The Writers Network News, February 2010 http://ezezine.com
February 2010 Issue
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 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: Our editing makes books, magazines, and business
materials more marketable. We are a top-rated Better Business
Bureau-accredited business.
Zebra Communications
230 Deerchase Drive, Suite B
Woodstock, GA 30188
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 Michelle Hutchinson, Martha Phillips, and Sandra Jones
Cropsey
Two: From the editor’s desk – A New Year; A New Newsletter?
Three: Ask the Book Doctor – About Punctuation, Dialect, Employing
Writers, and Discovering the Dark Side
Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Mucous/Mucus
Five: Letters from Members
Six: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Eight: Creative Writing Assignment – Adjectives Made Better
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
"The best reading experiences defy interruption." --Sol Stein, author,
Stein on Writing
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One: Kudos* to Michelle Hutchinson, Martha Phillips, and Sandra Jones
Cropsey
I am editing Inside Out: Real Stories about the Inner Choices that
Shape Our Lives, a new book from Connect with Kids. This is a
teen-authored character education book for teens and includes real
stories of everyday dilemmas and decisions that build - or destroy -
character. It can be used as a stand-alone text or companion piece to
Connect with Kids DVDs. A sample chapter will be posted soon at
http://www.connectwithkids.com/educators/books/single_title_list.shtml.
--Michelle Hutchinson
---
I have an article about growing up in a small town in the 1960s in the
winter Issue of Georgia Backroads magazine. Borders Bookstore in Athens
(Georgia) let me have a reading/signing with the magazine and my book,
Written on a Rock, with standing room only Sunday, December 13. The
magazine is in bookstores (extra copies at Borders in Athens) and
Publix. --Martha Phillips,
Athens, Georgia
---
The Main Street Players will produce Sandra Jones Cropsey’s original
comedy, “Who’s There?” from February 25 through March 7, 2010, at 115
North Hill Street, Griffin, Georgia. For information and tickets, call
770-229-9916 or visit www.mainstreetplayers.org.
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 — A New Year; A New Newsletter?
Dear Fellow Writers:
For fifteen years I’ve been producing monthly newsletters for writers.
The first, Workshops by Mail, I printed, folded, stuffed into
envelopes, and mailed. The Internet ushered in a new era, so my
newsletter became digital, spread internationally, grew exponentially,
and gained a new title, The Writers Network News. The newsletter always
focused on news, tips, techniques, markets, and creative writing
assignments for writers, but I have failed to ask what you, the writers
and readers, want. Please copy and paste the questionnaire below (not
the entire newsletter) into an e-mail, answer the questions, and send
them to me at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com in the next few weeks. Help me
consider where to take your newsletter in 2010 and beyond.
The Writers Network News Questionnaire
As you read the following questions, you may refer to the sections in
the newsletter by their numbers:
One: Kudos
Two: From the editor’s desk
Three: Ask the Book Doctor
Four: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas
Five: Letters from Members
Six: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents, and Markets
Eight: Creative Writing Assignment
Nine: Web Sites of Interest to Writers
Which sections in The Writers Network News (TWNN), do you like most?
Why?
Which sections do you read the most often?
Why?
What or which sections do you like least about TWNN?
Why?
What or which sections do you read the least often?
Why?
What would you like to see added to TWNN?
What would you change about TWNN?
Your feedback will result in a more focused newsletter for writers
around the globe, so please let me know what you think.
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 Punctuation, Dialect, Employing
Writers, and Discovering the Dark Side
Q: What is the correct punctuation for the following?
“You makin’ fun of my name, or you be callin’ me a buzzard?” Linus
asked. Kendra’s infuriating “Whatever” was followed by “If the
buzzard-shoe fits, lace it up.”
A: The punctuation is fine as is, as long as the sentence beginning
“Kendra’s” starts a new paragraph, which didn’t seem to be the case in
the e-mail, but that’s a format issue and not a punctuation issue.
Also not a punctuation issue is my concern about the use of dialect
(makin’, callin’) which is not recommended, for quite a few reasons.
Rarely can an author maintain the dialect throughout, and when one
does, dialectical dialogue grows tedious for readers. Dialect is not
only difficult to write but also difficult to read, and many publishers
shun it. Instead of dropping letters to show dialect, rely on word
choice to show the speaking style of characters, as was skillfully done
in the last piece of dialogue, “If the buzzard-shoe fits, lace it up.”
Q: Where can I find an established writer to write my husband’s story?
A: Let’s first discuss the term “established,” because I want to be
sure you are informed about the writing business. Most established
authors and ghostwriters will not co-write a book without getting paid
up front, because their time is valuable, they know how difficult it is
to sell a book to a publisher, and they know that even if a publisher
buys the book, the royalties on it can be abysmal. For those reasons,
established writers won’t “write on spec,” as we call it, a term that
refers to the speculation that the book might sell, and if it does, the
writer would participate in the royalties. Unless you have $10,000 to
$25,000 to pay an established writer or ghostwriter, look for someone
who is not yet established. For a writer willing to work on spec, call
around to find a college with an MFA program in creative writing. Ask
the professor how to get your request to students. Perhaps one of the
students will take on your husband’s story as a writing project and use
it toward getting a degree.
If, however, you have the funds to pay an established ghostwriter for
your book, many are registered with writers organizations. Search the
Internet, and be sure to get references on the person you choose.
Q: I’m usually good at creating characters, but I’m having a devil of a
hard time with creating the protagonist for my novel. I don’t want him
to drink or smoke, so on the face of it he’s picture perfect--too
perfect. I’d like to give him vices, perhaps even a schism or an
addiction, maybe even be self-destructive; however, drugs, sex, and
alcohol just seem too cliché. Nothing really comes to mind or “feels
right.” Do you have any suggestions or perhaps a method you can
suggest?
A: You are correct that you don’t want any of your characters, even the
good guys, to be all good or all bad. We all have our flaws, so your
characters should have flaws as well.
Here’s a possible technique for adding flaws to your characters: Read
the traits allegedly applied to various signs of the Zodiac. Most
listings of traits give the good traits first and then the darker side
of those traits, the ones that can go to extremes and become negative.
Use one or two of those negative traits for your protagonist, to show
his dark side. In this way you won’t use traits that are overused by
other authors to make a character less than perfect.
When reading those personality traits, you’ll find realistic things
that even good people can do when they allow their dark sides to
prevail on occasion. For example, I know a fine, intelligent man who is
romantic, loving, generous, helpful, and kind. If someone doesn’t want
his help though, or if he thinks his efforts are being rebuffed, he
gets defensive and even sometimes shouts, slams down the phone, or says
hurtful things.
As another example, I am a Virgo, and most horoscopes say I am
organized, diligent, and a good communicator, which is all true;
however, on the dark side, when things get disorganized, I can feel
frustrated and defeated and get depressed, if I’m not careful.
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 – Mucous/Mucus
Let me approach a slimy subject this month, and something I recently
learned myself. It’s amazing that writers can always keep learning, as
editors must do. Anyway, I discovered the difference between the words
mucus and mucous. I had seen it spelled both ways and assumed they were
interchangeable, but when I looked the words up, I proved we must never
assume anything in English. Mucus is the noun; mucous is the adjective.
In other words, mucous membranes produce mucus. Oh, it’s that simple!
I’m sure I’ve gotten it wrong in the past, though, so I’m passing the
information on to you, and right in time for sneezing season!
Be sure to use my Find and Refine Method to find and repair any misuses
of mucus or mucous in your manuscripts. Send me an e-mail if you wish
to receive a report on how to apply the Find and Refine Method.
For even more opportunities for improvement, buy Write In Style (Union
Square Publishing) by clicking here:
http://zebraeditor.com/book_ask_the_book_doctor.shtml
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Five: Letters from Members
What? No letters from members this month? Get on the ball, writers!
Write! (Oh, yes, we did get letters, but most were for the kudos
section or questions that may be used in a future “Ask the Book Doctor”
column.)
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?
The Sisters in Crime meeting scheduled for January 9 was rescheduled
because of bad weather, so mark your calendar.
Sisters in Crime
New Date: Saturday, March 13, 2010
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/
Northwest Georgia Valley Writers Conference 2010
Saturday March 20, 2010
Harris Arts Center
212 South Wall Street
Calhoun, Georgia 30701
Subject: “Write in style, and you write to sell!”
www.harrisartscenter.com
706-629-2599
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!”
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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.
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Is your book about caregiving? Here’s an opportunity to be interviewed
on the radio!
Jacqueline Marcell wrote me the following message, and if it applies to
your book, contact her directly:
“Hello, perhaps you work with or know authors with books on caregiving,
health and aging issues who’d be interested in being interviewed on the
‘Coping with Caregiving’ radio show. If so, they can contact me for
details about the seven-and-a-half-year-old program:
http://www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving.”
--Jacqueline Marcell B.S., author, speaker, radio host
j.marcell@cox.net
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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.
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I often note words writers should know, but here’s one we should
perhaps not know. Christopher Hitchens coined a word in his foreword to
"Everyday Drinking," a collection of drinks columns by Kingsley Amis,
and here it goes: Dipsography: Writing about drinking (in reverse of
the more usual process).
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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. The metal binder lets the book lie flat for easy use. To
order as a printed book or e-book, go to http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John A. Byrne is the chairman and CEO of a new digital-media company,
C-Change Media Inc. Until recently, Byrne was editor-in-chief of
BusinessWeek.com and executive editor of BusinessWeek. He passionately
believes that the future of media is digital. When asked if he thought
that print media was dead, he said, “Hardly. TV didn’t kill radio.
Cable didn’t kill the networks. The VHS tape and the DVD didn’t close
down all the movie theaters. Newspapers and magazines will survive but
there will be fewer of them and they will not be able to rack up the
profits they had in the past. I believe that a new generation of print
will emerge from digital. Some online platforms will become so
successful and so dominating that print products will likely result
from them.”
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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.
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From The Chicago Manual of Style Q & A:
CMOS Q&A this month tackles an issue that baffles me at times, too.
Here goes:
Q. I cannot find a reference to this in my Manual: because versus
since. I have been tutored that because is used for instances of
cause/effect and that since is for time. However, one of my authors is
a scholar who contends that “since denotes a state of being based on a
relationship. . . . Because implies causality between one aspect of
that Relationship and the other.” Can you explain this to me more
clearly or refute it altogether?
A. All you need is a dictionary—you and your author seem to be
following variations on an old superstition. CMOS covers this in the
“Word Usage” section under the word “since”: “This word may relate
either to time {since last winter} or to causation {since I’m a golfer,
I know what ‘double bogey’ means}. Some writers erroneously believe
that the word relates exclusively to time. But the causal since was a
part of the English language before Chaucer wrote in the fourteenth
century, and it is useful as a slightly milder way of expressing
causation than because. But if there is any possibility of confusion
with the temporal sense, use because.”
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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.
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Breakout book of the season costs $195
From The New York Times:
The breakout of the holiday book-buying season just may have been an
elaborate, richly illustrated tome that records the dreams and
spiritual questing of an author who has been dead for nearly half a
century. The list price for this 9-pound, 416-page volume? $195.
As online and big-box retailers hustle to outdo themselves in
discounts, "The Red Book" by Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and
founder of analytical psychology, has surprised booksellers and its
publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, by bucking the economy and becoming
difficult, and in some cases impossible, to find in bookstores around
the country.
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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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Term Clarifies Publishing Expressions
Patricia Fry, executive director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists
and Writers Network) (www.spawn.org), brainstormed with other SPAWN
members (President Susan Daffron, Bobbi Florio Graham, and
self-publishing guru Dan Poynter) to devise a term that differentiates
between self-publishing and using POD companies, vanity presses, etc.,
such as AuthorHouse, Infinity, BookSurge, iUniverse, Lulu.com, Publish
America, Trafford, Outskirts Press, etc. Patricia writes, “Bobbi,
Susan, Dan and all members, I'd like to see SPAWN lead the charge to
change the term from "self-publishing companies" (which erroneously
gives eager authors the sense that they are actually self-publishing
their books) to the more realistic "pay-to-publish," in hopes that
authors will make the right publishing decisions for the right
reasons.” Some pay-to-publish companies have restrictions that authors
do not realize. Buyers, be aware of what you are paying for, what you
get, and what restrictions, limitations, or rights might be involved
when you decide whether to pay-to-publish, self-publish, or sell to a
traditional publsher.
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Is There Money in Poetry?
Apparently not much. In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe sold "The Raven" to a
newspaper for $15, the only compensation he ever received for his now
famous poem.
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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.
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No New Plots under the Stars?
Compare the plot of Avatar to the plot for Disney’s Pocahontas to
decide for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/yznxs7p.
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Who Reads Romance?
Romance Writers of America commissioned a Web-based reader survey in
May 2009. Here are some of the results:
Number of people who have read at least one romance novel in 2008: 74.8
million
Women make up 90.5 percent of the romance readership, and men make up
9.5 percent.
The heart of the U.S. romance novel readership is women aged 31–49 who
are currently in a romantic relationship.
Romance readers are more likely than the general population to be
currently married or living with a partner.
Impulse purchases outnumber planned romance novel purchases.
Sixty percent of romance readers bought at least one new romance novel
in 2008.
There is no consensus indicating one subgenre over another as a
favorite among romance readers.
Seventy percent are likely to follow an author they like into a new
subgenre.
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Are you on Facebook? Do You Twitter?
Keep up with Bobbie’s activities on Facebook (search for Bobbie
Christmas) or on Twitter at http:twitter.com/BookDoctor4u.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Seven: Jobs, Contests, Grants, Agents and Markets
Gulf Coast Writers Association competition open to all
The Gulf Coast Writers Association has a yearly writing contest that
runs from January 15 through April 15. All money raised supports the
local writing association and is only $8 an entry with $750 prize
money. Categories this year are fiction, non-fiction, poetry, b & W
photography, and color photography. Details at
www.gcwriters.org/contest.html.
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Advantages Magazine
The Advertising Specialty Institute
4800 Street Road
Trevose, PA 19053
Phone: 215-953-3337
Web site: www.advantagesinfo.com
Advantages is a fifteen-issue publication targeted to people who sell
promotional products (branded T-shirts, mugs, pens, etc.). Its is a
comprehensive source of sales strategies, informationm and inspiration
through articles, columns, case histories, and product showcases. The
magazine is presented in a fun-filled, easy-to-read format to keep busy
salespeople interested and entertained. We want our subscribers to look
forward to its arrival and to believe that Advantages is the one
magazine they can't do without.
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Hellgate Press
P.O. Box 3531
Ashland, OR 97520
Harley B. Patrick, editor
541-973-5154
harley@hellgatepress.com
www.hellgatepress.com
Hellgate Press specializes in military history, other military topics,
and travel adventure. Ninety-five percent of its authors submitted
directly, without an agent.
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Algora Publishing
222 Riverside Dr.
16th Floor
New York, NY 10025-6809
212-678-0232
Fax: 212-666-3682
www.algora.com
Martin DeMers, editor (sociology/philosophy/economics), Claudiu A.
Secara, publisher (philosophy/international affairs)
Algora Publishing is an academic-type press, focusing on works by North
and South American, European, Asian, and African authors for the
educated general reader. “Algora Publishing is the brainchild of our
cultural aspirations. We have set out to give other people a way to
explore life by offering the thoughts of some of the world's best
minds. Bookstores, libraries and retailers can order our books from all
major distributors.”
See Web site for writer’s guidelines, tips, and submission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quality Digest
P.O. Box 1769
Chico, CA 95927-1769
Mike Richman, managing editor and publisher
530-893-4095
Fax: 530-893-0395
mrichman@qualitydigest.com
www.qualitydigest.com
This monthly magazine covers the subject of quality improvement and is
75% freelance written. Queries are accepted by mail, e-mail, or fax
Sample copy and writer's guidelines are free. Send complete articles,
800-3,000 words.
Needs:
book excerpts
how-to
implement quality programs and solve problems for benefits, etc.
interviews
opinions
personal experiences
technical
Tips: Please be specific in your articles. Explain what the problem
was, how it was solved, and what the benefits are. Tell readers how the
technique described will benefit them. We feature short, tight, focused
articles, which means we have more articles in each issue. We're
striving to present our readers with concise, how-to, easy-to-read
information that makes their jobs easier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frances Goldin Literary Agency
57 E. 11th Street
Suite 5B
New York, NY 10003
212-777-0047
Fax: 212-228-1660
agency@goldinlit.com
www.goldinlit.com
Member Agents: Frances Goldin, principal/agent, Ellen Geiger, agent
(commercial and literary fiction and nonfiction, cutting-edge topics of
all kinds), Matt McGowan, agent/rights director (innovative works of
fiction and nonfiction), Sam Stoloff, agent (literary fiction, memoir,
history, accessible sociology and philosophy, cultural studies, serious
journalism, narrative and topical nonfiction with a progressive
orientation), Josie Schoel, agent/office manager (literary fiction and
nonfiction).
“We are hands on and we work intensively with clients on proposal and
manuscript development.”
Query with SASE. No unsolicited mss or work previously submitted to
publishers. Prefers hard-copy queries. If querying by e-mail, put the
word "query" in subject line.
Responds in six weeks to queries.
Does not want anything that is racist, sexist, agist, homophobic, or
pornographic. No screenplays, children's books, art books, cookbooks,
business books, diet books, self-help, or genre fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Square One Publishers
115 Herricks Rd.
Garden City Park, NY 11040
516-535-2010
Fax: 516-535-2014
www.squareonepublishers.com
Contact: Acquisitions Editor
Publishes about 20 trade paperback originals per year, 95% from
first-time, unagented authors. Responds in 1 month to queries,
proposals and manuscripts.
Interested in nonfiction only. Query with SASE. Submit proposal
package, outline, bio, introduction, synopsis, SASE.
Interested in the following subjects: business, economics, child
guidance, health, medicine, hobbies, money, finance, nature,
environment, psychology, religion, spirituality, sports, travel,
writers' guides, cooking/foods, gaming/gambling
“We focus on making our books accessible, accurate, and interesting.
They are written for people who are looking for the best place to
start, and who don't appreciate the terms 'dummy,' 'idiot,' or 'fool,'
on the cover of their books. We look for smartly written, informative
books that have a strong point of view, and that are authored by people
who know their subjects well.”
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Eight: Creative Writing Assignment – Adjectives Made Better
Adjectives modify nouns and describe things. Adjectives are words such
as these: weary, tall, green, sleepy, tiny, smooth, bearded, and
painful. The best adjectives help readers see or feel something. In the
examples I just gave, you have a good idea what it feels like to be
weary. If I say someone is bearded, you have an immediate mental
concept of how a bearded person looks. You know the color green. You
know how it feels when you are sleepy.
Strong adjectives aid readers’ comprehension, but vague ones signal an
opportunity to rewrite and be more visual, perhaps even deleting the
adjective. What makes an adjective vague? Vague adjectives are often
abstract, such as words like these: beautiful, wonderful, or amazing.
Abstract adjectives give readers no visual image, but whenever you see
a vague or abstract adjective in your writing, consider it an
opportunity to rewrite that passage to make it more descriptive. Use
graphic images so readers can visualize a thing or event.
The sentences below use abstract (vague) adjectives. Rewrite each
sentence to pick descriptive words, instead. As an example, I’ll
rewrite the first item. Notice that when you describe things well, you
may not need many adjectives. After you read my potential rewrite, you
can rewrite the first sentence another way. Continue to rewrite the
rest in the list. When you finish, pick one of your rewrites and expand
it into a scene or a story.
1. We had wonderful discussions at John’s exciting party.
(Potential rewrite: At John’s fiftieth birthday party, three of us
discussed the nonfiction books we’re reading. Tim, who teaches high
school science, gave his perspective on global warming, but Holly
claimed it’s a climatic cycle that has been going on for thousands of
years.)
2. Mary was a lovely woman.
3. The decorations committee did an astounding job.
4. The scenery at the Grand Canyon is breathtaking.
5. The music was fantastic.
6. My date with Aidan was incredible.
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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
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What to charge for editing or writing? What to pay an editor? See
these sites:
http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php
http://www.writers.ca/whattopay.htm
http://www.writersmarket.com/assets/pdf/How_Much_Should_I_Charge.pdf
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Tools for writers plus free reports, information, and answers for
writers like you: www.zebraeditor.com.
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Search for agents that handle your genre:
http://agentquery.com/search.aspx.
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Be sure to send us your favorite Web resources for writers to share
with your network.
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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 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!”
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