This is to announce that 21st Century Research updated its special “Print-on-Demand Publishers Directory 2008″ and “Print-on-Demand Printers Directory 2008″ and is developing more E-mail lists for promoting your books.

Check our blog: http://book-publicity.blogspot.com

Is anyone going to any of the following book fairs?

St. Pete October 27th
Miami Nov
Sarasota Nov
Vero Beach Nov
Key West Jan
Zora Jan
Fort Myers March
Tampa April

If so do you want to meet up whilst there, to share transport. etc?

Jack

I’ve been ploughing my way through various books covering character, plot, point of view, etc. But practise that make perfect, so I was wondering if anyone wanted to join in a weekly workshop in which we:

1. Identify the key elements of creative writing
2. Draw up checklist for each
3. Examine two pieces of work maybe a published work or one of our chapters.

I guess the minimum needed is two people and the maximum is six.

I’m happy to offer my house for this and provide the drinks. I can start in October.

If you are interested, please e-mail me ABACAN@BayChambers.com

Jack

Just wanted to share a site with you that I enjoy. It’s called Funds For Writers -www.fundsforwriters.com. It has free and paid newsletters, lots of markets and contests, and just a good, fun attitude courtesy of the woman(Hope) who runs it.

Young woman marries, produces two children, who are doted upon and spoilt by grandparents. The spoilt children become fat. Husband becomes fat. The wife runs around trying to meet all their needs. It must be a common life story.

Maybe on the weekend before Christmas, the exhausted mother, cleaning up after a meal, falls asleep wondering what she should buy for her children for Christmas that wont have been bought or bettered by the doting grandparents. She is woken when her head slips of her hand, to find a god-mother standing behind her. Like Dickens Christmas story, the god mother takes the mother to show here what what happens if she buys them something material (they get fat obese, in trouble, health deteriorates, husband becomes a burden) or if she gives them her time and attention they need to learn responsible living. (The opposite).

do you know such a story.

Any ideas?

1) the author cannot explain or rebut any comment given by a critiquer. They can ask questions, but if they edge into rebuttal, they are gently but firmly Slapped by the Moderator.

2) no author may read the same piece twice. This includes rewrites after they’ve learned to write.

3) only two authors may read and receive crit per session, and they are timed by the Moderator. Nobody can overrun into another’s reading/crit time without the Sacred Slap as mentioned above.

Found these on a blog written by an agent’s assistant – you know – the kid who opens then rejects all our queries: http://rejecter.blogspot.com/

So how do you increase your odds? Here’s what NOT to do: The Turkey City Lexicon is a writer’s guide to poor technique. While this advise is geared toward Sci Fi writers, it applies to all of us. I must admit to being guilty of Kudzu plotting

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html

A Submission Reminder
While I know I’ve said this before, it obviously bears repeating. Whenever, anytime, every time, you send a submission to an agent, make sure to include a professional, detailed cover letter. To make it simple for you, here’s what I advise. Every query, proposal, full manuscript, or attachment you send an agent should include the following information:

* Name, address, email address, Web site, phone number

* Dear Ms. Faust (Jessica if you know me personally)

* An opening line that tells me why this material is coming my way (either I’ve requested it, you think I’m great, or you’re just looking for representation). The title of your book, word count, genre, target market.

* Your opening line should also include any details that make you stand out from the crowd. Are you published? A major award winner? Do you have editors reviewing requested fulls? All of this information can help get you to the top of my stack.

* A blurb of your book. This is that very exciting one-paragraph blurb that is so strongly written the editor will want to use it for the cover of the book. The blurb is your hook. Editors don’t need to know each and every plot point, they simply need to know what makes your book stand out.

* Additional information about you, your book, contests, organization memberships, professional background, etc. All of this can close your letter.

I can’t stress this enough. Each and every time you submit work to an agent you should include this letter. We don’t remember names, we don’t remember titles, and we don’t always remember why we requested something, so that gentle reminder (your blurb) is critical. When you send an email attachment (this should only be sent when requested), I would suggest you include your letter in the email and as the first page of your attachment. That way when I send it to my printer I know exactly what is coming back.

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/

When is enough?

Dear Oh-So-Wise Miss Snark:

How many agent rejections (based on partials or full ms, not queries) should a person receive before they stop banging their head against the wall?

I know one could persist forever, hoping that the rejectors all just wrong — and who knows, maybe they are — but when would a more rational person stop?

If you’re getting form letter rejections of full and partials, you need fresh eyes. Time for some beta readers with teeth.

If you’re getting personal letters, and phone calls and liveried footmen delivering engraved calling cards that say “I love your writing but this particular book isn’t for me” you’re on the right path.

Thirteen things you can do with a printed copy of a negative review:

1. Set it on fire in the driveway. (An obvious one, yes, but a method I’ve used on crappy drafts in the past. I have stopped doing that, but only because the Mustang has a slow gas leak. Wouldn’t that suck?)

2. Fold it into a paper airplane, launch it, then shoot it down with a BB-gun.

3. Shred it and use it to mulch your garden. Give it a few days, then douse those freakin’ too-cheery blossoms with Roundup.

4. Send it to the Feds as proof there is a conspiracy of mean girls out to get you.

5. Finely shred, mix with canned dog food, feed it to a puppy and then kick the puppy.

6. Crinkle it into a tight ball, sprinkle Comet on it and use it to scour under the rim of your toilet bowl.

7. Make a Mad Lib out of it and play with a friend. Instead of “The heroine was stupid, the hero had no motivation, and the author needs to learn craft” you could have “The heroine was smelly, the hero had no elbows, and the author needs to learn the Macarena“. Much better, no?

8. Finely chop and mix with shredded coconut, then dip in chocolate. Send high-fiber faux-Mounds to reviewer with a very polite “Thank you for taking the time to…” note.

9. Place review in paper feeder, sit on copy machine deck and superimpose your ass over her words. (I recommend not trying this at Staples, though. They’re ridiculously uptight about ass prints on the glass.)

10. Send it to Stayfree to use in their rate-of-absorption blotting tests.

11. Fold it into a lovely and graceful Origami swan, and then step on its little head.

12. (TTs start getting hard around #7, and #12’s a bitch, ain’t it?) Umm…Be really original and line your litter box with it?

13. Learn from it. Unless the reviewer has some whacked personal vendetta against you, chances are she didn’t pull those comments out of her ass just to piss you off.

http://shannonstacey.com/2007/03/29/thursday-thirteen-8-2/