Wednesday 1:1 WIPs

*** Starting 2nd September 2026, this is your opportunity for FREE personal 1:1 feedback from professional editor Morgen Bailey! ***

Hello. Morgen here. In the safe space of Zoom, I will be hosting FREE weekly WIP (work-in-progress) 1:1 sessions most Wednesdays (dates below) running at:

  • 9am-10am
  • 10.30am-11.30am
  • 12-1pm
  • 1.30pm-2.30pm
  • 3pm-4pm

All are UK time (calculate your timezone here), starting 2nd September 2026, where we BOTH share up to 1,500 words of our current projects in each session.

Why 1,500 words? I estimate this will be what two of us can get through each in an hour providing comprehensive feedback. I will amend this if it proves not to be the case. I recommend no more than 2,000 words for a novel’s chapter so readers can devour in one sitting… standing… lying. 🙂

Why FREE? Because you’ll be providing feedback on my work-in-progress too!

Unlike other Self-Pub Fest sessions (see Calendar for all the scheduled events) these Wednesdays are not open to the public so it will just be the two of us per session.

With five sessions per week there are therefore five guest places each week, one writer per session so please email me by 5pm Tuesday to reserve one of those places. Please state which slot/s you would like. In theory there is a limit of one session per author per week but I can let you know when we meet if we can continue, i.e. if there’s no one booked on the 1.30pm slot one week then the 12pm can continue or we take a break and join the 1.30pm. So do bring more than 1,500 words in case we have time to continue.

Each session will have a different link with a different password. If you’re booked in please don’t share these details with anyone else. You’re welcome to share this page’s link (https://self-pub-fest.co.uk/wednesday-wips) as I’d love to fill each session.

I will confirm your place as soon as possible and update this page’s availability below. I will not list names but simply whether the space has been booked out.

To be fair to everyone priority will be given to someone who has not participated in these sessions previously/ recently. If you are unable to make the session you’ve requested, please let me know asap to free up a place for someone else. Thank you!

What you’ll need

  • 1,500 words (but have more in case there’s time) of your work/works-in-progress. This can be a novel extract, poem/s, short story/ies, synopsis, blurb, script… really anything you like;
  • I prefer to read text rather than listen to it so please email me your work (as a Word, pdf attachment or in the body of an email) by 5pm the day before (the Tuesday) plus a summary of what I should know in advance, i.e. ‘This is the third chapter in a horror novel. Brad and Erin are in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Everything’s quite up to this point but Erin hears groaning from behind the bedroom wall. Is it outside the cabin or within the wall?’ Ooh… I like that! I might write that story. 🙂
  • If you have minor tweaks between emailing it and the session, there’s no need to send it again (although you can if there’s time).
  • NB. All copyright stays with the author so they must not be shared. I will print your submission but then shred it afterwards.
  • If appropriate, what you’d like from the feedback, i.e. is the dialogue realistic? Is there enough description? etc. Please do bring a tough skin with you as constructive feedback is vital for knowing what doesn’t quite work. We know what we mean by something but does someone else?
  • As in-person critique groups do, please do say what works for you (what you like) but just as important, if not more so, to me is what could be improved upon.
  • I’m hardy so don’t mind if your writing has swearing. Please let me know if you do, although I tend not to write anything that’s too dark;
  • PLEASE do read your extract, poem etc. thoroughly before you email me/bring it to the session so it will be a smooth read (I was guilty of this in the first session!) and therefore save time.

Unless agreed at the time, these sessions will not be recorded so please make notes on the feedback of your pieces. These will be closed sessions and NO participant is to share any of the other writer’s work outside of this group without written permission from the relevant writer.

The schedule is…

  • Wednesday 2nd September 9am-10am: booked
  • Wednesday 2nd September 10.30am-11.30amone space remaining
  • Wednesday 2nd September 12pm-1pmone space remaining
  • Wednesday 2nd September 1.30pm-2.30pmone space remaining
  • Wednesday 2nd September 3pm-4pmone space remaining
  • Wednesday 9th September 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 9th September 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 9th September 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 9th September 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 9th September 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 16th September 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 16th September 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 16th September 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 16th September 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 16th September 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 23rd September 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 23rd September 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 23rd September 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 23rd September 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 23rd September 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 30th September 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 30th September 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 30th September 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 30th September 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 30th September 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 7th October 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 7th October 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 7th October 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 7th October 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 7th October 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 14th October 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 14th October 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 14th October 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 14th October 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 14th October 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • then a quick break on 21st October to 4th November inc. resuming
  • Wednesday 11th November 9am-10am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 11th November 10.30am-11.30am: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 11th November 12pm-1pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 11th November 1.30pm-2.30pm: one space remaining
  • Wednesday 11th November 3pm-4pm: one space remaining
  • and so on…

These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.