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Resources for writers on the web
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Resources on this site
These forms are in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader required
The Prose Book for running prose meetings
The Poetry Book for running poetry meetings
Feedback Form. An aid to preparing feedback
Feedback Hint List. Commom problems in writing to look for (almost entirely relevant to prose)
Resources on external sites
Excel for Charity: Build Africa Poetry Competition (Recommended by Secretary)
Former Hog's Back member Jennifer Margrave (who chairs the Guildford Writers and founded Goldenford Press) has asked us to publicize this charity poetry competition.
Bridge House Publishing (Recommended by Secretary)
Hi there,
Can your writing group help raise awareness in this special charity book? Perhaps you would so kind as to pass this on to anyone who might be interested!
Also check out our website as we encourage new writing. We publish short story anthologies and have over 100 authors- at least half of which made their publishing debut with Bridge House Publishing.
http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/newsubmissions.aspx
I also run the Bangor Cellar Writing Group in North Wales so it’s nice to contact other writing groups!
Debz J
WritingRaw (Recommended by Secretary)
The February 15 issue of WritingRaw.com is NOW online: Writing Raw is a FREE literary ezine dedicated to new and emerging writers. Our goal at Writing Raw is simple - to serve the literary community with the opportunity to have their work online and out in the world. In this world of disappearing literary magazines, Writing Raw is providing the blank pages for writers to fill.
We also support other sites that help writers: www.WritingRaw.com believes in reaching out to other sites, writing groups, forums, and organizations. Contact us on how you can place a FREE banner, announcement or link on our site!
Or, use the Writing Raw Book Store to promote your novel or poetry collection: If you have a novel or collection that you would like to place in our store, we would be more than happy to do so – for FREE. Just send us a copy of the cover of the book, a brief synopsis, and a link as to where the material can be purchased.
Also, be sure to check out the NEW announcements on WritingRaw.com’s Home page from writer’s group and organizations worldwide. Discover meeting places, organizations offering fellowships, contests, and a variety of other useful websites all dedicated to writers of every level.
Alibi channel - crime short story competition (Recommended by Mary Ellen)
Do you fancy becoming the next Stuart MacBride, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie or Dashiell Hammett? Do you have the next great gumshoe detective or amateur sleuth character under wraps and just need an opportunity to tell the world? Now's your chance.
Alibi has teamed up with world-renowned publisher HarperCollins and Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate to unearth some of the country's hottest new crime-writing talent and we're starting by asking you to submit your very own crime fiction short story.
And it couldn't be easier to enter. We've enlisted the help of award-winning crime writer Stuart MacBride who has provided the first line of the story to help get you started. All we ask is that your story is between 2,000 and 5,000 words long. Otherwise you have free reign to express yourselves! Click on the link below to submit your story.
Three finalists will win tickets to Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate (with travel and accommodation included), where they'll get to the chance to rub shoulders with leading authors and agents of the crime writing world. The winner will be announced during the weekend and will win a Sony e-reader, a library of 100 crime books including a signed Stuart MacBride back catalogue and they'll also see their story turned into a special online, downloadable e-edition by HarperCollins.
Entries must reach us by noon on May 16th. Good luck!
Your first line provided by Stuart MacBride: In my experience, those who beg for mercy seldom deserve it.
Punked Books (Recommended by Madeleine Price)
Hello there,
I am emailing because I thought you might be interested in Authortrek.com's new paperback imprint Punked Books. We are looking to publish new fiction writers. However, we do have a rather novel submission process, which is via our Authortrek Short Stories website:
If you submit a short story via Authortrek Short Stories, you could be named the Authortrek Writer of the Month! And the authors of the most popular stories will be given the opportunity to have a novel published in paperback! (See below for more details)
The rules are very simple -
There is a word limit of 10,000 words.
- Here endeth the rules! The stories can be of any genre.
Once you have registered on the site, you can post your story. Registration is free. Indeed, access to the whole of Authortrek Short Stories is free.
Each short story will have a voting button. So, once you have finished posting your story, forward the story link to your friends and ask them to read and vote for your story if they like it (i.e., don’t be shy!). Visitors will only be allowed to vote once per story. Your story will be open to feedback from other users of the site, which may be taken into account in the event of a tie (please ensure that you only ever engage in constructive criticism – the administrator reserves the right to bar users who abuse the comment box).
The 3 stories with the most votes from 3 different authors will form the shortlist for each month’s award, with Authortrek editor Kevin Mahoney choosing the winner. So it’s best to only submit 1 short story per month, or your votes may be split between all the stories that you have entered. It’s also a good idea for you submit your story as early in the month as possible, as votes will only be counted per calendar month (not from the date that you submitted the story). The winning author will not win any money or a prize, only the title of Authortrek Writer of the Month, but this is still a mighty fine addition to your writing CV. However, if your short gets over 30 votes, then you will be invited to submit your story to anthology, which you will be sent a free copy of. If your story gets over a 100 votes, then you’ll be invited to submit a novel for publication by our imprint, Punked Books. Editor Kevin Mahoney reserves the right to reject novel submissions if they do not fit Punked Books’ list, and also reserves the right to source novels beyond this site.
So that you can see what short stories on the site will look like, we have published a copy of Guy de Maupassant’s excellent tale The Necklace on the site.
More details about how to submit to Authortrek Short Stories can be found on the following page:
http://authortrek.com/short-stories/how-to-post-stories/submission-guidelines/
Punked Books are looking to publish commercial fiction of any genre, such as crime & mystery, romance, science fiction, horror, thrillers, erotica etc. We’re not looking to publish anything too experimental at the moment, as such novels are notoriously hard to sell.
Punked Books authors get paid 50% of the profits after production costs and retailer discounts as royalties. Since some retailers can take 3 months to pay for a book they’ve sold, the first royalty payment will be made 4 months after the book has been published, and royalties are paid monthly thereafter. We do not pay advances, as we only take on complete books for publication, and therefore offer authors higher rates of royalties than the great majority of publishing companies to compensate for this. We will also send the author 10 free copies of their book, and we offer them the opportunity to buy further copies at a greatly reduced price.
For more details about being published by Punked Books, please visit our FAQ page:
http://authortrek.com/punked-books/faq/
The first novel to be published by Punked Books, Abattoir Jack by Christopher Neilan, has just been released:
http://authortrek.com/punked-books/2009/12/07/abattoir-jack-christopher-neilan/
http://www.amazon.com/Abattoir-Jack-Christopher-Neilan/dp/0953317234
At the age of 22, Jack is going nowhere. Stuck in a New Mexico backwater, slicing dead cattle for a living, he is ready to seize any opportunity to make something of his life. So when his workmate Ed tells him about the $25,000 stashed in a bus station locker in San Francisco, and when he meets and falls for the beautiful De S'anna, a sweet Italian supernova of sweat and lips and purple-black hair, the two events propel him into a journey of love, drugs, madness and determination as he tries to make real those two seductive mirages, the accidental fortune and the perfect love. Christopher Neilan's debut novel is a coruscating tale told in vibrant, visceral prose. Funny, sexy, poetic, thrilling and endlessly inventive, Abattoir Jack is a very impressive achievement.
Punked Books featured in a recent article in The Bookseller, the UK's leading publishing journal:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/106046-pod-only-publisher-launches-.html?p=6&a=106046
Please pass on this email to any author you think will be interested.
Best wishes,
Kevin Mahoney
Publisher and Founder
Punked Books
Brit Writers Award (Recommended by Madeleine Price)
Awards categories
Submit your story, poem or song to the Brit Writers' Awards and be in with a chance of winning £10,000!
To give you the best possible experience from the Brit Writers' Awards, we're still working on this page! Please check back soon to read more detail about the writing categories you can enter your work within.
In the meantime, here's a preview:
Adults:
1. Poetry (collection of 5 entries)
2. Short stories (minimum 1,000 and maximum 5,000 words)
3. Novels
4. Non-fiction
5. Children's stories
6. Songwriting
7. Diverse Unpublished Writer of the Year (from people of black, minority or ethnic origin)
8. Published Writer of the Year (the only category for published writers)
Young people (aged 16 and under):
1. Poetry (collection of 3 entries)
2. Short stories (maximum 3,000 words)
3. Songwriting
These categories are open to Key Stage 1 (5-7 years), Key Stage 2 (7-11 years) and Key Stages 3 and 4 (11-16 years) age groups.
Writers Holiday (Recommended by Joyce)
Information on Caerleon. Last week in July each year. Single, en-suite accommodation with full board.
Also Winter Weekend writing breaks in Fishguard.
Transita Publishing - (women) writers wanted (Recommended by Sandy Humphrey)
This is an extract from the website of Transita publishing(click on the heding above for more)- :
"We’re looking for contemporary women’s fiction that reflects the lives of women aged 45 – 75.We are looking for 80-85,000 words but otherwise we are not prescriptive. The books can be as varied as women themselves are at this time of life! We are seeking what is most relevant to the lives of other women out there who are facing the challenges and opportunities of the exciting but often difficult later time of life.
...As well as publishing the work of established authors it is part of Transita's mission to discover new talent so if you are interested in writing for Transita please do get in touch with us."
It's not clear whether men are excluded from the world of Transita, but I would hope gender is less important than the ability to write convincing women characters.
elance (Recommended by Sandy Humphrey)
This is like e-bay for writers. Firms or individuals who need some copy written post their 'project' on the site, and writers bid to provide the 'service.' To win, you have to quote an acceptable rate, and sell your writing skills as well.
The site covers all sorts of skills from programming to graphic design, but within the Writing and Translation category you can find demands for copy-writing, proof-reading, editing, articles, and more.
It's not free. USD60 per year allows you 8 bids per month, and for any successful bids you get charged 8% of your earnings for that project. A lot of the writing projects are for web content, which don't pay very highly per word, but do offer repeat work e.g. a series of 20 articles on dogs, or 50 articles on women's footwear(!)
Writelink (Recommended by Sandy Humphrey)
Aimed at amateur and wannabe freelance writers, this is a useful resource with regularly updated sections on markets and competitions.
It is a money-making website, which means you have to join as a 'Writer' (£15p.a.) to enter the Arena competitions, join in the Forums and submit work to the feedback 'Arena' for peer review.
However, it is free to be a 'reader,' which allows you to read the articles and work posted by others, and generally get a feel for the site.
Vibe TV (Recommended by Madeleine Price)
Screenwriting competition 2009
WIPST(Writers International Premier Screen Talent) is a new competition looking for raw talent, and the winning writer will see a pilot of their script on screen. It is so difficult to break into the business, to get seen or heard, but with a short movie/television programme to show you can enter film festivals or send it to directors and producers and all the people that make things happen.
Vibe Tv.Tv Ltd is an industry partner looking for great stories in any of the following genres:
Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Horror, Romantic Comedy, Thriller/Suspense, Documentary, Fantasy, Ghost and Open genres.
Yoda and Fluff (Recommended by Elliott)
Is your poetry full of fluff and Yoda-speak? This page offers mostly useful advice on "de-Seussifying" your poems. Such as: if place you words in order odd to rhyme achieve, 'tis best I think, to write again or laughter leave.
I say "mostly useful" because there is one rule that, if followed, would rule out most classical English verse including Shakepeare's sonnets. Can you spot which one I'm complaining about?
Print on Demand (Recommended by Elliott)
Advice to authors considering print-on-demand publishing. How to spot the signs that you might lose money and still not sell any books. A sad but balanced look at the realities of the market. US-centric but applies in general here too.
Jan Haag (Recommended by Elliott)
Want to know about poetic forms?
Jan Haag has set out to write a poem on the theme of desolation using every poetic form ever used in English and a few never before used in English.
gnod (Recommended by Gentian)
Marvellous site for linking to authors similar to those with whom you are already acquainted. Enter the author's name, and you will be fascinated at what transpires. Of all the names shown, those that are closest are the most similar. Please try it!
Rhyme - UVic Writers' Guide - Poetry (Recommended by Elliott)
A quick explantation of masculine/feminine, perfect/partial and end/internal rhymes
Silva Rhetoricae (The Forest of Rhetoric) (Recommended by Elliott)
This amazing site from Brigham Young University is a grammar geek's paradise. Do you know your apophasis from your apologue? If not, you need this site. I am distressed to discover that I've been confusing zeugma with syllepsis all my life.
Southern Writers' Conference (Recommended by Martin Hall)
The Southern Writers' Conference stands out because of the number of things that it gets right. The environment is superb, less than a mile from the sea and set amongst landscaped gardens, the Earnley Concourse (complete with large, heated pool) provides an attractive setting. The speakers are high quality. In the past we have had Jack Higgins, Ruth Rendell, Bernard Cornwell amongst others. Our first confirmed speakers for 2004 are Shelley Rohde and Sarah Harrison. Additionally, discussion groups run by the delegates themselves give everyone an opportunity to talk as well as listen. Finally, the people who attend the conference themselves make the Southern Writers' conference so special. It's an ideal opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and everyone is so friendly that newcomers feel at home very quickly. Oh, and the food is brilliant and the bar is lovely.
Burgundy (Recommended by Elliott)
A lively and friendly poetry discussion board.
I found it hard to navigate and follow threads - but there's enough of interest here to keep me trying. There's also some excellent poetry and some interesting challenges. For example: can you write a sonnet that is not iambic, not in pent or tet and is not 14 lines - and yet is still recognisably a sonnet?
Literary and rhetorical terms (Recommended by Elliott)
Definitions of many terms such as 'conceit', 'point of view', 'poetic justice' etc.
Ty Newydd (Recommended by Joyce)
A programme of different writing courses and writers' retreats throughout the year. The courses run from Monday evening to Saturday morning.
Ty Newydd is set in stunning surroundings on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. It was Lloyd George's last house.
Sample courses: Drama; Fiction; Poetry and the Short Story; Crime Fiction; Comedy; Storytelling.
Writers' Circles: Competitions (Recommended by Elliott)
A long list of competitions. Looks like it's kept up to date.
Writers Summer Holiday at Caerleon, Nr. Newport, Wales (Recommended by Gentian)
Courses on every aspect of writing, lectures, workshops, good food and the company of people with similar interests. Refresh your skills and explore other genres.
Jacqui Bennett Writers' Bureau (Recommended by Gentian)
Packed with info for writers. Markets, competitions, advice - it's all here. Includes HBW in its resources.
Author.co.uk (Recommended by Elliott)
A British site with lots of links and resources for authors. Lists writers' circles - including us!
The-Phone-Book.com (Recommended by Elliott)
A site dedicated to very, very short stories. You write a tiny number of words - and get paid by the word! I found it unusual and inspiring.
Update: I've just had two of my stories accepted for the 1st Sept edition.
World Wide Words (Recommended by Elliott)
A rich source of interesting and amusing information on words and their usage. Covers new coinages, archaisms and unusual words. Who can tell me what "zenzizenzizenzic" means, for example?
There is also a mailing list you can join. Send an email to
listserv@listserv.linguistlist.org
with the following text in the BODY (not the subject line) of the email:
SUBSCRIBE WORLDWIDEWORDS Your-first-name Your-last-name
Bibliomania (Recommended by Elliott)
Primarily aimed at book lovers rather than writers but I am recommending it here because it has online versions of Roget's Thesaurus and Soule's Synonymes. They are available for free and seem to be the complete texts. I wonder how they deal with the copyright issues...
The Word Pool (Recommended by Valerie Wilding)
The Word Pool is a site full of links and resources, run by a children's author. It's used by children's writers, illustrators, teachers, librarians, parents, publishers - anyone interested in any aspect of children's books. It is all info - no frills, and I've used it since it started.
Soho Theatre (Recommended by Elliott)
According to the site: "No other theatre company in Britain works with so many writers on so many different levels." The site describes what the theatre does to encourage new writers and gives details of workshops
Anam Cara Retreat (Recommended by Elliott)
A year-round Irish retreat for writers and artists overlooking Coulagh Bay.
I haven't been on the retreat so I can't comment on it, but I've been to West Cork where it is located and I can't imagine a more perfect place to write.
Midnight Edition (Recommended by Gentian)
Lots of different writing related imput
WriteLink Creative Writing site (Recommended by GentianHBW@aol.com)
This is a gem of a site - last night they had a live chat evening with the editor of the Midland Exposure site, (the agency which has two competitions each year) and offers a contract and will sell the stories to targeted magazines. Writelink has a wealth of information, competitions etc and is well worth a visit.