Look out for the People’s Friend’s Christmas Special. It’s out tomorrow – Wednesday 16 November – and it features a story by our very own Jane Tulloch, author of Our Best Attention.
Jane’s story Subcontractors will appear in the magazine. She’s written several stories for the People’s Friend which are scheduled to appear over the next few weeks.
Writing books doesn’t make most writers enough money. Most writers boost their income through short story writing, newspaper or magazine columns, paid gigs at festivals, workshops and more.
Here are our tips for pitching short stories:
Most magazines will have guidelines for what they like. The guidelines will specify word count, but they might also detail the kind of fiction the publication is looking for.
Read the magazine. It sounds obvious, but you need to have an idea of the magazine’s style before you pitch a story.
Check carefully for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. It’s easier to check 2,000 words than a book, so you have no excuse for typos. Print the story out as you’ll often spot mistakes you’ve missed when looking at the story onscreen.
Talk to other writers. If you can speak to those who have successfully submitted stories, they can give you advice.
Recycle stories. Just because one publication rejects a story doesn’t mean another one will. Or enter competitions with it, or use it for a book. Or rewrite it and make it even better.
Jane’s story Subcontractors will appear in the magazine. She’s written several stories for the People’s Friend which are scheduled to appear over the next few weeks.
Writing books doesn’t make most writers enough money. Most writers boost their income through short story writing, newspaper or magazine columns, paid gigs at festivals, workshops and more.
Here are our tips for pitching short stories:
Most magazines will have guidelines for what they like. The guidelines will specify word count, but they might also detail the kind of fiction the publication is looking for.
Read the magazine. It sounds obvious, but you need to have an idea of the magazine’s style before you pitch a story.
Check carefully for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. It’s easier to check 2,000 words than a book, so you have no excuse for typos. Print the story out as you’ll often spot mistakes you’ve missed when looking at the story onscreen.
Talk to other writers. If you can speak to those who have successfully submitted stories, they can give you advice.
Recycle stories. Just because one publication rejects a story doesn’t mean another one will. Or enter competitions with it, or use it for a book. Or rewrite it and make it even better.
