publishing – Andy writes!

Friday Five: Q&A with Inventing Reality’s Rob Bignell

‘Allow yourself to write “poorly.” Later … you can edit out the junk.’

Photo of Rob Bignall, Inventing Reality Editing Services — Rob Bignall

What better way to start the new year than with some writing advice from a seasoned professional? Rob Bignell is the man behind Inventing Reality Editing Services and the author of over 80 books, including fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and several guidebooks for writers.

Bignell’s company name, as he explains on his website, “is a play on British author J.G. Ballard’s quotation, ‘The writer’s task is to invent the reality.’ That is, writers must create a fictional dream and in doing so, show the truth via their art.” For writers wanting to increase sales, it also means “taking the fulfillment of your dreams into your own hands, that is, turning your dream into a reality through your own hard work.” Read on for more of Bignell’s thoughts about writing, self-publishing, and marketing your work.

What literary magazines are open for submission? That Book Chikka has the answer

Stop spending hours researching #litmags that are open for submissions! Here's a list of 95 publications that want your work. Follow me to get this list every week and check out the blog here 👇🏻https://t.co/GLjVTkHPJa #writingcommunity #writerslift
— Jessica Kusisto (@ThatBookChikka) October 13, 2024

Like a lot of writers who seek to get their work published in literary magazines, I go to several sources for intel, including Duosuma, Poets & Writers‘ list, Submittable, and of course my own, ever-expanding compilation of literary magazines on X/Twitter, Litmags, etc. (now up to 314 different litmags and litmag-adjacent accounts).

But my go-to source lately has become Jessica Kusisto’s weekly compilation of literary magazines that are open for submission.