I’m pleased to welcome Esther Chilton to my blog today with her new release which is currently on pre-order – the release date is Saturday 27th June, 2020.
I’ve met Esther on many occasions at the Bloggers Bash in London. She’s a lovely lady and it’s a lovely treat to have her feature on my blog today.
Blurb:
Publication Guaranteed
(well, almost!)
Fed up with rejection after rejection? Not sure how to target the right market, or what to write about?
Writers Bureau tutor, editor and freelance writer, Esther Chilton takes you through the necessary steps to gain publication whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for a while.
Topics include writing:
- Readers’ letters
- Fillers
- Articles
- Short stories
- For competitions
You’ll find information on market research, how to set your work out and send it, as well as lots of useful tips, examples and writing exercises to give you ideas and build on your writing skills with the aim of publishing your work.
A Helping Hand for Writers
Here an extract from the book – it’s from the Sizzling Story Ideas chapter, which features lots of prompts and writing exercises.
Location
A tranquil beach with a blazing riot of a sunset and the gentle lapping of waves into shore is the perfect setting for a romance story, but more mundane locations can also generate a compelling story idea. How about your local market? You may be poking and prodding at the apples when you see a child out of the corner of your eye. In your story, the child could steal an apple from the stall. Perhaps the child has run away from a terrible homelife or maybe he/she is doing it as a dare to look good in front of a group of friends. Another possibility is a bully, lurking in wait, ready to taunt the child if he/she doesn’t carry out the act. One option is to tell the story through the child’s eyes. This always stands out and adds an extra element of emotion. So, as well as thinking up locations for your stories, take note of what’s around you. Inspiration often strikes where and when you least expect it.
Writing exercise
Want some more? The following are just a few locations to stimulate places for an entertaining and compelling story. The story threads suggested here may bring others to mind. Write down your ideas:
An old house that’s been boarded up for a long time. Walking past one evening, your character notices there’s a light on. Who is in there? A ghost? A squatter? An axe-murderer? A group of teenagers?
A supermarket. A woman starts screaming. What’s wrong with her? What/who has she seen? Or is she mentally ill? There’s a crash from outside. What’s going on? An accident? An attack?
A bedroom. Has someone died in the bedroom? Now? Or years before? Perhaps the bedroom has a secret door into another world, or it’s just a hiding place for secrets.
Some woods. A person may be killed, or become lost in the woods. Or maybe something happened there years before – something supernatural and unexplained. It could be happening all over again. Alternatively, two dog walkers meet in the woods and love blossoms.
A school reunion. Could feuds have festered over the years? Will first loves be there and once more rekindled? Is there someone there who shouldn’t be?
Esther has regularly written for writing magazines such as Writers’ Forum and Writing Magazine. She has also had her work featured in a diverse range of magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian, Best of British, Your Cat, Prima, My Weekly and The People’s Friend, to name a few.
Winner of Writing Magazine, Writers’ News, The Global Short Story and several other writing competitions and awards, Esther has also judged writing competitions. For over ten years, Esther has been a tutor for The Writers Bureau and after requests from students, she put together a collection of her stories – The Siege. Esther’s latest book of short stories, A Walk In the Woods is out now.
Esther has been working on her first non-fiction book to help writers get published –Publication Guaranteed (Well, Almost!). It’s the first in her A Helping Hand For Writers series and is available as an e-book. A paperback will follow shortly. In addition to tutoring, Esther works as a freelance copyeditor offering an editing, guidance and advice service for authors and writers. She has edited novels, non-fiction books, articles and short stories. You can find out more about it here:
https://esthernewtonblog.wordpress.com/editing-proofreading-and-advice-service/
If you’d like Esther’s help, or would like to know more about what she can do for you, please get in touch: estherchilton@gmail.com
Links:
To buy Publication Guaranteed (Well, Almost!):
Amazon UK
Amazon US
For The Siege:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
For A Walk in the Woods:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Wishing Esther every success with her new non-fiction book. What a brilliant idea!
Before I go, I’d like to mention that I really enjoyed Esther’s short story collection – A Walk In The Woods. Read my review here: https://mjmallon.com/2020/04/08/book-review-a-walk-in-the-woods-by-esther-chilton-book-review/

Authors Website: https://mjmallon.com
Authors Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-J-Mallon/e/B074CGNK4L
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/
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