I'm not entirely ashamed to say that I love Waterstones. There are absolutely NO independent book shops in my area, that's across 4 fairly sizeable towns. All there is to offer are Publisher's clearance, Borders, WH Smith & Waterstones.
I adore manga but it's an expensive hobby to keep, the books are about £10 a go, at Waterstones I can get them 3 for 2 at £6 a go instead plus 3 points for every pound on my points card (I'm up to about £6's worth of points now, WOO!)
I know that big chains are essentially evil, but I can't really support an independent shop that doesn't exist. If I intend to buy second hand I like to use ebay or charity shops.
I suppose the big question is, in the time of recession (and given that I spend at least 40% of my earnings on books) can people afford to take a moral stance on this issue? Do I spend £20 of my hard earned cash on perhaps 2 books from an independent shop or get 3 or 4 from Waterstones (with the bonus points for my reward card as a bonus) OR even get even more, 6, 7, perhaps even 8 from ebay. I nearly cried when the last charity shop in my town centre closed, they used to do offers like 10 books for a pound. So, as you can imagine, I have a stack of books which I'm working my way through that I had bought in its last week.
If there was an independent retailer in my area, I'd likely support it as best I could, especially on self-published books which sadly, you can't find in most chain shops. As it stands, I'll likely continue accumulating points on my waterstones card.
I should just open my own shop & make myself a performance artist so I can smoke inside... *sigh*
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Writer beware, work at home scams
I was browsing through some writing blogs when I saw a reccomenedation to visit a site called Work at home scams exposed I thought this might be a helpful site so I paid a visit. I was quite shocked to discover that the site in itself is actually, a scam.
The site offers to show you the top 10 work at home jobs on the internet, in fact it just shows you 2. It's a single page, showing it's supposed top 2 work at home sites. I guess they are hoping you wouldn't notice that they both are ran by the same company.
The first one is Freelance home writers it offers, for a one day sign up of $2.95 or a monthly subscription of $47.95. In exchange for your hard earned money, it says you have the potential to earn $500 a day. (If this is starting to sound too good to be true, then you're right.) It says you can get paid $12-$50 per hour to write in blogs, $25-45 per hour to write simple articles, fiction & non-fiction stories for $450 each!
Now if you've enough episodes of The Real Hustle, or you have a bit of common sense, you'll be able to see that this is basically the set up of most online 'work from home' scams. While the potential of earning $500 a day, (that's about £354.95 at the current exchange rate,) sounds great and being paid up to $50 just to write a couple of blog posts sounds like a quick and easy way to add to your income, these flashy promises are designed to make you forget you are spending $47.95 a month to subscribe to this website.
A quick read of their disclaimer tells the real story:
"THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS IN THESE MATERIALS"
(Translation: You will not earn any money)
"EXAMPLES IN THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS A PROMISE OR GUARANTEE OF EARNINGS."
(Translation: We lie to get your money)
"EARNING POTENTIAL IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON THE PERSON USING OUR PRODUCT, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES. WE DO NOT PURPORT THIS AS A “GET RICH SCHEME.”"
(Translation: There is no chance that this will work, because it is a 'Get rich quick scheme')
"NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE ANY RESULTS FROM OUR IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES IN OUR MATERIAL."
(Translation: This won't work, but give us your money anyway.)
The site offers to show you the top 10 work at home jobs on the internet, in fact it just shows you 2. It's a single page, showing it's supposed top 2 work at home sites. I guess they are hoping you wouldn't notice that they both are ran by the same company.
The first one is Freelance home writers it offers, for a one day sign up of $2.95 or a monthly subscription of $47.95. In exchange for your hard earned money, it says you have the potential to earn $500 a day. (If this is starting to sound too good to be true, then you're right.) It says you can get paid $12-$50 per hour to write in blogs, $25-45 per hour to write simple articles, fiction & non-fiction stories for $450 each!
Now if you've enough episodes of The Real Hustle, or you have a bit of common sense, you'll be able to see that this is basically the set up of most online 'work from home' scams. While the potential of earning $500 a day, (that's about £354.95 at the current exchange rate,) sounds great and being paid up to $50 just to write a couple of blog posts sounds like a quick and easy way to add to your income, these flashy promises are designed to make you forget you are spending $47.95 a month to subscribe to this website.
A quick read of their disclaimer tells the real story:
"THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS IN THESE MATERIALS"
(Translation: You will not earn any money)
"EXAMPLES IN THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS A PROMISE OR GUARANTEE OF EARNINGS."
(Translation: We lie to get your money)
"EARNING POTENTIAL IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON THE PERSON USING OUR PRODUCT, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES. WE DO NOT PURPORT THIS AS A “GET RICH SCHEME.”"
(Translation: There is no chance that this will work, because it is a 'Get rich quick scheme')
"NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE ANY RESULTS FROM OUR IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES IN OUR MATERIAL."
(Translation: This won't work, but give us your money anyway.)
To read the full thing for yourself, it's not that long, see here: disclaimer.
The second site that 'top 10 home jobs' shows you, (incidently it's last), is home survey workers.
From it's set up you can tell instantly that it's ran by the same company as freelance home writers. This time they offer you an earning potential of $423 a day, for the same sign up fee's as freelance home writers. Participation in focus groups could earn $50-$150 an hour or you could preview movie trailers for $4-$25 an hour or even get paid to take online orders, $12-$25 an hour.
Let's take a look at their disclaimer shall we?
The second site that 'top 10 home jobs' shows you, (incidently it's last), is home survey workers.
From it's set up you can tell instantly that it's ran by the same company as freelance home writers. This time they offer you an earning potential of $423 a day, for the same sign up fee's as freelance home writers. Participation in focus groups could earn $50-$150 an hour or you could preview movie trailers for $4-$25 an hour or even get paid to take online orders, $12-$25 an hour.
Let's take a look at their disclaimer shall we?
"THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS IN THESE MATERIALS"
(Translation: You will not earn any money)
... hang on...
(Translation: You will not earn any money)
... hang on...
Sounds familiar? It should, it's exactly the same disclaimer as freelance home writers and although the browser address is for home survey workers, at the top of your browser (for me the bit that has at the moment Blogger: The Big Magazine Experiment - Create Post - Mozilla Firefox) it still says at the top of their disclaimer page: Freelancehomewriters - disclaimer. Those lazy scammers!
So I did some research and looked around the net to see if I could get any reports from anyone who had actually used their site. People seem to report that they pay the trial fee, then find they get continually charged for monthly subscriptions, they find themselves having to cancel bank accounts to stop the payments with some of them still recieving phone calls afterwards.
The following is a short list of sites I found, they either are discouraging the use of freelancehomewriters OR homesurveyworkers, or they offer advice to avoid scams.:
Tips for freelancers: Genuine good advice
Writer beware blogs!: Haven't had chance to read all their articles yet, but the ones I have read are pretty good. I'd reccommend subscribing to them.
The complaints board: A detailed reoprt from someone who actually used both freelancehomewriters.com & homesurveyworkers.com, the comments feature a lot of complaints from people who were hit as well.
The complaints board: Here's another one who got stung.
The complaints board: And another one.
A blogger account: This lady wrote quite a good article on why these guys are scammers.
Rip-off report: Another account of someone being ripped off.
Rip-off report: Another one.
Be wary of this one: The guy who wrote it doesn't call the scam a scam because he's trying to push his own site on people.
I've tried that: Very good article about them.
And remember: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
So I did some research and looked around the net to see if I could get any reports from anyone who had actually used their site. People seem to report that they pay the trial fee, then find they get continually charged for monthly subscriptions, they find themselves having to cancel bank accounts to stop the payments with some of them still recieving phone calls afterwards.
The following is a short list of sites I found, they either are discouraging the use of freelancehomewriters OR homesurveyworkers, or they offer advice to avoid scams.:
Tips for freelancers: Genuine good advice
Writer beware blogs!: Haven't had chance to read all their articles yet, but the ones I have read are pretty good. I'd reccommend subscribing to them.
The complaints board: A detailed reoprt from someone who actually used both freelancehomewriters.com & homesurveyworkers.com, the comments feature a lot of complaints from people who were hit as well.
The complaints board: Here's another one who got stung.
The complaints board: And another one.
A blogger account: This lady wrote quite a good article on why these guys are scammers.
Rip-off report: Another account of someone being ripped off.
Rip-off report: Another one.
Be wary of this one: The guy who wrote it doesn't call the scam a scam because he's trying to push his own site on people.
I've tried that: Very good article about them.
And remember: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Monday, 26 January 2009
Gah - lazy, lazy, lazy...
I got some guidelines from People's friend, however I have been very lazy about typing them up so I can't post them yet.
I think I'm having one of those periods where I know because I have to write, it's the last thing I want to do. Although today I found a story I wrote when I was fourteen. Reading it back, I have discovered I've learnt a hell of a lot more about grammar (though not enough) and I have learned so much more about story structure than I thought I would.
What I may do is post up the old thing side by side with something more recent (all typos included) just to demonstrate how my writing has moved on in the last 11 years.
Though, I'm still writing within the same genre and I am still overly fond of the same names. I guess some things don't change.
Oh, if you haven't read it yet, do check out Jane Smith's article on How Publishing really works, today's is an especially good one.
I think I'm having one of those periods where I know because I have to write, it's the last thing I want to do. Although today I found a story I wrote when I was fourteen. Reading it back, I have discovered I've learnt a hell of a lot more about grammar (though not enough) and I have learned so much more about story structure than I thought I would.
What I may do is post up the old thing side by side with something more recent (all typos included) just to demonstrate how my writing has moved on in the last 11 years.
Though, I'm still writing within the same genre and I am still overly fond of the same names. I guess some things don't change.
Oh, if you haven't read it yet, do check out Jane Smith's article on How Publishing really works, today's is an especially good one.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Rejection - a bitter pill, well, not really
Well today I got an email from Anne at Murky Depths magazine. The thing is I knew this wasn't my best work, so why I bothered sending it in the first place actually escapes me. I think it's because I wanted to send something to someone rather than actually working a bit harder on the story.
Anne was very nice, she said I had a good opener and she said it was a, quote, "terrific idea", but I'd plodded on a bit and the grammar had issues. I KNEW I shouldn't have rambled on for four pages about inconsequential stuff and I KNEW I should have had my beta reader look it over before I sent it in.
Never mind.
I think that story actually deserves a good re-write though and I'll try again later in the year with that story. I'm gonna give murky depths another go next month I think, at least I got some feedback.
Tomorrow is work day. Must write at least 3 things I can work on for publication that DOESN'T involve fabulous but sarky, argumentative men. I like writing those type of boys far too much for my own good.
Anne was very nice, she said I had a good opener and she said it was a, quote, "terrific idea", but I'd plodded on a bit and the grammar had issues. I KNEW I shouldn't have rambled on for four pages about inconsequential stuff and I KNEW I should have had my beta reader look it over before I sent it in.
Never mind.
I think that story actually deserves a good re-write though and I'll try again later in the year with that story. I'm gonna give murky depths another go next month I think, at least I got some feedback.
Tomorrow is work day. Must write at least 3 things I can work on for publication that DOESN'T involve fabulous but sarky, argumentative men. I like writing those type of boys far too much for my own good.
Friday, 23 January 2009
Take a break Guidelines
I know there are some great blogs out there publishing guideline details for a lot of magazines but I decided that I would earn the knowledge for myself just in case anything was outdated.
I emailed a bunch of women's magazines last night to get some details and Take a break were the first to respond.
Is it just me or is this scarily specific on common plots to avoid?
Basic requirements: We are looking for contemporary stories aimed at women from their mid-twenties upwards. We require about 1000 words (N.B. Please note reduction from max of 1100 words) with a strong plot and a good twist in the tail. We do not have a weekly serial, so stories must be complete in themselves. It is highly unusual for us to buy stories written in the first person (I), we prefer third person narratives, (He/she).
N.B N.B. N.B !!!!!!
The twist MUST arise out of the plot, rather than simply turn on a detail, which the characters know but is deliberately kept hidden from the reader in order to mislead:
To check your twist is a genuine twist - not simply a deception - imagine your story were being made into a film and ask yourself - would the surprise still work? If it wouldn’t, I’m afraid it’s not for us.
Subject matter: We particularly like settings and situations which readers can recognise and relate to, rather than say, country house murders or stories about drugs’ rings or jewel thieves. It’s essential to read several issues of the magazine to get the flavour of the type of fiction we publish before writing a story aimed at Take a Break. Many writers waste a lot of time and effort because they haven’t done this. Please avoid straightforward romance i.e. boy meets girl and they live happily ever after. Also avoid historical backgrounds, science fiction and stories narrated by animals or small children. Take a Break is a family magazine so graphic murders etc. are not acceptable.
Common plots to avoid: UPDATED
• The heroine/narrator is revealed to be a cat, dog, fox, or whatever! This is a complete no-no.
• The victim of a rip-off tradesman or horrible motorist etc. turns out to be his or her new Boss/emergency dentist/VAT inspector.
• The policeman/woman is really a stripagram/singing telegram.
• The woman discovers her husband’s secret lover is a man (or man discovers wife’s lover is a
Woman).
• A husband/wife’s mysterious arrangements turn out to be for a surprise gift/party - not an affair.
• The character who sees ‘ghosts’ is actually one him/herself.
• A shifty antiques dealer or similar dupes an old lady out of what he thinks is a priceless antique and it turns out she is making them by the dozen.
• Anything to do with twins.
• Someone nervous about a first day at school turns out to be the teacher; or about a wedding, turns out to be the vicar; or an interview, the interviewer and so on.
• Anything to do with bumping off elderly relatives for the inheritance; in fact ‘Wills’ in general are best avoided.
Finally...no stereotypes please! It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of having lazy husbands and put upon wives, battle-axe wives and put upon husbands, grumpy old people and their longsuffering relatives, lonely single mums and their matchmaking children… Stories about super-husbands and overly-cheery grannies can be equally dull
Because many writers write to this type of brief, their stories become boring and perhaps a good
twist is wasted. Be open-minded about your characters but keep them real!!!!!!
Because our stories are so short, it can be confusing if you have too many characters. A maximum of four is usually best. The main character should always be a woman.
Stories must be your own idea and original work, previously unpublished, and not on offer to any other magazine or publisher at the time sent to us. Should your story be accepted we would probably have to edit it to conform to page length and style.
Presentation: No e-mail submissions or floppy disks please!
Typed manuscripts are quicker and easier to read, but if you can’t get your story typed, write clearly in double line spacing.
Please ensure your name, address; e-mail address (if you have one), and telephone number are on each page of the manuscript as well as on any accompanying letter. An accompanying letter is not necessary. Please include a stamped address envelope large enough to hold your story. Self-seal envelopes are especially appreciated. It’s advisable to keep a copy of your story to guard against the remote chance of loss.
Features and articles should be sent directly to the Features Department with a covering letter.
It can take 10-12 weeks before a decision is made concerning your manuscript, so please be patient. If your story has not been returned after 12 weeks, please drop me a line giving me the story title, a 2-line synopsis of the plot and the date sent. Include your phone number (and e-mail address if possible) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Should your story be rejected it can be for any number of reasons. Sometimes we have already published or have in stock a similar story. More likely though, I feel it will not appeal to our readers. This does not necessarily mean I will not like another of your stories, so please don’t lose heart.
Payment: £400
Usage Terms: First British Serial Rights with extended usage only across all media platforms
Stories sent for specific issues, such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc, must be sent at least three – four months in advance of issue date.
Please check the ‘common plots to avoid’ list (updated) above. Remember, too, that stories must be original, previously unpublished and complete in themselves. (Sorry, no serials) If you have good, strong 750 - 3,000 words, suitable for a family publication, I’d be delighted to consider it.
Presentation: as for Take a Break (see above)
Reading time: It can take 12 weeks for a decision to be made regarding your story. If you haven’t had a verdict after 12 weeks, please drop me a line, giving me a brief synopsis of the plot, and date submitted. Include your telephone number (and e-mail address if possible) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Payment: which is generally on publication, depends on published length, starting at £200 for a single page.
Usage Terms: First British Serial Rights with extended usage only across all media platforms
If you have any specific queries about submitting stories to Take a Break or Fiction Feast, I will be happy to answer them.
Please write to me,
Norah McGrath,
Fiction Editor,
Take a Break
24-28 Oval Road,
NW1 7DT.
I look forward to reading your work.
I emailed a bunch of women's magazines last night to get some details and Take a break were the first to respond.
Is it just me or is this scarily specific on common plots to avoid?
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS: TAKE A BREAK
Basic requirements: We are looking for contemporary stories aimed at women from their mid-twenties upwards. We require about 1000 words (N.B. Please note reduction from max of 1100 words) with a strong plot and a good twist in the tail. We do not have a weekly serial, so stories must be complete in themselves. It is highly unusual for us to buy stories written in the first person (I), we prefer third person narratives, (He/she).
N.B N.B. N.B !!!!!!
The twist MUST arise out of the plot, rather than simply turn on a detail, which the characters know but is deliberately kept hidden from the reader in order to mislead:
To check your twist is a genuine twist - not simply a deception - imagine your story were being made into a film and ask yourself - would the surprise still work? If it wouldn’t, I’m afraid it’s not for us.
Subject matter: We particularly like settings and situations which readers can recognise and relate to, rather than say, country house murders or stories about drugs’ rings or jewel thieves. It’s essential to read several issues of the magazine to get the flavour of the type of fiction we publish before writing a story aimed at Take a Break. Many writers waste a lot of time and effort because they haven’t done this. Please avoid straightforward romance i.e. boy meets girl and they live happily ever after. Also avoid historical backgrounds, science fiction and stories narrated by animals or small children. Take a Break is a family magazine so graphic murders etc. are not acceptable.
Common plots to avoid: UPDATED
• The heroine/narrator is revealed to be a cat, dog, fox, or whatever! This is a complete no-no.
• The victim of a rip-off tradesman or horrible motorist etc. turns out to be his or her new Boss/emergency dentist/VAT inspector.
• The policeman/woman is really a stripagram/singing telegram.
• The woman discovers her husband’s secret lover is a man (or man discovers wife’s lover is a
Woman).
• A husband/wife’s mysterious arrangements turn out to be for a surprise gift/party - not an affair.
• The character who sees ‘ghosts’ is actually one him/herself.
• A shifty antiques dealer or similar dupes an old lady out of what he thinks is a priceless antique and it turns out she is making them by the dozen.
• Anything to do with twins.
• Someone nervous about a first day at school turns out to be the teacher; or about a wedding, turns out to be the vicar; or an interview, the interviewer and so on.
• Anything to do with bumping off elderly relatives for the inheritance; in fact ‘Wills’ in general are best avoided.
Finally...no stereotypes please! It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of having lazy husbands and put upon wives, battle-axe wives and put upon husbands, grumpy old people and their longsuffering relatives, lonely single mums and their matchmaking children… Stories about super-husbands and overly-cheery grannies can be equally dull
Because many writers write to this type of brief, their stories become boring and perhaps a good
twist is wasted. Be open-minded about your characters but keep them real!!!!!!
Because our stories are so short, it can be confusing if you have too many characters. A maximum of four is usually best. The main character should always be a woman.
Stories must be your own idea and original work, previously unpublished, and not on offer to any other magazine or publisher at the time sent to us. Should your story be accepted we would probably have to edit it to conform to page length and style.
Presentation: No e-mail submissions or floppy disks please!
Typed manuscripts are quicker and easier to read, but if you can’t get your story typed, write clearly in double line spacing.
Please ensure your name, address; e-mail address (if you have one), and telephone number are on each page of the manuscript as well as on any accompanying letter. An accompanying letter is not necessary. Please include a stamped address envelope large enough to hold your story. Self-seal envelopes are especially appreciated. It’s advisable to keep a copy of your story to guard against the remote chance of loss.
Features and articles should be sent directly to the Features Department with a covering letter.
It can take 10-12 weeks before a decision is made concerning your manuscript, so please be patient. If your story has not been returned after 12 weeks, please drop me a line giving me the story title, a 2-line synopsis of the plot and the date sent. Include your phone number (and e-mail address if possible) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Should your story be rejected it can be for any number of reasons. Sometimes we have already published or have in stock a similar story. More likely though, I feel it will not appeal to our readers. This does not necessarily mean I will not like another of your stories, so please don’t lose heart.
Payment: £400
Usage Terms: First British Serial Rights with extended usage only across all media platforms
Stories sent for specific issues, such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc, must be sent at least three – four months in advance of issue date.
GUIDELINES: TAKE A BREAK’S FICTION FEAST:
As Fiction Feast is a short story publication we can be very flexible about the length and type of fiction required. However, do read Fiction Feast every month to get the flavour of the magazine. Please note we rarely, if ever, publish stories written in the present tense. If writing with us in mind, please think carefully whether your story wouldn’t work just as well in the past tense!Please check the ‘common plots to avoid’ list (updated) above. Remember, too, that stories must be original, previously unpublished and complete in themselves. (Sorry, no serials) If you have good, strong 750 - 3,000 words, suitable for a family publication, I’d be delighted to consider it.
Presentation: as for Take a Break (see above)
Reading time: It can take 12 weeks for a decision to be made regarding your story. If you haven’t had a verdict after 12 weeks, please drop me a line, giving me a brief synopsis of the plot, and date submitted. Include your telephone number (and e-mail address if possible) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Payment: which is generally on publication, depends on published length, starting at £200 for a single page.
Usage Terms: First British Serial Rights with extended usage only across all media platforms
If you have any specific queries about submitting stories to Take a Break or Fiction Feast, I will be happy to answer them.
Please write to me,
Norah McGrath,
Fiction Editor,
Take a Break
24-28 Oval Road,
NW1 7DT.
I look forward to reading your work.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
1st submission
I made my first submission today. I sent a 5000 word short story to murky depths magazine which publishes dark speculative fiction.
I'm expecting a rejection from this one as I know I didn't get the genre to what they normally like to accept, but hey ho you need to have a go.
I'm expecting a rejection from this one as I know I didn't get the genre to what they normally like to accept, but hey ho you need to have a go.
The rules of the experiment
1. All stories I submit to magazines must be completely original and my own work. So that means no reworked old stories, no using other peoples plot bunnies and no re-edits on previously rejected stories.
2. All rejections/acceptances (LOL) must be documented properly here.
3. I will not be mentioning the names of magazines I was accepted by but I will list what I was paid for it.
4. All profits will go towards funding my other experiment: The Big Autograph Experiment
5. Every submission made will be documented although I may withhold certain details so that I will not give any information which may lead to my identity.
2. All rejections/acceptances (LOL) must be documented properly here.
3. I will not be mentioning the names of magazines I was accepted by but I will list what I was paid for it.
4. All profits will go towards funding my other experiment: The Big Autograph Experiment
5. Every submission made will be documented although I may withhold certain details so that I will not give any information which may lead to my identity.
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