4 HEADLINES

NewsfrontThe latest in

the world of writing

6 HOW I WRITE

Getting nifty

after fi fty Jane

Wenham-Jones has

found her winning formula,

she tells Phil Barrington

8 WRITERS’ CIRCLE

Your letters plus a reader’s

First Draft challenge

10 G E T S TA RTE D

Pitching to win Douglas

McPherson shows how he

subbed a wrestling feature to

a mag – and how you can too

13 TALES OF MY GURU

Hugh Scott has a wake-up

call from his mystery mentor

14 FICTION MARKETS

Reprints and rights

Re-sell your published stories

for extra cash – Kat Day has

the legal low-down

17 CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Only connect

Christopher Lloyd

explains to Anita

Loughrey how home-ed

led to a career in non-fi ction

and those giant timelines

19 AGONY AUNT

Dear Della Writer Della

Galton answers your queries

20 FREELANCE MARKETS

The Magazine Scene

Sex, scares and carers this

month in Adam Carpenter’s

industry update plusDiary

of a freelance hack

22 FICTION MARKETS

Inside Story Our King

of the short story Douglas

McPherson shows how he

bagged a magazine sale with

two real-life cultural icons

24 WRITING EXERCISE

Starting in the right

place Barbara Dynes shows

how to pinpoint a killer

opening – and set an exercise

27 THE BUSINESS

Becoming a writer

Find inspiration in the great

outdoors, says Kath Kilburn

28 FLASH COMP

Our writing contest is FREE

to subscribers plus last issue’s

romance story results

31 NOVEL MARKETS

Publishing now

Four industry fi gures

tell Kathleen

Whyman how we can all do

our part to increase diversity

32 INSPIRATION

Idea Store Paula WIlliams

hears from the author of a

spooky romcom

34 KICKSTARTERS

April 30 fun prompts to

pep up your writing

37 STORY COMPETITION

This month’s winners

of £550 in cash prizes

42 INSPIRATION

Idea Store The one that

went astray last month...

48 FICTION WORKSHOP

Funny you should say

that... Lorraine Mace

gives a step-by-step guide

to writing humour, with the

help of a reader’s story

50 POETRY COMPETITION

Poetry judge Sue Butler

introduces this month’s

theme plusExperiment

52 POETRY COMP RESULTS

The winner of £100 for our

‘Wound’ competition

54 WRITERS’ DIRECTORY

This month’s events, writing

courses and helpful books

58 MOTIVATION

The Mentor Emily

Cunningham helps a writer

settle a problem of identity

60 WRITING KNOW-HOW

Research

SecretsYA author

Sue Wallman tells

Anita Loughrey how talking to

teens shapes her writing voice

plusWriting Outlets with

Janet Cameron

62 COMPETITION CALENDAR

The NAWG’s Simon

Whaley talks to

Morgen Bailey about

how editing can help you win

65 SUBSCRIPTIONS

Get Writers’ Forum delivered

direct to your door

66 WHERE I WRITE

Phil Barrington visits

cosy crime writer

Julia Chapman in her

makeshift writing space

Write soon, Carl

L

ast month I reported how
story writers had been
receiving new contracts
from That’s Life! Australia
demanding all rights before
they received payment.
Thankfully it turns out the
accounts department had
sent them out in error and
there are no plans to grab
rights – from short story
authors at least; of course, other poor freelances must still be
receiving the nasty terms. Holding on to rights is important,
as Kat Day explains on page 14. She investigates the market
for reprints, where outlets are happy to pay for previously
published stories. Some authors fi nd they make more money
from resales than they do from the fi rst sale. Access to a
global audience means these editors are happy that readers
are unlikely to have seen the story printed elsewhere. It’s a
shame most big publishers don’t take the same view.

A WORD FROM

THE EDITOR

Writers’ Forum

Select Publisher Services Ltd

PO Box 6337

Bournemouth BH1 9EH

TEL 01202 586848

PUBLISHER Tim Harris

EDITOR Carl Styants

CHIEF SUB Wendy Reed

Photography and artwork

With thanks to Shutterstock

COVER IMAGE Tithi Luadthong

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for inaccuracies or complaints arising from

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Don’t miss issue #223 on sale from 9 April

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WELCOME

Writers FORUM

It’s not just slang YA author Sue Wallman

on how to create authentic teen voices

Pen name planA rejected writer asks:

Should I change sex to get a book deal?

Page one to the endJane Wenham-Jones

shares her new formula for writing a novel

Every monthto help you write better fi ction, non-fi ction and poetry workshops, exercises and market news

WIN! Enter our world-famous story, poetry and fl ash comps

HOW TO WRITE WHAT TO WRITE WHERE TO SELL IT

#222 Apr 2020 • £3.

Pitching to winStep-by-step guide to

submitting to magazines

Selling fi ction againWe look at the market

for recycling your stories

ADDING HUMOURTo lift even the darkest tale

Why The King is still ELVIS LIVES!

a magic story ingredient

30 DAILY KICKSTARTERS WIN! Enter our world-famous story, poetry and fl ash com5-MIN PROMPTS TO GET YOU INTO THE WRITING HABITps

WHERE TO START

Create openings to hook your readers

WIN!fab fi ction, fl ash Enter our

and poetry comps