LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Here it is, the frantic holiday season again. It’s hard to stay in the spirit of things when we’re all under so much extra pressure (as if ordinary life wasn’t enough!), what with gift buying, decorating, writing all those yearly notes to far-flung friends and family. And it’s especially hard to find time for your writing during these hectic days.

I’d like to remind you that a mere 15 minutes a day will keep you on track. Even if you can only find time to jot down those great ideas that pop up as you’re doing 20 other things, do it! You don’t want your brainstorms to get lost. And of course the holidays are going to bring up all sorts of emotional content for you...stuff you want to make note of to include later in your work.

If you don’t have time to jot, try speaking them into a tape recorder as you drive or do the dishes or bake those cookies. Then they’ll be there when you’re ready to use them.

We’re doing our best to help make your gift buying easier too, for those writers or wannebe’s on your list. We’ve created a couple of gift sets that you can order with a flick of your mouse. - Click here for gift ideas

 

Nominations are now being accepted for Writer's Digest's Top 101 Websites for Writers. To nominate A Cappela Publishing ( http://www.acappela.com ) for the 2006 list, e-mail writersdig@fwpubs.com  with "101 Sites" as the subject line. Thanks for your support.

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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 (WP&M, Consult; Writing Coaching)
2) got started, but bogged down (Classes, WP&M, Writing Coaching)
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 (WP&M, audiobooks, Classes)
2) edit what I’ve got into something publishable (Editing, Book Doctoring)
3) have a great piece of writing, and need to get it published (Stalking the Markets; Book Promotion; Self-Pub; Selling to Ims; eLitAgent)


DON’T MAIL THAT MANUSCRIPT without a professional review from A Cappela

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

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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

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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.

Get an Agent
For a new approach to agenting, see http://www.eLitAgent.com

Get Reviewed
John Powers, Deputy Editor- La Weekly. 6715 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, ca 90028

Get Interviewed
The Lillian Cauldwell Radio Show- Promoting Writers Every Week
The Lillian Cauldwell Show airs every Tuesday evening from 7pm to 8pm eastern standard time. Book for 2006: 734-332-4940; lillian.cauldwell@gmail.com  . For more information: http://www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/thelilliancauldwellshow/ 
 

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Enjoying this newsletter?
If you're benefitting from this newsletter, please forward it to three other writers who might find it helpful. (We'd like to hit 10,000 subscribers by this winter.) Thank you!


PAT’S PICKS:

For those of you who want to do your own promotion, an excellent guide is Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't, winner of the USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004" Available as an e-book or paperback at http://www.amazon.com/.
 
For those who haven’t had the privilege of crafting a query yet, it’s basically a one-page pitch that writers send to potential publishers or agents. It needs to have a short paragraph that regales your book in such an eloquent, witty style that the publisher has no choice but to immediately snap you up with a hefty advance! It’s impossible to do, especially if you are writing about your own book. I know. I’ve tried. For days. For weeks. Solution? See Write Publish & Market Your Book
( http://www.acappela.com/books.htm for step-by-step instructions, or get a consult from http://www.acappela.com/consult.htm


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!
 

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WRITING TIP:

TOO BUSY TO WRITE? A new site titled Writing on the Run, offers one quick,
creative idea each week to help professional and aspiring writers make time and space for writing. http://www.writingontherun.com


MARKETS
Love is a money-maker! Here are two forums (more in next issue) looking for articles about love:

~1) http://OnlineDatingMagazine.com  Seeks articles 700 words and up on online dating, self-improvement, and romance. E-mail Jtracy@onlinedatingmagazine.com .

~2) http://Askmen.com an online zine for men that addresses relationship issues, dining advice and mating tips. E-mail iwanttowrite@askmen.com

~ True Really Compelling Stories wanted for a new edition of the inspirational anthology, The Simple Touch of Fate. Tell us how being at the right place at the right time or not being at the wrong place at the wrong time affected your life, or the life of someone you know, in a profound way. Guidelines: http://www.thefatesite.com 

~American Profile http://www.americanprofile.com/aboutus/writers.asp
This is not a market for beginners; send only your most professional work. No fiction, nostalgia, or poetry. Coverage of people and places must be enlightening and instructional, and have a broad regional or national relevance. We also cover health, food, gardening, home projects, nature, and finances. Articles should be topical, but have a long shelf life. Length 450 to 1,200 words. High paying market but warns writers that it pays widely. Negotiate your price.

~ Spec-Fic Journal ( http://www.spec-fic.com ) A new journal for Speculative Fiction is in the works and will appear on the Net on January 1, 2006. Editors Irene Smith and Michael Kechula, are looking for fiction of all lengths from up to 3,000 word short stories. Send your horror,
fantasy, and science fiction. Also wants book, movie, and video game reviews. Guidelines for details at: http://www.spec-fic.com/guidelines.php

~Animal Wellness Magazine Needs: Articles that focus on holistic healing of animals, whether physical, emotional or spiritual Length: 500 to 1,500 words Pays, but does not specify on site Accepts unsolicited mss by post or e-mail; no multiple subs; buys one-time rights only; response time is 4 weeks http://www.animalwellnessmagazine.com
 

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CONTESTS

Deadline November 15, 2005 simply40.com, is inviting all writers to submit original essays on homelessness in America. First Place: $100USD, and more! Second Place: $50USD, and more! Third Place: $25USD, and more! Honorable Mentions: listing on winners page. For more information and guidelines, visit http://www.simply40.com .

Deadline November 15, 2005 RAMBLE UNDERGROUND QUARTERLY FICTION CONTEST
A Quarterly publication of Fiction and Poetry ( http://www.rambleunderground.org )
$6 entry fee. Ramble Underground is hosting it's quarterly 50-50 Fiction Contest. Winning submission wins 50% of the collected entry fees. 2nd and 3rd place receive honorable mentions. All three top stories published in our Winter issue.

Deadline: November 30. Mary Roberts Rinehart Fund is offered annually for authors who, in order to finish projected work, need financial assistance otherwise unavailable. Three grants awarded at $2,000 each. English Department, MSN 3E4, George Mason Univ., Fairfax VA 22030-4444. Phone: (703)993-1180 E-Mail: writing@gmu.edu 

Deadline 30 November 2005 FANDANGO VIRTUAL'S 2005 FICTION CONTEST
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fandango.virtual/gator/fv_contest_2005.htm . $10 entry fee. $500/
$200/$100 plus additional bonus prizes, awarded through random drawings. Every entrant has a chance to win these special gifts, including a seat in To Write Well's online course, Impact of Style, valued at $499. This year we are opening the contest to the combined readership of Fandango Virtual's two quarterly publications, Gator Springs Gazette and Bonfire. We are accepting short stories (1,000 - 5,000 words). Works must be previously unpublished in any print or online venue and may be in any genre as long as they have a literary quality. Copyright to the work must be held by the contest entrant. No sim-subs allowed. Winners announced on New Year's day 2006. Winning entries will be published in the May-June-July edition of Gator Springs Gazette in 2006.

Deadline December 1, 2005 6th Annual Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition We're looking for fiction that's bold,brilliant - but brief. First Prize$3,000. You can even enter online and pay with your credit card.
Details: Visit http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/shortshort 

Deadline December 1, 2005 WRITERS' BRIDGE WRITING CONTEST
http://www.thewritersbridge.com  $8 entry fee. The Writers' Bridge, an international freelance writers' cooperative, is sponsoring its first-ever writing contest. Entries limited to nonfiction and/or essays. First prize s $500; second $250; third $100. Ten more entrants will receive a free in-depth critique. Mail entries and checks to: The Writers' Bridge, P.O. Box 15153, Lynchburg, VA 24502, or e-mail (writersbridge@hotmail.com ) . Payment can also be made through PayPal . For more information, contact Darrell Laurant at writersbridge@hotmail.com .
Deadline December 9, 2005. The Prize in Ethics Essay Contest is an annual competition designed to challenge college students to analyze the urgent ethical issues confronting them in today's complex world. Full-time juniors and seniors at accredited four-year US colleges and universities are welcome to enter and compete for $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to meet Elie Wiesel in New York City. Entry forms and additional info : http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org .

Deadline December 20, 2005 Writer's Digest Poetry Awards. The only Writer's Digest
competition exclusively for poets! Regardless of style– rhyming, free verse, haiku and more--if your poems are 32 lines or fewer, we want them all. Submit your entries today and your words could be worth cold hard cash! Visit http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/poetry/index.asp
for guidelines and to enter online.

Deadline December 31, 2005. LANTERN BOOKS ESSAY CONTEST. No entry fee.
http://lanternbooks.com/essay.php  The aim of our essay competition is to allow new thinking to emerge on the key subjects of Lantern's publishing program and to encourage new voices to step forward to shape the debate of the future. Winners announced on March 21, 2006. Essays should be no longer than 1,500 words. $1,000 first prize $500 second prize $250 third prize

Deadline December 31, 2005 FIND THE FUNNY http://www.findthefunny.com/index.html .
Second Annual Comedy Screenplay Contest -- the only contest that seeks out fresh new comedy screenwriting talent, then honors and promotes the winners. All sub-genres of comedy eligible. Top three winners, receive cash ($2,000, $1,000 and $500) and other great prizes: the Osgood, Find the Funny’s custom-designed bobblehead award; a VIP invitation to attend the Find the Funny Awards on April Fool’s Day 2006; and of course, a chance to take that next step in your writing career. Entry fee $50
 

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WRITING Q&A

Q: How can I get booked on TV shows?
A: Getting booked to talk about your book on TV doesn't have to be as difficult as some authors make it. Here are five   steps to becoming a guest that even some PR pros don't know:

1) BE TIMELY. Study the news. Jim Halperin wrote a novel about cryonics several years ago.Every time the subject of freezing yourself comes up, he successfully books himself on the morning television talk shows to talk about his book. In fact, when controversy broke out last summer about legendary baseball player Ted Williams being frozen, Halperin was successful in getting national attention for his novel, The First Immortal.

2) CHOOSE THE RIGHT SHOW Don’t try to sell a good book to the wrong show. Before you call a producer, start watching the show. Do they interview authors? Is there a regular segment featuring books? Don't pick up the phone or send a news release until you know the answers to these questions.

3) BE CHARMING AND BRIEF ON THE PHONE Start out by complimenting the producer on their program. Say something like; "I'm constantly amazed how you fill the show with such interesting guests. You have a great team. I have a book that I think your hosts would love!"

4) WRITE LIKE A REPORTER Write the kind of headline that a newspaper would run. And make the rest of the release so conversational that a TV anchor could read it right on the air. This is important. Most major market newsrooms get hundreds of press releases every day. Often the decision on whether to cover your story is made in a matter of seconds. Many times that well-crafted sentence in the third paragraph of your press release is never read.

5) WAIT FOR A SLOW NEWS DAY The holidays are the slowest news times of the year. When government offices are closed, so are most sources. Take advantage of it. Get out your calendar and circle government holidays. If the government isn't making news, reporters are scrambling to find something to cover. Pitch even an average story on a day when the media is starving for news and you're much more likely to get coverage.

There you go. Now you're armed with knowledge that even some well-paid public relations professions don't practice. If your idea is timely and pitched to the right person when the supply of news is running thin, you're in!
 

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WORDPLAY
More new words for 2005:

IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The J-Lo and Ben non-wedding was a prime example.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
 

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Quote of the Month

"You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea." -A quote from American author and Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck
 

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