The Writers Network News, January 2014 Issue http://ezezine.com
The Writers Network News, January 2014
In This Issue
One: From the editor's desk: What's in Store for 2014?
Two: Ask the Book Doctor about Book Proposals for Memoirs and Finding
Inspiration to Write
Three: This Month's Easy Editing Tip from Bobbie Christmas:
Foreword/Forward
Four: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Six: Got Muse? Love Your Enemies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2014, 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/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writer's Quote of the Month
When asked his advice for aspiring writers, Richard Ford, author of The
Sportswriter (1985), Independence Day (1995), and The Lay of the Land
(2006) said, "Try to talk yourself out of it. As a life, it's much too
solitary, it makes you obsessive, the rewards seem to be much too
inward for most people, and too much rides on luck. Other than that,
it's great."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One: From the editor's desk: What's in Store for 2014?
Dear Fellow Writers:
Holy fountain pen! A new year is about to start. I love new beginnings,
but come to think of it, aren't all beginnings new?
This year I've had more fun than ever, and I've posted many comments,
pictures, and cartoons for writers on my Zebra Communications Facebook
page. I've done many of the things I wanted to do, including traveling
a large portion of North America this year. I visited or rode through
many states, cities, provinces, and even a territory I had never seen
before, including Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Alaska,
Yukon Territory, and British Columbia. I gazed in amazement at Mount
McKinley in Denali State Park on an unusually clear day and marveled at
the tallest mountain in North America. I spotted deer, caribou,
grizzlies, moose, wild sheep, unusual and usual birds, and other
fascinating wildlife. I gaped at blue-green glaciers calving in Glacier
Bay and stood at the edge of the hot, dry, practically impassible
Badlands. I captured photographs of Mount Rushmore in the sun and in
the rain. I walked the edge of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I
watched Old Faithful spew his steaming sulfur water. I ate one of my
best meals ever, an Indian-fried-bread taco, at a restaurant in Old
Town Albuquerque. With about ten other men and women, I played an
unusual Indonesian instrument called a gamelan that consisted of finely
tuned chimes, gongs, and xylophones. I rode down at least four rivers
in North America. I experienced and learned of history, conservation,
survival, science, and the hard life in locations from Tok, Alaska, to
Tallahassee, Florida.
I rode in planes, trains, automobiles, vans, motor coaches, boats, and
even a rubber raft.
All my trips, classes, and experiences add up to more material for
future writing. I have certainly added to my storehouse of knowledge.
In addition to all my trips and experiences, I've edited dozens of
books for clients this year on a wide range of subjects and genres. I
spoke at several conferences and met many writers. I've answered
questions that hundreds of writers have sent me, and I've written
twelve columns based on those questions. I also put out a dozen
newsletters for writers.
For me 2013 was educational, entertaining, exciting, productive, and
satisfying. I hope every one of my readers can say the same thing.
If not, no worries, mate. You have a chance at a new beginning in 2014.
What do you have on your calendar for the upcoming year?
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.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two: Ask the Book Doctor about Book Proposals for Memoirs and Finding
Inspiration to Write
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: You have my completed memoir, (title deleted). Do I need to prepare
a book proposal to present it to agents? Articles and books give
different answers. It seems to me the proposals are for how-to books,
not memoirs or biographies.
A: You're seeing a variety of answers because it depends on the
publisher or agent. Some agents and publishers want a proposal,
especially if the book is not completely written, but many will take a
strong query letter, if the manuscript is completed, especially if it
is professionally edited. While the manuscript is being edited, perform
your research for agents you want to query and see if any demand a
proposal for a completed memoir. If you don't want to write a full
proposal, choose agents and publishers that will accept a query letter
instead. Next write a strong short document explaining the book, your
qualifications for writing it, the market for the book, and how you
intend to market the book once it is released. Put that information in
your query letter, along with the word count for the book and the fact
that the book was professionally edited, and you may not need a
proposal, which only covers that information in more detail.
Q: My ten-year marriage is ending. I don't feel like writing. I have
made only two entries into my journal. Do you have any advice on how to
fight through the pain and write?
A: As a veteran of two broken marriages, I feel your pain. I'm sorry
you have to go through it. Depression often leads to immobility. Many
people need time to go from "overwhelmed" to "productive."
Any loss results in grief, and grief that goes unresolved can lead to
mental and physical problems. Instead of thinking of the issue as
fighting through the pain to write, think of the fact that writing
helps you fight the pain. While immobility keeps you in a depressed
state, doing something--almost anything--can get you out of that state.
When I was going through a divorce at the same time my mother
experienced an episode I thought would lead to her death, I read On
Death and Dying, a book by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I hadn't thought
about my divorce as being a loss that would result in grief, but the
book made me realize I was going through a double loss. Kubler-Ross
defined the stages of grief, which include denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance.
Give yourself time to experience your emotions and progress through the
stages toward healing. Do what you need to do to work through the
stages of grief. I hope writing will become one of those things, but do
not be hard on yourself for not being able to write right away.
Journaling helped me a great deal, and it might work for you, if you
can find a place and time that is conducive to writing. I started with
"Day One" and wrote down what my then-husband said to our son about our
separation and what my husband and I had, in reality, said to each
other. I recorded my surprise that the information differed greatly.
From the moment I started my divorce journal, I experienced relief that
I could write my darkest thoughts without fear that my husband might
read them. Writing my divorce journal did not make me want to write
creatively right away, but I unintentionally recorded material I might
have forgotten, otherwise. Years later, I returned to the journals and
resurrected conversations, events, and emotions to use in stories and
memoirs.
If journaling does not work for you yet, don't push it, but sit for a
portion of each day with pen in hand and see if anything happens. I
mentioned finding a place conducive to writing, and I will reveal mine.
I keep my journal in the bathroom. I have to sit for a while each
morning anyway, so I multitask for those five or ten minutes, recording
my experiences, thoughts, dreams, plans, fears, aspirations, or
whatever comes to mind. I like the confined space, the quiet, and the
separation from others, including the dog, while I write and take care
of my morning constitutional. See if the same ritual works for you.
You might also sign up for a class that gives writing assignments or
look for places with monthly competitions and see if assignments and
competitions inspire you to write. My free newsletter, The Writers
Network News, has a monthly prompt called "Got Muse?" Subscribe to my
newsletter and see if my assignments get you to write again. Join
organizations for writers. Hearing other writers talk of their
experiences may inspire you to write, but even if not, at least you
will be out mingling with other writers.
As for me, deadlines inspire me. See if giving yourself a deadline
helps, but don't be too hard on yourself. You may set a deadline such
as "I will write ten pages by the end of each month."
Of all that inspires me, though, critique circles take the lead. When I
am a member of an active critique circle, I must bring five new pages
to each meeting, so I not only have a deadline, but I also receive
encouragement and helpful feedback that keeps me going.
Try any and all my suggestions and see what works for you. On the
bright side, your distress about not writing means you will get back to
writing soon, either by using some of my suggestions or by finding your
own inspiration.
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.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Three: This Month's Easy Editing Tip from Bobbie Christmas:
Foreword/Forward
Lately I've seen more and more self-published nonfiction books that
begin with an introduction. Too often those sections are labeled in big
letters: Forward. Sorry, folks, but the correct title for the section
is Foreword.
A foreword is an introductory note, essay, or chapter in a book, often
written by somebody other than the author. "Foreword" is a noun.
"Forward," however, is an adverb or adjective that refers to movement
to or toward a front position or direction. It has nothing to do with
the introduction of a book.
If you add a foreword to your nonfiction book, please be sure to label
the section correctly. Readers will silently thank you for your forward
thinking.
For more editing and creative writing tips, order Purge Your Prose of
Problems here: http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Four: Subjects of interest to writers
Andrea M. Nelson-Royes wrote, "I am writing to let you know that my
book, Success in School and Career, got released last week. I have
placed a copy in the mail for you as a token of my appreciation for all
your work editing it."
Rowman & Littlefield Education, a division of Rowman & Littlefield, is
the publisher of her book aimed at educators across America.
Congratulations, Andrea!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discounts on books and seminars for writers! Offer ends December 31.
Christmas is a-coming, and what better gift than something from the
Christmas library of books and seminars for writers? Gift your friends
or yourself and enjoy a rare discount on
some items, if you order by mail.
Ask the Book Doctor: How to Beat the Competition and Sell Your Writing
This book answers questions you wish you could ask an editing expert.
To order online, go to http://tinyurl.com/lexp7n, but if you order
online, you'll pay $14.95 plus S & H for a total of $19.94. UNTIL
DECEMBER 31, 2013, however, save $6 by ordering by mail. Mail your
order and check or money order before December 31, and pay only $13.94
total.
Make check or money order payable to Bobbie Christmas and mail to me at
230 Deerchase Drive, Woodstock, GA 30188. Be sure to include a note
telling me which book, books, or seminar you want to buy.
Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor's Desk Reference
Your friends can save more than a thousand dollars by editing their own
books with help from this desk reference book, the book I use to train
my editors. To order online, go to
http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
$10 DISCOUNT!
You can order Purge Your Prose of Problems: A Book Doctor's Desk
Reference online for $29.95 plus S & H (total: $34.94), but for a short
time, you will save $10 by ordering by mail! Mail your order and check
or money order before December 31, and pay only $24.94 total. Make
check payable to Bobbie Christmas and mail to me at 230 Deerchase
Drive, Woodstock, GA 30188. Be sure to include a note telling me which
book, books, or seminar you want to buy.
"Write In Style and You Write to Win!"
This two-CD audio seminar features a full workshop that upgrades your
writing skills. Learn the secret to style and learn pitfalls to avoid.
Includes copious handouts.
$5.00 DISCOUNT!
Order "Write In Style and You Write to Win!" online, and you pay $25.20
with shipping and handling, but for a short time, you can save $5.00.
Yes, I'll pay the shipping, if you order by mail! Mail your order and
check or money order before December 31, and pay only $20.20 total.
Make check payable to Bobbie Christmas and mail to me at 230 Deerchase
Drive, Woodstock, GA 30188. Be sure to include a note telling me which
book, books, or seminar you want to buy.
More Gifts for Writers from Zebra Communications
"I'd Rather Be Writing" apron in white, yellow, or khaki and long or
short: See http://tinyurl.com/ltfgrkk.
.
Downloadable Audio Seminars:
http://zebraeditor.com/audio_seminars.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just for the fun of it: What your favorite punctuation mark says about
you. http://wapo.st/181Z8Sz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terminology Writers Should Know: Universality
Universality means "relating to, affecting, or accepted by the whole
world." Although few things have true universal appeal, writers must
consider universality when they write articles and books they hope to
sell to the general public. I have seen manuscripts that reflect one
person's misery and complaints about a situation or incident, but do
those stories have universal appeal? No, they appeal only to the person
who needed to vent. For a book or article to have universal appeal, it
must include information that would be entertaining or educational to a
wide range of readers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Self-Publishing Debate: A Social Scientist Separates Fact from
Fiction
Is self-publishing an amateurish endeavor, a means of sharing stories,
a strategic move in a writing career, or an entrepreneurial activity?
See the statistics and information in this article by Dana Beth
Weinberg: http://tinyurl.com/ny872xb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good news for writers of magazine articles. According to the latest GfK
MRI's Survey of the American Consumer, which tracks print and digital
magazine readership, the number of magazine readers in the US is
actually up slightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Become my friend on Facebook and follow my adventures, opinions, and
observations: http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas
Like Zebra Communications on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/7vcxaxu.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Five: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Juked
"In publication since 1999, we are an independent journal that appears
online as well as in annual print issues. We don’t adhere to any
particular themes or tastes, but some people tell us they see one, so
who knows?"
Juked accepts fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Read submission
guidelines at http://www.juked.com/info/submit.asp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency
31 E. 32nd Street, Suite 300
New York, New York 10016
http://www.jdlit.com/aboutus.html
The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency is a New York City-based
full-service literary agency founded in 2001 and named one of the top
25 literary agencies in the country by Writer’s Digest.
The agency represents children’s literature for all ages – picture
books and middle-grade and young adult novels – but also represents
high-quality adult fiction and nonfiction in a wide range of genres.
The categories we are most enthusiastic about representing are literary
and commercial fiction; mysteries, thrillers, celebrity biographies;
humor; psychology and self-help; parenting; health and fitness; women’s
issues; men’s issues; pop culture; film and television; social issues
and contemporary affairs.
See the website for submission guidelines for each agent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.T. Publishing
23 Lily Lake Rd.
Highland NY 12528
845-691-2021
Submission E-mail: tjp2@optonline.net
Anthony Prizzia, publisher (education)
John Prizzia, publisher.
Publishes trade paperback originals.
Accepts simultaneous submissions and unagented submissions. Responds in
one month to queries, two months to proposals, and four months to
manuscripts.
Pays $500-$1,000 advance and 15-25% royalty on retail price or makes
outright purchase for $500-2,500.
Seeks nonfiction only. Needs: books on cooking, foods, nutrition,
education, recreation, science, sports
Submission Method: Query with SASE or submit complete manuscript with
return postage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken Soup stories and poems needed
http://tinyurl.com/6e8hqs
We have many Chicken Soup for the Soul books in development and are
adding new titles all of the time. We are always looking for new
stories and poems and hope you have some for us to consider. Take a
look at the list of our future book topics to see if you have a story
or poem on a subject we are looking for and then please submit it to
us.
If you have a great story or poem you want to submit but we are not
collecting for that topic at this time, please save it and check back
with us soon. Our list of Possible Book Topics is added to frequently
and in the near future, we hope we will add a topic that will be a
perfect fit for your story or poem.
We prefer that you submit your stories only once, but if you believe
your story fits in more than one book topic, please indicate which
other topics you have submitted it for in the Comments line on the
submission form. You can submit your story by going to the website
above and clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Six: Got Muse? Love Your Enemies
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), activist, South African president, and
Nobel Peace Prize winner said, "If you want to make peace with your
enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
Strong enemies make good stories. For this exercise, create two
characters that are enemies and have opposing views, plans, or
personalities. Write a story in which they first clash and then later
find a common project on which they work, which makes peace between
them and joins them as partners in a cause. Perhaps two rivals in high
school could find themselves on the same football team and make peace
that way. Maybe two business rivals join forces to outwit a competitor
to gain a greater market share. Think of your own scenario and write
your story according to your imagination.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++