Category: business & organisation
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February: In which I leapt ahead
February was a strong month in terms of submissions and pitches. I had a weekend getaway early on which coincided with an exciting opportunity resulting from last months mass LOI send out. I was commissioned for an wrote an article which will be published and paid for in March. Freelance Pitches and follow-ups sent: 4…
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5 markets that pay for previously published short stories
** the markets and opportunities discussed in this article are largely for speculative fiction short stories. When you’ve been lucky enough to have a short story published you might think that’s the end of it. It’s not. Previously published short stories still have plenty of life left in them. There are opportunities for these stories…
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January: In which a plan was made
The first month of 2023 has come to a close. How are we all feeling? Somehow I already feel burnt out. But I’m also invigorated and excited about the year ahead. I spent most of this month setting goals and targets, formulating a five year plan and creating spreadsheets. As a result I’ve updated the…
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How many spreadsheets does it take to get published?
Truth be told, the answer to that question is none. When I was first published I had zero spreadsheets. No submission tracker or pitch tracker. Nothing. I didn’t even know how much I liked spreadsheets yet. These days my love affair with spreadsheets is in full flight (I had one for my son’s first foods…
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December + 2022 in review
Another month has come to a close and so has 2022. For many in Australia 2022 was another extremely hard year in a string of hard years with ongoing floods affecting much of the east coast. If you’ve been reading my monthly recaps you’ll know we’ve been hit hard by repeated illnesses throughout the year…
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November: In which I took a step back and moved forward
At the start of November I decided to go on ‘leave’ from writing until the new year. I did this so I could focus on life and farm admin without being overwhelmed. I’m sure many writers can agree, that whenever you decide to take a break from writing you inevitably get pulled back in. So,…
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Goal Setting for Writers
Goal setting is goal setting, right? You just pick something you want and work towards it. Well, maybe it’s just me, but recently I found completely lost for what to do next in my writing career. This year I’ve been throwing myself into writing. Both freelance and fiction, for both children and adults. So, you…
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October: In which fiction prevailed
This month I’m finding it hard to recall what exactly happening. The last week resulted in my first overnight hospital stay with my two-year-old son who was having trouble breathing. While he’s fully recovered now, that unexpected event has overshadowed most other things. Casting my mind back, I can manage to remember that we had…
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September: In which chaos reigned
In this month in review it’s hard not to look back at all that’s changed in 2022. It’s been two months since we moved from suburbia to my partner’s dairy farm. It’s been three months since I left my job in publishing to better support the farm, cuddle up with my toddler and pursue freelance…
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Organising my Short Story Files
The time has come to *shudder* organise my short story files. I’ve been writing short stories since I was about sixteen. Before I had ever even read an actual short story! Needless to say I have a lot of files. Countless short stories with countless drafts. Not to mention all the half-baked ideas where I…