The Writers Network News June Issue http://ezezine.com
May 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.
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Note Bobbie’s NEW Blog: http://bobbiechristmas.blogspot.com/. Add your
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Welcome to this issue of The Writers Network News
In This Issue
One: From the editor’s desk – Writer’s Conference Makes Waves
Two: Ask the Book Doctor – About Military Titles, Word Counts, Dark
Fiction, Copyright Marks, and Formal versus Informal Narrative
Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas –
Aggravate/Irritate
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Slip into the Slipstream
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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
“If you want to be a master, study what the masters have done before
you. Learn to do what they have done and have the guts to do it, and
you will be a master, too.” —Jos. J. Charbonneau
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One: From the editor’s desk — Writer’s Conference Makes Waves
Dear Fellow Writers:
I just returned from tropical St. Simons Island, Georgia, where I
spoke at the Scribbler’s Writers’ Retreat. I could not ask for a more
inspirational setting. Behind the speaker’s lectern a wall of windows
revealed the ocean breaking on the rocks a few feet away. Dolphins
rolled in the waves, swimmers walked past on their way to the beach,
and sailboats and ocean liners floated by. Inside we heard talks from
the trenches, writers who wrote through serious hardships, who bucked
the odds, and who spoke from years of writing experience.
The Scribbler’s Writers’ Retreat awards quite a few scholarships to
young college students, plus it attracts people of all ages. How
reassuring it felt to scan the room and see a wide variety of ages,
origins, and interests, yet everyone shared one important trait: we all
loved words.
In my talk, “Yes, You Can Make a Living with Words,” I told of my high
school English teacher, Martha DuBose, who selected me among only
twelve students to take a creative writing course in our senior year.
Being picked for that class gave me validation as well as information.
Because of her I believed in my ability to communicate with words and
so set out to make a career of writing and editing. The day after I
told that story, one of the other speakers struck me as having an
uncanny resemblance to that same teacher, although Mrs. DuBose would be
considerably older, if she is even still alive. How eerie a
coincidence, I thought, that I should mention someone one day and see
her doppelganger the next. Think about it, though. If such a
juxtaposition appeared in a novel, it would constitute too much of a
coincidence to be believable, right? I’d have to tone down my life, my
coincidences, my ups and downs, to turn them into a believable novel.
I liked the setup of this latest conference, because all speakers spoke
to all participants, with no breakout sessions and no need to choose
between speakers or topics. It meant I also could sit in on all the
other speakers and glean information to pass along to readers.
The keynote speaker, John DeDakis of CNN and author of Fast Track and
other novels, revealed that I had earlier inspired him when he attended
the Harriette Austin Writers Conference in Athens, Georgia, and heard
me speak years ago. What an honor!
As a bonus, writer and artist Charlotte Harrell sketched each speaker.
If you want to see the sketch she made of me, visit my Facebook page
(become my friend at Bobbie Rothberg Christmas), where I have posted
the image.
I believe in attending conferences, no matter what skill level you
possess. You never know what you might see, learn, or experience, and
the networking is priceless.
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. 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.
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Two: Ask the Book Doctor — About Military Titles, Word Counts, Dark
Fiction, Copyright Marks, and Formal versus Informal Narrative
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: What are the rules for capitalizing government and military titles?
For instance, would I write “Hold him,” the general said, or would this
be correct: “Hold him,” the General said.
What about when using the characters name? “Hold him,” General Smith
said.
The same would apply for senators, representatives, etc.
Also, what is a good book on Chicago style?
A: Chicago Style, preferred by most book publishers, dictates that a
business or military title be capitalized only when it precedes the
name, as in General Smith. When using only the title, it is not
capitalized. The correct usages are as follows:
“Hold him,” the general said.
“Hold him,” General Smith said.
“Hold him,” the senator said.
“Hold him,” Senator Smith said.
The best and only official book on Chicago Style is The Chicago Manual
of Style produced by the University of Chicago Press. A new copy costs
as much as forty dollars, though, and the sixteenth edition is going to
be released in the fall of 2010. You may want to wait to purchase the
newest edition then.
Q: Please give general guidelines of word counts for short stories,
novellas, novelettes, and novels. What is the minimum length for a
short story? I have several that are only a few hundred words long. Are
they short shorts?
Also, what is “dark fiction?”
A: Short stories have no minimum or maximum, but some publishers or
contests have preferred lengths or maximums, so check with the
publications or competitions where you plan to send your stories. A few
hundred words may be considered a short-short, yes. Flash fiction might
be even fewer than a hundred words.
The recommended length for a novel is between 50,000 and 100,000 words;
anything under that word count might be considered a novella or a
novelette; the two terms mean the same thing. Anything over that length
might get a manuscript rejected, or a publisher might request that the
manuscript be cut down to 100,000 words or under, to save on printing
costs, unless you already have a strong following.
When you think of dark fiction, think of vampires, werewolves, serial
killers, things that go bump in the night, Stephen King, horror,
skinheads, Bram Stoker, zombies, evil, bloodthirsty beings, and the
like.
Q: When I send my manuscript to readers or agents, should I put the
copyright c in a circle on the title page, on every page, or anywhere
at all? Should a date be there also?
A: I tend to trust people and therefore do not put a copyright mark on
my manuscripts, because the laws of copyright protect us—that is, we
own the rights to all our intellectual property the moment we create
it. Also, agents and publishers who see a copyright mark may think the
person who sent the manuscript is unknowledgeable or paranoid, because
it is not necessary to officially register the copyright until the work
is laid out and ready to be published in book form.
If, however, you feel more comfortable marking your manuscripts with a
copyright mark, the traditional method for showing a copyright is to
use the symbol c in a circle or write the word “Copyright.” Either form
should then be followed by the year and your first and last name, all
on one line. It should appear on the title page only, and because it is
not standard to have a copyright mark on a manuscript, there is no
standard for where on the title page to put it. I would probably put it
two lines below the name of the author on the title page.
Do not, however, go to the trouble of registering the copyright with
the government until the book is about to be published. The content
will no doubt change between the time you write it and it gets
published, so wait until the book is in its final form before paying to
register the copyright.
Q: Where can I find the guidelines about how formal or informal the
narrative should be?
A: I cannot point to one specific source for formal versus informal
writing, except that slang, contractions, dialect, and clichés are
informal, whereas most narrative should be formal. That said, I used an
informal narrative style in my own book, Write In Style, including
contractions, because I wanted the book to reflect my personality and
be upbeat, friendly, and not too textbook-like. It’s important to know
the guidelines and break them only for a specific reason, such as when
the narrative intentionally reflects the voice of a specific narrator.
Note: Last month someone asked whether to send submissions to contests
and agents as a doc file or a docx file. I recommended using the older
version (doc), which almost everyone can open. A member wrote in her
suggestion, as follows:
The CompuServe Writers Forum suggests that all attachments be in rtf
format so that the many members all over the world can read them. If
you are using Windows 2007, go to Save As and look for the option that
reads, "Save in other formats." Highlight this and then pick Rich Text
Format to save the document. That removes all the formatting that is
automatically put into a doc or docx file and allows others to read it
on their word pad or other methods used to open it. I've gotten into
the habit of saving files both ways so that I can send them out to
others and they can read my attachments. I though you might want to
share this with your readers.
Zan Marie Steadham
An Easter Walk
A Christmas Walk, publication in fall 2010
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style (Union Square
Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your
questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the
Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
Send your questions to the Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas at
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas –
Aggravate/Irritate
Don’t you get irritated when a writer chooses a close but incorrect
word? I do. Incorrect word choice constitutes one of the top errors in
manuscripts I edit, and writers often make an incorrect choice between
the words “irritate” and “aggravate.”
Aggravate means “to make something worse,” as in this sentence: The bad
air quality aggravated his asthma.
Irritate means “to annoy,” as in this sentence: The poor quality of
writing these days irritates me.
It’s true that when we speak we often use the word “aggravate” to mean
the same as “irritate,” but such use is informal and incorrect in
formal writing. Narrative—that is, anything other than dialogue—should
not rely on informal word choices.
Remember this: If you want to avoid irritating your audience, use
“aggravate” correctly.
If you think you have used the word “aggravate” in an informal way to
mean “irritate,” use my trademarked Find and Refine Method to search
for and repair misuses. To use the Find and Refine Method, pull down
the Edit menu in your software program and go to Find. Next click on
Replace. Type in the word “aggravate” in the Find box and press Enter
on your keyboard or Find in the dialogue box, and the computer will
stop on the next instance of the word, and you can fix it. Press Find
Next to find the next misuse, repair it, and work through your
manuscript to examine and repair each unclear use.
If you wish to learn more about how to apply the Find and Refine Method
to other issues in your manuscript, send a note to
freereports@zebraeditor.com, and you’ll receive a link to many free
reports, including one on my trademarked Find and Refine Method.
For even more opportunities to Find and Refine, buy Write In Style
(Union Square Publishing) by clicking here:
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
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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Fireside Publications is giving away a free autographed book, signed by
the author to you. You pick the book you prefer! To enter, go to
www.firesidepubs.com. Enter your name and e-mail address on the
Guestbook page.
One entry per person, and the winner will be picked by a random drawing
on June 15, 2010. You will be notified by e-mail if you are the winner.
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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 coil lets the book lie flat for easy use. To order
as a printed book or e-book, go to http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
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Edit yourself? Maybe. Here's a link to a 30-day free trial to
StyleWriter 4.
http://www.editorsoftware.com/online-shop/download/. I haven’t tried it
yet myself, but if you try it, let me know what you think.
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Download Bobbie’s seminars! Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/seminars_on_cd.shtml.
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Online Degrees has posted a list of fifty books all writers “must”
read. While I disagree that not all writers must read all those books,
I agree that many on the list fit the needs of most writers. See the
list and decide which ones will benefit you.
http://www.onlinedegree.net/50-books-every-writer-must-read/
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Write In Style by Bobbie Christmas teaches her trademarked Find and
Refine Method along with dozens tips that power up your prose. Bobbie
Christmas reveals secrets only a book doctor could know.
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
Writers Network member Sue Nash sent this additional helpful tip. After
she uses Write In Style as a guideline to make a list of words she
wants to remove or revise using the Find and Refine Method, she tells
her computer to “find all,” one word at a time and then goes to “font
color” and changes all the highlighted words to red. After she’s marked
in red all the words she wants to check for possible improvement, they
are all highly visible, and she can make one pass through the
manuscript, addressing all the words she wants to refine. Thank you,
Sue, for your tip! (If you don’t understand this note, read Write In
Style to discover a quick and easy way to improve every manuscript you
write.)
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How the Publishing Industry Works?
Sarah Silverman, called “perhaps the most taboo-breaking comedian
working in America today” and author of a best-selling autobiography,
The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, gives her take
on the publishing industry. "I'm not writing this book to share wisdom
or inspire people," Silverman says. "I'm writing this book because I am
a famous comedian, which is how it works. If you're famous, you get to
write a book, and not the other way around.”
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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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Are you on Facebook? Do You Twitter?
Keep up with Bobbie’s activities on Facebook (search for Bobbie
Rothberg Christmas) or on Twitter at http:twitter.com/BookDoctor4u.
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Five: Contests, Agents and Markets
Anthology Submissions Wanted
Dream of Things is currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for
anthologies on 15 topics. Submissions are open on all topics until we
announce a closing date. Before submitting a story, please read our
Submission Guidelines and Payment Information at
http://dreamofthings.com/guidelines. Stories should be submitted via
our online submissions form or via e-mail to editor@dreamofthings.com.
• Saying Goodbye
• Coffee Shop Stories
• The Holiday Season
• Contest: Great Customer Service Stories
• Stories of Forgiveness
• Internet Dating Stories
• Stories That Exemplify Teamwork
• Stories About Great Teachers
• Stories That Exemplify Leadership
• Awe-Inspiring Travel Stories
• Humorous Travel Stories
• It’s Only a Game — Lessons Learned from Playing/Coaching Sports
• Advice You’d Like to Pass On to Others
• Cubicle Stories — Life in the Modern Workplace
• Making Waves — Stories About Roles Models & People Who Inspire and
Motivate Us
For anthologies, Dream of Things purchases one-time rights. Royalties
are paid quarterly. Each author’s share of the royalties is prorated
based on word count. (Example: If you contribute a 2,000-word story to
a 40,000-word book, you will receive 5% of the royalties for that
book.) Authors also receive five free copies upon publication, and a
50% discount on additional copies.
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DANIEL LITERARY GROUP
1701 Kingsbury Drive
Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37215
615/730-8207
Contact: Greg Daniel
submissions@danielliterarygroup.com
Web site: www.danielliterarygroup.com
The agency accepts most nonfiction topics and all fiction topics,
except for children's, romance, and sci-fi. "We take pride in our
ability to come alongside our authors and help strategize about where
they want their writing to take them in both the near and long term. We
help them with such critical factors as editorial refinement, branding,
audience, and marketing."
Query via e-mail only. Submit publishing history, author bio, brief
synopsis of work, key selling points. Send no attachments. For fiction,
send first five pages pasted in e-mail.
Responds in two to three weeks to queries.
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“DISCOVERY”/BOSTON REVIEW POETRY CONTEST
Unterberg Poetry Center
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10128
212/415-5759
unterberg@92y.org
Web site: www.92y.org/poetry
The "Discovery" Poetry Contest is designed to attract large audiences
to poets who have not yet published a book. Awards a cash prize to four
winners, plus a reading at The Unterberg Poetry Center and publication
in a literary journal of national distribution, to be announced. New
guidelines available on Web site.
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JIREH PUBLISHING CO.
P.O. Box 1911
Suisun City, CA 94585-1911
jaholman@jirehpublishing.com
Web site: www.jirehpublishing.com
Janice Holman, editor (fiction/nonfiction)
Guidelines available online.
We are looking for Christian values in the books we publish.
95% of titles by first time authors
98% of titles by unagented authors
Publish time after acceptance: 9-12 months
Responds in one to two months to queries. Responds in two months to
proposals. Responds in three months to manuscripts.
Submit proposal package, outline, three sample chapters, SASE.
Nonfiction Subjects:
religion
contemporary Christian
Fiction Subjects:
Mystery, suspense, thriller, romance
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Mercer University Press
1400 Coleman Avenue
Macon, Georgia 31207
Attention: Editor-in-Chief
Mercer University Press seeks to publish scholarly works of excellence
in the following fields:
(1) Religious Studies, particularly Biblical Studies;
(2) Philosophy
(3) Southern Culture, particularly History of the South
(4) Fiction/Literary
As a university press, MUP strives for accuracy of substance and form.
Works will be considered that represent only the highest standards of
scholarly research and literary style. The publication process for
unsolicited works begins when a prospective author sends a book
proposal to the address above. The book proposal should contain at
least the following information.
a. Full name, address, and telephone number of the author.
b. A brief biographical sketch of the author. Indicate previous
publications, if any. (More information and a photo will be requested
later if the book is selected.)
c. An outline of the book indicating the titles and focus of each
chapter.
d. A brief statement about why you think this book should be published.
Who are the people you are trying to reach? What are you trying to tell
them? What contribution are you trying to make? Who do you think would
be interested in this book?
e. The present state of the book. Is the manuscript completed? When do
you expect to complete it? Is it on computer disk? (If selected, your
manuscript must be submitted on computer disk.)
f. If you wish for materials to be returned, please include sufficient
postage.
After submitting the proposal, allow the editor adequate time to
evaluate it. This normally takes three to four months. Each proposal is
read by several persons and discussed in light of its merits and the
resources and staff available to work on it. Unfortunately, not every
proposal will be accepted. Difficult decisions often mean rejecting
very good manuscripts.
If your proposal is accepted, we will issue you a contract. Once a
contract is completed, it normally takes about a year for the book to
be published. Even before your book is released, we will begin to
promote it through advertisements, mail-outs, announcements, and
arrangements with book distributors. We will ask for your assistance in
promoting the book, perhaps by securing endorsements or by attending
autograph sessions in your area.
For complete submission information, see
http://www.mupress.org/client/client_pages/authors/submissions.cfm
Added Bonus!
Mercer University Press Competition to result in Publication of Poetry,
Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction
At the Scribbler’s Writers’ Conference, Marc Jolley, editing director
of Mercer University Press (Macon, Georgia), alerted attendees to
upcoming competitions; all that result in a book contract and $500 at
the time of publication. One competition is for poetry, one for
creative nonfiction, and one is for fiction. All entries are due by
June 1, 2010, and the rules state that the contracts go to the best
submission. Winners will be announced at the Crossroads Writers
Conference 2011, which has not yet been added to the Web site, but this
year’s conference took place in Macon in February. You do not have to
pay for or attend the conference to be eligible to enter the
competition, however. If you have any questions, send an e-mail to Marc
Jolley at jolley_ma@mercer.edu.
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Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Slip into the Slipstream
Settings ground a story in place and time, and settings set the stage
on which our stories take place. As writers we can create our setting
any way we wish, London in 1802 or a new planet in the year 3005.
When we choose a setting like the latter one, one that is not reality,
we have slipped into a new world, the world of slipstream fiction.
For this exercise, create a setting that takes place in the future or
in a setting that is not reality, such as the one J. K. Rowling created
for her Harry Potter series. Ground the story in place and time by
giving your locale a name and your era a date. Describe the main
components of your setting. For example, the sky in your new world can
be green, rather than blue; your characters may all use wheelchairs,
and the people who must ambulate without a wheelchair may be considered
underprivileged, handicapped, or outcasts. Think your world through and
make an outline of the settings, the characters, and the premise.
Perhaps the “rain” on your planet could be crystals that, once
collected, can be used to power the many wheelchairs, for example.
After you have outlined all the details of your new world for your
slipstream fiction story, read over the details and write a story
grounded in that setting and that era.
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Tools for writers plus free reports, information, and answers for
writers like you: www.zebraeditor.com.
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Do YOU have news for The Writers Network News? Please send it in the
body copy, not an attachment, to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Deadline: The
15th of each month.
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research all information and study every stipulation before you accept
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