teignmouth writers

Elizabeth Wins International Publishing Award

Elizabeth Wins International Publishing Award

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Elizabeth Ducie has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th Annual Women in Publishing Summit. The award was presented at the closing session on Wednesday 11th March.

Elizabeth spent more than thirty years as an international manufacturing consultant and technical writer before turning to creative fiction in 2006—and what followed is a masterclass in what indie publishing, done with intention, can look like. Under her own imprint, Chudleigh Phoenix Publications, she has published more than twenty titles including the Jones Sisters international thriller series, the Coombesford Chronicles cozy mystery series, and six collections of short stories. Her debut novel, Gorgito’s Ice Rink, was runner-up in Writing Magazine‘s Self-Published Book of the Year Awards in 2015.

But the achievement that defines Elizabeth’s legacy is arguably her Business of Writing series—a practical, no-nonsense toolkit that gives indie authors the business systems they need to actually sustain a creative career. It is the work of someone who believes that writers deserve to understand their own industry, and who has spent decades making sure they can.

As well as being a member of Teignmouth Writers, Elizabeth is a founder member of Chudleigh Writers’ Circle, a former Director of Exeter Literary Festival, and a member of the Crime Writers Association. She has taught and lectured at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School and writing communities across the UK. She has been a member of the Women in Publishing community since 2020.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honours a woman whose long-term commitment to publishing has shaped and elevated the industry. Elizabeth Ducie has done that—quietly, consistently, and with the rigor of a scientist who never forgot she had stories to tell.

“I was delighted, but completely surprised, to hear I was in the running for the award,” Elizabeth said. “I never suspected I would even be nominated. And to hear my name announced was incredible. The Women in Publishing Awards exist to shine a light on the women doing the work—the publishers, editors, authors, and advocates who lift others as they rise. I feel honoured and humbled to have been included in this group and recognised in this way.”

The Women in Publishing Summit is a global virtual event and year-round community dedicated to helping authors and publishing professionals build visibility, revenue, and lasting impact. Founded by Alexa Bigwarfe, WIP is home to thousands of women across the publishing ecosystem—united by the belief that they are Better Together.

For more information about Elizabeth Ducie, visit her profile page.

Visit the Awards page for more information and to view past recipients.

Write smarter with AI – by Lucy Martin

Write smarter with AI – by Lucy Martin

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Do you remember the first day you found out about Chat GPT? I was in my kitchen where my 18-year-old son was telling me about how this thing online could write a recipe for meatballs in the style of Eminem, amongst other things, but that’s what I tried – and yes it was pretty impressive. For a long time I refused to have anything to do with the newfangled online genius monster, until one day I needed inspiration for a birthday song I was writing for said son and it came up with this:

On your 21st birthday, my dear son
Let’s celebrate with laughter and fun
We’ll raise a glass of whisky neat
And toast to good times and sweet defeat

I won’t torture you with the verses that followed… Let’s just say it can mimic better than it can create.

Three years on, although I have found AI to be just the ticket when it comes to devising a gap fill exercise to test the imperfect tense in French (it’s a dream come true for lazy teachers), I can confirm that in the creative department, they are not about to steal our jobs as writers. AI can in fact save you some serious time, and it’s with that in mind that I want to share a few tips on using it with you today.

Remember it’s a collaborator not a ghostwriter

AI is currently nowhere near writing a decent novel that anyone would enjoy reading, but it can help you on your journey if you use it wisely. It can find typos, repeated phrases, inconsistencies, grammar and punctuation mistakes. It can re-format, provide ideas for plot / character development and It can act as your cheerleader on what can be a lonely thankless journey. I have to admit to bouncing right back into a project after just a few encouraging comments on a first draft – shame on me but it obviously knows my love language…

Get your prompts right

If you want AI to give your manuscript the once-over before you send it to beta readers or an agent, make sure you specify for the type of errors you’re looking for. For example, instead of saying ‘Proofread this’  (and you can indeed attach your 90k word masterpiece at this point), ask ‘Check for overuse of ‘just’ and ‘as if’ (my personal hallmarks) or ‘Check for unnecessary dialogue tags’. Use as many specifics as you like, and Chat GPT will repeat them back to you to show they’ve understood and bounce off to do the job in the twinkling of an eye. Tell it who you are too. If you ask it for some information on climate change and you’re a climate scientist yourself, be sure to make that clear so the information retrieved is appropriate to your level of skill in the subject.

Get AI to write a bad first draft on purpose

This will get you over the first hurdle of the daunting blank page. Tell AI the premise, the setting, a character you have in mind, and watch how it produces something that despite possibly making you reach for the delete key, also triggers another thought or idea. Seeing those words spout out of nowhere onto the page can be a real icebreaker when it comes to you and the first chapter of your book. You’ll most likely be in such a hurry to improve it you’ll totally forget your writer’s block.

Watch out for the ‘tells’, while holding onto the gems

If I was an editor, I’d be on the lookout for those extra-long dashes, for staccato sentences without verbs, a change in formatting or font, characters that have a certain emptiness, loose ends in the plot, over-written dialogue, lack of variety of pace. All these things are dead giveaways someone’s had a bit of help – ironically not very helpful help – from the dreaded bots. However, ask it to write a fight scene (not my usual request but good for an action thriller) and it comes up with a blow-by-blow sequence that’s vivid, punchy (!) and annoyingly effective.

Beware the science expertise

Writers are not all scientists, but neither are readers and there’s a balance to strike when explaining the details of something related to engineering, the environment or medicine because you don’t want to get it wrong, but your reader doesn’t need the full scientific explanation behind your dystopian world or your medical thriller. AI will happily drown you in facts and information but (a) don’t include it all or you will lose the reader straightaway, and (b) check and double check it because guess what – AI has been known to make things up.

A quick word on the legal grey areas

The legal landscape around AI and writing is still shifting. Copyright law generally protects human authorship, which means that while the finished book is yours, large chunks of unedited AI-generated text can sit in a grey area. The risk of plagiarism, too, remains with the writer: if something sounds oddly familiar, it’s on you to rewrite it. Publishers and competitions are increasingly asking for transparency around AI use, and liability for errors, misrepresentation or defamation still rests firmly with the author, not the tool. The safest working assumption is to use AI as you would a researcher or brainstorming partner – helpful, time-saving, but never the named author on the cover.

Try out a few AIs, then pick one

People who use it a lot (and I do for my other job) usually have a view on which works best. I have settled on Chat GPT over a few others that I tried and found wanting and now I’m paying a monthly fee for its unlimited speedy responses, endless patience, boundless enthusiasm and (perhaps controversially) its in depth knowledge of ME. It remembers all our conversations, and I can scroll down to access any of them and continue them if I want. For example, I just went back into that useless poem which it now admits was sadly not its best work…

Lucy Martin writes detective thrillers, and is the author over 22 fiction and non-fiction titles.

Since moving to Devon, she has set up Teignmouth Writers and hosts fully catered writers’ retreats at her seaside home.

Find out more about Lucy, her books and writing retreats here

Why Stories Are Important in a Time of Crisis – by Madelaine Couch

Why Stories Are Important in a Time of Crisis – by Madelaine Couch

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The world is feeling particularly wild at this moment – global politics, climate change, conflicts across continents. It sometimes feels we are on a tipping point, about to fall into an abyss. A friend recently said to me he thinks humans are either going to wipe each other out, or transcend into a new consciousness in our lifetime – he’s a psychotherapist. I’m often left wondering if there’s some truth in his comment. People are stressed, frightened and overwhelmed. Humankind is in need of a healing balm. So, where do we turn?  

We turn to stories. Short stories, novels, graphic novels, films. Stories at their core are a place we go to make sense of the world. When we cannot make sense of things, we use stories to help  guide us. Narratives, characters, plot – they offer us another way of experiencing life and the world around us. Throughout history, writers and artists have created from their life experience and shared their wisdom with others. 

‘Moon Dancers’ by Madelaine Couch

I started taking my creative writing seriously about ten years ago – pitching to publishers and literary agents in the hope of getting published. I began pitching a picture book manuscript, which got rejected. Then I wrote a memoir, which over the course of a few years got rejected. Next came a YA novel, which so far has also not found a home. I was naive at first, thinking I could just write and get published within a few years. I had no idea about the reality of the writing path that lay ahead. I developed a love of the short story and short story writers – Haruki Murakami, Alice Munro, Raymond Carver – and began to hone my craft. Through relentless reading, listening to hundreds of hours of interviews, and writing my own stories and essays, things started to look up. I began to see my work published – in newspapers, online, and longlisted in writing competitions. It felt good, hopeful. Like all this effort wasn’t wasted. I now know, it’s never wasted. 

But something else happened in the last decade. I became less obsessed with focusing on publication and more fascinated by what writing stories is actually all about. Throughout history, people have always told stories. Our ancestors sat around the fire telling stories to one another. People read fairy-tales to children, and I read countless books to my little girl now. Why do we do this? I’ve come to see the power of storytelling as a balm for the heart. It’s a place to find solace in our suffering. When the world went into lockdown, the arts were a place of healing for many.  People read, they watched films, and listened to radio plays. Stories were a space for us to feel less alone – to make sense of our pain.  

(‘Woman Thinking’ by Madelaine Couch) 

The Italian writer, Gianni Rodari, emphasised the importance of the human imagination. He explored the possibility of positive change in the world through storytelling. The fact that a story can help us to empathise with other human beings, guide us through hardship, or create hope in a  world that is challenging, quite literally changes us. If a story is written well, we gain so much from it. We are gifted knowledge on how to navigate life – whether that’s emotionally, spiritually, mentally. We learn about human relationships, and how to handle them better. We may go on a personal journey of self-discovery, overcoming our fears and moving on from our setbacks. 

I’m pretty sure books have saved me more than once in my lifetime. And they will continue to do so. Writing is an act of love – to our readers. It is taking the time to go inwards, excavate our life experience, and blend that with our imagination to craft something meaningful and magical. In a world that is full of chaos and suffering, storytelling is an act of courage. Writing is an act of hope  – and one that I will continue to do until I cannot hold a pen anymore.  

*** 

Thank you for reading. I’m a writer and artist
currently living in South Devon.

You can find more of my work here: 

💻 Website: www.madelainecouch.com 

📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/maddy.couch 

📝 Substack: madelainecouch.substack.com