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Looking Over The Writer's Shoulder: "The storyteller becomes bound by his own decisions; he must follow one chosen route from beginning to end." A new article by Paul Grainger looks at the writing process from the perspective of the writer and the reader.
Things to do to Avoid Writing: Katie Gould takes a wry look at the things authors find to do to avoid writing.
Our 'Writer in Residence' Paul Saevig considers how to tackle writing advice: 'Choosing Your Training as a Writer': or 'How To Evaluate Teachings on Writing For Your Own Best Interest', looks at the problems the plethora of guidance can create.
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Dynamic Fiction: was developed to establish an online presence for amateur writing. Our goal is to provide a central internet location for users to read and comment on fictional stories, book reviews, essays, poems and more. Dynamic Fiction's content is rooted in the idea that group effort yields higher quality material, so we encourage you to give us feedback and and we wish to entertain each and every user by doing so.
Man In The Moon: a website for poetry written by children. Here you can read lots and lots of brilliant poems, read all about children's poet Michael Rosen and play some games. You can also pick up some tips for writing your own poetry, learn a few toe-curling jokes and e-mail us your poems.
hagsharlotsheroines: Hagsharlotsheroines is a vibrant new story telling site, filled with tales of raging demons, pioneering physicians, infamous pickpockets, fickle goddesses, heroic fighter pilots, inspirational artists, chariot riding warriors, pretenders to the throne, witches, writers, murderers, revolutionaries, spies. and all women; members of the so called "weaker" sex. We welcome submissions from our members and provide a valuable writer's tool kit for aspiring writers. Access to the site requires registration - but membership is free. We also send out a monthly newsletter to members containing our Story of the Month.
Appalachian Authors' Guild: The AAG is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide avenues of support and networking to Appalachian authors by assisting our members in marketing and selling their products.
Monthly Column - March
WIRED WORDS FOR A WIRED WORLD, OR: FREELANCING ON THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
By Rusty Fischer
The Author Of Freedom to Freelance Reveals How To Get The Most Out Of A Simple Email To An Editor
Writing e-mail query letters is an entirely different animal than writing snail mail queries. Don't get me wrong: It's not easier, just different. Editors still expect to see formal language, proper grammar, correct spelling, and a tone of respect and cooperation-just not as much of it.
Here's a few more editorial tips on what folks like me look for in an e-mail query:
Clues
This may sound obvious, but most editors are busy people and, as I've said before, we often have numerous projects running, continuously, on any given day. Saying something vague like, "In your ad for freelance writers," doesn't help me clue in on the project you're inquiring about.
I find it quite useful when a freelancer actually cuts pertinent text from my Web ad, such as the heading or the first line, and pastes it in the first sentence of their query letter:
"In response to your recent ad for 'freelance writers with a flair for children's poetry,' I would like to offer my services . . ."
Or something to that effect. Right away, I know what they're looking for and have it in my mind as they go on about some childhood experience they've had, which is leading up to their pitch for writing children's poetry. If they hadn't included that little nugget, I might have found myself baffled at first and quite impatient by the time they gave me the "punch line."
Lists
Lists are great. I love lists. Not long lists, mind you, but lists in general. It's quite helpful to me when a freelancer organizes his relevant experiences into a short, concise list of credits:
This list lets me see, quickly and clearly, that the freelancer is prepared to give me what I need for the upcoming preschool poetry project. Unlike the following list:
Which brings me to another point, don't list it if it's not pertinent. You can be a published author of twelve books, but if they're all on auto engine repair, they're not going to help you write preschool poetry.
Knowing Your Capitals
Since many e-mail programs are not compatible with each other, it doesn't help to compose your e-mail query in fancy fonts, colors, and backgrounds. It may look great to you, but if I've got Outlook Express and you've got Yahoo Mail, the chances are I'll still be looking at a big block of black and white text in the font I've chosen in my preferences and the size I've chosen as well.
However, capitals work just fine. If you're emphasizing something, such as your successful book series, HARRY POTTER, you might want to put it in all caps so that my eyes will be drawn to it. Or if you've already written for a BUZZ ON book, I might like to be reminded of that as well.
Be forewarned, however, that there is a fine line between emphasis and OVER-emphasis. For instance, DON'T TYPE ENTIRE FRICKIN' SENTENCES IN ALL CAPS OR IT GETS REALLY ANNOYING AND THE THING THAT YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE GETS LOST!!!
See what I mean?
Some Things to Avoid
While there are plenty of things I'd like you to include in your e-mail, there are just as many I could easily do without. For instance, I was approached by many successful freelancers during my tenure as an editor for The Buzz On series. Impressively, many of them worked for major corporations or Web sites, and were presumably writing me from work.
Hey, I've got nothing against that. (After all, I do it all the time!) But what I don't want to read are those six line signatures at the bottom of your e-mail that state the name of the company, the motto of the company, the sales figures of the company, etc. If you don't know how to get rid of those signatures, or can't due to some company policy, wait and write me from home.
You can also do away with those cutesy, Life's Little Instruction Book mottoes underneath your name, like: "Your attitude determines your altitude." Number one, my attitude is my own damn business, and none of yours. As an editor, I work hard at not telling people what to do. The least you can do as a freelancer is give me the same courtesy.
Likewise, I get a lot of e-mails that include Bible passages or shameless plugs for a book the freelancer has just written, etc. A query letter is neither the time or the place to share your religious views or sell me something. (Unless it's a magic potion that adds more hours to the day, of course . . .)
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Creative Novel Writing: Roselle Angwin runs a year-round programme, which ranges from retreats on the Isle of Iona to a nine-month novel writing course (based on her book CREATIVE NOVEL WRITING, [Robert Hale, 1999, 2002]) which was featured in The Guardian - and many more. Roselle is an author and poet, and Director of the Fire in the Head creative writing programme.
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Learning Curve: Offer a range of innovative courses in Creative Writing, Fiction Writing, Freelance Journalism. Writing for Television, Radio and Chidren. They help students to rediscover their creative abilities, as well as developing their writing skills - their tutors are experienced editors, writers, publishers and producers.
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The Italian-American Press: posts literature by Italian-Americans and other self-published authors whose books all too often go unnoticed or are ignored by the media. This service is free.
RITRO.com:Volunteer based e-zine with new content daily. They publish and accept submissions in poetry and articles in many departments. There are also message boards, online diaries, and voting polls. Checking submission guidelines is a must before sending in any work.
www.freelance-tips.com: Free newsletter offering tips on marketing, niche marketing, negotiating a contract, getting referrals, pricing your work, building your portfolio and more...
www.writersarena.com: is an international website for aspiring writers. Offering information, advice and showcasing.
The Handy Little Book for Writers by Lynne Hackles is packed with hints and tips for all writers of all genres at all levels. There is something in it to inspire everyone. It's all packed into a 44-page A6 booklet with a distinctive purple cover. The book was published in September by NAWG Publications. It costs a mere £2.99 (with 50p towards cost of post and packing - cheques payable to NAWG). You can order the book from The Handy Little Book for Writers, 40 Burstall Hill, Bridlington, East Yorkshire YO16 7GA.
IWanthatBook: Online Bookshop for difficult to find reference books. IWanthatBook aims to be the place for academics and students alike to order the books they want - simply, securely and cost-effectively.
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Resourceaid: Resource site for everything to do with the arts. Full of newsletters, articles, links and other resources - ALL FREE - in one easy to navigate site to save time and money.
Today's Woman: A community for men and women over 18, where writers, poets & columnists meet and exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the writing industry.
thefictionwritersjourney.com: articles on writing, prompts, exercises from novelist and writing coach, Emily Hanlon. Writing.Com: An online community for writers of all ages, interests and skill levels. Anyone may create a free portfolio and exchange feedback with other writers. We were amongst Writer's Digest's 101 "Best Websites For Writers, 2005" and have thousands of writers within our community.
Today's Writer: a community for men and women over 18, where writers, poets & columnists meet and exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the writing industry.
The Argotist Online: is devoted to poetry and poetics. It publishes non-mainstream poetry, and features essays and interviews sympathetic to it. Currently it has interviews with Charles Bernstein, Marjorie Perloff, Ron Silliman, Rupert Loydell; and poems by Sheila E Murphy, Annabelle Clippinger, and Hank Lazer among others.