Festivals and Events

Good morning and good Monday writers! Have you been thinking about submitting your work to an agent or publisher recently? If so, does the prospect fill you with fear?

Don’t despair – you’re not alone. It takes a different set of skills to put together a good submission package than to write a book. There are obviously some areas of overlap, but it’s worth putting the time in to learn a few tricks of the trade, as it can make all the difference between your envelope being opened and swiftly returned, and an actual assessment of your writing.

So what do you send? Firstly, check the agent’s submission requirements. There is no point sending what hasn’t been asked for, they will assume you can’t follow instructions which is not a great start to a potential professional relationship.

Most agencies will ask for a similar amount of material, and will include a submission letter, a synopsis, and the first three chapters.

So – submission letter – a simple statement of what …

How many have you broken so far?  It’s the first working day back after the New Year celebrations, and everyone is awash with New Year Resolutions.  But while some are swimming out with confidence, full of the joy of the detox and the exercise plans, others are floundering.

The trouble with New Year’s resolutions is that they tend to be over ambitious, vague, and punitive.  So if ‘Get FIT this year at LAST’ sounds familiar, consider a rethink. 

A fantastic book I’ve read about developing new habits suggests doing something counter-intuitive.  Martha Beck’s Four Day Win (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-Win-Change-Think-About/dp/0749928085) which works for a variety of intentions, asks you to think about what you could reliably commit to.  Then halve it, and halve it again.  So if you’re full of the exercise bug and want to exercise five times a week – commit to doing it once a week.  This approach is a win-win …

I’ve just spent a pleasant hour in my favourite bookshop (http://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/ – other independent bookshops are  - rarely – available) browsing for other people’s Christmas presents, and making a mental list for myself.

I love getting books for Christmas, not least because they are the perfect excuse to take a mental break from the festivities and curl up for half an hour.  I rarely get given them though, as people think that as I read for work, I can’t possibly want to read for pleasure.

So what are the perfect presents for a writer and a reader?  A writer needs nice things to write on and with – even if they’re a committed computer user, an ideas notebook is a great plan.  Most writers and readers I know are addicted to nice stationery, and I don’t feel you could ever have too much. 

For a more unusual collection of gifts, I’m rather taken with http://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/ - especially their …

Are  you NaNoWriMo-ing?  How's your 1,666 word count for the day coming along?  Is your plot sorted or are you making it up as you go along?

If you've not come across NaNoWriMo yet, it's a fabulous mass-writing project that has been running for 13 years and encourages everyone to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month (National Novel Writing Month).

This year I know 3 people who are signed up to it and I'm doing a shadow write.  I have failed in my attempt to get my e-book up by the 1st November(see my confession post here), so I've decided to write along with the NaNoWriMo (non-fiction isn't allowed, nor is any work you've already started).

Are you signed up?  If it's not quite right for you - what else could you commit to for November as a writing project?

Cressida
(Editorial

Have you read any of the shortlist?  Who do you think should win?  Have a look here for the details of who's on it this year.  I've read two out of the six and enjoyed both very much but I'm not sure either is a winner as such.

There has been some controversy this year (as there often is).  The chair of the Judges is Dame Stella Rimington, a thriller writer who gets some help with her own writing.  The question seems to be - are the judges, and therefore the shortlist, too down-market?  The Guardian has set up its own short-list  - the Not The Booker Prize - also being announced today.

Do you find a divide between quality and readability?  If something's easy to read - does it automatically disqualify from being literary fiction?  I don't think I agree - Animal Farm is eminently readable - for example - and no-one would claim that that's not a multi-layered classic.

Let us know.

Cressida
(Editorial