Writing Buddies Enjoying Summer - July 2014

The Writing Buddies met on Friday 4 July 2014, at 2.00 pm, at the Mercure Dolphin Hotel, High Street, Southampton.  Penny sent her apologies and so Jacqueline chaired the meeting. Twenty four writers were present.

Good News

Congratulations to Calvin (Friends of Portswood Library) for his part in the organisation of the successful Armed Forces Day Exhibition at the librarly, which was opened by Penny and also attended by Jimmy, both holding book signings.

Tessa is trying to organise a writing group/forum, which is at present very much a work in progress. Please contact her via this website if you are interested in joining. She won a Swift Writing Award, in a short story competition, for her book Ladybird Fly.  

Jacqueline won second prize in a Union Learning Centre Competition (UNITE), in Writers' News.

Jimmy said his 2011 book Growing Up in Wartime Southampton, Other People’s Trousers has recently passed 1,000 sales. His book, A 1940's Childhood, has achieved sales of 2,200 in just six weeks.

Ann said she had a work in progress, a 2,000-word novel, which she writes by hand, edits, puts on the computer, and edits again. This she is doing chapter by chapter.

Lisa is working on a couple of projects. She re-told her Mills and Boon experience, the fact that they left it too long to come back to her, that their processes were not clear and that there was also no communication between departments. They then assumed that she had moved on, so no formal request was made for the manuscript.

Calvin is writing a short story and a book with James. They have completed about 5,000 words of a historical novel, so he is getting off to a great start to his writing journey.

Discussions

Podcasting

Penny, Bill and Lisa have been looking into the feasibility of this for the group. Bill favoured setting up a YouTube channel, and Lisa said that she had some good quality equipment that the group could use. It was suggested that the monthly meetings could be video recorded, with the real benefit being that they could be linked into, and also listened to at any time.  

   Lisa said she could do the recording and editing, and switch to audio only when required. Penny and Lisa had said that the equipment process was easy, and it would be have to be operated on an 'opt out' rather than an 'opt in' basis.

The videos of individuals, promoting their work would take place in a separate room.

Public Liability Insurance

Penny has been searching for a policy that could cover the group. A policy giving up to £2M cover could be obtained for £252 p.a. Jacqueline said as treasurer she will start circulating Annual Accounts. A hand vote was done and five were for, and seven against, with the others abstaining. 

The Writing Buddies at Markets

The group has been attending Bert and Gert’s Market at Marlands and West Quay.  Future dates are:

6^th September - West Quay Shopping Centre

13^th September – Marlands Shopping Centre

Robert is attempting to write some fan fiction, Halloween, hell raiser, horror crossover including Jason and Freddy. He is encountering some third party ownership issues. He is trying to work with the movie people, but there are permission problems, regarding proof of concept. There is interest but there are author/director relationship issues, with one of the companies saying they don't accept outside submissions. Lisa gave him some advice regarding his approach (i.e. not pitching a movie), and warned that he could be charged for using their character. She asked if he could just ask for profit from that particular story, and warned that he might need a copyright lawyer, and even then there would be no guarantees.

Nita wanted to use some music, and when she sought permission she was told it would cost her £200. She was advised that it might be worth considering whether to pay an annual fee, rather than a one-off payment as it could work out cheaper.

Tessa suggested the group invest in buying a microphone, as some group members were having difficulty in hearing the meeting. Three table microphones were suggested and this will be investigated.

Jacqueline said that there are rules about having to deposit as many as five copies of a work with the British Library. She recommended to do it if requested but not to volunteer them; rules may be different if you are using I.S.B.N numbers.

Jenny mentioned a writing group at The Avenue, St. Andrews Church Hall, every Saturday morning, 10 – 12.30, and extended an invitation to all.

Guest Speaker – Tessa Warburg, The Thorn Press

Tessa owns The Thorn Press, a small press publishing company based in Southampton.  She gave some general advice on publishing.

Publishing is when the written word becomes generally available, even online. You can submit work via an agent (more expensive) or self publish (a lot more work and complex).

   There are a lot of self-publishing requirements, and to assist Tessa sub-headed several areas, with a extensive list of helpful website addresses and typical charges involved (in the form of a handout). 

The following apply more to self publishing, but also cover jargon an agent  may use. They are guidelines and you may wish to seek further clarification on certain areas.

I.S.B.N – are recognised as being unique for each edition, and small changes can be made using the same number, however larger changes would require you to use a new number.

As mentioned earlier you may be requested to sent one copy of your book to the British library and five other libraries. Remember you also need I.S.B.N. for e-books.

Editing – Editors make sure reasonable standards of English are used, and they check for spelling mistakes. They could not, however, check the validity of any information therein. A copy editor corrects spelling and grammar.

Design – this would be in respect to size, colour, weight etc. The range of possibilities is large, but not unlimited. Contrast a textbook (non-fiction) and a novel.  It must be able to be read in a reasonable way. Margins, indents, fonts, italics, varied spaces are essential, as the easier it is to read, the more likely it is to be read. These are all decisions to be made, but don't make it difficult for the reader to enjoy. A typesetting program is useful in doing this. Typesetting is not quite so important for e-books. A style guide takes you through the processes that are possible.

   For formatting, typesetting, aligning etc. there is an excellent book, Perfect Pages by Aaron Shephard.

Also consider a computer program Self Publishing with Microsoft Word.

Covers – are crucial, people do judge a book by its cover. Decide on a hard or soft (paperback) cover. Many would prefer a well-used reference book to be hardback.

Distribution – these costs can be substantial so be wary. Talk to others in the group about this, as they may have some recommendations. Are there carriage fees? Do you have to pay a 'setting up' fee etc.

Some distributors levy an annual charge to keep your book on their list. See if you have an option to offer discounts.

   It is now possible to publish e-books in colour, but you would need an optic printer, as small office/home type printers are not suitable, but this can be prohibitive as they are very expensive.

Self publishing is now available to everyone, but it does not mean you have to use it.  It can be really rewarding, but beware as there could be a financial loss, if the book does sell well enough to cover all the outlay involved. It requires a large number of skills, and there is a lot of additional work involved. You will need luck.  

The next meeting will be at the same venue, on Friday 1^st August 2014, at 2 pm. The guest speaker will be Josephine Shaw speaking about correct manuscript layout.

  

  

Writing Buddies in 2014!

Twenty-two Writing Buddies joined the first meeting of 2014, on Friday 7 February, at the Dolphin Hotel.  It was great to see so many and good to welcome new writers to the group.

Good News

James started the session by telling us that he had three books ready for submission through his own publishing company, Aloe Jimmy. The first will be a volume of the David Collins and the Sundance Gang series and then a children's book with the central character, Jayden the goldfish.  After this will be the first of the Far End of the Tunnel trilogy. 

Patricia was sending work to several websites, but was reticent to add further at this stage.

Jacqueline now has both her books on Good Reads.  Bottles And Pots has been described as 'a story of murder, rivalry and jealousy', which she likes. She did a book signing event for her 'Milly' detective novel at October Books, in Southampton. The Friends of Portswood Library group have selected her to judge a cake competition on National Libraries Day. The event has a children's books theme.

Brian signed books at Waterstones in Milton Keynes in January, as they were supporting local authors. However, Waterstones seemed to have different rules for different stores (Manager's Discretion), which they seem to change at will and it is hit and miss if an author is offered a signing or not. However, he was persistent and he was invited to the book shop.  He sold five copies of each of the books he was promoting. He commented that his persistence was really necessary and warned that writers, particularly self-published authors, must be prepared to stand their ground.
   Brian is also editing a work based on private letters from First World War serviceman, describing trench life. 

Josephine reviewed four books for Good Reads, and she was offered two new books to review. This was considered to be a good way of keeping in touch with what was new to the market. 

Mo was invited to do an interview at BBC Radio London, in conjunction with their reviewing her book, Blues for Shindig. However, when she got there, they hadn’t read the book, so she had to do a more general interview, about writing. She managed to ‘plug’ Writing Buddies, and later tweeted about the event.

Pat brought some samples of her Silverfinger Press books, which were shown to the group.

Tessa had previously had work on knitting published some time ago by Victor Books, all of which she had sold. She had made the decision not to do any more due to the typesetting problems associated with knitting patterns. However, it was a coincidence that she was contacted by the Bishop of Leicester (aka The Knitting Bishop), from Melton Mowbray, asking if there were any more of her knitting books  available, as he wanted to use them in a knitting group he was running.

Six new members introduced themselves.

Jane is interested in producing some historical work and has attended Cavendish College courses. A  teacher and radio journalist, she has also been heard on BBC Solent as a radio player (reader) for a full range of writers.

Steven has been in the book world for forty years. He has just started competition writing and is looking to share experiences, get tips and help. He also mentioned Cosmo Funnel as useful.

Margot said she has had ‘a book in her head’ for about three years. She went on an Open Study writing course by Diana Cambridge, but wants to learn more about the routine of writing. 

Andy is interested in paranormal type magazines and has written some articles and interviewed personalities for these. He is in the early stages of producing a version of a paranormal book, as he has ‘spotted a hole on the market.’ However, he has heard that someone else is doing something similar and wants to wait for this to come out and then analyse it so that his work does not clash with theirs. He wants his to be fresh and different.

Margaret is interested in writing short stories and is looking for inspiration.

Beryl has done some family history research and been involved in a local history competition. She is a member of the Eastleigh Local History Society but prefers to write her own work, with a short story bias, with a view to them being published privately.

Discussions

Waterstones

The position of Waterstone and their changing attitudes to author signing was the first topic of discussion.  Waterstones had approached Penny's publisher to ask if she would join other authors in a day of  book signing, but then cancelled at the last moment, despite ordering in huge stocks of her books for the event. She agreed with Brian that the company did not seem to have a clear set of guidelines on author book signings.

Independent Book Shops

Local book shops, or the lack of them, was discussed.  October Books in Southampton is still open, as are other independent shops in Lee On Solent and Petersfield, but the one in Hythe has closed and one in Salisbury is about to close. This makes life very difficult for authors as outlets diminish. It was also mentioned that Hampshire County Council might be a little interested in promoting children’s books at Readers Days.  Writing Buddies will keep an eye open for book promotion events and report them back to the group.

Public Libraries

Public libraries and their fate were a cause for concern. These can be immensely helpful to writers as their staff are knowledgeable and can sometimes answer questions that authors might have.  Massive cuts to libraries have happened, and further library cuts are to be announced in many areas. Calvin Smith has started a Portswood, Southampton, library support group to keep that local library open. Lymington library is being re-furbished – Margot is going to find out about it’s future.

Festivals

Literary and other festivals were discussed.  These can very useful to writers and readers alike.  Brian pointed out that authors should act like a medieval troubadour, touting their work around, as it is a very competitive market place. Authors need to target their market, know where to sell and even organise events. He mentioned the recent Lantern Festival in Milton Keynes, where he sold forty-three copies of his books, but even that was down on the seventy-eight he sold the previous year.  Mo mentioned the Winchester Writers' Festival, where she had won three prizes and sold some books and Christine mentioned how badly run the The West Cork Literary Festival, Ireland, had been.  Margot said the Sherbourne festival was small, but friendly enough, with lots of big names. The North London Literary Festival has a useful speed pitching event.  

Reviews

Some Writing Buddies had written book reviews but others had not.  In writing a review the author needs to be honest as reviews help to sell good material, but also identify what to avoid. Penny is about to review Jane Riddell's, Words'Worth: A Fiction Writer's Guide to Serious Editing, which covers the ‘nuts and bolts’ that perhaps many are not aware of. General consensus was that people DO READ reviews.

Local History Writer Needed
The Bevois Mount history group is looking for a local history writer.

The Writing Buddies Email Information Loop
One of the benefits of membership of Writing Buddies is the behind the scenes email information loop, run via the Writing Buddies Yahoo Group.  All Writing Buddies are encouraged to join the loop as it is a valuable resource between meetings. The loop can be reached via: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/writingbuddies/info 

Fifth Anniversary Exhibition
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Writing Buddies group in May 2009, there will be an exhibition of work at the Central Library, Southampton, between 12 - 17 May 2014.  All Writing Buddies, past and present, are encouraged to submit work for the display.

Guest Speaker

Josephine Shaw gave the first of the new series of writing-related talks. Her topic was Presentations.

At the March meeting, Margot will be speaking about her work teaching creative writing to the blind at Southampton Sight.

The next meeting is at 2pm on 7th March 2014.  Everyone is welcome.

  

Writing Buddies, Friday 7 September 2012

Writing Buddies Meet Again

Writing Buddies' recent meeting was on Friday 7th September at The Art House in Southampton. As always, we talked about the work we'd been doing since last time and then discussed matters of general interest.

Tessa is setting her latest book up as an ebook for Amazon and noted how crowded the site has become. This led to a discussion, detailed below, on Ryan Deiss and how to sell in an overcrowded market.

Mo has spent a good week writing a screenplay for a Hollywood producer. He has finally paid her for her work, which is great, and she is enjoying it and feels motivated.

Janet continues to write every day, and she has been working on some art to accompany her writing.

New member John has written some stories for children but he is uncertain how and where to place them, though he has been working with an illustrator and he showed us some of her work. This was discussed in more detail later.

Jacqueline had a piece of flash fiction in issue 5 of What the Dickens internet magazine and has submitted for the next issue. Her story appeared in Tortured Hearts Vol 3 ebook by Inkslingers and will have two stories in their next anthology. Her article based on a WW1 diary is accepted by The Great War magazine, and she has pitched to CBBC an idea for a children's drama.

Christine contributed to the newly published second edition of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Theory & Practice. She has entered the Book Guild's short story competition, and is currently editing another author's book about Emma Hamilton.

Rowan has an idea for a novella. He has found The Writers' & Artists' Guide to How to Write very useful.

John G continues with performance poetry, and is also involved in online reviewing.

Penny's book Eastleigh Then and Now is due out at any time and there are some advance orders already. She is writing a book, with Jimmy, about childhood in Southampton, and has just signed a contract for a 2013 sequel to Under the Queen's Colours which will be about women. She is planning book signings at Waterstone's in Eastleigh.

The discussion included how to judge the age group for a children's story, the language constraints, whether the relevant children would be interested in the particular subject matter, and the importance of appropriate illustrations. Younger children may prefer 'funky' pictures which should be strong on shape and colour but not necessary detail.

Tessa mentioned an internet course run by American Ryan Deiss on how to sell ebooks in an overcrowded market. He charges $250 and the course is hard work, but he promises a refund if the fee is not recouped in ebook sales. Still on the subject of marketing, John G mentioned The Masquerade Crew's blog where various sources of advice are being gathered.

Two possible speakers were mentioned, and these will be considered for future meetings.

Writing Buddies will be meeting again on October 5th, the next 'first Friday of the month', 2pm at The Art House Cafe, Above Bar, Southampton. Anyone with an interest in writing will be very welcome.

Notes by Jacqueline Pye.

Writing Buddies at The Art House in Southampton, March 23rd, 2012.

Janet is still working with her nursing memoirs. She is pleased to have a digital print, Impact, as part of Southampton library's Titanic exhibition.

Ray is happy with the progress of his memoirs of the 1950s and 1960s; he has been working with a proofreader who thinks the work will sell but has suggested a reduction in the length of the text to make it more commercial.

Rowan has just written 1,100 words of a short story, though he is concerned about the plotting aspect and this was later discussed in the group.

Tessa now has one of her books published with SelfSelfSelf, though she insisted on seeing the draft and proofreading and correcting it, as well as ensuring that she is listed as the publisher. Tessa is bringing out a facsimile of an earlier work; she has just received the proofs and is pleased with how printer Lightning Source is producing it. Her book The Girl from the Land of Smiles is nearly ready, and should be out in the summer; she is checking that the Thai way with English is being faithfully represented.

Jimmy is still working on the language level in his Jayden the Naughty Goldfish books. His local guide is now to be called Not a Guide to Southampton, and he is negotiating about changes the publishers have requested in number of words and photographs. Jimmy is still seeking an agent for his Sundance Gang novels, and he is considering ebook publishing for the three Far End of the Tunnel books.

Veronica flagged up a local project, the co-op make-a-book club, and mentioned (from The Guardian) that The Gentle Author is running a course on blogging for a £300 fee.

Jacqueline was pleased to report that she won a runner-up prize in the limerick competition in Freelance Market News, and a hardback non-fiction book via Twitter for a rhyme about child workers in the industrial age. She has completed the short story course and submitted a 75-word flash fiction to paragraph planet (internet flash fiction site, one piece published daily).

Discussions involved how a blog can be useful, and looking at plotting in short stories. A book was suggested: Plot Versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Good Fiction. We considered a procedure for finished memoirs, and some members thought a professional edit would be worth while although it can be expensive. Then the options include an agent, a publisher, self-publishing (perhaps print-on-demand) or an ebook. It was thought a good idea to write different genres under different names, and one member is already doing this.

*** The meeting which would be due on April 6th (Good Friday) is cancelled, so the Writing Buddies will next meet at The Art House, Above Bar, Southampton at 2pm on Friday April 20th. As ever, anyone with an interest in writing will be very welcome.

Notes by Jacqueline Pye.

Writing Buddies in Full Flow

Southampton Writing Buddies met once again at The Art House in Above Bar on Friday March 9^th, 2012, and after our writing news we were very glad to welcome a guest.

Josephine has finished the final edit of her book on managing business meetings, but she is wondering now whether a section about technology should be added. An example would be teleconferencing, and the group felt that this would be a useful addition. She is starting work on another book about management.

Mo has pitched an article to a specific contact at The New Statesman, and awaits their reply. One of her stories is currently being filmed, too.

Jo feels that she is losing her way a little with her travel book. She has written six chapters now, but is still unsure whether it should take the form of a travelogue or an informed novel, and the group discussed this. She will continue to work on it.

Rowan, a new member, is working on some fiction. He told us about

Project Gutenberg, where free books are available.

Karen continues working on her novel, and once finished she is hoping that it will be published.

Alan is working out how to manage his first children’s book. He has submitted a two-part comedy play script to the Nuffield theatre.

Jimmy is continuing with his commissioned miscellany of Southampton, which is expected to be published in January next year.

Veronica is currently studying various religions. She has written some poetry which she hopes to publicise, and is looking for some voices to perform it.

Glen had an excellent formal book launch for Voices of Eastleigh with around sixty guests, and sales were very good.

Janet continues with her stories centred on nursing, but she is keen to go travelling and to write about her experiences.

Tessa is working on her next book, The Land of Smiles, and she is adding to her book

Knitted Quilts and Flounces and will be reissuing it.

Penny has finished Eastleigh: Then and Now and submitted it. She is on a final edit of Under the Queen’s Colours and awaiting the proofs for publication in May, and also working onBloody British History: Southampton. She is thinking about her next book.

Jacqueline recently gave a talk to Writers in Southampton on how to write and sell magazine articles. She has the star letter in the current issue of The Vegetarian magazine as well as a short quote in the vox pops section. She continues with the online short story writing course.

We were very pleased to welcome Ben Ottridge to the meeting. Ben is the director of www.selfselfself.com, which offers ebook publishing for writers - we had discussed his service at previous meetings. He recognised some time ago that self-publishing ebooks could be tricky and time-consuming for writers, and with several years’ experience, he now translates writers’ work from its basic Word format into an ebook which is compatible with Kindle, Kobo and iPad. There is no upfront fee, but the company takes 15% of the net profit (after distribution costs, taxes etc). Ben will provide a basic cover if required, but for £20 he’ll design one individually. Details of the process are on the website.

General discussed followed. The group considered Jo’s concern about her work in progress, and whether it should be a travelogue, an experience piece, or a combination. It was thought important that the book should have ‘something to say’, to lift it above a description of experiences. We also discussed blogs, and the need to take notice of criticism and make use of the parts that seem relevant and right.

Our next meeting will be at The Art House, Above Bar, Southampton on Friday March 23^rd at 2pm. Anyone with an interest in writing, at whatever level, will be very welcome.

Notes by Jacqueline Pye.

Writing Buddies - 27 January 2012

Writing Buddies met once again at The Art House Cafe in Southampton on January 27^th, 2012.

Tessa has now written her latest book, The Girl from the Land of Smiles, and is currently editing it. She has proofreaders ready, both locally and in Thailand, and the book should be published in the summer. She is also preparing to publish a book of paintings for her son.

New member Jo has always been a keen writer. She has concentrated on writing for business in the past, but is now planning a book about her trip to Mongolia. This project is proving complex, and the group discussed ways for Jo to produce the work, perhaps both as a travelogue and as the basis for fiction.

Karen is continuing with her novel, though she finds that since the story is so familiar already, she finds it hard to be consistent in writing. She plans to enter some flash fiction competitions in the meantime.

Janet is working on her nursing stories, using her background knowledge and also consulting relevant magazines.

Ray’s memoirs are still in progress; he has been working on them for some time, but mentioned that he finds the Writing Buddies meetings useful and motivating. This raised a cheer in the group!

Lynne, another new member, is a literature and language teacher and has always been an active writer. While training she had to critique other writing, and wonders if this has made her hypercritical with her own work. She made some useful suggestions in the discussions.

Mike still awaits a response from the publisher about his aviation book. He has a co-written book coming out in March, Shipwrecks of the Cunard Line.

Alan is halfway through his second mouse book for preschool children. He has also been working on sketches and a sitcom, helped by his experience on the comedy stage. The group thought there is a good current market for television comedy.

James is still hoping that the Daily Echo will review his book, Growing up in Wartime Southampton – Someone Else’s Trousers . He had a letter in the Echo that week, citing a relevant quote from his book, though the reference was removed before printing. The work may be made into an audio book. James continues with Southampton - a Miscellany and his books for young children, and plans to send off a Sundance Gang book to an agent recommended to him.

Jacqueline’s flash fiction piece about Miss Havisham will appear in the next edition of What the Dickens internet magazine, out on February 1^st. She has entered a short story competition online, and will be entering two flash fiction competitions. She has enrolled for an online short-story writing course, which starts next month.

Penny has been to the National Memorial Arboretum to take some final pictures for Under the Queen’s Colours, though the Royal British Legion has not given permission yet for their use. She has recently finished editing the first edition of the new magazine Life to the Full, and is hoping for offers of admin help and sponsorship to enable the second edition to be published. She has nearly finished her book Eastleigh Then and Now for The History Press.

The general discussion was wide-ranging. Topics included how to kick-start a stalled project, ways of keeping up motivation with writing, and whether a Buddies magazine might be a possibility. A stand to sell members’ books at The Marlands is still being debated; this would be for the run-up to Christmas, and volunteers, exact venue and good marketing would be needed.

A new ebook publishing service was discussed. This is described at www.SelfSelfSelf.com by a digital consultant who takes Word-document books and converts them to ebooks for all platforms, with no up-front fee but 15% commission on net takings after other costs. It was decided that some members would take a look, and perhaps check the presentation of ebooks already published by this means.

The next Writing Buddies meeting will be on Friday February 10^th at The Art House Cafe, Southampton from 2pm. Anyone with an interest in writing is very welcome.

Writing Buddies, 16 September 2011

The Southampton Writing Buddies met at The Art House Café on 16 September with Jacqueline chairing the meeting in the absence of Penny.

Tessa showed everyone the Echo article about Andrew Jones, author of Inktastic, which was published by her company, The Thorn Press. Ann Roberts' book, The Master's Tale, also published by Tessa's publishing company, is being launched on 20 September. Ann will be on Radio Solent on 23 September, in the afternoon, to talk about her book. Ladybird Fly, Tessa's third book of her trilogy, is now published and she has started a new novel about a Thai girl who marries an Englishman. The book will show the differences in cultures.

Jimmy has completed his questionnaire for The History Press regarding a Miscellany of Southampton. Both Penny and Jimmy had been offered the opportunity to write a book about 1950s childhood and The History Press have confirmed that they are happy for Penny and Jimmy to write it jointly. Jimmy is busily editing his Jayden the Goldfish books, which he hopes to self publish through Lulu. Jimmy is giving talks at Woolston Library on Friday 7 October and Bitterne Library on Saturday 5 November.

Elizabeth is continuing with her Writers Bureau course and feels it has opened her eyes to writing non fiction, as there are so many publications on the market with opportunities for placing work.

Jan has been out and about and gathering ideas for future writing.

Catherine is having a little break from intense writing but has been keeping herself busy with a 75 word exercise: see www.paragraphplanet.com. Catherine has submitted a short story to Writers Forum and will get feedback on her work. She is entering the Harry Bowling prize: see www.harrybowlingprize.co.uk. Catherine is also involved in the staff newsletter for employees at West Quay shopping centre.

Emma writes poetry and has been trying to start a blog.

Karen is continuing with her 30 day writing challenge and is thinking of having a go at NaNoWriMo. She is also contemplating blogging.

Pat has been short listed for the Maskers Theatre: see www.maskers.org.uk with a play. She has also written 80,000 words of her novel but feels she can write more.

Lottie, joining the group for the first time, has been writing on and off for four years. She recently completed a fantasy novel for teenagers, sent it to an editor and received good feedback. She feels she has more to write so it could turn into a trilogy. Lottie requested help with writing a synopsis.

Mo has a new actress playing her character, Shindig, from her book A Blues for Shindig, as the original one has gone to the USA. Mo has been blogging and entering a life writing competition.

Lisa's first chapter of her romance novel for the Mills and Boon competition is now completed:see www.romanceisnotdead.com. The deadline is 10 October, when entries are then filtered by a voting system. There are six categories to choose from and Lisa has opted for 'warm and cosy.'

Jacqueline has pitched an article on How to Keep Your Brain Active, to Woman's Weekly magazine. Hampshire View magazine has accepted a short story and this will be published in the March 2012 edition. Regarding her children’s book, Jacqueline requested that Lisa, with all her expertise in this field, give a presentation at a future Writing Buddies meeting about self publishing.

Vijay has been writing a few flash fiction stories but as yet has not submitted them anywhere. He is still planning NaNoWriMo but feeling unsure where to take it.

General discussion covered the merits of blogging and Emma expressed her need for help in this area. Informative websites are www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. Literary Agents and magazine editors do look at blogs, so it is well worth blogging. For a hit counter go to www.easycounter.com. The Society of Authors are having a Tweetathon on Radio 4, over a period of five weeks. The idea is to make a story out of five tweets. Ian Rankin has started the Tweetathon with an opening line: see www.societyofauthors.org. For anyone interested in screenwriting then BBC Talent is asking for 30 minute scripts (minimum) for a drama course. Deadline for submissions is 1 November see www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent and go to Writers Room.

The next meeting will be on Friday 30 September at 2.00pm.

Post by Elizabeth Streatfield.