Companion studios
Tools that sit beside the ledger.
Four free studios by Stewart Ferris. The contract, the agent, the prize, and a quiet place to count the day’s words. Each one opens on its own site.
Inside the Contract
How a publishing contract actually works: royalties, advances, subsidiary rights, and the clauses that turn up in recent UK and US book deals. Annotated samples and red flags — a field guide, not legal advice.
The Writer’s Guide to Agents
What an agent is, what they do, whether you need one, how to approach them, and what they charge. A directory of agencies you can sort by region and the kind of work they represent.
The Prize Calendar
A worldwide calendar of writing competitions — short stories, poetry, novels, memoir, scripts — ordered by deadline, with filters for genre, age and region.
Quillmark
A daily word-count tracker. Log the day’s work, keep a target, and set a manuscript length that fits the shelf you are writing for.