All Forums  Welcome to the QLRS Forum!  News  Writing World (Issue 4:20; 30-Sep-2004)

Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is FREE!

Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON [quote][i]Originally posted by M.Chu[/i] [br]Dear Friends, Just thought that some of you may be interested to subscribe to a free online newsletter, Writing World, edited by Moira Allen. A complete (and allowed) copy is as follows for your perusal: ***************************************************************** W R I T I N G W O R L D A World of Writing Information - For Writers Around the World http://www.writing-world.com Issue 4:20 14,400 subscribers September 30, 2004 ***************************************************************** SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS AT END OF NEWSLETTER ***************************************************************** SPECIAL NOTICE: Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail; any messages sent to the listbox address are deleted. See the bottom of this newsletter for information on contacting the editors. ***************************************************************** CONTENTS ================================================================= From the Editor's Desk News from the World of Writing FEATURE: The Key to Success: Write More by Lee Tobin McClain The Write Sites -- Online Resources for Writers WRITING DESK: Is a booksigning a "publication credit"? How many people aspire to write? by Moira Allen JUST FOR FUN: Characters Will/Will Not, by Suzanne Mead WHAT'S NEW at Writing World MARKET ROUNDUP/Writing Contests ***************************************************************** EARN AN MFA IN WRITING through the brief-residency program at Spalding University in Louisville, KY. Call (800) 896-8941x2105 or e-mail gradadmissions@spalding.edu and request brochure FA90. For more info: http://www.spalding.edu/graduate/MFAinWriting ***************************************************************** WRITERSCOLLEGE.COM has 57 online courses. Prices are low. If you can reach our web site, you can take our courses. http://www.WritersCollege.com ***************************************************************** DISCOUNTED SOFTWARE FOR WRITERS -- PowerWriter, DramaticaPro, StoryCraft, WritePro, MovieMagic, StyleWriter, plus many more. HUGE SAVINGS! GREAT SELECTION! Save online at: http://www.MasterFreelancer.com ***************************************************************** THE WELL-FED WRITER by Peter Bowerman - Learn how you can make $50-100 an hour as a freelance writer and easily earn $1000 a week or more working 2-3 good days. Details: http://www.writingcareer.com/pb001.shtml ***************************************************************** LOOKING FOR PAYING MARKETS? Absolute Write Can Help! Subscribe to the Absolute Markets PREMIUM Edition for just $15 a year and get all the writing markets we can cram into your inbox! We've got calls for freelance writers, screenwriters, editors, greeting card writers, translators... http://www.absolutemarkets.com ***************************************************************** 2000 ONLINE RESOURCES FOR WRITERS -- Just updated, with hundreds of new links for every kind of writer! Still only $5. THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO QUERIES, PITCHES AND PROPOSALS - available as an e-book! Find out how to write the perfect query, book proposal, novel synopsis, column proposal, or grant application. Only $8.95 (save $5 from the print edition.) To order, visit http://www.writing-world.com/guides/index.shtml ***************************************************************** FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK ================================================================= The Best-Laid Plans ------------------- I think God has been trying to remind me over the past couple of weeks that there is a certain foolishness in imagining that life is going to proceed as planned -- or that one can rely on one's plans! First there was Ivan. Happily, I do not live in Florida, so I am neither without power nor up to my knees in floodwater. In fact, I was feeling rather smug about our home's ability to withstand wind and rain. That was until the young man who mows our lawn stopped by and mentioned, "Oh, you know a tornado hit Cub Run, don't you?" Cub Run. That's about five blocks away. It's the street that leads to the street that leads to OUR street. It runs in a loop around the subdivision, and at the bottom of the loop is the community pool, in what used to be a very lovely grove of large, ancient trees. Now the pool-house stands (and DOES stand, fortunately) in a very open, empty space; absolutely every tree around it was knocked down or ripped out. Across the street, the tornado ripped the roof and part of the upper floor off a house very much like our own. Fortunately, everyone had gone to the lower level (we HAD been warned) and no one was harmed. This is a story I am definitely NOT telling my mother-in-law... But life returns quickly to normal, or so I thought. I was looking forward to a week in which I had (for once) absolutely scheduled errands -- no trips to the vet, the dentist, or whatever. Wow -- all that "free" time stretching ahead of me... I could work, uninterrupted... OK, I'll grant that a cold is a small thing compared to a tornado. However, since the cold hit ME and the tornado didn't, it's proving a bit more troublesome. The thought of facing the computer in my stuffy, muzzy state is too much to bear, beyond basic e-mail. And that lovely "free" week I saw ahead of me is turning into one more week when I don't get done all those things that I PLANNED to do. Poor me. Pity, pity, pity... It finally dawned on me (with a major "DUH!") that if I had to have a cold, wasn't it better to have one on a week when I had nothing important scheduled? No appointments, no errands, no deadlines? Nothing to cancel, no one to disappoint -- or worse, no errands that I positively had to run no matter how sniffly I felt? Having a cold on the best possible week of the year to have one is a relatively small blessing. Getting missed by a tornado is a relatively LARGE blessing. Both have been reminders to me to COUNT those blessings. There are worse things in life than having life disrupt one's plans -- and more blessings in life than we often stop to realize! -- Moira Allen, Editor ***************************************************************** Are You Good At Persuading People? Have You Ever Persuaded A Friend To Go To Your Favorite Restaurant And Gotten Your Way? Persuasive writers are almost impossible for companies to find. If you have this remarkable talent, you could be in big demand. Find out more at: http://www.thewriterslife.com/dm/wworlda6/ ***************************************************************** PROMOTE YOUR BOOK! Get your book media exposure & in bookstores & distribution houses. New publication reveals how. Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books http://snipurl.com/61m5 or http://www.cameopublications.com ***************************************************************** NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF WRITING ================================================================= Jeanne's fury did not stop the presses -------------------------------------- When Hurricane Jeanne blew through Florida last weekend most papers in her path still managed to publish and deliver papers, close to schedule, while maintaining very active web sites. Within the hardest hit area, the Scripps Treasure Coast Publishing Company printed newspapers both Sunday and Monday, and kept its web site up to date. Monday's paper was written Sunday and sent electronically across the state to Naples, where another Scripps publication is located, for printing. Publisher Tom Weber said reporters from the company's four papers along Florida's east coast -- Vero Beach, St. Lucie, Stuart, Ft. Pierce -- combined their efforts to produce one paper, the Treasure Coast News, which was distributed primarily to people in shelters. "There was some home delivery, but not all, because some streets are not passable," Weber said. "We have 560 employees, and I would say yes, a majority of them stayed." Reporters stayed in shelters and homes along the coast; some found Internet connections in homes and worked from there. None of them sustained injuries from the storm. Kirkus announces two new programs --------------------------------- For the first time in 71 years, Kirkus Reviews is offering a new review service for self-published, e-published, and print-on-demand authors. Under a new program called Kirkus Discoveries, authors and publishers are invited to "commission a review," for $350. Those reviews will be displayed at KirkusDiscoveries.com. Selected titles will also will be included in a monthly email newsletter, which will go to subscribers looking for the rights to books, whether for print or film. Kirkus is also launching a second pay-for-promo program called Kirkus Reports. Covering a broad range of lifestyle books, Reports consist of five monthly email newsletters to key editors, columnists, and magazine and newspaper journalists who cover those areas themselves. This service involves a marketing partnership between Kirkus and publishers, at $95/title. For more information: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/discoveries/index.jsp Half.com will remain open ------------------------- In 2003, eBay announced that it would be closing Half.com, in an effort to persuade its sellers and buyers to switch to eBay itself. The closing was originally scheduled for early summer 2004 and was then postponed to October 2004. Last week, eBay announced that it will not go forward with the plan to close Half.com after all. In their announcement, Half.com credited seller input and an outstanding back-to-school season for the about-face. Many sellers vigorously protested the proposed closing, particularly used-book dealers, who pointed out that they would not be able to list their inventories on eBay due to the listing fees (Half.com requires no up-front listing fees). For more information, visit http://half.ebay.com Publishing representatives sue Treasury Dept -------------------------------------------- On September 27, a lawsuit was filed in US District Court in NY by the Association of American University Presses, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), PEN American Center, and Arcade Publishing, that seeks to prevent the Treasury Department from enforcing part of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to place sanctions on countries posing a threat to national security. The Treasury Dept's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has made a number of rulings that have prohibited publishers from publishing materials from foreign writers, and the complaint charges that the uncertainty created by the regulations has made publishers reluctant to work with authors in embargoed nations. In September 2003, OFAC issued two rulings that barred two publishers from publishing materials from Iranian writers. As an indication of the vagueness of the government's position, Treasury Dept spokeswoman Molly Millerwise told the New Jersey Star-ledger that there is "no restriction against" against basic publication, translation, copy-editing or peer review. But she indicated that "more extensive editorial collaboration or co-authorship by Americans could be construed as illegally 'providing a service.'" AAP/PSP Chairman Marc Brodsky said, "In this country, a publisher doesn't need to go to the government to get permission to publish a book." He called the regulations "nonsensical," and said they are "clear violations of the First Amendment." For more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/27/books/27hemi.html?pagewanted=1&hp Newspapers in schools develop reading habits -------------------------------------------- Students who use newspapers in school are likely to develop a life long reading habit, said a report from the Newspapers Association of America (NAA) Foundation released on September 26. According to the study, which polled 1,500 adults ages 18 to 34, 64% of those who had a class where newspapers were part of the curriculum regularly read newspapers today. Thirty-eight percent of those who didn't have exposure to newspapers in the classroom say they are regular newspaper readers. "This surprised all of us," said Jim Abbott, vice president of the NAA Foundation. "We knew the results would be good but not this good. It's a strong indication that papers in the school are making a real impact on future readership." The study breaks down reading habits between boys and girls. For boys: 43% read the sports section, 26% read comics, and 22% read front-page news. For girls: 11% read the sports section, 28% read comics, 24% read front-page news, and 14% read current events. ***************************************************************** INTERESTED IN WRITING FICTION OR NONFICTION? Find inspiration and ideas for that next project at Profitable Pen's newest forums! Register for free at http://www.profitable-pen.com. ***************************************************************** STUCK IN MID-STORY HELL? WE CAN HELP! Distinguished instructors offer personalized lessons, exercises, critique. Small classes, individual attention for your work. Register today at: http://www.elitelit.com/workshops.cfm ***************************************************************** THE KEY TO SUCCESS: WRITE MORE ================================================================= by Lee Tobin McClain (tobin@setonhill.edu) What's the key to spectacular writing success? Talent? Intelligence? Creative genius? None of the above. According to Dr. Dean Keith Simonton, who has conducted research on creativity for nearly 25 years, creative success correlates most closely with output: the quantity of work produced. Artistic and scientific achievers from Picasso to Da Vinci didn't succeed more, percentage-wise, than other now-unknown creators of their eras; they simply produced more, and thus had more successes. As the director of a graduate program in writing, I can vouch for the fact that students who complete more writing projects succeed more frequently than their slower-writing peers, regardless of talent. If productivity equals success, how can you increase yours? Here are eight ways. Build an Expectant Audience --------------------------- Many of us are motivated by the expectations of others. We'll do more to fulfill responsibilities or avoid humiliation than we will to fulfill our own dream. If that's your blessing -- or your curse -- use it. Create an audience for yourself, whether it's a critique group, an editor, or even online subscribers. Poet Michael Arnzen developed a system for distributing a poem a week from his web site (http://www.gorelets.com), which delivered poetry directly to readers' Palm Pilots or other handheld computers. He solicited subscribers through e-mail and press releases and once hundreds of people were expecting their weekly poems, Arnzen was committed to delivering. "Knowing my subscribers were always waiting for the next poem in the series drove me to write daily. It was my most productive year as a poet, ever, despite my full time job," Arnzen says. "And the project brought attention to my other writing, too. I sold three chapbooks this past year, including the poetry series itself." Critique groups can function the same way. If your group sets up a schedule for distributing work, you feel obligated to fulfill your responsibility. The critiques you receive are almost a bonus compared to the regular production such groups enforce. For magazine writers -- aspiring or published -- there's nothing better than landing a few assignments to build an expectant audience and thus, enhance your productivity. If you're an established writer, play the query-a-day game (see tip number three) until you have several assignments and deadlines to push you into productivity. If you're inexperienced, you may have to work on spec or for free. But knowing that an editor, even the editor of the tiny neighborhood newspaper, is expecting your work will jar you into increased productivity no matter what other demands are made on your time. The Gradual Increase -------------------- Don't try to make a rapid jump in your productivity. Take it slow. More importantly, take it steady. Bestselling novelist Peter Straub compares writing to exercise. "If you spend an hour or two a day writing, fairly soon you will be able to do it for three or four hours each day; and the more you write, the more sheer muscle you develop," he says. Romance and women's fiction writer Susan Mallery suggests that a very gradual increase in daily pages written can lead to a major boost in quality and quantity of work sold. Her strategy is simple: figure out how many pages you write in each writing session now, and then increase by half a page every few weeks. Why does it work? "A half page is a manageable goal," says Mallery. "It's so small an increase, it's hard to get excited about it. Yet over time, it makes a huge difference. Those half pages add up without adding stress to the writer." Mallery ought to know. She is the author of 75 published novels. The hidden benefit behind Mallery's method is consistency. And consistent writing actually increases quality as well as quantity. "When you write a certain number of pages each day, the story stays 'in-place' in the brain," she explains. "That means writing time can be spent on deepening the characterization and enhancing the story rather than trying to remember who these people are and what's happening with the plot." A Query a Day: Games with Yourself ---------------------------------- If you're trying to make it in magazine writing, you need regular, frequent assignments that will keep you writing. But at the beginning of your career, or during a slump, the assignments can be thin or nonexistent. That's the dangerous point when it's easy to clean the garage or see the latest chick flick instead of writing. Soon, you can feel like someone who used to write, or used to want to write, instead of feeling like a writer. At times like this, you need some kind of game to boost your creativity and your career. My favorite is "A Query A Day." All you have to do is produce and mail out one query letter each day, and then you're off the hook and out the door. Conversely, on busy days when the boss demands the latest report, the spouse threatens to leave, and the teenager wrecks the car, you still have to produce that one query. Benefits are multiple. You get really fast at writing query letters. You get fast at finding markets at the odd moments of your day; I've been known to keep a copy of Writer's Market in my bathroom. Best of all, you're planting seeds that will bear fruit for months to come. Inevitably, something hits, and then something else does, and before long you're so busy writing stories that you have to quit the game. Months later, assignments from the game days will still trickle in. And because you produced so many queries, you probably went off in weird directions; now, you have an assignment to write something out of your own norm, and creativity soars. Variations for other sorts of writers: try "A Short Synopsis Per Day"; "A Contest Entry Per Day"; "A Poem a Day". Multiple Projects ----------------- When you're working on a long book project, reinforcement and rewards are seriously lacking. If you let discouragement set in, your productivity may dip or plunge. That's when you need the perspective and refreshment of multiple projects. If you're writing a novel, make use of your background research by submitting short magazine pieces on topics related to your novel's theme. If your book project is nonfiction, see if you can work up a short story or poem, either on the same topic or on something completely different. And make sure to submit the other writing somewhere -- a contest, a tiny literary magazine, or a newspaper. The opportunity for quicker feedback can give you a boost on your main project. Whether or not you publish any of these side pieces, your big project will benefit from the renewal of interest brought about by your moonlighting. Create a Compelling Future -------------------------- If you're not producing as much as you want, maybe you're living too much in the present. Success guru Tony Robbins asserts that you should have enormous goals, the type that will make your palms sweat and your heart race, in order to keep yourself working hard each day. Most people, he maintains, think too small when they think about their future. Indeed, successful writers often admit they've been visualizing that place on the bestseller list for years. Before my first book was published, I spent a lot of time looking at the paperback rack, letting my eyes blur so that I could imagine that the latest popular romance was my own. One day, it was. So go ahead and picture yourself accepting the Bram Stoker award, or the Edgar, or the Nebula. Imagine what you'll say when interviewed about your Pulitzer. If your dream is big enough, you'll be motivated to make big efforts at the keyboard today, to make tomorrow's vision come true. Pages, Not Hours ---------------- Should you make yourself sit at the keyboard for two hours each day, or strive for two pages? Views differ, but I'm a fan of the page count. It's all too easy to sit and daydream away a stint of writing time and produce nothing. But if you know you aren't allowed to leave until you come up with that query, or those three pages, you'll get it done faster. Sometimes what you create will seem to be no good, but you'll find that when you come back later, it's hard to tell the difference between the pages produced quickly and those crafted more slowly. In any case, bad pages can be fixed. A blank page can't. Book-in-a-Week -------------- The "Book-in-a-Week" technique is trendy now in the romance writing community, but dates back to authors like Belgian-born detective writer Georges Simenon. Simenon wrote most of his 500-plus novels in the space of 8-10 days -- sans outline, sans pause, and sans computer. Today's Book-in-a-Week proponents swear by a similar, if electronically-updated, method: they clear their calendars of as much non-writing-related activity as possible in order to fully focus on writing for one week. During that week they write in every spare moment, whether that means a ten-hour stretch on a Saturday, or writing during commuting time, coffee breaks, the lunch hour, a teenager's soccer game, and a toddler's bath time. Some really do complete the first draft of an entire book. Others set smaller goals: write an article every day, for example. The point is to push yourself beyond your normal comfort zone, knowing you'll only have to stay there for one week. The Internet serves as a helpful ally to keep writers motivated for this challenge. "I joined an online book-in-a-week challenge to help me stay the course," explains one participant. "Everyone posted their page totals each evening. Knowing my online friends were doing the same crazy thing, that I'd have to post my totals each night, and that it was only for one week, kept me writing. I wrote an average of twenty pages per day. That's more than I'd ever written before." This mad rush of writing has several benefits beyond the often admirable number of pages produced. Focusing on writing as much as possible helps to turn off the internal critic. For this week only, you're not judged on quality, only quantity. For perfectionists, that can be liberating. April Kihlstrom, who has spoken about Book-in-a-Week challenges at national conferences, describes quality benefits gleaned from this quantity-related method. A draft written in a short time, she explains, is far more likely to be consistent, passionate, and strong-voiced. Book-in-a-Week isn't for everyone, and it can't be done often, but it may provide the jump start you need for increasing your productivity. Charts, Calendars, and Goals ---------------------------- If you're already a working writer, you know that you have to plan out your work; you have deadlines to meet, and editors who will squawk if you don't do so. But if you're still unpublished, you may be meandering along without a real plan, without charting out your goals for yourself. Get in practice for your future success by setting your own deadlines. That way, when assignments or contracts come, you'll know how quickly you can write, and you'll have faith in your own ability to meet your deadline and follow through on your promises. Plan to finish the picture book this month, the chapter book by spring, the young adult novel by the end of the year. Then figure out how you'll do it with daily page counts marked on a calendar. As the platitude says, every journey begins with a step. So decide now to put these productivity tips to use. Make a plan about how you'll succeed. As your output increases, watch your career soar along with it. The beautiful thing about output is that it's something you can control -- unlike native intelligence or a good ear for words. You have no one to blame but yourself if you aren't making it on a page a week. And when your career takes off due to your increased output, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your own hard work made the difference. >>-----------------------------------------------------<< Dr. Lee Tobin McClain directs the Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University, a low-residency program with specialties in children's books, mystery, romance, and SF/F/H. Her YA novel, "My Alternate Life, was just released under Dorchester's Smooch imprint. Copyright (c) 2004 by Lee Tobin McClain ***************************************************************** DREAM OF PURSUING A *SUCCESSFUL* WRITING CAREER? Start by subscribing to WriteSuccess--the free biweekly ezine of ideas, information, inspiration and resources for writers--and turn that dream into reality! To subscribe, visit http://writesuccess.com ***************************************************************** Writing-World.com readers: Get a free trial subscription to poet/essayist Sheila Bender's online instructional magazine, "Writing it Real", for those who write from personal experience. Visit http://www.writingitreal.com and log on with user name "sage" and password "writing". ***************************************************************** THE WRITE SITES ================================================================= Manuscript Tracking Software ---------------------------- Links to manuscript tracking programs for PC and Mac. http://www.sandbaggers.8m.com/samm.htm Me Write a Synopsis? -------------------- Tips on handling that dreaded sales tool. http://www.vivianbeck.com/writing/tips/mewrite.htm Writing Up a Storm ------------------ "A writing group for everyone. We are mostly kids but anyone is welcome. We crit poetry, short stories and longer stories." http://groups.msn.com/WritingUpaStorm/welcome.msnw History Online -------------- Browse this extensive collection by type of history, geographical area, time period or type of resource. http://www.history.ac.uk/hr/Resources/Historical/index.html Bissonnette on Costume ---------------------- Subtitled "a visual dictionary of fashion," this site can be searched by region, time or subject. http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume Fictionette.com --------------- A UK site offering a range of resources for fiction writers. http://www.fictionette.com ***************************************************************** SUNPIPER LITERARY & CONSULTING, P.C. is looking for authors possessing creativity and vision in fiction and nonfiction genres. Agency fees are on a strict contingency basis. You don't profit, we don't profit. Visit http://www.sunpiper.com/ for more info. "In the business of representing ideas!" ***************************************************************** We help writers reach their potential! Alumni include W. Mosley, J. Egan, M. McPhee. 10-Week Fiction and Poetry Workshops in NYC and Online, begin 9/28 & 10/4. "The most personal of the programs" (NY Times). http://www.writerstudio.com - (212) 255-7075 ***************************************************************** THE WRITING DESK ================================================================= by Moira Allen Response to Last Issue's Column ---------------------------------------- Dear Ms. Allen: I love your newsletter, and I thank you for producing a consistently helpful and informative publication. I felt compelled to write you about your Writing Desk column about whether the mother should publish her daughter's book. I hope that you'll print my response in a future issue. I think you left out a very key question for the mother: Would the daughter WANT her book published? Did the mother ASK the daughter? Poetry especially is sometimes extremely personal. I know that I would be MORTIFIED if someone decided to try to publish some of my more personal writings without my knowledge. I wasn't even aware that publication of another's work could be done without his/her permission, even if the copyright is listed in the author's name. In any case, I hope the mother will be sure it's what her daughter wants. What she may intend as an "ego boost" could potentially turn into a colossal embarassment. Alaina Smith Editor's Note: An excellent point. In dealing with this question, I simply assumed that the mother had obtained the daughter's permission; publishing the book without that permission would be both a violation of trust and a violation of copyright law. Which Leads to the Next Question... -------------------------------- Q: I have a quick question for you. My mother died suddenly and I have found hundreds of poems that she had written and submitted to contests around the country. I am wanting to put together a book of her poems, not to sell nationwide, but for family and friends like she was talking about. Can you give me any ideas on how to go about this? Your site was listed as one of her favorites so she visited you often. A: You have several options for publishing such a book. If you are willing and able to format the book yourself (which is fairly simple with even a word-processing program like Word), your cheapest option would be to use a short-run publisher such as Morris (http://www.morrispublishing.com). Another option is to use a print-on-demand printer. These can be less expensive up front -- but you pay a higher "per book" cost when you actually have the books printed. However, you can print as few as you wish -- for example, if you only wanted ten, you'd only pay for ten, plus whatever the initial up-front fee might be. A POD publisher gives you a nice professional-looking paperback. Usually you WILL have to do some of your own layout, or else pay more to have it done. A final option is to simply have the job done at your local print shop. Most print/copy shops, including Kinko's, Staples, Office Depot, PIP, etc., offer a variety of binding options, so you actually CAN get a "perfect-bound" book. I don't know how expensive this is, and in this case, you definitely have to be able to design it yourself. If you have a very small number of books to produce, it would probably be your least expensive option. Exclusive of the cost of getting the book designed (if you don't do it yourself), you can probably expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $15 per copy, depending on the number of pages. I'd recommend checking these various optinos and doing a rate comparison. If you don't know how many pages your book will be, "guess" -- i.e., do a comparison on 100-page books, 200-page books, etc. That will give you a range of prices. NOTE: In this case, the rights to the material in question would pass to the daughter (and any other heirs) as part of the mother's estate, unless the mother had specified otherwise in her will. >>-----------------------------------------------------<< Moira Allen has been writing and editing professionally for more than 20 years. A columnist for The Writer, she is also the author of "Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer", "The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals" (now available as an e-book) and "Writing.com: Creative Internet Strategies to Advance Your Writing Career". For more details, visit: http://www.writing-world.com/moira/moira.shtml Copyright (c) 2004 by Moira Allen ***************************************************************** NEW, NOW AVAILABLE- Writing & Photography-A $Winning$ Combination Photos make sales. Photos pay more money. Ideas for every writer. You can jumpstart your sales-without using a camera! ONLY $8.95. Learn more today. http://www.pennyspensandpics.com/wpbkinfo.html ***************************************************************** WHAT'S NEW AT WRITING-WORLD.COM ================================================================= NEW RESOURCE! ------------- If you're a writer looking for information, you can post your "information wanted" request in Writing-World.com's classified section at no charge. This is the same section as the "Writers Wanted" listings; just click on "Information Wanted" to post your request. And if you have information to share, check out this section to see if you can help someone out! To post a request or check out the requests of others, visit: http://www.writing-world.com/cgi-bin/suite/classifieds/classifieds.cgi OCTOBER COLUMNS: ---------------- The Screening Room, by Laura Brennan Of Agents, E-mails and Stage Directions http://www.writing-world.com/columns/screen/screen15.shtml Advice from a Caterpillar, by Peggy Tibbetts Getting Started as a Children's Writer; Submitting Photo Essays; Talking Animals http://www.writing-world.com/caterpillar/cat45.shtml ARTICLES: --------- The Essential Components of the Media Kit, by Ink Tree Ltd http://www.writing-world.com/promotion/mediakit.shtml ***************************************************************** FIND 1700 MARKETS FOR YOUR WRITING! Writing-World.com's market guides offer DETAILED listings of over 1700 markets, with contact information, pay rates, needs and more. Fourteen themed guides are available for $2.50 apiece or $25 for the set. For details, see http://www.writing-world.com/guides/index.shtml ***************************************************************** MARKET ROUNDUP ================================================================= RAZOR-EDGED ARCANUM Daniel E Blackston, Senior Editor Pitch-Black Publications 3232 S 1st St., Springfield IL 62703 EMAIL: knight@famvid.com URL: http://www.pitchblackbooks.com This collection of 10-12 short stories will be released spring 2005. We are interested in heroic fantasy stories with an emphasis on sorcery and magic. We want stories that portray arcane materials in surprising new ways. Topics we are interested in include: alchemy, necromancy, diabolism, demonism, white magic, black magic, witches, warlocks, sorcerers, illusionists, pacts, rituals, spells, wands, amulets and other magical apparatus. We are interested in the sinister aspects of arcane and occult themes, but REA is not a good place to sell stories of woe and ruin. We want heroic stories with heroic endings, not stories of negation. We are not interested in stories with contemporary settings, urban fantasy, slipstream, horror, or science fiction stories. We are also unlikely to accept stories that feature werewolves, cannibals, vampires, or Tolkien-esque portrayals of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, or other such fantasy clichés. DEADLINE: December 31, 2004 LENGTH: 3,000-8,000 words PAYMENT: 3-8 cents/word RIGHTS: First print and electronic worldwide rights REPRINTS: No SUBMISSIONS: By mail only GUIDELINES: http://www.pitchblackbooks.com/REA_guidelines_detail.htm >>-----------------------------------------------------<< CENTURY Robert KJ Killheffer, Editor/Publisher PO Box 5006, Woodbury, CT 06798 EMAIL: editor@centurymag.com URL: http://www.centurymag.com Century publishes stories in a broad spectrum of styles, subjects, and lengths. It's impossible for us to describe the kinds of fiction that appeal to us. For a clear sense of that, you'll have to read an issue or two. All the stories we print do share an element of the "speculative" or "fantastic," something tangible or intangible that separates them from most "mainstream" fiction (à la The New Yorker). Beyond that, we're looking for accomplished writing with polished prose, sharp detail and observation, and some depth beyond the surface level of the text. We are not publishing poetry at this time. LENGTH: 1,000-20,000 words PAYMENT: 4 cents/word RIGHTS: First World English and non-exclusive reprint rights REPRINTS: Yes SUBMISSIONS: By mail only GUIDELINES: http://www.centurymag.com/guidelines.html >>-----------------------------------------------------<< THE FIDDLEHEAD Ross Leckie, Editor Campus House, 11 Garland Ct, UNB PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada EMAIL: fid@nbnet.nb.ca URL: http://www.fiddlehead.ca/index.asp The Fiddlehead is open to good fiction and poetry in English from all over the world, looking always for freshness and surprise. Please do not send more than 10 poems per submission (3-5 is best). LENGTH: Fiction: 4,000 words or less; Poetry: no word length requirement PAYMENT: $20/published page REPRINTS: No RIGHTS: First serials rights only; copyright remains with author SUBMISSIONS: By mail only GUIDELINES: http://www.fiddlehead.ca/submissions.asp >>-----------------------------------------------------<< Please send Market News to: peggyt@siltnet.net "FNASR": First North American Serial Rights, "SASE": self-addressed, stamped envelope, "GL": guidelines. If you have questions about rights, please see "Rights: What They Mean and Why They're Important" http://www.writing-world.com/rights/rights.shtml ***************************************************************** WRITING CONTESTS ================================================================= This section lists contests that charge no entry fees. For more contests, check our online contests section. http://www.writing-world.com/contests/index.shtml >>-----------------------------------------------------<< Lord Acton Essay Contest DEADLINE: November 15, 2004 GENRE: Essay OPEN TO: All seminarians, undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students studying religion, theology, philosophy or related fields are encouraged to enter, regardless of religious denomination or affiliation. LENGTH: 1,000-1,500 words THEME: The phrase, "human dignity" is used by many, often in pursuit of conflicting objectives. Those who value societies characterized by authentic liberty need to show why human dignity is the fundamental foundation for a free society and how our awareness of human dignity should shape the use and determine the ends of our free choices in civil society. Though it is clear that freedom without dignity is a myth, it should also be clear that the absence of freedom frequently results in gross violations of human dignity. Previously published work may not be entered. PRIZE: First Place: $2,000; Second Place: $1,000; Third Place: $500 ELECTRONIC ENTRY: No, by mail only including application form on web site. EMAIL: awards@acton.org ADDRESS: Lord Acton Essay Contest, The Acton Institute, 161 Ottawa NW, Suite 301, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 URL: http://www.acton.org/programs/students/essay/ >>-----------------------------------------------------<< Mary Roberts Rinehart Awards DEADLINE: November 30, 2004 GENRE: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry OPEN TO: Unpublished works LENGTH: Fiction & non-fiction: up to 30 pages; Poetry: 10 pages of individual or collected poems THEME: To help aspiring authors, a number of years ago the family of the late Mary Roberts Rinehart began awarding small grants to writers whose work showed particular promise. These grants were given to honor Ms. Rinehart, a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work was popular in the earlier decades of the 1900s. Writers seeking grants must be nominated by someone in the field -- another writer, an agent, an editor or the like. PRIZES: $2,000 Award for each category: fiction, non-fiction, and poetry ELECTRONIC ENTRY: No EMAIL: bgompert@gmu.edu ADDRESS: Mary Roberts Rinehart Awards, English Department, MSN 3E4, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 URL: http://www.gmu.edu/departments/writing/rinehart.htm >>-----------------------------------------------------<< The Caribbean Writer Literary Prizes DEADLINE: November 30, 2004 GENRE: Poetry, Short story, Essay, and One-act play OPEN TO: All LENGTH: Short story or essay: 15 pages or less THEME: The Caribbean Writer is an international literary anthology with a Caribbean focus. The Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective. Submissions are eligible for these awards: Daily News prize for best poetry; Canute A. Brodhurst prize for best short fiction; David Hough Literary prize to an author residing in the Caribbean; Marguerite Cobb McKay prize to a Virgin Islands author; Charlotte & Isidor Paiewonsky prize for first-time publication. PRIZES: Daily News Prize: $300; Canute A. Brodhurst Prize: $400; David Hough Literary Prize: $500; Marguerite Cobb McKay Prize: $200; Charlotte & Isidor Paiewonsky Prize: $200 ELECTRONIC ENTRY: Yes EMAIL: submit@thecaribbeanwriter.com ADDRESS: The Caribbean Writer, University of the Virgin Islands, RR 02, Box 10,000, Kingshill, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands 00850 URL: http://www.thecaribbeanwriter.com/submit.html >>-----------------------------------------------------<< 2005 HSBC/SA PEN Literary Award DEADLINE: November 30, 2004 GENRE: Short story OPEN TO: Any citizen of South Africa or of the SADC countries, born in 1964 or later LENGTH: 2,500-4,000 words THEME: The South African Centre of International PEN (SA PEN), in partnership with HSBC Bank and New Africa Books, is pleased to announce a new literary award in Southern Africa that aims to discover and promote new creative writers in the region. Nobel Laureate, JM Coetzee, has agreed to be the final judge on an editorial board which will include other prominent writers and publishers. The winning contributions will be published by in the first of an annual series of books of new creative writing, New Writing from Southern Africa. PRIZES: 1st Prize: $5,000; 2nd Prize: $3,000; 3rd Prize: $2,000 ELECTRONIC ENTRY: No EMAIL: liesajossel@mweb.co.za ADDRESS: New Writing From Southern Africa, New Africa Books, PO Box 46962, Glosderry 7702, Cape Town, SA URL: http://www.newafricabooks.co.za/editorial.asp ***************************************************************** New Listings on THE AUTHOR'S BOOKSHELF: --------------------------------------- The Simple Touch of Fate, by Arlene Uslander and Brenda Warneka Two Journeys, One Path, by Margaret West We Are More Than Our Wounds, by Stephen Mead Find these and more great books at http://www.writing-world.com/books/index.shtml Advertise your own book on Writing-World.com: http://www.writing-world.com/books/listyours.shtml ***************************************************************** ADVERTISE in WRITING WORLD or on WRITING-WORLD.COM! For details on how to reach 80,000 writers a month with your product, service or book title, visit http://www.writing-world.com/admin1/adrates.shtml ***************************************************************** Get Markets. Get Published. Get Paid. Get Writer Online Home to "Hot Off the Press", the original daily email of markets and jobs for writers, Writer Online also has a free newsletter with more markets, contests & articles than anywhere else online. http://www.writeronline.us ***************************************************************** WRITER'S SUCCESS: 300+ Online Guidelines, Local Writer's Groups, Contests, Writer of the Month, and more! Subscribe at nickyswriting@comcast.net with "subscribe" in subject line. http://writerssuccess.netfirms.com/ ***************************************************************** EXPAND YOUR NETWORK--DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS--NURTURE YOUR CREATIVE LIFE. Attend the National Association of Women Writers 4th Annual Writer's Conference! Visit our website and register soon! Conference Information: http://www.naww.org/generic109.html Membership Information: http://www.naww.org/generic1.html Free Weekly E-zine: http://www.naww.org/homepage.html ***************************************************************** SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) is launching local networking Chapters. Check with us to find a Chapter near you. Contact us if you'd like to start one. Patricia@spawn.org. Subscribe to newsletter http://www.spawn.org ***************************************************************** WRITERS: FIND MARKETS EASILY - Worldwide Freelance has a NEW fully-searchable Markets Database. Discover writing markets from North America, Europe, Australasia and other places. It's free, so come and try it out here: http://www.worldwidefreelance.com ***************************************************************** WRITING FOR DOLLARS! - the FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. FREE ebook, 83 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com http://www.WritingForDollars.com ***************************************************************** Writing World is a publication of Writing-World.com http://www.writing-world.com Editor/Publisher: MOIRA ALLEN (writing-world@cox.net) Managing Editor (Newsletter): PEGGY TIBBETTS (peggyt@siltnet.net) Managing Editor (Site): DARCY LEWIS (darcylewis@sbcglobal.net) Copyright 2004 Moira Allen Individual articles copyrighted by their authors. Back issues archived at http://www.writing-world.com/newsletter/index.shtml Writing World is hosted by Listbox.com - http://v2.listbox.com ***************************************************************** Subscribers are welcome to recirculate Writing World to friends, discussion lists, etc., as long as the ENTIRE text of the newsletter is included and appropriate credit is given. Writing World may not be circulated for profit purposes. ***************************************************************** Do not reply to this message to subscribe or unsubscribe! To subscribe to Writing World, send a blank e-mail to subscribe-writing-world@v2.listbox.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to unsubscribe-writing-world@v2.listbox.com. To change your address, please unsubscribe your old address and subscribe your new address. You can also use the subscription box at the top of the page at http://www.writing-world.com ---------- To unsubscribe from this list, or change the email address where you receive messages, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=383174&user_secret=848af93a [/quote]