Happy Holidays
More Article Assignments
What’s Enough
Research?
Karen’s Fiction
Korner
The Published Poet
Writing a Non-Fiction
Book Proposal
Google Introduces
a New Research Tool
No Taxation on the
Internet
Information Wanted
More Research Sources
Roswell Says
The Bulletin Board
The Booksite
Happy Holidays
I want to wish every
subscriber a happy holiday season. The holidays in California are not quite like
the ones I knew growing up in Spokane Washington. We always had snow for the holidays. It was great. But here in Grass Valley
we do have Cornish Christmas which Karen mentions in her Fiction Korner this month. Also welcome to our worldwide subscribers,
we add more and more of them each month.
More Article Assignments?
Query More
This falls under
the category of once you sell an editor one article, send him another query—and keep them coming. I used to send out
dozens of queries every month. Then once I had a regular routine going, I would send two or three ideas in the same query.
Sometimes they were only one paragraph long.
I also, printed
a four-page query for trade journals with 12 articles per page. The first one of these I sent out brought 52 assignments.
I have also seen picture query letters that work well for smaller general magazines. I know one article writer working the
juvenile religious market who uses a one-page query with 6 pictures, 2 lines per picture. This keeps the writers name out
there…and the assignments flowing in.
Study the magazines
Every magazine has
a focus and a slant. Every article in Popular Science, for instance, looks at the world through a what’s new filter.
Nearly every article focuses on the cutting edge. Here are the featured stories in a recent issue. “Military Tech
Versus Street Tech” Who’s Got the Edge?” This article talks about the latest gadgets including the Hummer
and compares military to civilian. Is Science Fiction About to Go Blind? In
this era of radical technological change a few writers dare to envision the near future.
This article focuses on what a few writers envision for the future. Childhood’s End: A visit with Arthur C.
Clarke in his Sri Lankan villa. The legendary prognosticator’s thoughts on what’s next. You can see the what’s
new angle here.
Wingtip to wingtip
at 450 mph! 30 Feet above the Ground! Sideways! Two superstar pilots get set
to square off for the first time at the Reno air races. This is also
a first and taps into the interest their readers have in flying. The whole article looks into the future
Never send an article
to an editor until you understand the magazine’s focus and you have focused your article the same way.
Think Volume
The more articles you have out the more acceptances you are going to get. I always tried to keep a
lot of queries going. It depended on which magazines I was aiming for. In my trade journal days I tried to keep about 20 articles
out at all times. I was at one point selling so many articles that I filled complete issues of one magazine under different
names. Some months I had articles in four or five magazines in the same field.
Remember, the more queries you write the higher your income. Think of it as completing a circle. The answer is always volume.
Let Another Freelancer
Motivate You: I’ve talked about this before but in one stage of
my freelancing, I met Frank Zdy who challenged me at every turn. We used to have contests. If he had a trade journal article
assignment I had to match him. If he were working on an article in one retail store, I would go next door, and also find a
salable article. This worked fine until the next-door store was out of business. That’s when it challenged my ingenuity.
What’s Enough Research?
The rule I use is
to do just enough research to write your Query. Some people do elaborate research before they write one word. That’s
fine if the article sells. If not, they’ve wasted time. I always run my idea through www.findarticles.com I find that almost any subject will produce half a dozen magazine articles. From this I can usually find
enough information to write the query sometimes three or four queries. Once I get a go ahead or an assignment I do the rest
of the research.
Karen’s Fiction Korner
By
Karen Newcomb
My goodness now
it’s time to wish everyone happy December holidays.
December always
reminds me of a time when I was asked to write a Christmas article on the main street of our little town of Grass Valley…and
why I don’t particularly like writing articles.
Grass Valley shines
during the winter holiday in many ways. Located about 65 miles northeast of Sacramento,
California and nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, it’s an original 1849 gold mining town. Mill Street continues to be the “main street” and still features many of the old buildings
of that era, although most have burned down at one time or another and been restored.
Today, the town maintains its 49er era flavor especially during the holidays.
I decided to write
the article from the viewpoint of what a tourist could expect to see, hear, taste and feel if they were walking down the street. The gaslight lampposts are usually brightly lit and festooned with greenery. At the time of the article there were different stores than there are today. One was a coffee store where they roasted, ground and blended their beans right in
the store. The smell was heavenly and drew you to that location. The shop has since moved to a side street. There were kitchen
stores, dress shops, antique and hardware stores, shoe stores and of course the 1930’s era theater. I walked into each store and presented its best feature to the reader.
I brought to their attention the window decorations. I mentioned the Cornish
Christmas Street fair, the Union Newspaper building. The Cornish choir and other things the town is known for at this time
of year.
To my chagrin the
editor of the small newspaper told me the article wouldn’t do at all. I
was told I didn’t understand what a newspaper was all about and that the businesses that had ads in the paper wouldn’t
want non-ad businesses to get any kind of publicity.
I thought about
the editor’s shortsightedness for a long time. Weren’t the people
reading the paper more important than an advertiser? Evidently not. And…had the editor ever thought that maybe they
would get new advertisers if the businesses could read about themselves in the paper?
I guess not, the paper went out of business. I decided to leave article
writing to Duane and his many students. Although…I’m thinking about
rewriting a similar article and going out to magazines this time. The quaint
shops have mostly been replaced with wine tasting rooms, modern type clothing stores and an upscale pet store that I’m
sure is bound to go out of business with their prices. But the bookstore remains,
as does the furniture store, a pasties shop, and the old theater that has recently been restored. December is still a treasured time on Mill Street and if we’re lucky we might even get a dusting
of snow on Christmas Eve.
The point of the
story? Editors want what they want and my experience should alert any writer
to do their homework before submitting to any publisher, magazine or newspaper.
Have a happy holiday! We’ll return to developing fictional characters in January.
The Published Poet
By Michelle Ailene
True
michelleailenetrue@yahoo.com
www.michelleailenetrue.com
“Poetry Reading
Tips for a Great Performance”
Poetry
is more than just thoughts in the mind or words on the page. Rhythm and rhyme,
alliteration and emotion are critical to the understanding of poetry. When writers
promote their books, one of the methods is to do book signings. Poets are lucky
in that they can also offer a poetry reading. Of course, a romance novelist can
read a steamy love scene and a mystery writer can read a particularly suspenseful section of their book. However, the poet is truly blessed, because poetry is meant to be heard; it must be heard in order to be
fully appreciated. The author is the best person to properly express the heart
of the poem. It’s important for all aspiring poets wishing to eventually
get published to learn how to properly perform their work in a poetry reading.
Below are some tips that will help you bring your poetry to life in an entertaining and memorable manner.
· Speak clearly. It’s not only difficult
to understand when a speaker doesn’t annunciate well, it also distracts from the poem and your audience will not get
to hear the poetry you are reading. Make sure to sound out your words so that
you are not mumbling them. When your words run together and are not pronounced
clearly, the audience struggles to make sense of them and will not really hear the poem.
· Adjust your volume! If people can’t
hear you, what is the point in reading your work to them? All open mikes have
a microphone and speaker; make sure you are putting your mouth close enough to the mike so that your words can be heard! If there is no mike, you can make sure those in the back of the room can hear
you by simply asking! Also make sure you don’t see people wincing because
you are talking too loud. You might write great poetry, but if you are too loud
or too quiet, no one will pay attention to it!
· Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. If
you are using the words or pronouncing them incorrectly, your credibility as a writer will be hurt. It will also cause your audience to think about the mistake, rather than the poem. Make sure you have commas, semi-colons, periods, and other punctuation marks in the spots where you will
make appropriate pauses in your reading.
· Adjust your speed! Some people are so anxious
or nervous about reading their poetry that they read it very quickly to get it over with.
Again that only serves the purpose of people not being able to hear your poem because they are too busy trying to determine
what you said in the last stanza. Ease up on the coffee, take a few deep breaths
before walking up to the podium, and slow it down! Just don’t
read too slowly or your audience is likely to start yawning!
· Make eye contact. Poets aren’t expected
to memorize their work, but you really need to make eye contact with the audience in order to reach them on an emotional and
personal level. Before you start a new stanza, look up, meet someone’s
eyes and hold their gaze for second or two before returning to your paper.
Look at different people throughout the room each time. Otherwise it appears
you’re reading for and to yourself, not the audience.
· Be emotional when appropriate! Poetry readings
are great opportunities for drama! Smile if it’s a happy poem; be solemn
if it’s serious or sad, etc.
· Pay attention to other poetry readers. See
if you can spot the mistakes they are making and make a mental note to yourself to be sure not to repeat those mistakes. If someone is a great reader, why? You
can learn from both poor and good speakers.
· Practice in front of your mirror and/or video camera!
Better yet, practice in front of friends or family and get advice from those who care about you!
Many
people don’t know how to make their poetry readings more enjoyable for their audience, so they keep making the same
mistakes, never really reaching their audience, never quite making that important connection.
Keeping these tips in mind and working on them each time you read your poetry will help make your readings more enjoyable
for your audience as well as for yourself!
Next Month: Starting
a Poetry Writers Group (Part 1 of 2)
In addition to writing “The Published Poet” column for The Professional Authors
Newsletter, Michelle Ailene True is the author of "True Reflections," which can be ordered through any local bookstore
or online at www.amazon.com and other book internet sites. You can also ask your
library to order it! Michelle's second book of poetry, "True Emotions,"
will be released in early 2005. She is currently writing her third book of poetry
("True Memories") a non-fiction book and a science fiction book. Michelle
operates a poetry writers group and an online poetry magazine. She mentors
high school students interested in a writing career and reads her work at local poetry open mikes and plans to start hosting
her own poetry open mike sometime in 2005. Michelle is a member of the Arlington
Poetry Project, a group of poets that meets twice a month to perform public poetry readings.
She is also a member of the Illinois State Poetry Society, Chicago Writers Association and Barrington Area Arts Council.
Writing a Non-Fiction Book Proposal
I often hear writers
say. Writing a proposal is a snap. Then when I see the finished proposal I can see that it’s not going to sell the book. Why not? Because a book proposal has a definite format the publishers wants you to
follow. It’s also has to hook the editor and offer a unique angle.
Books as most of
you already know, are not sold on the basis of a book, but on the basis of a 5-30 page selling proposal, outline and one to
three sample chapters. Ordinarily no agent can sell anything without a proposal—nor
can the author sell it to a publisher without one. If the editor is interested,
the "proposal" is taken to an editorial board who can make an offer. They then
give you a contract to write the book and an advance.
Proposal: A proposal
is not a sample of the book but a sales brochure that is used by an editor to convince the editorial board to publish the
book. Whether the book is published at all, and the amount of the advance, depends almost entirely on the quality of the proposal...not
on the quality of the book (above a certain point).
The proposal consists
of an About The Book section (3 to 10 pages) a section which establishes the Market for the book (1 to 2 pages), a Comparison
with other books on the market (1 to 2 pages) and the Author's Credentials (1/2
to 2 pages).
About the Book (the
proposal summary): The proposal summary must (1) hook the editor with a one to
two paragraph opening. (2) Detail clearly and explicitly what the book is about—especially explain what it will offer
the reader, and (3) explain to the editor exactly how you intend to put this book together.
When finished yours should run 3 to 4 pages (sometimes more) I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to
take time and do the best job possible on this portion.
Marketing Section: - a one page marketing
section. Think this through, define your market as carefully as possible and try to tie the book to the reader by stressing
what it will do for him or her. The editorial board loves demographics so break
out the market statistically as much as possible.
This section is
one of the most important parts of the proposal. This gets driven home to me
over and over. One of my clients keeps running into sales managers who reject
the book even though the majority of the committee wants to make an offer. You
must do the best job you can in this section because the bottom line is... will this book sell?
Promotional Section: As you know the requirements for a promotional
section have changed. I have seen some that run pages and pages. Large publishers like to see names of the TV shows you have
been on including the names of the producers. They also often like to see a list of the reviewers at particular magazines
you intend to go to. These can go on for pages. Some authors also put in here
that they are committed to investing up to 50% of their advance to promote the book
Competitive Books: Again, you need
a separate page to compare your book with others now on the market. You must
find the 4 or 5 major books that fit in this ballpark, describe the book briefly, and tell why your book is going to do a
better job, reach a different audience, or fill a gap in the information; you can often do this by reading about the book
and the reviews on www.amazon.com
Biography (About the Author):
Your bio needs to
explain why you are qualified to write this book. Put this first. We need anything
else that might qualify you to write this book…research and interviews with experts and so forth. Include a brief mention
of the other writing you’ve done, even poetry. Degrees and organizations you belong to go at the end.
Outline: The outline is a Table of
Contents with a several paragraph summary for each chapter. We may also
want to put in a list of the chapters before we write the complete outline.
The
outline must also be a sales tool. First it lets the editorial board get a quick look through the book, and later can be used
as a table of contents, it helps entice potential readers to buy and read the book.
Some proposal experts call for extensive outlines. I find this to be counterproductive. I have over 200 client books
in print all the result of a good proposal with the outline restricted to 2 or three paragraphs per chapter. These paragraphs
must not only explain what the chapter is about but what it will do for the reader. Always emphasize this.
Duane Newcomb
is always happy to help new clients with their proposals. For more information click
http://www.thebooksite.net/id8.html
GOOGLE INTRODUCES NEW RESEARCH TOOL. Google scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses,
books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all
broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles
from a wide
variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint
repositories and universities
http://scholar.google.com/scholar/about.html.
http://www.econtentmag.com/NewsLetters/NewsletterReader.aspx?NewsletterID=216#1
http://ct.eletters.whatsnewnow.com/rd/cts?d=181-357-1-278-295257-15104-0-0-0-1
No Taxation on Internet
Congress just passed a three-year ban on
state and local governments' taxation of the monthly fees that Internet providers charge their customers. The former ban expired a year ago and many writers feared we would face an additional state tax on our
phone. You can relax for a bit longer.
Information Wanted
If you are an author researching a book and
need information or stories, maybe our readers can help. Simply submit you needs and I will list them in this section. Please
try to keep your requests to 20 to 30 words.
More Research Sources
Isn’t the
Internet great? I thought it was easy when I had to use the telephone all the
time. Now it’s a snap to find and interview several hundred thousand university experts on many subjects. Every university has a news bureau that is ready and welling to help you find almost anything and to offer
university experts you can interview by telephone or by e-mail.
I have given you an example below. The first Internet address gives you access
to all four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The second connects you directly to the news bureau at the
University of Colorado. Below also are the history experts you can access at that university for information and interviews.
These are just 16 out of several hundred experts available at the University of Colorado. Every University in the United States
offers similar expert access. Go on the news service site just to familiarize yourself with what’s available. Some offer
a newsletter with article suggestions
www.utexas.edu/world/univ
http://www.colorado.edu/news
Office of News Services
584 UCB • Boulder, CO 80309-0584 • 303-492-6431 • FAX: 303-492-3126
• cunews@colorado.edu
HISTORY
Fred Anderson, professor
History
American
Revolution; early national history.
(303)492-4397
Fred.Anderson@Colorado.EDU
Barbara Engel, professor
History
Russian
and European women's history.
(303) 492-6831
Barbara.Engel@Colorado.EDU
Julia Greene, associate professor
History
Labor
history; American labor movement; Labor Day; 20th century American politics; party history; women in politics; Ku Klux Klan.
(303)
492-5027, 492-6683
Julia.Greene@Colorado.EDU
Martha Hanna, associate professor
History
19th
and 20th century French history, modern Europe.
(303) 492-8373, 492-6683
Martha.Hanna@Colorado.EDU
Robert Hohlfelder, professor
History
Ancient
history; Israel; underwater archaeology.
(303) 492-7605, 492-6683
Robert.Hohlfelder@Colorado.EDU
Susan D. Jones, professor
History
History
of animal care; history of science and medicine in the U.S.; environmental history.
(303) 492-2931
Susan.D.Jones@Colorado.EDU
Padraic Kenney, associate professor
History
Eastern
European history and politics; Poland, Bosnia, Balkans and Yugoslavia.
(303) 492-5729, 492-6683
Padraic.Kenney@Colorado.EDU
Patricia Limerick, professor
History
History
of the West; Colorado history; women and minorities in the West; land use issues and conflicts.
(303) 735-0104, 492-6683
Patricia.Limerick@Colorado.EDU
Ralph Mann, associate professor
History
U.S.
Civil War.
(303) 492-8254, 492-6683
Ralph.Mann@Colorado.EDU
Chidiebere Nwaubani, assistant professor
History
History
of Africa.
(303) 492-5050
Chidiebere.Nwaubani@Colorado.EDU
Anne Marie Pois, senior instructor
Women's
Studies
American women's history; American history.
(303) 492-0845, 492-8923
Anne.Pois@Colorado.EDU
Robert Schulzinger, professor
History
History
of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy, U.S. Congress; history and politics of Vietnam; Henry Kissinger.
(303) 492-7529,
492-6683
Robert.Schulzinger@Colorado.EDU
William Wei, professor
History
Chinese
history; Asia and Asian-American history.
(303) 492-7655, 492-3378, 492-6004
William.Wei@Colorado.EDU
Timothy Weston, assistant professor
History
Modern
China; political movements in China, esp. students and intellectuals; China-United States relations.
(303) 492-3526
Weston@Colorado.EDU
Marcia Yonemoto, assistant professor
History.
Japanese
history.
(303) 492-1729
Marcia.Yonemoto@Colorado.EDU
Tom Zeiler, professor
History
U.S.
foreign policy and international trade; Kennedy-Johnson administration.
(303) 492-2569, (303) 322-0797
Thomas.Zeiler@Colorado.EDU
Roswell Says:
“Don’t
say I didn’t tell you. I sold my novel and they’re giving me $17,000 in advance. Whew! So much for those of you
who said Roswell is no writer. Read this letter from a major publisher and weep.
‘Dear Roswell:
The minute your
novel came in there has been an air of excitement around our office. Now every editor here has read it and I’ll give
you a few comments. “The best thing we have ever read.” “Great,”
“I couldn’t put it down, in fact I’m rereading The Fabulous Adventures of Roswell Newcomb for the third
time.” “This author will go far.”
“I’m
sending you a contract today. Simply fill it out and send us a check for $17,000. We will get started immediately. You will
receive 200 copies on publication, our entire support here including the effort of our book publicity department and a subscription
to our newsletter How to Market Your Book. .
Congratulations
Thomas L. Greedy
World Wide Vanity Press
New York.
$17,000! The world knows I can use it. I’m being paid a pittance
here to do all the work, but I’m not going to quit my job until the check comes.
If you want to congratulate me, please e-mail me at dnew@thegrid.net Please specify
it is for “Roswell.”
Roswell Newcomb,
Managing Editor and Office Dog
====================================
The Bulletin Board: Nationwide Writing Announcements
Clubs
and writers can now send me notice of events. Each month I will post the announcements
that come in. I welcome material from all over the United States and Canada. If
it pertains to writing and fits The Professional Author Newsletter format I will put it in. When this section outgrows the
newsletter we will put it out as a supplement each month. All announcements are free. We do not take paid advertising.
Sacramento,
CA: California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch presents the Sell
What You Write Workshop Series. Write and Sell your Articles, February 5, 2005, Duane Newcomb Author of several
thousand articles and 32 books…Write It Right, Simplified Grammar for Writers, April 2, 2005,Bobbie Jorgensen…Northern
California’s Clear Writing Authority… How to Write and Sell Your Novel, June 11, 2005. Author of Grizzly Adams
and 54 other novels. All workshops are held on Saturday, 9:00am to
3:00 pm at Luau Garden 1890 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA (across from Arden Fair Mall next to Mervyn’s). All interested writers welcome. Each five hour session: Members: $40, non-members $50 (Includes lunch)
For more information and to obtain a registration form contact Karen Newcomb knew@thegrid.net or 530-273-7235..
Chicago: Poetry Book Editing Services Michelle
Ailene True Chicago, will proofread your poetry book and recommended changes/edits to include: Spelling errors, wrong
word usage (i.e., too instead of to) grammatical usage, punctuation, tense, voice. If your manuscript requires extensive revision,
she will contact you with an estimate and/or alternative suggestions, before she begins.
Rate: $1 per page of poetry. Send a check or money order to: Michelle True P.O. 7387 Buffalo Grove,
IL 60089-7387 email your poetry in MS Word, WordPerfect or Text format to: michelleailenetrue@yahoo.com. She will let you know when to expect its return.
San Francisco The 2005 San Francisco Writers Conference offers an extraordinary 3-day program taught
by a faculty of best selling authors, agents and editors from the West Coast and New York. The event will be held at the Sir
Francis Drake Hotel over President’s Day Weekend—February 18-20th, 2005.
The list of 2005 San Francisco Writers Conference presenters includes: John Lescroart (The First
Law), Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club), Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Joyce
Maynard (To Die For), Mary Roach (STIFF, The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers), Adair Lara (Slowing Down
In A Speeded-Up World), and many more.
An optional ‘Speed Dating for Agents’ session during the conference is designed for
writers in search of a literary agent. The session is open to SFWC attendees for $30. Speed Dating for Agents is described
in detail on the event website. The registration fee is $395 until November 30, $425 until January 15, and $495 thereafter.
415-673-0939 or toll free 866-862-SFWC (7392).www.sanfranciscowritersconference.com
========================================
========================================
The Booksite
Duane Newcomb’s On Line Author’s
Magazine:
www.thebooksite.com
The Booksite contains information on agents, writer’s conferences, writer’s clubs, fiction,
poetry, copyright, fair usage, time management for writers, publicizing your book and a lot more. I add to this every month
so the booksite is constantly growing. This year we have a 500% increase in visitor traffic. Check it out for yourself.
Need on-going article critique? Sign up for Duane Newcomb’s on-line article program
The California Writer’s Academy:
www.bookforce.bizland/californiawritersacademy
The Perfect Christmas Gift: Give a young writer an online writing course for Christmas. www.bookforce.bizland/californiawritersacademy
The
Professional Author Newsletter To subscribe, e-mail me at: dnew@thegrid.net. Send The Newsletter to a writing friend.
Duane’s Speaking Schedule
Saturday Feb.
5, 2005: Duane Newcomb will conduct the Write and Sell Your Articles
workshop for the California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch, Saturday February 5th, 9:00 a.m. to 3:p.m. at Luau
Garden 1890 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA (across from Arden Fair Mall next to Mervyn’s).
All interested writers welcome. Members: $40, non-members $50 (Includes lunch) For more information and to obtain a
registration form contact Karen Newcomb knew@thegrid.net or 530-273-7235.
Saturday May
21st, 2005: How to find 20 to 30 Markets for Every Article
Idea: California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch, Monthly meeting, Luau Garden 1890 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA (across
from Arden Fair Mall next to Mervyn’s). !2 noon. Lunch $11:00 members,
$13 non-members.. All writers welcome. For reservations call Nancy Ware 916-489-7923
or Pati Costa 530-346-6461.
Want Duane to
Speak to your group? http://bookforce.bizland.com/id62.html
========================================
The Professional
Author Newsletter, Copyright © 2004. You have my permission to use all
or part in your newsletter just include name credit and contact information. (Duane Newcomb. dnew@thegrid.net www.bookforce.bizland.com
P.O. Box 190 Penn
Valley, CA 95946- Phone 530-273-7235. E-mail dnew@thegrid.net www.bookforce.bizland.com
To subscribe, click
here and write subscribe. dnew@thegrid.net
To unsubscribe click
here and write unsubscribe. dnew@thegrid.net
In either case give
me a name and an e-mail address.
