By Tom: “When it comes to glittering objects, wizards have all the taste and self-control of a deranged magpie” Sourcery, Terry Pratchett Ah, the seduction of shiny new things. There you are, three quarters of the way through your latest work in progress, when a new idea for a project slips into your mind, sneakily. […]
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The problem with poetry
by Teika Poetry sales are booming – yes, no, maybe? Just the other day an article published in the Guardian brought the news that sales of poetry books in the UK were at an all time high, having passed the £12M mark at the end of 2018. So, good news, then? Well, yes and no. […]
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How to avoid the new year’s resolutions blues
By Teika Rather like the energy that accompanies the back-to-school buzz in September, the beginning of a new year has a vibrant, positive feel to it. We’re done with the Christmas feasting, the overindulging and sitting around. And for some of us, we’re done with a year that didn’t amount to much, writing-wise. Yet the […]
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The perfect last minute gift for a writer
By Tom: It’s that time of year again when busy, multitasking people suddenly realize there is a gap in their scrupulously organized ranks of gifts. Inexplicably, someone has been overlooked. Or, it’s that time of year when disorganized and forgetful people suddenly realize they’ve left things to the last minute again, and the shops are […]
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Personality and professionalism
By Teika One of the best things about being behind a book stall at an event or convention is the conversations with fellow stallholders and interested browsers. At the start of December I was at the Nottingham Print & Publishing Fair and I had several fascinating discussions with people I’d never met before about publishing and […]
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What’s in a cover price? And why should authors care? (Part 1)
By Teika: Next March, I’ll be leading a workshop in the Nottingham Waterstones on behalf of Writing School East Midlands on the subject of ‘How to Get Published’. I’ve run a fair few courses on this topic before, and invariably they’re popular because getting traditionally published is still the ultimate goal of many writers. To […]
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Convention comedown and writer’s despair
By Teika: Seeing as my last post was about how to get the most out of conventions I thought I’d write about my time at FantasyCon, the inevitable comedown that occurs straight afterwards and the not unconnected issue of writer’s despair. FantasyCon was great, it really was. Catching up with many of my indie publisher […]
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How to get the most out of conventions
By Teika: In less than a week’s time I’ll be at FantasyCon, one of the major genre events of the year. With my publisher’s hat on I’m preparing by making sure I have enough books, plenty of change in my float and all the necessary information so that I know how to get there, where […]
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Q&A with Jennifer Crispin of Dancing Star Press
By Teika: The wonderful Jennifer Crispin of indie press Dancing Star Press was recently kind enough to take our Q&A challenge. Many thanks to Jennifer for taking part! 1. Why publishing? Or, to put it another way – if, a decade ago, you were asked the question: ‘What do you see yourself doing […]
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The psychology of “editing limbo”: how to get out of the loop of doom (part 2)
By Tom: In the last post, Teika discussed the challenge of being trapped in a cycle of editing and redrafting. In this post, I’m going to work through some of the psychological implications of finding yourself in this trap, some of the likeliest causes, and some practical steps that can be taken to break out […]
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