Hello again 😊
This is the November issue of my newsletter. Did I forget how many days
there were in a month and now this is two days late? Yes!
There’s not much writing/publication news this time around
as I tend to wind down during the run up to Christmas. It’s a very busy season
for me socially—I take part in a local pantomime—but I’ve still got some
writing tips to share!
CURRENT NEWS ?
I’m still working on a serial for The People’s Friend and getting closer to the final part. I can’t share anything except that I’m currently researching the inner workings of a water mill alongside Methodist circuit preaching in Norfolk.
At the start of the month, I went on a little research trip
to Southwold, Suffolk for a future serial submission. It was lovely going
there, especially looking around St Edmund’s church. Unfortunately, it was
pouring with rain so I couldn’t bring my camera, but I did bring home plenty of
research material!
PUBLICATION NEWS #
No new releases this month, as my recent short stories were set during summer and autumn. I had planned to write a Christmas story earlier in the year, but ended up missing the submission deadline while working on the serial, so it’s my own fault.
Hopefully I’ll get The Ploughman’s Song finished for next Christmas!
WIPS !
Here’s a scene from a fantasy short story I’m currently
on the second draft for:
🐚
“How can you live
such a life?”
Arabella expects
thorns to grow from her tongue. She wants to feel their bite upon her words.
Instead, her flesh
is smooth. Beneath the surface, the girl’s blood is slippery and frothy like
seafoam. Salt prickles the undersides of her eyes and they well.
This is why the fisher people abandon the lonely. So much grief and pain in one so young, who can still wind magic around her fingertips…
Think how many storms would roar from the tiniest of nightmares.
DISCOUNTS |
No discounts for November, but look out for dates in the December newsletter when I’ll be reducing the price for A Christmas Carriage Ride.
WRITING TIPS @
So, considering I missed the Christmas submission deadline, this month’s writing tip will be about submitting seasonal short stories. (I always hit deadlines given to me by editors, but when it's a self-imposed one for a competition or something similar, those ones still elude me! 😅)
Most magazines are six months ahead in their publishing schedule. For example, The People’s Friend closed their submission window for Christmas stories in September this year but started to accept them back in April.
More about The People’s Friend and seasonal stories can be found on their blog: When To Submit Seasonal Stories To The People's Friend (thepeoplesfriend.co.uk)
Often publishers will find their inboxes flooded early in the year and are then even less likely to accept new stories as they’ve approved several already. Christmas, Halloween, any other specific date can only have a certain number of stories a year, so competition is much higher.
If you’re a writer who can get their stories finished well ahead of the deadline, then that’s great 😊 My advice for those who procrastinate like I do is to make the seasonal story one for the drawer.
It can be a little off kilter writing a winter story in the blaze of summer, which is when most are written, so why not write during the holidays without having to rush. Many of my own stories focus on nature, so it’s good to see what’s happening around me in real-time rather than rely on my spotty memory.
I might not be able to submit
straightaway, but I can get it finished off when submissions do reopen. Or,
even better, be vague about the season and you can submit whenever you fancy! :P
Do you prefer racing the clock or
waiting until next year?
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB 🕸
I’ve recently
posted on Tumblr sketches of the machines featured in my sci-fi short story,
The Dream and The Weaver, which was published in The Dread Machine’s Darkness
Blooms anthology.
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