Judith's Blog

Feature ideas: It's all in the timing

FOR a freelance writer, ideas can make or break a career. As markets and budgets shrink and competition increases, it’s more crucial than ever to make your ideas stand out from the crowd. Linda Jones shows you how.

So you want to write for your favourite magazine and you are brimming with ideas – you’re a little disappointed that most of them – or something similar at least – has been covered already – but it’s still worth a shot, right?

Wrong. If you spot a piece in a target publication that bears any resemblance to the germ of an idea you have been slaving over – but too nervous to send – for days or even weeks then you need to change direction immediately.

Book review: The Greatest Freelance Writing Tips in the World

By Heather Sutherland

THIS is a book written by Linda Jones ex journalist, freelance writer, blogger at You've got your hands full, Judith's Room member and all round fabulous lady who has helped me out a lot with starting freelance writing.

Her book arrived today and I have been racing through it.  Verdict?  It's flippin' brilliant.  You know all those questions you have about how to write a pitch, should you write the article first or not, how do you find out how to email it to, should you call them afterwards, how soon etc etc? She answers them all and so much more.  

Twitter - a fabulous way to connect with authors

By Josie

ONE of the reasons I love Twitter is the way you can connect to the most unlikely people - including authors. I've been tweeting with Jackie Collins - I'm not writing erotic novels but I do find it funny that she's on Twitter as her books certainly played quite a part in my formative years *cough*.

So last night I tweeted her (she's @jackiejcollins) the following questions: how many pages do you write a day when you're working on a book, and do you always draw on real life experience?

Here's what she had to say:

'10-15 handwritten pages'
'yes unless you're writing a fantasy novel' (I'm presuming by fantasy she meant Lord of the Rings type fantasy, not - er- erotic fantasy).

So there you have it. 10 to 15 handwritten pages a day... not sure how much that translates to in typed pages but it sounds perfectly doable... doesn't it?

Do you have any tips from published novelists? If so, share them below!

Welcome to Judith's Blog

WELCOME to the blog of the Judith's Room community for women writers.

Here we aim to bring you some of the best talent showcased on the Judith's Room groups and forums, introduce you to our members and their writing, share interviews and tips from new and established authors, feature advice, news, book reviews, giveaways and events, and act as a point of reference for all those interested in writing and pursuing a writing career.