The recent Pennwriters Conference in Pittsburgh was a huge success. Over 190 people attended. Lisa Scottoline was the guest speaker on Friday night. She talked about how she had found herself with a small child and no real means of support so she started writing and it worked. She talked about how she finds her ideas for novels all around her. A funny woman, her talk was great.
Nancy Martin an author with nearly fifty novels in 17 languages taught how to perfect your pitch. She also moderated a panel with agents Colleen Lindsay, Lucienne Diver, Becca Stumpf and Uwe Stender, covering subjects from what agents are looking for to how they track foreign rights. Martin knew the right questions to ask and the panel was very productive.
All total, there were thirty-one panels ranging from a study in grammar, to series characters, to crime fiction, and playwriting.
On Friday evening, attendees were able to get the first two pages of their novels critiqued by agents, editors, and published authors.
All in all, a great conference.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Going Postal
Today I once again ventured into the breach. I spent the weekend polishing my next epic fantasy, First Dragon, and researching the market. I don't have an agent, so a few NY publishers are closed to me. I selected the four 'big' guys who still put out sword and sorcery and typed up query letters for each of them. Two of them had guidelines asking for the entire manuscript to be submitted and two wanted only the synopsis and the first three chapters.
All that was as normal, but keep in mind, I haven't submitted anything to these guys since Medallion Press contracted my last epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Futhark. My romance novels go to ebook publishers and all the communication, edits and submissions are online.
But not New York. One of the major fantasy publishers asked for the entire manuscript to be submitted as an attachment in an email. The other three, including the one who wanted the entire novel(all 400 pages) wanted it sent by snail mail. All three asked to have a SASE included so they could sent communication back to me. Not send my manuscript back, but send just my business size envelope back. They're all going to 'recycle' my expensive ink and paper. One even dared to say they wouldn't send it back because it would 'cost' the author too much for the return postage. The other two admitted because of a change in postage, they know had to go to the post office to return the package when before the postman would pick it up at their office.
I always reuse those chapters unless they've been wrinkled and bent. Four hundred pages are nearly a ream of paper!
So yesterday I stewed while my printer spit out the paper. I cursed when I had to put in a new ink cartridge. I growled when I raced from work to get to the post office before it closed. I nearly cried when I ran my card through the little gadget to pay the postage for those three packages.
I know most of the big NY houses now have their books available in ebook for kindle or other readers, but when are they going to get with the program in submissions? Think of the trees that could be saved? The time and gas of visiting the post office. The time and expense to the author. All these things could be put to better use.
What do you think? Will NY figure this out?
All that was as normal, but keep in mind, I haven't submitted anything to these guys since Medallion Press contracted my last epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Futhark. My romance novels go to ebook publishers and all the communication, edits and submissions are online.
But not New York. One of the major fantasy publishers asked for the entire manuscript to be submitted as an attachment in an email. The other three, including the one who wanted the entire novel(all 400 pages) wanted it sent by snail mail. All three asked to have a SASE included so they could sent communication back to me. Not send my manuscript back, but send just my business size envelope back. They're all going to 'recycle' my expensive ink and paper. One even dared to say they wouldn't send it back because it would 'cost' the author too much for the return postage. The other two admitted because of a change in postage, they know had to go to the post office to return the package when before the postman would pick it up at their office.
I always reuse those chapters unless they've been wrinkled and bent. Four hundred pages are nearly a ream of paper!
So yesterday I stewed while my printer spit out the paper. I cursed when I had to put in a new ink cartridge. I growled when I raced from work to get to the post office before it closed. I nearly cried when I ran my card through the little gadget to pay the postage for those three packages.
I know most of the big NY houses now have their books available in ebook for kindle or other readers, but when are they going to get with the program in submissions? Think of the trees that could be saved? The time and gas of visiting the post office. The time and expense to the author. All these things could be put to better use.
What do you think? Will NY figure this out?
Is a NY Times Columnist Guilty of Plagiarism?
Maureen Dowd, perhaps one of the best known columnists of the NY Times, wrote in Sunday's (May 18, 2009) NY Times:
"More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when the Bush crowd was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/opinion/17dowd.html?_r=1
On the previous Thursday, just a few days earlier, Talking Point Memo's Josh Marshall wrote,
"More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when we were looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq."
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/05/bubbling.php
So it seems pretty clear that we have a case of plagiarism here. Maureen Dowd now says it was an inadvertent error of failing to give proper credit and attribution. Here is what has been added to her online column:
Correction: May 18, 2009 Maureen Dowd’s column on Sunday, about torture, failed to attribute a paragraph about the timeline for prisoner abuse to Josh Marshall’s blog at Talking Points Memo.
"More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when the Bush crowd was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/opinion/17dowd.html?_r=1
On the previous Thursday, just a few days earlier, Talking Point Memo's Josh Marshall wrote,
"More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when we were looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq."
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/05/bubbling.php
So it seems pretty clear that we have a case of plagiarism here. Maureen Dowd now says it was an inadvertent error of failing to give proper credit and attribution. Here is what has been added to her online column:
Correction: May 18, 2009 Maureen Dowd’s column on Sunday, about torture, failed to attribute a paragraph about the timeline for prisoner abuse to Josh Marshall’s blog at Talking Points Memo.
It should be noted that in 1987, it was Maureen Dowd who exposed then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's plagiarism of British politician Neil Kinnock's speeches.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Writing from the Heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Greetings from the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. I am pleased to be a part of the Susquehanna Writers. It’s great to have a voice here on this growing blog.
I am the author of 31 published books. My books range from topics on history to business. My next book is a true crime genre. I’m deep into the research right now. In fact, I am taking a break from interviewing, researching, outlining and writing the first couple of chapters to create this blog entry. Within the next few moments, I’ll be returning to work on this tale of three murders that occurred in the Pennsylvania Poconos. I’ll be talking more about my work of bringing this story to life in future blog entries.
I’ve got plenty to do these days, as an active and fulltime writer based in Lancaster, PA. I am re-launching Fire on the River, a small history book about the burning of the longest covered bridge in the world during the Civil War. It spanned the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville, York County, and Columbia, Lancaster County. I’m updating the book and hope to have the new version available next month. I’m going to make several videos about the bridge burning, and place them on YouTube. That’s another project that I’ll be talking about here on Susquehanna Writers in the coming week. Writing a book is only part of the publishing process. Promotion and publicity is a big part of making a book successful.
It’s time for me to return to my work. I’ll be writing about a true crime today, a twisted story of murder and mayhem. As I sink deeper into my oversized desk chair, is there really wonder why I so enjoy being a writer, journalist and author?
If you want to know more about me and my work, visit my Web site at: http://www.georgesheldon.com.
I am the author of 31 published books. My books range from topics on history to business. My next book is a true crime genre. I’m deep into the research right now. In fact, I am taking a break from interviewing, researching, outlining and writing the first couple of chapters to create this blog entry. Within the next few moments, I’ll be returning to work on this tale of three murders that occurred in the Pennsylvania Poconos. I’ll be talking more about my work of bringing this story to life in future blog entries.
I’ve got plenty to do these days, as an active and fulltime writer based in Lancaster, PA. I am re-launching Fire on the River, a small history book about the burning of the longest covered bridge in the world during the Civil War. It spanned the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville, York County, and Columbia, Lancaster County. I’m updating the book and hope to have the new version available next month. I’m going to make several videos about the bridge burning, and place them on YouTube. That’s another project that I’ll be talking about here on Susquehanna Writers in the coming week. Writing a book is only part of the publishing process. Promotion and publicity is a big part of making a book successful.
It’s time for me to return to my work. I’ll be writing about a true crime today, a twisted story of murder and mayhem. As I sink deeper into my oversized desk chair, is there really wonder why I so enjoy being a writer, journalist and author?
If you want to know more about me and my work, visit my Web site at: http://www.georgesheldon.com.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Writing in Small Spaces
Hello from Central Pennsylvania, where it's apparently a great day for blogging! My name is Lisa Hess, and I write…well, lots of things. My books have been published in the educational market, and I’ve written numerous articles for educational, parenting and a few other publications. I’m currently working on another book for the educational market as well as an inspirational novel.
Before my daughter was born, I wrote on Fridays and weekdays in the summer in my quiet house while my husband was at work. After my daughter was born, I temporarily lost the ability to string words and sentences together unless they were about her. As she got older, I began to learn the art of writing in small spaces – not physical spaces (at least at first), but temporal spaces. Naptime was a particular favorite.
As Leah grew, so did my opportunities to refine the art of writing in small spaces, namely the front seat of my car while she was at dance classes, or for short snatches of time when she was happily and independently occupied. I hit the jackpot when she began going to gymnastics on Saturday mornings. My husband volunteered to be her chauffeur, and I stayed behind for a blissful two hours of uninterrupted writing time. When she no longer wished to attend those Saturday morning sessions, her mother supported her decision, but the writer inside her mother cringed, terrified that her reign had ended.
Fortunately, having learned the art of writing in both small and large chunks (and small and large spaces), I continue to adapt. Despite the fact that my house is now a busy place on Saturday mornings, I still try to eke out some writing time, but sometimes I just give up and take my laptop to Starbucks, where I am now refining the art of working in a busier, noisier place with my favorite beverage just inches away.
I think I can adapt.
Lisa Lawmaster Hess is the author of Acting Assertively and Diverse Divorce. Her articles appear frequently in Central Penn Parent. You can visit her website at www.L2Hess.com.
Before my daughter was born, I wrote on Fridays and weekdays in the summer in my quiet house while my husband was at work. After my daughter was born, I temporarily lost the ability to string words and sentences together unless they were about her. As she got older, I began to learn the art of writing in small spaces – not physical spaces (at least at first), but temporal spaces. Naptime was a particular favorite.
As Leah grew, so did my opportunities to refine the art of writing in small spaces, namely the front seat of my car while she was at dance classes, or for short snatches of time when she was happily and independently occupied. I hit the jackpot when she began going to gymnastics on Saturday mornings. My husband volunteered to be her chauffeur, and I stayed behind for a blissful two hours of uninterrupted writing time. When she no longer wished to attend those Saturday morning sessions, her mother supported her decision, but the writer inside her mother cringed, terrified that her reign had ended.
Fortunately, having learned the art of writing in both small and large chunks (and small and large spaces), I continue to adapt. Despite the fact that my house is now a busy place on Saturday mornings, I still try to eke out some writing time, but sometimes I just give up and take my laptop to Starbucks, where I am now refining the art of working in a busier, noisier place with my favorite beverage just inches away.
I think I can adapt.
Lisa Lawmaster Hess is the author of Acting Assertively and Diverse Divorce. Her articles appear frequently in Central Penn Parent. You can visit her website at www.L2Hess.com.
I'm Having Twins...
Books, that is, not babies!!
May 22 will be the big day. My YA biography, Rihanna (People in the News) is due out from Lucent then and so is Summer Lovin', the YA anthology that contains my romance, "Summer Storms." Summer Lovin' will be out from The Wild Rose Press as an e-book that day; the print version will come out 7-10.
I feel like a proud Mama with two very different offspring. Can't wait!!
May 22 will be the big day. My YA biography, Rihanna (People in the News) is due out from Lucent then and so is Summer Lovin', the YA anthology that contains my romance, "Summer Storms." Summer Lovin' will be out from The Wild Rose Press as an e-book that day; the print version will come out 7-10.
I feel like a proud Mama with two very different offspring. Can't wait!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Hi Everyone: I was delighted this past weekend to see that my Novel, Thy Kingdom Come, received a five-star rating from Affair de Ceour magazine. Since Affair de Ceour primarily reviews romance novels, it was great to see the designation of "Reviewers' Pick" given to my thriller. So you romance lovers, give Thy Kingdom Come a look.
I hope to see many of you at the Pennwriters Conference in Pittsburgh the weekend of May 15 - 17. CJ Lyons and I will be doing a signing at the Borders Express in Robinson Center from 6 - 8 pm on Thursday, May 14th. Stop by and say hello.
Don Helin
I hope to see many of you at the Pennwriters Conference in Pittsburgh the weekend of May 15 - 17. CJ Lyons and I will be doing a signing at the Borders Express in Robinson Center from 6 - 8 pm on Thursday, May 14th. Stop by and say hello.
Don Helin
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tomorrow’s Release Day for The Duende and the Muse!
By Cate Masters
Hello, I’m Cate Masters. I write women’s fiction, urban fantasy, romance, historical and speculative, in every length from flash to novels. Tomorrow, I’m celebrating the release of my short Faery (fantasy) story from The Wild Rose Press. I’ll be giving away a PDF copy to a random commenter on my blog. Just share something about your muse – or duende, as the case may be. Does inspiration light upon you like a butterfly? Or strike like a bolt of lightning, sizzling along your nerve endings, burning your fingertips until they’re forced to pound it out on paper or a keyboard? Sometimes the best stories come out like that, jumping from our head to the page almost fully formed. The Duende and The Muse was a little of both. It started as a lightning strike, and I tweaked it a bit later, after it had cooled off a bit.
The Duende and the Muse is my second release with The Wild Rose Press. I’m one of the authors participating in their Sony eReader contest, so if you buy either The Duende and the Muse or Seventh Heaven, my Vintage (Sixties-era) story, you can enter The Wild Rose Press’ contest to win a Sony eReader. Details are here.
Here’s the trailer for The Duende and The Muse:
Soon I'll have more releases with Wild Child Publishing, Eternal Press and Shadowfire Press - stay tuned!
Cate Masters’ novellas, short stories and flash fiction appear at various web zines and press sites. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com/ or www.catemasters.blogspot.com.
Hello, I’m Cate Masters. I write women’s fiction, urban fantasy, romance, historical and speculative, in every length from flash to novels. Tomorrow, I’m celebrating the release of my short Faery (fantasy) story from The Wild Rose Press. I’ll be giving away a PDF copy to a random commenter on my blog. Just share something about your muse – or duende, as the case may be. Does inspiration light upon you like a butterfly? Or strike like a bolt of lightning, sizzling along your nerve endings, burning your fingertips until they’re forced to pound it out on paper or a keyboard? Sometimes the best stories come out like that, jumping from our head to the page almost fully formed. The Duende and The Muse was a little of both. It started as a lightning strike, and I tweaked it a bit later, after it had cooled off a bit.
The Duende and the Muse is my second release with The Wild Rose Press. I’m one of the authors participating in their Sony eReader contest, so if you buy either The Duende and the Muse or Seventh Heaven, my Vintage (Sixties-era) story, you can enter The Wild Rose Press’ contest to win a Sony eReader. Details are here.
Here’s the trailer for The Duende and The Muse:
Soon I'll have more releases with Wild Child Publishing, Eternal Press and Shadowfire Press - stay tuned!
Cate Masters’ novellas, short stories and flash fiction appear at various web zines and press sites. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com/ or www.catemasters.blogspot.com.
Monday, May 4, 2009
An Edgar Allen Poe-type lesson
I spotted this bit of "poetry" in one of my email newsletters and thought I'd share it with all of you. I think we've all been there...
QUOTH THE EXPERTS: "WRITE SOME MORE"
With apologies to Mr. Poe By Dodie Cross
Do you find that you are dreaming, with your mind alert and teeming?
When of course you should be gleaning, gleaning from your self-help books?
Help lies waiting for the wordless, simply open your thesaurus,
Packed with pages full of meaning that you simply can't ignore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find that you are staring at the screen so often bearing
Endless phrases going nowhere that should morph into a poem?
Then you surely now must cling to and so carefully adhere to
All the rules that you have learned, and lean upon them as before:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Are you blocked with eyes so bleary, shoulders taut and body weary,
Not equipped to stop the daunting doubts that gallop through your mind?
You must still the mindless chatter that drones on in negative manner,
Lest you miss it when your writer's muse raps softly on your door:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find your verbs escaping and your adverbs overtaking
All the sentences out-breaking with your prose that will not work?
Then it's time to take a breather, call upon your inner teacher
And discover what is missing in your verbiage and your lore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you close your eyes and fancy all the stories so entrancing,
With your fingers subtly dancing 'cross the keyboard in a song?
Yet with nothing more forthcoming, and with scarcely little cunning,
You are sure to find your answer if your muse you so implore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you lie awake near midnight, with a pencil, pad and bed-light,
Finding words that have more meaning, with a mind aroused and scheming?
Then it's time to leave the confines of your bed and do a stair-climb
To the window of your soul that can no longer be ignored:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you fear the end result of editors who want no part of
All your energy and love of the creation that you wrought?
Fear no longer, you are stronger as you write, submit, and ponder
When the mailman might come knocking, knocking on your chamber door:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find some tasks more pressing, when you ought to be addressing,
All your words that lie distressing, on your screen in disarray?
Let them wait until the morrow, let them wait with tears of sorrow
As you write your prose with rapture, as you've never done before:
Quoth the Experts: Write some more.
Do you watch for major pitfalls, reading magazines with tell-alls,
Of life's path that you have chosen, then you're bound to make it big!
Eagerly you write with passion, knowing that your grandest fashion
Will entrance and someday capture one sharp-minded edi-tor:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
QUOTH THE EXPERTS: "WRITE SOME MORE"
With apologies to Mr. Poe By Dodie Cross
Do you find that you are dreaming, with your mind alert and teeming?
When of course you should be gleaning, gleaning from your self-help books?
Help lies waiting for the wordless, simply open your thesaurus,
Packed with pages full of meaning that you simply can't ignore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find that you are staring at the screen so often bearing
Endless phrases going nowhere that should morph into a poem?
Then you surely now must cling to and so carefully adhere to
All the rules that you have learned, and lean upon them as before:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Are you blocked with eyes so bleary, shoulders taut and body weary,
Not equipped to stop the daunting doubts that gallop through your mind?
You must still the mindless chatter that drones on in negative manner,
Lest you miss it when your writer's muse raps softly on your door:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find your verbs escaping and your adverbs overtaking
All the sentences out-breaking with your prose that will not work?
Then it's time to take a breather, call upon your inner teacher
And discover what is missing in your verbiage and your lore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you close your eyes and fancy all the stories so entrancing,
With your fingers subtly dancing 'cross the keyboard in a song?
Yet with nothing more forthcoming, and with scarcely little cunning,
You are sure to find your answer if your muse you so implore:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you lie awake near midnight, with a pencil, pad and bed-light,
Finding words that have more meaning, with a mind aroused and scheming?
Then it's time to leave the confines of your bed and do a stair-climb
To the window of your soul that can no longer be ignored:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you fear the end result of editors who want no part of
All your energy and love of the creation that you wrought?
Fear no longer, you are stronger as you write, submit, and ponder
When the mailman might come knocking, knocking on your chamber door:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Do you find some tasks more pressing, when you ought to be addressing,
All your words that lie distressing, on your screen in disarray?
Let them wait until the morrow, let them wait with tears of sorrow
As you write your prose with rapture, as you've never done before:
Quoth the Experts: Write some more.
Do you watch for major pitfalls, reading magazines with tell-alls,
Of life's path that you have chosen, then you're bound to make it big!
Eagerly you write with passion, knowing that your grandest fashion
Will entrance and someday capture one sharp-minded edi-tor:
Quoth the Experts: "Write some more."
Friday, May 1, 2009
Prom Mania
My publisher, Wild Rose Press, is promoting our YA line, Climbing Roses, throughout the month of May 2009. All books are discounted, and Prom Mania has begun. Join us for prizes, quizzes, craft ideas, funny & embarrassing prom stories, and more.
If you comment on the blog and mention you saw the Prom Mania logo here, your name will be entered into the drawings for fabulous prizes. Check out the excitement at http://twrpclimbingrose.blogspot.com/.
For authors interested in writing for the young adult line of The Wild Rose Press, stop by http://www.behindthegardengate.blogspot.com/ between 9-10 p.m. EST tonight, May 1, 2009, to meet Climbing Rose editors on the editor blog. Or drop into the chat room http://client0.addonchat.com/sc.php?id=160587 on Thursday, May 14, 8-9 p.m. EST. The editors can answer any questions you may have about writing for or submitting to TWRP.
Posted by Laurie Edwards, author of Rihanna (People in the News) and Summer Lovin'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)