Writing Craft - Newsletter
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Rx for Writers |
January 30, 2012
We’ve almost run out of February, folk! Only one more day to get your Winter
Wonderland prompt to me and then we can enjoy a few lyrical descriptions of the
landscape and try to forget that we’re all tired of winter.
The Most Persistent Writer Award runs from September 1 to August 31. Sending out your work counts, remember...not acceptances! You'll find the very simple rules in our 'Applause' section.
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
APPLAUSE! Great news, not a lot, but hey, we’ll take it!
GRADUATE and NEWBIE NEWS: I need YOUR news!
SPOTLIGHT: Revision: When, How Much, and Why?
THE FORUM TOPIC: The ebook craze: What’s real?
DONNA IPPOLITO ANSWER OF THE WEEK – What about self-publishing?
THE PROMPT Winter Wonderland Final days!
THE WEBEDITOR'S PICK– Billy Goats Gruff anthology, closing date Feb 19, thanks Lisa!
THE TROLL BRIDGE BUZZ– Review of How I Sold 1 Million e-Books in Five Months by John Locke
THE WANT ADS: Advertise your book here, ask for expertise, look for a reader!
REVIEWS AND TIPS:
A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick Reviewed by Pam
Pedler
REMINDERS
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
Article Index by Topic
Need help with characterization? You're faced with a query letter and you
don't have a clue?
Now you can find what you need with a click of your mouse. (And if you haven't
been using the articles on the website, you're missing some good information at
a very good price -- like free!) Visit the article index and choose your
topic at the top of the page...Christian and Inspirational Fiction? click
Plotting? Romance? click No need to scroll through our ever-expanding
list of articles. Take a look and click on those helpful articles.
APPLAUSE!!!
Don't forget to tell us when you get a yes or a no from the
publisher. We'll cheer you either way! Send news of your sales, your
rejections, and of course, links to that new book, story, or article to MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
And remember to keep a log of your submissions so that you can compete for Most
Persistent Writer this year!
Most Persistent Writer Award Rules: Keep a log of all your submissions; the date you sent it off, the name of the market. Keep your fiction submissions separate from your nonfiction submissions. On August 31, 2012 count up your submissions sent out between September 1, 2011 and August 30, 2012. I don't want the number of acceptances, I want the number of submissions you sent out. Send me that number at the end of the Persistent year – after August 30, 2011. It's that simple! I'll ask to see the logs of the winners, but you'll find that log is very useful for you, as well. Our Most Persistent Writer -- the one who has simply gotten the most stories or articles into the mail -- wins a prize. I will offer a separate Nonfiction and a Fiction award so don't forget to keep your fiction and nonfiction submission lists separate. Yes, contest submissions count, yes, Non Fiction query letters count as well as complete submissions, yes, novel query letters to agents or editors count, no, poetry submissions do not count. The prompts here do not count, but any review you send me does. No, Nano drafts don't count either, unless you actually submit it to a publisher. And yes, if you get a rejection and send that piece to another publisher, that is indeed another submission. So if you send something to five publishers and get five rejections, you still have five submissions. Oh yes…previous winners are not eligible to enter in the category they won in. We know you’re persistent!
___________________________________
I wanted to announce the publication of my latest book, "My Open
Heart," by Solstice Publishing. This is my autobiography of growing up
with heart disease. I wrote it for Young Adults who are also growing up with
heart disease so they could read a survivor's story that will help encourage
them to never give up their dreams despite their health circumstances. It is
also for parents of children who are growing up with heart disease, as well as
Young Adults dealing with other chronic illnesses. I hope my story will be an
inspiration and perhaps guidance to them all.
"My Open Heart" can be purchased from Solstice
Publishing's website: It can also be purchased for the Kindle at Amazon.com:
-- Andrea Buginsky Oh, good for you, Andrea! I
hope you get great sales!
My Short Story Collection and Jesse Winchester are now on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070HDXTG
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070HLVE0
Soon to be in iBookstore and B&N for Nook I figured out how to do
eBooks Yay me! -- Donna Hernandez Good for
you, Donna! That is the way to go, these days. Now you need to promote it!
I have this afternoon submitted a story to Senior Living at The Fresno Bee, our daily newspaper. It is called "From London Secretary to California Cowgirl" which is an abrieviated memoir of mine from 1955 to 1980. – Maggie Oh, good luck, Maggie, and congrats on sending that out!
Well we don’t have a lot of news this week, but hey, you’re getting work out there and that counts for a lot! Send YOUR news to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
New Student and Graduate News:
Hey folks, I need news. Are you a new student? Step up and say hi! We’d love
to meet you. How’s that assignment coming along? And you grads, what are you
up to? Writing? Journaling? Thinking about self-publishing? Got a blog?
Keep us in the loop!
Just touch base and let us know what you’re doing. Share it with us at LongRidgeWebEditor@LongRidgeWritersGroup.com
SPOTLIGHT: Revision: When, How Much, and Why?
Revision…you either love it or you dread it. But no matter how you feel about it, it’s part of writing...a major part. No matter how wonderful your story is, how perfect that article seems, resist the temptation to print it out, stick it into an envelope and send it off. Why? Because you know it too well. You’re too close to that story or that article. You simply cannot see the weak places, the spots where the characterization breaks down, the holes. Put that piece aside for a day or two and then go over it again. That break will allow you to notice problems that you just can’t see when you first finish a piece.
If you’re working on a novel, you’re probably better off to simply keep writing until you finish the first draft before you tackle revision. The editor and the writer are two different entities and they don’t share your brain well. If you put the editor in charge, it can inhibit your writer. Give that first draft to the writer brain and turn the editor loose on it after you have finished that first draft. If you think of things you need to change as you write that first draft, make yourself notes or go back through your printed out pages and affix a sticky note to the page where you need to make the change. Then deal with it later, after you have finished draft one.
For more tips on how to do revision well, check out Revision: When, How Much, and Why? in Writing Craft: Craft.
Our discussion about description, how much to use, how little, has been brisk this week! Let’s keep it up. We’re going to continue to talk about description and setting. How much is too much? Is that description important? How do you know? Should you leave it out? Let’s keep talking, it has been fun!
Forums take place on the Post a Note Board Look for the ‘Forum’ topic.
Because of some nasty spam attacks, all new Post a Note registrations must be approved by me, so expect a brief delay after you create your user name before you can actually use the board. Temporarily, because of a nasty spam attack, no new Post a Note registrations can be accepted. Email me with your desired user name and password and I’ll register you for the Post a Note myself.
Check the Calendar Page and this newsletter for current topics.
Writing tips from Donna Ippolito, Long Ridge instructor.
Donna Ippolito has been writing, editing, and teaching others to write for more than 20 years. From 1985 to 2001, she was editor-in-chief at FASA Corporation, a Chicago publisher that packaged best-selling science fiction and fantasy novel lines for Penguin Books and Time-Warner. These included the popular BattleTech, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, and Vor series. So check out her websites at www.expert-editor.com and http://dreamscoop.blogspot.com/.
Prior to that, Ms. Ippolito was an editor at the Swallow Press, a prestigious publisher of both literary and commercial titles. Writers published by Swallow include celebrated novelist Anaïs Nin; Jungian analyst Linda Leonard; futurist Robert Theobald; Zen poet Lucien Stryk; and distinguished anthropologist W. Y. Evans-Wentz. She also worked as a senior editor for Consumer Digest Magazine and was a founding editor of Black Maria, a quarterly journal of women’s writing.
______________________________
Elizabeth asks: I was just wondering if you know anything about Author
House Publishing Company. I wanted to know if it is a reputable
publishing company and if it is a recommended publisher to do business
with. I'm asking for future information.
Donna writes: Self-publishing with a subsidy publisher like Author House
can be very pricey, so I would research it the way you would any other big
purchase--by checking out its website, browsing writer's forums and chat rooms,
and perhaps contacting a writer's organization in your area to see what subsidy
publishers other writers may have used successfully.
I have no personal experience with Author House, but you can compare the fees
and services described on their website with those of other subsidy publishers
like iUniverse, for example, which a writer friend of mine likes very much.
There’s also POD (print-on-demand) publishing with companies like Lulu.com. POD
means the company prints up books only when someone orders them, which means
the writer doesn’t have to purchase a whole pile of books up front. (I used
Lulu for my own recent book, Writing Fiction: Ask the Editor.)
As it happens, last week’s newsletter contained a helpful and informative review by a writer who has also used Lulu. For an even more wide-ranging discussion, I also recommend David Carnoy’s article“Self-Publishing a Book: 25 Things You Need to Know”. Last but not least, Mary Rosenblum’s article on "Print on Demand and Subsidy Publishing" offers a great overview of both types of self-publishing, including some websites that alert writers to unscrupulous subsidy publishers.
Armed with this and other information you turn up on your own, you’ll be in a better position to decide whether subsidy or POD publishing is the route for you.
If you like reading Donna's tips every week, check out her recently published Writing Fiction: Ask the Editor, which covers the whole gamut--from getting ideas to getting published. Available in paperback or e-book download. The link wasn't working properly, but it's been corrected. Please try again.
Do you have a question that you’d like Donna to answer? Here's your chance to ask her something. Email your question about all things writing to me and I'll pass it on so that she can answer it in the next Newsletter issue. You can mail your question to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
WINTER WONDERLAND PROMPT
Let’s make use of that wintery landscape – and hey, even if you live in Florida, that landscape outside is still winter, right? Time for a technical challenge! We’re going to lose the ‘to be’ verbs this time around – that’s the was, is, are, were, and so on. Weak critters, those ‘to be’ verbs. So here’s the challenge. I want a winter scene, NO dialogue, ALL visuals, and NO to be verbs! That’s going to make you really stretch to find a way to say what you want to say, but you know what? You’ll end up using some great active verbs! Woohoo! Good practice for real writing! The deadline is February 1, you have up to 250 words for this, send it to me in the body of the email (NO attachments) to MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com Let’s start the year off with a fun writing exercise!
THE WEBEDITOR’S
PICK – Billy Goats Gruff anthology open.
Lisa Sokolowski sent me this anthology call:
"We're looking for short stories (7500 words or less) that are based on or
inspired by the fairy tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Billy_Goats_Gruff).
The connection to the fairy tale should be integral to the story: you can't
just insert a small reference into an already written story that is otherwise
unrelated. However, creativity in interpreting the theme is encouraged. You may
choose to rework the tale in a different genre, or draw inspiration from the
plot structure itself, or even write a prequel/sequel - wherever your
imagination takes you. We don't want to see people just rewrite the story point
by point in their own voice, but rather to to re-interpret it in their own way.
Since for fundraising purposes this anthology is intended to appeal to a broad
audience, stories should adhere to a "PG-13” standard: no graphic
sexual/erotic content, gory violence, or excessive profanity. We have no specific
genre requirements. Reprints will be considered.
Stories should be submitted in standard manuscript format as a Microsoft Word
or Rich Text Format document (.doc, .docx, or .rtf). Send the story as an email
attachment to: writing4charitysubmissions@gmail.com.
You should receive an auto-reply confirmation of your submission.
The submission deadline is 11:59pm Mountain Standard Time on February 19, 2012.
Responses will be sent by March 17, 2012."
Thanks Lisa! I always thought that this story was perfect for reinterpretation! Brotherly betrayal anybody? Or was it collaboration? Here’s another link to three old folk-tail versions, quite different, all the same: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0122e.html#gruff
Jean Lauzier was born and raised in Arkansas. She now lives in Longview Texas with her husband and three kids. When not writing, you can find Jean talking to her bonsai plants, trying to train the cat or procrastinating on the computer. To learn more about Jean and her writing, stop by her website at www.jeanlauzier.com
Six Pack of Murder a collection of Jean’s stories, now available for the Kindle!
This past week I had lunch with my publisher. She’s almost local so it’s not as a big of a deal as it sounds though it’s still cool to say. She recommended I read a ‘how-to’ book that I’m sure you’ve probably heard of. How I Sold 1 Million e-Books in Five Months by John Locke. Naturally, I went home and downloaded it to my Kindle for PC and started reading.
I found it interesting because some of his advice flies completely opposite what the other so called experts say you should do. For example, he says blog once every month or so instead of weekly or daily. He calls these types of blog posts ‘loyalty transfer’ posts, includes examples and his reasoning does make sense. Course, the update often advice makes sense too.
One thing he really stresses is to know your target audience and shows us by example how he breaks down his target audience. It really makes sense to know who you are writing for, especially when you are marketing.
I’m not sure if his method will work for everyone that puts it into place, however I did find several things I want to start doing now that I have a book available.
This e-book cost $2.99 and I think it worth the price. Again, his methods might not work for everyone. Pick out the things that work for you, leave the rest.
If you have any experience with his method, I’d love to hear about it. You can email me at jeanlauzier@gmail.com
I’m going to add my two cents worth here, since I do work with self-publishing writers who self-promote and I follow a lot of blogs by writers who are reporting ebook sales and self-promotion success and failures. Please think about the author of any ‘how to sell a million ebooks’ advice. Is this an author with a fan base from traditional publishing? What works for these folk does not work well for the author who is starting from scratch. Many of these ‘how to’ books written by established writers fail to take this into account. And it matters.
B.J. Robinson's Southern Superstitions
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-249/Southern-Superstition-BJ-Robinson/Detail.bok Free
excerpt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNoo962DbF0&feature=share Book
Trailer
Prayer versus Southern superstitions when a woman's husband mysteriously
disappears in the swamp on a deer-hunting trip. As steamy as the hot, thick,
sticky heat of Louisiana, this page-turner will keep readers in suspense, as
the author spins a tale of love, loss, superstition, pain, heartache, and faith
in God. God and the power of prayer versus Southern superstitions. Through
belief, faith, hard work, the power of prayer, and God's help, this powerful,
moving story is a thought-provoking Christian romantic suspense about a young
couple who fall in love, but have to change her mother's mind in more ways than
one, if their relationship is to survive. Can Andy convince June there's more
to their relationship than friends? Will he win the approval of Myrtle, her
mother, and can love survive strawberry season and an April flood? Will June be
able to give Andy a child?
"Very good! She never gives up hope that Andy will return to her
someday. She puts it all in God's hands like she'd done every crisis in her
life. She knows He will take care of this for her." Reviewer Kathy Boswell
Releases January 15 from Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. and will be
available wherever fine books are sold. Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com, Sony,
Kobo, etc. as well as through the publisher. Developed from Robinson's
first-prize winning short story.
____________________________________________________________________
Hey everyone,
The December / January edition of Sports Life Magazine is finally available. This issue will be available digitally only. Just click on the link below and it will take you right to the purchase option at our web site. It's just $3.99 vs. the printed store price of $5.99. Once you've made your purchase, you can download it right to your computer in PDF form.
http://sportslifemagazine.com/digital-magazine/
What's inside from me?
A story on Pro Bowling Great Norm Duke
A Tribute to Smokin Joe Frazier
A story on the NY Rangers and their chances of winning the Stanley Cup
A very special piece on the Paramus, NJ Little League team
I also co-authored a very cool article on the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup 2011.
Please show some love and support and purchase your copy today!
They are working on a Kindle version too, so if you want to wait for that, stay tuned!
http://sportslifemagazine.com/digital-magazine/
Thanks everyone for your support!
All my best always,
Peter
_________________________________________
___ Hi all, I'm Bill Polm, a
graduate of Longridge's Fiction Writing Course. I recently started a blog
for writers. It's here: http://www.keystowriting.com.
My primary purpose is to share what I have learned and am learning about the writing
craft, including both fiction and nonfiction posts, book reviews, and other
topics.
But the subjects lean toward nonfiction a little more than fiction writing
currently, and the majority of my focus targets general writing techniques.
AKA rhetoric.
I am writing two ebooks, one titled The Keys to Writing Workbook that will
expand upon my posts and include exercises. The other has the tentative title
Super Keys to Writing, which will be a longer e-text and delve into the modern
English sentence, paragraphing, suspense, outlining methods, as well as a
number of other topic. The Workbook will be offered free to those
who signup to follow my blog. Super Keys I will offer for sale off my
blog and perhaps elsewhere. All this in addition to working steadily
forward on my novel.
Hey, if you need a break from writing, or doing dishes, or...why not give my
blog a peek? You might find something there you like! Keep writing, guys!
__________________________________________________________ 
Sandcastles of Love, teen
romance, by Sydell Voeller
When Logan Becker's family embarks on a summer "house swapping"
vacation in a beach town in Oregon, Logan is overjoyed. Similarly, Tricia
Merrit, the daughter of the other family, is thrilled to be in the farm belt of
Minnesota.
Logan falls in love with the beach boy surfer of her dreams, but soon she
discovers he's Tricia's boyfriend. Logan's dreams are shattered. Meanwhile,
there's another boy who is attracted to Logan-the totally uncool Grant Duncan
who is busy trying to launch a campaign to clean the local beaches.
Can Logan come to realize that true love often reveals itself in unexpected
ways?
"Young readers will enjoy Sandcastles of Love, particularly ones who love
the beach. If you know a young reader who loves the Beach Boys, sand, and
surf, get her a copy of Sandcastles of Love. The story will transport her to
the beautiful Oregon coast and offer her a taste of summer romance. Ms.
Voeller's descriptions of the Oregon coast are wonderful, as are the scenes
where Grant teaches Logan to build sand castles. Well-written, interesting,
and delightfully romantic, they made me want to grab a bucket, take off my
shoes and start digging..." Reviewed by Carrie Masek, Scribes World
Reviews
~ Purchase at Amazon Kindle
~ Purchase at Smashwords
Please see my new Blog on my website <www.sydellvoeller.com. Sandcastles of Love, by Books We
Love Publishing Partners, www.bwlpp.com,
is available to download to your computer or e-book reader! Go to www.bwlpp.com, Amazon.com,
Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and many more!
______________________________
Writing Fiction:
Ask the Editor
by Donna Ippolito
100 pages
Reviewed by Deborah Lange, Bethesda Communications Group
I continue to be stunned by Writing Fiction: Ask the Editor. Donna is so thorough, she leaves out nothing. Her practical advice is bolstered by examples, quotations, references, stories, shared experiences, all presented in the most comforting and supportive way but without mincing words--what writer wouldn't be heartened to persevere? I never thought I'd find a coaching book to be a page-turner, but that's exactly what it is.
The simplicity and elegance of the design are part of what makes the material so approachable. It's all a stroke of genius.
This book is a boon not only to writers, but to those who work with writers. It is an incredibly thorough exploration of the myriad elements that go into making a story and then getting it published.
____________________________
If you need expert help, if you want a critique partner, if you're a publisher and you need submissions for your new contest, this is the place for your free ad! And for heaven’s sake self promote your book here! What are you waiting for , people? If you’re self publishing, write a great review of your book and include the ‘buy’ link! Free advertising is always a precious commodity!
Send your want ad to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com and I'll post it here. Don't forget to include contact information so that people can reach you with their responses.
A Flickering Light
by Jane Kirkpatrick
Reviewed by Pam Pedler
Waterbrook Press, Colorado Springs, 2009
A Flickering Light is a remarkable historical fiction novel about our country's
first woman photographer. I've thought about this story long after I finished
it, and not just because it was my first e-book checked out from the library!
This well researched story about Jessie Ann Gaebele begins in the early 1900's
in Winona Minnesota. As a young girl, Jessie becomes an assistant to one of the
local photographers, FJ Bauer. It is painful to watch this spirited and
ambitious girl make choices that sabotage her bright future.
A fascinating world is created around the profession and one learns about;
glass negatives, the debilitating mercury poisonings that photographers
suffered from, and the enhanced craft of double exposures. As a reader, I
couldn't help wonder what these photographers would think of modern digital
cameras and computer programs. I imagine Jessie would soak it all up and
embrace it, and Mr. Bauer would be a bit unimpressed, at least initially.
The key provided in the beginning of the novel indicates which characters are
made up, and also includes is a map of Winona from 1900. Authentic photographs
are enriched with notes from Jessie's journal, describing her thoughts on
lighting and shading. Shadows indeed; this enthusiastic girl bore the guilt of
her brother's injury and buried it in photography after inspired at the 1904
World's Fair. Mr. Bauer's grief and guilt over the death of one of his children
had estranged him from his wife and he finds himself drawn to his enthusiastic
apprentice.
The Author's Notes at the end reveal that Jessie is her grandmother, and the
author interviewed Jessie in her nineties! Jessie's three children provided
photos, glass negatives, and items from the 1904 World's Fair gotten through
EBay to develop the story (excuse the pun). This is truly a delightful read
about healing the sorrow from mistakes, and understanding how light forms a
work of art.
And as a side note, I wish I hadn't been so slow to get an e-reader!
Acknowledging my technological disability, I was sold when the Barnes and Nobel
clerk said one phrase after I asked him why I should buy his product:
"We've got people!" He explained that I can walk in the store and get
tech support at any time, from a person face to face! He made his sale on that
one-liner.
Pam Pedler
http://www.pamblogsbooks.blogspot.com
Thank you, Pam! I hope you’re enjoying that Nook! It and the Kindle are very easy to use, very nice.
Hey folks, this is a review blog and they will become more and more critical to book sales in the near future. May I suggest that if you have self-published a book or published with a small, commercial press, you should think about sending Pam your book in the hopes that she’ll review it. That’s one way to increase your visibility. And keep an eye on the blog to find new good reads! MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
To receive all the issues of the Long Ridge E-NEWS plus short updates and reminders simply click here and subscribe: http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/email_updates.shtml! It's free and easy. Surely, you don't want to miss a thing.
For help in using the CHAT ROOM, you can check out the several articles we have that will help you if you click here If you're still stumped, you can use the Help Desk http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/Chat_Help_Desk.shtml for a direct connection to our technician, Frank Ball, for help with your particular computer system.
If you need help with the Post-A-Note, check out the nuts and bolts help article at http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/ichat_post_a_note.shtml" for some great information on how to use the Post-A-Note and visit with other writers on the website.
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