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Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
Thursday 12 October 2017
Friday 11 August 2017
Writing Competition News #amwriting
Flash Fiction Winners
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
The flash fiction winning entries for the second quarter 2017 have been announced. You can read the stories here. Thank you to our judge JJ Marsh for tackling two quarters in a row!
I would like to welcome our judge for this quarter: Chris Curran. This category is open and already attracting entries: flash fiction
For the Novel Writers
The Novel Opening and Synopsis category is open for entries until the end of October, so there is plenty of time for you to fine tune those opening chapters. As for the synopsis, it's one of my least favourite tasks, but so satisfying when it finally comes together. Our regular judges, the senior editors at Crooked Cat Books, are on standby to look for the gems.
Short Story Category
Don't forget, if you have any longer stories (up to 3,000 words), our short story category is open for entries until 28th February 2018: short story.
For information on all three categories, visit the Flash 500 Homepage.
Kind regards,
Lorraine
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
Monday 19 June 2017
Calling #flashfiction writers
Are you a flash fiction writer? The flash fiction category of the Flash 500 Competitions closes at the end of June.
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
When it comes to prizes, it often seems as though flash fiction is the poor relation of writing competitions. This, however, is a flash fiction competition where the prize money truly reflects the skill required to encapsulate an entire story in just 500 words.
Now in its eighth year, this quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December 2017. The results will be announced within six weeks of each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on this website.
Entry fee: £5/€6.50 for one story, £8/€10 for two stories
Optional critiques: £10/€13.50 per story
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
First: £300
Second: £200
Third: £100
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
Monday 5 June 2017
Guest post #poetry
Many,
many thanks to Lorraine for hosting me as a guest on her blog.
My
name is Jenni Wyn Hyatt and I was in my late sixties before I began to write
poetry. I used to submit regularly to the Flash 500 Humour Verse competition and
was absolutely amazed when the first poem I ever submitted was long-listed.
After that, I was long or short-listed on several occasions and finally ‘made
the big time’ when my poem ‘Poor Old Aitch’ was placed second, shortly before
the competition ended. Imagine my awe and sense of achievement when I regularly
saw my name listed alongside those of well-known writers of humorous verse!
It
was this success, along with the publication of some of my serious poems in
magazines for traditional verse such as The
Lyric and The Road Not Taken, a
Journal of Formal Verse, which made me realise that perhaps I could write poems that people would want
to read.
This led, eventually, to my publishing a small collection of poems
through Rowanvale Press, of Cardiff. The collection is entitled Perhaps One Day and contains all the
poems I submitted to the Humour Verse Competition plus a number of serious
poems.
My subjects include childhood memories, Wales (my homeland), war, social
commentary and nature as well as accounts of my personal life, both poignant
and humorous.
Most of the poems are
written using rhyme and metre and some in recognised poetic forms such as the
villanelle, sonnet, triolet etc. There are also occasional pieces of free
verse. All the poems, however, are clear and are accessible to poets and
non-poets alike.
Perhaps One Day is priced at £5.99 and
is available from Amazon, also from the website of Rowanvale Books using the
following link: http://www.rowanvalebooks.com/book/perhaps-one-day
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
Monday 15 May 2017
How to plan a successful book tour #writetip
by Trish Nicholson
A couple of years ago,
after completing a successful writers’ workshop tour in Europe, I shared tips here
on how to do it.
In June/July this year,
I will be taking my new non-fiction, A
Biography of Story, A Brief History of Humanity, on tour to present talks
at festivals, bookshops and libraries in the UK. Arranging this different tour boosted
some of my earlier tips but also produced new insights, so it seemed useful to
write a new post.
When it comes to book
promotion, all authors are now expected to do a major part of the work however
they are published. Many authors struggle with this side of their career. But a
book tour exposes your work to fresh readers, attracts publicity and forges
promising contacts for the future.
Publishers arrange book
tours for only a tiny minority of their authors. You can join that lucky band
by planning your own:
Pick
a location:
Competition is so keen
that even publicists for bestsellers are scrambling to get their authors into
the big national events. But there are advantages at regional and local levels.
You need to be smart.
- Focus on smaller festivals, especially if your book has a connection with the area; you already have local contacts (via social media for example); or you are known in the town.
- Independent bookshops are often the best bet for author talks/readings – they may prefer evenings so as not to disrupt trade.
- Most bookshops will host a ‘local author’ or a book set in its locality for a simple ‘meet and sign’ event.
- Be flexible, some major bookstore chains offer group events for local authors. If it fits your tour calendar – join in, and shine.
- Depending on the nature of your book, schools, colleges, libraries and interest groups may be happy to host you.
Pitch
at the right time:
Start planning early
and be aware that potential hosts may work with different time frames. Everyone
is busy – make it easy for them.
- Book festivals generally plan their programmes at least a year ahead, and need details to print their brochures four months beforehand.
- Bookshops usually plan events 2–3 months in advance and will probably lose your request if you send it much earlier.
- If possible, arrange to meet in person, but don’t send emails on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon, and be prepared to send polite reminders.
Offer good value:
Unless you won the
Booker Prize last year, simply offering your presence will not get you signed
up.
- Offer a reading, talk, demonstration, Q&A session or whatever fits your book and the theme of the festival or the speciality of the bookshop.
- ‘Freebies’ help event hosts to attract bookings and make eye-catching displays. And they provide long-lasting promotion: my giveaways are bookmarks and tote bags printed with my book’s cover image.
- Donating a signed copy of your book for a raffle or competition prize increases its exposure and desirability.
- Festivals may have their own publicity materials but bookshops and libraries appreciate banners, posters, bookmarks, flyers, and a plate of cakes or wrapped sweets can draw attention to your signing table.
- Performing for free makes you more attractive and helps self-funded local festivals and small independent bookshops.
Prepare,
prepare, prepare:
Before you contact
anyone, do your homework.
- Most festivals have a theme. Research their past events and submission procedures, identify the current theme and pitch your proposal to fit.
- Bookshops may have a speciality. If you search their sites to find stores that feature your genre, you increase your chances of acceptance.
- Write a concise pitch – describe what you can offer, what their audience will gain and how it relates to your book (100 words).
- Write a brief bio (50 words), and a book blurb (100 words).
- Paste your proposal into the body of an email after a short introductory paragraph – people are wary of attachments from strangers.
- Well before the event, start building your confidence.
- Rehearse aloud and time a talk carefully – professionals don’t overrun.
- For Q&A, identify likely questions and think about your answers.
- Research venue locations to ensure you arrive on time.
- Festivals usually let you sell your books – order enough copies.
Publicise
your event:
Use social media to
publicise your event with blog posts, your tour programme pinned to your
Twitter stream, Face Book pages and Pinterest, and promote your hosts’
publicity. Adapt your proposal as a Press Release to local media for interviews
or articles mentioning your event.
Show
up and smile:
It is not unheard of
for even seasoned authors to find only a couple of punters come to ‘meet’ them
or hear one of their readings. Even a single reader deserves your smile, your
grace, and your best performance. They will never forget it, and for the rest
of their lives will tell everyone they know how brilliant you are.
******
A
Biography of Story, A Brief History of Humanity
is available from UK bookshops or worldwide from The Book Depository [TBD link: http://www.bookdepository.com/A-Biography-of-Story--a-Brief-History-of-Humanity/9781785899492
]
Many more
tips on writing, publishing and marketing can be found in Writing Your Nonfiction Book: the complete guide to becoming an author.
[TBD link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Writing-Your-Nonfiction-Book-Trish-Nicholson/9781784620660
]
Find out more about Trish’s books and read
her articles at www.trishnicholsonswordsinthetreehouse.com
and follow her on Twitter
@TrishaNicholson https://twitter.com/TrishaNicholson
Bio: Trish Nicholson is
a social anthropologist and author of narrative non-fiction and short stories.
She lives in New Zealand and is a member of the NZ Society of authors.
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
Wednesday 15 March 2017
Mistakes Writers Make #writetip
“I feel
certain this is going to be a great resource for non-fiction writers.”
It was
those kind words – written by Lorraine Mace, the host of this guest post – which
were the first ones to be left on my blog, Mistakes Writers Make, when I
launched it seven years ago with the first Mistake, Believing You Can
DIY.
Having
at that stage been a tutor for the Writers Bureau for two or three years, I’d
been critically appraising the work of beginner non-fiction writers for some
time. While showing and telling new writers what to do certainly has its place,
I came to fully appreciate that this prescriptive method may not be sufficient or
even productive for some learners. It was good constructive criticism that really
seemed to move many forward, I noticed: pointing out the errors, and offering
guidance on how to correct them, while giving praise for what was being done
well, of course.
Not all aspiring
writers can or want to enrol on a course, though, and I began to wonder whether
a resource dedicated to showing wannabe writers what they might be doing that
they shouldn’t be doing would be popular – and might serve those writers more
effectively than merely giving them instructions, as many writing guides do
(and indeed do well).
The idea
for a blog focusing on error sprung from this, and it is still going – although
as a writing resource I’m not sure it has ever quite got anywhere near that
greatness Lorraine so supportively predicted in its early days! It’s not all
about the bloopers, though: the ‘Mistakes’ are supplemented by publishing and
other opportunities, product recommendations and book reviews, as well as
occasional rants about such hazards as copyright-grabbing writing competitions,
which writers have to negotiate.
Some
years ago I began to think a more structured guidebook taking the reader
sequentially from A to Z might work for those looking for an introductory
manual in writing non-fiction. The Mistakes on the blog are not logically
ordered – they not only go from A to X to D to P, but since I introduced guest
posts they now also take in a few Cyrillic and Greek letters as scenic detours
– and whatever Mistake happens to take my whim at any given time becomes the
next one in numerical line. Not necessarily ‘friendly’ to a total beginner
needing to learn from scratch!
And so
the ebooks were born. The first, 50 Mistakes Beginner Writers Make, was
published in 2015; the second, predictably titled 50 More Mistakes Beginner
Writers Make, just last month.
They
start with the basics – generating ideas, approaching editors, researching and
crafting an article – before tackling slightly more advanced subjects – dealing
with editors, editing techniques, understanding contracts, interviewing skills
and much more. I can’t deny that occasionally the books tell the reader what to
do – but when they do they do so through the prism of error, to which I think
some people (not all) respond better.
Although
some of the more important posts on the blog have been included, albeit in updated
or adapted forms, most are fresh and new. Several more books are planned.
Curiously, the more mistakes you write about, the more you find to write about,
and I have come to be really quite fond of errors. The cock-up is not something
to be hidden, ignored or denied, but something to be almost celebrated, albeit possibly
not repeated. As I say in one of the books, no doubt I make many errors myself
in my job, but they don’t seem to be stopping me from doing what I do or want
to do, which is to make a living from words.
Perhaps,
then, the trick is to correct the ones that are
stopping you from doing whatever it is you want to do?
I hope
the blog and the books might help you identify those blighters and banish them.
If they do, you probably have Lorraine to thank. Had it not been for that first
encouraging comment, the Mistakes Writers Make blog might have met an end as
grim as that of some of the characters in her Frances di Plino novels ...
Alex Gazzola’s 50 Mistakes books
are both available on Amazon.
His blog can be found at www.mistakeswritersmake.com
Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions
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