Read all about it: Write Around Queensland short story I edited and my reviews of other stories (50th post!)

Historic moment: Just realised this is the 50th post on my blog! Woohoo!
Thanks for joining me for the ride. 🙂

Maya’s signature look of excitement
Image source: Chelsea Anne Photography / Becuo Images
(http://chelseaanne.com/personal/mayas-signature-look/)

After 12 months of working and waiting for the 2014 Write Around Queensland anthology, today is the day!

You might remember that I said there would be some book reviews coming. Well, you also get to read the story that I edited in the eBook of the anthology – for free!

Both the Write Around Queensland eBooks are now available from the writers’ web website:

WAQ Anthology: In The Raw

In The Raw has the submissions as initially received from emerging writers around the state. The PDF eBook can be downloaded by pressing the Preview button here: http://writersweb.com.au/shop/write-around-queensland-in-the-raw/
WAQ Anthology: The Final Draft

The Final Draft contains editing input from the Qld Society of Editors which writers may or may not have chosen to include in their final submission. The PDF eBook can be downloaded by pressing the Preview button here: http://writersweb.com.au/shop/write-around-queensland-the-final-draft/
1. I edited this story:
  1. Jack Campbell and the Great Chutney Disaster by Pamela Greet (starts on p 66 of The Final Draft).
Reviews of the 48 edited short stories by our review panel can be read here: http://writersweb.com.au/book-reviews/
1. I reviewed three stories:
  1. A Chance Meeting by Carol Cattell – review
  2. Gertrude’s Birthday by Diane Andrews – review
  3. Valentine’s Day Ball by Valda Spencer – review

It was a great experience getting to edit a short story – I have critiqued hundreds of short stories in uni, but this was the first time I was getting paid to do it!

My author said she loved it, too:

“Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this project. I have enjoyed it very much and have benefited from the process of working with a careful and challenging editor Tirzah Ryan. Many thanks, Pamela Greet.”

(Who is this ‘Tirzah’, you ask? It’s a little-known fact that ‘TJ’ is short for ‘Tirzah Jaanai’. Some of my more old-fashioned authors simply will not use my preferred name, in spite of the fact that nobody can pronounce my legal name. Oh, sigh.)

Many thanks to everyone involved in Write Around Qld with special mentions to:

Arts Queensland for funding the anthology through their Projects and Programs Fund.
Queensland Society of Editors members Brian Clarke and Jacinda Wilson for doing a stellar job in co-ordinating us editors.
The very helpful team at Queensland Writers Centre including Meg Vann, Aimee Lindorff and Sophie Overett, for helping to spread the invitation to write to writers’ groups.
My fellow reviewers who lent their support by reviewing every story, providing a staggering total of 206 reviews.
And lastly, but most importantly, the writers who were brave enough to have someone else read, edit, and then review your work. You have now made the transition from writer to author – congratulations to one and all!

This post was written by TJ Withers-Ryan © 2014 using information gathered from writers’ web and the Society of Editors (Qld). Reblogging is always highly encouraged as long as you credit TJ Withers-Ryan as the author.