Regular readers of this blog will know that last year I was commissioned by The Writers Bureau, the UK's leading distance-learning college for writers, to create a course on copywriting for them.Well, I'm pleased to reveal that the Complete Copywriter Course has just been launched. If you go to this page of their website, you can request a full information pack.If you're at all interested in signing up for this tutored course, I recommend asking for the info pack (which is, of course, entirel... Read Full Story

It seems to be the season for 'best writing blog' awards at the moment. There are at least two such high-profile contests running right now.The first is the annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers contest on Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers blog.It's the fourth year this well-respected contest has been held. Anyone is welcome to nominate their favorite writing blog (one only) by commenting on the relevant post. Nominations close on 11 September 2009.The other is the Editor Unleashed Top 25 Wri... Read Full Story

How to Write a Children's Book in 14 Days is the latest in WCCL's range of products and courses for writers, which also includes my courses Essential English for Authors, Write Any Book in Under 28 Days and The Wealthy Writer.How to Write a Children's Book in 14 Days is written by successful children's author Mel McIntyre. It's provided as an instant download in the universal PDF format, and is therefore suitable for all computing platforms: Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Linux. The main ma... Read Full Story

I was recently tagged on this meme by Linda Jones of Passionate Media on her You've Got Your Hands Full blog.In her post, Linda asked and then answered a number of questions about her own writing. She then tagged several other writers, including me, to answer the questions as well. So, without further ado, here are my responses...1. Which words do you use too much in your writing?However, therefore, great2. Which words do you consider overused in stuff you read?Neat, suddenly, cool3. What's y... Read Full Story

Yes, it's time to reveal the winner of my contest to win a copy of my illustrated science-fiction novella, The Festival on Lyris Five.There were six entries in the contest, so I asked my partner, Jayne, to pick a number between 1 and 6 (without telling her what it was for). She picked number 4, so I'm pleased to reveal that the winner of a signed copy is entrant number 4, Coffeewithkate. Congratulations, Kate!I originally advertised that two runners-up would receive PDF versions of the novell... Read Full Story

Former MWC moderator and successful author Nadine Laman is holding a Blog Party to celebrate the 100th post on her blog - and everybody is invited!Nadine is running a series of contests and giving away signed copies of books donated by various authors (including yours truly). On her blog, she provides the following explanation of how the 'Blog Party' came to be......I thought I'd give away free books. Then I realized everyone might not want one of my books - they might already have all three.... Read Full Story

I've written about tagging on Amazon a few times on this blog. Here's a link to my original post which explains what it is and how authors with books for sale on Amazon can benefit from it.To recap briefly, Amazon now allows anyone who has ever bought a product at the store in question to apply 'tags' to any book on sale there. Potential buyers can click on the tags associated with a book to see a list of other titles which have had the same tag applied (and which presumably they might theref... Read Full Story

As regular readers will know, The Festival on Lyris Five is my tongue-in-cheek science fiction novella, newly published by Salvatore Publishing.You can find out more about the book, and read an extract from it, in my earlier blog post.To celebrate the launch, I'm giving away a signed copy of the printed version of The Festival on Lyris Five, along with two copies of the downloadable (PDF) version for the runners-up.To win, all you have to do is post the title and author of your favorite scien... Read Full Story

Additional Streams of Income for Writers is a new downloadable guide for writers by Ireland-based Amanda Evans, the author of Ghostwriting Uncovered.Amanda interviewed me as part of the research she undertook for her new guide, and she was kind enough to send a review copy once it was published.Additional Streams of Income for Writers is an 87-page e-book in the customary PDF format. Amanda has written it from the perspective that in these uncertain times authors need a range of income source... Read Full Story

I'm pleased to reveal that my tongue-in-cheek science-fiction novella The Festival on Lyris Five is now available in both printed and downloadable form.The Festival on Lyris Five has been published by Salvatore Publishing, a new publishing house run by Guy Cousins and other members of my forum. I'm delighted to be among the first authors to be taken on by Salvatore.As regards the story, I can't really do better than quote my publisher's blurb:Former Ten Stars combat pilot Rick Barrett is havi... Read Full Story