Writing World Newsletter Archive
***************************************************************** 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.comIssue 6:01 15,600 subscribers January 5, 2006*****************************************************************SPECIAL NOTICE: Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail; any messagessent to the listbox address are deleted. See the bottom of thisnewsletter for information on how to subscribe, unsubscribe, orcontact the editors.***************************************************************** CONTENTS================================================================= From the Editor's Desk NEWS from the World of Writing QUESTIONS AND QUANDARIES: What do you want to know? by Dawn Copeman FEATURE: Cast the Vision for Your Book by W Terry Whalin The Write Sites -- Online Resources for Writers WRITING DESK: I'm in Eighth Grade; Where Will I Find the Time to Write? by Moira Allen FEATURE: 5 Tips To Writing Great Headlines by Kristina Springer WRITING CONTESTS with no entry fees The Author's Bookshelf*****************************************************************EARN AN MFA IN WRITING through the brief-residency program atSpalding University in Louisville, KY. Call (800) 896-8941x2423or email mfa"at"spalding.edu and request brochure FA90. For moreinfo: http://www.spalding.edu/mfa*****************************************************************WRITERSCOLLEGE.COM has 57 online courses. Prices are low.If you can reach our web site, you can take our courses.http://www.WritersCollege.com*****************************************************************DISCOUNTED SOFTWARE FOR WRITERS -- PowerWriter, DramaticaPro,StoryCraft, WritePro, MovieMagic, StyleWriter, plus many more.HUGE SAVINGS! GREAT SELECTION! Save online at:http://www.MasterFreelancer.com*****************************************************************THE WELL-FED WRITER by Peter Bowerman - Learn how you can make$50-100 an hour as a freelance writer and easily earn $1000 aweek or more working 2-3 good days. Details:http://www.writingcareer.com/pb001.shtml*****************************************************************CHILDREN'S WRITERS. 12-page monthly newsletter of editors'listings for 'manuscripts wanted' - the competitive edge you needto sell more now. Free issue.http://www.thechildrenswriter.com/N3759/*****************************************************************I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE TO GET RICH AS A FREELANCE WRITERProblem was, I was in the wrong writing business. Instead ofmaking a few hundred dollars a week writing articles for magazines,I now pull in $2,500 per week writing simple letters. Here's how...http://www.thewriterslife.com/idt/wworlda6***************************************************************** FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK=================================================================It's a New Year and a New Format...-----------------------------------Welcome to the first issue of the new year! It probably doesn'tlook all that different -- still the same old boring e-mail text,not even jazzed up with HTML... However, this is the first ofour new MONTHLY issues, so we have changed a few things!First, of course, we have a new managing editor, Dawn Copeman,who will be handling the newsletter from England. (I love theInternet...) She introduces herself and her website below.Dawn has also agreed to take over the management of the ContestDatabase, which means that it will actually be updated onceagain!Second, since we are going monthly, we will often have twoarticles per issue instead of just one. We may also, at times,have more than one column, and we may also continue an articleor column on the website if it is too long for the newsletter.(I say this because I'm already looking at a very LONG articlethat I'll probably add to our inventory...)My regular "Writing Desk" column, for example, will now answerone question in the newsletter, and three or four more in theextended online version of the column. Survey responses may alsoget "extended" onto the website. (You'll find the expandedWriting Desk column athttp://www.writing-world.com/desk/desk01.shtml)To make room for some of these changes, we're dropping themarkets section. There are many other, much better marketnewsletters out there, and offering just three markets per monthseems almost silly. One of my favorites is AbsoluteWrite, whichoffers a free and a paid edition; another favorite isWritersWeekly. You'll find these and other market publicationsin our "publications" links section athttp://www.writing-world.com/links/publications.shtml - if you'dlike to find market resources specifically for science fictionand fantasy, check http://www.writing-world.com/links/sf.shtmlBeyond that, however, I don't have a great deal of "news" toshare. I had expected to have more, but our Christmas season wasa bit on the stressed side, culminating in a rushed visit to theanimal emergency clinic last night when our cat stopped breathing-- fortunately I got him started again with a couple of squeezesto the chest, or the half-hour trip to the clinic wouldn't havehelped much. He's fine now; they think perhaps he had a bloodclot, as he has a heart condition. (Now I'm the one sufferingfrom stress reaction...!)I also realized that I had a completely empty "inventory" withrespect to "new articles for the website," so there aren't anythis month. That means that I AM in the market for a limitednumber of submissions, with reprints and ad swaps preferred. Soif you have something you'd like to send along, please e-mailyour query or article to editors"at"writing-world.com. We're alsoopen to humor submissions, including jokes, short humorouspoetry, etc., relating to writing. We do NOT want humorouspersonal stories or accounts, or semi-inspirational "this reallyfunny thing happened to me and I learned a valuable lesson..."pieces.One last possible change -- I am still looking into options tokeep the "Writers Wanted" section going. (Thanks to all thefolks who have offered suggestions for classified programs.)I am now toying with the idea of making this a mailing listrather than an online classified section; this would give memuch more control over what gets posted. I'd probably put iton Yahoo Groups, since that's free, so that anyone can signup to RECEIVE Writers Wanted notices -- but postings wouldhave to go through me, which would preclude spam. It wouldalso preclude the need to go in and remove or update listingsthat have been filled. So for those of you who have beenclamoring to have this section restored, please drop me anote to let me know what you think of this option!Finally, I want to thank all the folks who sent e-mails insupport of my decision to cut back on the amount of time I spendon Writing-World.com so that I can focus on "actual writing."Your sentiments and holiday wishes were greatly appreciated, evenif I didn't manage to thank each of you personally! (And wow,there are some COOL electronic Christmas cards out there thesedays!) -- Moira Allen, Editor*****************************************************************AUTHOR AND EDITOR Sigrid Macdonald is available for copy editing.$1.99 a page for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. $2.50a page for content analysis, review of structure, repetitiouswords, confusing sentences, etc. Call 613-224-0762 or e-mailsigridmac"at"rogers.com.*****************************************************************COULD YOU BE theNextBigWriter? Post your writing and receivereviews and feedback from readers. Reader comments and ratingsdetermine the site rankings and who will receive publishingcontracts as well as a $5,000 novel award. Learn more athttp://thenextbigwriter.com/go.php?t=43*****************************************************************NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF WRITING=================================================================Postal Increases for U.S. Mail------------------------------If you're a U.S. reader and you've visited the Post Officelately, you've probably enjoyed one of these scintillatingexchanges:Q) "Do you know what the rate is going to be for mailing books?"A) "Gee, sorry, no. They haven't given us the sheet with therate increases yet. But we should know by next Monday."Q) "Do you have any 2¢ stamps?"A) "Are you kidding?" (Postal agent doubles over with laughter.)"You think they actually ISSUED 2¢ stamps when they planned therate increase? Hahahahahaha....."Well, OK, they haven't actually doubled over with laughter. Butforget about buying 2¢ stamps anytime soon. However, my localpost office says that you can bring in your old stamps and tradethem in for new denominations -- i.e., bring in a roll of old 37¢stamps and trade them for a roll of 39¢ and pay the difference.I've spent about an hour hunting over the USPS.gov site to try tofind "everything you need to know about the latest rateincreases" -- and I haven't found everything YET. However, thisshould be enough to keep you going...1) First class rates for a one-ounce letter have risen to 39¢2) I have NOT found a chart yet for additional first class rates(e.g., for two ounces, three ounces, etc. -- it must be there,somewhere -- but I'm figuring that it is safe to assume that allsubsequent ounces, up to 13, are going to be 2¢ higher. So forthe MOMENT I will assume that a 2-ounce letter that cost 60¢today will cost 62¢ next week.3) Priority mail rates have gone up; the rate for a package orenvelope between 13 and 16 ounces is now $4.70, and from 16ounces to 2 pounds is $5.45. However, you can still use the flatrate envelope for $4.70 regardless of the actual weight. I havenot found information on rate increases, if any, for the flatrate priority BOXES (which are VERY handy when mailing small butheavy items, such as a number of books or magazines).4) International rates are going up, and the charts for these arequite confusing, as you have to know what zone you are mailing to(and the zone numbers vary by type of mail). However, it appearsthat a one-ounce letter to Canada or Mexico will now be 63¢, anda 1-ounce letter to most other countries that used to cost 80¢will now cost 84¢. There is not, however, an easy correlationbetween subsequent ounces; i.e., don't expect that a 2-ounceletter costs $1.68, for this may depend on where it is going.5) Media mail rates have also risen. The rate for media shipments(books, tapes, CDs, DVDs) is now $1.59 (up from $1.42); twopounds is $2.07, three is $2.55, four is $3.03, five is $3.51,and so on. For those of you who send out books weighing lessthan one pound from home, I'd recommend using a $1 stamp and a60¢ stamp.You can find more info on rates at the not-terribly-informativeUSPS website: http://www.usps.com/ratecase/welcome.htm*****************************************************************WRITE BETTER; WRITE FASTER; WRITE IT RIGHT! Discover a simplefive-step process for creating flawless written text.Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like The Prosshows you how! $17.95 + s/h. http://www.cameopublications.com*****************************************************************LET MASTER TEACHER AND WRITER SHEILA BENDER be your writing coachby subscribing to http://www.writingitreal.com, her instructionalmagazine for those who write from personal experience. Or installLifeJournal for writers, a software tool with Sheila's prompts(http://www.writers.lifejournal.com). Jumpstart your writing,stay organized, learn, reflect and discover!*****************************************************************QUESTIONS AND QUANDARIES:================================================================= by Dawn Copeman (DawnCopeman"at"Write-away.biz)What do you want to know?-------------------------Hello and welcome to my new column. My name is Dawn Copeman andI am thrilled to be the new managing editor of the writing worldnewsletter.I live in England but write mainly for American and internetpublications - they pay faster! I normally write about history,travel, cookery, health, food allergies, writing and Britishtraditions and customs. I work with Moira on herTimeTravel-Britain website (http://www.timetravel-britain.com),where I am a columnist and contributing editor.I am also the editor of http://www.newbie-writers.com - a sitefor new and aspiring writers. Subscribers get a free e-book with85 pages of useful advice from many of today's successfulfreelance writers, including Moira of course!So what is this new column all about? Well, each month in thiscolumn I will put your question to other writers or to editorsand then the following month, I'll give you their feedback. Inthis way I hope to try to either solve your problems or justassuage your curiosity.This new column is similar to Writer to Writer in that we wantyou (in fact, we need you) to participate. For this column whatI want to know is: what do YOU want to know? Are there anyquestions you really want answered? Are there any problemsbugging you right now? Do you want to know if other writers havegotten through them and how? Is there something you've alwayslonged to ask an editor but never dared? If so, this column ishere to help!Simply e-mail your questions to me and I'll do the rest!Email your questions to DawnCopeman"at"Write-Away.biz with thesubject line "Questions".To start the ball rolling I have a question I want answered - Doyou have a Business Plan?I know I should have a business plan for my writing - it is,after all, what I do for a living, but somehow I've never gotaround to writing one. How about you?Do you write a business plan? If so, do you review it, how andhow often?If you don't have a business plan, how do you review your writinggoals and set new ones?If you do have a business plan, has it helped you to become moreorganized as a writer, or do you feel it detracts from yourwriting time?(For more information about developing a business plan, seeMoira's article, Building a Writer's Business Plan, athttp://www.writing-world.com/basics/plan.shtml)Email your responses to DawnCopeman"at"Write-Away.biz Subject:Business Plan. Please let me know if I can use your name in thenewsletter.So, let me know what you want to know and let's help each otherout! >>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<>-----------------------------------------------------<
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