The A Cappela Newsletter for Writers Oct/Nov 2000
NEWS & VIEWS YOU CAN USE
Your monthly newsletter from Patrika, your Author's Advocate
Visit her, send an email, at www.acappela.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
*Pat's Picks new help for writers: coaching and memoir writing
*News You Can Use free books, Amazon fled, cybersquatters, new e-book imprint, Borders' emails
*Markets comedy writing, short stories, health writing, e-markets
*Trivia Amazon goes French, are you an independent professional?, stewardesses & continents
*Contests SLS Contest, Veil Contest, Screenwriting Competition
*Book gossip old-fashioned books are big; Rowling hits Banned Books list, Michael J. Fox writes
*Writing Q&A: How can I turn my memoirs into a book?
*Wordplay: rugose, sciolism, sermocination
*Quote of the Month James Russell Lowell
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PAT'S PICKS
Great writing doesn't just happen. Let us nurture your good ideas with our
comprehensive, logical method that takes you from start to finish. You'll discover how to
create memorable, outstanding stories that rise above the rest.
We have courses specifically designed to deal with each aspect of effective writing.
Vivid imagery. Believable characters. Action and dialogue that makes readers care. Even a
course that will help you diagnose and correct the seven major problems that keep stories
from being publishable. We also offer WRITING COACHING for those of you having problems
with a specific story. You'll get invaluable advice on how to make your story the best it
can be. Your mentor will work with you to strengthen what's right in your story and fix
what's wrong, to give it the best chance in the marketplace.
Classes:
NEW: NEED A WRITING COACH?
Writer's block? Need a jump start on your story idea, or help moving it along or
finishing it? Need help reworking an article for a new market? We now offer individual
coaching: one-on-one session on your work, in 4 or 8-week segments. See __________
NEW: WRITE YOUR OWN LIFE STORY
Our highly praised audiobook now becomes an online class, with weekly feedback on your approach to writing the unique story of your life and/or your family's saga.
:
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
~FREE BOOKS
Delacorte Press is celebrating the October 31 publication of Danielle Steel's 50th novel, Journey, by offering booksellers one million commemorative editions of three of her most popular paperback titles to give away free in their stores. The one-day in-store giveaway takes place
Tuesday, October 17.
~PUBLIC PROTEST OF PRIVACY POLICY: TWO GROUPS LEAVE AMAZON
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Junkbusters, two privacy rights advocacy groups, have withdrawn from Amazon's Affiliates program in protest over Amazon's recent revision of its privacy policy, which reclassified customer information a saleable "asset."
~CYBERSQUATTERS
As the Web reaches ever more people, domain names are becoming increasingly valuable. A
number of celebrities and businesses have made headlines trying to wrest domain names they
feel are rightfully theirs from "cybersquatters" who took them first. The U.S.
now has anti- cybersquatter legislation designed to protect companies from trademark
infringement. In Britain, however, no such law exists.
~NEW E-BOOK IMPRINTS
Random House has announced a new ebook imprint which will include an editorial list of original electronic books. All the titles will be published early next year. This imprint will publish new
fiction and nonfiction and will be called AtRandom (http://www.atrandom.com). Time
Warner Publishing also recently announced an ebook division under the name iPublish.com.
~BORDERS.COM LAUNCHES EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
Borders.com's new Borders Mail service (at:http://www.borders.com/bordersmail) provides
subject-specific newsletters that subscribers choose based on their personal tastes and
interests, from philosophy to finance. Borders Mail subscribers can register to receive
any or all of five monthly newsletters, which deliver graphics in addition to written
content. In addition to links to new releases and recommended titles, each Borders Mail
missive will also point to interviews, author essays, reviews from Borders' and other
tidbits.
*****
TRIVIA
~Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com), the online bookseller, recently opened a French-
language version of its store (http://www.Amazon.fr).
~Surveys by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 20 percent of the domestic
workforce is comprised of independent professionals. (Doesn't tell how many of them are
writers.)
~Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
~The continents' names all end with the same letter with which they start.
*****
FEEDBACK:
"Great newsletter! It's like shop-talk with other writers. Keep it up!" lovlilo@aol.com
*****
MARKETS
Fiction
~Short stories up to 1,500 words. All subjects but no excessive sex, iolence or racist
themes. Our prime requisite is high literary quality and professional presentation. Pays
$25 upon publication, six extra copies of issue in which work appears and one year's
complimentary subscription beginning with that issue. We do not publish reprints. Note: We
are usually on about a 48-month lead for fiction. Always include SASE with all
correspondence. No electronic submissions. Art Times, Raymond J. Steiner, Editor, P.O. Box
730, Mt. Marion, N.Y. 12456 phone and fax (914) 246-6944
Nonfiction, Fiction and Poetry
~Comedy Writers
Nationally known comedian Yakov Smirnoff (http://www.yakov.com) is looking for talented
comedy writers for various media projects including stage, television and book. Previous
popular comedy/television work a plus. Flexible starting options (freelance/PT).
Compensation negotiable based on experience/talent. Great potential. Send your bio/resume
and ideally a short sample of your best work in e-mail (Honey@Yakov.com)
~Be a freelance health writer -- Learn to write for one of the top paying magazine
markets -- personal health. Visit the Health Writers' Hangout
(http://www.healthwriting.com) for health writing tips, articles, book reviews and
newsletters. Or read the introduction and first chapter of the book, "Secrets to
Writing Health Features."
E-Markets:
~The Fiction Works (http://www.fictionworks.com) has joined forces with WonderWorks,
Inc. (http://www.wonderworksWeb.com) to make its titles available for potential movie and
television property development.
BOOK GOSSIP
~Old Fashioned Books
An extremely tight printing environment and problems with Barnes & Noble's ability
to get books into its stores are causing sleepless nights for publishers as the industry
heads towards the all-important holiday season. In all the concern about printing
capacity, more than one publisher noted the irony--with all the hype about e-books, the
biggest concern for publishers this season is finding enough printing time to produce
old-fashioned print editions
~Rowling Hits Banned Books List
While first edition, signed copies of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are expected
to fetch £23,000 (approximately US$32,322) at the International League of Antiquarian
Booksellers congress this week, the author also received another distinction: her wildly
popular books are among the top 100 books most often requested by parents to be removed
from U.S. school library shelves. Rowling, whose books ranked 48th, is in good company on
the list. It contains works by Mark Twain, J.D. Salinger, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou,
John Steinbeck, Maurice Sendak, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, William Golding, and
Aldous Huxley, to name a few. The list was compiled and released to the press in
preparation for the 20th annual Banned Book Week
~~ New Book by Michael J. Fox
Hyperion has announced its plans to publish a new book by Michael J. Fox. The as yet
untitled book is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2001. In his book Fox will
detail his struggle against Parkinson's disease. The actor's proceeds will go to the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's disease. According to Inside.com the advance for
the book was around $4 million.
*****
CONTESTS:
~SLS Writers' Contest. Essays, short stories, poetry. First prize $500. Details
~Quarterly short story competitions. First prize £250 and a years free membership,
three runners up £50.00 and a years free membership. 2000 words, Title The Fall. Entrance
fee £5.00. Details of membership at http://www.frustratedwriters.co.uk. D.W.R.Carter, The
Frustrated Writers Society, Dedicated to bringing NEW WRITERS TO PUBLICATION
~Inscriptions (http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com), Scribes of the Goddess and Crazy
Wolf Publishing have joined forces to sponsor an intriguing new writing contest. October
31 is a night when the veil between the living and the dead is at its most tangible. Your
job is to brush aside this veil in a short story and tell us what you find. Please do so
in less than 1,500 words, title your story and place a blank space between each paragraph.
. Paste your entries directly into the body of a single e-mail and send to
Contest@inscriptionsmagazine.com with the subject heading "Veil Contest."Include
your real name, pen name (if applicable), mailing address, e-mail address and word count
at the BOTTOM of the entry. Enter as often as you like. 1st place -- $100 gift certificate
from Amazon.Com (or cash equivalent), publication in Inscriptions and in Scribes of the
Goddess. Deadline Oct. 17, 2000.
*****
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Recently launched:
"For people who love books" Author profiles, book reviews and The Book of the
Week Contest http://www.JanuaryMagazine.com
e-riginality.com (http://www.e-riginality.com), a Web site offering publishing tools to
authors, recently launched.
The Cacoethes Scribendi "An Irresistible Urge to Write"
(http://www.geocities.com/katrinko/)
(http://www.content-exchange.com/weblog/weblog.htm), recently premiered.The site will
post news and notes about the online publishing business.
The Blue Iris Journal (http://www.blueiriscafe.com), an e-zine of book reviews
*****
WRITER'S Q & A
(Frequently asked questions. Send in yours to acappub@aol.com)
Q. My kids and grandkids have been asking me to write it for years.
Now thatI've done it, how can I get my memoirs or autobiography turned into a book?
A. Of course. There are many ways to do it. To find out all your options, see the online course or get the audiobook, How To Write Your Own Life Story, available at www.acappela.com. For help with self-publishing, see http://www.acappela/Advocate House.htlm
*****
*WORDPLAY
* rugose -- a. Corrugated with wrinkles.
* sciolism -- n. Superficial knowledge; a show of learning without any substantial foundation.
* sermocination -- n. The practice of making speeches; the habit of preaching constantly.
*****
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind."
James Russell Lowell
*****
Patrika