Still writing, kinda everywhere

No one would have believed you if you had said this 30 years ago.

Publishing is now free, without filters, and global in reach, for everyone, pretty much for free.

I used to edit HULLFIRE, the student newspaper at Hull University. In 1990, despite howls from many, we went digital, bought a PC, installed some DTP ("desktop publishing") software, created a template, and hauled the venerable old A2 folded format into the future.

Everyone hated it. Even the writers, who used to type out their copy, cut it into strips with scissors, and then glue it into large-format pages. This was called "laying-up" and took hours. The desktop-published version was formatted, edited and sent to the printers in minutes. I still bear the scars of the fights we had over that digital shift.

But I still write, and I still desktop-publish: on LinkedIn, on Substack, on the WaveYourArms Blog, the Organisational Advantage newsletter, and The Questor website (for fiction and creative projects). Millions of words written, creating hundreds of impressions, literally.

Occasionally I get traditionally published, and I am grateful to the editors and publishers who support me. Nothing, though, will quite surpass my signature moment as Editor of HULLFIRE when I signed off an article about a rumoured CULT association on Campus with the headline "DARK SIDE OF THE MOONIES."

But if you want to see some of my stuff, check out the various sites and resources. All are live, regularly updated, and free.