The Writers Network News January 2010 issue http://ezezine.com
January 2010 Issue
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2009, 2010, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission; however,
you may forward the newsletter in its entirety to anyone who may be
interested in subscribing.
Newsletter Sponsor
Zebra Communications: We help you write in style, so you increase your
chances of success. Editing that makes books, magazines, and business
materials more marketable.
We are a top-rated Better Business Bureau Accredited Business.
Zebra Communications
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770/924-0528
http://zebraeditor.com/
Note Bobbie’s NEW Blog: http://bobbiechristmas.blogspot.com/. Add your
own comments, too.
----------------------------------------------
Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News
In This Issue
One: Kudos to Glenda Council Beall, Zan Marie Steadham, and me!
Two: From the editor’s desk – Set Yourself up for Success
Three: Ask the Book Doctor – About legitimate operations, end marks,
query letters, and the use of “which” versus “that” (and more!)
Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Over/More Than
Five: Letters from Members
Six: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Eight: Creative Writing Assignment – Nouns and Verbs
Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
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To view current and past issues of The Writers Network News, go to
http://tinyurl.com/c4otf6.
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[Note: Some links may include “tiny url” with the help of
www.tinyurl.com, which takes long Web addresses and converts them to
short ones.]
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Writer’s quote of the day
“One of the elements of an art is the fact that it communicates. The
transaction isn’t complete if you don’t publish.” –Kay Ryan, current
U.S. poet laureate
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One: Kudos* to
I am very pleased that my poetry chapbook, NOW MIGHT AS WELL BE THEN,
published by Finishing Line Press, is available at
www.finishinglinepress.com and www.Amazon.com as well as from me,
writerlady21@yahoo.com. For a review of this, my first book, see
www.hilltopnotes.blogspot.com.
--Glenda Council Beall
---
My new book, An Easter Walk: from Palm Sunday to the Ascension, is now
available. It's a devotional that has forty devotions for Lent
presented in chronological order. It's available by e-mailing me at
zanmariess@gmail.com. --Zan Marie Steadham
---
I can finally announce the arrival of Hart’s Original Petpourri Vol. 1
Miscellany. It has been endorsed by Jack Hanna, director emeritus,
Columbus Zoo and TV host of Into the Wild and Vic Digenti, author of
the Windrusher Trilogy. The book will be available from Barnes and
Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores; however, I am making it available
in advance from my own Web site, www.Originaldrhart.com. –Bob Hart
---
And last and of course least, kudos to me, your editor, for (finally)
winning the weekly Lim-Ber Your Mind limerick contest of the Yahoo
Limericks and Haiku Group. Members share their haiku and limericks
whenever they wish, plus each week the leader assigns a weekly limerick
challenge and picks the winner. For week 100, the assignment was to
write a limerick that began with “Our limerick group is so _______.” We
had to finish the first line and then supply the next four lines. I had
been a co-winner two or three times in the past, but at last I became a
clear winner with the following entry:
Our limerick group is so smitten
With all of the words we have written,
But to Lim-Ber our minds
And win with our lines,
We must eschew more than we’ve bitten.
Would you like to join the Limericks and Haiku Group? It’s easy. Send a
blank e-mail to: limericks_n_haiku-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to sign
up.
---
Your successes encourage others; please send your accomplishments for
our kudos section.
*Kudos: praise or honor, glory for an achievement (Like “praise,”
“kudos” is a singular noun and takes a singular verb)
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Two: From the editor’s desk — Set Yourself up for Success
Dear Fellow Writers:
If you haven’t already, you’ll probably soon be making New Year’s
resolutions, and if you’re like most of us, you will have broken all
your resolutions by January 31.
This year, set yourself up for success, rather than failure.
I know that every writer has the desire to write more, submit more, and
publish more than the year before, but those are not resolutions; they
are wishes. To make them goals, break them down into small tasks you
can accomplish. Here’s an example:
I will write one chapter or short story or four poems each month.
I will submit at least two query letters, articles, or poems each week.
If you make those two resolutions (or something similar) and follow
them, you will, in all probability, realize your desire to publish
more.
I know the system works; I’ve used it successfully many times. One year
I used it to write and sell my book, Write In Style. One year I won a
year-long poetry competition by submitting at least one poem a month to
a specific competition. Whenever one of my poems placed first, second,
or third, I received points. At the end of the year, my poetry had won
the most points, so I won first place and received a cash reward. Along
the way, I had written many new poems to add to my collection.
Want to make 2010 your most successful year ever? Follow my simple
system. Write to me at the end of the year to let me know how it worked
for you. You might also get published in The Writers Network News!
One more note: Write In Style, my award-winning book on creative
writing, is now officially out of print. You can, however, buy one of
the remaining copies directly for me. To purchase, go to
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of triple-award-winning Write In Style (Union Square
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 network.
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please sign up to get your
own copy. Simply go to www.zebraeditor.com, click on “Free Newsletter,”
and follow the prompts. I never share your address or send out spam.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: Ask the Book Doctor — About legitimate operations, end marks,
query letters, and the use of “which” versus “that” (and more!)
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: With all the scam operations out there, is there anyone I can trust
in the book business?
A: Yes. Legitimate competitions, publishers, and agents do exist;
otherwise, I'd get out of the business, myself. Use sources such as
Writersmarket.com, which supposedly checks out contests, agents, and
publishers before listing them. Check with the Better Business Bureau
wherever you can. Ask folks like me, too, who have been around and seen
it all, and we'll help guide you, too.
Q: What is the most appropriate way to end a piece of creative
nonfiction? Should I use "The End" or #####?
A: The point is to show the piece is finished. “The End” is
appropriate, as well as one crosshatch or number sign (#). The ends of
journalism articles are often marked -30-, which is also appropriate
for creative nonfiction.
Q: I read something--I don't remember where--that gave examples of
query letters. Can give me information on writing a query letter?
A: Entire books have been written on the subject of writing query
letters because the content depends on the type of manuscript you want
to sell.
To begin with, always check potential publishers’ or agents’ Web sites
or other information to determine if and how they want to receive query
letters. Some accept submissions online through their Web sites and
don’t require a separate letter. Some want queries sent by e-mail. Some
still require that queries be sent by regular mail.
Once you know how the publisher or agent wants to receive queries, be
sure to keep the query short and businesslike. The first paragraph
should give the title, word count, and one-sentence description. The
second paragraph should go into a little more detail. The third
paragraph should give your writing credits, expertise, or explain why
you’re the right person to write the book. The last paragraph should
request permission to send more. That’s it. Be sure to put all your
contact information in at the top of the page (not the bottom), plus,
if sent by regular mail, always include a self-addressed, stamped
envelope.
I also offer a free report on the do’s and don’ts of query letters.
Send an e-mail to freereports@zebraeditor.com, and you’ll be sent a
link for all my free reports.
Q: In a former column, someone asked for the rule about when to use
“which” and when to use “that.” You answered like this:
“I could give you am involved and boring rule, but one quick-and-easy
way to remember when to use ‘which’ and when to use ‘that’ is this: If
the word can be eliminated, but the following information cannot, you
probably mean ‘that.’ If any word can be eliminated, eliminate it and
write tight. (Example: I told Jan that I liked fish. Better: I told Jan
I liked fish.) On the other hand, if you have the urge to put a comma
in front of it, you probably mean ‘which’ (Example: The fish, which had
been caught three days earlier, had a distinct odor.)
This isn't a rule on when to use "that," it's a rule that eliminates
the use of "that" from all writing!
A: Thank you for your reply, but I am tempted to say: "That is simply
not true!" Look at these examples:
The shoe found in that corner was the clue to the murder.
The fact that she was always late did not mean she did not care.
I stand by my original statement that (!) words that (!) are
unnecessary should be deleted. Writers who keep their writing pithy
eliminate unnecessary words and employ powerful ones.
Keep me on my toes, though. I like it.
More! Some sharp-eyed readers noticed that last month’s column title
referred to questions and answers that were missing. Below are the
missing entries. Sorry about the goof!
Q: Are you familiar with this Web site/contest? [deleted for anonymity]
Do you know if it’s legit? A friend of mine said she entered the
contest a few times and that it seems legit to her. They offer prizes
of $1,000, $2,000, and $4,000, but I don’t see how they make any money.
I see no sponsor and no associated publication, so it seems very
suspicious to me. What do you think?
A: The site offers no prestige because it is simply a financial
endeavor. When you do the math, the organization has to receive fewer
than 300 entries with the $25 entry fee to be in the black, and the
rest is profit. Because the contest is promoted around the world for an
extended time and at no cost through the Internet, I’m sure it gets
more than the necessary entries. It runs the competitions for however
long it takes to get enough entries to make it profitable, by the way.
It just extended the deadline for the current competition.
I wasn’t impressed with the writing of prior winners, so it seems if
you send a really good entry, you should have a chance of winning one
of the cash prizes. All you have to lose is $25, right?
It depends on your goals, though. If your goal is to win money, it’s
worth a try. If it’s to get recognition and publication, obviously this
competition isn’t the best way to go.
Q: When I want to write a story, it’s like I am completely brain dead.
I know I am a good writer, but I don’t know what to write about. Can
you help me find a way to a topic or give me a few ideas?
A: I had the same problem for years. My ideas came while I took a
shower or as I was falling asleep, waking up, driving the car, or even
meditating. I promised myself I’d remember them, but when I sat in
front of the typewriter (yes, I go back that far) or held a pen in
hand, none of my grand ideas would come to mind.
I solved the problem when someone gave me a pocket-sized journal.
Perhaps it was meant to be some sort of diary, but instead I carried it
with me at all times, and when an idea came to me, I jotted down a few
words, so I could remember it.
Soon I discovered that story ideas were not the only things worth
recording. Once I had pen and paper with me at all times, hoards of
material bombarded me. Sometimes a minister said a line in church that
struck a chord or someone said something in passing that made me stop
and think. Whatever I heard that interested me, I wrote it down. If I
read an interesting name that might make a good character name, I wrote
it down. I recorded good city names or odd business names that came to
mind or that I actually saw. If a childhood memory floated through, I
wrote down enough words so I’d remember it. I made up names for stories
and books I might produce. I documented subjects I should cover in
future nonfiction books. I wrote down bits of information or trivia
that struck me as interesting. Since that first journal, I have filled
many journals and spiral-bound notebooks, and they reside on a
bookshelf in my office.
Now whenever I sit down to write, if my mind goes blank, I can flip
through any one of my journals, and the first bit of information that
speaks to me at that time becomes a story, an essay, or a poem.
Sometimes a poem triggers an entire essay, or vice versa. Although much
of what I write these days is nonfiction, I also combine items from my
journals to create fiction. No matter what I want to write, I have a
treasure trove of ideas and information I can dip into at any time.
Make sure you have a writing instrument and paper with you at all
times, and you’ll stockpile information and material you can use
whenever you sit down to write. I promise.
Send your questions to the Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas at
Bobbie@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 newest column
is posted around the first of each month.
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Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Over/More Than
Avoid using “over” to mean “more than.” Reserve the use of “over” to
the literal. (The dog jumped over the barrel.) Wrong: He’s over eighty
years old. Correct: He’s more than eighty years old.
Often “over” can be deleted, with no change in meaning. Examples: Move
your chair over toward the fire. Joe invited us over for cocktails.
Better: Move your chair toward the fire. Joe invited us for cocktails.
Be sure to use Bobbie’s Find and Refine Method to find and repair any
misuses of “over” in your manuscripts. For a complete report on how to
apply the Find and Refine Method, send an e-mail to
freereports@zebraeditor.com, and you’ll get a link to many reports,
including one on the Find and Refine Method.
For even more opportunities for improvement, buy Write In Style (Union
Square Publishing) in your local bookstore or order it from Amazon.com
by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/2ayh2m. Hurry! The publisher is
running out of copies and soon will take the book out of print.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Five: Letters from Members
Hi Bobbie:
Your advice about "Setting Rates for Editing" is excellent, as it is
for all the questions you receive. I like your statement that if
editors do not know what to charge, they are definitely newcomers. For
newcomers, there is no "going rate." Start-ups need to experiment with
what works for them and their clients. I'd like to share a few
additional thoughts with your readers, if I may.
Newcomers to contract editing, as contrasted with apprenticing to a
senior editor, receive no feedback on their work except from their
clients, whose need for editing puts them in a doubtful position to
"edit the editor." Few clients recognize unsatisfactory work (though
readers will), and even fewer express it, so new independent editors
have no way of evaluating the quality of their work, learning to
improve by working under a senior editor or mentor, and catching their
own oversights, assumptions, and misconceptions, some of which we were
taught in school! Over and over I hear "rules" such as “never end a
sentence with a preposition.” Not! Moreover, what passes for an
accepted practice in one genre is sometimes laughed at in another.
Many skills needed by an editor go beyond the technical (grammar,
punctuation, etc.). Dialogue is one thing clients usually know better
than their editors. Authors frequently tell horror stories of their
editors in reputable publishing houses (or their editors' assistants)
making dialogue changes from the vernacular to the formal. The latest I
heard was of an editor changing "That's true for someone like me" to
"That's true for such as I."
Because many independent contractors charge by the hour, the newcomer
may have to quote an hourly rate simply to provide a prospective client
with a basis of comparison. However, what beginners may not know is
that professional editors who charge by the hour don't always charge
for all the time they actually spend, especially if their knowledge of
a subject, its spellings, and its accepted techniques means having to
look up whatever they don't know. I feel I'm always learning, and I've
been editing full-time 44 years, the last half of which has been as an
independent contractor.
Chris Roerden, www.writersinfo.info
DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION
2009 Benjamin Franklin Award for Literary Criticism
Royal Palm Award for Published Book of the Year
Finalist: ForeWord Magazine Writing Book of the Year
DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY
Agatha Award
Finalist: Macavity and Anthony awards
[Thank you, Chris, for your well-rounded and true observations. I was
an editor for more than a dozen years, and I thought I knew it all,
before I had the honor of working under a knowledgeable editor. I was
shocked and embarrassed to learn how much I did not know. Since then I
intentionally upgrade my knowledge all the time, reading all I can find
about English, writing, editing, and various styles. Now that I know
much more, I am even more certain that I don’t know enough. What a
difference from when I thought I knew it all! –Ed.]
===
I found your article on serious writers and the holiday season very
useful. We all can find time to write--we just make excuses that we are
too busy with celebrating, shopping, baking, etc. Thank you for
reminding me how important my writing should be to me, no matter what
the season.
Barbara Deming
===
Tell me what you think of the newsletter, what you’re doing, or any
tidbit of information you want to share with other writers. E-mail me
at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com.
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Six: Subjects of interest to writers
Where is Bobbie Christmas speaking?
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sisters in Crime
Smyrna Library
Smyrna, Georgia
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
“What to expect from an editor, and what not to expect”
(I believe the meeting is free to newcomers—check the Web site to learn
more: http://www.sistersincrimeatlantachapter.com/
--
Scribbler's Writers Conference
St. Simon's Island, Georgia
May 13 - 16, 2010
http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/speakers
Subject:
YES, YOU CAN MAKE A LIVING WITH WORDS!
Do you dream of writing or editing for a living? You can do it! Bobbie
Christmas has made her living with words for four decades, and she
gives you tips, ideas and inside secrets about how you can follow your
passion.
Find out
The benefits of making a living with words
How to get started
How to build a portfolio
How to get freelance work
The inside secret about magazines that will give you tips about what to
send and when to send it
Markets you probably haven't considered
Style guides, which ones you need, where to find them, and how they
help you get repeat business
Ghostwriting: is it for you?
Potholes to avoid while on your road to success
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Attention Writers in Metro Atlanta!
The Writers Network has occasional local meetings in the
Roswell-Alpharetta general area. If you’re interested in meeting with
other writers, send me an e-mail (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com) and ask to be
put on a list of local members to be notified if and when we plan a get
together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you visited the Zebra Communications Web site lately?
(www.zebraeditor.com) We’re constantly adding new and better
information. If you like the site, please nominate it as one of
Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers by sending an e-mail to
writersdig@fwpubs.com with “101 Best Websites” as the subject. Do it
today! Deadline is January 8.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Google Book Search Class Action Suit Settlement Amended
The full legal document is mumbo-jumbo to me, but those whose books
Google illegally allowed readers to search inside may get a few dollars
out of this settlement, and the amendment opened the case up to those
outside the US as well. If you have questions concerning the
Supplemental Notice or the Amended Settlement, see
http://www.googlebooksettlement.com. You may also contact the
Settlement Administrator at:
Google Book Search Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting, Inc.
PO Box 9364
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9364
Toll-free numbers are available at
http://www.googlebooksettlement.com.)
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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 proprietary desk reference book is not available in stores.
Written in easy-to-understand language, the information 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. Spiral binder lies flat for easy use. To order go to
http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
Save shipping costs PLUS instantly get Purge Your Prose of Problems as
an e-book with clickable links and bookmarks that zip you directly to
any subject. Go to http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Submit a Book 2010
If your goal is publication then this challenge is for you. Make that
dream come a little closer to reality in 2010. See
http://www.kiwiwriters.org/my/challenge/site/submit-book-2010.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Download Bobbie’s one-hour seminars in MP3 format from the Zebra
Communications Web site! Purchase these three and save 20%.
You'll get...
• "Write In Style and You Write To Win, an Introduction"
• "Self-Editing Techniques You Can't Live Without"
• "Tricks You Didn't Know Your Word Processor Could Do"
To buy and download these seminars go to
http://zebraeditor.com/seminars_on_cd.shtml.
Take seminars in the comfort of your home. Repeat as often as you want.
Invite your friends to join you. To order, go to
http://zebraeditor.com/seminars_on_cd.shtml.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor:
David Lehman, who created and has served as the series editor of the
yearly anthology called Best American Poetry (Scribner), was inspired
by Robert Bly, who was in turn inspired by William Stafford, to wake up
early in the morning and write a poem, one poem every morning. He did
that on and off for years, and once he managed to write poems for 186
consecutive days. He published two books of his favorite daily poems:
The Daily Mirror (2000) and The Evening Sun (2002).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
answers many of the questions you wish you could ask an editing expert.
Whether you write books, short stories, articles, reports, or anything
else, learn more about how to write, edit, and sell your work.
Paperback: $14.95 plus $4.99 S & H (total: $19.94 US) E-book: $14.95
and no S & H. To order go to http://tinyurl.com/lexp7n.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I use my background as an award-winning publicist to teach authors how
to generate media buzz for their books through my free e-zine (sign up
at www.buildbookbuzz.com), my e-courses, and teleseminars. –Sandra
Beckwith
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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. Available at
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Tools for Writers from Bobbie Christmas and Zebra Communications
Order PDF reports on correct manuscript format, how to form and run a
critique circle, how to identify weak writing and repair it,
self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and much more. Sixteen
reports are available, and the list keeps growing. Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/free_reports.shtml. Newest report: How to choose
the correct editor for your manuscript. Surprise! It may not be me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do You Twitter?
Keep up with Bobbie’s activities on Twitter:
http:twitter.com/BookDoctor4u
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
We need help from writers to work with our clients
We are excited that demand for content creation and writing services
are on the rise! InterScape and our KNOVIAL content management system
need your help. We are looking for solid and professional writers to
write all kinds of content for our clients. As work becomes available,
we will be sending you emails to bid on projects. See
http://interscapeinc.com/Weneedwriters.html.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
18th National Annual
2010 Senior Poets Laureate Poetry Competition
Published and unpublished poems okay
No limit to number of entries you may submit
A literary contest open to all American poets age 50 and older who are
U.S. Citizens regardless of where they live or are temporarily staying
throughout the world, the 2010 SPL Contest is sponsored by Vera-Jane
Goodin Schultz and Wanda Sue Parrott, co-founders of the competition
and co-administrators of the 2010 event. Entries accepted Jan. 1
through June 30, 2010.
AWARDS
State/Regional Senior Poets Laureate (Certificates & entry in final
rounds for national award)
National Senior Poet Laureate (Best Overall Poem: $500 or more [see *
below for details] and Certificate)
Honor Scrolls (Certificates to be given at judges' discretion for
entries that pass preliminary rounds but don't advance to the final
rounds.)
ENTRY FEES
$3 per poem—40-lines maximum per entry,
(Do not include extra fee for duplicate copies of each submission.)
POSTMARK DEADLINE: 6/30/10
http://www.amykitchenerfdn.org/spl09.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mystic Ridge Books
222 Main St., Suite 142
Farmington, CT 06032
Send only query letters (no phone calls or e-mail). For complete
guidelines, see
http://www.mysticridgebooks.com./submissions.htm.
Founded in 1999, Mystic Ridge Books (and its new children's line, MRB
Kidz) is a rapidly growing publishing company, nationally known and
respected, whose books are sold at Barnes & Noble (and bn.com), Borders
(and borders.com), and other fine booksellers.
Our aim is to publish "can't-put-me-down" books on a variety of
interests for adults and children. We will also produce an exciting
range of seminars, DVDs, audio books & other products.
Mystic Ridge Books is interested in books that are unlike the rest. No
matter what field, they should have a unique perspective, have
something significant to offer readers, and be the very best on the
market. Especially wants books that make lives better. If applicable,
you should preferably be an expert in your field. (We are not looking
for fiction for adults at this time.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immedium
P.O. Box 31846
San Francisco, CA 94131
Amy Ma, acquisitions editor
E-mail: pr@immedium.com
Web site: www.immedium.com
Immedium focuses on publishing children's picture books, Asian American
topics, and contemporary arts and culture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hickory Tales Publishing
841 Newberry St.
Bowling Green, KY 42103
Jack Donelson, co-editor
270-791-3242
jadonel@aol.com
www.hickorytales.com
Publishes trade paperback originals.
70% of titles by first-time authors
90% of titles by unagented authors
Publish time after acceptance: 3-6 months
Responds in about 3 months to manuscripts.
Submit hard copy of complete ms (double spaced).
Accepts adult and young adult fiction (especially fantasy and
adventure), plus children's books (especially with art).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Campbell Corner Poetry Contest, Language Exchange
One Mead Way
Bronxville, NY 10708-5999
Contact: Dean of Graduate Studies.
Deadline: March 15
Fee: $25
Prize: $3,000 and publication on Campbell Corner's Language Exchange.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Geist Magazine
Editorial Board
#200—341 Water Street
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V6B 1B8
“Geist is a mag¬a¬zine of ideas and cul¬ture made in Canada with a
strong lit¬er¬ary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is
intel¬li¬gent, plain-talking, inclu¬sive and off¬beat. Each issue
rep¬re¬sents a con¬ver¬gence of fic¬tion, non-fiction, poetry,
pho¬tog¬ra¬phy, art, reviews, little-known facts of inter¬est,
car¬tog¬ra¬phy, and the leg¬endary Geist cross¬word puzzle.
Before sub¬mit¬ting work, please read an issue of the print mag¬a¬zine,
or dig deep into the archives at geist.com. While you’re at it, why not
read (or reread) George Orwell’s per¬ti¬nent essay “Politics and the
English Language”? You may also want to check out the tips in our
Writer’s Toolbox. We do not accept e-mail sub¬mis¬sions, except for art
and pho¬tog¬ra¬phy.” For full guidelines see
http://www.geist.com/contributors-guidelines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathless Press
We prefer manuscripts that target adults. We are looking for
manuscripts that fall into (but are not limited to one) either: romance
or erotic (or any subgenre of the two).
Length: We classify our lengths as follows:
Flirts: under 1,000 words
Temptations: 1,500 - 5,000 words
Novelette: 5,000 - 10,000 words
Novella: 10,000 - 50/60,000 words
Novel: 50/60,000-100,000 words
We will only accept electronic submissions. Please send a query letter
in the body of the message along with the full manuscript:
.doc-compatible (or .rtf) file as an attachment.
Please include your name and email address in the body of your email.
Your query letter should also include your title, genre and word count,
a brief synopsis of your story and any relevant credits you may have.
A manuscript should be double spaced, with one space after a period. We
prefer italics to underlines, minimal formatting (no single-character
ellipses or spaces between periods in ellipses, no curly or "smart"
quotes, and no fancy characters as section breaks), and Courier New or
Times New Roman. The title page should include the title, your name and
contact information, an estimated word count, as well as the heat
rating of your story (see below for details).
Breathless Press Heat Rating
When submitting a Romance novel, please state the Heat Rating using the
following guidelines:
• One Degree = Sensual, all stories involve exclusive couples. May
include light bondage and toy play.
• Two Degrees = HOT and exclusive couples. May contain adult language,
moderate violence.
• Three Degrees = May include harsh language, extreme group sex/partner
switching, and moderate violence.
• Four Degrees = May include any or all of the preceding. Caution is
advised.
• Five Degrees = May include graphic violence, offensive language,
and/or exotic sexual practices.
• Diablo Delights = No holds barred. Proceed with Caution. Contains
strong content.
• Sweet Confections = Traditional sensual romance
If you are ever in doubt, please ask us.
Send query to: acquisitions@breathlesspress.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Write for the Web
Suite101.com is a Quantcast Top 100 Web site and well-established
online magazine that provides expert knowledge and advice to over 24
million monthly readers.
Founded in 1996, and growing like crazy, Suite101 has Web sites in
English, German, French, and Spanish that collectively showcase over
230,000 articles and 3,000 writers internationally.
In response to reader demand, Suite101 is looking to recruit freelance
writers from all different levels of their writing career to write
authoritative and prolific articles.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
•A minimum of 10 x 400-600 word non-fiction articles every 3 months
•Research to support fact based, unique articles
•Self-guided use of training materials
•Commitment to following editorial guidelines
See
http://www.remotewritingjobs.com/job/1411/freelance-writers-wanted-at-suite101/.
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Poetry Writing Contest: "Winter & Poems"
http://www.bookrix.com/precontest.html?show=BX_1259321737&sub=0
December 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010
Anyone registered at our BookRix.com Web site can join the contest for
free (except citizens of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). Poets and
readers can enter the competition for free and win cash. Enter a
selection of poems that you have already written and published or write
some new; the first poem will have to be a winter poem.
Prizes for poets:
First Prize: $800
Second Prize: $500
Third Prize: $300
Prizes for readers:
10 Amazon vouchers each worth $20 will be raffled for free among all
readers taking part in the voting process.
No entry fee. Authors must be registered at BookRix.com to enter their
poems into the competition. Readers must vote on at least one poem book
to enter the contest; all registered BookRix members may rate books and
qualify for the raffle.
Community Voting – December 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010, 12 pm (EDT) /
9 am (PDT).
Jury Voting - January 18, 2010 to February 1, 2010
The poetry books must not be shorter than 20 BookRix pages. Until
January 15, 2010, readers can vote for their favorite poetry books.
Readers’ votes determine a selection of the "TOP 10". Afterwards the
selection of the best-rated 10 poetry books will be given to an
independent jury consisting of the Georgia Writers Association and
BookRix. The jury will choose the best three poetry books out of the
final 10 books. All winners will be announced on or before February 1,
2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Independent Publisher Book Awards
If you published with a small publisher or self-published between
January 1, 2009, and March 15, 20010, your book may be eligible for
this competition. For complete rules, see
http://www.independentpublisher.com/IPPY2010Guidelines1.pdf.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Eight: Creative Writing Assignment – Nouns and Verbs
Concrete nouns are things we can see or touch, people, places, or
things. Examples of concrete nouns: John, Atlanta, unicycle. Abstract
nouns refer to concepts. Examples of abstract nouns: embarrassment,
laughter, love.
Active verbs are words that show action. Examples of action verbs:
slither, bury, poke. Passive verbs indicate the existence of a state or
a condition. Examples of passive verbs: was, would, had.
For this exercise, pick any concrete noun that comes to mind. Pick an
abstract noun that comes to mind. Pick an active verb that comes to
mind. Good writing does not use many passive verbs, so if any passive
verbs come to mind (any form of to be, will, would, have, or had, for
example), pass it up and choose an active verb instead.
One you have picked a concrete noun, an abstract noun, and an active
verb, write those three words at the top of a sheet of paper. As an
example, you may have picked happiness (abstract noun), bench (concrete
noun), and dance (active verb). Study the words you picked. Think about
the words. Close your eyes and try to envision those words. Next write
a story based on those three words.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Want to make money with your writing Web site? See how to plan a good
Web site here:
http://www.writerswebsiteplanner.com/design/good_site.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tools for writers plus free reports, information, and answers for
writers like you: www.zebraeditor.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Search for agents that handle your genre:
http://agentquery.com/search.aspx.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be sure to send us your favorite Web resources for writers to share
with your network.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 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 “Free Newsletter.”
…………………………………………………………………………….
With the exception of Zebra Communications, 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, spend money, or sell your work.
The Writers Network News– a newsletter for writers everywhere. No fees.
No officers. “No Rules; Just Write!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++