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This month Lesley Cryer gives a realistic account of a writer's lot, Ten Top Tips covers how to present the perfect manuscript, plus student success stories, useful websites, a fantastic competition and inspiration for articles.
Hello again and welcome to another fact-packed edition.
Well, August, it seems, is the month of independence with no less than seven countries, including India, Malaysia, Ecuador and Pakistan, claiming independence in this month at various points throughout history. I’m sure they chose warm summer months so they could have big outdoor parties to celebrate the anniversary each year – I know I would!
August also hosts National Psoriasis Awareness Month, National Immunisation Month and in the USA it’s also National Goats Cheese Month, mmm...melted on a huge field mushroom – yum! The point of me telling you these interesting facts is to highlight just how many opportunities there are to come up with article ideas. I found most of this information using internet searches, however, if you are not so savvy on the net you might want to consider our course ‘Write for profit using the Internet’ to help you make the most of your online time.
This month our expert advice is from Lesley Cryer who gives a warts and all opinion of what it’s like to be a freelance writer, Ten Top Tips covers how to present your fabulous piece of work to the publisher once you’ve completed it and useful websites and the end note should give you plenty to ponder.
I have some exciting news this month too! One of our students, Gillian Hovell, has a new book due out on the 17th August. In Gillian’s words, “With over 100 illustrations, ‘Visiting the Past' is an easy-to-follow, jargon-free guide to the archaeology of Britain. Priced £12.99, it takes us on a journey through time, exploring what happened in each era, what life was like and the best sites to visit and places to go. But it also reveals the archaeology that's all around us - this is history we can reach out to and touch for ourselves.” Congratulations Gillian, I hope it’s a roaring success! We also have student success stories from Evans in Zambia and Marion in France.
If you think you’d like to write a non-fiction book along the lines of Gillian’s you should look at our Non-fiction writing course, which covers how to plan, research and write non-fiction books, as well as covering other kinds of non-fiction writing too.
If you are out and about this month Charlotte Square Gardens is hosting the Edinburgh International Book Festival taking place between the 15th and 31st August. Featuring 750 author events and activities its “An inspiring literary festival, the world's largest public celebration of the written word, right in the heart of Edinburgh: hundreds of author events, debates and workshops packed into 17 extraordinary days each August”. Attending this year are Richard Dawkins, Valerie Martin, Ian Rankin, Douglas Coupland and Michael Morpurgo to name but a few. There are lots of events to keep all ages entertained so you can join in or just sit and listen to your heart’s content. Tickets range from free to, a very reasonable, £12.00.
Kingston University, London is the venue for ‘How to get published: a conference for writers’, a two-day gathering for budding writers taking place on the 11th and 12th September. You’ll have the opportunity to hear agents and authors pass on their wisdom, plus there’ll be practical advice about writing synopses, presenting work and spotting trends. The cost of the two days is £135 and more information can be found here.
If you are into fantasy, science fiction or horror writing you really don’t want to miss FantasyCon 2009 being held over the weekend of the 18th September in the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham. Guests of honour are Gail Z Martin, Jasper Fforde and Brian Clemens and the fabulous Ian Watson is Master of Ceremonies. Not only can you “meet your favourite authors, attend book launches and listen to panels”, you can also attend a lavish banquet on Saturday night followed by the presentations of the British Fantasy Awards – should be good. Prices range from £30.00 - £105.00 to attend.
See our end note for an exciting competition and a lovely Tanabata poem – thanks Brenda!
Have a fun month!
Shelley x
