TWC Spotlight for May, 2008
Published: Fri, 05/02/08
TWC SPOTLIGHT | ||||
| A Monthly e-Newsletter May 2008 Newsletter Archive | ||||
| Letter from the Editor
Is it spring where you live? I think it is here. Sunny and 70 degrees today, birds chirping everywhere, and my dog is shedding in giant clumps. When the carpets are black with fur, I know spring is really here. Magazines schedule their lives 3-6 months ahead of reality. Linda Hutchinson has a kick in the pants...I mean, some advice for getting your queries in at the appropriate times. The title of her article made me wonder if she had gone off the deep end. But we're supposed to give our work titles that will catch attention, right? Linda certainly succeeded with this one! We've finally gotten in the swing of updating our blog every week. You DO read our blog, don't you? As many of you have noticed (and emailed me about), our forum is down. Kim and Renee were updating it, and something glitched. They are working on it, and Kim has assured me that it will be back up and working soon. This month, we're having one of our topic chats. On the 11th, I'll be leading a discussion on the Art of the Critique. Remember, critique does NOT mean criticize. There is a lot more to a critique. And looking at other writer's work really teaches you how to find the problems in your own. I want to wish everyone a joyous Cinco de Mayo. A happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. At the end of the month, let's all take a moment to remember and thank all the brave soldiers who gave their lives to keep the USA free and safe.Keep writing! Audrey
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| InkSpotter's 5th Annual Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest
Small entry fee, cash prizes. Full details at http://inkspotter.
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| ARTICLE
Happy Freaky Gobble Merry Year by Linda J. Hutchinson
My assignment for May's TWC Spotlight is the same as it was last year--to motivate our membership to sit butt in chair and write. Not just to write, but to gear up to write for the holidays. TWC has an editorial calendar just as most other publications do and Miss Audrey, our editor, makes sure we adhere to it. Successful freelance and fiction writers honor certain rules. Some rules will not change no matter how much we wish they would, how nice our editors are (huh? ... except for Audrey, of course), or how understanding our publishers might be (bwaaaaaaaaahahaha!). One of the biggies is: Most magazines, newspapers, and other publishing entities begin planning for Halloween in April, Thanksgiving in May, and Christmas in June. Your query letters need to be written and sent NOW. As in RIGHT NOW! I can almost hear you squirming. I understand. It's sunny and 82 degrees here in central Ohio, USA, for the second day in a row. After months of being stuck indoors, I'd much rather be outside spending quality time with my favorite dandelion-murdering spray can. Or digging in the dirt and planting new flower beds. But, my job is to write. That's what I do. If I don't honor my writing contracts I'll have a yard full of nothing but dirt and weeds because it is my income that pays for the "pretty" and "fun" stuff around here. (And feeds one of the retirement accounts.) That's motivation! What are your family's holiday traditions that might be a bit different from the norm? Do you have a scary tale that must be told before the characters cause you to be committed or incarcerated? Are you the best kid's costume-party-planner alive today? Is one of your family's traditions so scary the neighbors head for the other end of town on that holiday? Jot down those ideas. You can always flesh them out after your query is written and sent. It isn't necessarily a good idea to write the full article or story on spec because you don't know which publication will be interested in it or what slant they expect. Getting published is as much about finding the right markets for your work as it is about writing well. As you peruse guidelines, jot down ideas for other stories that pop up. You never know when one word might force a new idea to the forefront. Keep an open mind, allowing yourself to imagine the what-ifs. (Example: We're expecting SNOW again next week and I feel a naughty little ditty plowing through my cerebral mush ...) Here are a few ideas for finding suitable markets for your prose: http://www.AnthologiesOnline.com http://www.fundsforwriters.com (Offers fr*e and paid subscriptions) http://www.absolutewrite.com (Offers fr*e and paid subscriptions) http://www.woodenhorsepub.com (Offers fr*e and paid subscriptions) freelancewritingjobs@yahoogroups.com (Join through Yahoo Groups) Or simply google "submission guidelines" (including the quotes) for all the fr*e guidelines you'd ever care to know about. If you'd like to condense the listings, google "submission guidelines" and "list your genre here". (Example: "submission guidelines" and "suspense".) Then ... Sit. Research. Query. Write. Submit. Repeat. Bio: TWC team member Linda J. Hutchinson is a multi-published freelance writer and copywriter who has been known to dabble in fiction (as J'linn Kramer) and to write a few reviews. Linda is a correspondent for Construction Equipment Guide magazine. She is learning to set aside time on a regular basis to update her website--and to help Audrey find a suitable suitor. www.lindajhutchinson.com (Hmmmmm. Not much changed in this bio either ...)
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| Welcome to Hell: Pop Culture Reviews
Glenn Walker is a writer with too much time on his hands, or depending on the day, not enough time on his hands. He loves, hates and lives pop culture. He knows too freaking much about pop culture. Given that, he (Want an ad like this? Go here for more info)
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May Chat Guests
For more information, visit our schedule page. All chats start at 7 pm EST.
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The weekly chats at The Writer's Chatroom are wonderful! Each night I attend a chat, I learn something new. The support and encouragement during the "general chats" keeps me motivated and excited about writing. The weekly "guest" chats are informative, educational and fun! I leave each chat saying "I can do it, I know I can. Patty Hopkins
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Blog Spotlight Unless you're really new around here, you know how much we like C. Hope Clark of Funds For Writers. Linda mentioned Hope's newsletters in her article. What you may not know is that Hope has a blog. Every day, she gives a lead to a paying market.
These market leads aren't the same ones you see all over the web. Some of these are a bit different. How about a cereal contest? Or a contest for a Lifetime TV movie? Bookmark Hope's blog, or sign up for her RSS feed. You never know what she's going to tell you about tomorrow!
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Book Review Title: Blood Harvest Author: Brant Randall (May 25 TWC chat guest) Pages: 286 Publisher: Capital Crime Press ISBN: 13:978-0-9799960-1-6 ISBN: 10: 0-9799960-1-5
Brought to life is 1920's America; a time of prohibition, bootleggers, mob rule, the first sexual revolution, unionization of the workplace, the Spanish Influenza epidemic, returning war veterans of all races and ethnicities, the League of Nations' promise of no more war, a huge influx of immigrants, speak-easies and jazz. It was a time of extravagant prosperity and extreme poverty. Told in nine unique voices is the story of the lynching of one successful immigrant, brought about by the greed and jealousy of a moonshiner rival. More intriguing is that the immigrant was married to the rival's daughter. How did another body show up at the death site? How much did corrupt law officials know beforehand? Was "justice" manipulated to serve specific purposes? Although fictionalized, Blood Harvest brings us real history. How many of our direct descendants were members of the KKK in that time? Or are now? This book will beg you to find answers to those questions. The author's impeccable research brings history to life. Blood Harvest is a highly recommended read! by Linda J. Hutchinson http://reviewhutch.blogspot.com
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If you'd like to suggest a guest, topics for a theme chat, offer yourself as a chat guest, or give feedback about a chat you've attended, contact Audrey Shaffer at: audrey@writerschatroom.com
On the Products page you will find some great recommendations. Please use our links to buy, and help support the chatroom!
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| We look forward to chatting with you!
Audrey Shaffer Linda Hutchinson Renee Barnes Kim Richards Lisa Haselton email: audrey@writerschatroom.com
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