Submission Checklist

Finishing a manuscript is a wonderful feeling. A first step toward the ultimate goal of publication. But that's what it is. A FIRST step. The next step (after revisions, of course) is to send your "baby" out into the world. Here is a checklist for those of you who are preparing to send your work out for the first time:

1. What should I send?

PART ONE: Well, that depends on who you want to send to! First, you need to determine what kind of book you've written. What is your target audience? Here are some hints:
There are several categories of romance and many sub-categories. Here are the main ones:
Historical -- Any romance with a setting before the turn of the century. If you are setting your novel after the turn of the century, but before modern times (like WWII), you're probably going to have trouble. You might try a smaller house or maybe an epublisher for your story. Otherwise there are Victorian stories, Regency, Americana, Civil War, Medieval... Etc.
Contemporary -- Anything set in modern times. This can be a humorous story, a suspenseful novel, a serious issues romance, etc.
Time Travel -- A story where one of the main characters (hero or heroine) is thrown forward to modern times or back to historical times and falls in love with a character from that time period.
Paranormal -- Werewolves and Vampires and Shapeshifters, oh my!
Category -- Mostly set in modern times, the category romance is generally shorter, and each book fits a very specific set of guidelines. Often there isn't as much space for secondary plot lines or characters
OK, so now you know what kind of book you've written. Harlequin/Silhouette are the main producers of category, so if you've written a book like that, check out the Harlequin pages (link from my publishing resources page). If you've written a book that doesn't fit the category romance genre, then you'll probably want to go with a big publisher or a well-known smaller pub. Either way read the guidelines they lay out and follow them. You're on your way!

PART TWO: What's with all these terms in the guidelines? HELP! This is another common question. Let me give you a layman's dictionary.

Query letter -- A letter (generally one page) that introduces your story to the editor or agent in the most basic way. You don't want to give any details, just a bit of flavor. Here you want to tell the following:

The word length of your story (100,000; 75,000; etc)
The genre your story falls in to (Romantic Suspense, Historical, Romantic Comedy)
A little about the hero and the heroine. Example: Lanie is an independent and strong woman, who only wants to prove to herself, and to her father, that she’s worthy of love and respect. Colin is an intriguing and sensual man who wants to protect Lanie from his lifestyle, and his past. At the same time he feels drawn to her in ways so powerful he can’t deny them.
A bit about the storyline itself.
Any information about yourself that the editor/agent might find useful. This means publishing credits, not that your Mom loves your novel.
Synopsis -- A detailed account of what happens in your novel. OK, that's vague, right. The synopsis is always told in present tense, it NEVER contains dialogue or character point of view, and it shouldn't go chapter by chapter. Think of it this way. If someone asked you to tell them what your story was about, that would be your synopsis. Not too much detail, but enough that they understand where you're coming from. The length varies. Double check the guidelines for the publisher you are targeting. If there are none, then about a page for every 10,000 words is a good guideline.
Proposal -- "Send a proposal", what does that mean? It means a query letter, a synopsis, and the first three chapters. ALWAYS.
Partial -- Different from a proposal. Often it's what an editor/agent asks for after they've read your query letter, but haven't gotten any other material. They will generally specify what they want, whether it be a chapter, three chapters, 50 pages, 100 pages, whatever. If they don't specify, just do three chapters. And toss in a synopsis for good measure.
Slush pile -- the place you don't want to be. The graveyard of unwanted manuscripts. Editors will read them, but it takes time.

2. To whom do I send it?
Here's the tricky part. Send it to a person. Don't send it to "The Bob Smith Agency, Romance Agent" or to "Acquiring Romance Editor, XYZ Publishers". That's like marking it "slush pile". You want to find out who acquires for the publisher you are querying. If you are a member of RWA, check out your January RWR or May RWR, the editors are generally listed there. If you aren't, read the submissions guidelines pages carefully, sometimes the editors names are listed. If you can't find them, you can contact me. I can't promise to know, but I can look around. I can't stress this more: WRITE TO A PERSON!!!

3. How do I send it?
Make sure you include a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) with enough postage. At least send one for a return letter, and if you want your manuscript back make sure its big enough to hold it. If you don't, just let the editorial staff shred it.

Priority Mail is best, and try to get a Tyvek envelope. Tyvek is some kind of secret material that can't rip or burn or soak through. It's sent from the writing gods themselves. Priority mail envelopes are Tyvek and you can get them free when you mail priority. Otherwise, they are very inexpensive and can be found at drug stores and mailing stations everywhere.

Also, if you have had material requested, write REQUESTED MATERIAL on the envelope in indelible marker. You will stay out of the slush pile. If it has not been requested... NEVER write REQUESTED MATERIAL on it. You will get caught, and I'd bet you will be rejected, even if you ARE the next Nora Roberts.

Ten PR Secrets No One Will Ever Tell You

When you’re trying to pitch your book, the last thing you need is old, outdated or false information. PR and marketing guidelines change frequently and what worked five years ago no longer works today. For some red hot publicity that will get you to the top of the pitching file, we’ve unveiled some PR secrets you won’t hear anywhere else but here.

Trying to get on Oprah? Here are some things we’re betting you never knew about getting on her show:

Sending samples and books to the Oprah Show is pretty standard fare for most publicity people but did you know that Oprah’s producers actually prefer finding products or books on their own? Instead of pitching the show why not pitch some publications in the Chicago area instead and let a Producer at the Oprah Show “stumble” on it themselves!

If you think that Oprah’s producers are just in Chicago, think again. The show is known for having “scouts” all over the country; this means that if you’re in Seattle publicizing your book, you might just be getting on the radar screen of one of the most powerful shows on television.

And speaking of getting on a national show, we all know this can be great PR for your book, but did you know that if you don’t have proper distribution it might dissuade a producer from featuring your book? You bet. By now most Producers are well aware of the avalanche of books that have inundated the industry. They don’t want to look bad for picking a book or product no one can get, so be sure and add an info sheet in your media packet telling the Producer that your book is available nationwide.

Trying to decide when to send out your release? Well, timing does matter! If it’s business related, avoid contacting the press between the 15th and 22nd of April, July, and October. That’s when publicly held companies release quarterly earnings reports. As for days of the week, Monday is the worst day to send your release. The best day? Thursday. Thursdays are notoriously slow news days.

Got an event coming up? It might make more sense listing your event on craigslist rather than pitching it to local media. Why? Well, if your event is free you can list it on craigslist at no charge and you could potentially drive crowds to your event, as opposed to the sometimes hit and miss efforts from traditional publicity. A couple of things to remember are that you can’t list events in multiple cities at the same time; the folks at craigslist check this periodically. Events are kept live on the site until the event date has passed.

Despite what some folks might tell you, faxes do not work. While it might be easy to toss a press release on a fax machine and start sending it out to some media contacts, I can guarantee you 99.9% of the time they’ll be ignored and tossed.

Do press kits really work? Well, yes and no. The days of the fancy press kit filled with equally fancy gifts are gone. In fact, more and more the media are paying closer attention to press kits that are more powerful in substance then they are in flash. So keep your press kit lean, mean and real – you’ll not only save yourself a lot of expense but you’ll probably get your book noticed a lot quicker.

Now the second piece to this is how valid your kit is. By “valid” we mean how much of the information is verifiable. When the media gets your kit the first place they might go to verify the contents is the Web. If your Internet presence doesn’t match what your kit says about you, you’ve probably just lost the interview.

When you’re pitching a magazine, many PR folk will tell you to pitch them six to eight months out. The truth is pitching times have shrunk — we’ve seen magazines accept pitches with only a three-month window. Call first to check when a particular issue will close before assuming you’ve missed your window.

If you want to get into publications like The Washington Post or Newsweek, don’t pitch them, blog on them. Both of these sites (and many other sites with high profile publications) have added a new “Blog Round Up” box on their sites. It reports on people who have blogged on their stories. All techie- babble aside, here’s what you do: blog on one of the articles on their site, link it using a trackback link and submit this to Technorati.com. This site will report back to these publications and they’ll link to you (and your site) and voila! A feature on Newsweek or whichever publication you chose!

So you see, it’s not always about creating the perfect pitch or press release. Sometimes it’s about being unconventional, innovative and a tad adventurous. We hope our secrets help you unlock the powerful publicity kingdom!
Wishing you Publishing (and publicity) success!

Terms Every Writer Should Know

Acceptance: Even after a contract is signed between author and publisher, the editor still has to "accept" the final version of the manuscript. After acceptance, the publisher can proceed with publication and release the author's agreed upon advance.
Advance: The amount of money the publisher pays the author up-front upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication. Typically, the book's sales must "earn out" the the advance before the author is paid any additional monies.
Agent: The author's representative in business dealings with the publisher.
ARC: Advance Review Copy of your book. Distributed to reviewers before book is released.
Author's Voice: The unique use of words, phrases, and writing techniques that places an author's "stamp" on their work. It is recognizable to the reader, even if they don't know who the author is. Prime example of author's "voice" vs. "style": Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Similar style, but very different author voices.
Back Cover Copy: The few paragraphs "blurbed" on the back of a book to give the reader a quick sketch of what the book's about.
Characterization: The author's ability to populate their stories with unique, individual people who are living and breathing to the reader. When two people have a conversation in a novel, the reader should be able to know who is saying what, without the name tags, based on how well the author has developed the character.
Conflict: The driving force of most fiction. Plot without conflict is nothing more than a "journal" of events.
Distributor: Large company that warehouses books from the publishers and distributes them to the booksellers.
Editor: The representative of the publishing house who evaluates your work, and can make decisions on purchasing it. The editor stays with the author through the publication process, recommending revisions, giving final approval over the manuscript before acceptance.
Galleys: The line-edited, copy-edited version of your manuscript before it goes to print. Last chance for minor corrections, but no major overhauls should occur at this point.
Goal: Your character's most desired objective.
Hook: A device for grabbing reader's attention.
IRIS: The color photo-quality image of the book's cover art, spine and back cover copy.
Joint Accounting: The process where a publisher combines the sales of different books by one author in a royalty statement, requiring each book's advance to "earn out" before any additional royalties are paid on any other book
Manuscript: The typed version of your book.
Motivation: The reason your character is struggling so hard to achieve his or her goal.
Pacing: The speed at which the writer moves the reader through the story. Long passages of narrative slow pacing, while dialogue exchanges speed pacing. Note: The pacing of the book is not the same as the time covered in the story.
Partial: A set number of chapters (typically 3) requested by the publisher to evaluate a proposal.
POV: Point of View- whose head are you in during the scene? Most novels today are written in 3rd person (he saw, she did) vs. 1st person (I saw, I did) and most are in past tense (he did, she was) vs. present tense (he does, she is).
Print Run: The number of copies of the book the publisher will print for distribution. Typically a first-time author's print run is pre-determined according to the publisher's expectations for the book, while a more established author will have previous sales records to help determine the run.
Proposal: A package put together for the editor, including a synopsis of your book, plus a partial of the actual manuscript. Generally, first-time authors will only sell on complete manuscript, while subsequent sales are made on proposal.
Publisher: Company that purchases manuscript, prints it, and offers it for sale to the public.
Query: A brief (1 page) letter to an editor, pitching yourself and your manuscript. Should read something like a "back cover blurb" to succinctly grasp the essence of your work and make the editor want to read the synopsis.
Reserves: The amount of money the publisher "holds back" from an author's royalties, based on the assumption that booksellers will strip and return unsold books.
Rights: In a contract, typically the publisher is "buying" the ability to control the author's work for a set amount of time and for set purposes. Some contracts include rights for a number of years, for publication in various forums including print, print on demand, e-publishing. Some even include film rights, meaning the publisher has purchased the ability to negotiate with a Hollywood producer to film your story on your behalf, for a pre-determined percentage Royalties: The money the author makes on a book. Typically, an agreed upon percentage of the cover price, based on book sales.
Scene: The key moments showing the characters progression through their story.
Sequel: A transition to link scenes, gives character the opportunity to react to what just happened and to prepare for what will happen in the next scene.
Synopsis: A brief (1 page per 10,000 ms. words) description of the plot of your book. Should be written in present tense, with as few character names as possible, should cover the turning points in your book and should include no dialogue. Designed to engage the editor's interest in your story, the synopsis should resolve all plot questions and must never leave an editor "hanging."
Tag: A device used by the author to let the reader know which character is speaking.
Turning Point: The times in your book when your characters change direction. The plot builds, your characters act or react to what is going on, and something occurs to send them in an unforeseen direction, bringing the reader along with them

13 Reasons an Author Might Not Get a Book Tour

by Dr. Lorna Tedder

1. You haven't asked. Maybe you had no idea you could publicize your future bestseller with a book tour. Or maybe you assumed your publisher would take care of everything for you. Have you told your publisher you're willing to spend a week travelling from city to city, visiting talk show hosts and bookstores? The worst they can say is "No."

2. You don't have a publicist. If your publisher doesn't arrange a book tour for you, your publicist can. On the other hand, most of us don't have publicists and they can be pretty pricey....

3. You haven't had an affair with a political figure. Ever notice how both publishers and readers tend to gobble up books about victims of the country's top ten dysfunctional families, orgy-minded bosses, and Congressional dirty laundry? If you're a fairly normal person without a lot of scandalous secrets you're ready to reveal, the t.v. news magazines won't be seeking you out.

4. Your publisher expects you to promote the book yourself. Contrary to the opinion of many unpublished authors, book tours do not come automatically. Some publishers, especially thosewho sell genre fiction, consider their wide distribution to be promotion enough. You don't have to promote yourself at all, one editor says. Then she goes on to add that, of course, other authors will promote their books on their own time and money, and their resulting sales may look better than yours, and who do you think will get the next book contract, huh?

5. Your publisher doesn't promote at all. Subsidy publishers generally don't command widespread publicity or distribute your book to a huge national market. Basically, you pay to have a company print your book, not to promote it. Don't expect more unless it's written into your agreement, and even then you'll have to contend with snooty reviewers and reporters who look down on "vanity presses."

6. Your publisher can't afford it. This is especially true of small presses, even the prestigious ones. Book tours can be expensive and small publishers simply don't have the resources to send you on a show-and-tell tour. Surprisingly, it's also true of large well-known publishing houses, which are being forced to cut back on expenses due to rising paper costs and shifts in readership.

7. Your publisher reserves book tours for "name" authors only. You're probably not a "name." You may even be a new author with a miniscule print run, no sales record, and an editor who answers your calls with "Who?" The "names" are those hugely successful, bestselling authors. Even if you've spent the past decade under a rock and don't recognize their names, you can spot their book in any bookstore by looking at the covers: their names are about twice the size of the book title.

8. You're not rich or famous. If you married a billionaire or if your face is on the cover of any dozen magazines at one time, you can rely on your celebrity status to get a book tour.

9. You didn't receive a huge advance. The more money a publisher invests in you up front, the more likely they are to promote you. They want to see your book earn back that initial outlay of $, and they'll give it an extra push.

10. You don't have a hot-shot agent. A good agent might have negotiated additional terms and conditions to your book contract, complete with a publicity budget, monetary incentives for making bestseller lists, and all sorts of dreamy perks.

11. Your book doesn't have a promotable "hook." Don't let anyone tell you there's nothing unique or interesting about you or your book-they're wrong. What you have to do is find the market because it's rare that the market finds you.

12. You self-published your book. Your fairy godmother is not going to swoop down and take care of marketing the book for you. It's up to you. It's ALL up to you.

13. Getting published is a distant dream. Maybe you haven't finished that book yet. Maybe you're just getting started. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be thinking about how you'll market the book to publishers and eventually to readers.

Dr. Lorna Tedder is an award-winning, best-selling author who routinely shares her writing and marketing expertise at national writers' conferences, online, and through her writing guides. Her non-fiction guides for writers include Book Promotion for the Shameless, Book Promotion Savvy and Reclaiming The Magic: a Writer's Guide to Success. All three books are available at www.SpilledCandy. com

Call for Submissions

Celebrating the International Poetry Day, the Arabesques Review isnow accepting submissions for two upcoming special issues:Vol 03, Issue 02 Contemporary Women Literature>>>

Submissions Deadline: April 30, 2007
Vol 03, Issue 03 Globalization

Submissions Deadline: June 30, 2007
We would be very honored to read and consider your contribution forthese upcoming anthologies To SUBMIT TO THE ARABESQUES REVIEWhttp://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/
Click here <http://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/guidelines.asp> to check out our submission guidelines.
For more details, see our web site at:http://www.arabesquespress.org/or email us at: submissions@arabesquespress.org

Alert for Writers

Martha Ivery (a.k.a. Kelly O'Donnell, d.b.a. Press-Tige Publishing Inc.) sentenced to 65 months in Federal prison.
Investigation opened into Desert Rose Literary Agency, run by Leann Murphy of San Angelo, TX. See this alert.
Authors published by Quiet Storm Publishing, see this alert.
The great PublishAmerica hoax.
The Literary Agency Group (Children's Literary Agency, Christian Literary Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poet's Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency, Stylus Literary Agency, Writers' Literary & Publishing Services Company) has changed its name. See this alert.
Clients of The Robins Agency, see this alert.
Authors published by Oak Tree Press and clients or former clients of Johnson-Warren Literary Agency, see this alert.
Authors published by American Book Publishing, see this alert.

Marketing tips for freelance writers

Writers just starting out and hoping to publish need to do more than perfect their writing skills, including syntax, grammar and lucid use of vocabulary, learn to do excellent research and polish their prose. In fact, the business of writing, the sale of pieces of writing for profit with corresponding protection of rights is an important part of a free lance writer’s work. This piece will suggest a series of steps for the beginning writer who must acquaint him/herself with markets in order for sales to begin.

First, choose a genre or type of writing, or perhaps a couple of them, and place your focus there.Will you write fiction or non-fiction? Poetry is altogether another subject, and markets for poetry will not be dealt with here, nor will play or script-writing.

If you will write fiction, aim for short, picaresque, well-told stories with well-motivated characters and concrete details at every turn. The time for novel-writing should probably be after you have proven your skills as a writer of short fiction, although this is not true for all novelists.

If you decide to write non-fiction, you will have a broader market selection, and must of necessity choose a few subjects on which to base your early work. Later, with research and writing experience, you can dabble in more than one area with ease, but to work, say, in celebrity profiles, business writing and sports writing nay confuse the issue and triple the amount of research you must do.

But, if for example, you decide to write health and medical articles, incidentally, an up and coming area for free lancers, you can hone yourself as an expert by the volume of your work alone, and your research can also double or triple for use in more than one article. Free lancers must work fast, and efficiently, to produce even a modest income. Be logical in your choice of what to write; if you don’t have a scientific bent, don’t decide to write technology articles. If you are impatient with details, don’t bother trying to do craft how-to pieces.

Let’s assume you’ve chosen Health and Medicine to begin with, because there are a few subjects in this field you know a bit about, and even more you’re interested in. Because you once had a sports’ injury that required extensive physical therapy, you know a little about such injuries.

Start doing your research, but in the meantime, research the markets and find out where you might be able to pitch a piece on such a sports injury. With a specific market in mind, you’ll know how to slant your article, how long to make it, and whether to query the editor before it’s completely written or whether they’ll want to see a completed piece.

Where do you find out these things?

Without a hesitation, go to writing magazines like The Writer, Writer’s Digest and Byline. Obtain copies at the library or invest in them at your mega bookstore, and start poring over the market suggestions in current and back issues. You may come up with five or six magazines outside of the top ones like, say Sports; Illustrated, which you may want to save for you fame and glory days.

See if your chosen selections are looking for pieces on sports injuries, sports’ medicine or the physical therapist’s role in keeping athletes fit. Just reading these Writer’s Guidelines, or Submission Guidelines will help you decide how to slant your article. If you can’t locate some specific markets in the magazines, go online and do a search, or go directly to some e-zines which may also be looking for such pieces. E-publishing is incidentally a great way to get started. Even if you have to publish for no pay, get a few “sales” under your belt will help your resume when you query an editor and try to sell later.

There’s also a possibility that straight print magazines who want your piece won’t pay either, except in copies. As a beginner, you’re in a bind, and may have to accept that route as the best starting point, when you have no experience of sales. You decide when you’ve had enough of that routine, though, and when you’re ready to get paid or die trying. My first two short stories were freebies, but the thrill I got from seeing my work in print, and the nice comments I got from the editors of those two literary magazines was pay enough. Later I got paid small amounts, and twice had the pleasure of seeing the cover of two more magazines push my story, with illustrations and headlines—a thrill.

Finally get paid for short stories took a few years, and, incidentally, I’ve never made as much from short fiction as from noon-fiction. So if you’re eager to publish, stay with non-fiction and study the markets. Eventually, you’ll graduate to the Writer’s Annuals, a compendium of all kinds of markets for writers. Most libraries have a few of these annuals in their reference departments, and often you can take out the year-old volumes for study at home. Writer’s Market 2000, for example, is a Writer’s Digest Books selection that costs about $25.00, and offers updated market listings. There are also subject-particular references, such as Christian Writer’s Market Guide Annual, Business Writer’s Guides, and so on.

Study your Writer’s Market like a Bible. You will discover small, niche markets that don’t get 1,000 submissions a month like Sports’ Illustrated does. Aim for the small guys first; they’re hungry for you and your well-written articles. Also, don’t neglect newspapers, local and regional. A regional newspaper near my town is large enough to pay at lest a two-figure amount for my travel and food articles, while my local paper will not, even if I occasionally offer them a freebie for public relations’ sake.

Another tack for marketing is to connect yourself to a writers’ group. I found mine when I took a college evening course called Writer’s Support Group. After a helpful eight-week course, a group of us decided to continue to meet, critique each other’s work and educate one another by sharing market tips and advice. We were all pretty much beginners, but the mutual support we were able to give and receive in our group has been a godsend.

Learn your markets, focus your work, find support and educational resources, and you’re well on your way to a free-lance writing career. If you have enough determination and a modicum of skill and marketing savvy, you’ll make it.

Make Sure Your Nonfiction Book Will Be Read

Your first step in creating a book proposal is to ask yourself the same questions an editor would ask:

Is this book needed? In broad terms, readers seek instruction, information and entertainment (and ideally some combination of all three).

If the book is needed, can you quickly appeal to that need? In other words, will a reader be able to glance at the book and quickly realize, "I need that" or "I'm interested in that"?
How many people are interested in the topic? Does your idea appeal to a wide national or special-interest readership?

Of the people interested in the topic, how many would naturally seek information about the topic in book form? For some topics, books provide a natural format—cookbooks, biographies and so on. For others, people might first turn to other information sources—television, in-person advice from clubs, etc.

Is the subject matter "big" enough to warrant full-length book treatment, or would it work better as an article or a booklet?

Can the book be produced economically? For example, large-format, full-color hardcover books are expensive to produce.

By answering these questions, you will better be able to "picture" your project as a needed, compelling, potentially profitable

Writing Tip: Selling an Older Title

Here is a teaser for the upcoming blog tour featuring Shel Horowitz, author of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers. (www.grassrootsmarketingforauthors.com),

I'd like to hear his ideas on how to revive a self-published book that's three (3) years old.

I'm a big believer in deep backlist. Just the other day I did an interview that promoted a book that was published 11 years ago and has been out of print since 2003 (I sell it as an e-book). I regularly promote my titles from 1995, 2000, and 2003, as well as my 2007 title. All the same promotional strategies apply.

Unless the book is actually obsolete (e.g., how to survive the coming Y2K crisis, health benefits of smoking), just promote it as a book you care about and consider relevant. Don't bring up the date unless they do.. But note that bookstores will not usually be your channel if the book is old.

Ideas for Promoting Your Book

The best promoters in the world can't sell your book unless it delivers value to your reader. The more value your book delivers, the easier the promotion will be.

- Value can be--
- Information your reader needs to reach business or personal objectives
- Motivation to keep your reader on track or aspiring to new heights
- Entertainment bringing smiles, chills or puzzlement to your reader
- Pure esthetics--the joy of a beautiful book
- Besides good content, your book needs to be well-written, organized and packaged, including--

- A memorable title
- High-quality packaging and cover design

Finally, to be successful you need a realistic market for your book, a group of people who will want a copy of your book as soon as they know about it.
Assuming you have all of the above, here are 26 ideas to get you thinking about ways that you can promote your own book.

1 Introduce your book in one burst with all of your publicity and promotion programs synchronized. Pick an event, a date, and plan your book's coming out to coincide with the chosen event. Your publicity will multiply as a result.

2 Print at least 200 copies more than you know you can sell, and give them away to people who can promote your book: news editors, book reviewers, television hosts.

3 Dramatize your cover and walk into the biggest TV station in town in costume, or with your acting troupe in tow.

4 Create an affiliation with a nonprofit organization and dedicate the back cover to explaining this affiliation. Share profits with the nonprofit organization (a dollar amount per book is the simplest and most straightforward) , and they will help you sell the book.

5 If you or a friend is handy with tools, design a small and attractive counter-top book display decorated to showcase your book and take it to local retail outlets. The display rack can be a gift to the store after an agreed period of time showing your book

Wronging Writers: Don't Get Taken

Writers, for some reason, are especially susceptible to scams. Perhaps this is because success in the writing field takes a great deal of hard work, and people are always looking for short cuts. Also, most writers want see their own name in print. Here are some scams to avoid:

Subsidized Publishing
Subsidized publishing, also known as vanity press, can be a legitimate way to publish small works of personal interest or for niche markets. You pay the publisher/printer a fee and they produce your book. This is a legitimate way to publish, but do not be fooled into thinking your work has been "accepted" by a reputable publisher. The company is publishing your work based on the money you will give them, not the quality or marketability of your writing.

Editor Fees
If a publisher recommends that you pay a particular editor before they consider your work, chances are that both the editor and the publisher are scamming you. There is nothing wrong with paying an outside editor to help you with your writing, but you should research and choose who to have edit your work.

Agent Fees
Legitimate literary agents do not charge you a fee to either read your work or represent you. Finding a quality agent can be difficult, but do not settle for one that charges a fee. Chances are you'll pay more than you'll ever get.

Contests
Poetry and writing contests that sound too good to be true generally are. Be wary of any contest that charges a fee and do not pay to have your poetry published through these contests. For more information see Avoiding Poetry Contest Scams.

Anthologies
Poetry or writing anthologies are an offshoot of the poetry contest scam. Do not pay to have your book published as part of an anthology, and do not agree to purchase a copy. Any legitimate publisher will offer you at least one free copy.

Work From Home
You may or may not be able to make thousands as a freelance writer, but if somebody tries to get you to pay them to find out how, then chances are it's a scam. There are plenty of books about freelance writing, invest in one of those.

Reviews / Polls
This is an offshoot of the work from home scam. Supposedly, you will get paid to review movies, books, web sites and such. Of course, to find out how to do this you just have to pay the advertiser a "small" fee. There are far more people willing to write reviews than people who will pay for them. Chances are, you're being scammed.

Avoiding Writing Scams
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Don't pay a fee for what you can get for free.
Always research any publisher, editor or agent you want to work with.
Never be afraid to ask for references.

If you are victimized by a scam, report it to the Better Business Bureau and the FTC.

When Authors Engage in Public Speaking

by Patricia L. Fry

It's encouraged. It's sometimes necessary. Authors often engage in public speaking in order to promote their books. But not all authors are prepared and trained for this activity. And not all authors even want to participate.

Let's look at the scope of authors' attitudes and aptitudes when it comes to public speaking.
There are authors who:

- are absolute naturals in the public speaking realm.
- absolutely hate the thought of standing before an audience.
- are game speakers, but have poor skills.

Is speaking one of your book promotion activities? Do you hope to start speaking to large and small groups as a way to gain exposure for your book? Please, before you launch out on the speaking circuit, heed the following advice:

Join Toastmasters and actively participate for at least a year. You will benefit in ways that you can't even imagine. Go to Toastmasters International for a list of clubs near you.
Volunteer for opportunities to speak. Take leadership of a project at work or for a charity. Offer to go around and educate citizens on a political issue or to raise funds for the library expansion, for example.

Attend other speakers' programs. If you are observant and alert, you will learn volumes about public speaking by listening and watching. How does the audience respond to the speaker? What techniques seem to work (and what don't work) for this speaker? What would you do differently to put the audience at ease, make this a more pleasing experience for the audience, etc?
Get involved with a storytelling group. This is a particularly fun way to improve your speaking skills. You'll also get some training and practice in using vocal variety.

Hire a voice coach. If you have a soft voice that doesn't carry well or a voice that is not pleasant to listen to, a voice coach might be able to help. You'll find voice coaches listed under music teachers in the Yellow Pages.

Find a mentor -- someone whose speaking abilities you admire.
Start locally. Before heading out to parts unknown to speak about your book in front of huge crowds, plan speaking gigs locally. Speak to the women's group at your church, your local Optimists or Rotary Club, a gathering at the museum or bookstore or even a group of neighbors, for example.

Public speaking rule breakers.

Many speakers let their voices trail off at the end of every sentence. The audience can hear the first part of their sentence, but they have no idea what pearls of wisdom might be lost in the whispers at the end. Sometimes this speaker will deliver complete sentences inaudibly while looking down -- obviously not interested at that moment in engaging the audience.

Some speakers are not good readers. If you are not skilled at reading something out loud, don't do it while speaking. Especially avoid doing this secretly. In other words, if you plan to deliver your speech by reading all or part of it, and you do not have good out loud reading skills, forget it.

Mumbling is not cool. Inexperienced speakers will often speak at conversation level, not giving any thought or consideration to the people in the back of the room. Recently, I sat in on a panel discussion at a workshop. The panelists chose to sit instead of stand to address the standing-room-only crowd, which I thought was rude. And one man, whenever it was his turn to speak, would rest his elbows on the table and fold his hands in front of his mouth during the entire time that he was speaking.

Inexperienced or thoughtless speakers leave members of the audience out. When an audience member asks a question, it is rarely heard in the back of the room. I've seen many expert speakers respond to the question by engaging in a one-on-one conversation with this person while the rest of the audience is left wondering. Speakers, I urge you to repeat the question so everyone is on the same page. And then respond to the question so that everyone in the room can hear it.

Some speakers choose to sit down on the job. In a very small, intimate group or when the audience is sitting in a circle of chairs or on the floor, for example, speaking while seated is generally okay. But if you have a room containing six rows of chairs or more, you really should express respect for those in the back of the room by standing so that you can be seen as well as heard.

Even some professional speakers still use too many filler words. It takes practice, but you can rid your vocabulary (especially while speaking in public) of those filler words like, uh, ah, er. Also avoid connecting sentences by overusing "and."

Many speakers have trouble staying within the time allotment. Most programs or presentations are carefully organized. Each segment is designed to fit into a specific time slot. I've seen speakers completely disregard their time constraints and foul up the entire evening's program. Not cool.

I've written many articles on the topic of public speaking. The following is excerpted from one of them. This list offers specific tips to help get your started on your way to successful public
speaking:

Speak out. Many inexperienced orators speak too softly or they allow their voices to drop toward the end of their sentences. Practice speaking up and speaking out. Whether addressing a large audience or a small group, always speak so that you can be heard even in the back of the room.

Repeat audience questions. When someone asks a question during your presentation, always repeat it before answering it. This ensures that everyone hears it.
Make eye contact. Move your attention around the room as you speak, making eye contact with each person.

Don't apologize. Avoid sabotaging your presentation by making excuses for not being well prepared or for poor speaking skills. Stand tall, appear self-assured and you will gain the confidence of the audience.

Use vocal variety. Make your talks more enjoyable by using an assortment of vocal tones and pitches rather than speaking in monotone. If you need help developing vocal variety, practice reading to children. Use your highest and lowest voice and everything in between.

Eliminate non-words. Inexperienced speakers generally use so many filler words that Toastmasters actually have an "ah counter" at every meeting. This person counts the number of filler words each member uses in the course of the meeting. Filler words include uh, ah, um, er and so forth.

Eliminate poor speaking habits. Rid your vocabulary of stagnant verbiage. Break yourself of those mundane phrases you like to repeat, such as, "yada, yada, yada" or "know what I mean?"

Likewise, watch the overuse of words like "really." Saying "I was exhausted" is a stronger sentence than saying, "I was really exhausted." You can explain how exhausted you were by saying, "I was exhausted beyond anything I'd ever experienced before," or "I was so tired I could have slept for a month."

Be prepared. You will be more at ease if you know what to expect. Find out if there will be a podium or microphone, for example. How many people do they expect? How will the room be set up? Also, have your props or notes organized so there will be no annoying fumbling during your presentation.

Know your audience. And gear your speech to the needs and interests of this particular audience. When I talk about the local history, I give a completely different talk to students at local elementary schools than I do when addressing civic organizations or historic society members.

Anyone can get up in front of an audience and speak. How well you do it is what counts.

More Information
Toastmasters International
http://www.toastmasters.org

Copyright © 2007 Patricia L. Fry

Writer's Voice: Five Places to Find Meaning among the Spring Blossoms

By Melissa A. Rosati

Have you seen my voice?

Odd question, I know. Voice is associated with sound not sight. Still, I’ve been looking for it everywhere: writer’s retreats, a bedroom converted into a chic writing studio, the refrigerator, which is filled with brainpower snacks, specifically chocolate-mocha Haagen-Dazs (They say it cures writer’s block. I’ve dedicated years to working out the correct dosage). Yet while my words arranged on paper proved that I can hold my own with a comma and I’m no slouch when wielding a semicolon, the words themselves felt to me like hollow echo chambers; they ran in place bouncing off the keyboard onto the page but went nowhere.

Then one day last autumn, I was strolling through a street fair. I noticed two women standing behind a table display of seed packets wrapped attractively as gifts. Muse impulse or poor shopping-impulse control, it no longer matters which, prompted me to buy five of them.

So as not to feel guilty for spending $10 on seed packets that probably had a unit cost of eighty cents each, I went home and found the addresses of five people I’d fallen out of touch with for several years. For each note card, I thought that I’d be clever and enclose an inquiry: “Where will love blossom next in your life?”

Several weeks passed with no acknowledgement.

Naturally, I pulled out my journal to bask in rejection. I’d show them. I’d answer this query myself and rejoice in my own smug self-satisfaction that I was a lone word warrior.

Where will love blossom next in my life? Hmm. That was a puzzler. I couldn’t work out the problem-solving angle or think my way around it. The emptiness of the blank page mirrored the emptiness within me. It was uncomfortable like scratchy underwear. I couldn’t turn back though. I put that query out there and if I ignored it myself I couldn’t justify my ego bruise.

Where’ meant going not to a retreat, my studio or the refrigerator, but to a place of vulnerability. Where did I feel that emptiness in my body? The question triggered my heart to race so fast it felt like a ping-pong ball trapped in my chest. I took several deep breaths and allowed it to lead the way.

I share with you five places to explore for meaning in your writing practice.

1. Make a list of five people whom you miss having in your life. Pick up the phone and call each one. Start the conversation anew. Don’t allow anxiety about what to say stop you. Trust that the words will come.
2. 
   Brainstorm 100 words about a person whom you love. Next, imagine that you’re creating a painter’s palette by group similar words together like hues of color. Then, with your pen as the brush and the paper as your canvas, create a message that speaks to who this person is in your life. Send this note.
3. 
   Celebrate laughter. When people laugh in conversation with you, ask why what you said was humorous. Celebrate who you’re both being in that moment.
4. 
   Listen with unconditional love. Where do you see pain among your family members or friends? Ask what is hard for them to be with. Listen without judgment, a proposed solution or comment. Simply be there and share the space.
5. 
   Practice voice play. For one week, note all the different voices that surround you: birds, the wind, children, people and animals. What are they saying? What’s your heart saying back?

Without realizing it, my inquiry planted a self-discovery bulb last fall. Through the cold winter months, I felt the ‘wheres’ unfold gradually and I found that my voice within my heart. Now with the spring buds, I am grateful for the journey and I trust my heart along this continuous path.

I hope one or more of the above bring you to a new place in your writing practice — the place where your voice lives. Where love will blossom next in your life?

© 2005 Melissa A. Rosati. All rights reserved.

Fitting it all into a day, a week . . . a career

How to decide which writing books, courses, seminars, and conferences to invest money and time in:

1. Set three objectives or goals relative to your writing, such as
a. a specific number of magazine or Web sales during the next year, orb. sales to certain magazines or websites, orc. specific book project(s) completed and published, ord. a certain dollar income from your writing business, ore. entering a new writing field, orf. adding a specific number of new clients.
2. Then, when considering books, courses, groups, seminars, conferences, ask, "Will it help achieve one of these goals?" If it will, go ahead with it.
3. If, because of time or money restraints, you must decide on only one of several qualifying books or conferences, determine which will give you the most value per hour and/or dollar invested.

OK, you've set your writing, business, and personal goals for the next year, and you're really trying to reach them, but there's a problem: too much to do, too many goals; not enough time, not enough money. Which projects, purchases, ideas should you pursue?

Answer the following questions about each possibility to help you set priorities:

• 
  Will it help achieve one of my high priority goals?
• Will it contribute significantly (at least 20%) to my income?
• Will it cut costs significantly?
• Will it contribute significantly to better time management?
• Will it negatively affect my income in large amount if not done?
• Will people suffer significantly if not done?
• Will it have a large negative impact on my business position if not done?

Writing Tip: Goals

If you're serious about getting that book written or published during the next year, or earning a certain amount of money through your writing business, Mark Ellwood says you should take a new approach to reach your goals and ensure success. Among his suggestions, Mark says:

• Plan your time every day.
• Block off 30% of your writing time on high priority, long-term activities, and don't allow interruptions to interfere.
• Share your deadlines with others.
• Overcome procrastination by breaking that big project into smaller pieces.
• Give yourself rewards for successfully completing the tough parts.
• Visualize success when fear of failure gets in the way.

Source: A Complete Waste of Time — Tales & Tips About Getting More Done by Mark Ellwood.