Notes in the Margin

by Jodi M. Webb

People have been asking me for years where I get ideas for my articles. I’d like to say they come to me in a flash of brilliance but it’s much less impressive. They come to me from my daughters’ book bags, an advertisement on the back of my cereal box, or a comment made by my hair stylist. Every day, the ideas are there, waiting for writers to notice them and turn them into articles. Unfortunately, they hide in the most unlikely spots and don’t wear signs that read “I would make a great magazine article!”

Local Publications
The smaller a writer’s hometown the more valuable your local newspaper. Local folks that do memorable things could be interesting to people across the country—but how many of those people read your newspaper? After reading articles in my paper, I’ve written stories about local artists, charities, and events for statewide, national, and even international publications. Never read your paper without scissors in your hand and the question “Who would find this interesting?” in your mind. (more…)

by Diana Bocco

The lure of a byline can be hard to resist, making novice writers easy victims to literary scams. While it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the shady companies popping up every day, there are some red flags to look out for when shopping a book around.

1. THINK AS A BUSINESS PERSON.
“I recommend authors think very seriously about publishing as a business because everyone else in the industry –agents, publishers, booksellers– do,” says Sharron Stockhausen, an award-winning member of the National Speakers Association and the author of more than 50 books, including 20 Things Every Successful Writer Knows.

And a business it is. The average traditional publisher pays an advance of $5,000 and spends $30,000 promoting a book. While it’s fine to write for the love of it, once you decide to sell your book, you should become a businessperson. Approach everything with a business mind — study the market, create a business plan, and research every publisher and agent before submitting.

2. EXPECT TO BE PAID, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Vanity publishing, also known as book shepherding, is big business. “I have seen authors pay $20-30 thousand to a book shepherd and their sub-contractors before getting their book to print,” says Antoinette Kuritz, the host of Writer’s Roundtable radio show, and the founder and director of the annual La Jolla Writers Conference. “So many people dream of seeing their writing published — and many of them don’t understand what a vanity press is. Some believe they have been ‘chosen’ by such publishers.” Never pay to have your work published. The only beneficiary of such arrangement is the publisher.

3. BE SKEPTICAL.
“There’s no magic bullet when it comes to publishing,” says Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. and the author of Get Published Today, From Book to Bestseller. “If an agent or publisher is promising fame or lots of money, run the other way. Just like when authors are shopping for publicists and find that they’re being promised “dates with Oprah” — no one in publishing can promise success, there’s no formula and no agent or publisher should pretend they have the magic solution.”

Promises come in many forms: shady publishers that pledge to buy your book if you “make it better” by paying a fee to an editor (usually one associated with them), agents who charge “reading fees” in exchange for feedback, and contests with exorbitant entry fees and basically no chance of winning. Be wary of anybody promising miracles.

4. DON’T GIVE YOUR WORK AWAY.
“Concentrate on paid offerings and avoid those websites that offer you a ‘clip’,” says Donald P. Mazzella, a veteran newspaper reporter and editor with work experience covering the globe for such organizations as AP, UPI and Copley. “Anyone who is running a professional operation can pay something…even $10. That also makes you a paid writer.” Don’t assume that the only way to get published it is to give your work away. Many publications, both online and print, welcome beginners. Do your research.

5. NEVER PAY AN AGENT TO READ YOUR WORK.
“If an agent can’t earn a living selling manuscripts, you shouldn’t be using him or her anyway,” says Tim Bete, the author of In The Beginning…There Were No Diapers and the director of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. “Why would you want to use an agent who can’t survive selling manuscripts?” Most reputable agents absorb all expenses involved in marketing your manuscript, and then take a 10% to 15% commission when your book sells. There are some exceptions, like in the case of small agencies that charge their writers for postage/copying costs. These charges, however, usually come as reimbursements, after the book is sold.

Fee-charging agents, on the other hand, ask clients to pay expenses up front, before they even start shopping around for a publisher. This should always be a red flag. Many fraudulent agencies charge outrageous fees in the thousands of dollars and never actually send the manuscript out, since they’ve already made a profit by charging the writer.

When in doubt, remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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Diana Bocco is a writer, artist, published author, online instructor, consultant, publisher, ESL teacher, and animal activist with a degree in nutrition. No, really. You can learn more about her by visiting www.dianabocco.wordpress.com.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.

The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock
By Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
Marion Street Press, Inc., 2006
208 pages, $14.95

reviewed by Liz Lewis

Books about writing, and especially about how to write query letters, are almost a dime a dozen these days. And most seem to regurgitate already known information. But the Renegade Writer’s Query Letters that Rock by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell have managed to avoid that. Instead they have created a text that all new (and old) writers should read. Why? Because they have the answers.

Written in an easy to read, often humorous conversational style, this book has only one goal - to help writers perfect the query letter. And they clearly state in the introduction how they believe this can be done: ‘If you want to be successful, watch the successful. Then copy everything they do.’

The book is divided into two sections. Section I covers ‘Query letter Q & A’. It should be subtitled ‘Everything you wanted to know about query letters and were afraid to ask.’ I can almost guarantee that if you scan the questions listed in the contents, there will be at least one or two that you are dying to know the answer to. Within seconds, I was able to find out what to put in the subject line of a email query - a question that had been bugging me for weeks.

Section II provides real life examples of successful query letters, with comments from both the writer and the editor on what makes them successful. In other words, you are offered the opportunity to get inside the writer’s, and more importantly, the editor’s head, and learn why these query letters succeeded.

I have been a fan of Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell ever since reading their first book, The Renegade Writer. Now, with their second book, I am a true convert to the renegade way of freelance writing.

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Liz Lewis is a New Zealand-based freelance writer. Check out her My Year of Getting Published blog for all things writing and her Travel New Zealand blog for all things New Zealand. Liz can be reached at kiwiwriter@xtra.co.nz.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.

I am privileged to belong to a nice-sized greeting card writer’s and artist’s group. We meet, greet, whine, and share in a private forum on Absolute Write. We’ve all gleaned a wealth of information from Jenna Glatzer’s book Sell the Fun Stuff. On this Greeting Card forum is where most of us met.

As we converse through posts and private messages, we learn from the experiences of others, and develop great friendships. We openly share our submissions, rejects, and often times, long waits for responses from companies. We discuss the “business” of writing and illustrating, as well as sharing a few personal notes.

As greeting card writers and artists, we all toil away for days and days, weeks upon weeks, writing, submitting, editing, supporting each other and….trying to endure the long waits for any response from the editors of the greeting card companies.

Summer 2006 presented us with exceptionally long waits for some unknown reason. We are left to consider that a few editors may have disappeared. Where have they gone? Is there some type of summer hiatus to which they all scatter to discuss and poke fun at our creations? Is there a tropical island called Editorial Escape? Some one needs to let the world know where these editors have gone.

We wait and wait and wait, and finally without any word on our precious submissions, we have to whine and bore holes in our computers with our eyes as we stare at our email, just waiting for the little mail flag to pop up. Of course acceptances are the best, but a few of us have reached the limit….just give us an answer…even a reject.

I know one company that has held submissions of mine for over seven months–seriously, does it really take that long to say, “Oh yeah, this is great?” After all this time, I believe they really don’t want the submissions (but I dare not give up hope totally-because you just never know). I have to assume they are just too busy with other submissions or maybe vacationing on Editorial Escape Island, to let me know.

The ultimate insult is when a writer waits and waits on a submission, giving ample time beyond the guidelines, and then reluctantly sends a status query. One of three things usually happen; a standard form reject-pow right back ‘atcha’; a nice letter saying, “Your submissions are still under consideration, no decisions have been made”; and the all time low down yucky one, no response at all. What’s a greeting card writer to do?

• Perhaps locating Editorial Escape Island would prove to help the situation-picture a frenzied group of stressed writers and artists tossing papers and index cards at editors as they lounge by the pool.
• Of course we can just quit! Stomp feet, pout, and fold arms across chest and announce to the world “I’m no longer writing greeting cards” (Yup, like that always works…for about ten minutes).
• Ask for mercy. Whom will you ask; the editors are on the island?
• Whine with your greeting card friends-they always understand. That’s doable.