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W R I T I N G W O R L D
A World of Writing Information - For Writers Around the World
http://www.writing-world.com
Issue 5:06 15,200 subscribers March 17, 2005
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SPECIAL NOTICE: Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail; any messages
sent to the listbox address are deleted. See the bottom of this
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CONTENTS
=================================================================
From the Editor's Desk
News from the World of Writing
FEATURE: An Exercise in Essay-Writing, by Sheila Bender
The Write Sites -- Online Resources for Writers
WRITING DESK: How do I set up a home freelance business?
by Moira Allen
JUST FOR FUN: Seven Occupational Hazards of the Writing
Life, by J Wallace
WHAT'S NEW at Writing World
MARKET ROUNDUP/Writing Contests
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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
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It's Alive!
-----------
Normally I use this space to talk about what's new on Writing-
World.com. However, this week I have something else that's new:
A whole new website!
March 15 marked the official launch of "TimeTravel-Britain.com,"
a webzine devoted to historic British travel destinations. The
"launch" issue is packed with articles -- 39 in all -- covering a
wide range of destinations and topics. Our lead feature is a
cluster of articles on Bath, including an article by yours truly
on The Roman Baths. Other articles cover Cornwall's standing
stones, Stonehenge (by Writelink editor Sue Kendrick), Somerset
hill forts, Glastonbury Tor, London parades and pageantry, and
much more. Find out how to spend your holiday in a castle, or
sample British foods traditionally associated with Easter (complete
with recipes!). Plus, we have tons of GORGEOUS photos!
My vision for this site was two-fold. First, I wanted to develop
a spectacular e-zine (which, I confess modestly, I think it is).
Second, I wanted to develop a "historic sites database" that will
cover historic destinations throughout Britain. Ideally, one
will be able to use the database to locate sites by location,
type (e.g., castle, manor, standing stone), and period (Roman,
Elizabethan, etc.).
Thanks to contributing editor Dawn Copeman, we already have an
extensive database of coming events -- last I looked, it
contained more than 1100 events, and it keeps getting bigger.
The rest of the database portion of the site is still under
construction; I hope to have a database of "museums in England"
online sometime in April.
The original plan was to cover England, Scotland and Wales all at
once; however, this proved a bit much to undertake. Therefore,
the site currently focuses on England, and the new plan is to
spin off separate sites for Scotland and Wales sometime this
fall.
Finally, I should mention that the site design is by Doyle
Wilmoth, who is known to many of you as the host of the
SpecFicWorld (http://www.specficworld) website and market
newsletter. Besides providing a beautiful design, Doyle has
managed to drag me, sometimes kicking and screaming, out of my
basic HTML comfort zone and into the world of style sheets and
cgi scripts! (Our own Darcy Lewis, BTW, is providing the "Day
in History" material on the front page that takes advantage of
one of those scripts.)
So if you're a fan of British history or British travel, drop by
and take a look! There's also a free newsletter (or will be)
that will include travel articles, travel news, perhaps some
history news (e.g., the latest archaeological discoveries), and
updates on the site itself. Add us to your favorite links! The
address is:
TimeTravel-Britain.com
http://www.timetravel-britain.com
The Gif that Keeps on Giving...
-------------------------------
Thank you, everyone who offered to help me create animated gifs,
and a special thanks to Jane Lewis, who told me about GifBuilder,
a free shareware program that works even on antique Mac systems
like mine! This program proved remarkably easy to use, and a
bit addictive; I began looking for excuses to crank out more
gifs! So if you'd like to add a nice animated gif (button or
banner) to your website to promote my new site, just go to
http://www.timetravel-britain.com/adm/contact.shtml and scroll
to the bottom of the page.
-- Moira Allen, Editor
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NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF WRITING
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ISBN-13 Education & Project announced
-------------------------------------
On March 4, the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) announced
a new program, the ISBN-13 Education & Support Project, to focus
on assisting book industry organizations prepare for the change
from 10- to 13-digit ISBNs. Laura Dawson, an independent
consultant to the book industry, was appointed Project Manager.
The project will develop ISBN-13 education and public relations
initiatives to serve the industry over the next six months. Using
the BISG web site, collaterals, seminars, presentations, and
other outreach efforts, the project will provide both general
and detailed information on all aspects of ISBN-13, from why and
how to get an ISBN, to the technical specs necessary for
incorporating ISBN-13 into supply-chain databases. In addition to
other initiatives, the project will keep tabs on industry
readiness and offer regular ISBN-13 seminars and presentations
where people will have the opportunity to hear industry experts
present and respond to specific implementation issues. For more
information: http://www.bisg.org
Book fair to rebuild Iraqi libraries
------------------------------------
This week about 300 publishing houses are holding a 10-day book
fair in Amman, Jordan, designed to restore and replenish stocks
at Iraqi libraries and universities. The book fair, titled
"Rebuilding Iraq's Libraries", opened March 10. Long-hailed as an
academic center in the Arab world, Iraq's publishing industry
suffered enormously from sanctions, the war, and Saddam Hussein's
dictatorship. Iraq's national library, home to a number of rare
volumes and the national archives, was ransacked and went up in
flames in the days following the collapse of Saddam's regime.
According to Mudar Zahran, executive director of MOEX
International Exhibitions, the fair's organizer: "The fair will
help Iraqi students go back to their normal study routine by
providing them with the required reference books." US, British,
Indian, and Arab publishing houses will take part in the fair,
displaying over 100,000 titles.
Study finds newspapers floundering
----------------------------------
Newspapers lost readers at a greater rate in 2004 than in
previous years, according to a new study, "The State of the
American News Media, 2005," which was released from the Project
for Excellence in Journalism, and funded by the Pew Charitable
Trusts. "Despite undeniable strengths, 2004 was a tough year for
the newspaper industry, and it isn't because people don't want
to read," Project Director Tom Rosenstiel said. The study
contends that "the news industry is taking the same cautious
pay-as-you-go approach to the Internet that seems likely to cede
ground to non-journalism competitors. Even though online
audiences are growing, 62% of Internet journalists said their
newsrooms have suffered recent cutbacks." The study adds that
hard times will translate into more newsroom cutbacks. Only three
sectors of the news media -- ethnic, alternative, and online --
continued to see steady audience growth. "And while online media
does not generally appear to be cannibalizing the old, there are
some exceptions to that," the report stated. "One is that people
who go to online newspaper sites appear to be spending less time
reading newspapers in print." US daily newspaper circulation,
which has declined by about one-percent per year since 1990,
continued to fall at that rate in 2004. For more information:
http://www.journalism.org
Authors sought
--------------
The Authors Registry has posted a list of about 300 writers for
whom they have collected -- but have not been able to pay
-- $100,000 in royalties. The payments, which range from two
figures up to several thousand dollars, "come primarily from
overseas rights organizations and are collected under blanket
license systems in various countries." The organization notes on
its site, "We have contact information for most of these authors,
but they have failed to respond to our mailings in spite of our
repeated efforts." The "majority" of the authors on the list are
"academic authors." For more information:
http://www.authorsregistry.org/pay.html
Poetry column offered to newspapers
-----------------------------------
This month, US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry
project will offer a free weekly column to newspapers. Each
installment will feature a poem by a living American and a brief
introduction by Kooser. "I want to show that poetry need not be
intimidating, or impossibly difficult," said Kooser.
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AN EXERCISE IN ESSAY-WRITING
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by Sheila Bender
Although it might not be obvious, those of us who write personal
essays can benefit greatly from not knowing what we have to write
about. This is surprising to people who think of the essay as
researched knowledge with a professorial, didactic tone. But to
write an essay is really to "assay" or test out a hypothesis.
If writers walk around with a head full of ideas and think they
have to commit to writing them, they miss the hypothesis part of
the process, the part about finding something of interest to
test. In other words, the essay is an exploration, not an initial
knowing. Because of this, I use exercises for finding topics that
model not knowing as a way of beginning essays.
After providing directions for a series of three freewrites, I
will show you how to mine a collection of such material for
writing an essay.
Freewrite 1
-----------
Go to a place you have not previously used for writing. It can be
the corner of a room or a chair facing a different window than
you usually face; you might sit at a caf or park bench new to
you. Even sitting in your car will work if you park somewhere
other than your habitual spot. Just getting out of the driver's
seat and sitting in the passenger seat can make a parking spot
new for the purposes of this freewrite.
Begin your freewriting by describing where you are and what you
see there. You can add in what you think you will be able to see
in the near future. Then involve your other senses to stay "in
scene" and really deliver the experience of the place you are
describing. A sound or sight, smell or texture, or even the taste
of something you are eating or have waiting for you for lunch
will offer new experiences and associations. Stay specific.
Don't be cursory. Don't write, "Here I am again writing before I
go into work and there are cars as usual and I am tired as
usual."
Instead, stay in the moment and record details from where you
are:
Here I am again writing in my journal before I go into work and I
am parked dangerously close to the white line that separates my
space from the next car's slot. That spot is empty now but within
minutes someone will drive in and our cars shall remain close,
shoulder-to-shoulder, for the eight hours of the workday. I hear
the fibers of my wool scarf like Velcro releasing as I pull the
scarf from off my coat collar and I smell the boiled egg I've
packed in my lunch today and think of the animals that have scent
glands and release smells as warning or to mark territory like
this sandwich might if I left it out on my desk. When I open the
car door, pulling the hard plastic handle will be like a
handshake I don't quite want to make with a person I must depart
from though I don't feel our business is done. I will leave my
scarf in the car so I don't later forget to replace it around my
neck. What secrets does it keep wrapped up here on the seat till
I return? I will enter the cement-chilled air of the basement
garage heading toward the chrome-lined elevator. I will go up and
up, hoping the crowd of my thoughts will stay warm and hatching
until I return.
Freewrite 2
-----------
After writing from where you are, imagine yourself inside a place
you can't really write from, the pantry in your kitchen, a
drawer, or perhaps a window box:
If I were sitting in the window box under the leaves of the
trailing geraniums, I would look down at the impossible height
and draw in my legs under my chin. Would I feel cramped under
scalloped leaves, next to the segmented stems? Would a pink petal
form a little rug at my feet or blanket my knees? Nothing could
protect me from the onrush of the watering hose, the torrents,
the floods. Would I sink into the spongy earth to arise like a
swamp monster or get washed overboard to a new destiny, landing
perhaps upon the heavenly bamboo or the thorned bougainvillea?
Freewrite 3
-----------
Now, open something in print and let your eye fall somewhere on
the page. Use the words your eye falls upon as an opening for
this next exercise. When I last did this exercise, I randomly
opened William Kittredge's collection of essays, "Who Owns the
West?" to page 67 and pointed to these words:
"Tess had worn a little path around the grave. She went down
there and talked to him, she said. I tell him the news, she said.
Like all of us, Ray was given to a love of gossip and scandal."
Knowing this passage was about mourning for the late short story
writer Raymond Carver, whose stories I had recently taught to an
intro to fiction class, I wrote:
Like all of us, author Raymond Carver was given to a love of
gossip and scandal. Although I never knew him, I've read and
enjoyed his short stories, even taught one in particular, "The
Cathedral." In this story, a narrator tells about the overnight
visit of his wife's former boss, a blind man from Seattle. The
narrator is a narrow-minded man with little real connection to
others, and in the course of the evening, he does enjoy a moment
of pure human (and therefore cosmic) connection with the blind
man as they draw a cathedral together. And gossip does seem to
be a way of thinking in this story -- the narrator uses all he
has heard from his wife about this man to build notions about
blindness that keep him from entering the moment. I can certainly
identify since I keep myself from living in the moment by leaning
on structures in my mind. One of those is the to-do list I seem
to carry perpetually.
There are clothes at the cleaners waiting to be picked up, food
to be found at the market, a resume to update and send out, and
evening plans that require I bring a dish for the meal. I have a
set of papers to grade and more e-mail than I want to answer at
the moment waiting on the spool. The cats are out of food and I
have forgotten to cut their nails this month so they are sharp
and leave scratches when they launch from my lap after a moth or
a fly. The outdoor plants need watering, on all three levels of
my home. The jasmine is in bloom. I should fertilize. Measure,
mix, fill the jug, lift the heavy thing and hear the water rush
into the pots. Too much overflow in the dishes beneath the
plants. Must empty that. They don't like to get their feet wet,
my horticultural friend reminded me. No blooms on the
bougainvillea, perhaps over-watering. Container gardening --
there are rewards but the plants suffer if I am not attentive --
cold roots, wet roots, underfed, overfed. White fly, aphids.
Bites out of leaves from something else I haven't seen. Somehow,
the plants survive. Like me!
Mining the Three Freewrites
---------------------------
Whether you have done these freewrites in the course of one
writing session or over several days, to find out what the
freewrites have to tell you about an essay you might write, comb
through them and jot down images and phrases that interest you.
When I look over what I have written, I am grabbed by:
"overwhelmed", "dangerously close to the white line", "shoulder-
to-shoulder", "heavenly bamboo", "thorned bougainvillea", "the
plants survive" and "like me". I don't know why exactly, but
these words and phrases jump out. Next, I'll challenge myself to
write a paragraph that involves them all:
I live in Los Angeles shoulder-to-shoulder with millions, never
far from others in our cars and apartments, on the busy beaches
and walking and biking paths along them. I was overwhelmed the
first year I lived here by the sheer numbers of people, power
poles strung with cable that buzzed audibly night and day,
billboards and clogged freeway lanes. Slowly I came to see what
was planted, first the heavenly bamboo shrubs and of course the
palm trees, draping bougainvillea along the banks up from the
roads and the ficus trees lining the sidewalks. I began to see
the Morton Bay Figs, trumpet vines, stag horn ferns and exotic
fruit trees, the kumquats and pomegranate trees.
It is perhaps not a surprise that distinguishing the plants
coincided with making good friends and finding good work; that
lonely, I saw only roads and cars and masses of people, and now
more connected, I see flowers and trees, the way the people of LA
cultivate what grows in this watered desert. I struggle with my
own container garden. Against pests and fog, my diverse plants
survive. As I water them and watch people of diverse ethnic
groups and cultural backgrounds drive and walk by my balcony, I
realize I have come once again to value the American melting pot
spirit that is alive and thriving in this city of angels and
progress. I have let the American Dream touch me once again.
From here, I could shape an essay that evokes the newly awakened
American dream inside me. I see that I might be talking about a
process of growing numb to the dream for awhile before it
reawakens in me. I could talk about becoming jaded while coming
of age in the '60s when the country was engaged in an unpopular
war, and then again when raising children in the '70s and '80s
and trying to teach environmentalism during a time of abundance
and spoils. Now, watching and listening to people from all over
the world raising families and seeking education, I am revived. I
believe that I could write this view of Los Angeles and of myself
at this point in my life.
Opening ourselves as writers to a state of not knowing exactly
what will happen on our pages allows us to invite topics for
interesting exploration. When we are in this not-knowing state of
being, words come through and we start to figure out the terms of
our explorations. Teasing topics to the page in this way reminds
us that every essay is written in response to the question, "What
do I really know?" Finding out how we can put experience together
into new knowing, we are on a treasure hunt; we search our way
out of the not knowing. This is the spirit that makes our writing
come alive.
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
Sheila Bender is a poet, essayist and book author whose newest
book is "Writing and Publishing Personal Essays". She is also
publisher of Writing It Real, an online premium content magazine
for those who write from personal experience. Visit the site to
read free sample articles and to learn about subscribing as well
as about Sheilaās online and in-person workshops at:
http://www.writingitreal.com
Copyright (c) 2005 by Sheila Bender
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THE WRITE SITES
=================================================================
The Hobson Foundation
---------------------
Offering a $500 Dream Grant for a lucky writer to fulfill his/her
writing dream. Deadline: June 1, 2005
http://www.hobsonfoundation.com
The Writer's Nook
-----------------
An online workshop and resource site for writers of all levels,
whether established or aspiring, student or professional, and
regardless of field or genre.
http://www.twnn.com
Webopedia
---------
The only online dictionary and search engine you need for
computer and Internet technology definitions.
http://www.webopedia.com
12 Exercises for Improving Dialogue
-----------------------------------
How to avoid the pitfalls and master the art of writing good
dialogue.
http://snipurl.com/dczt
Children's Picture Book Database
--------------------------------
Got an new idea for a picture book? Check to see how many books
are published on the topic. Brought to you by the University of
Miami, Ohio.
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/search/
Horror.com
----------
Staci Wilson's guide to horror books and movies, including author
interviews and book reviews.
http://horror.about.com
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SUNPIPER PRESS is dedicated to giving exposure to new, emerging
and established writers. Showcasing poetry, short stories and the
works of self-published writers. Also offers two essay contest
for students. We want you to read AND participate. Join us at
http://www.sunpiperpress.com. Promoting the Voices of Our Future!
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THE WRITING DESK
=================================================================
by Moira Allen
How Do I Set Up A Home Freelance Business?
------------------------------------------
Q: I think I've read far too much about setting up my home
freelance writing business and now I've confused myself. I am in
California. Is it true that the only things you need to do to be
in business are: get a bank account in your company name; do a
DBA in the paper; use your social security number for sole
proprietorship; get a business license.
A: That's pretty much true, but there's also a factor of "it
depends."
If you are just setting yourself up as a freelance magazine
writer -- i.e., someone who sends out articles to publications --
then you often don't even need to do that much. I don't know very
many freelance writers who actually bother to get a business
license for that type of work. However, if you are going to be a
freelance corporate writer -- i.e., doing contract work for
businesses, such as brochures and that sort of thing, or doing
contract editing -- then it's generally better to set yourself up
as an official business.
You only need to set up a DBA if you are "doing business as"
something other than your own name. For example, if you wanted to
set up a business called "Bilodeau Enterprises," you'd need a
DBA to set up that name. (It's very easy to do this -- just
call your smallest local paper and they'll take care of
everything.) If you are doing business as "Sherri Bilodeau,"
that's your own name, not a DBA, so you don't need a DBA.
Yes, your social security number is what you use as a sole
proprietor. This is what you'll put on your tax form under
"employer number."
Regarding getting a bank account in your company name -- if you
do not need to set up a name other than your own, I do not
recommend getting a "business" account. Having a separate account
makes your business finances much easier to track, but business
accounts often seem to be an excuse for banks to charge extra fees
while, in some cases, providing fewer services. There is no law
that requires a business to have a "business" bank account (or, for
that matter, a "business" phone line). Just set up a separate
bank account in your own name that you use exclusively for
business -- the account in which you'll deposit all business
income and write the checks for your business expenses.
If you are setting up a business in a different name, however,
you will need a business account, as you'll need to be able to
demonstrate that YOU are the person entitled to the funds that
come in under your business name. Generally you have to have your
DBA statement in hand, and possibly your business license, before
you can set up a business account.
So the first question you'll need to address is whether you're
doing business under your own name or under another "company"
name. If the latter, then yes, you'll probably need to take all
the steps below. But if not, really, all you need is a separate
bank account.
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
Moira Allen has been writing and editing professionally for more
than 20 years. A columnist for The Writer, she is also the author
of "Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer", "The Writer's
Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals" (now available as an
e-book) and "Writing.com: Creative Internet Strategies to
Advance Your Writing Career". For more details, visit:
http://www.writing-world.com/moira/moira.shtml
Copyright (c) 2005 by Moira Allen
*****************************************************************
JUST FOR FUN: Seven Occupational Hazards of the Writing Life
=================================================================
by J Wallace (jwallace"at"freelance-zone.com)
Earning a living using the written word earns you frustration,
hassles, turning into an annoying person and working with those
even more annoying than you; and thatās just during your time
off. Editors, publishers, agents and other people in the field
are pure joy by comparison. Consider these pitfalls of the writing
life carefully before you decide to take the plunge:
1) Email is ruined forever. You'll never be able to read
someone's email without making mental edits for style and
clarity. "Hmm, Sally is in passive voice a lot today. Someone
really ought to tell her. I mean, really, nobody should say, 'The
Girl Scout bake sale will be held on Friday.'"
2) Signs, menus and marquees become a constant source of
annoyance. You long for an agency to which you can report the
flagrant abuse of the apostrophe. Friends or family physically
restrain you from complaining to the management about a sign
reading "Closed Sunday's" or "Salad's $1.75."
3) You will never read a magazine for pleasure ever again.
Instead, any reading you do have time for is market research.
Your non-writer friends roll their eyes at you for saying this,
until they decide to clean out the garage. Then they will dump
huge piles of defunct magazines on your doorstep because they
know youāre looking for new markets.
4) One sentence: "Hey, youāre a writer; can you help my
husband/sister/boyfriend/house pet with this
essay/contest/resume/job application/letter to the editor?"
5) Your writing career will go through two phases with your
family and friends. The first: "So you want to be a writer, eh?
Good for you. Whatās your real job?" After you make a sale or
two, the tune changes to: "You know something? I always wanted to
be a writer. I think I might start doing that now." Donāt worry,
it only lasts a couple of weeks.
6) Sleep is disrupted forever. Sometimes you will bolt upright in
bed at 3:00 AM with the brilliant idea of the century. You'll
scramble to jot it down, but when the morning comes, you realize
the whole concept was wrong-headed and dumb.
7) If all of the above has tempted you to take a wee drink now
and again to relax and unwind, do not, under any circumstances,
write queries while tipsy. This will cause you many hours of
embarrassment and grief. Protest all you want now, just remember
these words before you hit "send".
If, after reading all this, you're still bent on tackling the
craft, welcome. You are truly one of us -- determined, driven,
and obsessed with writing beyond common sense or reason.
Congratulations, you're probably a good fit, unless you're a
psycho, in which case, please disregard everything you just read.
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
J Wallace has been a military reporter for 13 years, working for
Air Force Radio and Television News in Texas, and in Japan,
Iceland, and now Korea. His recent credits include Indy Slate,
Conscious Choice, AFN Korea.net, and American Fitness.
Copyright (c) 2005 by J Wallace
*****************************************************************
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WHAT'S NEW AT WRITING-WORLD.COM
=================================================================
ARTICLES:
---------
Canning the Spam, by Moira Allen
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/spam.shtml
The Care and Feeding of Fictional Horses, by Mary K. Wilson
http://www.writing-world.com/sf/horses.shtml
The CONTEST DATABASE is back online with updated listings for
March at: http://www.writing-world.com/contests/index.shtml
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FIND 1700 MARKETS FOR YOUR WRITING! Writing-World.com's market
guides offer DETAILED listings of over 1700 markets, with contact
information, pay rates, needs and more. Fourteen themed guides
are available for $2.50 apiece or $25 for the set. For details,
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MARKET ROUNDUP
=================================================================
ONE SOLDIER'S STORY PROJECT
Nathan Webster, Editor
The OSS Project, PO Box 131, Greenland, NH 03833
EMAIL: Questions"at"OneSoldiersStory.com
URL: http://www.onesoldiersstory.com
The One Soldier's Story Project is currently accepting literary
nonfiction personal accounts from soldiers and veterans for a
book-length anthology to be published in 2006. Any US Army soldier
or veteran in service on or after September 11, 2001, is eligible
to submit an account to The Project for consideration. The Project
is a non-partisan, privately-financed enterprise seeking to
publicize the efforts of Army veterans in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
the entire worldwide War on Terror -- in a soldier's own words.
The vast scope of this effort is outside the knowledge of most
Americans, and The Project will enable soldiers to relate their
experiences to this larger audience. Refer to the appropriate
sections on the web site for requirements, guidelines and
suggestions on what to submit for consideration. While a
submission may not be accepted for publication, it will at least
have been put down in words now, before fading memory takes its
toll.
DEADLINE: July 31. 2005
LENGTH: Up to 15,000 words
PAYMENT: Up to $250 on acceptance and $750 on publication; Less
than 1,000 words: $25 on acceptance and $150 on publication;
Story excerpt: $25-$75
REPRINTS: No
RIGHTS: Exclusive hardcover and paperback publication rights
SUBMISSIONS: By mail, or email with MS Word attachment to:
submissions"at"onesoldiersstory.com
GUIDELINES: http://www.onesoldiersstory.com/submitting/index.html
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE PEACE LOVER'S SOUL
Dr. C. Carter
4567 St. Johns Bluff Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32224-2676
URL: http://chickensoup.peacestories.info/
Write an exciting, sad or funny story about how peacemaking
happened for you or someone you know. Make sure that you describe
the character(s). Write your story in a way that will emotionally
affect the reader resulting with smiles, deep admiration or
tears. Don't leave anything out that demonstrates the feeling of
the people in the story. Show with your writing how everyone
felt. The story should start with action; it should include a
problem or possibly violent conflict that was peacefully
resolved. It should include dialogue and the readers should know
the characters' feelings throughout the resolution of their
conflict. It should end with a positive outcome. Stories must be
true.
LENGTH: 300-1,200 words
PAYMENT: $300
RIGHTS: Non-exclusive rights, author retains copyright
REPRINTS: Yes
SUBMISSIONS: By mail, fax, or use online submission form
GUIDELINES: http://chickensoup.peacestories.info/
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
VACANT FUNHOUSE
Maggie Cheyne, Editor
EMAIL: editor"at"vacantfunhouse.com
URL: http://vacantfunhouse.com
The Vacant Funhouse is a bi-monthly webzine featuring original
works of horror, dark mystery, crime and suspense. Since this is
a new publication, we are open to different types of tales but
the stories themselves should be intriguing and disturbing. Send
a tale that makes us think about it days after weāve read the
last word. Supernatural, psychological, stories with a twist are
welcome. We also like traditional horror -- werewolves, vampires
and monsters of the night. Query for longer or previously
published stories. We also publish dark poetry, query for longer
poems. We like poems with strong imagery. We are also interested
in short reviews of related websites, books and short stories.
LENGTH: Fiction: 2,500 words or less; Poetry: 30 lines or less;
Reviews: 300 words
PAYMENT: Fiction: 5 cents/word; Poetry: $1/line; Reviews: $15
REPRINTS: Query first
RIGHTS: All rights revert to the author upon publication.
SUBMISSIONS: Submissions via email only. Attachments are
preferred but submissions pasted in the body of email okay. Use
these addresses: Fiction Submissions: fiction"at"vacantfunhouse.com
Poetry Submissions: poetry"at"vacantfunhouse.com
GUIDELINES: http://vacantfunhouse.com/guidelines.html
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
Please send Market News to: peggyt"at"siltnet.net
"FNASR": First North American Serial Rights, "SASE":
self-addressed, stamped envelope, "GL": guidelines. If you have
questions about rights, please see "Rights: What They Mean and
Why They're Important"
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/rights.shtml
*****************************************************************
WRITING CONTESTS
=================================================================
This section lists contests that charge no entry fees. For more
contests, check our online contests section.
http://www.writing-world.com/contests/index.shtml
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest
DEADLINE: April 15, 2005
GENRE: Middle grade novel
OPEN TO: Writers over 21, who have not been previously published
LENGTH: 100-300 manuscript pages
THEME: HarperCollins Children's Books has established an annual
first-fiction contest in the name of legendary children's
publisher Ursula Nordstrom (1910-1988) to encourage new talent in
the writing of innovative and challenging middle grade fiction.
PRIZE: Contract for a hardcover edition, $7,500 advance, and
$1,500 cash award.
ELECTRONIC ENTRY: No
ADDRESS: Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest, HarperCollins
Children's Books, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
10019
URL: http://www.harperchildrens.com/writingcontest/
>>-----------------------------------------------------<<
Paul Zindel First Novel Award
DEADLINE: April 30, 2005
GENRE: Novel for 8-12 year olds
OPEN TO: US writers over 18 who have not been previously
published.
LENGTH: 100-240 manuscript pages
THEME: Hyperion Books for Children and Jump at the Sun announce
the third annual Paul Zindel First Novel Award for a work of
contemporary or historical fiction set in the US that reflects
the diverse ethnic and cultural heritage of our country. Each
manuscript must be accompanied by an entry form which can be
printed online.
PRIZE: Contract for world rights including hardcover, paperback,
e-book, $7,500 advance, and $1,500 cash award
ELECTRONIC ENTRY: No
ADDRESS: Paul Zindel First Novel Award, Hyperion Books for
Children, PO Box 6000, Manhasset, NY 11030-6000
URL: http://www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com/contests.asp
*****************************************************************
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To order, visit http://www.writing-world.com/bookstore/index.shtml
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