Helpline
CHLOE WILLIAMS, Llanidloes, Powys
Your writing problems solved with advice from Diana Cambridge
Email your queries to Diana (please include home-town details) at: diana@dianacambridge.co.uk or send them to: Helpline, Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD. She will answer as many letters as she can on the page, but regrets that she cannot enter into individual correspondence. Publication of answers may take several months. Helpline cannot personally answer queries such as where to offer work, or comment on manuscripts, which you are asked not to send.
Q How different does a story (or an article) have to be before it can be submitted to a new market or competition? I’ve had a story shortlisted in a competition (hooray!). As a result it will be published in an anthology in December. I understand the rights I’ve assigned for this version of the story but what about different versions of it? The story I submitted was a much reduced version of a longer story (8,000 rather than 10,000 words). If I identify a market or competition that the longer version would be suitable for could I still submit it?