Saturday was a financial admin day for me. Oh, the heady world of being a writer! For me, Saturday marked the start of the 2019/2020 financial year, and therefore the end of the last financial year. While many people use the end of the calendar year to look back on their achievements, I also use the end of the financial year to look back too.
Sleep. We all need it. But do we get enough of it? And if we don’t … could it be affecting your writing business? How creative do you feel after a bad night’s sleep? I recently read Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep and can thoroughly recommend it. It’s a fascinating read (and one of those books that is so well written it’s an easy read even though the subject matter gets quite complicated at times). How many times have we found ourselves…
The latest issue of Writing Magazine carries a piece by the brilliant Patsy Collins (who runs the Womagwriter blog) concerning changes at Spirit & Destiny magazine. This magazine is now taking all rights in material, including fiction. As a result, some of the writers Patsy quoted in her piece have said that they will no longer write for them. (Note, some last minute editing as the publication went to press means the sentence about those writers not writing for Spirit & Destiny could…
This year’s London Book Fair takes place between 12th and 14th March at Olympia. Like many of these events, if you’ve never been before it’s worth making some preparations to ensure you get the most from your visit. Time will fly!
Last week, Radio 4’s Moneybox looked at the economics of being an author. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0002ml5) At a little over 28 minutes long it clearly doesn’t go into too much detail, but it certainly highlights some of the extremes in the publishing world. The two main guests are Karolina Sutton, from the Curtis Brown Literary Agency, and independent author Mark Dawson.
Twice last week, I came across posts in two different private social media groups where people in the writing business had experienced rudeness from novice writers submitting work. Now, I’m not going to share any specific details, because they are private groups. But there’s no excuse for rudeness at any time, and it made me realise how some novice writers still don’t understand that writing is a business. It’s all about professional, business relationships, and for those relationships to function successfully there needs…
I know I’m getting old when I see an advert on television for a popular confectionary treat that’s got a new added twist (Peanut butter flavoured Kit Kat Chunky, anyone?) and I think to myself, ”Why can’t they leave products alone? Why do they have to keep messing about with stuff?” However, there are times when an update is needed, and I’ve been working on two over the Christmas period (one is still under wraps at the moment).
Do you fancy some free money? All it costs is some time. I’m currently working a couple of days a week in an employed capacity, offering grant advice to churches. Many church buildings in my area date back six, seven, eight or more centuries, which means they’re important enough to warrant being registered as a listed building: acknowledged by the State as being of architectural importance to the country. Which means, when they need repairing (because when you’re 700 years…
Last week, the British Library uploaded the PLR statements for authors to download. While it’s always nice to be paid for those times when your books are borrowed from a library, it’s also fascinating to see which books are being borrowed.
Just a quick post to remind you that the DACS Payback scheme for 2019 is scheduled to open today. (It hasn’t yet when I check at 11am.) Check out their website here: https://www.dacs.org.uk/for-artists/payback What is Payback? If a photograph that you have taken has been published in a magazine, or in a book, or even on television, then you are eligible to submit a claim via the DACS Payback scheme.
Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a fabulous festive period, and are all fired up with some life-changing writing goals for the year ahead. (How are you doing with your New Year resolutions? The first week is almost over.) I found myself getting quite angry on New Year’s Eve. Let me explain why.
Many people say that they wish they had more time to write, and often what they mean is they wish they had longer periods of time in which to write. While ten minutes here, and fifteen minutes there is useful, it’s not long enough to become absorbed in what you’re writing and make a big impact upon what you’re trying to achieve.
Many of you may know that in addition to my writing, I’m also a bit of a photographer. I’ve used my photos to illustrate many of my articles and some of my books. So, just like my writing, I like to exploit my photos for maximum earning potential. This is why I sell my images through the Alamy agency. But many of the Agency’s photographers (suppliers) are up in arms, because the agency has issued a notice intending to cut…
If you read my Business of Writing column in Writing Magazine you may recall that I’m currently working a Short-term temporary employed contract for a couple of days a week. Last week, I had to reacquaint myself with the joys of the Staff Away Day, when everyone in the organisation gathered together in a village hall (in the middle of nowhere) to make complete fools of ourselves. There were the usual team-building exercises: people being blindfolded and others describing pictures…
As Christmas draws closer, I thought I’d look back a couple of years to when I chatted to three writers about how they manage their writing businesses during the festive period. In the world of paid employment December is one long month of office parties, Christmas lunches, and arguing with Health and Safety about the fire risk of the red tinsel framing your computer monitor. It’s an entirely different matter for writers. Working in our isolated garrets means the office…