Archive for May, 2007

Looking to Sub

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
  

I’ve received several emails and IMs about places to submit to for different genres. One particular question popped out at me. Where do I submit a horror novel? Not a paranormal or paranormal romance, but Horror?

Great question. So for this genre spotlight I give you:

Horror, three submission houses and a place to find out more!

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Writing children’s books

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
  

Have you ever considered writing a children’s book? I know I’ve been toying with the idea for some time, but until recently I really hadn’t explored the nuts-and-bolts aspects of actually submitting the story once I have it written.

It may sound strange that I’d be looking into the market before I’ve finished anything, but as someone who’s done a lot of advertising work in the past, it’s something I’m used to doing. It was worth the initial research I did.

If you’ve been thinking of getting into the world of children’s books or stories, Here are some links you might find incredibly valuable.

The Children’s Book Council, Inc. is the nonprofit trade association of publishers and packagers of trade books and related materials for children and young adults

The Purple Crayon: Information on Writing, Illustrating, and Publishing Children’s Books.

*Writing Children’s Books* Aaron Shepard’s kidwriting page.

From these sites you’ll be able to pull together a much larger list to visit, including publishers, editors and independants.

Here’s wishing you luck on your writing journey.

Writing Fiction, a writer’s blog you ought to know

Monday, May 7th, 2007
  

Crawford Killian is a name you may or may not have heard.  I’ll admit I’ve never read any of his books, but I’ve been reading his blog, Writing Fiction, for over two years now.

Crawford is not only a writer, but an expatriate American, a college professor, and a veteran of the U.S. Army.  His insight into the writing and publishing process is born of years of experience, and his matter-of-fact answers to questions from his readers are a joy, plain and simple.

Take some time out of your busy day and visit Writing Fiction.  I think you’ll be glad you did.

Making Money with your blog

Sunday, May 6th, 2007
  

There are several ways to make money with your blog, though some are more effective than others.

For a long time the only option out there was AdSense. Almost every blogger has run AdSense at one time or another. I don’t know about your experiences, but in mine, It’s never really paid that much, if anything. (It’s been a very long time, and I’m still waiting to break the magic $100.00 mark.)

I’m happy to say that there are finally opportunities for a blogger to make anywhere from a few extra dollars a month to a full time income, if he or she is prolific enough in adding content to a blog.

This new method of monetizing is known as paid posting, and it works like this. A blogger signs up for with one of the paid post services available, and once accepted the blogger takes an opportunity from that company and blogs about the topic of his or her choice. The service then pays you for the post after a specified number of days has past.

I don’t know about you, but I find this exciting.

One of the best of those services is Bloggerwave. Bloggerwave is kind of the new kid on the block, but they’re growing rapidly, so get in on the ground floor! If you’ve been looking for a new revenue stream, I’d look to them for a refreshingly easy way to add to your bottom line.

The first sentence.

Sunday, May 6th, 2007
  

We’ve all heard that we only have the first three chapters to capture an editor’s attention. While that’s all well and good for a novel, it’s not going to get you anywhere with a short story.

You’re going to have to catch the reader with the first line.

I feel that this applies to any work of fiction, but the short story or novella relies on this principle even more heavily than a full length novel. With a short piece, your reader expects to be immersed in the tale quickly, which stands to reason, since the story is going to end pretty quickly.

Honestly, I sit around just thinking up first lines for stories. My wife is a writer as well, and her notebooks are full of lines I’ve blurted out while watching T.V. or working on another writing assignment. She’s using at least three of them as a basis for stories of her own right now, and has kindly asked me to sop distracting her until she’s finished something.

Say you’ve decided to write a story about an outbreak of zombies in a small Georgia town. There are a lot of ways to open a tale like this, depending on the tone you’d like to set. Let’s assume that we’re going to go with something a bit campy, since the zombie genre is a bit flooded, and hey, what’s more fun than poking fun at zombies, they’re not exactly the brightest bulbs.

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We could all learn a bit from these “Wild Women”

Saturday, May 5th, 2007
  

The Wild Writing Women is a group of San Francisco Bay Area writers who have cumulatively traveled to nearly every part of the globe. They also hold a monthly literary salon with some pretty noteworthy guest speakers at the Monticello in San Francisco. This salon is open to men and women alike, regardless of writing experience. If you’re going to be in the bay area, it might be worth checking out!

More information can be found at their website www.wildwritingwomen.com

Tips-O-Matic, the writing tips machine

Friday, May 4th, 2007
  

It’s time for a bit of fun on your Friday.

The site says “ Let WritingDEN’s Tips-O-Matic help you write better documents.”

I’m not sure how much better the Tips-O-Matic will make your writing, but it’s neat for a little diversion.

Take a peek at it here.

An opportunity to learn from one of the best!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007
  

Candace Havens has an opportunity to participate in a writer’s workshop with A. Lee Martinez, the author of the NY Times bestseller Gill’s all Fright Diner, In the Company of Ogres, and his newest release A Nameless Witch.

I would call this a pretty decent opportunity to learn from someone who came out of the trenches and onto the bestseller list on his very first release.

Sign up for the workshop HERE. It’s Free.

Thursday Thirteen #1

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
  
My Thirteen Favorite Authors of all time

  1. Robert A. Heinlein
  2. Larry Niven
  3. Louis L’Amour
  4. Frederic Pohl
  5. H. G. Wells
  6. Piers Anthony
  7. Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir
  8. Alan Dean Foster
  9. Anne McCaffrey
  10. J. R. R. Tolkien
  11. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
  12. Jules Verne
  13. Agatha Christie

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

  1. Ctina
  2. Tink
  3. Mark Caldwell
  4. dew
  5. Wylie Kinson
  6. Missy
  7. Cordia Amant
  8. Janet
  9. Michelle
  10. ravaj
  11. Fence
  12. Di
  13. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) - By Friday…. I do this manually so that YOU get credit for the links.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!