Some Interesting Facts ...

Self-published Books & Authors Sales Statistics [2023]. 30-34% of all e-books sold are self-published. 300 million self-published books are sold each year. $1.25 billion worth of self-published books are sold each year. Amazon pays $520 million in royalties to self-published authors each year. The global publishing market is expected to grow at 1% compound annual growth per year, whereas the self-publishing market is expected to grow at 17%. The number of self-published books has increased by 264% in the last five years. So, to all of you out there who are a little bit 'sniffy' when it comes to self-publishing authors ... think on!

Don't forget guys ...

Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 13th and let's all make it a BIG one ...! We look forward to seeing you all there. New members are welcome. By the way, the website stats are in for the first and second and third quarters of 2024 (Jan-Sept inclusive) and we reveal them below. Thanks to you guys, we are growing in visitor numbers all the time.

Visitors: Average Jan-March: 998 pm. April-June: 1,305 pm. July-Sept: 1,459 pm.

Pages:    Average Jan-March: 5,191 pm. April-June: 7,348 pm. July-Sept: 3,900 pm.

Attached below is the winning graphic for the HWG 2024 Anthology.

To keep up to date with writing events and opportunities, click through to our LINKS page which is edited and updated regularly.

Next HWG meeting will be: Wednesday, November 13th, 18:30.

Do you live local to Hartlepool and have an interest in all things to do with writing? Are you a budding Author, Screenplay Writer, Poet or Short Story Writer? Would you like to bounce a few ideas across some like-minded individuals? Would you like some pointers from experienced authors when diving into the murky world of Traditional Publishing and Self Publishing? Well, the Hartlepool Writers Group may just be the place for you. Mail us through our contact page if you would like to attend our next meeting. You might enjoy being there … and we would certainly enjoy meeting you!

WHAT'S HAPPENING ...!

Next Meeting - Wednesday November 13th

Our Location: Hartlepool Hub Central: 124 York Road, TS26 9DE:

We are adding a new feature to this page in the form of original written work submitted by our members. 

The author name and a link to their work will be displayed below.

I Quentin Cope I Denise Sparrowhawk I Adam McClean I Mikaella Lock I

Notes on our meeting - 09/10/24

Thanks go out to everyone who attended our October meeting and apologies from Mikealla who was feeling a little under the weather. We send her our best wishes and hope she will be well again soon. A vote was taken by all group members present regarding the cover image of the 2024 Anthology titled 'Alone'. Although it was a close result, the wining graphic turned out to be the B&W single street image with one colour highlight. So, now we hopefully have all the relevant parts of the Anthology production approved and ready for print. We also expect to be in possession of some samples, or proof copies, for viewing at our November meeting. As always our thanks go to the ever patient Denise for facilitating our busy and active writing group. We look forward to seeing you all again at our next meeting on Wednesday November 13th where we will be able to discuss the commercial plan for promoting our new Anthology. See you there!

Notes on our meeting - 11/09/24

Another productive evening and my thanks go to everyone who attended. We covered a lot of ground and managed to vote on a title for the new Anthology. This will be revealed to all in due course. Mikaella came up with three cover designs which were well received by our authors. At the next meeting we hope to select a winner using our normal voting procedures. One point I missed was the option for authors to let me have any academic qualifications they might wish to add to their bio profile. If any of our authors would like to add that information before final typesetting, please email me at 'hartlepoolwriters@gmx.com' Once again our thanks go to Denise for facilitating our busy and active writing group and we look forward to some record numbers at our next meeting on Wednesday October 9th.

Notes on our meeting - 14/08/24

Once again, thanks to everyone who attended our August meeting. We had an enlightening discussion on the vagaries, positives and negatives associated with traditional publishing and discussed a few technical issues surrounding the production of our up-coming Anthology. We will very shortly be considering a suitable title and choosing an effective cover. Several members of the group read out some of their work which was well received and considered by all to be entertaining. As usual, Denise set us all a writing task that left us 'in the lap of the Gods' and struggling to keep up. The challenge however was met 'head on' and some highly entertaining script was produced in what ended up as a necessarily inventive selection of work. Our next meeting is on Wednesday September 11th at our normal time of 18:30 Hrs. If you are a member and haven't been for a while, why not put a note in your diary for our next one. For those who have not joined us yet but who love writing and maybe feel shy of discussing your work with other like-minded individuals ... have no fear! We are a lively, welcoming group with a broad spread of talent ... and your very first cup of tea ... is FREE! Don't forget, you can contact us directly via our website.

Notes on our meeting - 10/07/24

Thanks to everyone who turned up for our monthly meeting. Our numbers were a little depleted due to the 'football' and the rain ... but those of us who made it had a great time. We discussed the up-coming Anthology and submissions received so far. We are pleased to say the project is 'on-track' and we hope to be in top gear by our next meeting on Wednesday August 14th. As we are now in the middle of the holiday season, we normally expect our numbers to be depleted a little but if you can make it to our August get-together, we will be most pleased to see you. As usual, Denise managed to find a great prompt theme for us; something to test the more creative elements amongst the group and stretch our story-telling skills to the limit. Crossing the Tees is now over and everyone is looking forward to next year's event. Don't forget, if you feel a need to hone up on your story telling skills, then there is no better place to start than the Hartlepool Writers Group. All are welcome and maybe this time next year, you will enjoy the uplifting experience of seeing your name in print. To all those who have supported us over the past ten years or so ... and continue to support us in 2024 ... yet again, we say thanks.

Notes on our meeting - 12/06/24

Thanks for a fun night at the HWG guys. Good to see Sean again after some time and a welcome back to Mikaella from her recent MMA adventures. We were treated to some entertaining readings including a comic sideways look at 'football' from Paul ... stretching to some wonderfully written dark but thought invoking prose from Mikaella. Congratulations must go to everyone who has submitted script for the Anthology and an extra special accolade to those who entertained with readings from their work. With all writers now hitched up to a review partner, we look set to meet our targets for the July meeting. With scripts in hand and confirmed promises for completion before the end of next month, we are now close to 40,000 words; so not far to go now. The standard of work submitted so far is high and therefore I am very much hoping everyone will be pleased with the final printed product. With a lot happening in the writing world recently, the 'Crossing The Tees' programme has caught the imagination of many and don't forget, there are still opportunities to join in with some 'meet the author' events. If you need to catch-up with what's-on-where, more information is available from The Hub. Don't forget to keep up to date between meetings via our website www.hartlepoolwriters.co.uk or our Facebook page. Make sure you keep the diary date of Wednesday July 10th free as this is the date of our next meeting. Look forward to seeing you there! Don't let me forget to say thank you to you all. Without you there would be no HWG.

Notes on our meeting - 8/05/24

Another well attended meeting of the group on Wednesday and some more new faces. We welcome you all. As usual, it was a lively affair with lots of discussion around the new Anthology editing process, the viability of AI in the work produced by writer's and the task of keeping up with the programme of submissions. Denise caught us on the 'hop' with an unusual prompt exercise providing some amusing results. Paul gave us another wonderful comedy script to smile over and let's hope this continues. Changes to the Hub opening schedules will take place next month and this may mean we will have to review our meeting dates. You can check the group Facebook page and the website for more details. However, the next meeting is confirmed as June 12th and we hope to see you all there with submissions for the anthology in hand. Yes ... the June meeting is the deadline for the unedited manuscripts to be submitted by email to hartlepoolwriters@gmx.com. At the June meeting we will agree readers/editors for each piece so the final edited versions can be made available by the July meeting. If anyone has any questions, please make contact at the above address. Thanks guys ... a very enjoyable evening.

Notes on our meeting – 10/04/24

A near 'full house' once more at our April meeting included many regular faces and two new visitors, Ian and Andrea. There are still seats for a few more so why not visit us at our next meeting on May 8th at 18:30. Denise read some script from Ethel, one of our 'overseas' members and Quentin read a submission from Mikaella who is busy training for her next big adventure. Rob was on fine form adding a bit of mystery to his writing and Paul brought a smile or two to everyone's face with his 'stand-up' script. Needless to say, work for submission to the 2024 Anthology is progressing at a pace and we have about 16K words under process as we speak. Don't forget that submissions are due by end June and finals by end July. After that date, the doors will be closed … no exceptions. So, if you want to get on board you should attend our next meeting on May 8th or you may be too late! All in all, it was an enjoyable evening once again with some lively banter from the usual suspects. If you have an interest in all things to do with 'writing' whether it be full length novels, short stories, flash fiction or poetry, come along and join us. Don't forget … one small step ….!

Notes on our meeting – 13/03/24

A near 'full house' at our March meeting included many regular faces and two new members Paul and Barbara. We were also very happy to welcome back John Kenny. We haven't seen John for a while and we hope he will become a regular once again. Just about everyone had a WIP piece to offer destined for the pages of the new 2024 Anthology. The offerings were diverse in terms of subject matter, generating a lot of interest and some lively discussion. Mention was made of the new writing group at Throston Writing Circle (TWC) who held their very first meeting on Monday. This will be a regular event supported by the Library on the second Monday of each month from 14:00 to 16:00 hrs. Contacts for the group are Holly and Rebecca. Updates throughout the month for HWG and TWC can be found on the website and the group Facebook page.

Notes on our meeting - 14/02/24

The well attended and lively Valentine's Day get together saw the first airing of our member's initial submissions for the new 2024 HWG Anthology. Some offerings consisted of outline ideas and others a read of the first few pages. If we were to attempt to forecast how the project is fairing so far … we would have to say it all looks pretty good. We also welcomed Christine as a new member who we hope to see again at our next meeting. Denise advised the group on new 'happenings' taking place within the library structure and it looks as if a writing support group is about to materialize in the Throston area of Hartlepool. As more information is forthcoming, we will keep you up to date on this website and the group Facebook page.

Notes on our meeting - 10/01/24

A good turnout for our first meeting of this new year and a warm welcome to a new member of the group, Mikaella. The first part of our meeting was spent discussing the 2024 project and more of that later. Our exercise was to 'write from the perspective of an inanimate object' and with some encouragement from Denise, everyone tackled the task with enthusiasm, turning in an eclectic mix of work. The results were all good, ranging from the very amusing to the near poetic and well received by us all. However, everyone agreed the great script provided by Mikaella to be particularly worthy of mention.