The Writers Network News: Just When You Think It’s Over/July 2022
The Writers Network News: Just When You Think It’s Over/July 2022
In This Issue
One: From the Editor's Desk: Just When You Think It’s Over
Two: Ask the Book Doctor—About E-books
Three: Subjects of Interest to Writers
Four: Contests, Agents, and Markets
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The Writers Network News
No Rules; Just Write!
Editor: Bobbie Christmas
Contents copyright 2022, Bobbie Christmas
No portion of this newsletter can be used without permission; however, you may forward the newsletter in its entirety to fellow writers.
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Zebra Communications
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https://www.zebraeditor.com/
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Notes:
Some links in this newsletter are shortened with help from www.tinyurl.com, a service that converts long links into short ones.
This ezine format that does not support italics, so italics are indicated with underlines before and after words.
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Writer's Quote of the Month
I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.
—Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s.
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We Can’t Change Your Address; You Must Do It
If your address changes and our email to you bounces, our system automatically unsubscribes you. If you plan to change your email address, subscribe again with your new address. We cannot add you or change your address, because of our double-opt-in, no-spam policy. Please go to https://www.zebraeditor.com/ and sign up with your new address, and do it before you stop using your old address.
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Members Write
Jill Jennings wrote: A while back I wrote about how I was feeling unhappy, uninspired, and very tired. I was not interested in writing anything. You printed my letter asking if others felt the same way. My situation turned out not to be emotional in nature as much as physical. My point: don't assume you are feeling blue because of current events, ageing, or emotional baggage. Go to a doctor and get a complete physical. In my case seeing a cardiologist was the right move.
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One: From the Editor's Desk: Just When You Think It’s Over
Dear Fellow Writers:
As I write this, public transportation no longer requires that people wear masks. Once again people fill restaurants, theaters, and concert halls and stores no longer have signs that demand that shoppers wear masks. It appears that life has returned to pre-pandemic normal. The false illusion, however, may have repercussions.
Because things are opening up again, combined with the newer, more communicable forms of COVID, more people are coming down with the evil virus. I’m thankful folks aren’t having to be hospitalized as often, but in the past month my sister, brother, and sister-in-law in Atlanta came down with COVID, and while traveling to Maine, my brother-in-law was stricken with the virus too. My son In Virginia was also bedridden with COVID. It’s hitting closer to home than ever. Thank goodness the current variants are less lethal than the earlier versions, but still, who wants to feel dreadful for a week or two, and long COVID lasts even longer.
Dealing with the sickness, fears, warnings, and limitations placed on our lives, but many of us—including me—are suffering long-term depression. It’s sad to me that I’m too afraid to kiss my family members and that I hesitate even to hug them. I hesitate, but I do hug them. I need my hugs. We each make choices about what we’re willing to do when it comes to what’s considered risky behavior in the time of a pandemic.
After being exposed to my brother while he was ill, I wore a mask in public for a long time, to ensure not to expose others, in case I was carrying COVID without being symptomatic. I made full use of the free COVID testing kits the government provided too, to make sure I was staying negative. Although I still bowled with my league—a crowded environment, but in a large, airy building—I wore my mask. It’s not comfortable to bowl in a mask, but doing so was my compromise, rather than isolating. Yes, we each make our choices.
What concerns me most, though, is that many of us who get depressed also become unmotivated, uninterested in following our passion or listening and responding to our muse. As Jill Jennings advised in her letter (above), see a doctor to make sure your issues aren’t physical, and if they are psychological in nature, get therapy, talk to a friend, meditate, join a critique group, or do whatever necessary to get yourself back on track. Please.
I hope you are still writing, still hopeful that this too shall pass, and yet still being careful about how much you expose yourself and others in questionable situations. No matter what, we must keep writing, because we are writers. Write on!
Yours in writing,
Bobbie Christmas Bobbie@zebraeditor.com or bzebra@aol.com
Author of two editions of _Write In Style_, owner of Zebra Communications, director of The Writers Network, coordinator of the Florida Writers Association Editors Helping Writers service, and senior editor of Enjoy Cherokee Magazine
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Two: Ask the Book Doctor: About E-Books
By Bobbie Christmas
Q: I was wondering how you feel about e-books. Most people have pretty strong feelings for and against. I’d be interested to know how you feel and why.
A: I have two takes on the subject, depending on the point of view. From the point of view of a buyer, I download many e-books onto my Kindle so I can take them with me on trips or read them in lower-light situations. I’m not in those situations often, though, so my e-books often languish unread for a long time. As an author and self-publisher, though, I’m all for e-books, but with a warning.
In my opinion, and it’s backed by statistics I’ll give later, I’m all for producing every book in both printed and e-book forms, so my books are available as both e-books and printed books. On the one hand I sell far more copies of my printed books than I do my e-books, but on the other hand, when people buy my e-books, I make more money per sale.
With e-books I have less work, as well. Buyers’ money goes into my account and my website automatically delivers the e-book file. What a breeze!
It’s also a breeze when people buy my books through Amazon or my publisher, because those places fulfill the order for me, but I get a truly small percentage of the price. On the other hand, I make more if people order the books directly from me, but I’m the one who has to pack and ship them, and each order takes time to fulfill.
E-books have many advantages to both publishers and buyers. They cost less to produce than printed books, so they cost less for buyers, even though they sometimes have a greater profit margin for the seller. They’re certainly easier to deliver than printed books, and buyers can obtain them almost instantly.
On the downside, e-books still don’t sell as well as printed books.
Sovan Mandal’s April 30, 2021, article on Good E Reader noted that according to research by Statista’s Advertising & Media Outlook, almost twice as many printed books sold in 2020 compared to e-books. About 45 percent of the people who bought a book in 2020 bought a printed one, while 23 percent of those who bought a book chose to buy an e-book. Experts are saying that e-books may have a steady market, but e-books only complement the publishing sector; they don’t replace printed books entirely. At least, not yet. In the United States, the second-largest e-book market, 22.7 percent of buyers bought an e-book in 2020 compared to 44.5 percent who bought a printed book.
Although a good supplement to printed books, e-books should not supplant printed books. They still don’t appeal to buyers as strongly as printed books do. Some people are hesitant or forget to go to a website and download the books. Some are afraid. Some don’t want to use a credit card online. Some don’t like reading long works electronically. Many people still like the feel of holding a printed book, as opposed to holding an electronic device.
Although e-book sales have been growing over the years, some people still don’t see the upside to them, which can include clickable links, electronic bookmarks, instant fulfillment, and a lower price. While printing can be costly, e-books avoid the cost of printing, plus you can sell the same file thousands of times and never “run out.” E-books have advantages to both buyers and sellers, but I recommend offering your book in both printed and e-book forms, rather than one or the other.
Bobbie Christmas is a book editor, author of _Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing_, and owner of Zebra Communications. She will answer your questions too. Send them to Bobbie@ZebraEditor.com or BZebra@aol.com. Read Bobbie’s Zebra Communications blog at ZebraEditor.com/blog/.
For much more information on these subjects and hundreds of others of vital importance to writers, order _Purge Your Prose of Problems, a Book Doctor’s Desk Reference Book_ at http://tinyurl.com/4ptjnr.
Bobbie Christmas’s award-winning second edition of _Write In Style_: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y7ppcdkd or buy it directly at https://tinyurl.com/y7p9xkbb.
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Three: Subjects of interest to writers
Creative Writing Tip: Em Dash
An em dash is the longest dash available. It is longer than an en dash, which is longer than a hyphen.
A hyphen is not an em dash; however, on most computers, if you type two hyphens in a row, it will automatically create an em dash.
Wise writers use dashes sparingly and avoid using them incorrectly. Never use dashes to avoid using correct punctuation. Use dashes to denote an abrupt change in thought or an emphatic pause. We will fly to Paris in June—if I get a raise.
Use two hyphens to indicate a dash, if you do not have a dash on your computer. I would like to tell you--emphatically--you are brilliant. In Microsoft Word, you can also go to Symbol and choose Em Dash and Insert. Whether using the true em dash or two hyphens, be consistent; don’t use a dash in one place and two hyphens in another.
Never space before or after a dash.
(Excerpt from _Purge Your Prose of Problems, a book doctor’s desk reference_, available only at ZebraEditor.com.)
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Excellent Editing for Maximum Marketability
Whether you hope to sell your manuscript to a publisher or plan to self-publish, if it’s not marketable, it will fail. Zebra Communications edits manuscripts with marketability in mind. Two of the three services we offer include developmental editing and an extensive report filled with advice, explanations, and suggestions on how to improve the manuscript’s marketability even more. Look for our services, pricing, reviews, and more at www.ZebraEditor.com.
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How to Format a Manuscript
A manuscript is not a book. Some authors think they have to format their manuscripts in the way they want their book to look, but it’s absolutely untrue and a sign of an amateur. If you plan to submit your manuscript to an editor or publisher, get the full scoop on standard manuscript format here: https://cmosshoptalk.com/2021/01/12/how-to-format-a-novel-for-submission/.
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Easy Access to Bobbie’s Blogs
Read creative writing tips as well as some of my personal experiences. Access the Write In Style blog here: https://www.zebraeditor.com/blog/
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More manuscript advice from CMOS: “When you submit a manuscript to an agent or editor, the pages should be free of watermarks, copyrights, and other disclaimers implying that you don’t trust the reader with your work—not cool.”
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Manuslips
I keep some of the funnier errors I find in manuscripts when I edit. We all make what I call manuslips, but a good editor will catch and repair them. Here’s a recent manuslip I caught while editing a client’s book:
The family members are shocked or amazed when a “smiling” duck is brought to the table and horrified when it is de-captivated on the spot.
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Be My Friend on Facebook
Follow my adventures, opinions, and observations: http://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas
Follow Zebra Communications on Facebook for news for writers, writing-related cartoons, immediate updates, and other good stuff. https://tinyurl.com/ydyn3pcu.
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CMOS Online Q&A
This month someone posed the following question to The Chicago Manual of Style Online:
Q. In fiction, when a character reads off a hotel room number, would it be in numbers or spelled out? “Room 305, down the hall.” Or “Room three oh five, down the hall.”
To get the answer to this question and many more based on Chicago style, go to http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html.
_The Chicago Manual of Style_ sets the standard in book publishing for issues such as punctuation, capitalization, and much more. If you write fiction or nonfiction books, you will want to know about Chicago style or be sure to use a professional book editor intimately familiar with Chicago style.
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Write In Style: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing
We’ve been told to write tight, but how can we know when we’ve overwritten? In my five-time-award-winning book _Write In Style_, you’ll learn how to use your computer to find and delete or rewrite words, sentences, and phrases that weaken your writing.
Five-time-award-winning _Write In Style_ leaves grammar to the grammarians. Instead it uses humor and expertise to show writers how to tighten and strengthen their writing style and create a fresh voice. Available as an e-book or printed.
Have you removed all the superfluous words in your manuscript? This book tells you what to look for and change or delete. Watch all your writing improve with tips from this brilliant book on creative writing.
Order your copy today at https://tinyurl.com/y8fp5nym.
Want to buy the book in Kobo through Rakuten? Easy. Go to https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/write-in-style-3
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Four: Contests, Agents, and Markets
Next Chapters Writing Competition
You are invited to join our community and write the next chapter to complete the story started by renown author Debbie Viguié, being written collaboratively right now at Next Chapters. Participation in our novel writing contest and membership at Next Chapters is free. Read the rest of Chapter One and complete the story to enter our writing contest on Next Chapters’ writing platform for free right now! To read the chapter and enter, click here: Our Latest Writing Contest! - Next Chapters
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Sunbury Press Accepts Fiction and Nonfiction
Sunbury Press has been publishing books since 2004. We are a rapidly growing traditional publisher in a wide range of categories. We typically receive about 2000 proposals a year, selecting only 100 of them for publication (about 5%). We choose to invest only in those opportunities that we feel have the best chance in the marketplace. In 2022, at least 70% of our titles will be nonfiction (NF). We are especially interested in manuscripts for our Hearth and Home imprint, but feel free to submit to other nonfiction imprints as well. If you are submitting fiction (F), please be advised that we are being very selective. We publish our books under several category-focused imprints. Be sure to submit your manuscript to ONLY one Imprint. Sunbury Press is our primary nonfiction imprint. The Sunbury Press imprint is best known for history, military fiction, biography, memoir, and other nonfiction categories. Full guidelines here: Sunbury Press Submission Manager (submittable.com)
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Orion’s Belt Seeks Short Stories
Stories should be submitted to orionsbelt.submissions@gmail.com. All stories must be under 1,200 words (not including the title and byline). All stories over 1,200 words will sadly be rejected automatically. All stories must contain significant speculative elements. This does not mean all sci-fi stories must have lasers and rockets. It just means a non-speculative story doesn’t become speculative if you include a single line clarifying the story takes place on Mars.
Because of the time needed to evaluate submissions and prepare stories for publication, Orion’s Belt has a limited submission window. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to you. Stories submitted outside the submission window will not be deleted, but they will not be read until the submission window re-opens. Our current submission window will stay open until September 1.
Full guidelines here: https://www.orions-belt.net/submissions? S
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With the exception of Zebra Communications, information in this newsletter is not to be construed as an endorsement. Research all information and study every stipulation before you enter a competition, pitch or accept an assignment, spend money, or sell your work.
The Writers Network News: a newsletter for writers everywhere. No Rules; Just Write!
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