Some news: a refresh

TL:DR - if you are a free subscriber, everything you currently enjoy remains plus a little more; if you are a paid subscriber, there will be much more for you

Hello.

I hope late November finds you well, and that if it’s chilly where you are it comes with sunshine too.

I am - pleasantly I hope - shaking things up a little here, and I wanted to let you know about it.

What’s staying the same…

Nothing of what I currently do here is being lost.

• I’ll still be writing Abundance here 2-3 times a month. As they are now, these will mostly be free to read, at least for a week or so after publishing

• the monthly The Compendium of things I love and want to share will continue to be freely accessible

What’s new…

Briefly:

• I’m inviting other writers into our company - food authors, garden writers, and others connected to the wider pleasures of what this Abundance corner of the world is all about. You’ll be able to join the conversation

• if you are one of the thriving community of writers here, aspiring to develop your practice and craft of writing - and perhaps have enjoyed our monthly gatherings relating to The Writing Process - there will be more for you

More on the new stuff:

1: Author ‘Lives’

Once a month, I’ll be inviting an author to talk about their life in writing, their book/s and whatever else takes our fancy.

The first three authors are:

Skye McAlpine
Claudia Roden (yes, the Claudia Roden)
Felicity Cloake

What a line up.

I’m delighted to say that you’ll even be able to order the author’s book/s and have them signed, personalised and sent to you

Frequency: monthly
Length: 50-60 minutes
Format: Substack Live
How to attend: everyone can take part; I’ll notify you in The Compendium ahead of the event, and an email reminder will be sent just before we go live
Questions: paid subscribers can ask the author questions¹
Available to watch again: yes, for paid subscribers

2: Writing Process ‘Lives’

Every month, I’ll be inviting someone I admire to talk about their involvement in the writing process - it might be a commissioning editor, agent, photographer, journalist, designer, or whoever: you get the picture. This may be very useful to you if you are an aspiring writer hoping to make more of what you do, or if you are just interested in the process of how word reach people.

The first three are:

Kāren Barnes ex-editor of Delicious magazine
Sarah Lavelle Managing Director, Publishing, Quadrille, at Penguin Random House
Another tbc

Again: what a line up.

Frequency: monthly
Length: 50-60 minutes
Format: Substack Live
How to attend: most will be for paid subscribers, with the occasional event openly accessible. I’ll notify you in The Compendium ahead of the event, and an email reminder will be sent just before we go live
Questions: paid subscribers can ask the guest questions²
Available to watch again: yes, for paid subscribers

3: Ask Me Anything 'Lives’

Over this last year, I have held occasional ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions, where you can ask about any aspect of writing a book, writing for other publications, or creating, developing and maintaining a Substack - in short, anything to do with the process of writing, reaching decision makers (such as publishers), the practicalities of developing ideas, and becoming a better writer. They’ve proven very popular, so rather than them be occasional, I’m going to host one a month.

Frequency: monthly
Length: 50-60 minutes
Format: Zoom
How to attend: paid subscribers can take part; I’ll send out more details of each event ahead
Questions: questions can be submitted ahead, and on the day
Available to watch again: no

4: The Abundance Writing Group

So often when I have taught any aspect of writing, the power of directed writing has been transformational. A dedicated space, to direct creativity at a single focus, seems to provide many with the stimulus to write something exceptional, even in a short time.

And so, I’m taking that from the writing retreats I run and bringing it here, for anyone aspiring to find their voice, or develop as a writer.

I will set a writing prompt - by email - and a later zoom gathering will give everyone opportunity to discuss how it worked for them, what they wrote, and anything that came up. There will also be chance for some to read their work - a challenge for most, but an important one.

Frequency: monthly
Length: 60 minutes
Format: Zoom
How to attend: paid subscribers can take part; I’ll send out more details of each event ahead
Questions: paid subscribers can send questions ahead³, and - time allowing - on the day
Available to watch again: no

So, if you are a free subscriber, everything you currently enjoy remains, and there will be more to enjoy; if you are a paid subscriber, there will be much more for you.

First dates:

1: Author Live with Skye McAlpine: Friday 28 November 10am GMT

2: Writing Process Live with Kāren Barnes: Thursday 11 December 6pm GMT

3: Ask Me Anything with me: Monday 24 November 6pm GMT - register here

4: Writing Group Gathering: Tuesday 16 December 6pm GMT - register here

---

I hope to see you at one or more of these.

In the meantime, happy November to you,

Mark

1. There will be an opportunity to email questions ahead: I can’t guarantee we will have tike for every question but we get through as many as we can

2. As above

3. I can’t guarantee to answer them all, but will respond to as many as possible