Writer to Writer October 2005

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Hi [FIRSTNAME],

Believe it or not, another month has flown by. On more than one occassion, I've felt like I was being pulled in one hundred different directions.

I’ve been doing some work on my three chapters for Intrigue, written some articles, and worked on the Writer2Writer site. Then two weeks ago, out of the blue came an email from a print publisher in the US asking if I would be interested in writing a book for them. Of course I said yes! (No, I didn’t submit and I didn’t send a query or proposal.) It’s a non-fiction book for writers and will be all about finding resources and using them to their full potential. It will involve a lot of research and will be comprehensive in the information it provides.

Now before you get all excited for me, nothing is set in concrete yet. I have to write two sample sections and plan the table of contents. These need to be submitted before Christmas, and if the publisher likes what he reads, a contract will be forthcoming. I’ll then have til September 2006 to submit the entire book, with publication tentatively scheduled for 2007.

The section I’m working on right now is all about making the most of writer’s conferences. So if you’ve attended at least one conference, and are willing to complete a short questionnaire, please email me privately - write_cheryl@optusnet.com.au - and I’ll get it to you. *There are approximately twelve questions.

Also this month, I’ve edited a book of poetry, which is about to go to print. In addition, I’ve had two interviews published – one you can read online here:

http://www.romancejunkies.com/artman/publish/article_4562.shtml

The other interview appeared in Quill-Pen magazine, and relates to small press publishing. The interview was conducted by our own wonderful book reviewer, Beth Morrow.

If you go to http://www.quill-pen.net/ you can request an electronic copy to be sent to you.

I was also asked – again out of the blue - if I’d like to submit a short story to a publication, and again, I did.

The next thing that happened almost blew me away. A few weeks ago I attended a seminar held by the Australian Lung Foundation (ALF). I spoke with the President of the association and offered to write a few articles for their member newsletter which is Australia wide and goes out to thousands of people. Many of whom have probably never heard of me.

He accepted, I gave him my business card.

I also offered to do a book signing for Saving Emma at their very first book fair, which is being held this coming weekend. I’m donating a proportion of my profits from every sale of Saving Emma to the ALF. And that’s all fine.

Then last week I received a phone call from the ALF asking if I would consider being one of their Victorian spokespersons for World COPD day on November 16. I refused. Just joking! Of course I accepted.

It will involve some interviews, working with their PR people, and they’ve promised that my books will be mentioned in the PR releases and interviews. (Still waiting on paperwork for this.)

Most of these achievements have come about because of networking and marketing. Yeah, I know – I’m a broken record. lol

This month we are offering Cynthia VanRooy’s ebooklet "The Secrets to Query Letters that Work". The price is a low US$4.50 – which is the lowest you will find it anywhere on the internet. For more information, go here: http://www.writer2writer.com/query_secrets.htm

I’ve also added another new product to the Writer2Writer inventory – The Complete Info-Product Creation ToolKit. This ebook is extremely informative, and not only provides a lot of really good information, there is also a large amount of products provided from within the book. I’m selling this book for US$34-75, (which is almost 50% off the recommended price) but for a limited time, subscribers can pick it up for just US$28 – a saving of US$6-75 off my normal price - which is pretty much the lowest I’m allowed to go. Check out the details here:

http://www.writer2writer.com/infoproduct_subs.htm

Oh, and btw, it normally sells for US$69. The cheapest I’ve ever seen it sold was US$39, which was a time-limited special.

I also organised a gift for you this month, but unfortunately it's not ready yet. As soon as it arrives I'll let you know. If you’re anything like me, you have a gazillion ebooks and other goodies stored on your computer. Again like me, you probably can’t find them when you need them. The gift I’ve organised will eliminate that problem. The ‘eBook Librarian’ will organise and categorise your ebooks quickly and easily. I will eventually add it to the subscriber page, but will send out a short note when it arrives. Please note this is in .exe format, so unsuitable for Mac users. I’m really sorry, but I have no control over this.

The contest is now in the final phase of judging, and winners will be announced a soon as the results are known.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you - I've opened a new section of Writer2Writer. The Romance Writer is dedicated solely to all things romance. It's a little bare right now, but I'll add to it on a regular basis.

Now, to this issue: this month we again have some wonderful articles. Mridu Khullar gives an insight into achieving goals, Cynthia VanRooy has written another invaluable article; this one talks about writing transitions in time. Even if romance is not your genre, this article will be of interest, as you will derive a wonderful insight into this technique. Beth Morrow has reviewed Write Here, Write Now!, and Marilyn Henderson talks about getting ideas.

Time to sit back and relax with your favourite beverage. Til next month,

Cheryl

Quote of the Month:

There is no perfect time to write. There's only now.

Barbara Kingsolver

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Purchasing through affiliate links and advertisements in this newsletter assist in keeping it free.

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Please note: Language is set as "English - Australia" - words are not spelled incorrectly. (Not intentionally, anyway!)

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Announcements:

Writer's Digest magazine is once again putting together its list of the '101 Best Websites for Writers'! If Writer2Writer.com has helped you in any way, I’d be very appreciative if you could take a moment to write to Writer's Digest and nominate Writer2Writer.com for their 2005 list. Nominations should be emailed to mailto:writersdig@fwpubs.com with your nomination and any comments you have about the site. The subject line should be "101 Sites".

Thank you for your support!

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The Raintown Review

Dear Poets and Friends,

I'm pleased to announce the rebirth of a prestigious poetry journal. The Raintown Review will not only survive, but will thrive as a perfect-bound journal, albeit tri-annually rather than quarterly. We will publish our new first issue once we've received enough quality submissions. I ask that you consider submitting your work to us and/or pass along this email to your poet friends and acquaintances. Complete guidelines for submission are below.

About The Raintown Review

Our primary criterion is attention to craft. We have published the works of William Baer, Jared Carter, Annie Finch, Richard Moore, Simon Perchik, Jennifer Reeser, Len Roberts, Dorothy Stone, Frederick Zydek, and many more.

We are especially interested in well-rendered blank verse, well-turned sonnets of every variety, villanelles, and triolets. We will also publish literary criticism and interviews with contemporary American poets.

We are not interested in rondeaus or other forms in which the same lines repeat in a different sequence in each stanza throughout the poem; haiku, senryu, or other strictly syllabic forms; or those poems that take the shape of the topic of the poem, such as a poem about a soft drink taking the shape of a soft-drink bottle. Finally, you should know that a "prose poem" is one in which the meter has not been intentionally manipulated -- what is commonly called "free verse." We have no problem with well-crafted prose poetry (free verse), but will not consider the block paragraph vignettes that have been passing for prose poems during the past several years. In poetry, the line breaks make a difference; a paragraph, whether it appears in an essay, an article, a novel, or a so-called prose poem, is still just a paragraph.

Submission Guidelines:

We much prefer electronic submissions.

Please query the editor via email at h_stanbrough@yahoo.com regarding submission of literary criticism or interviews.

Submit no more than three poems in the body of an email to h_stanbrough@yahoo.com with TRR in the subject line, or

Submit no more than three poems via snail mail to TRR, 6179 N CR 375 E, Pittsboro IN 46167. (Snail-mail submissions not accompanied by an SASE or email address for notification of acceptance or rejection will be neither considered nor acknowledged.)

I will personally respond to each submission, but please allow up to one month for a response.

Payment is one copy of the issue in which your work appears. (Subscribers will receive an additional copy.)

Subscription Information:

Note: The subscription address is not the same as the submission address.

The Raintown Review is published tri-annually. The exact publication schedule will be announced at a later date. A one-year subscription (three issues) is $27; a two-year subscription is $50; a three-year subscription is $69. To subscribe, send a check or money order to

Central Ave Press

2132A Central SE #144

Albuquerque NM 87106

We will, of course, honor all current subscriptions.

Thanks in advance for trusting us with your work and for passing along this information.

Best,

Harvey Stanbrough

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Are You Achieving Your Writing Goals?

At the start of this new year, like at the start of every other new year, I came across dozens of articles about the importance of setting achievable goals, challenging myself to do new things and fixing measurable standards and working towards them.

But what happens when you mess up the goals from last year? Where’s the real advice about missed deadlines and lost goals that all but kill the inspiration to come up with new ones? I didn’t achieve three out of the ten goals I had set for myself last year, even though I was obsessive-compulsive about looking at them each day and measuring my performance regularly. I’m tempted to say that life got in the way or blame the shift in priorities that happened mid-year. But these are things that can and will happen each year. Instead of putting your life on hold the year when the strains and stresses get too much, plan your goals accordingly right at the beginning.

If you didn’t meet some of your goals last year, here are some questions that you need to answer honestly, so that you do this time around.

Are you actively pursuing your targets?

It doesn’t work just to look at your goals each morning and then do nothing about them. Sure, that’s a good start and it means you’re conscious of where you are in your career, but if you want to move further, you need to create an action plan. Instead of just making yearly goals, make monthly, weekly, even daily ones and then try and meet them.

Also important is to work towards what you want to achieve step by step. One of my goals last year was to get published in Reader’s Digest. Guess how many query letters I sent them?

Two.

You’re laughing, aren’t you? I’m cringing. That’s because I know that two queries just doesn’t hack it if you’re targeting such a high-level publication. Two queries wasn’t even enough to get into my local newspaper; how’s it going to land me a national assignment? If I had been serious about getting into RD, I would have read every issue, sent a query each month and built a personal relationship with the editor. Yet, I did none of those things. Not surprisingly, my goal remained unfinished at the end of the year.

Read the full article here

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