoring, Novel, The CWA, The Literary Consultancy, The Romantic Novelists Association, Writers & Artists

I recently had this somewhat disconcerting exchange with a writer I met in a chat room:

Me: Do you belong to a writing group of any kind?

She: I am a published writer.

The writer in question then inundated me with copies of her (self-) published poems and stories. I didn’t have to read very far to conclude that, while I admired her self-confidence, she would have greatly benefited from feedback of some kind.

But this raises a question: How far should we go in seeking feedback and assessment before pursuing publication?  Agents and publishers are inundated with submissions and can rarely take the time to provide individualized comments along with their rejections. Writing groups such as our own ninevoices provide a wonderful forum for reaction, constructive criticism, advice and, at times, brainstorming. But after twelve years together we know each other well and have become as familiar with and protective of one another’s work as we are of our own. This is when we consider using paid manuscript assessment services for an ‘objective’ outside view.

There is a wide array of such services available. You can pay as little  as £100 for a detailed critique of your first 3000 words and a 1000 word synopsis to as much as £2,650 for twelve months/60,000 words mentoring with extra fees for each additional 1000 words. The critics/mentors are generally published authors or industry professionals and most of these claim working connections with agents and publishers.  In other words, pick the right assessment service and you could have a one-stop shop for unbiased, professional advice and, if your work is good enough, a foot in the oh-so-heavy-door to publication.

The problem, of course, is finding the right service for you. Will the person reading your manuscript understand what you’re trying to achieve? Will they appreciate your quirky style? Are they experienced in your genre? Members of ninevoices have had mixed experiences. Two found the assessments of their work truly constructive and professional. A third felt the reader had completely missed the point and, in the event, reclaimed some of what she had paid. And, of course, while ostensibly objective, some of these businesses can play on our eagerness for publication by soft-peddling criticism and encouraging us to use more of their services to whip our manuscripts into shape. I’ve yet to hear of any manuscript assessment service advising an aspiring writer to take up watercolours.

There are other (not always cheaper) ways of obtaining feedback outside the group setting: many competitions will provide a brief critique should you make the shortlist, or, for a small additional fee, for any entrant. Genre-specific associations such as the Crime Writer’s Association and the Romantic Novelists Association also offer services for aspirants.

And then, of course, there is the growing number of courses linked to literary agents or publishing houses. Curtis-Brown Creative, for example, offer a range of courses led by published authors both online and in their offices. According to their website 27 of their students have achieved major publishing deals. At £2990 for a six-month novel writing course, the cost is not dissimilar to a University course with the added benefit of exposure to agents.

For many of us, creative writing courses are where we began our writing journey.  But we continue to find genre-specific workshops, retreats and even longer courses useful. And we can return to our writing groups energized and inspired from having garnered a different perspective.

However we get it, most of us, including published writers, need and benefit from feedback. We’d love to hear how our readers go about getting it and whether they’ve found paid-for services useful and value for money

Some of the services researched (this list is not comprehensive and readers are encouraged to check carefully the details of each company’s services as they vary widely):

http://cornerstones.co.uk/uk/

http://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk.

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/debuts/manuscript-service/

http://www.danielgoldsmith.co.uk/

http://www.fishpublishing.com/editorial-services/critique-service/

http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/

https://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/

http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/new_writers_scheme

https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/services/bespoke-mentoring