Category «Mistakes»

“Unsolicited articles not accepted” (Mistake #54)

It’s a mistake to think this means “we don’t use freelance contributions”. It means “we don’t read articles you send us that we’ve not asked you to send us”. If they really want to try to put you off, they’ll say something like “Unsolicited articles are not read and cannot be returned” and perhaps add …

Editors have the time, really (Mistake #53)

It’s a favourite writers’ moan: editors not responding to articles or queries. I tend to trot out the usual defences: they’re under no obligation to reply, they get inundated with emails, they’re really really busy and don’t have the time… “Of course they have the time,” I hear too often, sometimes from established writers, and …

Selling the destination – not the story (Mistake #52)

Disclaimers to start: I don’t much like to travel, I don’t much like to hear about people’s travels, I don’t write about travel (two published travel articles in a fifteen-year career, if you want the figures), and, although I do enjoy a beautifully crafted and fascinating travel article when I stumble across one, I’m fairly …

“Dear Editorial Director…” (Mistake #51)

Query from a student, who’d been looking at the flannel panel in a publication: “To whom should an idea be sent?” Good question. I liked that the student asked it, that she didn’t just ignore the issue, that she didn’t think it unimportant, that she didn’t tell herself “Oh, it’s a dumb question”, that it …

Only talented writers sell (Mistake #50)

There are a lot of perfectly competent but otherwise fairly unremarkable writers earning a decent living from words. There are a few poor writers getting by as well. If you’re scratching your head, unconvinced, thinking that you rarely see average or poor writing in print, I have to declare a possible unfair advantage over you …

“Don’t be soft! I’ll send you a copy!” (Mistake #49)

This may be the first time I’ve featured a mistake that I have not only made, but that I continue to make. More interested followers will have noticed I’ve been quiet of late, and dedicated fans may even know that the reason is I’ve just published my fourth book. It’s called Coeliac Disease: What you …

No-thank you (Mistake #48)

Ingratitude is the theme of today’s post, and while I’ve deliberately waited until some months after my last professional experience of it in order to keep the emotion out of this, it’s possible some residual frustration will seep through. Excuse it, please. I want to say upfront that most people in the business will thank …

Forgetting your first time (and line) (Mistake #47)

The Easter pause gave me cause for reflection, and I slipped into daydreaming about my career path – where I’d been, where I was, where I was going. But mostly it was about where I’d started. I’d started with a story for a free London magazine for office workers in the mid-nineties. At the time, …

The Digest has more than one Reader (Mistake #46)

Obviously, as a tutor, part of my job is to correct spelling – and that’s okay. At first, I may point out that a student needs to work on his or her spelling, and if things don’t improve, I may issue a little reminder. There’s really not that much to say about it, I don’t …

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 …