The Writers Network News, o20, 2007 http://ezezine.com
November 20, 2007
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2007, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission.
Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is not to be construed as an
endorsement. Be sure to research all information and study every
stipulation before you accept assignments or sell your work.
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/
Bobbie’s Blog:
http://journals.aol.com/bzebra/BobbieChristmasBlogforWriters/
----------------------------------------------
The Writers Network meets next on December 7, 2007
No dues; no fees
No rules; just write!
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, starting at 12:00 noon.
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 Larry Kaplan, Paul Philip DuBose
Two: From the editor’s desk – Holiday Hell or Holiday Happiness?
Three: Ask the Book Doctor – About Tips on Writing for Magazines
Four: This Month’s Tip from Bobbie Christmas –
Five: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Six: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Seven: Writing Assignment – Bibliomancy
Eight: 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:
"Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human
mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in
private." –Allen Ginsberg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Larry Kaplan, Paul Philip DuBose
I signed a contract to publish my first book, _House of Ghosts_, a
historical/thriller that takes place during WWII. --Larry Kaplan
Paul Philip DuBose reports that the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
committee has accepted his novel submission. “My dream is that _Where
Seagulls Fly_ wins first place. The award is a publishing contract with
Penguin Publishing and a $25,000.00 advance,” he says. Only 5,000
submissions were accepted.
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 — Holiday Hell or Holiday Happiness?
Dear Fellow Writers:
The holidays are here, and along with our regular workload, we now have
the added potential stress of shopping for, wrapping, and sending
gifts; buying, signing, stamping, and mailing cards; and for some,
traveling and extra parties and obligations. Oh, yes, the holidays are
supposed to be a time for joy, but for most of us, the joy left us once
we stopped being simple recipients as children and had to become
responsible adults. Most adults admit they face the holidays with more
trepidation than elation.
How can we turn things around and enjoy the holidays once again? We can
do it by wresting control and keeping it. For example, I’ve stop giving
gifts. Period. That one change has meant not only hours and hours of
time not spent in traffic and crowds but also hundreds of dollars not
wasted on gifts that probably went unappreciated anyway. My friends and
family members are all adults who are well set and can buy whatever
they want. Instead of wasting money on them, I send one abundant
donation to a worthy charity. In my opinion, Heifer International is
one of the best. It uses donations to buy farm animals for people in
third-world countries. Those animals continue to give milk, eggs, and
assistance to the families for many years to come. I rest well knowing
I’ve done a good thing and haven’t risked life, limb, and logic while
shopping.
Another way I wrenched back control was to just say “no.” More and more
people invite me to parties, these days, and I decline more than not. I
save time for my own projects, my writing, my editing, my quiet time.
Granted I probably blow all that peace and quiet in one fell swoop when
I give my own holiday party, which began as a family gathering years
ago and has grown to include anyone who has nowhere to go on Christmas
Day. I cook for a couple of days, set out a buffet, and enjoy the
smiling faces that come through on Christmas Day.
How will you spend your holidays? Will you live as a victim to
obligation or as a writer gathering joyful material for your next
story? Never forget that you do have a choice.
Happy Holidays!
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 Tips on Writing for Magazines
Q: I am new to writing professionally and would like to write magazine
articles, but I have trouble starting the first paragraph. Can you give
me some tips on starting an article? Can you give me any other tips
that may be helpful?
A: No matter what we write, almost all writers have difficulty with the
opening paragraph, so I advise writers to start anywhere. Just dive in;
don’t worry about what to say first, just plow through and write the
information you want the article to impart. The first draft is simply a
draft, anyway.
During the revision stage, manipulate the information into a logical
correct order and add good transitions from one subject to the next or
add subheads to break up the information. While you read through what
you have written, you may find a paragraph that, slightly revised and
moved to the front, will make the perfect opening. You may even find
that your conclusion is good, and if you write an opening paragraph
that hints at the conclusion, the article will be circular, returning,
in essence, to information stated in the beginning. Great openings
rarely come to writers during the first draft. They are best left for
discovery during the rewrite, so don’t worry about the details of the
opening until the revision.
Also during the revision be sure that the article contains all five W’s
of journalism (who, how, why, what, where, and when), but for the
opening, remember that some of those points are less interesting than
others. People like to read about people, so the best leads include
“who,” if possible. For example, examine the following two openings for
a hypothetical article:
1. On May 4 a law goes into effect that prohibits the use of hair
dye containing zenothol, a compound that may cause birth defects when
used by pregnant women, but women are complaining.
2. Sixty-five-year-old Effie Smith studies her copper-colored
curls in her front hall mirror and shakes her head. “I can’t believe
I’ll be a criminal in two weeks,” she says. On May 4 a law goes into
effect that prohibits the use of hair dye containing zenothol, a
compound found in red dye that has been found to cause birth defects.
“I’m not about to get pregnant at my age, so why should I have to live
by that stupid law?” Smith asks. “I’ve stockpiled all the stuff I can,
and I’ll keep using it. I’ve been dying my hair for more than thirty
years, and I’m not about to stop.”
Note that the first opening paraphrases the quotations, whereas the
second opening uses a person and quotations to get the attention of
readers. The first opening tells, rather than shows. The first opening
uses “when and what” as the opening information, a news style that gets
to the point but does not engage the reader the way a magazine article
should. The second version starts with “who” and engages readers
visually. They can envision the woman shaking her head in front of a
mirror. Always lead with the most interesting points in magazine
articles, whenever possible.
My other tips involve following the trend of the specific magazine you
are writing for. To discover this information, obtain and study one or
more issues of the magazine before you submit anything. Make notes on
the following details:
• Are the titles of the articles clever and playful, or do they
simply state what the article is about?
• Does the magazine break longer stories into small sections with
subheads? If so, break your article into smaller chunks with subheads,
too, unless you are writing a short filler.
• Do the longer articles have sidebars with extra information? If
so, see if you can add more information by adding a sidebar or perhaps
move part of the information out of your article and into a sidebar.
• Are the articles several pages long, or do they tend to be
complete on one page? Make sure your article adheres to the average
length of articles in your targeted periodical.
• Is the writing funky and casual or businesslike and formal?
Does it use technical terms, long words, and rambling sentences or
simple words and short sentences? Be sure your writing conforms to the
writing style of the magazine.
• Does the periodical follow Associated Press Style or Chicago
Style (the style guide dictates when to capitalize words, when to use a
number or spell it out, and whether to use a serial comma—that is, a
comma before the word “and” in a series). If you don’t know which style
guide the magazine follows, ask.
• Look for writer’s guidelines for the magazine and follow them.
Some magazines even have Web sites with guidelines clearly spelled out.
Anything you can do to make an editor’s life easier will make you a
treasured freelancer and one more likely to get assignments and
acceptances.
Send your questions to Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas for a personal
answer. Contact her at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book
Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
Would you like to read or save the Ask The Book Doctor column as a
clear PDF file? Now you can! See
http://zebraeditor.com/files/ask_the_book_doctor.pdf. The column will
be available at that address until about the twentieth of each month,
after which it will be replaced with a new one.
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Four: This Month’s Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Don’t Hurt Your Feelings
When we speak we often use the term “feel” when we really mean “think,”
“believe,” or “sense.” Every time you find the word “feel” in your
writing, you may have found an opportunity for improvement, an
opportunity to use a more defined word or make a clearer statement.
Below are some examples of the use “feel” and a possible refinement.
See how the unrefined statement is not necessarily wrong, but refining
it makes a stronger statement.
Unrefined: If you feel you are being discriminated against, contact an
attorney.
Refined: If you sense that you are being discriminated against, contact
an attorney.
Unrefined: I feel like parents should take a stronger stand with their
children.
Refined: Parents should take a stronger stand with their children.
Unrefined: She felt her husband was seeing another woman.
Refined: She thought her husband was seeing another woman.
Unrefined: Mary felt that honey was better for her children than white
sugar.
Refined: Mary believed honey was better for her children than white
sugar.
Find opportunities for improvement in your own work by using my
trademarked Find and Refine Method. With your file open on your
computer, pull down Edit, then Find, then type in the word you want to
find, and your computer will stop on each one and allow you to ponder
whether you can improve or delete that usage. For more opportunities
for improvement, read my textbook on creative writing: _Write In Style_
(Union Square Publishing). Buy it in your local bookstore or order it
from Amazon.com by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/2ayh2m.
Find and Refine
Type into the Find function, feel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Five: Letters from Members
Best description of why to stay away from those "time wasters" I have
ever read ! I just broke free of one. With my sanity barely intact.
--Maria I. Hodges
-----
I enjoy getting the newsletter. As a novice novelist, I find it very
enlightening.
--Terry Mominee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, Bobbie,
I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day, and and Dr.
Christiane Northrup, a female gynecologist, was talking about women's
issues, particularly with regard to menopause. She was pushing a book
called the _The Wisdom of Menopause_. She was discussing ways for
middle-aged women to get more enjoyment out of sex, one of them being
to read romance novels before bedtime, or as she calls them
"Cliterature." I thought it was pretty clever. Have you ever heard them
called that?
--Roz Rosenburg
[Ed. Note: I’ve heard of women’s erotica and chick lit, but I love the
term cliterature and will adopt it immediately!]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Six: Subjects of interest to writers
Summer Memoir Workshop in Prague July 3 - 11, 2008, taught by Patricia
Foster, award-winning author and University of Iowa Writing Programs
professor.
http://www.seminarsoncreativity.com/writing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From A Word A Day by Arnu Garg:
lexiphanes (lex-SIF-uh-neez) noun
One who uses words pretentiously.
[From Greek lexiphanes (phrase monger), from lexis (word or phrase) +
-phaneia
(to show).]
-Anu Garg
"The danger is in becoming so seduced by the lexiconic that we became
lexiphanes. There's no excuse for indulging in the bombastic at any
time, of course."
Murray Waldren; That's Language; The Australian (Sydney); Jul 16,
2005.
To subscribe, visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 and scroll down to see all the
seminars available on CD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Wooden Horse Magazine News: EVERYWHERE, the soon-to-be-launched
travel magazine, has figured out how to pay writers only $100 for 500
words and call it "social networking." People submit pictures and
stories to the website in one of three categories mapped out by the
editorial staff and these are then voted upon to be included in the
magazine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cassandra King at Foxtale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, Georgia, Sunday,
November 25, 2:00 p.m.
Cassandra King, author of Queen of Broken Hearts, The Same Sweet Girls,
The Sunday Wife and others will be signing books purchased at Foxtale.
Call ahead or come by to purchase yours. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E.
Main St., #138 (by the gazebo), Woodstock, GA 30188. 770/516-9989.
www.foxtalebookshoppe.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your
Writing_ is a 122-page e-book by Bobbie Christmas 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 Wall Street Journal plans to debut its glossy magazine, _Pursuits_
in September 2008. Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer at Journal
parent Dow Jones, revealed the business goal: "Pursuits will extend the
Journal's highly successful 'Business of Life' franchise and attract
more luxury advertisers to reach the Journal's affluent and influential
audience."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All writers and wannabe writers must read the excerpt on resistance
from Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art (Grand Central
Publishing, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. See
http://www.stevenpressfield.com/books/war_art.asp#excerpt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does anyone else find this information sad but amusing? Prosper, a
Sacramento, California-based business magazine, is folding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
http://zebraeditor.com and click on “Tools for Writers.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The National Directory of Magazines reports that there are 15,983 US
and Canadian magazines today, giving us writers plenty of markets where
we can sell our work, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Crichton, born in Chicago in 1942, went to medical school at
Harvard and began writing paperback adventure novels to pay for his
tuition. On top of his schoolwork, he produced 10,000 words a day
(repeat: 10,000 words a day!), published eight novels in three years,
and paid for his schooling. You may remember him as the author of
Andromeda Strain and others. , and including Zero Cool (1969), The
Venom Business (1969), and Drug of Choice (1970).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the entire North American magazine industry used just 30%
post-consumer recycled paper, 6,275,322 million BTU's of energy would
be conserved, or the equivalent of the energy used to power 68,960
homes in a year.
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Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
RFP Writer Needed Today!
Needed immediately: Writer to assist with RFP. If you have to ask what
it is, you’re not the person for the job. If you have written RFPs and
are interested, contact Leah Perry at lperryers@earthlink.net or
404-644-9055. Writers with experience will preferred.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York Book Festival Author of the Year Competition
Entries can be in English, Spanish, French, or Italian and must be
published on or after January 1, 2000. Grand prize for the 2008 New
York Book Festival Author of the Year is $1,500 and a flight to New
York for the awards and festival in Central Park. Regular registration
deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close
of business on May 25, 2008. Winners in each category will be notified
by e-mail. Judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis,
comparing early entries with later submissions. To enter: Click on the
"Enter the Competition" link at http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/
and follow the directions to get an entry form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boomer Publishing Company
2200 E. Sunshine – Suite 324
Springfield, Missouri 65804
http://www.boomerthemagazine.com/
Editor: Todd Yearack
Boomer is a quarterly lifestyle magazine launched this fall devoted
exclusively to today's baby boomer generation. As you strive to get the
most out of your best years, boomer will inspire you to lead enriched,
educated, purposeful lives by immersing you in fresh, insightful
stories, articles, and research with one central focus in mind - you
and your generation. Distribution is to baby boomer homeowners in
Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois,
Kentucky, and Tennessee, as well as in grocery, book, and convenience
stores throughout the Midwest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Mom Is My Hero entries wanted
Click on http://www.literarycottage.com and carefully review all the
text under "Hero
Series Guidelines," where you will also find new sample stories.
Deadline: November 30, 2007
E-mail entries to sreynolds@literarycottage.com as a separate Word
attachment. If you don't have Word available, embed the copy in your
e-mail message (Times New Roman, no special formatting, please).
850-1400 words, tightly written, focused, true, uplifting
Put: "Mom Hero Submission" in the subject line (Important)
Story Tips:
Story must be true and uplifting. We are honoring mothers.
Tell a story—using classic story structure, i.e., beginning/middle/end
Humor is welcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Animal Fair
545 Eighth Avenue, Suite 401
New York, NY 10018
(212) 629-0392
info@animalfair.com
http://animalfair.com/aboutus_guidelines.html
Animal Fair is a lifestyle magazine for animal lovers and is published
quarterly. It needs articles, especially about celebrities and their
pets. To see writers guidelines go to
http://animalfair.com/aboutus_guidelines.html.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIG WORLD will be a high-quality travel magazine and website designed
to help readers plan exciting trips, bringing them new ideas, cultural
developments, trends, foods, etc. They plan publication in early 2008,
and they want to learn about people who have taken unusual vacations
and trips in places in the world that are both known and unknown.
Suggestions for the magazine should go to the editor, Mary D'Ambrosia.
She can be reached at (617) 242-0791, or at editor@travmedia.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jewish Living is a new bimonthly lifestyle magazine from CS Publishing.
The aim of the publication is to be thoroughly modern, celebrating the
Jewish home, family, and Jewish cultural life. It hopes to help Jewish
families and individuals emotionally connect with, and participate more
fully in, their Jewish way of life. It is unaffiliated with any branch
of Jewish life, from the most Orthodox to the most assimilated and will
revolve around the holidays, life cycle events, and cultural
activities, all with a Jewish theme. Circulation will be 100,000 and it
will be available at newsstands in key urban locations across North
America, as well as through some select organizational memberships. The
publishing director is Daniel Zimmerman and his wife, Carol Moskot, who
is the creative director. Lisa Schoenfein;
lschoenfein@jewishinglivingmag.com, is the editor-in-chief. Their
offices are at 108 W. 39th Street, Suite 501, New York, NY 10018, (917)
934-0600. See http://www.jewishlivingmag.com/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make it Mine magazine wants articles
This new magazine is looking for decorating ideas on how to embellish
clothes, accessories, or the home. We are looking for technique
articles that show our readers unique uses of materials and techniques
or teach them the basics about a technique.
Contributor guidelines at
http://www.makeitminemag.com/mim/default.aspx?c=a&id=11.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of Information Ethics
McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers
P.O. Box 611
Jefferson NC 28640
Phone: (336)246-4460
E-Mail: hauptman@stcloudstate.edu
Contact: Robert Hauptman, editor: P.O. Box 32, West Wardsboro VT 05360.
This semiannual scholarly journal "Addresses ethical issues in all of
the information sciences with a deliberately interdisciplinary
approach. Topics range from electronic mail monitoring to library
acquisition of controversial material. The Journal's aim is to present
thoughtful considerations of ethical dilemmas that arise in a rapidly
evolving system of information exchange and dissemination."
90% freelance written
Established: 1992
Pays on publication
Publishes manuscript 2 years after acceptance.
Sample copy For $30.
Writer's guidelines free.
Needs essays, opinion pieces, and book reviews. Buys 10-12
manuscripts/year.
Send complete manuscript. Length: 500–3,500 words
Pays: $25-50 depending on length
"Familiarize yourself with the many areas subsumed under the rubric of
information ethics, e.g., privacy, scholarly communication, errors,
peer review, confidentiality, e-mail, etc. Present a well-rounded
discussion of any fresh, current, or evolving ethical topic within the
information sciences or involving real-world information
collection/exchange."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Literary agency established this September already has good sales
record
Fineprint Literary Management
240 West 35th Street
Suite 500
New York NY 10001
Phone: (212)279-1282
E-mail: (agentfirstname)@fineprintlit.com
Web site: http://www.fineprintlit.com/
FinePrint launched in September 2007 as the merger of the Peter Rubie
Literary Agency and the Imprint Agency. We represent both fiction and
nonfiction for adults and young adults. Our eight full-time agents
allow us to take on works in many categories.
We welcome a wide range of fiction, both literary and commercial,
including thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, women's, romance, chick lit,
YA and middle grade readers. However, we are not the right agency for
poetry, plays, screenplays, or children's picture books.
Agents: Peter Rubie, CEO (nonfiction interests include narrative
nonfiction, popular science, spirituality, history, biography, pop
culture, business, technology, parenting, health, self help, music, and
food; fiction interests include literate thrillers, crime fiction,
science fiction and fantasy, military fiction and literary fiction);
Stephany Evans, president (nonfiction interests include health and
wellness - especially women's health, spirituality, lifestyle, home
renovating/decorating, entertaining, food and wine, popular reference,
and narrative nonfiction; fiction interests include stories with a
strong and interesting female protagonist, both literary and upmarket
commercial — including chick lit, romance, mystery, and light
suspense); June Clark (nonfiction: entertainment, self-help, parenting,
reference/how-to books, teen books, food and wine, style/beauty, and
prescriptive business titles); Diane Freed (nonfiction: health/fitness,
women's issues, memoir, baby boomer trends, parenting, popular culture,
self-help, humor, young adult, and topics of New England regional
interest); Meredith Hays (both fiction and nonfiction: commercial and
literary; she is interested in sophisticated women's fiction such as
urban chick lit, pop culture, lifestyle, animals, and absorbing
nonfiction accounts); Gary Heidt (history, science, true crime, pop
culture, psychology, business, military and some literary fiction);
Janet Reid (mysteries and offbeat literary fiction); Amy Tipton (edgy
fiction - gritty and urban, women's fiction, nonfiction/memoir, and
YA).
Recent Sales include Baby Proof, by Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press);
Crossing Into Medicine Country, by David Carson (Arcade); Rollergirl:
Totally True Tales From the Track, by Melissa Joulwan (Simon &
Schuster); The Pirate Primer, by George Choundras (Writer's Digest
Books).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Oxford American seeks fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
THE OXFORD AMERICAN
201 Donaghey Avenue
Main 107
Conway, AR 72035
The editors at The Oxford American are constantly searching for
well-written, substantive new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from
Southern writers. We request, however, that before submitting work,
writers make themselves familiar with the spirit and aim of the
magazine. It is discouraging to the editors to receive manuscripts from
writers who clearly do not know much about the magazine. See
http://www.oxfordamericanmag.com/submissions.cfm for full information.
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Eight: Writing Assignment – Bibliomancy
For this exercise, you will learn the art of bibliomancy. What is
bibliomancy? It’s the ancient art of foretelling the future or
answering a question by opening any book at random and pointing to the
page without looking—possibly by closing your eyes. Next you open your
eyes and read the words or passage where your finger landed and
decipher the message you receive. Bibliomancy can be accomplished using
any book, although some people use only the Bible in their attempt to
find answers or comfort.
You’re a writer, so I know you have a dictionary or thesaurus in your
house. Choose either of these books. Open it and glance (you don’t have
to point, but you can, if you want) and locate an active verb on the
page. Write it down. Close the book. Open it at random again and pick
out a noun (abstract—such as love, thrift, or pain—or concrete, such as
bench, tree, or elephant). Close it again and open it the third and
last time and pick another noun. Take your three words chosen at random
and use them as the basis of a story.
If you’d like, you can take this exercise a step further, and here’s
how: Pick another book, one that that is not strictly a reference book;
in other words, pick one with more narrative than mere explanations.
Open it at random, point at random, and read the sentence or paragraph
your finger falls on. Write it down. Use the three words you’ve picked
from your dictionary or thesaurus along with the sentence or the
concept of the paragraph you’ve chosen, and put the two together for
the idea for a story.
For example, from my dictionary I’ve picked climb, pain, and bench. For
my second book I pulled the last Harry Potter book from my bookshelf
and at random my finger fell on this sentence: He had at last learned
control.
In putting together a story using my three words and the concept of the
sentence, all found through bibliomancy, I might write a story about a
boy who had not been admonished never to leave his yard, which was
surrounded by high cement walls topped with spikes, which would be most
painful, if he tried to climb over the wall. He yearns to see what lies
beyond his yard, though, and he struggles to find a way to take control
of his life and learn more about the outside world. He learns that he
can climb up on a bench to reach a limb of a tree and boost himself up
and sit in the tree and from there survey the outlying territory. What
if he witnessed a crime from his perch in the tree? What if the
perpetrator saw the boy in the tree, and now his life is in danger,
even as he is tucked inside the very walls his guardians thought would
protect him?
Use your imagination and let it go wild; that’s what writers should do
every day.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
[Note: Some of the links listed in this section may have the words
“tiny url” in them. The reason is simple. Some Web addresses are more
than 150 characters long, and to simplify them, I use a Web site called
www.tinyurl.com. It takes long addresses and converts them to short
ones for convenience, and the short addresses work equally as well as
the long ones.]
Laugh yourself silly playing Thanksgiving Hangman with a sarcastic
twist. See if you can do it with a straight face:
http://www.dedge.com/flash/hangman/
Play with and learn new words, check your vocabulary level, and donate
to the United Nations to help end world hunger, all at no charge! See
http://www.freerice.com/index.php. FreeRice has two goals: Provide
English vocabulary to everyone for free. Help end world hunger by
providing rice to hungry people. These goals are made possible by the
sponsors who advertise on this site.
Free books – http://www.paperbackswap.com. For free and for keeps, you
can find paperbacks that you want and receive them from other members.
To do so, you have to earn swap credits by sending your unwanted
paperbacks to others. The only costs involved are basic postage.
How to pitch a young adult novel. See Kristin Nelson’s three-part blog
that amounts to a full workshop on pitches: http://tinyurl.com/33vfs9,
http://tinyurl.com/374b6q, and http://tinyurl.com/3x96ta.
Calling itself a "literary journal," Sunoasis.com lists jobs for
journalists, new media personnel, editors, and freelancers. The list is
regionalized and is categorized. Updated daily, it keeps growing and
improving and recently added good search engines.
http://www.sunoasis.com
Have you found an interesting Web site for writers? Send the link for
possible inclusion in the next newsletter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
…………………………………………………………………………….
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.”
…………………………………………………………………………….
The Writers Network News– a newsletter for writers everywhere.
"No Rules; Just Write!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 and
High Point 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, a little way
past Andretti's. Once you are inside King Buffet, the meeting room is
through an archway on the left past the cashier.
Restaurant phone: 678-352-1606.
…………………………………………………………………………….
November 20, 2007
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2007, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission.
Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is not to be construed as an
endorsement. Be sure to research all information and study every
stipulation before you accept assignments or sell your work.
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/
Bobbie’s Blog:
http://journals.aol.com/bzebra/BobbieChristmasBlogforWriters/
----------------------------------------------
The Writers Network meets next on December 7, 2007
No dues; no fees
No rules; just write!
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, starting at 12:00 noon.
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 Larry Kaplan, Paul Philip DuBose
Two: From the editor’s desk – Holiday Hell or Holiday Happiness?
Three: Ask the Book Doctor – About Tips on Writing for Magazines
Four: This Month’s Tip from Bobbie Christmas –
Five: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Six: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Seven: Writing Assignment – Bibliomancy
Eight: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To view past issues of The Writers Network News, go to:
http://home.ezezine.com/886_2/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer’s quote of the day:
"Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human
mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in
private." –Allen Ginsberg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: Kudos to Larry Kaplan, Paul Philip DuBose
I signed a contract to publish my first book, _House of Ghosts_, a
historical/thriller that takes place during WWII. --Larry Kaplan
Paul Philip DuBose reports that the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
committee has accepted his novel submission. “My dream is that _Where
Seagulls Fly_ wins first place. The award is a publishing contract with
Penguin Publishing and a $25,000.00 advance,” he says. Only 5,000
submissions were accepted.
Congratulations to these folks. Your successes encourage others, so
please send in your accomplishments for our kudos section.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two: From the editor’s desk — Holiday Hell or Holiday Happiness?
Dear Fellow Writers:
The holidays are here, and along with our regular workload, we now have
the added potential stress of shopping for, wrapping, and sending
gifts; buying, signing, stamping, and mailing cards; and for some,
traveling and extra parties and obligations. Oh, yes, the holidays are
supposed to be a time for joy, but for most of us, the joy left us once
we stopped being simple recipients as children and had to become
responsible adults. Most adults admit they face the holidays with more
trepidation than elation.
How can we turn things around and enjoy the holidays once again? We can
do it by wresting control and keeping it. For example, I’ve stop giving
gifts. Period. That one change has meant not only hours and hours of
time not spent in traffic and crowds but also hundreds of dollars not
wasted on gifts that probably went unappreciated anyway. My friends and
family members are all adults who are well set and can buy whatever
they want. Instead of wasting money on them, I send one abundant
donation to a worthy charity. In my opinion, Heifer International is
one of the best. It uses donations to buy farm animals for people in
third-world countries. Those animals continue to give milk, eggs, and
assistance to the families for many years to come. I rest well knowing
I’ve done a good thing and haven’t risked life, limb, and logic while
shopping.
Another way I wrenched back control was to just say “no.” More and more
people invite me to parties, these days, and I decline more than not. I
save time for my own projects, my writing, my editing, my quiet time.
Granted I probably blow all that peace and quiet in one fell swoop when
I give my own holiday party, which began as a family gathering years
ago and has grown to include anyone who has nowhere to go on Christmas
Day. I cook for a couple of days, set out a buffet, and enjoy the
smiling faces that come through on Christmas Day.
How will you spend your holidays? Will you live as a victim to
obligation or as a writer gathering joyful material for your next
story? Never forget that you do have a choice.
Happy Holidays!
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 Tips on Writing for Magazines
Q: I am new to writing professionally and would like to write magazine
articles, but I have trouble starting the first paragraph. Can you give
me some tips on starting an article? Can you give me any other tips
that may be helpful?
A: No matter what we write, almost all writers have difficulty with the
opening paragraph, so I advise writers to start anywhere. Just dive in;
don’t worry about what to say first, just plow through and write the
information you want the article to impart. The first draft is simply a
draft, anyway.
During the revision stage, manipulate the information into a logical
correct order and add good transitions from one subject to the next or
add subheads to break up the information. While you read through what
you have written, you may find a paragraph that, slightly revised and
moved to the front, will make the perfect opening. You may even find
that your conclusion is good, and if you write an opening paragraph
that hints at the conclusion, the article will be circular, returning,
in essence, to information stated in the beginning. Great openings
rarely come to writers during the first draft. They are best left for
discovery during the rewrite, so don’t worry about the details of the
opening until the revision.
Also during the revision be sure that the article contains all five W’s
of journalism (who, how, why, what, where, and when), but for the
opening, remember that some of those points are less interesting than
others. People like to read about people, so the best leads include
“who,” if possible. For example, examine the following two openings for
a hypothetical article:
1. On May 4 a law goes into effect that prohibits the use of hair
dye containing zenothol, a compound that may cause birth defects when
used by pregnant women, but women are complaining.
2. Sixty-five-year-old Effie Smith studies her copper-colored
curls in her front hall mirror and shakes her head. “I can’t believe
I’ll be a criminal in two weeks,” she says. On May 4 a law goes into
effect that prohibits the use of hair dye containing zenothol, a
compound found in red dye that has been found to cause birth defects.
“I’m not about to get pregnant at my age, so why should I have to live
by that stupid law?” Smith asks. “I’ve stockpiled all the stuff I can,
and I’ll keep using it. I’ve been dying my hair for more than thirty
years, and I’m not about to stop.”
Note that the first opening paraphrases the quotations, whereas the
second opening uses a person and quotations to get the attention of
readers. The first opening tells, rather than shows. The first opening
uses “when and what” as the opening information, a news style that gets
to the point but does not engage the reader the way a magazine article
should. The second version starts with “who” and engages readers
visually. They can envision the woman shaking her head in front of a
mirror. Always lead with the most interesting points in magazine
articles, whenever possible.
My other tips involve following the trend of the specific magazine you
are writing for. To discover this information, obtain and study one or
more issues of the magazine before you submit anything. Make notes on
the following details:
• Are the titles of the articles clever and playful, or do they
simply state what the article is about?
• Does the magazine break longer stories into small sections with
subheads? If so, break your article into smaller chunks with subheads,
too, unless you are writing a short filler.
• Do the longer articles have sidebars with extra information? If
so, see if you can add more information by adding a sidebar or perhaps
move part of the information out of your article and into a sidebar.
• Are the articles several pages long, or do they tend to be
complete on one page? Make sure your article adheres to the average
length of articles in your targeted periodical.
• Is the writing funky and casual or businesslike and formal?
Does it use technical terms, long words, and rambling sentences or
simple words and short sentences? Be sure your writing conforms to the
writing style of the magazine.
• Does the periodical follow Associated Press Style or Chicago
Style (the style guide dictates when to capitalize words, when to use a
number or spell it out, and whether to use a serial comma—that is, a
comma before the word “and” in a series). If you don’t know which style
guide the magazine follows, ask.
• Look for writer’s guidelines for the magazine and follow them.
Some magazines even have Web sites with guidelines clearly spelled out.
Anything you can do to make an editor’s life easier will make you a
treasured freelancer and one more likely to get assignments and
acceptances.
Send your questions to Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas for a personal
answer. Contact her at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book
Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
Would you like to read or save the Ask The Book Doctor column as a
clear PDF file? Now you can! See
http://zebraeditor.com/files/ask_the_book_doctor.pdf. The column will
be available at that address until about the twentieth of each month,
after which it will be replaced with a new one.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Four: This Month’s Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Don’t Hurt Your Feelings
When we speak we often use the term “feel” when we really mean “think,”
“believe,” or “sense.” Every time you find the word “feel” in your
writing, you may have found an opportunity for improvement, an
opportunity to use a more defined word or make a clearer statement.
Below are some examples of the use “feel” and a possible refinement.
See how the unrefined statement is not necessarily wrong, but refining
it makes a stronger statement.
Unrefined: If you feel you are being discriminated against, contact an
attorney.
Refined: If you sense that you are being discriminated against, contact
an attorney.
Unrefined: I feel like parents should take a stronger stand with their
children.
Refined: Parents should take a stronger stand with their children.
Unrefined: She felt her husband was seeing another woman.
Refined: She thought her husband was seeing another woman.
Unrefined: Mary felt that honey was better for her children than white
sugar.
Refined: Mary believed honey was better for her children than white
sugar.
Find opportunities for improvement in your own work by using my
trademarked Find and Refine Method. With your file open on your
computer, pull down Edit, then Find, then type in the word you want to
find, and your computer will stop on each one and allow you to ponder
whether you can improve or delete that usage. For more opportunities
for improvement, read my textbook on creative writing: _Write In Style_
(Union Square Publishing). Buy it in your local bookstore or order it
from Amazon.com by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/2ayh2m.
Find and Refine
Type into the Find function, feel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Five: Letters from Members
Best description of why to stay away from those "time wasters" I have
ever read ! I just broke free of one. With my sanity barely intact.
--Maria I. Hodges
-----
I enjoy getting the newsletter. As a novice novelist, I find it very
enlightening.
--Terry Mominee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, Bobbie,
I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day, and and Dr.
Christiane Northrup, a female gynecologist, was talking about women's
issues, particularly with regard to menopause. She was pushing a book
called the _The Wisdom of Menopause_. She was discussing ways for
middle-aged women to get more enjoyment out of sex, one of them being
to read romance novels before bedtime, or as she calls them
"Cliterature." I thought it was pretty clever. Have you ever heard them
called that?
--Roz Rosenburg
[Ed. Note: I’ve heard of women’s erotica and chick lit, but I love the
term cliterature and will adopt it immediately!]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Six: Subjects of interest to writers
Summer Memoir Workshop in Prague July 3 - 11, 2008, taught by Patricia
Foster, award-winning author and University of Iowa Writing Programs
professor.
http://www.seminarsoncreativity.com/writing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From A Word A Day by Arnu Garg:
lexiphanes (lex-SIF-uh-neez) noun
One who uses words pretentiously.
[From Greek lexiphanes (phrase monger), from lexis (word or phrase) +
-phaneia
(to show).]
-Anu Garg
"The danger is in becoming so seduced by the lexiconic that we became
lexiphanes. There's no excuse for indulging in the bombastic at any
time, of course."
Murray Waldren; That's Language; The Australian (Sydney); Jul 16,
2005.
To subscribe, visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 and scroll down to see all the
seminars available on CD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Wooden Horse Magazine News: EVERYWHERE, the soon-to-be-launched
travel magazine, has figured out how to pay writers only $100 for 500
words and call it "social networking." People submit pictures and
stories to the website in one of three categories mapped out by the
editorial staff and these are then voted upon to be included in the
magazine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cassandra King at Foxtale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, Georgia, Sunday,
November 25, 2:00 p.m.
Cassandra King, author of Queen of Broken Hearts, The Same Sweet Girls,
The Sunday Wife and others will be signing books purchased at Foxtale.
Call ahead or come by to purchase yours. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E.
Main St., #138 (by the gazebo), Woodstock, GA 30188. 770/516-9989.
www.foxtalebookshoppe.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your
Writing_ is a 122-page e-book by Bobbie Christmas 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 Wall Street Journal plans to debut its glossy magazine, _Pursuits_
in September 2008. Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer at Journal
parent Dow Jones, revealed the business goal: "Pursuits will extend the
Journal's highly successful 'Business of Life' franchise and attract
more luxury advertisers to reach the Journal's affluent and influential
audience."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All writers and wannabe writers must read the excerpt on resistance
from Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art (Grand Central
Publishing, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. See
http://www.stevenpressfield.com/books/war_art.asp#excerpt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does anyone else find this information sad but amusing? Prosper, a
Sacramento, California-based business magazine, is folding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
http://zebraeditor.com and click on “Tools for Writers.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The National Directory of Magazines reports that there are 15,983 US
and Canadian magazines today, giving us writers plenty of markets where
we can sell our work, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Crichton, born in Chicago in 1942, went to medical school at
Harvard and began writing paperback adventure novels to pay for his
tuition. On top of his schoolwork, he produced 10,000 words a day
(repeat: 10,000 words a day!), published eight novels in three years,
and paid for his schooling. You may remember him as the author of
Andromeda Strain and others. , and including Zero Cool (1969), The
Venom Business (1969), and Drug of Choice (1970).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the entire North American magazine industry used just 30%
post-consumer recycled paper, 6,275,322 million BTU's of energy would
be conserved, or the equivalent of the energy used to power 68,960
homes in a year.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
RFP Writer Needed Today!
Needed immediately: Writer to assist with RFP. If you have to ask what
it is, you’re not the person for the job. If you have written RFPs and
are interested, contact Leah Perry at lperryers@earthlink.net or
404-644-9055. Writers with experience will preferred.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York Book Festival Author of the Year Competition
Entries can be in English, Spanish, French, or Italian and must be
published on or after January 1, 2000. Grand prize for the 2008 New
York Book Festival Author of the Year is $1,500 and a flight to New
York for the awards and festival in Central Park. Regular registration
deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close
of business on May 25, 2008. Winners in each category will be notified
by e-mail. Judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis,
comparing early entries with later submissions. To enter: Click on the
"Enter the Competition" link at http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/
and follow the directions to get an entry form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boomer Publishing Company
2200 E. Sunshine – Suite 324
Springfield, Missouri 65804
http://www.boomerthemagazine.com/
Editor: Todd Yearack
Boomer is a quarterly lifestyle magazine launched this fall devoted
exclusively to today's baby boomer generation. As you strive to get the
most out of your best years, boomer will inspire you to lead enriched,
educated, purposeful lives by immersing you in fresh, insightful
stories, articles, and research with one central focus in mind - you
and your generation. Distribution is to baby boomer homeowners in
Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois,
Kentucky, and Tennessee, as well as in grocery, book, and convenience
stores throughout the Midwest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Mom Is My Hero entries wanted
Click on http://www.literarycottage.com and carefully review all the
text under "Hero
Series Guidelines," where you will also find new sample stories.
Deadline: November 30, 2007
E-mail entries to sreynolds@literarycottage.com as a separate Word
attachment. If you don't have Word available, embed the copy in your
e-mail message (Times New Roman, no special formatting, please).
850-1400 words, tightly written, focused, true, uplifting
Put: "Mom Hero Submission" in the subject line (Important)
Story Tips:
Story must be true and uplifting. We are honoring mothers.
Tell a story—using classic story structure, i.e., beginning/middle/end
Humor is welcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Animal Fair
545 Eighth Avenue, Suite 401
New York, NY 10018
(212) 629-0392
info@animalfair.com
http://animalfair.com/aboutus_guidelines.html
Animal Fair is a lifestyle magazine for animal lovers and is published
quarterly. It needs articles, especially about celebrities and their
pets. To see writers guidelines go to
http://animalfair.com/aboutus_guidelines.html.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIG WORLD will be a high-quality travel magazine and website designed
to help readers plan exciting trips, bringing them new ideas, cultural
developments, trends, foods, etc. They plan publication in early 2008,
and they want to learn about people who have taken unusual vacations
and trips in places in the world that are both known and unknown.
Suggestions for the magazine should go to the editor, Mary D'Ambrosia.
She can be reached at (617) 242-0791, or at editor@travmedia.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jewish Living is a new bimonthly lifestyle magazine from CS Publishing.
The aim of the publication is to be thoroughly modern, celebrating the
Jewish home, family, and Jewish cultural life. It hopes to help Jewish
families and individuals emotionally connect with, and participate more
fully in, their Jewish way of life. It is unaffiliated with any branch
of Jewish life, from the most Orthodox to the most assimilated and will
revolve around the holidays, life cycle events, and cultural
activities, all with a Jewish theme. Circulation will be 100,000 and it
will be available at newsstands in key urban locations across North
America, as well as through some select organizational memberships. The
publishing director is Daniel Zimmerman and his wife, Carol Moskot, who
is the creative director. Lisa Schoenfein;
lschoenfein@jewishinglivingmag.com, is the editor-in-chief. Their
offices are at 108 W. 39th Street, Suite 501, New York, NY 10018, (917)
934-0600. See http://www.jewishlivingmag.com/.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make it Mine magazine wants articles
This new magazine is looking for decorating ideas on how to embellish
clothes, accessories, or the home. We are looking for technique
articles that show our readers unique uses of materials and techniques
or teach them the basics about a technique.
Contributor guidelines at
http://www.makeitminemag.com/mim/default.aspx?c=a&id=11.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of Information Ethics
McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers
P.O. Box 611
Jefferson NC 28640
Phone: (336)246-4460
E-Mail: hauptman@stcloudstate.edu
Contact: Robert Hauptman, editor: P.O. Box 32, West Wardsboro VT 05360.
This semiannual scholarly journal "Addresses ethical issues in all of
the information sciences with a deliberately interdisciplinary
approach. Topics range from electronic mail monitoring to library
acquisition of controversial material. The Journal's aim is to present
thoughtful considerations of ethical dilemmas that arise in a rapidly
evolving system of information exchange and dissemination."
90% freelance written
Established: 1992
Pays on publication
Publishes manuscript 2 years after acceptance.
Sample copy For $30.
Writer's guidelines free.
Needs essays, opinion pieces, and book reviews. Buys 10-12
manuscripts/year.
Send complete manuscript. Length: 500–3,500 words
Pays: $25-50 depending on length
"Familiarize yourself with the many areas subsumed under the rubric of
information ethics, e.g., privacy, scholarly communication, errors,
peer review, confidentiality, e-mail, etc. Present a well-rounded
discussion of any fresh, current, or evolving ethical topic within the
information sciences or involving real-world information
collection/exchange."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Literary agency established this September already has good sales
record
Fineprint Literary Management
240 West 35th Street
Suite 500
New York NY 10001
Phone: (212)279-1282
E-mail: (agentfirstname)@fineprintlit.com
Web site: http://www.fineprintlit.com/
FinePrint launched in September 2007 as the merger of the Peter Rubie
Literary Agency and the Imprint Agency. We represent both fiction and
nonfiction for adults and young adults. Our eight full-time agents
allow us to take on works in many categories.
We welcome a wide range of fiction, both literary and commercial,
including thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, women's, romance, chick lit,
YA and middle grade readers. However, we are not the right agency for
poetry, plays, screenplays, or children's picture books.
Agents: Peter Rubie, CEO (nonfiction interests include narrative
nonfiction, popular science, spirituality, history, biography, pop
culture, business, technology, parenting, health, self help, music, and
food; fiction interests include literate thrillers, crime fiction,
science fiction and fantasy, military fiction and literary fiction);
Stephany Evans, president (nonfiction interests include health and
wellness - especially women's health, spirituality, lifestyle, home
renovating/decorating, entertaining, food and wine, popular reference,
and narrative nonfiction; fiction interests include stories with a
strong and interesting female protagonist, both literary and upmarket
commercial — including chick lit, romance, mystery, and light
suspense); June Clark (nonfiction: entertainment, self-help, parenting,
reference/how-to books, teen books, food and wine, style/beauty, and
prescriptive business titles); Diane Freed (nonfiction: health/fitness,
women's issues, memoir, baby boomer trends, parenting, popular culture,
self-help, humor, young adult, and topics of New England regional
interest); Meredith Hays (both fiction and nonfiction: commercial and
literary; she is interested in sophisticated women's fiction such as
urban chick lit, pop culture, lifestyle, animals, and absorbing
nonfiction accounts); Gary Heidt (history, science, true crime, pop
culture, psychology, business, military and some literary fiction);
Janet Reid (mysteries and offbeat literary fiction); Amy Tipton (edgy
fiction - gritty and urban, women's fiction, nonfiction/memoir, and
YA).
Recent Sales include Baby Proof, by Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press);
Crossing Into Medicine Country, by David Carson (Arcade); Rollergirl:
Totally True Tales From the Track, by Melissa Joulwan (Simon &
Schuster); The Pirate Primer, by George Choundras (Writer's Digest
Books).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Oxford American seeks fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
THE OXFORD AMERICAN
201 Donaghey Avenue
Main 107
Conway, AR 72035
The editors at The Oxford American are constantly searching for
well-written, substantive new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from
Southern writers. We request, however, that before submitting work,
writers make themselves familiar with the spirit and aim of the
magazine. It is discouraging to the editors to receive manuscripts from
writers who clearly do not know much about the magazine. See
http://www.oxfordamericanmag.com/submissions.cfm for full information.
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Eight: Writing Assignment – Bibliomancy
For this exercise, you will learn the art of bibliomancy. What is
bibliomancy? It’s the ancient art of foretelling the future or
answering a question by opening any book at random and pointing to the
page without looking—possibly by closing your eyes. Next you open your
eyes and read the words or passage where your finger landed and
decipher the message you receive. Bibliomancy can be accomplished using
any book, although some people use only the Bible in their attempt to
find answers or comfort.
You’re a writer, so I know you have a dictionary or thesaurus in your
house. Choose either of these books. Open it and glance (you don’t have
to point, but you can, if you want) and locate an active verb on the
page. Write it down. Close the book. Open it at random again and pick
out a noun (abstract—such as love, thrift, or pain—or concrete, such as
bench, tree, or elephant). Close it again and open it the third and
last time and pick another noun. Take your three words chosen at random
and use them as the basis of a story.
If you’d like, you can take this exercise a step further, and here’s
how: Pick another book, one that that is not strictly a reference book;
in other words, pick one with more narrative than mere explanations.
Open it at random, point at random, and read the sentence or paragraph
your finger falls on. Write it down. Use the three words you’ve picked
from your dictionary or thesaurus along with the sentence or the
concept of the paragraph you’ve chosen, and put the two together for
the idea for a story.
For example, from my dictionary I’ve picked climb, pain, and bench. For
my second book I pulled the last Harry Potter book from my bookshelf
and at random my finger fell on this sentence: He had at last learned
control.
In putting together a story using my three words and the concept of the
sentence, all found through bibliomancy, I might write a story about a
boy who had not been admonished never to leave his yard, which was
surrounded by high cement walls topped with spikes, which would be most
painful, if he tried to climb over the wall. He yearns to see what lies
beyond his yard, though, and he struggles to find a way to take control
of his life and learn more about the outside world. He learns that he
can climb up on a bench to reach a limb of a tree and boost himself up
and sit in the tree and from there survey the outlying territory. What
if he witnessed a crime from his perch in the tree? What if the
perpetrator saw the boy in the tree, and now his life is in danger,
even as he is tucked inside the very walls his guardians thought would
protect him?
Use your imagination and let it go wild; that’s what writers should do
every day.
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Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
[Note: Some of the links listed in this section may have the words
“tiny url” in them. The reason is simple. Some Web addresses are more
than 150 characters long, and to simplify them, I use a Web site called
www.tinyurl.com. It takes long addresses and converts them to short
ones for convenience, and the short addresses work equally as well as
the long ones.]
Laugh yourself silly playing Thanksgiving Hangman with a sarcastic
twist. See if you can do it with a straight face:
http://www.dedge.com/flash/hangman/
Play with and learn new words, check your vocabulary level, and donate
to the United Nations to help end world hunger, all at no charge! See
http://www.freerice.com/index.php. FreeRice has two goals: Provide
English vocabulary to everyone for free. Help end world hunger by
providing rice to hungry people. These goals are made possible by the
sponsors who advertise on this site.
Free books – http://www.paperbackswap.com. For free and for keeps, you
can find paperbacks that you want and receive them from other members.
To do so, you have to earn swap credits by sending your unwanted
paperbacks to others. The only costs involved are basic postage.
How to pitch a young adult novel. See Kristin Nelson’s three-part blog
that amounts to a full workshop on pitches: http://tinyurl.com/33vfs9,
http://tinyurl.com/374b6q, and http://tinyurl.com/3x96ta.
Calling itself a "literary journal," Sunoasis.com lists jobs for
journalists, new media personnel, editors, and freelancers. The list is
regionalized and is categorized. Updated daily, it keeps growing and
improving and recently added good search engines.
http://www.sunoasis.com
Have you found an interesting Web site for writers? Send the link for
possible inclusion in the next newsletter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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
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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 and
High Point 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, a little way
past Andretti's. Once you are inside King Buffet, the meeting room is
through an archway on the left past the cashier.
Restaurant phone: 678-352-1606.
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