Browsed by
Tag: Market Analysis

Fitting In

Fitting In

Comments 2 Comments

“If you want to be successful in this business, don’t be different. Be like someone else.” That’s how Phil Rickman, author of the popular novels, opened his talk at the Church Stretton Arts Festival last week. And it’s a perfect reminder of how publishers (particularly those publishing fiction) want more of the same. Ideally, they want more bestsellers. (Don’t we all?) “Publishers want something … they don’t really want something different. They want something that is guaranteed to sell.”  

Blackcurrant Jelly

Blackcurrant Jelly

Comments 3 Comments

The latest issue of The People’s Friend magazine carries a short story I’ve written, called Blackcurrant Jelly. It’s about a father wondering how his young daughter will cope on her first day back at school, after spending several months off school recovering from meningitis. In particular, he’s worried how she’ll cope now she’s lost all of her fingers and thumbs, through the illness.

Adapt & Change

Adapt & Change

Comments 0 Comment

It’s been a busy week in the writing world on two different fronts: one which fiction writers may already be aware of, and another that probably won’t have registered with writers using Windows computers. The first event concerned Woman’s Weekly magazine, whose staff issued an email, out of the blue, last week to advise that following a restructure at Time Inc (owners of the Woman’s Weekly brand), the entire fiction team was moving on.

Readly Offer

Readly Offer

Comments 1 Comment

If you haven’t come across it before, Readly is a fantastic resource for writers. It’s an online magazine store. For £7.99 a month you can access thousands of magazines (and their back issues) and view them on several devices at the same time. Most of the magazines are the full issues that you might buy at the newsagents. I’ve only come across one that was a ‘scaled down’ or ‘lite’ version, and basically that meant there were no adverts. There…

Read More Read More

What The Editor Changed

What The Editor Changed

Comments 6 Comments

What do you do when you see your work published in a magazine? Do you buy an extra copy and frame it on the wall? Do you pass it round to friends and family, insisting that they read it? Or do you file it away in your achievement files of published work? Have you ever thought of sitting down and reading through the piece yourself? Have you ever played the ‘What The Editor Changed’ game?

Experience: Ninety Years On

Experience: Ninety Years On

Comments 0 Comment

  Ninety years ago, in April 1927, a new publication hit the newsstands: The Countryman. Buy a copy of the April 2017 issue (out now) and you’ll find it comes with a facsimile copy of that first 1927 issue. Inside this, there’s a request from the editor, which says:

It’s A Writer’s World

It’s A Writer’s World

Comments 8 Comments

 Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Last week, I had an email from the lovely Jill Finlay at The Weekly News. She wrote to say that a story I’d sent to her a couple of weeks ago would be in the next issue (out now – dated 4th March).  The Weekly News usually publishes two stories in each issue, and the story accompanying mine was also written by a male writer. According to Jill, this is a first – both stories…

Read More Read More

A Readly Good Idea

A Readly Good Idea

Comments 0 Comment

I frequently have students moaning that it’s difficult to find new magazine markets, and I accept that in some areas this can be quite challenging. If your local shop only has one shelf of magazines, then breaking into new markets may feel daunting. But, if you have access to the Internet (which you must have if you’re reading this blog posting) then check out a company called Readly. For a monthly subscription of £9.99 (practically the price of two  print…

Read More Read More