Monday 15 June 2009

THE NEW WRITER

When you read this, I will be exhausting myself on the dreaded Deathwatch Dash - please remind me to shut up next time I have stupid idea. It's not helped by suddenly having an ill daughter at home so I'm full of extra angst and stress, with the pleasures of the weekend rapidly fading.

Anyway, I'm not going to be able to blog particularly usefully or deeply for at least another week, for one reason and another. However, I have a little snippet to draw quickly to your attention.


There's a great magazine for writers, The New Writer, which many of you will know about. If you don't, take a look and do consider subscribing. I used to, years ago when I was trying to get published, and once I'd got published I stopped. (Which I needn't have done, as there's lots of stuff for published writers too, and besides, publication does not guarantee continued success).

I came across it again recently, still with the same hugely expert hands at the helm - Merric Davidson, Suzanne Ruthven and Sarah Jackson. It's full of great advice, lots of outlets for short story writing and poetry, and is an important source of information.


On the website, you'll see that you can ask for a free back issue to see what sort of things it contains. Give it a go. Lots of published writers have been through its pages and gleaned useful tips.

You may detect lack of humour, spark and crabbitness in this post. Sorry about that - I am seriously stressed about the coming week. I have put a note above my desk, saying, "JUST SAY NO".

3 comments:

DanielB said...

I see the latest issue features a 'luxury writer's retreat'... Hmmm! For how many of us is that a realistic option?

I'm sure these magazines perform a service, especially in keeping people informed of competitions and so on and outlining some of the "nuts and bolts" of writing. And also keeping the editors in gainful employment...

I susbscribed to "Writer's Monthly" (or was it "Writers' Monthly"? Hmm, echoes of Lynne Truss) for a couple of years in the 90s. However, I cancelled my sub when I realised it wasn't telling me anything new. And because of the deeply paranoid suspicion that, as its bread-and-butter was unpublished writers, it actually had an interest in keeping people unpublished, in the way dieting magazines don't actually want you to lose weight and lose it for good - they want you to lose it, then balloon, then keep coming back to them in a hopelessly dependent way. (Too much "X-Files" had addled my brain, I'm sure...)

Jen Campbell said...

Nicola, just looking at your schedule at the top right is making me dizzy!

Flixton Mum said...

How rock and roll is your schedule...you need a tour bus. Just think, if writers were as popular as footballers/winners of reality tv shows etc. you could design and release your own range of boots and other extravagant footwear and make some money.

In the meantime, good luck with the week and I hope the spa sensation doesn't wear off too quickly.