There Are No Rules

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their September Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. The next Fiction Open competition will take place in December. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Carrie Brown (pictured above) of Sweet Briar, VA, wins $2000 for “Bomb.” Her story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010.

Second place: Ken Barris of Cape Town, South Africa, wins $1000 for “Life Underwater.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place: Lydia Fitzpatrick of Brooklyn NY, wins $600 for “Ellijay.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Glimmer Train has also selected the 50 winning entries for their Best Start competition. Each wins $50 and makes Glimmer Train’s Best Start list.

Deadline soon approaching!
November Short Story Award for New Writers: November 30

This competition is held quarterly and is open to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. No theme restrictions. Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) Click here for complete guidelines.

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter.

Be sure to check them out.

General

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:51:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Monday, November 02, 2009

Every Writer Needs a Little Salesperson Inside
Posted by Jane

It's not a natural thing for most creative people to sell their work, but when it comes time to publish, you have to know something about how to sell.

You have to put in the effort, make the calls, not get beat down by rejection. (It's why I love this Alec Baldwin video, and my advice based on it.)

I'm definitely not a salesperson by nature. But it didn't take long to learn some basic skills, since my first editorial job depended on convincing salespeople my ideas were worthwhile.

Most writers need a little help in understanding how to pitch their work effectively, and I love being the one to help craft and rework that pitch.

This week I'm teaching an online course that offers an extreme makeover on query letters. You get to submit your 1-page query ahead of time, then you'll see me (in a live session) dissect all the queries into good, OK, and needs revamped.

It's a fun and illuminating process, and you learn the essential principles of selling the story (fiction) or selling an idea (nonfiction).

My goal is that every writer leave this session with a little salesperson inside who can kick into high gear when it's query-writing time.

Go register here if you have a query letter that needs professional attention. The session is this Thurday, November 5, at 1p EDT.

Also:

Read my previous post: 5 Elements of Query Letters
If my online class isn't for you, try our excellent guide by Wendy Burt-Thomas, The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters (with specific tips by genre).
Check Chuck's agent blog for his Successful Queries series.

Conferences/Events | General | Getting Published

Monday, November 02, 2009 6:16:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Writer's Digest Hits Top 10 Amazon List
Posted by Jane

Just got word that our recent release, And Here's the Kicker: Conversations With 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft by Mike Sacks, hit Amazon's Top 10 List of Best Entertainment Books in 2009.

Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, and said, "Veteran journalist Sacks conducted dozens of interviews with the top humor writers of the last century, and the result is a whiz-bang collection of Q&As that will school readers just as often as it provokes laughter."

Read an excerpt: an interview with Stephen Merchant, co-creator of The Office.

(And go buy in our shop at Amazon-like pricing. Get an extra 10% off if you're a VIP.)

Craft & Technique | Fun | General | New Titles From Writer's Digest

Monday, November 02, 2009 5:55:04 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Sunday, November 01, 2009

Looking for Your Feedback: What Do Established Writers Need?
Posted by Jane

One of the biggest criticisms or complaints about Writer's Digest (usually the magazine) is that it's for wannabes, and that after a few years, the advice/information either becomes repetitive or irrelevant, especially for someone who works at the professional level.

I've been daydreaming about how to develop a new periodical that would offer information and insights for advanced, established, or professional writers/authors, and remain relevant even after achieving publication. (Just to be sure, such a periodical would not serve to replace the current magazine.)

But I need your help to get it right—or to ensure there's a need for it in the first place!

What you would need or want in such a publication?
What regular columns?
What features?
Whose viewpoints?
What topics?

Leave your recommendations in the comments. (If it appears your comment doesn't stick the first time you submit it, try inputting the code again—your comment will still be in the field, waiting for verification.)

Or, click here to e-mail me.

Photo credit: Marvin (PA)

General | WD Magazine

Sunday, November 01, 2009 6:30:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Friday, October 30, 2009

The Battle of Resistance
Posted by Jane

This is a guest post from monthly contributor and storytelling genius Darrelyn Saloom. Follow her on Twitter. The photo above shows Darrelyn's youngest son, Jesse, emerging from battle to hand his mommy a pink crayon and a gardenia on his first birthday on May 28, 1987. (For more great stories from Darrelyn, click on "Guest Post" in the categories column to the left.)

Miserable, this past September, I perused Twitter in search of relief. And found it. Steven Pressfield was guest author for a literary chat called LitChat. Wow! Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, Last of the Amazons, Tides of War, Gates of Fire, The Virtues of War, but also a jewel of a book I’d not yet discovered, The War of Art.

Writers on Twitter questioned Pressfield for an hour. I managed to contribute a tweet or two, but awestruck, I froze up. Fortunately, other writers had their wits about them and asked excellent questions. And the author’s answers cut to the core of my suffering. A former Marine, he said his service “taught him to be miserable—a crucial skill for a writer. Seriously, not to complain but to keep doing it.”

I’d been complaining to my husband for weeks. Maybe I better just shut up and get back to work. Good advice. And wouldn’t that make my husband happy. And then Pressfield explained Resistance, the subject of The War of Art: “Resistance is that negative force that tries to stop us from doing what we know we should—write, work out, etc.” Bingo! My problem exactly.

In misery, I’d found so many excuses not to write: I’m out of ideas; I don’t feel well (four rounds of antibiotics, two cortisone shots, and I was still sick). I’m in menopause and about to turn 54. Yikes! My pity pot was endless. Okay, so I’m not in the Marines. I’m not sitting in a foxhole, in the rain, dodging bullets. I have a chronic sinus infection for goodness sakes. I’m running out of hormones.

But illness was not the enemy. Resistance was the enemy and had found a petri dish to blossom in my neurotic thinking. As soon as LitChat concluded, I ordered The War of Art. Overnight delivery, please. This was an emergency. By the next day, I was armed with a Pressfield paperback and found more on the subject of art and misery and even the Marines. Pressfield writes:

The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.

The artist must be like that Marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any other soldier or swabbie or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.

Hell, indeed. But so far so good, I had the misery part covered. Reading further, Pressfield named my enemy: Resistance. But he did more than name it. He defined its insidious personality, its wily disguises, its teaching abilities. That’s right, teaching abilities. Because the news here is not all bad, the infallible enemy is also a teacher:

Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North—meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing.

We can use this. We can use it as a compass. We can navigate by Resistance, letting it guide us to that calling or action that we must follow before all others.

Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.

Well, my current memoir collaboration must be aligned with the stars. Never in my life have I battled such Resistance. And for anyone who’s in the midst of her own battle, who struggles to get down to work, doubts she is good enough, blows her nose a lot and stares blankly at a computer screen, wonders why she bothered to wake up, this is for you:

Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you’re feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there’s tremendous love there too. If you didn’t love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn’t feel anything. The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.

The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you—and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it.

So take comfort in knowing you’re on the right track. But don’t let your guard down. Not for a minute. Arm yourself with a copy of Stephen Pressfield’s The War of Art; don your camouflaged helmet, your flak jacket and weapons. Battle Resistance every day, in spite of excuses, no matter what, by giving birth to the work you are meant to do.

General | Guest Post

Friday, October 30, 2009 9:15:02 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Day I Picked Up a Hitchhiker
Posted by Jane

Risk more than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.
—Claude Bissell

There's a story I love to tell in the presence of The Conductor, because it upsets him so much (in a cute way).

When I was 17, I spent a summer working in northern rural Indiana, at a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

One day, on my way to work on a 2-lane country road, I spotted a male adult hitchhiker. He had a large metal lunch box, like what coal miners used to carry.

I stopped and told him I could take him 10 miles to the next town, where I worked. He was headed to the same town, so climbed in.

When we reached KFC, it turned out my female boss was an old friend of this hitchhiker. They had a brief chat, but immediately my boss pointed a finger at me and said, "Don't you EVER pick up a hitchhiker AGAIN!"

The man grinned and said while he was grateful for the ride, he agreed with my boss.

When I left KFC that summer for my first year of college, my boss gave me a going away present that included a key chain with pepper spray on it.

I think she knew I would not be playing it safe.

It's always more fun to take the risk—and more enjoyable to expect the best of people.

Photo credit: Photofarrell

Fun | General

Thursday, October 29, 2009 1:51:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Age-Old Battle Between Author & Publisher
Posted by Jane

To write what is worth publishing, to find honest people to publish it, and get sensible people to read it, are the three great difficulties in being an author.
—Charles Caleb Colton

Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.
—A. A. Milne

Publishing is no longer simply a matter of picking worthy manuscripts and putting them on offer. It is now as important to market books properly, to work with the bookstore chains to get terms, co-op advertising, and the like. The difficulty is that publishers who can market are most often not the publishers with worthy lists.
—Olivia Goldsmith

One of the signs of Napoleon's greatness is the fact that he once had a publisher shot.
—Siegfried Unseld

Publishers are all cohorts of the devil; there must be a special hell for them somewhere.
—Goethe

As difficult as it is for a writer to find a publisher - admittedly a daunting task - it is twice as difficult for a publisher to sort through the chaff, select the wheat, and profitably publish a worthy list.
—Olivia Goldsmith

One should fight like the devil the temptation to think well of editors. They are all, without exception - at least some of the time, incompetent or crazy.
—John Gardner

If you've been following industry chatter, you may have seen some conversations lately about whether authors need publishers (or vice versa). Plus there's now a Twitter tag for the discussion, #publishersmatter

To catch up, you can read these 3 pieces:

Do Authors Still Need Publishers?
by Mark Coker of Smashwords (e-publishing service)

What Do Authors Need?
by Kate Eltham at Queensland Writers Centre (Australia)

Do Publishers Still Need Authors?
by Guy Gonzalez, my colleague and audience development director for Digital Book World (My views align closely with Guy's.)

Aspiring writers and authors can be extremely mistrustful and suspicious of publishers— creating a group only too eager to join the revolution where writers/authors have power and publishers become obsolete.

Those who can never get inside the pearly publishing gates feel marginalized and like they never got the attention they deserve, while those who do break in feel exactly the same way. As Daniel Menaker has said:

Many of the most important decisions made in publishing are made outside the author's and agent's specific knowledge. … [Publishing] silently colludes in trying to ignore the obvious … that the first printing of your book will be three thousand copies, that it will not have full-color galleys, that no advertising or tour is planned, and that it has been assigned to a publicist who up until yesterday worked in the Xerox department. Why the collusion? Because this is a business fueled largely by writers' need for attention, and no one wants to crush any writer's dreams before a book is even published. Especially since every now and then they actually come true.

Today, many authors are left out to sea as soon as the book hits store shelves, a critical moment in the life of many books. By the time the author realizes what's happening, the window of opportunity has vanished—that moment when you can ensure stores/retailers see the book as a quality and profitable item, leading to a good model (number of copies per store).

Other authors get turned out by their publishers when their books don't sell, even if they could've been a quality midlist author with more time and investment. (Most publishers don't have the luxury of waiting.)

Obviously neither of these phenomenon help the author OR the publisher.

I wonder if successful publishers of the future will attract quality authors mostly by …

the deep reach of their distribution (especially if to a particular audience)
their editorial/curation prowess and stable of quality authors
the support and service they provide authors

Publishers have done a poor job, at best, in the support and service role.

How many publishers actively support their authors when it comes to teaching them online marketing and promotion practices? How many will analyze their authors' efforts at platform and branding? How many will give them the education, tools, or resources they need to be true partners with the publisher? How many will—at the very least—provide clarity on what the publisher will and will not do for the author, or explicitly convey their own strengths and weaknesses, so the author goes in eyes wide open?

While publishers of the future need to distinguish themselves by the quality of their partnerships, the quality of their audience reach (community), and the quality of their curation, I bet there will be publishers who become known for support and service, and attract quality authors like bees to honey—and be more successful because of it.

What do you say?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:23:18 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Writing & Publishing: More Than a Patience Game
Posted by Jane

My partner in crime, The Conductor, recently forwarded me the following, from an interview with Lost Producer Damon Lindelof:

In today's film and television industries it seems like there are far fewer writers willing to take risks for originality's sake. What advice do you have for aspiring writers who are passionate about a particular story, even if it risks not being given a chance by today's audiences? -- Josh G.

As clichéd as it sounds, if you have an original voice and an original idea, then no matter what anybody says, you have to find a way to tell that story. My only advice would be you have to exercise patience. I think the freshman mistake is you feel such passion for something that you need to tell it now, as opposed to saying, "Let me establish myself, and five years from now when I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit more experienced, maybe that's the time to tell that story."

Sometimes you get a present for somebody a month before their birthday and you just want to give it to them immediately. But timing is everything. So I would say it might feel like your idea is a hard sell now, but maybe in a couple years the timing will be right. Whatever you do, don't give up.

Whenever someone asks for my autograph in my book, I usually add my 2 biggest pieces of advice:

Be passionate. Be persistent.

Perhaps persistence is a type of patience. Persistence adds a level of push, of proactiveness, of energy. The wrong kind of patience will lull you right into complacency and inactivity (and waiting to be "discovered").

Yet: Some people are so pig-headed in their persistence that they can't discern when it's time to change course or adapt to changing times.

I recently read about the importance of context, which applies to writing and publishing more than ever. Some writers remain blind to issues of context and can't grow.

Passion & persistence best serve people who know how to grow, which Lindelof advises: get wiser and more experienced. I couldn't agree more.

AND—it crushes my heart to witness: A person with unlimited passion who lacks the focus or discipline to do the hard work of realizing the Big Dream she has.

Sometimes, it's all about who is working hardest, and can devote the most time and energy to their endeavor, and knock on more doors. Not who's most talented.

For those who are talented and never gain appropriate recognition, you can blame it on bad luck, bad timing, and unfairness, but I'd ask myself: Am I working harder than everyone else?

Photo credit: The Rocketeer

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 12:53:13 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Achieving a Dream of Mine
Posted by Jane

Years ago, back when I was directing the trade books and market annuals for Writer's Digest, I would often have a conversation with author Christina Katz that went something like:

CK: Hey, you guys should bundle together XYZ!
Me: Yeah, I wish we could! We're not set up to do that, though.
CK: You should also sell combined subscriptions to the magazine and WritersMarket.com.
Me: Yeah, that would be great! We're not set up to do that, though.
CK: Have you ever thought about creating XYZ package of services for one low price?
Me: Sounds cool. We're not set up to do that, though.

Back then, Writer's Digest operated in fragments, depending on what division of the corporation it belonged to (book division, magazine division, education division, event division, etc). Each division focused on selling a particular book or product or service, rather than developing an integrated community serving up solutions directly to an audience of writers.

When I talk about publishing changing, this is what I mean: We (authors + publishers) must have conversations with audiences/readers to learn how to serve their needs, rather than try to push a specific product-widget. And "serving needs" is that remarkable mix of content, service, packaging, design, personalized interactions, digitized or interactive formats, conversations, community—whatever it is that offers the best solution.

But it's hard to do that when you're a magazine focused only on selling more magazines. You look at everything through the lens of how to keep the magazine alive.

And it's hard to do that when you're a book line only focused on selling more books, and are rewarded only by book performance.

And so on.

A year ago, F+W took the step of reorganizing its business based on interest area. And I took the lead for the the Writing Community.

It's been quite a year, and many things have changed behind the scenes, including how we run our eCommerce and direct-to-consumer business. (E.g., we no longer have a mail-order club, but we do have Writer's Digest Shop.)

And now, as of this week, Writer's Digest has integrated its two most popular services into one full-service plan (with perks!).

We're calling it the VIP program and it includes a one-year subscription to the magazine and a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com. As a VIP, you get 10% discounts all year for WritersOnlineWorkshops.com and Writer's Digest Shop (which already offers Amazon-like pricing), plus a free webinar recording on marketing/promotion. (VIP price tag: $49.99. Amounts to 75% discount off retail, monthly rates.)

It may seem like a small thing to people outside of the business. But it's a symbolic step on our path to a truly audience- or reader-driven approach. And it's light years of progress from when I started at F+W Media in 1998. Consider what's changed:

Our reach is widest through online channels, which didn't exist in 1998.
Writers can have conversations with our staff instantly through social networks, which didn't exist even a couple years ago.
Our editors work on content and service, rather than focusing on books or magazines. They are also active partners in the conversations that market and promote those products.

From this perspective, it's a good time to be in publishing. There are unlimited opportunities for those who can directly reach their audience, have the energy to engage, and are willing to experiment with new business models.

F+W Life | General | Industry News & Trends

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:46:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Glimmer Train Monthly News
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their August Short Story Award for New Writers competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to any writers whose fiction hasn’t appeared in a print publication with a circulation great than 5000. No theme restrictions. Word count range: 500-12,000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place (pictured above): Evan Christopher Burton of New York, NY, wins $1200 for “Exposure.” His story will be published in the Winter 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in November 2010.

Second place: David Rothman of Jackson Heights, NY, wins $500 for “Guided by Voices.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, raising his prize to $700.

Third place: Scott Tucker of Seattle, WA, wins $300 for “Touring.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Also: Family Matters competition (deadline soon approaching! October 31).
Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place is $1,200 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers for stories about family. Word count range: 500-12,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

Photo credit: Patrick Buckley

General

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 3:21:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

3 Sure-Fire Ways to Insult Someone in Publishing
Posted by Jane

1. Design your own book cover, or better yet, have a loved one do so for you. Bonus points if that loved one is a child (either young of full-grown), and creates abstract art.

1.5. Draw your own illustrations or have a loved one do so because they're really good with Microsoft Paint.

Books are products that require an industry professional's attention and marketing consideration, just like any other consumer product—from Coke to Draino.

2. Tell your editor that you've had your family member (who has a really sharp eye), read your work for errors, and you're certain it's good to go. Bonus points if that family member is a retired high school English teacher.

Editing is about much more than correcting comma placement. Furthermore, all publishers have their own style guidelines that aren't known or understood outside the publishing industry.

3. Tell your publisher that your book is a perfect fit for Starbucks [or any major retailer], and that it should be sold there.

More than anyone, your publisher wants your book stocked in every possible retail outlet, and will exploit every single distribution connection it has. It will place it in any outlet that will make space for books, and even pay money for placement. Your publisher isn't lazy or unimaginative; there's just immense competition.

And a sure-fire way to make an editor cringe:
Remark in an envious way, "So you must read a lot." No, we don't read. Mostly, we look for ways to make money and get your book placed at Starbucks, while gently informing you that your first-born cannot design your cover. Most editors have completely left pleasure reading behind. (That includes me, except when I'm on vacation.)

To end on a positive note:

6 sure-fire ways to make an editor love you

Ask questions about the business.
Ask what you can do to make your book or project or idea more successful.
Ask about the publisher's strengths and weaknesses, and where your help can really make a difference.
Share your action plan for marketing and promotion, and ask the publisher for specific things where they can meaningfully and realistically help you (usually things you know they've done to assist other authors).
Ask for examples or models of what other authors have done that have led to success.
Communicate, communicate, communicate. (Do not hide out, do not point fingers, do not blame.)

General | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 9:07:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Remove These Phrases From Your Writing Life
Posted by Jane

I'm on an inspirational kick this week.

I recently connected on LinkedIn with my very first boss at F+W.

I always remember the advice he repeated to me that went something like: "Imagine you're 80, looking back on the fulfilling, beautiful life you've led. Now go do that."

I come across too many people who append a condition to their writing or creative life. Do you say these things?

I'll write when … (waiting for perfect conditions)
I'll write if … (waiting for some thing or someone else to act/decide/validate)

Or maybe something like:

I'll never be as good as … (denying the fact each person is unique and has something to offer -- and ignoring the hard work of self-knowledge and writing practice to help identify what makes you unique as a writer)
I don't have the patience … (for those who know the time it takes and the difficulties involved—but this forgets the preciousness of the journey and only considers the goal)

And most evil of all:

When I have enough time (we're all given the same amount of time in a day, but also we don't know how much time we're given overall)

Lately, I've come across two quotes from famous folks, echoing my former boss's sentiment. Nothing earth-shattering, but still …

Here's what Steve Jobs said when he addressed Stanford's graduating class a few years ago:

... for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

And Seth Godin wrote (around the same timeframe):

The thing is, we still live in a world that's filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity -- we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them. To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing. ... You get to make a choice. You can remake that choice every day, in fact. It's never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment -- just one second -- to decide.

Photo credit: Let Ideas Compete

Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:39:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, October 09, 2009

15 Worthy Blogs I Just Discovered
Posted by Jane

I recently received the "One Lovely Blog Award" from Jillian Livingston (go check out isdisnormal—and you must if you are a mom). My thanks to her for introducing me to this concept.

As a result of being honored, I've been asked to note 15 blogs I recently discovered that I find worthy of the award.

(Photo above: A sign at a Buddhist temple advises that those with good eyes are inclined to fall into deep wells—which is how I feel when I discover a great new blog!)

So: here are blogs I've added lately to my Google Reader. (You can see my shared items from Google Reader here, and I accept sharing requests too if you use Google Reader.)

(1) Digital Book World
This is the newest blog launch from F+W, but it's backed by the inimitable Guy Gonzalez. A good read for savvy writers who want a larger understanding of publishing industry challenges. (Note: Digital Book World is offering a free webinar on "The Truth About eBooks" on October 21.)

(2) When Fridays Were Fridays
Written by someone who started working for a large company right out of college and stayed 30 years. I feel a cosmic connection to this person, because in 17 years, I wonder if my "About Me" will look exactly the same. I particularly like her post Have You Ever Faked It?

(3) What Consumes Me by Bud Caddell
You'll love it at first sight.

(4) Kenny Moore
Kenny is the co-author of The CEO and the Monk. I love how compassionate and human his advice is, while still being practical and appropriate for a corporate setting.

(5) Start Up Blog
I feel like I'm getting a better business training here than I would at a university.

(6) Self-Publishing Review
A site that benefits from a multitude of contributors. Professional and quality information, with a bit of magazine style to it (lead stories, resources, features).

(7) Fiction Matters
And it's not here just because they complimented me lately (or because of a bourbon affinity discovered on Twitter … well, maybe a little). Check out their guidebook, then peruse tips.

(8) My Name Is Not Bob
By the charming Robert Brewer, editor of WritersMarket.com. He is also blogger at Poetic Asides, but this is his personal blog, just launched on August 14. He's been a little quiet lately, but I know he'll be active again.

(9) The Sound and Furry
And this one is by the customer service rep behind WritersMarket.com, who is herself an aspiring children's writer. Great tips here for writers, plus cats (a great accent for every blog).

(10) Information Is Beautiful
Always amazing and share-worthy posts.

(11) Clay Shirky
Very infrequent posts, but outstanding quality when it comes to contemplating the future of media.

(12) The Book Oven
Something for everyone—especially writers—to keep an eye on.

(13) Publishing Trends
Their best content will cost you, but they still post really wonderful insider information for free.

(14) Bad Pitch Blog
While not directly tied to writing/publishing, read this long enough and you'll become a better salesperson and promoter of your ideas. A totally new find and I love it.

OK, I purposely stopped at 14. You tell me what No. 15 should be—based on the best last blog that's been added to your RSS reader or bookmark list. (Wondering about RSS readers? Read my tip on how to save time with an RSS reader.)

Friday, October 09, 2009 1:10:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, October 01, 2009

Gift Ideas for Writers
Posted by Jane

As many of you know, it was my birthday on Monday, and The Conductor—who treats gift-giving as a dramatic art—always looks for ways to surprise and delight.

For this gift-giving occasion, he chose the New Yorker as his theme, so I received enough New Yorker product (calendar, book anthologies, and cartoons) to probably keep Conde Nast in the black for a month.

The hard part is, and don't tell The Conductor, is that buying books for someone in the book business isn't always a sure bet. Yes, I love books of course, but sometimes the last thing I need is another book to read. (Note to Kelly: There are always exceptions.)

In any case, I was thinking a lot about gift-giving this week, and the holidays are approaching.

Writer's Digest editor Zachary Petit asked the staff months ago for gift recommendations in the November/December issue of the magazine. I sent him several recommendations (though only one is included in the issue). So in this blog post I'll mention them all.

Personalized Stationery
I've been known to spend about $500 on personalized notecards, which I consider to be one of the classiest statements a writer can make. (And, sadly, I am out of them at the moment, so I can't snap a photo for you.) I use FineStationery.com where it’s fun to create mock-ups. To really splurge, choose a letterpress printing option. Unforgettable.

Poems For All
This is a cheap (free!) but thoughtful gift for writers and readers. I hope one day they make them available for bulk purchase.

iPhone
I can’t think of a better all-in-one device for a writer. Aside from the standard phone call, you can use it for e-mail, surfing the web, downloading music, Kindle reading, instant messaging, note taking, voice recording, and a million other things through iPhone apps. The only way you could make it more useful is if there were a small, external keyboard to plug into it. (Then it could act as a mobile word processor.)

Knock Knock
Very hip and humorous productivity tools as well as eclectic gifts.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the parent company of Writer's Digest, F+W Media, just launched a gift site, SayItWithBooks.com. The cool part is that all purchases are gift-wrapped for free. (And for readers of this blog, use code PROMO25 for 25% off an order.)

P.S. Perhaps obvious, but Writer's Digest and WritersMarket.com subscriptions are always good gifts too! Soon we'll be rolling out a new VIP program that includes subscriptions to both, plus year-long discounts in our Shop. Stay tuned for a formal announcement in the next week.

Fun | General

Thursday, October 01, 2009 6:31:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Note About My Good Friend Earl
Posted by Jane

There's a joke by Jay Leno that goes something like:

Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends.

And there's another saying, in publishing: Only work with authors who you wouldn't mind being stranded with in an airport for 8 hours.

In 2003, at my first year speaking at the Midwest Writers Workshop, I spent a lot of time in an airport with Earl Conn, one of the founders of the organization.

My airport memory is my fondest memory of him, when we traveled together to Indianapolis, about an hour's drive, to pick up the famous George Plimpton, the MWW keynote speaker. Plimpton's flight was late, so Earl and I ended up chatting in the airport for a couple hours until our VIP arrived. (Read a personal essay I wrote on the experience of meeting Plimpton here.) Earl bought me a pretzel, talked about his years of teaching and writing and Ball State, and he was also the only person at MWW who knew the exact location (and claim to fame) of my hometown of Oakland City, Ind. (That's because he wrote a popular travel column about Indiana.)

I got news this week that Earl passed away. It's a great loss for the Midwest Writers Workshop, and he'll be greatly missed. One of our last conversations was about whether some of his essays and book ideas should be developed further and taken to publishers, or whether he should look at independent options. He was a devoted and energetic writer to the end, and I'll miss his wise and insightful presence at MWW.

My thanks to Judy Joslin for sending me the above photo of me & Earl at the most recent MWW.

For more that I've written on MWW in general:

The Four Stages of Marketing & Promotion (MWW 2009 Recap)
MWW 2008 Day 1 Recap
MWW 2008 Day 2 Recap
MWW 2008 Day 3 Recap

Conferences/Events | F+W Life | General

Thursday, September 24, 2009 9:05:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Glimmer Train Monthly News
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their July Very Short Fiction Award. This twice yearly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme, with a word count not exceeding 3000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: J.P. Lacrampe (pictured above, photo by Ashley Ording) of San Francisco, CA, wins $1200 for “Farmers’ Market.” His story will be published in the Winter 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in November 2010. [Photo attached.]

Second place: Stephanie Reents of Providence, RI, wins $500 for “The Indefinite Article Is a Different Story.”

Third place: James Scoles of Carbondale, IL, wins $300 for “To Cook an Egg Gently.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadlines soon approaching!

Best Start: September 30
This competition is held quarterly and is open only to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 3000. Each submission should be an engaging, coherent narrative, but does not need to be a complete story, just an important part of a story in progress. Word count: under 1000. Click here for complete guidelines.

Fiction Open: September 30
This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. Click here for complete guidelines.

--

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:54:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, September 21, 2009

Just One More Blogging Benefit for Aspiring Writers
Posted by Jane

As I catch up from being away at the Writer's Digest Conference (read more than 100 posts with info here!), guest blogger Jane Koenen Bretl is filling in with some more advice on the benefits of blogging!

When I started my blog jane, candid in January 2009, it was my starting point to create visibility and web presence for my work, and explore a whole new avenue of writing. Inspired by the December 2008 Writer’s Digest Editor’s Intensive, through blogging I found a voice that can be the start of my author platform; it took me in a new, unexpected direction that I may not have pursued, at least at this point in my writing career.

The benefits of blogging to an aspiring writer are numerous, but a most unexpected, helpful and frankly delightful outcome has been the relationships I have developed with other writers.

I actively seek out writing blogs, and by participating in author blog tours, networking through thoughtful commenting, and trolling through the blogrolls of other writers, I have met many other writers who have provided useful advice and much encouragement.

As a result, I’ve hosted an oft-published author at my home while he was on a 20-state book signing tour. I’ve hosted guest-blogging authors who brought both a new audience and increased credibility to my site. I’ve been a guest blogger on other wonderful blogs (like this one!) that provide a new, exciting forum for my work. And I’ve developed friendships with many writers who share selflessly of their experience.

It is a curious concept to me, this idea of meeting others online. At first I had preconceived (mostly negative) notions about online relationships, a prejudice lodged somewhere between online dating, ranting chat rooms, and all-night Dungeons and Dragon-esque gaming sessions. (Not that there is anything inherently wrong with those activities, they are just not my scene.)

I thought real people made real friendships face-to-face, not sitting alone in a computer chair with fingers tapping at the keys. Preconceived notions can and do close doors.

Blogging has instead opened doors for me to meet other writers from around the world, kindred spirits surely not on my life’s path otherwise. It has opened windows through which I can watch the progress of other writers, and see both the pitfalls they have faced and the successes they have earned through hard work and great talent. There is a collective sense of celebration when a blogger-friend reaches a writing milestone. It inspires me.

This summer, I had the opportunity to take a fond blogger relationship to a new place— face-to-face. Judy Clement Wall wrote one of the first comments I ever received on my blog, offering kind words right when I was nervously venturing into unfamiliar territory.

I in turn visited her site and her words struck a cord with me immediately. I have been an avid reader of her blog zebra sounds ever since. Like many bloggers, she kept the personal details of her home address and her family private; it just feels safer that way. However, as I prepared for a long-planned summer vacation to the West Coast (yes, I was reading Judy’s blog instead of packing), I realized through one of her off-handed references that this blog-buddy might live in the very area we were to visit! After some off-line emails, we learned it was indeed the same town. Serendipity strikes again. We made plans to meet at a coffee shop during my trip, since we already knew we shared an addiction to coffee as well as a love of writing.

Ironically, me, the online relationship snob, was as nervous to actually meet her as I might have been on a first date: Would I recognize her from her photo? Would she be as friendly as she seemed? It felt surreal, this crossing of worlds (maybe I had already drank too much coffee that day???).

Of course, the meeting was delightful. We shared blogging advice (how did you add that cool widget?), warm mutual admiration, and encouragement for next steps in our writing careers, all right along with our hot caffeinated beverages. It felt like a reunion, not a first meeting.

Ironically, the act of blogging can be much more personal than the typical conversations between new acquaintances, what some describe as the nakedness of putting it out there for all to see, sharing these words that come from some deep place inside. This has been my biggest revelation about blogging.

So as I strive to build my author platform, increase my online visibility, create a potential audience for my work, and generally make waves out there in the social media world of the publishing industry, I can also reap the benefits of my blogging community and all that they share.

Considering it? Give it a try.

--

[Editor's note: Be sure to read Judy Clement Wall's companion blog post to this, "(Sometimes it's not) All About Me"]

Building Readership | Digitization & New Technology | General | Guest Post | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Monday, September 21, 2009 3:15:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Your Friends & Family Are Wrong
Posted by Jane

Time for a little tough love.

To all those writers who say:

My family has encouraged me to write this story
I had this idea while talking with friends, and they thought it was brilliant
My [insert close friend or family member name here] absolutely love my stories
I read my work to my students, and they think I should get it published

You need to ignore what these people are telling you.

You need to write because you can't do anything else. Because you would suffer if you didn't.

Your motivation to write has to come from within.

Don't write (only) because you were given validation or permission by someone close to you. What you really need (require) is your own inner conviction.

...

When I was a kid, my mother wrote a middle-grade fantasy novel. I read it many times. I absolutely loved it.

I remember her blue-gray electric typewriter that weighed a million pounds sitting on the dining room table. It had a very loud mechanical hum and the table vibrated and shook during periods of vigorous typing.

My mom consulted Writer's Market at the town library and sent her manuscript to dozens of publishers. She received all rejections, though some were encouraging and personalized. Eventually the typewriter was packed away in a closet.

Flash forward 20 years. The old manuscript is dusted off, brought into Microsoft Word, tweaked, and … everyone knows what's next.

I read my mother's book once again, not as a young daughter, but as a publishing professional who gives advice to writers.

I bet you're all wishing you had a family member in publishing to help you out, right?

It can be a curse rather than a blessing.

Family members are supposed to encourage and support you—act as cheerleaders during the long periods of rejecton.

There are some unusual cases where your family/friends can offer critical feedback as insightful and careful readers, and you can make excellent use of it.

But for most writers, you must not and cannot rely on your family and friends to give you this feedback, even if they are your target audience. And you especially can't rely on them to tell you that your work deserves publication (or to give you ANY kind of business-of-publishing advice).

Unless, of course, your daughter works in publishing and has a job that specializes in giving advice to writers.

Mom's story read very differently to me as a grown-up. I gave her feedback on how to revise it for today's market.

The manuscript is back in the proverbial closet.

But in the years to come, I know I will treasure and cherish her work more than any publisher could.

Photo credit: Pliable Trade

F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:15:50 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Book Promotion: Like Shouting Prayers Into Hurricane
Posted by Jane

I first met author N.M. Kelby at the AWP Conference in Atlanta. The Writer's Digest staff includes many fans of her work, so it was thrilling to talk with her about a potential book project.

I'm now proud to announce the fruits of our collaboration, new to our list this fall:
The Constant Art of Being a Writer.

Read an excerpt from the book here: Test Your Story Ideas
The book's editor, Kelly Nickell, comments on NM Kelby and the project
Discover Kelby's other book releasing this fall, A Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts (I love this title!)

Kelby recently did a Twitter-style Q&A interview for Reckless Hearts, and shared the answers with me.

1. Favorite book as a child?
Loved my father’s copy of The Last Days Of Pompeii by Edward "It was a dark and stormy night" Bulwer-Lytton. That explains a lot, doesn’t it?

2. What are you reading right now?
The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery. Don’t you want to know why?

3. Read aloud a favorite segment/recipe/poem from your book …
Smoke billowed out into the street, blanketed the stars. It tinted the night sepia, as if the moment had already been lived and forgotten.

4. Why that title?
TRAVEL GUIDE FOR RECKLESS HEARTS? Who doesn’t have one? Who doesn’t need a guide to travel through the world with that joyous unruly beast?

5. Why independent bookstores matter?
For the same reasons that cowboys matter, their wild untamed spirits. They make their own rules. Plus they know bull when they see it.

6. Favorite part of writing a book?
To write a book is to begin a conversation. I love to tour and finish that chat face to face. Nothing is more fun than reading for readers.

7. Least favorite part of writing a book?
I know it’s now a writer’s job to promote their book but sometimes it feels like you’re shouting prayers into a hurricane.

8. Are you working on anything new?
Yes. BTW This could be my first answer under 140 spaces.

9. Do you have any superstitions, lucky charms, or rituals around your writing?
I arrive at my desk by 9 a.m., take 30 minutes for lunch, and leave at 6 p.m. It’s a job, after all. A great job––but still, a job.

10. Comment on the writing life...
THE CONSTANT ART OF BEING A WRITER: THE LIFE, ART AND BUSINESS OF FICTION is my comment on the life. It’s more than 140 spaces––it’s $17.95.

11. Hardest part of the creation to publication experience?
Writers are public dreamers––the work itself is a great joy. Selling dreams twelve to a carton is another story.

12. Why do you write?
Asking a writer why they write is like asking a dog why they breathe … they don’t understand the question but they’re still hoping you’ll toss them a bone.

13. When do you write?
I write when I am sleeping, lying, eating, flirting, praying, and pulling weeds. Living life is writing. It’s paper optional.

14. When did you know you were a writer?
When I was about 7 years old and started creating library books for my dolls to check out.

15. What, or Who, will you dish on, as in gossip about, at dinner?
I have a great many Dwight Yoakam stories––some of which involve me being naked, which, surprisingly, is more innocent than it sounds.

16. What will make you a scintillating dinner guest?
I believe in fun, gossip, and the well-turned phrase and am a consummate foodie. Heck, even my in-laws like to eat with me.

17. Who is your favorite new author?
Chef Auguste Escoffier––although he is dead and only new to me.

18. What is your drink of choice?
I drink bourbon and wine, although not usually in the same glass. Of course, there is an exception to every rule.

19. What is your favorite food?
If it isn’t moving, fried, fatty and the word “atomic” is not printed before it on the menu, I’m willing to give it a try. I’m all about the food.

20. Will you talk business over dinner?
Why would a writer talk business at dinner? That’s like asking your ex who makes the best surveillance cameras.

--

After Kelby's workshop at the Writer's Digest/BEA Conference in 2009, she handed me a print-out of one of her slides. I have it hanging in my office now—see below.

(Hint: Our authors-speakers are always such a delight. You can experience them too at our conference next week in NYC. Register here for the full event or just for a day. Use code PC109 to get $50 off a full registration up until Monday.)

Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:58:13 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Saturday, September 05, 2009

5 Questions You Can Ask Yourself About Stories
Posted by Jane

A little more from Glimmer Train this month—from the bulletin they just e-mailed to their writers. Go read the full bulletin here.

From Ingrid Hill: The Devil’s Trampoline:

My sweet grandmother used to murmur consolingly, when I crabbed about the misery of sitting with hot rollers burning my scalp, "Honey, you have to suffer to be beautiful." Not till I was grown did I realize the deeper meaning: not till you have been cast into tribulation's depths, suffered in your core, can beauty shine out of your eyes or your art.

From Charles Baxter: Five Questions (Baxter pictured above):

There are about five questions you can ask yourself about stories, and they're not foolproof, but they're useful. One is, what do these characters want? Second is, what are they afraid of? Third is, what's at stake in this story? Fourth is, what are the consequences of these scenes or these actions? And the last one is, how does the language of this story reflect the world of the story itself?

Craft & Technique | General

Saturday, September 05, 2009 3:23:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, September 04, 2009

Zen in the Art of a Kiss and a Dream
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from everyone's favorite regular contributor, Darrelyn Saloom. Follow her on Twitter.

Nineteen years ago, I read the nine essays of Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing and dreamed I met the legendary author. In the dream, Bradbury and I discussed a story I’d written called “The Last Housewife on Earth.” I’d not written such a story (only in the dream). But I knew the bored and restless housewife, because she was me.

As I read the Preface to Zen in the Art of Writing, Bradbury’s words ignited an inner slapping (not unlike Poe’s raven’s tapping). Bradbury described his nine-year-old self tearing up what he loved (Buck Rogers comic strips) due to criticism from schoolmates. But where did he find the strength a month later to “judge all of his friends idiots and rush back to collecting?” Bradbury writes:

So I collected comics, fell in love with carnivals and World’s Fairs and began to write. And what, you ask, does writing teach us?

First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has been awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation.

So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.

Secondly, writing is survival. Any art, any good work, of course, is that.

Not to write for many of us, is to die

And instantly, I knew what to do. I’d go back to school and learn to write (no more amateur scribbling). But first I’d drive to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, because Ray Bradbury was scheduled to speak. I learned of the lecture the day after I dreamed of our meeting. So, naturally, I had to go.

On a stage, Bradbury read from his Zen book; he spoke of his childhood, but what resonated for me was that he never went to college. Yet, impassioned, he expressed his desire to learn and to write, a yearning so intense he spent countless hours—years!—in libraries, educating himself.

After his lecture, an authority figure announced the author would not be signing books (apparently, the man in charge knew nothing of my dream) so I, and a score of others, sneaked behind thick curtains, where Bradbury was seated—and waiting.

And he did sign our books and answer our questions. Though I barely remember anything he said as I floated backstage in a state of awe (I’d just had this dream!) and here he was with his shock of white hair, his black-framed glasses.

When it was my turn to hand over my copy, his eyes met mine. And all I could utter was (oh, God, this is so embarrassing to admit) but all I could say was, “I love you.” There, I said it. I told him I loved him. And he signed my book (smiling), stood up, and kissed me on the cheek.

I didn’t tell him about my dream; I barely managed those three simple words. But he seemed to appreciate my declaration, because he only stood for one, mine remained the lone kissed cheek. Or, I made a total ass of myself—but it was worth it.

For after his lecture, I went to college and camped in libraries. In literature classes, I read the enormous books from cover to cover, not just the few assigned poems and stories. And I spent hours and hours in my car and studied (because my three children in the house were so noisy).

Worth it because my signed copy of Zen in the Art of Writing is one of my most treasured possessions. Peek inside the Preface and Bradbury reminds to “dive head first into your typewriter.” And then he ends his opening with a gift:

And now:

I have come up with a new simile to describe myself lately. It can be yours.

Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me.

After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together.

Now, it’s your turn. Jump!

So much inspiration! It’s why “I love you” rose and sprung from my lips. And I’m grateful for not squandering the opportunity. Because Ray Bradbury—more than anyone—inspired me to make that leap into my own “deep well” and onto my keyboard.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’ve never washed that Bradbury-kissed cheek. (Okay, I exaggerate; it’s the writer in me. But I did resist for nearly a week.)

And the kiss—still lives—in memories and dreams.

--

Read more from Darrelyn:

The Voice of Truth and Lies
Twitter: Food for the Muse
Better Than Brad Pitt? (Why You Should Go to Book Events)
Stay on Premise, Please!
The Song of Writing

General | Guest Post

Friday, September 04, 2009 10:24:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, September 03, 2009

Back from Alaska Round-Up (3 Tips)
Posted by Jane

I just returned from my 1-week adventure in Alaska. It is certainly the most foreign place I've ever been within the United States. You can check out photos here.

Here are 3 tips for your Alaska adventure:

One glacier experience is probably enough to satiate your curiosity about glaciers.
You haven't experienced Alaska unless you take advantage of the ubiquitous bush air services. Air is the most efficient form of transportation to and within the state; most towns do not have road or highway access, and that includes the state capital of Juneau.
Weather is extremely changeable. Think Gore-Tex.

And here are 3 tips on exciting stuff at Writer's Digest that I wasn't able to mention last week since I was completely off the grid (e.g., inside a glacier moulin, as pictured above).

Instant Publishing how-to class (Sep 17)
In one of my last conference workshops, I made the comment that with tools today, you can instantly publish yourself. One writer piped up, "Instant Publishing! I want a book on that topic!" In lieu of a book, I'm teaching a class on Thursday, Sept. 17 that gives you a tour of sites that provide instant publishing capabilities (free, very little or no tech experience required). I'll discuss how and when to make your content free, when to charge, and how to evaluate your success. The class fee is $79, with an opportunity for live Q&A. Click here for more info and a link to register.

8 Tips for Writers on Digital Change in Publishing (WD Conference)
Our big NYC event on Sept 18-20 is only a couple weeks away. If you've been on the fence about it, be sure to check out our very affordable 1-day registration options. You can get an excellent preview of Mike Shatzkin's keynote, "What do you tell a writer about digital change in publishing?" over at his blog. Even if you are not going to the event, don't miss his 8 tips.

New MFA Confidential blog
Just launched this week! Check out our newest addition to the Writer's Digest blog family by Kate Monahan, a 2nd year MFA student at The New School University in downtown New York City. One of her first posts is about 6 lessons learned during her first year.

More wonderful stuff still to come this week, including a guest post tomorrow by Darrelyn Saloom.

Below: A view of the Hubbard Glacier.

Thursday, September 03, 2009 10:39:06 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just selected the 50 winning entries for their first Best Start competition. Each wins $50 and makes Glimmer Train’s Best Start list. This competition is held quarterly and is open only to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 3,000. Each submission should be an engaging, coherent narrative, but does not need to be a complete story, just an important part of a story in progress. Word count: under 1,000. Their next Best Start competition will take place in September.

Glimmer Train has also chosen the winning stories for their June Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. Monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Ingrid Hill of Iowa City, IA, wins $2000 for “Pavilion.” Her story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010.

Second place: Adam Theron-Lee Rensch of Bronxville, NY, wins $1000 for “A Day in the Life.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place: Sam Ruddick of Brighton, MA, wins $600 for “Flight.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here .

--

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 2:59:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Pain & Struggle: A Fundamental Part of Writing
Posted by Jane

Nearly one year ago, I came across the following passage on Galleycat:

Reflect on this philosophical dispute submitted by one poetry-devoted reader:

"The book was a collection of love poems by William Carlos Williams. The poem was 'Asphodel, that Greeny Flower.' And the specific line of the poem over which we disagreed was: 'I cannot say that I have gone to hell for your love but often found myself there in your pursuit.'

"Although my boyfriend and I had been dating seriously for about a year, we disagreed so vehemently about whether pain and struggle constitute a fundamental part of love that we decided to break up then and there after reading and discussing the poem."

It struck such a chord with me that I clipped it and saved it in my Google Notebook.

At first I only considered it in relation to romantic relationships (yes, absolutely pain and struggle constitute a fundamental part of love), but now I've started thinking of it in relation to writing and publishing too.

It applies in a multitude of situations, e.g.,

Hating writer's block and loving the eventual (hopeful) breakthrough
Loving to have written (but hating the writing itself)
Loving the end results of criticism/editing, but being wounded in the process

Makes it seem like the painful means or process justify the glorious end?

But the end can be painful too. The finished book: not quite good enough, there are things you can still improve, right? (I love that saying about poems/stories never being finished, only abandoned.)

And the agent or publisher: how you felt such jubilation upon getting that deal, getting their attention. Then … the sad end … maybe when the book doesn't sell as hoped. Maybe you can't get a second book deal. Maybe you lose the agent's or editor's attention. Maybe you have regrets.

The point?

To know that you're living it, experiencing it, because you can do no other thing. Because you must write. Because that's who you are.

Note: This applies to colleagues/editors too. I know few, if any, in this business who do it for anything but love. (Writers, take note. There is passion there too, even if it is a passion that seems to disagree with you ... again and again and again.)

***

Housekeeping note: I'm about to depart on a one-week vacation to Alaska. I may appear here, I may appear only on Twitter or Facebook, but look for a rather delayed Best Tweets on the week ending August 28.

Photo credit: SheWatchedtheSky

Craft & Technique | F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:46:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, August 17, 2009

5 Questions for Those Who Don't Have Time to Market/Promote
Posted by Jane

(Pictured above: Writer's Digest and HOW editors/designers, promoting "Art of Manliness" project)

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both."
—James A. Michener

Early in my career, I often read articles and heard people talk about the mystical "work-life balance."

More recently, I've heard a term that makes a lot more sense: "work-life blend."

It is hard to answer people when they ask what I do for fun or how I spend my spare time. Much of what I do off the clock is the same exact thing I do on the clock. I'm reading, writing, engaging online, talking about transformational issues that are confronting creative people, particularly in the publishing industry, and the interesting solopreneur-reject-the-cube-life phenomenon.

So it always brings me back to earth when I speak to writers about marketing/promotion (especially when it comes to social media), and they say, "But how can I find the time for that!"

Here are five questions that occur to me when faced with this dilemma. I wish there were an easy answer, but everyone has to figure it out for themselves.

1. Why are you writing? If it's just for validation, catharsis, family/friends, or money, then of course you'll be worried about the time it takes to do everything required to be a successfully published author. It takes enormous time and energy—not to mention the patience of a saint—and only those prepared to devote everything will make it. And I can assure you the reward will NOT be monetary.

2. If you don't like the idea of spending time online with social media or figuring out new technologies, then what other strengths do you bring to the table? Hands down, online tools are the fastest and easiest way for unknown writers to begin building an audience, get better at their craft, and network with others who can make a difference in their careers. You don't want to spend time doing that? Then you'll likely have to find another area of your life (another strength area) that can help give you an advantage in the publishing landscape. For instance, do you have a phenomenal network through churches or a wide-reaching organization? Do you have expertise in a media channel that will help you spread the message about you and your work? Do you have friends in high places? You need something other than luck and a fool's hope to help you in the publishing journey. (As the F+W CEO likes to say, "Hope is not a business strategy.")

3. If you don't have time to spread the message about you and your work, then who will? The best promoter of any book is its author. Period. And unless you are best friends with Oprah or TV/radio producers, the best tool you have to spread your message is through online channels.

4. Are you willing to make sacrifices for your writing and publishing career? I often tell writers that getting involved with marketing/promotion doesn't take nearly as much time as they might be imagining. On the other hand: Yes, it will require an investment, and maybe your time is extremely limited and precious. In that case, decide what you're willing to give up. Sleep? Exercise? TV shows? We're all given the same amount of time in the day. You decide and control how you spend that time. (For advice on getting more stuff done, visit Zen Habits.)

5. Do you have discipline? This blog is no stranger to the words "persistence," "passion," even "chance." These can all be essential for every writer. But the most boring secret of best-selling writers I know is discipline. Discipline to put in the time it takes, and discipline not to get sucked into time-wasting activities. (Discipline means checking e-mail at predetermined times each day and keeping it a focused activity. Same with Facebook, Twitter, and other online media.) Being able to focus on a task to the exclusion of all else is fast becoming a rare trait.

Finally, for me, there is an intangible element here of work as play. Authentic author marketing and promotion, the kind that builds on your strengths, should be a labor of love. (See here.)

Your audience/readers shouldn't feel like you are "working" when you are interacting and communicating with them. They should feel like you're at play.

That's what you're shooting for. Or that's what I shoot for.

Building Readership | General | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Monday, August 17, 2009 6:46:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, August 14, 2009

Figuring Out Your Facebook Strategy: 3 Essential Tips
Posted by Jane

In May 2006, after reading this article in the New Yorker, I joined Facebook, which at that time was primarily used by students. Not being a student, I found very few people to friend, so the account lay dormant for 18 months until Facebook really took off as a direct competitor to MySpace.

At first, I only friended people I knew very well and had met in person—and I didn't receive that many requests from strangers anyway. Then I gradually and tentatively started friending people I had virtual relationships with, but had not met, feeling oddly like I was using the site "wrong." (Facebook used to ask for confirmation on how you knew someone, and if you couldn't verify from a pre-selected list of options, it reprimanded you. Seriously!)

Then maybe 6 months ago, I witnessed what Robert Brewer, editor of WritersMarket.com, was doing. He had a few thousand friends (and now has maxed out at 5,000!), and he had an amazing network of really cool people who were engaged, supportive, and excited about his work (particularly Poetic Asides). Plus he shared endearing and personable information that really developed him as a "real" person, without being indiscrete or falling into the TMI trap.

I suddenly questioned my Facebook strategy. What was I really protecting anyway? I was already Facebook friends with current and former colleagues, former classmates I hadn't seen in 20 years, and others who I don't know any better (on a personal level) than someone who follows my writing through this blog or Writer's Digest.

Plus I adopted the philosophy many years ago that I would avoid posting anything online (even in a "private" network) that I wouldn't be comfortable sharing with the world.

So I decided to open up the strategy and accept friend requests from people who were already friends with other friends, who I had met at conferences, who were readers of my blog, who had taken an online class with me, and/or anyone who included a brief note with their request. (Click here to friend me.)

Here are three tips on having an open Facebook strategy, particularly for people who might have a book, product, service, or message to spread.

1. To manage a growing number of friends, make sure that you tag everyone as part a group. You can do this immediately when people request to be your friend, or you can always apply and change/add tags later. Here's a screenshot of what this looks like:

The benefit of having such lists is that it helps you manage privacy controls (e.g., if you only want your vacation photos viewable by close friends/family), and you can also target messages/invitations to specific lists.

However: As wonderful as privacy controls are, they can really backfire if people find out you've blocked them from certain areas of your profile. Make sure you know what you're doing. Plus I never assume such controls are infallible.

2. Decide what kind of focus you want your Facebook presence to have. For instance, my Facebook wall is focused on information relevant to writing and publishing. It includes an automated feed from my Writer's Digest blog (meaning my blog posts are automatically posted to my wall), and I share articles of interest to writers.

I had a friend joke recently that I was the only person he knew whose Facebook page was used for professional purposes, and that last time he checked out my profile, a window popped up to accept his credit card.

Ouch!

But that's a warning to everyone: you can't treat Facebook as a sales tool. Rather, it's a way to give people another way to interact, learn, trust. I see it as sharing & service, and if I'm lucky, so do others (rather than as a sales tactic).

I bet some people would pay though to see some of the high school photos available in my Facebook albums.

3. To avoid a complete time sink, decide what kinds of activity/requests you will engage in and which you will ignore. For instance, I don't participate in any types of games, causes, or other past times on Facebook (for awhile I indulged in Scrabble, but stopped). I also make the "chat" tool inactive for everyone except a few personal connections. I take the occasional frivolous quiz and post the results, which always leads to fun and valuable interaction.

I often get this question: Should I create a fan page for myself or my book/product, and keep this separate from my personal page? There's nothing wrong with this approach, and given the 5,000-friend limit in place for personal profiles, it can make sense for someone who expects to have a very large following (I'm looking at you, Robert—who did in fact just create a fan page!). But for most writers/authors starting out, without a separate and distinct business or book/product, it doesn't make sense to segment your Facebook presence and manage two profiles and two sets of interactions.

And that's key: Facebook allows interaction on a level that I can't get anywhere else, helps keep connections going, and offers many opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had to offer help or be helped. The interactions you have will be as meaningful and authentic as what you put into it. I hope to see you there. Plus: Become a fan of the Writer's Digest page.

(And, to beat the drum: Are you looking for more expertise on social media for writers? Check out our September conference, featuring Chris Brogan as keynote!)

Building Readership | Digitization & New Technology | F+W Life | Fun | General | Industry News & Trends | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Friday, August 14, 2009 2:54:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, August 07, 2009

The Voice of Truth and Lies
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from regular contributor Darrelyn Saloom. Follow this most lovely writer on Twitter. The photo above is of Darrelyn's grandmother Ara Coleman Wilkerson (1900-1929).

I’ve written about feeding The Muse (who craves poetry and art in a quest to inspire). But once inspiration has sprung forth and the bones have been written, it’s time to listen to Intuition while you edit and revise. For a writer’s life is an inward journey that must tell truth from lies.

Many writers balk at this part of the writing process, but it can be a pleasurable mine: to confer with your sixth-sense (though she can nag at times), but only because she lives in the subconscious and is indefatigable and wise.

Intuition is the voice you can’t hear because it’s a hunch, an inkling you feel as you rewrite. It questions word usage. And pesters that something’s not right: an awkward sentence, a paragraph, or (at worst) every line. And she can be better than spell check at times.

One way to recognize Intuition is to recall moments when compelled to act in the midst of strife. Perhaps an impromptu visit to a friend, you encountered a future wife; or you didn’t go when the light turned green, which may have saved your life.

You can also identify Intuition by evoking occasions you scoffed her advice. Remember that test you took, knew you had the wrong answer, refused to change it, and failed to get it right; or sped through an intersection as yellow blinked to red, and then saw flashing blue lights.

Can you hear it now? Don’t be so sure. It may be the voice of language: the loud one that encourages more pie “With ice cream this time!” The one that has had too much to drink and says, “It’s okay to drive!” And it’s a familiar voice. But do you know her name?

As a writer, it’s imperative to discern the difference. Listen. Can you hear it? Is it the voice that uses words? That tries to convince editing is not your job, but the job of a publisher’s sprite. “Don’t they have an entire staff to do this stuff?” it cries.

Did you hear it? That’s the voice of Sabotage, and it’s the voice of lies.
So now that you know the difference, be still and quiet when time to rewrite. Summon an instance when a hunch or inkling proved to be right. Listen to the soundless voice of Intuition. And take her advice.

* * *

When I first sat down to write about Intuition, I wrote a story about my grandmother, Ara, who died of tuberculosis when my father was seven. She left three young sons behind. I had never met my uncles until my father was about to die. An emotional few days, I felt the presence of my grandmother the entire time.

The day my uncles flew home, my sister Jeanne and I escorted our father to his radiation appointment. I drove the car and was compelled not to go when the light turned green, which may have saved our lives. Because a delivery truck ran its red light and barreled through the intersection. And the truck had a sign. In bold letters we watched ARA SERVICES go by.

That day I named Intuition for my grandmother Ara. And when it came time to edit and revise this piece, every line but the one about the green light was deleted and out poured The Voice of Truth and Lies. So this is for my grandmother Ara, who sits with me when I rewrite.

Craft & Technique | General | Guest Post

Friday, August 07, 2009 1:42:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Keep Your Career Alive by Following the Reader
Posted by Jane

Today I had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Media (Bob Andelman) about Writer's Digest, the writing/publishing community, and the future ahead for writers. You can listen to the recording of the live show here.

While the conversation was initially sparked by this previous Mr. Media interview, we spent much our time discussing issues affecting writers.

Many newspaper/magazine/publishing outlets are disappearing—due to lack of advertising revenue, readership, and/or sales. So writers have to look for those places where readers are actually engaged and spending their money. That's where the money will follow for content creators, and I use that moniker very specifically. It's not about being a freelancer or journalist or author any more. Most often, it's about providing content, in a variety of forms, or adapting it for different audiences and purposes. Same goes for the future of publishing and media companies; they don't provide just a book or a magazine—they provide content or, you could say, a service wrapped around that content.

I like the idea of following the reader. There is a blog now called Follow the Reader that discusses some of these issues (in relation to book publishing), and you can follow Twitter conversations on the topic (#followreader).

See the conversation on Twitter about "follow the reader."
Visit the blog Follow the Reader.
Read about the conference we're hosting this September that will help you follow the reader.

Building Readership | General | Industry News & Trends

Tuesday, August 04, 2009 5:21:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Are You Too Ambitious for Your Own Good?
Posted by Jane

Ira Glass has some of the best advice I've ever read for writers, at least in relation to great storytelling. He's said that you have to be willing to be bad at what you do for a long time until you actually can achieve the vision of perfection you have in your head. He even puts himself out on a limb and offers recordings illuminating how bad he was at radio when he first started.

I was reminded of Ira when my writer-friend Teresa Fleming shared with me the following letter from Charles Dickens, where he responds to an aspiring writer.

Tuesday, Feb. 5th, 1867.

DEAR SIR,

I have looked at the larger half of the first volume of your novel, and have pursued the more difficult points of the story through the other two volumes.

You will, of course, receive my opinion as that of an individual writer and student of art, who by no means claims to be infallible.

I think you are too ambitious, and that you have not sufficient knowledge of life or character to venture on so comprehensive an attempt. Evidences of inexperience in every way, and of your power being far below the situations that you imagine, present themselves to me in almost every page I have read. It would greatly surprise me if you found a publisher for this story, on trying your fortune in that line, or derived anything from it but weariness and bitterness of spirit.

On the evidence thus put before me, I cannot even entirely satisfy myself that you have the faculty of authorship latent within you. If you have not, and yet pursue a vocation towards which you have no call, you cannot choose but be a wretched man. Let me counsel you to have the patience to form yourself carefully, and the courage to renounce the endeavour if you cannot establish your case on a very much smaller scale. You see around you every day, how many outlets there are for short pieces of fiction in all kinds. Try if you can achieve any success within these modest limits (I have practised in my time what I preach to you), and in the meantime put your three volumes away.

Faithfully yours.

Yikes, right? (You can read more Dickens letters here.)

Here's the secret, though: If you're the writer, do you read this and think: I should just stop trying.

Or do you read this and think: He doesn't know how wrong he is!

Writers in training know they're not good, but they know they're getting better. And they go on to fight another day.

Photo credit: wallyg

Fun | General | Getting Published

Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:06:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their May Short Story Award for New Writers competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to any writer whose fiction hasn’t appeared in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5,000. No theme restrictions. Word count range: 500-12,000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place
Noa Jones of New York, NY (pictured above), wins $1200 for “Brother Ron”. Her story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010.

Second place
Farley Urmston of Sherborn, MA, wins $500 for “Pretending”.

Third place
Benjamin Janse of Jamaica Plain, MA, wins $300 for “The Great Storm”.

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadline approaching!

Very Short Fiction Award: July 31. This competition is held twice a year and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range not exceeding 3,000. No theme restrictions. Click here for complete guidelines.

--

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 9:47:33 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Turn Your Dragons Into Princesses
Posted by Jane

Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet is one of the greatest writing advice books of all time. You can highlight nearly every passage as an inspirational gem. But there isn't any quantifiable advice in it.

As much as Writer's Digest focuses on the nuts-and-bolts of craft/technique, and beats the drum of marketing and promotion, everyone on staff recognizes that what sets the successful apart from the unsuccessful is rarely quantifiable.

Maybe there are some numbers you can look at, for a vague generalization:

Kevin Kelley's 1,000 fans
Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours (as explained by Seth Godin)
John Grisham's many rejections

These numbers only point to a larger felt sense that a writer knows in his gut, physically (but may intellectually ignore) when it comes to recognizing the effort or determination required.

But your motivation and desire to write or express yourself doesn't lie in the numbers. Whether you like it or not, it keeps its home in the hopes and fears that go much deeper than the writing goals you might have set for yourself.

One of my favorite passages from Rilke:

Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deeps something helpless that wants help from us.

We all have some kind of dragon holding us back, and we typically give it a name that obscures its real identity. Maybe your dragon is "not enough time" or "writer's block" or "publishing industry is unfair." But is that really the true, felt sense of what's holding you back? Only you can tell. (And I recommend this book to find out what that true, felt sense might be.)

Every creative person, every artist, needs someone who encourages them, who can see the potential inside, who can see the princess in the dragon. My father told me as a little girl that I could do anything and be anything that I wanted. And I could tell he really believed it. And so I believed it too.

What do you hang onto? What can turn your dragon into a princess?

Note: It's a busy week for me, so I'll have guest blogger Jim Adam here on Wednesday-Friday. (Curious what I'm up to? Check out my live, online class on query letters this Thursday, and the Midwest Writers Workshop.)

Photo credit: james_michael_hill

Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published

Monday, July 20, 2009 4:45:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, July 17, 2009

10 Steps to Put Social Networking Under Your Spell
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from content maven Meryl Evans. She helps businesses build and maintain relationships with clients and prospects through content. She’s also a long-time blogger who started blogging on June 1, 2000. Follow Meryl on Twitter.

Do you scream for help in removing the spell that social networking has cast over you? Do social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube hypnotize you for hours, stealing your magical paid work time?

Social networking may affect more people in our industry because we know writing can be a lonely job, especially those doing it on a freelance basis from a home office. Even introverts desire to connect with someone and the Twitters of the Internet enchant us.

Here are some easy clues that signify you're bewitched, bothered, and bewildered by social networking:

You press "get new e-mail messages" constantly.
You're always looking for @yourname Twitter replies.
You check for wall updates on Facebook.
You watch the latest viral video on YouTube.

Many folks (me included) are guilty of these behaviors even though we have loads of work. Our work doesn't fulfill our human need for connection. Social networking can and does for many of us.

Look all you want, but you won't find a magical overnight cure. Instead, call upon common sense, organization, and getting things done (GTD) thinking. These strategies will help you dip into the social networking cauldron without double double, toil and trouble—or tracking down eye of newt and wool of bat.

Accept that you can't keep up with all of the social networking sites. You're not the only one struggling with this. It's OK not to join or use everything. (See #8.)
Post a profile on major social networking sites. You don't have to do it all at once. Notice I've said "major" sites.
Connect your accounts with other sites. For example, LinkedIn has an application that imports your blog entries into LinkedIn. Facebook has the same and can also import your Twitter feed (may not be a good idea, but that's not in this recipe). FriendFeed is a pro at integrating your account with others.
Pick a few sites to use on a regular basis. Remember writing and reading blogs count.
Schedule your participation. Twitter isn't about posting one tweet after another. You could start with five minutes in the morning, again at lunch time, and do a last check in the evening. Whatever works for you. Routine turns things into a habit.
Turn off e-mail notifications. For sites you don't use regularly, turn off your e-mail notifications so they don't drive you crazy. (See #7 for another option.)
Filter all social media e-mail into a single folder. If you still want to receive e-mails knowing when someone connects with you, then set up e-mail filters to send all messages from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on into one folder. It's less bothersome than messages in your inbox and in your face.
Join other networks as you come across them. Your connections will invite you to yet another social network site. You never know who uses one site more than another, and you never know what the next big thing in social networking will be unless you have a crystal ball and an available medium. Be open.
Do social networking when stuck. Social networking is a marketing tool for writers, therefore it should be a no-guilt activity as long as you focus on building relationships and sharing knowledge.
Close the browser or application. Get off the social network site or related application. Don't leave it open. Douse whatever tempts you.

This 10-step recipe will put you in charge of stirring bubbles of your social networking time. And be vigilant: networks can still charm their way back and cause time management trouble.

Photo credit: Steph Gary Evie Jack and Thomas

General | Guest Post | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Friday, July 17, 2009 9:23:46 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, July 08, 2009

That Unquantifiable Factor That Helps You Get Published and Succeed
Posted by Jane

Lately I've come across a refrain of advice that gets truer the longer I'm in the business: the strength of your relationships is essential to getting ahead, which means having a network of people who like you and/or trust you.

A few examples:

I'm reading a yet-to-be-published business book by a woman who was the first female VP of manufacturing at Procter & Gamble. Her entire argument comes down to trust. Are you creating experiences with your colleagues that lead them to trust you, recommend you, and essentially "vote" for you to get the new project, get promoted, or get a new job?

Here's a story of a 14-year-old who got hired at Apple. Years later, he says success is attributable to people liking him. Quote:

Recognize that by being useful and good to others, you will eventually build a very strong team of supporters. They’ll lift you up to new heights and protect you. If you falter they will be there to bring you back up and support you.
I think it’s one of the most overlooked components of business. Simply, we’re always able to say that at the end of the day, all you have is your friends.

Seth Godin speaks in this 1-minute video about social networking done right—how it can be relevant and helpful, or entirely pointless, depending on how you're using it. Are you helping people achieve their goals, reliably and repeatedly? Collecting masses of followers will not help you succeed.

For writers, this is why I advise going to conferences and meeting with people in the industry. Even if you have only a moment to make an impression, if that person likes you or is impressed by you, then it makes your job easier when it comes time to query or submit.

Part of the problem with the cold query or cold contact is that no relationship has been established, and the person on the receiving end doesn't know if you're nice or crazy. That's why referrals are so valuable to writers—because they help agents/editors feel confident and compelled to pay attention if the recommendation comes from someone they trust.

On side note, but related: In my final month of high school, there was a highly unfortunate incident where I unwittingly distributed to the entire school, via e-mail, another student's private and unflattering opinion of an administrator. As a student with a trouble-free record, it was mortifying—and even more mortifying when I got raked over the coals for it. I had to call my mother in front of the head administrator and describe the entire embarrassing incident, then was grounded to my room for a week, except for class time and meals. (It was a residential high school.)

I'll never forget that administrator staring at me squarely and declaring, "I would not say to THIS WALL what I would not say to THE WORLD."

Point being: Your interactions with people—and what you say and do—matter tremendously. When you complain, cast aspersions, or talk negatively about any situation or person, no matter what the setting/environment, always consider the repercussions. Sometimes, even when we think we are confiding privately, it is much more public than we realize. And it can lead to people being wary of us and less trusting.

Think about the kind of person you trust, like, and recommend—they probably make you feel good afterward, not drained. It's like Aunt Josephine said in Anne of Green Gables: "I like people who make me like them. Saves me so much trouble forcing myself to like them."

Photo credit: Sara Lechner

General | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 6:17:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The Secret Weapon Behind Writer's Digest Books
Posted by Jane

Our executive editor of Writer's Digest Books—who has been part of Writer's Digest for longer than I have—is probably the best-kept secret we have around here. That's because she's a little shy, a bit modest, and likes to work behind the scenes.

Starting today, we're gently nudging her into the limelight by launching Kelly's Picks. For those of you who know and fondly recall the Writer's Digest Book Club (which folded last year), Kelly's Picks is meant to offer some of the same personalized recommendations, straight from the person who acquires the 20+ titles per year for our list. Kelly knows writing how-to books better than anyone (plus aspires to get that Great American Novel written).

Kelly works with nearly every author on our list—James Scott Bell, Donald Maass, NM Kelby, and Heather Sellers, just to name a few. She's so endeared to our authors that one of them dedicated her most recent Writer's Digest Book to her:

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature at WritersDigest.com, and both Kelly and I welcome your feedback on what would be helpful to you in selecting the best books to advance your craft and your career.

Follow Kelly on Twitter: @kmnickell

F+W Life | General | New Titles From Writer's Digest

Tuesday, July 07, 2009 11:05:26 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The Hardest Part About Developing Platform (Who Are You Anyway?)
Posted by Jane

The hardest part about developing a platform is deciding what you're all about. In business terms, it would be considered your unique selling proposition (USP).

Identifying this USP—or your reason for being!—involves deep self-knowledge, an understanding of what you want out of life, and how that interrelates with what other people need and enjoy.

It boils down to 3 questions:

What are you passionate about?
Who's your audience?
What are your strengths?

Think of it as a Venn diagram.

What are you passionate about?
What's the unique content, authentic experience, or remarkable work you would undertake even if you weren't paid for it? What motivates you to get up in the morning?

Who's your audience?
What are the needs of your audience? How do they want to be approached? What kinds of appeals are they most receptive to? Where can they be found?

What are your strengths?
When are you strongest in interacting and reaching and serving? What formats or mediums are a good fit for you—and match your passion? When is your content/service/product at its best? (Example of bad fit: Your passion for the cave dwelling Luddite movement combined with your Twitter marketing strength.)

What you're looking for is that moment of peak experience, when who you are and what you're passionate about and how it is expressed or manifested all comes together to create a compelling experience that your audience needs and loves.

Think about times when you've experienced peak performance, the times when you felt you were in your absolute element, better than anyone else in the world at what you were doing in that moment. You felt happy, fulfilled, relaxed, joyful. Some people call it "flow."

That's the seed of your platform.

Building Readership | General | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 6:05:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Writing Advice Hasn't Changed Much Since 1921
Posted by Jane

On my desk I keep a copy of one of the first Writer's Digest titles, How to Write Short Stories by L. Josephine Bridgart, published in 1921. It is a subtle reminder of how little things have changed when it comes to writing and publishing. Below is an excerpt from the very first chapter, "Common Sense in Viewing One's Work."

—

Writing for publication is a business. If the new writer will accept this fact he will have laid a foundation upon which, if he have the necessary natural ability, he can build success.

If a young woman tells you that she intends to take up nursing, and later reveals that her chief reason for doing so is that the uniforms in a certain hospital have attracted her, or that she enjoys reading to the sick, or dislikes the business life her father has suggested for her, or has heard that nurses make a great deal of money, you immediately feel that her nursing will not be a great success. You reason that nursing involves some very hard and disagreeable duties and that a girl who think only of the incidental pleasures or the monetary rewards is pretty sure to fail. It is not common business sense to enter a profession without taking into consideration the requirements of that profession.

I have read this lack of common business sense between the lines of many a first story. Some of these stories tell how a young girl with no experience won a prize in a short story or novel contest; often the prize-winning story was written in an afternoon, or an evening, or in the dead of night as the result of an idea which came to the author after she had retired. Some of these stories are about attractive young women who sold an editor a manuscript because she was attractive, or because she was poor, or because she was sick or saucy. Such stories show plainly that the authors are depending on personal charm or "an inspiration" or luck rather than upon hard work to win acceptances. They do not stop to reason that before they can hope to sell a manuscript they must learn how to produce a manuscript that some editor will want to buy. …

Unless you respect the principles governing the construction of a story or an article or a poem you cannot produce a manuscript that the careful editor will consider worthy of a place in his magazine. In any other trade or profession, the beginner expects to encounter a great deal of hard work. He expects to master certain rules, learn to apply them, and then make himself skillful by practice. Writing for publication means careful preparation and a great deal of hard work, just as millinery and surgery and sculpture do.

In her autobiography Ellen Terry tells of actresses who had explained to her that they did not care to be hampered by the rules. The successful actress had replied that it was wise to learn the rules before one decided to abandon them. "Before you can be eccentric," she commented pithily, "you must know where the circle is." …

The editor does not care at all about rules as rules. He wants a manuscript that will hold his readers' interest. If you can break the rules and still produce a manuscript that will grip the attention from the first sentence to the last you need not fear that your irregularities will cause you a rejection.

Craft & Technique | Fun | General | Getting Published

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 5:36:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Monthly News From Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their April Family Matters competition. This competition is held twice a year and is open to all writers for stories about family, with a word count range 500-12,000. Monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place
Randolph Thomas of Baton Rouge, LA (shown right), wins $1200 for “According to Foxfire”. His story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010.

Second place
Amy S. Gottfried of Thurmont, MD, wins $500 for “Chim Chiminy”. Her story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, increasing her prize to $700.

Third place
Abe Gaustad of Germantown, TN, wins $300 for “A Month of Rain”.

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadlines approaching!

Fiction Open: June 30

This quarterly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme, with a word count range of 2000-20,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

Best Start: June 30

This new category is different from their others in that the piece should be an engaging and coherent narrative, but it does not need to be a complete story; it needs to be an important part of a story in progress. Only open to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed print publication with a circulation over 3000. Maximum word count: 1000. Click here for complete guidelines.

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 5:28:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Stay on Premise, PLEASE!
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post features once again the delightful Darrelyn Saloom. (You can read her first guest post here, "The Song of Writing.") I'm sure you've all experienced some variation of the story below, which illustrates a huge lesson that some writers never learn—how to leave out all the unnecessary details! (Below: a picture of Darrelyn and her husband.)

My first stay-on-premise lesson was in a freshman creative writing class, Wendall Mayo handed back my long short story and told me he liked it—all five of them!

Hmmm? I expected a Pulitzer Prize, not this. Okay, so maybe I wandered a bit here—oh, yes—and there. But I thought it would explain this, prepare the reader for that. So, maybe he had a point. But it’s a great story! I thought. But no epiphany.

Until Mardi Gras. My husband, Danny, and I stood in a noisy, inebriated crowd to watch the parade. A tacky float towered above us as we jumped and bumped and fought for beads. We were waiting for the next float when a woman (we barely knew) huddled next to us and started talking. She told us she almost missed her flight to get here. And even with all the noise, we grinned and bent towards her to listen to her story.

On the way to the airport she had stopped for coffee. She ran into an old friend, who was married to her ex-husband’s cousin. Oh, oh, oh, she almost forgot that the cousin had been taking a break from posting pictures of her lost dog, Muffin, that often ran away, but never for three days! … I mean, she had a dog once that …

Here came the next float, but the woman kept talking. She was not even to the airport yet. She had segued from Muffin the dog to her own dog to her ex-husband’s cousin’s marital history! Danny and I stuck up our arms to show her we wanted to scatter like children to catch beads. But she kept talking. I could hear a band in the distance—The Northside High School Band—my favorite! But she kept talking and talking and talking.

My husband’s grin slipped away. And then his eyes began to glaze. By the time his chin pointed skyward, I knew she had lost him. But now a relative had died! Tears pooled in her eyes! So I made Ooh sounds to confirm the relative’s sudden death was terrible. A tragedy! But what happened to the almost-missed-my-flight story?

The Northside High School Band marched closer. I started to dance a little, not knowing if this was appropriate (but not really caring at that point.) The band stopped about a block away to twirl batons, gyrate, and shake. These kids could really dance, and I longed to spin around to watch them. But the woman’s swollen tears had spilled to her cheeks!

Which Danny never saw because he continued to stare skyward. And then he began to roll his head. He rolled and rolled until he (brilliantly) swung his body on the last roll, broke the huddle, and slinked away. And left me with the talking (now crying) woman.

When the marching band finally parked in front of us, I threw my hands to my ears, mouthed that I could no longer hear her, and whirled and wiggled and bopped away. The whole time thinking of Wendall Mayo’s lesson on premise, a lesson now pounded into me with every glorious bass drum beat.

Never heard how the woman raced across the airport in the nick of time to catch her flight. And, by the time I abandoned her on the crowded street, I really didn’t care. Her storytelling bored and confused me. All I wanted to do was to flee.

So if you ever find yourself telling a story. And the listeners’ eyes start to glaze, or their heads start to roll, or (heaven forbid) they flee. Chances are pretty good you’ve gone off your premise. So next time—for story’s sake—stay on premise, PLEASE!

Craft & Technique | General | Guest Post

Friday, June 12, 2009 11:10:40 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 08, 2009

Does Talent Eventually Get Discovered?
Posted by Jane

Many writers attend conferences to pitch their work to industry professionals, and nowhere is that more true than at our BEA event that we held on May 27, where more than 400 writers showed up to participate in our Pitch Slam with 70+ agents/editors.

One of the writers in attendance, Lystra Pitts (also an Editors' Intensive graduate), wrote up a reflection on this event that illustrates what I've seen happen to many thoughtful and sensitive writers:

There is nothing like a convention room filled to the brim with writers to illustrate how desperate my situation is. These writers, who I am sure believe in their work as much as I believe in mine, all paid their hard earned money, money they didn’t earn writing, to be there. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF US IN THAT ROOM. Hundreds, who like me crossed great distances and spent extravagant amounts of money to get a few precious moments with an agent. Writers are not in short supply.

I wondered what would happen if every person in that room had a brilliant masterpiece, a novel of unequaled quality, the magnum opus of their genre in our time—would the agents be able to take them all? Would they all get published?

I believe that the sad answer to that question is no. There are too many of us for all our talent to be recognized. The system cannot take everything it is offered, no matter how good it is.

Luckily, I am sure that only a handful of the people in that room had good stories. Right? That is what they would have you believe, that is how the system is set up. But I don’t know. I heard a lot of pitches, both practicing with strangers and overhearing the guys and gals in front of me and I liked most of the story ideas I heard. I am sure that a lot of people in that crowd had mediocre stories or mediocre writing skills and they will be rightfully culled from the herd. Won’t they? Again I am not sure. I have read a lot of really bad books, and I know you have too.

The system cannot guarantee that it will discover all the talented writers nor can it weed out the untalented. So I have to wonder how does one succeed in such a fundamentally flawed establishment? The only answer I have is luck. You have to get lucky, bottom line. It sounds bad right? But it isn’t as bad as all that. You can work with luck.

[Read the full post from Lystra here.]

I've debated this question for years:

Does talented work eventually get discovered? Does it bubble to the top?

Or do many talented writers go undiscovered?

For many years, I've thought that eventually talent gets its due. It gets discovered. (Yes, I've been called naive.)

Now, I think differently. But not because I've become cynical.

Talent isn't enough.

Frankly, luck plus talent isn't enough either.

Of course there's persistence, that's key. Because lots of people give up when success is around the corner. (I blogged about that here.)

Then there are those who are persistent but stubborn in their ways. It's those writers who can't seem to change direction or vision when they've received the kind of consistent or expert feedback that calls for a course correction.

Some people are stubborn and refuse to change. And sometimes bitterness follows. These are often the talented people I see who won't get discovered.

If you feel like a stranger or outsider to this whole publishing business, if you get downtrodden and bitter and start to beat yourself and others up about it, and try to make the publishing world submit to your will, it's a big problem.

Which side of the question do you fall on? Does talent eventually get discovered?

Photo credit: wstryder

General | Getting Published

Monday, June 08, 2009 5:55:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 05, 2009

WORKING and NOT WORKING with regard to the WRITING of REAL-WRITING
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from writer Nath Jones. I've known Nath since 1992, when we both started attending a quirky high school on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. She now lives in Chicago and has been attending Northwestern for a graduate degree in creative writing. You can find out more about her work here.

If I am sitting in my apartment on the couch, if I then tip over after a while and grab “The Journals of Lewis and Clark” up off the floor, if I pull the sea-foam blue, down-blanket over my shoulders, drop the book, and fall almost all the way asleep while listening to the cars go by outside on criss-crossing streets, it could be argued that I am not working.

But I’m a writer. A person devoted to her craft, sacrificing every other aspect of life to the fulfillment of this one dream. There is so much that goes in to becoming a “real writer.” Yet, most of the time, it’s still hard to take the whole thing seriously. Before getting very far in a writing life, one must find some professional bearings. One of the hardest things to figure out is deciding for oneself what constitutes “real writing” and “really working.”

Writing is a sort of exercise in futility. So writing, when one does not believe fully in oneself, has about it, an element of the absurd. It seems that one would have an easier time spinning straw into gold. And it is exceedingly difficult to believe oneself capable of spinning straw into gold—though it is much easier than believing oneself a “real writer.”

Where might one go to figure out how to spin straw into gold? There is only one place, into the mind. But what a journey! Is there any more daunting? No. But becoming a writer does not have to be a lonely and exhaustive survey of the psyche’s wild back country. Many writers have made this exact same foray into a world of what amounts to nonsense.

Nonsense? Sure, nonsense. The whole point of writing is to make sense, creating meaning. But the process of writing—the place where writing occurs if you will—is nebulous. Existence in such a place is disorienting, because it is riddled with ideas that do not yet adhere in ways that make sense.
Still, one does not need to reinvent every wheel and insist upon flailing around in the bush with a machete. (Yet I have had quite a bit of fun blazing my own trails my own way, and do, in fact, recommend it.)

But the question remains, am I working at all if I’m just bush-whacking my brain on the couch and not writing “real writing?” If I’m overcoming fears related to self-doubt, is that productive? Is it enough to practice, to go through the motions, to submit to the indulgence and pathology of a constant clattering at the keyboard, to inundate every single person I know with communiqué?

There is such a lack of tangibility in “really working”. It is so confusing. There are plenty of days when I am doing things that are absolutely necessary to becoming a “real writer” but don’t translate into pages of novels, short stories, or essays. This makes it very difficult to feel that one is “becoming a real writer.” When you are thinking, developing ideas to points of saturation, researching, reading, emailing, reading literary websites, it’s hard not to answer the phone when family members call. It’s hard not to drop everything if someone has free tickets to an afternoon ballgame. And it’s hard to take yourself seriously as a professional when even the “real work” you’re doing involves quite a bit of dithering, fiddling, and outright “dicking around online.”

It would seem that maybe—if I had a support system of individuals worth listening to—that I should be out finding respectable clothes, shopping for groceries, and toning my abs instead of allowing endless hours to disappear into the maw of self-doubt. But no. The writing is more important.

So. Couch. Book. Blanket. Dreams. And one is likely to confront various personal inadequacies in the discovery of this sense of professionalism. So a real writer will commit much of ones time to negotiating the strictures of paralysis and suffocation. Disbelief is daunting and constantly overcoming it takes a huge amount of time in a writing life. Of all the hours I devote to the productive development of my craft, I still must spend many more confronting inability. Yet, if you log those hours, and wait out the doubt, it almost always pays off.

Somehow, it always seems to happen, that suddenly I’m spinning straw into gold. Sometimes I still find myself stopping short, thinking. “What is straw?” “What is spinning?” “What is gold?” In context, they’re all abstractions. The meaning assigned to abstraction flexes, changes with the light. I’m constantly assigning meaning to these concepts. At any given moment “straw” can mean “life,” or “childhood,” or “grief.” Gold may mean, “a finely crafted piece of work,” or “income,” or “acceptance by a broad readership.”

Well, if that’s not confusing, I don’t know what is. It’s easy to see how a person can end up right back on the couch. Unless one has a very clear vision, writing can quickly become a mixed up jumble of cross-purposes. It’s like a cook trying to make soft caramels and chicken pot pie in the same bowl at the same time. It can’t happen. It won’t work. A writer simply cannot be trying to turn grief into income, while at the same time trying to turn childhood into a finely crafted piece of work.

Published or not, I’m a real writer, even on the couch under the blanket exercising avoidance on hundreds of fronts. And even on the couch, I’m really working. Benign catatonia is a significant percentage of what it means for me to exist as a writer. Why? Because nine times out of ten, I wake abruptly from somnolence and am compelled to record some newly discovered idea right then and there. For the next twenty minutes, or several hours on the really good days, no one could convince me that I am not working. I’m definitely working. It is undeniable. I’m busy. I’m writing. Don’t even think about interrupting me.

General | Guest Post

Friday, June 05, 2009 10:25:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Monthly News From Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their March Fiction Open. This quarterly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme, with a word count range of 2000-20,000. Monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place
Justin Torres of New York, NY, wins $2000 for “Surrender Unto Us”. His story will be published in the Summer 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in May 2010.

Second place
Vauhini Vara of Iowa City, IA, wins $1000 for “We’ll Rise Above the Sky”. Her story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place
Keith Meatto of New York, NY, wins $600 for “Tierra Santa”.

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Also: Short Story Award for New Writers competition (deadline soon approaching! May 31) Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place is $1,200 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers who haven’t had their fiction appear in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5000. Word count range 500-12,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

And beginning June 1, Glimmer Train opens a brand new category! Guidelines here: Best Start

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Sunday, May 31, 2009 3:03:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, May 29, 2009

Just a Start (How a Writer Builds Confidence)
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from the lovely Jane Koenen Bretl—an aspiring author taking one day at a time, and writing about it. Her blog, jane, candid, is a sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, often irreverent account of one mom trying to start a writing career and make the kids catch the bus. Really, it’s just one jane’s look at life.

As someone just embarking on a new writing career, I am hard-pressed to offer hard-earned wisdom or sage writing advice. I have, oh, maybe 20 more years of rejection letters to look forward to before I will feel qualified to offer those nuggets of wisdom to the readers of this blog. What I can share is one jane's journey to become an Author, the kind I think of with a capital A.

Technically, I have no formal writing education. A business degree, ten years in the food industry, nearly a decade as a full-time mom, a children’s photography business of my own—none of these pursuits specifically qualify me to write more than newsletter cover articles and the Christmas card letter. Still, through career after career, one thought returns time and again—the desire to express myself through writing, and to ultimately be published. Sometimes it is better for me not to know how much I don’t know. The publishing industry might serve as a good example. However, a series of serendipitous events landed me in a writing course last June, where I finally found the courage to pursue my dream of becoming an author—to step off the ledge of comfort and face failure as a viable, admittedly probable, option … at least, I thought, until I figured out what I was doing.

Start by starting.

I worked on a few children’s book ideas, and threw myself into my new career the same way I did each one before it—by researching and reading and absorbing everything I could find about the topic. I had bookmarks of writing websites; the list was a mile long. I bought lots of books and writer's market guides and reference materials. The Elements of Style sat on my bedside table, as if the contents would continue to seep into my subconscious while I slept. All this research quickly led to lots of thinking about writing and reading about writing and planning for writing—without much actual writing about writing.

Did I mention start by starting?

I did submit one story to an anthology, because a writing instructor advised that anthologies were a good place to start building clips for a resume that had none. I wrote a second anthology piece but never bothered to send it in, since by then I hated the first submission and was seriously questioning the sanity of breaking into the publishing world in the first place. The more I read, the more intimidating the whole proposition seemed.

But I continued to read, read, read about writing until last December, when I signed up for the Writer’s Digest Editor’s Intensive event. How lucky that the F+W Media office is in my hometown! Serendipity strikes again! In my newbie enthusiasm, I glanced over one little detail: it is a really, really, REALLY good idea to have actually polished something before I sit down for 30 minutes with an editor.

Good thing we don’t know how much we don’t know or it would be hard to ever try something new.

So I showed up at the event, all bright eyed and shiny, ready to learn, learn, learn. It quickly became obvious (at least to me) that most everyone else in the room had several novels under their belt, had paid their dues, logged their hours, and were blogging or freelancing or had been writing full-time for years. I swear some attendees had tattoos with long-suffering potential book titles on their arms, and those were just the ones I could see. Oh, and they had actually written something great to discuss with the editor the next day.

Oops.

When I arrived for my 30-minute time slot, I wasn’t feeling so shiny. I did have a crackin’ query letter that received good feedback, but my chosen editor kindly and gently indicated the actual story needed a lot of work. Like the “start by starting over” kind of work. Not a surprise, really—after only a few months working on the story (in between all that reading), I already knew it was not ready for prime time. I did receive a wealth of helpful information and actionable advice from the editor. It was a great experience, even though I was secretly hoping the work contained a glimmer of brilliance somewhere deep down. Well, not this time. But the good news? I now had my first (albeit unofficial) "rejection" under my belt. Now I felt free to make more mistakes along the way. Rejection in any form, even the most kind, is painful yet still liberating. It was like that first scratch on a new car—it took away the need to worry about my mental bumpers.

So I listened, and I walked out the door with a new focus. Jane Friedman and the rest of the staff inspired me to join some social networks to build contacts and connections with other writers and potential readers. I could commit to writing (something) daily. I would start a blog (as soon as I figured out what a blog was) and use that as part of my daily writing practice, and as an idea incubator and network builder. I would start visiting lots of other blogs, leaving comments, and building up my own readership while creating more and more contacts along the way. Learning something new every day.

The fellow attendees of the conference? Several of them formed a Facebook discussion group, invited any attendee to join, and shared a heap of experience and information. And, of course, I learned that some of them shared my state of mind, the writer's blessing/curse to never think the words are quite right, yet. To keep revising and rewriting and wondering when. I wasn't alone with my doubts, or my over-active imagination. (I still wonder about the tattoos.)

That anthology piece? It was actually published this spring, and that gave me a shot in the arm. Actually it is still an IV drip of confidence as I keep the book next to my computer, there to remind me how I felt the day that book arrived in the mail. The book with my name in it. And my little story. Someday, my name could be on the cover, if I work hard.

Using Jane's advice to become more productive while becoming cyber-savvy, I started using (for the love of god) an RSS reader. Now I could satisfy my need to read voraciously about writing and still have time to write something. And, four months after its launch, I can say I truly enjoy the process of blogging and have, through that social media, found a new voice within myself. I just passed the 5,000 hit mark for jane, candid, a small number by many blog standards but a big milestone for me. I am not sure yet where this voice will take me. Actual income is a rational goal. I have to start by starting …

Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published | Guest Post

Friday, May 29, 2009 12:46:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, May 22, 2009

The Song of Writing
Posted by Jane

Today I am thrilled to present a guest post from
writer Darrelyn Saloom. I met Darrelyn at a
recent Writer's Digest Editor Intensive, along with Deirdre Gogarty. These two amazing women are collaborating on a memoir about Deirdre, who is the 1997 Women's International Boxing Federation champion. You can follow Darrelyn on Twitter. (Photo shows Darrelyn in Cincinnati, with writers Barbara and Sean on either side, after the first day of the WD intensive event.)

It took me a long time to believe I could write. I’ve always enjoyed biographies and have read numerous lives of authors who lauded an educator in adolescence as their source of inspiration—a flash of insight burst forth while reading lines of dead poets: Shakespeare, Emerson, Dickinson, Keats. But no such teacher manifested for me in my teens or twenties (that would come later). For me, the muse bloomed with poetical songwriters of my generation: Smokey Robinson, Johnny Rivers, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Carol King.

But it was my father, an encyclopedia salesman, who first planted the melodic seed. Filled with wanderlust, he never stopped traveling. Life with Daddy was spent in the backseat of a book-laden car, absorbing adventurous yarns, chirping along to Peter, Paul, and Mary. My Kentucky-born father crooned Stanley Brothers’ tunes and recited “The Raven.” Poe blended into a folk song of enchantment. So it was in the backseat of Daddy’s Ford Thunderbird (where my sisters and I hid kittens and candy) that I fell in love with the imagery of words, the rhythms of poetry, the song of writing.

But falling in love was easy. Hard was to realize I wanted to write. Harder was to believe that I could. The writers I craved were distinguished professors of the humanities. Columbia University PhDs or graduates and teachers of MFA programs; I had no degrees. I dropped out of high school, hitchhiked from the Louisiana bayous to the Oregon coast, picked beans on a farm, married young (and often) and birthed a family. But I grew restless for something unknown to me.

So I went to college in my thirties. I never finished. But now I could lay claim to teachers of literature and writing who encouraged me. Into my forties I continued to read and to study: The Southern Review, The Gettysburg Review, Glimmer Train, and—yes—Writer’s Digest (long before I ever met Jane Friedman). Circled words, underlined phrases and sentences, lists of definitions littered the backs of my books and magazines. I studied libraries on writing and punctuation, even The Chicago Manual of Style.

When I began to write narrative, my restlessness ceased. But did I believe in my ability? The stories I wrote were printed and stuffed into folders and drawers. A few were lost on an old hard drive. Yes, I was still intimidated by the MFAs and PhDs and only wrote for friends and family. But even with their praise, I did not believe in my ability. Belief would have to wait. (And to make things worse, I was about to turn fifty.)

Unable to submit my stories, I printed business cards and worked as a freelance editor. I excelled at spotting clients’ errors, picking apart proposals and briefs. Red ink pen in hand changed me. It improved my writing by opening my eyes to writers’ mistakes. Taught me that writing is a place I can never be impatient or lazy. For a writer must never stop learning. As for intimidation, it has started to slip away. Because now I know it’s hard work that conjures words into music and not a degree.

Here are two verses my father would often sing. I’ve started to wonder if he knew that one day (years after his passing) the lyrics would serve to sustain me. I can still hear his voice.

    If I had the wings of an angel
    O’er these prison walls I would fly
    I would fly to the arms of my lover
    And there I would lie till I die

    Oh, meet me tonight in the moonlight
    Meet me tonight all alone
    For I have a sad story to tell you
    It’s a story that’s never been told

(Researching this old ballad, I found as many versions as strings on three guitars. So I stuck to the only two verses and lyrics my father taught me when I was only two or three. It took me nearly fifty years to grasp that as a writer “belief” is like an angel’s wings. If you, too, struggle to believe in your writing ability, I hope this will inspire you to grow some wings and tell your stories.)

Craft & Technique | General | Guest Post

Friday, May 22, 2009 10:03:52 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

News, Events, and Free Info at Writer's Digest
Posted by Jane

Today I'm taking a little break to let you know about some other stuff happening at Writer's Digest. Tomorrow I leave for the Pennwriters conference in Pittsburgh and will be Tweeting (@JaneFriedman) and blogging throughout the weekend.

Cool stuff on other WD blogs

What Should You Include on Your Bio for Agents?

Interview with Poet Justin Marks. Good tidbit where he says, "I've been given such large heaps of bad advice over the years I'm hesitant to offer any of my own. So maybe my advice should be, 'don't take any advice.' Then again, I've also gotten some good advice that has often helped sustain me: Trust yourself. Don't let anyone or anything stop you. Be willing to change. Perservere. Stuff like that."

Veteran writer and editor Mark Garvey gives advice to writers who are new to blogging.

Great agent advice from Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich

From Script Notes: Are webscripts useful writing samples?

Free excerpts from new writing books

Download a PDF excerpt with great creative writing prompts, from our newest creativity title, Take Ten.

Check out a conversation with The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant where he talks about where the idea for the show came from and how it got onto the air. (From an upcoming title, Here's the Kicker.)

Upcoming events

WDB/BEA Writers Conference (May 27). This is the big kahuna where you can pitch to 66 agents and 4 editors during a 2-hour window. Even if you aren't successful in your pitch attempts here, you will learn so many amazing things about what makes an agent or editor jump on a project. The interaction is invaluable and can shave years off your path to publication. The full day costs $199 and includes the pitch session (plus lunch and terrific networking). I'll be there, as will most of my colleagues from Writer's Digest.

WD Editors' Intensive (June 20-21). Once again, we're opening up Writer's Digest HQ to 50 people for a personalized weekend of writing and publishing instruction. We spend a day coaching you about how to succeed in the changing landscape of publishing, then wrap it up with a one-on-one 30-minute appointment to discuss the first 50 pages of your manuscript or proposal. We've received excellent feedback from writers who've attended who love the up-close-and-personal interaction as well as the practical, hard-working information.

Online education

Guide to Literary Agents editor Chuck Sambuchino is hosting a live session tomorrow on how to land a literary agent. There's still time to register; follow the link here.

Writer's Market editor Robert Brewer (also known for his Poem-a-Day Challenge at Poetic Asides) is hosting a live session on May 29 on how to get your poetry published. You'll never meet a better expert, and you'll get an opportunity to ask him any question you like on the topic during the live event. Again, visit this site for registration links.

Unsure if an online event (webinar) is right for you? You can find our FAQs here.

We're launching a new WOW course, Hooked, which is focused on how to craft an amazing beginning to your novel—one that will catch the attention of agents and editors. It's nearly full, but we're still accepting students. Class starts on May 28. Go here for more info.

Competition deadlines

The deadline for the Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards has been extended to May 20. Enter in 10 different categories, from poetry to humor. You could win $3,000, plus some winners are noticed by agents. (Yep, we have success stories of authors who have been picked up by a traditional house after winning this contest.) Click here for more information or to register your entry online.

This Friday marks the deadline for our biggest contest of the year: The Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition, now in its 78th year. Grand prize includes a trip to NYC with a Writer's Digest editor to meet with agents.

As always: You can sign up for the WD newsletter on the homepage and receive a free-book on 70 common writing mistakes. You can also sign up for musings strictly from me, on writing and publishing (launching July 1). Go here to register.

Photo credit: Sister 72

Agents | Conferences/Events | Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published | New Titles From Writer's Digest | Self-Publishing

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 4:49:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The One Behavior That Spells Doom for Your Editor/Agent Relationship
Posted by Jane

A top-shelf journalist, Dan Baum, recently Tweeted about his experience breaking into and then writing for The New Yorker. You can read the full account here.

It was fascinating to get an inside look at one of the most venerable publications in the world, but much more fascinating was the story—or lesson—of his dismissal. It was not related to his writing or performance, though that was the official reason given.

Here's part of what he says (edited for space):

I wanted to write about Mexico’s disputed presidential election. A million people were demonstrating in Mexico City.

David said, “I guess if you want to write about Mexico, you might write about that mayor of Mexico City; he’s interesting.”

And here’s where it all went to hell.

I should have said, “Great idea, David. I’ll get right on it.”

Instead I said, “David, that’s the guy I’m talking about! That’s the guy who claims to have won the election! That’s the guy who everybody is demonstrating over!”

Now, what was the point of doing that? He was ceding me the chance to write about the situation in Mexico.

And if he didn’t know the details, he had more than the average American’s sense of Mexican politics.

But, believing we were two colleagues - couple of guys from New Jersey - hashing out what was best for the magazine, I made him feel uninformed.

Then I did it again.

He said, “How about the governor of Montana? He’s an interesting guy; you could profile him.”

Again, the correct response would have been, “Right away, sir.”

Instead, I said, “David, I proposed that story six months ago and you turned it down. Now it’s too late. Next week, he’s on the cover of the New York Times Magazine.”

The conversation ended amicably enough, but everything went to hell after that. I knew it at once. It all turned frosty.

… the real reason Remnick fired me was that he took a personal dislike to me after our conversations.

I was pretty bitter for a while. A New Yorker writer should be able to have a straight-up exchange of views with his editor.

And a guy as accomplished and powerful as David Remnick shouldn’t be so insecure that he can’t take some pushback.

… The biggest disappointment was learning that, after all, it’s not only about the work on the page. That the writing life is not a pure meritocracy, or a refuge from office politics. All that crap still matters. Even at the top of the heap. Perhaps especially at the top of the heap.

Like Baum, I'd expect a higher level of emotional intelligence from people at The New Yorker, and he blames not knowing the culture well as a reason for his misstep (he didn't work at the offices or visit that often).

But it's always a critical error to ignore one of the cardinal rules of human interaction: If you insist on being right, and/or make someone feel bad about themselves (especially when it comes to your superiors!), prepare to be disliked and lose opportunities.

Especially when it comes to superiors, we can mistakenly ascribe more confidence to them because we see them as successful, and as having accomplished so much. You might think your boss or CEO has the wisdom and knowledge to be reasonably and constructively challenged (isn't that how we all learn?), but that's rarely the case.

One book I love dearly is The 48 Laws of Power. Guess what the first law is (perhaps the most important of all)?

Never Outshine the Master.

Get a quick list of 48 laws here.

If David Remnick of the New Yorker is susceptible, I guarantee the editors, agents, and other people you work with—who wield some measure of power in your career—are also susceptible.

Are you telling them that they're wrong, pointing out how they contradict themselves, persisting in an argument of why you're right?

You're not doing yourself any favors.

Editors/agents may not say it openly, but if this is your attitude, you'll get the freeze-out, just like Baum did. It may be a quiet freezing process: perhaps they're not championing you any more to their important contacts —something you could never know for sure.

Think about the contact you have with important people. Imagine how they feel when they see an e-mail from you. Will they have a bad feeling? "Oh no, now what's wrong?" Or: "What will they complain about next?" Or: "How have I screwed up this time?"

I keep a quote from Jean Toomer posted in my office:

Thank everyone who calls out your faults, your anger, your impatience, your egotism; do this consciously, voluntarily.

If we can put aside our egos, we open the door to more honest conversation and an opportunity to learn.

Unfortunately, most of us know instinctively not to challenge the person in power.

Don't we watch, very carefully, when a superior is challenged by someone with very little power? What happens to the challenger? And how does the person in power respond?

What happens when a mistake is made? Is there an acknowledgment of it?

Leaders often make a show of asking for ideas, feedback, and constructive criticism, but so rarely know how to respond in a way that would encourage more of it.

People are afraid. They know about the First Law.

Dan Baum felt comfortable enough to break that law, because he thought the laws didn't apply between two guys who were so much alike, with a leader who only benefits from employing people who are smarter than him, at least in some ways.

I wish Baum hadn't been so wrong.

Photo credit: Manuel_Marin

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 5:06:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, May 11, 2009

Leading Indicator of Success: How You Deal With Loss, Failure, Rejection
Posted by Jane

Many years ago, when I was working as an associate editor for North Light Books (another imprint of F+W Media), I applied for the lead editor position on Writer's Market. I interviewed with three different people in the division. I wanted the job so bad that I would drive around Cincinnati interstates late at night, for 30- or 60-minute stretches, just thinking about how much I wanted that job.

I didn't get it. The hiring manager encouraged me to keep trying to transition to the Writer's Digest community if other positions opened up.

Within 2 weeks, a managing editor position with Writer's Digest magazine was posted. I thought: They'll never hire me for that job. Why bother? I have no magazine experience. And so I didn't apply. Another 2-4 weeks passed, and the job was still posted. I remember staring at the job description in the lunch room, finally snapping out of my self-pity, thinking, Why the hell not? What have I got to lose?

I got the job. The rest is history.

Of the thousands of writers (and creative people) I have met, all have failed at one point or another. No one is immune. That's why I so consistently preach passion and persistence. If you don't have the passion inside you to motivate yourself to continue, you might not find the persistence and strength you need when faced with failure, loss, and rejection.

There isn't a lack of wisdom for writers (or the human race) when it comes to failure.

Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.
—T.S. Eliot

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
—Thomas Edison

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
—Thomas Edison

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.
—President Obama

I know right away when I meet a person who has been hardened or shamed into inaction. It can happen to all of us, at some point, especially when we're young and invincible or new to something, and plan to take over the world. Then something happens, we're blocked, and we dip into despair, self-pity.

You can go there, but you must move through it. The longer you let the failure consume you, the more fierce the casualties. The happy (and usually successful) people I meet have a resilience that you can sense when you talk to them—people who understand that failure, loss, and rejection are all part of the game (no matter what game is being played).

I tend to associate failure with loss. Most failure impacts our sense of self, our confidence level—whether we were able to accomplish something. You can lose a piece of yourself in failure, if you let it. It can lead to a loss of identity, a crisis. Loss sometimes triggers a recognition of a failure (both real and not real).

So you have to take failure and shine a different light on it. Think of it as (1) being a part of life and part of the process (2) bringing you one step closer to success (3) a learning moment (4) an opportunity to make a positive change (5) helping you find better relationships and wellsprings of support.

Can you change the light on what's happening? Do it, and you'll be closer to making your mark on the world.

Photo credit: WorldIslandInfo.com

F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Monday, May 11, 2009 5:51:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

I Hate Telephones (an Irrational Rant)
Posted by Jane

Every time I get in a relationship with someone, early on I establish a rule: We will not be having (long) conversations on the phone.

I suspect it's been a deal breaker at times, or at least a red flag (I'm thinking of you, Mr. Get-Anything-I-Want-on-the-Phone Conductor).

This morning, I overheard a conversation between several colleagues that went something like this.

"I hate making phone calls!"

"Me too!"

"It's not like I've had really bad trauma on the phone, I just don't know what to say, it's always so awkward."

"I find ways to avoid calls. I'll send an e-mail if I can. I hate calling my credit card company."

"I don't like talking to anyone unless I really know them."

I suddenly felt as if maybe I weren't alone. (Is it a generational thing?)

This conversation was not even sparked by a particularly unpleasant phone calling task: It was a series of phone calls that needed to be made to Writer's Digest contest winners, people who are hopefully thrilled to hear from us!

Unfortunately, unlike my colleague, I have experienced traumatic moments on the phone, including:

Hearing a string of foreign expletives a mile long (followed by heart-breaking news and a hang up) after finally gathering the courage to make an international call
Being brazenly belittled, insulted, and ridiculed by agents who don't like the initial offer or contract they've received
Being asked by an authority figure to lie to someone over the phone, while they watched to ensure I did so
Hearing writers (whom I don't know) sigh loudly, say something mean, then hang up when I say I'm not interested in their project

There are maybe two or three people in the world with whom I can have a truly meaningful and productive conversation on the phone. For everyone else, I do my best, but so much is missing:

body language
facial expressions
that intangible vibe in the room
eye contact, eye contact, eye contact

When it comes to business life, though, quick (even long) phone calls are far superior to endless, indeterminate e-mail chains, and an absolute must when you're working in a company with many locations and telecommuting employees.

But when it comes to phone communication vs. written communication with unknown people in my business, written always wins: I never, ever want to hear your pitches on a phone call, I don't want to return your call asking for submission guidelines (it will turn into a pitch), I don't want to brainstorm ideas with you. For the love of God, take two minutes to find my e-mail address online (easy if you Google my name) and send a quick note. It's less intrusive and you'll actually get a response.

I have to ask the writers who do this: why make phone calls to people you don't know or have a relationship with? Maybe you think that because the e-mails aren't getting answered, the phone is the only way to get through, but not many people pick up the phone anymore without knowing who's on the other end and/or expecting the call. So why waste your time? Find other ways to connect.

Technology note:
The Writer's Digest blogs will be undergoing a server transition starting tonight at 10 p.m. EST, lasting all-day Thursday. This basically means that any comments you post during this time will not be saved, so hold them for Friday.

Photo credit: Mykl Roventine

F+W Life | General

Wednesday, May 06, 2009 8:29:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Dear Writer, Please Pay in Full
Posted by Jane

As publisher of Writer's Digest, I get the tough, make-you-cringe cases for response. Back in March, we received the following e-mail through our general account. It's a long message, but important to convey in its entirety.

Dear Writer, please pay your membership fee in full.
Dear Writer, please pay for your online membership.
Dear Writer, please pay for your print edition of Writers Market.
Dear Writer, please pay for your digital edition of Writers Digest.
Dear Writer, please pay for your webinar.
Dear Writer, please pay for your competition dues.
Dear Writer, please pay for the advice you received on "How to make money as a writer."

DEAR WRITER, PLEASE PAY IN FULL!

Dear Writers Digest,

    I'm a writer, of merit and accomplishment. I read many of the trade journals, and avoid many of them as well - half of the writers magazines are written by people that are still in need of a copy of shrunk & white's. I'm writing you because this is becoming ludicrous. When it comes down to it the majority of us are trying to do something we love and make money at it. We all strive to break through with every word, sentence, paragraph and page. We gorge ourselves on the advice of others, both by way of trade publication and by our hefty bookstores totals. All of us are looking for a writers haven, where we can glean from our peers, embrace the craft, and better ourselves. Unfortunately, that place no longer appears to be Writers Digest.
    As a business you've forgotten your customer. As writers, you've taken advantage of the craft and the passion with which people execute it. You can't possibly think that you can charge readers for every word. Even Barnes & Noble let's people read books in the store without throwing a surcharge on them, or even attend Book Groups without making them put down a deposit.
    I follow many of your writers, not just here, but all across the internet. I respect them tremendously, even when their writing isn't useful it's still uplifting. I was recently disappointed when I read an article, written by one of your writers, that said you were proud to announce your new webinars. I was excited, thrilled even, to think that I might get some tangible advice for the subscription I pay for, I read on eagerly so I could set the date for the next session. Then I followed a Link that showed me a price list for your short webinars.
    The small instruction explains that while originally you wanted to charge $199 dollars you decided that was too much and instead only charge $99 dollars. A $1.50 a minute...TO WRITERS...WHO ALREADY PAY FOR YOUR SERVICES. How does that equate? Let's see, a normal person, working forty hours a week, at $1.50 a minute would make over $14,000.00 dollars a month. Are you taking advice from investment bankers now, or simply trying to capitalize on the voice you've gained because of us writers who already spend countless dollars of our hard earned money on market and trade materials.
    It's really rather simple, charge, certainly, for some things. First, live up to your end of the contract, people are already paying, so start providing something to them without an additional fee. Second, be realistic, don't be so pretentious, you're time isn't worth $14,000.00 a month, not unless your running a pyramid scheme or a brothel.

I still haven't responded, so this has become my response. What's interesting about this particular case is that I'm 99% certain it is from one of my Facebook friends who is an aspiring writer I haven't met. (A few of us Writer's Digest editors have invited writers to friend us on Facebook; you're welcome to do so as well.)

I digress.

What this e-mail says to me:

We're not doing a very good job letting people know what content we offer for free.
We're not doing a good job communicating the value of what we offer or the diversity of what we offer (whether in terms of media, price point, or delivery channel).
Our marketing messages may be too numerous. (I can confirm that the frequency of these messages has increased dramatically in 2009.)
Whatever it is that we provide writers (for free or not), we're failing if writers feel that we're heartlessly capitalizing on their dreams, and merely exist to find more ways to take their money.

When I started at F+W in 1998, the mission of the company was to help creative people fulfill their dreams. Ten years later (with plenty of time and opportunity for cynicism to sink in), I'm still with Writer's Digest because I believe in that mission.

The problem is, we're not a nonprofit. (Yes, sometimes I wish we were.) And just like many writers are trying to make money at what they love (some of them by working for Writer's Digest!), the people in publishing are also trying to make money doing what they love. Yet I don't know anyone who goes into this business for the money. Those people usually migrate over to law, business school, and Wall Street.

And I think the writer of this message is primarily and supremely annoyed that he was hooked on a particular experience/product, and became angry when he realized it came at a cost that he found both unjustifiable and unaffordable.

Speaking from a business perspective, we price things at what the market can bear. And we've found that the value of the interaction and information in the webinars has consistently allowed a price of $79-$99. We could charge less, and attract more people, but for our efforts, it's better to charge a little more, and have fewer people.

The webinars so far have been hosted by our in-house editors (that includes me); we are not paid additionally for these. There are costs in licensing and using the Webex platform, based on number of attendees and how long the sessions run. We have one person running tech support in the background at all times, plus a customer service rep handling questions/concerns, and a marketing person who develops messages about the webinars, and an online editor who updates pages about it, etc. There's a cost of doing business; it's not pure profit.

However, there are other communities at F+W that charge less than we do. It's all based on customer feedback and attendance levels. So it's good to have this feedback, and maybe one day we'll consider lowering the price. But the wisdom typically with pricing is that it's much better to start high and bring it down, rather than start low and jack up the price later.

Writer's Digest can survive only by providing writers with valuable and trusted content that they need and are willing to pay for. The reason you see newspapers and magazines and even book imprints disappearing is because many types of content have become plentiful and free online, and no one is willing to pay for it any longer. Maybe that day will come for us, if we're not able to compete with other sources and communities that provide free or more valuable information. Certainly peer-to-peer sharing, as well as the sharing that comes directly from the source (agents/editors), cuts out some of the need for a Writer's Digest to give you the authoritative perspective on anything. Only time will tell, but as soon as we become irrelevant to the writing community, we'll go out of business.

That aside, it might be helpful to advise everyone on what we offer for free.

Our blogs. We have blogs focusing on agents, poetry, children's/YA, scriptwriting, plus general Q&A. The blogs focus on prescriptive/how-to information, current events, interviews with people in the industry, and inspiration (like Robert's Poem-a-Day challenge). We also frequently link to other (free/paid) resources that compete against us, in the name of serving the community. Best Tweets for Writers and 101 Best Websites (2009 list coming soon!) are good examples of this.

WD.com. All content here is free, and there is a ton of it (although admittedly it can sometimes be hard to find). You can find most of of the magazine's content here 1-2 months after the issue has released, as well as book excerpts (click here for a starter list). There is also an active forum where we regularly bring in guests to answer questions.

Your Story. This is a free contest we run every issue of the magazine that offers an opportunity to get published with us.

Newsletters. You can sign-up for our weekly newsletter with tips/prompts at our homepage, and get a free e-book (on common writing mistakes) while you're at it. There's also a free newsletter associated with WritersMarket.com.

Twitter/Facebook. There are unique opportunities to interact with Writer's Digest editors through Twitter and Facebook. I've managed to answer some questions in 140 characters or less, and also learned a lot from the community in the process. It's a two-way street.

I do hope that the accessibility of our editors online (for free) helps alleviate this feeling that we're only here to make a buck. It's also important to us that you find value in the content that does have a price tag, and that you feel you've made a great investment in your writing and your career.

We work to deliver a good experience. It's why I get up in the morning.

F+W Life | General

Tuesday, May 05, 2009 5:43:56 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Warning: You Don't Want to Miss the Best Content of the Year
Posted by Jane

This week marks the 1-year anniversary of this blog, There Are No Rules. I am still finding the right combination of content and perspective that will help you, so on this anniversary, I offer this invitation:

What questions, topics, and subjects do you want me to cover in the year ahead?
What do you need the most help with?
What has been most helpful to you in the past year, to help you advance your writing career (from anywhere!)?
What would you like more of?
What could you do without?
What information do you usually remember most from this blog? Why do you read it?

Everyone who comments on this post (and includes their e-mail address), will receive, in PDF form, my presentations and handouts from my talks on how to succeed as a writer in a transformational time in publishing.

The best commenter (as judged by me!) will have a choice of a 15-minute phone consultation, a query letter critique, or a first-page critique.

Now, to celebrate my best content from the past year, in case you missed it!

2 Most Popular Posts of All Time

8 Articles/Posts All Writers Should Have Read in 2008
FYI, if you're a blogger, you should know by now that list posts almost always perform better than all others.

On Being One of 100,000+ People Stranded in Thailand
Of course a tale of my misadventure would do well! As the Brazen Careerist has said, it's the personal element that often brings your readers back for more. (True?)

Series Posts

Save Time Tips (using Google tools and other tech solutions). After the first tip that's linked here, look for two more tips immediately after.

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (1-7)
Here's #7, with a link to the others at the bottom of the post.

10 Years in Publishing: What I've Learned (1-5)
Here's #5. Click on nearest preceding days for 1-4.

Biggest Traffic Generator in One Day

My Big Rant on Self-Publishing

Best Practical Answers/Solutions for Writers

5 Questions to Ask Yourself After Hearing: We Can't Sell Enough to Justify Publishing It

Useful Google Tools You've Never Heard Of

The Essential Components of an (Unpublished) Author's Website

Best Big-Picture Views for Writers

Do Writers' Futures Lie in Indie E-Publishing Platforms?

How Writers Can Start Blogging in a Meaningful Way

Fiction Writers Need Platforms, Too

The 3 Types of Writer—Which Are You?

Posts With Hidden Content You Might've Missed

WD Editors' Intensive Cheat Sheet (great links to how-to-get-published, plus how to get connected)

Recap: Harriette Austin Writers Conference (red flags in first 15 pages, PDF download of my workshop on honing a great nonfiction book concept)

Get a List of All the Sites I Follow

Best Fun

How Many Editors to Screw in a Lightbulb?

Time to Get a Tattoo?

Want to guest blog here? I'd like to extend an invitation to writers (whether you blog or not): If you have tips, advice, success stories, or not-so-successful stories to share, let me know privately via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter. (You can also reach me through this portal.) I'm starting a guest series on Fridays and would love to feature all kinds of perspectives.

Photo credit: Sandra

F+W Life | General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends

Thursday, April 30, 2009 4:20:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, April 24, 2009

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their February Very Short Fiction Award. This twice yearly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme, with a word count range of 500-3,000. Monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place
Rolaine Hochstein of New York, NY, wins $1200 for “Virtuous Woman”. Her story will be published in the Summer 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in May 2010.

Second place
Anne de Marcken of Olympia, WA, wins $500 for “Best Western”. Her story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, increasing her prize to $700.

Third place
Evan Christopher Burton of New York, NY, wins $300 for “Levitation”.

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Also: Family Matters competition (deadline soon approaching! April 30). Glimmer Train hosts this competition quarterly, and first place is $1,200 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers for stories about family. Word count range 500-12,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

--

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Friday, April 24, 2009 10:17:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Writers and the Recession: How Can You Succeed?
Posted by Jane

I was interviewed by Tad Richards of the New York Careers Examiner. We discuss writing, publishing, recession, and how everything is changing ... and how writers need to shift strategy to succeed. A snippet:

TR: With print periodicals in danger of becoming dinosaurs, what's the future there for writers?

JF: Where is journalism headed or what will happen? I have no idea. We're in the middle of a huge transformation in the culture, and it's nearly impossible to say how it will shake out. Clay Shirky wrote a fabulous essay on this that I highly recommend to every writer. I do think the culture is headed into a media environment that does not value advertising, but has a lot of respect for content. Writers who can build a trust factor and also specialize in reaching a particular audience should find plenty of opportunities no matter what happens. Being online and being engaged (the social media thing) will be essential. Everything will be more community-driven ... but how all of this will be monetized and provide writers/journalists with a living ... We'll see!

Click here for the full interview.

Digitization & New Technology | General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Monday, April 20, 2009 4:39:03 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

279 Days to Overnight Success
Posted by Jane

One of the Twitter sensations right now is 279 Days to Overnight Success by Chris Guillebeau. In less than a year, he has created a sustainable living for himself through writing/blogging, while traveling the world. Highly recommend you download his free PDF here.

Building Readership | General | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:01:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Why NOT to Get a Creative Writing Degree
Posted by Jane

I have a BFA in creative writing from the University of Evansville.

I took a mix of literature and writing courses, got practical experience as the editor of the Evansville Review and University Crescent (and had a fabulous time doing it), and was mentored by a professor who ultimately gave me a lead into F+W for my internship (now 12 years ago!).

I recently commented to a group of friends on Facebook that if I had to do it over again, I would not major in creative writing (though I would never, ever change a thing about my college publications experiences).

A college friend, who had also majored in writing, asked why. And now I share those reasons with you.

The most valuable lessons I've learned in my writing life never came from my formal education in it. I've learned much more through practice and through reading what I love. (Plus, in a nod to Writer's Digest, I've benefited from its prescriptive, nuts-and-bolts stuff that universities tend to eschew, but can really shave years off the learning curve.)
I've also found that the writers I enjoy have some intense interest, passion, or training that influences their style and point of view and voice. It really sets them apart.
I was just too damn young. Lots of the writing was merely cathartic.
I also learned much more through teaching composition to freshman.

So what major would I choose if I had to do it over again? Since you can improve your own writing simply by doing more of it (plus everyone gets better with age), I'm not sure I even care. It could be any major that provides something enriching, a different facet or perspective to my life thinking.

Given that business/marketing skills are often found in successful writers, that is a tempting choice. Sadly, most people think business/marketing are contrary to art and creativity. But 2 things to keep in mind:

Marketing should be about a service provided to people, not something inflicted on people! (Read: May I market for you? Thanks to Guy who helped lead me to this article.)
Business is as much about people and psychology as it is the numbers. I always like to quote Dana Gioia on this point, who once said the higher you get up the food chain, the more it's about qualitative judgment, not quantitative. Read this interview with him at the Wharton site.

That said, getting a degree in writing can give you the time and permission you need to focus on your writing. Plus a great mentor is invaluable.

But it doesn't help you develop a writing career or help you get published (if that's what you're expecting).

P.S. I still love and adore my alma mater.

Photo credit: Aunt Owwee

Craft & Technique | General

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:37:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Useful Google Tools You've Never Heard Of
Posted by Jane

I stumbled upon the following just today:
57 Useful Google Tools for Scholars, Students, and Hobbyists

A few highlights (go to the blog post for click-thru links):

Picasa. This Google program makes it easy to manage your photos online and off. Users can download a photo editing and management program to their desktops which makes it easy to mail, upload or post photos to a blog or they can use the online albums provided by the program.

Desktop. Make it easy to find everything on your desktop with this application from Google. It allows users to search through their email, computer files, music, photos, chats, and web history to find what they need and also allows them to install useful gadgets to their desktops.

Page Creator. This program from Google allows users to design and build webpages and then publish them to sites hosted by Google. Users are offered 100 MB of storage and the program comes with a variety of preloaded templates and layouts.

Sites. Create and collaborate on shared websites with this tool from Google. Users can create a simple webpage, collect relevant information and choose who can edit and work on the project with them.

Talk. You may have heard of Google Talk but did you know that it’s not only a chat tool but can be used for VoIP conversations as well? Users can make the most of the service, and enjoy its integration into their Gmail accounts.

Trends. Get easy to read graphs of Web trends over time with this tool. It allows users to track searches over city, region or country to see when certain topics were of more interest to browsers. Users can also take a look at Hot Trends which displays the most popular searches over the past hour.

Cookin' With Google. Have some random ingredients in the fridge but aren’t sure what to make with them? Maybe this Google-based tool can help. Enter in a few ingredients and it will give you recipes in several different categories.

Fun | General

Monday, March 30, 2009 5:47:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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The Risk of Innovation
Posted by Jane

I've been silent this past week due a company off-site innovation summit in Iola, Wisconsin (the headquarters of Krause Publications, a division of F+W Media).

As part of this off-site, I presented a success story from the Writer's Digest community related to our webinar series that launched in January 2009. (P.S. Next one happens tomorrow, covering online marketing and promotion.)

The funny part about innovation is that I'm not convinced it happens on a schedule, in a meeting room, though you certainly walk away from such meetings with more ideas about how to improve and grow than you can possibly execute.

Also, innovation carries risk, and not every innovation is destined to be successful. In the case of Writer's Digest, we tried launching a video model in 2008, WritersDigest.tv, but it did not work out as we'd hoped. (In comparison, if you look at the F+W art community, they've been quite successful with their TV model, ArtistsNetwork.tv.)

So when we decided to try out writing webinars in 2009, I was a little worried writers wouldn't take to the format. No writer has ever approached me and begged to take a webinar. Most don't even know what a webinar is. (It's a fancy name for a live, online event, and all it requires is an Internet browser and a good Internet connection.)

But we do know that writers want personalized and immediate instruction, with definite benefits and results, and lucky for us, the technology behind webinars allows us to accomplish this in a brand-new and effective way. There may not have been much hard evidence that a webinar program would be successful, but the innovation has worked (at least so far) because it provides information and benefits that writers need and want (and can justify spending money on).

Thus, one of the most stressed points at the innovation summit, as we evaluated our ideas, was: What consumer need are we meeting? Unfortunately, it's easy to trick yourself into thinking that you are fulfilling a need, especially if you are looking for new ways to make a buck.

Photo credit: Photo Mojo

Conferences/Events | F+W Life | General

Monday, March 30, 2009 5:39:39 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Get a List of All the Sites I Follow (OPML), Or: Peek Inside My Google Reader
Posted by Jane

After posting last week about how to save time reading online, I thought I'd share with you what I follow inside my Google Reader!

All you need to do is:

Download this OPML file: google-reader-subscriptions.xml (25.02 KB)
Open your Google Reader (or RSS Reader), and find an option where you can upload this file.
Presto! You've recreated my library of RSS feeds.

Any readers of this blog who'd like to share their own OPML file, please include a link to download in the comments. (You can create an OPML file easily from Google Reader by going to "Settings" and asking it to export.)

Fun | General

Thursday, March 19, 2009 5:10:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their January Family Matters competition. This quarterly competition is open to all writers for stories about family, with a word count range of 500-12,000. Monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place
Jeremiah Chamberlin of Ann Arbor, MI, wins $1200 for “What We Can”. His story will be published in the Summer 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in May 2010.

Second place
Yuval Zalkow of Portland, OR, wins $500 for “God and Buses”. His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, increasing his prize to $700.

Third place
Adam Rensch of Bronxville, NY, wins $300 for “Everything in Its Right Place”. His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, increasing his prize to $700.

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

This quarterly competition is open to all writers and all themes, with a word count range of 2000-20,000. Click here for guidelines .

Also: Fiction Open competition (deadline soon approaching! March 31)
Glimmer Train hosts this competition quarterly, and first place is $2000 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers, no theme restrictions. Word count range 2000-20,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

--

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Thursday, March 19, 2009 5:02:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Secrets to Getting What You Want (It's All About Rhetoric)
Posted by Jane

One of the first lessons I taught student writers, when I was instructing freshman composition, was the art of rhetoric. Rhetoric isn't a term many of us are familiar with, yet we employ rhetoric every day to get the things we want and to persuade people.

If a writer is an outstanding rhetorician, it means he knows how to persuade. Rhetoric (rather than writing) used to be studied in school. It still should be. (Read a history of rhetoric at Wikipedia.)

As a professional editor, when it comes to interacting with friends, family, and others (off the job), they all tend to think (or be fearful) that I am silently picking apart their writing style and grammar, looking for errors, or otherwise judging their proficiency. Nothing could be further from the truth. I might notice the errors, but as long as errors don't get in the way of meaning, who cares?

But I do notice when someone's rhetoric isn't effective. And that's when I tend to speak out in the most uninvited way. Like right now.

I happened to read this blog post about leadership, which uses the analogy of an orchestral conductor to make its point. Of course, whenever I find anything that mentions orchestral conducting, I send it to The Conductor! And I knew this blog post would push every single one of his buttons, and he'd be compelled to comment. (Which he did.)

With The Conductor's reluctant permission (and hopefully none of you consider this a public spectacle, just a very informative writing and publishing lesson!), I'm reproducing his original comment here, followed by my revised version, that shows how a great writer (as well as a great marketer) always gears a piece of writing for an intended audience.

ORIGINAL

You know, it’s misinformed nonsense like this that perpetuates the incorrect impressions people have about what it is a conductor actually does. (I blame all those Bugs Bunny cartoons!)

Of course, the “true visionary” is the composer. That’s why we classical musicians devote our lives to studying and performing their works hundreds of years after they were written. However, you are quite incorrect with your suggestion that every player has a score. This could not be further from the truth!

A typical conductor’s score has anywhere from 10 to 50 lines of music to be read simultaneously. The conductor must spend countless hours studying scores in preparation for rehearsals, for he is in fact the ONLY member of the ensemble who has a blueprint of what everyone is supposed to be doing. Each section of the orchestra has only their OWN part in front of them. The violins don’t know what the flute is playing. The timpani has no clue when the cellos are going to come in. Given that there are 80-100 people on stage, with differing experiences, musical attitudes, and abilities – SOMEONE has to lead. And that someone damn well knows what he’s doing.

Don’t believe me? Watch these 2 minutes of rehearsal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLLzZVsErjo

What you see in concert, when a conductor leads an ensemble through a performance, is the end product of dozens of hours of study by the conductor, and then yet another dozen hours or more of rehearsal.

Finally, the idea that the orchestra could do just fine without a conductor is also quite untrue. Yes there are orchestras, the oft-mentioned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra being the most celebrated, which performs sans conductor. However, what is less well-known is that in rehearsal, each and every rehearsal, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra chooses someone from the orchestra to conduct. And they must hold many more rehearsals than most orchestras in order to prepare for a performance without a conductor.

I’ve played in professional orchestras as a violinist for over 20 years, and have conducted for over a decade. Ask any professional musician playing in a major orchestra if it would be possible to perform a major work of Shostakovich, Mahler, or Schoenberg without a conductor. I assure you the answer will be, “no”. And this is why the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a “Chamber” orchestra, and not a full orchestra.

REVISED
Note: The numbers in brackets refer to my commentary below.

[1] You are absolutely right that the true visionary is the composer. Classical musicians study and perform composers' works hundreds of years after they were written. However, your analogy doesn't quite reach perfection, since your suggestion that every player has a score is not entirely accurate.

[2] [3] Each section of the orchestra has only their own part in front of them. The violins don’t know what the flutes are playing. The timpani has no clue when the cellos are going to come in. You can have 80-100 people on stage, all with very individual parts (not to mention experiences, musical attitudes, and abilities). On the other hand, a typical conductor’s score keeps track of all this. It has anywhere from 10 to 50 lines of music to be read simultaneously. The conductor is the only member of the ensemble who has a blueprint of what everyone is supposed to be doing. What you see in concert, when a conductor leads an ensemble through a performance, is the result of a specific person making specific decisions and leading—decisions that are made during rehearsals before performance.

[4] You can see an example during these two minutes of a Leonard Bernstein rehearsal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLLzZVsErjo

[5] As you mention, though, there are orchestras, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra being the most celebrated, which performs sans conductor. What is less well-known is that in every rehearsal, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra chooses someone from the orchestra to conduct. And they hold many more rehearsals than most orchestras in order to prepare for a performance without a conductor.

[6] [7] [8] I have to admit, though, I am biased. I have conducted for over a decade. However, I’ve also played in professional orchestras as a violinist for even longer, and have watched how the personality, technique, and preparation of a conductor can dramatically change the outcome of a performance—for better and worse. As you note, a conductor who makes a spectacle of himself isn't leading, and in turn won't be respected by the orchestra, which will result in a poor performance. A great conductor knows how to get out of the way and focus everyone's attention and passion on the music (or the composer and score, as you point out).

[1] I've removed the first lines in the original because it will automatically make the reader defensive and unlikely to listen to the forthcoming viewpoint. Studies have shown that it takes about 10 compliments to make up for 1 negative remark. Also think of it this way: Whatever your initial tone, or whatever feeling you convey, that will likely result in the same feeling in the reader. So if you're looking for sympathy, but not extending any to start, you'll have a more difficult time convincing anyone of your argument!

[2] I've reorganized information here so it focuses, first and foremost, on the immense challenge at hand: lots of individual parts that need to be … orchestrated. Putting out these facts then raises the question in the mind of the reader before you make your ultimate point and provide a solution. So, your reader is already agreeing with you before you even make the point.

[3] Exclamation points, all caps, or rhetorical questions can often subvert the point you're trying to make, rather than support it. I recommend eliminating in favor of language that's clearer or stronger.

[4] When you provide evidence, always be specific if you want someone to pay attention to it. (Also avoid snarkiness if you want someone to be attentive to your examples and take them seriously.)

[5] Repeating tactics from [2].

[6] Eventually, you do have to claim how your POV is biased (either directly or indirectly). This doesn't necessarily mean your POV is any less credible or persuasive. Rather than using it as a way to force your authority, use it to garner additional understanding.

[7] I've taken out specific references to composers, because unless one understands the challenges these composers present, the argument is not effective, and even worse, it alienates your audience if they don't understand.

[8] It's always best to end on a note of agreement, and find that common ground again. So I've put some words in the mouth of our conductor-writer here.

——

OK, this has been a long post. Congratulations to those who stuck with it! You can also see a more direct business benefit (related to rhetoric) over at All Things Workplace (that talks about always using "you" and "because" to get what you want).

Photo credit: jordanfischer

Craft & Technique | Fun | General

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 5:27:51 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Save Time Tip #3: Build a Customized Search Home
Posted by Jane

Everyone needs a good starting page when opening a browser. As much as I'd like to tell you to start off every morning by visiting WritersDigest.com, that's not actually useful or efficient. But let's say you're a Writer's Digest fan, and you want to have up-to-the-minute information about what's happening with us—without going to 5 or 10 different pages, or even without going to an RSS Reader.

Here's my WD guru home (via iGoogle, which I highly recommend as a tool).

5 key takeaways from this:

Via iGoogle, I can add ANY piece of content I want IF it has an RSS feed associated with it. ANY content! You'll notice in the above screen capture, I've told iGoogle to add a box for every single Writer's Digest blog (by simply inputting into iGoogle the URL).
You can also add gadgets to your page, e.g., mini-windows into Facebook and Twitter, which are also above. There are thousands of gadgets—informational gadgets (weather, stocks, recipes), tool gadgets (e.g., to-do lists), game gadgets.
Now look to the lefthand side of the screen. See those tabs? I have a tab called "WD Guru." I also have a customized tab for Google News, as well as my basic "home" tab, which is loaded everytime I visit www.google.com (which is my browser's default homepage). By using this tab system, you can streamline different aspects of your personal and professional life.
There's also a chat window on the left, and if I unscrolled it for you, there would be a bunch of my AIM and GoogleChat connections.
You can also create your own Google Gadgets (and you don't have to be a programmer to do it). There's no end to the cuteness.

Fun | General

Monday, March 16, 2009 3:32:06 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

What Would Be Your Ideal Online Writing Course?
Posted by Jane

One of my primary goals this year is to remake the Writer's Digest online workshop program into something valuable and remarkable for writers—whether it's to help you better your writing or speed your path to publication. The webinars are one way we're trying something new, and we have even more ideas for dynamic and interactive online education.

Whether you've taken an online writing course or not, I'd love to know your thoughts about what your ideal online course looks like.

You can take this 10-question survey or leave a comment on this post.

General

Sunday, March 15, 2009 12:03:02 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Save Time Tip #2: Write, Share, Collaborate Online (Not Via E-mail)
Posted by Jane

Only recently have I embraced online tools as a way of creating and collaborating on new documents. Some of these tools have the ability to save you extreme amounts of time, depending on how much of your time is spent in document editing and creation.

Google Documents
Imagine what your word processor does. That's the first functionality you can get in Google Docs. You can upload existing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents, or you can create original documents. All of the information is stored online, within reach no matter where you go. (FYI, this means it's a great tool for backing up your work.) See below for my Google Documents page. (I blurred out people I'm sharing with for a semblance of privacy.)

Once you have documents in the system, you can:

Invite others to view or collaborate on your document (very automated process)
Export it into a Word or PDF file for use on your machine, among other formats
E-mail the documents to others (in variety of ways)
Publish the document to the Web (in HTML)

Why can this save you time?

If you have a document that you need multiple other people to review, edit, or comment on, you don't have to waste time e-mailing changes/versions back and forth.
If you have a document that is consistently updated or in-progress, everyone can access the most recent version without you distributing it, or others asking for it.
You can have your documents always available to you, away from home, if you have an online connection (this includes mobile devices).

Below is a document-level view (where you edit/write documents). As you can see, if you use any major word-processing software, there's no learning curve here.

Google Notebook
I love Google Notebook. Unfortunately, Google has decided to stop developing it, and is not allowing new people to start using it. But what Notebook does (or did): Helps you clip/save information from anywhere, and organize it in a lovely way. Below is a screenshot of my Notebook.

A few other services that have similar functionality:

Adobe Buzzword
This is a new competitor to Google Documents. It has more functionality related to pagination/printing, if that is important to you.

And Another Reading Tool: ReadItLater
I love this tool. It's a plug-in for your browser that allows you to put a virtual checkmark next to web sites or blog posts that you want to visit again. ReadItLater keeps a running list of checkmarked items, which can be accessed from any computer (once you give your unique identifier). You can also create an RSS feed from your ReadItLater list or download the materials to read offline later, or access it from your mobile.

I'm the kind of person who can open up a couple dozen tabs in a browser—all stuff I want to read/review, and ReadItLater has this cool function where you can send every single tab into its list. No more pressure to plow through all that reading—nor do you have to abandon it. Just save it for later!

What online reading, writing, and collaboration tools do you use? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Digitization & New Technology | General

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:24:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Friday, March 06, 2009

Save Time Tip #1: Become More Efficient at Online Reading
Posted by Jane

Writers talk a lot about not having enough time. Not enough time to write. Not enough time to pursue all their ideas. Not enough time to get the job done.

I thought I'd start a series of tips on how you can spend more time doing what you love, and less time fooling around. There are lots of ways people unknowingly waste their time.

Tip #1. (For the love of God): Start using an RSS reader.

Simply put, an RSS reader allows you to read all of your favorite online content in one place, without you visiting 100 different sites, or receiving 100 different alerts, or otherwise sucking away your time.

This is SO important that I'm embedding the following video, "RSS in Plain English."

I use Google Reader to keep up with all my favorite blogs and sites. Here's what it looks like when I login.

On the left, you'll notice that I organize my reading by category, e.g. Google Alerts, Cincinnati, Enrichment, Food, Fun, Publishing. Below that list you see tags that I've used to tag posts, in case I want to see every post related to that topic.

Aside from searching all items, you can also tag your favorite items with stars, mark items as unread, or e-mail items directly from your reader. There's also a cool function with Google Reader where, if you're visiting a site outside your reader, and you'd like to save a particular item (but not subscribe to the site or blog), you can click on a button called "Note in Reader," and it will copy the item for safekeeping into your reader utility.

Now, to save even MORE time, there's a cool plug-in I recommend. First, look below at the Publishing item view from inside my Google Reader.

You'll notice numerical rankings next to each item. This is a Firefox extension related to the site Post Rank, which rates the popularity of postings across the Web. If you subscribe to hundreds (or even thousands) of sites/blogs, this is an excellent way to only read the best stuff.

OK! So now you know what to do:

Make a list of all the blogs/sites you like to read.
Get an RSS reader like Google Reader.
Input the addresses of all the sites into your reader.
You're ready to save loads of time (and have more fun with the information too)!

Digitization & New Technology | Fun | General

Friday, March 06, 2009 4:12:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Thursday, March 05, 2009

To Succeed at Your Art, Know How to Play Well in Business
Posted by Jane

This week I'm in a somewhat philosophic frame of mind; maybe it's because I'm facing new challenges at my job that stretch the boundaries of what I once thought I could enjoy.

In my early days as an acquisitions editor for F+W Media, I found this quote by David M. Ogilvy:

In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.

Up until the time I read this quote, I had primarily thought of myself as one of those creative-artistic stereotypes who disdained the numbers and focused on aesthetics, and art for art's sake.

Frankly, that became boring fast.

What became more interesting was: How can I create something that is exciting to me and other people? And like Ogilvy says, unless you learn how to speak the language of upper management (or the gatekeepers), you won't get far with your ideas. You can speak one language to creative people, but you need to frame things differently for people who make financial decisions. E.g., when you walk into your bank and ask for a loan to fund your wonderful idea, it's always in relation to making a profit (for you and the bank). Same thing in publishing when you approach an editor or agent.

The writers who succeed fastest in selling a project are the ones who can get in this business model mindset—not necessarily the writers who are most talented.

At F+W, I'm now in the process of building a spring forecast that estimates how we think we will perform this year against our original budget. It makes you think hard about what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how to change what you're doing to produce better results next time. Without such an evaluation, how can you be pushed to your fullest and most creative extent? As Robert Frost once said about writing verse, you need to have a net.

Put another way: If you're rejected continually, do you think of a better way to present your business case, or do you assume that people have shunned art or not really seen your brilliant talent? Most likely, people are not shunning art or talent. They are shunning what hasn't been presented to them in a compelling or beneficial way. You have to know what your audience responds to.

Fortunately, writers who know how to put themselves in the shoes of another—who are excellent at that thing called empathy—should be able to recast, reframe, revise their ideas so they make sense to anyone, no matter what their mindset. Use your imagination. What does the other person want to hear?

Remember, people usually enjoy saying yes.
Even better, they enjoy delivering an excited, definitive, "Yes!"
Give them a great reason to say it.

Photo credit: Llawliet

F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Thursday, March 05, 2009 7:41:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, March 04, 2009

5.75 Questions You've Been Avoiding
Posted by Jane

About a year ago, I discovered a little video (via The Chief Happiness Officer) called The 5.75 Questions You've Been Avoiding. Ever since then, I've had the 5 questions on a little note sticking out of my dormant rolodex that really serves as a miscellaneous inspiration file (see end of this post).

The 5 questions are:

What's going well for you?
What are you trying to ignore?
What's boring you?
How do you want to be remembered?
Who do you love?

(I won't reveal the .75 — you need to go visit the site for that!)

There are a few reasons for sharing this with you:

Writers spend a lot of time avoiding what they really need to do, which is to dedicate themselves to their writing. If it's what you really love to do, then do it. (More on this below.)
For writers of stories, do you know the answers to these questions for your protagonist? It can lead to some major inspiration if you're stuck.
Finally, the awareness that is advocated in this video, through asking these questions, that's the awareness that's vital for any writer—observing the world and being mindful of our reactions and other people's reactions.

I recently came across a quote (from a Starbucks cup, remember that earlier post?), about what it means to dedicate yourself to something. Other people apparently are very inspired by this quote, though I'm torn on the issue. So I present it here for your consideration:

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.

—Anne Morriss

If I could recast this, I'd say it's more about dedicating yourself to a passion, or what you really love, and not necessarily a commitment. Is it necessary to commit yourself to what you already love? Either way, if you love writing, then you know what you need to do after answering those 5 questions. Put away your fear, and take the risk (whether you'd like to call it a commitment, dedication, or passionate pursuit).

F+W Life | Fun | General

Wednesday, March 04, 2009 4:56:19 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

3 Questions Writers Love to Ask (That Really Have No Concrete Answer)
Posted by Jane

I was recently invited to an online Q&A with UCLA's extension course on Finding a Home for Your Essay (Online), taught by Victoria Zackheim.

It's always invigorating and interesting to field questions from writers that remind you what it's like to undertake the endeavor to write and publish. Sometimes, after being in the industry a while, your mindset becomes so business focused you forget how much feeling is wrapped up in it.

I thought I would share some excerpts from our session together. (For better or worse, the most interesting questions are usually the ones that can't be concretely answered.) A big thanks to the students for their thoughtful questions (which have been condensed for brevity's sake).

Do you have any tips or tricks for faking an authoritative voice [in writing]?

When I think about "authoritative voice," it seems more applicable to instructional or informational pieces. If you're writing a personal essay or memoir, then I would say you need an authentic or distinctive voice more than an authoritative one. Figuring out a voice that is natural and authentic to you is a long process; writers refine their voice over many years. I'm not sure I have a single trick or tip that would help you nail it.

However, you can find excellent advice in a book by Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story, that talks about how to craft personal stories with great resonance. It's all about knowing what's unique about YOUR perspective on something, what makes your "I" perception different and interesting, apart from all others.

For any of you who have read Eat, Pray, Love: That's an example where the writing and voice is very distinct and confident, but I wouldn't characterize it as authoritative.

I've heard from agents that they think "I write well" but they "just didn't fall in love with this book." It's probably inscrutable, but can you put your finger on things that make agents/editors fall in love with work?

You might find the book The First Five Pages by agent Noah Lukeman to be helpful, because he identifies all the mistakes that writers tend to make that can turn off agents/editors (or lead to the "didn't fall in love with this").

There's also a great book by Donald Maass called Writing the Breakout Novel that identifies how novels can reach that next level of rich scope and detail that makes them truly magnificent. (And he has another book releasing this spring called Fire in Fiction that should be helpful for anyone who's missing that inscrutable quality.) Of course these books are for fiction writers, but for anyone telling a story with characters, many of the same principles apply.

But from my perspective: This "no love" response usually means one of the following things:
Your characters weren't compelling or original enough
Your story wasn't unique or engaging enough (in the end, it all comes down to story)
You may have the technical skill down, but you haven't yet crafted something that really sets itself apart from everything else that's out there.

Or, it could be a simple matter of not having found the right agent/editor who WILL fall in love with your work. It takes time.

Is there any advice you can give me about confidence in my writing?

This will sound terribly unhelpful, but you can decide to have confidence in your writing as soon as you're ready to have confidence. It's really just a matter of making that choice. No one can give it to you.

There's a story about a master violinist and his student. Roughly paraphrased, it goes something like this: The student asks, "Tell me, am I any good? Should I keep pursuing this?" The master replies, "If you have to ask for my permission, then you don't have what it takes." (If anyone has a link to the original story, please share!)

Same applies to writing. Of all the people who set out to write, of those who succeed, it's the ones who most doggedly pursue it, no matter what people tell them (not the ones who are the most talented).

Writing takes persistence more than confidence or talent. And in fact, a little lack of confidence is good for most writers. It pushes you to do better.

And in regards to pleasing an editor, try instead to think of your reader. Don't write for the editor, write for your intended audience. Take the focus off of you and how much you succeed with the editor. How much are you succeeding with your reader? What does your reader think? That should help alleviate many of your concerns.

What about you? Do you have tips or tricks that have helped you gain confidence and authority in your writing?

Photo credit: Matthew Dutile

Craft & Technique | General | Getting Published

Tuesday, March 03, 2009 4:36:12 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their December Fiction Open competition.

First place
Cary Groner of Tucson, AZ, wins $2000 for “Elaborate Preparations for Departure." His story will be published in the Summer 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in May 2010.

Second place
Aaron Carmichael of Broomfield, CO, wins $1000 for “Driver Yu’s Penance.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place
Aaron Cutler of New York, NY, wins $600 for “15 Shots.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here. This quarterly competition is open to all writers and all themes, with a word count range of 2000-20,000. Click here for guidelines .

Also: Very Short Fiction Award competition deadline soon approaching, February 28. Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place is $1200 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers and all themes, and the word count must not exceed 3000. Click here for guidelines .

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:53:35 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories of their November Short Story Award for New Writers competition.

First place
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig of Austin, TX, wins $1200 for “Monkeys of the Sea”. Her story will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in February 2010.

Second place
Stephen McCabe of Oshkosh, WI, wins $500 for “The Net of Blue Angels"

Third place
Marco Fernando Navarro of Flushing, NY, wins $300 for “Enough”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here. This competition is held twice a year and is open to any writer who has not had fiction appear in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5,000. Click here for guidelines.

Also: Family Matters competition deadline soon approaching! (January 31) Glimmer Train hosts this competition quarterly for stories about family, and first place brings $1200 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers, and the word count range is 500-12,000. Click here for guidelines.

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If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:37:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Regular Posts in 2009 (A Promise)
Posted by Jane

Since my adventurous return from Thailand, I have been intensely involved in F+W responsibilities, preventing regular posts here. (Side note: F+W just unleashed a new corporate site, and it's very cool!)

In any case: In 2009, I promise better and more regular posts. For now:

Don't forget you can find me on Facebook. (When requesting me as a friend, mention the blog.)
You can follow me—and the stories I find worthy—on Google Reader
For those interested in the conclusion to my Thailand adventure, visit the Farmers & Writers blog.

Best holiday wishes, and look for great things here in 2009!

General

Wednesday, December 24, 2008 2:41:40 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

On Being One of 100,000+ People Stranded in Thailand
Posted by Jane

For those unaware, I have been traveling in Thailand for the past couple weeks (clearly an ill-timed vacation). Few news reports adequately convey the magnitude of what has happened here in Thailand. Such reports are excellent at telling you the number of flights canceled, the number of people affected, and the dollars lost. The statistics are interesting, but they fail to put the crisis in context—and it is a crisis.

So let's play with the numbers some more. The Associated Press reports that Bangkok's airports handle 100,000 passengers every day. It has now been closed for about five days, and likely for another three days, at least. Imagine if New York's JFK airport closed for that length of time—in fact, imagine if JFK and LaGuardia both closed, because that's the volume of traffic that Bangkok's airports handle. (See stats in Wikipedia to confirm that I'm right.)

When I first heard news that the Bangkok airport was taken over by protesters (the PAD), I was amused. How cute, I thought, a country that's 95% Buddhist has a protest movement. Unfortunately, Buddhism + political protest = prolonged stalemate. While the PAD peacefully (or mostly peacefully) sit at the airport, the police just as peacefully sit by and watch, unwilling to use violent means to remove them. And the rest of us sit and watch (less peacefully), wondering what the breaking point will be—and everyone has said for three days we're at the breaking point.

So now we have a fascinating human dilemma: What do you do with so many people who can't leave the country—particularly when there are no major travel hubs that can be easily reached over land? (Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.) Of course, Thailand's cities of Phuket and Chiang Mai still have functioning airports (and an old Vietnam-era airport has started to service flights), but there's very limited service, and good luck trying to find a seat on any international flight, at least within the next week. Most airlines servicing these airports are adding more flights if they can, and filling the seats with their own delayed passengers from Bangkok who have been able to reach a different departure city. Some countries have nobly rescued their own citizens with special arranged flights, e.g., Taiwan. (Of course there were only about 500 Taiwanese stranded, according to reports.)

I knew I was really stuck when, in an e-mail to stranded Americans, the U.S. embassy in Bangkok included this bargain offer:

Orientskys is a private jet company who provides international VIP service flights. Mr. Trevor (director) wants us to let anyone know about his service since he just got permission from the Thai government in order to fly anyone who is willing to pay for this VIP service from Thailand to several destinations, such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore. The cost would be around 25,000 US dollars per trip with a maximum passenger capacity of 8 passengers with VIP catering services, including limousine transportation service from Bangkok to U-Tapao Airport. Just in case anyone might be interested, they can call … [contact info snipped]

** Please note that this company is running their own business; their service has nothing to do with the U.S. government and the U.S. government will not pay for this service.

Thus, I am at the mercy of Northwest/Delta to get me out of here (not having $25K handy), and I can tell you they do not feel that this is "their" problem. Here's what one passenger said, in a comment on an online news story:

"They [Northwest] pointed out the section on Force Majeure which in fact is what the situation in Thailand is about. The clause all but allows the airline without liability to without notice, cancel, terminate, divert, postpone or delay any flight, right of carriage or reservation.

Lucky I was able to use miles and money to reserve a flight to KL on Malaysian Airlines which I hear flies their Bangkok flights into UTapao now.

Why don’t the airlines care about their passengers, I asked the purser on our USA to Tokyo leg of the NWA trip what their job was. She said to get passengers safely between point A and point B. Trouble is, if you can’t get to point B – then what?

While PAD is surely to blame for this mess, the airlines, without an emergency plan of operations is also to blame."

I am rescheduled to depart on Tuesday, December 2, but the situation looks bleak. News stories have recently emphasized how insecure the airport has been for nearly a week. On a Bangkok blog, one reader left the following comment on a CNN news story about the lawless situation at the airport:

The CNN correspondent makes a very interesting point. With no control whatsoever as to activity in and around the entire airport and all its various hideaways as well as around the large number of long distance aircraft and all the back-up equipment such as catering, fueling, buses, not to speak of all the Duty Free Shop items that might have been compromised, etc……it would seem possible that the International Aviation Authorities will demand that the entire airport go through a total head-to-toe re-certification process which could take days or weeks in order to re-assure all the other connection airports in the world aviation system that no terror related materials or people (or drug-related or some other monkey business related) will arrive in their own airports without having had any checks at the Bangkok source.

At this point you start to wonder: What's Christmas like in Thailand, and how big is my savings account to fund a month-long international stay? Or do I just spill a couple thousand dollars to fly short-notice on another airline? It's hard to know the wisest course of action, when it's impossible to predict when the airport will reopen.

Fortunately, the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) has done an admirable job of taking care of stranded passengers, given the sheer mass of people needing assistance. A call to their hotline revealed that a business hotel in the Sukhumvit area (Imperial Hotel at Queen's Park) was being used to accommodate anyone for free who had a flight on November 26 or later and could present evidence, plus a passport. (Later, it was announced the TAT would help cover costs for tourists staying at any hotel, up to 2,000 Baht per day.)

The scene here at the Imperial almost defies description. That the hotel hasn't immediately morphed into a refugee camp is stunning, but that probably speaks to the incredible hospitality and hard-working Thai staff at this very large-scale hotel (I believe it has nearly 2,000 rooms). The clientele who normally stay here (bankrolled businessmen) have nothing in common with the tourists who now lodge here in much greater numbers, and the hotel's hostesses—women who look like Greek goddesses in their long, flowing white gowns and gold sashes around the waist—politely clean up after tourist and businessman alike, in the lobbies, in the dining rooms, everywhere. And the TAT runs a staffed help desk at all hours in the hotel lobby, which is engulfed by people every time I pass, and overflows with signs and listings of phone numbers (for every airline and hotel known to man).

All stranded passengers have been given meal vouchers for buffet-style dining at the hotel's most basic restaurant on the ground floor. (The hotel has many restaurants, but mostly high-class ones.) The food is far better than what most of us would normally eat while traveling (e.g., sea bass, ox-tail soup, and other foreign specialties). The first day I arrived at the Imperial and had a meal, they had authentic pumpkin pie available on the dessert table. I was nearly moved to tears.

So here at the Imperial I remain for the time being, with free lodging and food, and really expensive internet access—it is a business hotel after all—$20/hour. But it's the one connection I have to the people back home (as I came here alone). And I thank you all for your encouragement, support, and kind messages. I hope it won't be much longer before I return home.

Fun | General

Saturday, November 29, 2008 9:05:54 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Announcing the New Editor of Writer's Digest Magazine
Posted by Jane

When I first joined the Writer's Digest community in 2001, I had the great pleasure of having Jessica Strawser as a colleague on Writer's Digest magazine. Our paths diverged after a couple years, but now we're working together once again on this publication that brings out our most heartfelt enthusiasm and creativity.

During her first turn at Writer's Digest, Jessica contributed and edited monthly magazine columns about writing successes, critiques, and careers, and also served as executive editor of multiple special issues (such as the ever-popular Writer's Yearbook). Since her leave from the magazine, she's had experience in marketing and public relations, online writing and editing, and book publishing, most recently as managing editor for North Light Books.

Fans of Writer's Digest magazine, as well as future fans, have much to look forward to. Jessica has a passion and expertise for the writing community that's accompanied by a fresh perspective and a curiosity essential for our continuing mission to be the most informative and trusted source for writers.

Please join me in welcoming Jessica: a fellow writer and a fellow editor (and, it must be said, fellow book lover).

General | WD Magazine

Tuesday, November 04, 2008 4:04:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train just announced the winners of their August Very Short Fiction Award competition. The first- and second-place winners will be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

First place ($1,200)
Michael Schiavone (Gloucester, MA)
“No One Comes Here By Accident"

Second place ($500)
Jackie Thomas-Kennedy (Charlottesville, VA)
“The Bridge Is Moving"

Third place ($300)
Debbie Weingarten (Tucson, AZ)
“Precarious Things"

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here. This twice yearly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme with a word count range of 500-3,000. Submissions may be sent for the November Short Story Award for New Writers using the Glimmer Train online submissions system at www.glimmertrain.org.

Also: Family Matters contest (Deadline: October 31)
Glimmer Train hosts this contest four times a year, and first place is $1,200 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers for stories about family, with a word count range of 500-12,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Industry News & Trends

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 2:42:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Friday, October 03, 2008

Two Weeks of WD's Brave New World
Posted by Jane

It's been just a little over two weeks since Writer's Digest was re-organized within F+W Media as a community-category (rather than as separate media/business units). Hands down, it's the most exciting time I've ever experienced at WD (and not because of the frenetic energy and craziness of Q4 environment in a poor economy).

Here are the major projects I've been working on these first 2 weeks:

Releasing our books with new-media tools, delivering the same information or concept across all Writer's Digest-related properties in a way that makes sense for each one
(see Donald Maass example below).
Launching new educational sessions (live webinars) through WritersDigest.com by end of year.
Planning an all-new writers conference in Fall 2009 that focuses on the business of being a successful author in a time of great change.
Developing a business plan for digitizing all of our backlist books so that writers can choose, chapter by chapter, what content they want and personalize it for their needs.
Creating a unified brand identity that helps everyone immediately recognize any kind of Writer's Digest experience.
Designating an Online Brand Editor who oversees and creates a strategy for our online content, no matter what its source (magazine, book, event, community/forum), and makes sure it all works in concert with each other. (And also evaluates what YOU visit and enjoy!)
Evaluating WD magazine's editorial plans for 2009: what should our feature packages be and how should the columns/depts change?
Launching of a new community site at community.writersmarket.com (kind of like Facebook for writers), for subscribers of WritersMarket.com

The immediate benefits I've noticed:

We're starting to use our content in smarter ways and distributing it in different ways
We're making better use of our internal talent (editors), who can contribute and be involved across all writing-related properties, not just their formally designated piece of the pie
We're beginning to develop a more integrated and valuable online strategy that better serves writers

I think one of the best examples of our brave new world is how we plan to launch Donald Maass's new fiction-writing book next spring, Fire in Fiction. If this book had released a year ago, we would've run a couple ads, maybe scored an excerpt in the magazine, and that would be it.

Today, with WD run as a community-category, here's what's slated:

WD Magazine
Original article on fiction writing from Don to run in spring/summer 2009

WritersOnlineWorkshops
Original online courses (regular courses plus brief webinars) built around the book, offered in the months prior to and following the book's release

Digital Products
Simultaneous Kindle and other e-book editions

Online at WD.com
Sneak preview chapter posted before publication
E-launch party on WD.com blogs/forums, featuring exclusive live chat with Don

WD Newsletters
Free chapter download and advance purchase incentive (buy book early, get access to exclusive online chat)

Conferences
Feature Don as a speaker for at least one event in 2009

Of course, all this change doesn't come without its challenges, and you'll no doubt get to experience a little of that rough road with us, as we figure everything out. As we boldly move forward, I hope you will come to our aid with ideas and suggestions (and perhaps a sprinkling of patience).

General | New Titles From Writer's Digest

Friday, October 03, 2008 5:56:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, September 26, 2008

What Would You Like to See in Writer's Digest magazine?
Posted by Jane

We're in the midst of planning the 2009 editorial calendar for Writer's Digest magazine, and I'd love to have your ideas and opinions on what you want to see in the coming year. Writer's Digest editors from across the brand gathered earlier this week to brainstorm of list of potential ideas. Feel free to e-mail me directly or use the comments area of this post to give us your feedback.

Craft & Technique Topics

A comprehensive guide to starting or finishing your novel
A step-by-step guide to revision and self-editing (all genres)
How to write a successful memoir (for the non-celebrity)
The art and craft of timeless storytelling; how to hook your readers
How to be a successful critique partner and how to incorporate feedback into your work
How to make poetry a part of everyday life (even if you're not a poet)
A crash schedule for getting a first draft of your book done in 4 weekends
Master plots that work time and time again

Business Topics & Timely Topics

Everything you need to know about self-publishing, and how the self-publishing game is changing
Why and how to get known before the book deal (to attract editor and agent interest, to ensure book sales)
The changing role of the gatekeepers—editors and agents—and how it changes your steps to publication and beyond
The new economic model of publishing/media: how it impacts your career and what you need to change today to remain relevant
How to make a sustainable living with your writing (in tough times)—a freelancer's ultimate guide
The most effective technological tools for marketing and promoting yourself
How to use social networking to reach readers and avoid a waste of time/effort
Negotiating contracts and payments with editors in a digital age; what are digital rights worth and when should you keep them?
How bookstores work, both online and offline, and what the future of bookselling looks like
How to get the most out of writers conferences, both business-wise and craft-wise

New Department/Column Ideas

How I Write: Spotlights a celebrity author in his/her writing space, talking about necessary practices/objects/environment
Popular Fiction Report: Special reports, news, tips, and marketing information in today's hottest genres, including romance, mystery/crime, thriller/suspense, horror, and science fiction/fantasy
What's Selling and Why: A visual list of top-selling books (according to Nielsen Bookscan reports), why or how they made the top of the list, and insider info from authors-agents-editors on how the books came to life

What would you add to our list of ideas?

General

Friday, September 26, 2008 2:41:56 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, September 18, 2008

A (New) Writing Life Survey: What Are Your Online Habits?
Posted by Jane

Writer's Digest has a new, broad survey related to writing and your writing life, particularly your online/Internet habits. Your response will help us develop new products and resources. Give us your feedback here!

If you complete the survey, you'll receive a special discount code that you can use in the writing section of our F+W bookstore. This code will allow you to take 25% off anything you find there.

General

Thursday, September 18, 2008 4:17:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

My New Role at Writer's Digest
Posted by Jane

An exciting announcement today: I have a new role at F+W Media.

I am now Publisher & Editorial Director of the F+W writing communities, which includes these properties under the Writer's Digest brand:

Writer's Digest magazine
Writer's Digest Books
Writer's Market annuals
WritersMarket.com
WritersOnlineWorkshops
WritersDigest.tv
(Coming soon) WritersDigestBookShop.com

This is part of a larger F+W mission to achieve greater growth by focusing on communities. Our goal is to better serve our customers, and better manage our brands, in their entirety—regardless of platform—in an integrated fashion across books, magazines, events, digital media, and eMedia.

In doing this, F+W has shown itself to be one of the most progressive media companies that I'm aware of—to have the foresight, initiative, and boldness to reorganize in this fashion. It has elements of risk, but it's a risk we must take to keep Writer's Digest a growing and valuable brand. We now have an incredible opportunity to be at the very forefront of what it means to be a media company in a networked era.

I am incredibly fortunate to work with a wonderful team of content creators, marketers, and salespeople who are all very passionate about the community surrounding Writer's Digest. We're here because we believe in it, and because we're proud of its history.

In my new role, here's what I hope to accomplish:

We're going to develop a strong, single, consistent brand identity that encompasses all properties and products.
We're going to aggressively develop online content and product to serve writers better, and in new, exciting ways.
We're going to develop a cohesive and integrated editorial and marketing approach that offers a special experience to each writer we come into contact with.

Writer's Digest already has a strong presence in the writing community, and this reorganization allows us to expand our reach and develop more innovative content.

As the brand leader for Writer's Digest, I will be actively seeking your input into how we can do a better job delivering the most valuable community, information, and experience that helps you achieve your writing goals.

F+W Life | General

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:38:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train just announced the winners of their July Family Matters competition. All winners will be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

First place ($1,200)
Nellie Hermann (Brooklyn, NY)
“Can We Let the Baby Go?"

Second place ($500)
Stefanie Freele (Healdsburg, CA)
“Us Hungarians”

Third place ($300)
Rolf Yngve (Coronado, CA)
“Going Back for His Brother”

A PDF of the top 25 winners can be found here. This quarterly competition is open to all writers for stories about family (word count range is 1,200–12,000). Submissions may be sent for the October Family Matters using the Glimmer Train online submissions system at www.glimmertrain.org.

Also: Fiction Open contest (deadline soon approaching! September 30)
Glimmer Train hosts this contest four times a year, and first place is $2,000 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers and all themes, with a word count range of 2,000–20,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

Conferences/Events | General

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 3:57:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, September 12, 2008

10 Years in Publishing: What I've Learned (#5)
Posted by Jane

Instead of a photo of myself today, I'm offering a glimpse of my current workspace. The photo doesn't really capture it all (particularly not the laden bookcases off to the right), but it's a fairly good representation of the environment.

What I've learned (#5): Here I will mercilessly steal the words of poet and businessman Dana Gioia (who just stepped down as head of the NEA):

With each promotion at General Foods, I found that my background in the arts and humanities was more relevant. The higher you get in a corporation, the more you're dealing with qualitative issues. By the time I was in senior management, I was very effective in rebuilding businesses because I had good creative judgment—I had kept parts alive that most business executives did not.

(This comes from an article in Fast Company.)

Although I spend a lot of time on this blog (and in my workshops) talking about the importance of sales, marketing, promotion, and the numbers-numbers-numbers, I've found that making the right decision is almost never about looking at the numbers and instead about this creative judgment, usually critical thinking combined with grandiose, technicolor vision. This is what fuels, I would argue, the best businesses (and projects) in publishing today.

Related point: Numbers and money follow, they do not lead. If you manage by spreadsheet, with no regard to the fact that our work relies mostly on humans, you've made a grave mistake. Humans lead. Numbers follow.

F+W Life | General

Friday, September 12, 2008 3:51:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

How to Fail at Publishing in a Whole New Way
Posted by Jane

Today at Maud Newton, John Warner (creative director of TOW Books), summarizes the new strategy of the TOW Books line:

Now, after two years of, let’s call it, non-success, I understand that the problem is at least as much about publicity and distribution as it is about quality. (At least I hope that’s the problem.) So I’m here to announce that if TOW Books is going to fail at publishing, we are going to fail in our own spectacularly new way.
How badly are we struggling? Well, we’ve released four books. Their Amazon rankings at the time of this typing are:

170,374
388,165
706,198
1,033,377
The most distressing part is that last number belongs to a book I wrote, So You Want to Be President? — a book that should have been especially relevant and timely given that it’s a guide to running for office when totally unqualified. I hope it’s in Governor Palin’s briefing materials.

Read the full post here.

Building Readership | General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 2:31:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, September 08, 2008

10 Years in Publishing: What I've Learned (#1)
Posted by Jane

To celebrate my 10 years with F+W Media, this week I'm blogging on five things I've learned after ten years in the business. Above I've posted a lovely photo of moi (taken by HR) on my first day of trade publishing life: August 3, 1998. If you like that photo, just wait. I'll post some more treasures from those glory years.

What I've learned #1:

Many authors claim they want good editors—and bemoan the fact that editors don't edit any more—but few authors graciously accept thorough editing and attention from their editors (when it does occur).

You often hear these days that editors no longer edit—that they're too busy doing other things, like meeting with sales and marketing, creating innovative products to compete with digital media, or simply managing the day-to-day tasks of producing dozens of titles per year.

What I've found, though, is that an editor's life can be made miserable if she offers up a thorough development or content edit, because the author's ego (or attitude) gets in the way.

This already sounds like terrible, horrible cliche—the writer vs. editor, us vs. them mentality that, frankly, is quite tired and tiresome for me.

Let's try to take this a step further then, shall we? Perhaps even into positive territory!

1. First, remind yourself that the editor is trying to make the best book possible, and the suggestions/edits are meant to improve the book and help it succeed.

Now, some editors have poor bedside manner (they only make negative comments; they never sprinkle in positive comments or helpful encouragement). I myself am guilty of this. But you must look past it. This editor wouldn't have agreed to work with you if she didn't believe in your idea, in your work, or in you. The admiration is there—the editing process is getting down to brass tacks, it is a laser-like focus on How can we take this to the next level?

The edits aren't there to tell you what you did wrong. The edits are there to provide an outsider's perspective as well as an expert's perspective on your work. This should be invaluable feedback for improving your work and your own skills. If you're scanning the editor's comments looking only for variations of "What a genius you are!" you've completely misunderstood the editor's role. She's not there to bolster your self-worth. She's there to push you and challenge you.

2. You will inevitably disagree with some of the editor's suggestions. This is natural, this is expected, and this is nothing to get upset about.

The editor is not always right, of course. But there's no reason to get angry if you disagree with her suggestions; anger or frustration over edits is wasted energy. Why? See Point 3 below.

Also: Occasionally I work as a freelance copyeditor, and I'm always befuddled when I'm (frequently) told by the assigning editor, "Don't go too heavy or the author will freak out." Why do authors consider it a bad thing when their work is tightened, clarified, or otherwise improved? As a writer myself, I actually do know why. Because we become far too attached to our own words; we see them as extensions of our mind, heart, or soul. To see any of it cut—it's like having an internal organ dug out with a spoon. Guess what? It's time to stop treating our words as hallowed ground.

If you find yourself disagreeing with everything the editor says, then evaluate whether you both have the same vision for the work. Has there been a critical misunderstanding as far as what the work is supposed to achieve? Obviously there can be different perspectives even when you're both headed for the same goal, but everyone's in trouble if you can't find common ground on the fundamental issues of unique selling point (of the book), target audience, and how to approach that audience.

3. Have a conversation with the editor (via phone or e-mail) in instances where you have a differing viewpoint.

Again, the key is to have a productive conversation—and not flare up or lash out when your work is being revised, questioned, or cut apart. The editor will greatly respect you if you take the following approach in each conversation:

a) Clearly identify the edit/suggestion that you have differing opinions on.
b) Summarize why you think the editor wants you to make the change. If a reason was not given by the editor, ask why the change or revision was suggested.
c) Once you fully understand why the change was suggested, explain either why you think the original version should remain, or suggest an alternative solution.

The key here is that when you explain (c), it should tie into what's best for the reader, the market, or the book. Any editor worth her salt will hear you out, and she'll be persuaded to your way of thinking if your argument is sound.

Most writers are not very good at self-editing—it is an incredibly rare skill. It's why most writers belong to critique groups, so they can get hopefully impartial feedback that will help them improve their work.

It's also part of your skill set to learn how to work effectively with editors. It may not come naturally at first, but if you're lucky enough to have a dedicated editor—an editor who edits—it's a gift. Learn how to take advantage of it, not get upset over it.

Craft & Technique | F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Monday, September 08, 2008 3:07:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Some Things About Writing Never Change (e.g, Huge Army of Disappointed Scribblers)
Posted by Jane

This week I received a great message from an attendee of the Sacramento State Workshop, where I was a workshop presenter a few weeks ago. (You can find my recap of the workshop here.) Teresa Fleming says:

… please don't apologize for the times you have to be discouraging. It's for the best, you know. Of course, you should also know this is coming from someone who: (1) has no memoir plans, and (2) spent a couple of decades in the banking business. (Really, Ms. Smith, I am doing you a favor declining your million-dollar request for a loan to open a fuzzy-cheese-head-car-airfreshener-thingy business.)

To close, here are a few quotes for fun. I do a bit of volunteer smoothreading (sort of like proofreading but more relaxed) for Distributed Proofreaders / Project Gutenberg. The day before your presentation, I finished a smoothy on a short book titled If You Don't Write Fiction by Charles Phelps Cushing (1920). Here are a couple of my favorites—some things don't change much, huh?

A huge army of disappointed scribblers have followed that haphazard plan of battle. They would know better than to try to market crates of eggs to a shoe store, but they see nothing equally absurd in shipping a popular science article to the Atlantic Monthly or an "uplift" essay to the Smart Set. They paper their walls with rejection slips, fill up a trunk with returned manuscripts and pose before their sympathetic friends as martyrs.

… Which is to say that novelists and magazine fiction writers are accused of becoming more concerned about how their stories will film than about how the manuscripts will grade as pieces of literature. To get a yarn into print is still worth while because this enhances its value in the eyes of the producers of motion pictures. But the author's real goal is "no longer good writing, so much as remunerative picture possibilities."

Many thanks to Teresa for sharing a little bit of the 1920's writing advice! (You can download the entire text from Google.)

Stay tuned for a few excerpts from Writer's Digest titles from that era. (Yes, Writer's Digest did exist in the Roaring Twenties, and much of the advice we give has remained the same!)

Fun | General | Getting Published

Wednesday, September 03, 2008 1:38:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Writer Mama Back-to-School Daily Giveaway
Posted by Jane

Writer's Digest author Christina Katz (our Writer Mama) has a month of giveaways in September to celebrate back to school! You can find the line up of prizes here (which includes goodies from Writer's Digest):

http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/writer-mama-back-to-school-giveaway-the-2008-final-list-of-prizes/

Participants have to answer writing-career related questions to qualify for the daily drawing. Click here for the full list of rules.

Conferences/Events | Fun | General

Tuesday, September 02, 2008 9:20:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

News From Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane

Glimmer Train just announced the winners of their June Fiction Open competition. All winners will be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

First place ($2,000)
Shimon Tanaka (San Francisco, CA)
“The Suit”

Second place ($1,000)
Christine Sneed (Evanston, IL)
"Twelve + Twelve"

Third place ($600)
Horatio Potter (Wilsall, MT)
“Summer Help”

A PDF of the top 25 winners can be found here. This quarterly competition is open to all writers and all themes (word count range is 2,000–20,000). Submissions may be sent for the September Fiction Open using the Glimmer Train online submissions system at www.glimmertrain.org.

Also: Very Short Fiction contest (deadline soon approaching! August 31)
Glimmer Train hosts this contest twice a year, and first place is a very generous $1,200 plus publication in the journal. It's open to all writers, but stories cannot exceed 3,000 words. According to the site, it is rare for a piece of 500 words or less to be selected. Click here for complete guidelines.

If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.

General | Getting Published

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 3:16:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Take Our Quick Survey on Writing and Critique Groups
Posted by Jane

As you might've read late last week, Writer's Digest wants to know your thoughts on participating in writing groups and critique groups. Have you ever been part of an active critique group? Did your writing improve? Would you buy a book on the subject? Take this short 10-question survey, and let us know what you think!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y6cvGHFtAdXoJbVL1rSNzg_3d_3d

So far, the comments we've received through various blog postings have been excellent. After reviewing the comments, it appears a useful book would include the following features, benefits, or information:

The Basics

The difference between writers' groups and critique groups
Open groups vs. closed groups; other types of groups; ideal group size
How to start a group; how to run a group; multiple techniques/strategies for hosting
How to develop ground rules for a group
Compatibility between group members (skill level, genre, etc)
How to be a productive member
How to avoid "bad" groups and find "good" groups; questions to ask a group before joining
Typical bad experiences and how to avoid them
Handling conflict and other communication skills
Questionnaires for forming groups and finding the "right" members
How to shake up a group that's gone stagnant

Critiquing

When listening/encouragement are more important than a critique
How to go beyond "I like it" or "I don't like it"
How to adapt feedback to the level of writer you're critiquing
Multiple techniques for critiquing; guidelines for different types of critiques
How to receive or listen to critiques; questions to ask your critiquers
How to incorporate feedback into your work; judging your own work
Critique checklists

Other

Joining online groups vs. local/regional groups
Case studies or profiles of successful groups
Exercises/prompts for different types or levels of group; adapting prompts for group use
How do you find a group that's the right fit for you? Or how does one find a group, period?
Provide a directory or "match" service?

Craft & Technique | General

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 3:32:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, August 22, 2008

Writing and Critique Groups: How Many Are There?
Posted by Jane

Every week at F+W, we have a pub board meeting where sales, marketing, and editorial teams discuss new projects for publication. It's the editor's job to convince the sales team that we have a viable book idea (with the right author) that will sell.

This morning, we pitched a book on writing and critique groups. While anecdotal evidence tells us that most writers do participate in some form of critiquing (whether as part of a formal group or not), we don't have hard evidence. So the sales people tabled the project until we could return with information that substantiated our claims. They also disputed whether writers would spend their money on a book about writing groups and critiquing, even if they are an active writing group member.

So we're putting together a survey that will soon go out to Writer's Digest newsletter subscribers, to see what data we can collect. I'd love to hear from readers of this blog as well, if you know of any information/data that would be useful to us. (And if you have a blog, perhaps you can post on this topic and gather feedback too!) Ultimately, I'd love to create a groundswell of discussion that will convince our sales team that this idea deserves realization as a physical book.

F+W Life | General

Friday, August 22, 2008 10:22:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Do You Treat Writing Like a LOVER on the Side?
Posted by Jane

Speaking as an editor/publisher, some books will always hold a special place in my heart, long after they've been published and ceased being bestsellers. Well here's a book that still deserves to be a bestseller, year after year (even more so than Anne Lamott's tome!): Page After Page by Heather Sellers. (We also published a follow-up, Chapter After Chapter, which some people say is even better!)

Fortunately, readers are still discovering this gem every day; here's one example:

The more I read of it, the more I love it and want to give Heather Sellers a really big hug. Over lunch I read her take on people who are always saying "I'm so busy! I'm so stressed! I have so much to do!" I work with people like this. They drive me crazy. I worked out a while back and everyone is busy. It's ridiculous to tell people that you're busy. We know you are, because we are too. A Heather says - we all get 24 hours in a day, how are you going to use yours? She also wrote a whole bunch about treating writing like a lover instead of a mistress (or whatever the word is for women who have another dude on the side) and giving it attention and love and dreaming about it. Anyway, I love this book. I am reading it in small doses, digesting and completing exercises.

Click here to visit the writer's blog.

Craft & Technique | General

Thursday, August 14, 2008 6:21:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Ethics of Criminal Investigation
Posted by Jane

WDB author Lee Lofland, author of Police Procedure & Investigation, was interviewed today on NPR's Talk of the Nation about the ethics of criminal investigation. Click here to go to NPR's site and listen.

General

Thursday, August 14, 2008 6:14:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

How to Determine If You're High-Maintenance
Posted by Jane

For a couple months, I've been pondering an article posted on WritersDigest.com, "Don't Be a Writing Diva" by Mary Demuth. It offers solid, time-tested advice (meet deadlines early, do your homework, heed your editors, etc).

But let's be honest for a moment here.

This article describes The Perfect Author, who does not actually exist—just as the Perfect Best Friend, Perfect Lover, or Perfect Employee do not exist.

I'm not saying we shouldn't have high standards for ourselves or for others. But we're only human, and anyone in the business knows that you have good times (when it's easy to be perfect), and then you have bad times, when you show your ass.

The crucial factor is: Do you have a strong relationship that will help you survive the rough times, and can you be respectful of the other as you move through those rough times? There will be times when you have to protect your interests (or your agent will need to protect your interests), and you may need to have difficult conversations. You DO want to be a proactive author, but not a nuisance or a burden.

Here are a few questions to help determine if you're being high-maintenance.

Does the conversation/communication revolve around YOUR needs and YOUR demands, or is it a mutually beneficial discussion, where you come together to find a solution? Remember, so much depends upon flexibility and compromise.
Are you placing blame, pointing the finger, or making excuses? Or are you attempting to find a way to move forward, to make the future bright?
Are you trying to force someone to agree with you, or get them to admit they've done you wrong? (Hint: That's the road to nowhere. No one likes a guilt trip or admitting they were wrong.)
Is your thought process something like: They're against me, they don't understand me, they're trying to cheat me? Or can you see other perspectives? Have you understood the approach of the publisher or editor or agent? And do you understand your own role in the game (or drama, as the case might be)?

Bottom line: Your conversations-requests-questions should be and feel like part of a partnership. People inside the business love nothing better than strong author partnerships—and happy authors. We want to make you happy if we can. We know that happy authors lead to better books and lead to better sales. And of course we all share that goal: Great books that sell. Sometimes it's helpful to be reminded we have that common goal, if different ways of achieving it.

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 5:30:23 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

WritersDigest.tv
Posted by Jane

This fall, Writer's Digest is launching Writer's Digest TV. Catch a glimpse of what this will be like by viewing these free chats/interviews from ThrillerFest 2008.

General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends

Wednesday, August 06, 2008 3:59:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Writer's Market Mentioned on Good Morning America
Posted by Jane

This just in (thank you, Grace)!: On Good Morning America this morning, there was an interview with author Stephanie Meyer about her latest book. At the end of the interview, they asked her a question about writing/publishing a novel, and she mentioned Writer’s Market as a great resource. Here’s a video clip of it (it happens around the –1:30 mark): http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5487417

Writer's Market editor Robert Brewer comments:

You heard it: "Writer's Market IS a great resource."

I am surprised, however, that the conversation didn't shift focus at that exact point from Meyer to Writer's Market. A good interviewer would've interrupted saying something like, "Whoa-whoa, Stephanie--Writer's Market?!? Here let me get my pen out; can you give us all the URL on that? (pause) And one more time for the folks at home? Thanks, Stephanie. And tomorrow, we'll be bringing you an interview with the folks from Writer's Market." I mean, that's how I would've handled it. ;)

General | New Titles From F+W

Thursday, July 31, 2008 3:14:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, July 07, 2008

How I Broke Into Publishing
Posted by Jane

I'm frequently asked how I ended up with an illustrious book publishing career. My stock response is: college internship. If you're interested in the long version of the story, then you can read the Q&A over at PublishingCareers by Lori Cates Hand.

To give you an idea of the conversation, I will now quote myself:

At F+W, you went from managing a magazine to managing books. Was that a difficult transition?

Not at all, though I suspect my experience is unique. F+W is more like a media company that parcels out its content in different formats and packages, across a variety of niche audiences (in my case, writers). So I worked for Writer’s Digest magazine for a while, then moved to Writer’s Digest Books, which is really the same kind of game, with a lot of the same players. It also helped that I had previous experience in the book division before moving to Writer’s Digest magazine. But F+W editors often move between the magazine and book division successfully.

Many thanks to Lori for her insightful questions (and for anyone looking for a career in publishing, her site is not-to-be-missed).

F+W Life | General

Monday, July 07, 2008 3:33:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#7)
Posted by Jane

At conferences, you can spot them from miles away. They’re the ones who have been beaten down by years of rejection, the ones who believe the publishing industry is working against them … the ones who have lost all hope and faith and are now looking for someone to blame (or at least someone to complain to). Who am I talking about? The bitter writers.

SABOTAGE #7: BECOME BITTER

I've often had bitter writers respond to my rejection letters with strident explanations of why the rejection is wrong, or accusing me of bad judgment. (Unfortunately, the more I try to engage such people in a rational discussion of the reasons behind a rejection, the less they are convinced, and the angrier they get … which is probably one reason why few editors/agents like to write detailed rejection letters.) Part of what I see here is an inability to separate the personal aspect from the business aspect. I treat rejection as a part of my business day; writers take it as a personal affront, and being unable to bridge the gap produces animosity toward each other at the end of the day.

You can avoid this bitterness trap by understanding the industry, understanding why it works the way it does, and having the right expectations (or, no expectations).

I'll end with another quote as to the larger implications: "A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up" (Albert Schweitzer). And also from Schweitzer: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success."

Related blog posts
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#6)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#5)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#4)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#3)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#2)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1)

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, July 01, 2008 4:06:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 30, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#6)
Posted by Jane

On this one, I'm cutting to the chase:

SABOTAGE #6: ASSUMING A WORK DEEPLY FELT BY YOU WILL BE DEEPLY FELT BY ALL

This is a strange one. I always feel a little mean mentioning it, and I also feel like it's painfully obvious. Yet again and again, without fail, at every writing conference, I meet a writer who assumes I will be interested in their work simply because it's about a transformational or life-changing or soulful experience. Writers who are so wholly consumed—who have become different people because of the ideas or story they are conveying—tend to automatically assume it will interest editors or agents just because it’s something they know or deeply experienced or worked hard on.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to have written a great work, experienced a life-changing event, or be an expert in the field. You may feel you have an important message to share, but you have to be able to connect that message to an identifiable MARKET. You must be able to establish a readership and a market for your work if you want to interest a commercial or for-profit publishing house; nothing else will matter to them, apart from amazing, fall-off-your-chair writing.

In big-picture terms, I'll quote the great philosopher Schopenhauer:
"Most men are so thoroughly subjective that nothing really interests them but themselves. They always think of their own case as soon as any remark is made, and their whole attention engrossed and absorbed by the merest chance reference to anything which affects them personally, be it ever so remote."

General | Getting Published

Monday, June 30, 2008 4:49:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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How to Stay Viable as Publisher: Just Produce Quality Content
Posted by Jane

It is now mid-year, and that means everyone is starting to discuss mid-year performance (and individual performance). Right now I'm in the process of summarizing the 2009 outlook for my imprints at F+W, my new publishing initiatives, and anything else that proves my area will be more profitable next year rather than less profitable.

Just in time, there is a fabulous article today in the Washington Post by respected publishing veteran Jonathan Karp. He directs an imprint called Twelve (which publishes 12 books each year).

He discusses the pressure on publishing houses to be profitable, and summarizes the ugly options, of which I am all too familiar:

1. Add more titles to augment sales. (I hate this option the most. More titles, more work, usually fewer sales … plus you inevitably publish titles of lesser quality.)
2. Sell more copies of existing authors and titles. (As Karp points out, most executives don't accept this as a viable option when the industry is flat, at best.)

3. Ask popular authors to "increase output."

4. Diversify your "product line."
5. Cut costs, pray to the gods of movie tie-in paperback editions or hope that one of your authors gets his or her own talk show.

The final paragraphs of Karp's article offer hope that we can all soon get off this infuriating treadmill of more-more-more product. Emerging technologies will eventually give publishers only one way of standing out in the market: quality product. (Imagine that!) He says:

… publishers will be forced to invest in works of quality to maintain their niche. These books will be the one product that only they can deliver better than anyone else. Those same corporate executives who dictate annual returns may begin to proclaim the virtues of research and development, the great engine of growth for business. For publishers, R&D means giving authors the resources to write the best books -- works that will last, because the lasting books will, ultimately, be where the money is.

Read the entire article at the Washington Post, "Turning the Page on the Disposable Book."

Digitization & New Technology | F+W Life | General | Industry News & Trends

Monday, June 30, 2008 11:39:38 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 27, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#5)
Posted by Jane

At a recent writers conference, I heard a literary agent say that one of her top criteria when deciding whether or not to represent an author was: Could she spend eight hours in an airport with that person and like them afterward?

Here in my office, we all try to avoid working with or becoming the dreaded PITA (Pain In The Ass). Word to the wise: If you ever see a PITA surcharge on an invoice you receive, you are one of those people. The next sabotage is pretty clear, yes?

#5 SABOTAGE: BE HIGH MAINTENANCE

No editor or agent wants to take on a project or an author that will drive them crazy, suck up all their time and energy, or make extensive demands.

What characterizes high-maintenance authors?

Demands answers immediately; e-mails or calls repeatedly; everything is urgent
Insists on having everything their way
Unwillingness to negotiate or compromise; general inflexibility
Tremendous self-importance (ego, ego, ego)
Demands everyone else conform to their schedule and preferences

Editors and agents fall in LOVE with people who are:

Confident in themselves, but not egotistical
Flexible and know how to compromise or handle change
Strive for excellence; seek every opportunity to improve their work
Have a positive attitude and don't play the victim

A few additional words about the author-editor dynamic, and a thank-you to Executive Editor Kelly Nickell for these points:

It’s likely that you and your editor will have some good and bad times.
It’s easy to be kind during the good times, but it’s just as important—if not more so—to be kind during the bad times.
Remember that your editor is your voice—your supporter and champion—within the publishing house. If you throw a tantrum or resort to name-calling, etc., your editor is likely to come to think of you as a “problem author.”

It falls on your editor to create and maintain in-house interest in your project. She’s the one responsible for making sure that your book doesn’t get overlooked by sales and marketing. Cultivating a strong partnership with your editor (as well as your agent) is vital to the future success of your book.

The overarching lesson: Be a pleasure to work with, rather than someone that people take pains to avoid.

Related posts
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#4)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#3)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#2)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1)

General | Getting Published

Friday, June 27, 2008 2:02:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#4)
Posted by Jane

This shouldn't be news to you, but the Internet affects your ability to get published—whether for the first time or the second time. When editors/agents receive a query, proposal, or manuscript, they almost always Google the author, and check out the strength of the author's Web presence, reviews, and publication history (if any), and involvement with a particular community. Professionals can form an impression (and perhaps even reach a conclusion) before reading a word of the author’s actual manuscript, meaning:

#4 SABOTAGE: TREATING ONLINE AND MULTIMEDIA ACTIVITIES AS OPTIONAL

Often, the most efficient and effective way to reach a readership is online, through Web sites, blogs, interviews, discussion groups, etc. If you haven't noticed, today’s pop culture thrives on multimedia entertainment, the interactivity of social networks and messaging, and the instant shiny gratification of iPhones and search engines. Progressive publishers and authors must look beyond the power of words alone to stimulate readers.

As a smart acquisitions editor and editorial director, I have to search for projects that can go beyond the printed book. The F+W sales and marketing division is no longer satisfied with a great print product; I have to envision how the content can be shaped and promoted online, in digital formats, and through multimedia channels. My company will eventually cease being a book publisher and become a media/content company. Will you, as an author, be prepared? How will you and your content be defined or delivered in an online or digital environment?

Larger life lesson: It's not just about the culture any more (or "young" people), but the very way we consume and create knowledge. Our very brains are changing. (Read this article in Atlantic magazine, Is Google Making Us Stupid?)

Related posts
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#3)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#2)
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1)

Digitization & New Technology | General | Getting Published

Thursday, June 26, 2008 3:57:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#2)
Posted by Jane

It's common wisdom, supposedly, that you should always look out for yourself—always watch your back, or always put yourself first, because no one else will do that for you.

This is the kind of wisdom I like to turn on its head; in fact, authors who always put themselves first can sabotage their efforts. Thus:

SABOTAGE #2: LOOKING OUT FOR YOURSELF TOO MUCH

You are not No. 1.
The reader—your audience—is No. 1.

If you write a book primarily for fame, fortune, or glory (or even for art's sake, I must admit), you run the risk of forgetting the reader or audience who will make your book successful in the first place. Here are ways I can tell the orientation of an author:

(a) Unpublished authors
A query letter or submission that focuses on the author at the expense of audience/market is a red flag. Look at your own query or submission materials: Do they focus on the story of why you wrote the book, or how you came to write the book, or how hard you've worked on it, or how much your family loves it? Time to revise.

(b) Published authors
Authors who focus too much on themselves often ask their editor or agent, "What have you done for me lately? What are you doing or spending on my book's behalf?" Successful authors, rather than waiting for others to serve them (and that might be a loooong wait!), are growing their community, and actively serving readers.

In the most general terms: Write for that ideal reader and consider how your book can benefit them—not how your book will benefit you.

In life philosophy terms, I think the following quote sums it up: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." (Winston Churchill)

Related posts:
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1)

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 5:24:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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How Do You Know If a Work Is in the Public Domain?
Posted by Jane

One of the toughest questions to answer is:

How do I find out if a work is in the public domain?
Or: What is the copyright status of a specific work?

If a work is in the public domain, it means you can use the material (even profit from the material) without seeking permission. If material is still under copyright protection, then anything beyond fair use requires permission and sometimes a payment for that use.

The laws governing copyright have changed so frequently over the years that it's difficult to determine the copyright status of a work. Usually, a search starts at the Library of Congress, here:

http://www.copyright.gov/records/

You can even pay the Library of Congress to conduct a search for you, though their records don't necessarily result in absolute or conclusive evidence.

But there's an outstanding new development from Google Book Search; they've combined and massaged copyright renewal data from multiple sources into one comprehensive document that's freely downloadable. See this blog posting (from Inside Google Book Search) for the full details and the download link.

For anyone working in book publishing, this is huge.

Digitization & New Technology | General | Industry News & Trends

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:43:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 23, 2008

How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Writing Career (#1)
Posted by Jane

Whenever I give a workshop at a writers conference, I always leave time for questions at the end. At Mad Anthony, during my session on how to avoid sabotaging your writing career, a writer stood up during the Q&A and said that he didn't have a question but an observation: All of my key points were in fact lessons that apply to all occupations (or even all facets of life), not necessarily publishing itself.

How observant he was! And he found me out! At the end of the day, I'm delivering a fairly simplistic philosophy packaged as writing instruction. This week, I'll be discussing the various way writers sabotage their careers, and I think you'll see the broader lesson underlying each one.

SABOTAGE #1: ATTEMPTING TO GET PUBLISHED TOO SOON
There are two primary ways in which this happens:

Submitting less than your best.
Submitting your work without knowing the market (publisher, agent, and/or audience).

Submitting less than your best work is by far THE NO. 1 REASON that writers fail in their fiction submission attempts. With so many people trying their hand at novel writing these days, competition is fierce, and agents/editors can be choosy. Are you submitting your absolute best work? You aren’t doing yourself any favors by circulating work that’s only halfway there. Have patience and conscientiousness to submit your best.

Submitting your work to the wrong market (or not understanding your audience) is the No. 1 reason nonfiction work gets rejected. More than 90 percent of the people who query/pitch me do not convey a good understanding of who would buy their work, much less an understanding of the audience that my particular company serves! I want to sign the authors who understand the market better than I do—and why shouldn't I want that? All editors want authors who bring value to their line, rather than trying to bring authors up to speed on what the market needs.

Know if there’s an audience/market for your work and what it looks like.
Then exhaustively research the companies/agents you submit to.

This same rule applies to published writers—they are not an exception!

The greater life lesson here? Always put forth your best work, and always understand and appeal to the needs of others if you want to partner with them.

General | Getting Published

Monday, June 23, 2008 3:20:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Weekly Roundup of Great WD Blog Posts
Posted by Jane

The latest and greatest information from WD editors:

How to write a nonfiction book proposal (Guide to Literary Agents blog)
The new 2009 edition of Guide to Literary Agents will hit the streets soon; here's a sneak peek at one of the upfront articles on writing nonfiction book proposals by agent Mollie Glick.

Are agents stealing my stamps? (Questions & Quandaries)
I get this question regularly at conferences. I'm always astounded. So here's the answer, if you've always wanted to ask, too.

Meeting agents in New York City (Writer's Perspective)
The editor of Writer's Digest magazine reports from the road, as she escorts winners of the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition in face-to-face meetings with agents.

What no one tells you (Living With the M-Word)
A simple and direct answer to who is responsible for your book's success.

Rolling through stop signs (Alice's CWIM blog)
Alice has a rant this week (on frustrating people like myself! oops!) who don't stop fully at stop signs. I was even guilty of this during my driving test.

Agents | General | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Friday, June 20, 2008 10:45:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Dealing With Rejection From the Sales & Marketing Dept.
Posted by Jane

Many years ago, I ran across this passage in a now defunct blog (BookAngst):

… In my experience, unwanted-by-the-marketing-department books are, in fact, books that the editor himself was either insufficiently passionate about, or for which the editor failed, finally, to demonstrate—above all, to himself—that he had a vision for how to publish it effectively.

(If you'd like to read the full post, it's still archived here.)

There are few publishing-insider sentiments I agree with more than this—because it's proven absolutely true in my experience.

If I'm passionate about a project, everyone hears it, sees it, knows it—and everyone gets on board, even if doubts linger in the background. Passion is infectious. (Of course, if nobody trusted my judgment, that passion would cease to make a difference, but let's assume editors keep their jobs because their judgment continues to be trusted.)

I am guilty (sadly) of telling quite a few authors, as well as agents, that a project did not survive a pub board presentation due to lack of sales/marketing enthusiasm. While I'm not lying, I'm also not conveying the full truth: That if I were 100% sold on the project myself, I would pull all kinds of strings to make it happen. I've done it on rare occasions (sometimes to wild success, sometimes to wild failure), but I only do it when I have that passion or vision.

So now you know the truth. What if you're given this reason for rejection? What can you do about it?

Do YOU the author have a vision for how to publish the book effectively? Have you conveyed this vision convincingly? If you have, can the editor explain the weaknesses in it?
Is your concept truly compelling, something worth an editor getting passionate about? Remember, editors put their reputations on the line when acquiring your project. If it doesn't sell down the road, that's a mark against their judgment.

Writers have a difficult road ahead if they're unable to quickly explain or convey passion for a book or book idea (or if they don't have an agent who can do so on their behalf). To be convincing, you need a certain awareness, the most valuable awareness, perhaps: what makes your work exciting and attractive to people, whether readers, editors, agents.

General | Getting Published

Thursday, June 19, 2008 4:36:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

What I Would Change About the Book Publishing Industry (#1)
Posted by Jane

With this post, I'm launching a series of musings on what I'd change about the book publishing industry if given a magic wand. The first thing?

No Roadblocks to Publishing in New Categories

This one is somewhat difficult to explain, but important to understand when it comes to a publisher's ability to innovate or try new things. First, it requires an overview of how books are sold to chain bookstores.

How Publishers Sell Books to Chain Bookstores

A publisher's sales staff (or its distributor) calls directly on buyers for Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. These meetings happen regularly throughout the year.
Chain bookstore buyers are divided into categories. For example, there is one buyer for fiction at Barnes & Noble, Sessalee Hensley. She decides how many copies Barnes & Noble will buy of any particular fiction title. (To understand this fully, I highly recommend reading "This Buyer of Fiction Has Real Clout" in the Wall Street Journal.)
Publishers' salespeople meet with one buyer at a time (that is, salespeople don't have an audience with all the buyers at once).
To meet with a buyer, a publisher needs to be releasing a certain number of titles each season to merit the sit-down. This number is around 4-6 titles.
If this threshold is not met, then the publisher is forced to do a "drop off," where sales materials are dropped off in the buyer's mailbox. As you might imagine, this is a terrible way to sell a book; it often results in very low buys or passes (when a store decides not to stock a book at all). The situation becomes even more challenging when a publisher does not have an established relationship with a particular buyer or does not have a reputation in the category.

I hope you see where this is going.

If an editor wants to acquire a fabulous book in a category that the publisher isn't yet known for (or doesn't have a buyer relationship for), then the project has almost no chance of getting off the ground. The sales team is not interested in what becomes, in many cases, mission impossible.

The editor has two choices:

Build a new program around a category that has 4-6 titles per season associated with it.
Stick to the established categories.

Even if salespeople said "yes" to off-category projects, and took on the challenge, it wouldn't necessarily be doing the editor (or author) a favor. It could ultimately lead to an orphaned book that has poor placement in stores and little marketing/promotion support from the publisher.

This is a problem somewhat peculiar to my publishing house (F+W), since we're a special-interest company that doesn't really publish books for a general audience (unless you count our Adams division, but don't ask me to explain why some divisions of F+W can publish in any category and others can't). At large New York houses, they publish in nearly every category in the bookstore, so it becomes a non-issue.

F+W Life | General | Getting Published

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:32:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The No. 1 Question to Ask Before Signing With a Small Press
Posted by Jane

Earlier today, a colleague who's been offered a book deal with a small press asked me what questions he should ask before signing on the dotted line, especially if he's concerned about his book's placement in stores.

That's easy. You ask:

Who's your distributor?

Basically, you're asking: How do the books get placed into Barnes & Noble and Borders? (And other bricks-and-mortar stores?)

At the publishing house where I work, we're large enough that we don't need a distributor. We have an in-house sales force that calls directly on the buyers in New York (B&N) and Ann Arbor (Borders). But small presses rarely have that opportunity or luxury, so they sign with a distributor who does this for them.

Two major distributors include:

Publishers Group West (PGW)
Independent Publishers Group (IPG)

A small press could also be distributed by or have a strong relationship with:

Ingram, leading wholesaler-distributor (serves a wide base of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and publishers)
Baker & Taylor, leading wholesaler best known for serving libraries and schools

Also, some small presses are distributed by larger publishing houses, which is perfectly acceptable.

What if the small press doesn't have a distributor?
It may mean the press is relying on sales through online retailers or through their own Web site (or through YOU, the author!). If the press claims to have distribution to bookstores but doesn't have a distributor, ask for a list of stores where their titles can be found on the shelf. Then do some calling around to confirm.

Is it a dealbreaker if the small press doesn't have a distributor?
Not necessarily, but if you want to see your book on the shelves of chain bookstores, then you might be disappointed. Ask the press for some compelling evidence of how they will successfully sell, market, and promote your book without it being physically available in stores. There are many presses that don't require physical distribution in order to sell books because they're in specialty or niche markets … or can otherwise reach the intended audience.

General | Getting Published

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 5:50:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Monday, June 16, 2008

Book Publishing Is Evil and Unfair! Now What?
Posted by Jane

I've been having such an interesting coversation with Robert Walker (in the comments of my post earlier today) that I wanted to share my response with all.

Robert says:

See, I just feel there's a problem when a small number of people's tastes and opinions (let's never forget that) and financial concerns serve to actively, and it often feels, maliciously, keep my work from the reading public. … While such a vetting system *may* produce some financial rewards, how many flops are there? …

The business model currently in place is not about good books, good writers, the sharing of ideas, and so forth, it's about money and profit, no different than the toothpaste industry. Can you honestly tell me that the opinions of this handful of people is really *that* worthy of such power and responsibility? And if you think I'm alone in this, check out Jessica's recent post about "venting" over at Bookends. Read the comments. That's the impression that most writers have of the industry. And, given how the system is set up, how can you blame them?

There's so much to say about Robert's comment (and I've only snipped his last two paragraphs), but I'll just touch on one aspect, and that's the relationship between publishers and writers, and how we all view each other.

Of course I'm no stranger to how the publishing industry is perceived by aspiring writers, as well as published authors. (If you're bitter as an aspiring writer, just wait until you're a published author! Sorry, it can get worse.) One time, I referred to Writer's Digest editors as "the nice people in publishing." However, I couldn't keep doing so in good faith, because it implied perhaps we were the only nice people, and I don't believe that.

In any case, a few points for further consideration.

Yes, there are some bad eggs in the publishing industry (some with and without power). Yes, some writers (both published and unpublished) are mistreated. Yes, some bad books are released. All industries have their share of so-called bad people (and please don't tell me that all the bad people have migrated to book publishing!). I'm reminded of an article I read once that philosophized about how we tend to assume writers are generous, wonderful people. (Or ought to be!) Well, actually, no. Writers can be SOBs just like people in other professions. But for some reason, we expect them to be better human beings. And I wonder if writers expect the same of people inside book publishing. Maybe the problem is, in my comments to Robert, I portrayed book publishing people as too close to God. And of course they're not, though I still contend that people who enter the business do have a passion for the written word, even the gatekeepers, including many agents. There is absolutely NO reason to stay in the business unless you're committed to the written word, because no one's really making any money at it. So we're looking either at passion or lunacy. Or both.
Now that I've pointed out how bad we all are, let's not forget the role that aspiring writers and authors play in making the industry what it is. The way I look at it, we all share in the blame. Publishers make a lot of bad decisions, but authors do too. Many, many times have editors in my office dragged an author kicking and screaming across the finish line. Why dragged? Many authors go missing in action, or they refuse to revise, they won't accept edits or direction, they give up, they don't have time, they abandon the project (for legitimate and not legitimate reasons), and so the editor is left to clean up the mess best they can, or send it to the printer anyway.
Yes, publishing is primarily a profit-making venture. If publishers didn't choose projects that they believed would turn a profit, there would be no money to risk on next year's books. And there would be no money for my paycheck (and I would like to continue making a living at this). How do publishers choose money makers? Well, that's all determined by what YOU, dear reader, are willing to buy. So we could say that the publishers are driven to release what they believe the general public will purchase, so perhaps we can point the finger at them! (That is, ourselves!)

Finally, but most importantly, let's stop pointing the finger. Does demonizing the industry (or the author) really help anyone? Does it help you get published? Maybe. If feeling dissed-pissed about the industry motivates you like crazy, then by all means pursue that attitude! But speaking for myself, if I want to continue to work in book publishing (and yes, I've felt demoralized on many days due to the profit focus), I have to look at what about it brings me joy. So I choose to look at what's beautiful about it, not what I would burn to the ground. And maybe if we pay attention to the positive things, and believe the best of each other, things will change. I guess you could say I'm a hopeless optimist. Or naive. I've been accused of both.

On a more serious note, though, if such things about the industry are incredibly distressing to you—if you simply couldn't look yourself in the mirror if you were published by HarperCollins—then there are in fact many nonprofit and/or independent presses that strive for excellence above all, and profits (if any) are of secondary importance. Into this category, I'd put publishers like Melville House, Macadam/Cage, McSweeney's, Unbridled Books, and of course there are many, many others. (I encourage comments on this front!)

To wrap up, I'd like to share a snippet I've saved for many months. It's from a profile of the founder of Macadam/Cage, David Poindexter:

Poindexter's business philosophy is similarly unconventional. "It's best not to pay too much attention to the finances," he says. "Good business is not about the numbers; it's about doing the right thing. If you're doing the right thing, then you'll be producing something of value, and people will want to acquire what you're producing. Then the numbers will take care of themselves." According to Poindexter, the numbers are taking care of themselves for now. "I can't buy a beach house," he says, "but I can pay the mortgage."

Fortunately for readers as well as for writers, David Poindexter's definition of success has nothing to do with buying a beach house. "I'm doing this because it adds value to my life and to our society," he says. "If we live our lives doing something of value, then that is success." And by that standard, David Poindexter is successful indeed.

General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends

Monday, June 16, 2008 9:23:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The 3 Types of Writer—Which Are You?
Posted by Jane

When I'm surrounded by large numbers of writers (usually at conferences), I've found it helpful to separate them into three distinct categories:

Careerists
Cathartics
Students

I can usually tell within a few minutes who I'm dealing with, and while quickly labeling people is not my favored or desired pastime, it greatly affects the kind of advice or feedback I give to a writer. Here are the qualities of each and how it affects my response.

CAREERISTS

Want to author a book (more than "write" a book) to help take their career to the next level
Usually are writing in a nonfiction category
The information or the message is usually more important than aesthetics

These types of writers need to understand, first and foremost, that a publisher will not be interested in their project until they have a marketing platform and visibility with a targeted audience. As one of my authors (Christina Katz) says, publishers are not looking to make waves for you; they want to ride your wave. The No. 1 mistake careerists make is thinking that a publisher will somehow kick-start their career or help them spread their message. Instead, careerists need to ensure they can convince a publisher that their book will sell because they already have the right promotion machine in place.

A few of the best careerist authors are the ones who have decided that publishers profit too much from the authors' efforts, and eventually publish their own stuff (because they know how to sell, distribute, and market it on their own—that's how incredibly visible they are).

CATHARTICS

Usually have one manuscript complete, often a memoir or story about a traumatic event (e.g., death of a loved one, tragic illness, longterm abuse)
Have an insatiable desire to tell the world about this tragic story (e.g., to keep a loved one's memory alive, to help others who may be going through the same situation)
Often have no interest in large-scale revision or otherwise making the work suitable for a publisher

These types of writers can be the most challenging to advise because their stories are so personal. Their focus is so much on getting their specific story out into the world that there's no room for compromise. I've found it's also not helpful to say, "Start a new project, set this aside for a while," because such writers are only interested in writing about this one event. Furthermore, these writers desperately want validation from editors/agents that their story has value and ought to be published.

I've found the best I can do for these people is to advise self-publishing, unless I see a sample of the writing and it knocks me out of my chair. (FYI, that has never happened.)

STUDENTS
So the last category?

Have a continuous desire to improve their craft
Revise, revise, revise, revise
Read (no one emphasizes this enough)
Know how to use editorial and market-based feedback to speed them to success

I think I'm showing my biases here (that is, I find students to be dedicated to the same things I'm dedicated to), but of course student qualities can be found in both careerists and cathartics.

The important point here is that people in publishing can tell when you're only seeking to use the industry for a specific type of gain. Ask yourself: where is your passion directed, and is it best directed at book publication? For some would-be authors, book publication is the most foolish and time-wasting means of spreading a message. (Not to mention unprofitable.)

General | Getting Published

Monday, June 16, 2008 12:45:22 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Quick & Deep (and Life-Changing) Writing Advice
Posted by Jane

I keep several Moleskine journals, and one is devoted specifically to the philosophy of great writers (or great writing). Today, a glimpse into the most recent entries:

The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings—words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out.

—Stephen King

In every work of genius, we recognized our own rejected thoughts: They come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.

—Emerson

To poets, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one.

—Colette

Before the play [by Harold Pinter], I thought words were just vessels of meaning. After it I saw them as weapons of defense. Before, I thought theatre was about the spoken; after, I understood the eloquence of the unspoken. It offered no explanations, no theories, no truths, no through line, no certainties of any kind.

—John Lahr

Something has to be alive inside the story, giving it a pulse … What is it that's going to be whispering in your ear? Mostly it'll be what was there to start with—the unending swirl of memories, start-ups, hang-ups, and preoccupations. Write what you know goes the cliche. I'm not so sure you have a choice.

—Danny Leigh

If there is a single pressure that has brought me to writing, it is regret. That is like rocket fuel for this kind of art.

—DBC Pierre

Craft & Technique | General

Friday, June 13, 2008 2:59:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

Wherefore Art Thou, TOJF? (Mein Doppelganger)
Posted by Jane

If you're in publishing, you know by now: The Other Jane Friedman is leaving HarperCollins. The most sensible-WTF summary is over at GalleyCat.

Once upon a time, I pinned up paper gravestones along the bottom of my cubicle walls whenever a project "died" (projects that were contracted but never made it to publication). I feel like reviving that in memory of Jane Friedman, CEO HarperCollins, 1997-2008.

The longer news story can be read over at the NY Observer.

General | Industry News & Trends

Thursday, June 05, 2008 9:58:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Bookmark These Sites! Great Progressive Thinkers in Book Publishing
Posted by Jane

To assist a colleague, I compiled a list of helpful sites that often discuss e-books. As I compiled it, I realized that it's also a wonderful list for writers who want to read some of the most progressive and up-to-date thinking in the book publishing industry. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, just my favorites, so please throw in your own suggestions in the comments area.

Great Publishing Blogs by Progressive Thinkers

Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog
By Joe Wikert, VP and Executive Publisher at Wiley

PersonaNonData
By Michael Cairns at Information Media Partners
(former president of R.R. Bowker)

Print Is Dead
By author Jeff Gomez

O'Reilly Radar Publishing blog
A group blog by O'Reilly folks, including Tim O'Reilly

Digitization & New Technology | General | Industry News & Trends

Wednesday, June 04, 2008 2:41:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Big Problem With BEA That Everyone Knows—And Is Starting to Talk About
Posted by Jane

This year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles was my fifth year in attendance. Every year, I return home exhausted, no matter how long I stay or what agenda I follow. For me, it's an intense concentration of people and experiences—the most intense of the year. Take all the important (and beloved) people you know, along with a bunch of important people you don't know, then shake and stir (e.g., stand in line for 45 minutes for a Starbucks beverage, after standing on your feet for 4-8 hours without sustenance, followed by an end-of-the-day line for shuttle, taxi, dinner, etc).

But I digress.

(Note: For anyone who doesn't yet know the basic texture of BEA, I recommend reading a piece I did for Identity Theory in 2007.)

My company, F+W Publications, has a booth presence at BEA, and I was there on Friday to lend support to my authors who were signing books, as well as meet with a variety of agents and prospective authors (and marketing partners). Unfortunately, in the five years I have been attending BEA, I have yet to see any correlation between a great BEA book signing (or promotion) and great book sales. I wish I could say otherwise, given how much of our staff's energy, talent, and creativity are on display.

If there's a bright side to this, industry-wide people are starting to notice that BEA is a significant expense that looks more and more like a party where we (the publishers—or authors) are the only ones who show up. Take for instance this snippet from AP coverage of the event:

"I think when this is over, we're going to do some soul searching," said CEO David Shanks of Penguin Group (USA). "There are people in this hall who have spent way more than a million dollars at a time when we all should be pinching pennies."

Also, Michael Cader at PublishersLunch reported:

Publishing executives who used to gamely tell us how nice to was to see everyone gathered together and be part of the community even if they couldn't measure the return on investment were talking more this time about the "waste of money" the show has come to represent. One ceo, admitting that "you have to be here," nonetheless said to us, "I don't know what the solution is. People are going to have to take a hard look" at the show and its relevance and value.

In the days leading up to this year's BEA, everyone within the F+W book division was asked to evaluate our participation going forward, considering the expense of attending this show. It appears that, next year, F+W will have a reduced presence at the show, in terms of booth space, staff attendance, author attendance, and other marketing & promotions. It's hard to argue against such a move when our efforts don't translate into definitive sales. Our marketing dollars would likely be more effective in direct-to-consumer events or promotions.

That said, from an editorial perspective, the face time that editors have with authors and agents at BEA has been invaluable for acquisitions. One of my colleagues, Writer's Digest Books executive editor Kelly Nickell, met author James Scott Bell in 2003 on the show floor of BEA. That interaction resulted in a book that has been our No. 1 bestseller for Writer's Digest Books for several years (with sales increasing year on year). Would this project have happened without BEA? I'd argue probably not. One would think this kind of interaction wouldn't be necessary in a world where it's so easy to connect online in seconds, but in fact, I think the reverse has become true. Making time to meet someone face-to-face has become even more treasured and valued. People pay attention when you make that kind of effort.

Conferences/Events | General | Industry News & Trends

Tuesday, June 03, 2008 1:22:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Weekly Roundup of Great WD Blog Posts
Posted by Jane

Poetic Asides
Robert Brewer offers a delightful wrap-up of his Poem-a-Day Challenge, including awards for Most Prolific Poet, Most Hated Poetry Prompt (the sestina), Most Loved Poetry Prompt (the sestina), and Most Likely to Write About a Comic Supervillain. Congratulations to everyone who met the challenge, and also to Robert for creating such a lovely challenge in the first place.

Alice's CWIM Blog
Read an interview with new literary agent Michael Stearns (Firebrand Literary), who was most recently an editorial director and foreign acquisitions manager for HarperCollins Children's Books.

Guide to Literary Agents
One of the agents who will be participating in next week's pitch slam (at the BEA/WDB conference), Bernadette Baker, gives insight into the graphic novel genre.

The Writer's Perspective
The editor of Writer's Digest magazine wants to hear from you on how the economy is affecting your writing life or career.

Living With the M-Word
Learn the importance of positioning your work.

Questions & Quandaries
Is is possible to copyright a pseudonym? Find out here.

Agents | General | Industry News & Trends

Thursday, May 22, 2008 8:58:05 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Day 3: Pennwriters (Tips, Insights, Farewell)
Posted by Jane

A recap of the final day.

My Session on Nonfiction Queries, Submissions, Proposals
This morning I received excellent and insightful questions from the writers attending. (Thank you!) Some of the high points of discussion:

Credentials and platform are not the same thing. Credentials give you the authority to write on a topic, or inspire trust in the reader. Platform is your visibility to your audience or readership, which helps you promote and sell books. Credentials can help you grow your platform, but alone they do not act as a platform.
Early in the process it is essential for you to identify your book's category, or where it would be shelved in the bookstore. Publishers pitch books to chain stores based on the book's category (because there are different buyers for each category). It is not possible for your book to be shelved in two different categories in a store (at least not deliberately). This is why it is so difficult to sell hybrid works (like a self-help memoir).
The No. 1 weakness in book proposals that come across my desk? Authors focus too much on themselves or their own ideas and not enough on the audience or market for the work.

Finally, a couple bits and pieces that didn't fit anywhere else:

(Friedman Watch!) I met Melanie Donovan, an executive editor from HarperCollins, who said when she saw my name in the program, it gave her a small chill. Apparently, the HarperCollins Jane Friedman is one imposing lady!
I spoke to several attendees who said this year's Pennwriters conference offered one of the best programs ever—the sessions were hardworking, practical, and useful for anyone trying to break into the industry. Based on the sessions I was able to attend, I agree the information presented has been top-notch for anyone trying to get published.

A thank-you to everyone at Pennwriters who organized and volunteered at the event; what a devoted group! The environment has been friendly, relaxed, but also professional. The staff take excellent care of the presenters, and are very passionate about their mission to help writers succeed. As Carol Silvis said during yesterday's lunch, "You reach down, and lift someone up."

Conferences/Events | General | Getting Published

Sunday, May 18, 2008 12:24:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Day 2: Pennwriters (Tips, Insights)
Posted by Jane

A recap of Saturday's events.

Successful Nonfiction Pitches (Irene Goodman)
In the morning I attended a session by agent Irene Goodman (25 years in the business), who spoke on developing a strong nonfiction book pitch. She posed the following question to the audience: How much will the publisher support your book, or what will they do to promote it?

A few people in the audience responded (somewhat dismally): Zero. Nothing. They do nothing.

(An aside: Even though many writers know the correct answer to Irene's question, I meet very few writers who actually incorporate their platform into their pitches—almost as if all writers believe they are the exception to the rule. Irene told me later that writers have a hard time personalizing this advice about platform. They hear it, but don't apply it.)

In any case, much of Irene's talk focused on developing a platform attractive to an editor or agent. She touched on various elements author platform, such as:

having a current Web site, with interactive elements (podcasts, videocasts, blogs)
building a mailing list (which is only meaningful if at 2,000+ names)
sending out regular e-newsletters
participating in online communities
being a joiner (putting yourself out there)
publishing articles for magazines, newspapers, etc.
speaking at organizations and events
getting attention from local and national media

An interesting point I haven't heard before: Irene said "real deal" authors (people who are experts in their area or passionate about their book topic) may not have a platform because they're busy doing their "real" jobs (being a teacher, being a doctor, etc). But even those people need to find ways to reach out and market themselves and build a platform. (She gave an example of a committed teacher who already speaks frequently to local PTA groups as part of his job. To build platform, his next step would be to find a national PTA group where he could speak.)

Other highlights from Irene's talk:

She highly recommended an e-book by MJ Rose and Douglas Clegg, Buzz Your Book.
Never put in your book proposal something like "This would be great on talk shows (radio, TV, etc)." Of course your topic would be great on talk shows. But so what? Who cares? What are you (the author) doing to make it happen? As an example of a proactive writer/author, Irene described a flower arranger who might send flowers to producers, with a note saying, "I can show your audience how to do this." Even if your attempts aren't successful, at the very least it should help you build contacts, or a network.
And: You probably have more contacts than you think. Don't be afraid to ask for things—but be genuine, be real.

Today's Pitches
The best pitches I heard today were from writers who focused on their market (audience) and how the audience would benefit from the book. The less successful pitches focused on the actual content of the book. I think the right ratio for a nonfiction book pitch is:

30 seconds on who the market or audience is and what problem they need to solve
15 seconds on the book concept/hook that addresses that problem
30 seconds on who you are (the author) and your platform (how you reach readers today)

Lunch Speaker: D.L. Wilson
Novelist D.L. Wilson talked about "practice novels": write that first manuscript, just to practice your craft and get it out of the way, then lock it in the closet. It's not a waste of your time; it's an excellent use of your time, because you're practicing and getting better.

He also said that editors have such enormous workloads these days that authors should not expect meaningful involvement ... unlike the early days of Robert Ludlum, whose editorial process with his legendary editor spanned 1-2 years for his first novel (The Scarlatti Inheritance), which then became a bestseller partially due to that revision process. Do editors today have time for such an involved process? Most do not.

Publishing Trends (Irene Goodman)
In the afternoon, Irene gave a whirlwind tour of what's hot and what's not in today's book publishing industry. Keep in mind the date of this list (May 17, 2008); it will go out-of-date fast.

FICTION

Novels with "craft" themes (knitting, quilting, etc)
Female protagonists in thrillers, "damsel in control", kick-ass heroines, Buffy-derivatives
In romance, old-school is now in style
Historical fiction, particularly Tudors and Elizabethans, sexy royal soap operas
Urban fantasies, THE hottest thing is young adult urban fantasy with female protagonists
Erotica is in (both good and bad erotica)
OUT: cozy mysteries without any hook, paranormal romance, biblically based quest for a legendary object, macho guys, chick lit, American historical fiction, male private-eyes, English village mystery

NONFICTION
(Note: Irene stressed this genre is less trend driven. It is platform driven, since all you need to do is prove there is an audience that you can sell to.)

Participatory journalism
Memoirs, only if extremely well-written, if you have something very special or unusual to say. Pet memoirs.
Fun, upbeat animal books, even narrated by the animal, not too cutesy, it has to be "real"
Crafts
OUT: Elizabeth-Gilbert also-rans, green books, cutesy memoirs, parenting

Agents | Conferences/Events | General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends

Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:41:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Day 1: Pennwriters (Tips, Insights)
Posted by Jane

A recap of my first day at Pennwriters.

Tip: Pitching Your Novel
The first bit advice comes from Jonathan Maberry, which was actually shared with me by Bill Peschel, who picked me up from the airport. (Thanks, Bill!) Maberry said: Don't get bogged down in the plot details when you're pitching your novel. Sell the story, don't tell it. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Additional tip: I always recommend that writers ready to pitch look in Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, and flip to the last page for a great worksheet on constructing your novel pitch. It will help you avoid a too-detailed pitch.

Deep Thoughts from Joyce Carol Oates
This was the first time I'd heard Oates speak. About halfway through her keynote, I thought, "Man, she's really focusing on the dark emotions behind writing. Why?" By the end, I remembered: It's Joyce Carol Oates.

Her talk was titled "Woundedness, Rejection, and Inspiration," and she seemed to pull many anecdotes from her recent book about the ending days of famous writers. She said she's fascinated by how rejection affects writers, wounds writers. She discussed the equation of emotional vulnerability + imagination + non-complacency + asking questions + questing. She also spoke of writers who are wounded during childhood and become isolated, which then leads to "compulsive speech." She gave Anais Nin as an example.

She raised issues for me that strike at the core of what or who we think writers are as people (or what perhaps drives great writing or writers), such as:

Are writers more vulnerable than others? Does vulnerable mean weaker? And is this because they are more sensitive or empathetic to people/environment? (Or are these two separate issues entirely?)
Does the best work spring from dark emotions, dark experiences, or dark childhoods? (It's like the New Yorker cartoon where the creative writing student calls up her parents and blames them for not giving her a more wounded childhood so she has good material.)
Is solitary confinement necessary for great art? Must writers step off the traditional cultural path in order to create great art?
Are happy writers better writers? Does happiness interfere with great art?

One thing Oates mentioned that was not dark: She says she's had many brilliant, talented students (at Princeton University), but some just fade off and don't really do anything. And then there are others who are dedicated, loyal, and intelligent of course but not flashy. One of those was Jodi Picoult, who she described as very methodical, modest, hardworking.

And a final interesting bit: One person asked what Oates liked least about writing or the writing life. Her response: Writing a first draft, or those first six weeks. After nearly 50 books written and published, she still thinks to herself, "I just can't do it." She becomes nervous, every time.

Nonfiction Critique Session
Tonight I reviewed four nonfiction writing samples in a group setting, along with author Shirley Brosius. What struck me was the fierce passion of each author for their idea (or story) and their desire to have that shared with or validated and heard by others.

When discussing intensely personal stories (usually memoir), it can be difficult, sitting on the opposite side of the table, to say, "Well, I know this story is meaningful, but why will anyone be interested? How will it sell?" I begin to sound like a real cold-hearted creep!

Over a year's time, I hear dozens of personal stories that focus on grief, loss, tragedy, or sickness. (One agent I know calls them "autopathologies.") The writer is clearly attempting to make sense of an experience that has transformed his/her life, and turn it into something that can help others. The challenge is that few of today's readers visit a bookstore wondering what new book about grief and loss should be on their nightstand (hence, the success of series like Chicken Soup for the Soul or Cup of Comfort.) However, these same readers might be wondering: How can I solve this tragic problem I have? How can I become happier? (Self-help to the rescue!)

For writers with a challenging personal story to tell, I usually advise:

Write it with heart-aching beauty so that no one can put it down.
Find a freakish marketing angle. (I had a hard life because I had 2 heads!!)

Neither are easily accomplished.

Conferences/Events | General | Getting Published

Friday, May 16, 2008 11:19:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The No. 1 Requirement for a Good Experience
Posted by Jane

Last year, I started using a Web application for my to-do list, Gootodo. It's a brilliantly simple little tool that has streamlined my work life. Simple but useful tools are difficult to find.

The creator of this tool, Mark Hurst, has an e-newsletter I subscribe to called Good Experience. His latest newsletter (and blog post) discusses the No. 1 requirement for a good experience, which goes against the grain of most business thinking: empathy.

Empathy - the driving force behind good listening - is the number one requirement for anyone who wants to create a good experience. Not a long list of methods, not a scholarly knowledge of one's niche field - but empathy. Anyone can learn a method; but people who can listen, can pay attention, can see the experience from someone else's perspective, are rare and valuable.

Writing a book, for example, requires the author to constantly read and re-read the text from the perspective of the readers: will this make sense to them? Not to me, the author, but to someone who's coming at this fresh?

Throughout the years, my own company has been fairly good at this. We conduct surveys, focus groups, and make it easy for customers to contact us. Our editors are not protected from the random calls coming into reception from people who want to know how to get published. I believe we do listen. While F+W may not always succeed in delivering a good experience, at the very least we know what that good experience looks like, even if our own internal systems prevent us or limit us from delivering it! (One example is WritersMarket.com, which is an excellent tool, but still needs improvement—and that's a task we've been undertaking intensively for more than two years now.)

But back to writers specifically: If you're writing a book, are you really focusing on the reader, or are you more concerned with publication or "spreading your message"? Of course there's nothing wrong with being motivated to spread a message, but what I find unique is when a writer wants to help or benefit others, and asks that question first and foremost. Then the writer has his focus on the right place: the marketplace. In fact, if more writers honestly asked themselves this question, would they still conclude that writing, publishing, and promoting a book is the best course of action?

Building Readership | General | Getting Published

Friday, May 16, 2008 10:33:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Weekly Roundup of Great WD Blog Posts
Posted by Jane

The Writer's Perspective
The editor of Writer's Digest magazine gives you the inside dirt on how to break into a career in journalism.

Living With the M-Word
Get a nuts-and-bolts overview of essential marketing tools from our marketing manager, Scott Francis.

Guide to Literary Agents
In a recent post, "Principles, Not Rules!" (about the conflicting advice you likely receive from agents), editor Chuck Sambuchino reveals that he's a man after my own heart.

Poetic Asides
Read an exclusive interview with poet Julianna Baggot by Writer's Market editor Robert Brewer.

Questions & Quandaries
For anyone who's been tempted to quote song lyrics in a book or article, read this information first, from WD magazine's online managing editor, Brian Klems.

Alice's CWIM Blog
Discover a self-published children's book that's all about your favorite … herb.

Agents | General | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:41:49 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Who Is Jane Friedman?
Posted by Jane

Most people in book publishing know Jane Friedman as the CEO of HarperCollins in New York. (Click here for an interview with her.) This is not her blog, but that's a picture of her to the left.

This blog is by The Other Jane Friedman in Cincinnati. I work as an editorial director at F+W Publications, where I oversee the publication of more than 50 nonfiction titles every year, under the imprints of Writer's Digest Books (including the Writer's Market series), HOW Books, Betterway Books, and TOW Books. I've worked in publishing for 10 years, and have worked in editorial positions at Writer's Digest magazine, North Light Books, and the Evansville Review.

I speak regularly at writing conferences across the country (about 8-10 events a year), and have been writing and publishing ever since I graduated with a BFA in creative writing from the University of Evansville. I'm also the author of the most recent edition of The Beginning Writer's Answer Book.

Welcome to my blog. The world doesn't need another blog (just like the world doesn't need 300,000 new books every year), but in the months ahead, I hope to deliver valuable insights especially geared toward aspiring and working writers.

General

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:01:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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