Mad Iguana

Oh my, Squidge, I sooooooo empathise! I am not a hugely confident driver on unfamiliar roads, and many’s the time I’ve driven around lost, being beeped at by angry drivers (because I’m breaching all kinds of road codes), crying and freaking out. It’s the WORST!!!
So pleased you made it in the end, and the school visit itself went well.

Being a…[Read more]

The Coventry Ringway was designed by someone with a grudge against all mankind.

Thanks both – I can honestly say I have never experienced the stress/panic I did yesterday. Once I knew I was safe – ie at the school – I was OK. Quite cathartic to write it all out though and wonder why I responded like I did when I don’t usually react in this way.

These look amazing, Kaz, what a great workshop it must have been. Thank-you so much for sharing. That might be my day’s reading sorted out!!

Oh Squidge, what a nightmare! I’d have been getting panicky too, being lost and in heavy traffic and with a deadline is a terrible combo. Hope the G&T therapy helped and today is devoid of traffic and Coventry. But all that aside, your visit itself sounds wonderful, so huge well dones for that. x

Thanks Kaz. I’m going to print this out and have a thorough read.

How incredibly generous of you to share your notes in this way, KazG. Thank you.

@Daedalus Many thanks for these posts. It really is a serious warning, and an antidote to starry eyes.

Oh dear Squidge. My sister lives in Coventry and I go to great lengths to avoid driving on any part of the Ringway so I sympathise. Sounds as though your day went brilliantly though!

So here it is – Part 3, the conclusion of the story of my publishing nightmare, and how I finally recovered the rights to my novel from an intransigent and uncaring publisher. It was financially costly – but not nearly as costly as it might have been, and taught me a great deal about what not to do next time. Final blogpost, with as much in the…[Read more]

Along the same lines, I saw a warning about a competition that was asking for all rights to ALL entries (not just listed ones) with no reversion mentioned. Yeah, don’t agree to that!

I second what @Phillipaeast says – mags/comps generally ask for first publication rights or english language rights for a period between (ime) 3 months to a year.…[Read more]

Hi Janette,

Thanks so much for sharing this. Yes, most literary mags use something like “first publication rights” which means they have the right to publish your story for the first time, but after that, the rights remain with you, so you can re-publish / resubmit it if you want.

Definitely must look out for comps / mags seeking to take…[Read more]

Just saw the news on the main wall. Congratulations, Stevie! Great to hear what the comps on here are producing.

Congratulations Stevie! That’s wonderful news! Another highly deserved success.