My honest advice for journalists starting out & we have truly lost a woman of substance
Plus, The i Paper Talent Scheme, Internships at The Financial Times, Northern Writers Awards launch, Pitch Prize winners & Book of the week
My dear wordsmiths,
Thanks for reading this week’s Write Reject Repeat. Just a little plea on the eve of Black Friday - instead of adding random ‘bargains’ to your sale basket (do you NEED that over-priced candle?), consider an absolutely ‘cheap as chips’ subscription to Write Reject Repeat. You’d be supporting a real person (and feeding some hungry pheasants), not a random conglomerate and hopefully we can fight the good fight together. By which I mean author life and journalism..
A massive thankyou to those who have already subscribed - you legends!
NEXT WEEK: How and why I got into radio as a newspaper journalist..
Why I feel the loss of Woman of Substance: Barbara Taylor Bradford so deeply
I like to think author Barbara Taylor Bradford and I had a lot in common. We both started out as journalists, both northerners and both adored a story with a challenging but happy ending. We even started out in the same stable of newspapers - she began as a typist, then reporter, at the Yorkshire Post before launching into a high-flying career as a novelist and decamping to the US. She was an inspiration and made me want to write novels from an early age.
When I heard of her death on Sunday, at the age of 91, I was taken immediately back to my parent’s house as a child. A precocious reader of absolutely anything from a young age, I continually rifled my mother’s shelves and uncovered a rich seam of Barbara’s novels which I read repeatedly - they taught my everything from the power of female ambition to language and made me realise anything is possible for anyone.
More than anything it told me the enthralling power of story and characterisation. Her ability to write and describe a sense of place was phenomenal - it’s a lesson for any of us writers. It also meant, despite later becoming an English Literature student, I never became a book snob as a writer or a journalist and I still firmly believe the classics of yesteryear from Jane Austen to the Bronte’s would derisively have been named chick lit or women’s fiction by the critics of today. It’s fiction - what does gender have to do with it? And the application of long words does not a story make.
Barbara was born in Leeds in May 1933, and despite moving to the US to live with her husband Robert Bradford, was deeply proud of her roots which informed many of her 40 best-selling novels which sold 91 million copies - including her most famous A woman of substance, released in 1979. It remains one of the best-selling novels of all time. The story of a Yorkshire woman who launches her own retail empire after starting out as a kitchen maid, was part of her Emma Harte Saga, which spawned eight books, concluding with 2021’s A Man Of Honour. RIP Barbara.
11 bits of honest advice for journalists starting out in news and digital
I’m a time-served journalist. I’ve b been reporter (general news, consumer & crime), news editor, newspaper editor, digital editor and now senior journalism leader and I’ve spent the majority of my career in the regional sector. By time-served I mean 26 years - you get less for murder - but I acknowledge other perspectives may vary. This is my advice and, remember, talent always rises to the top.
Reality check: Every day I get an email or message from a journalist starting out. I often put them on to a junior colleague with a fresher perspective because the media landscape is unrecognisable from where I started as a trainee on a free weekly local title. Media companies have risen and failed, restructuring has become an annual event, innovation is at the heart of media and sometimes innovation fails. As a result, journalism is not for the faint hearted. For nice safe jobs with reliable hours and probably better pay, look away. I have personally pivoted like a spinning wheel many many times to survive the industry, it’s tough and the advent of the the internet & social media, of unrelenting public opinion, of controlling algorithms, the decline of newspaper sales and advertising revenues. It’s the survival of the fittest - resilience is required.
But: Journalism can still be the best job in the world. If you are curious and willing to be receptive, can move fast and adapt and have a genuine passion for news, information, and storytelling in all its formats - from words to video to newsletter to podcast - this job is for you. There is room for writers, for SEO experts, for presenters, for audience specialists, for editors and for interviewers. The traditional model has been ripped apart and there is room for all but here are my very basic tips. If you would like me to share more, any specifics, please get in touch and I will answer in another newsletter.
If you are entering journalism for the glamour, look away. It’s great but tough.
It goes without saying that - whatever role you take - you must be able to talk to people face to face and on the phone. Sometimes they won’t want to talk to you. But people are at the heart of journalism.
Listening: The best journalists I know have one thing in common, they listen to people. The best interviewers are those who let the conversational gap sit awkwardly - not those who blast out a million questions to fill the space. Be polite, be respectful, be kind and listen.
Written journalists are often required on camera and TV journalists need to to be able to write. Be flexible and soak in any many skills as possible. Learn where your strengths are slowly and you will build confidence which makes a huge difference.
Read a lot, listen a lot and watch a lot. You must be tuned into the zeitgeist to succeed.
Traditional skills including shorthand are still valued. It may be the age of AI but shorthand notes remain the fastest, most legally sound, and most accurate way of taking notes. To cover court accurately and contemporaneously (in the UK) you will need shorthand. It also will always take longer to listen and transcribe back a recording. Skills make you stand apart and that includes the newer ones from You Tube to Tik Tok to analytics.
Whatever job you aspire to in the industry, an early career in the regional news sector will hold you in good stead, as you get to cover a wide range of stories in different formats. DO an NCTJ course and get the basics nailed including media law. Many TV personalities and famous writers started out in local news. See Ernest Hemingway, Susan Sontag, Ranvir Singh, Piers Morgan. .it’s a very long list.
Get experience & bylines. Again, you will stand out.
The first thing I always do for any applicants is check their socials. You need to be on social media to be a journalist - you are your own brand as well as representing any you work for and you will need an audience to amplify your work. I look for genuine interests, quality of content, interaction and ability to string together a sentence/video acumen & professionalism. There are some roles where you can just write but even for those you will want to shout about your work. It’s 2024. Accept journalism IS content - but in the form of trusted information.
Contacts. You need them. Network as much as possible.
Be commercially aware. You must know the marketplace, even as a writer you will be increasingly involved in the business side and knowledge is power.
Write Reject repeat: Book of the week
A Safe Place by Stephanie Carty
Twelve-year-old Cate has never left her village. She’s never had a friend. She’s never even hugged her mother. Imogen, Cate’s mum, spent her youth travelling the country with her father. He believed she had a gift and used her for his own gain. With her innocence snatched away, Imogen vowed to build an idyllic and safe childhood for her daughter. But Cate soon becomes curious about life outside their home, and Imogen begins to wonder if the decision to close them off from society was the right one. Then when Zach, Imogen’s enigmatic ex-lover, returns to the village, years of deception come to light. Why has Imogen never touched her daughter? Is Zach responsible for a heinous crime? And what is Cate truly capable of? BLOODHOUND BOOKS Available now
News, events and opportunities
JOURNALISM
The i Paper is recruiting two new apprentices to complete a diploma in journalism and gain invaluable experience within a busy national newsroom. Aimed at school and college leavers who would otherwise face barriers to a career in journalism, the two-year programme beginning in February 2025 offers structured on-the-job training, a nationally recognised journalism qualification via the PA Media Academy, and mentoring from The i Paper’s experienced journalists. Each successful apprentice will be paid a fixed salary for two years and receive fully funded tuition throughout the scheme.
The Financial Times interns - London Living Wage. CLOSES 30/11/24
The FT’s opinion and analysis desk covers the op-ed, leader/letters and Big Read pages as well as The FT View. It works to a daily schedule for digital, print and podcasts and is looking for our Winter and Spring Interns.
Life & Arts is an intelligent take on global lifestyle, arts, books, fashion, travel and culture presented by FT writers and external critics and commentators, and read by people with money to spend on leisure and culture. Apply for both via Journo Resources, linked above
BOOKS AND WRITING:
Blue Pencil Agency announces Pitch Prize winners:
Judge, literary agent Katie Greenstreet from Paper Literary, and the team at BPA have selected the winners of the annual Pitch Prize. This year judges received a record number of more than 550 entries. Recurring themes include unhappy marriages, conflictual family trips, strong women overcoming adversity, bucket lists, myth retellings, class and belonging, life after death, and an evermore intrusive AI.
The winners are:
Alicia Vane: Nascent – Literary Speculative
Caroline Bloor: A Tear in the Canvas – Domestic Noir
Cassie Smith-Christmas: The Huguenot's Chest – Upmarket Historical
Emily Roe: The Stym – Dystopia
Laura Tisdall: New Mothers – Speculative Thriller
Nida Broughton: The Madness – Historical
Paul Hayes: Red Rock – Book Club
Click link in headline for more
New Writing North Announce 2025 Awards Programme:
The largest and longest-running writer development programme in England is now open for entries, deadline 6 February 2025 Founded and produced by New Writing North with support from Northumbria University and Arts Council England, the Northern Writers’ Awards are now in their 26th year. The Northern Writers’ Awards comprise a suite of awards covering a range of genres including poetry, fiction, narrative non-fiction, young adult, middle-grade fiction and short stories. The submission window for the awards varies but all winners will be announced in June 2025.
The Northern Writers’ Awards deliver crucial support for writers at an earlier stage than most literary awards, usually before an agent or publisher is involved. The winners of the Northern Writers’ Awards receive a wide range of support and opportunities, including mentoring, manuscript assessment, writing placements, and cash awards to buy time to write.
"There are no limits on what northern writers are capable of, though sometimes the broader culture looks only so far and sees no further. But the Northern Writers’ Awards are an invaluable platform to ensure that writing talents from the region are properly recognised, across their diversity of styles, genres, and formal approaches.”
Richard T. Kelly, novelist and Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing at Northumbria University
Thanks for reading, let me know if there is anything in writing/journalism you would like me to focus on.
Happy writing! N