Published in The Shortform·6 days agoMember-onlyWriters: It’s Free-Money March!Well, for those who’ve claimed their secondary rights income — Here in the UK, the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society is making its March payments to writers based here and around the world for the secondary rights of their published work. Secondary rights? Yes. Secondary rights are for additional uses of your work, such as photocopying. If you’ve had an…Freelance Writing1 min readFreelance Writing1 min read
Published in The Slow Journeyman·6 days agoMember-onlyWalking Route: Lake District — Grasmere and Alcock TarnA 3 ¼mile circular route from Grasmere, exploring Wainwright’s dreary tarn What can you do with a little under two hours remaining on a Grasmere car parking ticket, and spring showers reducing the cloud level? Don’t let Wainwright’s comments of “A dreary sheet of water named Alcock Tarn,” put you…UK4 min readUK4 min read
Published in The Slow Journeyman·Mar 21Member-onlyWalking Route: Lake District — Loweswater LoopA 4-mile stroll around one of the Lake District’s quieter lakes — This route passes within 160 metres of the national park boundary, yet offers some of its most outstanding views. Quieter than its bigger sisters, Crummock Water and Buttermere, Loweswater has a charm of its own, particularly the mixed woodland of Holme Wood and its native red squirrels. …UK4 min readUK4 min read
Published in Globetrotters·Mar 21Member-onlySustainable Snowdonia — The Centre for Alternative TechnologyThe Welsh tourist attraction that has been ‘going green’ for fifty years — “Some 80 million homes could be built from the straw that is wasted every year all around the world,” says Peter, our guide. Immediately, I think of the three little pigs’ nursery story and the big, bad wolf huffing and puffing to blow them all down. But straw houses are…UK9 min readUK9 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Mar 21Member-onlyEvery Writer Needs To Be Rejected. Regularly.Why? It makes us better writers — I couldn’t help but smile when I read JoAnn Ryan’s piece Only Newbie Writers Whine About Rejection. I, too, have come across writers moaning when an editor has rejected their work. It’s as if they think they’re entitled to be published, and editors should be grateful for their submissions. If…Rejection7 min readRejection7 min read
Published in Business of Writing·Mar 20Member-onlySuccessful SigningsHow authors can organise a book signing at their local WHSmiths bookstore — This article was firs published in Writing Magazine in February 2020 It’s a dream many writers have, signing books in a national bookshop chainstore. But getting into those stores can seem challenging if we’re not blockbuster authors. However, here in the UK, one of the major bookchains, WHSmiths, has been…Author Signing8 min readAuthor Signing8 min read
Published in The Slow Journeyman·Mar 20Member-onlyWalking Route: Lake District — Swirling Round ConistonAn 8-mile walk to the top of The Old Man of Coniston, Brim Fell and Swirl How, returning via Levers Water — Note: Always use an up-to-date map and follow any diversions, as the route on the ground may have changed since I walked this route. Call me old-fashioned (and many do), but I like to see the view from a summit. In 20 years I’ve climbed the Old Man of Coniston…UK5 min readUK5 min read
Published in Globetrotters·Mar 13Member-onlyCultural Clun ValleyThe Shropshire valley that inspired some of Britain’s greatest writers — Shropshire’s Clun Valley is surprisingly quiet. But I’m not the first to notice. In 1896, the poet A E Housman published a collection of poems titled A Shropshire Lad and in it, he wrote: “Clunton and Clunbury, Clungunford and Clun Are the quietest places Under the sun.” Housman’s description was…UK8 min readUK8 min read
Published in Business of Writing·Mar 4Member-onlyPitching to PodcastsHow and why writers should pitch themselves to podcast shows — This feature first appeared in the April 2023 issue of Writing Magazine. The word podcasting was first coined in February 2004. A podcast is an audio show, like radio but, instead of tuning in at a set time, we can download and listen to them at our convenience, via an…Podcasts And Videos8 min readPodcasts And Videos8 min read
Published in Petness·Mar 4Member-onlyDiary of a DogsitterLearning to be Prepared — Answer me this: How are you supposed to open one of those flimsy poo bags — the wafer-thin ones like those old supermarket carrier bags that you had to sandwich between the palms of your hands and then rub vigorously just to prise the two sides apart enough to be…Dogsitter3 min readDogsitter3 min read
