by Teika ‘Strange days’, ‘unsettling times’, ‘unprecedented situation’. These are just a few of the phrases that most of us will have come across on a regular basis in recent weeks. It’s almost becoming clichéd to use these words about the current Covid-19 pandemic, and yet those phrases do adequately describe what we’re living through. […]
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Are you honest about your writing goals?
by Teika January, of course, is the month for setting goals. Many of us have plans for ‘getting that novel published’ or ‘acquiring an agent’ or ‘finally doing something about that poetry pamphlet’ in the year ahead. Goals are good. Dreaming big is good. They are both incredibly useful since they enable you to make […]
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Publishing demystified – an interview with Teika Bellamy
by Teika After I gave my short course, ‘Publishing Demystified’, at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School last month I was interviewed by Steve Barnett of the Southampton Writers’ Circle. Steve asked me various interesting questions about the publishing world and put the whole thing on camera. So here are some of my thoughts on the complex […]
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How to overcome (or, at least, sneak past) writer’s block
by Teika: Pros write every day Experienced writers – certainly those who depend on book royalties to pay the bills – know that writing is work, and that like any kind of meaningful employment, it is done every single day. Of course, a commute may not be necessary – they may simply wake, open up […]
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Fairy tales wanted! A list of places to submit to
by Teika The other day on Twitter a writer friend of mine asked for recommendations of literary magazines or publishers who welcome submissions of fairy tales. Off the top of my head I supplied her with a few names, but then I thought that really, what I needed to do was compile a more detailed […]
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Fairy tales and the lessons they offer writers
By Teika As someone with a keen interest in fairy tales and their psychological richness, I cannot help but be aware of their continued applicability, even in today’s publishing world. We make sense of the world through stories, so I thought it may be of use to run through some common narratives to glean some […]
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The cost of cons and invisible returns
By Teika: When I recently totted up the costs of attending Ytterbium, the name for this year’s annual Eastercon (the annual UK science fiction convention), it was rather disheartening to see that: petrol + car park fees + tickets for the con + table costs + hotel costs + food + drink = a lot […]
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I’ll do it tomorrow
By Tom: Procrastination is a foe that many writers know well. To win at the game of publication, it’s a monster that must be slayed. Which is a shame because it’s basically part of you. Getting to the psychological foundations of procrastination is tricky, but essential, if we are ever going to succeed […]
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A marathon of sprints
By Tom: Writing a book takes time. Unfortunately, time is a resource that is precious and limited, and for those of us without wealth or patronage, it usually has to be found in stolen, fragmentary moments. This can seem to be at odds with the sustained discipline needed for writing a novel or non-fiction book; […]
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10 perennial problems in short story submissions
By Teika Having just now been in the thick of reading submissions for The Forgotten and the Fantastical 5, I was once again struck by the fact that year on year the same issues crop up in the short stories I’m sent. So I thought it would be of use to run through the most […]
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