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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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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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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