A Cappela Newsletter for Writers                               Nov.-Dec. 2007

 

            NEWS & VIEWS YOU CAN USE

            Your monthly newsletter from Patrika,  your Author’s Advocate™

                                    Visit her, send an email,  at www.acappela.com

 

A WRITER'S DIGEST'S 101 BEST WRITING SITES

Distinguished Recipient: The Literary World

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

*Who We Are

*The Editor’s View

*Media Contacts

*Pat’s Picks

*Writing Tip

* Book Gossip

*Markets

*Contests

*Writing Q&A

*Word Trippers

*Wordplay      

*Quote of the Month

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Who We Are

 

A Cappela Publishing, home of your Author’s Advocate, prides itself on being a one-stop shop for authors.

 

We can work with you from the time you say to yourself, “I’ve got a great idea for a book.” We can guide you through the completion of that book, and then usher it through successful publication and marketing. Taking these steps piecemeal results in erratic successes...too often steps get lost in the shuffle from one provider to another. Let us oversee the entire operation and provide you with a coordinated plan for success.

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Bulletin: Get free articles on writing at http://groups.com/group/WriteBetter-GetPublished.

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THE EDITOR’S VIEW

 

Review Book Etiquette. It’s the holiday season once again, and the thoughtful little things we tend to do at this time of year could improve your chances of getting reviewed any time of year. When sending review copies of your book, details can make a big difference in the way the

reviewer will approach your book. Consider signing the book, even personalizing it with the recipient's first name. Enclose a sheet that emphasizes the book's premise, intended market, and main reader benefits. Finally, if sending copies to non-professional reviewers, i.e., friends, clients and others you will be contacting now,  consider adding a sticker encouraging them to review your book at www.amazon.com.

 

OFFER TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS

Sign up now for the A Cappela Newsletter for Writers and get a free cop of our special report, Writing Fears and How to Cure Them, written by Patrika Vaughn, your Author’s Advocate.

Offer good while supplies last, so do it now!

 

 

Warning! 

From Linda Morelli (http://www.lindamorelli.us):

A new company, Booksfree.com, had a listing for my first release, FIERY SURRENDER, for rent. I checked out the site and they have lots of books in various genres that they rent, for a fee, in a manner similar to Netflix. I was rather surprised at this, so I called my attorney and was told that, provided they obtained my book legally (i.e., purchased it), this is the same thing as a lending library and is legal. She also pointed out two additional items: 1) if a reader likes the book, they may buy it or check out any other releases and, 2) it probably wouldn't hurt to place a note on an author's site indicating that rentals take away from author sales. Just thought I'd let you know, since companies renting out our books may concern us all. Linda Morelli

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Increase your odds of getting published!

 

Getting published involves more than being a great writer. If your goal is to see your work commercially printed, you need to know how to effectively approach editors and agents.

But have no fear--these marketing courses from www.acappela.com/classes.html

will ensure your work catches an editor’s or agent’s eye!

 

Stalking the Markets

Book Promotion

Book Promotion Time Table

 

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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 (link to WP&M, Consult; 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 (link to 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 (link to Stalking the Markets; Book Promotion; Self-Pub; Selling to Ims; www.acappela.com/AH.htm; 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)

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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 910 writers. Won't you help this ezine grow? Tell your friends to subscribe at http://www.acappela.com

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WRITING TIPS

 


Not sure of a word’s spelling or usage? Check http://www.thefreedictionary.com

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PAT’S PICK

 

Ever wondered how many libraries carry your book?  Head on over to worldcat.org, plug in your book title and voila! A list of libraries will pop up that carry your book.

 

 

WRITING Q&A

 

Q: What’s the difference between a wholesaler and a distributor?

A: It is important to accurately distinguish the two types of activity because they are very different in both emphasis and kind. Book wholesalers should be seen as a service providers to bookstores. They don’t create demand; rather they efficiently respond to demand whatever the cause and whatever the title. They envision their task as serving the interests of bookstores and similar outlets with their main object of getting product A to store B in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost. Look at them as a kind of UPS or FedEx of the book business.

Book distributors represent the interests and activities of book publishers. Instead of hiring your own sales and marketing personnel and running your own shipping, storage and returns processing warehouse, you would outsource all of these activities to a book distributor who focuses on these activities on your behalf. Unless, you are doing over $5,000,000 in book sales, you should seriously consider the book distributor option. It may actually cost less and at the same time provide marketplace clout.

 

WORDPLAY

Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

 

 

Word Trippers

 

"Wannabee": Shortened, Americanized form of 'want to be'.

The origin is actually unknown however the phrase is used to describe fans, of singers, actors, writers and other famous people, who want to emulate their idols.

 

 

*****

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 way promote your writing

 

Interview Tip:  After you make appearances or give interviews, ask the hosts, producers, and interviewers to send you a letter stating that you were a fabulous guest who generated great interest. Ask them to write their endorsements on their official letterhead. Letters of endorsement regarding your past appearances can be extremely important because radio and TV producers often rely on them in booking talent for their shows.

 

 

GET INTERVIEWED

At Bookpleasures.com, publisher and editor Norm Goldman conducts a series of author and expert interviews for books in several genres: art, fiction, self help, business, non-fiction, travel guides, children's and history.

 

GET REVIEWED

Send to: bookreviewsonline@gmail.com

The Virtual Book Review Network is a host of high-profile sites (10 in total) - you can view one of them here www.bestbooksreviewed.com

 

GET INTO PRINT

      Real Simple Magazine (www.realsimple.com) has a monthly circulation 1,809,792. Its readers are cost-conscious and practical. Successful pitches will keep those readers in mind. The magaziNe has a dozen departments. Look at several issues of the magazine and become familiar with the types of articles published in the various sections. It's best to pitch department editors or assistants or editorial assistant Kate Parker. Pitch things needed for the home, or show them problems/solutions, or produce experts they can use. Lead time is two to six months. Pitch via email, but no attachments.Phone: (212) 522-1212 Fax: (212) 467-1398  Managing editor: Kristin Van Ogtrop (kristin_vanogtrop@realsimple.com)  Executive editor: Corynne Corbett (corynne_corbett@realsimple.com) 

 

     Get an Agent


MIRIAM ALTSHULER LITERARY AGENCY http://www.miriamaltshulerliteraryagency.com/
Focuses on literary commercial fiction and nonfiction. In nonfiction, interested in general nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, memoirs, psychology, travel, nature and biography.

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

     Pat’s Picks

 

      'Googling' Is now Grammatically Correct

      The latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary includes "google" as a verb, among some 100 other new words that have officially made it into the American and English lexicon, reports the Associated Press (via Marketing Pilgrim). Merriam-Webster lower-cases the new dictionary entry. CNET reports that earlier, on June 15, the Oxford English Dictionary also released a list of new entries in OED Online, including "Google" (upper case) as a verb, as well as "adware," "mash- up," "texting," "pixelate" and "uninstall," among others.

 

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      Nominations are now being accepted for Writer's Digest's Top 101 Websites for Writers. To nominate A Cappela Publishing (www.acappela.com) for the 2007 list, e-mail writersdig@fwpubs.com with "101 Sites" as the subject line.

      ______________________________________________________________________________

      Let’s get interactive!

      If you've got a Reader Tip you'd like to share, please send it to acappub@aol.com with the subject line "reader tip."

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

 

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!

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     MARKETS

      Intergalactic Medicine Show. We are looking for stories of any length in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Within these genres, we like to see well-developed milieus and believable, engaging characters. We also look for clear, unaffected writing. Asimov, Niven, Tolkien, Yolen, and Hobb are more likely to be our literary exemplars than James Joyce. We pay 6 cents a word up to $500. Stories can be longer, but the word rate drops with increasing length to always yield a total of $500. Http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=content&article=submissions

 

      New England Review is published four times a year: winter,spring, fall, and summer. Our submissions period is September 1 through May 31 (postmark dates) only. We consider short stories, short-shorts, novellas, and self-contained extracts from novels;long and short poems; interpretive and personal essays; book reviews, screenplays, dramatic works, translations, critical

      reassessments, interviews, cultural criticism, and letters from abroad. Payment is $10/page, $20 minimum, upon publication, plus two free copies of the issue in which your work appears.

      http://cat.middlebury.edu/~nereview/guidelines.html

 

      American Heritage primarily focuses on the history of America and has been publishing for over 50 years. Our subject is the American experience - what makes life here different from life anywhere else. Our topics range from serious concerns to colorful insights, from powerful institutions to ordinary men and woman, but our treatment of them is always informed by the

      knowledge of our national past. We try to use the past to illuminate the present. We welcome contributions of freelancers, but suggest that ideas for articles be submitted - in some detail - to our editors in advance.  http://www.americanheritage.com/contact/writersguidelinesAH.pdf

 

      Backpacker provides articles to knowledgeable and experienced backpackers, therefore we accept only authentic,well-researched, well-crafted stories. We're not interested in slavish imitations of stories we've already done. As always, youB should carefully study several issues of the magazine before submitting a query. The best articles have style, depth, emotional impact, and take-away value for the reader. Freelancers most often break into BACKPACKER's pages in the departments. These shorter assignments (100 to 1,200 words) have specific topics and focus. Please read our guidelines for full details.  Http://www.backpacker.com/guidelines/0,3132,,00.html

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      CONTESTS

 

     NOVEMBER

    

     Deadline November 30, 2007. $500 prize.$25 ENTRY FEE  Possible smaller prizes depending on the quality of the submissions. We are more interested in a good story well told than in attempts to sound literary or         poetic. Send us your best, simplest work. Make us love or hate

     your characters by what you let them do and say. Get us involved in the plot by moving us skillfully from point A to point B. This is a fiction contest. Memoirs, biographies, and other

     nonfiction are not eligible for this competition. AWW is a resource for creative women. We want to encourage work by, for and about women, but stories about men will not be overlooked.

     Just be sure that your viewpoint rings true and the experiences you portray are authentic to the character and setting. Be natural. You must submit only the first 100 pages of your novel. You must also send a detailed, chapter-by-chapter plot synopsis for the entire novel; the synopsis can be up to two single-spaced pages.

 

 

     Postmarked November 20,- 2007 Prose & Poetry Prizes. This is the seventh year of the Prose & Poetry Prizes sponsored by The New Writer magazine. Non-fiction, fiction and poetry categories are available for submissions. Details: http://fwointl.com/LMPmail/link.php?id=newwriter

 

Deadline: March 31, 2008 The National “Indie Excellence 2008” Book Awards presents a wonderful opportunity for all Independent Publishers, Print on Demand, Self-Published books, and Small Presses. Winners and Finalists will be announced Nationally at Book Expo America held in Los Angeles in June 2008.  All winners and finalists will be listed on the official website of the Indie Excellence 2008 Books Awards. We will send out a press release announcing the results to our list of national media, print and radio contacts. q We also will promote the results within the publishing industry and have a presence at the 2008 Book Expo America Convention in Los Angeles.

 Promote Your Work as an Award-Winning Title!        

      Complete information available at http://www.IndieExcellence.com

 

 

     December

 

Deadline: December 27, 2007 Win $100 and a guest spot on Cynthia Brian's Radio Show with her 2007 4th Annual Essay Contest. Go to: www.bethestaryouare.org. Fee: $10 donation per entry.

Wordcount: 300 to 600 words.Winners will also be published in StarSearcher Express newsletter and at the www.bethestaryouare.org website. Go to the site to learn more about possible topics

 

Deadline December 31, 2007  SFWP Literary Awards Program* Robert Olen Butler will
judge. Fiction and non-fiction. 1st place: $2,500; 1st runner-up: $1,500; 2nd runner-up: $1,000. Finalists considered for publication with SFWP Press. http://www.sfwpawards.com for guidelines and more info.

 

Deadline December 31, 2007.  Silver Wings Poetry Contest. For poems on the theme, Wings of Peace.  For Rules and list of the $325 in prizes, send SASE to Silver Wings, P.O. Box 2340, Clovis, CA 93613-2340

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

WRITING Q&A

 

Q: What’s a fair price for first serial rights?

A: When negotiating for first serial rights, you should consider what price to ask. You don’t want to price your book out of the market, but at the same time you want to get a fair price. Here are a few guidelines to use in determining your price:

1) The higher the circulation of the periodical, the more it can generally afford to pay.

2) How much of your book do they want to excerpt?

3) Does the publication want exclusive rights to the entire book or to just part?

4) For how long do they want exclusivity?

5) Syndication rights should sell for more than first serial rights to one publication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

      Wordplay

 

      New words that appear in the fall in the best-selling 'Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition:

 

 

avian influenza (n) 1980: a highly variable mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is caused by strains of the influenza A virus which may mutate and be transmitted to other vertebrates -- called also bird flu

 

gastric bypass (n) 1972: a surgical bypass operation that involves reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting the smaller stomach to bypass the first portion of the small intestine so as to restrict food intake and reduce caloric absorption in cases of severe obesity

 

unibrow (n) 1988: a single continuous brow resulting from the growing together of eyebrows

 

 

 

Quote of the Month

Literary Insults

 

 

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

 

 

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." -Jack E. Leonard

 

*****

Quote of the Month

Literary Insults

 

 

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

 

 

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." -Jack E. Leonard

 

 

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." -Abraham Lincoln

 

 

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -Groucho Marx

 

 

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." -Robert Redford

 

 

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." -Thomas Brackett Reed

 

 

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." -James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

 

 

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." -Charles, Count Talleyrand

 

 

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" -Mark Twain

 

 

"A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity." -Mark Twain

 

 

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." -Mark Twain

 

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." -Mae West

 

 

"She is a peacock in everything but beauty." -Oscar Wilde

 

 

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." -Oscar Wilde

 

 

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." -Oscar Wilde

 

 

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." -Billy Wilder

 

 

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." -Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

 

"The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading,in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book." - Samuel Johnson (1709-84)

The original style is not the style which never borrows of anyone, but that which no other person is capable of reproducing.* François René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768–1848)

1.

"I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make things

shorter."

 

~ Blaise Pascal ~

1.

Edna St. Vincent Millay once said that “a person who publishes a book appears willfully in public with his pants down.”

 

 

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but

I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous."

- Robert Charles Benchley, author

There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.

-Henry van Dyke, poet (1852-1933)

 

 

 

Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet

upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the

pressure off the second." - Robert Frost

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who

mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

- Dr. Seuss

 

 

 

 

“Only amateurs say that they write for their own amusement. Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of ditch-digging, mountain-climbing, treadmill and child birth. But amusing? Never.” Edna Ferber

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” Jorge Luis Borges

"A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others." -- Leo Rosten

"Why SHOULDN'T truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense."

--Mark Twain

"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” William James

"I think to understand an idea you have to wade in, write your way through it, and throw away big hunks until you get it right. ... I think of a story not as a part of myself on a page, but as a thing that can be better or worse depending on what I do to it. I really do think of it as a thing to be shaped, made, and perfected." --Lee Smith, author of ME AND MY BABY VIEW THE ECLIPSE

"Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists." -- Eudora Welty

“A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.” Franz Kafka

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." --Agatha Christie

 

 

 

 

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

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

If you have received this mailing in error, or do not wish to receive any further newsletter mailings from us, simply email us. You will be automatically excluded from any future mailings including our Newsletter that shares tons of free writing and marketing tips, tricks and techniques: acappub@aol.com . To update your e-mail address, simply reply to this e-mail with both your old and new e-mail address. (We’d like your name, too.)

 

 

 

Deadline May 8, 2007. Writers’ School Scholarship.  http://www.wss.org.uk/competitions.htm

NO ENTRY FEE. Three free places at the Writers' Summer School in Swanwick in August 2007. Each scholarship is worth more than £350. Categories are short story, poetry and children's writing.

-------------------------------------------------

Online Magazine awards you should know about:

Million Writers Award, which honors and promotes the best fiction published in online literary journals and magazines during the past year.

Over 600 short stories were nominated for the award (which includes nominations from 51 online magazines and journals, whose editors each selected up to three stories they had published in the last year). From these nominations, a volunteer panel of readers selected their favorite stories, which are listed as notable stories of the year. The top ten online stories of the year were selected by Jason Sanford, who is the fiction editor of storySouth and a three-time judge of the Minnesota Book Awards. The overall winner of the award was selected by public vote, while the best online publication was awarded to the magazine that received the most story nominations by readers and writers. Details: http://www.storysouth.com/millionwritersinfo.html

 

Deadline May 15, 2007  Short Story Contest - Now accepting submissions for 2007. The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition Honors Emerging Writers. For more than a quarter-century, the short story contest draws between 600-900 entries each year from around the U.S. and the world — and Lorian and her small judging panel still give every one of them their complete attention and respect. The first-place winner each year receives $1,000. Second- and third-place winners receive $500 apiece, and others are awarded honorable mentions. For details:

http://www.shortstorycompetition.com

 

 

June

 

Deadline June 15.  Writing About Labyrinths--prose & poetry contest. $10 Entry. Cash prizes.. Details: http://www.labyrinthsociety.org; SASE Labyrinth Society, P.O. Box 736, Trumansburg, NY 14886.

Magellan Books and The Easy Way to Write are proud to announce their first Annual New Novel Competition  .First Prize: Publication of your novel with worldwide distribution, published and marketed by Magellan Books. Second Prize: One year ebook publishing deals for 5 authors Third Prize: Hardcopy version of "The Easy Way to Write a Novel" signed by the author, for 10 runners up.

Chicano/Latino Literary Contest offers a 1st place prize of $1,000, publication, and transportation to receive the award. It is offered annually "to promote the dissemination of unpublished Chicano/Latino literature in Spanish or English, and to encourage its development." The contest is open to all citizens or permanent residents of the United States. http://www.writersmarket.com/index_nl.asp?cat=ca&id=480

 

Nonfiction

Comedy writer needed for national radio show with populist/progressive themes and biting political satire. Email resume and writing sample to kmadonna@kennedymadonna.com.

Captions/jokes, unique Short Stores, Essays & Stories — photos too! Submit original, factual accounts of life’s ironies, it-can-only-happen-too-me sagas.Your submission may be selected for inclusion in a book of collective works. Details: www.skylinepublications.com, SkylineEditor@aol.com

 

~The Heron’s Nest. Hailu poetry. Monthly award, plus two Runners-Up. No pay, but this was rated 3d favorite among over 80 haiku magazines. www.theheronsnest.com 

 

~ 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

 

November

 

CALL FOR ENTRIES - 2007 Prose & Poetry Prizes. This is the

seventh year of the Prose & Poetry Prizes sponsored by The New

Writer magazine. Non-fiction, fiction and poetry categories are

available for submissions. The next closing date is November 20,

2007 (postmarked date). For details, please visit:

http://fwointl.com/LMPmail/link.php?id=newwriter

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

 

 

 

 

Wordplay

New words that will appear in the fall in the best-selling 'Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

 

 

avian influenza (n) 1980: a highly variable mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is caused by strains of the influenza A virus which may mutate and be transmitted to other vertebrates -- called also bird flu

 

gastric bypass (n) 1972: a surgical bypass operation that involves reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting the smaller stomach to bypass the first portion of the small intestine so as to restrict food intake and reduce caloric absorption in cases of severe obesity

 

unibrow (n) 1988: a single continuous brow resulting from the growing together of eyebrows

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*****

Quote of the Month (see http://www.brainyquote.com/)

Literary Insults:  "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

 

 

 

                                                                  

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

         

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

If you have received this mailing in error or do not wish to receive any further newsletter mailings from us, simply email us. You will be automatically excluded from any future mailings including our Newsletter that shares tons of free writing and marketing tips, tricks and techniques: acappub@aol.com . To update your e-mail address, simply reply to this e-mail with both your old and new e-mail address. (We’d like your name, too.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wordplay("words of

the day" from Encarta World English Dictionary :1. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx

Also their Vocab quiz: Dictionary or fictionary? at :

http://encarta.msn.com/quiz_207/Fictionary.html

2. The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com

 

 

Hillock: (noun) A small natural hill.

Synonyms: knoll, mound, hammock

Usage: Our guide pointed out to us a slight and indistinct hillock on the flat surface of the plain about eight miles away.

 

/

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are a few of this year's winners:

Digerati: "computer experts: people who have or claim to have

a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the

Internet, and the World Wide Web"

Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These

days, many people strive to be among the digerati.

Hallux: "first digit on the foot: the big toe on the human

foot, or the first digit on the hind foot of some mammals,

birds, reptiles, and amphibians (technical)"

The ballerina had her hallux insured for $10 million!

 

Pellucid:

- "clear in meaning: easy to understand or clear in meaning

(formal)"