A Message from Middle Earth/Looking for Freelance Work

I’m Amanda, a self-motivated wordsmith hailing from the realm of Middle-Earth. (Well, I live in Manchester in the UK, but I’m originally from Yorkshire, which almost sounds like The Shire, right?) With a fiery passion for crafting enchanting tales, I have embarked on many a quest to weave captivating content. My illustrious chronicles bear witness to the realms of marketing, media, and publishing, where I have triumphed in delivering only the finest of compositions.

In my time as a freelance writer, I traversed the vast landscapes of creativity, collaborating with a diverse fellowship of clients, such as Marketing Signals, Influence & Co, and Contentoo, among others. Together, we forged a plethora of literary treasures, spanning the realms of blog posts, articles, website scrolls, and the very runes of social media. (In other words, I wrote content for clients such as Wicked Uncle, Compass Real Estate, PCS Pro, and so many others.) Moreover, I possess the arcane wisdom of a ghostwriter, having studied and gained a certificate for inscribing numerous tomes across genres, as diverse as the races of Middle-Earth.

Behold, for I also wield the power of an astute editor and a vigilant proofreader, endowed with eyes sharper than an elf’s sight. I have another certificate to prove this. My discerning gaze pierces through the veil of errors and inconsistencies, ensuring your content shall be polished to the brilliance of an Elven star.

Should you seek a minstrel (no, not the chocolate) who can breathe life into your brand, verily, I am the chosen one. Yet, do not mistake me for a solitary bard, for I am open to venturing into diverse realms of creation. Require sagas for your e-commerce emporium? I shall pen them with the grandeur of Gondolin. Longing for ballads to resonate within the halls of your scholarly institutions? Fear not, for I shall craft them with the grace of Rivendell. Or perchance, thou desirest lyrical verses for the noble causes of a non-profit? Such a task is but a trifle (no, not the edible kind, but I am getting hungry now), as the quill dances with elven grace in my hands. And let us not overlook the valorous art of copywriting for grand marketing campaigns, wherein my words shall be akin to a shining beacon, guiding customers from realms near and far.

Should you deem my craft worthy of your aspirations, do not hesitate to summon me, or maybe just send a message. I eagerly await our parley, for your writing desires shall be heard and heeded.

As a token of my prowess, here stand the chronicles of my past by-lined accomplishments (ghost-written examples can also be provided on request):

• Celebrating National Doctor’s Day: 7 Medical Romance Books You Need to Read

• 5 compassionate ways to deal with grief-related guilt

• What Is Essay Bot? AIs Writing an Essay for You Might Not Be Safe

• 9 Poets who will make you see poetry differently

By the light of the Evenstar, I pledge to aid thee in crafting content that shall enthral thy audience and guide thy noble endeavours toward triumph. May the winds of creativity carry my message to thee, and may our destinies intertwine in the realms of storytelling.

(In simpler terms, let me know if you want to work with me.)

Thine servant (or freelance writer), Amanda

amanda@writer.co.site

Editors Who Treat Writers Like Their Time is Worthless

EDIT: (on 30 August 2022) I have now being given a date the article will be published. I will update again after payment is made.

SECOND EDIT: (25 October 2022) I finally recieved payment today.

So to summarise: I sent the requested edits near the end of May, the article was published at the beginning of September, and I was paid near the end of October.

As writers, most of us have come across editors (and other people) who seem to think a writer’s time is somehow worth less than their own. I’m not talking about the usual rejections and lack of responses, though that can be annoying, but understandable with the amount of submissions they get.

I’m talking about one specific experience which may be the most time I’ve had wasted as a writer. This began with a pitch to The Sun. Yes, not everyone’s favourite newspaper, I know, but a great credit to add to any writing CV, no matter your political views.

I proposed an article about spending a week using the Too Good to Go App, and whether this would result in reducing how much I spent on food. They accepted, and I got to work immediately, and submitted the article a few days before the tight deadline.

If anyone has experience using this app, especially if you don’t have a car, you will know this took a lot of time. It wasn’t just the time spent going to collect the food. I had to plan around days and times I would be passing through certain areas, especially as I work from home and don’t need to travel very often. Then I had to frequently check the app, as the food from these places can be listed at random times and be sold out within minutes.

This was on top of keeping notes on my food haul, taking pictures, the actual writing of the article and editing it. I was excited though and thought this would look great on my CV, possibly helping me get more freelance work, either with The Sun or other publications.

I didn’t hear anything for a few weeks, but sent a short email just asking for confirmation. I get it. They are busy people and have more work to do than just dealing with me. It doesn’t hurt to make sure the editor you’re dealing with has received your work though, and takes them less than a minute to say, “yes we have and we will be in touch”.

The response basically said as much, so I waited. Then at 16:24 on a Friday, one of the two people I had been dealing with got back to me and asked for edits by the end of the weekend. I thought this was a bit short notice, but I didn’t complain. I cancelled my weekend plans and did what she asked. I sent this across on the Sunday afternoon.

Then…… nothing!

Absolutely nothing.

I hate to be one of those writers who pester editors all the time, but I’ve already mentioned this was a lot of work.

So, I waited a few weeks and sent a polite enquiry into whether either of them had received the edits I sent across.

Again, nothing.

A few more weeks later and I emailed them saying I had another pitch, which I did, and asking if I should wait until they got a chance to look at the edits I had sent. I didn’t want to pester them, but hoped this would be a gentle push to at least confirm they received them while answering my question about the new pitch I wanted to send across.

You’ve guessed it. I got no response, other than the out of office response from one of the two women saying she was on holiday. This was fair enough, but I couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed that the other woman didn’t respond in her absence. I waited until she was back and still heard nothing, so I emailed explaining that due to the information (prices, etc) in the article it would soon be outdated and asking them to confirm whether they still wanted the article. I also said if I didn’t hear in a month (as in a simple yes or no, I wasn’t saying they should publish the article by then) I would need to send it somewhere else because of the work I put into it.

The silence was deafening.

I’m now sending the article around, but I’m not holding out much hope. Most publications want a pitch they can help to develop, rather than a fully written article. I was a bit reluctant to write and post this blog because I don’t like to name and shame, and didn’t want legal threats. Although, I have emails from them, and unanswered emails I sent, which are now saved in my email account and these confirm everything I am saying here.

Hopefully, it makes someone out there realise that this is a shitty way to treat people, not just writers, but anyone. Most people are busy, but to have someone do the work, then change your mind and ghost them is never acceptable. I wasn’t even offered a *kill fee or given an apology for wasting my time.

(*For non-writers, a kill fee is when an editor decides not to publish an article they previously agreed to, but pays a smaller fee than agreed to appease the writer for the work they have done, leaving the writer able to publish somewhere else, if they can find someone who wants a pre-written article.)

News: The ALCS Election and My New Writing Book

I have a couple of pieces of news I want to share.

The first is my nomination for the ALCS board.

For those of you who don’t know, ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Agency) pays royalties to authors from secondary rights – such as photocopying and library borrowing. I’ve had several payments from them over the past few years, from my books (the written work and the graphics in them). I probably earn more through being a member of ALCS than I do from sales of my books.

So, when the email arrived to put myself forward for election, I thought it would be a great way to give back, and I think it’s important to have new experiences. The idea of attending meetings, and getting to learn and contribute to helping other writers is an exciting challenge for me. I’m not sure I’ll be voted in. I’m competing against over twenty others, all with far more experience than me, but it never hurts to try.

If you would like to vote for me, (you have to be an ALCS member) you can follow the link in the email ALCS have sent out to members. Everyone has a unique code to access the voting page, so there’s no point in me posting the link here.

***

The second piece of news is my short non-fiction booklet on writing. What Do I Know? answers several questions about writing and publishing, and briefly talks about copywriting and dealing with requests for unpaid sample tests. I’m pleased to be able to share my experiences in writing and publishing, going back to 2014, when I first self-published a book and had no idea what I was doing.

The book doesn’t claim to contain expert knowledge, but is a summary of many of the things I learned. Back then, I relied on Amazon Kindle, before creating a paperback (also through Amazon). I didn’t realise the other options which were available to an author looking to self-published their books.

I struggled with marketing, and still do. As I said, this isn’t an expert guide. However, the book tells you some of the ways I learnt to market myself as an author.

I think people will already know some of the answers given, but there is probably something you will learn. It’s about sharing knowledge which took me 7 years to learn. I come across questions on Facebook all the time about marketing, finding publishers and more. So, If I can help someone reduce that learning time, it’s worth the time it took me to put the book together.

You can find it here.

This book is also part of my twelve projects in twelve months. I have set my co-written book, The Snow Was All We Could See for pre-order. So, I only have one more left to go, then I will have completed my self-set challenge.

The books I’ve completed all different, so if you’re not interested in reading a book on writing, you still might find one of my books completed during this challenge will interest you.

Words to Remember: Charity Anthology

It doesn’t seem like it was only September last year, when Words to Remember: A Printed Words Anthology was released. In that time, we’ve raised money for Marie Curie and Cancer Research. All the profits so far have been donated to these to charities. We hope to raise more for other cancer charities.

Now is a great time to buy a copy, if you haven’t already. Amazon seem to love messing around with book prices. At the time of writing this, the eBook is just £1.59 and the paperback is the same price.

Ten Signs She/He is Not the One

(This is a piece from my forthcoming collection of spoof clickbait.)

• They repeatedly call you by the wrong name and their eyes glace over as if trying to recall a far-off memory, when you ask them to use your real name.
• They take you shopping as a special treat but “accidentally” forget about you while you’re in the toilet and drive off, feigning ignorance when you call to ask where they are.
• They rearrange the letter magnets on the fridge to spell out “go away” or “piss off”.
• You find them with your brother or sister in a compromising position and they say they thought it was you, even though you look nothing alike.
• They take out their phone during sex and sign up to a dating site.
• They eat your food and tell you, you didn’t need it anyway, because you’ve put on a few pounds.
• They invite you out for dinner, then introduce you to their other boyfriend/girlfriend
• You walk in on the end of a phone conversation and hear them say, “That’s where I buried the body.”
• None of their exes can be traced and he/she is vague on the details; saying something along the lines of they moved away and don’t use social media.
• When you’re in public together people say things like “I hope you last longer than the last one.”

Ten Lockdown Activities to Inspire Creativity

While lockdown restrictions are being eased, life is yet to return to normal for many people. So, if you’re looking for activities to inspire creativity in yourself and others, here are some suggestions.

Write

Even if you’ve never written before, or the last time you wrote anything creative was at school, you can still write. A great way to get started is to free write. Just sit down with a pen and notebook and write whatever comes to mind. The purpose isn’t to create a poem or a logical story, but to get the words down, until you have nothing left to say. You can go back at a later date and pick out words, lines or paragraphs you want to keep and expand on.

Go for a Walk

If you’re like most people, you probably know your local area better than you did before. Even the nicest walking areas will have lost some of their inspiration. However, as restrictions are lifted and you’re able to travel a little further, you can start to visit new places, or those you haven’t been to in a while.

Start a Podcast

Everyone has something they can talk about, and podcasts are popular at the moment. You might not attract thousands of listens, but it will help you connect with people, while inspiring others as you discuss subjects you feel passionate about. You can also bring on guests to make your episodes different each time.

Teach a Course

If you have the knowledge and experience in a particular topic, there are websites where you can upload and sell your own courses. You’ll need to be comfortable recording yourself and have an in-depth knowledge, but if you’re excited about what you’re teaching, that can inspire learners. When advertising your course, you can attract attention by using eye-catching images, and using fancy fonts online.

Learn a New Skill

If teaching isn’t for you, you could get inspired by learning a new skill or language. If you look on websites such as Eventbrite, you’ll find free and paid courses, webinars and other events. Before normality finally resumes, make the most of whatever extra time you have at home.

Join a Group

Speaking to other people with a shared interest, and exchanging ideas and experiences, can inspire and be inspiring at the same time. Because many of these groups are online rather than in person, you can (virtually) meet people from all around the world, who you wouldn’t have had the chance to meet before.

Create Your Own Diet Plan

I doubt I’m the only one who has let the diet slide during lockdown. If you’re looking to lose the excess weight too, why not be creative and come up with your own diet plan? Note to self: this should not include crisps for breakfast and cake for lunch.

Liven up Your Home and Reuse Old Household Items

If you’re fed up with looking at the same boring furniture and painted (or wallpapered) walls, then do something about it. Get online and research all the ways you can upcycle your furniture, or change the appearance of your rooms in simple but effective ways.

Start Knitting

Knitting is good for improving your mental health, and keeping your feet warm – if you can learn to make woolly socks. If you find yourself inspired, you may also progress to making jumpers, stuffed toys and anything else you can think of. These can make thoughtful presents too.

Start a YouTube Channel

If you find yourself inspired by any of these suggestions and want to inspire others, a YouTube channel is the perfect platform to share your writing, or any of your wonderful creations or knowledge. If you get enough views, you can make money at the same time.

Hopefully, you’ve been inspired by this blog post. I’d love to hear about some of the creative things you’ve tried.

Some of my 2020 Podcast/Radio Interviews

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

My website where these are listed is closing in just over a month. So, I’m listing here, most of my interviews from last year.

Hannah’s Bookshelf (talking about Ghost of Me and my podcast Reading in Bed)

BBC Radio Manchester (reading my poem “12 Things Employers Don’t Want You To Know” followed by a short interview)

Mysterious Goings On (talking to J. Alexander Greenwood about my writing)

Hannah Kate’s Not Quite Live Poetry Special (with my partner Andy N, near the end of the episode)

Everything Imaginable (talking about ghosts, zombies and clowns)

Midnight FM (this one requires a paid membership to listen on catch-up, but it’s worth it if you’re a paranormal enthusiast)

My Writing Challenge

Last year I brought out a novel. I put six months of planning and more money than I could afford into marketing it. The pre-orders were promising, then froze as the pandemic took hold. Despite the book been shortlisted for an award and getting good reviews from the few people who did read it, reaching people and convincing them to read it was almost impossible. This year, I’m focussing more on paid work such as copywriting, but I still have lots of projects I want to release, even though I don’t expect any of them to make many sales.

I’ve set myself a challenge. Between February 2021 and January 2022, I’m going to publish something every month. With all the ideas I have for short collections of poetry and prose, and a few novella length books, I want to get these started/completed, so I can move onto longer projects in 2022.

The first release will be the audiobook version of my YA novel, First Charge. While the eBook and paperback are already out, I have had to spend time listening to and approving each chapter of the audiobook. I feel I can count this as a new release.

My March release will most likely be a chapbook, with future projects including a sci-fi novella and a re-edited version of something I published when I was just starting out.

I’ll post links to each new release on this blog post.

Project 1 – First Charge on audiobook

Project 2 – Buy My Book: I Need Cats

Project 3 – Hidden Identities

Project 4 – Hope and Magic (Kindle or in paperback)

Project 5 – You Won’t Believe What Happens When You Buy This Book: A Spoof Clickbait Collection

Project 6 – Second Chances (sequel to Ghost of Me). This one is a little different. It’s not available as an eBook. Instead, it’s available to read on Medium (see chapter links below) or to buy as a paperback from Amazon in all countries including UK and US.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Project 7 – Lost and Found: Part 1 by Aleesha Black (penname) now available in audiobook

US link

UK link

Project 8 – From the Shadows (out 27th August)

Pre-order links:

Paperback UK

Paperback US

Kindle UK

Kindle US

Other eBook platforms

If Amazon shows as out of stock/unavailable, try here.

Project 9 – Little Splashes: A Flash Fiction Collection

Project 10 – What Do I Know?: Questions and Answers About Writing and Self-Publishing It’s also available on various eBook platforms

Project 11 – The Snow Was All We Could See

Project 12: Run Away With Me Again in Eight Words

My Successes and Failures of 2020

This year has been difficult for a lot of people, which is why I’ve decided to share my failures and successes of 2020. Hopefully, they will inspire others. If I’ve learnt anything, it’s to take opportunities when you find them, because you never know which ones will lead to something.

Firstly, I was slowly building up my freelance writing, and the pre-orders from my novel “Ghost of Me” looked promising. Then in March/April my work dried up and the book sales plummeted not long after the release date. I could be writing this and focussing on this year being a complete failure, but I’m not. I’ll admit it’s been a series of struggles and I still haven’t rebuilt up my work to achieve a full-time living. What I have done is to look at other ways to promote myself and find work.

My charity book (Words to Remember)

This one isn’t just my success. It was only possible because of all the poems and stories other writers sent in, and those writers who helped promote it afterwards. Even so, I felt proud of myself and them when I made the £130 donation to Marie Curie with the first batch of profits. There’s more pending for other cancer charities at a later date. I know other people have raised more money for charity with less work involved, but I’m still pleased with this. At one point, I was trying to work out how much we might have raised by looking at the book rankings and thought we’d be lucky to raise £20. Finding out the first royalty payment was £130 was a nice surprise.

Podcasts/Radio

I started guesting on a lot of podcasts. After co-hosting my book review podcast since January 2018 and guesting on a few others, I stepped things up and began actively looking for podcasts I could appear on. Out of those, I had a couple of good experiences and some not so good. The worst was a guy who talked to me for fifteen minutes, clearly found me boring and wrapped up the podcast. It was never aired.

Some of the best experiences included having a poem broadcast on BBC Radio Manchester (followed by a short interview) and being a guest on Midnight FM where I talked to Tim Weisberg about my interest in the paranormal and how it inspires my writing. The poem broadcast on the BBC was the third I’d sent them, proving to myself that sometimes you have to keep trying. The Midnight FM interview came about after I guested on a paranormal podcast. I didn’t think it went that well, but the producer of Midnight FM got in touch with me and said one of their listeners had suggested me as a guest. I assume it was someone who heard that podcast.

Awards and sending out work

I came across the Author Elite Awards. It was free, so I entered Ghost of Me into it, but didn’t want to bother anyone by asking for votes to get it into the final. A few months later, I received an email saying it was a top ten finalist in the thriller category. I was surprised because I hadn’t asked anyone to vote for it, but obviously someone did. It didn’t win, but I get to add top ten finalist to my blurb.

Later in the year, I wrote a short story for a submission call in Divination Hollow’s Horror in Hollywood contest. Even as I sent the story, I didn’t think it had a chance, but again I was surprised to receive an email saying it was one of ten they had shortlisted. I don’t think I was one of the final three winners, as I would have heard by now, but it’s something to add to my writing CV and it encourages me to keep going. If I had listened to my own doubts about the story, I wouldn’t have sent it and it couldn’t have been shortlisted.

Finding other ways to make money from writing

I recently got paid for having some book reviews published. While it wasn’t much, I enjoyed reading and I love writing, so to get paid for combining the two is great. If things had been normal, I probably wouldn’t have gone down the path of writing book reviews. But while searching for opportunities, I came across Joyzine. Although they are predominantly a music zine, they were happy for me to volunteer to write book reviews. This gave me the experience and confidence to look for paid opportunities elsewhere. And again, it looks good on my CV.

And the failures…

Other than those I’ve already mentioned, I’ve had plenty of failures. I’ve run book giveaways where nobody has entered or the winners have never responded to claim their prizes, as if they’ve realised what the competition was for and they don’t want the prize. I’ve also tried to make use of my creative writing experience by co-running some paid workshops, but despite only charging £1.67 they sold very few tickets. Worse still, I offered tickets to a live reading on my Santa Claus book (with a free digital copy of the book) again for just £1.67 and had to cancel because it only sold one ticket. These are definitely my most embarrassing failures of the year, because I was sharing them so publicly. I thought they would fail, but I tried anyway. The point I’m trying to make is, sometimes you have to try something and take opportunities. You might fail, but you might not.

And to top the year off, I managed to sit through the first six seasons of American Horror Story, so it wasn’t a complete failure!

My plans for 2021

It will be a while before open mic poetry and spoken word nights return, but in January, I plan to take advantage of Zoom by reading at a few nights I’ve never read at before, ones that would normally be too far to travel to. I’m also going to look for more podcasts to guest on, more submissions calls and for any other opportunities. I’ll still write books, but this will be more of a hobby because I know they won’t help pay the bills. I’ll be focussing more on getting book reviews published, copywriting and pitching articles.

Protecting Your Mental Health During Lockdown

Now the UK is in another lockdown, many people will struggle with their mental health. I wanted to write about some of the things I’ve done to cope during Lockdown, as I’ve barely been anywhere or seen many people since March.

First my freelance work dried up around March/April and hasn’t picked back up properly ever since, then if you follow me on Facebook, you will have seen my posts about just a handful of the jobs I’ve applied to, which have either turned out to be scams and/or tried to get free work out of me. Then the novel I had set for release in March and had spent a lot of time and money promoting, flopped. The pre-orders started off well and looked promising, but then they just stopped. On top of that, I’ve only seen some members of my family once since Christmas, and haven’t seen others at all in that time. I’m not writing this for sympathy, just to show that we all have our struggles.

I don’t claim to be any kind of expert on how to cope during lockdown, but I can tell you I practiced mindfulness during the first lockdown, did some yoga and signed up for some of the free exercise classes that were all over the internet. None of that stuck and I took to watching American Horror Story, finding it oddly therapeutic. At least I could tell myself, whatever was happening in real life wasn’t as bad as what was happening on the screen.

Out of the small amount of freelance work I managed to get, a lot of it was about health, exercise and weight loss. I now know everything about exercise, how to stay healthy and lose weight. I’m just lacking the motivation to do anything about it.

This time around, I’ll be trying to draw. I bought a workbook and have already started some poor attempts at the drawing exercises in there. I might even do a separate blog post in a week or two with some of my attempts. If nothing else, it might give you something to laugh at. I’ll also be carrying on with podcasting, and volunteering writing book reviews for an online zine, and reading  submissions for an online publication, as well as trying new ideas to make any kind of income.

Anyway, I’m not a great role model to tell people how to get through another lockdown, so I decided to ask other people what they’re doing to cope.

***

Being creative seems to be the one thing that most people I asked all mentioned. However, there are so many ways to be use creativity as a tool, to cope with the stress of lockdown and worry related to any number of things, whether related to the pandemic or not.

Nicola McConnell said she’s taken up knitting. She told me about the sense of achievement she feels when finishing a project. Katie Haigh is another person using her creativity as a way to cope and pass the time. She plans to keep busy with drawing, making things out of clay – such as pots – and painting them.

Some people are still braving the outdoors despite the cold. Adele Sullivan said she’ll be doing an hour of exercise each day, even though she finds it boring. Nadeem Zafar told me he’ll be running three times a week. He also mentioned home meditation sessions, light beer and spending more time writing. When I asked whether the pandemic finds its way into his writing, he admitted it did, but only occasionally. Most of the time, writing is an escape for him.

Speaking of alcohol, Jenny Berry mentions Gin as well as exercise and Netflix. Although I’m not suggesting anyone reading this should turn to drink, I’m guessing she means in moderation, and isn’t actually pouring it on her cereals at 7am.

Another suggestion is reading, especially if you have a particularly long to be read list. It’s also what Carolyn Batchelor says she’ll be doing, in addition to reviewing them, (by the way, this is a fantastic thing to do and really helps authors) keeping in touch with people on social media and doing crosswords.

I think keeping your mind active is probably an important thing to do, especially now with everything that has happened/is still happening this year. If you dwell on the bad stuff too much, it will only make things worse.

Ruth O’Reilly lists walking, being mindful of nature, journaling, reading, watching movies and putting her radio shows together – as things that will get her through this second lockdown. Ruth, who co-hosts the Sunday Teatime show on AllFm has managed to keep the show going from home, mainly by interviewing local people involved in creative projects around the Manchester area.

Writing pops up as a suggestion again, this time by Carolyn Crossley; she is currently doing NaNoWritMo. For those who don’t know, this is a challenge held in November, where participants aim to have the first draft of a novel complete in one month. Carolyn also lists walking every other day, writing haikus and keeping up with her daily affirmations on her blog. You can find the blog here.

Another person trying to make a positive contribution is Anthony Briscoe. He says he’ll be trying to keep spirits up, and finding humour where he can. He mentions the challenges of missing his family and facing a birthday in lockdown, which by now, many people can relate to. You can watch Anthony perform his show, Sold Out.

Other suggestions came in from Keri Moriarty, Grant Curnow and Nadia king. Keri says she is painting and even has two exhibitions in Bury. Nadia has reinstated meditation into her daily routine, is trying out new recipes, podcasting and walking, even if just a short distance. I think this is a great suggestion, as any exercise is better than nothing. I should also mention that Nadia’s podcast, the word bin is well worth a listen. You can find out more here.

Grant Curnow simply said, “Baby Yoda” and I can’t disagree. It’s almost impossible to look at Baby Yoda, and not smile.

I hope you’ve found something useful to help you through lockdown and beyond. I had more responses than I expected and couldn’t include them all in this already lengthy blog post. However, please feel free to leave a comment with your own suggestion.