A Cappela Newsletter for Writers January/February 2005
NEWS & VIEWS YOU CAN USE
Your monthly newsletter from Patrika, your Author’s Advocate™
Visit her, send an email, at www.acappela.com
Recipient of the
Certificate of Merit
Writer’s Digest
2001 Zine Publishing Competition
IN THIS ISSUE:
*Writing Tip
*Letters to the Editor
*Pat’s Picks
*Writing Tip
*Markets
*Contests
*Media Contacts
*Writing Q&A
*Wordplay
*Quote of the Month
************************************************************************
I’d like to hear from you, so if you’ve got a comment or question, email it to our Q&A and read your answers in this newsletter. Send to:acappub@aol.com, Subject: Q&A. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Patrika
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THE BEST OF 2005 - Nominate US!
We’re happy to offer you this free newsletter for writers. I’d appreciate
your help in spreading the word, by nominating us for a listing in Writer's
Digest's 101 Best Sites of 2005.
Please send your nomination Here's the info: just copy & paste
send to:
writersdig@fwpubs.com
Subject: 101 Sites
"I would like to nominate A Cappela Publishing (www.acappela.com) as a
Writer's
Digest Top 101 best writing resource site. They operate the only truly
one-stop-shop for writers, offering help from concept through publication
and sales -- plus, they publish the excellent online ezine, A Cappela
Newsletter for Writers.
Sincerely, ____(YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS HERE)____"
*****
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
As winter drones on, we tend to spend more time indoors. If this is the case,
avoid the temptation to watch TV, and instead spend some quality time submitting
your writing to magazines for their spring and summer issues. If you’re working
on a book, submit stand-alone chapters for magazine publication. Being able to
say in your query to publishers, “Portions of this book have appeared in the
following magazines....” will increase your chances of being published.
Remember: What you write today may not make it to publication for another six to
nine months.
Yesterday's adventures and observations should be perfect material for next
year's magazine racks.
Of course, editorial lead times apply to the book publishing business too. So,
don't slow down with the cold weather. Right now just might be the best chance
you have to find success with your
writing. Until we meet again, keep writing and marketing what you write.
Patrika
*****
NEED HELP GETTING PUBLISHED?
For many writers, writing is the easiest part of getting published. After all,
writers love writing, and they love words. But when it comes to the business of
the publishing industry, they often need a hand. Here are some great new
resources that will provide that much needed help:
Take the following self-quiz to help you figure out just where you are, and to
point you toward where you want to go. The links following each question will
lead you to some answers. For more information, email me:
acappub@aol.com
Where are you?
1) have an idea but haven’t written
anything (How To Write Publish & Market Your Book
- Classes -
Audio Books)
2) got started, but bogged down
(Stalking The Markets -
Book Promotion -
International Markets -
eLitAgent
- Self-publishing)
3) have first draft, but don’t know if it’s any good (Critique)
Where do you
want to go?
1) improve my writing skills (How To Write Publish & Market Your Book
- Classes -
Audio Books)
2) edit what I’ve got into something publishable (Editing)
3) have a great piece of writing, and need to get it published (Stalking The Markets - Book Promotion - International Markets - eLitAgent - Self-publishing)
*****
DON’T MAIL THAT MANUSCRIPT WITHOUT A PROFESSIONAL REVIEW
Before you mail out that manuscript or query, make sure it’s as polished and
professional as possible. Send your work to A Cappela Publishing and get the
specific tailored advice you need to get an extra edge on the competition — and
make all your manuscripts more marketable.
After a thorough evaluation of your submission, one of our published,
professional staff writers will give you detailed feedback and recommendations.
You’ll learn what is and isn’t working in your writing, and how to fix it.
Your Critique includes:
*Genre-specific Advice: Whether your writing is a novel or a nonfiction book, an
article or short story, a query letter or book proposal, you can be sure that
your work will be evaluated by a pro who has personal experience with the same
kind of writing.
*Grammar and Style Suggestions: Your personal reviewer will evaluate your
writing to point out common grammatical, structural and stylistic mistakes —
mistakes that can mean the difference between a rejection and a sale.
*Market Recommendations: If your manuscript is marketable as is, or with slight
revision, you’ll get recommendations for marketing your work — including how to
identify the publishers which buy your kind of writing.
For complete information, including submission guidelines and rates, visit
http://www.acappela.com/critiques.htm
*****
Writers! Protect your original work and important documents in minutes!
Instantly establish the date and time-of-creation of all your files, including
screenplays, proposals, Web pages, treatments, inventions, lyrics and ideas.
Register and protect your original work online at ProtectRite.com. ($18.95 (US
dollars) for 10-year registration)Go to: http://www.protectrite.com/default.asp?SessID=318256989&AffID=9jlw0RTAF8
Also:Writers Guild of America, West online Registration Service - for concepts,
documentaries, manuscripts, lyrics, etc. ($20)
.*****
This newsletter is sent by subscription only. Please pass this newsletter along
to people you feel may benefit by this information. This issue has been sent out
to 520 writers. Won't you help this ezine grow? Tell your friends to subscribe
at http://www.acappela.com
Media Contacts
This column is for those of you looking for ways to get your writings reviewed,
to get a radio or TV interview, or in some other way promote your writing.
1) Get Your Book Reviewed
Fritz Lanham, Books Editor
Houston Chronicle
801 Texas Avenue
Houston, TX 77002
fritz.lanham@chron.com
2) Get Mentioned in Print
Hardy Green, Books Editor
Business Week
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
3) Get Interviewed
Robin Hommel, Producer
Montel Williams Show
433 W 53rd Street
New York, NY 16019
*****
PAT’S PICKS:
How to Become an EXPERT in Your Field
Write a book! Here’s why:
* Authoring a book will help you gain instant credibility and differentiates you
from your competition.
* People will listen to you and respect you because a book proclaims you as an
expert.
* Your book will introduce you to new, more affluent clients.
* It will open the door for interviews on radio, TV and in newspapers, and a
book review gives you FREE advertising.
Need help writing your book? See http:www.acappela.com/AH.htm
_____
Writing and Selling Your First Book? If you've ever dreamed of writing a book,
now is the time to start. With Write Publish & Market Your Book you'll get all
the information you need to get started, as well as learn what to do when you're
finished writing!
Here's a peek inside: * Discover 10 easy ways to get past writer’s block * Learn
the nuts and bolts of writing your opening
* Find out how to pace your novel like a pro * Get the inside scoop on what
editors really want * Discover 25 tips for publishing success * And of course,
pages and pages of information on how to choose the markets that are best for
you!
*****
Donate $5 to the A Cappela Newsletter for Writers and receive a free copy of the
e-book, The Manual of Book Signings and Other Promotional Techniques. Your
donation helps in keeping this publication free for all writers!
*****
WRITING TIP
Keep a Treasure Chest of Words
Consider starting what I call a treasure chest of words. In a small spiral
notebook with lined pages, keep lists of words. Not phrases, not quotations,
just words. Keep your notebook with you as you read. When you stumble upon a
word you like, write it in the notebook. Then when you’re writing and stuck for
a word, check your notebook for a zesty word that can replace a dull one. Often
you’ll find you can combine words pulled from the notebook into a good sentence
which seems to appear out of the mist. Also, try word-association exercises with
words from the notebook, allowing a good word to engender another until you hit
upon a decent idea.
*****.
MARKETS
Literary magazines:
Alaska Quarterly Review (ayaqr@uaa.alaska.edu) publishes fiction, poetry,
literary nonfiction, and short plays in traditional and experimental styles. The
editor says, "If the works in Alaska Quarterly
Review have certain characteristics, they are these: freshness, honesty, and a
compelling subject."
The Georgia Review (garev@uga.edu) is one of the more highly regarded and
established literary journals available. The editor says,"Our readers are
educated, inquisitive people who read a
lot of work in the areas we feature, so they expect only the best in our pages."
Recent pieces include "A Splendid Wife,"a short story by Amber Dermont; "Death
in the Face," a poem
by Robert Fox; and "Rilke and the Requiem," an essay by William Gass.
Ploughshares is a triquarterly magazine for "readers of serious contemporary
literature." Often featuring some of the best writing in the literary world, the
editor says,"Our mission is to present dynamic, contrasting views on what is
valid and important in contemporary literature, and
to discover and advance significant literary talent." Contact Don Lee, Editor,
Emerson College
Department M, 120 Boylston St.Boston MA 02116
Tin House (www.tinhouse.com) is the youngest magazine out of this lot, but it
also has the highest circulation and pays the better rates.So be warned: This is
a competitive market--but also one
interested in finding new voices. The editor says, "Our watchword is quality."
Nonfiction
Mother Devoted (www.motherdevoted.com) is a bi-monthly publication for Christian
mothers.
See website for guidelines.
Gryphonwood. Fantasy short stories, Flash Fiction. Non-fiction: reviews,
articles on the craft of writing, interviews.( http://www.gryphonwoodpress.com)
Orion (www.oriononline.org) is a forum for thoughtful and creative ideas and
practical examples of how we might live justly, wisely, and artfully on Earth.
See website for guidelines
*****
CONTESTS
Fiction/Nonfiction
Writer’s Digest monthly Chronicles contest. .Guidelines: http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/your_chronicle_display.asp
Deadline: January 15, 2005. - 3 rd Annual One-Page Story Contest
www.nebpublishing.com
Create a story of 300 words or less, on any subject, with a discernible
beginning, middle and end.
Submission Guidelines - Type in a standard font (Times New Roman or
Courier, 12 pt)
Include the story title at the top of the page, but not your byline or any
contact information. All stories will be judged anonymously.Double-space, align
left.Save in MS Word or RTF format.
E-mail a (clean!) attachment to <contest@nebpublishing.com>. The subject line of
your message should read "One-Page Story Contest."Include the story title,
byline and contact information in the body of your email message. (If you prefer
to be contacted by e-mail, there is no need to
include your address or phone number.)You may also submit additional author
information (brief bio, book cover(s), website address, headshot).First Prize:
$100, Second Prize: $50, Third Prize: $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card. Questions?
Contact <contest@nebpublishing.com>
Writer's Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few
years. Whether you're a professional writer, a part-time freelancer or a
self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition for
self-published books. Enter now at http://www.writersdigest.com/specialoffers.asp?DE04.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER $3,000 in cash, promotion in Writer's Digest and Publishers
Weekly, and marketing advice from self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. And, we'll
endorse and submit 10 copies of the grand prize-winning book to major reviewers,
including The New York Times and The Washington Post! First place winners in
each of nine categories will receive $500 in cash and promotion in Writer's
Digest plus distribution to bookstores and libraries through Baker & Taylor, and
a review in Midwest Book Review. For a complete list of prizes, rules and the
entry form, visit http://www.writersdigest.com/specialoffers.asp?DE04. Further
info or to enter online:
http:www.writersdigest.com/specialoffers.asp?DE04
*****
WRITING Q&A
Q: I’m a freelance article writer. More and more I’m being offered
contracts for “all rights” Should I accept?
A: Article writers are seeing more and more of the work-made-for-hire and
the "all rights" contracts. When you are presented with a publishing contract
that includes an all-rights or work-made-for-hire clause, here are several
possible responses: Offer Them First North America Serial Rights. Tell the
editor or publisher that most professional writers' organizations oppose
all-rights and work-made-for-hire contracts. These contracts are unfair.
Unfortunately, even if the publisher offers to modify the contract you still
have to watch out for the magazine trying to take additional rights. They may,
for instance, try to include an electronic rights clause that allows them to put
your article on their website without additional payment. Ask For Additional
Payment: The more rights a publisher asks for, the more they should pay. If a
publisher wants to post your article on their website, remind them of the
Supreme Court decision and offer to negotiate electronic rights. These are
usually from 25% to 50% of the original article rate. Since articles and book
excerpts stay on a website for some time, one writer grants these rights for a
three year period and gets total payment up front. Offer a Time Limit on Rights.
Suggest that instead of all rights or work for hire that you will grant a
limited all-rights contract, with rights reverting to the author at the end of
an agreed-upon period. A few contracts often specify a 1-to-3 year time period.
This will sometimes be accepted when you have been working for the same magazine
for a number of years and the editor knows your work. He or she often has some
limited discretion in contract negotiations. Demand More Money: If you’ve tried
everything and the publication still wants a work made for hire or an all rights
contract and you must grant it or lose the sale, ask for a higher fee. You can
point out that under ordinary conditions you would sell the article elsewhere
after the magazine publishes it. Freelance writing is a business with
considerable risks and overhead. You wouldn't work for any other employer for
free; you shouldn't have to work for a newspaper or magazine for free.
*****
Wordplay
Once again, The Washington Post’s contest winners who supplied alternate
meanings for various words:
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over
by a steamroller
*****
Quote of the Month
“A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.” Franz Kafka
Don’t forget to send in your suggestions, feedback and your writing questions. And check out
the writing resources page at http://www.acappela.com
Patrika
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