Writer to Writer - August 2009
*Issue One

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(This newsletter is distributed to 5,803 writers!)

Did you know you can write your children's book - in just TWO WEEKS, or LESS?

It's true. There's a SECRET step-by-step system for writing your children's classic in absolute record time.

It's a system that has been refined by many leading authors - and Mel McIntyre wants to share it with you.

Want to learn more? Visit this website right away

(To get your $10 subscriber discount click here after visiting the site above for full info.)

EDITORIAL:

I'm gradually getting around to doing all the things I want to do, as opposed to those I have to do.

Last week I finally got the children's writing sub-site up and running. It's still a little bare, but it's getting there. You can see it here.

Coincidentally, just as I'd finished putting up the site, I discovered a new book for children's writers has been released.

All details can be found on the link above, and once again, I've managed to negotiate a discount for Writer to Writer subscribers.

It's important to ensure you have the latest information available, as it will help you in your quest to publication. Outdated information is a big reason many writers receive rejections. If you are up to date with what is being accepted in your genre, half the battle is won.

I often receive emails asking all sorts of questions relevant to writers. One of the most common question I'm asked is how often I write.

My writing is a business, and this is my only income source, therefore I write every day, including weekends. I usually spend a couple of hours (at least) on the weekends writing when possible, but on weekends I start work after the children have gone to school, and depending on my workload, will finish when they come home.

If I have a full-slate, I'll work for an hour or so after they're home from school. But no matter what, I write religiously every day.

The more often you write, the easier it becomes. A lot of that has to do about habits, but you'll feel more comfortable with the process doing it regularly.

Are you having trouble getting into writing, even though you know you should? Here's some great advice from writer Barbara Samuel to help you get over the humps.

About this time last year I mentioned a piece of software I purchased, called XSite Pro. It's a website creation package, and I now use it for all my new site creations. All the sub-sites for Writer2Writer have been designed with XSite Pro, and the main Writer2Writer website will eventually be delivered via this software too. I'm gradually moving everything over - it's a huge job, simply because there are hundreds of pages to be moved.

XSite Pro has made my life soooo much easier, and I know several people on this list indicated they were buying the software. I'm thinking about setting up and egroup where we can share tips and tricks using XSite Pro. If you're interested, please let me know. The more I use the software, the more techniques I learn, and I'm happy to share that knowledge. But it won't be all about me sharing, it will be about everyone helping everyone else out. (XSite Pro have a forum where members help each other. I go there when I'm stuck, which isn't often.)

You may be aware that I have four-weekly transfusions for an ailing immune system. About a year ago I was honoured to meet a Writer to Writer subscriber during one of those transfusions.

Martin was incredibly ill - enduring not only cancer, but also suffering from MS. He had treatment every week, and when our visits clashed (which was practically every month), we would talk writing - when he was well enough to do so.

Over the last six months, Martin (aged 47) had deteriorated immensely, and a couple of months ago he told me he didn't expect to be around much longer. When I went for my transfusion last week, I discovered Martin had lost his battle. I was extremely saddened by this, but was richer for having known this dedicated writer, who persevered through thick and thin, as well as terrible pain.

As someone with an often debilitating condition, I know how difficult it can sometimes be to continue with the quest to publication. There are days when I can't sit at the computer for more than a couple of hours.

Whether writing is a struggle for you, or is easy, never lose sight of your dreams; keep writing, keep submitting, keep working towards your goals. Unfortunately Martin never realised his dream of publication, but he tried his best, and that's what really mattered to him.

Now, onto the article for this issue. Judy Bagshaw has written a terrific article about showing vs telling. This is a technique that trips up a lot of writers, and Judy has explained it extremely well.

As with many of Judy's articles, this is not an article specifically for romance writers. Please take the time to read it, as you will find it very informative.

Okay, that's it from me - time to sit back and enjoy this issue.

Til next time…

Cheryl

p.s. Have you heard of Duotrope? They list hundreds of searchable fiction markets. It costs nothing, although they do request a donation if possible.

p.p.s. Have you joined Twitter yet? I've been a member for a while now, and find it....interesting. Join me? www.twitter.com/writercheryl

Current and Past Issues:

You can also read this issue online here:

http://www.writer2writer.com/Newsletter_August_2009.htm

If you missed the last issue, you'll find it here:

http://www.writer2writer.com/Newsletter_2_July_2009.htm

To avoid non-delivery of your newsletter, please whitelist write_cheryl@optusnet.com.au - otherwise your spa^m filters may reject any correspondence sent.

Distractions: Don’t Let Them Steal Your Writing Time

Review of "The Wealthy Writer"

Increase Freelance Productivity: Learn Time Management!

4 Ways to Get Freelance Writing Jobs

Please nominate Writer2Writer.com for Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites by sending an e-mail to writersdig@fwpubs.com with “101 Best Websites” in the subject line. In the body, tell them something you like about the site.

Motivational Quote:

Your choices determine the quality of your life experience.

-- Gail McMeekin


Would You Like Twenty or More Hours Of Extra Time Each Month - Allowing Your Writing Business To Grow At A Pace You Never Thought Possible? Want To Be Supercharged With Productivity? Then Check Out This Book! Click Now for Full Details

Please support Writer2Writer.com and the Writer to Writer newsletter by purchasing through the affiliate and advertising links in this newsletter. This keeps the newsletter and other information (such as fr*ee courses) at no charge to subscribers. Some similar publications are now charging a yearly fee - I'm constantly fighting against that trend.

Show Vs Tell:
Writing to Involve the Reader

Copyright Judy Bagshaw - All Rights Reserved

A writing flaw that I am sometimes guilty of in my first drafts, and which I see over and over in my editing work is telling instead of showing. Think of it as the difference between describing your visit to a carnival to taking your friend with you to the carnival and sharing the experience. Why get a secondhand report when you can experience things first hand?

Instead of lecturing your reader, you want your reader to become so engaged in the story that they forget that you, the writer, exists. An easy way to do this is to involve all their senses and set fire to their emotions. You want the reader to feel what the characters are going through. Consider the following:

The lawyer had delivered the bad news and twenty-six-year old Gillian Faraday was stunned. Her father had left her nothing. She was poor.

Now consider the same moment written as a fleshed out scene:

Twenty-six-year-old Gillian Faraday sat forward and gaped at the lawyer. “Say that again?”

The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat and cleared his throat. “There’s nothing left.” He startled when she jumped to her feet and began pacing.

“How is that possible?” She clasped and unclasped her hands as she crossed and recrossed the office. “Daddy’s rich. He’s always been rich. Very rich. That means I’m rich.

There can’t be nothing because that would mean that I’m…,” she came to an abrupt stop in front of his desk and slammed her hand on the top, “…that I’m poor. I can’t be poor. I don’t know how!” She flopped back into her chair with a whimper and crossed her long shapely legs.

This is the opening of the book. Already we know that the heroine has a long hard road ahead, and we’re right there with her. We know something of her background and character, and something of her appearance. And because we’re sharing her experience, we want to see how it all pans out.

Read the entire article here

Have you visited the Writer2Writer Forum lately? Drop in and join in the writing exercise that's going on over there. It's free, cost nothing, and is very bare!

Write a Movie
-- In a Month!

How would YOU like to write your own screenplay - in less than a month?

James Lamberg GUARANTEES that you can write a Hollywood blockbuster in 28 days - OR LESS! - and land yourself a BIG movie contract within a year. No kidding!

Go here and read more!

Tired of Earning Peanuts from Your Writing?
	If you want to break into magazine writing but don't know how, this ebook is for you. You'll learn the concepts that are essential for all magazine writers.
Whether you are a novice or experienced writer, Cheryl Wright will teach you how to boost (or start!) your income writing for magazines. Click here now to learn more.

Paying Markets

Here are a few markets I came across that may appeal to some:

Payment For Writing Slogans
Ephemera looking for satirical slogans about pop culture, politics & the president, job attitudes, women's & men's issues, coffee, booze, pot, drugs, religion, food, aging, teens, gays & lesbians, sexual come-ons & put-downs. But please don't limit yourself to these topics. Surprise us! Be fresh, original and concise. Our buttons and magnets are small, so we are looking for HIGH IMPACT gems of wit stated in AS FEW WORDS AS POSSIBLE. Ephemera has a reputation for coming up with the most irreverent, provocative and outrageously funny material on the market. We encourage you to be as weird, twisted and rude as you like.
Since 1980, Ephemera has been producing Novelty Buttons, Magnets, and Stickers.
Submit by email for snail mail.
Pays $50 per slogan.
Guidelines can be found at:
http://www.ephemera-inc.com/writers-guidelines.asp

Humorous Greeting Card/Note Pad Ideas
Oatmeal Studios are looking for humorous greeting card and notepad ideas that appeal to a range of ages & interests.
Because cards and pads are sent from one person to another as a greeting or message, they should read the way people really talk.
Card ideas need to be written for these occasions: Birthday, 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th & 60th, Relative Birthday, Belated Birthday, Get Well, Good-Bye, Miss You & Thank You, Love, Wedding, New Baby, Anniversary (from friend to couple), Congratulations & Retirement.
Full guidelines can be found online at http://www.oatmealstudios.com/Writer'sGuides/WG-Pg.htm

Become an 'About.com' Guide
About.com are looking for freelance writers (Guides) to write 4 articles a month and update a blog 3-4 times a week on their given topic
All potential Guides go through a two-part online training program, learning about the editorial standards while writing articles and blog posts and publishing them on a test site.
Guides earn a minimum of $675 a month for the first 2 years.
Current guides are earning an average of from $1,000 a month, up to $100,000+ a year.
There are currently over 50 available topics including country music, Dallas, Greek food, China Culture, Perl, Online business/hosting, soap operas, sugar-free cooking and stamps.
Find complete guidelines on how to apply to become a guide at:
http://beaguide.about.com/

Shock Totem; Curious Tales of the Macabre & Twisted
What We Want:

Fiction: Your best! We consider original, unpublished stories within the confines of dark fantasy and horror—mystery, suspense, supernatural, morbid humor, fantasy, etc. But the stories must have a clear horror element. We're looking for short stories up to 5,000 words (firm). We are also interested in tightly woven flash fiction (no vague pieces or stories that say nothing).

Non-fiction: We're interested in journalism, well-researched and emotionally compelling non-fiction about real horrors—disease, poverty, addiction, etc.—but also the standards, such as interviews and editorials on relative subjects.

Poetry: We're interested in dark poetry on a limited basis.

We pay 5 cents per word, with a $250 cap. Payment will be made within 30 days after publication. Authors accepted for publication will also receive one free copy of that issue upon request.

Rights: We claim First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic World Rights (not to include Internet use) for a period of one year. After which all rights revert to the author.

http://shocktotem.com/guidelines.html

Right now, the online world is literally begging for writers. People that can tap out a few words - providing content for the millions of sites out there.

You don't have to have a lot of experience, you just have to be able to piece together a few simple sentences - and submit them to the SECRET ONLINE WRITING MARKETS that most people have absolutely NO idea about.

Want to learn more? Visit this website right away

(To get your $10 subscriber discount click here after visiting the site above for full info.)

Do You Own a Writing or Internet Marketing Related Website?

If so, please consider promoting my products. For more information, go here. Pays 50% commission on all products, as well as competitions and bonuses etc. There is an affiliate centre to grab your personalized promotional materials (banners, articles, text ads etc - not just links.) Apply now!

Subscriber News:

No subscriber news this issue. If you have any news, please send it along.

Click here to email Cheryl

How Do I?

No questions this month.

If you have a writing-related question, send it here.

FEEDBACK:

If you have any feedback about this newsletter; comments, criticisms, (praise!) sections you'd like to see added, tell me

Submissions:

We are a paying market. Full guidelines are available here, along with current needs.

Disclaimer:

Inclusion of a market, contest, anthology or similar is not necessarily an endorsement. It is strongly suggested that you do your own legwork in checking out any markets etc you decide to approach. If you feel wary or uncomfortable, there's probably a reason!

Advertising:

Guidelines for advertising, and ad rates can be found here

Legal stuff:

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Distractions: Don’t Let Them Steal Your Writing Time

Review of "The Wealthy Writer"

Increase Freelance Productivity: Learn Time Management!

Show Vs Tell: Writing to Involve the Reader

Show Vs Tell:
Writing to Involve the Reader