The Writers Network News, August 2013 Issue http://ezezine.com
The Writers Network News, August 2013
In This Issue
One: From the editor's desk: Facebook, I Love You, But--
Two: Ask the Book Doctor about How to Make an Editor Happy and How to
Become a Writer
Three: This Month's Easy Editing Tip from Bobbie Christmas:
Mantel/Mantle
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Six: Got Muse? Deep, Dark Secrets
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The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2013, 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
Excellent editing for maximum marketability
More than twenty years in the business of editing books (We must be
doing something right.)
As book doctors, we write, edit, and evaluate fiction and nonfiction
manuscripts, book proposals, query letters, and synopses. As book
shepherds, we guide writers through the process of self-publishing. We
are a top-rated Better Business Bureau Accredited Business.
Zebra Communications
230 Deerchase Drive
Woodstock, GA 30188
770/924-0528
http://zebraeditor.com/
Follow my Write In Style creative-writing blog at
http://bobbiechristmas.blogspot.com/
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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.
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Note: I have shortened some links in this newsletter with the help of
www.tinyurl.com, a free service that takes long web addresses and
converts them to short ones.
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Writer's quote of the month
Barbara Wertheim, best known for her book The Guns of August (1962), a
history of the outbreak of World War I, said her number-one rule as a
writer of history was this: "Above all, discard the irrelevant."
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One: From the editor's desk: Facebook, I Love You, But--
Dear Fellow Writers:
I admit it. I am addicted to Facebook. I love reading about my friends,
their families, their vacations, and even their meals. I love reading
their vents, their joys, and their accomplishments. I can show that I
like a fellow writer's accomplishments and comment on a family member's
memories or disappointments. I even play Scrabble with friends on
Facebook.
Because I check Facebook often, I delighted in the fact that a friend
from my original hometown started a Facebook site where Columbians
could share memories, post old photos of Columbia, South Carolina, and
reconnect with folks from our era in the capital city of South
Carolina.
I quickly saw a pattern emerging, however. The other Facebook posts
from my close friends and fellow writers must have spoiled me, because
in reading posts from Columbians who are not writers, I'm appalled at
their spelling, incorrect word choices, and obvious lack of either
education or attention to detail, I'm not sure which. Like everyone, I
make a typo now and then, even on Facebook. We all do. The typos abound
especially when we use our allegedly smart phones, which sometimes give
us words we did not mean. Sometimes we miss an incorrect auto
"correct," and sometimes the result is funny. For the site about my
hometown, though, the errors are so copious and atrocious they are
overwhelming. My sister even bemoaned the bad spelling and grammar on
that site. She and I agreed that we are feeling a tad ashamed. After
all, not only was I born there, but I also received most of my formal
education there.
I probably should not be venting my frustration, because I know the
folks who post on that site are not writers, and their posts show it.
No wonder I prefer the company of writers. We writers share our hearts
through words, and we carefully choose those words. We do our best to
ensure those words are correct choices and spelled correctly, and we
carefully read and edit all our e-mails, personal letters, and Facebook
posts before we send them out to the world. Don't we?
While I may sound as if I am complaining about my hometown or its lack
of mental power or attention to detail, in reality, I am recognizing
the brilliance of the people with whom I personally connect. This
letter, then, is a love letter to my readers, my fellow writers, and
the entire writing community. I love you people! I will see you on
Facebook, and I will enjoy every one of your postings.
To connect with me personally on Facebook, go to
http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas, and better yet, to follow
Zebra Communications, go to http://tinyurl.com/7vcxaxu.
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas (Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com )
Author of Write In Style, owner of Zebra Communications, director of
The Writers Network, and coordinator of the Florida Writers Association
Editors Helping Writers service.
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 How to Make an Editor Happy and How to
Become a Writer
by Bobbie Christmas (responding to real questions from writers like
you)
Q: I am about to send a book manuscript to an editor, but I have never
worked with an editor before. Do I need to do anything special before I
send the manuscript?
A: The answer depends upon whether you are sending your manuscript to a
concept editor, a line editor, a combination of those two (often called
a book doctor), or an acquisitions editor. It is confusing, so let me
explain.
A concept editor, also called a content editor, looks at the big
picture: If it is a novel, the concept editor examines, evaluates, and
makes suggestions to improve, if necessary, the plot, dialogue,
characters, and other elements related to fiction. If the manuscript is
a nonfiction book, the concept editor examines elements such as
organization, pace, clarity of information, and such. Some concept
editors are happy to work with outlines, proposals, or synopses, even
before the book is written, because they can often use skeletal
material to spot weak or missing areas while the book is being
formulated.
A line editor goes over every word in every line and ensures that the
grammar, punctuation, and syntax are correct. He or she also ensures
that the punctuation, capitalization, and other things comply with
Chicago style. Line editors want your book manuscript or book proposal
to be complete and be further along than a first draft. Send at least a
second or third draft to a line editor.
A book doctor combines both concept editing and line editing, so you
get a full evaluation of your manuscript as well as technical-error
corrections. As with line editors, book doctors need a completed book
proposal or manuscript as polished as you can get it, and they will
polish it the rest of the way, as well as evaluate and give you
feedback on the concept and elements.
An acquisitions editor, in contrast to the first three kinds of
editors, usually does no editing at all. Acquisitions editors expect
all the editing to be completed before you send in the manuscript.
Acquisitions editors work at publishing houses and are responsible for
acquiring books, not editing them. For the acquisitions editor, you
absolutely must submit your highly polished and edited book proposal or
manuscript according to their specifications. Some want the first
chapter; others want a random chapter. Some ask for the first three
chapters. Some want outlines. For nonfiction, most acquisitions editors
will want a book proposal, along with one to three sample chapters.
Find and follow each acquisitions editor’s guidelines.
Almost all editors will want your manuscript in standard manuscript
style, so before sending it out (or even better, before you begin
writing your book) be sure the manuscript adheres to standard
manuscript style.
What constitutes standard manuscript style? The typed manuscript should
be in twelve-point Courier or Times New Roman, double-spaced, with no
extra spaces between paragraphs except to indicate a scene shift in
fiction or a shift in subject matter in a nonfiction book. Every
paragraph is indented, not using the tab key, but by using the
First-Line Indent function on the ruler in Microsoft Word. Each new
chapter begins on a new page by using page breaks, not hard returns.
The header on every page but the title page identifies the title,
author, and page number. Only one space follows periods and colons, no
matter what we learned when we used typewriters.
Come to think of it, the big difference in these editors is that the
acquisitions editor will want your manuscript to have been edited
before it was submitted, which means to make any of these editors
happy, polish your manuscript, set it in the correct format, and get it
edited before you submit it for potential publication.
Q: What programs of study must a student complete to become a writer?
A: Writers do not have to one singular path to reach professional
level; the options are many. I took journalism in college because that
was all my university offered, back in the early 1960s. Today
up-and-coming writers can take advertising, journalism, corporate
communications, technical writing, and other courses that lead to
various careers for writers. Some universities even offer an MBA in
creative writing, which may be helpful, but I learned the most about
creative writing outside of school by reading, going to seminars, and
participating in critique circles. Do not think, however, that majoring
in English is a path to becoming a writer. It might help, though, if
you want to become an editor.
When I was facing college, my father asked me what I wanted to do with
my life. I said I wanted to be a writer. His response was, “You’ll
never make a living as a writer; you’d better do something else.” He
and others probably thought I wanted to be a novelist, which rarely
results in sufficient income by itself. I did not want to be a
novelist, though. I simply wanted to work with words, and by being
flexible and continually learning, I have been able to make a living
with words. For the first half of my career I made money writing
brochure and ad copy, commercials, newspaper and magazine articles, and
corporate communications. For the second half of my career, I have
concentrated on editing books, all working with the raw material I
love: words.
Be flexible, keep learning, and keep believing, and you too can make
money with words, no matter what courses or programs you take.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor 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.
For more questions, answers, and comments, order the book, Ask the Book
Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing. Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/book_ask_the_book_doctor.shtml.
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.
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Three: This Month's Easy Editing Tip from Bobbie Christmas:
Mantel/Mantle
Which is correct, mantel or mantle? Although both spellings are
acceptable to mean the shelf over a fireplace, the preferable spelling
is mantel, and mantle is considered a variant, when referring to a
fireplace mantel. Stick with mantel to mean a hearth decoration, and
mantle to mean cloak (She wore a wool mantle).
For more editing and creative writing tips, order Purge Your Prose of
Problems here: http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
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Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Where is Bobbie speaking next?
"The Greatest Writers Conference on Earth," where members find their
agents, meet their publishers, and get the scoop on the industry. Feel
free to e-mail conference planners at
ConferenceMarketing@FloridaWriters.net.
When: October 18-20, 2013
Where: Orlando Marriott
1501 International Parkway
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
407.995.1100, 800.380.7724
Ask for special FWA Conference rates. See
http://www.floridawriters.net/2013_FWA_Conferences.html.
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Member Marsha Maurer is happy to announce the rerelease of her popular
book With Healing Wings: Prayers for Those Who Hurt and Those Who Care.
For those suffering and for caregivers, With Healing Wings gives voice
to the anguish of illness, affliction, and heartache--and offers God's
own words of comfort, hope, and healing. The book is available with a
beautiful new look at www.amazon.com. Click on second format.
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Write In Style No Longer In Stock
Write In Style is the first book to teach how to write tighter,
stronger, and more creatively, PLUS how to speed through your editing
phase using tricks available in the software you are already using.
Write In Style won the Royal Palm Literary Award for education, Best in
Division (Georgia Author of the Year Awards), and was a finalist in
USABookNews Best Books.
I warned everyone to buy from me, while I had a few copies on hand, but
there are only a few water-damaged copies plus a couple of new ones
left, now, and they are all selling on Amazon.com.
To order, go to http://tinyurl.com/omzow26.
To order a used or slightly water-damaged copy, click on the Used tab
or contact me directly at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com for more information.
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Do you plan to self-publish?
Do you know what it takes to be successful at it? Are you willing to do
all that it takes? See
http://www.screenwritingtricks.com/2013/06/indie-publishing-are-you-willing-to-do.html
Also, for a free e-book on self-publishing see
http://www.selfpublishing.com/free-ebooks/.
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Final Offer for $10 discount on Purge Your Prose of Problems, the
ultimate desk reference book for writers and editors. Read to the
bottom, to get discount information.
Purge Your Prose of Problems
A Book Doctor's Desk Reference, Fifth Edition
Save thousands of dollars and edit your own book! Order my proprietary
book-doctor desk reference book online at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
In alphabetical order and in easy-to-understand language, Purge Your
Prose of Problems covers all you need to know to revise and edit
fiction and nonfiction books, including grammar, punctuation, word
choices, creative writing, plot, pace, characterization, point of view,
dialogue, Chicago style, format, and much more. The spiral binder lets
the book lie flat in front of your computer, for easy use. Available
printed or as a PDF e-book that allows you to keep all this vital
information on your computer for ready reference.
The e-book is the best deal, because you get it immediately and pay no
shipping, and it then resides on your computer for the speediest
reference, whenever you need it.
To save thousands of dollars by editing your own book, order Purge Your
Prose of Problems today at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
Discount Information:
Want a $10 discount on the price of Purge Your Prose of Problems? I
have one remaining copy of the fourth edition, cram-packed with
excellent information, but a little older than the fifth edition. To
acquire the discounted copy of the fourth edition, e-mail me to be sure
I still have the copy available, and if so, instead of $29.95 plus
$3.99 shipping and handling, you will pay only $19.95 plus $3.99
shipping and handling. Interested? Write to me at
Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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Terminology Writers Should Know: Copyright
Copyrights give authors the power to control their books' reproduction,
distribution, and public display. You own the copyright as soon as you
create work, thanks to the Copyright Revision Act of 1976, which became
effective January 1, 1978. It states that a statutory copyright exists
in a work as soon as it is created in tangible form, even if it has not
been published and whether or not it has been registered with the U.S.
Copyright Office. You do not have to register the copyright of a
manuscript before sending it to an editor or publisher; you already own
the rights to the work. The time to register the copyright is after all
the changes have been made and the book is about to go to press.
Traditional publishers usually register the copyright for the author,
in the author's name. Self-publishers should register the copyright
when the book is about to be printed or turned into an e-book.
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Free $10 gift card to one lucky person who lives in or near Birmingham
or who plans to visit Birmingham!
I have a $10 gift card to Continental Bakery/Chez Lulu, and I will not
get to Birmingham, Alabama, again for a long time. If you would like
the gift card or know someone who would, send me an e-mail
(Bobbie@zebraeditor.com), and if you are the first to contact me, I
will let you know. You will then send me a self-addressed, stamped
envelope, and I will send you the gift card. I hope my $10 gift card
finds a "good home," with someone who will use it.
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Free Tools for Writers from Bobbie Christmas and Zebra Communications
Order PDF reports on writing-related subjects, including 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. Go to
http://zebraeditor.com/free_reports.shtml. Newest report: Genre: A
Slippery Subject Essential to Fiction: Learn about genre fiction
categories and the benefits of complying with genre specifications.
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Open Culture offers Seven Tips from Ernest Hemingway
For good advice from a master, see
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
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Attention Writers! Try Before You Buy: A New Way to Find a Qualified
Editor for Your Book
The Florida Writers Association offers a unique service to members
through its Editors Helping Writers service, and you have the
reassurance that you are dealing with fully vetted professional editors
who are overseen by a coordinator of the service as well as the strong
Florida Writers Association itself.
To learn all the rules and regulations for the Editors Helping Writers,
go to http://tinyurl.com/96eklu5. To participate in the service, you
will have to be a member of FWA, but the membership fee is low, the
advantages of membership are many, and you do not have to live in the
state or even in the country.
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Two New Imprints for Young Adults Launch
See the entire Publisher Weekly article at http://tinyurl.com/md6jh5m.
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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: $8.95, no
S & H, with almost instant delivery. You will save almost $10 by buying
the e-book! To order either, go to http://tinyurl.com/lexp7n.
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A Literary Agent Tries to Explain Why Didn’t I Say "Yes" to Your
Submission?
See http://tinyurl.com/nlt4u6v.
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Become Bobbie's friend on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas
Like Zebra Communications on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/7vcxaxu.
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Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Did Casey save you? Did you find Scout through an act of fate?
We all know stories about pets saving their owners' lives by retrieving
help when they are in trouble. There are also many stories about people
rescuing animals in peril and ultimately having their lives changed by
them. These accounts amaze and warm our hearts. Do you have a story
about an animal or pet that changed your life or the life of someone
you know? Have you saved an animal through an act of fate? Did fate
bring a pet into your life that became a kindred spirit? I would like
to read your story! Please submit your story, or if you have any
questions, contact me for an upcoming anthology about animals and fate.
The story must be a true account about how a pet or animal helped or
connected with you--or vice versa--and how fate played a role in your
relationship.
Please e-mail your story or questions to me at
uslander.arlene@gmail.com
A portion of the proceeds of sales of the book will be donated to
animal rights and rescue organizations.
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GreenPrints
P.O. Box 1355
Fairview NC 28730
Phone: (828)628-1902
E-mail: pat@greenprints.com
Website: www.greenprints.com
Contact: Pat Stone, managing editor.
"GreenPrints is the 'Weeder's Digest.' We share the human, NOT how-to,
side of gardening. We publish true personal gardening stories and
essays: humorous, heartfelt, insightful, inspiring."
Only GreenPrints magazine shares the human side: the joy, humor,
frustrations, and heart in fine prose and fine art. It's the best
personal garden writing, old and new. It's funny. It's tender. It's
truthful. It's inspiring. There is no other gardening magazine like it.
If you love to garden, you'll love to read the quarterly magazine of
personal garden writing: GreenPrints, “The Weeder’s Digest!”
GreenPrints, like gardening, offers hope, joy, encouragement, peace,
humor, beauty, friendship, and so much more. And who couldn’t use those
things, now or anytime? It’s a much-cherished present for yourself and
your gardening friends and family.
Accepts simultaneous submissions
Queries accepted by mail or e-mail
Responds in three months to manuscripts.
90% freelance written.
Needs: essays, general interest, historical, humor, inspirational,
nostalgic, personal experience
Does not want how-to.
Submission Method: Submit complete manuscript.
Length: 250-2,500 words.
Pays $50-200 for unsolicited articles.
Columns/Departments
Broken Trowel: The story of your funniest garden mistake. Average word
length is 300 words.
Pays between $50 and $75 for columns.
"We run very little fiction."
Buys two fiction manuscripts a year.
Submit complete manuscript.
Pays $75-200 maximum.
Poetry
Needs: Free verse, light verse, traditional
"If it's not hands-on gardening based, please, please don't send it."
Max Number of Poems: three
Buys four poems/year
Pays $25 for poems.
Fillers
Wants anecdotes, short humor.
Length: 100-300 words.
Pays between $50 and $75 for fillers.
Wants "a great, true, unique personal story with dialogue, a narrative,
and something special that happens to make it truly stand out."
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American Carriage House Publishing
PO Box 1130
Nevada City, CA 95959
530-432-8860
www.americancarriagehousepublishing.com
If you are seeking a publisher for your book, we request that you
include the following:
A cover letter
A one-page description of the work.
We are looking for proposals, both fiction and nonfiction, preferably
wholesome topics with emphasis on the following:
Original manuscripts by never-published authors
Women's topics including infertility and pregnancy
Parenting topics including adoption
Children's stories
Inspirational topics and stories
California and West Coast history and topics
Memoirs
Cooking and Nutrition
Poetry
Biographies
Topics that appeal to niche markets
If you are unsure whether your manuscript is appropriate for American
Carriage House, drop us a quick e-mail through
http://www.americancarriagehousepublishing.com/contact.html.
If you are submitting a proposal, please allow 8-12 weeks for a
response.
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Arch Street Press
1485 Valley Forge Rd.
Valley Forge PA 19481
484-823-0120
contact@archstreetpress.org
Submission E-mail: development@archstreetpress.org
www.archstreetpress.org
Contact: Robert Rimm, managing editor.
Does not accept fiction or poetry.
Publishes hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, and
electronic originals.
Accepts simultaneous submissions
Responds in one month to queries and proposals, two months to
manuscripts.
Pays 6-20% royalty on retail price.
Publishes manuscripts one year after acceptance.
Nonfiction
architecture, art, business, communications, community, contemporary
culture, creative nonfiction, dance, economics, education, environment,
finance, government, health, history, humanities, labor, language, law,
literary criticism, literature, memoirs, money, multicultural, music,
nature, philosophy, social sciences, sociology, spirituality,
translation, women's issues, women's studies, world affairs, leadership
Formats: biography, booklets, coffee table book, general nonfiction,
gift book, how-to, illustrated book, multimedia, reference, scholarly,
textbook
Query with SASE. Submit proposal package including outline and three
sample chapters.
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Six: Got Muse? Deep, Dark Secrets
Deep, dark secrets, we all have them. These secrets are the things we
never want our friends or family members to hear about, things that
would get us in trouble, embarrass us, or maybe even put us in danger,
if the truth came out.
Think about your deepest, most well-hidden secret, and you will realize
that it would make a terrific story--for someone else. For this
exercise, create a character who experiences whatever you have been
hiding all these years. For example, when I was a teen, I played hooky
from school one day, something that was so out of character for me that
no one would have believed me if I had revealed it at the time. For
most of my life, I kept hidden the things I did that day, until I
revealed them in my memoirs, more than fifty years later.
Put your character in the situation you were in during the event that
you have kept a secret, and write a scene, a chapter, or an entire
story revolving around the event. Be sure to pour into the story
everything that will make readers feel that they are there. Be sure to
portray in words all your emotions, thoughts, and fears, but give those
feelings, that setting, and those circumstances to your fictional
character.
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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.
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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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