The Writers Network News, January 20, 2007 http://ezezine.com
Januuary 20, 2007
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, February 2, 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.
See more detailed information at the end of the e-zine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News.
In This Issue:
One: Kudos to Richard Quan, Kelly Dickson, and Yolanda Coulaz
Two: From the editor’s desk– Why Bother to Keep a Journal?
Three: Ask the Book Doctor– About Submissions and Self-published Novels
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Six: Writing Assignment– From Prosaic to Pristine
Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
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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:
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your
life." --Confucius
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Richard Quan, Kelly Dickson, and Yolanda Coulaz
“I have five book signings already booked in four Borders stores (East
Cobb, Cobb Parkway, Augusta, and Buford, Georgia) for the month of
January and February. More are still pending. I am still waiting for
another national review to come out sometime this month. It's a slow
and tedious process, but I remember your words of encouragement at the
beginning of my venture into this whole process.” --Richard Quan,
novelist, Siren's Silence
“We met in 2005 on a Royal Caribbean cruise where you presented an
informative seminar about writing. At the time, I was just starting out
in my freelance career and want to tell you how much I appreciate the
encouragement you offered to this new writer during that seminar; you
made the dream of writing seem attainable. The signed copy of ‘Write in
Style’ that I got from you tops my most-used list of reference books. I
also look forward to your monthly newsletter and thank you for the
invaluable advice and information you provide to writers. In December
2006, I was hired as a freelance columnist for a weekly suburban
newspaper. My column is about food, and I include recipes.” –Kelly
Dickson
“My poem ‘Cool, Cotton Comfort’ took first place in the 8th Mattia
Family International Poetry Competition. To view it, see
http://www.mattia.ca/contest9/winners/winners8.html.” --Yolanda Coulaz
Congratulations to these folks. Your successes encourage others, so
please send in your accomplishments for our kudos section.
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Two: From the editor’s desk—Why Bother to Keep a Journal?
Dear Fellow Writers:
Interesting to note I had written this message before our monthly
meeting, yet what should we discuss at our January meeting, but
journals! I did not add to the discussion, because I had already
written my opinion, as follows:
Many writers keep journals that can be daily jottings of thoughts,
emotions, incidents, and sometimes hopes and dreams. I’ve heard
non-writers say, “Why bother to keep a journal? I remember everything I
want to remember.” I don’t usually bother to defend the practice to
those would could never understand, except to mention the one time I
desperately needed to know exactly which day I had done something.
An attorney called to ask if I had gone to the state fair on a certain
day, because of something I may have witnessed. I agreed to testify,
because indeed I had gone to the fair and had seen an incident where
someone was injured. After I hung up the phone, I checked my journal to
confirm my memories. Yes, I had gone to the fair and had witnessed a
similar incident, but not on the day in question, so I had seen a
separate incident, not the specific one in question. As a result, my
presence was not required for a court trial. If I had not kept a
journal, I might have testified from my memory, which was obviously
flawed. Psychologists admit that memories are tricky, imperfect, and
sometimes outright false. I really did think I had been there on the
day in question, rather than the day after.
Journals help in many ways. Are you familiar with the work of David
Sedaris? He is one of my favorite humorists, and his essays appear in
many periodicals and books. His entire success began because he kept a
journal. Sedaris worked all sorts of unrelated jobs, including
housekeeper, dishwasher, apple picker, and painter. He even
squirrel-proofed houses. He kept a daily through it all. When he moved
to Chicago to attend the Art Institute, he began to read to the public
from his journals, and his readings became so popular that National
Public Radio put him on the air in 1991, and he read "The Santaland
Diaries," a story about his job as an elf at a Macy's during one
Christmas season. After his appearance on NPR, Sedaris signed a
contract with Little, Brown, and his collections of essays, Barrel
Fever (1994) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), became best-sellers.
His most recent book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, came out
in 2004. My favorite is Me Talk Pretty One Day, and to understand the
title, well, you have to read the book. You’ll love it.
Why keep a journal? Sometimes the stories are good enough to read in
public; sometimes they key your memory to an exact date or event;
sometimes they are fodder for fiction; sometimes they help you write
your memoirs and personal essays; sometimes the act of writing is
therapeutic; and sometimes writers simply have to write.
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 Web site, www.zebraeditor.com, and click on
“Free Newsletter.” I never share your address or send out spam.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: Ask the Book Doctor—About Submissions and Self-published Novels
Q: I finished my first novel several months ago, tried one agent, and
sat back and licked my wounds. I must've made a few mailing lists, so I
popped up on Red Lead's monitor, and it sent me a solicitation.
Is Red Lead just a vanity press? What might be the downside to getting
in print with an outfit of this sort? Do I lose certain rights if I
sign up and let them print some copies? Is this a bad deal?
By the way, an old Navy man like me knows what red lead is. It's the
primer put down on freshly chipped or ground steel in a ship hull. Next
comes a coat or two of haze gray or deck gray.
A: One rejection is not total rejection. Many famous and award-winning
books were rejected dozens of times or more before getting published.
Don't give up too easily.
Although I’m not familiar with the particular company in question, I
see that it offers print-on-demand services for a fee. Anytime a
publisher contacts you when you did not contact the publisher first,
you can be sure it is a vanity press, a self-publishing outfit that is
out to take your money, rather than give you money. Self-publishing is
not inherently bad or good, but the decision to self publish must be
based on full knowledge of the benefits and drawbacks. As you fear,
having a company print some copies changes the whole picture
To learn more about the pros and cons of self publishing versus
traditional publishing, e-mail me at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com and ask for
my free e-mail report #110, Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing.
Many people go the self-publishing route for personal reasons, and some
of those who self-publish use a vanity press because it provides
services such as internal and cover design and gets bar codes and ISBN
numbers for you, so you don't have to bother with figuring out how to
take care of those things yourself.
The downside to self-publishing is this: Even if your contract with a
printing company or vanity press does not transfer any rights to the
company--and I am not an attorney, so I cannot advise you on
contracts--you still automatically use up first rights. That is, if a
publisher later shows interest in your manuscript, it cannot buy first
rights if the book has already been published in any form. Second
rights are not only worth less, but they are also harder to sell,
because most traditional publishers prefer first rights.
I generally do not recommend self publishing novels, because sales
figures for self-published fiction are often dismal, often fewer than
one hundred copies. If you manage to sell 5,000 copies of your
self-published book, though, a traditional publisher may become more
interested in buying second rights.
If you never want to try to find a publisher for your manuscript,
self-publishing may be right for you. If you hope to sell your
manuscript to a traditional publisher, do not self-publish first.
By the way, an old editor like me knows what red lead is. It's the
red-lead pencil used to correct a manuscript. I'll bet there are many
more definitions of red lead, too!
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."
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Bobbie Christmas, Live, Around the World!
Hear Bobbie Christmas and Carole Madan (Momma Nature) on
internationally available Radio Sandy Springs at
www.radiosandysprings.com, Monday, February 26, 2007, from 2:00-3:00
p.m. If you live in Sandy Springs, you can also tune in to 1620 AM on
your radio.
We’ll chat about many subjects related to writing and living the
writing life, and you’re invited to call in, ask questions, make
comments, and participate. Please take part and tell all your friends
to listen and call in, too!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Event: Write In Style: Put Technology to Work on Your Words
Date: Mar 13, 2007
Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Location: TELECLASS—no charge!
8AM Pacific / 11AM Eastern
Give your work the polish it deserves using sound writing principles
while incorporating contemporary technology. In this class you'll
learn:
How to use technology to objectively spot opportunities for improvement
in your work.
How writers, from beginner to pro, can use almost any word-processing
program to improve their writing.
How to drive home a point and avoid pedestrian prose.
Bobbie Christmas is the owner of Zebra Communications in Atlanta, GA,
and is an editor, ghostwriter, book doctor, copywriter, consultant,
seminar and workshop leader. Her book, Write In Style, is a featured
text in many college-level writing programs. Her resume boasts hundreds
of projects she has contributed to, and she has earned countless
awards. Learn more about Bobbie at: http://www.zebraeditor.com
Hosted By:
AuthorSmart.com
AuthorSmart.com is a community of tools, info and education for authors
seeking navigational assistance on their publishing journey.
Register Online:
More information and online registration:
http://writeinstyle.eventbrite.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Power of Positive Publishing, a two-day writers event in Atlanta
You're invited to the Spring Book Show 2007 seminar at Atlanta's World
Congress Center on March 23-24, 2007. The seminar theme is “Writing a
Book Is the Easy Part–Getting It Published and Marketing It Is What’s
Hard.”
Presenters include Noel Griese, editor, Southern Review of Books;
Marilyn Rothstein/M. E. Kemp, novelist; Tony Burton, Wolfmont
Publishing; Dr. Marcia Riley, author; Bobbie Christmas, the Book
Doctor, and author of Write In Style; David Ryback, Ph.D., author;
Fran Stewart, novelist;Patricia M. Terrell;Angela K. Durden, business
writer and children’s book author; Mark Reitz, video production company
owner; Maggie Stapperfenne, publishing house owner and mystery
novelist; Joan Phelps, author, ghostwriter, book reviewer, editor,
indexer, co-editor and proofreader; Peter Bowerman, author and
freelance writer; Annie Payne, realtor and feng shui author; Dr. Tom
Williams, principal, Williams & Co., Publishers, and author of Publish
Your Own Magazine, Guidebook, or Weekly Newspaper; Will Ennis on
Arranging for Signings and Getting Your Books Stocked by Barnes &
Noble. For more information and to register, see
http://www.anvilpub.net/author-publisher_seminar_2007.htm.
Sponsor: Anvil Publishers, 3852 Allsborough Drive, Tucker, GA 30084
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Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor’s Desk Reference, Fourth
Edition! 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.
Printed form lies flat for easy use: $29.95 plus $4.99 shipping at
http://www.zebraeditor.com (click on Tools for Writers and scroll
down) or save almost $5.00 in shipping PLUS get the third edition
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get Between the Covers: Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book
Get Between the Covers: Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book by Neil
Shulman and Eric Spencer is a recent release from AuthorHouse book that
may not be the best edited book in the world, but it is jam-packed with
vital information for writers and includes many helpful resources and
Web sites for writers. I’m honored that it mentions Write In Style, my
book on creative writing, as a good resource, as well. You may know
Neil; he wrote Doc Hollywood, and with his own Groucho Marx persona,
he’s a hard person to miss, even in a crowd. He lent his name and
expertise to Eric’s book, and although the book leans toward
self-publishers, it has information any writer can use. Check it out at
http://www.getbetweenthecovers.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In The Company of Writers (ITCW) is an exciting educational program of
online opportunities for writers in all genres and at all levels. In a
few weeks our first cycle of live teleseminars/webinars, called Series
One-Fiction, will begin. Our faculty is made up of the most talented,
genuinely helpful writers, editors, poets, agents, marketers, and
researchers anywhere. To make sure you receive information about all
the classes and interactive sessions starting soon, join our email list
free. See: http://inthecompanyofwriters.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobbie Christmas seminars on CD
“Write In Style and You Write to Win”
“Travel Writing for Fun and (a little) Profit”
“Write it and Reap: Make Money Selling Your Expertise”
“An Editor’s 10 Secrets to More Persuasive Writing”
“I’ve Finished My Book; What Should I Do Now?”
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heads Up, Ya’ll: The South’s Best Writers Conference Returns!
Yes, the UGA Harriette Austin Writers Conference (also known as HAWC)
is being resurrected and scheduled in July. Watch
http://harrietteaustin.org/default.aspx to see how it develops, and be
sure to register as soon as registration opens. It’s one of the
best-run, most conveniently laid out, and most informative conferences
I know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free: "How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book"
Listen online to a 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/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to Sell Your Book to Canadian Libraries?
Simon Teakettle Ink ( www.SimonTeakettle.com) offers a free update to
its list of Canadian libraries with purchasing power. Barbara Florio
Graham (info@SimonTeakettle.com) updated and revised the list last
fall, and anyone who purchased the list in the past can contact her for
the free update. New purchasers: see the Web site for information about
how to obtain the list of more than 90 libraries for just $25.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ReganBooks imprint to be dissolved
The HarperCollins imprint of Judith Regan, the publisher involved in
the controversial and now-cancelled O.J. Simpson book, has been
temporarily renamed "HC" and will be dispersed through the company this
fall. "Regan’s lucrative, scandalous reign at ReganBooks ended abruptly
when she was fired last December amid allegations that she made
anti-Semitic remarks to a HarperCollins lawyer. In November, Regan’s
planned Simpson book and television interview were canceled by
corporate head Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. in response to widespread
public outrage." More info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16674927/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Five: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
I am in the process of finding and interviewing analytical business
writers in Metro Atlanta. I would like to find several local
freelancers who can help me draft white papers/thought papers. I would
like someone who is a seasoned business person, meaning they have
context to the economic and business environment for the last 20 years.
They will be given speeches and raw data that they will need to
interpret and craft into a thought paper.
Jean Creech Avent
VP, Marketing and Communications
Georgian Bank
3300 Cumberland Blvd. SE, Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30339
javent@Georgianbank.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Write articles that appeal to small to medium-sized businesses
mySMBspace.com is a monthly national magazine publishing news,
information, resources, products and services of interest to the Small
and Medium Business market.
We are looking for writers and articles that will educate, inform,
inspire and promote (SMB) owners, entrepreneurs, and executives who
dream, create and build business enterprises.
For complete editorial guidelines and method of payment, contact Joel
M. Winston, Editor, editor@mySMBspace.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Backwoods Home Magazine
Attn: Article Editor
P.O. Box 712
Gold Beach, OR 97444
Backwoods Home Magazine is a country-oriented “how to” magazine that
specializes in showing people how to build their own home, produce
independent energy, grow their own food, and how to make a living
without being tied to a city. If you have article ideas, see
http://www.backwoodshome.com/docs/writerguidelines.html for guidelines.
Pays on acceptance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mattia Family International Poetry Competition
Closing date for the ninth competition: May 31, 2007
http://www.mattia.ca/
Prizes for the Ninth International Mattia Poetry Competition are as
follows:
First Place --$100.00 CAD
Second Place --$50.00 CAD
Third Place -- $25.00 CAD
As usual we pay in Canadian dollars. Prizes are paid by several
individuals, some family, some not. All are generous benefactors and we
thank them for their interest and love of poetry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AGENTS INK!
P.O. Box 4956
Fresno CA 93744
Phone: (559)438-8289
Seventy percent of clients are new/unpublished writers. This agency
specializes in writers who have education experience in the business,
legal, and health professions. It is helpful if the writer is licensed,
but not necessary. Prior nonfiction book publication is not necessary.
For fiction, previously published fiction is a prerequisite for
representation.
Currently Handles 80% nonfiction books, 20% Novels. Does not want
memoirs, autobiographies, stories about overcoming an illness, science
fiction, fantasy, religious materials, or children's books. Query with
SASE. Considers simultaneous submissions. Responds in 1 month.
"Remember, query first. Do not call to pitch an idea. The only way we
can judge the quality of your idea is to see how you write. Unsolicited
manuscripts will not be read if they arrive without a SASE. Currently
we receive more than 200 query letters and proposals each month. Send a
complete proposal/manuscript only if requested. Ask yourself why
someone would be compelled to buy your book. If you think the idea is
unique, spend the time to create a query and then a proposal where
every word counts. Fiction writers need to understand that the craft is
just as important as the idea--99% of the fiction is rejected because
of sloppy, overwritten dialogue, wooden characters, predictable
plotting, and lifeless narrative. Once you finish your novel, put it
away and let it percolate, then take it out and work on fine-tuning it
some more. A novel is never finished until you stop working on it. We
would love to represent more fiction writers and probably will, when we
read a manuscript that has gone through a dozen or more drafts. Because
of rising costs, we no longer can respond to queries, proposals, and/or
complete manuscripts without receiving a return envelope and sufficient
postage."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Fiddlehead
Campus House, 11 Garland Court
UNB PO Box 4400
Fredericton NB E3B 5A3
506 453-3501
fiddlehd@unb.ca
http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/Fiddlehead/
Canada's longest living literary journal, The Fiddlehead is published
four times a year at the University of New Brunswick. We publish short
stories, poems, book reviews, and a small number of personal essays.
The Fiddlehead also sponsors an annual writing contest and awards two
prizes of $1,000 each.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CALL FOR ENTRIES!
The 2007 Indie Excellence Awards are only open to small-press,
self-published books and unpublished manuscripts! Winners and finalists
are promoted to larger publishing houses and agents. The results will
be announced in NEW YORK CITY at the BOOK EXPO AMERICA, June 1, 2007.
See http://www.pubinsider.com/indieexcellenceawards.html. Entry
deadline March 31, 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editors/Writers Needed for Online DeKalb County, Georgia, Newspaper
Contact: jonathan@godekalb.com
GoDeKalb.com is the #1 online newspaper in DeKalb and we are growing in
2007 with the addition of another online newspaper. Work from your home
or favorite coffee shop - we do! Currently we are looking for the
following contributors:
-Calendar Editor
Role involves posting calendar events directly to our websites. Great
for students or others looking for extra income with little time
committment. $400 per month.
-Food & Wine Editor
Experience in either writing a column or working in the industry
required. Pay per contribution from $50 - $200
Do you have other expertise? Please submit your information. We are a
dynamic organization and love to try new things.
Compensation: $50 per article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B.J. ROBBINS LITERARY AGENCY
5130 Bellaire Ave.
North Hollywood CA 91607-2908
E-mail: robbinsliterary@aol.com
Phone: (818)760-6602
Contact: (Ms.) B.J. Robbins.
Seeking new and established writers. Sold 15 titles in the last
year.Established: 1992
Member of AAR
Fifty percent of clients are new/unpublished writers.
Handles 50% nonfiction books, 50% Novels
Submit outline/proposal, 3 sample chapters, and SASE.
Accepts e-mail queries (no attachments).
Accepts simultaneous submissions.
Responds in 2-6 weeks to queries.
Responds in 6-8 weeks to manuscripts.
Returns materials only with SASE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diverse Parent
http://www.diverseparent.com/
Submission guidelines: http://www.diverseparent.com/submitArticle.cfm
What we are looking for is diversity. Whether you are a new parent or a
single parent, grandparent, or a same-sex parent, divorced parent, or a
mature parent, or even a wannabe parent, we would like to hear from
you. Tell us your challenges as an ethnic parent in an American world
or how to raise a child with Jewish values. Whether you are Indian or
Chinese, African or Portuguese, we all have stories to tell and
knowledge to share. So please do so here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition
The Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition is a first-time
author's gateway to publication. One novelist will win a publishing
contract with Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, a $5,000 cash prize and
promotion by Borders! See http://firstchapters.gather.com/ for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Space Coast Writer's Guild is a non-profit association for writers that
sponsors the Literary Liftoff Magazine, which has a mission To Feature
unpublished works of established and emerging writers of fiction,
poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, and reviews.
Submission Guidelines for Literary Liftoff Magazine
Buys first serial rights only, payment upon publication. Also buys
cover art/photography with the theme of “lift off.”
Submissions limited to 2,500 words (except how-to for writers; limit =
500 words)
All genres-- fiction, essay, nonfiction, how-to, poetry, etc.
Original; not previously published or under contract
In the case of unpublished book excerpts, must be complete with a
beginning, middle and ending, independent of the rest of the book
Double space all prose, with one inch margins, Times New Roman or
Courier New 12 point font
Name, address, phone number, e-mail address and word count on first
page
Last name, story title, and page number in header of subsequent pages
May be submitted in hard copy format or email, but a SASE large enough
and with sufficient postage for the paper copy must be sent.
After a submission is accepted, please provide a 25-word bio, SASE for
return of payment, and electronic (email or disk) copy of the work with
suggested revisions.
Send to:
SCWG - Literary Acquisitions
P.O.Box 262
Melbourne, FL 32902-0262
writermary@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghost! Magazine
Published four times a year, Ghost! Magazine includes investigative and
opinion-based feature articles (800-1800 words), occasional short news
items (as they pertain to ghost hunting, technology or research)
humorous sidebars (500 to 1,000 words), book reviews, author
interviews, with occasional excerpts from forthcoming books.
Our editors welcome story pitches that suit Ghost! Magazine's editorial
mix. If you are interested in contributing to the magazine, browse
through our online archives to get a feel for the type of investigative
edgy journalism Ghost! Magazine values and promotes, then submit your
best work. Please understand that our editors receive a large volume of
mail daily, so they are unable to respond to every story pitch
presented to them. And please, DO NOT send .exe files.
To date we pay upon acceptance ($25.00 US) for articles and all
freelance pieces are submitted "on spec." For complete guidelines, see
http://www.ghostmag.com/writer_guide.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Six: Writing Assignment: From Prosaic to Pristine
Gustave Flaubert spent five years writing his great masterpiece, Madame
Bovary. Part of what made the writing so difficult was that he wanted
to describe even the most ordinary things in a new way. He said, "It is
so easy to chatter about the Beautiful, but it takes more genius to
say, in proper style, 'close the door,' or 'he wanted to sleep,' than
to give all the literature courses in the world."
For this exercise, you will search for and use new ways of saying
ordinary things. Rewrite the prosaic prose below in elegant prose. Be
careful not to over-describe, which may create purple prose rather than
pristine prose.
She looked beautiful in her red dress.
He angrily closed the door.
She unlocked the box.
He went to his closet.
She wanted to sleep.
He did his laundry.
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Seven: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Links to radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and more:
http://www.gebbieinc.com/magurl.htm
I Found It! After much looking, I finally found it. Check this out.
It's
exciting. http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm
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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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Tell them to join The Writers Network F-R-E-E by visiting
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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. 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.
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 or
leave when you need to do so.
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 not only gives us a private meeting room, but it also offers
a buffet with a variety of food, primarily Asian.
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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