The Writers Network News, April 2011 http://ezezine.com
The Writers Network News, March 2011 Issue
In This Issue
One: From the editor’s desk – From tiny seeds, great things grow
Two: Ask the Book Doctor – About Outlines, Editing, and Questions
Within a Sentence
Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Single
Quotation Marks: when and how to use them
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Fresh Venue; Fresh Ideas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2011, 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. We write, edit, and evaluate fiction and nonfiction
manuscripts, book proposals, query letters, synopses, reports, and
articles. 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/
Follow my "Write In Style" creative-writing blog at
http://bobbiechristmas.blogspot.com/
Follow my "Don't You Dare Call It a Diet" weight-loss blog at
http://dontyoudarecallitadiet.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet Fellow Writers
Do you live in or visit metro Atlanta? Sign up for local meeting
notices today! Send your name and e-mail address to
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Hurry! A local meeting is planned for April 23
at Martino’s Pasta, 690 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell, GA 30076 at noon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Past Issues Still Available
To view current and past issues of The Writers Network News, go to
http://tinyurl.com/c4otf6.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some links in this newsletter may include “tiny url” with the help of
www.tinyurl.com, which takes long Web addresses and converts them to
short ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer’s quote of the day
“No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.” —Samuel Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: From the editor’s desk — From tiny seeds, great things grow
Dear Fellow Writers:
The weather turned warm this weekend, and a friend and I sat on my deck
talking. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a plant on my deck.
“It’s a grapefruit tree,” I answered. “I grew it from a seed.”
“Do you think it will produce grapefruits?”
“Of course not,” I told her. “Not in Georgia, plus it’s practically a
bonsai, because I’ve kept it in such a small pot for eighteen years.”
That little tree, however, is my reminder of a yet-to-be finished book
I started writing more than twenty years ago. A character in the book
plants orange seeds. In the book, the seeds sprout, two sprouts to a
seed, but the little plants also had thorns. When I took that chapter
to my critique circle, someone challenged me and said not only would
the seeds not sprout, but the seeds wouldn’t produce double plants, and
the tree would not have thorns. To prove orange seeds can sprout, I
went home to plant a few, but all I had in my refrigerator at the time
was a grapefruit. I planted grapefruit seeds, instead. They too
sprouted, produced two sprouts for every seed, and one sprout survived
and grew into a lovely plant (albeit one with thorns). That tree still
grows, although in stunted fashion. I keep it in the house during
winter months and set it out on my deck in warm weather.
I have never tried to market the book that inspired me to plant the
seed, though. I learned so much in the process of writing the book that
I knew it was not marketable. Still, I’m proud that my various critique
circles have served a great purpose. They not only made members write,
but they also provided feedback. With others to question our facts, we
writers made sure to double-check all our facts and get everything,
from plot to punctuation, correct.
These days I no longer belong to a critique circle. It comes as no
surprise that I no longer write as much as I used to write, when I had
to have at least five pages to bring to my circle every week.
If you don’t belong to a critique circle, I urge you to find one.
You’ll be amazed at how your writing will grow, once you have feedback
from like-minded writers. Most organizations for writers offer critique
circles, or you can form a circle of your own. My website offers a free
report on how to form a critique circle. Check it out at
www.zebraeditor.com and click on Tools for Writers and then Free
Reports.
Join a critique circle this week, and you’ll see more than your
grapefruit seeds grow. Your writing will grow in quantity, quality, and
depth, with the help of your critique partners.
If you write memoir essays or books or want to write your memoirs, I
urge you to join me for my small, personalized seminar slated for April
30. See WRITE YOUR MEMOIRS FOR FUN AND PROFIT below or go to
http://zebraeditor.com/speaking.shtml for more information.
What if you live far away? No problem. Join me in a webinar based on
Write In Style. The webinar, as well as local seminar, are slated for
April 16, and it’s free. See more about this offer in this newsletter
or go to https://www.booklogix.com/April_Free_Seminars.html.
One more note: Write In Style, my award-winning book on creative
writing, is officially out of print. New copies are selling for as much
as $138.00 on Amazon. While they last, however, you can still buy one
of the few remaining new copies at the original price of $12.95. To
purchase, go to http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
Hurry! Supplies are rapidly dwindling. Only a few dozen are left.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), owner of Zebra
Communications, and director of The Writers 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.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two: Ask the Book Doctor — About Outlines, Editing, and Questions
Within a Sentence
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: When writing chapter-by-chapter outline for a memoir, should the
writer show or tell what happens with a resolution, aside from the
synopsis?
A: A chapter-by-chapter outline does not tell everything in the
chapter. It can be a one-paragraph summary of the subject or subjects
covered. Below is an example:
Chapter three covers the birth of my first child, who seemed perfect
for the first three months, until his eyes began to twitch. At seven
months, he was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease. This chapter tells how
we found information, guidance, and help facing our child’s inevitable
early and painful death.
Q: I have little to no experience in formally editing my works, and I'm
not about to send in an unpublished manuscript. My urban fantasy runs
around 65,000 words. Any ideas you might have about getting the process
started would be greatly appreciated.
A: You are smart to get your manuscript in its best form before
attempting to get it published. For formal editing, you need to get
help from not just any editor, but a professional book editor, to
ensure you get a good editing job and helpful feedback. Professional
editors like me charge a substantial fee, because the work takes a
great deal of time. Editors vary in how much they charge, how they
work, and what they give you for your money. For that reason, talk to
potential book editors and be sure you understand what you will get and
when you will get it. Price and turnaround time are always the two
things people want to know first, but they are the least important.
Money well spent gives you the best product, and the best product takes
time to produce. Be ready to pay a thousand dollars or more for the
job, and be prepared to wait six to eight weeks for turnaround.
Anyone can say he or she is an editor, but choose an editor who
primarily edits books and who has been in the business for five or more
years. Be sure you are using someone you can trust.
Before you commit, check the editor’s credentials. Also ask for names
and contact information of past clients, and check them out. If any
editor tries to rush you into a decision, rush in the other direction!
High-pressure sales tactics are rare in our industry, but some
companies use them. Such tactics indicate someone who is better at
selling than at editing.
I highly recommend using a book editor who not only edits the
manuscript but also evaluates the concept, plot, characterization,
pace, voice, and all the other elements of the manuscript. You will
learn a tremendous amount from such an evaluation, and it will help you
when you write future books, too.
You may also try to edit your book yourself using my desk reference,
Purge Your Prose of Problems. I use that book to train my own editors,
and many editors and writers use it as a reference book. Frankly, I’d
rather you pay me a thousand or so dollars to edit your book than to
pay me $29.95 for this book. Nevertheless, you can buy Purge Your Prose
of Problems at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
Q: When I read print that has simple grammatical errors in it,
particularly from reputable companies, I wonder (or question or think)
How can they expect to be taken seriously?
It seems like I had read in a newspaper or some print form that the
first word in the sentence being asked to oneself was capitalized, but
no quotes were used. Is that correct? I would like to know how to do it
properly, as I have often had occasions to use this type of writing.
A: I don’t know what the Associated Press style—preferred by many
newspaper publishers—may require. Chicago style, however, preferred by
book publishers, says that a direct question included within another
sentence is usually preceded by a comma and does not need to begin with
a capital letter unless the question is relatively long or has internal
punctuation. In that case, a capital letter helps with clarity. If
writing a book-length manuscript, then, I would write the sentence this
way: When I read print that has simple grammatical errors in it,
particularly from reputable companies, I wonder (or question or think),
how can they expect to be taken seriously?
A clearer rewrite, along with a little tightening, might go like this:
When I read print with simple grammatical errors, particularly from
reputable companies, I wonder how they expect to be taken seriously.
Send your questions to Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas at
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. You’ll get a personal answer ASAP.
Would you like to read, save, or share the Ask the Book Doctor column
as a PDF file? At http://zebraeditor.com/files/ask_the_book_doctor.pdf,
the newest column is posted around the first of each month.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: This Month’s Writing Tip from Bobbie Christmas – Single
Quotation Marks: when and how to use them
I keep seeing single quotation marks misused. Some writers seem
confused about when and how to use single quotation marks.
The first thing to remember is that in American English, single
quotation marks never stand alone. They should appear only within
double quotation marks. I don’t know why I see single quotation marks
used for emphasis, for irony, or around names of businesses in books,
but all those uses are incorrect. Although quotation marks may be used
to indicate irony, use double quotation marks. Example: The “debate”
turned into a free-for-all.
Single quotation marks indicate a quotation within a quotation, as in
the following example: Mary said, “I told my daughter, ‘Don’t you dare
pierce your eyebrow,’ but she did it anyway.”
Next time you type single quotation marks, ask, “Is this a quote within
a quote?” If it isn’t, don’t use single quotation marks.
Use my trademarked Find and Refine Method to locate the use of single
quotation marks in your manuscript and ensure each one is used
correctly.
Go to the Find function on your computer (Control + F) and under Find
What, type a single quotation mark (it’s the key to the right of your
pinkie finger and one key to the left of the Enter key). Unfortunately
apostrophes are the same key, so your computer will stop on those, as
well. In that case, click on Find Next. When single quotation marks
show up, however, check to be sure they are used correctly,
For more opportunities for improvement, buy one of the few remaining
copies of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing) by going to
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Free Seminars OR Webinars (available around the world)
April 16, 2011
Writer's Block: Is it a Myth?
Registration: 9:30 to 10 a.m. EDT
Session: 10 to 11:15 a.m.
Guest Presenter: Fran Stewart, Author and Editor
Whether or not we believe in the concept of writer's block, there are
times when most of us stare unproductively at the paper or the computer
screen. Knowing how to get through such times is necessary to any
writer. During this interactive workshop, you'll learn:
- What writer's block is, and what it isn't
- Specific techniques and exercises to overcome those blocks
- How to recognize and counteract the five patterns of failure
- Six patterns for success
Write in Style and You Write to Sell!
In-person registration: 11:15 – 11:25 a.m. EDT
Session: 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Guest Presenter: Bobbie Christmas, Author, Book Doctor, and Founder of
Zebra Communications
This seminar is not about grammar! It is based on Write in Style,
Bobbie Christmas's triple-award-winning textbook on creative writing,
and it teaches you how to power up your prose, whether writing fiction
or nonfiction. You'll learn all this and more:
- How to save time and be objective during revisions by using the
Bobbie Christmas Find and Refine Method
- How to make your manuscript more marketable, whether self-publishing
or submitting to agents and publishers
- The secret of style versus style, the two ways the term is applied
and how to make both ways work in your favor
- The difference between Chicago style, preferred for books, and
academic style, the style of writing you learned in school
- What to delete to make your writing stylish and persuasive
To register for this seminar, call (770) 346-9979 or complete the
registration form at
https://www.booklogix.com/April_Free_Seminars.html. Please indicate
which dates/sessions you would like to attend.
Seminars held at offices of
Booklogix
Tours of the Apex Book Manufacturing plant may follow
1264 Old Alpharetta Road
Alpharetta, GA 30005
Or attend the Webinar from anywhere in the globe
To register for the web-based seminar, go to
https://booklogix.webex.com. IMPORTANT: You will need to use the
“search by topic” function and type in “Write In Style” to find the
listing to register for my webinar. When you find the Write In Style
listing, click the Register button and complete the registration form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRITE YOUR MEMOIRS FOR FUN AND PROFIT
Saturday, April 30, 2011
1:00 – 5:00
$109
Home of Bobbie Christmas
230 Deerchase Drive, Woodstock, Georgia, 30188
You may simply want to write your memoirs for your family, but what if
you could also sell them to publishers? Would you mind the added money
and notoriety? Of course not.
In this workshop you’ll uncover:
• Where to start and how to plan your memoir
• What publishers look for in a memoir
• Why you don’t have to be famous to write a bestselling memoir
• What type of publishers buy memoirs and how to find them
• How to write memoirs that people want to read
• How to write from the heart—the simplest, most creative way to
write
• What is vital to a memoir and what is not
• What to delete to make your memoirs more powerful
In addition to spending her entire career as an editor and writer,
Bobbie Christmas has sold personal memoirs to publishers John Wiley &
Sons, Adams Media, St. Martin’s Press, and others.
This seminar takes place in the workshop space in the home of Bobbie
Christmas, and space is limited. Act now to reserve your seat, because
her seminars sell out early.
ADDED BONUS: Every attendee will receive a FREE copy of Bobbie’s latest
book, Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your
Writing, a $14.98 value.
Attendance is by prepaid reservation only. Mail your check for $109 to
Bobbie Christmas, 230 Deerchase Drive, Woodstock, Georgia, 30188 today
or call 770-924-0528 with Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Card
information. You can also use www.PayPal.com and send the funds to
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
Coming in from out of town? E-mail me at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com for
information on nearby accommodations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Member Dr. Terry Segal writes, “My self-help book has been published!
The Enchanted Journey: Finding the Key That Unlocks You is designed to
reduce stress and anxiety while also creating enchantment in everyday
life. I’m available for Enchanted Workshops, where I’ll make the book
available, but you can also find it by researching Terry Segal. It is
also for sale on amazon.com and b&n.com. It comes up under Terry Segal
The Enchanted Journey: Finding the Key That Unlocks You.
Dr. Terry Segal
Ph.D. in Energy Medicine
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
770/772-0589
www.DrTerrySegal.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seen on the Internet
“I don’t mean to be slutty, but feel free to use me whenever you want.”
--Grammar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Chicago Manual of Style website Q & A this month:
Q. I was recently confronted with the question “a: versus “an.” In the
15th edition, section 15.9 shows that “When an abbreviation follows an
indefinite article, the choice of “a” or “an” is determined by the way
the abbreviation would be read aloud.” In the examples used, it shows
“an NBA coach.” Why would you not use “a” there? “An National
Basketball Association coach” doesn’t seem correct to me.
A. “NBA” is not pronounced “National Basketball Association” but
“en-bee-ay.” Thus, “an NBA coach.”
For more CMOS Q & A, see
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/new/new_questions01.html.
Chicago Manual of Style
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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. You can also 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.
To save thousands of dollars by editing your own book, order Purge Your
Prose of Problems today at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words Writers Should Know
Today’s word comes from one of my favorite sources, A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg of www.wordsmith.org.
sitzfleisch
noun:
1. The ability to sit through or tolerate something boring.
2. The ability to endure or persist in a task.
Sitzfleisch is a fancy term for what's commonly known as chair glue:
the ability to sit still and get through the task at hand. It's often
the difference between, for example, an aspiring writer and a writer.
Sometimes the word is used in the sense of the ability to sit out a
problem -- ignore it long enough in the hope it will go away.
"Some prominent seats go to those with prominence. Others go to those
with Sitzfleisch, like Representative Eliot L. Engel. Every year since
1989, the Bronx Democrat has won a prime spot at the State of the Union
Address simply by showing up early and sitting in it." --Elizabeth
Kolbert; “An Aisle Seat In the House or the Titanic”; The New York
Times; January 30, 1998.
Why is this word important for writers? Because those with
sitzfleisch--chair glue—write. Those who cannot sit in a chair and
write are not writers; they are wannabes, talkers, or storytellers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
Some may find this website offensive; others will find it funny, but
chances are you won’t misspell these words anymore. As an editor, I
correct these words all the time. See
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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: $8.95, no
S & H, with almost instant delivery. You’ll save almost $10 by buying
the e-book! To order either, go to http://tinyurl.com/lexp7n.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copious information for writers: http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discount for Readers of The Writers Network News!
Member Alvin T. Guthertz announces Mark At Thirty, A Life Making
Headlines, his autobiography about his three writing careers--as owner
of a public relations firm, as travel writer, and as novelist (with
five published novels).
Among the countless anecdotes: what Boris Karloff did to make the bride
in the original "Frankenstein" scream with such horror; getting the
Northern California news media inebriated to prove a hangover remedy
worked, later testing that same media for blood pressure during a porno
movie; meeting a ghost at the Winchester Mystery House; being driven
down the crookest street in the world by a blindfolded magician.
The publisher is offering a special discount. Go to
http://www.publishamerica.net/product39280.html to secure your copy,
then click “Add to Cart.” For the introductory discount of 20%, use
this coupon code: Discount20.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free videos for writers
More than thirty hours of online training videos dedicated to helping
you write and publish your own best-selling book and avoid the mistakes
98% of authors make. www.getpublishedtv.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Wooden Horse Magazine News
Content farms have drawn the ire of Google by "cluttering up" its
search results with low-quality content. Google users have complained,
and the company is now asking them for help. It released a Chrome
extension this week that enables users to block specified sites from
their results. The extension will send "blocked site information" to
Google, which will then study the resulting feedback and explore using
it as a potential ranking signal for our search results, wrote
principal engineer Matt Cutts in a blog post. If this is successful,
content farms may be less in demand, and writers depending on their
already ridiculously low pay may see even less. To subscribe to Wooden
Horse Magazine News, go to http://www.woodenhorsepub.com and click on
"Sub/scribe" in the left column.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don’t pay $176 for this book!
New copies of Write In Style, Bobbie’s Award-Winning Textbook on
Creative Writing, are selling for between $74 and $176 on Amazon.com.
Don’t believe me? See http://tinyurl.com/4hc2bxu. Like-new used copies
are selling for as much as $138. Don’t pay those prices! For a very
limited time, you can still buy this book at the original cover price
of $12.95 plus shipping, and I’ll even sign it for you. To order, to go
http://zebraeditor.com/book_write_in_style.shtml.
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. Hurry! Supplies of
new books are dwindling quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Northwest Georgia Valley Writers Conference
May 6 & 7 at the Harris Arts Center in Calhoun, Georgia
Only $50 for four workshops, two panel discussions, and more.
For more information or to register, call the Harris Arts Center at
706-629-2599 or visit www.harrisartscenter.com and click on
Programs/Literary Guild.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Southern Review of Books – e-books definitely on the rise
(http://www.anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm)
Speaking at the Digital Book World conference, James McQuivey of
Forrester Research said that Forrester found that 10.5 million people
owned e-readers and 20 million people read e-books last year.
Approximately one billion dollars was spent last year on e-books. The
firm is predicting that total will hit 1.3 billion dollars this year.
The New York Times for the first time lists e-book bestsellers. A
spokesperson said the paper "wanted to provide more comprehensive lists
of which books are selling."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keep up with Bobbie’s activities on Twitter:
http:twitter.com/BookDoctor4u
Become Bobbie’s friend on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Casi McLean's writing contest:
Our society breeds insecurity––Children who grow up to walk wounded
though life, desperate to have their significance validated by someone;
convinced they're incapable or unworthy of success or happiness, and
unable to pursue their dreams. Most have been abused, teased, bullied,
ignored, rejected, abandoned, or betrayed, and they're easily defeated
by what life throws at them. I'm looking for inspirational stories of
how you overcame your fears, reinvented yourself, changed your
self-image, or found the courage to pursue your own dreams.
AWARDS
First Place Winner
• Publication. The first place story will be published on my new
website www.winglessbutterfly.com, which will be launched in May. The
story will also appear in excerpts or in its entirety on my blog.
Winner may also have story published in the upcoming sequel to Wingless
Butterfly.
• $50 AMEX, Visa, or MasterCard gift certificate
• signed first edition of my new book, Wingless Butterfly, Confessions
of a Recovering Jerk-Magnet.
• copy of my "Pocket Guide to Jerks & Players."
Second through Tenth Place
• Publication. The top 10 finalists will have their stories published
on my new website www.winglessbutterfly.com, which will be launched in
May. The stories will also appear in excerpts or in their entirety on
my blog. The finalists may also have their story published in the
upcoming sequel to Wingless Butterfly.
•All finalists will receive a special gift copy of my "Pocket Guide to
Jerks & Players."
For rules and methods of entry, see
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159620127426767
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MATERNITY 360
QuickWhit Publishing, LLC
505 Elm Street
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Editor: Scott Whitley
info@maternity360.net
www.maternity360.net
MATERNITY 360 launched last month for retailers of maternity fashions.
Targeted at maternity apparel retailers, the magazine gives buyers and
retailers an inside perspective on maternity trade tips for building a
business. The editorial includes articles about the maternity market,
sales and marketing concepts for attracting customers, and generating
alternate revenue streams. Maternity 360 will be published twice a
year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concrete Playground: Australian Arts Magazine Launches
Concrete Playground
Level 2, 21 Oxford St.
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Australia
http://sydney.concreteplayground.com.au
hello@concreteplayground.com.au
Concrete Playground is a new quarterly magazine based in Sydney,
Australia, and showcases Sydney cultural events and creativity-focused
features. Depending on the publication's success, the publisher may
expand into other locations.
Concrete Playground online calls itself a weather vane pointing you to
the cultural tornadoes that are just about to hit. “We handpick the
most inspiring cultural events and news so that our readers can fill
their days and nights with them.”
The website, updated daily, it is the work of a collective of writers
and social secretaries who have a constant ear to the under and above
(but never middle) ground of the creative worlds in Sydney, Brisbane,
Melbourne, and Auckland.
If you would like us to send you a media kit, please e-mail us. See
website for editor names and e-mail addresses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Publisher Seeks Submissions for Four Real-Life Humor Series
Martin Sisters Publishing’s “Mawfia” Book Series: Don’t Mess With My
Kids is a book is filled with collections of stories and essays written
by readers, fans, and anyone who has a good story to tell. Send your
essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words to
submissions@martinsisterspublishing.com This series contains humorous
and horrifying stories of bad behavior carried out in the defense of
your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or any other child you
care about. Whether you verbally assaulted your child’s little league
coach or screamed at his teacher, we want to hear about it. Please,
these stories must be humorous, and you must be ready to admit you went
a little over the top — no violent actions or social network bullying —
these are not funny! This book will be lighthearted and humorous. For
more information, go to
http://www.martinsisterspublishing.com/?page_id=192
Martin Sisters Publishing’s Book of Really Bad Dates
We’ve all been on THAT date, maybe several of them. You unexpectedly
had to shell out cash for dinner because he forgot his wallet or you
listened for hours as he went on about how many women adore him and how
lucky he was to get away, because he’s usually so busy. Martin Sisters
Publishing’s Book of Really Bad Dates is part of the Martin Sisters
Publishing Really Bad Book Series. This book is full of humorous
stories and essays about really bad dates. We have several stories for
the upcoming first volume but need several more. If you’d like to share
your really bad date story with us, send 1,500 to 2,000 words to
submissions@martinsisterspublishing.com Please type the words “Really
Bad Date” in the subject line of your e-mail. If our editor, who runs a
very successful blog on this topic and is an expert herself at really
bad dates, decides to publish your story in the first volume of Martin
Sisters Publishing’s Book of Really Bad Dates, you will receive more
information about the process. We hope to hear from you and are looking
forward to sharing your really bad date stories with women just like
you all over the country. Multiple submissions are welcome!
Martin Sisters Publishing’s Book of Really Bad Poetry
Haven’t we all fancied ourselves poets at one point or another, only to
go back to that “priceless” journal of ours to find it was some really
horrible prose? I know my sister Dee wrote some really bad poetry when
she was in the fifth or sixth grade — something about puppies in the
snow. Cute, but not Walt Whitman material. I too have to confess I did
my part as well to embarrass myself and the poetry gods by penning a
bad lyric or ten. For girls, this affliction usually starts in
elementary school with that first crush and continues through high
school, while boys begin prosing at puberty and finish almost before
they start. Here’s hoping you kept some of that really bad poetry. We
at MSP would like to include it in our next book, so dig it out of that
old box in the top of your mother’s closet or recreate it from those
almost-forgotten memories gathering cobwebs in your head as I write
this post. Send submissions to submissions@martinsisterspublishing.com
Please put the words Bad Poetry in the subject line. There is no word
limit in this category.
Martin Sisters Publishing’s Book of Really Bad Country Music Songs
Yes, it’s a lot like the book of really bad poetry but the difference
is that you repeatedly sang your heart out (when, if you’re like me,
you couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket). You most likely tortured your
family, friends, and neighbors as you held them captive while you
belted out that tune that was going to earn you a cool million someday.
If you’re still longing to get that bad boy published, we’re definitely
interested. We may not be able to produce a studio recording with Brad
Paisley at the mic, and we can’t take it to the top 40, but we can
certainly publish it in our book. Send submissions to
submissions@martinsisterspublishing.com Please put the words Bad
Country Music Songs in the subject line. There is no word limit in this
category.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wakestone Press
200 Brook Hollow Rd.
Nashville TN 37205
Send submissions to submissions@wakestonepress.com
Accepts unagented material.
Wakestone Press was founded on the belief that neither authors nor
stories get proper attention. Wakestone Press looks for authors who,
with the right team and support, can break out of the crowded, chaotic
catalog of books, and get their stories widely read.
We love the current confusing pace of the publishing business with its
challenges in distribution, technology, marketing, and consumption. We
think that these market challenges are an exciting time to bring both
new and old stories to readers in a variety of forms and formats.
Our primary focus is on nonfiction stories, biographies, lifestyle, and
advice; however, we are rabidly interested in interesting authors and
will review a broad range of stories and genres.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises
Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises is a full-service literary agency
located in Los Angeles, California, and Portland, Oregon. We work with
both first-time and established writers and are known for our expert
attention to every aspect of the publishing process.
The agency’s areas of interest include: Literary fiction, upscale
commercial women’s fiction, voice-driven mysteries and thrillers,
narrative nonfiction (especially by journalists), travelogues, memoirs
(including graphic memoirs), social issues and trends, psychology,
self-help, popular culture, women’s issues, history & biography,
lifestyle, careers, health and medicine, parenting, cooking and
nutrition, gardening, and quirky gift books. We do not represent
romances, screenplays, poetry, westerns, fantasy, horror, science
fiction, action adventure, techno thrillers, spy capers, apocalyptic
scenarios, or political or religious arguments.
Our associate Mary Cummings represents fiction and poetry for children
and teens, from picture books to middle grade and young adult novels,
including contemporary and historical, humor, mystery, fantasy, and
multi-cultural. (No children’s nonfiction, please.) Cummings served for
fourteen years as education director at the Loft Literary Center in
Minneapolis, where she organized an annual festival of children’s
literature and selected judges for the prestigious McKnight Award in
Children’s Literature. She represents both career writers and
newcomers.
Queries for adult titles in the categories we represent must be
addressed to b.amster.assistant@gmail.com. For fiction or memoirs,
please embed the first three pages in the body of your e-mail. For
nonfiction, please embed your proposal.
Queries for children’s and YA titles should be addressed to
b.amster.kidsbooks@gmail.com. For picture books, please embed the
entire text in the body of your e-mail. For novels, please embed the
first three pages.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Six: Creative Writing Assignment – Fresh Venue; Fresh Ideas
Where do you usually write? Most of us write on a computer at our desk.
Even folks with laptop computers tend to sit down at a specific place
in the house to write, every time they sit down to write.
For this exercise, you must break out of your mold, step outside your
comfort zone, change your methods, and start fresh. Leave the computer
behind. Take paper and pencil or pen with you, and leave your usual
environment. Go to a coffee shop, sit, watch people, and then write
whatever thoughts or characters come to mind. Go to a library and sit
at a reading table and write. Sit in a casual dining restaurant and
nurse a glass of iced tea and write. Take a trip to the beach, sit
under an umbrella, and write. You can go to any or all of those places
or somewhere else, but eschew the computer, use your paper and pen or
pencil, and write in a new environment. You will find that in a new,
refreshing setting, you will come up with new, refreshing ideas you
would not have accessed in the monotony of your usual writing spot.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Do YOU have news for The Writers Network News? Please send it in the
body copy, not an attachment, to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Deadline: The
15th of each month.
…………………………………………………………………………….
Send a copy of this 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!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++