@juliec
Active 7 years, 6 months ago-
Squidge replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
Apologies for the delay in posting – life got in the way!
Well these shades of beige definitely weren’t boring. Thanks to everyone who entered – thin on the ground perhaps (well it is York month) but not thin on quality.
Some really poignant pieces in this mix (Dreamweaver, Je m’appelle Missy, and Hil’s Tortoiseshell Specs) secrets in Battle…[Read more]
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Hilary replied to the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
Thanks, all. I think from now on I won’t reply to form rejections. Certainly I shouldn’t have done it so long after I received them. It was just that tweet making me think I’d been rude! Perhaps she wasn’t talking about form rejections.
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Raine replied to the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
Hurrah for the fulls, Hil. A great sign, even if they don’t lead anywhere (yet). I’ve heard the ‘don’t reply to a form rejection’ from a lot of agents, so I’ve never done that. If the rejection is noticeably personalised, then I’ve sent a quick thankyou, and I always thank them after a full MS rejection. After moping for a bit!
I’d also guess that…[Read more] -
Squidge posted an update 7 years ago
I know we’ve had an issue with bots at the mo – I’m getting the ‘I’m not a robot’ thing every time I log in, but I thought once we’d done it once, it meant you should be OK to log in without after that?
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I’m getting that too Squidge. Can never sign in on the main page. Always get diverted and have to do the bot thing.
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And me!
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Although it’s not too much of a problem now I know.
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Do you guys use whatever your browser equivalent of ‘keychain’ is? Usually if you have your password stored in that, it will only periodically check that you’re not a robot. Apologies for needing to add recaptcha but the bot situation was getting a bit dire!
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Um…keychain? I’ve tried clicking the ‘remember me’ but it doesn’t.
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Hilary started the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
What’s your experience? What are your thoughts?
I’ve been submitting to agents this summer and had a few full requests (all subsequently declined) and several other declines. Initially I replied (just thank you) to the ones who’d requested the full, and one or two others I’d met, and not to the others since I’d read somewhere that agents don’t…[Read more] -
Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years agoWow, WB – that’s really comprehensive! Thank you. Also makes me realise I need to print out Andrew’s course outline and read it through properly…
I’d be glad of an October start, cos I’m trying to set new routines around an empty nest, and it’ll be good to focus on something other than the lack of guitar playing and a deserted bedroom… ;)…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 7 years, 1 month ago
Just a reminder that there’s a week to go for September’s monthly competition…and for you to prove to me that ‘beige ain’t boring!’
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I’m sorry I’m having to pass on this one Squidge. Combination of holiday and having work done at home. I did like your paint chart idea for prompts.
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No worries – I know September’s busy for most folk, especially after York. Mean I won’t have such a difficult decision judging 😉
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Hilary joined the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month ago -
Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month agoBeen checking out the required texts… I’m getting a bit bogged down in Sin and Syntax, (for saying the author’s currently talking about brevity, she’s going the long way round to say a lot of it!) but Writing Fiction looks easier to read. Bird by Bird’s one of my most accessible reads (was given it as a gift some years ago), and I’d add How Not…[Read more]
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Jules joined the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month ago -
Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month agoWilling to have a go at this… Not sure how it’ll be structured in terms of posting – presumably a new forum for each unit, with each person posting within the forum? Hope it’s pretty clear, as I ‘lose’ threads so often!
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Squidge joined the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month ago -
Sandra joined the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month ago -
Raine created the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month ago-
OK, I’ve set a group up, as my main wall post will disappear off the page shortly. But I’ve not thought any further than that about how to do things. Jump in with ideas/requirements/etc. 🙂
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I guess we should have a thread starting with the link to his course. Perhaps said thread to be used only to post relevant links to course material.
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Raine posted an update 7 years, 1 month ago
Anyone seen this? I wonder whether it would be possible to ‘run’ this informally here somehow…
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I’m in!
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Well, the Den has private groups so I’m sure it’s possible. We’re hardly over-using the site’s facilities at the moment.
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Also, it looks good doesn’t it. What a star Andrew is. Andrew, missed you at York this year!
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That’s @andrew 🙂
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Thanks! And thanks for sharing this – do put it into circulation with people who might be interested. And too there are plenty of ways to mix up and adapt what’s there.
And yes – I think the Den could be a great place to set up a critique space. What I’d like is to be able to recommend more places where writers can connect with like-minded…[Read more]
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Sorry @andrew, I forgot to tag you in. THanks for pointing people in our direction & hopefully we are/can be one of those safe critique spaces for writers. I think your syllabus + a supportive online group will make a brilliant combination. 🙂
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Me too.
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Certainly the first, writing part for me.
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Oh gosh. That looks really involved… I don’t know whether I’d be able to do all of that.
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what a good idea! I’d be keen.
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@squidge and @sandradavies I’m sure we can set it up so that people are free to participate in the units that interest them, and not the ones that dont. I think there are probably advantages to having a core group that go through the process together, building on what’s been covered. But I also don’t see the point in making it too ‘strict’, or…[Read more]
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Besides, it’s structured as a full MA (two years of work) so I think most of us would rather take it slow and be free to dip out when RL/other commitments get in the way.
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Completely agree with everything you say, @raine. Slow and gentle. Let’s have a go and discuss as we go along….
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Sandra replied to the topic DIY soapbox in the forum Podium 7 years, 1 month ago
‘Commission & omission’, book three in the series Love triangles with murder, is now available for sale on Blurb.
DIY promotion (which I am strenuously uncomfortable with) takes up a helluva lot of writing time. Book 4 – ‘Drink with a dead man’, whose opening 400 words was declared winner of Raine’s monthly competition, isn’t likely to see…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 7 years, 1 month ago
So it turns out that Amazon can reformat your ebook when you upload it for Kindle. Who knew?
And I’d been blaming the publisher for all the extra line breaks, large text and blank pages…
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Amazon is a menace, but we seem to be stuck with them if we want to sell books
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I’m currently attempting to re-format my novels for publishing as ebooks – fiendishly tricky at times and not sure I’ve cracked it yet – sudden and random centering of paragraphs or indents, to say nothing of the change in fonts. A good reason to stick with print IMHO!
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There’s definitely a knack to formatting ebooks but it’s easy when you’ve got the hang of it. I recommend the Smashwords Style Guide to get yoy started (perma free in ebook). And I might be able to help point people in the right direction if anyone is really stuck?
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Some extra spaces end up turning into extra lines…apparently. SO glad it’s not up to me to do the formatting.
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Raine posted an update 7 years, 1 month ago
Agent did email me. Was very nice, gave me a couple of ideas. FYI the 1-1 was arranged through I Am In Print, who are lovely and gave me a sponsored session so if you are under-repped that’s worth asking for. They’ve a few more agents lined up over the next couple of months so might be worth checking out.
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Thanks, Raine, this looks interesting. And I’m so glad you got some ideas from the agent.
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Glad the ending was a happy one.
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Great that the experience ended up as a positive one, Raine.
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Sandra replied to the topic DIY soapbox in the forum Podium 7 years, 1 month ago
Longest shadows reach, book 2 in the Love triangles with murder series now available
‘Step so grave’ indicated a wealth of history between Luke Darbyshere and Baz Rose. They’d been born within a week of each other; lived half mile apart, in a Hertfordshire village small enough to allow no escape. Each had successfully come through adole…[Read more]
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