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.

Here's a big OOPS that WDB editor Lauren Mosko uncovered this morning from John McCain's online store. She says, "Wonder how long before someone alerts them and they take it down ...?"

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?
  

A little bit of fun at the office today: Someone on the team discovered Cake Wrecks, a site featuring terrible and horrible (and sometimes morally objectionable) cake decorations. Categories of "wrecks" include: Beyond Bizarre, Close-Your-Eyes, Creative Grammar, Creepy, Just Funny, Mithspellings, and Oh-So-Ugly. A few of my favorites:

Looks like the e-mail message didn't translate so well.




Hard to imagine placing the order for (or decorating) this cake.




I guess there's never a bad reason to have cake?

Bleak House Books has interviewed WDB author Lee Lofland (Police Procedure & Investigation) about his views on writing and law enforcement. Click here to go straight to the podcast.

Click here to read an excerpt from Police Procedure & Investigation.

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.

Just received this news from agent Janet Reid (thanks for pointing out, Chuck!)

Then there was that BEA Writers Digest Pitch Slam conference. I bitched and
moaned and whined so much about going that Chuck forced me, yes FORCED me,
to find a great writer, sign her, and sell her book for six figures. I blame
Chuck entirely for that failure of expectations.

Chuck comments, "She's being sarcastic, of course, but she DID sign a client there and sell her book for six figures."