Recent content by Jay Aitch

Thank you everyone.

Dear Litopians, It's been five years since I was last on the site and how the world has changed ... I wish to ask, given the current 'liberal' climate, do middle-aged, straight, white authors stand a chance of achieving publication? I ask this because in reviewing several...

I was thinking more of the Rowling model, whereby the HP books were latterly reprinted with both child-friendly and adult-friendly covers.

Thank you Paul, Robinne and Sage. Much appreciated. One more question. I was hoping to publish the same book for two different markets, i.e. age ranges. D2D states one only publish the same book once for one market, otherwise both will be removed. Has anyone else had a similar situation and...

Hey all, Has anyone had experience with Draft2Digital as an ebook distributor? Or Smashwords? Thanks Jim

Interesting ideas Amber, thank you. I originally dreamed up the concept of magic stemming from food ... which morphed into powers stemming from food ... and then the idea of a long-lived character whose experiences through history are informed by the evolution of diet ...

Thank you everyone for your comments. They are reassuring to read. I do try to take care with the presentation of the issue, but has been mentioned already, the unpleasantness is (hopefully) relatable within context of the story.

Dear fellow Litopians, I recently submitted two samples for Pop Up Submissions (one each in consecutive weeks) and wish to explore the reaction of the chat room to my first: the historical fantasy set in 16th century rural England. If people are willing ... The heart-felt reactions of some of...

Thank you, Robinne. Those three stages are exactly what I have been through ... as I suspect, we all have. It is reassuring to know that such responses are normal and to be expected.

I wonder ... was his messenger killed?

I agree with Katie. We are a bit hard-nosed in our comments (I know I am), but--and I say this with complete honesty--I want to love every piece of writing I am exposed to, including my own. Many opinions are emotive because it's the initial reaction. As a reader I have been known to open a...

If we want easy, we would just read books, not write.

If a writer doesn't feel insecure about their writing, something is desperately wrong. That "insecurity" is the drive to improve, to seek growth and development as a person and a writer. As a nurse, teaching students, I always said, if you meet a nurse who claims to know everything: run the...

Yeah, I think I just had a cob on when I wrote the above. So apologies to all for ranting.

How many writers state they've been writing since childhood? It's a rhetorical question, because the answer is obvious. And a cliche. The answer is also nonsensical. Every child, every single child, in the (English-speaking) world has written something in their youth. We all had to as part...