The Writers Network News, October 20, 2006 http://ezezine.com
October 20, 2006
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Newsletter Sponsor
Zebra Communications: We help you write in style, so you increase your
chances of success. We write, edit, and evaluate fiction and nonfiction
manuscripts, book proposals, query letters, synopses, and articles.
Zebra Communications
230 Deerchase Drive, Suite B
Woodstock, GA 30188
770/924-0528
http://zebraeditor.com/
----------------------------------------------
Look! Next Roswell meeting date: Friday, November 3, 2006
No dues; no fees; no rules; just write!
See you at 12:00 noon at King Buffet.
If you happen to be in metro Atlanta on the first Friday of the month,
bring questions and business cards and network with us for an hour or
so.
We meet at King Buffet, 11060 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell, GA 30076.
The restaurant not only gives us a private meeting room, but it also
offers a buffet with a variety of food, primarily Asian. See more
detailed directions at the end of the e-zine. You are under no
obligation to eat if you attend the meeting, but if you do eat, you may
pay and tip as you leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News. I hope you love it,
forward it to friends, and tell them to sign up. If you don't love it,
follow the simple instructions at the bottom to remove your address
from the mailing list.
In This Issue:
One: Kudos to Ray Fast, Mark Diamond, Bobbie Christmas
Two: From the editor’s desk--Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your
Book
Three: Ask the Book Doctor--about seminars on CD, what it means to be
published, and book promotion ideas
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
Six: Writing Assignment--Cut, Cut, Cut
Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Eight: Looking for Critique Circles
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To view past issues of The Writers Network News, go to:
http://home.ezezine.com/886_2/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer’s quote of the day:
"Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them
good, to the praise that deceives them." –François, Duc De La
Rochefoucauld
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Ray Fast, Mark Diamond, Bobbie Christmas
"I just received notification yesterday that my radio script, “The
Byrds’ Nest: Who
Killed the Silver Syclone” (misspelling intentional), which I entered
in the Friends of Old Time Radio annual script contest, has won first
prize and will be produced at its annual convention in 2007." --Ray
Fast
"After eleven months, I have to order a second printing of 1,000 of my
first book, 6 Tricks to Student Story Writing Success, the title of
which I am changing to 6 Tricks to Student Narrative Writing Success.
The second book, 6 Tricks to Student Persuasive Writing Success, has
sold 300 copies in just six weeks. Also, the October Atlanta Parent
Magazine features an article titled "Get Your Kids Writing For the Love
Of It," and I was honored to be included in it! --Mark Diamond
Yes, your newsletter editor is patting herself on the back: I just
landed a contract to edit a bimonthly consumer magazine out of
Connecticut. I first heard about the magazine when I researched startup
magazines for last month’s newsletter. If you follow up a few leads in
this newsletter, you, too, may have something for the kudos section
next month. --Bobbie Christmas
Congratulations to these folks. Your successes encourage others, so
please send in your accomplishments for our kudos section.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two: From the editor’s desk—Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your
Book
Dear Fellow Writers:
This was the year I was going to write my memoirs. The plan was simple:
Write two 2,000-word stories a month for twelve months, and I would
have twenty-four chapters, about 48,000 words, almost a whole book, by
the end of the year. The plan was a good one. The execution wasn’t as
good.
One month I had computer issues; another month my editing work backed
up, and I did not have “extra” time. One month I put together a book
proposal for an entirely different book, instead. I can come up with
more excuses than we had weeks in 2006, and soon it will be 2007.
Okay, I have written at least eight stories, less than half the number
I had intended to have finished by this time, but it’s at least
something. A few of the stories even placed in the top three in the
monthly contests for Georgia Writers, so I know the stories don’t
stink, anyway. It’s a start.
I spoke with a good friend the other day who attended a workshop led by
a fellow who advises we write on unlined paper every morning for two
hours a day. If I had followed that plan, I would have been ahead of
schedule by now, not behind. The point is this: We cannot wait until we
have time to write. We don’t wait until we have time to eat, do we? Do
we wait until we have time to sleep? No, we eat and sleep regularly, no
matter what else goes on in our lives. Writers must do the same with
our writing time. We must set time to write each day and do it.
Mornings are my best time, my most creative time, so today I dedicate
myself to writing at least an hour every morning. Small steps. Today is
the first day of the rest of my book! Join me, and let’s see where we
are a year from today.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of triple-award-winning Write In Style (Union Square Publishing,
an imprint of Cardoza Publishing), owner of Zebra Communications, and
director of The Writers Network
P.S. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Let me hear from you
when you have questions, kudos, markets or any other information to
share with your writers network.
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please sign up to get your
own copy. Simply go to my Website, www.zebraeditor.com, and click on
“Free Newsletter.” I never share your address or send out spam.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: Ask the Book Doctor--about seminars on CD, what it means to be
published, and book promotion ideas
Q: I give seminars like you do, but I’ve never considered selling them
on a CD. How did you get your seminars onto CDs? What equipment did you
use?
A: I’m thrilled to be the owner of a tiny little Sony digital recorder.
It is no bigger than a small cell phone and cost me less than $100. I
clip a remote mike to my lapel when I give seminars. In the case of a
telephone seminar, I have a recording connection to my telephone—not a
suction cup mechanism; a real connection that goes into the phone line.
I speak at my normal voice level and record digitally. The great thing
about digital recording is that no quality is lost, no matter how many
generations you make of the product.
Anyway, my recorder will take up to eleven hours of recording, but most
of my recorded seminars are one or two hours. When I’m through with the
seminar, I connect my recorder to my computer with a USB connection,
download the audio file, tell the computer to turn it into a WAV file,
and transfer it to a CD. All these processes absolutely had to be
simple, for me to learn them.
After I have a sample CD, I take it to a duplicating studio. I don’t
want to sit and make all those copies and labels myself; besides, the
studio prints the labels directly onto the CD, so they never peel off
or get in the way. A few days later, I pick up a pile of CDs from the
studio. I add handouts appropriate for the seminar and put everything
into an envelope and slip the envelope in a plastic casing, so the
envelope stays clean. I can mail the seminar packets anywhere, so
people all over the world can get my seminars and take them at home,
with friends or alone, as many times as they want. It’s an easy way for
me to “travel” to clients all over the world.
Q: What does it mean to be published? You just write a book, get it
printed, and you’re published, right?
A: Some people think so. In actuality, if you self publish—that is, pay
any portion of the publishing yourself—you have not proved that your
writing is good enough that someone would want to read it or pay for
it. If you write an article for a newsletter and it gets published,
though, then you are published. If you write a letter to the editor
that gets published, you are published. In other words, you don’t have
to get paid to be published, and you don’t have to have published a
book, but if you do the paying, you are self-published, and it’s not
the same as being published.
Of course if you do sell your work and someone else publishes it and
pays you, you definitely are published and have earned bragging rights.
Q: What’s the best promotion method to use once the book is published?
A: I wish I could answer your question, but what is best for your book
depends on your type of book, your expertise, your abilities, the
amount of time and/or money you have to spend, and much more. I
recommend that you read a book about book promotion and decide what is
best for you and for your book. The one I read and used extensively was
Jump Start Your Book Sales. It advises getting started with promotions
before the book even comes out. It also recommends adding a chapter
that appeals to an additional sector of the market, to broaden the
appeal of the book. For that reason, I included a chapter in my book,
“Write In Style,” that is geared toward business writers. I wouldn’t
have thought of adding that chapter, if I had not started planning my
promotions long before my publisher released my book to the public.
Do you have a question for Bobbie Christmas, the book doctor? Send it
to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.for a personal answer. To read more questions
and answers, go to www.zebraeditor.com and click on "Ask the Book
Doctor."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Where is Bobbie Christmas speaking next?
Florida Writers Association Fifth Annual Conference
Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
November 10-12, 2006
Three days of seminars and events for writers
See http://www.floridawriters.net/ for information and to register
Evening at Emory - Writing and Literature
Atlanta, Georgia
November 30, 2006
Writing Your Masterpiece and Getting it Past the Gatekeepers
1 session(s): $95
Thu: Nov 30 / 7:00-10:00 pm
Puzzled over a rejection letter? Getting ready to query a literary
agent or publisher? Wouldn't you like to know the criteria agents and
publishers use to reject 99% of the manuscripts they receive? During
this three - hour seminar, students will get a glimpse into the
publishing business and learn how to avoid the common pitfalls writers
make in query letters, synopses, proposals, and sample chapters that
will earn them a rejection from an agent or publisher. This class was
created by Sid Versaci, and he has asked me to give it, so it will be
his outline plus my knowledge. More bang for your buck! For more
information see
http://www.cll.emory.edu/eate/classes.cfm?cat=-1244467042 and scroll
down the page.
Watch for information on a one-hour Bobbie Christmas teleseminar coming
up in February, courtesy of AuthorSmart.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am looking for stories about how you or someone you know has
celebrated Christmas when money was short. Some of the elements of your
stories will be used to create vignettes in a play I am writing about a
family that made Christmastime special, even when their financials were
limited. Keep stories brief. No need to worry about spelling or
grammar. I cannot offer compensation, but I deeply appreciate
contributions and offer a hearty “thank you” in advance. Send stories
in the body copy or as an MS Word attachment to rayfast@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Readers: I’m breaking with tradition, but some things are worth it.
Below is a message that came from a subscriber. I checked to be sure it
wasn't a scam. It's not. It’s a way to donate money to a worthy cause
and get more than you paid for. I donated using my credit card and
received a thank-you from the Koman Institute, so I know it’s for real.
Read the information and please send a donation, even if only five
dollars, and you'll help Rachel Sellars as well as the Susan B. Komen
Institute help fight breast cancer for thousands of people (yes, men
get breast cancer, too). Here’s the letter from our subscriber:
“I received this from a coworker at Matria. This story touched my heart
and it came from a teammate who also has to raise her own $2,200, but
first she is reaching out to help this child raise funds.
"It's an opportunity to give Random Acts of Kindness, as this child may
never know the
sources of her donations, but just learn that when your heart and
intentions are good,
the universe finds a way to provide what you need to achieve what you
believe.” --Deb
The letter below . . .
”There is a sixteen-year-old girl, Rachel Sellars, whose mother is a
breast cancer survivor and who wants to do the sixty-mile Three-Day
Walk in honor of her mother. She is a member of my team, a very sweet
girl with a big heart, and is having a problem raising her money. Many
of you know we cannot participate in the walk until we raise the
minimum of $2,200, and Rachel does not have the resources most of us
do, as her young friends don't have the cash to help her.
”If you can help Rachel with a donation to the fight against breast
cancer, that would be a wonderful surprise for her, as she does not
know I am sending this e-mail. Here’s a link to Rachel's page:
www.the3day.org/atlanta06/rachelsellars” --Jennie Strickland, RNC
Perinatal Outcomes Clinician Matria Healthcare, Women's and Children's
Health Division Outcomes Department
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On November 18, the Atlanta Writers Club hosts speakers from two
dimensions of the publishing industry. Award-winning novelist Jack
Riggs will read from his book When The Finch Rises and share tips on
how to stop writing, start listening and let your characters tell the
story. Stephen Wallace of Random House Publishers will explain what
publishers are buying now and walk through the publishing process from
manuscript to bookstore. For more information, see
www.atlantawritersclub.org. Meetings are held on the third Saturday of
each month from 12:45 to 3:45 at the Sandy Springs Regional Library.
Visitors are welcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobbie Christmas seminars on CD, including "Write In Style and You
Write to Win"
Take seminars in the comfort of your own home. Repeat as often as you
want. Invite your friends to join you. To order, go to
http://www.zebraeditor.com/tools.shtml to see all the seminars
available on CD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Digital Living: electronics title launches: Emap will be launching a
new quarterly magazine called Digital Living, aimed at 30-something men
who purchase consumer electronics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cottages and Bungalows will focus on historical homes built from the
1890s to the 1950s. Topics include how-to restoration, detailed
information on period kitchens and baths, arts and crafts, and home
accessories. Merrie Destefano is editor of this Action Pursuit Group
magazine, publisher of sister titles Victorian Homes and Romantic
Homes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free: "How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book"
Listen online to a recent Bobbie Christmas radio interview. If you're
ready to add another dimension to your business, this information is
your ticket. Sherese Duncan and Bobbie Christmas outline strategic ways
not only to write your book, but also how to self-publish it. Listen to
this show and others at http://www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/realwomen/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Share your word-lovers' favorites with fellow member
"Does anyone in the Network have favorite regular sources that they
look forward to in feeding logophiliac tendencies? These days I receive
the Wordsmith.org A.Word.A.Day and Dictionary.com Word of the Day
e-mails. Additionally, I still dearly miss Paul McFedries' Wordspy
newsletter that quietly fell by the wayside a couple of years ago."
Share your logophile sites with City at butterflybytes@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I would like to reduce my inventory of a military spy novel written by
a retired major general. The book is called The Kochi Maru Affair, and
you can read about it at http://www.devilmountainbooks.com/. I'll
consider steep discounts. "
Clark Sturges, Publisher
Devil Mountain Books
P.O. Box 4115
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
E-mail: cbsturges@aol.com
925/939-3415
Fax: 925/937-4883
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How much do ghostwriters charge?
I get asked that question all the time, and it depends on the amount of
work the ghostwriter has to do, coupled with the amount of experience
the ghostwriter has. Kim Green, who ghosted Fantasia’s hit book, Life
Is Not a Fairy Tale, got paid $45,000 and is protesting, because she
was not consulted for the making of the TV movie. Life Is Not a Fairy
Tale, published in October 2005, sold more than 48,000 copies in
hardback and made the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. It
was recently released in paperback and was made into a Lifetime TV
movie starring Fantasia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Download your selections from half a million e-books for the month of
October, International Book Fair Month.
For the moth of October, International Book Fair Month, and the
centennial birthday of the public library system the World eBook Fair
will be offering free public access to the World's largest collection
of e-Books. The World eBook Fair welcomes you to absolutely free access
to a variety of e-Books unparalleled by any other source. About 1/2
million e-Books await you for personal use, almost all free of charge
for the month of October 2006. See http://worldebookfair.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
e-book answers hundreds of writers’ questions
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
is a 122-page e-book that answers all the questions you wish you could
ask an editing expert. Electronic bookmarks allow you to go directly to
your preferred subject, and clickable links take you to Internet
resources for additional information. Whether you write books, short
stories, articles, reports, or anything else, learn more about how to
write, edit, and sell your work, To order go to
http://www.booklocker.com/books/1906.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Chicago Manual of Style Online is now available. Go to
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ to subscribe or sign up for a
30-day free trial. What is the CMOS? It's the reference book used by
book publishers, and it sets guidelines for punctuation, capitalization
and other style issues. If you write books, you should learn Chicago
style or be sure to use an editor who knows about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luxury Travel Magazine Launches
ShermansTravel.com has launched a new luxury print travel magazine
called Sherman's Travel. "The new magazine is aimed at the 25 percent
most affluent subscribers to the site's email newsletter, which has 3.5
million subscribers, The New York Times reports. The site had 1.5
million unique visitors in July.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Tools for Writers from Bobbie Christmas and Zebra Communications
Order e-mailed reports on correct manuscript format, how to form and
run a critique circle, how to identify weak writing and repair it,
self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, and much more. Fifteen
reports are available, and the list keeps growing. Go to
www.zebraeditor.com and click on “Tools for Writers.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gifts for Writers
It’s true; we've entered the holiday season. Below are suggestions for
writers on your list.
www.coolstuff4writers.com lists all sorts of necessary tools for
writers
www.zebraeditor.com offers writing seminars on CD as well as books for
writers, all by Bobbie Christmas
“Everyone Has a Story” is a unique method for developing your memoir or
family history. In a workbook format, you are provided with sections
that focus on every part of life plus helpful trigger phrases to
stimulate your memory of specific times and events. $35 + SH. Call
678-407-0703 or email
to order.
See < http://www.georgiawriters.org/EveryoneHasAStory.html>.
Writers who love words and their meanings will love Unfortunate
English: The Gloomy Truth Behind the Words You Use, a book by Bill
Brohaugh. It uncovers previous meanings of words that would--if those
meanings were blatantly apparent today--offend the sensitive, discomfit
the squeamish, and irk the politically correct. For more information on
this title and others, go to
http://fwpubs.sparklist.com/t/2107377/3661368/1072/0/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good magazine launches
Launched by twenty-six-year-old multimillionaire Ben Goldhirsh, Good
focuses on philanthropic topics and eco-friendly gadgets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor’s Desk Reference, Third
Edition, available as e-book at last! Easiest way to research all your
editing questions!
Save thousands of dollars by editing your own book. This one reference
book covers all you need to know to plow through the maze of the
editing phase: grammar, punctuation, word choices, creative writing,
plot, pace, characterization, dialogue, Chicago Style, formatting a
manuscript, and much more. More than 500 subjects covered. Available in
printed form for $29.95 plus $4.99 shipping at www.zebraeditor.com
(click on Tools for Writers and scroll down) or save almost $5.00 in
shipping PLUS get the book instantly as an e-book with clickable links
and bookmarks that zip you directly to any subject you choose. To order
the e-book, go to http://www.booklocker.com/books/2225.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elixir magazine is a new consumer glossy magazine covering health,
anti-aging and rejuvenation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Self-Publishing success story: Karen Miller and Satin Doll
A few years ago, author Karen E. Quinones Miller of Florida
self-published her first novel, Satin Doll, after she’d been rejected
by numerous major publishing houses. Eight months and 28,000 copies of
Satin Doll later, she’d sold Simon and Shuster the publishing rights to
the novel for six figures, and had a book deal. (Excerpted from
Southern Review of Books, an online newsletter for publishers, authors,
book lovers and booksellers,
http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Write In Style: Using Your Word Processor and Other Techniques to
Improve Your Writing" by Bobbie Christmas teaches the Find and Refine
Method ™ to locate words and phrases you can delete, upgrade or rewrite
to power up your prose. Bobbie Christmas reveals secrets only a book
doctor could know. First Place winner of the Royal Palm Award for
education, Best in Division (Georgia Author of the Year Awards), and
Finalist in USABookNews Best Books 2005. Union Square Publishing; Simon
and Schuster, distributor. Available in bookstores and Internet
retailers. To order at Amazon.com DISCOUNT prices, see
http://zebraeditor.com/bookstore.shtml.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Proposal Templates
Do you have to write a proposal for your nonfiction book and don’t know
where to start? Check out these templates. They’re not free, but
they’ll save you a ton of time and ensure you have all the necessary
elements in your report.
http://stores.authorsmart.com/Categories.bok?category=Templates
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Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
Writing Position open at Kennesaw State University
Posting Number: 0400137
UAD-University Relations (1065436)
Position Summary: Communications Professional II, working directly with
contacts both on and off campus to promote the university; coordinating
and creating publications that market, promote and publicize the
university; writing stories that will appear in various university
publications; updating the KSU News and About KSU Web sites; editing
university publications and other duties as assigned. Forty hours per
week, generally 8-5 p.m. Occasional evenings and/or weekends. Minimum
Starting Salary: $37,347 (based on 40 hours per week) Required
Education/Experience/Skills required: bachelor's degree in related
field and 2 years work experience OR High School diploma AND 6 years
writing or public/media relations experience.
https://jobs.kennesaw.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1159193592456
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Manuscript Typists
From time to time I get a call for a manuscript typist. If you know and
follow standard manuscript format and are interested in being put on a
list for occasional freelance work, send your contact information to me
at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K N O C K E R S
Deadline: January 15, 2007
Edited by: Jessica Morrell
jessicapage@spiritone.com
Call for manuscripts: Anthology
Knockers is an anthology that asks women: How do you feel about your
breasts? You are invited to submit your thoughtful explorations, vivid
memories, humor, poetry, fiction, and tales of loss and pain. Looking
for submissions that are blazingly honest, poignant, witty,
provocative, edgy, inspiring, and revealing.
Previously published submissions are fine, but Knockers will chiefly
collect jottings that are published for the first time. No entry fee or
charges. Payment for accepted work has not yet been determined, and
each contributor will receive a copy of the anthology.
Knockers submitting basics:
Mail the entire manuscript and your 50-to-200-word bio to: Jessica Page
Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141. All submissions must
be double spaced and written in 12-point font. Poetry can be submitted
single spaced. Entries will not be returned, but you will be notified
if you work will not be included in the anthology. Include a cover page
that includes your name, phone number, e-mail and mailing address, the
title of the work and word count. Number all pages and include the
title in the header on each page.
Morrell works as an editor, writing coach and instructor, teaches at
Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and has been writing a
monthly column in The Willamette Writer about topics related to writing
since 1998. She hosts a Web site http://www.writing-life.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freelance Success Stories
Writer's Market
4700 E. Galbraith Rd.
Cincinnati OH 45236
Fax: (513)531-2686
E-Mail: writersmarket@fwpubs.com
Website: www.writersmarket.com
Contact: Robert Lee Brewer, editor Writer's Market
This contest is open to writers who have achieved some form of
freelance writing success. Writers can write about their first sale,
first byline, an interesting or unlikely sale, or any other type of
success. The main rules are to keep the focus on freelance writing
success and keep it personal (this is your story). Length should be
800-1,500 words. Submissions only accepted via e-mail—any questions
should be sent via e-mail as well.
Prize: 1st Place: $250 contract to have story published in 2008
Writer's Market; 2nd Place: $150 contract to have story published in
2008 Writer's Market; 3rd Place: $100 contract to have story published
in 2008 Writer's Market.
Established: 2006
Deadline: December 1, 2006
Eligibility: Open to any writer
Entry Fee: None
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking for Garbage Stories for Anthology
Would you like to be part of the Garbage Book of stories from workers
who pick up and haul trash? We are looking for garbage collectors
nationwide! Authors Shara Rendell-Smock and Mary Brotherton want to
honor the important people who do this very necessary job. For details
on submitting your stories, see: http://www.garbagebook.com/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The WD Popular Fiction Awards
Don't miss this short story competition from Writer's Digest! You can
compete and win in all five categories--just make sure your entries are
4,000 words or fewer and we receive them by the November 1, 2006
deadline. http://fwpubs.sparklist.com/t/2097616/3661368/1550/0/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esquire gets serious about publishing good fiction again
Esquire magazine has a fiction editor again after three years, Tom
Chiarella. David Granger, the editor-in-chief told nypost.com, "We're
trying to get much more aggressive about fiction."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sony Corp. has launched an electronic book store on the Internet and
sells a device that displays e-books purchased from the store.
The Sony Connect book store will carry about 10,000 books from the top
six publishers, including News Corp.'s HarperCollins and CBS Corp.'s
Simon & Schuster.
The launch of the store coincides with the official debut of its highly
anticipated electronics book reader, which reviewers have said mimic
the quality of regular paper.
The "Sony Reader Portable Reader" system will sell for about $350. For
a limited period, new Connect customers will receive a $50 credit to
buy books from the service. Borders book stores sells the device in
about 300 stores.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simply Smart is "the insider's guide to the best in dining, shopping,
travel and everyday fun." Additional topics include fashion, finances,
health and fitness, and profiles of inspirational women. The target
audience is active women from 33- to 50-years-old looking for
money-saving tips and information. Moira Harris is editor of this
quarterly magazine from Entertainment Publishing, which debuted with
its Winter 2006 Holiday issue on October 1. The title's circulation is
890,000 copies and will increase publication frequency to bi-monthly
with the September/October 2007 issue…
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Six: Writing Assignment: Cut, Cut, Cut
Hate to rewrite? Hate to trim your precious words? You could be missing
a huge opportunity.
Ernest Hemingway had been working on a long novel he called The Sea
Book. It had three sections, which he called "The Sea When Young," "The
Sea When Absent," and "The Sea in Being," and it had an epilogue about
an old fisherman. He wrote more than eight hundred pages of "The Sea
Book" and rewrote them more than a hundred times, but the book still
didn't seem finished. Finally, he published just the epilogue about the
old fisherman, which he called The Old Man and the Sea. It won the
Pulitzer Prize, and two years later Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for
Literature. (Excerpted from The Writer's Almanac, which is produced by
Prairie Home Productions and presented by American Public Media.)
Sometimes we don’t want to cut our work because we love our babies, but
with computers, you can save those “deleted” parts to a separate file,
and they are not lost, they’re simply sleeping. Does that thought give
you comfort and make you feel more confident about trimming, cutting,
and refining your work? Good. It should.
You, too, can be like Hemingway! For this assignment go back through
your writing stacks and find something that never quite seemed to work
for you. See if you can extract the good parts and save the rest for
something else, which you may or may not use in the future. Work on the
good part and expand or contract it. Add or subtract action, dialogue,
or narrative, whatever it needs. Polish it and turn it into a gem you
can use, either by itself or in another body of work.
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Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
www.AuthorSmart.com is a web-based resource center for tools,
education, info and connections designed for authors seeking
navigational assistance on their publishing journey. It helps authors
“find forward motion through insight and accountability tailored to
their needs.”
At no charge to you, www.allexperts.com allows you to ask experts
questions on any number of subjects. It's not only good for questions
about writing, but also for questions that allow you to flesh out your
fiction or nonfiction books with real facts and information. Writing a
novel about a nurse who maintains a freshwater aquarium in her house?
Ask one expert specific questions about nursing and ask specific
questions of another expert about freshwater aquariums, and you can be
sure the details in your book are correct.
Pink Flamingo’s Resource List has interesting information and resources
for writers, including APA and MLA style guides, information, word
games, and much more: http://www.ibritt.com/resources/
Is it a cliche? Is it original? Find out instantly by typing a key word
into this Web site and checking: http://www.westegg.com/cliche/
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Eight: Looking for Critique Circles
Do you want to join or form a critique circle in your area or online?
In the body of an e-mail send me your name, general location, contact
information, and your preferences (fiction, nonfiction, short stories,
books, poetry, etc.). I will list your information here, to help you
find or form a group that allows you to get feedback.
Remember to ask me for Report #101 on forming and maintaining a
successful critique circle. Send your request to me at
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Do YOU have news for The Writers Network News? Please send it in the
body copy, not an attachment, to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Deadline: The
15th of each month.
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Send a copy of this F-R-E-E newsletter to all your writing friends.
Tell them to join The Writers Network F-R-E-E by visiting
www.zebraeditor.com and clicking on “Newsletter.”
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The Writers Network News--a newsletter for writers everywhere.
"No Rules; Just Write!"
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The Writers Network – No fees. No officers. “No Rules; Just Write!"
Information about the meetings:
Because it's a buffet, come into the meeting room, set down whatever
you brought, and go get food, if you plan to eat. While we eat, we have
introductions. After the introductions are over, we discuss questions
and answers. After the introductions are completed and at any time
until we leave, you are welcome to get more food.
Directions to meetings:
Our monthly meetings are held at noon on the first Friday of each month
at King Buffet, 11060 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell, Georgia. 30076. The
restaurant is on the left after you enter the Roswell Shopping Center,
on the same side of the strip mall as Patterson Furniture. Roswell
Shopping Center is on the left if going north toward Alpharetta, a few
blocks past the Mansell Road intersection and across the street from
Mattress King, about a block past Andretti's. Once you are inside, the
meeting room is through an archway on the left past the cashier.
Restaurant phone: 678-352-1606.
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