Mine? - No, It’s Yours’

It’s not mine - it’s Yours
(and yes, this photograph is offensive)

A story ‘what I wrote’ is currently on sale in the Yours Fiction Special. Normally I would be very excited about this and to some measure I suppose I am. ‘Guess Who From’, is printed alongside one written by Celia Imrie. To have my story listed next to hers is thrilling.

Except ‘Guess Who From’ is not my story. Yes, I wrote it. But it is no longer mine because when I sold it to Yours (part of Bauer Media) in 2016 I sold it with all rights. This means that the story belongs to Bauer.

Delighted to see there is a demand for short
story fiction. If only writers were better regarded.

Because it is theirs they can reprint it whenever they wish, without my permission, without my knowledge and without any further payment - as is the case here. They can use another name, or even no name at all. I understood this when I accepted their payment three years ago so I am not in any way moaning about the consequences.

There was a time when only a few magazines demanded all rights, Yours being one of them. Sadly TIMedia changed their terms last year and all stories now purchased by Woman’s Weekly are under an ‘all rights’ contract. This week news has broken of another Bauer magazine, ‘Spirit & Destiny’, demanding all rights.

Despite complaints and adverse publicity, the unfair bargaining position means that individual writers are faced with accepting such unfair terms imposed by large corporations or to stop submitting and selling. It’s not a good position to be in.

What was once mine is mine no longer. It’s Yours.

Library Humour

The stereotype of a Librarian as staid, dour and frowning upon noise of any kind is a classic trope of film and fiction.

Display at Tavistock Library
Photo: Stephen Lloyd

But follow various libraries on Twitter and you will find that is far from the truth. Accounts such as @OrkneyLibrary will soon alter your view and convince you that librarians have a very good sense of humour.

I particularly look forward to their Bookface photographs, always intending to create one of my own. Tales of Booky McBookface, their travelling library van, are the stuff of legend. And the song lyrics they replicate using various book titles are ingenious.

In stark contrast to such levity, Tavistock Library is embracing the darker side. In October 2019 they are playing host to Tavistock’s ‘first Gothic and Neo-Gothic Celebration, including Literature, Art, Architecture, Theatre, Film and Creative Fun.’ As part of that event there is to be a short story and poetry competition which I thought I might enter.

Later today I am travelling to Devon to visit my brother. While there I hope to do some research into local mythology to provide me with suitable background knowledge.

Thanks to Tavistock Library for letting me use this
photograph of their bodice-ripper display.

Mind you, when not embroiled in the gothic, the folks @tavilibrary have a keen sense of humour too. Having had fun with their “Have you seen my shirt?” display, they promised a similar collection of bodice-ripper fiction under the title “Anyone know a good seamstress?”. 

Does anyone have more examples of library humour?

Keep it up!

Photo: The People’s Friend, used with my article
“A History of Women’s Football” published Nov 2014

2019 has only just begun, the ink on the New Year Resolutions barely dry. It is too soon to celebrate the long-term successes, or bewail the failure, of those good intentions. 

In general terms my resolutions for the year are: to blog regularly; write everyday; aim to have something published every month; to join a critique group.

A philosophical take on the prompt “swing”

Let me share what I have begun.

Blog regularly: Well, here I am, blogging! Week one achieved.

Write everyday: #vss365 Each morning I have written a tweet-length very short story using the daily prompt. It’s a good warm-up exercise. Six days achieved, only 359 to go.

Paragraph Planet, 4th January 2019.

Publication: Paragraph Planet publishes a different 75 word story every day. In the past I aimed for one per month, and for a while was successful but then let my submissions slip. My first submission of 2019, made on 1st January, was published on the 4th. Eleven more needed.

Critique group - I have reconnected with some experienced writing buddies and have already shared my first story, and received some helpful suggestions. Achieved!

Now all I need to do is keep up the good work.

Just in time

Just in time...

It is the last day of December: time to reflect on 2018 before the midnight chimes sound the death knell of the old year and a new year begins. 

Writing:

I’ve not written as much as I had planned this time last year. But I have written. And I have started to submit my work again. I count that as a good thing. 

Successes:

I have seen stories published in Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special and the Yours 2019 Annual.

Several of my letters have been printed in various magazines.

I have had a couple of shoutouts in the Mslexia subscribers’ newsletter, littlems.

I was a runner-up in a competition run by Writers’ Forum which resulted in a sale.

Writing friends:

In June I visited Helen and Mike Walters at their glorious Solus Or Writing Retreat.

In August I went to the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School where I met several writing buddies, both old and new.

My desk at Solus Or with its incredible view

New Year plans:

I hesitate to state in a public forum exactly what I hope to achieve in 2019. Real life too often intervenes to knock us off our chartered course. I have though privately committed some intentions to paper to give me a focus.

I definitely want to write more, submit more, enter more competitions, and be published more often. 

I intend to return to Solus Or.

I hope also to return to Swanwick.

Happy New Year to all and may all your writing dreams come true in 2019.

I’m Hired!

As a writer we become accustomed to rejections. They still bite, but over time the feeling is more of an annoying nip rather than feeling as though your lovingly crafted work has been chewed up and spat out.

Applying for jobs also brings its share of rejections. Over the last nine years I’ve been turned down more than a hundred times. As time has gone by I’ve become more sanguine at accepting the ‘nos’ and apart from a couple of temporary positions got on with enjoying my life in less structured ways.

Yesterday I received three emails that all began “I write with reference to your application for the above post and regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion”.

But then I received a fourth email that read “(Redacted) has advised me that she would like to offer you a position at the (redacted) Library”. 

So there you have it. I have been offered a part-time job on a permanent contract. It’s perfect for me - just two days a week, working in a library, and being paid for the privilege.

But how will this affect my writing? I hope it will impact in a good way. I certainly wrote more often during the time I worked full-time in Boots four Christmases ago. Having only a limited time in which to write can concentrate the mind.

And as an extra encouragement I can report that two stories ‘wot I wrote’ are in the Yours 2019 Annual currently on sale. It’s good to be in print again.

Hi Ho, Silver Linings

Nine years ago my life changed overnight. The firm I was working for closed suddenly. My daily routine and purpose for getting up in the morning was taken away.

But there was a plus side. Forced redundancy meant I had more time to spend with my husband who had already retired. 

I applied for many jobs but, apart from the occasional temping opportunity and Christmas season retail positions, nobody wanted to employ me. 

But I signed up to a creative writing course and found that I loved it.

I missed daily camaraderie with my office colleagues.

But I discovered the welcoming world of the writing community.

The very first story I wrote during that course was published last year. It is in ‘Paws for Thought’, an ebook anthology which includes many excellent stories from some of my new friends in the writing community, many of whom are well-known and much respected authors. I am humbled to be in such good company.

And what is even better, all proceeds from the sale of the book are in support of the RSPCA, Halifax and Huddersfield branch. It costs only £2.99. You can buy a copy here. Please do. You will help our furry friends going through hard times find their silver lining.

Grammar Grump

Look away now if you are of a sensitive disposition. You may find these photographs disturbing.

A gift for that special someone you really want to annoy?

Like many of my writerly friends, using correct spelling and grammar is important to me.

The office joke was to warn folks not to leave their shopping lists lying about as I would amend them. I’m sure I wasn’t really that bad (was I?) but I admit to rubbing errant apostrophes off chalk boards in cafés.

M&Co making sure your stationery
never leaves the desk.

I try very hard not to make mistakes in my own writing although sometimes I fail. Inevitably I spot one 10 minutes after hitting ‘send’ on a submission.

But when I come across glaring errors on commercial products and posters it does upset me. Words are the tools with which we communicate. Surely those involved in the signwriting, graphics and advertising businesses should get it right?