Is Your Life Story Worth £10,000?
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Non-fiction on September 13, 2012
Woman and Home magazine are running a ‘Life Story’ writing competition. They say:
“If your life has ever felt like it could be a novel, then we want to hear from you….perhaps you grew up in unusual circumstances…or maybe your job threw you into extraordinary situations…this is your chance to share your personal journey.”
First prize is an advance of £10,000 and publication by Hodder and Stoughton. There are also 3 Kindles and an introduction to a literary agent for the runners-up.
Send a full synopsis of your life story in a maximum of 1,500 words plus 2 sample chapters of 10,000 words maximum.
Your entry must be accompanied by an entry form, which is available in the October issue of the magazine (in the shops now!). I can’t find the entry form or details of the competition on-line, so you’re going to have to buy Woman and Home in order to enter. There’s also some tips in there about how to go about writing your memoirs.
Closing date is 31st October 2012.
Vivien Hampshire on e-publishing and Losing Lucy
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Self-publishing on September 9, 2012
Like me, many of you may recognise Vivien Hampshire’s name from her monthly column, ‘Book Deal or Bust’, which appeared a few years back in Writers’ Forum magazine. As Vivien wrote and edited her novel, ‘Losing Lucy’, she shared her experiences with the magazine’s readers.
‘Losing Lucy’ is about the abduction of a baby and the impact this loss has on the adults in the baby’s life. Vivien tackles this difficult subject well and the story takes an unexpected turn towards the end (you’ll have to read it to find out what happens!).
The novel is now available on Kindle via Amazon.
I asked Vivien about the process of publishing her book in this way:
Without the backing of a traditional publisher and editor, how did you know when your work was good enough to be published?
The suggestions, advice and encouragement I received from the readers of Writers’ Forum (largely struggling authors themselves) were wonderfully helpful! The manuscript also received a full critique from the Hilary Johnson Authors Advisory Service, whose positive comments gave me added faith in my book and the confidence to carry on, even when traditional agents and publishers kept turning me down. As for self-editing, I have been writing magazine fiction, teaching creative writing, and producing a small magazine as part of my ‘day job’ for years, so I have a good feel for what looks and feels right. Having said that, I did re-read my manuscript many, many times to eliminate even the tiniest errors!
How did you decide between uploading the book onto Kindle yourself and using a paid for service?
I am not the most technical person, and felt that the e-book uploading process, although relatively straightforward, might just be beyond me! I paid a modest fee (less than £100) to a company called New Age Publishers who really held my hand throughout the whole process, reformatted my Word document so the layout of the book was right for Kindle, made sure my royalties went to the right place, and gave me the opportunity to check and make changes for up to three months after the book went ‘live’. They did a grand job, well worth the fee.
How important do you think the cover is for a digital book?
Ebooks without covers look very unappealing, and I certainly wouldn’t look twice at one, let alone buy one. As professional artists can be costly, I took my cover photo myself, and New Age tweaked the wording for me. The cover is not perfect but it serves its purpose. (See Vivien’s cover here).
What are the pricing considerations on Amazon?
Very fair to the author – but then, there are no paper or storage costs, so Amazon’s cut is actually quite easy money! By pricing at around the £2 mark, my readers can buy the novel much cheaper than the average paperback, and I get 70% of the sale price. Royalties drop to only 35% if the price is set at less than £1.49, so I may think about lowering the price some time later if sales start to flag.
How did you go about marketing ‘Losing Lucy’?
Marketing is by far the hardest part, and that’s where the absence of a big publisher’s budget really tells. I used my own blog, writers’ groups and Facebook to publicise the book. Talks and book signings are difficult, if not impossible, without a physical pile of books to sign. I recently took advantage of Kindle’s 5 day promotion offer, and more than 800 free copies were downloaded – no royalties for me, but at least the book is being read, talked about and reviewed, which should help future sales.
Many thanks to Vivien for sharing her experience. E-publishing has made it so much easier for writers to self-publish and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t all be doing it – as long as we are absolutely sure that what we are about to release on the world has been edited to within an inch of its life and is absolutely the best it can be!
And don’t forget the possibilities for non-fiction – Vivien has also written ‘How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords’ which has recently been published by How To Books Ltd.
Sonnet or Not Competition 2012
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Poetry on September 4, 2012
Cannon Poets are once again running their ‘Sonnet or Not’ competition. You are invited to enter poems of 14 lines in length. The poem can be in a traditional sonnet form or you can experiment with alternative 14 line forms such as half rhyme or blank verse.
First prize is £300, second prize £150 and third prize £100. Entry is £4.00 for the first poem and £2.50 for each additional poem – there is no limit to the number of poems you can enter.
The judge is Julie Boden, who is currently Poet in Residence at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
Closing date is 31 October 2012. Full details, including a downloadable entry form, are here.
Or, if you prefer flash fiction to poetry, pop over to Helen Yendall’s blog and read all about the free competition that she’s running.
Related articles
- How To Write A Sonnet (mademan.com)
Just when you thought it was all over…
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Non-writing, Writing on August 29, 2012
… the Olympians are back!
I thought that all those brilliant Olympic medal winners would be taking a well-earned rest. Perhaps sunning themselves somewhere or at least putting their feet up and indulging in a takeaway pizza and a large piece of chocolate fudge cake. But it appears there is no rest for the elite and a handful of our heroes were back in competition on Sunday at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium as part of the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix. And I was there to see them!
Long jump gold medallist, Greg Rutherford, high jump bronze medallist, Robbie Grabarz and 400m silver medallist, Christine Ohuruogu were all competing, along with several other London 2012 medallists from other countries. But the highlight was watching Mo Farah win the 2 mile event with a fantastic sprint finish! The stadium went wild.
So these high-achievers don’t sit back and rest on their laurels after a success and they don’t give up when they fail either. Do you?
When an editor accepts a story or you get placed in a competition – what do you do? Spend days telling everyone about it or just get back to your desk and write something else?
When the rejections come in do you throw in the towel and decide to write nothing more that week? Or do you get back to your desk and write something else?
As writers we have to be like athletes – constantly training the parts of our body that make us produce of our best. So whatever life throws at you, good or bad, get back to your desk and write something! The more you use that writing muscle the better it will become.
Lecture over. I’ll now attempt to take a piece of my own advice … and go do some writing!
Meet Children’s Author – Lorraine Hellier
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Events on August 26, 2012
Fellow Midlands-based writer, Lorraine Hellier , has asked me to tell you about her latest book. It is the fourth in her children’s Serendipity series and is called ‘The Boy Who Tricked Trolls’.
The blurb about the book is tantalising:
Alex discovers the secret passage through a Grandfather Clock which leads to a fantasy world on the island of Serendipity. Desperate to help rescue little Amy, he and his friends are captured by trolls in the underground caves. How will he escape?
“Despite being part of a series the book can be enjoyed as a standalone novel,” says Lorraine. “The story is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and it will appeal to readers aged around 7 to 11 years.”
Lorraine is a retired dental therapist and now visits schools encouraging children with her reading and writing workshops. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and also attends the same writing group as me – Lichfield and District Writers.
“The advice and encouragement of other writers is invaluable,” she explains. “I would recommend anyone new to writing to make contact with other authors for support.”
Having finished the hard graft of producing the book, Lorraine is now busy organising events to make sure it reaches as wide an audience as possible.
“I’m also working on the second draft of book 5 in the series,” she continues, “and preparing activities for children at my author events and school workshops. Plus, I’m making notes about other ideas before they take over my head!”
Lorraine will be promoting her book between 10am and 3pm at Lichfield library on the 8th September 2012 and also at Burntwood library on the 22nd September at the same times. If you live in the Staffordshire area why not go along and meet her?
Signed copies of Lorraine’s books are available via her website and the novels can also be bought through Amazon. They would make the perfect present for junior school children (and don’t forget, Christmas will be upon us before you know it!).
Two Free Competitions From Erewash Writers’ Group
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Short Story on August 22, 2012
Some of you may have entered the Erewash Open Short Story Competition mentioned on this blog earlier in the year. The results are now out.
Plus, two new free competitions are now open for entries:
- ‘Twin’ Flash Fiction Competition – write 500 words on the theme of ‘Twin’. The judge is Rosalie Warren, author of ‘Coping with Chloe’ and 2 winners will each receive a copy of Rosalie’s book plus £10.00 cash.
- Creepy Christmas Chiller Competition – write a scary Christmas story of up to 2,000 words. There are 2 age categories in this competition and each offers a first prize of £40, second £15 and a third prize of £5.
Closing date for both competitions is 8th November 2012 and full terms and conditions are here.
Writing Prompts from Castleton
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Poetry, Resources, Writing, Writing Exercises on August 17, 2012
It wasn’t only poetry that I toyed with in Castleton in the Peak District.
I also jotted down some ideas for short stories and I’m going to share them with you because I know that we’d all produce completely different tales (& submit them to different places) from the same initial prompt.
We stayed in Little Lilac Cottage – a tiny 350-year-old dwelling with a king-sized brass bed, a Victorian rolled top bath and open beams on the ceiling. Reading through the guest book I tried to imagine all the other visitors to this romantic cottage, why they came and whether the holiday lived up to expectations:
- Honeymooners – young or old? first or subsequent marriage?
- A couple having an affair – unused to spending so much time together, will they still get on or will guilt take over?
- A holiday to save a marriage – away from it all, can they get their relationship back on track or will it go up in flames?
- First holiday for years without the children – do the couple still have anything in common?
We did plenty of walking and one day came across a set of intertwined initials carved into a tree by a waterfall:
- Who carved them and why?
- What happens when one or both of them come back to revisit the carving?
There’s also plenty of scope for stories with a historical setting:
- Think of all the people who were born and died in our cottage
- A local told us that the last ‘ordinary’ people to live in our cottage brought up 3 boys there – how? The house was barely big enough for the 2 of us!
- The old coffin route from Edale to Castleton. At one time there was no consecrated ground in Edale and all the dead had to be brought over the hill to the church in Castleton
And that final point brings me to my poem – poetry connoisseurs please look away now. The rest of you can blame Julia, Susan and Alison, who all asked to see it after my post about the poetry writing workshop I attended in Castleton.
A Coffin Route Farewell
My baby, wrapped in sacking and loaded on a mule
a tiny corpse under a pauper’s shroud.
My baby, born mute, motionless and far too early
now travels the path toward Castleton.
My baby, cast out from home to ride with a stranger
in search of consecrated land.
Exhausted from birthing I never even held you.
They snatched you away without time for farewell.
My baby, you never shed a tear but my eyes will never be dry again.
The Olympics (for the last time) & Win Afternoon Tea with Clare Balding at the Ritz
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Non-writing on August 12, 2012
How was the Olympics for you?
I thought it was terrific – that wonderful opening ceremony, the wall to wall coverage by the BBC and the buckets of gold medals for Team GB. Last weekend I was lucky enough to get down to London to experience things for real. We stood outside Buckingham Palace in the pouring rain to watch the women’s Marathon and the following day saw Synchronised Swimming Duets at the Aquatic Centre in Olympic Park.
Inside the Aquatic Centre
Both places exuded a real ‘feel good’ atmosphere. Everyone was friendly, including fellow spectators, volunteers, police, London transport staff etc. It’s a shame that we can’t bottle this ‘proud to be British’ feeling so that we can take another swig when the doom and gloom of the double-dip recession hits home again.
Thank you, LOCOG for an amazing 2 weeks (and I don’t usually follow any sort of sport).
Clare Balding has played a major part in bringing these Games into our living rooms and, as well as being a sports commentator, she is also a writer. Her book, My Animals and Other Family, will be published on September 13th 2012. The book includes anecdotes from Clare’s childhood about her pets and she has organised a competition to celebrate its launch.
She wants to see your pictures, stories and poems about the pets that have touched you. The winners receive copies of My Animals and Other Family, and one winner will join Clare for tea at The Ritz.
To enter, go to www.facebook.com/clarebaldingofficial. Alternatively, you can email entries to digital@jamesgrant.co.uk
Closing date is September 13th 2012 and entry is free. Full terms and conditions are here.
So if you’ve got a poem tucked away about your beloved dog, cat or tarantula, why not send it in?
Writing Poetry in Castleton
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events, Poetry on August 7, 2012
“When you write poetry, imagine looking through a small window. Focus on just one aspect of the scene,” advised Alison Riley on a recent ‘Poetry Stroll and Write’ which I stumbled upon whilst on holiday in Castleton, in the Peak District.
As I’ve said before, I am not a poet but anything remotely writing orientated always grabs my attention, so whilst my husband took himself off for a walk, I joined the poetry session.
Alison was full of good advice.
Whenever I attempt a poem I immediately start worrying about its form – rhyming? free verse? sonnet? etc. Alison suggested that I forget all of this and instead let myself go with some free writing about what was around us.
“Don’t worry about form or rhyme,” she said. “That can all come later.”
I managed some disjointed phrases about the mountain rescue van parked nearby. It definitely wasn’t poetry but Alison reckoned that with a bit of polishing it could become a reasonable poem.
Alison then showed us the poem ‘Resolution‘ by Jo Bell. It’s about Castleton at New Year and, sitting there in the quaint old village where it was written, it was extremely evocative. I began to feel that maybe I too could write a poem and, back in our rented cottage, I did. It’s about the ‘coffin route’ from Edale to Castleton (before there was a church in Edale, the corpses had to be carried over the hill into the next town for burial) – at the moment it’s just a rough version in my notebook but maybe one day I’ll dare to bring out into the light of day…
Thanks for the inspiration, Alison!
Alison Riley organises the Derbyshire Stanza of the Poetry Society.
Seeking a Short Story Competition
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Short Story on August 1, 2012
Eddie Walsh from the sadly defunct Emerald Writing Workshops competitions has refunded entry fees for his competitions that
would have closed later in the year. So now I’ve got £3.60 to use as the entry fee in another contest. So I’ve been looking around to see what there is with a £3 to £4 entry fee and discovered the following selection of short story competitions:
- Monthly ‘Writing Magazine’ Competitions – £3 for subscribers and £4 for non-subscribers but I’m going to give these a miss because, as a subscriber, I can enter the contests in the Writers’ News section of the magazine for free (I’ve unofficially set myself the challenge of entering the WN comp. each month & have managed 3 so far, with th 4th in the pipeline).
- Monthly ‘Writers’ Forum Competitions – £3 for subscribers and £6 for non-subscribers, plus there is the option of paying an additional £5 for a critique. This is a possibility but I know I’ll be tempted by the critique and a total of £8 is a lot for one competition.
- Dickens Bicentenary Writing Competition – £3 per prose piece/£2 per poem. Entries to be inspired by a character from a Charles Dickens novel. Closes 15th August 2012. Not for me – I’ve read very little Dickens so unless I went for Scrooge, I wouldn’t know who to base my hero on.
- The Word Hut 5th Short Story Writing Competition – £4 entry fee with prizes of £50, £25, £10. 1,000 words and an open theme. Closes 16th September 2012. I’ll give this one some thought and have a look through my ‘stock’ of 1,000 word stories.
- Speakeasy Open Creative Writing Competitions – £4 per story/£3 per poem with prizes of £125, £75 and £50 in each category. 2,100 words and an open theme. Closes 31st October 2012. This is another one for me to consider but I might have to write something new to meet the word count – most of my stuff seems to be shorter.
And if you’re looking around for other competitions to enter a good resource (which I’ve used in my searching) is the Writers’ Reign website.
Good Luck!
Sally Jenkins 