When speaking aloud, you punctuate constantly—with body language. Your listener hears commas, dashes, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks as you shout, whisper, pause, wave your arms, roll your eyes, wrinkle your brow. In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard. Careful use of those little marks emphasizes the sound of your distinctive voice and keeps the reader from becoming bored or confused. . . . [Punctuation] exists to serve you. Don’t be bullied into serving it. RUSSELL BAKER
Writing
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Advice to Writers
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Don't Be Bullied By Punctuation
19 Nov 2009 | 5:03 am -
The Most Important Part of Storytelling
17 Nov 2009 | 9:04 pmI think the most important part of storytelling is tension. It's the constant tension of suspense that in a sense mirrors life, because nobody knows what's going to happen three hours from now. RICHARD CONDON -
A Writer Must Give Away Secrets
16 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pmLiterature, like magic, has always been about the handling of secrets, about the pain, the destruction, and the marvelous liberation that can result when they are revealed. If a writer doesn't give away secrets, his own or those of the people he loves, if he doesn't court disapproval, reproach and general wrath, whether of friends, family or party apparatchiks...the result is pallid, inanimate, a lump of earth. MICHAEL CHABON -
Go Where Your Characters Lead You
15 Nov 2009 | 11:38 pmTrollope said, “On the last day of each month recorded, every person in a work of fiction should be a month older than on the first.” We go with our characters wherever they lead us, and as time makes its mark on us, so it must on them. HALLIE BURNETT -
Freewriting
14 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pmFreewriting is the easiest way to get words on paper and the best all-around practice in writing that I know. To do a freewriting exercise, simply force yourself to write without stopping for ten minutes. Sometimes you will produce good writing, but that's not the goal. Sometimes you will produce garbage, but that's not the goal either. You may stay on one topic, you may flip repeatedly from one to another: it doesn't matter. Sometimes you will produce a good record of your stream of consciousness, but often you can't keep up. Speed is not the goal, though sometimes the process revs you up.
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the protagonize blog
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New stuff: Login with Facebook, Twitter, and more!
18 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmThis will probably only matter more for new users, but I’ve (as of last night) introduced the ability to sign up (and sign in) to Protagonize via a whole raft of 3rd party identity providers like Facebook, Twitter or OpenID. How does this work? Just visit our new and improved login page — keep in mind that you’ll need to be logged out of Protagonize to see it. This is all courtesy of an awesome service called RPX that I discovered a few weeks back, that allows sites to integrate their tools, in turn letting our authors (and future members) use their pre-existing social network… -
Tales of Terror contest winners!
3 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pmAs promised, after a couple of days of deliberation by our judges (the Protagonize moderation team), we’ve managed to decide on the winners of our inaugural 2009 Tales of Terror competition. From the six finalists we had listed previously, we were to select one story as the Editor’s Pick for this week, and the second story’s author would be the Featured Author. Wouldn’t you know it, while we had a nearly unanimous 1st place winner, we managed to deadlock on the 2nd place finisher. So, I’ve decided to have three winners, instead. (ubiquitous drum roll ensues)… -
Tales of Terror contest finalists!
2 Nov 2009 | 2:26 amHappy Dia de los Muertos to all of you! (Err, okay, it’s technically the 2nd now, but I haven’t gone to bed yet. Bear with me.) Apologies for not getting these posted sooner, but I spent the day with my office out of commission and two Polish cleaning ladies demolishing our apartment, prior to our realtor taking photos of the place. Okay, they were cleaning it. It just felt like it was being demolished. In any case, it’s so clean now that I can see my reflection in the sink. Not a particularly flattering reflection, mind you. Anyways. I’ll keep this short and sweet… -
Protagonize’s “Tales of Terror” competition!
28 Oct 2009 | 12:19 pmI realize this is a little last-minute, considering we have three days left until Halloween, but I figured I’d get everyone’s attention with the title. Oh, and the pic. :) In the spirit of this week of goblins and ghouls, and since this is the week leading up to the trials and tribulations of NaNoWriMo, why don’t we have a little fun with it? How about a little friendly competition between Protagonize authors? In these last few days before good ol’ Samhain, I want to see what you folks can do when working together on a “Tale of Terror.” Update: Alright… -
Self-ratings go the way of the dodo
25 Oct 2009 | 5:29 pmAs you may have noticed today — or may not, depending on how you rate stuff — I’ve gone ahead and made one of the changes I had suggested in one of the surveys I posted over the last couple of months. What’s been changed is that authors are no longer able to rate their own work. This change was made for several reasons: First, I wanted to make the ratings a more reliable source of feedback/information about your writing. Second, this will make all of our “Top Rated” and “Hot Stories” rankings a much more accurate gauge of quality and/or popularity of…
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Daily Writing Tips
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What the Heck are “Peeps”?
19 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmThis innocent question from ladysheila has led me a merry chase down etymological byways: What is the definition of peep, or rather what exactly does it mean in regards to all social media, etc., well, everything? I have looked in the dictionary and have gotten the expected definitions, to look, and one definition for people. I have heard a few people refer to, I think, their audience, as peeps. When did this originate and why? What is the correct usage in this regard? I won’t repeat everything I learned along the way, but here’s some of it. The verb peep meaning a soft, high-pitched… -
Gentlemen, Choose Your Weapons
19 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmWriting tools can affect your style. In the days of quill and dip pens, the length of sentences (or at least, phrases) was apparently determined by the amount of ink held by the pen, and prose rhythm was dictated by this simple physical constraint. Fountain pens extended the scope of the writer. No longer did (s)he have to pause in the composition of the sentence, reach over to the inkwell and use those few seconds to determine what to write next. Sentences could flow for ever, like those of Henry James. But even with a fountain pen, revisions don’t come easily. In Lamb House, Rye, where… -
Word of the Day: Browbeat
19 Nov 2009 | 1:28 pmBrowbeat means to intimidate or subjugate by the use of verbal harassment or force. A synonym to browbeat is to bully. If we follow the usual script, this means it’s time for upset listeners and viewers to rally to the cause, as they have in the past, and browbeat Congress into restoring the budget. (NY Times) European consumers are entitled to fear genetic modification in their own backyards, even if proper scientific debate is often drowned out by agitprop and railing against multinational corporations. But they have no right to browbeat the developing world into following their lead. -
Subordinate Clauses and Commas
18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmWriters like to sprinkle their work with subordinate clauses because they add variety to sentence structure. A reading diet too heavy with simple sentences or even compound sentences becomes wearisome quickly. Subordinate clauses—also known as dependent clauses—used skillfully can add complexity and artfulness to writing. A subordinate clause can either precede or follow its main clause. What writers tend to get confused about, however, is when and where to place commas in relation to subordinate clauses. The simple rule is this: If a subordinate clause precedes the main clause, separate… -
Sobeit and So Be It
18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmJean writes: Could you do a feature on “so be it” and “sobeit?” I thought for sure it was always written as three words until a discussion on a court reporters’ message board came up about a proofreader saying that it should be a one-word word. Sobeit is a word and so be it is a clause. Neither is much used in ordinary conversation or writing, but legal language tends to be on the old-fashioned side. The clause so be it is a subjunctive expression meaning “let it be so.” Example: Aladdin: I want a huge palace with a thousand servants and a swimming…
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Grammar Girl
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197 GG "Where" Versus "In Which"
19 Nov 2009 | 8:48 pmThere's a time and a place for everything. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
196 GG Adverbs Ending in -ly
12 Nov 2009 | 8:48 pmAnd don't call me Shirley. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
195 GG "Which" Versus "That"
29 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmWhat better to talk about for Halloween than a "which"? The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
194 GG Using Italics
22 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmYou don't have to be Italian. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
193 GG "Diffuse" Versus "Defuse"
15 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmAnd "convince" versus "persuade." The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7
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www.writersnewsweekly.com
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This Week's Headlines
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amIt could have been taken verbatim from an Orwell novel, or from a George Romero movie. It could have been 1992 Belfast, or 1969 Prague, under the full weight of the Iron Curtain. But it was Pittsburgh, in 2009, with the Democrats in control of Congress and Obama in the oval office. For two days last month, Pittsburgh, my Pittsburgh, was transformed and fortified into a totalitarian police state. Read More It’s as simple as a broken baguette with goat cheese. Sautéed eggplant smashed with roasted garlic, basil, and sundried tomatoes. Bright yellow curry vivid against a white porcelain bowl.
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Copyblogger
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The Art of the Paragraph
20 Nov 2009 | 6:11 amAnyone can write a paragraph, but not everyone knows how to write one that other people want to read. You’ve seen it: You open a book, and the whole page is one long block of text. Each sentence in the paragraph makes exactly the same point, said in a slightly different way, and you wonder why they didn’t just say it once and be done with it. Every paragraph is the same length (five lines, maybe?), whether it makes sense or not, and it gives the piece a monotonous rhythm. The paragraph makes a point without telling you why that point is important, and you can’t help… -
How to Persuade People to Accept an “Unfair” Offer
19 Nov 2009 | 6:36 amEver heard of Charley Hill? He seemed like an average, ordinary guy. He lived in a mid-sized town with his wife, two children, and a dog. He went to church on Sunday, coached Little League, and drove a pickup truck. He was friendly but quiet, the sort of guy you could walk by on the street without noticing. But appearances can be deceiving. Charley Hill was one of the most successful farm equipment salesmen in the Midwest. People would travel hundreds of miles to see Charley, even when there were plenty of dealers much closer to home. What did Charley have that other salesmen didn’t? Not a… -
Free Report: How to Become a Creative Entrepreneur
18 Nov 2009 | 8:58 amI’ve written another piece of extended content, this time for Lateral Action. Rather than sending you over there, I’ll just tell you about it here. It’s a free 31-page PDF report (don’t worry, it reads fast) called The Lateral Action Guide to Becoming a Creative Entrepreneur. It’s probably the most personal I’ve gotten about my history, but it’s still heavy on actionable, real-life examples. Here’s what you’ll discover: Why I quit my cushy law firm job and turned to online publishing. How I failed miserably. How I then succeeded miserably. How I… -
Landing Page Makeover Clinic #20: TantricSexforBusyCouples.com
17 Nov 2009 | 6:14 amThis is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work. Is it hot in here or just me? Diana Daffner and her husband want to help people find a renewed sense of joy and connection in their intimate relationships through tantra. Their business, IntimacyRetreats.com, offers couples retreats throughout the year, but realizing not everyone can attend a retreat, they also want to promote their books and media products. The URL referenced above is actually the “/shop page” off their main site. Diana would like to use the page as an… -
What I Learned From Writing 42 Guest Posts in 7 Weeks
16 Nov 2009 | 7:12 amBefore you get too impressed, hear this: I did it all in self-defense. Let me give you some quick background. I have extreme Tourette’s Syndrome, as Sonia noticed recently. Tourette’s makes people move or vocalize involuntarily and occasionally results in unspeakable awesomeness. My motor tics range from eye blinking to punching myself in the face to even stranger things. My phonic tics range from clearing my throat to hooting and yowling and snarling and slobbering and screaming like the Tasmanian Devil. Did I mention that I work in a quiet library? There are only a couple of things that…
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National Novel Writing Month
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Tough Worms
20 Nov 2009 | 9:50 amBehind? Dose up on tough love Get an ear worm stuck in your head -
Help us embarrass ourselves this Tuesday!
19 Nov 2009 | 11:32 amYou may have noticed the Fund-o-Meter has been getting very colorful lately. We've seen a heartening surge in donations from participants, and we've continued to add our non-donor income to the totals, including all the money from merch sales. Our goal before December 1 is to fill up all the books in the Fund-o-Meter, pay for both NaNo and YWP, and raise enough money to spend 2010 working on all the improvements laid out in those books, including developing a year-round version of NaNoWriMo. To make sure we get there, we're going to host an all-day online fundraising drive on Tuesday the… -
Today's Guest: Danni Jenkins, Novelist at Sea
19 Nov 2009 | 11:03 amQ: Danni, you and your fellow shipmates are participating in NaNoWriMo during Semester at Sea. Have the rolling waves enhanced your noveling experience, or have some of you been tempted to throw your story overboard? A: Let’s face it. There’s crazy and then there’s crazy. We’re definitely crazier than most, competing in NaNoWriMo while at sea, because if there is anything just as crazy as writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, it’s sailing to 12 countries in three-and-a-half months while taking a full load of college classes and circumnavigating the globe! What tomfoolery to take… -
Sadistic Slogans
19 Nov 2009 | 9:15 amSloganize Your Novel's Title! Motivate yourself in sadistic ways -
Sprinting the evening away
18 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pmWe've been doing evening writing sprints over in Twitterland the last two nights, and they've been a heap of fun. We'll be doing them again tonight from 8 pm to 10:30 pm, Pacific. Come join us! If you're looking for a way to procrastinate on your novel until then, another year of behind-the-scenes NaNoWriMo trivia has been added to the NaNo History page for your reading enjoyment. That page may now officially be the single longest page on the internet, for which we apologize. See you tonight at the races! Chris
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Protagonize: Hot Stories
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the hideout for misfit characters
Ever made a brilliant character, only to be told "they weren't right for the story"? Ever thought, "this story is getting old, but I love my character"? This is the place for those characters - the ones with no story. The ones you love and can't bear to cast off. In the past, you might have dumped your character on the Protagonize Bus. But with 600+ chapters, it's really not feasible to start reading now. So this is the place for your character. A few rules and guidelines ... This is a house in the middle of nowhere It can only be reached by magic or on foot Characaters that get here may find… -
The Protagonize Bus
Im Beth. I am a bus driver.. unfortunatly. I Used to be a driving instructor untill red driving school charged in and stole my buisness. Anyway it isnt too bad work at least I get to go places. At the curent moment im musing over what travel lodge we should stop at tonigh for food. You see I drive tour busses around the world. Im still driving a student group on a school trip It's a two week expedition so I'm getting used to the noise. This morning we picked up a Tourist group who are currently sitting at the front chatting. I live alone when it comes to my holidays. With my golden retreiver… -
My Life According to that Pen Over There
"And what is that?" I asked her Pointing to the busy scrawls Across neat lines of paper Among many crumpled balls She frowned before she answered me at a misplaced strand of hair, and then she said, "This is my life according to that pen over there." -
Winterealm
From beneath the frozen boughs of a dead tree, a pair of eyes gazed out into the white wilderness beyond. The blizzard had covered everything in a fresh carpet of snow, gleaming in the cold light of the morning sun. It's cold, crisp brilliance reflected across the ice lake beyond, leaving red and gold spirals across the clear blue of the frozen water. Beyond the lake, the white peaks of the snow-covered mountains soared above the motionless white landscape, the tops like spearpoints against the white of the cloudy sky. Only the eyes provided any colour in this blank, desolate place. Like two… -
Scribbles of a Lost Man
Flying into a pit of eternal depression Caught by the unexpected saviour Cherish and Love forever Then throw away like an unused heart Flown into a spiralling portal of hate Charged into an broken heart Forever, Now and here, I shall stand, Forgotten and Alone. Because this is Life, And isn't it unfair?
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About.com Fiction Writing
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New Moon in Theaters Today
20 Nov 2009 | 4:49 amAfter months of anticipation, New Moon opened at 12:01 last night to sold-out theaters across the nation, and is projected to bring in $85 to $100 million this weekend. Are you one of the fans who've already seen the movie? How did it measure up to the book, and to the Twilight film? Let us know. Stephenie Meyer at the New Moon premiere earlier this week. New Moon in Theaters Today originally appeared on About.com Fiction Writing on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 12:49:16.Permalink | Comment | Email this -
Share Your NaNoWriMo Stories
18 Nov 2009 | 2:00 amWe're over halfway done with NaNoWriMo and I'm curious about what's been happening in other parts of the country this month. What events have you hosted or attended? And how's your month going, generally? (I'm woefully behind, but hope to catch up over Thanksgiving.) Tell us about your write-in. Want to host a write-in, but not sure how? Find write-in advice from wrimos around the country. Share Your NaNoWriMo Stories originally appeared on About.com Fiction Writing on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 10:00:24.Permalink | Comment | Email this -
Writing and Loss
16 Nov 2009 | 10:13 amOver the weekend, I attended a seminar at Poets House by Naomi Shihab Nye on elegiac poetry. She's in the process of working on a collection about her late father -- perhaps for publication, perhaps not -- and she shared some of the things she's been reading and writing since he died. Like many people there, I had come because I'm also tentatively working on an elegiac work of some kind, in my case, for my mother. Shihab Nye started by opening up the floor to us, asking if we were working on similar projects and what our process has been. It was so comforting to be in a room with people who… -
Favorite Gifts for Writers?
14 Nov 2009 | 2:02 amWith Black Friday ahead, I started thinking about our gift guide, which could use some freshening up, especially in light of the recent economy. What's the best gift anyone's ever given you with your writing life in mind? For me, it was a subscription to Glimmer Train from my best friend from high school and college. More than the journal itself, it was the recognition of my literary goals that mattered to me. (For that reason, I suppose, a journal subscription is at the top of the gift guide.) What gifts have made a difference in your writing life, and why? What would you give to a writer… -
What's on Your Best of 2009 List?
11 Nov 2009 | 3:36 amSince one top 10 list created controversy recently with its utter lack of women writers and paucity of writers of color, I wanted to open up a discussion here about the best books of 2009. What books would go on your top ten list? And which ones were missing from certain other lists? (And it doesn't have to be fiction: let's celebrate good writing of any kind.)What's on Your Best of 2009 List? originally appeared on About.com Fiction Writing on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 11:36:29.Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Grammar Grater - Minnesota Public Radio
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Episode 124: Literally? Actually, yes
11 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, journalist Andrew Haeg joins us to talk about when to use literally -- and when not to use it. -
Episode 123: A Chapter About Averse
5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, we examine two easily confused words: adverse and averse. -
Episode 122: A Halloween Special
28 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm(Repeat Episode) We look at interesting words having to do with Halloween. We're joined by MPR News arts reporter, Euan Kerr. -
Episode 121: Ellipsis Incorporated
21 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pmThis week, we're talking about the ellipsis. What's an ellipsis, you ask? Listen to the podcast to find out... -
Episode 120: Little-Known Side Effects
14 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pmWe investigate the seldom-told story about the meanings of the words affect and effect.
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Becoming A Writer - Seriously
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Smartphones vs. e-Readers: An illuminating discussion
As I write this, already 133 people have commented on the New York Times article Cellphone Apps Challenge the Rise of e-Readers. These comments provide valuable insight into how book readers view the e-book experience. And the article itself is well-researched, with its own provocative insights. Yet there's another side to ... -
Intel Unveils Path-breaking Reading Device
On 10 November, Intel unveiled a revolutionary reading device aimed primarily at people with reading disabilities, be it low-vision, blindness or even dyslexia. The Intel Reader is about the size of a paperback book. With it, the reader takes a photograph of a printed page. Then print is converted by ... -
A New Way To Pay — future paydirt for writers?
Image via CrunchBase Yes, we can now get our work published. We can offer it online. BUT how do we get people to pay for it? A new online facility via iCents may provide the answer. iCents.net is just weeks old, and very much in beta development. But writers will want to ... -
Almost Everything You Need — In One Post
As an online resource center, Becoming A Writer Seriously sometimes passes on links to posts on other blogs that contribute significantly to discussion about how writers can become more productive and successful. You'll find some important software links here too. There's so much good stuff here that I expect this ... -
David Lyons: Case Study in Self-Publishing - from POD to Ebook
Image via Wikipedia David Lyons is a "case" that I've been studying for years. He's a member of the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group, which I attend weekly whenever I'm at my second home there. And I've watched David travel from his struggles with his first novel through to ...
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English Study Materials
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Daily Grammar
11 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pmDaily Grammar offers free English grammar lessons that have been designed to help English learners at all levels master English grammar and improve their skill of writing in English. Covering important grammar and writing topics, the lessons are followed by self-test quizzes for students to check... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
Podcasts from The Denver Post
31 Oct 2009 | 5:18 amThe Denver Post, one of the best-known newspapers in the United States, provides free daily podcasts that summarize events in Denver, Colorado, where the paper is published, as well as national and world news. Besides, there are feature podcasts on music and the theater, plus a video podcast on... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
English The International Language
26 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amEnglish The International Language is a good source of free learning and teaching materials for students and teachers of English as a Second Language. Besides free lessons and exercises on a variety of essential ESL topics, this site boasts a unique Idiom Buster, which tests students' knowledge of... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
Free TOEIC Practice Tests from TestDEN.com
23 Oct 2009 | 5:15 amBesides the free TOEFL practice tests, TestDEN.com has free TOEIC practice tests that will be useful for any students who are preparing to take the TOEIC. Offered as interactive, Internet-based simulation tests, these great preparation materials will familiarize TOEIC candidates with the exam and... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
Free TOEFL Practice Tests from TestDEN.com
19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amTestDEN.com offers free TOEFL sample tests for students who are preparing to take the TOEFL iBT. Available to be taken online, each of these interactive simulation tests takes students through all the four sections of the TOEFL iBT and gives them an idea of how well they would perform on the actual... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]
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Writing and Speaking: Writing Articles from EzineArticles.com
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Getting Started in Freelance Writing - How to Use Freelance Work Sites Online
20 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pmHave you ever dreamed of being a freelance writer for a living but you aren't quite sure how to get started? There are many freelance websites online that can give you a line on getting started in the writing career you've always dreamed of. -
Essay Writing in College - Introduction to Argument
20 Nov 2009 | 9:36 amThis article is actually an essay; one that demonstrates some basic principles in writing an effective essay in college. Most college students make it through their academic careers without much instruction on the subject of rhetoric. After receiving a degree in the subject of rhetoric, the author of this essay shares some very basic principles of writing essays that intends to take every student's writing skills to the next level. Simultaneously explaining and demonstrating some fundamental aspects of rhetoric, this essay walks beginners through Aristotle's idea of what it means to be… -
New Ways to Go About Writing Your Book
20 Nov 2009 | 9:06 amWhere do you write that long stretch in your novel that trickles out of your head at any given moment? Is it happening in your room late at night with no one else up, or in a cafe during the day with a scene of people doing their day to day business? -
How Can You Edit a College Essay?
20 Nov 2009 | 9:01 amCollege essays are basically the ones written as a part of the admission procedure. These have to be very well written and accurate because your dream rests on them. -
Writing About Yourself Now
20 Nov 2009 | 8:46 amThis article is written to boost up and to create awareness among people on how powerful of writing yourself in a book, blog or even your own website. This article also give reasons why we should write.
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Writing Forums - Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
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Descriptive listing
19 Nov 2009 | 5:48 amWhenever I list adjectives, I'm not sure how to go about placing commas (and I am a comma freak usually). This is particular when I am describing hair, clothing, and eyes. For example: "The sunlight made his short, cropped, blond hair seem almost white and his brown eyes amber." ^ Does this sound correct? Somehow, it doesn't flow too nicely in my mind when I read it. -
The word "by" showing author or creator
17 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pmI always thought if you gave a title and then said "by" and gave the author or creator's name, that "by" was lower case. However, lately I've been seeing it capitalized. Is there any hard and fast rule for this? -
Captions for Paintings
17 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pmI work with artists in my profession, many of them do painted portrait commissions as well as other works. Typically, the title of a painting is italicized, right? - or sometimes put in quotes. However, I contend that when a painting is a portrait commission and the subject's name is given as part of the caption that it should not be italicized because it is not a title, but the person's name. The exception might be if one said Portrait of Jane Doe, then it becomes a title - just my thoughts. Does anyone know of an official rule on this? -
'but for'
17 Nov 2009 | 7:12 ami feel like this might have been asked before but a quick search gave me nothing, so i guess i'll re-ask how do you feel about "but for"? is it even gramatically correct? ex. It was quiet but for the crickets' chirping. -
Dangling modifier
17 Nov 2009 | 2:27 amAccording to The Little Green Writing Book, the below has a dangling modifier: "We make recommendations for fixing all the problems in this report." Apparently, to correct the sentence, "in this report" should be moved to the top. Could someone explain this? Thanks heaps.
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The Purdue OWL News
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MLA and APA Update Reminder for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmSpecial AnnouncementMLA and APA Update ReminderBy Allen BrizeeOWL staff would like to remind our users that all OWL resources (web pages, PDF samples, and PowerPoint presentations) are updated and correct, reflecting the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to.. -
Purdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics Exercises for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmSpecial AnnouncementPurdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics ExercisesBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL staff is very happy to announce the posting of the redesigned and corrected Purdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics Exercises. For the past year and a half, we have been working on updating the OWL page design and OWL navigation based on our OWL Usa.. -
New and Updated Purdue OWL Resources for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmNews from the Purdue OWLNew and Updated Purdue OWL ResourcesBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL staff is happy to announce the completion of the following resources:MLA Classroom Poster: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/17/APA Classroom Poster: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/Exercises: http://owl.english.. -
Computers and Writing 2010 to be Hosted at Purdue for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmFeature StoryComputers and Writing 2010 to be Hosted at PurdueBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL is happy to announced that the 2010 Computers and Writing (C&W) conference will be hosted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, from May 20 - 23, 2010. The online C&W conference will run from April 15 - May 13, 2010. T.. -
Purdue Writing Lab - A Space for Writing Workshops - And Haiku Events for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmNews from the Purdue Writing LabPurdue Writing Lab - A Space for Writing Workshops - And Haiku EventsBy Allen BrizeeThe Purdue Writing Lab hosted a haiku writing event to celebrate the National Day on Writing (http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting) on Tuesday, October 20. Haiku are three-line poems that contain five, seven, and five syllables per line, respectively.Pur..
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Academia-Research blog
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Employment For Writers and Jobseekers
13 Nov 2009 | 5:48 pmFor the past couple of years, people are used to finding jobs in the conventional ways of looking for positions among companies. You will be required to submit a resume, wait for an interview and accomplish job requirements for application. However, because the internet is now very popular, you can also find online jobs that will suit your capabilities and preferences. Employment for writers can now be accessed through online websites where thousands of jobs are offered. If you are interested to become a freelance writer, then this offer is for you. Since we are going to talk about employment… -
How to Spot Legitimate Online Jobs
31 Oct 2009 | 4:31 amThere are so many online jobs out there that you cannot simply find the best one for you. Well you can but it will take a lot of time and effort just to stumble upon the legitimate online jobs that you are looking for. Of course there are certain ways for you to identify which of these jobs are legit and which are not. In this article, let me give you some tips on how to identify a website or an offer that can be considered legitimate. Freelance writing jobs are probably the most popular types of internet based jobs. There are also so many websites out there looking for qualified writers to… -
Freelance Writing for Your Application
23 Sep 2009 | 4:47 amMost of the writers today are threatened by the fact that you can easily find work online. In this scenario, there are many freelance writing jobs that can be found online instead of looking for these jobs at newspaper ads. What is the big problem? Well for established writers this could mean a slash in their work opportunity because companies will then simply post online jobs for more diversity of employees. But for you this could mean great fortune. You can now apply for a job to work at home without having to go to company offices. Freelance writing is one of the most lucrative job offers… -
Best Online Jobs: How to Spot Them
6 Sep 2009 | 12:08 amIt is quite a good idea to simply get online jobs that you can avail from internet resources. Of course we all know the fact that there are some legitimate online jobs and there are fraud jobs that we need to astray away from. But when it comes to benefits and advantages, how do we actually identify the best online jobs? An online jobs is the like dong your work at home without having to go to a regular office. This way, you will be able to attend to the needs of your employer and clients no matter where you are in the world as long as you have computer systems and internet connection. There… -
Online Jobs for Working at Home and Earn Money
30 Aug 2009 | 12:28 amWe all know that fact that many people are still hoping to get online jobs for working at home. Because of the economic recession, many individuals are now applying for online jobs and they are really eager to get a career that they can do at home. In this case, we are currently offering our online jobs offerings so you can have a chance to earn money without having to apply for new positions in conventional companies. Right here, you may be on your way to get the dream job that you have wanted to have. Academia Research is a company that can provide many jobs that are related to freelance…
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Dissertation and thesis writing guide. Literature Review and Research Proposal Hints.
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Doctoral Thesis Online
19 Nov 2009 | 5:17 pmWe want to help as many students as possible when it comes to writing a doctoral thesis. This kind of a dissertation paper is very demanding because you are trying to come up with a project at the highest quality level. But sometimes, you no longer need to worry about writing your projects because we can provide you the solution for them. Let us talk about how a doctoral thesis can be ordered from the internet. A graduate thesis in a doctoral thesis form is the highest possible paper that you will ever write. Just like composing your undergraduate or high school paper, the same instructions… -
College Entrance Essay Like A Dissertation Paper
17 Nov 2009 | 5:09 pmWhat is a college entrance essay? Usually, colleges and universities will require you to take an exam for admission. But there are also some schools that will require you to submit a college entrance essay. This is an additional requirement to your exam results. There are some parameters of college essay writing that is related to doing a dissertation* paper. These relationships are the things that schools evaluate among the students. A college entrance essay requires you to select a topic. This is the same as with any dissertation paper. The topic should be interesting, feasible, important… -
Graduate Thesis Parts
16 Nov 2009 | 7:32 pmWhat is a graduate thesis? The graduate program can be divided into two segments the masters and the PhD. But no matter what your level of education is, you can simply write a dissertation paper that follows the main format of writing. This also calls for the inclusion of the basic chapters in any research papers. The thesis paper outline should be created before the actual research paper. This outline can be regarded simply as the research proposal. Let your teacher have this proposal approved. This way, you can make sure that you will have more appropriate steps in conducting and writing… -
Simple Question: What is a thesis statement?
15 Nov 2009 | 9:31 pmThe most important part of the dissertation paper is the thesis statement. This is the idea that gives your research paper the true meaning of writing. In fact, the thesis statement is the very soul of the dissertation paper so you need to emphasize its value. Now what is a thesis statement? Technically speaking, it is the core identity of the research paper. You should be able to come up with an idea that asserts something. Assertion is the key characteristics of the research paper thesis sentence. You are going to provide the value of that assertion through conducting a research. When… -
Thesis Paper Outline
12 Nov 2009 | 8:17 pmWhat is a thesis paper outline? If you are going to write your very first dissertation paper, then you need an outline to serve as your guide material. This way, you can make sure that the parts are complete and you can present a well researched topic. Sometimes, the research paper outline is simply referred to as the research proposal. But to help you get familiarized with the chapters of the paper, let us talk about the important parts of your dissertation. This list will serve as your primary outline. There are thesis papers online that you can rely on to see the outline for writing. But…
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Writing for the Web
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Ken Auletta's media maxims
16 Nov 2009 | 9:47 amHaving recently completed a book about how Google has changed everything, Ken Auletta has published a cut chapter as an online stand-alone: Media Maxims. Very much worth reading and pondering. -
Is Cory Doctorow the future of webwriting?
15 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pmVia the Globe and Mail: Meet publishers' enemy No. 1: Cory Doctorow. Excerpt:The traditional publishing industry's worst nightmare arrived in Toronto this week when science-fiction author Cory Doctorow addressed the TD National Reading Summit on the burning question of “How to Destroy the Book.” As one of the world's most successful bloggers, a writer who freely gives away his work as well as selling it – and not least, a genuine expert in the suddenly fraught world of international copyright – this Toronto-born phenom knows as much about wrecking traditional… -
'Fakeosphere' latest Web trap for consumers
5 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pmVia Jerz's Literacy Weblog: 'Fakeosphere' latest Web trap for consumers. Bogus blogs are now being used as advertising gimmicks.I've seen a few in Flublogia, where some sites are clearly trying to part visitors from their money in exchange for "cures" for H1N1 and other ailments. -
The Fake AP Stylebook
5 Nov 2009 | 9:31 amAnyone who writes for the online news media will welcome the Fake AP Stylebook (FakeAPStylebook) on Twitter. This may be the best collective translation effort since the committee that produced the King James Bible.Now we can await web text that rigorously follows the new style. -
Happy birthday, Internet
29 Oct 2009 | 9:46 pmVia the Globe and Mail: The Web at 40: How the world got wired. Excerpt:Oct. 29, 1969, 10:30 p.m., Pacific Time The Internet is born ... and promptly crashes. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency were trying to figure out a way to combine physically distant computers into one virtual network. Exactly 40 years ago today, the first such network - called Arpanet - was established between machines at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Stanford Research Institute. The first message transmitted was supposed to be the…
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Word Strumpet
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Bookcases, Bookcases, the Joys of Bookcases
17 Nov 2009 | 3:28 amThe thing about bookcases is that you always need more of them. At least I do, because the stream of books in my life is never ending. Books are like rabbits and ideas, they reproduce themselves automatically. One minute you have plenty of room in your bookcases for more books and then suddenly there are books piled all over the house and it is time to buy a new bookcase, or several. I have so many full bookcases in my house that sometimes I think it will sink into the basement from the sheer weight of all of them. Perhaps, you might suggest, it would be prudent to shed some of the… -
The Writing Life: LA in November
16 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pmLA in November is warm and sunny, though everyone here insists is it freezing cold. As I write this in Pasadena, it is 75 degrees, which, let me emphasize, is NOT COLD, though it was chilly enough this morning to have to cover up with a blanket during the daily writing session on the porch.LA in November is green and brown, much like LA in August. When I left Portland last week, everything was yellow and orange and red, leaves covering streets and lawns and sidewalks, everything glistening in the rain. There were still quite a few leaves left on the trees when I departed, and I'm… -
Holding My Breath
7 Nov 2009 | 10:29 amSo, my novel is now being read by an agent. I do not want to jinx this, so I'm not going to say anything more than that, and I know that y'all have lots of important things to worry about, but if it crosses your mind, say a teeny little prayer, or think a good thought for me, will you please? -
A Writer's Inspiration
30 Oct 2009 | 6:32 amThus beginneth.I woke up this morning with this post in my head and even though it was only 5:30, I jumped out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and started in.Yesterday a character began talking to me. I've had this character in my head for a year, making notes about her along the way, but I didn't have her voice. Until she suddenly started talking to me. I grabbed my Moleskine and started writing as fast as I could.All of a sudden my brain is engaged and inspired.Which is a good thing, because lately I've been wafting. Drifting about the house when my work with clients… -
Overcomers Book Blog Stop
23 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amI am interested in overcoming adversity. Also overcoming sloth, gluttony, laziness, and pride. I think those are four of the seven deadly sins, no? (Does anybody actually remember what the seven deadly sins are?) I struggle with overcoming all of these bad traits on a daily basis. Or at least weekly. So when Nikki Leigh offered me the chance to be a blog stop on the Overcomers book tour, I said, hell yeah. I can get on board the Overcomers wagon, despite the vaguely sexual ring to the title, and write a post about it that will totally inspire people. To begin with,…
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What Kate Did Next
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It's in the stars ...
19 Nov 2009 | 2:22 amDo you read horoscopes? When I was at school I remember someone had a well-thumbed copy of Russel Grant's 'Love Stars' - we spent hours poring through it, seeing how compatible we all were with the boys we fancied. These days I read the stars each week in the Times, but when I was thinking about this post, I had to laugh when I read Leo's prediction for 2009 this morning: 'Get real. Stay real. Then get ready for one of your best years ever.' Um, no. To put a positive spin on it, this year has been 'challenging' shall we say. In the UK Jonathan Cainer's predictions are entertaining and thought… -
Love, Hope, Dreams
7 Nov 2009 | 10:23 am"We dream the dream, and we want it to be easy. But it’s not that simple. It’s not always easy. It’s hard work, it’s perseverance, it’s making sure you’ve got the goods when the opportunity comes along.So, when do you quit?You quit when you want something else, more. You quit when you have another dream that means more to you.I kept writing. There were days when the economy here was so bad, there was very little work, and we dug the change out of the sofa to get enough money to put enough gas in the truck for my husband to get to work, and he had to get paid before he left, or he… -
Lights Camera Action
5 Nov 2009 | 8:14 amWhen I told the three year old I was going to be on TV he frowned. 'But how do you get in there?' he asked. It's rather wonderful to think that to him these little people really live in the box - I didn't want to disillusion him by telling him about TV studios. When we watched my heat of the People's Author he looked puzzled - how could I be sitting on the sofa next to him, and be on TV?Thank you so much to all of you who have emailed, Facebooked and Tweeted - yes, I lost, but as the pilot said with a chuckle 'that doesn't mean you're like, a loser'. Fnaa. He also said 'don't worry - you… -
Heavenly Guest Spot
3 Nov 2009 | 12:30 amThanks for all your messages - after surviving being rejected in front of 3 million people I think I can cope with anything now, (kept thinking of those award ceremonies where the camera pans in on the nominees and their rictus grins as the winner is announced :) The People's Author was great fun and I'll blog about it at a later date - today, I'm delighted to welcome long-time blogging friend Cally Taylor to WKDN as part of her blog tour. Orion has just published her first novel 'Heaven Can Wait' - it has been wonderful following Cally's success story from the early days of landing a great… -
Sense of Place
21 Oct 2009 | 7:09 amThe second heat of 'The People's Author' was won by a Romany storyteller called Rosemary - her lyrical childhood tale 'A Field of Butterflies' was chosen because she clearly - and warmly - evoked a sense of place. 'You are the people's author' judge Fay Weldon said ... which isn't too intimidating for those of us coming afterwards.There is a minute and 43 seconds to pitch your book. It focuses your mind to say the least. I've been studying the questions the previous contestants have been asked carefully, and they are in today's prompt. It's a good exercise to answer these questions, whatever…
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The Screenwrightist
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Eternal Sources of Character Story Conflict
27 Oct 2009 | 5:09 amPlaywriting and much television writing is mostly dialogue. What people say to each other can come off as simply talk if there is no character motivation behind it. When writing dialogue it is easy to bless whatever comes out of your head as gold, but a yardstick can help keep the drama taut and the situation believable. Nearly anything that comes out of a character's mouth is an action, an attempt to get something from the other person or make them do something. Though a character may have a different long-term goal in mind, these subjects are constant possible sources of conflict among… -
TV Writing is Mostly About Dialogue
31 Jul 2009 | 1:22 pmWriters often put on paper whatever comes into their minds first. Freewriting is a great skill to have, but a consideration of the media you are writing for can help you communicate in it best. Just as novels cannot as accurately describe things like a photograph, there are certain things television does well that should be played to. photo: crostinii Although television does include moving images, dialogue is the driving force behind it. This is best proven by the way television is produced and consumed. Small Screens Are As Good As Big Televisions screens vary in size from huge to tiny, but… -
Why Write a Short Film
30 Apr 2009 | 3:27 pmMany writers overlook short form material, concentrating on full-length works such as novels, films, and plays. Though longer works can seem more fulfilling and more in demand than shorter pieces, there are some great reasons to put effort into short writings. A short film especially holds a lot of value for a writer in that it could be produced more easily, possibly by the writer. With internet video distribution so ubiquitous and its focus on short form content, it is much easier to get people to watch such videos. photo: Samuelraj Aside from opportunities to get short films seen online,… -
Writers Should Learn Story Structure
25 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pmphoto: oscheneMany writers just write whatever comes in their head and when it feels "finished" they bring it to friends and then share it with the world. They do not believe in any kind of act structure and feel constrained by the idea of craft. These writers yearn to be able to do whatever they want and do not feel the need to impinge their creative juices. Though story structure is a set of restrictions it is not much different than many other restrictions that we take for granted. Writers do not rail against the tyranny of the English language and how if it just were not for the words we… -
Writing Places Most Writers Overlook
24 Feb 2009 | 5:09 amphoto: Tuvie Writing is mostly a solitary activity. Since writing only requires a writer and a writing instrument, writers spend a fair amount of time alone. Although others can be around as the writing happens, they are not necessary and can even sometimes get in the way. Being along so often many writers can lose sight of what they are doing and generally feel disconnected from life. Reality is the well from whence their stories spring and being alone too much can make it run dry. This and other social reasons leads many writers to do their writing in public places. Not only can it fulfill…
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life-story-writing at Yahoo! Groups
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Our First Thanksgiving-by Thelly Reahm © Tidbits of Time
15 Nov 2009 | 9:34 pmIt's that time of year again when we remember Thanksgiving Past! Here's my memory...what's yours? Our First Thanksgiving by Thelly Reahm © Tidbits of Time -
Writing Prompts for Kids by Bill Austin
14 Nov 2009 | 8:49 pmTo All: Bill is co-owner of this list, along with my daughter Kathee Austin(who owns www.EVLiving.com) Writing Prompts for Kids - Am I In The Story? July 21, -
remembrances
10 Nov 2009 | 8:30 pmI was just thinking as I took my meds this evening about when vitamins first began to be put in pill form. Folks talked about being able to take a few pills a -
[Fwd: Remarkable]
9 Nov 2009 | 5:40 pm... Subject: Remarkable Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 15:55:08 -0600 From: Pamy Reply-To: Pamy To: -
Keeper by A. Nonymous
8 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pmI don't usually send anonymous pieces to trigger memories, but this one had to be shared...read it, mull it over, and then write your own memory for your
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The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing
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Grow Your Attitude of Gratitude
19 Nov 2009 | 5:27 amA few days ago my daughter told me about accepting a “Thankfulness Challenge.” She’s posting tiny “I’m thankful for ...” statements on Facebook at least once a day. After she told me this, I took a look. The instructions are simple: Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. "Today I am thankful for..." The longer you do it, the harder it gets! Now if you think you can do it then repost this message ......as your status to invite others to take...the challenge, then post what YOU are thankful for today.... Then… -
A Festival of Life Stories
12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amThere’s nothing like a party to bring out people’s best stories, especially when stories are the reason for the party. On November 10, members of the Monroeville Library Life Writers celebrated National Life Writing Month with a Festival of Lifestories. Ten experienced members selected one story each from their growing collections and read it to a room packed with family members and friends at the Monroeville Library, our generous host. As group facilitator, I served as Emcee for the event, introducing a full spectrum of stories. Story topics ranged from a matched pair of stories about… -
Has the Memoir Genre Developed a Pain Complex?
6 Nov 2009 | 4:36 pmPhoto by Polina Sergeeva Has a pain complex developed around our favored genre of memoir? Someone recently observed that to be interesting a memoir has to be about pain and suffering. Perhaps I exaggerate the intent of that remark, but as I think about it, I’ve been hearing variations on that theme in a number of places lately. For example, “People are interested in reading about struggle and how you overcame obstacles.” “My life is so ordinary. Nobody would want to read about it.” “Conflict. That’s what sells.” Maybe that last statement is the crux of the matter. -
How to Write a Best Selling Memoir in Four Months
2 Nov 2009 | 6:58 amMany memoir authors take ages to write their book. Jeannette Walls took about five years to write The Glass Castle. Other outstanding memoirs that have not made it to the best-seller list — yet — are Linda Joy Myers’ Don’t Call Me Mother, Karen Walker's Following the Whispers, and Heather Cariou’s Sixtyfive Roses. Each of those books reportedly took about twenty years to write. So how did Sarah Palin manage to crank out Going Rogue (which topped the best-seller list weeks before its release) in only four months? Answer: she had help, and she is Sarah Palin. I have not… -
Misplaced Muttering and Mumbling
27 Oct 2009 | 1:58 pmTo my mind, a character who routinely muttered and mumbled would seem eccentric, to say the least, if not sullen or belligerent. An image that comes to mind is an old estate caretaker, wiry and bent with age, given to conversing with plants as he prunes them. Another is a street person suffering some form of mental illness. Not long ago I read an adventure novel, which charity demands I refrain from naming. I’ll refer to the author simply as Jane. The two main characters were teenagers of extraordinary intelligence and achievement. The imaginative plot held my interest, but as I read, I…
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Writing Roads
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Use this for that
19 Nov 2009 | 7:58 amWay, way back, a long time ago – like in the 90’s – I ran in a fantastic road race in Harvard, MA: the annual Apple Harvest Ramble Road Race. It’s a 10-miler through a picturesque New England town, with one gargantuan hill. I ran it twice, in ‘98 and ‘99 – and, from race 1 to race 2, I decreased my race time by 12 minutes. That’s pretty good – for those of you who don’t run. But the part of the story that I love the most is how I did it. You’d think that I must have run harder, longer and more often over the course of that… -
Compass Shmompass
17 Nov 2009 | 6:56 amI grew up in St. Louis – a city boundaried by the great Mississippi, the river that divides our country into east and west; a city with a monstrous steel arch marking the gateway to the west. As soon as I was conscious, I knew where the river was, I knew where the arch was, and so I knew where east and west were, north and south. It was a kind of knowing – this where I was in relation to space, where I stood on the compass – that was as natural and ingrained as knowing where my feet were – even with my eyes closed. I could feel it. My next place was Vermont. Middlebury… -
If you try to do it all yourself, I bet you’ll fall over
11 Nov 2009 | 10:43 amI just got off the phone with a friend. She was telling me about her morning. Like me, she’s a freelancer, but of graphic design. This morning, before she even opened Photoshop, she did her bookkeeping, went to the bank and the post office, cleaned her office, fixed the leaky faucet in her bathroom, booked plane tickets for an upcoming conference and worked on a video segment she’s trying to edit to put on her blog. Did you forget what it is that she actually does for a living? I almost did – and I’ve known her for years. It all boils down to this: If you’re… -
Just add running shoes
9 Nov 2009 | 5:05 amThe regulars around here know that I’m an avid (read incredibly enthusiastic) rollerblader – but it wasn’t always my go-to sweat activity. I used to be addicted to the pool (and the intense meditative silence of swimming back in forth in water), tolerant of the bike (I just never found a comfortable existence there) and, then, of course, there was the running. Here’s the thing about running. It’s the easiest thing in the world. You don’t need a pool, you don’t need an expensive bike and helmet…you just need some good sneakers. You can run… -
Because sometimes, things need a little massaging
6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 amI’m not usually into massage. I think it’s because 7 years ago, I had an especially intense rub-down of the Ayurvedic variety and woke up the the next morning to greet my first of 40 some-odd kidney stones. Now granted, the massage didn’t give me the kidney stone. When they did an MRI, my kidneys were so chock-full, they looked like a 1960’s fallout shelter – just substitute cans of tuna and beans for tiny, jagged rocks. What the massage did do was take me from my deliriously innocent state wherein I was 29 and believed myself to be the picture of health (and…
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Ghostwriting: TheHiddenWriter
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Free Elance Book For Freelance Writers
5 Nov 2009 | 1:54 amLast week I received an email from Neil Asher in which he included a link to a free Elance E-book. This free e-book has been written for people who want to outsource but it is also a good read for freelance writers who use Elance as a means of getting freelance writing jobs. This e-book explains how buyers can use Elance which you probably won’t find interesting but it also goes on to explain how buyers should screen freelancers, what they should look for and how they should evaluate bids. This is great for freelance writers as it will give you an insight into the mind of the buyer… -
My Latest Ghostwriting Interview
3 Nov 2009 | 8:52 amA number of months ago I took part in an interview for the Write Out Loud website that was being carried out by Ami Spencer. I am delighted to announce that this interview is now live and if you would like to read it you can do do by visiting the Write Out Loud Website: I always love taking part in interviews and being able to give any advice and help that I can. Hope you enjoy the interview. Until next time, Keep writing Bookmark to: Hide Sites -
Freelance Writing – Do You Have An Illness Plan?
19 Oct 2009 | 11:11 amI was sick the entire weekend which is what has sparked this post. I have vertigo which meant that I spend my entire weekend lying on the couch. This of course had an impact on my freelance writing work because I wasn’t able to do anything. It was hard enough to keep my eyes focused let alone look at the laptop. I have a client that I work with an my job involves posting on three different blogs on a daily basis. One of these blogs has two posts per day so even at the weekend I have some work to do. I had no choice this weekend but to inform my client that I was ill and… -
Bloggers Must Disclose Endorsements
7 Oct 2009 | 2:53 amI like to keep up to date with what is happening online and yesterday the main story that caught my eye was the one where the FTC have updated their regulations. These new rules will come into effect on the 1st of December. If you promote products on your blog or you write paid reviews you now have to disclose them. I’m not sure how this will effect everyone and I’m sure you will all have your views on this too. A Google search for blogger must disclose endorsement will bring up over 60,000 results so this is obviously causing quite a stir. Below is a list of some of the articles… -
Grammar Tips – When To Use Commas
30 Sep 2009 | 8:01 amCommas are the one thing that always confuses me. Knowing exactly where to put them and where not to put them can be a little tricky. Most comma situations are easy to use. These include commas in numbers, after dates, and after geographical locations. The tricky situations and errors arise out of the two main ways in which we use commas. Today’s article will focus on these. Commas Separate List Items Commas are always used to separate items in a list. These items can be real things, or places you go. Below are some examples: I need some bread, sugar, milk, and eggs from the…
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Published and Profitable
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How to get experts to provide book cover blurbs and endorsements before your book comes out
20 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pmFriday’s upcoming event calendar for authors Learn how to solicit blurbs and expert testimonials for the front and back covers of your book before your book appears. Blurbs are brief front and back cover quotations recommending your book supplied by authors and other experts in your field. Cover blurbs are one of the most powerful tools you can use to position your book and enhance the credibility of your personal brand. The example, above, is from the back cover of my Design to Sell. Learn how to attract blurbs, for free! Published & Profitable friends and members are invited to… -
Author profits begin when they clearly specify the back-end consulting services they offer
19 Nov 2009 | 11:17 amThursday’s profit tip for authors Authors begin when authors look beyond the income they are going to receive, directly or indirectly, from the sales of their book. Back-end profits from speaking, consulting, coaching, e-books, workshhops almost always outweigh profits from book sales. Authors can increase their back-end profits by doing something as simple as clearly specifying exactly the coaching and consulting services they offer their clients. Stephanie Chandler’s website, which I have previously used as an example of promoting and profiting success, provides a great example… -
Listen as David King tells how to gain Twitter Influence and drive more traffic to your website
17 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pmWednesday’s promoting tip for authors Listen, tonight, as I interview, David King, master Internet Marketer, and ask him to tell us how we can start build your Twitter Influence and drive more website traffic. David King is an Internet marketer with several stories to share, which we’ll be discussing when I interview him for Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing Association weekly teleconference this evening, Wednesday, November 18, at 7:00 PM EST. Among the topics we’ll be discussing will be the two e-books he’s created: Twitter Influence: How to vastly… -
Use the Existing Content Inventory worksheet to see if you’ve already written your book!
17 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pmTuesday’s Writing Tip for Authors You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you’ve already written a lot of the content you need for your book! The problem is, the content is probably scattered around dozens of different files on your hard drive. You must locate existing content before you can reuse it in your book! Using the Existing Content Inventory worksheet shown at left, you’ll be able to consolidate the locations and characteristics of important content onto a few printable worksheets. This worksheet makes make it convenient for you to track existing content and… -
What authors need to know about query letters
15 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pmMonday’s Planning Tip for Authors Most authors begin their journey to a published book by sending query letters to literary agents whom they hope will be interested in representing their book. In addition, they often send similar query letters to acquisitions editors at different publishers. In both cases, query letters a crucial role in getting published. Query letters must be engaging, descriptive, and concise. They must begin the sales process, and–hopefully lasting relationships–by asking the recipient if they would like to see a detailed proposal describing the book…
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Writing Forward
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10 Helpful Editing Tips
19 Nov 2009 | 10:50 pmIf you’re the token writer at your office, among your friends, or in your family, then you are probably asked on a regular basis to edit, review, or proofread written documents. Academic essays, business letters, and resumes will land on your desk with the word “HELP!” scrawled across the top. Or, maybe you’re like me, a professional who offers editing services to writers and business people who want to their text to be squeaky clean and irresistible to readers. Most of us are happy to help. After all, it feels good to help people, especially when it involves doing… -
How to Write a Memoir With a Partner
19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amToday’s guest post, “How to Write a Memoir with a Partner” is by Deborah Prutzman, co-author of Addie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression (1915-1935). Few writers would argue that writing is a solitary pursuit. That said, collaborations between two or more writers do occur, and some have been highly successful. This is especially true when it comes to memoirs. Why? Because often one person has a remarkable story to tell but is not a professional writer, and the other person is needed to help write the personal story (and tell it in a most compelling… -
Collect Writing Resources for Better Writing
17 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amIf you want to improve your writing, you’re going to have to work at it because let’s face it, nobody gets by on sheer talent. You’re going to need to acquire some solid writing skills and better writing habits. The best way to consistently improve your writing is through daily writing. When writing becomes part of the natural rhythm of your life, your work will improve in leaps and bounds. And by proofreading and editing, you’ll catch typos as well as holes in the syntax and problems with tone or context. Some actions you take to make your writing better may not… -
Writing Resources: A Poetry Handbook
12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amPoetry is the music of language, the fine art of the written word. Reading and writing poetry are excellent exercises for a writer’s mind. Poetry will grow your vocabulary and stretch your language skills. It will help you add musicality to your word craft, and show you the power of imagery and succinct writing. Basically, poetry reading and writing improves all other writing. So, whether you are a poet or not, as a writer, you should have a basic understanding of poetry. Writing Resources Poetry starts in childhood with nursery rhymes and the famous works of authors like Shel… -
Sensible Writing Exercises
10 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amAh, the senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. How do these things relate at all to writing exercises? We delight in the pleasures of the senses, but infusing writing with sensory stimulation is not an easy task. It takes a daft and creative writer to forge written images that trigger a reader’s senses. So, why bother? Why attempt writing exercises that involve sensual triggers? Well, when you engage your readers’ senses, your work becomes more compelling and more memorable. Some scientists say that smell is the strongest of the senses in terms of memorability. So, if you…
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PoeWar
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Writing and Editing Jobs — 11/15/2009
15 Nov 2009 | 3:04 pmEditor — Dimensional Fund Advisors – Austin, TX Editor – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Evanston, IL Editor – Prentis Cancer Research Ctr – Detroit, MI Editor – Hoffman Media – Birmingham, AL Editor – Nevada Public Radio – Las Vegas, NV Proofreader – RR Donnelley – Elgin, IL Proofreader – Reznick Group – Bethesda, MD Proofreader – GA Communications – Minnetonka, MN Proofreader – OfficeMax – Naperville, IL Proofreader – Winter, Wyman & Co – Waltham, MA Proofreader –… -
Is Demand Studios the new Associated Press?
12 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pmI recently wrote an opinion piece defending Demand Studios after another blogger chose to label them as a scam based on the fact that their pay is somewhat low and they make frequent requests for rewrites of articles. I still side with Demand Studios on that issue, but I do want to point out a better (though not perfect) article about Demand Studios at ReadWriteWeb. This article doesn’t try to portray the writers as victims but rather tries to analyze the effect of such a large content mill on the Internet as a whole. The basic premise is that Demand Studios has a content creation… -
How to Successfully Interview People
8 Nov 2009 | 1:43 pmInterviewing people for an article can be a daunting task. Some people love to give interviews and get to have their say, but others can be more reticent for a number of reasons such as fear of being misrepresented or misquoted. They might also just be shy. Even someone who is happy to be interviewed isn’t necessarily easy to interview. Part of your job is to keep them on track without making them feel manipulated or ignored. You must work with your subject to put them at ease and get the interview rolling. When your finished and go to write your story, you must also be respectful of… -
Writing and Editing Jobs 10/31/2009
31 Oct 2009 | 1:19 pmFreelance Writer – Washington, DC Freelance Financial Presentation Writer — HNW, Inc. — New York Freelance Writer – Tech Website – BrightHub.com Freelance Music Writers – Music Jobs USA – Miami, FL Freelance Writer Fashion and Travel – L-atitude Freelance Writers – The Daily Caller – Washington, DC Freelance Writers Wanted – Suite101.com Proofreader – Cabela’s Inc. – Sidney, NE Proofreader – Cadient – Conshohocken, PA Proofreader – Adlife Marketing – Norwood, MA Proofreader —… -
10 Steps to a Freelance Writing Career
27 Oct 2009 | 11:13 pmOne of the keys to freelance writing success is finding the right market for you. Developing a writing specialty that is both enjoyable and profitable will bring you long-term success as a writer. You don’t have to limit yourself to a single market. You should find and exploit your strengths in as few or as many areas as you feel comfortable working in. Below is a ten-step plan that outlines how to find success as a freelance writer though specialization. Step One: Analyze your Strengths as a Freelance Writer Make a list of subjects that you both know about and feel you would enjoy…
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lisahartjes.com
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Tweets for 2009-11-09
9 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pmHave I written? No. Have I eaten lunch? Yes – 2 c stir fry veggies, handful of walnuts, left over spicy stir fried pork. # Powered by Twitter Tools -
Tweets for 2009-11-05
5 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pmEnjoying a nice hot coffee with sugar free gingerbread syrup. Yum! # Powered by Twitter Tools -
Ready at last?
5 Nov 2009 | 11:06 amI’ve finally finished up entering all my scene cards for TMA and getting them in order. I’ve assigned them to chapters, and printed up the Book Summary (I’m using the program StorYBook, a free and open source program for novel writing. The program doesn’t have every feature I’m looking for, but it has most of them and that’s good enough for me. Anyway, the summary is 13 pages. It’s a bit misleading, as there’s stuff in it like locations and character’s present for each scene. Many of the scenes have little more than a sentence or two to… -
I told you so.
5 Nov 2009 | 5:58 amYes, I’m doing NaNo this year. And my word count so far? 256. Man, that sucks. I have lots of excuses, but very few good reasons as to why it’s happened. All I can say is I’m working on a plot problem, and hopefully when that’s taken care of, the words will start flowing. -
Tweets for 2009-10-28
28 Oct 2009 | 6:59 pmDecided to throw sanity to the wind and participate in NaNoWriMo this year. #nanowrimo # Support #NaNoWriMo, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! – http://bit.ly/3DdbZo # Powered by Twitter Tools
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Scribble Pad
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Romanian Food Festival
7 Nov 2009 | 9:08 pmI love sarmale. That's right, food talk first. The Romanian Food Festival held in Colleyville at St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church is small, but well organized with plenty of food. It reminds me in a way of a tiny ren festival without the bad English accents. You park in the grass, there's a row of food vendors, constant live music, pick nick tables, and people in costume walking about--but instead of pirates and women in bodices you have dancers in traditional Romanian outfits and little girls in their gymnastics cloths. Today was the perfect day to play outside. It was almost 80 degrees,… -
Japanese Pop is Just Cool
26 Oct 2009 | 11:34 am -
Laughter and Whispers
26 Oct 2009 | 11:11 amGuest post by Adolfo Nicolai I dreamed of a beautiful house Nestled in a draw, gently framed by whispering pines. In it lived a family, my family. And the laughter joined the whispers Every morning. -
Comments fixed
15 Oct 2009 | 7:24 amApparently, the comments on Scribble Pad were messed up and people couldn't leave their comment. Sorry about that! It should be fixed now. Thanks for letting me know! -
Chronous' Wheel
14 Oct 2009 | 12:08 pmGuest post by Adolfo Nicolai There is a silent destination In the order that is life, Where all of your frustrations Flow from all too human strife. Where plans last till the ink dries, Yet always end the same. Where years on years of hard work Become the never ending game. And so I have to ask, How is one to win? When men and mice on wheels aboard On good 'ol Chronous' wheel?
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RSSMix.com Mix ID 50439
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Freelance Writing Jobs for Friday, November 20, 2009
20 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am// Ah. Friday. Some weeks it seems like it’ll never get here. It’s going to be an interesting weekend and week because of the impending holiday. I like to reflect during this time about the things I’m thankful for, but also for the things I’d like to be thankful for. For example, if I had [...] -
Disaster Recovery for Freelance Writers: Getting Prepared
20 Nov 2009 | 3:05 amSo, I’ve talked for the past few weeks about some of the challenges facing freelance writers when it comes to disaster recover. I broke down the various dangers facing a freelance writing business into three distinct categories:Data IssuesCommunicationsProductionI’ve also talked about some of the things you can do to prepare for a disaster, from creating [...] -
Can You Write Creative Copy for a Hip Website?
19 Nov 2009 | 5:48 pm// We are almost done with developing an e-commerce website dedicated to selling T-shirts, other clothing, and accessories. You are an individual knows, follows, and wants to execute the copy writing rules laid out on www.copyblogger.com. I was hooked on reading that site last night for hours, they’re amazing!! Anyway…Please check out www.galatomi.com to see [...] -
New Literary Magazine Seeks Short Story Submissions $50
19 Nov 2009 | 5:45 pm// The New Professional, a contemporary, Washington, D.C.-based literary magazine, is seeking submissions for its inaugural issue, launching Spring 2010.The magazine will include essays on a variety of topics, from art to music to politics to pop-culture. There will also be a short story section, for which we are seeking submissions.The New Professional is a [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 19, 2009
19 Nov 2009 | 7:37 am// I spent a lot of time last night reflecting about past freelance clients and how they treated me and their other writers, some treated us well, and others…not so much. Are there any client that stand out in your mind as going the extra mile for their freelancers? What did they do to make [...]
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Get It In Writing
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Comment and let me know
5 Nov 2009 | 8:11 amHope you are doing well – happy, successful and at peace. You may have noticed that my weekly e-newsletters and regular e-mails have…..well, disappeared. Earlier this year, I made a deliberate decision to stop creating more content until I looked closer at my business, at my wonderful clients and at great people like you who are members of my e-mail list. I have asked many of you – as well as myself – questions like: How can I best serve you? What are your most pressing challenges when it comes to writing your copy and marketing your business? What are the most… -
How to find a writer
15 Oct 2009 | 9:31 amFor those of you that could relate to my last post, Don’t even think about writing for the web, I wanted to discuss the importance of hiring a copywriter. Finding quality writers is no easy task. As with hiring any employee or contractor, be sure to get the facts first. Ask these questions, and you’re sure to find a talented, hard-working and dependable writer with whom you can build a productive relationship. What exactly am I looking for? Before you begin your search for a writer, make sure to make a rough draft of your needs. Do you need a marketing writer, who produces brochures and… -
Don’t even think about writing for the web
7 Oct 2009 | 10:33 amSo in the last post I talked about my recent website research project and all the bad websites I ran into throughout the process. And it got me thinking. What websites really need is better copy. And I don’t say that because I’m a writer. The sad truth is that – in very general terms – the quality of web writing and copy is mediocre at best. I’m not calling for elegant prose. What I’m saying is that what your website reveals – in clear, well-placed words – influences what people think of you, your product, your company. Here are the top five ways to tell you’re NOT ready for… -
Content creation flaws
2 Oct 2009 | 10:59 amSo I have been doing some research over the past month in preparation for a new site I will be launching. And I hate to have to say it, but there are A LOT of bad websites out there. (No I will not featuring any in particular!). What I am going to do though is share some big time NOs NOs in case any of you are in the midst of a project or considering a site revamp. Flaw # 1: Senseless navigation Your website navigation should immediately let you know: Where you are, Where you’ve been, Where you can go next and Where the home page is. Navigation, in fact, must be so easy that visitors to… -
Keeping your copy active
30 Sep 2009 | 5:10 amOver the last two weeks, I have emphasized the importance of focusing on your target marketing, what they have for hot buttons and pain points and how your copy needs to be centered on the solutions they need. So once you have gone through the pre-writing process (with thorough research) and you embark on the act of writing marketing copy, I have a tip for you. It involves passive and active sentence structure, something you likely haven’t even given a thought. You will find that some also refer to this as writing in passive or active voices, but in this post, and in my book, Do It Yourself…
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Work-in-Progress
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Guest in Progress: Katharine Davis
19 Nov 2009 | 6:44 amIt’s one of the trickiest questions writers have to face: When is it done? (This is also a tricky question with regard to Thanksgiving turkeys, but I digress…) Here, my dear friend and former writing group member Katharine (Kitty) Davis wrestles with the ramifications of saying "the end." (Also check out her previous posts for this blog, “Betwixt and Between,” about filling time between projects; and this New Yorker-style “Letter from Maine.” And here’s her yummy recipe for fish chowder, inspired by her second novel, East Hope…perfect for these dark winter evenings.)Letting Go… -
Fitzgerald in Hollywood
18 Nov 2009 | 7:23 amIt wasn’t until I opened my November 16, 2009, issue of The New Yorker on the plane to Austin that I saw this article about F. Scott Fitzgerald and his struggles in Hollywood. It was an excellent piece—written by Arthur Krystal, who’s working on a book on the topic—and it’s well worth searching out a print copy of the magazine. (The web site offers only an abstract.)Krystal had access to Fitzgerald’s papers from a forgotten corner of the M-G-M archives, and it seems that our friend Scott really, really, REALLY wanted to come up with a great movie. And so why didn’t he succeed? -
Austin Wrap-Up
17 Nov 2009 | 7:06 amWe spent the weekend in Austin, Texas, and despite being tied down by business functions, were able to get in some good eating (shock):--We had a wonderful lunch at Manuel’s, upscale Mexican food, with very refreshing (and potent) margaritas…nice tequila list. I had the chile relleno en nogada, a chile stuffed with pork, almonds and raisins with a walnut-brandy sauce, and Steve had the mole enchilada. We were totally stuffed after that, but bravely headed to the business event that night, dinner at: --Threadgill’s, the music venue where Janis Joplin got her start (Austin bills itself as… -
Someone Else's Titling Woes
16 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amThis interview with Michelle Huneven, author of a new novel called Blame, is interesting (and the book sounds great!), but I was particularly intrigued by this (sadly familiar) tale of titling woes:OLIVAS: Choosing a title for a novel can be both exhilarating and exasperating. The one word title of your novel is unflinching, almost accusatory. How did you decide upon it? Can you share with us some titles that didn’t make it? HUNEVEN: This was the hardest title to find!I started writing the book thinking that one of the key characters would have a part time job giving scrapbooking workshops… -
Split This Rock Poetry Contest
16 Nov 2009 | 4:32 amI just got the info on this year's Split This Rock poetry contest:$1,000 awarded for poems of provocation & witnessChris Abani, JudgeBenefits Split This Rock Poetry Festival - Washington, DC, March 10-13, 2010Prizes: First place $500; 2nd and 3rd place, $250 each. Winners will receive free festival registration, and the 1st-place winner will be invited to read the winning poem at Split This Rock Poetry Festival, 2010. Winning poems will be published on www.SplitThisRock.orgDeadline: January 4, 2010 (postmark)Reading Fee: $25, which supports Split This Rock Poetry FestivalDetails:…
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Buzz, Balls & Hype
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THE DOCTOR IS IN
19 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pmJANE-ITIS Earlier this week I visited the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum. I'm sure I'll be back several times, probably dragging friends with me, before it leaves in March, but I wanted to make my first visit alone. I get annoyed at people who claim exclusive ownership of a particular book or author based on pereceived expertise or deep sensitivity or something. "You didn't write the damn books," I always want to snap when someone refers to a writer she's not acquainted with by her first name, turns up her nose at "noobs" or otherwise… -
The Ad Man Answers #73
18 Nov 2009 | 11:32 pmThursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers Q: I am looking into buying remnant Cable TV and radio spots. Any ideas? What should I bid if I am doing a reverse auction with Bid4Spots as an example? Are there any other ways to go after the remnant advertising on my own that you know of? Thank you for your input. It is greatly appreciated. --David Domm A: Remnant advertising can be tricky business. On the surface, it seems easy enough... you're just snatching up unsold space on TV, radio, newspapers,… -
Linktopia
16 Nov 2009 | 8:39 pmLinktopia (with the help of Judge Page) and another trio of links. Love it, hate it, or just don't care about it, but if you are looking for publicity you should at least be looking at Twitter. Guy Kawasaki shows you how he tweets for business here. Nikon teamed up with Ashton and his Twitter popularity to start a new promotion with a video hook. The rest of the story at brandweek.com is here. Staying at brandweek.com because here's the story on an app promotion (do you remember months and months ago when we kept saying mobile was going to be bigger than… -
When Twittering Does Work
15 Nov 2009 | 7:24 amCBS Sunday Morning just did a story on the food trucks in Los Angeles and how they are drawing crowds via Twitter (one has 44,000) followers and it makes us wonder (not for the first time) how authors/publishers can do something similar. All these people showing up at different spots to get food they love could be meeting authors they love... or lots of other things.. what if publishers created events to give out samples in one spot one day in one city.. and what if... Here's a link that that came after the Twitter story in the Spring. -
THE DOCTOR IS IN
12 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pmCheck out Susan Perry's article about my work on Psychology TodayDear Dr. Sue, Your recent post about how negative words have a greater impact on people really struck a chord with me. Sometimes, though, no words at all can be just as bad. I've been querying agents and getting back nothing but form rejection letters, no comments whatsoever. I have no idea why they don't want to read my novel, and trying to blindly guess at what I might need to do differently to attract someone's attention is impossible and frustrating.On top of that, they take…
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Suite 101: Writing & Publishing
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Where to Find Freelance Writing Jobs Online
20 Nov 2009 | 10:57 amWith more people turning to the Internet for news and information, many freelancers are searching for online jobs for writers. Here are a few SEO writing opportunities. -
Florida Crime Keeps Author Tim Dorsey in Stories
20 Nov 2009 | 6:28 amFormer Tampa Tribune editor Tim Dorsey has mined a lifelong love for what he calls "Florida cheese" to produce irreverent mystery novels set in the Sunshine State. -
Books On How to Write a Novel
20 Nov 2009 | 12:37 amWhether you struggle with plot, characters or just finishing the first draft of your first novel manuscript, one of these three books will help you out. -
Energize Business Writing with Action Verbs
19 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pmEffective business writers choose action verbs to relay their message clearly, and to encourage readers to take a required action. -
Focus on Reader Action
19 Nov 2009 | 8:48 pmEvery document written for business purposes requires some kind of action from the reader. An effective writer identifies the action and ensures a positive response
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Wordful
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Let’s Keep Talking: How You Can Connect with Wordful
14 Nov 2009 | 12:16 amIf you read Wordful, then first of all: thanks. I appreciate you.If you happen to also enjoy the content, then please consider checking out our social media communities.These are admittedly humble but emerging hotspots where I look forward to more interactivity and conversations with you on blogging, content media, publishing 2.0 and life. Give it a try!Here’s where you can find me:Wordful on Facebook (http://wordful.com/facebook)Wordful on Twitter (http://twitter.com/wordful)Wordful on FriendFeed (http://friendfeed.com/wordful)Charles Bohannan (me) on LinkedIn:… -
How to Assume the Mood of a Blogger
12 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pmChris Brogan blogs about the power of human relationships in a world of virtual interface. His advice and stories are interesting. They are poignant and useful to our work and life.The other day, Chris talked about three factors required for blogging every day: discipline, practice and ideas. How utterly direct and simple. I like that.Blogging every day without those three assets working together is tough. Even more challenging are the days you’re just not in the mood to blog.These are days when discipline, practice and ideas are nothing more than abstractions floating through your… -
Free Software Turns Ideas into Action
11 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pmMaybe you’re like me: full of brilliant ideas, but too disorganized and overwhelmed to make them happen.It seems no matter how hard you try—or don’t try—you just can’t seem to go from thinking to doing. Frustrating, isn’t it?Enter FreeMind software. FreeMind is a simple but powerful mind mapping/productivity program which helps you turn any worthy idea into a plan of action. It’s beautiful, really.Of course, you’ll still have to do the work, but FreeMind eases the pain. Here’s how:Capture and Organize Everything with EaseIt’s… -
Who Are the Outliers of Modern Publishing?
4 Nov 2009 | 11:34 amHaving just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, I was struck with the immediate question: who will be the next outliers of the now-turbulent publishing industry? Who will do for the publishing world what Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Bill Joy did for the computer world?To put this question in context, I refer to Gladwell’s theory. He claims the most successful people in the world don’t just get there by magic fate or raw talent, but rather by an inexplicable blend of opportunity, luck, hard work and timing. (By the way, Outliers is an excellent read.)While I… -
7 Steps to Blog Post Perfection
28 Oct 2009 | 6:07 pmI want you all to know I suffered at the ruthless hands of time and atrophy to bring you this.We’re talking countless hours spent thinking, writing, scribbling, procrastinating, rewriting, deleting, groaning and starting over—all for a blog post.Nowadays it’s better. I developed an easy 7-step system that helps me power through my blog writing. I now get it done not just in record time, but with much better efficiency and competence.So here you go: Get an idea. Ideas are plentiful, and the best way to capture them is to write them down. Fill your notebook with all the ideas…
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Life on Avenue Z
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The Road Less Traveled Might Not Get You There
About a month after I started my business, I created the most successful marketing campaign I've ever had. I sent about 50 letters to business owners with a pitch about how I could help their business. From that one mailing, I think I received 10 inquiries and at least five ... -
The Honest Truth: It Just Doesn’t Matter
This morning I paid a visit to my friendly, neighborhood printing store (PB Printing), where Mario the manager was on hand to listen to my latest tales of printing mishaps. "I have a business card crisis," I announced. "I am trying to print my new cards with the new logo, and ... -
When great isn’t good enough
Last Sunday I was sitting in the steam room of an upscale spa that sits steps from the water in Pacific Beach. I arrived a couple of hours before my appointment for a Vanilla Latte Pedicure so I could take some time to clear my mind. I decided the day was ... -
The Truth Behind the Logo: Second Guessing Extravaganza!
It's been quite some time since I was neurotic about my business here in public. In fact, things have been going along swimmingly, and I've been happy and busy. But I frequently still feel like a fledgling business owner who gets in over her head. I had this fantastic idea (and ... -
Help Avenue Z Find a New Look!
Now that I've moved into a new office building, I want to rework my business cards and dump the logo design I created at 3 a.m. two days after I quit my day job. Please help me find the look that best represents what Avenue Z has become... Vote on the four ...
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Freelance Writing Gigs
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Freelance Writing Jobs for Friday, November 20, 2009
20 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am// Ah. Friday. Some weeks it seems like it’ll never get here. It’s going to be an interesting weekend and week because of the impending holiday. I like to reflect during this time about the things I’m thankful for, but also for the things I’d like to be thankful for. For example, if I had [...] -
Disaster Recovery for Freelance Writers: Getting Prepared
20 Nov 2009 | 3:05 amSo, I’ve talked for the past few weeks about some of the challenges facing freelance writers when it comes to disaster recover. I broke down the various dangers facing a freelance writing business into three distinct categories:Data IssuesCommunicationsProductionI’ve also talked about some of the things you can do to prepare for a disaster, from creating [...] -
Can You Write Creative Copy for a Hip Website?
19 Nov 2009 | 5:48 pm// We are almost done with developing an e-commerce website dedicated to selling T-shirts, other clothing, and accessories. You are an individual knows, follows, and wants to execute the copy writing rules laid out on www.copyblogger.com. I was hooked on reading that site last night for hours, they’re amazing!! Anyway…Please check out www.galatomi.com to see [...] -
New Literary Magazine Seeks Short Story Submissions $50
19 Nov 2009 | 5:45 pm// The New Professional, a contemporary, Washington, D.C.-based literary magazine, is seeking submissions for its inaugural issue, launching Spring 2010.The magazine will include essays on a variety of topics, from art to music to politics to pop-culture. There will also be a short story section, for which we are seeking submissions.The New Professional is a [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 19, 2009
19 Nov 2009 | 7:37 am// I spent a lot of time last night reflecting about past freelance clients and how they treated me and their other writers, some treated us well, and others…not so much. Are there any client that stand out in your mind as going the extra mile for their freelancers? What did they do to make [...]
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Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers
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How to Write Effective Titles for Magazine Articles and Blog Posts
20 Nov 2009 | 6:02 amBefore you can capture readers with your words and voice, you must write an effective title! Whether you’re writing magazine articles, blog posts, school essays, or a book – your best title makes readers drool with anticipation. “Fewer than 10 little words, but so many headaches,” says freelance writer Sara Bimmel. “Why is writing a title so difficult? It could be the pressure to hook your reader before the article has even begun; or it could be the fact that condensing an article with hundreds of words into just one snappy phrase is impossible!” In this guest post, Sara… -
4 Signs You Need to Reevaluate Your Writing or Publication Goals
18 Nov 2009 | 8:44 amTo be successful, writers need to step away from their career goals (whether that’s getting a book published, maintaining a personal blog, or freelancing for national magazines) regularly. We need to jump off the merry-go-round of pitching ideas, researching books or articles, and blogging our hearts out to figure out where our career is going! A quip about goals: “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal,” said Benjamin E. Mays. “The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.” Writers need goals – and they also need to know… -
Writing Quotations from Famous Published Authors
17 Nov 2009 | 8:02 pmThese quotes from successful writers are from my friend, fellow writing group member, and blog partner Gini Grey. Here, she quotes authors such as James Michener, William Faulkner, Aldous Huxley – and she adds her own “food for writers’ thought” at the end of each gaggle of quotations. First, one of my favorite writing quotations: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night,” said E.L. Doctorow. “You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” It’s true of writing, and of life in general. One step at a time,… -
How to Fail and Bounce Back as a Writer, Blogger, or Freelancer
11 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pmIf you’ve ever felt like a failure as a writer, blogger, or freelancer (and who hasn’t), you might find these tips for building self-confidence helpful! Here’s how to bounce back after rejection, criticism, and hard knocks. I’m driven to write this because I’ve recently received criticisms on both this website and Quips and Tips for Couples Coping With Infertility. Criticisms aren’t necessarily failures per se…but they sure sting! And sometimes they take a long time to heal. Here’s what the American President says about failure and bouncing back: “Making your mark on the… -
How to Earn More Money by Diversifying Your Online Writing
5 Nov 2009 | 8:04 amWho wants to be a starving writer? Not me – especially when I can earn more money by diversifying my web writing (blog posts, online articles on Suite101, etc). These tips for diversification are from Helen Smeaton, a web writer, blogger, and entrepreneur. But before her tips, a quip from the late great Henry James: “With the proceeds of my last novel, I purchased a small handbarrow, on which my guests’ luggage is wheeled from the station to my house,” said James. “It needs a coat of paint. With the proceeds of my next novel, I shall have it painted.” He sounds like many web…
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About Freelance Writing
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Job Postings Here Are The Tip Of A Great Big Iceberg!
20 Nov 2009 | 9:58 amI got a nice email from Jennifer Mattern who runs All Freelance Writing. She wanted to make sure I knew that starting next week she’s posting jobs on her site only once a week. She spells out her reasons in a post she called Freelance Writing Jobs No More – Sort Of That coupled with some of the comments here about Demand Studios and other content providers got me to thinking I may have inadvertently led some of you astray when, way back when, I started posting jobs. Let me say it loud and clear: The job postings here were never meant to be your sole source of job leads! Nor have I… -
Freelance Writing Jobs for Friday, November 20, 2009
20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amWe’ve got 59 freelance writing jobs , blogging jobs, editing jobs, translation jobs and creative gigs today. How to get freelance writing jobs is a category listing articles about how to get freelance writing jobs and the article, How to land a writing job is aimed at helping you when you apply to one of the freelance writing jobs listed here. If you land one of these gigs, let us know. OTOH, if you find one is a problem, let us know that too. Posting a warning in comments helps your fellow freelancers avoid problems. Hiring Nonfiction Freelance Writers! Suite101 currently has openings for… -
How Is Being a Freelance Writer Different Today?
19 Nov 2009 | 8:08 amThe discussion about the pay from article sites and from my attempt to figure out why there’s so much passion has also gotten me to thinking about how it was way back when. In my case, that’s over 30 years ago. Here’s some of how it was: Typewriters – first manual and then electric. When I went to college my parents gave me a manual portable Royal. Turns out you can still buy Royal typewriters – who knew! Self-correcting Selectric typewriters by IBM. Electric, of course, and in addition to the red and black ribbon, there was a second, white correction tape. A… -
What Is This Demand Studio Controversy Really About?
18 Nov 2009 | 10:02 amWhew! If you’ve been following, and maybe even contributing, to the threat following my post, John Hewitt Defends Demand Studios, Sort Of, you know it’s a heated discussion. The bulk of the comments could be sorted into two types: Those who say, in one form or another, Demand Studios and sites like them are awful rip offs who are preying on naive writers, and by the way, anyone who thinks otherwise is awful too! Those who say, in one form or another, Demand Studios and sites like them are great and wonderful, supporting writers, and by the way, anyone who agrees is wonderful… -
Freelance Writing Jobs on Wednesday, November 18, 2009
18 Nov 2009 | 6:28 amIt’s Wednesday or “hump” day in the U.S. because after today we’re sliding down the rest of the week to the weekend, or something like that. We’ve got 58 freelance writing jobs , blogging jobs, editing jobs, translation jobs and creative gigs today. How to get freelance writing jobs is a category listing articles about how to get freelance writing jobs and the article, How to land a writing job is aimed at helping you when you apply to one of the freelance writing jobs listed here. If you land one of these gigs, let us know. OTOH, if you find one is a problem,…
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A Passion for Letter Writing
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Notes Left Behind
11 Nov 2009 | 6:39 amHere’s a great story I ran across today over at the Sharpie Blog (which I madly adore). Check out this sad and wonderful, inspiring story: http://blog.sharpie.com/2009/11/2553/ -
Send Love Today
14 Oct 2009 | 11:32 amSend Love Today is a nonprofit organization that provides emotional support to brain tumor patients and their families in the form of cards and small gifts. Do you have a little bit of time on your hands to commit to jotting a few notes to people who could use some encouragement and uplifting? Go to the [...] -
What We Leave Behind
27 Aug 2009 | 7:40 pmRose over at The Center of My Self recently wrote a great post about the impact we have on people we’ve touched in our lives — what they remember about us, what we teach them, etc. It’s a great and thoughtful post, but as I read on she talked about someone who had left behind letters [...] -
Hanging Postcard Collage
25 Aug 2009 | 8:05 pmHere’s a great craft project for those of you who collect postcards. Check out the hanging postcard collage! -
New Releases and Announcement
18 Aug 2009 | 7:30 pmSabrina Ward Harrison, a lovely and carefree artist, has some new card sets out. Definitely worth check out over at PAPAYA. Also, I have a giveaway coming up. I was sent a set of cards that are WONDERFUL and you’ll love them. I’ll be announcing the giveaway very soon. (I’ve had a terrible, terrible [...]
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How Not to Write
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It is the length that kills...
8 Nov 2009 | 8:14 pmIs it presumptuous of me to be editing an essay by Robert Louis Stevenson? Of course! But what's the point of being a writer if you're not going to be presumptuous? I decided to do this little project tonight because my NaNoWriMo project is at a standstill. I had it going yesterday but today I'm all thumbs. I figure there's plenty of people out there doing the same thing, and wouldn't you know it... The same thing happened to RLS! MY FIRST BOOK: 'TREASURE ISLAND' By Robert Louis Stevenson First Published in the Idler, August, 1894 This version, edited by Jamie Grove November, 2009 (with… -
The One Name
17 Oct 2009 | 10:04 amMy Patron Saint? Probably. NaNoWriMo is coming... In just a few days, thousands of passionate writers will start down the path to writing a novel in 30 days. The goal is 50,000 words. Most will falter around 10,000 (or less). The reason? With Passion, anyone can write 10,000 words... Anyone. To get past the 20% mark, you need something else. Some people fall back on organization: outlines, meticulous planning, character sheets, etc. They spend hours thinking about the structure of their stories, running mental what-if scenarios. I know this because I've done it too, and for sheer volume it… -
On Meeting Writers...
26 Sep 2009 | 8:43 amProof that monkeys and beer sometime mix. It was a dark night in Chicago. Eden was tired. She had to get up early. But there she was, biking across town to meet a man barely knew... Sounds kind of scary, right? A decent setup for a pulp mystery or maybe some boring existentialist diatribe on the nature of meeting people for the first time. Well, the man Eden was going to meet was me, and while I'm not really all that scary in person, I'm probably good casting for the latter. Eden Robins is a Clarion West grad, writer, and editor of Brain Harvest. I've known Eden for awhile, in the casual way… -
Commit to Finish. Commit to Begin Again.
24 Aug 2009 | 6:07 amBrains took this picture of Lake Erie... Nice shot, kid! All writers slack. It's natural. Writers are dreamers by nature, and we make procrastinators in other fields look like paragons of productivity. However, it is the weight a writer gives to working vs. dreaming that determines whether they finish a damn thing. I was thinking about all of this during my long drive down to Washington DC yesterday. I was listening to the excellent Starship Sofa Podcast, and hoping like hell I had the patience and fortitude to sit my butt down long enough to write a story like Neal Asher's Adaptogenic or… -
Ready to Burn
1 Aug 2009 | 8:49 amIn the last year, I've taken a lot of chances. Maybe not as many as I would've liked, especially in my writing, but nonetheless one would be hard pressed to say I'm stuck in a rut. Before I get going, I should say that this isn't one of those apology posts where a blogger comes back after and absence and promises it will all be different. I don't believe in those sort of posts. Frankly, when I see a post like that, I know a blog is about to die a horrible death. The writer is filled with regret and guilt. They feel they are neglecting their audience and they're not sure what to do about it.
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Editor Unleashed
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Lessons from One Year Unleashed
12 Nov 2009 | 7:43 amYou may have already heard this if you follow me on Twitter or on the forum: As of next Monday I will be going back into the workforce. I accepted the position of Lifestyles Digital Content Manager with The Cincinnati Enquirer. I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to have landed in this role, which seems to be an ideal fit for me. I’ll be helping to create and build content and communities for the Cincinnati.com Living site, which includes Moms, Home & Garden, Fashion, Relationships, Health & Fitness and savings so far. I have been so impressed with the progressive spirit… -
Mark Garvey: Strunk & White’s Biggest Fan
11 Nov 2009 | 9:09 amI know many writers have a special fondness for the classic writing guide The Elements of Style. After all it’s de rigeur in most college writing classes. But writer and editor Mark Garvey took his Strunk & White affection to a whole new level for his new book, Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. Here, Garvey answers shares what he learned about Strunk & White while researching and writing Stylized. And he also offers some sound advice to writers who want to get their books out into the world. 1. When did you first become… -
Editor Unleashed/Smashwords “Why I Write” Essay Contest Rules
9 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pmFollowing are the rules for the “Why I Write” essay contest which launches today! All are welcome to enter. No entry fee. 1. If you’re new to the Editor Unleashed forums, welcome! Please introduce yourself in the Introductions Forum. 2. Entries may not exceed 750 words. This word length will be strictly enforced and entries that exceed word length will be removed. 3. Only one entry per person. 4. Please give your entry an original title, not “Why I Write.” 5. You must be the original creator of the essay. 6. No comments on specific entries until the contest is… -
Book Design: Beauty in the Details
5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amby Joel Friedlander The first book my son ever got truly captivated by as an early reader was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We had read the earlier Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone together, with me doing most of the reading since he had just learned to read. By the time the second book came out, he was determined to read it himself. It was a remarkable experience to watch him drop into the world of witchcraft and wizardry, to be completely absorbed by the world created by J.K. Rowling, waiting every day for the chance to dive back into that world again. This is a… -
The Savvy Author’s Guide to Podcasting
4 Nov 2009 | 7:24 amBy Emma Newman At the time of writing this, fifteen chapters of my novel have been published on my site as podcasts. I love recording and publishing them now, but it was daunting at the start. I’d like to give you a hand with some of the basics if you are considering taking the podcasting plunge. Technology Let’s get the scariest bit out of the way first—the technology. I’m going to explain the process I use to podcast, but please note that my initial set up may be different to yours. The process will always be record, format correctly and then publish, and I’ll look at each in…
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Sid Prince Explains
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I Break for NaNoWriMo
27 Oct 2009 | 8:20 amIf you've been following this blog for a bit you know that back in April I made a commitment to begin work on my first novel. Well America, up to now I've written exactly 0 pages, 0 words, and 0… -
Wild Things' Wild Ride
16 Oct 2009 | 8:02 pm[Every once in a while when I see a movie or read a book that I really like or really hate, I'll tell you about it. This is just such a time] Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of a young… -
This I believe...and it May be Killing Me
15 Sep 2009 | 5:43 pmI believe I have but one major illness to recover from in this lifetime, and that belief may be killing me. Perhaps a little dramatic you say? Let me explain. This whole healthcare hoopla, with… -
(not) Social Networking 101 - Another Top 5 List
11 Sep 2009 | 11:06 amI dropped some knowledge on Lori Widmer's Words on the Page blog the other day, and it got me thinking (as Lori often does - so blame her for this post); if I were to ask 100 people what networking… -
Yo Politicians - this is how you get your Healthcare on!
4 Sep 2009 | 9:09 am
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Amy Sue Nathan: Writer/Editor/Single Mom
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Don’t chop yourself to bits but…
6 Nov 2009 | 4:58 amOn Tuesday nights I watch The Biggest Loser and then switch to Food Network and watch Chopped. The incongruity of this pairing is not lost on me, not to worry. On Chopped, four chefs each have a basket of secret ingredients and are challenged to make an appetizer in 20 minutes, using all the ingredients. The judges taste, and then CHOP, one of the chefs. The remaining three chefs get a basket of secret ingredients and 30 minutes to prepare an entire. Then the judges CHOP one chef. The remaining two chefs have 30 minutes to create a dessert out of equally odd and secret ingredients. A key… -
Writing like a reader and reading like a writer
4 Nov 2009 | 3:57 amOne of the best decisions I made recently was to beg ask J to be a beta reader. You know why? Because she’s not a writer and because she and I have been online friends since the inception of my very first blog but we don’t know each other outside the blogosphere. While I have no doubt we’d chat for hours and find we’re compatible, we’ve not had the opportunity to do so…yet. Not only do I go to J’s blog any time I want to find a recipe I know I’ll like, but I love reading her thorough, thoughtful, honest book reviews. Therefore I… -
Eat, meow and leave
23 Oct 2009 | 5:15 amAt the beginning of the week we found a mother cat and three kittens on the patio in front of the house. One of the dogs discovered them, I can only surmise, when she decided to jump up on back legs to look outside through the dining room window because she was finished looking out the other seven thousand windows in the house. Then it was the middle of the night when she decided to check on the cats and wake me up to tell me there were, indeed, still squatting on our property. Of course I was awake from then on, as he/we watched the kittens play in the dark amidst the withering flowers… -
A story and a silver lining
18 Oct 2009 | 7:09 amI woke up yesterday with a grand plan. Don’t you love those? I was going to read and write and hang out in whatever order suited me best. I took coffee to bed and pulled up the covers under my neck. It was still dark out so I turned on a flashlight that I laid across my chest so it illuminated a page at a time. Nothing worse than holding a book and a flashlight at 6 am when you’re trying to drink coffee and read a novel. While I was reading I had a thought. Always dangerous. It was a character and a short scene. I did think to myself “that’s a good… -
A terrific typo
14 Oct 2009 | 4:47 amWe see typos everywhere — in the grocery store, on TV, looming over the highway on billboards and of course on the internet. They’re entertaining — they’re harmless — and most of the time I give them no second thought. But the other day perusing a website I saw my new most favorite typo ever. It conjures up all kind of images that are hard to explain, although I’ll try. ‘MANTEL INSTITUTION’ Is this a place where they rebuild fireplace mantels or is it the place where they teach people how to build mantels? Perhaps after years of bumping…
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Bad Language
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When writers become lawyers – how to agree terms with a client
20 Nov 2009 | 12:26 amEvery freelance writer has a story about the project from hell. Mine involves writing a 7,000-word in-house magazine in a month. By the third issue, thanks to unreasonableness from the client, it was 14,000 words in ten days. For the same money. There wasn’t a fourth issue. So how do you avoid situations where the client: Demands more work than they will pay for Changes their mind a lot Doesn’t give feedback in a timely way Won’t pay on time Doesn’t give you the information you need Takes their sweet time but holds you to the original deadline Wants everything yesterday I have tried… -
Cool stuff I found online this week
19 Nov 2009 | 9:56 am1. Awesome t-shirt for typography fanboys from Collapse Design. 2. Fantastic treehouse office and blog (hat tip: Lifehacker) 3. Complete guide to Google Wave. I’m on Wave (matthew.stibbe@googlewave.com). Wave me and tell me why I should be using it. 4. 11 Ways to influence people online and make them take action. Ha, made you look. See, it works! 5. Lord of the Rings timeline. I’m such a geek but I love it. I expect Edward Tufte to be writing about it any day now. 6. Disgruntled Toronto Star editor edits the press release announcing his firing. It’s not exactly poetic revenge but it is… -
We need this yesterday – how do you react?
17 Nov 2009 | 11:58 pmDoes this ever happen to you? Your client calls and says ‘we need this done immediately – right now – like, yesterday!’ And you’re up to your eyeballs in other work. You don’t want to let your client down because the relationship is important and you don’t want to say yes because you’re really manic. This mostly happens to me when a client has had a first draft for a few weeks but leaves their review until the last minute. This is especially irritating for me because I already worked hard to meet the original deadline. It’s tempting to say “lack of preparation on your part… -
Writers are from Mars, Clients are from Venus
16 Nov 2009 | 11:17 pmFreelance writing is the Stockholm syndrome erected into a profession. The terrorist holds a gun to our head and we love them for it. (Or more as a friend of mine said ‘we’re the battered wives of the media business.’) Why do relationships between writers and clients go wrong? Over-promising Too-high expectations Bad briefs Writers don’t understand pressures on clients Not enough feedback Under- or late payment Editing by committee (AKA death by redlining) Editing by lawyer I surrender. Just tell me what to write. What can we do about it? Often, writers just eat bitter weeds and… -
How to use quotations in your writing – 10 expert tips
16 Nov 2009 | 12:15 amQuotations can make an article, press release or case study real or they can make them deathly dull. As a writer, it’s your choice. You have complete control over how you quote people and a few simple techniques can make all the difference. Go to the top. One reason to include a quotation is to add authority and credibility. Another is to include an opinion in a piece that is trying to be (or appear) objective. Either way, it pays to get the most senior person possible. A quote from a CEO is more credible and authoritative than one from some guy at the company’s PR firm. One exception to…
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Word Grrls
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Fail Blog
19 Nov 2009 | 3:29 amMy nephew, Zack, introduced me to Fail Blog. A friend gave him the book for his birthday. I noticed it on his desk and he told me about it, even let me take it home to read it this week. (I do have to make sure the post-it notes from his friend stay on the book though, that was an important point). Fail Blog is about people noticing their surroundings, signs that conflict each other (like a sign on a bus saying to use hammer to break glass in an emergency and a complementary sign saying to break the glass to use the hammer), mistakes in spelling that change the meaning of a sign, construction… -
Wordplay with Bookworm
18 Nov 2009 | 3:57 amOne of my guilty pleasures are online games. I play several. I used to play Facebook games but I have cut back on those especially. Still, one of my favourites for a few years is BookWorm. Maybe you have never played it. It is addicting and challenging, especially when you get a letter on fire at the very bottom of the puzzle and you are sure you have never heard of a word made up of only the letter “a” before. To play the game you make words out of the random letters that come down from the top of the screen. As you use letters they disappear and the others shift down to fill in… -
Vacuum Out Your Brain
17 Nov 2009 | 3:05 amFrom my horoscope today: Release your fears and disappointments, forgiving yourself and others. It would be a good thing if we could all do this, at least once a month. I think it would be like vacuuming your brain. Sucking out all the dust bunnies, the doubts, the negative energy, the bad thoughts, but not the experience itself. It is important to hang onto our experiences, even the negative ones. We learn from them and more importantly, each one is like a medal of honour or a medal of valour. A “You Did It!”. Like a T-shirt for going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (Though I… -
Slipping a Little Bit of Big Words In
16 Nov 2009 | 3:43 amSome people hide behind big words and some people are afraid of them. I can understand both. If you have ever read something like a scientific journal, a government publication about taxes, a university paper, or a political speech, you will have seen something cluttered with extra words and littered with big words. People use big words to sound important, educated and sometimes to confuse their readers so no one will know what they really did say. Often people just give in and agree cause they want to be nice (or don’t want to seem stupid/ ignorant) but don’t really want to… -
Demasking: Making Changes
15 Nov 2009 | 3:32 amSometimes I feel like my face is a mask I can just pull off. Do you know those fancy masks created for some fancy ball in a fairy tale. They have a whole face mask, attached to a stick you hold in your hand. I think of my face that way. That I could just pull away the mask and all the imperfections like little zits or the faint beginnings of lines and all of that extra stuff I have gathered through years of life would just come away with the mask. I don’t think about what would remain underneath. Kind of odd isn’t it? But I can see that mask stripping away the outer layer of my…
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Sanjaynair.com
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Sales Copy that runs your Business on Autopilot
A business that runs on autopilot is every internet entrepreneur’s dream. A one time investment, a one time effort that only requires you to login once a day to check the volume of sales that you have made. The moolah keeps coming in just like that. Is that even possible? Maybe yes! There are people who have achieved [...] -
21 reasons why Web Copywriting isn’t easy
You are talking to a defined target audience You have about 500 words to get your message across You only have about 10 words (The heading) to grab the attention of the reader The reader will scan through the page before deciding whether to read or not Large chunks of text disappoint the reader Strong vocabulary confuses the reader Unwanted links [...] -
The 5 golden rules of Killer Sales Copy
Now what is it about killer sales copy that makes the customer take the action that ‘you’ desire? The action might be anything. An instant sale, a lead or it might just be a form to fill in! But web copy like that is as rare as hen’s teeth. Not impossible to get, but difficult to [...] -
Preparing for the worst in Freelance Writing
This article continues from where we left off in our earlier post ‘Stepping into the world of freelance writing’. Every year, millions of people decide to hang out their shingle and off those millions, thousands decide to try out their luck on the World Wide Web. And out of those thousands, at least a few hundred [...] -
Stepping into the world of Freelance
I receive a lot of emails everyday from people who want to make a career in freelance writing but do not know how and where to begin. Most of these people have a high paying job that gives them the creeps and they’d rather try and establish a name for themselves on the World Wide [...]
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Get Paid to Write Online
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Tips for Reaching Writing Goals
18 Nov 2009 | 1:28 pmWriting goals are good. Staying on track and reaching your goals is very fulfilling. They’re good if you’re a freelance writer and if you’re a fiction writer, and they’re also good if you write as a hobby as well. Whether you need to meet monetary goals, want to hit word count goals for a personal challenge (such as NaNoWriMo), here’s some help: Write it Down The first step to meeting writing goals is setting them. What is it that you’re after? If it’s freelance writing for pay, you might have a dollar figure per month that you want (or need) to hit. In that case, once you… -
Part 2 – Article Writing Research and Idea Tips – Going Beyond Wikipedia
11 Nov 2009 | 3:03 amLast week , in Article Writing Research and Idea Tips – Going Beyond Wikipedia – Part 1, I talked about the importance of doing more than cobbling an article together for pay when you want to build a writing career. Today I’m going to share some of my own sources of inspiration and research. I often preach that writers should carve out a writing niche for themselves so that they can make more money and research less but there are times when you might take a writing assignment on a subject you know nothing about. And even if you do have an established niche, there are times when… -
Is Your Writing Like Powdered Milk?
9 Nov 2009 | 9:29 amThere’s a fine line between research and plagiarism. How often have you researched a topic only to find that someone else has already said it in the best possible way? When that happens, the temptation is to rewrite and disguise it, but use it anyway. The trouble is, that’s not creative. It’s like adding water to powdered milk – reconstituting something that already exists. The temptation can be overwhelming, particularly when deadlines loom. But powdered milk writing does a disservice to both you and your client. As a writer, you want to showcase the qualities that your… -
Article Writing Research and Idea Tips – Going Beyond Wikipedia – Part 1
4 Nov 2009 | 8:59 amSome people who slag off web content writers claim that there’s too much garbage content online and that too many people who write for money do it just for the money and couldn’t care less about the quality. Some ghostwriters have low work standards when selling writing that won’t have their name on it. In fact, I once hired a person to work on my writing team but found a comment by her on a writing forum that said she couldn’t be bothered to put much effort in when the work was ghost written. I cringed and promptly lost her email address. Too many people rewrite, spin, and… -
Write Right Online – A Review
2 Nov 2009 | 11:22 amI’m always interested in reading books about writing, so I was pleased when Andy Hayes asked me to review Write Right Online. Andy’s a travel writer and the 30 page book shares what he has learned about online writing. Who The Book Is For This book is aimed firmly at the new online writer. In 18 short sections, Write Right Online takes you through everything you need to know about online writing. What I love about the book is that it is a model of simplicity – anyone can follow it – yet it somehow gives new writers information – and examples – they can take…
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Founders' Blog
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HyperMac - The External Battery Solution for the Mac
19 Nov 2009 | 9:40 amNo need to check the calendar. It’s true. We are fast approaching 2010 and still the most you can hope to get out of a laptop battery is 3 - 5 hrs. "But, but…" I know, I know, there’s a robot on Mars and a man on the moon. Go figure. Until manufacturers can figure out the short-lived battery dilemma, external batteries remain the only key to unfetter the mobile writer. We’ve all seen the chaos that can ensue over the lone outlet jack in the airport terminal or Starbucks cafe. It’s an ugly site and quite frankly, degrading… -
November is Product Sample Give-Away - Ergonomic Mice
10 Nov 2009 | 9:39 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. It’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to win. Here’s what you need to do to enter:… -
That Writer’s Bungalow Retreat in the Woods - Totally Doable
9 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pmI love to skeet shoot. And the number one rule to remember is: Think small, aim small, miss small. In other words, instead of aiming at the entire clay pigeon, aim for a piece of it. It narrows your focus and heightens your chances of success. How the hell does this equate to a tranquil writing bungalow in the woods? Put a sock it in - I’m gettin’ there! And back to my center of peace… Have you always dreamed of purchasing a quiet bungalow where you’ll write the next greatest screenplay or novel? And not just any bungalow, but one… -
November is Product Sample Give-a-Way Month at LitCentral Founders’ Blog
2 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. It’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to win. Here’s what you need to do to enter:… -
What’s New in the World of Tablet PCs for Writers (Plus Fujitsu’s New LifeBook T4310)
21 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pmThis blog has written at length about the advantages of tablet PCs (TPC) for writers. In fact, the lack of writers’ awareness regarding various technologies that enhance productivity was the impetus behind LitCentral starting this blog. Lump TPCs into the “technology that enhances writers’ productivity” bunch. If you are the type of writer that likes to map out your novel or script with handwritten notes, 3×5 cards, and Post-it stickers the TPC is a great solution. Using software applications like OneNote and Evernote with your…
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Fiction Matters
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Free Book: The Three Musketeers
16 Nov 2009 | 9:20 amAuthor: Alexandre Dumas Description: The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It recounts the adventures of a young man named d’Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D’Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—inseparable friends who live by the motto, “One for all, and all for one”. The story of d’Artagnan is continued in Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne. Those three novels by Dumas are together known as the D’Artagnan… -
Free Book: The Count of Monte Cristo
9 Nov 2009 | 3:03 amAuthor: Alexandre Dumas Description: The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas’ most popular work. It is also among the highest selling books of all time. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from… -
Using Social Media To Build Your Platform
5 Nov 2009 | 7:58 amThis is a presentation that I gave at the Social Media Club chapter here in Richmond. Ostensibly, the presentation is generic enough to apply to any niche or vertical, but the lessons contained within can be directly applied to building an author’s platform. Fair warning, the tone is a bit cheekier than I use here at Fiction Matters and I do swear a couple of times. Niche Communities and Social Networks – A Presentation from Bradley Robb on Vimeo. Share and Enjoy: Related posts:The New Age of Marketing and the Dawn of the Social Economy This is a Mills & Boon Starts a Social… -
3 Questions To Better Understand Your Novel
3 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amVito and I were talking about our individual works-in-progress this morning. My esteemed colleague has largely put the finishing touches on his manuscript and is readying for the querying process. The conversation then naturally drifted towards how a writer must transition from the author’s cap to the marketer’s fedora to accomplish this. Here are the three questions to ask yourself to make the changing of hats that much easier. Image by Bob Smith 1. In a book store, where would you shelve your novel? Be honest with yourself and don’t immediately leap towards the commercial… -
Free Book: War and Peace
2 Nov 2009 | 9:08 amAuthor: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Description: War and Peace is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russkii Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels. War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, marriage, age,…
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nick usborne's excess voice
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Not Me Mondays: Dr. Ralph Wilson.
16 Nov 2009 | 5:54 amI have known Ralph for over ten years now. He was perhaps the first person to thoroughly explore the needs of small business online. It may be hard to imagine in today’s world of instant gurus and miracle marketing solutions, but back in the mid-nineties very few people were thinking about how small business could succeed online. Ralph jumped right in there. And he has been delivering help and advice to small business online ever since. That kind of continuity is very rare...sticking with one vision and one purpose for a decade and a half.In fact, this year is the 15th anniversary of his… -
Some generous reviews of my book, New Path to Riches.
10 Nov 2009 | 5:41 pm“In this brilliant book, Nick Usborne lays out a proven path to passive income with niche websites. His chapter on how to make readers like you is solid gold and worth 100 times the cost of the book. You really can do this and Nick’s book is your perfect roadmap.” – Michael Stelzner "I recommend Nick Usborne's New Path to Riches for many reasons, but - most important - I respect its realism and restraint.For too long, the majority of books about Internet marketing have included the word "millionaire" in their title. Nick's book, however, makes no such claims.Instead, it… -
Billions of questions are asked online every single day.
5 Nov 2009 | 7:11 amHere is the opening paragraph of an article in today’s The New York Times."Two companies that produce massive quantities of new content every day, Answers.com and Demand Media, are rapidly moving up the list of top U.S. web properties, as measured by comScore. Answers.com has risen from #26 to #13 in just two months, and Demand Media has risen from #24 to #15 in the same time period. Answers.com has nearly 38 million pages of content on the Web so far; Demand Media produces 2000 new pieces of content a day."Put simply, a billion people worldwide go online in search of answers to… -
7 Little Choices that Can Wreck Your Business, by Rick Butts.
2 Nov 2009 | 11:43 amI just finished reading this 28-page e-book by Rick Butts.The sub-title of his book is: A Giant Clue for Authors, Speakers, Coaches, Consultants and Other Idea Entrepreneurs.I have known Rick for a few years now. Although we have never met, we have a number of things in common. We are neither of us spring chickens. We have both done the speaking circuit. We have done the consulting thing. We are both students of online marketing. We both do coaching work.And we have something else in common too. We try to discourage people from the compulsive, impulsive purchase of the next great… -
Review of my book, New Path to Riches, by Roger C. Parker
31 Oct 2009 | 2:24 pmI sent Roger a review copy of my new book, and he has been kind enough not only to read it cover to cover, but also to post a very generous review on Amazon.I like the fact that he tells readers this book isn’t about “get rich quick”. And when he says he finished the book with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, that’s the icing on the cake for me.Why? Because in a world where it seems only the loudest, most hype-ridden promises of instant wealth catch attention, it's good to know that I have managed to generate enthusiasm with the description of a more realistic goal..The book isn’t…
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BenCrowder.net
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Mormon Artist Issue 7
13 Nov 2009 | 9:16 amIssue 7 of my magazine Mormon Artist is finally up! (Just in time, too. :)) And I’m getting married tomorrow! Holy smokes. Okay, I think I’ve used up my weekly quota of exclamation marks. ;) -
Latin declensions chart
12 Nov 2009 | 3:25 pmAlmost exactly six months later, the Latin declensions chart (which I first posted about back in May) is finally done: You can download it for free in PDF from the Latin charts page. -
What I’ve been working on
8 Nov 2009 | 9:11 amMatrimonial bliss is only six days away! I’m very, very excited. :) Wedding plans are coming along well, with most of the big stuff out of the way, so it’s just little things here and there to take care of before the big day, and that’s not very stressful at all. I’m also working on getting two issues of Mormon Artist out the door (our regular issue, #7, and the special contest issue which is ~blush~ about six months overdue). If I’m lucky, we’ll be able to get them done before the wedding. (If not, well, they’ll have to wait till after the honeymoon. -
No reception
4 Nov 2009 | 8:13 amWant to know how to stir things up a bit in Utah? Get married, but don’t have a wedding reception. :) Since we’re getting a hefty number of people asking what’s up — “Hey, I got your announcement, but there wasn’t any info about the reception,” or, more heartbreakingly, “Was I just not invited?” — I figured it’d be good to explain what’s going down and why. Executive summary: we are not having a wedding reception. Yes, this is heresy in Utah. And that’s okay with me. I don’t really like receptions, to be… -
Getting closer…
1 Nov 2009 | 11:37 amOnly thirteen days till I get married. Wow. You know, I always knew this day would come, but even so, it became harder and harder over the years to imagine it actually happening. I’d go on date after date and never really feel like I was making much progress — like it would take a miracle to get me married. Well, it did take a miracle. Several of them, actually, each nudging me closer to marriage, opening doors and guiding the way before me. I look back on the last few months and I’m amazed at how it all fit together. Sometime later I’ll post about how Meridith and I…
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Come.Read.Comment.Go.
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EGGPLOSION!!
17 Nov 2009 | 11:28 pmCaution: Eggs can/will/always explode in the microwave. I have seen it. Yesterday. Now I will never use the eggs and/or the microwave improperly. Eggs & Microwave don't mix! -
10 Million Dollars, Baby!!
16 Nov 2009 | 10:49 pmYou'll get 10 million dollar, you only have to push a button, if you do, 1 person will die. You don't know that person and no one will ever know you pushed the button. Will you push it? Answer Yes or Not............................ -
My melancholic mind
12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmSuppose a genie appears and gives you two choices. The first option is that he will give you $10 million dollars, but everyone else you know will get $20 million apiece.Choice two: You get $5 million, but no one else gets anything.As a bonus, the genie offers to erase your memory of having made the choice, so guilt will never be a factor. You will simply wake up the next day in the new situation.Which option do you choose to maximize your personal happiness?This might seem like an easy choice. You take the $10 million and your friends will get $20 million each. Everyone wins. Unfortunately, I… -
Click the screenshot..
4 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am& then... -
w o r d l e
30 Oct 2009 | 2:14 am
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Confident Writing
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The Book, and 5 Ways You Can Help
18 Nov 2009 | 11:42 pmDrum roll please… The book is finally here. Yes, that’s right. The book. THE book. The book of the blog is finally here. 199 Ways to Write with Confidence is a compilation of the best of the Confident Writing blog. According to the blurb (which admittedly, I wrote): It’s packed full of writing tips, virtual coaching, ideas and inspiration to give you the self-belief and writing skills you need to write with confidence. I got a lot of help from all of you in writing and publishing the book: giving me the idea, then the encouragement, and the motivation to keep going… -
The Search for the Rosetta Stone or Confessions of a Serial Blogger
16 Nov 2009 | 11:49 pmThe labels you’re given, or that you learn to apply to yourself, can hold you back. Limit your sense of what is possible. Peeling off those labels, and replacing them with words that create space, opportunity, and possibility can be a powerful thing. I wrote that back in April of this year and I think, to be honest, I’ve been reflecting on what it means for me ever since. Was the label of Confident Writing limiting me in some way? Was there another structure, framework, or label that would make sense and help to create a more powerful sense of what was possible? Was there a… -
Exploring How I Write to a Theme
16 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amJust a quick note to let you know I’ve a post up at Joyful Jubilant Learning talking about why I write to a theme. Seeing as it’s all about my writing, thinking and blogging process here at Confident Writing, I figured you might find it of interest -
Solving Tricky Blog Equations
11 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pmI asked for some advice a while back about how to solve one of the tricky blog equations that presents itself once a blog starts to become more ’successful’. My particular challenge was how to continue to find the time and energy to respond to the flow of comments that come in. I’m still working through my own answers to some of these questions (informed by your words and your wisdom). I’ll be sharing some of the conclusions on where I’ve got to, and where I’m going soon – along with some of the thought processes (in case I’m wildly off track,… -
How Do You Write to Learn? JJL Group Writing Project
9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amI wanted to let you know about a group writing project I’m supporting at JJL (Joyful Jubilant Learning). It’s on a question I think you’ll find of interest: How Do You Write to Learn? You can find out more about how to join in here: How do you write to learn – group writing project. Anyone’s welcome to contribute, but your posts need to be up by 22 November so we can include them in a round up post. JJL is exploring the theme of writing to learn during November. If you’re interested in writing, and learning… you’re sure to find something of…
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Write to Done
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Flow to Done: Tap Into Your Creative Source
19 Nov 2009 | 1:55 amA guest by Everett Bogue of Far Beyond The Stars There are millions of distractions that the modern day writer has to put up with in order to get their ideas out there. Twitter, Facebook, your feed reader, they’re all conspiring to distract you from getting your writing down on the page. Did you know, when you’re multitasking between writing and doing something else, it can take up to thirty minutes to get your mind back on track? Flip-flopping between activities is not an option for a writer who’s trying to get some writing done. This is why I subscribe to a method of pure… -
Why Writing Rubbish is Productive
14 Nov 2009 | 4:35 pmBy Glen Allsopp of ViperChill Since the majority of my working day is now consumed with the task of writing, I’m constantly looking for ways to streamline the process. If I can get quality results in a shorter amount of time, I can spend the rest of each day doing other things that I love. Unfortunately, my creative mind doesn’t always want me to have spare time to read, chill with friends, or go and watch a movie. It makes me rely on idea files I keep tucked away whenever something pops into my head or if I have abused that resource already, I can spend over an hour mind-mapping… -
One is a Lonely Number – Why You Need a Writing Mentor
5 Nov 2009 | 1:53 pmA guest post by Jules Clancy from stonesoup This writing business can be a lonely endeavour. We’ve all been there. Self imprisoned in our lonely garrets – or more likely behind our laptops. Reaching out to the world with our writing but feeling helpless and alone. Fear not fellow writers. There is hope. I’ve recently discovered a wonderful way to overcome the fear and feel connected with the rest of the world. Let me introduce you to the benefits of finding yourself a writing mentor. Benefits of a writing mentor 1. Confidence boost To give your confidence a well deserved… -
How to Revise Your Titles for Maximum Results
2 Nov 2009 | 6:32 pmBy Sean Platt of Ghostwriter Dad No one has championed the use of killer headlines more than Brian Clark. His advice on what makes for a compelling headline is gospel to many in this latest wave to crash across the copywriting shore. It’s impossible to argue – magnetic headlines invariably lead to more clicks, more conversions, and more clients clamoring for your content. But what about when your words have turned to whisper, and your old posts have been left to whither upon the WordPress vine? When you first craft a piece of killer content, you want as many eyes on it as possible. -
How to Create an Article of 1,000+ Words in 90 Minutes or Less
27 Oct 2009 | 4:09 pmA guest post by Patrick Stöckmann of Unwrap Your Mind It’s a dreaded situation for all beginner (and even seasoned) bloggers. You want to write a post, and are sitting in front of a blank page. Suddenly your mind looks just the same – blank. Your inspiration just stopped, and you feel at a loss. We’ve all been there. The good news is that there are some surefire ways of writing quality content in record time. I want to share with you my techniques for writing a 1,000+ words article in 90 minutes or less. To show you that I actually do what I preach, I’ve written the…
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TopicTurtle
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Seesmic Does Mobile
20 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pmSeesmic is pushing forward with mobile apps for Twitter. Seesmic just announced mobile applications for Blackberry and Android phones. Note you can download the Blackberry application by pointing your mobile browser to http://www.seesmic.com. Also note, however, that this application is only based on 4.6 operating systems and above. It won’t work for OS 4.5. For the Android application go to the Market application on your smart phone. -
Why “Going Rogue” Annoys Me
16 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pmI give props to a good author who writes a good book. I have a hard time with someone who has their name on a book when it’s mostly written by someone else, especially after making a ridiculous earning off it and then whining because the facts are checked. Since Sarah Palin did not, it appear, propose a fiction book with fictional characters and fictional scenes, then it would stand to reason that the history could be fact-checked. Every author expects to have his/her work reviewed and critiqued. It is, after all, part of of the package. You write (or have it written in some cases) and… -
Like J.K. Rowling, Another Thrilling Success Story?
16 Nov 2009 | 8:21 amAuthor Rebecca James had suffered many rejections before her novel “Beautiful Malice” was discovered. This is another good example of why authors should continue to believe in themselves and continue plugging away at their dreams. [article by Dalya Alberge] That Ms. James’s 75,000-word novel was fished out from an agent’s “slush pile” of unsolicited manuscripts is also relatively exceptional. Agents tend to play it safe, relying on introductions. C&W receives as many as 100 unsolicited manuscripts a week — so many that the agents barely have time… -
Are You In Need of a Writing Technique?
15 Nov 2009 | 9:03 amAre you a writer in need of a writing technique in order to plow through page after page until you can finally say you’re finished with that article, short story, or book? What’s the hardest part of writing? It probably differs for every writer. For me, it’s finding that combination of creativity and productivity that keeps me writing until I’m finished with a project. Some people can pump out thousands of words in short amount of time without appearing to put forth any effort. I’m not one of those writers. But I don’t consider myself to be one of those… -
Flashy in the eReader
4 Nov 2009 | 7:14 pmIf the photos of Alex Reader are any indication, this new device will be a slick new addition to a bevy of electronic readers. Alex Reader relies on the Android OS and Marvell’s ARMADA 166E chip. It’s a classy looking device and a great example of how eBook developers are making innovative advances toward practical, exciting electronic reading. See at MaximPC–Hands-On: Spring Designs Dual-Screen Android Alex eBook Reader
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meryl's notes
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Links: One Week until Black Friday 2009 Edition
20 Nov 2009 | 11:45 amCongratulations to Dawn Herring for winning The Last Will of Moira Leahy! Never fear… Thirsty is still up for the winnin’. Also, please vote for your top 25 books on writing. Articles full of brain goodness… Oxford Word of the Year: 2009: I had to unfriend someone on Facebook who abused the “Join this Page” button. Other terms listed include hashtag, sexting and Obamaisms. Copyright Essentials for Writers: It does matter. For example, if a pub puts your article into a book, you could get paid for that — but not if you sell all rights [Link: Jessica… -
Congratulations! You’re a Mom and an Author!
20 Nov 2009 | 5:53 amWelcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Kristin Bair O’Keeffe’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. I first met Kristin through Christina Katz. Since then, I’ve read her book, exchanged a few tweets and emails and absorbed her column in Writers on the Rise. (Stay tuned in this post if ya wanna win this book!) About Kristin Bair O’Keeffe Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is the author of Thirsty and an American who lives in Shanghai, China. She is also a voracious reader, a happy… -
11 Reasons Why People Don’t Follow Back on Twitter
19 Nov 2009 | 4:50 amImage from Twitlogo.com You do everything right in Twitter. So why are some people not following you back? It’s not you. (Well, maybe in the rare situation when someone truly doesn’t like you. Even the nicest people don’t have a fan in a person or two.) Doing Twitter right means you … Mix up your tweets (retweets, replies, original messages and links). Take care in promoting your own stuff. Don’t spam. Have a nice follower and following ratio. Share insights. Spotlight others in a genuine way. Have a complete profile that includes a bio, avatar, link and… -
Links: Veterans Day 2009 Edition
12 Nov 2009 | 5:06 amMeryl's dad in USAF: Yes, that's a ciggie. He quit smoking not long after. Thanks to veterans everywhere for defending our country at all costs. Two of the most important men in my life served in the USAF: My dad and my husband. Also, thanks to the brave soldiers at Fort Hood who put their lives on the line to capture the shooter. Win Therese Walsh’s captivating novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, and Vote for your top 25 books on writing… Articles full of brain goodness… The Most Important Sentence: How to Write a Killer Opening: I love the examples shared in this… -
How Writers Can Manage Federal Income Taxes
10 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amPhoto credit: Jasper Greek Golangco Disclaimer: I am not an accountant. The closest I can come to be considering one is from taking one graduate college course on accounting and using QuickBooks. This advice comes from my own experience. Some writers start a freelance writing business with little thought to the business part. That’s a small part of why I thought I’d never go into business myself. I didn’t know if I could figure out the admin part of the career beyond invoicing and getting paid. Then there’s taxes (shudder). Some of the companies I’ve freelanced…
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Lisa Romeo Writes
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2010 Online Memoir & Personal Essay Class: Creative Nonfiction Four by Four
19 Nov 2009 | 12:41 pmHere is information about my online creative nonfiction class for early 2010.Memoir and Personal Essay: Four by FourFour keys of creative nonfiction in four weeks:- Beginnings & Endings- A Strong "I" Narrator- Powerful Small Details- Dynamic DialogueWork on writing high-impact openings and strong endings; creating a narrator readers will want to follow around; identifying and using small details to big effect; and crafting dialogue that's authentic and provides narrative momentum. Whether writing a full length memoir, shorter memoir pieces, or any kind of personal essay, you'll learn and… -
The Story Behind the Essay
18 Nov 2009 | 8:04 amSo where did that essay come from, what craft decisions were made along the way, and how did its eventual form evolve? These were the questions I attempted to answer yesterday in a guest post on Erika Dreifus's writing blog. The essay I wrote was "42 Lies About My Child," which was a winner recently in the 31 Hours Contest. The essay's form is unusual, and begins like this:But he's such a good baby. But he's floppy and never comfortable.He's developing at his own pace. He's lagging behind.Stop reading books. Books are often right.So what if he doesn't point? Pointing is a developmental… -
Guest Blogger: Susan Kushner Resnick on Putting Procrastination in its Place
16 Nov 2009 | 9:15 pmTen years ago, emerging from a second round of postpartum depression, I stumbled across Susan Kushner Resnick's memoir, Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression. When I closed the book, I has one of those moments of realization that are incredibly clear and also painful -- I had to dramatically revamp my writing life.The author's note said Susan was a fellow alumna of the journalism program at Syracuse University, so I emailed her, and in the course of a few exchanges (though I really had no right to do so) I unloaded my anxiety and frustration about not doing the… -
Writing Prompts on Special Today. Help Yourself.
15 Nov 2009 | 9:15 pmWriting prompts – what do you think of them? Useful? A helpful way to stretch the writing muscle and bust through a writing obstruction (notice how I didn't say block?). Fun diversion? Annoying distraction? All of the above?The thing I like about a writing prompt is that I can interpret it any darn way I want to, depending on my mood, interests, and levels of ambition or curiosity that day. For the past seven weeks, I've been sending out a daily writing prompt to those enrolled in two of my writing classes. Except for an occasional mini-assignment based on one prompt per week, for the most… -
Friday Fridge Clean-Out: The Back-on-Schedule Edition
13 Nov 2009 | 12:22 pm►The FreshYarn site is back up, featuring a new personal essay each week.► The Literary Writers Conference is being held in Manhattan next weekend.► Those who write opinion pieces might want to know about this development at AOL (This links to a note intended for PR folks, but the editorial contact information is still helpful for writers wanting to market their op-ed essays.)► It looks as if this hybrid online/print-on-demand literary journal project has potential.►And finally, for anyone who finds themselves dealing with, shall we say, uninspired academic writing, this fun little…
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Will Write for Food
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Half of America Will Buy Thanksgiving Dinner
19 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pmEarlier this week I read a statistic that fifty-three percent of Americans will rely on food prepared away from home for part or all of their Thanksgiving dinners by buying restaurant takeout food. Whoa! That doesn’t even count all the people who go to markets for prepared food. (And it doesn’t count those who will have it catered. My husband and I once ate the leftovers of Billy Bob Thornton’s vegan Thanksgiving dinner when we visited a former client of mine. But I digress.) It’s a disconnect for me, because I don’t know anyone who’s not cooking. The… -
A First-Time Cookbook Author Gets Her Due
17 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pmWhen a cookbook comes out, you see the finished product and the glory, and you don’t know the behind-the-scenes story of struggle, sacrifice, and hard work. Here’s my “proud mother hen” story about one author. It may surprise you. In 2005 Romney (Nani) Steele worked at the San Francisco Ferry Building selling mache and working with the Cowgirl Creamery. A tall, single mom with a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry, she came to a Food Writer’s Conference I chaired, ostensibly to learn how to write a cookbook about salads. Later I reviewed her cookbook proposal and… -
Putting the “Free” in Freelance
12 Nov 2009 | 10:45 pmEarlier this year I began working with a sophisticated home cook and sometime cooking teacher who wanted to start a blog, write for publication, and later on, write a cookbook. That wasn’t the order, but I told her it would work best that way. She launched the food blog, and it’s coming along beautifully. For clips, we brainstormed a few story ideas for newspapers, which would produce results much faster than magazines. She pitched several weeklies in the state, with two responses. It wasn’t pretty. Here is the first, from the paper’s editor: “All the articles… -
Buick Offers Free Car, Room and Tickets
10 Nov 2009 | 4:38 pmRemember an an earlier post about all the loot food bloggers receive, including offers of a free car? It’s happening again, at the Northwest Food and Wine Festival (note home page promoting Buick rather than food and wine) coming up in Portland, OR. Two well-known bloggers forwarded this email, which offers them not just a car but lodging for two nights and free tickets to the event: “Because we know you love fine wine and good food, we wanted to invite you to be Buick’s guests the weekend of the Northwest Food and Wine Festival, Nov. 13 and 14 in Portland, Ore. Buick is… -
Links are the New Currency
6 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amThere’s a new idea in publishing: link, don’t pay. If a company wants your online content, they just link to it. That way, it’s argued, even though you don’t get a check for supplying editorial, you get a bump in traffic. And isn’t that what we all want? More traffic? Well yes. More traffic makes us feel superior when we see rising numbers of unique visitors. It leads to more income from ads, and potentially, more links. But more traffic alone doesn’t pay the mortgage. One of my students mentioned talking to the Meredith Corporation about providing…
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Fiction Notes
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Value of school visits
20 Nov 2009 | 5:33 amYo-Yos v. Author When I first started doing school visits, I was uncertain, trying to figure out what to do and why. That’s when I had a near encounter with a yo-yo. I went to a rural elementary school a week after a yo-yo company had performed at the school. The yo-yo people had charged the school $1000 to perform, and then got to sell yo-yos, too. The school paid me nothing as an author to visit the school and present my children’s picture book. Author v. yo-yos and the Yo-yos won. Heck, I even had to pay for my lunch that day. I thought about that many times since then. Yo-yos… -
2 Types of Feedback
18 Nov 2009 | 3:01 amFeedback on Story or Best Way to Tell Story? I’ve always considered the first draft of a novel as a time to get the story down on paper. The second draft is a time to consider the best way to tell that story. So, when I’m looking at feedback from a reader, a critique of a draft, I’m considering this, too. Is the reader questioning the story, or are they referring to the best way to tell that story? My reaction depends on the answer to this. Questions about the Story Some feedback questions the basics of my story. Not believable: Sometimes a reader simply doesn’t… -
On Revision
17 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am“In baseball, you only get thre swings and you’re out. In rewriting, you get almost as many swings as you want and you kno, sooner or later, you’ll hit the ball.” — Neil Simon, playwright Related posts:Never Strike Out! -
5 Reactions to Novel Feedback
17 Nov 2009 | 4:35 amYep. You gotta get feedback on your novel and you gotta act on it. On everything? Yep. But what if. . . Yes! Oh! No? Uh-oh! Huh? Okay. Here are five reactions I’ve had to recent feedback: Yes! Oh! No? Uh-oh! Huh? Yes! It’s great when feedback confirms what you were already thinking needed work. You knew this area was weak, and sure enough, the reader confirmed it. These changes or revisions to your novel are made easier by this confirmation. Oh! These are unexpected, new ideas for ways to solve a problem in a particular way. I love it when the reader gets what I’m doing in… -
Winter Writing with Kids
16 Nov 2009 | 3:31 amHAPPY HOLIDAYS For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf. It’s a bit early, but teachers will be planning December and January lessons soon, and we thought they would enjoy it now. Winter Writing with Kids Complimentary, FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write. DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE Related posts:12 Days of Christmas…
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There Are No Rules
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Glimmer Train Monthly News
17 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pmGlimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their September Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. The next Fiction Open competition will take place in December. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here. First place: Carrie Brown (pictured above) of Sweet Briar, VA, wins $2000 for “Bomb.” Her story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010. Second place: Ken Barris of Cape Town,… -
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 11/13/09)
15 Nov 2009 | 7:41 pmI watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets. If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Always welcome your suggestions on improving this weekly feature. Best of Best Great post from an agent about why books are rejected @BubbleCow @RachelleGardner on when/how a book becomes profitable. Best thing I've read all week. @ChuckSambuchino 3 Common Mistakes an editor is seeing in manuscripts @ElizabethSCraig Great post about what an agent looks for in a query letter @BubbleCow Annie Dillard's take-no-prisoners approach to writing (via @ContraryMag… -
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 11/6/09)
8 Nov 2009 | 10:55 amI watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets. If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Always welcome your suggestions on improving this weekly feature. Best of Best 3 Questions To Better Understand Your Novel @FictionMatters 3 Storytelling Exercises That Can Get You Published @BubbleCow Writing the perfect scene by Randy Ingermanson. Thought-provoking article. @mystorywriter Stand Alone Dear Querier, an agent is not going to steal your idea. In fact the only way to market your book is to share it. @mattwagner Fiction Writers, don't apologize… -
Marketing in a Digital Age
3 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pmMore than a year ago, I left a comment on the Booksquare blog by Kassia Krozser, on a post titled "Why Publishers Should Blog." Kassia argued that publishers needed to be more vocal about supporting the titles they publish. I responded: Definitely agree, but I have to wonder if the lack of enthusiastic comments direct from publishers is primarily due to lack of time (and energy, sadly). If an editor (or whomever) is juggling dozens of projects in a given year, accomplishing just the basics can be enormously demanding. (Lean staffs!) The “friendly” online marketing or buzz building has… -
Every Writer Needs a Little Salesperson Inside
2 Nov 2009 | 3:16 pmIt's not a natural thing for most creative people to sell their work, but when it comes time to publish, you have to know something about how to sell. You have to put in the effort, make the calls, not get beat down by rejection. (It's why I love this Alec Baldwin video, and my advice based on it.) I'm definitely not a salesperson by nature. But it didn't take long to learn some basic skills, since my first editorial job depended on convincing salespeople my ideas were worthwhile. Most writers need a little help in understanding how to pitch their work effectively, and I love being the one to…
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The Truth About Lies
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English in its underwear
19 Nov 2009 | 3:26 amScots is English in its underwear. It's difficult to be pretentious in a language like that. - William McIlvanney McIlvanney has pointed out more than once that the lower down the social ladder you get, the more metaphorical, the more idiomatic, and quite simply, the more poetic the language gets. His books deal with people across the whole social strata but he will be best remembered for his Laidlaw crime novels and Docherty, a story about a working-class miner. What is particularly distinctive about his style is that when people speak McIlvanney writes what they actually say and doesn't try… -
The Wrong Miracle
15 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pmEverything is a miracle. It is a miracle one does not dissolve in one's bath like a lump of sugar – Pablo Picasso This is book about ordinary things, getting you hair done, having breakfast, going to church and eating gobstoppers. It's about childhood, the strain of being part of a family, the joy of sex,the question of love, the problems surrounding married life and life's little and not-so-little losses. It is about art and music and what was on TV last night. It is about all those daily miracles and disasters that make up an ordinary life. Sure there's some fancy word play and clever… -
Beckett the tinkerer (part two)
12 Nov 2009 | 5:13 amHere’s a link to Part one if you missed it. What Where was Beckett's last play produced following a request for a new work for the 1983 Autumn Festival in Graz, Austria. It was written between February and March 1983 initially in French as Quoi où and translated by Beckett himself. My Wikipedia article was thoroughly researched and is quite comprehensive but let me explain the gist of the play for you, at least how the play stands on paper. I'm referencing the (you would have thought) definitive Grove Centenary Edition here. First a summary courtesy of The Modern World: After… -
The Search
8 Nov 2009 | 4:03 pmBefore I get down to the nitty-gritty of reviewing this novel we need a short history lesson: Lidice (German: Liditz) is a village in the Czech Republic just north-west of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi created Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was, as per orders directly from Heinrich Himmler, completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in the late spring of 1942. On June 10, 1942, all 192 men over 16 years of age from the village were murdered on the spot by the… -
Beckett the tinkerer (part one)
5 Nov 2009 | 3:46 amWe're not entirely restrictive. We're not . . . conservers of museum pieces. Not at all. — Edward Beckett There is a school of thought (passionately held by many) that holds that it is tantamount to sacrilege to tamper with one of Samuel Beckett's texts. In the most recent (and most successful) run of Waiting for Godot some have criticised the production for playing for laughs. Had they forgotten that this was supposed to be a comedy? It is true that his estate now keeps a wary eye on new performances and has waded in where it thought the director was overstepping the mark. And some…
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Imperfect Clarity
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ACK! Stephen King’s Newest Book “Under the Dome” is Out!
18 Nov 2009 | 1:36 pmThe Cover for "Under the Dome" by Stephen King And, like most fans of the Master, I am in the midst of reading it. Which means: If you email me and need a response, please forgive the delay. If you call me and I don’t response, I’ll call you back. If you chat me, I may take a while to respond. If you want me to do anything or to go anywhere before I finish, the answer is probably no Sometime it simply amazes me how people react to certain authors’ newest books. Lord knows we ALL remember the Harry Potter craze, which I must admit I took a small insignificant part… -
Guest Post: Nurturing Creativity by Terri Main
5 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmThe story is told of a fly crawling across the ceiling. A reporter asks the fly “How do you crawl across the ceiling and not fall off. The fly thought about it for a moment, decided he couldn’t and promptly fell to the floor. I feel like that fly talking about the creative process at times. It seems like when I look directly at the muse, she scurries away into the shadows. However, as a teacher and writer, I have learned that there are certain things we can do to create a nurturing place for creativity to flourish. Be willing to be silly. If it’s normal, then it isn’t… -
Critique: Swan Song by Kari Wolfe
4 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pmOk, let’s try something new here. What I’m wanting to do is to post a short story and to have anyone who wishes to critique it to take a stab at it. But don’t just tell me whether you like or dislike it – that’s not entirely helpful, while it’s nice to know. What I want is: how did this make you feel? What was the gist of the story to you? What worked or didn’t work for you with this story? Did I make the characters believable and realistic? I don’t really care about punctuation – I’ve never really had a problem with it so… -
Review of “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” by S. A. Bolich
2 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pmI am pleased to announce that my first blog post of a book review for Niteblade Fantasy and Horror Magazine’s News has just been published. The novella reviewed is called “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” and was written by S. A. Bolich. Definitely an interesting story, but you will have to visit the website for more details! The review can be found here: Review: “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” by S. A. Bolich I would like to thank Kim Richards Gilchrist of Damnation Books for the opportunity to review this wonderful story! -
I Have a Blogging Position! :) iSmashPhone.com
1 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pmYay! Congrats me! I applied to an advertisement that I saw regarding a blogging position for an iPhone blog and I got an email back not too long afterwards. After discussing the position with the blog editor, I am in kinda of a trial period where I am a junior author (which means my blog posts are checked out before they are posted), but so far things seem to be pretty good. I’m rather excited about it in all honesty So, if you want to see some of my work: iSmashPhone.com I just need to work on getting him to tweak the code to show names. BUT, I am keeping track of the posts that…
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A Book Inside - How to Write and Publish a Book
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Black Thursday or Gray Wednesday? Let’s make a deal NOW!
20 Nov 2009 | 6:42 amEvery year for Christmas I put one of my writer’s books on special for a couple weeks. This year I’ve decided to do something different and “a little extreme.” Begining today, I’m putting ALL my books at half price until Black Thursday. That not only means A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story is 50% off, but ALL of my other books as well, including my e-books, How to Organize A Virtual Book Tour and my latest 100 Ways to Market Your Book for Free (or really cheap).Business sense is a huge part of book production and marketing so I’m going to up this deal one… -
Who's Your Blog Editor? Carol Denbow 2009 Interview on Conversations with Writers
14 Nov 2009 | 6:36 amOne of my online friends, Ambrose Musiyiwa, recently interviewed me for Conversations with Writers. I would like to share the interview with you.Carol Denbow 2009 Interview on Conversations with Writers. *When did you start writing? Carol Denbow: My writing career began only five years back in 2004. I was a late bloomer!*How, why and when did decide you wanted to be a published writer? Carol Denbow: It was never a dream of mine as it is for most writers. I had started up and operated a small business, and after slamming into so many walls along the way, I saw a need for a simplified small… -
Tips to Query a Publisher
6 Nov 2009 | 6:02 pmYour first step in querying a publisher should be to order the book Writer’s Market. The book is available through Amazon.com for about $30 or check with your local library. Writer’s Market includes 4,000 listings for book publishers, consumer magazines, trade journals, and literary agents. Most publishers’ listings in the book will tell you if they accept new authors, with or without agent representation, what types of manuscripts they want, what they pay, their contact information, and where to obtain authors’ submission guidelines for their company. Confirm all information by… -
For The Love of Helping a Good Cause-Book Donations
4 Nov 2009 | 7:09 amMany published authors choose to support a worthwhile and personal cause through their book sales. A portion of my own book sales goes to Breast Cancer Research as well as libraries affected by natural disaster. As the season of giving quickly approaches, I would like to share an interview I recently had with another author who makes her own contribution through her books revenue, Jo Fulkerson. Jo has been blessed with the talent to write a book and smart enough to have it published; now she contributes a portion of her book sales to her own personal cause. Read on.Carol Denbow: How or why… -
I'm On a Roll, A Blog Roll! Do You Enjoy A Book Inside Blog?
2 Nov 2009 | 7:52 amAnother year has blown by and we are again asking our Blog visitors to vote for us for the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer's Digest for 2010. Last year we were fortunate enough to make the list thanks to our wonderful viewers who sent e-mails to Writer’s Digest on our behalf.If you find a moment to help us again this year, we would be extremely grateful. Please send an e-mail with your comments and nomination for next year’s list to writersdigest@fwmedia.com with “101 Websites” in the subject line. Do you see a post here on A Book Inside that you would like to include on your…
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The Adventurous Writer
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New Articles – Christmas Gifts, Getting Unstuck, Pet Therapy
14 Nov 2009 | 9:34 amThe Adventurous Writer’s new articles include Christmas gifts for elderly parents, getting unstuck, and reducing stress while trying to get pregnant. Last week’s new articles included blog partnerships, relationship breakups, and taking care of elderly parents. Before the links to the latest, here’s one of my favorite quotations: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” ~ Longfellow. This reminds me of giving people the benefit of the doubt: if someone cuts you off in traffic,… -
New Articles – Blog Partnerships, Relationship Breakups, Caregiving Elderly Parents
31 Oct 2009 | 7:50 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer; topics include starting blog partnerships, getting over relationship breakup guilt, caregiving elderly parents – and more! Last week’s new articles included travel writing, anger management, and letting go of someone you love. First, a word about how to read for writers: “Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word by word, to see what made it so wonderful. Then use those tricks the next time you write.” ~ W.P. -
New Articles – Travel Writing, Anger Management, Letting Go of Someone You Love
24 Oct 2009 | 8:02 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer, covering travel writing, anger management, letting go of someone you love, and more! Last week’s new articles included writing careers, overcoming jet lag, and infertility tests. First, some wise words on writing talent: “I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.” – Gordon Lish. I don’t know what “assiduity” means, but I get the rest of it. To be a successful writer, you need to work your tushie… -
New Articles – Writing Careers, Jet Lag, and Infertility Tests
2 Oct 2009 | 11:23 pmHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer; I’m writing in sunny Salzburg, Austria. On my blogs this week, I’ve covered everything from investing in your writing career to overcoming jet lag – which I’m doing right now! Last week’s new articles included Halloween, Internet Affairs, and Challenge Tests. Before the articles, here’s one of my favorite quotations from Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens… -
New Articles – Halloween, Internet Affairs, and Challenge Tests
26 Sep 2009 | 8:15 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer – and the Big News is that Quips & Tips for Successful Writers is now a Top 10 Writing Blog! Awesome. On my blogs this week, I’ve covered everything from Halloween to Clomiphene Challenge Tests – including networking tips for successful writers. Last week was Divorce, Divorce, Divorce! and Thanksgiving. First, here’s an interesting quip from How I Became a Successful Novelist (a work of fiction) by Steve Hely. “The financial success of an author is inversely proportional to the literary worth of the book.” –…
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Booksquare
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Digital Rights Management — A Wrinkle or An Opportunity
16 Nov 2009 | 11:12 amFor the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about Digital Rights Management (“DRM”), and the diversity of comments have been fascinating. I still do not believe DRM prevents or slows piracy*. Add to this fact that public perception of DRM, honed by years of abuse by the music industry, is negative…or rather, though most people do not know nor use the terms “digital rights management” or “DRM”, they hate it when they encounter it. There are genuine concerns on both side of the DRM issue. (Oh, and do they hate it! This is a serious challenge for… -
Managing Digital Rights, Part 2
11 Nov 2009 | 10:14 amSo last week, I attempted to jumpstart a new kind of discussion about managing digital rights, and, happily, many people were more than happy to participate. This week, I’m going to try to summarize and respond to what they said. Here’s a sneak preview: publishers, you’re doing it wrong, but not for reasons you think! Let’s back up. Digital Rights Management (”DRM is not inherently evil, but it’s not winning friends or influencing readers. Any mechanism that keeps people from accessing their legally purchased books is a failure. The fact that there are no… -
A (Probably Naive) Attempt to Move the DRM Conversation Forward
2 Nov 2009 | 8:43 amIf there are two truths we hold to be self-evident, they are these: 1) DRM does nothing to stop piracy, and 2) DRM, as used by many publishers today, frustrates legitimate purchasers of books. This leads many to conclude that DRM does not work, and that DRM is evil. How do we get past “it’s good” or “it’s evil”? Not true. And not true. Consumers will happily accept the shackles of DRM if the trade-off is worth it to them. For example, while some Kindle users grumble about loss of rights, they express joy at the ease of purchase created by the Kindle system. -
On Listening and Learning
30 Oct 2009 | 11:51 amAuthor Mur Lafferty offers her thoughts about the changes in publishing. What really surprises me is when you hear publishing people say that they don’t know what to do, or that they refuse listen to Internet professionals. They seem to believe if they do what has worked in the past, eventually the storm will pass and the anchor of tradition will have kept them steady and safe. They look at the people who are succeeding by merging their digital plans with their traditional print plans and call them anomalies at best, or insane at worst. What they need to be doing is learning from them. I Am… -
The Week That Was
23 Oct 2009 | 11:58 amA lot happened in publishing this week — so much that just as I wrapped my head around one thing, something new popped up to either make me re-evaluate my previous thinking…or to send me down a different rabbit hole. Let’s just put it out there: once you’ve gone subterranean, things start to make a lot of sense. Which probably accounts for my mood today. Here in the dark and dangerous world of the publishing underground, spirits are sapped and minds are bent. Sometimes you travel toward the bright light, only to find a seemingly insurmountable pile of…
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Editor Unleashed
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Lessons from One Year Unleashed
12 Nov 2009 | 7:43 amYou may have already heard this if you follow me on Twitter or on the forum: As of next Monday I will be going back into the workforce. I accepted the position of Lifestyles Digital Content Manager with The Cincinnati Enquirer. I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to have landed in this role, which seems to be an ideal fit for me. I’ll be helping to create and build content and communities for the Cincinnati.com Living site, which includes Moms, Home & Garden, Fashion, Relationships, Health & Fitness and savings so far. I have been so impressed with the progressive spirit… -
Mark Garvey: Strunk & White’s Biggest Fan
11 Nov 2009 | 9:09 amI know many writers have a special fondness for the classic writing guide The Elements of Style. After all it’s de rigeur in most college writing classes. But writer and editor Mark Garvey took his Strunk & White affection to a whole new level for his new book, Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. Here, Garvey answers shares what he learned about Strunk & White while researching and writing Stylized. And he also offers some sound advice to writers who want to get their books out into the world. 1. When did you first become… -
Editor Unleashed/Smashwords “Why I Write” Essay Contest Rules
9 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pmFollowing are the rules for the “Why I Write” essay contest which launches today! All are welcome to enter. No entry fee. 1. If you’re new to the Editor Unleashed forums, welcome! Please introduce yourself in the Introductions Forum. 2. Entries may not exceed 750 words. This word length will be strictly enforced and entries that exceed word length will be removed. 3. Only one entry per person. 4. Please give your entry an original title, not “Why I Write.” 5. You must be the original creator of the essay. 6. No comments on specific entries until the contest is… -
Book Design: Beauty in the Details
5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amby Joel Friedlander The first book my son ever got truly captivated by as an early reader was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We had read the earlier Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone together, with me doing most of the reading since he had just learned to read. By the time the second book came out, he was determined to read it himself. It was a remarkable experience to watch him drop into the world of witchcraft and wizardry, to be completely absorbed by the world created by J.K. Rowling, waiting every day for the chance to dive back into that world again. This is a… -
The Savvy Author’s Guide to Podcasting
4 Nov 2009 | 7:24 amBy Emma Newman At the time of writing this, fifteen chapters of my novel have been published on my site as podcasts. I love recording and publishing them now, but it was daunting at the start. I’d like to give you a hand with some of the basics if you are considering taking the podcasting plunge. Technology Let’s get the scariest bit out of the way first—the technology. I’m going to explain the process I use to podcast, but please note that my initial set up may be different to yours. The process will always be record, format correctly and then publish, and I’ll look at each in…
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Flogging the Quill
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What’s a writer to do?
19 Nov 2009 | 8:46 amIt’s a conundrum—for most publishers, a writer needs an agent to market a novel manuscript. But today’s market makes even connecting with an agent damned difficult. Here’s what agent Kristin Nelson said on her blog, Pub Rants: “I’m passing on really good novels because currently I believe that really good might not be good enough in today’s market.” I’ve run into that response consistently with a novel of mine, The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles. Several top agents have asked for partials, and here’s their reaction: “I love vampire kitty, I just don’t know what to do… -
Flogometer for Marsha--would you turn the page?
18 Nov 2009 | 7:25 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for Laura--would you turn the page?
16 Nov 2009 | 6:03 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for Dan—would you turn the page?
13 Nov 2009 | 6:32 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for Shaylon—would you turn the page?
11 Nov 2009 | 7:55 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story…
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Follow The Reader
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Publishers: As Harlequin is Finding Out – Sometimes You Can’t Win For Losing
20 Nov 2009 | 9:52 amHarlequin: Taking Heat for Taking Risks? So, news flash – the world of the traditional publishing is in chaos. The high advance/giant print run model is no longer viable, and publishers have gotten the message: change course or go out of business. We’re all aware of this, right? I mean – not only is there a never-ending stream of articles, blog posts, and radio and television segments clamoring to tell us all about the dying industry, there’s even a blossoming mini-industry of conferences devoted to the topic – a mini-industry that appears to be quite a bit… -
When will hardcovers be retired?
18 Nov 2009 | 8:14 amTwo of my non-professional book interests collided last week sort of unexpectedly. #1: I had the opportunity last weekend to attend a seminar held by Daniel Traister, Curator of the Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania (my alma mater). The session was titled, “What Good is an Old Book in the Age of Google?” #2: I ran the Scholastic Book Fair, not for the first time, at my kids’ elementary school. One of the biggest aspects of the job (besides steering kids away from $5 pens!) is of course helping them select books that are a. -
This Friday’s #FollowReader with Angela James: Dragging the world to the digital dark side, one reader at a time
17 Nov 2009 | 10:21 amAngela James of Carina Press This Friday on #FollowReader, we’ll be Twit-chatting with the fabulous Ms. Angela James (@AngelaJames), the newly appointed Executive Editor for Harlequin’s soon-to-be on-the-e-reading-scene Carina Press (@CarinaPress). Launching the summer of 2010, Carina will be a digital-only publishing house, operating independently of Harlequin’s traditional publishing businesses. Angela James is a long time key player in the e-romance world, and a well-known (and delightfully outspoken) advocate for digital publishing. Among the topics we’ll be… -
Friday Hot Links + “Overheard on Twitter”
13 Nov 2009 | 6:50 amSome Links of Bookish Interest (well, I thought they were interesting): Of Agents: Why Don’t Agents Want to Play? Amazon Flies a Bunch to Seattle to Find Out Galleycat article on agents “Literary Agents, Bah! Who Needs Them? Who Needs an Agent? You Do: via Dystel + Goderich Literary Management …and Librarians: School Librarians Lead the Social Networking Pack Among Educators Things Librarians Fancy Of Amazon: Read Kindle on Your Computer Schools Shun Kindle Saying Blind Can’t Use It Amazon’s Encore to Release Three Books In February …and BookExpo: Whither… -
Paper or Plastic: Why Not Both?
11 Nov 2009 | 6:13 pmPaper? Is it just me, or have you noticed that there are some bookish types who like to pit electronic against paper as if it’s an either/or proposition? And have you also noticed that more often than not, discussions about utilizing new publishing technologies, quickly become polarizing arguments where one must supposedly choose: paper or plastic? Consider, for example, the Green Apple Bookstore videos poking fun at the Kindle — funny? Yes. silly? Yes. But, many a truth is said in jest, and a lot of people seem to think digital means the demise of the paper book. I just want to…
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Founders' Blog
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HyperMac - The External Battery Solution for the Mac
19 Nov 2009 | 9:40 amNo need to check the calendar. It’s true. We are fast approaching 2010 and still the most you can hope to get out of a laptop battery is 3 - 5 hrs. "But, but…" I know, I know, there’s a robot on Mars and a man on the moon. Go figure. Until manufacturers can figure out the short-lived battery dilemma, external batteries remain the only key to unfetter the mobile writer. We’ve all seen the chaos that can ensue over the lone outlet jack in the airport terminal or Starbucks cafe. It’s an ugly site and quite frankly, degrading… -
November is Product Sample Give-Away - Ergonomic Mice
10 Nov 2009 | 9:39 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. It’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to win. Here’s what you need to do to enter:… -
That Writer’s Bungalow Retreat in the Woods - Totally Doable
9 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pmI love to skeet shoot. And the number one rule to remember is: Think small, aim small, miss small. In other words, instead of aiming at the entire clay pigeon, aim for a piece of it. It narrows your focus and heightens your chances of success. How the hell does this equate to a tranquil writing bungalow in the woods? Put a sock it in - I’m gettin’ there! And back to my center of peace… Have you always dreamed of purchasing a quiet bungalow where you’ll write the next greatest screenplay or novel? And not just any bungalow, but one… -
November is Product Sample Give-a-Way Month at LitCentral Founders’ Blog
2 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. It’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to win. Here’s what you need to do to enter:… -
What’s New in the World of Tablet PCs for Writers (Plus Fujitsu’s New LifeBook T4310)
21 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pmThis blog has written at length about the advantages of tablet PCs (TPC) for writers. In fact, the lack of writers’ awareness regarding various technologies that enhance productivity was the impetus behind LitCentral starting this blog. Lump TPCs into the “technology that enhances writers’ productivity” bunch. If you are the type of writer that likes to map out your novel or script with handwritten notes, 3×5 cards, and Post-it stickers the TPC is a great solution. Using software applications like OneNote and Evernote with your…
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The Freelance Rant
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The Week In Freelance: November 20th
20 Nov 2009 | 10:01 amFreelance Folder: Brings up four guaranteed ways of keeping freelance work flowing in. They aren’t what you would typically think either. Freelance Folder: It’s safe to say that it is very difficult for a freelancer to turn down work. There are times, however, when turning down projects may actually be the right thing to do. Web Worker Daily: Having bad clients doesn’t mean you have to “break up” with them eventually. Sometimes learning to manage them is all that’s needed to improve your relationship. Web Worker Daily: If you are a web designer, have you… -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 29]: Setting Up Your Own Blog
17 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pmPhoto by Laughing Squid (Flickr) This is Day 29 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today you’ll see how to set up your own blog. In Day 19, I explained several advantages of blogging as a freelancer. If you create your own website for your freelance business blogging, in addition, can offer additional advantages that can be beneficial for your business too: Awareness: By blogging, you establish yourself as an expert in whatever subject you are writing about. That exposure leads to your brand awareness… -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 28]: Now Is About Time For That Website
16 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pmPhoto by Tifotter (Flickr) This is Day 28 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today you’ll see some options for creating a website for your freelance business. Time To Get With The 21st Century If out of the hundreds of millions of websites out there you don’t lay claim to one of them, then its about time to get out of the dark ages. This is especially true for the freelancer. Having a website for your business is essential if you want to get your name out there and show off what you do. If a… -
Top Ten Tips On How Freelancers Can Kill Procrastination Dead In It’s Tracks
13 Nov 2009 | 11:12 amProcrastination is a killer to freelancers. Work sits there waiting and you would rather sit there and pick your nose and wonder how that bug got up there. Time to set the priorities straight so here are ten tips to kill it… well, for the thirty seconds you take to read this, anyway. 10. Remember what happens if you don’t get to work. Your clients leave you, you don’t get paid, you starve and then you die. You don’t want to die do you? 9. Make a to-do list. Look it over carefully. Revise it. Look it over again. Memorize it. Read it out loud in front of the mirror. -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 27]: Upselling to Clients… Without Being a Salesman
12 Nov 2009 | 3:34 pmPhoto by Soartsyithurts (Flickr) This is Day 27 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today you’ll learn the art of upselling to clients. Several years ago, when I was cruising on a road trip in Vancouver, I noticed my car veering to the right and making a bad vibration. After having a peek, I noticed the right front tire was badly worn and needed replacement. The other tires looked OK. Long story short, I came away from the tire shop with a set of four new tires and a brand new set of rear brakes. I…
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Fritinancy
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Halftime Show
20 Nov 2009 | 9:31 amIn honor of Big Game weekend, a couple of football-related items. You've heard of the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. (Gooooo, naming rights!) But you may not have known—I didn't—that some two-year colleges have bowl games, too. In the Bay Area, we have the Eagle Bowl, the Bulldog Bowl, and the Silicon Valley Bowl. And in the Central Valley, Modesto Junior College will host its 17th annual Graffiti Bowl tomorrow. Where does "Graffiti" come from? Well, Modesto is the home town of director George Lucas, who memorialized his high school… -
But Enough About Me
19 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pmLet's talk about you. Ad for HTC mobile phone, bus stop, San Francisco, Nov. 14. Yahoo ad, MUNI bus, same bus stop, same day.Advertising directed at "you" is nothing new, of course."The most famous poster in the world," originally publishedas the cover of Leslie's Weekly, July 16, 1916. 1953 poster by the Ad Council for the U.S. Forest Service.* The difference? Back then, "you" were being asked to shoulder responsibility. Now it's all about looking in the mirror.I blame Time, of course: Hat tip to Jordie Welles for suggesting this… -
"Write It Right," Revisited
18 Nov 2009 | 12:08 pmIf you're familiar with Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?), it's most likely because you've read his most famous short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," or his satiric and widely quoted Devil's Dictionary.* But like many journalists and fiction writers, Bierce also considered himself a usage maven. He collected several hundred of his peeves in a 1909 book, Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults. Write It Right might be forgotten today if Theodore Bernstein hadn't reprinted it as an appendix to his own usage book, Miss Thistlebottom's… -
November Linkfest
17 Nov 2009 | 10:23 amIn honor of Thanksgiving, a multi-course menu of links. NamingFellow namer Anthony Shore, formerly of Landor, has been writing terrific stuff on his blog, Operative Words. He recently published the English translation of his interview with Grasp, a Spanish naming blog. No permalinks (what's up with that, Anth?), so look for Part 1 on Nov. 9 and Part 2 on Nov. 10.I've also been enjoying Beg to Differ, from Canadian brand consultancy Brandvelope. I recommend the three-part series on how to name a chicken sandwich, about Brandvelope's work with KFC Canada. (The link goes to Part… -
New Oxford American Dictionary WOTY 2009
16 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pmIt's unfriend: "To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook."From the announcement:“It has both currency and potential longevity,” notes Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program. “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend”…
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Holt Uncensored Blog
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THE DIY AUTHOR RETURNS
23 Oct 2009 | 3:29 pmWhat To Do When the Mainstream Yawns (and Spends): Pt 2 Often when talking to Seth Harwood (see last column) I’ve been struck (again) by the fact that American writers are forced to adjust to a publishing industry that has removed authors from the top of the hierarchy and told them to be grateful to be stuck at the bottom. I’m not talking about the small number of blockbuster authors who pay all the bills. In fact, the few stars who remain on top seem to encourage publishing excesses like the shamefully overdone Random House book launch for Dan Brown in New York a while ago. At… -
THE DIY AUTHOR
6 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pmWhat To Do When the Mainstream Yawns: Part 1 Seth Harwood is the kind of Internet techno-whiz that fuddy-duddy types like me are scared of. He’s so knowledgeable about podcasting, video-posting, eBook-pricing, iPhone-apping and what is now called (nostalgically by everyone but me) “the Amazon Rush” that I wanted to run the other way. Then I read his fiction and became a Seth Harwood fan. Then I watched his video and became a Seth Harwood student. You can see why Seth is in the vanguard of a new writers’ movement by taking a look at the instructive interim video he made some months… -
A Newspaper Comeback Plan – Part B
28 Aug 2009 | 12:08 pmPART B: BE BOLD So now: What can newspapers do to lure readers back to print? As our quiz last week suggested, after our 30-year honeymoon with computers, and 20 solid years on the Internet, people are getting tired of screens and starting to miss the newsprint experience. It’s time for newspapers to earn their way back into readers’ minds and pocketbooks. Here are some suggestions: Fight for Your Paper Everybody’s waiting for publishers to do something — to, in the first place, define the benefits of newspapers that computers can’t offer. If you run a… -
A Newspaper Comeback Plan
17 Aug 2009 | 1:58 pmPART A: TAKE THE QUIZ If I were a newspaper publisher, I’d be waiting for that great sea change that’s bound to come when people who use computers start pining for newsprint. Think that’s never going to happen? Take this easy quiz and see: Dear Reader: 1) Don’t you get tired of looking at screens all day? There’s your computer at work, your computer at home, your TV, your cell phone, your camera, iPod, e-Reader, camcorder, iPhone. That’s about 10 different screens hitting our eyeballs all day. 2) Aren’t you running out of patience with bloggers like me endlessly citing… -
Why Authors Are Furious, Part 2
22 Jul 2009 | 12:28 pmI STILL DON’T BLAME THEM As mentioned last week, I don’t blame authors for blowing up at reviewers who spoil the ending or otherwise ruin the experience for the very readers they’re supposed to serve. This is a time when newspapers are trying to win back readers by saying, “Don’t bother with those slovenly customer reviews on Amazon! We have professional reviewers for you. We pay them for their skills. You can trust what they say.” Uh huh. That would be fine if these same critics weren’t violating every rule in the criticism handbook (not that there…
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Inkthinker
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Well, No One Said it Had to Be 50,000 GOOD Words…
16 Nov 2009 | 8:10 pmI’m starting to think that this month was a spectacularly bad time for me to decide to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It started out great. Heck, I was even ahead for a while there, and I was cocky about it! And then reality hit, and along with it came a parade of lengthy meetings (including long drives there and back), an overnight visit to my grandparents who were so happy to see me that I feel I should be self-flagellating to atone for how little I visit them, and a multi-day overnight visit with my mom and foot-taller-than-me little brother (along with frantic cleaning before and… -
Fundamental Technology, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Networking — Session 4, AIW Going Freelance Seminar
7 Nov 2009 | 1:27 pmI’m liveblogging the AIW Going Freelance! seminar today at Johns Hopkins University. Forgive the typos, as I’m trying to keep up. You can handle it. Trust me. -kk SHASHI BELLAMKONDA on social networking and your business… Social media survey by Network Solutions’s Grow Smart Business indicated growth in use of social networking for small biz. At least 59% of active Web users have a social media profile. Skeptics can suggest that social media is a passing fad, but time is showing that that’s not true. Social media creates a level playing field for small and large… -
It’s Time to Publish — Session 3, AIW Going Freelance Seminar
7 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pmI’m liveblogging the AIW Going Freelance! seminar today at Johns Hopkins University. Forgive the typos, as I’m trying to keep up. You can handle it. Trust me. -kk Cathy Alter on pitching… Figure out if your idea is even pitchable, then identify the right market. And test your pitch before you send it out. Cathy always goes for her “reach” option first and then works down from there. She recommends researching the market so you can match the style and tone of your query to that of the publication. And to find out who to send the pitch to, check the masthead. Avoid the… -
Finding Work in Commercial Writing — Session 2, AIW Going Freelance Seminar
7 Nov 2009 | 9:01 amI’m liveblogging the AIW Going Freelance! seminar today at Johns Hopkins University. Forgive the typos, as I’m trying to keep up. You can handle it. Trust me. -kk LESTER REINGOLD: The “serendipity” approach to finding work as a freelancer In short, make your own luck and capitalize on opportunities. He didn’t start off with the intention of writing commercially, but he ended up doing it. He transitioned from full-time to freelance work. He went to Columbia for journalism but found himself not really using it. He wrote for some steady clients, including a trade pub,… -
The Business of Freelancing — Session 1, AIW Going Freelance Seminar
7 Nov 2009 | 7:37 amI’m liveblogging the AIW Going Freelance! seminar today at Johns Hopkins University. Forgive the typos, as I’m trying to keep up. You can handle it. Trust me. -kk The Business of Freelancing AL PORTNER: So you want to be a freelancer… Before you dive in, you need some perspective. There are only 3 jobs in the whole world. People who make things People who sell things People who account for the people who make and sell things. Freelancers do all 3 jobs at once. Ask yourself why you want to freelance, what kind of work you want to do, why you’re qualified, who you will…
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Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers
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NaNoWriMo Day 19: Ed Confides
19 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pmApologies for the delay in posting this comic. I’m at a boardgaming convention right now and wasn’t able to get Internet access in my room until this evening. I created the comic above during the plane ride to Dallas. Haven’t yet had a chance to look at your survey suggestions for Rover yet, but will [...] -
NaNoWriMo Day 18: Ed’s Gaffe
18 Nov 2009 | 3:47 amWHO IS ROVER? Click Here to voice your opinion and help decide what happens in upcoming strips. General info Index of all the 2009 NaNoWriMo cartoons so far. Follow @inkyelbows on Twitter for writing info & cartoons. Feel free to add me as a NaNoWriMo buddy. -
NaNoWriMo Day 17: Crisis
17 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pmGeneral info Index of all the 2009 NaNoWriMo cartoons so far. Follow @inkyelbows on Twitter for writing info & cartoons. Feel free to add me as a NaNoWriMo buddy. -
NaNoWriMo Day 16: Alternate Definitions
16 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pmThanks so much for all your great suggestions for alternate definitions of “NaNoWriMo,” everyone! If I had more time (or if I wasn’t sadly behind in my own NaNoWriMo novel), I’d have included more of them. General info Index of all the 2009 NaNoWriMo cartoons so far. Follow @inkyelbows on Twitter for writing info & cartoons. [...] -
Note-taking while reading online: Things & Safari
16 Nov 2009 | 4:28 amI’m a huge fan of productivity tools, and one of my current favourites is Cultured Code’s Things. I was reading a post by Gail Carson Levine on handling the passage of time in storytelling, and came across a book recommendation. Ordinarily, I’d be torn at this point. Do I finish reading the post, or go make [...]
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Mots Justes
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Monday Morning Grammar: Pronouns Part XIV—Interrogative
1 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pmInterrogative pronouns—who, whom, whose, which, and what—introduce questions. Who Vs. Whom Who is in subjective case. It can be used in two situations: as the subject of a verb or as the predicate nominative after a linking verb: Who hosted a Halloween party this year? It was who? Whom is in objective case. It can also be used in two situations: as the object of a verb or preposition: Whom did you invite to your Halloween party? As whom did you dress for your costume? If you’re having a hard time figuring out whether the interrogative pronoun is in subjective or objective case,… -
24 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am
24 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am -
Usage Thursday: Top Nine Misused Words
22 Oct 2009 | 4:18 pmOne of my oldest, dearest friends uses the word irregardless. She is smart and highly educated, yet insists on using this non-word. Should I correct her? Cracked.com says yes and lists eight other words that don’t mean what we think they do with advice on whether it’s worth insisting people use them the right way. Although the site’s presentation is crude, the explanations of how we’re using peruse, ironic, pristine, nonplussed, bemused, enormity, plethora, and deceptively incorrectly and what they really mean are clear and entertaining. Do you have any to add? -
Wednesday Writing Exercise: Literary Roadshow
21 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pmWriter’s Digest’s prolific blogroll introduced a new feature a couple of months ago: Promptly, a blog updated three times a week with writing exercises to get the juices flowing. I started digging around in the relatively recent archives and discovered a prompt centered around words that have already been written—and published: “Pull a random, seemingly unimportant, out-of-context line from a book, and use it as prompt fodder.” I did this with A Thousand Acres, the book that inspired me to be a writer. I wasn’t about to page throughout my four-hundred-word copy… -
Tuesday Afternoon Punctuation: Commas, Part XVIII—Addresses
20 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pmWhen addresses and place names appear in text, use commas to separate the individual elements. Think of it this way: at any point where you would start a new line when addressing an envelope, use a comma (so don’t set off abbreviations such as NE or zip codes with commas): When touring the nation’s capital, make sure to schedule a visit to the White House, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, preferably in early April when the Japanese Cherry Blossoms are blooming. When Jeff and I vacationed in Washington a few years ago, we rented a car and drove to Baltimore,…
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Pimp My Novel
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Waffling On the Issues
20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amAnd on the fifth day of the workweek, Eric rested and forgot to edit Laura's round up. Sucker. (Vicious lies! —E)Buenos dias, amigos and -as. I thought I'd start with the bad, and just rip the Band-Aid off the day. Yes, I'm afraid it's true: Google does own your life. Well, it owns your orphaned books, at any rate. Google says it'll open "new avenues" for writers with out-of-print titles, but can you really trust the Goog? Especially when you know that they hosted the after-party for the National Book Awards and didn't invite you? To round out this section, which I have mentally titled… -
I Got 99 Blog Posts (Plus A Bonus One)
19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amIt's time to bust out the champagne and tiny hors d'œuvres, mes amis, because today marks our 100th post here on PMN. That's right: if I had a nickel for every blog post here on Pimp My Novel, I would have five whole dollars. That's lunch at Subway, assuming I don't want chips or a drink or have to pay any kind of tax. And to think that it feels like it all started only yesterday.Laura and I have posted on a variety of topics over the past few months, covering everything from co-op to remaindered titles to the perils of self-publishing. So, while I crack open the bubbly in celebration of my… -
Are You... Going Rogue?
18 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amA little over a month ago, I posted on the then-upcoming (now recently released) memoir of one Sarah Palin. I also mentioned that I didn't know of anyone who would read it and was skeptical as to how well it would sell.Well, apparently, it's selling. And while I did admit that I expected significant sales outside of so-called liberal bastions like New York City, apparently it's also selling well in cities like New York. And, as usual, I have a couple of theories as to why.• I massively underestimated the number of curious independents—and even liberals—willing to shell out to read about… -
Prithee, Inform Me: The McTitle
17 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amThe Memory Keeper's Daughter.The Bonesetter's Daughter.The Heretic's Daughter.The Calligrapher's Daughter.The Hummingbird's Daughter.The Concubine's Daughter.The Gravedigger's Daughter.Are we perhaps seeing a pattern?I'm not sure whether this is something authors are unconsciously doing (due to their constant absorption of contemporary fiction), something agents and publishers are purposely doing because it's the new "[Insert Adjective Here] Wife," or both, but it's an interesting trend and I'd like to get your take on it. Have you noticed this before, or with other title "templates"? Do you… -
Nothing To Do With Fourth-Grade Math
16 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amIf you've been around these parts long enough to have read my Terms to Know, then you know that in publishing, remainder (or remaindered books) are titles that are no longer selling in sufficient quantities and are being sold off by the publisher at a steep discount in an attempt to 1.) make at least some money off the remaining copies, and 2.) clear out space for new inventory in the warehouse. How does this process work, though? Well, I'm glad you asked. (Not really—it's sort of depressing.)Where I work, there are a number of inventory managers whose job (among other things) is to monitor…
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www.publetariat.com
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The Fulfilling Facet: Emotional Influence
19 Nov 2009 | 6:56 pmThis post, from Anthony James Barnett, originally appeared on his Tell Me A Story blog on 11/17/09 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission. Emotional influence is sometimes the most ignored facet in novels. Emotion is important, not only when linked to what characters feel about themselves and others, but in the reaction they stir in readers. read more -
Dan Clancy Answers a Few Quick Questions About the New Google Book Search Settlement
19 Nov 2009 | 6:50 pmThis post, from Siva Vaidhyanathan, originally appeared on his The Googlization of Everything site on 11/17/09 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission. Dan Clancy is the Engineering Director for Google Books. Hi Dan. I know it must have been a stressful week for you. So I hesitate to ask you for a favor. But there are a lot of people in the scholarly/library community who have unanswered questions about the terms of the new GBS deal. So I was hoping you could help us out. read more -
Amazon Ranking Results
18 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pmThis post, from indie author and musician Rob Kaay, originally appeared on his Adventures In... blog on 11/9/09 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission. In it, he discusses the results of an "Amazon Rush" experiment he conducted for the release of his book, Silverbirch. In case you’ve been living under a bridge for the last week with no local unlocked wireless internet access to steal, I released my new speculative fiction novel entitled Silverbirch; A Tear in the Fabric of the Night Sky on Halloween. read more -
Harlequin Horizons & Thomas Nelson West Bow Press: Good For These Publishers and Author Solutions, Inc., Bad For Indie Authors
18 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pmJust as Thomas Nelson did about a month ago, Harlequin has announced it is partnering with Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI) to form a self-published books imprint. This new imprint is called Harlequin Horizons (HH), and according to a Harlequin press release: Through this strategic alliance; all sales, marketing, publishing, distribution, and book-selling services will be fulfilled by ASI; but Harlequin Horizons will exist as a division of Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Harlequin will monitor sales of books published through the self publisher for possible pick up by its traditional imprints.
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Self-Publishing Review
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Finders, Seekers, Losers, Keepers by Heather Rolland
20 Nov 2009 | 1:12 pmFinders, Seekers, Losers, Keepers is a friendly, low-key novel that reads like a cross between a slightly obsessive diary and the script for a melancholy sitcom. The cover is positively adorable, the author photo oozes cheery goodwill, and the café flyer illustrations do a great job at setting the mood and making you feel like a part of the small community that lies at the heart of the novel. Halia Frank is a middle school science teacher in a miniature New York hamlet. She’s something of a career loner, but she’s grown worse since an attempt at normalcy with a sleazy husband named Bones… -
Harlequin Starts Self-Publishing Partnership with Author Solutions
17 Nov 2009 | 1:27 pmIn a similar move to the recent partnership between Thomas Nelson and Author Solutions, Harlequin has started a romance self-publishing wing of its own, which is coming under some of the same scrutiny and criticism as the Thomas Nelson partnership, but perhaps with even greater reason. Whereas the Thomas Nelson partnership created an entirely new entity - WestBow Press - the Harlequin partnership will be called Harlequin Horizons, raising the specter of fooling writers into believing their publication is closer to traditionally published than it really is. Though this site applauds… -
Smashwords Teams Up with Shortcovers
16 Nov 2009 | 5:58 pmAnother week, another major announcement from Smashwords. From the Smashwords blog: If you haven’t heard of Shortcovers, they’re a hot startup created by Indigo Books, Canada’s largest book retailer. They offer a family of free e-reading apps supporting all major smart phone platforms, including the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Google Android. They also support several eInk devices. The mobile channel, Shortcovers’ strength, is extremely important to the future success of all authors and publishers. Already, more ebooks are read on cell phones than on dedicated… -
Homesteader: Finding Sharon by D. M. McGowan
14 Nov 2009 | 10:39 amDavid McGowan, the author of Homesteader: Finding Sharon, is a brave man. I reviewed rather unfavorably his previous novel, Partners, but as that novel showed promise, I wrote that I was looking forward to his next book. Perhaps taking me up on a challenge, he sent Homesteader: Finding Sharon for review. It takes courage for an author to send a novel to the very reviewer who did not give unqualified praise to his previous book. But Mr. McGowan has done that, and for him it has paid off, because I really liked Finding Sharon. This novel is not without flaws, and I’ll point out what I… -
Manfred Macx: Free Ebook Publishing with a Profit
14 Nov 2009 | 10:23 amI recently came across Manfred Macx, which has a very interesting intro: This site started with two ideas. 1) Ebooks should always be free, and 2) Authors need to eat. What would the publishing industry be like without pulping hundreds of thousands of books a year? What if authors could control more than 15 or 25% of the net from their books? Publishers provide many valuable services to authors, but it’s time authors could take advantage of new methods of distribution, of marketing, of getting books in the hands of readers. That’s where Manfred Macx comes in. You have…
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George Angus, Tumblemoose Writer
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Twilight Writing
20 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amOK folks, not a vampire in sight on this site. If you arrived here looking for that then head back over to Amazon or go Google Stephanie Meyer . Enjoy! This post is going to describe Twilight Writing – a method of bring into the light perhaps some of your most profound thoughts. This method is described in the book With Pen in Hand: The Healing Power of Writing by Henriette Klauser. The book itself is a wonderful guide to using writing to help pull you through most any traumatic life event. The advice is succinct and positive. And while the chapters do specify particular… -
Vintage George – 15 Years Is A Long Time
18 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amIn my former life I was a Paramedic for the Los Angeles Fire Department. I saw a lot of bad stuff, saved a life or two and brought a couple of lives into this world – who are probably in college now, cripes I’m so old. My writing career got started while I was still in Emergency Medical Services and this post won an Honorable Mention in the Journal of EMS Literary Competition. Lots of water under the bridge but I’m still kinda proud of this one. Enjoy. Taking Care – April, 1994 The blast from the shotgun struck him in the upper chest. Did this 15 year old boy… -
An Exhalted New Blog of the Week
16 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amThis New Blog of the Week is long overdue for a little recognition. I had it in my mind to showcase this a month or so ago but I kinda thought I was hitting too may writing blogs. It’s now time to let this one shine. Every once in a while you run across a blog whose comments section is almost more fun to read than the posts! This is probably the truest example that I have found of that theory. This blogger has such a loyal following and those folks leave the greatest comments, due I think in no small part to how the blog owner responds and engages his audience. This blog is not… -
Setting Atmosphere
13 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amOver the weekend I was at home and the temperature had dipped below 30F. I decided to fire up the ol’ woodstove. I had some writing to accomplish and I like the ambiance of the fire. I was on Twitter and did a little update about putting a fire on. My friend Heather from Maternal Spark responded about how nice an atmosphere that creates. Then, in response to a tweet I had done a little earlier asking for post ideas, she tweeted this: Well, of course! Great idea. It really did get me thinking. Short of putting a virtual fireplace and candelabras on your home page, how do… -
Flash – Questions and Answers
11 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amThis was originally a flash fiction story for an ill advised participation in a contest. It is a good story (in my humble opinion) Oh, I would also be interested if anyone can identify the inspiration/genesis/basis of this story… Enjoy! The old man was there, perched on his rickety old folding chair towards the end of the dock. He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, intently studying the horizon, as if his answers lay there. Jimmy knew if there were any answers, the old man wasn’t going to find them out at the edge of the green Caribbean sea. Shaking his head and…
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The Write News
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Washington Blade Publisher Shuts Down
12 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pmFishbowlDC reports that Window Media LLC, the nation's largest gay and lesbian newspaper publisher is closing down. Some of the newspapers they publish ininclude the Washington Blade, South Florida Blade & 411 Magazine, Genre Magazine and Southern Voice. Politico is also confirming that the LGBT publisher is closing its doors. The closure announcement was also posted on the Washington Blade twitter account. The New York Times has also published a story about the publisher closing its doors. Posted in ____ Permalink | Archives | News Feeds -
100 Jobs Cut at the Guardian
12 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pmThe Guardian reports that Guardian News and Media (GNM) are cutting 100 jobs at the Guardian. The Guardian's Thursday Technology print section will also be shuttered. Staff in GNM commercial departments are due to be told about the impact of the latest cost cutting on their jobs by 9 December, while changes at editorial will take longer to complete because cuts are being managed through voluntary redundancies and redeployment. GNM publishes the Guardian, the Observer and the guardian.co.uk website network, which includes MediaGuardian.co.uk, and employs about 1,700 people. GNM also revealed… -
Hachette Filipacchi Media Closes Metropolitan Home and Pointclickhome.com
10 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pmHachette Filipacchi Media is shuttering Metropolitan Home magazine. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. will focus on its other home decor title, Elle Decor, instead. Hachette Filipacchi Media is even closing its home portal Pointclickhome.com. The WSJ says data from the Publishers Information Bureau indicates ad pages for Metropolitan Home fell 33% in the first nine months of 2009. The December issue of Metropolitan Home will be its very last. Other home magazines including Conde Nast's Domino and O at Home have also been closed recently because of diminished advertising revenues in the… -
TopTenReviews Acquires Space.com, LiveScience.com and Newsarama.com
3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pmTopTenReviews has acquired the Consumer Media Division of Imaginova Inc., a privately held company based in New York City. Included in the acquisition are Space.com, LiveScience.com and Newsarama.com. TopTenReviews has established the TechMediaNetwork to incorporate these properties. Combined, 12.2 million people visit TechMediaNetwork sites each month. "This acquisition expands TopTenReviews' coverage as a trusted technology adviser and strengthens the company as a source of technology news," said TopTenReviews founder and CEO Jerry Ropelato. "We see strong potential for growth in traffic… -
Fortune Reduces Its Publishing Frequency
24 Oct 2009 | 1:43 pmFortune magazine is reducing the number of issues it publishes annually from 25 to 18. Reuters reports that the business magazine may also cut staff. Fortune, like many other U.S. business magazines, has struggled in the advertising downturn. Fortune will publish two issues some months and just one issue during other months, in the new publishing schedule is part of a remodeling that is expected to result in staff cuts and a sharper focus on the long stories that have been its trademark, the Journal said. The New York Times reports that the cuts are part of a new round of layoffs from…
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WritersWeekly.com - Freelance Writing Ezine
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BookLocker - Your Book Deserves the Best
19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amAccording to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is one of the top-rated POD publishers in the industry. -
Paying Markets And Jobs For November 18th
18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amNew markets and freelance writing jobs. -
Whispers And Warnings For November 18th
18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amCOMPLAINT about Chantal Goudreau / The Health Journal / thehealthjournal.ca - Writer has received payment, but reports it was postmarked 12 days after the date the publisher told WritersWeekly the check was "cut." COMPLAINT about Shannon Ferguson / Words By Keystroke / wordsbykeystroke.com - Individual claims she is owed $180. What do you think about this one, readers? -
Your Local News - A Great Resource for Your Writing By Diane Sonntag
18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amI was watching my local news on TV one evening, and saw a story about a family in my area who had adopted nine siblings out of the foster care system. This adoption was the second-largest in my state's history. And of course, the writer in me thought, "What a great story! I wonder if any magazines would be interested in their story." -
Should You Donate Your Books to This Outfit? No!!!
18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amA person who owns a membership website asked me to donate 25 e-books for the first 25 paid members they receive. Then, if they like it, they would consider paying a discounted fee for it. Before I say yes, I told her that I wanted to check with my publisher first. They say that they would promote it in a few ways on their website, but they don't have a lot of members at this point...
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Writing Forward
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10 Helpful Editing Tips
19 Nov 2009 | 10:50 pmIf you’re the token writer at your office, among your friends, or in your family, then you are probably asked on a regular basis to edit, review, or proofread written documents. Academic essays, business letters, and resumes will land on your desk with the word “HELP!” scrawled across the top. Or, maybe you’re like me, a professional who offers editing services to writers and business people who want to their text to be squeaky clean and irresistible to readers. Most of us are happy to help. After all, it feels good to help people, especially when it involves doing… -
How to Write a Memoir With a Partner
19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amToday’s guest post, “How to Write a Memoir with a Partner” is by Deborah Prutzman, co-author of Addie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression (1915-1935). Few writers would argue that writing is a solitary pursuit. That said, collaborations between two or more writers do occur, and some have been highly successful. This is especially true when it comes to memoirs. Why? Because often one person has a remarkable story to tell but is not a professional writer, and the other person is needed to help write the personal story (and tell it in a most compelling… -
Collect Writing Resources for Better Writing
17 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amIf you want to improve your writing, you’re going to have to work at it because let’s face it, nobody gets by on sheer talent. You’re going to need to acquire some solid writing skills and better writing habits. The best way to consistently improve your writing is through daily writing. When writing becomes part of the natural rhythm of your life, your work will improve in leaps and bounds. And by proofreading and editing, you’ll catch typos as well as holes in the syntax and problems with tone or context. Some actions you take to make your writing better may not… -
Writing Resources: A Poetry Handbook
12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amPoetry is the music of language, the fine art of the written word. Reading and writing poetry are excellent exercises for a writer’s mind. Poetry will grow your vocabulary and stretch your language skills. It will help you add musicality to your word craft, and show you the power of imagery and succinct writing. Basically, poetry reading and writing improves all other writing. So, whether you are a poet or not, as a writer, you should have a basic understanding of poetry. Writing Resources Poetry starts in childhood with nursery rhymes and the famous works of authors like Shel… -
Sensible Writing Exercises
10 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amAh, the senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. How do these things relate at all to writing exercises? We delight in the pleasures of the senses, but infusing writing with sensory stimulation is not an easy task. It takes a daft and creative writer to forge written images that trigger a reader’s senses. So, why bother? Why attempt writing exercises that involve sensual triggers? Well, when you engage your readers’ senses, your work becomes more compelling and more memorable. Some scientists say that smell is the strongest of the senses in terms of memorability. So, if you…
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Writing Roads
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Use this for that
19 Nov 2009 | 7:58 amWay, way back, a long time ago – like in the 90’s – I ran in a fantastic road race in Harvard, MA: the annual Apple Harvest Ramble Road Race. It’s a 10-miler through a picturesque New England town, with one gargantuan hill. I ran it twice, in ‘98 and ‘99 – and, from race 1 to race 2, I decreased my race time by 12 minutes. That’s pretty good – for those of you who don’t run. But the part of the story that I love the most is how I did it. You’d think that I must have run harder, longer and more often over the course of that… -
Compass Shmompass
17 Nov 2009 | 6:56 amI grew up in St. Louis – a city boundaried by the great Mississippi, the river that divides our country into east and west; a city with a monstrous steel arch marking the gateway to the west. As soon as I was conscious, I knew where the river was, I knew where the arch was, and so I knew where east and west were, north and south. It was a kind of knowing – this where I was in relation to space, where I stood on the compass – that was as natural and ingrained as knowing where my feet were – even with my eyes closed. I could feel it. My next place was Vermont. Middlebury… -
If you try to do it all yourself, I bet you’ll fall over
11 Nov 2009 | 10:43 amI just got off the phone with a friend. She was telling me about her morning. Like me, she’s a freelancer, but of graphic design. This morning, before she even opened Photoshop, she did her bookkeeping, went to the bank and the post office, cleaned her office, fixed the leaky faucet in her bathroom, booked plane tickets for an upcoming conference and worked on a video segment she’s trying to edit to put on her blog. Did you forget what it is that she actually does for a living? I almost did – and I’ve known her for years. It all boils down to this: If you’re… -
Just add running shoes
9 Nov 2009 | 5:05 amThe regulars around here know that I’m an avid (read incredibly enthusiastic) rollerblader – but it wasn’t always my go-to sweat activity. I used to be addicted to the pool (and the intense meditative silence of swimming back in forth in water), tolerant of the bike (I just never found a comfortable existence there) and, then, of course, there was the running. Here’s the thing about running. It’s the easiest thing in the world. You don’t need a pool, you don’t need an expensive bike and helmet…you just need some good sneakers. You can run… -
Because sometimes, things need a little massaging
6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 amI’m not usually into massage. I think it’s because 7 years ago, I had an especially intense rub-down of the Ayurvedic variety and woke up the the next morning to greet my first of 40 some-odd kidney stones. Now granted, the massage didn’t give me the kidney stone. When they did an MRI, my kidneys were so chock-full, they looked like a 1960’s fallout shelter – just substitute cans of tuna and beans for tiny, jagged rocks. What the massage did do was take me from my deliriously innocent state wherein I was 29 and believed myself to be the picture of health (and…
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Creative Writing Ideas Blog
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Nov 20, Free Creative Writing Prompts #71: Third Grade
20 Nov 2009 | 9:17 amLet the writing begin! These free creative writing prompts take advantage of a third grader's new found ability to express him or herself using the written word! -
Nov 19, Free Creative Writing Prompts #70: Second Grade
19 Nov 2009 | 6:14 amSecond grade! These free creative writing prompts are great to help second graders express themselves through their writing. -
Nov 18, Free Creative Writing Prompts #69: First Grade
18 Nov 2009 | 6:51 amStart writing early! These free creative writing prompts are meant for students near the age of first grade to start hammering writing into their brains early and often! -
Nov 13, Free Creative Writing Prompts #68: Romantic Comedy
12 Nov 2009 | 8:18 pmLove at first commercial break! These free creative writing prompts about the genre of romantic comedy can help you to craft the next Sleepless in Seattle...if you want to :). -
Nov 13, Free Creative Writing Prompts #67: Science Fiction
12 Nov 2009 | 6:22 pmLuke! These free creative writing prompts about science fiction can help you to channel your inner Skywalker onto the page.
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Website Makeover Workshop
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Can Linkedin Work With Driving Traffic?
Are you asking, "Is social networking good or bad?" Or you may be saying to yourself daily, "I need traffic to my website." Well, let me say this, "I've asked the same question and I've made the same statement to myself." Earlier this year I discovered that LinkedIn is an under used social network. I see ... -
Key Email Marketing Strategy
Are you in search of an email marketing strategy or a few email marketing solutions? It took me a some time to gain ground when it came to systematizing my own emailing. Not taking proper action lost me many sales and future customers. More than anything else... It cost me a lot of wasted time. So today, ... -
How Not To Make Online Marketing Blunders
Have you been wondering how not to make marketing blunders when it comes to your website and online? At this very moment over 539 million searches have taken place on Google. Many searchers aren't reaching millions of websites because of marketing blunders when it comes to marketing online. It was in June of 2005 when ... -
Easiest Way On How To Do Website Optimization
Have you been in search of website optimization tricks? Or how to do website optimization. Today, we're covering one the most important website optimization techniques that most website owners are missing. And I'm sure you're one of them. This is the most pivotal element when it comes to generating web traffic and helping people find you ... -
One Powerful Strategy on How to Market Yourself
Have you been wondering how to market yourself? How about how to market a business? I discovered there's a way to help market yourself that many people seem to overlook. Just the other week I wrote the article titled "Can Customer Feedback Increase Your Sales?" The article discusses how to use customer testimonials ...
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Grace Notes
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Mail, by any other name
16 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pmI like getting mail from an old friend, or a new friend, don’t you? Now that Post Offices are threatened with extinction and the romantic picture of a fearless messenger riding across the prairie on his sturdy steed has fallen into the realm of fairy tale, we (humans, that is) like to get mail. Perhaps not as textile and tangible as opening a letter written in the distinctive handwriting of someone you know, e-mails serve a similar purpose. It is vogue in certain circles, though, to decry the use of the internet as impersonal, cold, and a vehicle for turning the younger generation into… -
Link to History
8 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amAt a family celebration last evening, my daughter Katie, who finds it necessary to remind her parents of their increasing age, proclaimed that I am their ‘link to history’, since I am the oldest member of our little tribe. She said this while holding her 6 month old son on her lap. Link to history, eh? I’ll take that. She joked of the days of rotary telephones and black and white TV. The old days, natch. Well, sure. Though my father is hanging on at the age of 90, I am a link to my children and now grandchild, to the family stories and events of not only the… -
Waiting for the Muse
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI’ve been working on a novel for quite a while now. I received an email about writing a 50,00 word novel in one month—- the month of November, no less–but it would have to be a new work. I did consider it, thought maybe this would be a good way to shake up my brain, get in touch with my intuition, banish my workaholic inner editor. But, but—-it’s not that I’m procrastinating, it’s that I have devoted so much time, so much living with the characters that I am discovering— shaping and writing the words, yes, but there is another process at… -
Progress
15 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pmI’ve made some progress on my novel this week. Yeah!! I’ve had a long stretch of thinking of scenes and situations and movement of the work, but very little of actually putting words down in the documents. Last week, though, my writers group had its reunion after a summer break. This is our second year of meeting, so we decided to up the game a bit. There are four of us scribblers and after a year of sharing our work and witnessing the only man among us finish two, count ‘em, two books which will come out early in 2010, we agreed we can all reach a little higher. We are… -
Control
10 Oct 2009 | 10:05 amI play computer solitaire. A lot. I started playing solitaire when I wrote a weekly column. I found it relaxed my brain just enough to let the ideas I had roaming around take root and form themselves into something I could write about. Some people fold laundry or wash dishes (by hand, of course, or it defeats the purpose). I came upon solitaire as the almost mindless activity to cook writing ideas. My hands are engaged and minimal brain activity is required. I’ve been using this technique for years now, trying to avoid any sense of competition with myself, or the game, for…
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Show Some Character!
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How to show character through dialogue
20 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pmA long time ago, I wrote a pair of articles about dialogue: one about the importance of realistic dialogue, and one with techniques for creating distinctive dialogue. This, then, is part three: techniques for revealing details about your character through dialogue. Dialogue is all about nuance. After all, there are almost limitless ways to say any particular thing you want to say, but each one carries its own flavor. Showing character through dialogue is all about being sensitive to the nuances of these different flavors, and picking the one that best matches the traits of the character… -
NaNoWriMo diary part 3: writing is work
17 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pmI’ve reached the nominal half-way point of NaNoWriMo, twenty-five thousand words. Part of the brilliance of NaNoWriMo is establishing these milestones, because honestly, it does feel good to reach them. Sometimes, though, I just wish they didn’t come up so fast. It seems like one hardly has time to savor twenty-thousand before, next thing you know, you’re supposed to have reached 30. Which, for anyone who is keeping score, should be tomorrow. Writing is work There’s no doubt about that. If you’re at all serious about this whole noveling thing, you have to work at… -
Do your characters' flaws work on more than one level?
16 Nov 2009 | 12:24 pmThis weekend I came across a fine article at Men with Pens about why it’s a good idea to give your characters flaws: Because flaws make your characters believable, and make readers care about the characters. It’s good advice, but it doesn’t go far enough. To really make your story come alive, you’ll also do well to give your characters flaws which enhance the story’s underlying drama. It’s all well and good to have a character who is afraid of the color yellow, or who simply cannot remember anybody’s name until the third time he hears it. But does it… -
Character Corner: "Return Policy" by Michael Snyder
12 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pmFirst, let’s keep the FTC’s new blogger disclosure monitor people happy: I got a free copy of Return Policy from a book giveaway on K.M. Weiland’s blog. Neither of these fine folks expected me to review it at all. (But note, you can find them as “@snydermanwrites” and “@KMWeiland” on Twitter.) Ok. I finished reading Return Policy a couple of weeks ago. It was a solid midlist novel. Entertaining. Very funny in spots, very moving and compelling in others, but here and there I felt the plot was weak. At a couple of critical spots, characters both major… -
Three ways relationships can reveal your characters
9 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pmCharacters are never alone. You ever notice that? Abbot had Costello, Lucy had Ricky, Holmes had Watson, and Gilligan had The Skipper. Why is this? Psychologically it’s because people are social creatures. We go better together. Some part of us needs to be able to share our thoughts and feelings with others. But as writers, we create sidekicks and foils because relationships are a marvelous tool for revealing your characters. Even characters who seem alone, aren’t. There’s always a sidekick, even if it isn’t human. Tom Hanks, in Cast Away, had his volleyball. Bruce…
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Grace Notes
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Mail, by any other name
16 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pmI like getting mail from an old friend, or a new friend, don’t you? Now that Post Offices are threatened with extinction and the romantic picture of a fearless messenger riding across the prairie on his sturdy steed has fallen into the realm of fairy tale, we (humans, that is) like to get mail. Perhaps not as textile and tangible as opening a letter written in the distinctive handwriting of someone you know, e-mails serve a similar purpose. It is vogue in certain circles, though, to decry the use of the internet as impersonal, cold, and a vehicle for turning the younger generation into… -
Link to History
8 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amAt a family celebration last evening, my daughter Katie, who finds it necessary to remind her parents of their increasing age, proclaimed that I am their ‘link to history’, since I am the oldest member of our little tribe. She said this while holding her 6 month old son on her lap. Link to history, eh? I’ll take that. She joked of the days of rotary telephones and black and white TV. The old days, natch. Well, sure. Though my father is hanging on at the age of 90, I am a link to my children and now grandchild, to the family stories and events of not only the… -
Waiting for the Muse
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI’ve been working on a novel for quite a while now. I received an email about writing a 50,00 word novel in one month—- the month of November, no less–but it would have to be a new work. I did consider it, thought maybe this would be a good way to shake up my brain, get in touch with my intuition, banish my workaholic inner editor. But, but—-it’s not that I’m procrastinating, it’s that I have devoted so much time, so much living with the characters that I am discovering— shaping and writing the words, yes, but there is another process at… -
Progress
15 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pmI’ve made some progress on my novel this week. Yeah!! I’ve had a long stretch of thinking of scenes and situations and movement of the work, but very little of actually putting words down in the documents. Last week, though, my writers group had its reunion after a summer break. This is our second year of meeting, so we decided to up the game a bit. There are four of us scribblers and after a year of sharing our work and witnessing the only man among us finish two, count ‘em, two books which will come out early in 2010, we agreed we can all reach a little higher. We are… -
Control
10 Oct 2009 | 10:05 amI play computer solitaire. A lot. I started playing solitaire when I wrote a weekly column. I found it relaxed my brain just enough to let the ideas I had roaming around take root and form themselves into something I could write about. Some people fold laundry or wash dishes (by hand, of course, or it defeats the purpose). I came upon solitaire as the almost mindless activity to cook writing ideas. My hands are engaged and minimal brain activity is required. I’ve been using this technique for years now, trying to avoid any sense of competition with myself, or the game, for…
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CopySnips
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Are These The Greatest Sales Letters Of All Time?
4 Nov 2009 | 6:15 amI recently came across a great little resource edited by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, and since he gave permission to distribute it freely, I thought I’d share it with you good folks here at the CopySnips.com blog. It’s a 25 page PDF document called The Greatest Sales Letters Of All Time… and it contains 5 actual sales letters, written to sell products such as a subscription to Newsweek magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and a 20 volume Popular Mechanics Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia. These are “sales letters” in the traditional sense of the world –… -
How To Create Real, Compelling Urgency
2 Nov 2009 | 5:16 amIn my last post we discussed what makes people buy now, rather than later… and I said that what was missing was a sense of overwhelming urgency. The question is, how can you create that sense of urgency in the first place? I’ve written a free 24 page PDF report for you to download, entitled: “Buy Now! – How To Create Compelling Urgency”. In it, I explore the 3 main ways of doing this: Explain the reasons why they should take action now, rather than later. Explain the consequences of not doing so. Create an offer which creates urgency in a credible way. So please… -
What Makes People Buy Now?
8 Oct 2009 | 6:10 amIt’s probably happened to you many times before. You see something you really want to buy. You get all excited about it, and you’re even ready to buy. And then something happens. Maybe you get distracted. Maybe you have second thoughts. Maybe you decide to put it off for a day or two. Then, for whatever reason, you don’t buy it – either now, or at any time in the future – even though right at that moment you really wanted it. So what was missing? It was a sense of urgency. You had the desire, but you didn’t feel an overwhelming need to buy it right away… -
5 Creative Ways To Hide Your Prices (Hiding Prices #5)
5 Oct 2009 | 6:41 amHiding prices In this series we’ve been discussing the main reasons why some marketers and copywriters “hide” the price of their product or service. These reasons include wanting to first build strong desire and demonstrate affordability, to show the personal value is higher than the price value, and to change the potential client’s perception of the price – what I call “price conditioning”. In this last post in the Hiding Prices series I’m going to end it with a bang and share with you some ways you can ethically “hide” your prices,… -
Hiding Prices #4 – The Secret Technique Of Price Conditioning
2 Oct 2009 | 7:22 amAll this week we’ve been discussing the idea of “hiding” your prices (i.e. not making your prices immediately obvious), and there’s one other major reason some marketers and copywriters hide their prices, and it involves the little-known but immensely powerful concept of price conditioning. New visitors have faulty price expectations in mind. When they first visit your website, many of your potential clients have a certain price expectation in mind, which are often based on certain erroneous assumptions. For example, Peter might have heard or read of other people who…
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Children's Writing Web Journal
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The New “Children’s Writing Update” is Online!
18 Nov 2009 | 10:18 amThe new issue of our free e-zine, Children’s Writing Update, is now online. This issue features some great market tips for YA writers, a treasure trove of writing advice from the late Allen Ginsberg, and article on creating great titles for your children’s books and much more. Go check it out at http://www.getresponse.com/archive/cwupdate/Childrens-Writing-Update-The-Best-Writing-Tips-Ever-3302265.html Enjoy! Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and… -
Children’s Book Publishers: How to Find the Right One for Your Manuscript
16 Nov 2009 | 3:19 pmLooking to send a manuscript to children’s book publishers? Here’s an easy three-step approach to help you find just the right publisher for your story! Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, you can also see it DailyMotion, BlipTV , 5Min , Graspr and Viddler. Feel free to embed this video (or any of our videos)! Go to http://youtube.com/cbiclubhouse for lots of great videos you can use on your blog or website. Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos,… -
New Poll: 30 years from now, will children’s books primarily be electronic or remain mostly on paper?
11 Nov 2009 | 9:32 am -
Children’s Fiction: Let Go Of Your Ending to Take Your Readers on a Wonderful Journey
10 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pmOne of my favorite bits of wisdom found in William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways: A Journey into America (including the first line: Beware thoughts that come in the night.) is contained in an exchange Heat-Moon had with a man he met in Tennessee. The man asked him, “Where you headed from here?” Heat-Moon replied, “I don’t know.” Grinning, the man pronounced, “Cain’t get lost then.” There’s something incredibly liberating about not knowing where you’re going. We rarely have this freedom in our daily lives. We have to plan the… -
Five Reasons Why You Can’t Be A Writer (And Why None Of Them Are True)
3 Nov 2009 | 10:29 amI have a very clean house. I vacuum almost daily, regularly dust my silverware drawer for crumbs, and organize my closets at least three times a year. What’s my secret? I’m a writer who works from home. Like many writers, when deadlines loom I circle my laptop, finding excuses not to get started. But because I do consider myself a writer (and my Mexico vacation depends on it), eventually I plant myself in the chair and get to work. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. I hear from a lot of people who long to call themselves writers, but have generated all sorts of reasons never…
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CPStyle
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Daydreamer – It’s not so bad!
18 Nov 2009 | 9:59 amI’ve had this ‘problem’ since I’ve been in first grade (probably even before that). I daydream…. Guilty as charged. I’ll be in the middle of something and then suddenly find my thoughts wandering to other tasks or future aspirations. I… -
Creativity is Key to Business Success
16 Nov 2009 | 3:40 pmCreativity in business, of any type, is essential to achieving success. Especially in our ever changing world, we consistently need to be on top of the “game” and “thinking outside of the box” to contend with the other products and services… -
How Failure and Success Go Hand in Hand
11 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pmMany of us start out our professional careers hoping we’ll never have to experience being fired. Our perception of being let go from a job is naturally negative. After all, when you’re fired from a job, it means you’re not… -
Transparency is the New Black – Why Authenticity is Important for Business
16 Oct 2009 | 6:04 amWith the surge in social media marketing, I’ve begun to think about the important role authenticity plays in marketing and in business overall. Rather than keeping customers and stakeholders in the dark, companies are now being encouraged to incorporate transparency into… -
Easy Content Marketing Strategies
6 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pmAre you still relying on traditional marketing efforts to attract customers and generate leads? Perhaps you are cold calling, sending out mass mailings to unsuspecting consumers, spending countless dollars on advertising or delivering flyers door to door…how is that working out…
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Snappy Sentences
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New Year resolutions for your content
20 Nov 2009 | 3:08 amIt’s only six or so weeks until the end of the year. Which means everyone will start making New Year resolutions. Now I don’t normally make any personal ones, but I think it’s good to make some content ones. Here are some for you to consider. Lose weight If your website is bloated with stale and out-of-date content, then get rid of it. It weighs your site down, reduces the user experience, and clogs up your search engine. Get healthy Make an effort to produce quality content for your site. Sure it takes a little extra time, but you’ll be giving a better first… -
Marketing on a shoestring budget
31 Oct 2009 | 5:26 amOn Wednesday night I attended a Networx event called Marketing on a shoestring budget. It was a great night and I think everyone in the crowd learned some good tips and tricks to make a small marketing budget go further. One idea that wasn’t really expanded on though was the value of good content. I think that if you are going to go to the effort of pulling together a website, some direct mail outs, or even a decent business card (which were all items given the thumbs up), then don’t forget that the right words can really seal the deal. Hiring a professional copywriter –… -
Start planning your content needs for 2010
17 Oct 2009 | 5:02 amIt’s officially the downhill slide to the end of the year. The first Christmas party invites are starting to filter through, the weather is getting hotter and hotter (around here anyway), and there is a last minute push to get things done before everyone goes on holidays. The savvy ones out there are also starting to think about their content needs for 2010. While it may be hard to do (with all the frivolity on the horizon), start having a think about: What blog topics would you like to cover? Do some brainstorming and map out what you are going to cover for at least the first six… -
Technorati tuning
9 Oct 2009 | 2:06 amI’ve been having some problems with Technorati, basically because I’ve changed my blog URL since joining. The site doesn’t seem to pick up my new blog posts, so after much trial and error I am deleting my claim and re-claiming www.snappysentences.com/blog To get this to work, they need a piece of code. Here it is: fvdq67ky8x Fingers crossed this works -
Courting your customers with content
19 Sep 2009 | 4:05 amPart of the key to writing successful web content is understanding your customers. The web is a fickle place – you have such a short amount of time to stop and engage visitors before they hit the back button and leave your site. So how do you do this? Here are a few things to consider: It’s easy to get carried away on your sales pitch, but make sure you stop and think why your website visitor is actually seeking out your product or service in the first place. What situation brings them to need what you are offering? Are they celebrating? Mourning? In the midst of an emergency?
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Letters of Note
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Al Capone is coming home
20 Nov 2009 | 4:52 amFollowing his release from prison late-1939, Al Capone returned to his home in Palm Island, Florida, and lived the last 7 years of his life in a state of confusion and bad health, brought on by a neuropsychiatric disorder caused by syphilis. Prior to said release, Miami Police Lieutenant James Barker caught wind of Capone's plans and, armed with some information relating to his mental health, saw an opportunity to file lunacy proceedings against the gangster and keep him out of harm's way. All Barker needed to begin the process was the official diagnosis relating to Capone's condition. Below… -
This issue transcends all others
20 Nov 2009 | 3:14 am2 years prior to Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Germany was chosen as host of the 1936 Olympic Games. As the games approached and Hitler's regime shocked the world, the air was filled with rumours of boycott, both from individual athletes and entire governments. Walter White, then executive secretary of the NAACP, wrote a letter to Jesse Owens upon hearing of the athlete's intentions to attend and compete at the event, in an effort to persuade him otherwise. Owens, desperate to compete for his country in spite of its hypocritical stance regarding Hitler's policies, ignored all calls to… -
Houdini's Last Trick
19 Nov 2009 | 9:03 amAt New York's Shelton Hotel on August 5th, 1926, in plain view of invited journalists and using no breathing apparatus, Harry Houdini lay in a sealed casket at the bottom of a swimming pool for an hour and a half. His motivation for the feat was the opportunity to expose Egyptian fakir Rahman Bey, a man who at the time was wowing crowds with the same stunt but attributing his survival to supernatural powers. Hours after his success, Houdini generously wrote the following letter to Dr. W. J. McConnell, a physiologist at the U.S. Bureau of Mines who had been present at the event. In it, he… -
Slaughterhouse Five
18 Nov 2009 | 6:07 amIn December of 1944, whilst behind enemy lines during the Rhineland Campaign, Private Kurt Vonnegut was captured by Wehrmacht troops and subsequently became a prisoner of war. A month later, Vonnegut and his fellow POWs reached a Dresden work camp where they were imprisoned in an underground slaughterhouse known by German soldiers as Schlachthof Fünf (Slaughterhouse Five). The next month - February - the subterranean nature of the prison saved their lives during the highly controversial and devastating bombing of Dresden, the aftermath of which Vonnegut and the remaining survivors helped to… -
John McCain's favourite joke
18 Nov 2009 | 3:04 amBack in 2003, John Hargrave of Zug.com posed as a 10-year-old schoolboy and sent a written request to 100 U.S. Senators. Armed with a mythical 'government project' set by his Social Studies teacher, Hargrave's temporary alter-ego politely asked each Senator to reply to him with his or her favourite joke. Thankfully, some responded. Below is my personal favourite, written by a certain Mr. John McCain a few years after his unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2000. Unfortunately for McCain, following his second campaign in 2008, the joke still stands. The other Senators' replies can be read…
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This Business of Writing
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Character Types in Fiction – Part 2
20 Nov 2009 | 5:11 amCharacter Types Used in Fiction - Part 2. -
Character Types in Fiction
19 Nov 2009 | 6:01 amCharacter Types in Fiction. -
How to Use Conflict in Fiction
18 Nov 2009 | 5:21 amThe effective use of conflict when writing fiction. -
POV Tips for Fiction
17 Nov 2009 | 8:09 amHow to use Point of View when writing fiction. -
Tips on Eliminating Unnecessarily Overused Adverbs
16 Nov 2009 | 10:18 amTips on Eliminating Unnecessarily Overused Adverbs
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Creative Writing Corner
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Mailbag: Short Stories vs. Novels
19 Nov 2009 | 5:43 amI'm happy to see a flood of comments and activity around the Corner these days! Thanks to a little help from Yahoo and other sources, a bunch of folks are seeing Creative Writing Corner for the first time. I welcome comments and I'm pledging to do a better job responding to them, beginning with a regular Mailbag series. So let's get started with a post that got a healthy reception, Why Short Stories Aren't Novels. Several commenters agreed that there is something different about the process of writing short stories versus novels, and they argued that it had something to do with time. As Tracy… -
From the Archives
18 Nov 2009 | 10:27 amIt's time for your regular tour through the archives. Take a look at a few posts from roughly one year ago: Editing Triumph Is Plot or Character More Important? What's Your Inspiration? 5 Ways to Get Inspired Push Your Reader, But DOn't Push Him/Her Away -
How Much Realism is Too Much?
18 Nov 2009 | 6:21 amIn class last week, my professor was discussing the work of a few contemporary writers such as Zadie Smith and David Foster Wallace, and explaining how some critics have accused them of overdoing realism. You may wonder if that's possible. If you show something exactly as it is, in perfect detail and focus, isn't that just realism perfected? What's wrong with being too real? I do think these critics have a point, and it's the point first made by the Impressionists over a century ago. It was a time when most painters were creating images in which everything was done in perfect detail, with… -
Buzz: Lit Drift
17 Nov 2009 | 6:18 amLit Drift is a new site that's dedicated to fiction writing in all of its modern manifestations. The site has a very cool vibe and I urge to check it out. Here's a note from the founders: Lit Drift is abrand-spanking new blog, resource, and community dedicated to the art & craft of fiction in the 21st century. Besides editorial content, we've got daily creative prompts, daily short stories, and a weekly FREE book giveaway called Free Book Friday. So head on over to the site and tell them Creative Writing Corner sent you! -
How to Write Like a Snowball
16 Nov 2009 | 5:42 amRemember those cartoon images of snowballs rolling down hills, getting faster and bigger until they're huge, thundering wrecking balls? That image is a great thing to keep in mind when working on the first draft of your story. First, the snowball is only exciting and dangerous when rolling down a slope. It's not much when just sitting on flat ground. How do you think that connects to writing? You probably guessed it -- writing is best when it has forward momentum. If you have some very pretty descriptions of a field next to a lake, well, good for you. But it isn't that sort of thing that…
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Freelance Writing Jobs
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How to Differentiate Genuine Sincerity from Good P.R.
20 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pmI talk about trust a lot. If you or my clients didn’t trust me, I’d be sucking it up in a cube farm somewhere. So being real is important to me. However, I realize how you see me and how I see me are two different things. Appearances are important. That’s why when I work on building traffic, I may have the occasional contest, but for the most part I rely on good content and the power of community. I hope I come across as sincere in my sharing with you. I think I do, otherwise you wouldn’t trust me and come back every day. Yesterday, someone said to me, “Good… -
5 Reasons Online Relationships are Important for Freelance Writers
20 Nov 2009 | 11:12 amYou probably see me on Twitter…a lot. The truth is, I like Twitter for many reasons. for example, it breaks up the monotony of the day when I’m home alone. There’s more to it than that, though. I find the networking to be invaluable. Twitter has enabled me to build on so many different types of relationships with clients, sponsors, community members and friends. In 2010, anyone wishing to be a success in business, needs to consider the various social networks as a way to meet others and build up buzz around a product and brand, even if the brand is a personal one. If you… -
3 Tips for Being a Truly Objective Freelance Writer
20 Nov 2009 | 4:53 amBack in the day, it was imperative to back up articles with facts, references and whos, whats, wheres, whys and hows. Nowadays it’s much different. On the web we can write what we want, when we want, and how we want. We can write the most unbelievable crap, if we want, and there will still always be someone who believes it. As bloggers, we can offer a balanced opinion or a one-sided point of view. However, if a writer is continuously one-sided in his assessments, he can’t wake one day and decide he’s going to be fair and objective. It won’t fly among his readers. -
The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Blogs and Blogging
19 Nov 2009 | 12:15 pmDeb’s note: This is part three in our “Freelance Writer’s Guide to Social Media Series.” Also see: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Twitter and a Freelance Writer’s Guide to Facebook…and stay tuned for the accompanying ebook. It almost seems as if everyone who writes for a living has a blog about writing, doesn’t it? That’s not a bad thing as it gives us plenty of places to share ideas and learn. Even writers who don’t have blogs can benefit, though. In this”guide” we’re going to take a look a the different ways… -
A Few More Words About this Whole Demand Studios Insurance Thing
19 Nov 2009 | 4:18 amI was up for some time last night thinking about the reaction to the announcment that Demand Studios was offering affordable health care coverage to their freelance writers. To be honest, I’m perplexed by the reaction. I’ll always expect more than a few people to direct negativity in Demand Studios’ direction, but I didn’t expect a flat out rebellion. Call me delusional and naive (and I believe someone already did) but I felt more freelancers would see the gesture for what it was, a sincere desire to do something good to show their freelancers how appreciative they are…
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Mysterious Matters: Mystery Publishing Demystified
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Pining for a Subgenre, Part 1: Domestic Suspense
19 Nov 2009 | 3:13 pmA phrase used quite a bit in yesteryear, but not heard much any longer, is "domestic suspense." These books were quite the rage for a while, and some of their purveyors were among the best our genre has to offer. How does one describe domestic suspense? Agatho's Dictionary of Mysterious Terminology (not yet published, but written in my head) defines the term as "a book in which the primary source of mysterious goings-on is the nuclear or extended family, in which (1) each member has important secrets that they try to keep from one another, or (2) one family member… -
Forum: Tell Me What to Read
11 Nov 2009 | 1:53 pmOccasionally I like to venture into uncharted waters--you know, those books published by large houses. (Yes, they are indeed worthy despite not being published by small presses....)I'm about to take off for a trip and have narrowed down my choices to 3, all of which are sitting on my shelf, awaiting me to pull one off and stick my bookmark in.Readers: Please tell me which of these three you would recommend, and why. Use the "Comments" button below so that everyone else can see your comment, or email me directly. CHOICE #1THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE, by Alan… -
Overblurbing, Underselling, and the Dustbin of History
3 Nov 2009 | 10:50 amWell, I have to thank the readership of Mysterious Matters for making me feel as though I have arrived as a blogger. I'm late with this most recent blog, and a few readers have written to ask me if I'm doing OK. Doing fine (thanks for asking); I just tend to write when the spirit moves me as opposed to on any specific schedule. And a few things have come up.... A couple of weeks ago I talked a bit about blurbing. I forgot about what may be the most massive case of over-blurbing I have ever encountered. Check out the hardcover of Celia Fremlin's Possession, published… -
Subtlety Gets Us Nowhere
23 Oct 2009 | 3:50 pmWith all that's being written about the Kindle, and the future of publishing, and books vs. electronic products, I thought I should go on record as saying I have no idea how it will all pan out. I HOPE that more options means more books sold, regardless of format, which would mean more revenue for publishers and more royalties for authors. I fear, as many do, Amazon's Microsoftian attempt at world domination in this arena, but that's another whole story not worth getting worked up about, at this time.I use this as a starting off point to talk about a mild fetish of mine,… -
Interns Taking Over the Publishing Biz
16 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pmToo much going on this week for a "real post" (a certain convention is in full swing), but the following is making the rounds, and rightfully so. The person who wrote it knows the business. http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/10/19/091019sh_shouts_weiner/ What is the solution? Some would say, "Publish many fewer books, especially in fiction." What can readers do? Ask your library to buy books, and buy only NEW books from bookstores or online booksellers.
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Just F-ng Entertain Me
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Giving Thanks
20 Nov 2009 | 11:35 amHappy Friday, Effers! I hope you were able to dial in for Julie’s Tele-Classes this week. It was like having the ultimate behind the scenes pass. Listening to Jason Scoggins talk about the current state of the industry and, then, getting Margaux Froley’s insight into TV writing and the upcoming Staffing Season [...] -
Handling Notes
19 Nov 2009 | 9:33 amIf you’re a writer for an audience of anyone but yourself (and maybe your mom), you’ll receive notes. So here’s some helpful advice on accepting feedback with grace and professionalism. Oh, ALSO– don’t forget about the TV writing teleclass with Julie and Margaux Froley tonight! You can still sign up, and guess what? Even if you [...] -
I’m Back!
18 Nov 2009 | 3:28 pmHello Effers! I have missed you all terribly! I’m finally back from my trip to the Middle East. And let me tell you, I am a changed woman. Whoa. Different planet. I had a great time riding a camel at Giza and in a Bedouin-driven carriage at Petra, and floating in the Red Sea and mudding [...] -
Who’s the Main Character?
17 Nov 2009 | 5:40 pmHey! I’m back with another Oldie but Goodie! And in fact– I’m just going to keep sneaking them in until Julie tells me to stop. I can’t help myself. There’s just too much good stuff in the archives. And I love to be reminded of these helpful bits of writing guidance. Sometimes they pop up [...] -
Be The Change
13 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amHowdy Wavers! Is it still Wavers? “Effers” hasn’t caught on yet? We need to work on that. Michael Brownlee here. You might remember me from such memorable posts as So You Think You Can Read. What a difference a couple of months make. After passing Julie’s Learn to Be a Hollywood Reader course I decided to [...]
