http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ Just another bbPress community en-US Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:57:15 +0000 bbpress 1.0-alpha-2 q http://essentialwriters.com/forum/search.php http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/in-need-of-cheap-writers#post-118 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:41:22 +0000 tbtentertainmentgroup 118@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I am Tevan Savage and I run multiple websites that are in need of writers. The sites have been moved from WordPress.com to Blogger, so the audience is still rebuilding, but my schedule is taking me farther and farther away from my websites and I have taken to Essential Writers in search of writers that will work for little pay.</p> <p>My company is behind several sites, one is a hip hop site that needs the news and stories written in a professional manner. The other is a black entertainment website, again with articles written in a professional manner. I also have a website dedicated to basketball and I will still be writing for all of these websites. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/competitions-how-do-you-know-if-theyre-legit#post-117 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:43:51 +0000 mike 117@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>All sounds highly dodgy to me.<br /> I've also come to realise that there's no point entering competitions with small prizes, little prestige and based miles away. I'm not going to pay £100+ for a trip to Scotland if the prize is only £100... Or does that seem churlish? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/want-to-be-part-of-the-next-great-british-movie#post-116 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:38:25 +0000 johnfmac 116@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>My award-winning screenplay TRIBE is now in pre-production - see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1581846/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1581846/</a> - an investment pack is available for anyone who wants to be part of the next GREAT British movie (includes some walk-on parts). If you're interested, let me know and I'll get the production team to contact you.<br /> John McDonald<br /> <a href="mailto:jmacdonald48@btinternet.com">jmacdonald48@btinternet.com</a> </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/case-study-request-happy-feet#post-115 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:48:37 +0000 ruth 115@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>I am writing an article on foot care and wondered if any of you might be able to provide me with any leads?<br /> I need women who have had foot problems and have either:<br /> - Found regular exercise has helped foot problems<br /> - Found a regular foot care routine (possibly including regular visits to the chiropodist/podiatrist) that works for them</p> <p>The piece is for a women's lifestyle magazine and would involve a ten minute phone interview. If you can relate to the above - or can put me in touch with someone who can - please get in touch. Any help/suggestions hugely appreciated!!</p> <p>Cheers,</p> <p>Ruth<br /> Freelance Journalist<br /> <a href="mailto:ruth_stokes@hotmail.com">ruth_stokes@hotmail.com</a> </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/what-would-be-the-perfect-island-for-a-writing-retreat#post-114 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:20:02 +0000 graham 114@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>A lot of the Greek islands virtually shut down in winter. Half the people who live on Kefalonia in summer shut up their tavernas and go home to Athens for the winter! I reckon you might be better off on one of the bigger Spanish islands. Mallorca is absolutely beautiful beyond the tourist spots! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/what-would-be-the-perfect-island-for-a-writing-retreat#post-113 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:56:05 +0000 walkerc83 113@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I have been to the greek islands a fair bit and know that they all differ vastly. Personal favourites of mine have been Paros, Paxos, Folegandros and Symi. My other half is a writer in desperate need of a spring holiday on an island where he can relax and do plenty of writing. A simple cottage by the water and plenty of walks, nice villages, tavernas, friendly locals etc. <a href="http://summerwritingretreat.com/" rel="nofollow">http://summerwritingretreat.com/</a> </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-112 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:24:40 +0000 emily 112@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I try not to do that, with short stories or feature ideas. Instead i have a collection of about 10 of each that are constantly doing the rounds, being re-assessed after each rejection (or worse, non-reply). I think it would be awful to have two magazines sy they'd like to publish your work, and then have to turn one down! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-111 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:28:52 +0000 Rebecca Lloyd 111@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I'm not familiar with submitting articles, but I am with short stories. The submission page on a publisher's website almost always tells you if they allow simultaneous submissions, [the same story sent to more than one publisher]. If you can't see anything saying they don't allow sim. subs. then, I'd just go ahead and submit it to as many publishers as you want, because it's the publishers responsibility to present their submission rules correctly.<br /> On how long you wait if your work is tied up with one publisher, is a decision each of us has to make, as Fran says. Submitting stories and everything connected with it is what I call the admin. side of a writer's work. Well, you don't want to let the admin. get on top of you, so just keep writing, and submitting.<br /> Becca. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/competitions-how-do-you-know-if-theyre-legit#post-110 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:16:05 +0000 Rebecca Lloyd 110@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>More on the Academy of Children's Writers - I got in contact with someone who has a website with a list of compos. and mentioned the suspicions about the Academy, and he sent me the following, [and said I could use it],</p> <p>I’ve conducted an investigation into the competition in question, and I agree that there is no proof that any prizes have been awarding recently. I do know of a writer who won a third prize back in 1998 (http://merlinscrystal.co.uk/about.html), so the contest seems to have been okay at that time. But the absence of any publicity-seeking winners in recent times, plus the fact that no winning entries are shown on the website, does make me wonder. However, wondering is not knowing.</p> <p>The fact that the Academy of Children’s Writers uses a contest to promote its writing courses is not in itself a cause for concern. Every competition is run either to promote something or to make money out of the entry fees. The former type are usually cheaper to enter and might well be preferred by some people. After all, there is no obligation to buy, so as long as the prizes are being awarded, why worry? </p> <p>But has the Academy been awarding the prizes? There will have been 33 of these since 1998. Not a lot, really. It isn’t inconceivable that the recipients have no websites or blogs through which to boast about their success. </p> <p>I emailed the Academy and told them there were doubts about the competition, and I asked if they made the winning entries available in any form. Someone responded with a reply that failed to answer the question, saying all entrants are notified of the results in May. I wanted to know if the winning stories would be included in this notification, so I asked. The answer was no. I was told they used to do an anthology but there was no demand for it, so they put the winners on the website instead, only to find that some writers demanded royalties, while others felt that their chances of placing their story with a publisher would be destroyed if it had been made available for all to read on the web. A lame excuse, I thought. I told the person that the norm was for competition promoters to reserve the right to publish winners without further payment, and if there were any genuine concerns about future publication, these would not apply if the stories simply appeared in a privately circulated results newsletter.</p> <p>The end result of the correspondence was that the person now understood why suspicions had arisen, and the Academy would ‘address the situation with the winners this year’ and make adjustments to the rules for future years, and that they will take the website route as they don’t wish to produce hard copies again.</p> <p>So all being well we will be able to read this year’s winners on the website. This is the best we can hope for in the way of proof in most literary competitions. Some have a glittering awards ceremony and send out press releases with photos, but the majority don’t. With the latter you just have to take a chance.</p> <p>Further to the above email, I did a bit more research myself and found a site where the Academy claims that 'every year, about two thousand novice children's writers become sucessful authors.' That would flood the market, wouldn't it!!!<br /> Becca. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-109 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:14:15 +0000 Fran Hill 109@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>This is just my experience. I think if it's a short story or article, you shouldn't send it to duplicate publications. One of the main reasons for this is that everything you write should be targeted at a certain audience after studying the publication you are aiming at. People vary on how long to wait before sending elsewhere. That's trickier. Just keep sending things out, and then you're not always in that 'hanging on' state which is always so painful and requires acres of chocolate to be soothed. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-108 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:29:52 +0000 trishool 108@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>If you are submitting a short story or an article, do you submit it to multiple places at the same time? If you only submit to one place, and if they do not give you a reply, how long do you wait before submitting it somewhere else? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-107 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:46:10 +0000 Fran Hill 107@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>The worst rejection I've had is an email which just said 'no thanks'. Not even a comma between no and thanks. I wasn't even WORTH a comma. Decided I wouldn't want to be edited by him anyway. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-106 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:38:12 +0000 mike 106@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>It's about persistence. Well, persistence, good ideas, talent and a hefty chunk of luck! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/self-assessments-and-tax-returns#post-105 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:26:53 +0000 vickygrut 105@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I've just done mine and I know what you mean. It's like diving under water into a whole world of numbers - on the the hand, great when it's done! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-104 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:13:17 +0000 emily 104@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>My New Year's resolution for 2010 is to send out at least one feature pitch or story submission every single week. Being trapped at home in the snow really helped – I sent out nine feature ideas last Monday! Now I just need one to come good... </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/self-assessments-and-tax-returns#post-103 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:21:01 +0000 Judy Darley 103@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I managed to get mine done in the week between Christmas and New Year, and it was a massive relief. I have to admit, though, by the end I felt a bit like Homer Simpson screwing the whole thing into a massive ball covered in duct-tape and forcing it through the metaphorical mail slot! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/self-assessments-and-tax-returns#post-102 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:03:57 +0000 Oliver Gosling 102@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>My approach is to keep good records as I go along – tedious, it's true, but it saves me having a meltdown two weeks before the deadline! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-101 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:25:06 +0000 graham 101@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Congrats, Mike. You've spurred me on to send out more feature pitches! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/afternoon-all#post-100 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:16:41 +0000 garydavison 100@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Sounds like a great number, emily. all apart from the historical novel bit, I'd struggle big time with that! no patience, that's my trouble. Good luck with your novel hope you get the time to get on top of it. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-99 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:06:25 +0000 mike 99@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Woohoo! I just had my first feature commission come through from a mag I've been trying to get in with for ages. How's that for a great way to begin 2010! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/afternoon-all#post-98 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:04:11 +0000 emily 98@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Hi Gary, I do various bits of freelance journalism, mainly for websites these days, and I'm also working on a historical novel, but need to do lots of research first! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/afternoon-all#post-97 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:59:34 +0000 garydavison 97@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Hi Emily, thanks for the welcome and for popping over to my site. At the moment I'm working on my third novel. It's another comedy, to follow on from Streakers, but it also has a dark side. The main character is a priest who has a 'sex-related' problem and starts doubting his faith and returns home to his dysfunctional family where his father has some very interesting lodgers. I'm about a quarter-ish of the way through and having a good laugh writing this one.</p> <p>What about yourself. What are you working on at the moment? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/afternoon-all#post-96 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:14:59 +0000 emily 96@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Hi Gary, welcome to EssentialWriters.com. I just had a look at your website and it's really interesting. What are you working on at the moment? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/self-assessments-and-tax-returns#post-95 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:28:59 +0000 garydavison 95@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I recently changed accountants and for the first time ever, it's all in and done. Usually it would be panic stations round about now. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/afternoon-all#post-94 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:27:20 +0000 garydavison 94@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>my name is gary davison. I write short novels and i blog over at <a href="http://www.gary-davison.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.gary-davison.com</a>. This all looks like fun, and i love discussing writing and reading issues, amongst other things so thought I'd drop by. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/self-assessments-and-tax-returns#post-93 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:22:43 +0000 Judy Darley 93@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Just wondered how everyone is getting on with their 2008/2009 tax returns. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/writing-residences-pay-or-be-paid#post-92 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:22:46 +0000 Oliver Gosling 92@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I agree. They don't seem to understand the value of a writer in residence. Do you really want to be involved with a company like that? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/writing-residences-pay-or-be-paid#post-91 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:07:31 +0000 mike 91@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>That sounds like a scam to me, Judy. Don't do it!<br /> I've heard of writers being paid to be in residence, and I've heard of them doing it voluntarily but never of someone being charged to do it. </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/writing-residences-pay-or-be-paid#post-90 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:53:46 +0000 Judy Darley 90@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Has anyone else ever had the experience of being invited to become writer in residence of a venue and then being asked to pay for the privilege? </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-89 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:25:29 +0000 graham 89@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>It's hard going when you get endless rejections, but the occasional commission keeps me going! Last month I contacted fourteen mags I'd never written for before. Eight ignored me completely, five said 'thanks but no thanks', and one said they liked my idea and gave me a deadline of Dec 7th. Magic! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-88 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:57:00 +0000 emily 88@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I try to make sure I send out a least one short story every couple of weeks - the way I look at it, that's around 24 submissions a year. Actually, that doesn't sound that many, perhaps I should start sending more! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/submissions-how-do-you-do-it#post-87 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:43:41 +0000 Judy Darley 87@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Do you submit writing to magazines, competitions, agents or publishing houses? How do you motivate yourself? What's the worst response you've had? What's the best? Tell us about the moment that made it all worthwhile! </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/grants-for-film-ghosts-at-sand-creek#post-86 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:12:34 +0000 Melinda Elmore 86@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>I am the Executive Producer of Olympus Films and was wondering if anybody could advise of grants or contributers who would like to help in getting "Ghosts of Sand Creek" produced. Please if anybody has any suggestions or would like to contribte them please email me: <a href="mailto:navajotrust@yahoo.com">navajotrust@yahoo.com</a></p> <p>Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.</p> <p>Walk in harmony,<br /> Melinda Elmore </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/a-room-with-a-view-how-can-i-get-to-one-at-weekends-to-write-in-peace#post-85 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:15:41 +0000 silent1steve 85@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Thanks Judy for your suggestion. -- Interestinly enough, last week I started to read Sara Maitland's, "A Book of Silence". Her qwest for silence is proving to be extremely motivating. -- I continue to seek a location where silence predominates. Anyone with specific and detailed location suggestions - anywhere in the world - would be most welcome. -- <a href="mailto:hallett.steve@gmail.com">hallett.steve@gmail.com</a> . </p> http://essentialwriters.com/forum/topic/a-room-with-a-view-how-can-i-get-to-one-at-weekends-to-write-in-peace#post-84 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:53:23 +0000 Judy Darley 84@http://essentialwriters.com/forum/ <p>Hi Steve, in A Book of Silence, Sara Maitland writes about spending 40 isolated, silent days and nights at a cottage called Allt Dearg on Skye, and refers in her notes to the website <a href="http://www.drynoch.demon.co.uk" rel="nofollow">http://www.drynoch.demon.co.uk</a> which has full details on how to book the cottage. Worth a look. </p>