Throw your hat in the ring!
To publish or not to publish that is the question! You can't go through life never knowing, so go ahead dive in! Once you do it will feel great! Following will be interesting tidbits for anyone who is just starting out and wants to hear that others are going through. Compare notes. You will be surprized that even the veterans still get rejected and still get nervous in many situations! They same as you and I.
Everyone has a journey in life, yours may not be to publicly put it out there, maybe you just want to write a love poem to your significant other, or want to journal for personal reasons and you never want anyone to see what you have written until you are dead and gone and that's okay too, it's all up to you.
Listen to your heart, close your eyes, see what your are writing! Use your life experience and let go, you never know what talent you may release! Hurry, now go get your paper and pen!!! Go!
PAYING IT FORWARD
Coming soon! Writers helpers,web-sites,tutorials, and even testimonials from other writers. All in an effort to PAY IT FORWARD
Scroll down to see the newest stuff!
Your questions answered! If you don't see something addressed here that you need opinions or ideas on, please let me know! Send questions through the blog or share your ideas forum page!!!!!!
Where should I write? You should ask yourself, Where do I feel most creative? Where ever you feel your most comfort is where your office should be. Is that your bath, your bedroom,or kitchen table? I have stuff, files,books, and lap top located in one area. And other things memo books, books, and desk top PC in another area. I'm as mobile as possible. I always travel with paper and pen in the car and at kid events. You never know when your creativity will strike! If you have paper and pen with you, you'll never lose a thought.
Do I have to have a college degree? No you do not. It is very helpful that if you are serious about writing, that you do well in English, grammar, and puctuation. If you have some grasp of style as well ,you will do better when you present yourself. Study at home, join writing groups and circles. Go to your library, many programs are available that are either free or next to nothing.Your local park district will also have programs that you can take that cost only a small dollar and are not time intensive. Always opportunities exist on-line but be very careful! Always know what your are signing up for. Good Luck! Let me know what you have accomplished! Maybe I will post you on my Showcase Page!
Do I have what it takes? Could I actually get published? Yes actually you do. But first things first, you have to develop what is known as a "thick skin". That means you have to be able to take constructive criticisism. You have to be able to accept that not everyone will like the work that you have produced. You have to decide what your style is and go with that. It is better to always write what you know. You have to do the research on a subject or topic, and know how to present yourself in a professional manner.There are alot of people out there with alot of schooling, grants,connections, and luck. You have to rise above all of that, and if your passion is there, you will care and produce very fine work. And as with any other thing in life, you keep going. Some editor may not like your stuff now. Try again at a later time, perhaps the right person will see it the second time around. Always remember what our mothers told us, that if first you don't succeed, try try again!
MS Word More and more publishers,contests, and anything that is submitted, should be presented in a professional manner, In other words, writing by a computer. It is clean, neat, legible and is the accepted practice. It provides you with the tools to create professional work. It provides you with the correct margins, spell check, word count and other options such as page numbers, italics, and different size fonts. Please remember, however, always follow what the guidelines for submittal are! Don't be one of the writers who goes right to the "slush pile", or in the garbage instantly because you didn't submit your writing the way the publisher or contest wanted! Remember if you do not have a computer, always check with your library, the computers there are free to use and you can even reserve them for time and date. The library also will have classes available to library card holders. You may also check some local women's groups who will promote the useage of their computers for free or a small fee. Your local park district may run programs for a small fee as well.
What is a clip? A clip is your personal writing that has been published in some way, to prove you have written for any genre. When you are submitting your writing to a magazine for example, you follow their guidelines, where the mag. may ask you for you clips. It is a resume' of your writing. If you write for your homeowners Association Newsletter, or you have an employee newsletter at work, or you write notes that are for employee memos to be published in your office, that does pass for content writing. If you submit, and you are not asked for clips, do not mention it. Please do, however, share your personal passion for the topic you are writing on, or your personal experience as it applys to your topic in your cover letter, or query letter. You can mention contests that you have won, or if you published your own works using self-publishing that is more than a clip, but as always be extremely careful with contests as they some claim prestige and if they are not, this may hurt your chances and you may look silly in the end. If your library has a contest say on poetry, while the prize may not be large and the contestants not published as well, and you win it this is something that I would mention because it was a legitimate contest and what's not to like it's a library! The only way to get a clip is to start writing somewhere. Remember how it did not make sense when you got your first job, and the employer asked you for your experience and you had none. But you could say you had personal experience, or maybe you took a class that was on the subject ot topic your writing for. It may help. Good Luck trying to accumulate clips!
What is a writers market? A writer's market is a way of saying, what kind of writing you write, and where to put it. Once you figure out what type of genre you write, then you can search where you would like to market yourself. There are plenty of guides, magazines, or directives out there to help you. Each year for example,one resource that is looked at often is the large The Writer's Handbook(the current year 2008), Although this paperback book can be a costly invesment each year (Bookstores run it anywhere between $16.-$26.), you can check this out at your local library for free. Why this book is looked at as the "bible" of writing is because it also lists things like tips, getting published, the craft of writing,specialized markets,reference on certain procedures,copyrights,and glossaries. It helps you differenciate the genres, (Non-fiction,fiction,poetry)it lists current magazines, and contests. This, along with reading widely, and careful research with the internet, can aid you in not only helping you find your genre, it can help you submit, and finally read the words of other authors who have been where you are in your journey in writing. Every author/writer believe me or not, has had to start somewhere. Good Luck and never give up.
What is meant by guidelines? Guidelines are what a publisher, magazine, or even contest is looking for. When you have an article,a feature article,a poem, a short story, or even quips and you are ready to submit to a particular place or editor, you seek out their guidelines. They will tell you exacly how they would like your work presented to them. For example: what genre, how much word count (how many words it has to be) what format, where to put your personal information (name,address, phone) follow the directions exactly. A lot of the time when the guidelines are not followed they will file your stuff in the garbage file (rejection pile,slush pile garbage can) Please follow the guidelines exactly; avoid rejection.
What is a query letter?
What is a cover letter?
What is filler material?
What is an anecedote?
Is a recipe cpoywrited? Simple ingredients are not and cannot be copywrighted, however, the body of the directions for the recipe can. So while no one but you has claim to your mom's special meatloaf, please make sure that the way in which you write the body of the directions are your own words and not someone elses. I find that it is helpful to put little quips in, as well as family history or say regional history of the origianl recipe.
Can I use a character I create in another one of my works? Yes you may. The character(s) that you and only you create are yours. You are the writer of your own original story and you have created these characters, you then own exclusive rights to these characters. You may use them in your future stories. A word to the wise, make sure , however, that you do not infringe upon in any way, another character or copy another for example: Ronald McDonald for one. The companies and other authors are always on the outlook for copycats, if you infringe, copy, or closely resemble their very prominet character/mascot, you can get sued! Be careful.
What is a rejection slip? A rejection slip is a letter (form usually)that is in response to your submission of an item, or story for a magazine. At times the original submission will tell you that you need to submit a SSAE, or self addressed stamped post card. It simply will be sent as the "reply" that not only did they receive your writing, it also tells you whether or not they will accept it. At times one may never hear anything. If it has been over (4) months you may shop your article around to other places. If you can before that mark send out a "can you answer my submission card. or call if it says that you can. Even the best authors have had a great deal of rejection slips to get to be a published author. Enjoy submitting it is easier than you think!
What in the world is a chapbook? For all of us who are poets, we know that getting our poetry published, not even sold necessarily, is a very hard feat for sure. Submitting poems to literary mags., web-sites, and e-zines are great and will help to build up your history of publishing. When a poet has published fifteen or more poems, you can gather them and have them published together in a single bound book or volume. This is called a chapbook. The chapbooks are usually not hard cover books but soft cover editions and have less than 30 pages in them. Good Luck and continue to submitt! The world of poetry is small and very specialized. Although alot of of people write it, the general public is apt to read a bestseller of some kind before your chapbook of poems. Please read magazines like The New Yorker, Atlantic, Tin House, Sun magazine for ideas on how the business of poetry works,
JUST TO NAME A FEW..................
CHECK THIS OUT
Linking you up to great web-sites, freebies, and everything and anything that has do with writing! (updated 11/07/09)
Links:
-POETRY-HAIKU-TANKA-SENYRU
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com
http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/
-SCAMS & SCAM EDITORS-
RESOURCES AND REFERENCE-
-GREAT MAGAZINES AND CONTESTS-
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING-
For linguaphiles- get your word a day at: www.wordsmith.org/awad
GREAT GROUPS TO JOIN-
RESOURCES AND GROUPS FOR READERS AND LOVERS OF BOOKS-
all about books,recommendations, and rating all while being a social network as well.
web site will connect you to other readers that will have your same/similar likes and dislikes. This is definitely for those who want to have suggestions of what next to read.
sharing books with others! leaving books at a designated spot will have a sense of mystery as well as a way of recycling your books!
this is a great site for those that want recommendations for books that are an easy (short) read! Books listed will be books w/less than 200 pages!
ALL FUN AND WELL WORTH A VISIT!
-WOMENS WRITING-
*a wealth of info. on sites that have anything to
do with women and the writings of women go
to www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/wr-sites.html
-LEGAL STUFF-
-WEB WRITING-
www.useit.com/papers/webwriting
-FREELANCE-
-SELF PROMOTION, SELF PUBLISH-
FUNSTUFF:
Just the facts....
See Below...........Fun and interesting writing facts and bits of interesting stuff that has to do with the English Language, grammer, and words.
*Why do we drive on parkways, and park in driveways? Isn't it fruitless to eat your vegetables? Like this? Check out more at www.jimwegryn.com/Words/WonderWords.htm
*Join other linguaphiles and sign up for a word a day! www.wordsmith.org/awad
*Did you know that there are only four words in the English language that end with the word ending -dous, do you know what they are? (please see the forums page (shared thoughts), under exchange your ideas heading for the answers)
#1 WORD OF THE YEAR FOR 2008 WAS THE WORD-"hypermiling" It was originally coined by Wayne Gerdes in 2004, meaning attempting to maximize gas mileage. But it was used extensivly by some this year. Barack Obama used it while campaigning. When he told Americans that they could save as much oil as off shore drilling, if they would just keep tire pressure at reccommended pressure for cars. He wants us to hypermile. (from the New Oxford Dictionary).
#1 WORD OF THE YEAR FOR 2007 WAS THE WORD- "Subprime"- yes, it is an adjective used to describe a risky, or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment. As quoted on American Dialect,Dictionary.com, and Double Tongued Dictionary. Usually othese words reflect the times that our country is in. And I guess you can see the housing market this year and know exactly where this new "term" came from.
* According to the American Dialect Society, more than one half of the English language vocabulary is based on words from other cultures. And while no one is for sure how many words there are, because many will disagree on what a word is, those in know do agree that America and the English language is the leader. Phrases are "coined" everyday and the English language will generate new words and even slang language very quickly; more rapidly than other countries. The Global Language Monitor list the top five as follows: 1) English over one million, 2)Chinese at about 500,000 3)Spanish at 275,000 4)Japanese running a close 232,000 5) German at 185,000.! That's alot of words!*
*Did you know that the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson who served from (1829-37), was an awful speller and was actually considered nearly illiterate?*
