Category «Markets»

The off-duty holiday (Mistake #94)

You’ll be taking your holiday soon. You’ll be heading off somewhere nice. Possibly abroad. Two weeks of sights, sea, sun, sangria – and certainly no writing. Those fingers need a rest, right? But does that mean you ought to ‘switch off’ entirely? If you’re planning on writing about your holiday – and you can find …

Not reading (Part II) (Mistake #59)

“No time to read, no tools to write” commented Lorraine Mace, 34 errors and almost 12 months ago, the last time I addressed this subject at Mistake No. 25. Succinct and accurate, I’d say. Perhaps I’m revisiting this too soon – particularly in light of my last post which also concerned reading, albeit how you …

Not buying books and magazines (Mistake #45)

Writing Magazine is a bloody good read these days, and with the 2-in-1 merge with Writers’ News, editor Jonathan Telfer has done a terrific job in freshening up the formula. There are lots of new writers with new ideas and I really like it. I advise all my students to read it, as well as …

Revealing all your clients (Mistake #38)

What follows may come across as uncharitable towards other writers. My defence is that you’ve got to protect your own interests in this game, and while I wholeheartedly endorse scratching other writers’ backs and sharing your knowledge, as I like to think I do here, a little part of you should remain unashamedly selfish. There …

Refusing to submit speculatively (Mistake #37)

Some people will tell you that it is their policy to never submit speculatively, and advise you to follow suit. When they add that submitting ‘on spec’ is unprofessional, they’re basically choosing to distance themselves from those who have done it or do do it, and subtly marking these writers down as amateurs. I don’t …

Unimaginative Market Choices (Mistake #29)

With around 10,000 publications in the UK – and surely a million around the world – you might expect that the range of markets targeted by new writers would be vast. Any writing tutor would probably tell you the opposite is true. Most of us see the same titles namechecked over and over again. Reader’s …

Margin of error (Mistake #24)

Over time I’ve come to realise that when new writers study a market, and its regular slots and sections, with a view to perhaps coming up with an idea to propose or writing a piece speculatively, they are naturally drawn to potential openings which look, well, a bit ‘easy’ to fill. There’s nothing wrong with …

“These markets just aren’t me!” (Mistake #22)

Know the magazine I’d like to write for? Pick’n’Mix Magazine – the monthly for lovers of all forms of confectionary, sweets and chocolate bars. It has 100-odd pages of editorial and the editor actively seeks contributors to write about their favourite candy and review the latest launches from Lindt. Pick’n’Mix pays above NUJ recommended rates, …

Not investing in your career (Mistake #17)

I want to say upfront that in my experience British people are not cheap. They are quite happy to spend money on holidays, on home improvements, on clothes, on gadgets, on cars, on … pretty much anything. And they don’t only treat themselves. Brits are notoriously generous when it comes to, say, Christmas gifts and …

“I can’t write for Yachting Monthly!” (Mistake #12)

Or Dog’s World. Or Hair Today. Or any other number of specialist titles which make up the bulk of publications you find at major newsagents, in the areas of cars, computing, horses, classical music, crafts, genealogy, religion, gardening and the rest. Wrong. You can. I often encourage students and new writers to consider these specialist …