The Writers Network News: September 27, 2004 http://ezezine.com
September 27, 2004
The Writers Network News
“No Rules; Just Write!”
Editor: Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com)
New! Bobbie Christmas Blog for Writers: http://journals.aol.com/bzebra/BobbieChristmasBlogforWriters/
NOTE: Next Roswell meeting date: THIS Friday, October 1, 2004
12:00 noon at Wok & Chops Chinese Restaurant
You don’t have to live in Georgia or attend meetings to enjoy the benefits of this e-zine—most of our subscribers are in other states and even other countries. If you happen to be in Atlanta on the first Friday of the month, though, take your membership a step further by networking at our meeting. See directions to the meetings at the end of the e-zine.
In This Issue:
Kudos: Fran Kaplan
From the editor’s desk: Welcome, Wyoming Writers!
Q and A: First Drafts, Travel-Writing Courses, Fiction Plots, and Landing a Copy-Editing Job
Subjects of interest to writers
Jobs, contests, grants, agents and markets
New Feature! Writing Assignment:
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Quote of the Day:
"Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses." --George Washington Carver.
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One: Kudos
[Kudos: noun: praise or honor: praise, credit, or glory for an achievement]
Congratulations to the following member:
Fran Kaplan responded to a “Freelance Bridal/Fashion Writers Needed” lead that appeared in our August 9 issue. She got an assignment, turned it in, and was sending her invoice when we spoke today. Way to go, Fran!
Do you have good news? Others benefit from hearing your success stories, so please share them. Send them to me at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Two: From the editor’s desk:
Dear Fellow Writers:
As our network and this e-zine expand, I get notes and questions from writers around the globe, which makes me feel that I am fulfilling my mission. One of the questions in this issue came from a reader in Bethel, Alaska. We have readers in Australia, Canada, China, Uzbekistan and other countries, in addition to the United States. It’s an honor to help fellow writers and watch our network expand every week.
Another way I help writers is through my “Ask the Book Doctor” column, which features many of the questions and answers in this e-zine and appears in writers organization newsletters around the country and online. The Wyoming Writers Association is the latest to add my column to its newsletter. If you know of an organization that might like my “Ask the Book Doctor” column, please send me the information, and I’ll contact the organization with sample columns.
Enjoy this newsletter and be sure to send your kudos, questions, comments, and leads to share with members of your network.
--Bobbie Christmas
Author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing, an imprint of Cardoza Publishing)
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Three: Questions and Answers
Q: After the first draft of my novel is done, should I send it to my agent to get suggestions for revisions or forge on, revising on my own? I prefer to get this answer prior to asking my agent herself, as I hate to appear stupid.
A: A first draft is a first draft. The keyword is “draft,” or maybe it’s “first.” The point is, the first time you do anything, it’s not yet the best it can be, and the term “draft” by itself implies a lack of polish and completion.
Never send a first draft to an agent or publisher. To improve your chances of selling the manuscript, send it nowhere until you have made it the best it can be. If you must take your manuscript to two, three, five, or ten revisions, do so, don’t send it out until you know you have reached the point that you cannot improve it one iota. At that point, you can send it to agents or publishers. If agents or publishers are interested, they may suggest further revisions, but only because they recognize that the novel is “almost” there. If the novel needs too much work, some agents and most publishers won’t consider it.
Q: Bobbie, do you have an opinion of the travel-writing courses offered in (name deleted to avoid impropriety)?
A: I don't have an opinion about the quality of the course because I haven't seen the contents or spoken with anyone who took the course, so my answer will be a little tainted by lack of knowledge. Frankly, though, I didn't like the promotional literature for the course. It spends thousands of words building a picture of a life of luxury visiting foreign places and getting paid for it. It describes how you can work from home without travel and earn a terrific income. It implies that you will become a completely successful travel writer and that it is a dream job. It gives "success" story after "success" story, but it never says you will have to work and you have to market yourself and you will have downtime when you have no assignments. It sets up a fantasy image--typical in every over-the-top direct-sales pitch--but it does little to explain the actual course.
Travel writers rarely live the life the course literature describes. Getting travel-writing assignments is as difficult getting any other kind of assignment, and few people get the rich assignments mentioned in the course literature. I consider the information misleading.
The information is vague in far too many places, too. For example, it says at "several critical junctures," you can send in your work for evaluation. It doesn't explain how many times you get your work evaluated and what the evaluation covers.
It says you can "get started for only $49." It does not say how much the entire course costs. It mentions "additional chapters" that will be sent monthly, but it doesn't give the cost for future chapters, the number of chapters you must buy to complete the course, or the number of months it will take. I would not commit to anything without knowing the total cost and whether I would get feedback throughout the course. I went to the company Web site and found that the total course costs $274, but you can get a ten percent discount for paying in advance.
Instead of a highly pitched, overpriced course, you could glean sufficient information on travel writing from a book. I saw three current travel-writing books on www.BarnesandNoble.com priced between $12 and $15. Those prices are significantly lower than the $49 "introductory chapter" of the travel-writing course.
Q: I'm having difficulty coming up with a plot for a fiction story in the
mystery/suspense genre. I've tried beginning with the character and a seed of an idea and see where it goes. I've tried beginning with the seed of an idea and developing it in a timeline, but as I worked and worked on it, I lost interest in the story and felt depleted of any creative inspiration or passion for the story or the characters I began developing.
I've been writing for well over ten years, have taken classes, have participated in creative exercises, have studied and practiced most of the components of "good fiction"--i.e., plotting, character development, pacing, etc.--yet I still feel like a talent-less hack. I know I'm not, really, but why is it I just can't come up with a good story?
I read a quote last year that stuck with me: "Avoid spending a lot of time coming up with a perfect idea that no one else has come up with before. There are no unique ideas--the uniqueness comes from your writing and approach." I understand and agree with that philosophy, yet it seems beyond me to even come up with ANY idea, unique or not.
Do you have any words of advice or suggestions that might help me head in a direction that will get me past this block or lack of confidence or whininess (probably all three)?
A: What a tall order! I’m having the same issues with a children’s book I’m supposed to write that uses a line of dolls that have already been created. I’ve been given the characters (the dolls) and must make up mystery stories that involve them. As an old nonfiction writer, I create a chapter-by-chapter outline, first. True, I hated outlines when I was in school, but they actually help me write fiction, so I can be sure that every chapter will have mystery, suspense, action, tension, and conflict. It’s easier for me to start with an outline and manipulate it all I want before I begin the actual writing.
One of the earliest lessons I learned about fiction writing has to do with where to begin the story: Start in the middle of things. Susan Graham, the literary agent who owns About Words Agency, says it even better: Start when things go wrong. As a cliché, think of it as the missionaries in a pot of boiling water surrounded by cannibals. How will the missionaries get out? Will they get out? Later we can find out how they got there, but when the story opens, readers want to see drama, trauma, conflict, and tension.
How do you keep up the suspense and tension? Think “What if.” What if the missionaries stepped out of the boiling water and into the fire? What if one escaped and ran into the arms of the hungriest cannibal in the pack? What if one helped the other escape and raised the ire of the leader of the pack?
What if, what if…keep applying that theory throughout the story. Find ways to crank up the tension and conflict at every turn. Look for “what if” situations that can happen to the characters and among them. What if Character A falls in love with Character B? What if Character B is married to Character C? What if Character C has a history of mental illness? What if the doctor who treated Character C … who knows? Those emotional elements can be figured out in an outline as well as where the actual story goes.
An outline is merely a guide, though. It helps you set the original premise, which in fiction must almost always be that the main character wants something really badly, and something or someone must get in the way to thwart that main character and make the mission difficult. In the case of the missionaries, they wanted to save the souls of the natives. The natives, however, obviously had a different set of motives; they wanted to savor the soles of the missionaries’ feet! See how you must have characters with different goals, motives and wants?
Next you want to turn up the volume on the suspense and tension, usually with all the things that get in the way of what the main character wants. Once you begin writing based on your outline, your characters may take you places you never expected, and if those places crank up the tension and suspense, let the characters lead the way.
If have tried every technique you can and still cannot come up with a viable fiction story, do not give up on writing. No one says fiction is the only creative writing in the world. Nonfiction can be equally creative, plus nonfiction sells even better than fiction. Find a subject that interests you and write about it. If you prefer not to research subjects, you can simply tell your personal experiences, and if you write them well enough, you can sell them as fillers and as submissions to collections such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the Cup of Comfort series.
Q: I was wondering if you have any suggestions about what I can do now in order to obtain a job as a copy editor.
A: I see by the information that you sent that you have the education, but you lack experience.
I understand why companies prefer to hire editors that already have professional experience. Experience is the best teacher. I had been a news editor at a weekly paper for years, with no editor above me, yet I learned much more after I moved to a corporate communications department and worked under the steady eye of an excellent editor who taught me more than I ever learned in school or on my own.
You may think the situation is a Catch-22: You need experience to get a job, but you can’t get experience unless you get the job. You do have ways to get experience, though. Volunteer to edit newsletters or literature for a nonprofit organization. Ask around at large companies to find out if they have intern positions (Peachtree Publishing does, for example).
Some places, such as trade magazine publishers, ask that potential copy editors pass a written editing test, and if you can pass such a test, you might be able to get a position that way. If you take such a test, look for obvious as well as the not-so-obvious errors to repair. You will already need to know editing proof marks. Many are often listed in the back of a dictionary. I’ll be glad to send you a list, if you don’t have one. Send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope and ask for “Proof Marks.” (This offer applies to any interested reader. Send your SASE to the address at the bottom of the e-zine.)
Technical editing is often easier to break into than magazine and newspaper editing. Perhaps you can get experience copy editing on a freelance basis or a contract basis through some of the editing firms in your area.
Copy editing takes a keen eye, a good memory, and a love for improving every sentence. Experienced editors tighten everything, pick strong verbs, and delete unnecessary words. For example, the request, “I was wondering if you have any suggestions about what I can do now in order to obtain a job as a copy editor,” would be a little stronger if written this way: “I wonder if you have suggestions about what I can do to obtain a job as a copy editor.” Possibly the best rewrite would be this: “What can I do to obtain a job as a copy editor?”
I hope you’ll excuse a little pride in my work, but I recommend that you read my book, Write In Style, for other tips on words to delete to make writing its strongest.
Extra:
In our last newsletter a member asked for a “small-business-friendly” printer in Atlanta, and I just received a note from another member, Maria Hodges, who says: “I responded to Leah’s request. I work for Pre Press to Printing, Inc., in north Atlanta.”
Networking works!
For More Q & A by Bobbie Christmas, see: http://fictionaddiction.net/askexpert8.html
Do you have a question? Send it today to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference
The North Carolina Writers' Network 20th Annual Fall Conference will be held October 29 -31, 2004 at Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Durham, N.C. Tracks in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, memoir, screenwriting, playwriting, children's writing, and marketing. Keynotes by Reynolds Price and Samm-Art Williams, faculty readings, banquets, open mic for participants, bookstore, and banquets. See http://www.ncwriters.org/programs/conferences/fall/. New York editors and agents will offer classes and individual sessions with writers.
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Free!
Evening With A Literary Agent
This Wednesday, September 29, 2004
7-9 p.m.
The Knowledge Shop
Marietta, GA (call 678-766-6666 for more information)
The evening includes an overview of what a literary agent does, what to expect when querying a literary agent, how to work with a literary agent, how to work with the acquisitions editor at the publishing company, and how to market your book. Question and answer session in the last half of the seminar.
Susan L. Graham has been a literary agent since 1994, knows many editors, and has sold 13 books to small and large publishers. Her new business, About Words Agency, expanded on the original one by adding additional agents, readers, and foreign & dramatic rights agents. The Web site has guidelines for query submissions and many tips for writers. Guidelines: http://www.aboutwords.org/agency/index.html
Writing Tips: http://www.aboutwords.org/writers/index.html
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Secrets from “Write In Style” Revealed
The Find and Refine Method™ assists writers in being objective about their work. To learn much more about Bobbie Christmas’s trademarked method, see http://tinyurl.com/5vabr
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Georgia Writers Jewish Pod Meetings
The Jewish Pod of Georgia Writers has regular meetings on the third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Border's bookstore in Buckhead on Peachtree Road just north of Lenox Mall in the area of the snack bar. To join you need to be a member of Georgia Writers (www.georgiawriters.org) and either be a Jewish writer or write on Jewish topics. If you have written something you want to share, bring it.
--Arlene C. Appelrouth,404-401-7289
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_Purge Your Prose of Problems_, a book doctor’s desk reference book compiled by Bobbie Christmas, is now available by charge card. Save thousands and edit your own book. To order, go to www.zebraeditor.com and click on Bookstore.
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Marietta Reads!
Volunteers are needed to read to, read with, and listen to students read within the Marietta City School system. Many avenues of support exist. Contact Rona Roberts at 770/422-3500, ext 354 or email rroberts@mareitta-city.k12.ga.us Check out the Website at www.mariettareads.org
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Rev Up Your Writing and Win! Seminar Available on Tape
Rev Up Your Writing and Win is a high-quality cassette recorded at the Harriette Austin Writers Conference in Athens, Georgia. The package includes all accompanying materials and handouts. Only $14.95 plus $4 shipping (total $18.95). To order, call Bobbie Christmas (770/924-0528) or write to bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Saturday, October 23, 2004, 10:00 - 11:00
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Fayetteville, Georgia
Free!--Write in Style and You Write for Success--Free!
Join Bobbie at the Fayetteville, Georgia, Barnes & Noble bookstore for a free 45-minute presentation filled with tips and techniques from her book, Write In Style. Learn the ease of using her trademarked Find and Refine Method to help you write in style. Questions will be welcomed at the end of the session. For information and directions: CRM2012@bn.com
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Excerpts from WritersMarket.com Market Watch
* Group Tour Magazine: travel magazine launches: Shoreline Creations, Ltd., will offer travel news updates, itineraries, and articles on destinations and attractions with a student focus. Publishing frequency: 3 times a year.
* Cottage Living: Time Inc. magazine launches: The magazine aims to promote a cottage lifestyle, but more in a women's lifestyle category than just the shelter niche. Two issues
are planned for this year, with frequency increasing to nine issues next year. VP/Editor-in-Chief: Eleanor Griffin.
* Country Living relaunches: Starting with the September issue, the monthly title will feature more editorial pages. "More information is available in areas such as makeover
tips and shopping sources. Among section changes, a monthly Idea Notebook debuts to focus on get-the-look ideas and product information."
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Write In Style: Using Your Word Processor and Other Techniques to Improve Your Writing teaches the Find and Refine Method ™ to locate specific letters, words and phrases you can delete, upgrade or rewrite to give power to your prose. Bobbie Christmas, professional book editor, reveals secrets only a book doctor could know. Union Square Publishing, publisher; Simon and Schuster, distributor. Available in bookstores as well as from most major Internet retailers, including Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, SimonSays.com, Walmart.com and Forbes.com. Can also be ordered through www.zebraeditor.com.
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Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
Limericks for the fun of it
Lita Schwartz
YourEditor@aol.com
Member Lita Schwartz from Cincinnati has enjoyed putting together three rhyming words and challenging friends to write limericks based on them. If you’d like to join in the fun each week and see what limericks your fellow writers are creating, e-mail her and ask to get put on her mailing list. Be sure to put “Limerick Enclosed” in the subject line of your e-mail, or she may delete it without reading it. She says, “Most agree that a syllable count of either 8,8,5,5,8 or 9,9,5,5,9 are of no consequence, as long as the limerick rhyme pattern is AA,BB,A.”
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Full-time, experienced writer/editor wanted in Atlanta
Contact Cecily Shull
Pritchett & Hull Assoc, Inc.
3440 Oakcliff Rd NE, Suite 110
Atlanta, GA 30340
cecilys@p-h.com
770-451-0602
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Pediatrics For Parents Newsletter
http://www.pedsforparents.com/writersguidelines.html
“Pediatrics For Parents emphasizes an informed, common-sense approach to childhood health care. We stress preventative action, accident prevention, when to call the doctor and when and how to handle a situation at home. We are also looking for articles that describe general, medical and pediatric problems, advances, new treatments, etc. All articles must be medically accurate and useful to parents with children - prenatal to adolescence. Pediatrics For Parents is not a general parenting magazine and will not consider such material.” Pays $5-50.
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Free contests, intellectual games, and more for writers
The Association of Young Journalists and Writers offers free membership and many other free benefits. Win prizes and awards. See http://www.ayjw.org/
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Diabetic Living
Better Homes and Gardens
1716 Locust St.
Des Moines IA 50309-3023
Phone: (515)284-3044
Fax: (515)284-3763
Website: www.bhg.com
Quarterly health magazine launches: The new quarterly special-interest publication from Better Homes and Gardens offers recipes for diabetics as well as other information for diabetics. I could not find an address directly for Diabetic Living, but the Better Homes and Gardens address is above.
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THE SINGLES CENTER
http://www.singlescenter.com/Centers/writing.htm
"The Singles Center is a healthy online gathering place for single, widowed, or divorced adults of moderate to high income. Our magazine, Singles, The Magazine for Today's Single, has a healthy focus consisting of freelance contributions, and we are eager to work with new/unpublished writers. We are looking for positive articles and features on singles. We need short biographies of singles (blue-collar, pink-collar, white-collar, or other, working in arts, medicine, sports, etc.). Short, to-the-point articles and fillers are always welcome, especially humorous ones. All must focus on singles; e.g., new or unusual singles activities across the country, single celebrities, community contributors, singles issues or benefits of topic. We discourage negative or depressing articles.” Pays negotiable rates for features, $50 for short department pieces.
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Imodel magazine to launch
Shetia_Mays@imodelmagazine.com
The preview issue of imodel magazine (www.imodelmagazine.com) launches November 2004, and we are currently seeking writers to contribute to this issue. We will be assigning stories for several sections; however we are open to accepting queries. To apply send one writing sample IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL to Shetia_Mays@imodelmagazine.com. NO ATTACHMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
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After Dark Wants Freelancers
Lisa Lyon/After Dark
DarkEditor@aol.com
Premiere Radio Networks
777 NE 7th Street, Suite 207
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/afterdark_submissions.html?theme=light
After Dark is seeking nonfiction articles and essays that reflect the general subject matter discussed on America’s largest overnight radio program in history, “Coast to Coast AM.” A list of past guests and programs is listed on www.coasttocoastam.com. If unfamiliar with the program, visit the Website for a sampling of the types of guests and subject matter that are relevant to After Dark, the official Newsletter of ''Coast to Coast AM.''
The areas of interest include life after death, paranormal, psycho-spiritual, demonic possession, exorcism, theoretical physics, apocalypse, Earth changes, weather patterns, UFOs alien abductions and phenomenal sightings, remote viewing, futurism and predictions, animal mutilations, spontaneous human combustion, Big Foot, Mike the Headless Chicken, toxic contrails, comets, scientific and government cover-ups, Atlantis and other ancient civilizations, Fatima, brain science, nanotechnology and other cool technology, etc.
We are not looking for politics, most personal accounts of abductions or sightings, poetry, fiction, or articles debunking various phenomena. We are looking for pieces that are well written, tight, entertaining and easy to read. Subject matter must be treated with respect, yet a sense of humor is encouraged. Interviews with experts or authors are encouraged, especially if the subject matter is appropriately strange, alarming “out there,” magical, wondrous, or fascinating.
For your convenience, you are encouraged to submit proposals before submitting articles. This is not required, nor is it a guarantee that approved ideas will be used in any way, shape or form. Articles should be under 2,300 words, but exceptions will be made for pure excellence and excitement. Average size for acceptable pieces is between 1,200-1,800 words including short sidebars of relevance to the article. Pictures and artwork relevant to the article are greatly appreciated and requested but are not compensated. You must own all the materials which you submit.
After Dark offers professional rates of up to twenty cents per word for rights to publish in After Dark and to reprint on the Web or for other promotions relevant to the publication and the radio program promotion
Submit articles by E-mail as text or attachment if possible (DarkEditor@aol.com) or regular mail (preferably with floppy disc and printed manuscript).
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Looking for writers interested in making a difference
marketingmagazine@yahoo.com
New publication looking for writers who are interested in making a difference through their writing. Needs articles on varied spheres of life. Especially looking for creative people who can present or package their write-up a little differently. We are concentrating on articles on fashion, beauty, humor, theatre, entertainment, real-life stories, cooking, legal issues, career & finance, horoscope, puzzles, crosswords, brain teasers or anything else that you enjoy writing about.
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National magazine wants freelancers
Ms. Lorie Greenspan
lgreenspan@usitoday.com
National business publication with sister publication in Europe is looking for strong freelance writers. We are a leading national publication focused on profiling well-known companies with highly visible brands and names in all sectors of manufacturing, including food, textile, automotive, mining, electronic, transportation, plastics, printing, and packaging. We need freelance writers nationwide with a minimum of five years experience covering industrial and technical news. You will be interviewing, via telephone, top-level executives who have made their companies premier players in their sectors. Copy is transmitted electronically.
Writers will possess a talent for interpreting sometimes highly technical information and presenting it in a format that is clear and concise as well as entertaining and enlightening for a diverse readership base. An aggressive and positive attitude is essential.
Please email your resume together with two examples of your work. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
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Freelance Writers needed for Automotive Publication
brineym@aiada.org
www.aiada.org
The American International Automobile Dealers Association is seeking automotive freelance writers to create original opinion and news pieces on a variety of topics ranging from trade, industry, politics, marketing, technology, and the environment. Articles will be featured on the Web, in print publications, and e-newsletters. Compensation from $200-500 an article. Send a short biography, areas of expertise, and writing samples to brineym@aiada.org
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Short Web Articles Wanted
HotNacho, Inc
dan@hotnacho.com
http://hotnacho.com
We are looking for a large number of short articles on specific topics. Pay is per article and will vary with both quality and quantity of articles supplied. All payments are made immediately upon approval of your submitted (usually same day) articles using Paypal. Contact me for specific details.
Requires good English skills and computer with access to Internet.
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INTHEFRAY Magazine looking for contributors
identify@inthefray.com
http://inthefray.com
INTHEFRAY.COM, an online magazine devoted to issues of identity and community, is looking for news features for its IDENTIFY channel. From salon workers in China to poultry plant workers in Mississippi, from ex-pat Indian suitors to veil wearers in France, Bush's "Healthy Marriage" initiative to the global justice movement, we work hard to bring our readers stories that don't often make the news, that feature rarely heard voices, and that explore topics with greater depth. If you're looking for generous word length, intelligent editing, snappy style, and an opportunity to publish the type of piece not given a chance by other journals, send a one paragraph pitch to identify@inthefray.com. While we can't afford to pay contributors (or our staff) right now, as we're a small non-profit run on a shoestring budget, your writing is guaranteed to reach over 12,000 readers each month. This is a great opportunity to experiment with your writing, create a clip you care about, and work with our committed and skillful staff of passionate grassroots journalists. You regain all rights after 30 days.
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Extreme Entertainment Freelancers Wanted
A magazine launching in January 2005 about Extreme Entertainment and Action-Oriented Thrill Seekers seeks a few bright and creative freelance writers. Report and write stories and projects for this quarterly magazine. Know the difference between magazine-style reporting and the hurried fact-finding of daily newspapers. Interest in extreme sports, entertainment, and movie industry preferred.
Forward resume with cover letter, salary requirements, and three clips to PPMagazineJobs@Yahoo.com
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Steamy Short Stories, Flash Fiction, & Poetry Wanted
http://www.sexyscribe.com/submissions.htm
“SexyScribe is an erotica publishing house dedicated to publishing high-quality erotica for adult readers.” PAYS $5-20
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Travel Books Wanted
Avalon Travel Publishing
Avalon Publishing Group Inc.
1400 65th Street, Suite 250
Emeryville CA 94608
(510) 595-3664
fax (510) 595-4228
Avalon Travel Publishing publishes 100 titles a year. Avalon offers an advance up to $10,000. Nearly all their books are written by unagented authors and roughly half of them are by first-time authors. ATP is based in the Emeryville, California office of Avalon Publishing Group, an independent publishing company that also has offices in New York City and Washington, DC. For more information, see Avalon Publishing Group.
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Companion Parrot Quarterly
P.O. Box 2428
Alameda, CA 94501-0254
articles@companionparrot.com
The Parrot Behavioral Information Council, Inc., publishes its magazine four times a year. Articles cover behavioral and personality traits of companion parrots. Personal stories are welcome. Articles average one to two printed magazine pages. Query via e-mail or standard mail. E-mail is preferred. Pays on publication, up to $125.
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African American Writers Wanted for E-Books
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wri/42432734.html
job-42432734@craigslist.org
Looking for African American writers who live in large metropolitan cities such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Paris, London (or another exciting city) to write about their experiences. Will be published in ebook format, 100 pages. May require some research. This is a great opportunity for unpublished but well studied and talented writers. We respect writers, therefore WE PAY! ($300 per manuscript, that's $3 per page!)
Apply if you fit the following criteria:
***Are African American living in a big city that you are familiar with
***Have at least one polished nonfiction sample
***Are able to complete your manuscript in 30 days
Please email your sample, the name of the city you live in, your name, and contact information in the body of the email. We will not open emails with attachments or hyperlinks.
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Artists Lair Set to Launch, Wants Writers
Jesse M Chancellor III
Antione Crain
jchancellor@artistslair.com
acrain@artistslair.com
314.762.9437
314.762.0825
Artists Lair is a developing magazine that comprises all elements of art into one complete diverse entity and presents in a unique open-forum style. Artists Lair's main objective is to present the true essence of art from a way-of-life perspective. We are looking for writers, editors, and photographers whose way of life intertwines with their respective positions and can bring new and creative ways of writing and presenting articles. Preferably people that are very resourceful, assertive, imaginative, and extensively familiar with there desired position. Talent, a strong desire to be the best, and integrity is what we strive for.
Collect, analyze information about newsworthy events or unique artists and write articles. Receive assignment or evaluate story leads and news tips to develop story ideas. May also take or use photographs to illustrate stories. Must also edit, or assist in editing articles for final draft. May specialize in one particular type of reporting, for example music or music styles, visual arts, performing arts, fashion, film, life styles or culinary. Tell us your passion and how you live.
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Six: Writing Assignment:
Open and Closed
Read this assignment, then close your eyes, turn in your chair, wait a few moments, open your eyes slowly, and focus on the first thing you see. Is it the TV set, a staple gun, your dog, a book shelf full of books, a blank wall? Write a piece from the perspective of whatever you see first. For example, if the first thing you see is your paper shredder, you might write about how the shredder feels after dutifully shredding bills, private papers, and old diaries for years. It might delight in all the secrets it knows. It might threaten to tell all its secrets if it doesn’t get its blades sharpened soon.
An exercise such as this one allows you see things from a different perspective. It helps you understand point of view and how changing the point of view gives readers a new slant on a subject and can often reveal information readers would otherwise not get to know.
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Directions to meetings:
Directions to monthly meetings held the first Friday of each month at Wok & Chops Chinese Restaurant, Roswell, Georgia.
The restaurant is in King’s Market on Holcomb Bridge, Roswell, Georgia, one block from Hwy. 400. If on 400, take Exit 7 toward Norcross (7A if going north, exit 7 and turn left, if going south). If on Holcomb Bridge already, turn into King’s Market by turning onto Market Boulevard beside SouthTrust Bank, turn left behind the bank, and you’ll see the restaurant in the hollow on the right. Restaurant phone: 770-552-8981.
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