NOVEMBER 2004

DENTON WRITERS LEAGUE
FIRST EDITION
NOVEMBER 2004 VOL. 15 NUMBER 11

If you would like a copy of the newsletter e-mailed to you instead of through the US post, please contact George Avera or Joni Latham.

WHERE WE MEET AND WHEN

The second Saturday of every month, at the

Denton Library-North Branch - click here for map
3020 N. Locust St (corner of Windsor St & N. Locust St)
Denton, TX

General Meeting 10:30 a.m.

Lunch at Noon at the
Evergreen Super Buffet - click here for map
1006 W. University Dr
Denton, TX 76201

NEXT MEETING: NOVEMBER 13, 2004

Guest Speakers

November 13 - Gloria Oliver
December 11 - General Meeting
January 8 - TBD
February 12 - Cindy Daniel
March 12 - TBD
April 9 - TBD
May 14 - TBD

GUEST SPEAKER

Gloria Oliver lives in The Colony, Texas in her own corral round up with her husband, daughter, three cats, and hyper ferret. She is the author of the novel In the Service of Samurai, and Vassal of El, both in the Fantasy genre. Has also had the short story "The Bubbas of Troy County" included in the Yard Dog Press anthology The Four Bubbas of the Apocalypse, as well as three flash stories in the anthology Small Bites. When not busy working with numbers at work, she enjoys reading, writing, watching movies, Japanese Anime, trying to learn Japanese, and making her mind mush by translating Japanese comics.

OCTOBER MEETING RECAP

How to Position, Pitch and Place Your Article or Book Idea? During the October meeting not only did Pamela Stone answer this question but she also shared her own experiences.

Know Your Market - You must know what is popular and what people are buying. Keep abreast of current events and hot issues. Read, listen, watch, and surf. Read a variety newspapers (local and nationwide) and magazines (current events, women's issue, pets, and kids). Listen to newsradio and talk shows. Watch news and information shows. Surf the internet, perusing such sites as ivillage.com, aol.com, and about.com.

Position Your Book or Article - Research is very important. You need to research the group you want to reach with the book or article. You must know what topics are important to them and how many of them there are (ie, half of women over age 54 are divorced and unmarried). Once you've pinpointed your audience, write the article or book to address the important topic or topics. Put a lot of effort into the choosing of the title. It is the first and many times the only thing the reader will see, so it needs to grab their attention with just a glance.

Place Your Book or Article - Once you've developed your idea and pitch, then you can try to place it. Research to find out what a particular editor or magazine publishes before trying to pitch an idea. Study Bacon's Newspaper Directory, other media guides and Internet sites to find the editor's names. Remember, pitch the right ideas to the right editor. Always have a 30 second presentation ready to pitch anywhere to anyone. You never know when you might run into an editor in an elevator. Cite any statistics you gathered on your target group. Editors and publishers love statistics.

Don't give up! Keep pitching and selling!

Resources:

Writer'sWeekly.Com - http://writersweekly.com/ (a newsletter on what publishers are buying.
Publisher's Weekly - http://www.publishersweekly.com/ (a good source to find out what publishers are buying)
FreeLance Work Exchange - http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com/ (Pamela mention freelanceaccess.com in the meeting but I could never pull up the address or find a site by that name.)
Worldwide Freelance Writer - http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/links.htm (I found this one when I was looking for the Freelance Access. It has a good page of links and other information.)

Five Tips to Get Published - ASAP!
By Beth Ann Erickson
There are hundreds of variables that can determine how quickly you’ll get published. The economy and financial condition of a publication can determine how many freelance articles they purchase. Maybe you can hit an editor on a bad day and he/she hates everything he/she reads, even your manuscript.
As you can see, many of these variables are out of your control.
That’s the bad news. But here’s the good news. There are variables you control, and how you treat these variables will have a direct influence on how often you get published.
Here are five basic tips you can use on a daily basis that will enhance your chances of hitting pay dirt. Here they are:
1. Learn everything you can about your craft.
Attend classes. Read writing books. Subscribe to e-mags that will help your career. Just like a carpenter who must purchase tools so he can practice his craft, you must invest in the tools that will make you a better writer than your competition.
2. Read everything you can get your hands on.
Read fiction, nonfiction, direct mail, read everything you can find. When you become a voracious reader, you become a better writer. There are no short cuts. So turn off the television. Crack open a book. And have a ball.
3. Target the publications you want to write for – then become familiar with them.
Subscribe to the magazines you want to write for. Purchase books in your genre. Get on GOOD direct mail mailing lists. If you’re short on cash, visit your library on a regular basis and read books and magazines there.
When you’re paging through your target magazines or books from a publisher you’re planning on contacting, try to visualize their ideal reader. Then as you write, write directly to that reader. An editor who knows you’ve taken the time to research their company will be FAR more willing to give your manuscript a read-through.
4. Read EVERYTHING you send out aloud.
You’ll catch typos, grammos, and generally dumb sentences when you read EVERYTHING you write aloud. I read The Almach aloud at least three times. Jumpstart went through the same process. Reading your manuscripts aloud will not guarantee that they’ll be perfect, but you’ll discover that your writing is much easier to read after this exercise. It takes time but it’s worth it. Just purchase some throat lozenges (I use Jolly Ranchers) and get going.
5. Never give up, never give up, never give up.
Write on a daily basis. It’s easy to get discouraged when a rejection letter flows in. But having a number of queries floating around in cyberspace keeps that little flame of hope burning bright. I’m thoroughly convinced that the only way we can fail as writers is if we give up. As long as you don’t give up, you’ll definitely be published. Eventually.
If these tips sound like a lot of work, they are. But the work you put into honing your writing and researching your target publications will be reflected in the number of acceptance letters you receive.
These simple tips will make your writing absolutely sparkle when the editor reads your words. You’ll outshine your competition. And when you outshine your competition, you’ve just enhanced your chances of getting published.
About the Author
Beth Ann Erickson is the publisher of Writing Etc., the free e-mag for writers. Make Your Writing Sparkle. Write Killer Queries. Get Published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the FREE e-mag for writers. Receive the e-booklet "Power Queries" when you subscribe.
© Copyright 2003 Beth Ann Erickson
Reprinted from Worldwide Freelance Writer http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/

On-Line Writers resources

Author's Network-for writers about writing based in Europe, but interesting- http://www.author-network.com/
Copyright Forms- http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/
Dallas Sceen Writers- http://www.dallasscreenwriters.com/
Denton Public Library - http://www.cityofdenton.com/pages/library.cfm
National Association of Women Writers - http://www.naww.org
National Writers Union - http://www.nwu.org/
New Writer's Market http://hge.members.atlantic.net/
Para Publishing Website - a good writing, publishing, and promotion source - http://parapub.com/getpage.cfm?file=/homepage.html&user=#user
Preditors and Editors-a resources to check out agents and publishers http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
Ralan's Webstravaganza-speculative fiction resource http://ralan.com/
Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators - http://www.scbwi.org/
Texas Coalition of Authors, Inc. - http://www.texasauthors.org/
Texas Writers League - http://www.writersleague.org/
The Market List-the online resource for genre fiction writers http://www.marketlist.com/
The Novelist's Workshop-essays and advice on how to publish your book- http://www.monash.com/writers.html
Writer's Exchange - http://www.writers-exchange.com/epublishing/
Writer's Market - http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp
Writers Net-source for information for writers, editors, agents, and publishers - http://www.writers.net
Writing-World.Com - http://www.writing-world.com
The Zuzu's Petals Literary Resource Homepage-for both writers and poets- http://www.zuzu.com/
There are multitudes of writing resources available on the Internet. Go to any search engine and ask for writer's resources, writer's markets, writer's contests, writer's conferences, etc

DWL OFFICERS:

President       Joni Latham ( joni1957@verizon.net) - 940/243-5200
Vice President June Powell - 940/565-1013
Treasurer       Joseph Marino
Newsletter      George Avera ( gavera@chatter.com) - 940/382-8161