World Book Night Books Have A New Home
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Successes on June 6, 2011
The draw has been made and my World Book Night books now have a new home. I will be posting them off to Dorinda Cass in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Dorinda says about herself:
I am about to start the final year of a BA(Hons) degree in Creative Writing at the University of Hull. For the degree I have done all different types of writing including plays, short stories, poetry. Next year I will be concentrating on one of my favourites – either short stories or novel. I am just starting to write with publication in mind. I have been a member of Scarborough Writers’ Circle for five years and, for my sins, I am now the treasurer of the group! We have a website at: http://scarboroughwriterscircle.wordpress.com and anyone interested in writing is welcome to come along.
I hope you enjoy the books, Dorinda!
I also want to give a mention to two fellow bloggers:
- Bev Morley is giving her blog a makeover and is looking for guest book reviewers – so pay her a visit if you’ve read a good book recently.
- I had intended to award Mel Hammond a Versatile Blogger Award but unfortunately she didn’t get my message about it in time for me to include her in my original post. So this is a belated mention for her!
Finally I have a couple of small successes to report (which go some way towards making up for rejections from The Oldie and The Weekly News):
- Star letter in the July edition of Writing Magazine
- Long-listed in the Emerald Writing Workshops ‘Novel Opening Competition’ . I have made the long list of 16 from an original entry of 54. A short list of 6 will be chosen shortly – fingers crossed!
Methods of BackingUp Work
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Computers & Technical on June 2, 2011
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Do you make regular backup copies of your work?
We all know how temperamental computers can be – one minute they’re working fine and then the next they freeze up and refuse to do anything. Usually the ‘turn it off and back on again’ method brings the machine back to life and everything is hunky-dory again but just occasionally the PC is dead and has taken with it folders full of precious work that can no longer be accessed – unless you have a backup copy.
Some of the more common backup methods to consider are:
- External Hard Drives – this is a similar type of hard drive to that found inside your PC but it is mounted in a separate enclosure. It can be connected to your PC via a USB port or wirelessly. If you have an Apple Mac, an automatic wireless backup can be provided by a Time Capsule.
- USB Stick – very small, easy to use, portable device that plugs into a USB port – but they are known to have a limited lifespan.
- CD/DVD – CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R can be written to only once but there are other types of disk that can be erased/rewritten.
- Online Storage Facility – this allows storage of data on a 3rd Party server. This may require a manual copy of the selected files from PC to the server or there may be the option to schedule an automatic backup. An example of this is the BT Digital Vault.
- Email – set up a free hotmail account and periodically email work to this account. If your own computer is unusable, this email account and your documents will be accessible from any other PC.
But before choosing a backup method there are a couple of questions that you should ask yourself:
- Do you need a backup copy kept away from your home? An external disk drive sitting next to your PC will go up in flames with the rest of the house.
- Do you regularly work on more than one PC – i.e. do you need an easy way of transferring your work in progress from one computer to another?
- Are you saving a finished piece of work that won’t be touched again or one that is being constantly updated?
As a computer professional I feel that I should be using a failsafe hi-tech backup method but actually I use a USB stick on a daily basis and periodically email my larger pieces of work to myself.
What backup methods does anyone else use? And have you ever had a computer disaster and lost data (or successfully recovered it from backup)?
Novel Writing Competitions 2011
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions on May 30, 2011
We all know how hard it is to get a novel published from the slush pile. However, if you’ve won a competition with your manuscript (or even just been placed) it will make your covering letter stand out from the masses. So if you’ve got an unpublished manuscript in the drawer why not polish it up and try one of these competitions (or you could write something from scratch…)
Nemesis Debut Novel Competition
Nemesis is a small publisher looking for a debut novel to publish in 2012.
Manuscripts for the competition should ideally be between 70,000 and 130,000 words with no restriction on genre. There is no entry fee and email submission is preferred. All entries must be accompanied by a synopsis of no more than 1,000 words and an author bio of no more than 500 words.
The closing date is 14 August 2011 and the winner will be announced by 30 November 2011. Full details are here.
Mslexia Novel Writing Competition
Mslexia is looking for novels by commercially unpublished women novelists. Any genre is acceptable apart from books aimed at under 13s. The finished novel must be at least 50,000 words.
First prize in this competition is £5,000 plus Mslexia’s stamp of approval, which will ensure agents and editors are keen to read your full manuscript.
Submit the first 5,000 words of your novel in the first instance but the manuscript must already be complete. Short-listed entrants will then be asked to submit their full manuscript.
Closing date is September 30th and the winner will be announced in the MAR/APR/MAY issue of Mslexia. Full details are here.
World Book Night Books
If reading novels rather than writing them is more your thing then see here for a chance to become the next owner of my World Book Night books. There’s only a day or so to subscribe to this blog and thus get yourself in the draw.
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books on May 26, 2011
Has anyone else read The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver?
I found the book totally confusing until I got to grips with its singular structure.
In chapter one, Irina, the heroine, has to decide whether to kiss another man, Ramsey (she already has a long-term partner, Lawrence). After chapter one, the story splits in two with alternate chapters following what happens to Irina if she goes ahead with the kiss and the intervening chapters dealing with what happens if she doesn’t kiss Ramsey. The two strands share a final chapter.
In summary – it’s two books in one.
Once I got the hang of this I thoroughly enjoyed the book (thanks for lending it to me, Alison!) I preferred the ‘unfaithful’ strand of the story – maybe because in books its interesting to watch characters make risky decisions that many of us wouldn’t dare to take in real life.
Shriver says of the book, ‘Hingeing the book on this single decision allows me to explore the implications, large and small, of whom we choose to love’.
She also describes it as ‘participatory fiction’ – at the end of the book you know the results of both courses of action, so with hindsight which choice would you have made? Would you have chosen to kiss or not to kiss? It’s a very hard question to answer since the ultimate outcome is the same for both strands of the story – they share the final chapter. I think the unfaithful Irina had more of a roller-coaster ride along the way but the faithful Irina didn’t have an easy time of it either.
I suspect it must have been quite fun to write a novel with this type of structure. Usually, at each turning point, our characters must follow only one course of action and we never get to explore how things might have developed had they chosen a different path. Shriver is able to examine the impact of both possible outcomes on all her characters – Irina, Lawrence and Ramsey.
The Post-Birthday World is a book worth reading.
Talking of books, I’ll be drawing the next keeper of my World Book Night books on 1st June – see here for details.
Poetry Competitions
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Poetry on May 23, 2011
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The library was full of leaflets for poetry competitions. I only do poetry very badly so I won’t be entering but here are the details for the rest of you:
- Sonnet or Not organised by Cannon Poets. Choose one of the traditional sonnet forms or experiment with alternative 14 line forms. First prize £250 and entry fee is £4 for the first poem and £2.50 for each additional poem. Closing date is 31st October 2011. For full details email martin@cannonpoets.co.uk.
- Nottingham Open Poetry Competition. First prize £300 and entry fee is £3 per poem or £10 for 4 poems. Closing date is 6th September 2011. Full details plus last year’s winners are here.
- Torbay Open Poetry Competition. This is organised as part of Torbay Poetry Festival and has a huge £800 first prize plus a Prizegiving Party in Torquay. Entry is £4 per poem or £10 for 3 poems. Closing date is 31st August 2011. An entry form is required and I suggest you use the contact form on the Festival website to request one.
In case you’re wondering – the illustration is William Blake’s poem ‘The Tyger’.
If you’re not yet signed up for a free email subscription to this blog, use the box on the right to enter your email address and you could become the next keeper of my World Book Night books.
Competition Entry Fees
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Uncategorized on May 16, 2011
How much are you prepared to pay to enter a writing competition?
Entry fees can range from nothing to £10+ and if you enter a lot of competitions (which many of us do due to the dearth of short story markets) it can get very expensive.
In the June issue of Writers’ Forum, Sally Quilford writes that she thinks in terms of 10 per cent i.e. if the entry fee is £5 then she expects the first prize to be over £50.
Personally, I prefer a smaller percentage ratio given the large amount of entrants that most competitions attract – if I’m paying £5 then I’d like the first prize to be £100. However, if the money is going to charity or a critique of each entry is included in the fee then I am happy to make an exception and pay more.
Paying a fee to enter a competition does sharpen the mind. If I’m paying for entry then I won’t send an existing story that ‘almost’ fits the requirements – I will write a new one that fully embraces the theme of the competition and, as far as I can tell, fits the style required.
But there’s nothing to beat the gay abandon induced by free competitions with email entry. There is literally nothing to lose with these comps (not even the price of a large letter stamp and A4 envelope). It is a terrible shame not to enter them – so if there’s no time to write something new then I dig an old story out of the archives and give it a quick polish.
Yesterday I did just that and sent an entry in to this competition:
Write a story for bedtime – this is sponsored by A. Vogel Herbal Remedies and it is an Adult bedtime story they are after (no, not that sort of adult). The story must be between 1500 and 3000 words and four prizes will be awarded – 1st: £500, 2nd: £300, 2 x 3rd: £100 each. Additionally, there is an extra £50 to be had if your entry is chosen as ‘Story of the Month’.
Womag writer Della Galton is one of the judges and ‘due consideration will be given by the judges on the appropriateness of the short story for bedtime’. The current ‘Story of the Month’ is written by one of the judges and fits neatly into the Womag mould with a nice, happy ending.
Closing date is 28th October 2011.
Opportunities in Prima Magazine
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Markets on May 12, 2011
Prima is a monthly women’s magazine that offers several slots for the aspiring writer to see their name in print:
- The letters page – every letter published wins a year’s subscription to the magazine and the star letter wins a skin care set worth £64. All the letters referred to previous items that had appeared in the magazine.
- Each month the letters page also features a poem. In June’s issue this was written by a man in praise of his wife.
- The Home life page ‘is your chance to pass on good ideas for the benefit of other Prima readers and, in doing so, encourage the highest quality service and great value for everyone’. Each contribution to the page receives £25. In June’s issue the contributions included a reader’s favourite shop, a picture of grandchildren, a suggestion for a day out and a couple of product recommendations.
- The Readers’ Kitchen page wants your recipes and tips plus recommendations for a favourite cafe, food shop or gadget. Recipes receive a year’s subscription to the magazine, tips and cafe or other recommendations earn £25.
- Picture Perfect – £25 for each photo printed on this page. June’s page is a Father’s Day Special and each picture includes a dad with young children.
- Do you have a winning story? – this page asks for 400 word stories. Reading the June winners, it looks like either fiction or real life experiences can be submitted. The winner receives £200 and two runners-up each receive a year’s subscription to Prima.
- Reader’s tips are dotted throughout the magazine – each one receiving £25. Plus the best tip receives £50.
- Wise Words – each month Prima is looking for wise words on a set theme. The June issue sets the theme ‘The best things in life are free, such as…’ and offers £25 for those chosen.
Why not nip out and buy a copy of the magazine? Study the style of your chosen section and then compose your contribution to fit. If you don’t try you won’t succeed!
And don’t forget to sign up for a free email subscription to this blog if you want a chance to be the next home for my World Book Night books.
Versatile Blogger Award (Part 2)
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Resources on May 9, 2011
Now it’s time to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award to some of my favourite blogs. Here they are:
- Patsy Collins’ blog is full of writing and reading related competitions. They range from prize draws to win a book through to more challenging writing projects. Patsy’s entry into the Readers’ Digest 100 word story competition was selected to appear on the Readers’ Digest website and can be found here (6 May 2011 story).
- Tracy Fells’ blog ‘The Literary Pig’ offers ‘a safe haven for all those afflicted with the unbearable urge to write’. Tracy has just completed the first draft of a children’s novel and has had various successes with short stories and flash fiction. In case you’re wondering, ‘The Literary Pig’ is a red cuddly toy with a starring role in Tracy’s blog.
- Julie Phillips’ blog Article Antics is devoted to those of us who write magazine articles. Julie is currently doing a Journalism course and her blog charts the ups and downs of her own writing career as well as giving useful advice and inspiration to anyone else interested in writing short non-fiction.
- Marilyn Rodwell’s blog God of the Cocoa is about her writing journey towards completing a trilogy of books. The books are set in Trinidad where Marilyn was born and brought up. Marilyn is also the organiser of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Birmingham Chapter – which is how I met her.
- Helen Yendall’s blog is full of information on market opportunities, writing events and other snippets. Helen was the Warwick Poet Laureate for 2006 – 2007 and she also writes fiction for women’s magazines and articles. Helen is a creative writing tutor and also my writing buddy.
I hope that, like me, you’ll find some interesting and useful things on the above blogs. Since I started this blog 6 months ago, I’ve discovered a whole new community of writers on the web. Most of us are unlikely to ever meet face to face but there is a supportive camaraderie amongst the writers I’ve come across which can be most comforting when things aren’t going well and the rejections are coming thick and fast!
I did promise you (under the terms of the Versatile Blogger Award) 7 favourite blogs and I’ve only listed 5. This is because 2 of my selected bloggers haven’t yet replied to my invite to accept the award. If they accept the award in the near future then I’ll give them a mention in a later post.
Don’t forget to sign up for free email updates to this blog (see the box on the right) if you would like the chance to be the next keeper of my World Book Night Books.
Passing on World Book Night 2011 Books
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions on May 5, 2011
Regular readers of this blog will know that I attended a World Book Night event in Birmingham back in March. Several different books had editions specially printed to be given away on World Book Night (there were one million volumes in total). At the back of each book it states:
“Once you have read it, please pass the book on to someone else.”
So, now I intend to send the books I received on the next stage in their journey and I’d like them to go to a subscriber to this blog.
The books are:
- Killing Floor by Lee Child
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- New Selected Poems by Seamus Heaney
I will choose the lucky recipient by picking a name on June 1st from everyone on my email subscription list as at midnight May 31st.
If you are an existing email subscriber to this blog then you will be automatically entered into the draw to receive the 3 books. If you are not an existing email subscriber and would like to be in the draw for the books, please use the box on the right-handside of the screen to register for an email subscription – it is free of charge and you can un-subscribe at any time.
If the winner has anything writing-related that they wish to promote then I will also give that a mention when I announce the winner.
The winner will be contacted by email to obtain their postal address – if I get no reply within 14 days then I will draw another winner. The winner must have a UK postal address.
I’m looking forward to sending the books on their way!
P.S. The World Book Night event will be repeated again in 2012 but the date will be moved to 23rd April – the international day for celebrating books.
Sally Jenkins 