A Cappela Newsletter for Writers                   Jan/Feb 2004

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
Zine Publishing Competition

IN THIS ISSUE:

************************************************************************

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

*****

Here’s a little 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, Writing Coaching)

2) got started, but bogged down (link to Classes, Writing Coaching, WP&M)

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

Before you mail out that manuscript or query, make sure it’s as polished and professional as possible. Send your work to www.acappela.com 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

*****

Forward this issue to your writer friends NOW and tell them to subscribe. Forward the ENTIRE issue, not bits and pieces of it. 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 new 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.

Make your pitch to Ian Daffern, Producer of Book Television-the Channel, at 299 Queen St West, Toronto, on M5v 2z5 Canada iand@citytv.com

Send your Press Room, a copy of your book, and a brief pitch explaining why your book would be of interest to viewers of Book Television.

*****

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!

* 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!

______

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)

*****

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!

*****

Fiction & Poetry

~Virginia Adversaria Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Articles relating to life in Virginia. Maximum length 6,000 words. Pays 1 cent per word (up to $60) plus contributor’s copy. Bill Glose, Editor, PO Box 2349, Poquoson, VA 23662.

~Family Tree Magazine helps people discover, preserve, and celebrate their family history. Guidelines: http://www.familytreemagazine.com or Editor, Family Tree Magazine, 4700 E. Galbraith Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45236

~Nevermore Magazine Online quarterly of short stories in science fiction, fantasy and horror as well as poetry. 1000-3000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems per submission. Scott Holton & Daryl Putnam, Details: info@nevermoremag.com

~Red Hen Press 90% of their books are from unagented writers. Books of poetry should be at least 60 pages, single or double-spaced. Poets should submit their poetry for the publisher-sponsored Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award. The editors say, "Our audience reads poetry, literary fiction, and intelligent nonfiction. If you have an agent, we may be too small since we don't pay advances. Be willing to promote your own book." editor@redhen.org . www.redhen.org

~Nights Publications ( http://www.nightspublications.com ) Series of annual travel publications, including Aruba Nights, Bonaire Nights, Curacao Nights and St. Maarten Nights. Query Sonya Plowman, Editor. Word Lengths(250-750). Pays $100-300. Accepts queries by e-mail, fax or mail. Guidelines via e-mail. Needs: General interest, historical, how-to, humor, inspirational, interview/profile, opinion, personal experience, photo feature, travel.

~ADDitude Needs: Articles that focus on the lifestyle and helping parents of children with Attention Deficit Disorder or adults who have ADD. Length: 2,000 words or less Payment varies depending on length; $75 kill fee; no unsolicited mss; query by post or e-mail. Guidelines: http://www.additudemag.com/contact.asp?DEPT_NO=1300&ARTICLE_NO=2  

SHORT, FUN, AND LUCRATIVE WRITING OPPORTUNITIES: The greeting card market isn't just Hallmark, and it doesn't even stop with just greeting cards. This market is more appropriately labeled as the "slogan market" or"catchphrase market," because that's what it's all about--creating concise statements for money. Here are 5 such markets:

~Brilliant Enterprises has been around since 1967. They pay $60 for "complete, ready-to-print word and picture design." Printing mainly postcards, this publisher says, "Messages should be of a highly original nature, emphasizing subtlety, simplicity, insight, wit, profundity, beauty and felicity of expression. Messages should be of universal appeal, capable of being appreciated by all types of people and being easily translated into other languages." No email address: 117 W. Valerio St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2927
~Duck and Cover Productions bought 120 ideas/samples last year. They pay $40 per idea, though none are contained in a greeting card. Duck and Cover specializes in buttons, magnets, and stickers only. The editor says, "Duck and Cover holds the trump card for intelligent, contemporary humor. We are a smorgasbord of existential angst, psychotic babble, dry wit and outrageous zingers." Duckcover@aol.com

*****

CONTESTS

Deadline January 11 - Glimmer Train's Fiction Open is still accepting stories from all writers, all themes, subjects and lengths. First-place winner receives $2,000, publication in Glimmer Train Stories and 20 copies of the issue in which it is published. Second- and third-place winners receive $1,000/$600 respectively, and acknowledgement in that issue. Entry fee: $15. To submit your stories or to find out more information, go to: http://www.glimmertrainpress.com  

Deadline January 15, 2004 - The Chattahoochee Review’s 6^th annual Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction.Essays, 5,000 words or less. $10 entry fee.

The Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest does not have an entry fee, and it also offers several cash prizes, including $5,000, which is awarded to the 1st place winner. This contest is geared to undergrads in the U.S. and Canada who write thought-provoking, personal essays. Entrants are asked to analyze ethical questions and concerns facing them in today's complex society. View complete, updated listings for the above contests at: www.eliewieselfoundation.org  or  info@eliewieselfoundation.org

Deadline: January 31 - The Annie Finch Prize for Poetry from The National Poetry Review. Entry fee: $10; make check payable to "C. J. Sage." Prize: $300 + Publication in The National Poetry Review. Send entries to: C. J. Sage, TNPR, P. O. Box 640625, San Jose, CA 95164-0625.

Deadline February 1- Investigative Journalism Grant is sponsored by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. It is offered 3 times a year for original investigative newspaper and magazine stories, radio and TV documentaries, books, and media criticism. The contest offers February 1 and June 1 deadlines.Fund For Investigative Journalism P.O. Box 60184 Washington DC 20039-0184 Phone: (202)362-0260 Fax: (301)422-7449 E-Mail: fundfij@aol.com  Website: www.fij.org  Contact: John Hyde

A: Actually, signings aren’t primarily about immediate sales of books. According to Marcella Smith, Small Press Business Manager at Barnes & Noble, one of the advantages of book signings is that they give you a platform for creating and maintaining relationships.

Signings enable you to network and make contacts. You will meet bookstore managers, some of whom will change jobs within the industry. Over the years, your reputation will move with them. A book that was not right for their circumstances in the past may be perfect under their current conditions.

*****

Wordplay

Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.

Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

*****

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." --Mark Twain

Patrika

TELL A FRIEND - Any writing friends who would be interested in this newsletter? Send them this link with your suggestion to sign up: http://www.acappela.com