About

This photo is years old; I’m harder to photograph than a yeti. For anyone keen to find out about me, there’s plenty of information in the About section of:  http://danielledevalera.wordpress.com

Originally an editor for the long-ago Brisbane publishing firm, The Jacaranda Press, Danielle has been helping writers since 1992. She took a break after moving from Byron shire to Brisbane in 2018. Now she’s back in the saddle again.

About that absence? I think this does it best: https://danielledevalera.com/2020/01/13/the-move-from-byron-shire-new-south-wales-to-new-farm-queensland/

Enough of me, you’re here because you want to know about writing. First of all, if you’re writing a long work, I commiserate with you. I wrote a post in my other incarnation called The Loneliness of the Long-distance Writer, see: https://danielledevalera.com/2013/09/08/1-the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-writer/

Short stories are a different matter. You need to have a strong voice and have one point and stick to it. Don’t try to jam in too many characters, and don’t tell the reader too much —  they won’t respect you in the morning. I’ve had short stories published in reputable mags such as Cutwater Literary Anthology, Aurealis, and the Australian Women’s Weekly. Also Australasian Penthouse back in the days when the late great Phil Abraham was editor and published one high-quality short story every issue, by people like Peter Corris and Susan Geason, creator of the Syd Fish detective series. Advice: study the magazine you’re submitting to. Study it for a year, if you have to. Your study will pay off.

Best of all when you’re starting out are competitions: there are no rejection slips. I was lucky enough to win a few before I concentrated on longer works. With competitions, once you’ve reached a certain level of competence, no matter how good you are, where the judges are concerned, it’s a matter of who they are and what they had for breakfast. Sometimes something you say — or, perhaps, the subject you chose in a comp where the theme is open – hits a nerve in a judge, and then, maybe, maybe, you’re in like Flynn.

Money? All editors/assessors require money. Please see Fees and Charges in the bar above for a list of my fees.