Readers' Letters - Recent archive

Dear Mel, it's FP here.

I hope you had a good Easter. I know I did.

I wonder if you could please enlighten me about this thing that has been nagging me for quite some time now:

Is it "started" or "startled"?

For example,

Jenna snuck up behind Ben. He started.
or
Jenna snuck up behind Ben. He startled.

Is either correct? Which one is to prefer? Does U.S English differ from UK English in this case?


Thank you for your time,
Best Regards,

— FP, Thursday 28th April 2011

Hi Mel,

Self publishing for me would be a last resort as I would find it difficult to promote my own work. Although I was in the business world for a long time it was somehow different promoting a product. Also I have been retired for quite a while and feel less confident now. Promoting one's own book seems like a much more private thing - like selling a bit of the soul! Sorry to rabbit on for so long. Hope all is well with you.

Blessings,

— Freda, Friday 25th February 2011

Hi Mel,

Thanks for your advice the other day. I think I would like to have a shot at publishing my novel. Is it correct that no publisher, however small, will even glance at a submission without an agent? It all seems a bit of a Catch 22 situation. Where do I start to find an agent that will target the small publishers? I do have the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook but don't know where to start. It seems that agents won't accept a submission via email either.

Blessings,

— Freda, Wednesday 2nd February 2011

Dear Mel,

I am a writer and I basically have no clue what to do in order to get published. I am writing in response to the post I saw at : http://www.melmenzies.co.uk/blog/2009/01/manuscript_formatting

Now, I am currently working on my final copy of my book, but what do I do in order to submit it for publishing? Do I have to write a letter of some kind first, and if so, what publishing companies should I try? I do not know of any at all.

Thank you for you time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

— Paul, Monday 19th July 2010

Dear Mel,

When I was divorced I thought I was going to be able to get on with my life and start over again – not with a new relationship but just getting myself back on track. My ex was very controlling when we were married and I wasn’t allowed to have any friends or go out on my own – even to night school to take an A level – but somehow he still managed to make people believe he was the victim, and I was the one in the wrong.

I’ve worked from home for years, just to make a bit of money to make life a bit better, doing the books for a builder in the village, but I always wanted to be a nurse when the children grew up. My ex wouldn’t hear of it. He liked me at home where he could keep an eye on me (he has a small garage and we live on site). But now that the boys are growing up – well the youngest’s nine and the eldest’s just twelve – I thought I might have a chance of training.

But actually I’m finding it even harder to do anything, and be a decent mum. Both my children seem to think I shouldn’t of left their father, even though the final straw was when he hit me – only the once but it was enough. He seems to have managed to convince them that I was to blame – though I don’t know how that works.

Now, my eldest seems to be turning out just like his dad – he acts like he's seventeen – and he seems to think he can tell me what to do all the time. To be honest, he walks all over me, but if I try to put my foot down, he just clears off to his dad’s. What happens is, he goes up to his room, rings his dad on his mobile and the next thing I know is that his dad’s over here collecting him.

I’ve never stopped the kids seeing their dad whenever they want. But it seems to involve me in an awful lot of ferrying them around. He picks them up whenever they ring, but it always seems to be me who has to go and collect them. Recently I’ve found out that he’s spending a lot of time with his new girlfriend and leaving them on their own, with the eldest in charge. Now he’s applied for child benefit and everything and says he wants maintenance off of me. I just don’t have that sort of money to keep myself, run my little house and then pay for him to have the kids when he’s not even there to look after them properly.

— Steph, Monday 24th May 2010