Your prose or mine? Have YOU ever been tempted to plagiarise?

'No! Not ever!' cry famous writers in unison when asked if they have ever felt like using a piece of writing not their own. 'There's plenty of good writing out there, but I've never been tempted to lift anybody else's material,' says Janet Evanovich, who writes the popular Stephanie Plum adventure books. Fellow author David Nobbs, famous for his Reggie Perrin series, agrees. 'I don't think I've ever deliberately plagiarised anybody.' And Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the best-selling novel The Deep End of the Ocean, echoes the sentiment. 'Never on purpose. The only time I wrote something...

Read the full article in the June 2013 issue of Writing World

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1550 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I think you've identified an important issue"

Lauren McKeon

Editor

This Magazine

"I like the piece"

Stuart Woods

Editor

Quill & Quire

Right on time - Getting the timing right (Is there a perfect time to pitch?)

‘Thank you for sending me your wonderful article,’ read the editor’s reply. I smiled. ‘I would have accepted it but...’ I frowned. This did not bode well. ‘...but in the next issue we are publishing a similar article. So I am sorry but I cannot use your piece – bad timing!’ Damn. I swallowed my disappointment and got to work with my next story. But two weeks later when the same thing happened again (‘We just did a pretty major feature on this in our June issue, hard luck!’), and yet again (‘We have covered similar themes in the not-too-distant past, I’m afraid’), I was really upset. Three commissions...

Read the full article in the June 2013 post of AWP Career Advice

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2625 words
Nonfiction/Writing
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I like it"

Jonathan Telfer

Editor

Writing Magazine

"Thank you very much for sending your work to us...I think your article contains plenty of things that our members would really love to read...it is a well written piece as is. Thank you once more for bringing your article to us--we will be very pleased to share it with our members (who will be very pleased to read it)."

Daniel D'Angelo

Associate Editor

Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)

Getting the hang of love

I am standing at the edge of a steep precipice with wobbly legs protesting and knees knocking together like the prongs of a tuning fork. Never before has vertigo seemed so real! Never before has my comfortable chair at home seemed less boring! Strapped into various harnesses and helmets and things, I am beginning to fully appreciate the “gravity” of the situation. I scarcely have time to further contemplate what is starting to look like a foolishly hasty decision, before I am being instructed on what to do and how to do it. I, however, am too busy concentrating on being able to breathe properly...

Read the full essay in the Summer 2013 issue of Ducts

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2020 words
Nonfiction/Humour
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I like your essay, and it flows well"

Derek Alger

Essays Editor

Ducts

"It's nicely written, which counts for a lot."

Ed Ewing

Editor

Cross Country Magazine

Ask, and you shall receive (6 Questions you should always ask upon story acceptance)

Congratulations! A story accepted, a feather in your cap. So what next? Party? Hang on, the deal’s not done yet. For all you know, the magazine doesn’t pay kill fees. Or maybe it demands exclusivity. You don’t want to rush into a contract only to find out later you’ve been given the short end of the stick. Before you break out the bubbly, there are some key points that you will need to know for certain to complete – or even go ahead with – the sale.

What rights do they want?
What rights are you giving away? This is, by far, the most important question you will be asking upon acceptance because much depends...

Read the full article in the June 2013 issue of Writing Tomorrow

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1570 words
Nonfiction/Writing
US publication

Buttons up!

A powerful stroke of the upper arm, a strong kick of the leg and I crawl forward another few feet. I am swimming. All around me is a myriad of rainbow colours undulating like the air heavy with sound waves broadcast from a giant speaker. Except that this isn't water. It's buttons. Big and small, bright and dull, round and square, flat and raised, two-holed and hole-less, stitch-on and stick-on... a sea of buttons of all shapes and sizes. My limbs cleave the surface like cracks ripping through fragile china and create a yawning chasm with buttons falling all around me. The scene reminds me of loose...

Read the full article in the Summer 2013 issue of Thema


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2100 words
Humour
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"This is a great story and I enjoyed reading it"

Kirsten Edwards

Editor

The Gift Of Stitching

"Reading it was really a treat for me"

Cathy Jakicic

Editor

BeadStyle