Posts Tagged ‘resources’

Sometimes Art . . .

November 14, 2015

IF REVISION* WERE A DOG, it would wear a hat and be foolish in public, because revision would want to get the most DOG out of each moment that it could. If revision were a fish, it would be out of water and dragging its school behind. If revision were an interior decorating scheme, it would cry out for spangle-y pinks and purples—unless it wanted the heat of reds and oranges—unless it wanted the cool underwater of blues and greens.

Sometimes art is the answer—but sometimes it’s revision. Sometimes it’s about seeing your work-in-progress as so many puzzle pieces, which you have to turn and match and try to fit. But sometimes it’s about diving deeper.

Sometimes revision wants to be smacked around, which can be a little scary—unless you have a safe word, and sometimes revision does have a safe word, in which case, it’s okay to play rough, which, sometimes, revision likes.

Revision’s about re-visioning, it’s about looking at what you’ve already done and asking what else you can do. But revision’s not “editing.” If writing were an injury, revision would be surgery, not massage.

Revision is a bit of a shepherd’s crook, tugging you off the stage when you think you’re ready to be out there. Revision knows when you haven’t fully paid your dues. Revision wants you to work harder—it’s stubborn like that. But revision will reward your work with a bag of gold so full you’ll be able to scatter coins far and wide, feeding the entire populace of your life—once you’ve done what revision wants you to do.

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* The art illustrating this post is a before-and-after of a piece I created in one of my art journals. It’s easy, often, to get stalled at an early stage of a piece of art or a piece of writing. Difficult, sometimes, to push through to the next level. Risky, always, to do so.

I’m grateful to Tammy Garcia—creator of Daisy Yellow Art and the extraordinary Daisy Yellow Facebook group—for her continuing inspiration. The lessons I’ve learned from Tammy and crew have helped me be more courageous on the page.

5 Paths to Amazon Success!

November 6, 2015

REMEMBER WHEN AN “AMAZON” search retrieved an aerial photo of the Amazon River, first? It wasn’t that long ago, folks! Now, intrepid authors must navigate Amazon.com—as much a challenge as navigating the river whose name the mega-bookseller bears.

As with the river, if you’re going to launch your (literary) raft on Amazon.com, it’s good to have an experienced guide! I’ve beat the bushes and found a backpack’s worth of articles by writers who know how to swim—not sink—in the shifting Amazonian rapids.

In “How to Get a Truckload of Reviews on Amazon,” author-marketing guru Penny Sansevieri shares ways to find quality reviewers for your book—important because more reviews = greater visibility!
In “How to Launch Your Book,” Tim Grahl, author of YOUR FIRST 1000 COPIES, takes writers through a step-by-step process to turn your own contacts into reviewers.
On Savvy Bookwriters, there’s a discussion on book covers and book category placement: “How to Improve Your Amazon Sales Page.”
Novelist Lindsay Buroker offers strategies for maintaining momentum in “How Do You Maintain Steady Books Sales.”
And if your book is languishing online? Indie book distributor Smashwords’ post on “Six Tips to Bring Your Book Back from the Doldrums” might help!

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And speaking of reviews, writer pal Jon Fore’s latest fantasy adventure, SCROLLS OF THE HARLEQUIN, has just been released! He’s offering free e-copies to any of my readers willing to give it a review. If you’re interested, contact Jon at jon@jonathanfore.com.

Children’s Book Authors Needed

October 4, 2015

KELI SIPPERLEY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of Rourke Educational Media, sent this wonderful want ad: Rourke seeks experienced writers for work-for-hire book projects. We publish fiction and nonfiction for school and library markets. Authors must be able to research and write engaging content to specified grade levels and deliver clean, fact-checked manuscripts to specs on tight deadlines. We are expanding our fiction collections and especially need writers who write with voice and humor. Nonfiction writers who are simultaneously fun and informative are always in demand.

Send a resume, a brief unedited writing sample, and a letter of introduction that lists your subject-area interests to keli@rourkeeducationalmedia.com. Previously unpublished writers are welcome. If you are serious about your craft and work well with editors, they want to hear from you. Visit RourkeEducationalMedia.com to see current titles and learn more about them.

NaNo for Kids!

October 4, 2015

NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH (or NaNoWriMo, for those of us who like a little shortening with our bread). While NaNo may not be news, it is a great wake-up call for folks whose writing projects made like Rip Van Winkle over the summer. The scoop, according to the official NaNo site, is this: “On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.” Sign up and receive beaucoup support for this annual challenge.

There’s a NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program, too! The Young Writers Program allows 17-and-under participants to set “reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.”

Stylin’

October 4, 2015

SOMETIMES, WE ALL NEED STYLE HELP. Fortunately, there are many online resources that help writers (and editors) write right. (Sorry.) Here are a couple to get you started.

The staff of the (daunting) CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE knows how much their style guide weighs (oof!)—and how time-consuming it can be to search its seemingly endless pages for a simple guideline. Taking pity on those of us who’ve yet to bite the bullet and subscribe to CMOS online, Carol Fisher Saller (aka, The Subversive Copy Editor) wrote a CMOS Shop Talk article about using “the online edition to find things in the print edition even if you don’t subscribe online.” Save your back. Check it out.

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University also provides free writing resources—including both Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) style guides—to users worldwide.

Got a different fave? Drop me a (not necessarily correct) line with the 411.

SF:SE 2015!

September 1, 2015

SF:SE 2015 (SPECULATIVE FICTION: SOUTHEAST) is a convention for writers —and lovers—of horror, scifi, fantasy, and weird fiction, to be held September 25th-27th, in Orlando, FL. Con director Rachel Litt says, “At SF:SE, expect a marriage of con cultures, including conference standards like workshops, panels, and editor consultations, as well as convention devilry and a masquerade ball!”

You can also get query-ready with help from renowned guests such as Orson Scott Card, Jacqueline Carey, Peter V. Brett, and Kelley Armstrong! Visit SF:SE2015.com, for more info—then get writing, get costuming, and get weird!

Free! Q+A with Teen Author Kyle Prue

May 4, 2015

THINK YOU’RE BUSY? Kyle Prue is a high school senior, actor, comic, and the author of acclaimed YA fantasy novel THE SPARKS: Book One of the Feud Trilogy!

Now, Kyle invites Lit-lando-ans to give him the ol’ Q+A treatment. Wonder what inspired Kyle to write his hot new trilogy? How a high school student even gets published? How to balance a busy life and still leave room for creative mojo?

Find out! Join Racquel Henry at Writer’s Atelier, Wednesday, May 13, from 6:30 – 8 pm. To register for this FREE event, RSVP racquel@racquelhenry.com.

Writing Prompt: Got Journal? Tarot’s Kelly-Anne Maddox

May 3, 2015

FOR WRITERS, THE SIMPLE (NOT EASY!) act of writing every day keeps us in the game. Not working on a creative project? A daily, intrapersonal chit-chat keeps our writing arm loose and warm. Whether we call it “journaling” or “writing practice” or “morning pages,” daily writing knits us closer to our selves. Then, when do write for public consumption, we’re already in the habit of uncovering content unique to us.

In fact, author Heidi Julavits’ latest book, THE FOLDED CLOCK, collects two years of her daily jottings, each launched by the flood-gate-opening phrase, “Today, I …” Listen, as Heidi discusses her process with DIANE REHM.

Writing prompt

Need encouragement? 750 Words: Write Every Day offers a playful way to a consistent daily word-count. And Kelly-Ann Maddox’s excellent video Tips for Journaling and Automatic Writing reveals detours around journaling resistance, shares tried-and-true approaches to automatic writing—and includes a rock-star list of resources to blast your journaling practice into the end zone!

The Millions: An “Indispensable Literary Site”

March 29, 2015

THE NEW YORK TIMES CALLS THE MILLIONS “the indispensable literary site.” You might want to subscribe to the blog—and get “indispensible” coverage on books, arts, and culture, including THOUSANDS of relevant book reviews—or you might consider submitting work of your own. If you’d like to write for THE MILLIONS, you’ll find an email link on the About page that invites you to contact Max!

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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(It’s Not too Late to) Develop a 21st Century Mind

March 22, 2015

WHEN I LIVED IN SEATTLE IN THE EARLY ’90s, I found Marsha Sinetar’s DEVELOPING A 21ST CENTURY MIND oh-so-helpful. A little lost, I hadn’t given up my dream of making music, but was also interested in creative writing. But I didn’t know how to make the leap.

Some of my clients find themselves in a similar position: Quite accomplished in their working life, they have an unanswered passion for writing. And they’re left with a chasm to leap. A wide chasm. There are people who pace along the edge of that chasm for years, trying to figure out how to clear it in a single bound, how to go from having no committed writing practice to having a novel on THE NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list.

And that’s just not going to happen. Not because the publishing industry is filled with a bunch of meanies, but because we make our way—we live our way—to our bigger goals through the accomplishment of smaller goals.

In 21ST CENTURY MIND, Sinetar outlines a process for getting from where we are to where we want to be. First, we explore what we want—let’s say, “mental flexibility.” Then, we create a small-scale model for that goal. For instance, if we connect mental flexibility with physical flexibility, we might take a yoga class. Having increased physical flexibility via yoga, we might choose a ropes course next, which requires both physical and mental flexibility.

Likewise, if we want to serve as mayor of our town, we might first make a bid for a seat on our home-owners’ association board. Or we could sign up to play Facebook’s Social City, an online game that allows us to create and run our own city!

If we want to publish a book, but haven’t been writing consistently, we start small. We blog! Tweet! (There are writers creating their novels 140-characters at a time!) We submit letters to the editor! We join a writing group and publish an anthology of members’ work as a first foray into making our work available in book form.

Our models—small, interim goals—help us foster a sense of success and increased capability. No need to invest in a jet-pack to power us across that gap. We take it step-by-step. The possibilities, the models that will get us there, like our 21st century minds, are limitless.

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Writing coach

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching and manuscript review!
Click to read Should I Hire a Writing Coach in THE WRITER magazine.

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