Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)

I felt it was about time to put down in writing the various things I’ve learned, or found helpful, about this game we call ‘being a writer’. I remember, when I first started to train as a writer, that many of the writers I followed boasted of their credentials that they’d been commercially writing for five years or more. Well, I’ve been doing it – and doing it pretty well – for ten years! So, perhaps it is time to offer out a little of what I’ve found useful.

In my time I’ve enjoyed successes in various areas. I’ve been a newspaper reporter, reviewer, self-published my books, had books traditionally published, contributed chapters for published books, been a regular writer for top magazines all over the world, trained and mentored writers, written numerous academic courses (and my Psychology for Writers course too!) and written content for businesses.

At the last count, I think the top audience I received was about 2 million for a published article. My reviews, collectively, receive about 40,000 views per week and overall have received about 1.2 million views online. I’ve been a number one bestseller on Amazon and I’ve helped several dozens of writers get their manuscripts up to scratch and be published traditionally or through KDP. More than a few have gone on to have bestsellers themselves.

So, I think I’ve got enough experience by now to offer something to the newbie or wannabie writer who comes to these pages by luck or design. I will look at the business side of writing, give helpful hints for writing articles, books, short stories etc. I’ll give advice where to go for training, the pros and cons of such things as self-publishing vs traditional publishing and using editors or mentors, writing for papers and – perhaps most importantly – the all-important pitch.

So, make sure you bookmark this site, or start following to get email notifications, if you are just venturing out in this strange world of writing or you’re thinking of doing so.

Read all A Brief Guide to Writing here:

A Brief Guide to Writing: 1 – Introduction

A Brief Guide to Writing: 2 – Why you shouldn’t be a writer

A Brief Guide to Writing: 3 – Thinking like a writer

A Brief Guide to Writing: 4 – Budgeting income as a writer

A Brief Guide to Writing: 5 – Mistakes, editing and you

A Brief Guide to Writing: 6 – The Writer and The Black Dog of Doom

A Brief Guide to Writing: 7 – Feedback

A Brief Guide to Writing: 8 – What Happened to That Damned Turtle?

A Brief Guide to Writing: 9 – Instant Plots

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 7.9 million times.

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