Jump Start Your Writing Career

Transcription

Popek/JUMP START/Page 1
With Electronic Publishers
By S. Joan Popek
All Rights Reserved
Revised 2003 Edition
ISBN 1-931761-27-2
First Edition Published 2001
Copyright © 2000, S. Joan Popek. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America
By S. Joan Popek
Index
Introduction
Jump Start Your Writing Career with Electronic Publishers
Part One - What Is Electronic Publishing?
Chapter 1 - Do You Really Want To Be Published?
Chapter 2 - Cyberspace: The Writer's New Frontier
Chapter 3 - What Editors Have To Say
Chapter 4 - Published Authors Speak
Part Two - Nuts & Bolts
Chapter 5 - First Nut: Writer's Block
Chapter 6 - Another Nut: Grammar
Chapter 7 - Dialect and Other Bolts
Chapter 8 - Word Count Counts
Chapter 9 - Clichés: Avoid Them Like the Plague
Chapter 10 - Character Traits
Chapter 11 - Where Do Story Ideas Come From?
Chapter 12 - You Shouldn't Have To Explain Your Story
Chapter 13 - Give Your Work A Solid Foundation
Chapter 14 - Using Fiction Techniques for Nonfiction
Chapter 15 - Writing A Synopsis
Part Three - We All Got Rights
Chapter 16 - Copyright Issues
Chapter 17 - Electronic Rights
Part Four - Find Publishers And Agents
Chapter 18 - Sell Your Work
Chapter 19 - Agents And Other Fallacies
Part Five - Promote Yourself And Your Work
Chapter 20 - Self-Promotion
Chapter 21 - Marketing and Self-Promotion
Chapter 22 - Developing Your Book's Promotional Plan
Chapter 23 - Educate Your Audience
Chapter 24 - How To Write The Perfect Press Release
Part Six - Alternative Publishing
Chapter 25 - Consider Self Publishing
Part Seven - How To Use This Book
Chapter 26 - Reference and Internet Savvy
Appendix
Links
Wanna' Be A Net Nurd?
Glossary of Internet Terms
Charts & Sample Press Release
S. Joan Popek
This book is dedicated, as is all of my work, to my husband, Joe, my children and
my grandchildren. Without their support and confidence in me, I would still be dreaming
of writing instead of actually writing. Thank you all. I love you.
A special thank you must go to the authors, editors and publications that have
helped shape my career so far. Although it is impossible to list them all here, my
gratitude goes out to them all, especially Harvey Stanbrough, Patricia L. White, Phyllis
Eileen Banks, Greg F. Gifune, (Thievin' Kitty Publications) Jean Goldstrom, (Another
Realm) Steve Algeri, (Eternity Press) Peter Blocksom, (Writer's Digest) Ray Hoy, (The
Fiction Works) and Aliske Webb (Bookmice.com) for helping me to see that writing is a
profession worth striving for excellence in and for giving me the strength and courage to
reach for my dream.
I must offer my highest gratitude to my wonderful partner, Diana R. Moreland, the
Senior Editor of Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine, who said to me one
day, "You know, Jo, you ought to write a book about writing for electronic publication."
So the secret is out. It was all her idea. She also helped me edit and proof this book
while offering her expertise and unique viewpoint of all things pertaining to writing and
electronic publishing. Thanks Di.
I would like to offer special appreciation to Writer's Digest, Fiction Writer and
Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine, where portions of some of these
articles appeared in a slightly different form over the years. I would also like to extend
my sincere gratitude to the Webmasters and authors that maintain and update the
Internet sites mentioned in this book. Without the diligence and hard work of such
dedicated people, much of this work and indeed electronic publication itself would not
be possible.
Part One
What is Electronic Publishing?
Chapter 1
Do You Really Want To Be Published?
Are you tired of rejections? Are you tired of submitting to markets where the submissions
outnumber the needs of publishers 1,000 to 1? No one enjoys constant rejection of work that they have
poured their soul into.
Well, you don't have to suffer that anymore. Even good manuscripts are rejected in today's
publishing world because the person who wrote them is either unpublished or under published.
It is not because your work isn't good.
It is not because your story did not impress the editor.
It is because big names sell, and there are only so many lines available in a printed publication or
only so many slots to fill in the print book industry.
These publishers are in the business to make money. Big names make money. It's a matter of
semantics. How many "unknowns" have you seen on the New York Times Best Seller List lately? Does
this mean that they will never publish unknowns? No. It means that in the world of high finance and
publishing house mergers, of both well-known magazines and book publishers, the bottom line is a
profit margin, and the new authors published each year by such conglomerates is dwindling. Sure it
happens. Occasionally a new author sneaks into the big publishing houses, but the chances are very
slim.
Are you really interested in getting published? Once you are a published author, editors look at
you in a completely different light. A few years ago, my only publication credits were poems in a
couple of magazines that didn't even pay with copies. Today, I have articles published in Writer's
Digest, Fiction Writer and many others. I have a novel and a collection of short stories published
electronically and in print. I co-edit an online magazine and conduct workshops and speaking
engagements at writers' conventions and gatherings. I owe this success to a love of writing, a desire to
learn, a dedication to my craft, hard work and to the electronic publishing industry.
It was an electronic magazine publisher who bought my first short story and an e-book publisher
who bought my first book.
Am I saying that if you turn to e-books and e-zines you will automatically have your work
accepted every time? No, you won't. I still get rejections every week. Rejection slips will still be
arriving in the mail, but I am saying that if you present quality work, your chances will increase
dramatically, and mixed in with those nasty "No's" will be the wonderful acceptance note that says,
"Yes! We want to publish your story."
Don't get left out. Look to electronic publications and Cyberspace for the boost your career needs.
You can only grow from there.
Here is how.
I have not designed this book as a primer for the mechanics of writing. You probably already have
some of those. If you do not, you should get at least one or two. If you bought this book, you feel you
are ready for publication or at least close to it. I have divided the information into seven parts:
1.
What is electronic publishing?
2.
Nuts & bolts of writing.
3.
What are your rights?
4.
Finding agents and publishers.
5.
Self-promotion.
6.
Alternative publishing ideas.
7.
How to use this book effectively and the Appendix.
Although we will touch on some of the basics such as grammar, some writing exercises and
character profiles to kick-start your creative process, the main purpose of this book is to help you get
published. My second goal is to show you how to promote yourself and your work after you are
published. To accomplish this task, I include a series of real questions and answers from successful
authors and comments from professional editors taken directly from a survey that my column, Ask Dr.
Web-Write, conducted for Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine.
The general focus of this book is writing and selling fiction, but the techniques and submission
procedures apply to nonfiction as well. Whether you write short stories, nonfiction articles, essays or
novels, using the tips in this book can help you get published. The methods I talk about really work,
and I know because I've used them.
I will address issues that concern professional authors as well as those just getting started. If you
want to get published, you are on the right track. You have this book in your hands or on the computer
screen if you are reading it electronically. How you use it is up to you.
First, let's discuss some definitions of a writer. See if you recognize yourself.
Masochist, fool, hermit, sadist, slave, dreamer and a thousand more descriptive adjectives describe
us, but most of all, we are passionate lovers.
Our love?
Words.
Recently, I was in the break room of the local college where I work. I was sipping coffee, the
favorite nectar of writers. (Well okay, the favorite next to straight bourbon.) I was thinking about what I
would say in this book that could really help a struggling, new writer when I happened to overhear a
couple of electronics professors talking. They were talking about a teachers' conference they had
recently attended, and one said to the other, "You know how those English teachers are. In love with
words. Every one of them."
"Yeah," the other one said, "Them and writers. All a bunch of kooks."
They both laughed heartily and went back to their classes.
I laughed too. They were right. We are in love with words. Why else would we labor over one
sentence for hours, writing and rewriting, putting a comma in and thirty minutes later, taking it out
again? Why else would we change the word laughed to chuckled to grinned to guffawed to smiled and
finally back to laughed again only to delete it in the end and start over?
Why else would we spend hours in front of our computer or typewriter tapping out the lives of our
fictional characters while our real life families sit in the next room watching TV, reading or doing
whatever they do without us? Come on, admit it. Most of you don't really know how they spend their
time when you are slaving away, deep into a heated plot, oblivious to all but your character's lives. Do
you?
I know that I am not really sure how my husband, Joe, spends his time when I am writing.
Who else would isolate themselves into hermit-like status, tethered by invisible chains of their
own design to a computer or typewriter for days or weeks or even months while they finish that "one
last chapter?"
Only masochists would repeatedly set themselves up for rejection by pouring out their souls on
paper and shipping that soul off to strangers who may give it a glance, then toss it onto the slush pile
and let it languish beneath hundreds of other souls sent by equally masochistic people.
Who else but sadists would sit at a typewriter hour after hour while the rest of their family waits
eagerly for them to join in the celebration of some holiday or other?
Why are we like this?
Because we can't help ourselves.
It is inborn--a flaw--a birth defect--a glorious gift. You can't change it any more than you can
change your DNA so stop trying.
Give in. Let that latent Hemingway and long hidden Poe surface. Let them breathe and sing sweet
songs to you. Let them show you what you were born to do. Let them write.
Chapter Two
Cyberspace: The Writer's New Frontier
Recently, while speaking at a writer's conference, the question I was asked most often was, "Do
you feel that electronic publishing will replace the traditional publishing industry?"
My answer is unequivocally, "No." I don't believe it will happen in our lifetimes.
Did you ever watch a writer or a habitual reader in a bookstore or library? Our fingers caress the
covers of books that we slide gently from the shelves. We spread the pages slowly and lovingly touch
each page as our minds embrace the bold words poised expectantly upon the silken pages.
Almost sensual isn't it?
Will we give that experience up? Not in the near future, I'm sure. However, the electronic medium
can, and already does, enhance the publishing industry. In our rapidly changing society of
technological advances, the next logical step is virtual literature. Just as only a few decades ago, audio
books broadened the availability of quality literature for everyone, so will the people of this century
experience the phenomenal development of new ways to enjoy reading.
My work has been published in print and electronically, and I have found that both mediums are
direct paths to the reading public.
Electronic books and magazines have their own special magic just as inspiring and addicting as
the print ones. Affordability, availability, and ease of use along with exciting new voices in all the
genres offer the reading public choices they have never before experienced, and sales are growing
daily. We at JoPop Publications publish our magazines both electronically and in hard copy, and I can
confidently say that printed publications will not disappear. However, electronic publishing is an
adventure from which we can all benefit. The school children of today are the reading public of
tomorrow, and they are learning the benefits of electronic literature along with the printed form. We
must be ready for them.
The precedent is set.
Electronic publishing is an alternative--an addition to other types of publishing. Diana R.
Moreland says, "Around the turn of the Century through the 1930's, the dime novel or pulp fiction
served the public as a cost effective alternative to the higher priced books of the era. This publishing
alternative also became a warm up pen for new authors." These inexpensive forms were often viewed
by the elite of publishing as amateurish and not worthy of their attention; however, the reading public
loved them. Paperback books became common in 1950's and 1970's for the same reason. In fact, one of
the most popular genres today began with the "Pulp" era. Science fiction came into its own and greats
like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne became household companions for the common folk.
What does this have to do with e-publishing? History does repeat itself. Today as the cost of
publishing print books and magazines soars, the prices of the products are rising to all time highs.
Some print books cost as much as $30.00 or more. On the other hand, the average e-book costs about
$5.00. You could say the electronic era is putting affordable, quality literature back into the hands of
the public just as the pulp era put literature into the hands of common man.
What does electronic publishing really mean?
The term encompasses a multitude of markets. You can read online magazines, books, anthologies
and more on a computer or print them out to read later. You can read them on futuristic, hand-held
electronic readers like the Gemstar eBook®, Franklin's E-bookman® and the Palm Pilot®. E-books are
available alongside printed books in online bookstores as well as some established, "traditional"
bookstores, or you can download them in virtual format directly from the Internet. The field is very
open to new and under-published writers as well as the more famous ones. Many authors, both famous
and new, have Websites where they post their work for sale or provide links to the publisher. It's the
newest way to promote your work and get noticed.
What is an e-book?
Electronic books are usually recorded on diskettes or CDs. Most can also be downloaded directly
to your computer or hand-held reader from the NET. They have cover art by well-known artists and
book jackets with the author's bio and picture just like a print book. When published by a reputable
publishing company, they are quality books by quality authors.
What kind of writing do they use?
Electronic publishing has many needs. Publishers of books, magazine articles, poetry, short
fiction, nonfiction and more are looking for new, talented writers. The newest phase of electronic
publishing is the serial novel that is usually sent via e-mail to subscribers in monthly or semimonthly
installments. Many famous authors like Patricia L. White and others are publishing in this new form.
Stephen King is even getting in on the serial act. His first electronic only version of a short book,
"Riding The Bullet" was so successful that he offered a serial, "The Plant" for download from his own
site. If such famous authors as these are interested, we know there is a future in writing for the
electronic publishing industry.
So how do you get published electronically?
First, you must submit to a reputable publisher. How do you know if they are reputable? Check
their history. How long have they been in business? What have they published? If they ask for a fee of
any kind, beware. Although reputable subsidy publishers do exist, they should promote themselves as
such. If they do not, look elsewhere. A couple of places to check for publishers while you are online are
The Association of Electronic publishers at welcome.to/AEP and Preditors & Editors, (yes, that's
spelled right) www.sfwa.org/prededitors .
Follow the publisher's guidelines closely. Many accept e-mail submissions. Some prefer print
copies of your manuscript. Just like traditional publishers, they each have their own process for
considering submissions. Most have their guidelines posted online and may even have sample contracts
for you to view before you submit.
The editor of an electronic publication considers your work just as any other editor would. One
major difference about submitting to electronic publications is that usually the wait is much shorter.
Often, you will get an answer to your submission within weeks instead of months as with some print
houses. Sometimes you can have an answer in just a few days.
Editor of the Word Museum, Lori Soard, says in the June 27th, 2000 issue of her newsletter,
"Have a plan to deal with rejections. Keep a running list of publishing houses you will submit to when
a manuscript comes back. If the editor has made comments you agree with, make your changes and
send the book right back out. It's a good idea to even have the envelope addressed and ready to be
mailed." www.wordmuseum.com/
If you are submitting via postal mail and not e-mail you would have a SASE ready for the next
submission. If you are submitting via e-mail, you wouldn't need the SASE. Always keep track of your
submissions. You can use a 3X5 card file to write the work you submitted, the date, the publisher you
submitted to and their approximate reply time. Or you can use a form like the one in the Appendix of
this book, called the submission tracker. If you are more technologically inclined and want to track
your manuscripts with a software program. I highly recommend S.A.M.M. This is free program you
can download from www.sandbaggers.8m.com/. It doesn't matter which way you track your
submissions, but it is important that you do.
After all this submitting and tracking pays off and a publisher accepts your work, the usual process
begins. You will review and sign contracts, discuss cover graphics, send updated bios and so on.
But what about your rights? What about plagiarism?
The copyright and ISBN numbers are as legal and binding for electronically published material as
they are for printed works. For more information on "E-rights" See the "We All Got Rights" chapter in
this book.
How do I find the online markets?
Markets abound on the WEB. Magazines, newsletters, book publishers and more, both paying and
non-paying, flourish. If you are an under-published or unpublished author, this is a good place to start.
If you are a seasoned, published author, this is fertile ground for new markets. Smart authors are
looking into this exciting, fast-growing avenue. Hundreds of Websites list both online and traditional
writers' markets. These online organizations list guidelines as well as links to publishers and reviewers
and sometimes offer recommendations. Writer's Digest www.writersdigest.com and Preditors &
Editors are good starting places. The Book Zone also lists hundreds of e-book and audio book
publishers at www.bookzone.com.
But what if you don't have a computer?
Public libraries, local schools and colleges, local adult centers and other places that almost any
town or city has usually offer computer and online access free or for a small charge. Some larger cities
have "Internet Cafes" where you can have a cup of coffee and check out the Internet at the same time.
Check with your local Chamber of Commerce for what your community has to offer.
Is writing for the Internet different from writing for traditional publishers?
In some ways it is. Most online magazines prefer shorter work and many accept e-mail
submissions. There are other differences, but basic writing technique and submission procedure is
much the same as for any publisher. Quality counts! Pay attention to details and guidelines. Don't be
misled into thinking that the literature on the WEB or in electronic books is inferior and start cleaning
out your old writing class exercises. Electronic publishers seek quality work and will accept nothing
less so send your best work, and your chances of being accepted will increase by a large percent.
What else should I do to get published electronically?
1.
Join writers' groups both online and in person. Members can help you
with markets, submissions and self-promotion to get noticed. These
organizations will also help with critiques of your work when you need it. I
belong to several critique groups and rarely send a submission to a publisher
without running it past one of the groups first. I even ran this book by one of my
most respected colleagues for critique before I submitted it.
2.
Keep a log of your submissions. It's not very professional (to say nothing
of being embarrassing) to submit the same story or article to a publication you
just submitted it to last week. I know about this because I have done it. Believe
me. My face was red for months.
3.
Update your bio. Be sure to enclose it with correspondence and press
releases whether you send them via e-mail or postal mail.
4.
Attend writers' conferences and chats, both online and in person. You will
find invaluable advice on new markets and writing techniques. It is an
exhilarating experience.
5.
Write. Write. Write. Don't get bogged down with searching for
submission sites. Start that new book, article or story right away.
What is in the future?
Electronic publishing is a giant step into the future--a pleasant excursion into the world of fiction,
science, education and more--a special brand of magic.
Don't limit yourself. Write in all mediums, and sell into the future. Capture the energy, and follow
this unique beacon of creativity into the new millennium.
Readers' Questions About Electronic Publishing.
You may still have a lot of questions about e-publishing. Because I get questions every day on the
subject for my "Ask Dr. WEB-Write" column, I decided to institute a survey. Many established authors,
editors and publishers graciously contributed their expertise and knowledge to help address the issues
you want to know. Let's talk about the intricacies of electronic publishing according to some questions
from real writers and some answers from some of these experts.
I am confused about online publishing and electronic publishing. What is the difference?
If it is published online, on disk, on a CD or even in audio format, it's electronic. (Although audio
rights are different from electronic rights, it is still considered "electronic" for these purposes. See more
about rights in the "We All Got Rights" chapter.)
Online magazines, newsletters, periodicals and anthologies are available to be read online, while
disks, CDs or tapes are read offline. You can also download many online publications to read at your
leisure.
Electronic books and book readers are becoming more and more popular because of their ease and
portability. You can read an e-book online or offline on your computer, a laptop, or a hand-held PC. Or
you can read it on a reader designed for that use such as The RocketBook Reader® or Softbook®.
Microsoft's® new reader or the Palm Pilot® also are great readers, and more are coming on the market
daily. These little marvels can store ten or more full length books in a lightweight device the size of a
regular paperback book or smaller, and they are completely portable. Most e-books can even be printed
out on your home printer in book form if you prefer.
Is writing for the WEB really that different from writing for print publications?
In the survey, we discovered that most writers and editors agree on one thing. Writing for the WEB
or any other electronic medium is very much the same as writing for any medium. Basic mechanics like
plot, characterization, conflict, setting, resolution and good grammar are a must for any kind of writing.
Fiction, nonfiction and poetry all have specific guidelines and formats. Use those no matter which
medium you submit to. If you are not sure of format and style, see the end of this book for some
suggested reading about these topics.
The major difference in writing for WEB magazines is that most require shorter pieces. Many
people who read while surfing the WEB often scroll the stories, skip large chunks of descriptive
paragraphs, and if they deem it too long for the time they have, they will not even read the story.
Instead, they will surf to a shorter piece. One reason for this is that in many parts of the world, we still
pay for Internet access by the minute or hour instead of a flat rate. Another reason is that everyone
doesn't have a dedicated phone line so they must keep their time online short so they won't tie up their
phone.
When writing for WEB published magazines, we must make every sentence be a "hook." We
know that in order to interest a reader, we must "hook" them with the first line. It has to be an attention
grabber and/or instill a question in the reader's mind so he or she must keep reading to see what
happens next. The best way to do this is to use active verbs consistently throughout the story. Use
words that convey more meaning so you can use fewer words. Sentences like, "He raged across the
room, bulldozing everything in his path." Eliminate the need for more description. The word raged
gives us "angry and out of control" and bulldozing tells us that he is destroying whatever or whoever is
in the room. We don't have to describe the details because the readers supply those with their own
minds.
Although e-book lengths are about the same as print books, our survey participants also agree that
the shorter novels (30,000-40,000) have a better chance in electronic publishing than at traditional,
print publishers who are now asking for 60,000 and up. (Unless, of course, you are an established and
famous author like Stephen King, from whom they will accept any length.) For the rest of us, the above
lengths usually apply.
Is there a difference in what the editors of print publications and the editors of electronic
publications look for?
This can be a confusing situation. One writer wrote, "I've published just under ten stories online,
and have others scheduled for publication, but I cannot seem to sell a story to a print publication. Is
there a difference in what these editors are looking for?"
We all know that the more popular print magazines get hundreds to thousands of submissions per
week. Our work really has to shine to get in. Heck, we have to be almost self-illuminating just to make
it out of the slush pile.
Yes, there is a difference in what they look for. I've found that it's not the writing that's different.
It's the presentation and the TIMING. If they have done a story with anywhere near the same plot,
characters, or theme anytime within the last six months to a year, they will reject it no matter how good
it is. Magazine editors are always on the lookout for something "different." What is different? It
depends on the editor. So take a good look at what your target market has published in the last year, and
submit accordingly.
The e-markets are becoming more popular so they too are being extra selective in their
manuscripts as the volume of submissions increases. We at Millennium started with about 20-40
submissions per month. Now we average more than 200 a month. That is true of all the online
publications that have lived long enough to establish themselves. My best advice is to read the
guidelines closely and adhere to them as if they were gospel because guidelines are gospel to an editor.
Read at least an excerpt or review of the magazine itself to see what kind of work they use.
Last of all, always present a clean, well-edited manuscript that is your best work yet. Editors
recognize a novice immediately if the manuscript isn't according to at least standard format rules.
It seems that many who submit (especially via e-mail) are unfamiliar with the proper format for
readable copies. It is vital that your submission comes to the editor's desk in a clear, concise, standard
format to insure that it at least gets read. After all if it's not read, its chances of acceptance drops to
zero.
Many publishers have basic format listed in their guidelines. If they do not, you can follow these
basic rules and be assured that you are presenting your manuscript in the most professional manner
possible.
Basic Manuscript Format
For postal mail, your materials should be unbound. Don't use staples, binding or cute little ribbons
to hold your manuscript together. (Yes, I have received submissions tied with pretty, pink ribbon, fancy
script that no one can read and/or cute, little pictures doodled in the margins.) Type your work neatly
using an easily readable font such as Courier New or Times New Roman.
The manuscript should be double-spaced. Type you name, address, phone number, e-mail, word
count and rights offered on the top of the first page. Also, each subsequent page should have a header
with the page number, the author's last name and the title. Your header should look something like this:
Popek/Title/Page #.
Your cover letter should never be more than one page and single-spaced. Do not tell the story in
the cover letter unless the guidelines request it. Instead, give the title of the story, the word count and
genre in the opening paragraph. Then list your credits if you have them, include contact information
and thank them for looking at your work.
When submitting via postal mail, be sure to include a SASE (Stamped, Self-addressed Envelope)
with enough postage for the return of your manuscript or a # 10 business size envelope for an answer to
your submission if you don't need the work back. Be sure to let them know if the manuscript is
disposable and/or available on disk or electronically in your cover letter. Never send your only copy.
Always retain a copy of your manuscript. The postal service in any country is a great boon to
communication, but they occasionally lose mail. So don't take chances.
Submitting via e-mail has a couple of different formats and rules. First, check the publication's
guidelines carefully. Find out if they accept attachments to e-mail. If they do, check which format they
prefer. Some want MSWord, (.doc) some want WordPerfect, (.wpd) and some prefer Rich Text Format
(.rtf). The most common is .rtf because almost any word processor can open it. The editor may not have
your word processing program and will not be able to open your file if it is an unacceptable format.
Most publishers will just delete your entire submission if they can't open it. They just do not have time
to "fiddle" with a file trying to get it open.
Do not try to cover all of your bases with multiple extensions on your file. I received one the other
day that looked like this: shortstory.rtf.htm.doc. Honest! It really looked like that. Just typing the
extension ".rtf" doesn't make that a Rich Text Format file and typing ".htm" does not make it a
Hypertext Markup file. The file must be saved in the format so the application that opens it recognizes
it as one of its own files.
No matter which word processor you use, most have an option for different formats under the
"save as" option. Click "save as," look at the bottom of your pop-up box for a drop down list of
formats, click the arrow and choose the preferred format. Then click "Ok." This should save your
document in the format you chose. Some publishers do not want attachments because of the rampant
virus alerts circulating the NET today. In that case, you would use copy and paste to insert the
manuscript in the body of the e-mail after your cover letter.
A Special Note About Cut & Paste
Be sure to use copy and paste, not cut and paste to insert the manuscript into the body of an email. A friend of mine followed instructions sent to her by the publisher to the letter. The publisher said
to use "cut and paste" to insert the manuscript into the body of the email. My friend is new to
computers so she did just that. She opened her manuscript in her word processor, selected it all, clicked
"cut," went to the e-mail program and clicked "paste." The manuscript went into the body of the e-mail
perfectly. She sent the submission, and as is her habit, deleted all of her sent messages from her email
program to free up valuable disk space. When she went back to the word processor to close the
program with the manuscript in it, the message "Do you want to save your changes?" came up as it
does in most word processors. She clicked yes. Later, when she tried to open the file for editing, she
found a blank page. She had used cut and then saved it, so the program had cut it and deleted the entire
manuscript.
Fortunately, she had printed a copy, but she had to retype the entire story. Don't let that happen to
you. Always use copy and paste, not cut and paste unless you want to delete the selected text.
A proper e-mail submission should include:
1.
Your name and contact information including phone number, e-mail
address and rights offered at the top.
2.
A short, single spaced cover letter just like you would send via postal
mail as described above.
3.
The manuscript as either an attachment or inserted in the body of your e-
mail.
4.
Be sure to have all the personal information and word count at the top of
the first page of the manuscript whether you paste it in the body of the e-mail or
send it as an attachment.
Those of you who use AOL as your Internet Service Provider have yet another problem when it
comes to submitting via e-mail. Our Fiction Editor, Diana R. Moreland (Di) has addressed this issue in
our guidelines. This is what she has to say about AOL submissions.
Special Instructions for AOL users who wish to submit to Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy
Magazine. [NOTE: These instructions apply only to Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy
Magazine submissions from AOL users, but many other publishers have the same problem so
check their guidelines closely for special AOL instructions]
Rarely do I receive an .RTF attachment from AOL.com that is not garbled beyond all recognition.
Those with this service have queried, "Will you accept a cut-and-paste text submission in the body of
the e-mail?" The answer is NO. Only poetry, riddles and flash fiction will be accepted as a cut-andpaste submission.
The problem with a text e-mail transmission is that the story was built in a word processor.
Conversion to text masks the formatting; it does not "change" it. A text e-mail usually comes to me in
8-pt font, single-spaced, with a hard return at 72 characters. All of the "cute" curly quotes have become
. When I pull the story into a word processor, all the formatting reappears skewed with the
headers and footers in the middle of the story in strange fonts, usually 16 points. So after I auto-format
to take out the extra hard returns, change all the  to quotes, find and delete all the headers and
footers, indent the paragraphs, set the margins, set the font at 12-pt, and double-space, I can print a hard
copy to read. I could also have read at least two, possibly three, submissions in the same time.
What to do? You are always welcome to send your story via "snail" mail. Or you can sign up for
an anonymous e-mail from Lycos, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. I recently sent an attachment to myself in .RTF
from Lycos. It came through beautifully.
Do Creative WEB sites that are run and maintained in one country accept stories from different
countries?
Yes, most do unless they are regionally oriented. Most of the online publishers I know feature
writers from all over the world. The wonderful thing about the WEB is that it is planet wide. There are
no borders in Cyberspace. We all belong to the same group--Humanity.
Be sure to check the guidelines of your target market before submitting. Some accept e-mail
submissions and others do not. Their guidelines will tell you how to submit. Remember when
submitting via regular mail, always--always--always (Did I stress that enough?) Always include a
stamped self-addressed envelope (SASE) or International Reply Coupon (IRC) if submitting to another
country. Each year we at JoPop Publications are forced to recycle many unread manuscripts because
they arrived with no accompanying SASE. We and most publishers cannot afford to provide postage for
the hundreds of manuscripts we get each year without sufficient return postage so they simply do not
get read or acknowledged.
If I am submitting work to a producer, who has requested my work, do I need to say somewhere
that this story was previously published, or reprinted with my permission?
Yes. No matter whether you submit it to a producer as a screenplay, a publisher for a book or a
magazine as an article or story, you should always mention if the manuscript has been previously
published. Usually you would share this information in your cover letter. Be sure to say where it was
published and when. You may think that it was published in a magazine so obscure that they will never
know. You could be right, but the odds are they will find out, and if they pay for First Rights, they
could pull your piece and demand their payment back. This could give you a bad name in the
publishing business. Even if it was only published in a very small circulation publication (like a local
newspaper) you should mention it. That way, they will remember your integrity the next time you
submit, and your chances of acceptance increase.
Chapter Three
What Editors Have To Say
Electronic publishing is advancing so rapidly it is hard to keep up with the day-to-day progress
and changes. In order to give you the most up to date news on e-publishing as of this printing, I asked
the experts.
In my mini survey of both editors and authors who publish on the WEB or use the WEB to
promote their work or publication, I found some very good advice. Here are their answers and
conclusions. Note especially what they have to say about manuscript preparation for electronic
publishing and submission procedures.
I rounded the percentages to the nearest whole number so for those of you who are math experts
and might notice such things, a couple of the questions came out either a little less or a little more than
100%.
I found some interesting points. One is that most editors agree that shorter is better on the WEB.
(At least for magazines.) People don't seem to take the time to read longer pieces as much as they do
the shorter ones. Two is that it seems that authors don't take the time to polish a manuscript as much if
they are sending it via e-mail as they do when sending it by regular mail.
Authors take note: This is a good point as editors will reject a sloppy, un-proofed manuscript sent
via e-mail as fast (or perhaps faster) than one sent via snail mail so be sure to self-edit your story before
you click that "send" button.
Below are some of the questions I asked magazine editors and their responses in percentages.
What length of fiction do you find
gets the most reader response?
Under 1000: words:
10%
1000-3000:
60%
3000-5000:
20%
Over 5000:
0%
No Answer:
10%
If you publish reviews, what length
do you find gets the most reader
response?
Under 200 words:
0%
200-300:
33%
Over 300:
0%
Do not do reviews:
33%
Don't know:
33%
If you publish poetry, what length
do you find gets the most reader
response?
Under 40 lines:
50%
40-60:
17%
Over 60:
0%
Don't know:
33%
If you publish online, do you find
your readers usually?
Read online:
29%
Download the stories:
14%
Print the stories:
5%
Don't know:
52%
Do you publish both online and
hard copy?
Hard copy only:
12%
Online only:
63%
Both:
25%
If you have a WEB site, but don't
publish online, do you find it
increases your print copy sales?
Yes:
20%
No:
20%
Not sure:
60%
(We think this high percentage of
"not sure" is due to the newness of
the WEB and not enough feedback
from readers.)
Our payment policy is
Monetary:
50%
Copies:
17%
Both monetary & Copies: 7%
Publication only:
17%
Note:
This question shows that
contrary to what you may have heard
about online publishers not paying,
many online magazines do pay. In
fact 67% of those surveyed said they
pay at least a token payment to their
authors, and some pay pro rates (3
cents a word or more).
What rights do you purchase?
One-time rights:
30%
First North American Serial 20%
Rights:
First Electronic Rights:
First World Electronic
10%
30%
Rights:
Other:
10%
Do you accept e-mail submissions?
Yes:
71%
Sometimes:
29%
How do you find the quality of email submissions compared to snail
mail submissions?
Better:
25%
Not as good:
50%
No difference:
25%
(Note: I believe this 50% is due to
drawer cleaning exercises by some
writers who are under the
misconception that anything can get
published on the WEB. This is simply
not true. We must send out our best
work no matter where we send it.)
Are your online readers mostly
surfers or regulars (as in
subscribers)?
Surfers:
29%
Regulars:
71%
Do you have a reader's choice poll?
Yes:
20%
No:
60%
Other:
20%
Do you publish new and
unpublished authors?
Yes:
100%
Are you also an author as well as
an editor?
Yes:
100%
(We asked this question to let you
know that the editors are human too,
and they do really understand a
writer's problems.)
We also asked the editors what they look for in a submission. Here are some of the replies.
Jeremy Malcolm: Ibn Qirtaiba, sf.sig.au.mensa.org/We accept most submissions because with a
monthly format, I usually have enough space to run the majority of what I get, but I reject submissions
that are grammatically incorrect, strongly offensive, not SF, very pulpy and derivative, too obtuse to
follow or have been published elsewhere on the WEB.
Steve Algieri: Eternity & Pulp Eternity
1. Characters (especially ethnic ones) who, by their actions, change or inspire change in others or
society.
2. Defined and different settings.
3. Stories that take on issues.
4. An edge.
Raechel Henderson: Jackhammer E-Zine, Dark Matter Chronicles, Faerie Gold, www.eggplantproductions.com. I want a story to touch me in some way. Make me laugh, cry, look over my shoulder
or cringe. If the story doesn't move me, then I'll pass on it.
Weston Ochise: Bloody Muse, Pillow Screams
What everyone looks for. Quality, originality, concise work that hits hard and carries the reader all the
way through.
Jean Goldstrom: Anotherealm, www.anotherealm.com/A story that makes me laugh or makes me
cry, but in either case, a story that makes me scream for more!
Jon Hodges: The Cooperative and Virtual Lobotomy, www.blindside.net/. The main thing I look
for in every submission is a sense of place. Don't just concentrate on the story, concentrate on what is
taking place around the story. Description, description, description is what I'm wanting more of.
Greg F. Gifune: Thievin' Kitty Publications, www.capecod.net/thievinkitty/. I want proper
manuscript format and my submission guidelines followed. Well written stories that grab my interest
immediately and hold it. Stories that fit the theme of our publications.
What do you feel is the major difference in writing for the WEB and writing for traditional
publishing?
We got many varied answers to this one, but the majority agreed that shorter stories and articles
work better on the WEB and that the author should be careful about which publications he or she
submits to. Weston Ochse said, "Although there are many sites out there that pretend to be zines, many
are nothing more than homepages or clubs. They usually accept everything and that can make the
legitimate magazines look bad in the eyes of newcomers."
Because of this last observation, you should check the record and guidelines of your target
publication. Make sure it is a legitimate e-zine or e-book publisher before you submit. The Appendix at
the back of this book lists some reliable publishers as well as sites you can go to check out a
publication's reputation.
Other editors pointed out that the WEB allows for interactive reading with guest books, message
boards, chat rooms, etc. Writers can get immediate feedback on their work.
Steve Algieri said, "Most differences are imagined, not real. If anything, slow paced stories lose
some readers early."
So for magazines, keep those stories fast paced, short, descriptive and use lots of action. Read the
guidelines and proof your work before you send it, and you will sell on the WEB.
Chapter Four
Published Authors Speak
You have heard from the editors, now let's hear from some e-published authors as they share with
us why they publish on the WEB and electronically. This portion of the survey presents the authors'
conclusions. I have included comments from many of the authors surveyed. Again, I rounded the
percentages to the nearest whole number so for those of you who are math experts and might notice
such things, a couple of the questions came out either a little less or a little more than 100%.
The most interesting point I came across during this survey was that an overwhelming majority of
these authors were first published in the traditional print form and are now using the WEB to promote
their work as well as submitting and being published in electronic form. (E-books, e-zines, etc.) So, we
can see from these results that it's not just new authors that are turning to Cyberspace for new
publishing paths. It's also more established authors as well, and the work is of very high quality.
Therefore, to those nay-sayers that predicted electronic publishing was a "passing fad" or had only
"inferior" work because the writers couldn't make it in the "real world" of print publishing, I say, "Nana-we told you so!"
First, the questions and results in percentages:
What mediums are you published
in?
[Note: Many of the authors polled
were published in more than one
medium and/or write in several
categories so the % points reflect the
total only.]
Audio:
35%
E-book:
62%
Hard Copy (Traditional Print): 52%
Webzines:
49%
Print Magazines:
62%
Other:
24%
What do you write?
Novels:
43%
Short fiction:
62%
Nonfiction:
41%
Other:
33%
Note: "Other" includes poetry. We
discovered almost all of the authors
at least tinker with that form even if
they don't focus on it as some of the
more well known Poets such as
Harvey Stanbrough do.
If you are published both
electronically and in the traditional
print mediums, which came first?
Electronic:
18%
Traditional:
82%
Here is the proof that established
authors are helping to making the
electronic print industry grow and
that they see a future in the field.
Has WEB exposure increased your
sales and/or editorial contacts?
Yes:
63%
No:
7%
Not Sure:
31%
Many of the authors said they hadn't
been using the WEB long enough to
make a positive statement either way.
If Yes, by what percent?
Here the answers ranged from 10% to
100% with an average of about 73%.
So we can see that using the WEB for
promotion or publishing
electronically definitely can and has
increased sales and editorial contacts
for those who explore this highway to
success.
Do you find you sell shorter
or longer work on the WEB?
Shorter:
26%
Longer:
28%
No Difference:
46%
These scores include novels and
nonfiction as well as short fiction and
other types of writing so our
conclusion is: If you write well,
present a clean, well edited
manuscript and have the proper word
count and format according to the
publication's guidelines, you will sell
your work no matter what length it is.
Now here are some of the comments the authors themselves made about electronic
publishing:
Vella Munn, "...the time from acceptance to publication is much shorter, but what makes an impact
with me is that after publishing with seven traditional publishers, I enjoy the mutual 'learn as we go'
approach. The writer's input is solicited all along the way...."
Lynn M. Huffsteller, "I find no difference in the actual writing. I do find that decisions regarding
submissions come much faster from the online editors."
Eric Emert, "The competition isn't as great nor is the payment. But that will change."
Linda S. Bingham, www.flamewriter.com "I found my agent through e-mail/website. I'm building my
own website..."
Jason Gurley, come.to/deeplyshallow "I've developed a strong acquaintance with several editors to
whom I have submitted. Now as a new editor myself of Deeply Shallow, I intend to carry on the
tradition...."
Diana Kirk/Diana Hart, www.eclectics.com/dianakirk "The time span from acceptance to
publication is much shorter. Also, the convenience of e-mailing versus U.S. Mail is much faster, better,
and cost effective."
Jane Toombs, "Electronic publishers are more open to cross-genre books...E-pubs are also more author
friendly, with contracts that are easy to understand. And royalty payments are prompt."
Richard Wright, "...the format allows for very specific novelties like Apocalypse year at
www.blindside.net, high tech, integrated media, which need to be approached carefully. On the whole,
though, a story is a story, whether digitized or printed."
All in all, the authors interviewed were extremely happy with their Cyber exposure and hailed this
new frontier as the wave of the future with the chance of publication increasing by dramatic odds.
Okay. So now you know what e-publishing really is, you've heard from some of the editors and
authors and see the advantage. We have also talked about proper submission format and protocol, so
what's next?
Read the rest of the book. Check the last chapter and find hints about the best way to use this
book, then check the Appendix for links to more helpful writers sites and publishers. Use the next few
chapters to help strengthen your writing, sell what you write and promote what you sell.
Then you write! Write and submit. Remember that you will get submissions returned to you, and if
your work is rejected, don't take it personally. Every week we get a few unpleasant, little notes from
some of the writers that we have to turn down. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING shows your lack of
professionalism more than sending a nasty note to the editors if you are rejected. You can be sure that
the editor will remember, and you can forget ever having anything published by that editor no matter
how good your work is. Another point is that editors talk among themselves. When one gets a note like
this, they will usually share it with others, and word spreads with your name. I'm sorry that this is true,
but it is human nature, and your chances of publication with any of those in that editor's circle drop to
around negative zero. The point is to get your name noticed by editors and readers but not with those
connotations.
Mind your "P"s, and your "Q"s will follow. Perseverance is the good "P" word and Procrastinate is
the bad "P" word. I wrote my first poem when I was six years old and my first story when I was eight,
but I was 49 years old, before I was published for the first time. Now that's perseverance!
Unfortunately, it is also procrastination.
To be published, you must submit your work. Just writing the world's best novel won't get it read-submitting and getting it published will. Write and submit until the Post Office has to hire new
personnel to carry all the manuscripts. Embrace the good "P" word--Perseverance. Don't be the
procrastinating creature that I was.
Remember, a good writer is always a good reader first. Read everything from the newspaper to the
classics to mainstream fiction. Read and learn. Then write about what you learned.
Part Two
Nuts And Bolts
Chapter Five
First Nut: Writer's Block
The first nut of writing (and one of the toughest to crack) is writer's block. What can you do when
the old cerebral cortex seems to have gone on vacation and you are left back on the farm holding an
empty idea bucket? What do you do when the vision just won't come?
At one of my speaking engagements, I had a revelation. It was a wonderful and informative
weekend. Mingling with other writers and editors is an exhilarating experience. While there, I suddenly
realized that as writers, we often isolate ourselves to get the job done, and in doing so, we often miss
the very experience that will give us the fresh ideas for new stories, poems and novels. What better
place to gain new insight and exciting ideas than in the world "where it's happening?" So, get out into
the world of authors and learn!
A few weeks ago, some writer friends of mine and I were discussing the dreaded affliction of
writer's block over coffee. We decided, after about an hour of vigorous discussion and two pots of
coffee, that it didn't exist and that we sometimes just use "The Block" as an excuse not to write. Then
we spent the next two hours discussing how we overcome this "nonexistent" plague of writers.
Oh fickle authors. How we deceive ourselves. I'm afraid that all of our wonderful theories
evaporate when faced with the very real nemeses of Writer's Block.
Have you ever experienced it? Most of us have at one time or another. We stare at a blank piece of
paper or a blank screen, and our mind stays just as blank as what we are staring at.
What can you do?
Attend writers' workshops or conventions if possible. Join online critique or exercise groups.
Attend online chats. One of the best ways to overcome the block is to take a walk. Experience the heat
or cold or the pleasant breeze. It doesn't matter what the weather is like. Taste it! Smell it! Touch it!
What does a leaf feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? Write about it!
Talk to people. Any people. Talk to your neighbor. Heck, you can even talk to your neighbor's cat.
Speak to the bag boy or girl at the supermarket. Visit with the older gentleman sitting on the park bench
waiting for his wife to finish shopping. You can bet he's got some stories.
Listen!
Listen to their stories beneath the pleasantries of, "Isn't it a nice day?" Imagine that the woman in
the red dress is going shopping in preparation for a cruise with a mysterious stranger, and she must find
just the right pale blue nightie...or the right sized hatchet...or the right intergalactic transmitter...or just
the right ____________. You fill in the blank.
Read a book, a newspaper or a magazine. The Bible has a wealth of ideas. You will find stories
about everything from love and faith to vengeance, war, adultery and even space travel. Thumb through
your old stories and scribbled notes from those flashes of inspiration you had while washing dishes or
changing the baby. I often use pieces of other work or unfinished work I've started to jump-start a
lagging story I'm working on. Once the idea is in the story, the words begin to flow, and the characters
come to life again. Sit down and just start writing. Write nonsense if you have to. Simply write
whatever words come to your mind even if it doesn't make sense. You can always scrap it later. At least
you have gotten words on paper! Remember, "write" is an active verb. Thinking is not writing. Talking
is not writing. To write, we must use action. We must write to be writers. Harvey Stanbrough, noted
poet and Pulitzer Prize nominee, told me once that the best way he has of overcoming writer's block is
to write about writer's block. Try it. What can it hurt?
Writer's block can only be removed by imagining the unimaginable and writing about it. So clear
that block and write--darn it--write!
Chapter Six
Another Nut: Grammar
There are as many grammar rules as there are people so I am not going to try to discuss them all.
If you feel you have a problem with the grammar and syntax aspect of writing, please get a good book
on the subject. For the nitty-gritty rules, my personal "Grammar Bible" is HARBRACE COLLEGE
HANDBOOK, Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Another excellent source is THE EVERYDAY
ENGLISH HANDBOOK, Doubleday & Company, Inc. There are many good books on the subject out
there so look around, and if you don't already own a few, get some.
I would like to touch on a couple of special points on in this section. The first is the dreaded
comma. This little fellow is the most misunderstood and misused mark in the English language. As an
editor, I see him abused and misplaced and downright degraded every day by writers. (Don't tell
anyone, but I have been guilty of such abuse myself at times. We all have misplaced this little helper at
one time or another, haven't we?)
The comma is really very useful for many things like lists, coordinating conjunctions, after
introductory phrases or clauses and clarification, but when misused and spliced, he becomes
superfluous and faulty. Using a comma can convey the meaning of a sentence in the same way that
pauses in conversation convey meaning. However, it is not to be used simply as a place to stop and take
a breath, and a comma should NEVER be used instead of a good strong period or question mark.
We can use him as a parenthetical placeholder instead of parentheses, always a good idea, and he
does a magnificent job.
Remember that this cute, little swirly-cue is not an end punctuation, and when used wrongly, he
can cause destructive run-on sentences that will ruin your prose. If you are even a little bit unsure of
comma rules, check before you use him.
Do not fall into the paranoid grammar trap. Sometimes we edit our work so much that we begin to
see what we want to be there rather than what really is there. We can also become so paranoid about
proper comma placement and such that we actually begin to make mistakes that we wouldn't ordinarily
make if we just let the words flow and use common grammar sense. This book is a perfect example of
that. Because I was writing about grammar, I found myself putting commas where they didn't belong
and taking them out where they did. My paranoia told me that it had to be absolutely perfect. Finally, I
realized that I am human, and I make mistakes just like anyone else. You need to realize that too. That
does not mean that you can submit a sloppy manuscript and get away with it, but an occasional mistake
is human. If you have checked and edited your story to the best of your knowledge and used the proper
grammar rules, you should be fine. We must never stop studying and learning as writers. Everyday, I
learn something new about the craft. You will find that even after your work is published, you will read
it and want to make changes. A work is never really finished or perfect to the author.
Colons and Semicolons
As an editor, one of the grammar issues that annoys me the most is the overuse or misuse of the
all-powerful colon and his almost as powerful cousin the semicolon. The creators of written English
designed these strong marks of punctuation as stoppers: They make the reader physically stop reading
for an instant. This is true with a colon even more than with a period because it says, "Alert! There is
more to come on this subject. Prepare for it!" A reader takes a mental moment to collect himself and
prepare for the news. These marks are sort of an announcement that important news is to follow;
however, a period says simply, "The end."
The colon and semicolon are heavy-duty workhorses. They were designed to be used in nonfiction
and technical works more than in fiction. They actually distract from the story and become boring if
used too much. I suggest you don't use them in fiction at all if you can help it. If you absolutely MUST
use them, please use them sparingly.
These bold; flamboyant; show stoppers should never be used instead of commas; nor should they
be used as periods: They are like too much leisure time: excessive inactivity will destroy your work
performance; in the same way, an overabundance of colons or semicolons will destroy your story.
Other grammar rules such as the fact that all sentences must have a subject and a verb, good
spelling, active versus passive voice and proper syntax are elementary so I won't go into them here. Just
check your rules, and your writing will shine with professionalism.
Chapter Seven
Dialect And Other Bolts
Dialect is one of the most difficult aspects of fiction writing to master. The intricacies of language
that we hear with our ears are often nearly impossible to translate into words on paper. Do not confuse
dialect with dialogue. Dialogue happens when one character speaks to another. Dialect means that the
words the character uses are flavored with accent and/or cultural background. An example of dialect is
the word "ya'll" to mean "you all." Sometimes your character must use dialect to distinguish her
characteristics for the reader.
Usually if a character's speech is heavy with dialect, she will also have to use idioms. An idiom is
a specialized vocabulary used by a group of people sometimes referred to as jargon. Idioms are
expressions that are not commonly understood by all cultures even within the same language group
because they are often regional. For example, the expression "keep tabs on" means to track or watch.
The expression "cut myself off" does not mean to actually slice flesh. It means to distance oneself from
a person or thing either physically or mentally. If your character uses idioms, sometimes it is necessary
to explain to the reader what it means. You can do this by having one of the characters ask what it
means or by the use of explanatory narrative.
Here is an example of active narrative explaining.
"I'm gonna have to go up yonder," she said pointing toward the hill behind her.
Her pointing to the hill lets the reader know that "up yonder" means "up there" to the hill.
This is an example of explaining dialogue with a question from another character
"I'm gonna have to go up yonder," she said.
"Yonder?" he asked.
"Yeah, you know, up there, ya goon. On top 'a that hill. Don't ya unnerstand English?"
Don't use dialect unless you are comfortable with it. Use only those dialects that you have heard
and can identify, and don't overdo it. Some people prefer dialect in writing, and some do not. For a fun
look at dialect, (You might get some ideas, but don't use it as gospel) take a look at The Dialectizer
Page rinkworks.com/dialect/. It's an interesting way to look at dialect.
How do editors handle dialect?
I recently did an exercise in dialect for Ardeon, a writers' group I belong to. Here is an excerpt for
an example.
"Yep. Slashed his throat, I did. Ya should'a been there. It was great. Blood everywhere, sirens
wailin' and me just standin' there with that knife ya give me in my hand."
As you can see, this is very heavy dialect.
In Strunk and White's Elements of Style they say, "Do not use dialect unless your ear is good."
That is excellent advice.
Dialect is like pepper. Use it sparingly and it flavors the story with an unforgettable taste your
reader will enjoy. Use it too heavily and the tale is unpalatable. I only use dialects that I am familiar
with. I would never attempt to do an Australian accent or a "Cockney" one because I don't hear them
often enough. The main thing is to use it consistently. If your character says, "Ya'll" in one sentence, he
better not say "You all" in the next.
As an editor, I feel that dialect (used properly) can characterize better than any description in far
fewer words, but when used excessively, (that is the whole piece written in dialect) it can get boring
and hard to read unless the author is a master at the art. When I get a submission with cumbersome
dialect that is difficult to read, I usually reject it simply because if I get bored, so will my readers. But if
that dialect is spontaneous, well crafted, brings home the character of the person speaking and tells me
about him without obscuring the story, I'll use that author's work.
A good test is to read it aloud. If it sounds genuine like the dialect you hear real people speak, it's
probably okay. If it doesn't sound authentic, change it or get rid of it.
Most of the editors that I deal with feel the same, but this is a subject that you will hear a dozen
different opinions about, and it really is a matter of taste for an editor.
Dialect is hard work. For instance, in my short story "The Alien Feeder," the alien character is a
small, flying creature that the protagonist describes as "A pink sausage with wings." He can't speak
English well and has a unique dialect. As I wrote, I realized that his words could obscure the story by
making the reader muddle through them so I had him learn the language as he spoke it--fast. I
explained this to the reader though the protagonist's mind, using inner dialogue, as she realized that his
English was getting better by the minute. After the first couple of paragraphs of dialect, he had learned
decent English and the reader doesn't question that his words are easier to read because it has already
been explained.
Of course, that doesn't work in all situations. Real people wouldn't get better in just minutes as this
little fellow did. The solution to that is not to have really heavy dialect to start with. You only need the
flavor of the vernacular to make it ring true.
In the case of the above exercise, the man was very excited and probably illiterate so he slurred his
words more than usual.
Later in the example exercise, when he is threatened and he is trying to placate the protagonist, his
language gets better. He says, "I'm sorry, your Highness. I didn't think-I--didn't tell them anything--I--"
This would probably really happen when falling from a state of euphoria where he is talking all in a
rush into a state of fear where subconsciously he was choosing his words carefully so as not to upset
her more.
Did I think about all of this while I was writing this piece? Heck no. I just wrote. Then when I got
a question about dialogue, I looked at the piece carefully to see if I had overdone it and realized that
this all happened subconsciously. It is all a part of the writing process.
When writing dialect, remember the pepper. Just a pinch will flavor your story. Too much will ruin
it.
Chapter Eight
Word Count Counts
Word count is not as simple as it seems. In a perfect world, word count wouldn't matter. We could
just write an awesome story, send it to a publisher and she would send us a check. In a slightly less
perfect world, we could just count the words and immediately know exactly how many there were in
our manuscript. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect or even an almost perfect world.
Publishers often figure by the column inch. Electronic word processors do not count the same
way. Some count words as a set number of spaces, some count them from space to space between
words and others use different methods. If you are going to submit your work, you must be aware of
the importance of word count. Almost all publishers have minimum and maximum word limits which
are mostly determined by space available in their publications. Sending a 10,000-word story to an
editor whose guidelines state the maximum word count at 2,000 is a waste of your money. And trust
me, it will not endear you to that editor when you send your next submission. It wastes both her time
and yours.
What are the technicalities of word counts?
Word count usually encompasses the body of the work, excluding title, byline and author
information. Even one-letter words like "a" and "I" count as a word. Most word processors have word
count capabilities, but if you are unsure, a good rule of thumb is that an 8 ½ by 11 sheet of doublespaced, 12-point font is about 250 words. If you use a proportional (letters take up only as much space
as the size needed for each letter) font such as Times New Roman, you will get more words per page. A
font like Courier New will have fewer words on each page because each letter takes exactly the same
amount of space no matter how large or small the letter. Of course, the larger your font size, the fewer
words will fit on the page. The average font size for most manuscripts is 12-14 point.
Here is an example using 14 point:
This is Times New Roman, and we will use the word, "Letter"
This is Courier New, and we will use the word, "Letter"
See how the same sentence takes different amounts of space on the page? Naturally, you would
not have as many words per page with a font such as Courier New as you would with a proportional
font.
The best way is to count the number of words on a page and multiply that by how many pages you
have in the story. For instance, say that the first full page has 250 words, and you have 4 ½ pages. So 4
½ times 250 equals approximately 1,125 words. Some print publications count as if one word = six
spaces. In that case, "a girl" becomes one "print" word. That is why when the payment is calculated by
the word count, the total check is often less in print than e-publications.
How are acronyms and hyphenated words counted? If a writer creates a hyphenated word from
two or more words, would that count as just one word? Is there a standard to follow or do
publishers determine word counts on an individual basis?
If it is a "legally" hyphenated word, (hyphenated in a dictionary) it is one word. If it is used to
make a word count come down, editors usually will not count it as one word (although your word
processor will probably count it as only one).
Example: "word-count" or "flash-fiction" would be counted as two words by most editors.
Hyphenating doesn't change that to an editor who must keep his word count to a specified number of
spaces. Acronyms are counted as one word, but be careful with them. Many less common ones can
confuse the reader and must be spelled out in parentheses such as SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) or you
must explain it in detail, which, of course, necessitates more words. If you have an acronym that you
reuse, you need only explain it once. Acronyms are popular in military science fiction because the
military has been the source of many of the acronyms we use daily, such as "snafu."
I would say that if you are in doubt, check your dictionary. Use the one on your desk, not the one
on your word processor. Most word processors do not have the capacity to list all of the forms of
words, as do the larger desktop dictionaries. You could use your print one that you keep on your desk or
use one of the excellent, software dictionaries such as The American Heritage Talking Dictionary®. No
writer should ever be caught without his handy-dandy (there, I made one.) writer's best friend, the
dictionary. It would be like Grandma being caught without her teeth on Thanksgiving!
How many words comprise a novel length? How many comprise a novella? Do novellas ever get
published?
Many different opinions on exact word count and what constitutes a "true" novel length are
floating around out there. But generally, a novel ranges from about 60,000 words up. A novella is
generally from about 10,000 to 40,000 words. Just as a point of reference, novellas are hard to sell
unless you are a well-known author. However, it is never a lost cause to submit your finished work.
(Unless it is badly written or you submit it to an inappropriate market like submitting a children's book
to a strictly historical romance publisher.)
An editor from one of the largest houses explained to me that people want thick books because the
retail price is up so much. Therefore, even 40,000 is a bit short for most print publishing houses. Most
want at least 60,000 to 80,000 with an absolute bottom at 50,000.
All of this can be intimidating, but do not despair. I have good news.
E-book publishers don't usually adhere so closely to those massive word lengths. If your work is
good and you submit it to e-publishers according to their guidelines, there is a good possibility that you
can get it published at any length. If you feel it is too short, you might consider "fleshing" it out some.
You might add more detail or description. You could add more characterization by building your
characters' personalities using a character profile as explained in chapter ten and/or add a chapter or
two to make it a more marketable piece.
What is the most popular length for short stories or articles for online publishers?
Although some publishers accept longer or shorter stories, most editors cited 1,000 to 3,000 word
manuscripts for short stories and articles as the ideal length for online publishing, but these do not fall
into the same category as novels or novellas, and the market is very open.
Chapter Nine
Clichés: Avoid Them Like the Plague
(Oops, Sorry about That.
Clichés Do Have a Way of Slipping In, Don't They?)
Stereotypes are a form of cliché. A stereotype is a preconceived notion of what a person is
supposed to be. For instance, what do you think of when I say, "Lumberjack?" You probably saw a big,
burly Paul Bunyon type with an axe over his shoulder and a thick, black beard, but a real lumberjack
could be a small man or even a woman.
Sometimes clichés or stereotypes sneak in, and we don't even notice, but if you want to get
published, you must weed them out with a vicious purpose just as if they were dandelions in your lawn.
Dandelions look pretty with their shiny yellow blossoms or feather light, snow white spoors, but once
entrenched they take over the lawn with a vengeance, obliterating all but the hardiest of grass roots.
Clichés are like that. They can take over your story and annihilate the true beauty of your words.
Proofreading is the best way to get rid of them. Reading your story out loud or having someone read it
to you will bring clichés to your attention faster than any method I've tried. Our ears will often pick up
what our eyes don't see after we have edited a piece for the tenth time.
Here is a good example of clichéd stereotypes for horror stories and movies that I wrote for
Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine. It is tongue in cheek and was originally aimed at the
movie industry, but I think it makes the point. The same concept is true for your writing.
Zombies, and Other Assorted Un-dead Types:
An Observation
The most notable thing about zombies and other back-from-the-dead things in movies is that they
are not very smart. Something happens to their logical thinking process in the nether world just before
they rise again to terrorize their chosen hero and heroine.
Speaking of heroes, have you noticed that there is always one of each gender of hero? There is
always one male and one female left. Everyone else is always killed off so they can be alone.
Romantic, right? They always kiss at least once and usually during the most dangerous time, when in
real life they would both be having a hard time just keeping their quivering bladders in check. I know if
a dead thing were chasing me, I'd definitely have an urgent need for the closest powder room.
But I digress. An un-dead creature's intelligence level is obviously to be questioned. Remember
Frankenstein's monster? He bulldozes right through wooden doors designed to keep an army of
bloodthirsty, marauding hordes out. Then what does he do? He forgets where he's going and stops to
smell a flower and smile at a sweet, little street urchin who's out panhandling for her shiftless mother.
When he remembers that he's supposed to be a killer, he growls and lumbers out into the smog to find
victims.
Now where is the logic in that? There was a perfectly good victim standing right in front of him,
easy pickings, no fuss, no muss. Did he recognize it? No. Instead, he spends half the night chasing
screaming peasants around cold, damp, cobbled streets and ends up going down in flames for his
efforts. Duhh!
And what about Zombies? They will stand and beat on a door that the hero just slammed in their
faces for hours. Hellooo, dead things! Use the other door for Heaven's sake. (Okay, maybe not for
Heaven's sake, but you get the idea.) Or why don't they use the window? But nooo, they keep pounding
on that one door until it splinters, and instead of turning the doorknob, they thrust their arms through
and growl because they can't quite reach the iron-bladder hero who just pushed the heroine out the
other door so they can run away. The delay, of course, gives the hero and heroine plenty of time to get
away, kiss and other assorted mushy things. Meanwhile the zombies are still trying to figure out how to
turn the damned doorknob.
"But they're dead!" you say. "You can't expect Einstein mentalities in dead things."
Well, yes and no. Why do you think we call them un-dead? They're walking aren't they? Well
really sort of shuffling, but they're on two feet. And they talk or moan or groan or something along the
guttural lines. And they always know exactly where the people they are chasing are because they
always show up no matter where the hero runs with his heroine. That means they have control of their
faculties, right?
Speaking of faculties, have you ever noticed that zombies never need to go to the bathroom either?
They devour entire human bodies, (using atrocious table manners, I might add) and drink gallons of
human blood, but they never have to go. Why is that? Maybe bladders of steel are a requirement to be
in a flick like this?
And their personal hygiene, UGGH! Matted hair, toothless mouths, grubby skin and tattered
clothes. Haven't they ever heard of Colgate®? And they don't care! They even sometimes have orgies
around a bonfire with not a drop of water or a cake of soap anywhere in sight. Not even a single spray
of Binaca®! What kind of logic is that? I wouldn't think of attending an orgy without my breath mints-Ahem--er--uh--not that I've ever--ah--well anyway, back to zombies.
I think someone ought to set the movie industry straight. Un-dead creatures deserve the same
treatment as any other monster. Heck, even The Blob took an occasional dip in the river. And did you
ever see Dracula in a wrinkled suit? Get with it Hollywood. Clean up your act.
Chapter Ten
Character Traits
Getting a grip on your characters' personalities is a vital part of writing marketable fiction. Many
writers use character maps or charts to build characters. They can be intricate and detailed listing every
element of a character including his or her background or loosely defined outlines using one-word
sentences.
Use what works for you. Some authors make a character sketch before they write the first line.
Others define their characters as they go along. Again, use what works for you. But having an idea of
who your characters are and where they come from can help you build an interesting, entertaining
story.
Here is a general idea of what your character sketch should include.
Character's Name:
Reason for that name if there is one:
Does you character have a nickname?
If so, why?
What does the character look like?
How old is she?
Does she look her age?
What color eyes, hair, skin, etc. does she have?
Is she tall, thin, short, fat, stocky, lanky, etc.?
Does she wear glasses or jewelry?
Does she have any distinguishing marks?
Scars, crooked nose, etc.
Is she in good health?
If not, what's wrong with her?
What does she like?
Music?
Exotic food?
Shakespeare?
What does her voice sound like?
Sweet?
Low and husky?
High pitched and whiny?
Other?
Does she have an accent?
Does she speak in a peculiar dialect?
What are her habits?
Does she smoke?
What does she smoke?
Does she drink?
If so, does she smoke and drink a lot?
Does she have a food fetish (aversion or overindulgence)?
Does she have any hobbies?
If so, what are they?
What is her background?
What kind of family does she have?
Is she the product of a broken home or was she raised by two loving parents?
Does she have siblings?
Where was she raised?
Did her family move often or stay in one place?
Did she graduate high school? College?
How does she feel about herself?
What's her self-esteem like?
Does she have a past failure she keeps hidden?
If so, why?
Does she have a soft spot for someone of something?
What is it?
Is it obvious to others?
If not, how does she hide it?
What's her greatest fear?
What's her greatest joy?
Is she an optimist or pessimist?
Introvert or extrovert?
Why?
Does she have specific talents?
What are her character flaws?
Does she have a deep, dark secret?
Is she the only one who knows?
Could someone blackmail her with it?
How does she think others see her?
How do others really see her?
If she could change something about herself, what would it be?
Does she have any goals?
Immediate or long range?
How does she react in a crisis?
Is she a leader?
A follower?
Does she have much money?
Is she rich or poor or middle class?
There are many other traits, habits and quirks your could give her. Look at yourself, at your
friends and family, at strangers. How do they look, act, react, etc. Use composites of all the people you
know and build a strong, believable character using these questions. It can be as simple as a few words
for each point on paper to something as complicated as a full color graph with all the details outlined
specifically.
Look in the Appendix for some suggested character profile charts that range from simple to
complex or make up your own. The choice is yours. You will be surprised how your characters'
personalities come to life. Remember, you don't have to use all of the information in your character
profile in your story. The chart is as much for you to get to know your character and their attitudes as it
is for your reader to get to know them. When creating a character, avoid absolute stereotypes, but all of
your characters should have at least one stereotype image just so people can identify with him or her.
For instance, a cliché is the old western hero type. He wears a white hat, white vest and silver
spurs. He never makes a mistake or falls out of character. Boring!
Author, Harvey Stanbrough says, "Clint Eastwood's characters were far more interesting (and
believable) because although he always played the good guy, he also always had one or two flaws."
Give your protagonist a couple of good stereotype traits, then add one or two not so good traits to
make him human. An example would be the sweet, young thing that never seems to do anything wrong,
she's delicate, beautiful, witty, and charming, but, in private, she smokes and drinks like a
longshoreman when no one is looking. That flaw in her character is really only one trait. She is sneaky
or a bit two faced. The smoking and drinking are habits not traits. This one bad trait, that she is a bit
sneaky, doesn't mean she can't still be the heroine, it just makes her human.
Use the same technique in reverse with your antagonist. Give him the major, cliché bad trait such
as being just plain mean and two to four "unique" traits. At least one of the unique traits should be not
really bad so he doesn't seem quite so stereotyped. For instance, maybe your bad guy hates all people
but has a soft spot in his heart for puppies. That's the good trait that makes him well rounded and more
human.
When using traits, quirks and habits, don't overdo it. Never assign more than five or six and
always have at least one solid stereotype trait to distinguish one character from the others. A great
example is Diana R. Moreland's character, Nakamura in a book she is writing. She says, "I had him so
forceful, controlling, dominating, that he was a stereotype. Then using your model, I gave him a
character flaw totally opposite of his "command" persona. I made him a slob. There is something
humanizing about finding out the "scourge" of the fleet is a personal slob with books, dishes, dirty
clothes piled on the floor and everything in his personal life a mess." This is a perfect example of what
I mean about traits.
Some traits that can get you started are below. You can come up with many more on your own.
Arrogance
Dainty
Chaste
Evil
Lucky
You can use characterization and these traits/habits/quirks to help you create their personalities
without inserting every little thing, but having a chart or outline of your characters will help to give
them color and life when you start writing them into your story.
An example from one of my character sketches is of a doctor who has a nervous habit (or quirk) of
running his fingers through his thinning hair when he is agitated or thinking very hard. The young boy,
Joshua, picked up this habit because he admired the doctor so much as he was growing up, and he
carried that gesture throughout his life. The simple gesture conveyed both an element of the doctor's
personality and showed how much Joshua loved and admired the man as he strove to imitate him. I
never had to tell the reader by saying, "Joshua admired the doctor." Instead, I showed it. Get the idea?
This is all a part of "show, don't tell" that you hear so much about, but that subject is for another book.
Chapter Eleven
Where Do Story Ideas Come From?
Writers get their ideas from everywhere. We watch people. Sometimes, we hear a phrase or word
that just won't go away. Often, we ask "What if?" What if the nice boy down the street turned out to be
a serial killer? What if the old lady next door is really a famous movie star from the silent film era?
What if you were suddenly given the opportunity to be the richest person in the world, but it meant that
you would have to give up our identity and your family? What would happen if tomorrow there was a
cure for cancer? For all the deadly diseases? For old age itself?
You can think of so many more. Look around you. Listen. Notice what's happening in the world
and build on it. Sometimes story ideas come in dreams or as words that seem to pop into your mind for
no reason.
One of my most popular stories, "The Alien Feeder" and which is now included in my collection
of short stories, The Administrator, began as a joke my husband, Joe, made a few years ago.
He is a handyman, and I am his part time helper. We were working on a customer's patio and they
had an unusual bird feeder hanging in the corner. It was a cylindrical shaped glass and brass contraption
with numerous orifices and feeder trays. My husband said, "Look, Honey. An Alien Feeder." This was
about the time the Annual UFO Festival was gearing up here in Roswell, New Mexico and we both
laughed. Then the synapses started snapping in my brain and I couldn't get the phrase, Alien Feeder, out
of my head. It plagued me until I finally wrote it down and the story was born.
Now that you know the background, I'll show you the complete story and how it evolved from a
single idea. As you read the story, you can see that seemingly trivial things such as a joke can lead to
more serious subjects like Alzheimer's Disease and make us really wish that such an alternative reason,
like in the story, for this devastating malady could be true. And while you are reading the story,
remember the subject of dialect that we discussed earlier. You might want to take notice of how it is
used in this story.
THE ALIEN FEEDER
By S. Joan Popek
"What is it?"
"Open it and see, Mom."
"But, it's not my birthday or Mother's day, or--anything. Oh no! Did I forget another holiday?
God! I'm always forgetting lately."
"No, Mom. You didn't forget anything. I just felt like getting you a present. That's all. Now, go
ahead. Open it."
Sarah looked at her daughter. Her baby had become middle aged without Sarah even noticing.
Shirley was still very attractive, and tiny lines at the corners of her eyes were the only clue to her real
age. Shirley's full lips smiled at her mother, but her deep brown eyes held pity for an aging woman
whom she felt was losing touch with life.
"Early stages of Alzheimer's," the doctor had said. A death sentence--slow and agonizing is what
he really meant, Sarah thought. She couldn't bear that look from her only child. She wished the girl
would just go away and leave her to die in solitude.
But Shirley came every Saturday at exactly ten o'clock. She always stayed exactly one hour and
fifteen minutes to fulfill what she felt were her daughterly duties. She never stayed one hour and
fourteen minutes, or one hour and sixteen minutes--it was always one hour and fifteen minutes
exactly--always. Sarah often thought about setting the old, kitchen clock ahead a few minutes just to
confuse her, and she silently chuckled as she imagined how upsetting that would be to her obsessively
punctual daughter.
Why doesn't she just leave me alone? Sarah thought. But she smiled and turned her attention to the
blue foil-wrapped package.
"What is this?" she asked as she raised the sparkling, cylindrical glass and brass object above the
crumpled wrapping in her lap.
"Mom, it's an alien feeder. They're all the rage now. Everyone has to have one. Haven't you been
watching the network channel?"
"No. I don't understand all that on-line, WEB, networking mumbo-jumbo. I just watch the news
and my soaps. What am I going to do with an alien feeder? They don't even come around here."
"Mom, of course they don't come. You don't have a feeder. Now they will come, and you will
enjoy their company. You'll see. They're very interesting. Some people say that they're from another
dimension, but we don't really know. Everybody's trying to figure it out. Mom, they make the most
musical sounds, and they're so cute."
"Cute? Sausages with wings! That's what they look like. I saw them on TV."
"Oh Mom, they do not. Oh dear, look at the time. I must go. Steve's waiting for me at the health
club." She pecked at her mother's cheek, not quite touching the soft folds of once firm skin, and rushed
out the door.
"Shirley, wait. What do I put in it?" Sarah shouted across the brown, weed-laden lawn.
"The instructions are in the box," her daughter called back, as she folded her tall frame into the
tiny, red sports car and sped off.
She watched her daughter turn out of the driveway and looked down at the alien feeder still
clutched in her blue veined hand. "Just what I need," she muttered. "More glittery junk to dust."
She tossed it onto the chair her walking cane was leaning against, grabbed her cane and shuffled
painfully into the kitchen to have a cup of doctor-forbidden, very black, very strong coffee. She
retrieved a pack of doctor-forbidden cigarettes from under the sink, lit one and blew lazy smoke rings
in the air as she sipped steaming, mahogany coffee. She laced the second cup with just a dab of good
Irish whiskey, and hid the bottle back behind the Metamucil.
She carried her third cup into the living room to watch her soaps and glanced at the chair where
she had tossed the gift from her daughter. "Alien feeder. Bull! What a waste of good money." She
picked up the feeder and held it aloft in front of the window. Sunlight filtering through its intricately
carved, glass prisms cast a glowing rainbow onto the sensible, brown carpet that Shirley had insisted
she get instead of the bright burgundy she really wanted. She laid the thing on the patio and forgot
about it.
That evening, she had just gone to bed when she heard it.
Purr-ching. Brrt-ting.
"What the... Sounds like bells." She peeked through the blinds. The full moon emerged from
behind a wispy cloud and bathed the yard with silver light. Nothing moved. Everything seemed as it
should seem at eleven o'clock at night on her sleepy, suburban street.
Purr-ching. Brrt-ting. There it was again.
She tiptoed to the kitchen and parted the curtains just a crack. A shadow flashed past the window.
Brrrinng.
She smacked her head on the cabinet as she instinctively recoiled from the window. "Ouch!"
Black spots swam before her eyes. "Damn." She gingerly massaged the back of her head with an agespotted hand. She ran her fingers through her wispy, gray hair, as she chanced peeking out the window
again. No movement. Armed with a butcher knife, she loosed the safety latch on the door and gently
eased it open a bare one-half inch.
"Well I'll be darned. It's one of them--an alien."
It perched expectantly on the side of the feeder and cocked its fuzzy, pink head in her direction. Its
chartreuse eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and its wings were folded neatly beneath its belly. "BrrChing?" The chiming sound it made sounded almost like a question. "You hungry?" she asked.
"Brr-Ching?"
"Just a minute." She closed the door. "Now where did I put those instructions?" She tapped her
temple with a bony finger as if the action would stimulate her brain into remembering. "Oh yeah, I
threw them away. Well, who would have guessed that I'd need them?" She went back to the door,
opened it a crack, leaned on her cane with one hand and made fluttering motions with her other hand.
"Shoo. Go away. I don't have anything for you."
"Brr-Ching?" The alien didn't even flinch at her waving hand.
"Okay, okay, I'll look for something." Turning to get a box of cereal from the cabinet, she felt a
feathery touch on her shoulder. Gasping, she jumped back and bumped her head on the cabinet again.
"Darn!"
The creature fluttered to the shelf. "Pinngg?"
"You can ping, ching, and bing all you want, but I don't have anything to feed you."
He started to peck at the can of coffee beans.
"You want coffee? Well heck, okay, but you won't like it."
The fuzzy little creature pecked happily at the pile of coffee beans she put on the cabinet.
"Well, what do you know?"
"Chinng," it sang between mouthfuls and looked up at her with shiny, little eyes.
"Did you just smile? I believe you did!"
Chuckling, Sarah watched the little fellow finish the coffee beans.
"Pinngg?"
"Freeloader," she giggled as she poured another handful onto the cabinet.
"Thanngg you." Musical tones echoed as the alien spoke.
"Oh. You can talk?"
"To zzome people," he chimed.
"Gosh! I don't remember hearing that you can talk."
"Mozzt don't know," he sang.
"Why not?"
"Not here for mozzt."
"Why are you here?"
"For youz." His tinkling voice rang in the air and settled on Sarah's ears like a warm breath.
Somehow, he made her feel a little better--not quite so alone--not quite so old.
"Youz?" she echoed. "Who are youz?"
"Youz like you."
"Like me?"
"Yez. Zeimers, like you."
"Zeimers? You mean Alzheimer's?"
"Yez." He cocked his pink, fuzzy head, and his gleaming, chartreuse eyes watched her face.
Her smile faded, and she felt ancient again. "Why?"
"Zeimers don't belong here."
"Here? What do you mean? Aw shucks, I don't believe I'm talking to a pink sausage. I must be
crazy--just like they say."
"Not crazy. Trapped." The alien flew to her shoulder and rubbed his soft head against her cheek.
"We rescue youz. Take youz back."
Sarah felt warmth spread from where the alien touched her cheek to wrap comfortingly around her
shoulders like an old familiar sweater on a chill autumn night. "Take me back where?"
"To your where-when."
"My what? What the hell is a where-when?"
"Where-when youz belong. Home."
Sarah noticed that the alien's musical voice continued to chime, but with each sentence, his
vocabulary seemed to increase. It's almost as if he's learning language as he speaks.
"I am. And you can too." His little, red beak/mouth smiled at her.
"You heard what I was thinking! Oh, no, I must have said it out loud."
"No. You didn't."
"Oh God! I am going crazy."
"No. You're not. You have been crazy, but now you are going sane. You are remembering your
racial history."
"What are you talking about?"
"The medical men here call it a disease--Alzheimer's. It is not a disease. It is your natural rhythm.
This where-when is too solid. In this three-dimensional world, metamorphosis is impossible. Youz can't
expand to next stage. That's why youz forget. Their brains hurt in the unyielding shell of a human body.
Your body is trying to complete the cycle. It is time to change, but you can't. Soon the pain will come
to your joints. Your substance will struggle to transform. When it can't, muscles will clench in spasms,
your mind will try to escape the pain by retreating to before the time for transmutation, and you will be
a mental child with an aged, useless body. The war in your mind and body will make you strike out
with malevolent anger at those closest to you. Then you will die."
"So what? Everybody dies."
"But you don't have to. We can take you back."
His ringing voice stirred Sarah's emotions as he fluttered around her. The soft down of his feathers
brushed her face, her arms, her shoulders, and wherever they touched her a warmth flowed, erasing the
arthritic pain and the constant labored pull to fill her lungs with oxygen. Her mind began to clear as if a
veil had been lifted. The haze she had been seeing through evaporated, and instantly, the brilliance of
pure color was all around her. Even the black velvet of night outside the window seemed to possess a
vibrancy--almost a life of its own.
"Who are you? What are you?" she whispered as he stopped his circling and came to rest on her
arm.
"I am like youz. You are from us. Your ancestors were stranded in this where-when many centuries
ago when the portal closed too soon. Their pattern was passed to you through the generations. We came
too late for many, but we prepared for centuries, and when the portal opened, we were ready. We have
come for you, my Kinsman. You, and the others who were lost in this where-when."
"Are you saying that my ancestors were pink, humming bird creatures, like you? That's the silliest
thing I ever heard of. I must be dreaming--or--I'm dead! That's it! This is hell!"
"No you're not dead yet, but you will be if you don't remember and come home. We can take any
form we like. We chose this appearance because humans think we're cute. Since we are so small and
harmless, they do not fear us. We entertain them. They have decided not to kill us yet, but soon they
will. They always kill what they don't understand, and they will never understand. You must remember
your essence, Kinsman. You cannot pass through the portal if you don't. I will help you."
As he spoke the last words, he began to shimmer before her. The shimmering light grew until it
filled the kitchen, then coalesced into a man-sized glow. The glow faded--and an angel with giant,
golden wings reached to take Sarah's hand.
She jerked her hand away and lost her balance. Her cane clattered to the floor. She felt herself
falling. She screamed, "I am dead!"
The angel knelt, enfolded her frail body within his wings and began to sing to her.
She collapsed limply and sobbed silently as he held her.
He sang of unbelievable worlds, of shimmering, silver seas, of iridescent, rainbow waterfalls, of
laughing beings in all shapes and forms imaginable. Breathtaking golden castles sat amidst fields of
vibrant, kaleidoscopic flowers.
She fell silent and gazed up into his radiant, chartreuse eyes. "I remember a--a gateway-something--long ago--before I was born," she breathed.
The angel smiled.
Ancient, racial memories rushed in to fill her being. She remembered everything. She knew she
was not dead--she was being born. She embraced the angel and laughed with tinkling joy.
He shimmered and became a pink alien again, but this time he was so huge his wingspan filled
half the kitchen. One giant wing scooped her up and gently placed her on his back. "We must hurry," he
told her. "The portal will close soon." Then, he swooped through the door and soared up into the starstudded night sky.
"My daughter?" she asked.
"She is not a Zeimer," he sang. "She did not inherit the spirit. She will be happy. She belongs in
this where-when. We do not."
A sharp sting of loss bit into her heart for a moment, then she looked up into the clouds. Far ahead,
the giant portal glowed against the winking stars. She saw thousands of huge, pink birds sailing toward
it. Each lovingly cradled a small passenger between its wings.
The wind caressed her face and loosened her hair to stream behind her as they flew upward. She
laughed with pure joy as she felt her body prepare to leave its cocoon. She was already feeling her
wings begin to emerge as her alien guide carried her through the gleaming portal.
Other Idea Joggers
Old stories you have read, TV and books can jog ideas into your writing. The finished product
may not even resemble your original idea, but that doesn't matter. What matters is getting the process
started.
Here is an example. One night a few years ago, for no seeming reason, an old TV episode popped
into my head, and I couldn't get it out. I was remembering "The Sins of the Fathers," an episode of the
old TV series, Night Gallery. This was aired in episode number 27 on February 23, 1972. Richard
Thomas played the part of a young boy during a famine in Wales in the early nineteenth century. His
father has the job of sin-eater in their small village, but his son is forced to do the deed for a dead man's
wake instead. It was a strong story of the power of the human mind and superstition that borders on
reality. After thinking about it for a while, I wrote "Second Heaven" which was later bought by Steve
Algeri of Pulp Eternity for its print "Alternatives" issue, 2000. (Unfortunately, Steve had to quit
publishing for a while and the story never made it into print, but that happens sometimes.) This tale is
proof of the old saying, "One thing leads to another." My finished story doesn't resemble the other story
in any way, except maybe the power of the human mind part. But this modern, chilling story idea came
from the older, dark concept of the sin-eater. Here is the story. See if you can spot the conception
image.
SECOND HEAVEN
By S. Joan Popek
Mist caressed the unfamiliar shapes. She fondled the spiraling sparks as they passed thorough her
on their way to their unknown and uncared about destination. Her ferrils shivered in ecstasy as the
exquisite flavor of excitement enveloped her senses.
Heaven, she thought. After searching for so long through so many stars, I finally found it.
Paradise.
"It is not infinite as we thought," she reported over the eons of light years.
Her species listened attentively across the vast void that even they could not truly comprehend.
"But there is so much," she informed them. "Billions of minute galaxies all entwined and
connected by unexplainable threads of light." She shivered in ecstasy as tendrils of pure pleasure
coursed through her again. "It is sudden and swift," she sighed softly to the listeners.
The listeners sighed with her.
She eagerly grasped another approaching energy blast, consumed its essence and reached for
more.
"Come," she invited her kind. "They expire quickly, but they multiply at an extraordinary rate.
Come, my sisters."
"Feast in paradise." She hastily sent the coordinates for the others to follow, then surrendered to
the ecstasy of excruciating pleasure.
The others would follow, and she would lead them into the land of plenty, but now, she allowed
herself to dissolve into an orgy of sparks, currents, and random expressions of pure energy.
Finally, satiated momentarily, she withdrew.
The instant she left, her host collapsed on the blistering pavement that only moments ago he had
been hurrying along while he checked his watch and muttered about being late.
Charles Bowman's head slammed against the pavement. His body writhed with violent spasms. He
stared at a crack in the cement as the drool from his slack mouth and the blood beginning to flow from
his ears merged to moisten its sizzling surface. He tried to remember the word for sidewalk.
People gathered around his near lifeless body. Some gasped while others screamed for help.
He tried to remember what people were, but he couldn't.
His mind was dry. All energy and memory had been sucked out by something he would never
even know existed. His brain forgot how to control his lungs and heart--even how to close his eyes as
he died.
A woman in the crowd staggered back from his body, her hand over her mouth. Suddenly her
knees buckled, and she slumped to the curb. Her body trembled, her slack mouth slavered, and her
uncomprehending eyes stared up at the cloudless, azure sky.
Mist reveled in ecstasy as she greedily devoured the last, dim flashes of her second heaven, then
reached out for another.
First Line Story Ideas
Another short story began in the middle of the night with the first line, "Ain't never been no white
trash in this family, and there won't never be if I can help it!" I don't know what part of my
subconscious it came from, but the next morning, I had to write it down. It became a short story entitled
"Joshua." Harvey Stanbrough published it in The Roswell Literary Review, and it got so many
comments and praise from the readers that he suggested I write a sequel short story. I did, and still the
protagonist, Joshua, would not let me rest. He kept turning up in my dreams, and I kept writing about
him. Finally, Joshua's story was told. It did not turn out as the hard, social commentary that I first
intended it to be. It became a story of love and hope for the future. After five years of writing and
rewriting, it became my second electronically published book, Sound The Ram's Horn.
Was it accepted by the first publisher that I sent it to?
Heck no!
It was rejected a dozen times by the larger print houses. I received several "great" rejection letters
like, "This is a good story with a lot of promise, but...." One editor told me that she loved the story, but
it wasn't long enough. She said that because of the price of books, it needed to be at least 80,000 words
before they would even look at it. She also said that if I had been an already "established" name, she
may have been able to work around that, but they couldn't take the chance with an "unknown,
unmarketable author."
I had a choice. I could "pad" the story with another 40,000 words that the story didn't really need
and that would probably be recognized as padding by the editors and readers so it wouldn't get accepted
anyway or I could submit it to Electronic publishers. Electronic publishers are not as unbending about
word count. Most E-publishers use books from about 40,000 up, but some prefer the 20,000-40,000
range. I decided to take a chance and turned to electronic publishing to jumpstart my career. The second
E-publisher that read it, bought it!
This story showed me that just because you first have an idea that sounds right doesn't mean that it
will end up the way you planned. Let your characters tell you what they want to do and tell their story.
If you do, you will have a story you can be proud of, and you have a much better chance of selling it.
Also it proves that E-publishers are much more willing to take a chance with an unknown than the
more traditional houses.
This next story is a good example of how we can turn our short stories and ideas into multi-market
products. I sold the first story, then the second, then the book all from one idea. I am including the first,
short story I wrote about Joshua to show you what I mean. If you have read the book, you can see how
he grew and how I grew as a writer from the experience of telling his story. If you haven't read it, you
can still see how productive one idea can become.
JOSHUA
The original first short and sequel
(This later became the first chapter of Sound the Ram's Horn)
"And it shall be that
when they make a long blast with the ram's horn...
All the people shall shout with a great shout..." Joshua 6:5
"Ain't never been no white trash in this family, and there won't never be if I can help it!" His
mother's deep chocolate eyes blazed. She stamped her foot and placed her aristocratic hands on her
ample hips defying anyone to dispute her. Her nearly hysterical voice took on the deep southern drawl
she detested. She called the dialect uneducated slang, and she had fought for thirty years to lose it, but
it always came back when she got upset.
Sam and his father were used to her ranting about the purity of their race. Both had heard it
numerous times.
Sam turned to face his father. "I'm sorry, Dad, but this time I can't let her say these things about
Laura. I love Laura, and I intend to marry her--with or without Mama's approval. I can't change the fact
that Laura's white any more than I can change the way I feel about her. And the truth is, I wouldn't
change anything about her if I could. I searched for a long time for someone I could feel this way
about. I can't give her up just because she's not black."
The deep ebony of Sam's father's skin accentuated his tall, still muscular body as the two men
stood almost inch for inch. The father was just a little heavier and displayed a touch of silver around his
temples--the only indication most people had that he was older. Sam's Mama had always been proud
that he had inherited his father's strong cheekbones and aristocratic nose, which symbolized their
heritage, but Sam knew that right now, she wasn't proud of anything about him.
A frown creased his father's high forehead, and his sensitive eyes held Sam's. "Son, I--"
Mama pointed her finger at her husband. "You stay out of this, Old Man, it ain't none of your
concern. I know you gonna side with the boy here. You always take up for him against me. Ever since
he was born."
His father's eyes left Sam's, and he turned to face his wife. "Now, Honey, you know that ain't true.
Only if I think he's right. You know I--"
"Only when he's right? See? There you are sidin' against me again. He's wrong. Dead wrong. And
I won't put up with your defendin' him. You hear me?" She shook her finger intimidatingly in his face.
Used to his wife's flailing digits when she was angry, he ignored the gesture and said gently, "I'm
not defending him. He's a grown man. He can make his own choices."
"Then you just hush, and let me make mine." She balled her hands into fists and set them firmly
on her hips. Then she twirled with surprising grace, for her stature, to face her son.
Sam searched her glaring, dark eyes for some hint of forgiveness and found none. He lowered his
eyes and studied the polished, hardwood floor. He could almost see his face in it, and he wished he
could really be inside of it, away from the wrath of his mother. His palms were damp, and his voice
trembled as he spoke against her wishes for the first time in his life. "Mama, please try to understand."
Her rich, mahogany face flushed, and her lips set into a firm line. "I'll never understand how you
could betray your ancestors like this. Your grandmother is probably squirmin' in her grave right now.
You are Black, Sam. You have the blood of African Kings runnin' through your veins. Mandingo blood.
Why would you want to pollute it with that trash's white blood? I waited 'till I was thirty years old to
marry your father because I wouldn't settle for anything less than the purest man I could find."
"Why can't you understand, Mama? Dad had a mixed blood grandmother. That didn't stop you
from marrying him."
"That's as good as I could find. What with all that race mixin' and unholy marriages that was goin'
on, I was lucky to find a man as pure as he is. At least he ain't got more than a drop or two of white
blood defilin' up his veins." The drawl returned even thicker than before.
"How can you be so sure, Mama? How can you know for sure that you don't have some Anglo
blood floating around in those royal veins of yours?"
"I'm positive. I know I'm pure! If you ever dare to sass me like that again, I'll smack your mouth
so hard, you'll bite that evil tongue of yours off!" Her angry fist left her hip as she raised it into the air,
and it descended within inches of his nose.
He flinched away from her fist's orbit around his face. Embarrassed and angry, he turned to his
father. "Dad, I'm sorry. I've gotta go. Laura's waiting for me." Glancing at his mother's angry face once
more, he knew that if he didn't leave that second, he would say something he couldn't retrieve. As he
marched out of that always-immaculate house, the stern portraits of famous, African Americans stared
accusingly at him as he rushed past the rich, Asian silks and elegant sculptures created by Black artists
that adorned his Mama's house. Always Mama's house, he thought. Never my home. Never Dad's.
Always Mama's.
He stormed down the front steps on trembling legs and cursed aloud as he slammed the door
behind him.
His mother followed him onto the steps and yelled at his back, "Don't you never be slammin' my
door, young man, and don't you bring that bitch here. And, don't you come back neither. I have no son!"
Those were the last words he heard from his mother's lips.
Two years later, Sam's father came alone to the hospital to witness the birth of his first grandson.
"We named him Joshua." Sam handed the tiny bundle to the proud grandfather. Tears of joy swam
in the old man's eyes as he gently unwrapped the baby.
His startled gasp when he saw the child inside the blanket stung Sam's heart.
"Yeah, Dad. It's a pigmentation phenomenon. The doctor thinks it's a DNA anomaly. Mama would
say the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children, but he's ours, Dad, mine and Laura's, and we
love him. No matter what. He can be yours too, if you let him."
The new grandfather stood immobile and stared at the baby in his arms for a long time. Touching
him gently with a thick, work hardened finger, he traced around the tiny face, across the child's broad,
yellow-gold forehead to the prominent little nose, then across the exquisitely shaped neck and right
shoulder. When he reached the baby's shoulder, his hand hesitated for an instant, then gently circled the
dime-sized, ebony, star shape on the child's skin. Slowly his fingers traveled down the length of the
baby's arm, across the tiny stomach, and down his chubby, right leg until his huge hand folded gently
over the perfectly shaped foot.
"His eyes are gold," he whispered, then bent his head to gently kiss his grandson's forehead with
all the love of any grandfather.
Six months later, Sam sat down beside his father on the sofa. Joshua was perched on his
grandfather's lap. The baby looked up at his grandfather, grinned and gurgled. Grandpa made cooing
sounds and tickled the soft, glowing skin of Joshua's plump tummy. Over the months, Joshua's skin
tone had turned from a soft yellow to an almost luminescent, golden hue.
Sam watched the two silently for a while, then asked, "Dad, why do you sneak over here all the
time? Why don't you just tell Mama you're coming? Maybe she would give in and come see him
herself."
The old man smoothed Joshua's silky hair back off the boy's forehead and sighed. "No Son. It ain't
gonna happen. She won't even use his name. If she speaks of him at all, he's Sam's son, not Joshua.
Hell, I call him that myself half the time. Kinda' fits though, you know? Sam's son--Samson. Lord
knows he needs all the strength he can muster to get through this life."
"Why do you say that, Dad? He's not retarded, or deformed, or crippled. It's just his coloring, that's
all. In fact, he's just the opposite. Dr. Rainey says he's months ahead of other babies his age. He wants
to have his IQ tested as soon as he's two years old. Doc says we may have a child genius here. What's
wrong with that?"
"Nothin', Son. Nothin'. Listen, Sam, I'm not just here for a visit this time. I have some bad news."
Bad news?" A feeling of dread shuddered across Sam's stomach causing it to lurch sickeningly.
"It's your Mama, Son. She's sick. Real sick. Cancer."
"Cancer? But can't they do something?"
"No. The doctor says it's in her pancreas. She doesn't have long, Son." He sat Joshua down onto
the floor and buried his face in his large, callused hands. Sobs shook his broad shoulders, and Sam
reached to comfort him, but stopped his hand in mid-air as Joshua crawled over and bobbed up at his
grandfather's knee.
"Papa hurt?" He patted his grandfather's leg with a chubby hand and repeated, "Papa hurt?"
The grandfather froze, dropped his hands into his own lap like they were heavy stones and stared
down at the baby. "He--he talked. He's only six months old. He shouldn't be able to talk like that."
"And he knows something's wrong," Sam stammered.
Both men stared at the plump baby standing between them. Neither spoke.
Joshua rested his chin on his grandfather's knee and looked back at the two men with his clear,
golden eyes. Then he crawled onto his grandfather's lap, wrapped his short arms around his muscular
neck and hugged him. "Joshua help," he said clearly. The boy kissed the palm of his tiny hand and
began to stroke his grandfather's cheek. "Take love to her," the baby whispered. "If she accepts love,
she live." He sat back stiffly, closed his eyes and said, "Joshua tired." Slumping, he collapsed into his
grandfather's lap.
"My God, he's passed out." Sam clutched his son, pulled him up and cradled him in his arms.
Joshua's small chest expanded and relaxed with the deep, gentle breaths that only a sleeping innocent
can attain. Sam's heart pounded into his throat. His guts churned, then an overwhelming sense of peace
fell over him as he stood there holding his baby. "No. He's just sleeping."
Sam's father sighed with relief, and slumped back onto the sofa. "What did we just witness?"
"I don't know, Dad."
"A gift from God," he said with a reverence Sam had never heard in his father's voice. "That baby
made me feel good. Even though I was surprised and a little bit scared, when he touched me with his
hand, I felt better. Sam, I know it's impossible, but he took the pain away!"
The shock of the moment blunted the importance of what his father said.
Sam gazed down at his sleeping baby and asked tentatively, "What was that he said about Mama?"
"He said, to take love to her and she would live."
"But, how could--"
I don't know, son, but you said he was special. Maybe we don't know just how special. Has he
talked like this before?"
"No. Not like that. Oh, he says Mama and Dada, but nothing like what we just heard."
"Son, you know that I'm not an overly religious man, but I think this is a message. I'm gonna go
tell your Mama about Joshua. Maybe it's God's way of making her see things right." He kissed the
sleeping boy Sam still held in his arms, gripped Sam's shoulder with affection, then left without saying
another word.
Sam was still sitting on the sofa, holding his sleeping son, when Laura came home. He hadn't
realized the afternoon had faded into evening until she turned on the light. Joshua stirred, opened his
eyes and gurgled happily when he saw his mother.
Just like any baby, Sam thought as he watched his child reach his chubby arms toward his mother.
She kissed Sam's lips gently, took the baby from him, balanced the laughing boy on her hip and
asked, "How did your visit with your father go, Honey? I'm sorry I missed him, but I had to be at that
meeting. It looks like I might be offered a full partnership in the firm. Isn't that great? Sam, what's
wrong? Why are you just sitting there so quiet? Did something happen?" She settled Joshua onto the
floor with his toys and sat down next to Sam. "What is it, Honey?"
"What is it?" he parroted. Jumbled thoughts rushed through his head. Flashes of what his son had
done and said burned into his brain. "I'm--I'm not sure," he answered.
She took his hand in hers, held it to her soft lips and kissed it tenderly.
Sam clung to her delicate hand as if it was a lifeboat.
"Darling," she said, "What's wrong? Is your father okay? He's not sick or anything, is he?"
He told her. He heard his own voice droning non-stop, almost hysterically, in his ears as if
someone else was speaking. He told her about his mother's cancer--his dad's crying--Joshua's reaction-everything.
When he finished, she stared at him for a moment, then at Joshua who was busily playing with a
red ball almost as big as he was, and she laughed. Immediately, she sobered, "Oh, Honey. I'm sorry. I
wasn't laughing about your mother. That must be terrible for you. I was just surprised by what you said
about Joshua. Honey, he's just a little ahead of his age. That's all. I'm sure that in the pain of the
moment, his hugging his grandfather and talking baby jabbers just sounded like words because both
you and your father needed comfort right then." She put her arms around Sam and hugged him.
"It didn't just sound like words, Laura. Joshua said, 'Take love to her. If she accepts love, she live.'
I heard it. I did not imagine it."
Her blue eyes sought her husband's. A frown fixed itself on her ivory forehead, and she raised her
eyebrows in disbelief. "Sam, he's six months old. He couldn't possibly have said that."
"Dr. Rainey says he's very advanced."
She stood up, and her knuckles turned white as she balled her fists at her side. She hissed through
tight lips, "Advanced doesn't mean psychic. It doesn't mean my baby is some kind of freak. Okay, his
skin is different. He's smart. It doesn't mean more than that. I'm going to make dinner, and I refuse to
listen to any more of this nonsense." As she retreated to the kitchen, she scooped Joshua into her arms
and hugged him protectively to her bosom. Then depositing him into his high chair, she handed him a
cookie, kissed his cheek, turned and began slamming pans onto the counter.
Sam watched his wife and son in the kitchen and reviewed in his mind all that had happened this
afternoon. He felt like he was on a mental roller coaster. Like his emotions were speeding toward a
sharp curve and he didn't know if he would make the turn or fly off into the void. I'm not imagining it.
He told himself. It happened. A fluttering sensation deep in his guts told him that his life was about to
change drastically, but he had no clue as to which direction or what course he would be compelled to
follow. Somehow, the feeling was not unpleasant. In fact, he was filled with an almost tranquil calm
beneath his confusion.
The next morning, the family dog, Zinger, ran into the street and was hit by a passing car. One of
his back legs hung at an odd angle as Sam carried him into the house. He laid him, whining and licking
at his injured leg, on the kitchen floor and called to Laura to watch him while he called the vet. When
he returned to the kitchen to retrieve the dog, he froze in the doorway. His stomach launched into his
throat.
Laura was backed against the wall. Wide-eyed shock shrouded her pale face as she stared at the
floor where Joshua sat. Zinger romped around the boy, licking his laughing face. The baby cooed and
giggled as he caressed the dog's leg.
Laura turned to face Sam, her back still hugging the wall. She whispered in a choked voice,
"He...he said, 'Doggie hurt.' And... and then he touched the dog's leg, and the leg bent back the way it
should be. I watched it bend like a licorice stick, waving around until it set itself back. I saw it." Her
voice rose to a hysterical shriek. "I saw it!" She collapsed in slow motion. Her body slid down against
the wall, like she had suddenly lost all of her bones, until she was sitting on the blue tile floor. She
started to cry softly, still staring at the child and the dog playing in the middle of the kitchen floor.
Joshua turned from Zinger and crawled toward his mother. Laura pulled her body into a ball
against the wall, wrapped her arms around her knees and held them tight against her chest. She cringed
as he reached for her knee. "Don't," she croaked.
"Mama?" He reached for her with both chubby arms stretching--his face screwing up for baby
tears. "Mama? Joshua tired."
Her frightened eyes looked up at Sam, still a statue in the doorway, then back at her son's face.
Slowly she opened her arms. He crawled onto her lap and fell asleep almost instantly. She gazed down
at him, looked back at her husband and said, "Sam, I just watched my baby heal a dog's broken leg. Am
I going crazy?"
Thawing, Sam knelt on the cool tile floor beside her. Zinger came over and nuzzled his hand with
his nose. Absent-mindedly, he began stroking the dog's shaggy head. "Maybe it wasn't really broken,"
he said. "Maybe it just looked like it."
"Sam, it was broken!"
"I'll call Dr. Rainey. He said Joshua was advanced. Maybe he can help us figure out what's going
on." Sam didn't believe that this was in a pediatrician's or any other doctor's realm, but he hoped it
would put Laura's mind at ease.
She nodded helplessly. "Yes. That's a good idea." She looked back down at Joshua, sleeping in her
lap. "Could you take him, please? Put him to bed?"
The next morning, Dr. Rainey finished examining Joshua, gave him a sugar free sucker and
scooped him up off the examining table. He deposited him into the playpen in the corner of his child
oriented examination room and handed the baby a stuffed bear.
The boy gurgled happily, slurped the confection, then tried to feed it to the stuffed toy.
Dr. Rainey turned to Sam and Laura. "Physically, he's perfectly normal. Mentally, he's progressing
very fast. His hand-eye coordination is about on a three-year-old level, and his motor functions are
excellent. From what you told me, his verbal skills are accelerated too. As for the grandfather and the
dog, I just don't know."
"Could we have imagined it?" Laura asked. Her expression begged him to say yes.
"It's possible. The news about your mother, Sam, was very stressful. As for the dog, well, maybe
his leg wasn't really broken. Maybe it just looked like it. I'd like to run a few tests on Joshua though.
Nothing painful, just mental and physical evaluations. I'd like to call in a colleague, a child
psychologist, to help."
Laura looked at Sam, then back at the doctor. "Psychologist? You think that Joshua needs a
psychologist?" Her voice took on a hysterical edge. "Or maybe, you think that Sam and I are insane. Is
that it?"
"Oh, no," Dr. Rainey answered quickly. "Dr. Langly is a specialist in treating gifted children. No,
Laura, if any thing, Joshua is blessed with above average intelligence, not the reverse. And I don't think
either of you needs a psychologist." He hesitated a moment, then added, "Except maybe to help you
deal with an exceptional child like Joshua obviously is."
Two weeks later, Joshua was speaking full sentences and walking. Laura refused to attend any of
the sessions with Dr. Langly and began to spend more time at the office. She came home late, after the
baby's bedtime, and left early, before he woke up.
The baby-sitter quit when she cut her finger peeling potatoes, and it healed instantly because
Joshua kissed it. That night, she met Sam at the door. With her strong, Spanish accent even more
pronounced than usual, she said, "Senor Manning, Your child is of God or of the Devil. I do not know
which, but I am afraid. I will not be back." She made the sign of the cross on her ample bosom,
wrapped a scarf around her thick, black hair and rushed out the door before Sam could respond.
Sam knew the same thing would probably happen to the next baby-sitter, so he gave up his
downtown office and moved his accounting business into the den. He could work at home and care for
his son at the same time. Laura was so involved in her job at the law firm and working so many hours,
they decided it made more sense for him to move than for her to try to juggle her work responsibilities
from home.
"Thank God I own the business," he said when they discussed it. "It's not really a problem this
way. I can do my job from just about anywhere."
"Yes," she murmured from behind a stack of legal briefs she was reading. "No problem." Then,
she went to her desk and turned on the computer. "Oh, Honey, would you mind putting Joshua to bed?
I've got to finish this tonight. I've got to be in court at eight a.m."
Sam watched her work for a moment, then picked Joshua up and took him in to bathe him.
A week later, Sam's father came to help him move the office. Over a cup of coffee in the sunny
kitchen he confided, "Son, I told your Mama about what Joshua did." He stared down at his coffee and
stirred the steaming, liquid gently with his spoon.
Sam knew by his father's preoccupation that he was about to receive bad news. He steeled himself
and asked, "How is she, Dad?"
"Worse. She can't last much longer." Sadness filled his father's eyes.
Sam sat silent, feeling helpless. He clutched his warm cup with both hands and thought, He seems
so much older now. His gaze took in his father's profile. His dad's usually straight back had developed a
beaten slump, and dark shadows under his eyes testified to a lack of sleep. His dark skin had become
ashen, and the gray on his temples had spread over his head lending him a halo of silver hair.
"Will Mama see us now? Meet Joshua?"
His dad contemplated the coffee again, a frown furrowed into his forehead. Quietly,
apologetically, he said, "No, Son. She says that Joshua is--is--"
"From the devil?"
He nodded. "I tried to tell her, but she won't listen. She says he's your punishment."
Three months later, Sam's mother died. He went to the hospital to see her many times, but she had
left orders that he not be admitted to her room.
Laura refused to go to the funeral.
Sam took Joshua who stood between his grandfather and his father, gripping their hands. Joshua
cried deep sobbing tears. Sam was surprised that although he was a baby, Joshua seemed to understand
everything about the ritual of the funeral and even its reason. Sam was sad, but somehow felt strangely
at peace. Maybe it's the release of the stress of waiting for it to happen, he thought.
But after the funeral, his father said that Joshua must have absorbed their pain like the time before,
because he had felt the same peacefulness.
When they returned home, Joshua slept soundly for twenty-four hours.
Laura left two months after Sam's mother's funeral. Sam didn't blame her. He knew that when
Joshua healed the tumor in his grandfather's throat and began to read medical books, it was the final
straw for her. She couldn't understand, and she was afraid of what she couldn't explain.
Joshua stopped asking for her after about a month.
Sam asked his father to sell his house and move in with Joshua and him. He did. Joshua's name for
his grandfather, Papa, stuck, and everyone, including Sam, called him that for the rest of his life. Sam
suspected that his father loved it even when he protested vehemently the first time Dr. Rainey called
him, Papa.
When Joshua was one year old, Dr. Rainey called and asked for a meeting with him and Dr.
Langly.
As they entered the office, Dr. Rainey stood and smiled. He shook hands with Sam. "Hi, Sam."
"Hi, Doc. How are you?"
"Fine. Just fine. You know Dr. Langly?" He nodded toward the second man in the room.
"Yes. Of course." Sam moved to the stocky man and greeted him with an outstretched hand.
Dr. Rainey turned to Joshua. "Hi, Joshua, how are you, my boy?" He held out his hand to Joshua.
Joshua wrapped his small, pudgy hand around two of Rainey's fingers, shook them and smiled.
His wispy, flaxen hair waved in the breeze from the air conditioner. "I good, Dr. Rainey. I learn about
computers today. Daddy says he get me one for my next birthday."
Sam sat down and watched Doc and Joshua. He noticed that the baby's voice gave the adult words
a sing-song lilt like a child reciting a nursery rhyme.
Dr. Langly moved to stand near the corner of the room with a thoughtful look on his round face.
He too silently watched the greeting ritual between Dr. Rainey and Joshua. His arms were crossed as he
supported his chin in his right hand and absent-mindedly stroked his short, neat beard.
Even though he was Polynesian, Dr. Langly always reminded Sam of the Chinese detective in the
old Charley Chan movies he had watched as a child. Every time he saw him, he expected the doctor to
introduce a Number One Son. But Sam knew that Langly and his wife had never had any children of
their own and often wondered if that was the reason he had gone into child psychology.
Sam's attention returned to his son and Dr. Rainey. He thought, What an incredible scene! A
chubby, golden skinned baby, just over one year old, standing straight, in his suspendered short pants,
white shirt, and tiny bow tie, shaking hands with a grown man and talking about computers.
Still holding the boy's tiny hand, Dr. Rainey smiled and said, "That's great, Joshua. And, Dr.
Langly has some more good news for you. How would you like to meet a little girl, just a bit older than
you?"
The smile faded from Joshua's face. He looked at Sam, then back at the doctor. "No, thank you."
"Other children make him nervous," Sam explained to the two medical men. "He can't play their
games, and older kids tease him."
Dr. Langly left his observation corner and sat in the one remaining chair in the small office.
"Joshua. Come here. I want to tell you something about this little girl." He held out his arms to the
baby.
Joshua's smile returned, and he ran to sit on his lap. Since Langly began testing him, they had
become friends. Joshua sensed that Langly was truly fond of him, and Sam could see in the man's face
that although Joshua's abilities puzzled him, his affection was genuine. Langly supported Joshua on a
knee with one hand and dug into his coat pocket with the other. He pulled out a small, square puzzle.
"Joshua, can you make all the colors the same on each side of this?"
Grinning, his cheeks dimpling, Joshua said, "Sure." He held it in both hands and began turning the
small blocks in the larger block.
"I understand why other kids make you nervous, Son," Langly continued. "But this little girl is
different. She's like you. Her name is Alice, and she put that puzzle right in two minutes. Can you do it
that fast?"
"Yep." Joshua smiled and handed the cube back to Langly.
"One minute, twelve seconds," Rainey gasped as he checked his watch.
Langly nodded and took the puzzle. "Yeah, you did it all right. Faster than Alice. If I promise she
won't laugh at you, would you meet her?"
"Okay." Joshua didn't sound convinced, but Langly was his friend.
The next morning, Papa and Sam drove Joshua the fifty miles to Gainsbouro to meet Alice. Sam
was surprised that other children like his son existed, but if it was true, he felt it would be nice to have
other parents to talk to about their uniqueness
Dr. Rainey and Dr. Langly met them at the girl's home.
Everyone was a bit nervous, but after the preliminary introductions, the adults settled into lawn
chairs on the patio and watched the two, golden children play in the sand box.
Alice's mother was a small Oriental woman with bright, brown eyes and a perpetual smile.
Her father said that he was half Apache and half Navaho Indian. His skin was almost as dark as
Sam's, and his serious eyes flicked from the children back to Sam and Papa as if he was measuring
their reactions. His dark eyes settled on Dr. Langly's face. He asked, "Doctor, you said there are more
of them? The kids, I mean. More like them?"
Langly's sharp eyes kept studying the children as they worked wordlessly in unison building a
sand castle. "Yes. I've heard of at least fourteen more. Three in Japan, two in Spain and the rest
scattered over Europe. There are probably more. I've contacted a colleague in Paris. She's doing some
checking for me."
Sam asked, "Do you have any more clues as to why they're this way?"
"No, Sam, not really. As I told you, their DNA patterns are different. To put it simply, sort of an
extra chain or two. Neither you nor your wife have that extra link, and neither do you, Mr. and Mrs.
Blackwater." He nodded toward Alice's parents sitting with their fingers laced tightly together. "In fact,
if you did, you probably wouldn't be alive."
Alice's mother gasped, and her free hand flew to her throat as if to stifle the fear that inspired the
sound escaping her lips. "But they are healthy, aren't they? Not sick or anything? They won't...?"
Rainey leaned forward, an expression of empathy on his face, to reassure her. "Oh no, Mrs.
Blackwater. They aren't ill or in any danger. That's what Dr. Langly is saying. These kids are extremely
healthy, even though medical science dictates that they shouldn't be. They're fine."
Mrs. Blackwater relaxed her stiffened back, and her hand settled back into her lap, but she still
clutched her husband's hand tightly.
As Sam watched the couple, Laura's delicate face flashed in his mind, and an aching emptiness in
his stomach surfaced for an instant. He caught himself wishing that Laura were here to hold his hand
like that.
Langly caught his glance at the couple's hands, smiled understandingly and continued, "But I've
analyzed both children, and their patterns are exactly alike. I would stake my reputation that the other
children I just mentioned have the same patterns, and that their parents don't. In fact, if the parents did,
they probably wouldn't have lived long enough to become parents."
Mrs. Blackwater asked, "What does that mean?
Dr. Langly's eyes narrowed in concentration making his oval face seem even rounder. "I'm saying
that these children seem to disprove what we know, or thought we knew, about DNA patterns. We just
don't know for sure yet. We'll have to wait for the results from the other children before we know more,
but I do have a theory."
Papa broke into the conversation. "Look folks. Maybe we're making too much of this. Sure, the
kids are different, but look at 'em." He pointed to the children in the sandbox. "Except for their skin, the
kids look like two normal babies playing. Why can't we just accept that?"
Dr. Langly spoke quietly. "Not quite normal, Papa. See how they share the toys? No argument. No
tug of war. They both have advanced vocabularies, but neither has said a word since they met an hour
ago, yet, they are communicating. Quite successfully, I'd say."
Alice's mother whispered, "You mean they're reading each other's minds?"
"Exactly."
In the car, on the ride home, Papa glanced at Joshua who had fallen asleep in the back seat. He
said quietly, "Sam, you know I've never been real religious, but ever since your Mama died, I've been
thinking about Joshua and everything that's happened. I started reading your grandmother's old Bible.
Thought I might find some answers in there. When I was just a little tyke, she used to read it to me. She
always said she found the answers to all her problems in there. She used to tell me that if I wanted to
know the why of somethin', I should look it up in the Good Book." The oncoming headlights
illuminated his face for an instant, then left it in darkness until the next car passed.
"Yeah, Dad? Did you find them? The answers?"
"Well, you know how Langly said that Joshua and Alice, and the others might be the next step in
evolution? I mean with their DNA patterns being different and all?"
"It's just a theory, Dad."
"I know, but what if it's the opposite?"
"Opposite?"
"Yeah. What if, instead of evolution, it's back to square one? What if God got fed up with us
screwing up everything he made and decided to start over? Genesis says that Adam and Eve were
created perfect. What if He decided to make new Adams and Eves so they could clean up the mess we
got ourselves into?"
"That's interesting, Dad, but wouldn't God just wipe us all off the slate before He started over?
Isn't that what the Bible says?"
"I don't know. I ain't God. Maybe He's tryin' to give us one more chance."
"Well, I suppose it's not any more far-fetched than Langly's theory."
Papa glanced toward the back seat at the sleeping boy and laughed. "Maybe we should ask
Joshua."
"Maybe he could tell us," Sam answered.
Neither of them laughed.
When Joshua was two years old, Dr. Langly suggested that Sam begin to keep a written history of
his son's life. "It might help you to make sense of what is happening in your own mind," he explained.
"Raising a child like Joshua will not be easy, even with your father's help."
Sam was hesitant at first. A little too much like a diary, he thought. But when his father pointed out
that he could give a copy to Dr. Rainey, and it might help him and Dr. Langly in their efforts to keep
Joshua healthy, he began to record not only Joshua's progress but his own feelings as well.
On the eve of Joshua's seventh birthday, he wrote in his journal:
Joshua is seven years old today. He and Dr. Rainey have been working on a cure
for cancer. Joshua told me today that they think they have it.
Laura calls occasionally. She lives in New York now. She just divorced her second
husband. He wanted children. She didn't.
We still don't know what this is all about, but we know it's nothing to be afraid of.
Sometimes it's hard, but Dad and I have each other, and we have Joshua. We both agree
that, at times, we feel like we are the children and he is the adult. Dr. Rainey and Dr.
Langly say they feel the same way occasionally.
We have found fifty-four more kids like Joshua. He found three of them the first
week he hooked his computer into the Web. He was two years old then.
All of them have golden skin and eyes, flaxen hair and a black star on either their
right or left shoulder. They all score off the charts in IQ tests, and they are all the
products of interracial unions--all the different races in a dozen combinations. None are
over nine years old. At least, none that we've found.
I keep remembering a popular phrase in the '90s. Something about the browning of
America. It was supposed to mean that the races were blending, and that by the turn of
the century, most of the population of America would be of mixed heritage. But that
hasn't happened. If anything, racial tension is increasing. More ethnic groups are
withdrawing into private sectors. A kind of self-segregation. Gangs patrol the streets in
larger cities, marking their boundaries and attacking anyone not of the neighborhood
who might wander into their streets, whether by design or accident.
The GCs don't understand any of this, and to be honest, neither do I. Oh, I've done
it again. I've wandered from my original intention for this diary. Its purpose is to record
Joshua's life. I balked at first about this recording thing, but now I find it helps me to
clear my thoughts, even if I do wander about a bit as new thoughts hit me.
As for the GCs, we've discovered that they all seem to have different gifts. Joshua
is a healer. He asked me to stop taking him to crowded places. The last time we went to
the mall, he tried to touch everyone he sensed was ill. He says that all the pain hurts
him. That he feels like he's drowning in a sea of suffering. He slept for forty-eight hours
straight when we got home from the last shopping trip.
Langly set him up on closed circuit to the college to study medicine. He must have
a lot of influence. He didn't tell them Joshua's age, just that he was one of his clients.
When I asked him how he did it, he just smiled and said, "I called in a few favors."
I asked Joshua why he was doing medical research when he could just touch
someone and heal them.
He looked up at me and shrugged. "Self defense. I can't touch everyone, and so
many are afraid. It hurts too much not to help them that I guess I'll just have to make all
the diseases go away so people can't hurt anymore. Then I won't hurt either." He smiled
his dimpled smile, kissed my cheek and went back to his books.
Alice leans toward mental health, and some of the others are into nano-technology
and robotics. A few are studying fields of science I can't even pronounce, and one is
almost finished with what I call his hyper-drive which he says will take us to the stars.
They don't use computers and telephones to communicate with each other as much
as they used to. They all seem to know what the others are doing. Joshua tells me that
more are born everyday. He says he feels it, but he doesn't know exactly where they are.
He says they'll find him and the others when they are ready.
Some of the other parents and I have formed a sort of support group. We call it
PGC, Parents of the Golden Children. It helps. We have to keep a low profile because
most people fear our children. We don't know what would happen if we didn't. Would
they be hunted down like freaks? Experimented on? Dissected?
Dr. Rainey called a meeting today in his office with some of the parents.
Langly tried to explain what we are facing. "We must protect these children by
whatever means possible until there are enough of them to be accepted by the world.
When they are grown, it will be easier for them to assimilate. Right now, they look like
odd-colored, luminescent children performing miracles, and that scares people."
Dad looked worried, "Are you saying that people might try to hurt these kids?"
"Yes," Langly answered. "Or control their powers. There are factions in the world
that would stop at nothing to use these kids' gifts for their own greed. The children
wouldn't hurt anyone, even if they were attacked. They couldn't. Their empathy levels
are so great that just being in the same room with someone in pain is torturous. For them
to actually inflict pain would be like committing suicide."
Alice's father glanced at me with his penetrating eyes, then back to the doctor.
"Should we gather them all together? Like maybe a colony or something? That way, we
could protect them better."
Dr. Rainey quickly said, "No. Absolutely not. We would only draw attention to
them and make them an easy target. These kids are our only hope for the future. They
offer the potential to make war obsolete. How can you kill someone, in war or
anywhere, if you feel their pain exactly as they do? The GC's population is increasing
daily all over the world, and if we're lucky, they'll outnumber us within the next fifty
years. We need for them to be scattered, not only for their safety, but for the
accumulation of knowledge. They share information. They help each other and us. They
can teach the human race about love and empathy." He frowned then and added, "If the
human race is willing to listen."
I thought back to that first day when Joshua was only a baby, and how he told Dad
to take love to my mother. Tears stung my eyes as Dad gripped my shoulder. I knew that
he remembered too.
Rainey and Langly seem positive that their theory about these kids being the next
evolutionary step is a logical conclusion.
Dad says he's sure his theory about God is right.
The only thing that I am sure of is that it is very difficult for an imperfect man to
have a perfect child. I mean a really perfect child. But from the moment he was born, I
have loved my son, and that will not change. I wonder if Joseph, the carpenter, felt this
way about his son?
The above story is a perfect example of how something seemingly bad at the beginning can
become something good as your story progresses. I struggled with Joshua for months trying to make
him into something other than what he wanted, but finally, I let him have his way, and the story
unfolded in ways that surprised even me. Let your characters speak for themselves, and your work will
take on a life of its own.
Chapter Twelve
You Shouldn't Have To Explain Your Story
Remember what I said about the book Sound The Ram's Horn not turning out with the theme
that I had originally intended? You will rarely have a completed story actually stay within your original
ideas for that tale. Our stories grow with our characters and within ourselves. As they grow, they
change and usually become much better stories.
At our magazine, we try to send reasons for rejecting a story even if it is only a few lines. Once I
wrote a comment on a rejection that went something like this, "Your theme is good, but your ending is
a bit confusing. Maybe you should fill out your character's personality a little more to make the ending
more plausible." The writer wrote back that he meant for the ending to be confusing so the reader
would have to think about the story. Then he began to explain in detail exactly what he meant to say
when he wrote each paragraph and what the true meaning was behind each sentence. He went on to say
that only an idiot would fail to see what he meant to say. Well, I guess that makes me an idiot because I
don't read an author's mind, and I doubt that too many readers do either.
I'd like to tell you about a debate I once had with an author/editor friend of mine that I often have
lively, heated discussions with about writing. When I was first beginning to write for publication, I
wrote a really bad story. Since I was still in the throes of early creation, I didn't realize it was as bad as
it was. I thought it was wonderful at the time. This friend read the story and said, "Joan, this doesn't
make any sense."
I was devastated. How dare he say that about the most wonderful story ever written? Was he just
plain stupid? I told him how dumb he must be if he didn't get the meaning of the story. Then I began to
regale him with all the hidden meanings and what I had meant to say.
He chuckled and said, "Then why didn't you just say what you meant? You won't be able to be
there for every reader to explain what the story is about. You have to leave that up to them."
That stopped me cold. I realized what he was saying. I, as the writer, knew exactly what I
intended. I knew what the characters were up to, what they were thinking and feeling, but I had left that
important part out of my manuscript and, in effect, expected the reader to read my mind.
Then my friend said something I have carried with me and remembered in my writing ever since.
He said, "It doesn't really matter what you intended to say. Readers bring their own interpretations and
life experiences into your stories. Once someone else reads it, it doesn't belong to you anymore. It
belongs to them."
He was right. A good example is the story, Joshua, you just read. I have had reviewers call the fulllength book version everything from "blatant, racial commentary" to a "delightful fantasy," and one
reader even compared it to The Celestine Prophesy. It all depended upon what the reader brought into
my words with his or her personal life experiences. Did I intend any of this? Not really. I just wanted to
entertain and maybe make people think about the state of our world today. Most people think the book
is about racism, but that was not my original intention. My original thoughts were that it was about
empathy and the human race's seeming lack of that most important human trait. But it doesn't really
matter what I think it's about. It only matters what the reader thinks, because I'm not there to explain
my views. I must leave that up to the reader.
You too, must train yourself to write as a reader. Ask yourself this question. If you were reading
your work without the prior knowledge that you as the creator have, would you understand it? Don't
make your readers guess what the story is about. Give them the clues, the truth, the heart and they will
decide what your work is about. That's where self-editing comes in. Never--never send a "fresh off the
printer" story out as a submission. When we first finish a piece, in the throes of creation and still in love
with our own words, most of us are incapable of seeing its flaws. Just as most parents have the most
beautiful newborn in the world, so our work is like our children. When they are first born, we do not
see their flaws, only their perfection.
After the baby has been around a while, parents begin to see that some of that perfection is marred
by dirty diapers, crying all night and so on. Although the love is still there, reality sets in.
Always let your work sit a day or a week or even a month or so without reading it to let reality set
in, then pick it up again and read it as a reader. Reading it aloud to yourself or having someone read it
to you will really help you spot the problems. I guarantee that you will find changes you want to make.
Maybe a sentence isn't quite right, or you have some misspelled words. You will find something to
"fix." This is self-editing. Self-editing is an important part of the writing process and one we can't
afford to skip. After you make your changes, then send your creation out for editors to read.
Chapter Thirteen
Give Your Work A Solid Foundation
Writing exercises to tighten your writing and give you a good foundation to build on are essential.
There are many exercises you can use. Some are in books in the recommended reading list in the
Appendix, but one of the most exceptional and effective methods I have found is flash fiction. It can
stand on its own or is a good start for a longer piece. Flash fiction teaches us to use strong, active verbs
that hit the bull's eye faster than a gunslinger can sling his pistol.
I use flash fiction pieces constantly. I have sold several such flash exercises as flash stories. Later,
I used them to write longer pieces and sold those too. Some of my flash stories have become core parts
of my novels. Remember, short doesn't mean simple. Flash fiction is not easy, but it can make your
writing stronger and tighter than you ever thought possible. The basic rules of writing flash fiction
work for nonfiction too. In fact, I have found that incorporating the elements of fiction into my
nonfiction keeps it interesting and avoids that "dry" teaching tone. Try some of the suggested exercises,
and get excited about flash fiction. It is addictive. Once you try it, you won't be able to stop.
WRITING FLASH FICTION
What exactly is flash fiction?
It is a literary power punch to the gut. Slam! Contact! Get out!
It is a flash of a story like a flash bulb that illuminates one moment in time vividly. Editors'
opinions vary about the length of flash fiction. The length usually ranges from about 55 words to 1,000
words, but it is generally identified as a complete story with a beginning, a middle and an end using all
of the elements of a short story, often with a twist ending, in 100 words or less.
One hundred words? How can you encompass all of the elements of fiction in only 100 words?
Flash fiction captures the essence of a story.
Picture a child catching a bright, red ball.
What do you see? What is in the background? Your own experiences detailed the sentence for you.
Perhaps you saw the child outside since that is where balls are usually thrown. Maybe you saw a young
child because the ball is red. Older children play with basketballs, footballs or baseballs which are not
usually red. Did you see sunshine? Was that why the ball was bright? Did you see grass and trees, or
did you see city streets and buildings? That would depend on your perception of outside and ball
playing, wouldn't it?
Use strong, active verbs and few if any linking verbs and adjectives. There is no time in flash
fiction for a lot of description, detail or much characterization. The writer depends upon the readers'
experiences to fill in the details. Dialogue driven stories work well to develop quick action, character
and conflict.
Writing flash fiction is an excellent exercise to tighten your writing--to pack as much action in as
few words as possible. You can use flash fiction as the core idea to develop longer pieces--even novels.
It also helps to identify the 4 elements of fiction: Setting, Character, Conflict and Resolution.
Discard traditional writing techniques. Make the most of one-word sentences. Grab the reader's
attention with one-word hooks and convey meaning with punctuation. Use caution though. Too many
one-word sentences can spoil the story.
Here are some examples.
"Listen!" (Sets the scene for suspense.) What did the speaker hear? Was it Frightening? Shocking?
Exciting?
Active verbs are best, but nouns work with the right punctuation.
Say the following aloud to yourself, and notice the punctuation.
Quiet.
Quiet?
Quiet!
Did you hear the implications?
Quiet. (A noun implying silence. This is Setting.)
Quiet? (Why do you want me to be quiet? This is Conflict and a hint of character.)
Quiet! (An order to shut up. This is Resolution.)
Here is an example of a six-word story using only one-word sentences.
Night Wind's Concert
By S. Joan Popek
Listen!
What?
Quiet!
Music?
Yes.
Cool!
The elements here are conflict and resolution, with characterization being only in that one person
is more dominant than the other. Setting is hinted at with the title.
Let's discuss the Elements in fiction.
Setting: Where the action takes place. Setting is usually created in the title and first sentence of flash
fiction. Look at Harvey Stanbrough's "At Confession" below. The title and the first sentence tell us that
the setting is a confessional booth.
H. Stanbrough's excellent example of a 55 word story with an explanation of why it works will
help you use these principals in your own stories. (Reprinted with the author's permission)
At Confession
©1998 H. Stanbrough
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."
"How long since your last confession?"
"Two years."
"What's the trouble?"
"I have wished death on a man."
"You haven't acted on your wish?"
"Not yet."
"Who is the man?"
"He is cheating with my wife."
The priest paled. "I forgive you."
I shot him through the screen.
Mr. Stanbrough explains why "At Confession" works. "The story works primarily because it
seems to begin before the reader starts reading and apparently goes on after the story ends. This effect
is caused because the story begins in the middle of the action and because it is dialogue driven. Also,
the reader wouldn't normally side with a murderer, but in this story we do, because the killing seems to
us to be justified in a way by the priest's implied admission in the penultimate line, 'I forgive you.'
Because of the limited space, implication is of major importance in the flash fiction story. The other
main reason the story works is because it contains a primary element of most good flash fiction, it ends
with a twist, something that is at once completely unexpected but easily understandable."
Character: Usually, there is not room for more than two characters in flash fiction, three at the
most, but those characters don't always have to be human. They don't even have to be animate. For
instance, try writing a piece about a pebble and a blade of grass trying to inhabit the same spot. See
what you come up with.
Conflict: A difference of opinion--tension to keep the reader reading. It can be verbal, physical or
mental. It doesn't always have to be villain versus hero.
Resolution: The conclusion of the conflict. Don't try miraculous resolution. (Where the
protagonist is saved by some miracle not of his or her making.) Most readers feel cheated by such
tricks, and editors don't usually like it either. A reader will usually immerse himself in your characters'
problems. When we read, we invest emotions. If a "higher power" intervenes, the reader often feels as
if the character disappointed him by not being strong enough to overcome the obstacle herself. This is
true of longer fiction as well. Also "It was just a dream" clichés are much overused, and they too leave
the reader feeling cheated.
Most writers use surprise endings because flash fiction lends itself to such, but they are not
necessary. If you use one, don't surprise your readers too much. Make them think, "Ah--of course!"
Not, "Boy, am I stupid!"
What flash fiction is not.
Flash fiction is not poetry or essays. As the editor of two magazines, I often see manuscripts
submitted as flash fiction when in actuality they are rambling essays or poems with no conflict or
resolution. By its nature, flash fiction must not ramble.
Flash fiction is not an idea for a story. An idea is a "what if " statement. What if an ant decides he
wants to be ruler of the world? The story is built upon the idea. What that ant does to accomplish or fail
at achieving his goal is the story.
Flash fiction is not a slice-of-life vignette. According to Funk and Wagnalls, "A vignette is a short,
graceful literary sketch." Flash fiction is a complete story, not a sketch. The major difference in these
forms is change. Fiction must have it. A vignette, essay or poem does not require it. The change doesn't
have to occur in the protagonist. It can happen to the antagonist or even in the readers mind, but change
must occur in either the protagonist, the antagonist or the reader's mind for it to be flash fiction.
An example of change in the reader's mind is illustrated in this 97 word tale.
DRAGON TALES
By S. Joan Popek
"Why're you here?" the dragon bellowed. "Where's my virgin?"
"No virgins."
"No virgins?"
"Not one. None to be had. They've all been had." She winked seductively.
"Not funny! Every six months, I get a virgin, That's the deal. I never really liked virgin. Too bland.
Humans decided that dragons eat virgins." He patted his stomach. "I've a sensitive stomach, so I
agreed."
"I brought pigs."
"BAH!"
"No pigs?"
"No!"
She paled.
He gobbled her up, then burped smoke. "I do like a spicy wench, but they sure don't like me. Now
where did I put that antacid?"
Why "Dragon Tales" works.
The story works because it depends upon the reader's acquaintance with fairy tales to fill in what
is implied. The setting is near a cave because that's where dragons live in fairy tales. It assumes that the
reader expects dragons to eat virgins, but perhaps has never questioned why. The conflict is in the
dragon's decision to eat a non-virgin even knowing it will give him heartburn. And the resolution is that
the girl that was foolish enough to approach the dragon in the first place gets eaten. The ending is
unexpected because usually, the heroine outwits the dragon. The change occurs in the reader's mind as
his or her perception of fairy tales changes. It relies upon the reader's experience with fairy tales to
carry off the twist. This is also an example of making stereotype plots work for you. The plot is basic
right to the end, then deviates.
Here is a tip from Harvey Stanbrough on the mechanics of writing flash fiction.
"If you're aiming for a particular word length, say 55 words, it sometimes helps to write on a pad
on which the lines are numbered. Write down the page, one word per line, then begin at the top again.
This is a good way both to monitor your word count and replace individual words with others." Write
Tight: Writing and Marketing Flash Fiction © Harvey Stanbrough,1998.
More exercise tips that work.
1.
Write as fast as you can. Don't worry about grammar yet. Fill about half a
page, count the words, fix the grammar, then read it aloud to yourself. Does it
have setting, implied or otherwise? Conflict? Resolution? Does it affect a
change?
2.
Write a story, then go back and ruthlessly erase all phrases, clauses and
coordinating conjunctions that are not absolutely vital to the story. Delete any
unnecessary adjectives. (Example: Her blond curls gleamed. Instead of, She had
short, blond, curly hair.) You will be left with tight, active sentences.
3.
Write an all dialogue story using as few tags as possible. Let the dialogue
describe the characters and create conflict.
Try something like this.
"Take that cigar out of your fat mouth."
"Make me, you skinny runt."
This type of dialogue sets up conflict and puts a mental image in the reader's mind.
What to avoid when writing flash fiction.
About the only themes or genres to avoid are the cliché, writing about a writer writing, characters'
revenge, and it was just a dream. These are overused and abused in many types of fiction, especially in
flash fiction.
But can you sell Flash Fiction?
Many markets use flash for fillers. Get the guidelines, and if they don't have bottom word limits or
don't say whether they accept flash fiction, query or go ahead and send your submission.
There are many markets that welcome flash fiction. A good source for markets is the 2000 Writer's
Market. Online, you will find dozens of market magazines such as Inscriptions and some of the others
listed in the Appendix.
Some ideas to get you started
Use these ideas to get started with flash fiction, then elaborate. Think of some your own. Get busy.
After all, you still have that best selling novel to write, don't you?
1.
Write a 55-100-word story about the child with the ball.
2.
Try using the six-word story in the article as a starting place to build a
longer story up to 100 words.
3.
Write about a conflict between a mother and/or father and a teenaged
daughter and/or son.
4.
Write about a conflict between two businessmen and/or businesswomen.
5.
Write about the ant that wants to rule the world.
6.
Write about the pebble and the blade of grass that want to occupy the
same space.
7.
Write about a grumpy robot and a playful kitten.
8.
Write about a graveyard at midnight, at high noon, at dawn.
9.
Write about a picture on a museum wall and a man in love.
10.
Write about a murder/robbery/prison break/prisoner on death row.
When you finish your story, edit it, polish it and submit it. Then use it as the core for a longer
story and see what you come up with. You may be surprised at what you get.
I must repeat here that you should never submit a story fresh from the printer. We never catch our
mistakes when we are still in the ecstatic throes of creation. When I first began to write, I didn't know
about letting a manuscript rest. I won't tell you how many times I have pulled the "perfect" story from
my printer's mouth, popped it into an envelope complete with cover letter and the obligatory SASE and
dropped it into the mailbox with the assurance that this was my best yet. Then when I returned home
and read it again, I realized how many mistakes I had made. Editors know about the "rest" theory and
most will recommend it. Let it rest whether it is a 55-word story or a 120,000-word novel.
Chapter Fourteen
Using Fiction Techniques For Nonfiction
You can use fiction techniques in your non-fiction very effectively. For magazine articles, short
essays and other types of writing, incorporate the elements of fiction into your work, and you will get
published. Below is an example of a piece I was asked to do for an online magazine. Until then, I had
only done fiction and didn't really know how to even begin with a travel article. I have always loved
history and been intrigued by the ancient Indian tribes so I enlisted the aid of basic fiction concepts:
The 4 elements of fiction: Setting, Character, Conflict and Resolution. See if you can identify them as
you read the story.
LISTEN TO THE SILENT ROAR OF HISTORY
By S. Joan Popek
(First printed in Southern New Mexico Online Magazine, 1999, www.zianet.com/snm/popek.htm)
Cliff dwellings. What an unremarkable phrase for such a remarkable feat. An entire village carved
out of solid rock. Carved not with the bulldozers and explosives that we so casually use today to gouge
mortal wounds into Mother Earth, but with primitive tools and backbreaking labor. Carved hand in
hand with nature, not to pillage or destroy, but to settle into Earth's protective bosom as children settle
into their mothers' laps.
The Mogollon Indians (believed to be the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians) built these great
villages to survive--to be safe from man's greatest predator--man himself. In the process, they managed
to build cities without devastating the Mother who protected them.
When you come, visit this extraordinary sight during a time when visitors are few. If possible,
walk the path alone or with someone you love. Listen to the silence. You will hear the spirit voices of
the ancients call to their gods. You will feel the presence of a proud race of people who left their ghosts
to guard the homes they had to leave.
Close your eyes and smell the fragrant smoke of cooking fires. Hear the grinding of stone against
stone crushing dried corn into baking flour.
Listen!
Can you hear a young mother crooning softly to the baby in her lap while she sews soft rabbit
skins together to keep her child warm when the snows come and winter winds wail?
Do you smile at the boasts of young warriors as they hurl their spears and draw their bows in
games to sharpen their hunting skills?
You can detect a whisper of history from the unseen, shriveled mouths of old men teaching young
boys what they have learned, and old women tending laughing ghost children as they play at learning to
tread carefully along the cliff's edges. The women know that soon, the youngsters will scramble up and
down the steep cliffs like mountain goats.
Open your eyes and they will be gone.
Only the wind remains to sing its melody to the deserted landscape. Sagebrush stretches across the
plains below hiding the shadows of an ancient people that once shared this land with God.
Did you identify the 4 elements?
Setting = Cliff Dwellings.
Character = The wisdom of the old ones and the excited youth of the young show us the people, and
an inward searching type of romanticism from the narrator gives us a clue to her personality.)
Conflict = Man against nature.
Resolution = The past is revisited. The narrator and the reader return from a trip to the past back to the
present in peace.
Try this concept in your next article or essay.
Chapter Fifteen
Writing A Synopsis
Or
How To Keep Your Muse Amused
Usually when submitting a short story, you will send the complete manuscript, but when you
submit a novel, you must send a summary of the entire story. The summary should not be over two
pages and one page is really preferred unless your target publication's guidelines require a chapter-bychapter synopsis. This means a few hundred words to summarize a work of 40,000 to 80,000 words.
So, how do you summarize, in a few hundred words, what took over four years and a dozen freshly
opened blood veins to write?
Summary or synopsis, no matter how you say it, you are still truncating reality. Whether you write
short stories or novels, sooner or later, you are going to have to write a synopsis of your work.
While compiling my collection of short stories into book form, I was humming old sixties tunes to
my cranky computer so she would be nice and not decide to take a hiatus when I realized that I was
going to have to describe in one or two pages what my over 40,000 word short story collection was
about if I intended to sell it.
Oh woe of woes.
I looked to my Muse, who was busy tying my shoe laces together so I would fall flat on my face if
I tried to stand, and gave her a gentle kick.
She somersaulted backwards into the dust balls that I keep under my desk to catch any stray
crumbs from the ever-present doughnuts that I munch on to console myself when opening rejection
letters.
"Stop horsing around," I demanded. "I've got work to do. Give me some ideas. Earn your keep."
She fluttered her wings, stood up to her full height of six inches, placed her hands on her hips,
kicked a too friendly dust ball away from her foot and said, "What keep? That lousy chocolate chip
cookie you gave me last night? I can get better food out of the cat's dish." She smoothed her golden
curls. "Just who do you think you are anyway, Miss 'Now I'm a Big Time Writer'? Who do you think
got you where you are? Sure wasn't you." She puckered her tiny lips into a pout. "Who gave you the
idea for the golden child Joshua? He was mankind's last hope for divinity. You have him in that
collection, don't you? And the tragic story of Billy, the little boy who decides he's God? And how about
the idea for what lengths a mother would really go to in order to protect her child? And Jonah and
Gordon, giving up fame and fortune to save a world? And Shining Eyes, that prehistoric woman dying
and beginning a dynasty she didn't even know about? What about those black market human organs?
Who helped you decide who would do the harvesting?" She fluttered to my shoulder to continue her
tirade. "Me. That's who. Me whispering in your ear when you were stuck on a lousy line. It was me
who gave you the idea for that robot to get chronic depression. It was my idea for that drunk to find
The Incredible, Edible, Mr. Glump in that gutter. How about the compromise for gang violence? Who
helped you figure that one out, huh? Sure wasn't that idiot computer that you treasure so much. You
think you did all of that by yourself? Hmmpp!" She tossed her head and flew to sit on the keyboard.
"Well--I--uh," I mumbled in defense.
She crossed her arms in front of her, stared at me and sulked.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just--"
"You just--you just! You always say that. What about me? What about my feelings?" She puckered
up for another pout. "Kicking me into those nasty, little dust ball creatures. What kind of way is that to
treat your Muse for gosh sakes?"
"I didn't kick you. I just sort of flicked you. And you were tying my shoe laces together."
"Flicked? Flicked? Is that what you call that kind of abuse?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Well I
was bored. That's why I was tying your shoelaces. You never take me anywhere. How am I supposed to
amuse myself?" She put her hands over her face and began to wail. "I'm all alone here in this cluttered,
old office while you go gallivanting off to God knows where--having fun--not even thinking about me.
Not even as much as you think about that Sarah woman. The one with Alzheimer's. The one you loved
enough to give The Alien Feeder to. You never gave me anything. Oh boo-hoo."
"Oh, Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Come here and I'll give you a hug."
The tears stopped as suddenly as they began. She stood on the tab key and wailed, "A hug? You
want to give me a hug? What ever happened to cheesecake?"
"Cheesecake? We have cheesecake. You want some?"
Sniffle...sniffle. "Well, if you insist," she said, wiping her eyes with my sleeve--the sleeve of my
new, silk blouse.
"No! Don't!"
"Honk!" Too late. She blew her nose loudly on the cuff.
"Yuchh."
"Oh don't be such a baby," she snapped as I pulled my arm from her tiny but surprisingly strong
grasp.
Unbuttoning my blouse, I sighed. "Oh well, they say writing in the nude is conducive to creativity.
Guess writing in your bra could be almost as good. Now, come on. We have work to do. I have to write
a synopsis of this collection."
I stared at the keyboard.
I stared at the screen.
I stared at my Muse. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well are you going to help me or not?"
"You promised me cheesecake. You had that saucy wench give that cool dragon a bagel and cream
cheese. Why can't I have cheesecake?"
"Because I've got to think of what to write first. First, we write, and then we have cheesecake.
Now what shall I say? Hmmm. A synopsis. Hmmm."
"Boy!" She flitted in front of my face. "You publish a few stories, edit a couple of magazines and
now you're brain dead. Haven't you been listening?"
"Of course I have. I've listened to your sniveling and whining until I can't think. That's what I've
been listening to."
She propped her elbows on the top of the monitor, rolled her eyes heavenward and sighed. "Of all
the writers in the world, why did I have to get one that can't even see a story when it's right in front of
her?"
"Huh? What do you--oh wait--what did you say earlier? Something about Joshua being Mankind's
last hope for divinity, and the organ black market thing and--and--uh-oh. You gave it to me, didn't you?
The synopsis? All I have to do is flesh it out. Right?"
"Right." She smiled. "Now about that cheesecake."
After our snack, I wrote the synopsis and found it wasn't really as difficult as I thought. All you
have to do is pretend you are the characters, which you do anyway when you write the story, then
decide what you would want the world to know about you to get them interested enough in your
situation to read about it. A synopsis is just a teasing look inside a character's mind that asks a lot of
questions, answers a few and tweaks the readers' curiosity. Ask yourself what would make you want to
read the story. Then write it.
Set up a brief outline of the characters, plot, conflict and resolution. Use about one paragraph for
each chapter or short story if it's a collection. Use the same imagination you used when writing the
story and you can't go wrong.
Oh yeah, and don't ignore your Muse.
Later that evening as I triumphantly printed out the last page, I glanced over at my Muse. She was
on a corner of the desk engrossed in an old volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales with her elbows propped on
the pages, her hands cradling her tiny chin.
"Come on, Sweetie," I said. "You're right. We don't get out much. Let's take a walk in the park."
"No thanks." She turned to smile innocently. "I have a date tonight."
"A date?"
"Yeah. Jules Verne is coming by. He promised me a trip to the moon."
Part Three
We All Got Rights
Chapter Sixteen
Copyright Issues
Okay, we have the nuts and bolts down. You have written or are writing your story. It is almost
ready to submit for publication. What should you know about copyright issues? This was the number
one question asked by our readers. Also, what are electronic rights, and how do we make sure we are
not selling more rights than we want to?
It is important to know the difference between Copyright and Copywrite. I have seen many
experienced as well as new authors use the terms interchangeably, and they are not.
The term Copyright means to secure a work to the creator and gives him or her the right to control
what happens to that work. This includes: production (in the various forms i.e. electronic or traditional
print, movie rights, audio rights, anthology rights, etc.), reproduction, distribution and public display or
performance.
Copywrite means to write copy for yourself or a company. Usually the term is used in advertising,
promotional endeavors and the newspaper and journal industries.
It can be embarrassing to say nothing of being detrimental to your career to misuse these words
when you are approaching an editor for the first time and trying to impress him or her with your
expertise in language.
More than You Ever Wanted to Know about Copyrights
To read the official, government version of the copyright laws and all of its glorious "legalese"
you may surf on over to www.loc.gov/copyright/. For a boiled down, understandable version, read on.
What is a copyright?
In 1988, the United States adopted the Berne Copyright Convention. This basically states that a
work is copyright protected as soon as it is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression." This means that
if it is on your hard drive, a disk or paper and even if you never officially register the copyright, it is
still yours.
How Long Does a Copyright Last?
The copyright for works created after 1977 lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. If there is
more than one author, the copyright is legal until 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.
There are different copyright rules if you are assigned the piece by an employer, if you write it
anonymously or if you use a pen name. In these cases, it seems that the copyright can last up to 95
years from the first publication date.
There are special rules if a work was created but not published before 1978. For more information
about individual copyrights and specific laws, see, the U.S. Copyright Office at:
lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/.
What does copyright protect?
A copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic
works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright protects
original works that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. This includes any literary work that is
read, seen or heard with the aid of a machine or device. (Such as a computer, electronic book reader,
tape recorder, CD, etc.)
What does a copyright not cover?
You may not copyright facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation. The U.S. Copyright Office
states: "Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection.
These include among others:
•
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for
example, choreographic works that have not been recorded, or improvisational
speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded).
•
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs;
mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere
listings of ingredients or contents,
•
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles,
discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or
illustration,
•
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and
containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and
weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public
documents or other common sources)."
As I understand it, even the official document this information came from at the government site is
not under copyright because it is common property. Supposedly, I could have reprinted the entire page
verbatim without fear of breaking any copyright laws.
Copyright Is Secured Automatically Upon Creation
No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure
copyright. But there are certain advantages to legally registering your work.
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation.
If registration occurs within five years of publication, it is considered evidence in a court of law. If your
work is plagiarized and you wish to bring suit against the person or persons, you must be able to prove
that you wrote it first. The burden of proof that the work is really yours lies squarely upon your
shoulders if it is not officially copyrighted.
Publication as Copyright
Publication is no longer the key to obtaining federal copyright as it was under the Copyright Act
of 1909. The 1976 Copyright Act defines publication as follows: "Publication is the distribution of
copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental,
lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes
of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public
performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication."
Do you have to register with your office to be protected?
No. Getting a copyright is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created.
How much of your work can be used without getting permission?
A law called, the "Fair Use Doctrine" of the U.S. copyright statute states that "it is permissible to
use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news
reporting, and scholarly reports." This means that in some cases, academic institutions may excerpt
parts of copyrighted materials for instruction under certain copyright rules. The same applies for news
reports, etc.
What is fair use?
We would all love a clear answer to that question, unfortunately the "Fair Use" law is not fair to
readers at all. It is a shadowy netherworld open to individual interpretation. Its boundaries are disputed
even by the legal system. It is like a no-man's land.
To get a better understanding of this law, I surfed over to the U.S. Copyright Webpage. I found
only more confusion about this subject.
A quote from the U.S. Copyright rules states: "Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright
statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as
commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the
use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work.
Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See Circular 21 and FL
102."
Well... okay. Determined to know the rules and to be able to protect my work, and being the
obedient citizen that I am, I downloaded Circular 21 as instructed. I found that it states unequivocally,
that no one knows exactly what fair use constitutes. Judges argue, publishers argue, authors argue and
still not one solid answer emerges.
We do have a set, four rule standard to go by, but it is pretty vague as well. I quote this verbatim
from Circular 21, and feel confident that this shall be considered Fair Use by the same courts because
they don't know either.
"The factors to be considered shall include:
(1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or
is for non-profit educational purposes.
(2) The nature of the copyrighted work.
(3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole.
(4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact
that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon
consideration of all the above factors.
Although the courts have considered and ruled upon the fair use doctrine over and over again, no
real definition of the concept has ever emerged. Indeed, since the doctrine is an equitable rule of
reason, no generally applicable definition is possible, and each case raising the question must be
decided on its own facts."
So there you have the facts. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of
words, a certain number of musical notes, or a specified percent of a work. Whether a particular use
qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. The term "limited" is viewed in several different
ways. Some publishers feel the first chapter of a book is "fair use." Others say fifteen pages is enough,
and still others have different views. The... ahem... jury is still out on this, and it doesn't look like we
will have a solid verdict for some time.
In the meantime, a good safe course is to say that if the whole work is copied, that is definitely not
"Fair Use."
If any portion is copied without giving proper credit to the author, that is not "Fair Use."
If someone copies another author's work and sells it or gives it away as his or her own, that is not
"Fair Use."
If someone copies an entire book or story or article either electronically or in print and gives it to
someone else, even with the credit to the author, that is not "Fair Use."
These circumstances are plainly plagiarism and are against the law. (This of course, does not
include loaning or selling a work as long as only the original copy is transferred and no copies are
made.)
How Do I Obtain an Official Copyright?
You can obtain an official copyright in several ways. The easiest way is to contact the U.S.
Copyright office, get the rules, fill out the forms and send them $30.00. Wa-la, your work is under
copyright. Many book publishers obtain the copyright for you, but don't count on it. The "Poor Man's
Copyright" is simple. Just print a copy of your work, seal it in an envelope, mail it to yourself and when
you get it, do not open it. File it away in case the subject ever comes up. However, you should keep in
mind that in a court of law, often the official copyright carries much more weight even though the
"Poor Man's Copyright" is considered legal.
One very important point to remember is that you should wait until the final version is complete,
including any rewrites the publisher asks you to do before obtaining a copyright.
Whichever way you decide to go, remember that since 1988, if you write it, it is basically already
copyrighted. Should you worry about someone stealing your work? Probably not too much. Most
people who might be inclined to do so are too busy writing to worry about copying word for word
something you wrote.
It does happen, but it isn't a new writer's biggest worry. Look at it this way. If you are an
unknown, they probably wouldn't want to steal your words. If you are famous, they will get caught, and
they know it. Also, if someone is determined to steal another author's work, the copyright seldom stops
them.
What usually happens is that someone takes a line or such and quotes it without giving credit to
you. In which case, you could go to them and ask for the credit or demand that they take your quote
out.
Chapter Seventeen
Electronic Rights
What Rights Are You Selling?
Electronic rights are a major issue now. The electronic publishing industry is advancing so fast it's
almost impossible to keep up, and at this point, you must be your own guard to protect your rights.
I'm not talking about the copyrights we just discussed. Those laws are clear and do include
anything you write; however, you should consider very carefully what rights you are selling to a
publisher and be sure you understand THOSE rights before you sign on the dotted line.
The electronic rights we will discuss now are those you sell to a publisher so they can publish and
sell your book, story, article or anything else you write to be published electronically. Electronic rights
are different from print rights. If your work is published on the WEB, on disk, on CD, by e-mail or
available for download, it's electronic.
Lawyer, John J. Tormey, III, gave a legal view of electronic rights at Writer's Exchange. He said,
"Electronic publishing is a recent phenomenon...there has not been sufficient time for the
publishing...industries to fully crystallize accurate and complete definitions of... 'electronic rights'... "
He goes on to say that there is, at this moment, no set "industry standard" for e-rights.
It's The Law!
In a recent court ruling, Tasini vs. New York Times, The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that "... the reuse of free lance work on databases and CD-ROMs without the authors' express
permission constitutes copyright infringement." www.nwu.org/tvt/9909vic.htm
What the Heck Does That Mean?
It means that if your work is printed traditionally, and you don't sign a contract stating otherwise,
you automatically retain electronic rights to your work. First North American Serial Rights (FNASR)
do not automatically include First North American Electronic Rights. (FNAER) The reverse is true as
well. If you sell your FNAER or First World Electronic Rights (FWER) to an e-publisher, unless the
contract states otherwise, you are free to market the same work to a print publisher.
Let's boil all this legal mumbo-jumbo down and cram it into the proverbial nutshell.
About Book Publishers
READ THE CONTRACT! If they state they get ALL rights, beware. That means exactly what it
says. Print, electronic, movie, TV, everything is all theirs, and they don't have to pay you for anything
other than the original amount the contract states. If there is no time limit stated, that means forever.
Scared? Don't be. Most reputable WEB publishers have clear, easy to understand contracts with
stated time limits and rights purchased. Many also have sample copies of their contracts online so you
can take a look before you submit.
Most e-book publishers buy either FNAER or FWER or reprint rights and leave the print rights
with you, unless they also publish in print, in which case the contract will state that, and they usually
give you the option to sell those rights to them as well.
Magazine and Other Online Markets
Most small, online publishers do not have contracts, but some do. The guidelines and/or
acceptance letter will tell you what rights they purchase. Usually that is either FNASR, FNAER, One
Time Rights or Reprint Rights. Some do archive their issues, and that means your story will be online
for as long as the archives are. If you are not happy with that, you should probably pass on that
publisher. Many will purchase FNASR with the option to reprint your work in their print publication.
Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine does that. We have a Reader's Choice Award each
month for the best story published online in our magazine. Each year, we have an anthology, "The Best
Of Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy" in which we reprint the Reader's Choice winners for the
year. If this is the case, the contract or guidelines should clearly state the facts.
Part Four
Find Publishers And Agents
Chapter Eighteen
Sell Your Work
Okay, now you know your rights. Let's get to selling your work to a publisher and/or an agent.
Begin by focusing on a target market. If your goal is to sell two articles or short stories a month, do
your research of magazines and editors who handle such articles or short stories. Send out at least two
queries a week with the theme you have chosen. Maintain a list of publications where you can send
ideas should your present queries or stories be rejected.
When the assignments and acceptances start coming in, increase your marketing efforts. This same
strategy can be applied to book submissions as well.
After you are published, you will have to divide your efforts between promotion of your work and
writing more to sell. Don't try to do it all at once. Set times or days or even alternate weeks for writing,
promoting, submitting and market research. For instance, you might set Monday and Wednesday for
writing and Tuesday and Thursday for promotion and Friday for market research. Try to leave your
weekends free for your family and friends if possible. If like most of us, you also have a "day" job, plan
your writing and promotion for evenings or when you are not working. (Unless you have a really nice
boss who doesn't mind if you do this on company time. In which case, I say "Hang on to that boss.")
Another way is to set aside alternate weeks. This week, you write and next week you promote and
research markets. Find the schedule that works for you and stick to it.
Keep a list of all your submissions and promotional contacts. Don't let a week go by without doing
something to promote, submit or write that perfect new story.
Chapter Nineteen
Agents and Other Fallacies
First we should ask, "Do you really need an agent?" For most electronic publishers, the answer is
no.
However, with big names like Stephen King getting in on the e-publishing act with his "Riding
The Bullet" novella and now issuing a monthly serial from his WEB site for a buck a download, that is
changing fast. Other famous writers are publishing in electronic and print mediums now as well, and
the big publishing houses are beginning to ask for electronic rights on their standard contracts as well
as print rights.
Many agents are now looking into this field with genuine interest, and more and more print
publishers are now accepting agent only submissions.
Remember, if you sell your book to an e-publisher, most of the time the print rights still belong to
you depending upon the publisher's policy and the contract you signed. So check your contract, and if
that is the case, feel free to submit the same work to a print publisher. Most likely, you will need an
agent for the big print houses.
First let's see what exactly an agent does.
They market your rights to literary works. This includes novels, screenplays, movies, etc.
Basically, they represent you and your work.
Sometimes they will review your work and offer editing advice, possible markets, promotional
strategies, and it is also their responsibility to collect funds (royalties) on your behalf.
They will establish contacts for you, advise you of current contracts and procedures with
publishers and negotiate and review agreements between you and the publisher.
Before you sign a contract with an agent, make sure that the terms of payment are clear and
understandable. Whatever the percentage of payment the agent will receive from your work should be
in black and white with no small print. Sometimes this will include expenses the agent incurs such as
phone calls, travel expenses and so on. Check to make sure what you will pay for before that first check
arrives. If not, you could be in for the shock of your life when you see how much he has deducted as
expenses. A set limit to such expenses without your written approval should be in your contract.
Usually this is around $200.00 to $400.00. The contract should state that any expenses incurred above
that must have your written approval.
Where Do You Find An Agent?
Literary agents are listed almost everywhere. The Literary Market Place is a directory of the
publishing industry and is available at most libraries. Writers Digest Books publishes several
publications that list agents. Many agents and agencies are listed on the Internet, but do your research.
You can ask for recommendations from editors, writing instructors, or fellow writers. The Preditors &
Editors site www.sfwa.org/prededitors/ is an excellent source for writers and includes a section about
agents with warnings about some of the shady ones. The Association of Author's Representatives
www.publishersweekly.com/aar/ "a not-for-profit organization of independent literary and dramatic
agents" is another good place to start.
Attending conventions and writers' workshops where agents will be speaking or accepting
interviews with prospective clients is an excellent source. Set up an appointment with one if possible
and pitch your story to him or her as if it is the most exciting thing since sliced bread. Because it is!
So how do you get an agent?
There is a "Catch 22" to getting an agent to represent a new author. Many authors complain that
they can't get a publisher to publish their work because they don't have an agent, and they can't get an
agent to represent them because they are not published. Unfortunately, this is becoming more factual in
today's traditional market.
Many "experts" will tell you to keep submitting your works until you get a publisher to buy it.
Then when the phone call comes, it could go something like this:
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Ms. Wanna Be Published Author? (Insert your name and gender here)
"Yes."
"Ms. Author, this is Ms. Big Time Publisher." (Insert name and gender of Big Time Publisher
here)
Silence and heavy breathing from Ms. Author's end. "Uh--who is this really?"
Good natured chuckle from Ms. Big Time Publisher's end. "It's really Ms. Big Time Publisher
from Big Books Inc. We would like to publish the book you sent us a few months ago. We like what we
read and think it could be a best seller with the right promotion."
Silence and heavy breathing from Ms. Author's end. "Uh--who is this really?"
After you pick your disbelieving jaw up off the floor and put it back on your face where it belongs
and the euphoria wears off, you and the publisher celebrate and laugh. Then you tell the publisher you
will have your agent call her to discuss the contract. As soon as you hang up, you call an agent and say,
"I've sold a book to Big Books Inc. and need someone to represent me."
The agent drops everything and takes you on as a client immediately. Now you have an agent and
a publisher and it does not matter whether the chicken or the egg came first. What matters is you have
some eggs in your basket.
This is not a joke. Many authors have gotten their first agent this way. But it's not the most
common way to get an agent. Just in case it is not the way it works out for you, here are some tips
about how to get an agent before you get the publisher.
Five steps for finding an agent.
1.
Look in writer's guides, including agents and editors listings. Many local
bookstores and libraries carry these. Read literary magazines, but beware of
advertisement for clients by an agency.
2.
Visit Web sites. Many authors share their experiences for your benefit.
3.
Attend writer's conventions. Almost all writer's conventions and
workshops have agents and editors as guests. Register for one-on-one sessions if
they are available. Talk about your work.
4.
Join professional writer's organizations.
5.
Beware of agents who charge a fee up front. They may call it a "Reading
Fee" or something else. Some reputable agencies do charge fees but most do not.
The Association of Authors' Representatives refuses to list agencies or
independent agents who do charge a fee because of the chance of abuse with
such practices. So if you do decide to go with such an agent, check their record
and see which authors and titles they have handled in the last year before you
fork over your hard earned cash. However, with all of the non-fee, reputable
agents available I'd advise against this type of agent.
Reality Check
The important thing to remember about agents is they are in the business to make money. They
usually work for a percentage of the royalties that an author earns. They don't make money with
unknowns often because they are difficult to market. So your job is to convince the agent that your
work is good enough to attract attention from the big publishers.
How do you convince them?
First you must approach an agent in the same manner and with the same professionalism that you
approach a publisher. Sending a sloppy proposal, synopsis or manuscript will get a rejection from an
editor quickly. Sending the same to an agent will get you a rejection even faster. Second, if you are a
first timer, always have the manuscript completed including editing and proper format even if the
guidelines state they only want a synopsis. Send the synopsis according to their guidelines, but be
prepared to submit the entire manuscript if they ask for it.
It would be a shame to have an agent become interested in your work, then tell him he has to wait
six months while you finish the book. Guess what happens to that agent's interest--it goes down the
path of the unprepared rejected, and your manuscript follows it right into the garbage heap with all the
other "Not Quite Ready For Prime Time Players." Be a prime time player. Do it right the first time and
you'll have no regrets.
Steps for Submitting
1.
Do not telephone, fax or e-mail an agent unless their guidelines tell you
to. Instead, write a brief letter describing your work and listing your prior
publications (if any).
2.
Always include a stamped self-addressed envelope (SASE) for a reply.
3.
Multiple submissions to agents are permissible, but do not submit a
manuscript until an agent asks you to.
4.
Use common courtesy if you are contacting multiple agents. Tell them so.
Just as you should let an editor know if your submission is a simultaneous one,
an agent should be advised if you are also "fishing" with other agencies.
5.
Follow basic manuscript preparation format.
Does that mean that if you submit a completed manuscript, following all the guidelines and rules,
to an agent that he or she will automatically accept you? No. Other factors must be considered: One is
to make sure you are submitting to an agency that handles the type of work you have. An agency that
deals with only nonfiction books is not likely to accept your historical romance. Or one that deals in
strictly genre fiction is probably not interested in your 99 WAYS TO RECYCLE CARDBOARD
TOILET TISSUE TUBES.
"But that's obvious," you might say. Yes it is; however, you would be surprised how many authors
do not check the agent's book list or read the guidelines as to type of work they want to see. Don't be
one of those "I didn't check the genre so I am rejected" group.
Here Are 7 Steps to Get an Agent Interested
1.
Check on the agent's/agency's track record. Make sure they handle the
type of work you are submitting.
2.
Be professional. Submit to an agent exactly as you would a publisher.
3.
Check out the agency's guidelines and follow them precisely.
4.
Submit with professionalism.
5.
You may submit to multiple agents simultaneously, but let them know.
6.
Keep writing and submitting both to publishers and agents.
7.
Always enclose a SASE with enough postage for the return of the
manuscript. Many agents will comment on your manuscript and give helpful
hints even if they choose not to represent you.
Part Five
Promote Yourself And Your Work
Chapter Twenty
Self-Promotion
Okay, you have your grammar rules memorized, and your characters are three dimensional and
powerful thanks to your character sketches. You have all the elements of a good story. You have plenty
of conflict and a satisfactory resolution to your well defined plot. You have edited, proofed and weeded
out all the clichés and stereotypes. You have contacted a few agents, and you may or may not have
found one, but you have submitted your work to a publisher, and they are going to publish it. What
now?
How do you get readers to the website to purchase your book?
Self-promotion is the answer. It takes a lot of time and planning but can pay off in the long run. If
feedback is your goal, head for the search engines.
List your book in every place possible on the NET. Most search engines are free, and many
writers' sites and magazines have self-posting "add your site" spots. Use them.
If you don't already have one, get a homepage or author's page.
Ask for help. Don't be embarrassed to ask other writers what to do when you are stumped. They
can also steer you in the right direction for other ways to promote your book. To help you get organized
and on the right track, I have put together a step-by-step program to help you self promote.
MY 12 STEP PROGRAM FOR SUCCESSFUL SELF-PROMOTION
Oh joy of joys. A publishing company has said they would like to publish your work as an e-book.
YES! You just signed your first contract with a publisher. After all those years of writing, finally your
book is published.
Whew! What a relief! Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for the royalty checks, right?
Wrong!
What now?
Most e-publishers promote their authors' work to a degree, but like some of the traditional
publishing houses, if you are not already a "big" name, most of the promotion is up to you. This is true
especially if this is your first book. Ah-ha--Catch 22? If it's your first book, how are you supposed to
know what to do to promote?
When my first e-book was published, I felt like a child that is handed a piece of chocolate and told
they can have more if they can figure out how to open the refrigerator door.
I learned about doors.
Even established authors are using the Internet to promote their work. Our magazine gets press
releases from publishers regularly, but I was particularly impressed by one we received from Tor Books
promoting three of their authors. Short and to the point, the release said: "Three gifted and brazen
women writers for TOR Books have decided to band together... to promote their own books." Lisa
Goldstein (DARK CITIES UNDERGROUND), Pat Murphy (THERE AND BACK AGAIN) and
Michaela Roessner (THE STARS DISPOSE) have created a website that features the three of them.
www.brazenhussies.net. Author Pat Murphy says she adds her e-mail address to her Website and asks
all who contact her if they want to be on her mailing list.
One of the first things you should do is contact the editors you've had previous dealings with, your
friends, relatives and anyone else you know. Brag it up. Mention the book, show them the reviews, and
tell them where they can get a copy.
Suzette Haden Elgin, writer and linguist, says, "One of the major factors in moving books is name
recognition." www.sfwa.org/members/Elgin/. These ladies are established in their field, yet they too are
boarding the future's promotion shuttle--Cyberspace. Follow their example.
Here are my twelve steps. (Yep, just like the big guys at A.A.)
Step 1. - Forget everything your mother taught you about modesty. Self-promotion
involves talking about yourself and your work constantly. Become assertive--even
aggressive. In self-promotion, no foot shuffling, aw-shucks attitude is allowed. Write
press releases, contact your local newspaper, all of your e-mail lists, all of the editors
you have had previous dealings with, all of your friends, your relatives and their friends,
even the President of the United States if you happen to know him or know someone-who knows someone--who knows someone--who knows his secretary. Okay, most of us
don't go that far, but you get the idea.
Step 2. - Join writers' groups, both online and off. Authors in these clubs are all willing
to offer suggestions about what to do, who to contact, which reviewers do a good job
and where to get your book reviewed.
Step 3. - Get reviews and offer to be interviewed. Send requests to everyone you can
think of. Contact local news agencies and online sites that offer regular reviews. Don't
forget magazines, both online and off. Most will agree and ask you to send a review
copy. Some will want it on disk, and some will allow e-mail copies. Some reviewers
may request a printed copy or ARC (Advance Review Copy). Speak to your publisher
about how they handle this. You may have to print one out yourself if your publisher
doesn't ordinarily do it, but this does not happen often. A list of possible review sites is
in the Appendix.
Step 4. - Keep a log of your review requests and your reviews. I learned this the hard
way. I sent requests to about 100 people and review agencies. At least half of those
agreed to review the book. I didn't keep a list. I found myself sending requests to places
I had already sent one, and when I was asked for a list of reviews by a potential
interviewer, I couldn't remember where all the reviews were. I hadn't even thought to
print or save a copy of some of the online ones, and they don't stay online forever. It is
also a good idea to keep track of the editor contacts you make along the way, especially
with magazines. Many future assignments can come from these contacts.
Step 5. - Update your bio. You will need it for your reviews and interviews. Prepare
press releases. Press releases are vital. They can be as simple as few paragraphs or more
detailed, but they shouldn't be over one page in length. For ideas about how to do press
releases, go to: www.urlwire.com/toolbox/help.html. Be sure to include your e-mail,
Homepage URL and the URL where they can purchase your book in press releases
whether you send them via e-mail or postal mail.
Step 6. - Attend writers' conferences, both online and off, either as a guest author or an
attendee. It's surprising how many authors and even editors at conferences and
workshops are interested in electronic publishing. One of my most lucrative writing
assignments began at a convention simply because I talked myself and e-books up so
much.
Step 7. - Arrange book signings. All writer's gatherings have them, and many of your
local book stores are more than happy to have you for signings. Just call and speak to
the manager. Remember, no modesty. Tell them how exciting this new field is, and your
exuberance will be contagious. Find out if other writers in your groups are having book
signings and team up. Don't forget "Virtual Book Signings." The Web's newest
technology offers chats between guest authors and readers. The reader orders your book
online and receives a custom-autographed bookplate or copy of your book. (You will
have to arrange the delivery process with your publisher, but most are more than happy
to comply.) Attend online writers' chats as a guest author. Don't be nervous. When you
talk about something you love, it is easy.
Step 8. - List your book in every place possible on the NET. Most search engines are
free and many writers' sites and magazines have self-posting "add your site" spots. Use
them! Begin by doing a search for Search Engines. Type in the words, "Search Engines,"
choose the top five and go to them. Find the link that says something like "add your site"
or "list your site." List your homepage and the URL of where your e-book is featured.
Next, search for writer and review sites by typing in keywords like writers, reviews,
books, author and any other key words you can think of. List yourself there if they have
a self-posting list and find the e-mail address of the review editor. It is usually on the
review page or on the first page of the site. E-mail the editor asking about the possibility
of getting your book reviewed. Be sure to give a brief synopsis of the story and your bio
when you make this request. A really good information site for finding publications is
www.infojump.com. They list magazines by category and popularity.
Step 9. - If you don't already have one, get a homepage or author's page. A home page is
a must. Many are available free. If you do not know how to build a Homepage, don't
worry. Most sites offer templates that even a novice can use successfully. Many writer's
groups offer free or minimum priced author pages, and they will even help you build
them. I was a real NET-know-nothing when I started, but I got help and learned. So can
you. Of course, if you can afford it, the easiest way is to hire a website builder. Most
starting prices are under $100.00. A couple of free homepage sites are
www.fronteracorp.com/ and geocities.yahoo.com/home/. There are numerous others on
the WEB.
Step 10. - Ask for help. Don't be embarrassed to ask other writers what to do when you
feel like you are pounding your head against the original immovable object. We are all
in the same inkpot. We can and do help each other. I didn't have a clue where to start and
asked everyone I knew that had an e-book. They were all more than willing to help.
Many will exchange links and even offer to "blurb" your book if they have a column or
publication.
Step 11. - Stay in constant contact with your publisher and/or your editor. Keep abreast
of any new developments with your book. Keep them updated with your reviews. They
can use them to advertise your book. They can also steer you in the right direction for
other ways to promote your book.
Step 12. - Keep writing! In the whirlwind, "keep 'em interested" world of selfpromotion it's easy to put off starting that next book or sending that short story or article
to that editor you've contacted.
I found myself so immersed in the promotion game that I was only writing e-mail,
promos and letters. My story ideas sat on a shelf in my brain gathering dust. I had to
wrestle them out of their hiding place and flog them back into my conscious mind
before I could even write this book. Don't let that happen to you!
While you are surfing and promoting, take a look at my home page at www.sjoanpopek.com
See? How's that for self-promotion?
Good Luck.
Five Extra Quick Tips
1.
Subscribe to mail lists and newsgroups.
2.
Have a signature line with the name of your book and where it can be
purchased in your e-mail.
3.
Get active in newsgroups.
4.
Create bookmarks or other "freebies" with your book cover and ordering
information on them to give away.
5.
Consider writing and sending your own newsletter.
Chapter Twenty-one
Marketing and Self-Promotion
Marketing and promoting your work requires planning. To promote your work, you gotta have a
plan. The more precise you are in your planning, the easier it will be to reach your goals. First, you
must devise a budget. You must know how much you can afford and are willing to spend to promote
your work.
"But isn't that the publisher's job?" you might ask. Yes, in part, it is, but as I mentioned before,
more often than not, the bulk of promotion of new authors falls squarely on the happy shoulders of the
new author.
Susan Bodendorfer, the publisher of Wordbeams, www.wordbeams.com says, "... there is one
compelling, clearly evident and completely undeniable factor involved when one book sells extremely
well... and another book realizes few, if any, sales. That one factor is the AUTHOR and how much (or
how little) the author participates in the promotion of her/his book(s)"
Most of the ways I'm going to mention involve spending very little money, but you will find that
you will have to spend some so be prepared--especially if you decide to self-publish. Make a budget as
to how much you can afford. Remember the more you promote, the more your work will sell.
For example, sending press releases involves preparing the releases and printing them, which will
include the cost of paper and ink or professional printing costs. Professional presentation folders,
mailing them to newspapers, magazines and other promotional spots requires stationary, folders and
envelopes and postage. Of course, much of your promotion can be done on the WEB, which is
relatively paperless and far less expensive. The big plus about promoting on the Internet is that it gets
you noticed fast, but it is important not to forget the paper-orientated world as well.
There are ways to cut costs and still carry out a highly professional promotional campaign. Using
the Internet is an excellent way to dramatically decrease overhead. Send samples of your work via email and direct potential readers and buyers to your WEB page. You must have a WEB page to make
this work effectively. For information on how to get and maintain one, see the Appendix for listings.
Web pages, banners on other sites and e-mail are particularly effective when dealing with editors and
readers in foreign countries.
Another method of lowering costs is to create an introductory brochure. These can be printed at
local print shops or on your own computer using any standard word processor or publishing program
such as Microsoft Publisher® for very low cost.
You must have priorities:
1.
Create the best work of literature you can. It doesn't matter if it is fiction,
nonfiction, genre or what, but it must be a finished, professional work.
2.
Submit your work. If you don't submit, you won't get published.
3.
Sell yourself to publishers, and you will sell you work.
4.
Each time you publish an article or book, you must, by definition, market
yourself.
5.
Take advantage of having your name in print to promote not only the
work that is already published, but your future work as well.
6.
Think about talk shows. Even local radio shows can promote your work.
Offer to be interviewed for your local newspaper and radio or TV station.
7.
Keep it simple. Don't over complicate any of the techniques I mention in
this book. It is just a matter of getting your name in front of as many people as
possible.
Chapter Twenty-two
Developing Your Book's Promotional Plan
Mark Ortman says, "Promoting a book is generally the most important and demanding
function...." This is true whether you are a new author, e-published, print published or even selfpublished.
Ya gotta have a plan.
You must have publicity so potential readers will be aware of your book. They need to know what
makes your work different from other books on the market. They also must know where to purchase it
and how much it will cost.
Target your audience.
You must ask yourself some questions. Most of these questions were answered in your query to
your publisher and during the writing process, but think about now in a different light. You must have a
target audience. This is the group you aimed your story at.
•
Are they children?
•
Young Adults?
•
Teens?
•
Young Families with children?
•
Single Adults?
•
Middle aged?
•
Senior Citizens?
Is your work genre targeted such as romance, speculative fiction, mystery, mainstream, etc.? Even
these categories can be broken down. For instance, speculative fiction can be science fiction, fantasy,
science fiction romance, horror or the surreal. Romance can be historical romance, modern romance,
science fiction romance and so on. Don't narrow your audience too much because most readers like a
variety of literature, and electronic publishing especially lends itself to those elusive, unclassifiable
cross genre works that are too controversial for the traditional publishers. But do have an idea of which
audience would most likely be interested in buying your work.
Make a list. (I'm the world's greatest list maker. I make a list for everything--what I'm going to
write--who I'm going to write for--what I'm going to buy at the store--even what my plans for the day
are. I don't always follow the lists, but they are there if I need them.)
You should become a list maker as well if you are going to self promote your work. They help
keep track of who you have contacted, who you plan to contact and much more.
Your first self-promotion list
1.
Who is your target audience?
2.
Is your work genre fiction?
3.
Is it nonfiction such as travel or self help such as raising children in a
dangerous world?
4.
Where will you find the target audience? Much of your promotion will be
done online so find out about chats, book clubs, groups and organizations that
cater to your target audience.
5.
What can you do to create the demand? Work with your publisher. Find
out what she is doing and who she is targeting and spread out.
6.
How do you contact your target audience? As I said before, you will find
multiple audiences for your book as no one likes to read only one genre all the
time. One way is to go to your public library and online reference sites
compiling lists (See? There are those dratted lists again.) from directories of
organizations, associations, corporations, hobbyists, occupations, experts and
any other groups who you think would be interested in knowing about your
book. For instance, if your book is about gardening, contact local garden clubs
and shows. If it is a mystery, contact local mystery enthusiasts, book clubs, etc..
List your results in the order of who you think you should contact first, second,
third, and so on.
Now you need categories.
The first category is booksellers, wholesalers, libraries and other places that might carry your
book. Find out where your publisher lists your work for sale and if you find other promising outlets,
contact her and see if she is interested in listing with them. I did that with one of my publishers just
recently. A friend of mine markets both e-books and print publications online, and I asked my publisher
if she was interested in listing with him. I put them in touch with each other, and now his site is one of
her outlets. It works the same for local bookstores and other outlets.
The second category is the reader. You should spend time on research and promotional efforts for
both those who will sell your work and those who will buy it.
How can you create a demand for your work?
How will you let the reader know about your book and where to purchase copies?
Seven basic ways to reach the Reader.
1.
Reviews. Get reviews of your work and distribute short quotes from them
in your press releases, on your webpage, to your e-mail groups and so on with
directions to where they can see the whole review and purchase information. See
the Appendix for more information about where to get good reviews. Show the
reviews off. Post them on your Website and cite excerpts in your promotional
letters, press releases and so on.
2.
Postal Mail.
3.
Fax.
4.
Phone.
5.
The Internet.
6.
The Media, both electronic and print.
7.
Visit in Person. Go to Writer's gatherings and local book clubs. Offer to
be a guest speaker. Readers are very sophisticated today and they look for
something new and fresh. Convince your target audience that yours is a book
they must read. Some friends of mine visit local schools and show off their
electronic readers and explain the concept of e-books to students. It gets you
noticed, and you are considered an expert so they buy your book.
Make More Lists
Compile a list of key selling points for your work to use in your promotional materials and
advertising copy. Pinpoint a unique twist or angle that is different about your work. For instance, if you
write about raising children in today's violent world, stress the fact that your book offers practical
solutions, such as offering alternative methods of punishment for a child's misdeeds, not just the same
old "inner searching" that so many books about the subject today offer. One of the most popular
methods of controlling a young child today is "Time Outs." If you discuss this subject, explain why it
works or why it doesn't and give concrete reasons in your book and in your media statements. Use the
same "hook" tactic that you use in your writing. Hook your audience so they simply must read more. It
works.
Here are some other ways you can sell your book.
1.
Send review copies out for review.
2.
Give books away to those whom you know will talk about them to others.
3.
Give away "freebies" such as bookmarks, postcards and magnets with
your book title and purchase information on them.
4.
Give Presentations at Trade Shows.
Chapter Twenty-three
Educate Your Audience
To sell electronically we must educate our potential audiences. Up to now, people have been
hesitant about buying an e-book because many don't like reading on a computer screen. But with
today's e-book reader technology, that is only one way to read an e-book. These little electronic marvels
really get attention. The leading bookstores Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon.com actively promote ebook titles. With the advantage of downloading the book directly to your computer or hand-held reader,
they also provide the customer with instant gratification. (Something our society seems to need in our
rapidly changing world.)
The newest awards, The Frankfurt Awards for e-books offering a $100,000 grand prize definitely
takes e-books out of the stepchild category and into the quality literature category. Use that and other
electronic publishing awards such as the EPPIE 2000 and others to your advantage.
The Magnetism of Electronic Publishing
The universal vitality of electronic publishing was proven when Stephen King's "Riding The
Bullet" was downloaded 450,000 times within two days of its release. Soon after, other "big name"
authors like Mary Higgins Clark and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro joined the electronic publishing
phenomenon.
450,000 downloads is a bucketful of books, and for the average e-book author, that is something
we only dream about. But remember, the downloads were free for the first couple of days and experts
feel that the majority of the downloads were not regular Stephen King fans. Most of his devoted fans
probably did not download the book for a number of reasons.
1.
Many of King's loyal fans probably do not have a computer or if they
have one, are not connected to the internet.
2.
Many of King's fans and supporters of the more famous authors have
objections to e-books such as:
a. "You can't curl up in bed with a good e-book."
b. "Nothing can replace the feel, smell and looks of a new book."
c. "E-book publishers will publish any manuscript they get whether it is good or
bad."
d. "Reading on a computer screen is difficult and uncomfortable."
e. "If I print the book on my printer, it's very expensive in ink and paper."
These seem to be valid objections. You may have even used them at one time or another yourself.
But they are all invalid, and you can prove it in your marketing techniques.
Here are my answers to such objections
a. - "You can't curl up in bed with a good e-book." Of course you can. Printing an e-book is as
simple as clicking the "print" button with your mouse. You can print them double sided, or two pages to
a printed sheet or just "as is." Plus, hand-held readers come with a handy back-light that you can adjust.
You can read in bed right next to your snoring, significant other and never have to turn the light on.
b. - "Nothing can replace the feel, smell and looks of a new book." I agree with this one. True book
lovers do have a certain esthetic taste for new books. However, print books will never disappear and we
will keep buying them. E-books will augment our libraries and they have advantages that outweigh this
point in a number of ways. For example, one book fits on a 3 ½ " diskette that weighs less than an
ounce. Think how many of those you could pack with your laptop. And the hand-held readers hold a
virtual library of books. Depending upon the brand and its features, they can hold from 10 to 100 e-
books, and the whole thing fits comfortably in your pocket or purse! Beats lugging around an extra
suitcase with reading material that weighs a ton, doesn't it?
c. - "E-book publishers will publish any manuscript they get whether it is good or bad." FALSE! If
you have submitted to an e-publisher and received a rejection letter, you know it "Just ain't so, Joe."
Most e-book publishers put manuscripts through the same editing process that print books go through.
The difference is that e-book publishers will publish cross genre and experimental material that most
big print publishers won't touch. Many will publish manuscripts that are not considered "traditional."
That doesn't mean lower quality. It means a larger variety. It also means that e-book publishers don't
participate in the "Dumbing Down" process that many large, print conglomerates do.
Statistics show that the average U.S. reader reads on an eighth grade level. That's a fact. The "big
boys" seem to assume that if this is true, we all want the mind numbing fluff they seem to put out in
huge quantities. They give us sequel after sequel of the same stuff. Not that there is anything wrong
with sequels, but a few original ideas would be nice to choose from.
I have actually had manuscripts returned with the statement that it is too "advanced" for the
American reader. Another author had a submission returned with the statement that it was "too
original."
We get what the publishing industry thinks we want instead of what we really want. The same is
true of TV and movies. Look at the latest prime time fare we are offered. "Survivors," is about a bunch
of people stranded on an island who vote each other off so the last remaining one gets the cash. That's
not survival; it is a popularity contest with a good dose of greed tossed in for spice. Another one locks a
bunch of people up in a house and films their every move--even in the bathroom. Is that your idea of
entertainment? It is certainly not mine. Movies publish sequel after sequel. How many times do you
have to see an Alien come back and eat people before you've had enough?
E-book publishers give the audience variety and intelligence to choose from. You can get serious,
frightening, humorous, slapstick and all points between in electronic publishing, so if your work doesn't
quite fit the mold of the traditional publisher, electronic publishing is for you.
d. - "Reading on a computer screen is difficult and uncomfortable." The best thing about
electronic publications is that the fonts can be changed for easy reading. This is a boon to older people
and vision impaired people who just can't see the minuscule print in most print books.
e. - "If I print the book on my printer, it's very expensive in ink and paper." If you purchase an
average priced hardback book, you will pay between $18.00 to $30.00 for one book. Most e-books
retail for under $10.00 (usually about $5.00). Add the cost of a ream of paper at about $5.00 which will
print 4 or more books (5 divided by 4 equals $1.25 per book), ink will run about $2.00 per book for
most printers and you get a grand total of $8.25 to $13.25 depending upon how much you paid for the
e-book. These figures are probably a little high, but it is still a bargain.
A Good Writer Is Also a Good Teacher
You can use these same points to educate your potential audience. You might want to be prepared
for all of the objections you might get by making a list. (I told you I am a list freak.)
Start by writing down a list of questions that you had when you first started thinking about writing
for the electronic publishing industry. Then answer them. You can include the list in your press
releases, on your Webpage, or any place else you promote your work. You can make flyers with the list,
being sure to add information about your book and contact information, and hand them out or even post
them in public meeting places, your local library, local schools, etc.
Talk about e-publishing. When you get interviewed on local radio and TV shows, mention your
work, but stress the advancement of e-publishing in general. Give facts and get excited. Your
exuberance will be contagious and your audience will get excited too. Don't give the audience a "hard
sell." Just tie your work into the information you are presenting. The rest is human nature. When they
are excited, they will buy your book just to see if what you say is true.
Promote the industry while you promote your book. Give the reading public news, and you will
sell.
Chapter Twenty-four
How To Write The Perfect Press Release
A press release is a single page of information about your work or accomplishments that is usually
sent to a magazine, newspaper or other media service including online publications.
I sent mine to a couple of local newspapers and got a short write up in one and a front page
interview in the second. The interview included a picture of me holding my newest e-book and raving
about electronic publishing. It was great. The head of my department at work cut the piece out and put
it up on the bulletin board for all who entered the halls to see. It was very exciting, and I sold books
because of the publicity. See? It works.
There is usually no charge for having your press release published by a magazine or newspaper.
Just send it to the publication, and if they choose to publish it, they will usually put it on the Human
Interest page, the Entertainment page or in the case of a local publication, in the Local page.
There are certain standards for getting your press release published. Your press release shouldn't
sound like an ad. Make it sound like news. Most editors will make minor corrections so a press release
will fit their editorial style, but none will rewrite it to make it sound right. Your press release must
conform to the standard layout style of press releases. This tells the editor that you are a professional.
A basic press release style includes a big header stating: PRESS RELEASE at the top. Follow this
with your contact name and phone number so the editor can get more information if she needs it. The
headline is centered and in bold. The body should be simple and to the point. Make it easy to read.
Write in a newspaper style of writing short descriptive sentences without fluff or excess words. Put the
most important parts in the first paragraph to attract attention. Add a picture of your book or magazine
cover if you have it. Be sure to include the publisher's address, e-mail, Website, and phone number
along with the ISBN of your book and any other contact information the reader will need to purchase
the book. A sample press release is included in the Appendix
Part Six
Alternative Publishing
Chapter Twenty-five
Consider Self-publishing
If you decide to self-publish, you should be aware that many publishers frown upon selfpublishing and will not consider you published. This is truly a shame because, we know more about the
Civil War, and the hardships faced because many veterans self-published their memoirs in the 1880's
and 1890's. These books offered us a look into the daily life of a soldier from that terrible time and
make us really aware of our own mortality. Self-publishing did then and still does help to increase the
information available to scholars.
There are two types of self-publishing. The first and most widely known is the subsidy or vanity
press. You submit a book, and if they accept it, you pay them a set fee to prepare your book for
publishing. Depending upon what they offer, you can get editing, cover art, formatting and in the case
of print books, the actual print-run. Usually this type of service is quite costly and if you choose print
instead of electronic, you have the shipping, storage, distribution and other costs to consider.
The second way is to do it yourself. Electronic books lend themselves to self-publishing more than
any other type of publishing. The cost is minimal as there are no actual print costs. The storage is
virtually zero because they are stored virtually on your computer or on disks. The distribution is
relatively simple. You can deliver an e-book via e-mail, or in a downloadable, executable file or send
them in postal mail on disk or CD.
Self-publishing is an option that many authors consider. If you do decide to try this route, you
must first consider the pros and cons. An e-publisher that is not a vanity press or subsidized press, must
do many things before your e-book is marketable and ready for readers and before you receive your
first royalty check of between fifteen percent and fifty percent of sales (depending upon the publisher).
Just a few of the requirements to publish an E-book
1.
Editing
2.
Obtain Copyright
3.
Obtain an ISBN number
4.
Convert to proper formats (HTML, PDF, Rocketbook, etc.)
5.
Cover graphic or design
6.
Distribution (Will you sell only online? As downloads? In disk or CD
format?)
7.
Packaging
8.
Promotion (Which you would do some of anyway)
9.
Collect payments
10.
Keep records of expenses and income
Self-publishing means that you foot the bill and spend the time to do these and other tasks, but the
profit is all yours. You get 100 percent of the income, not just a percentage of royalties.
Let's do a little math.
Say you self-edit and don't pay someone to edit for you. If you do this, be sure of your self-editing
skills and at least run your manuscript by one of your critique groups first.
In today's e-book market having the book in more than one format makes sense. Some of the
popular formats are Portable Document Format (.pdf) By Adobe, Hypertext Markup Language (.html),
RocketBook Format, .XML and Rich Text Format (.rtf). They all have their advantages and
disadvantages. Some can not be copied without special encryption codes or devices which helps keep
your copyright intact while others can be copied easily but work well on just about any computer
system. It is a sort of trade-off.
To market it through Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobel, you must have it available in disk or CD
form. To market it yourself, you can have e-mail or downloadable files when a reader purchases the
product. To convert to one or more marketable formats requires software or you must pay someone to
convert for you. Software can run from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars, but lets say you choose a
lower priced software of about $50.00.
You may be able to design the cover yourself. If not, you must pay someone to do it. Let's say you
find a struggling artist who is willing to do it for $20.00 (not impossible, but not easy either).
You have to distribute your book. One place you can do this is your own Website, which, as we
said before, can be free. The other is to distribute through online booksellers. They will usually charge
you from thirty to fifty percent to post your book on their Websites and handle orders through them.
These Websites usually insist that you have a registered ISBN number. ISBN numbers can only be
purchased in blocks of ten, which costs, $205.00. Actually if you do consider self-publishing, you
should have more than one ISBN anyway. What if you want to do a sequel or write another book? You
will need those ISBNs if you self-publish so you might as well get them all at once. Copyrights, as we
have discussed, cost $30.00.
The total basic cost to publish your own book is now...
Editing = $0
Software or payment for a professional to convert = $50.00
Cover art = $20.00
ISBN = $205.00 or $20.50 per book.
Copyright = $30.00
Total out of pocket for first book = $305.00
Total cost of first book minus the nine extra ISBN numbers is about $100.00
Add to that the cost of promotion (that you would do much of anyway) and the cost of producing
disks and/or CDs to sell to those who prefer something physical for their libraries and to offer to the
large, online booksellers. The cost of the CDs and disks will vary depending upon your choice of
packaging and printing. This is how much it will cost you to self-publish your e-book. Do not forget the
time involved in creating and marketing your work. Actually the total cost is very low compared to
self-publishing a print book which can range from $5.00 per copy to about $20.00 per copy and most
print on demand houses require that you order at least 100 copies at a time. With e-books, you only
produce on demand.
You are the only one who can decide if you want to self-publish. Many have made a profit doing
just that and many have not. It all depends upon how much time and effort you put into it. Here are
some sites you can visit for more information about self-publishing.
R.R. Bowker, ISBN site: www.bowker.com/
Writersblok: www.writersblok.com/free.html
Ozemedia: www.ozemedia.com/E-books.htm
Part Seven
How To Use This Book
Reference and Internet Savvy
Refer to the tips in this book anytime you need to. The links provided offer help to writers. I found
them very beneficial.
The following Appendix is full of URLs and sites on the Internet that you can use as tools to help
you apply what you have read and hopefully learned in this book. We have discussed what a writer is,
writer's block and how to overcome it, basic grammar rules, exercises to tighten your writing, how to
write a synopsis, using dialect, how to approach an editor or a reviewer and how to reach the reading
public. We spent a great deal of time on the subject of how to promote your work, which is very
important. All of these tips and tricks worked for me, and I know they can work for you too.
I have included a Newbie's Surfer Guide and glossary of Internet terms for those of you who are new to electronic
publishing and getting around on the Internet.
At the end of this book, you will also find some charts and record keeping suggestions that can
help you. Feel free to copy and use the sample charts and graphs and modify them to suit your needs,
but please remember, they are for your private use only. They are under copyright (as discussed in the
chapter about copyrights) and are not for publication outside of this book without my and the publisher
of this book's expressed, written permission.
I wish you great luck and fortune in your quest for publication in the electronic media. I will leave
you with this quote from Isaac Asimov: "I write for same reason I breathe. If I didn't, I would die."
See ya between the pages,
S. Joan Popek
APPENDIX
LISTS OF URLS AND BOOKS THAT HELP
Here are just a few of the types of sites listed in this book. You will find many more as you surf the
WEB.
NOTE: These URLs were active as of September, 2002. If you find any that do not work, please
notify the author at [email protected]. The author and publisher are not responsible for the
content or execution of any of these sites except those maintained by either the author or the
publisher personally.
INFORMATION SITES
Writer's Digest, www.writersdigest.com & www.writersdigest.com/101sites/
Preditors & Editors, www.sfwa.org/prededitors/
The Book Zone, www.bookzone.com/
Inscriptions, www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/
Running River Writers, www.runningriver.com/writers.htm
Berkley Prime Crime, www.primecrime.com
Knowbetter.com, www.knowbetter.com
ONLINE MAGAZINES & NEWSLETTERS
Funds For Writers groups.yahoo.com/group/FundsforWriters/?yguid=1510613
Futures Magazine, www.firetowrite.com/
Pif Magazine, www.pifmagazine.com/
Flash Fiction Flash groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash/?yguid=1510613
Running River Reader groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningRiverReader/?yguid=1510613
The Internet Public Library, www.ipl.org/div/serials/
Nerd World list of Magazines, www.nerdworld.com/electronicmagazines.html
ClockTower Fiction, www.clocktowerfiction.com/Outside/
S. Joan Popek's Newsletter, www.sjoanpopek.com
RestStop Writer's Newsletter, www.creativepurrsuits.com/reststopnews/links.html
Ballentine Books Murder on the Internet - mystery newsletter, www.randomhouse.com/BB/MOTI/
ELECTRONIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
The Fiction Works,
www.fictionworks.com
Hard Shell Word Factory, www.hardshell.com/
Atlantic Bridge Publishing, www.atlanticbridge.net/
Awe Struck, www.awe-struck.net/
Diskus Publishing, www.diskuspublishing.com/
New Concepts, www.newconceptspublishing.com/
XC Publishing, www.xcpublishing.com/
Mary Wolf's Guide to Electronic Publishers, my.coredcs.com/~mermaid/epub.html
The Authorized Directory of eBook Publishers, www.ebookdirectory.homestead.com/directory.html
Avocet Press, www.avocetpress.com/books.htm
Clocktower Books, www.clocktowerfiction.com/
Hand Held Crime, www.handheldcrime.com/
Disc-Us Books, www.disc-us.com/
E Pulp, www.epulpcomics.com/
Five Star, www.fivestarpublications.com/publishing.php
RESOURCES & PROMOTION
Interviews and more, www.GuestFinder.com/
General information and free Ebooks, www.sjoanpopek.com
Ardeon, www.ardeon.org/
Michael La Rocca's Writing Page, www.smartgroups.com/groups/michaellarocca
Help to name any person, place or thing, anzwers.org/free/jhpn/
STARTING POINT: A grab bag of sites of interest to writers,
www.scalar.com/mw/pages/sightsee.shtml
E-GROUP SITES
EPIC (The Electronically Published Internet Connection), www.eclectics.com/epic/
Writer's Exchange, writerexchange.miningco.com
Short Mystery Group, groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortmystery/
Eppro,
groups.yahoo.com/group/EPPRO/?yguid=1510613
Ardeon, groups.yahoo.com/group/Ardeon/?yguid=1510613
Eauthors, groups.yahoo.com/group/E-Authors/?yguid=1510613
Short Mystery Group, groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortmystery/
Eppro, groups.yahoo.com/group/EPPRO/?yguid=1510613
Eauthors, groups.yahoo.com/group/E-Authors/?yguid=1510613
MARKET LISTING PUBLICATIONS
Inscriptions, www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/
Writers' Weekly.com, www.writersmarkets.com/
For Writers, www.forwriters.com/markets.html
SOME REVIEW SITES
Midwest Book Review,
Biblio Bytes,
www.execpc.com/~mbr/bookwatch/
www.bb.com/index.cfm
Under the Covers Book Reviews,
Best Books.com,
www.silcom.com/~manatee/utc.html
members.tripod.com/~BestBooksCom/AEP/aepreviews.html
The Popper Gazette,
www.jopop.us/jopop.html
Carol's Book Reviews groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolsBookReviews/?yguid=1510613
SOME CHAT SITES
America Online, www.aol.com/
Cybling Science Fiction Chat, cybling.hypermart.net/cccchat.html
Women Writers - Chat, womenwriters.about.com/mpchat.htm
FreelanceWriting.Com, Web Site for Today's Working Writers. www.freelancewriting.com/chat.html
WRITERSWORLD-Writers Chat, www.writersworld.tv/chatworld/chatworld.asp
Internet Screenwriters Network, Screenwriting Chat, www.hollywoodnet.com/lounge/
Writers Chat Room, General Chat, www.angelfire.com/il2/anotherworldantholog/writerschatroom.htm
RECOMMENDED READING LIST
These next three books are found at AMAZON.COM, www.amazon.com/
1.
Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing
by Patricia T. O'Connor
2.
Style: Toward Clarity and Grace
by Joseph M. Williams
3.
Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay: Practical Advice for the Grammatically Challengedby Richard
Lederer and Richard Dowis
Independent Publishers' Books
Electronic Publishing: The Definitive Guide
by Karen S. Wiesner (e-book)
Avid Press, www.avidpress.com/wiesner.htm
Plotting and Editing for Writers
by Sherry-Anne Jacobs (e-book)
THE FICTION WORKS, www.fictionworks.com
CRITIQUE GROUPS
Mystery_Murder_Mayhem_Critique groups.yahoo.com/group/MMM_Crit
RhymeTyme, groups.yahoo.com/group/RhymeTyme
(This group will discuss all aspects of writing and publishing children's books.)
Writing Right, groups.yahoo.com/group/writing-right
(This is a writing and critique group for all types of writing. This group is open to writers of all ages, so
all posts are G-rated.)
Bard's Ink, www.globalserve.net/~pjduane/
WRITER'S ASSOCIATIONS
Association Italian Canadian Writers, members.tripod.com/~verdicchio/ItalianCanadian.html
Association of Canadian Publishers, www.publishers.ca
Booming Ground Writers' Community, www2.arts.ubc.ca/bg/
WRITING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
Canadian Studies Conferences Pages, www.iccs-iec.ca/pages/9_conferences/a_bydate.html
General news, publishing.about.com/cs/bookfairs1/
Bouchercon 2003, Oct. 16-19, The Riviera, Las Vegas NV. Bouchercon 2004 is Toronto.
www.bconvegas2003.org
ShawGuide's Guide to Writers Conferences: A searchable database of writing-related conferences,
writing.shawguides.com/
Canadian Authors Association Conference, www.canauthors.org/
Screenwriters Online Conferences, www.screenwriter.com/WritersCalendar.html
WRITING CONTESTS AND AWARDS
EPPIE, www.eclectics.com/epic/
The Pulitzer Prizes, www.pulitzer.org/
Writer's Digest Competitions, www.writersdigest.com/
Surrey Writers' Conference Literary Contest, surreywritersconference.bc.ca/contest.html
Beginnings Magazine Contests, www.scbeginnings.com/guidelines.htm
Erma Bombeck Writing Competition, www.wcpl.lib.oh.us/adults/erma.html
PNWA Contest, www.c-2.com/pnwa/htdocs/events/contest/2002contest.htm
Tom Howard Short Story Contest, www.tomhowardbooks.com/
Fleur-de-Lis Press Contest, www.spalding.edu/louisvillereview/press.htm
BookWire lists several awards and contests,
www.bookwire.com/bookwire/otherbooks/Book-Awards.html
Book Awards lists more,
www.literature-awards.com/bookawards.htm
Bookwire, www.bookwire.com/bookwire/otherbooks/Book-Awards.html
RESOURCES AND RESEARCH
General Help and Research for Writers at Dmoz.org
Environment and Nature
dmoz.org/Arts/Genres/Environment_and_Nature/
Horror
dmoz.org/Arts/Genres/Horror/
Science Fiction and Fantasy
dmoz.org/Arts/Genres/Science_Fiction_and_Fantasy/
A collection of several genres
dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Genres/
Romance
dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Genres/Romance/Communities/
Various Other Resources
dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/
OTHER RESOURCE AND RESEARCH SITES
Children's Books (support and help writing them)
childrensbooks.about.com/cs/fiction/?
Writing Books
dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Book_Writing/
Creative Writing
dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Creative_Writing/
Fiction
dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Fiction/
Horror
horror.about.com/mbody.htm
The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs and Body Language Cues
members.aol.com/nonverbal2/diction1.htm
Science Fiction/Fantasy genres
pegasus.cityofveils.com/genres.phtml
Writing Greeting Cards
publishing.about.com/mbody.htm
Find out Anything About Anything
reference.infotoday.com/
How Stuff Works
www.howstuffworks.com
Scriptwriting
screenwriting.about.com/mbody.htm
Writing for Teens
teenwriting.about.com/mbody.htm
Elements of the Craft
tritt.wirefire.com/tip1.html
Women Writers
womenwriters.about.com/mbody.htm
The Writing Corner: Point of View
writingcorner.com/fiction/pov/POV.htm
BooksNBytes
www.booksnbytes.com
The Burry Man Writer's Center
www.burryman.com/articles.html
Word Play
www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/
Cool Reading.com
www.coolreading.com/
Themes, Characters, Genres, and "if you like..." Lists
www.feministsf.org/femsf/bibs/
Fiction Addiction
www.fictionaddiction.net/
Fiction Factor
www.fictionfactor.com/
Fiction Search.com
www.fictionsearch.com/
Creating Characters and Other Great Stuff
www.gabrielleluthy.com/articles.html
Writing articles
www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/6977/writing10.html
Grammar Check (Great little online tool)
www.grammarcheck.com/archives/
Writing Coach
www.ivillage.com/books/expert/writecoach/
Great Canadian Site for Writers
www.madscreenwriter.com/canwrite.htm
OverBooked (A site for readers)
www.overbooked.org/
Fiction Writing Tips
www.pgtc.com/~slmiller/fictiontips.htm
SFwriter.com
www.sfwriter.com/ow04.htm
Literally Hundreds of Links for Writers
www.stevens-arce.com/Links.html
Triplehitter.net (A showcase for writers)
www.triplehitter.50megs.com/home.htm
Writing Handouts (Info on everything from scholastic writing to poetry)
www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/index.html
Write101.com
www.write101.com/
Write Links Communication Consultants
www.writelinks.com/
Writers Write
www.writerswrite.com/
Writer's Roost
www.writing.ku.edu/
Writing World
www.writing-world.com/
AGENTS
Literary Agents (General)
dmoz.org/Business/Industries/Publishing/Literary_Agents/
Literary Agents for Romance
dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Genres/Romance/Agents/
Manus & Associates Literary Agency
www.manuslit.com/
More Literary Agents
reference.infotoday.com/lmp/intl/agentsorglist.asp?id=2
MARKETS
Silver Lake Publishing
www.silverlakepublishing.com/
More Markets
dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Markets/
Publishers from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe
reference.infotoday.com/lmp/intl/publishersgeolist.asp?id=1
Before you submit to any publisher you don't know, check out Preditors and Editors (tm), a
guide to publishers and publishing services for serious writers. This site warns of shady publishers and
recommends the good ones. It's worth your time.
www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peala.htm
NEWBIE'S SURFER GUIDE
Wanna' Be a NET Nurd?
Here's How….
Learn While You Surf!
This section will help the new and the more experienced use the Internet to get what you need
out of it. We will discuss: What the Internet is, the history of the Internet, how big the Internet is,
getting started surfing, surf like a pro, how to get where you are going, book marking, searching the
internet, uploading and downloading files and how to build your own web page. If any of the terms I
use in this chapter don't seem to be familiar to you, do not be concerned. You may check the glossary
for any unfamiliar terms.
Learning while you surf!
You've finally got that computer connected to the Internet, and now you may be suffering from
INFORMATION OVERLOAD! Don't worry. It happens to all of us. Don't be ntimidated.
Remember, school children surf the NET every day. Are you going to let a six-year old outrun you?
Of course not. But for those of us raised with paper and pens, in a world where a NET was for fishing
and a WEB was a spider's house, all of this technological jargon can be daunting.
This chapter will make all of the terms and other confusing things about the Internet make sense.
Throughout this chapter there will be listings of websites. Lets
start with definitions and a bit of history.
What is the Internet?
In essence, the Internet is a term used to describe thousands of computers spanning around the
world like an invisible bridge connected by cables that we can't see or touch. People are using this new
medium in ways that was not possible even a mere five years ago.
Here are just some of the jobs that the Internet has been used for in the last few years.
1.
Doctors around the world are discussing and diagnosing diseases and procedures that save
countless lives every day.
2.
Sending Resumes and applying for new jobs in new locals or even other countries is
commonplace. One of my closest friends sent his resume out on the WEB and landed just the job he
had been looking for in another state halfway across the country at a much higher rate of pay than he
could have gotten in this part of the United States.
3.
A school child in Africa can become cyper-pen pals with someone in Alaska.
4.
Lost family members and friends can be located no matter where they live.
5.
The Internet is changing Literature as we perceive it. Ebooks are becoming more popular
everyday with talented writers offering their work for sale in electronic format.
6.
We can purchase almost anything we need via the Internet including groceries at discount
prices.
7.
The Internet is the largest telecommunications system ever conceived by humankind.
How does it work?
There are four basic parts that comprise the Internet, Hosts, Routers and Clients, Connections.
Hosts and Clients are explained later in the chapter. Unless you have very special circumstances, your
computer most likely falls under the "Client" category.
Data is sent from your computer to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). An ISP is the service
you connect to for Internet access. From there the data is sent to a destination address. Your computer
handles this data transfer for you, it's all done in the background. You don't even have to think about it,
and that's a good thing! If I had to worry about the actual process of getting information from my desk
to my publisher's desk, I might give up. Fortunately, we never even notice what's going on in the
background. It just seems to happen.
Basically routers sit at key points on the Internet and act like traffic cops at an intersection. The
Router reads the destination address on the data being sent by your computer and forwards it to the
appropriate destination. In some cases, your data will travel through several routers before reaching its
ultimate destination. Think of it as much the same as driving your car through several intersections and
making several turns before you actually park in the parking lot of your local grocery store.
Pic1.gif
Don't let all of this connection stuff confuse you. A connection is a catch all term describing
how you can connect from one point to another point. Trust me, although all of this is necessary to
make your Internet connection work, the only connections you have to worry about are your electric
plug to your computer and the telephone line that connects from your telephone jack to your computer's
modem. (The modem is a piece of hardware, usually inside your computer, with a telephone jack on it.
All you need to see is the jack, and it is on the outside.)
History of the Internet.
In the early 1970's, DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration,
commissioned a study in computer technologies. During the next 20 years the Internet was used solely
as a combination of military and academic networking, linking computers until it became a World Wide
Web of connected computers all sending data to each other. At that point, it was a rich man's toy or a
nation's information system. Only within the last ten years has the desktop computer become
affordable enough to become a household item in many countries. The same is true of Internet
connections. As few as five years ago, users still paid for Internet access by the minute the same as if
they were making a long distance telephone call. Today, most ISPs charge a set fee each month for
unlimited access making it affordable for the common household. But in some countries, users still pay
by the hour or minute.
The Internet Idea
The idea behind the Internet is as simple as tying two tin cans together with a piece of string so
you can talk to a friend across the yard. Remember doing that when you were a child? Bet you didn't
realize that you had created your own internet, did you?
pic2.gif
A simple network works like this. Two computers are connected though a single wire (usually
called a cable). These computers "talk" to each other. One computer sends a signal requesting
permission to speak to the other computer. If the other computer is busy processing data, it sends a
signal back that is the equivalent of a "Please wait, I am busy." If it is not busy, it sends a signal back
granting permission to send data so they can communicate. Since both computers know what the other
one is talking about, the data can be passed from computer to computer.
In the previous example the connection is a straight line. Today's World Wide Web connections
use the Internet instead of a single cable, we replace the connection with the Internet. This means that
there can hundreds of computers between the two computers wishing to talk or send data to each other
so sometimes the Internet can seem slow.
Have you ever tried to get your email from your server and it seems to take forever to download
onto your computer? That's because hundreds of other computers may be talking to your server's
computer at the same time. But when you stop to think about it, is a few extra seconds or even minutes
so much to ask when you can get ten or fifteen letters simultaneously and almost instantly compared to
regular mail? What about those cute pictures of the new grandbaby that your daughter just sent you
via email or posted on her Website? You can't get that from a tin can with a string, can you?
The Information Era
The 1990's signaled the start of the Information Era. Graphics capabilities were implemented
that make Star Trek's bridge on the spaceship Enterprise seem like child's play. The World Wide Web
has become a way for almost everyone to share knowledge, educate, find information, shop, advertise,
locate people, do research, read books and magazines, download literature and even play games. You
can find information on almost any subject you can think of.
How Big is the Internet?
It is difficult to judge the size of the Internet. People, systems, and countries are added daily. An
educated guess would be that in the United States alone, approximately 30 million people are
connected to the Internet. There are over 150,000 unique domain names in the US alone, and at least
65 countries are currently connected to the Internet.
Getting Started
Well, now that you have an idea of how this marvel of the 21st century works, let's start
exploring. Getting connected to the Internet is fairly simple, but there are a number of steps you need
to take. The first requirement will be to locate an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in your area. This is a
company through which you can access the Internet. Prices and features will vary, so calling around
and shop for the best price. There are also many free ISP services available, and many offer limited
time free "getting started" packages. Go into your local office supply store and the odds are that they
will have a selection of CDs from some of the more well known Service Providers for free (although
they will usually charge you a monthly fee when you sign up). Just take the CD home and install the
program on your computer.
Typically, your local ISP will offer you a monthly package which will include email, web
access, file download and upload capabilities and newsgroups. If your ISP doesn't offer all of these,
continue shopping.
Once you have chosen an ISP provider, it's time to connect to the Internet. Your computer will
dial a local number, which is provided by your ISP. Once you have logged onto your ISP, you are
connected to the Internet.
There are two classes of computers on the Internet, HOSTS and CLIENTS. Unless you have a
permanent link to the Internet and your machine is always connected to the Internet, then you are
probably a client and not a host. As a client to the Internet, you should have the following abilities. (If
you don't, talk to your Internet Service Provider)
You should be able to:
Send Email
Upload and Download Files
Access the World Wide Web
Email is a process where you can write and send a message to someone, using a special mail
program. The email program uses the Internet as a means of delivering that message.
Sorry, regardless of what you have heard, email is NOT instantaneous. When you send a message to
someone it leaves your computer and travels first to your Service Provider. Then your email will
probably travel through several other HOST computers until it reaches its final destination. The time it
takes to transit from one host to another varies depending upon how busy the network is at the time you
sent it. Sometimes it can take minutes, sometimes hours, and sometimes it can take a few days.
Upload and Download Files.
The terms Upload and Download are two different faces on the same coin. Basically, it refers to
moving a file, either from a host computer to your computer (Download) or from your computer to
some host computer (Upload). Instructions for doing this are later in this chapter.
Surf Like a Pro!
You've made your first connection to your Internet Service provider, and now you are ready to
SURF THE WEB! A Web Browser is a program with an internet interface. (That just means it can
read Web pages.) Most web browsers will open to a default Web page. That means that they will
automatically take you to a specific place on the Internet, a place that's been pre-programmed by the
browser company or your ISP, for you. You can change your default Web page yourself. Instructions
are later in this chapter.
When you are surfing the web, you can choose from millions of Websites to visit. You can do
this in a number of ways. All browsers have a “File/Open” location option from the main menu and/or
a location window on the menu bar. All you need to do in either spot is type the URL (Uniform
Resource Locater) you require, and away you go.
The Netscape Navigator® browser has two distinct ways of allowing you to surf to any
location, assuming you already know the URL that you need. One is the Location Bar. The
Microsoft's Internet Explorer® browser has an Address Bar (this is the same as a Location Bar) and the
File/Open menu option which works the same way in both browsers.
Although some may have a slightly different name for the functions, all browsers and menus
perform virtually the same purpose. You enter the address of the location you wish to visit, click "Go"
in Explorer or "Enter" in Netscape and the browser will take you there.
How to Get Where You Are Going Fast.
The first step is to pick some sites and bookmark them. In order to locate a particular resource
on the Internet you will need to know its address or URL. Just as you have an home address which is
different from everyone else's, so too, can there be sites within sites, addresses within addresses much
like an apartment house has a lot of different addresses inside one main street address. Each type of
resource has a slightly different address and name, (like an apartment number at the same street
address) The two most common addresses you will have to deal with are email, and WWW (Internet
Site) addresses. An email address goes to a specific person at a specific address. For instance,
[email protected] is my email address (jo is the name and sjoanpopek.com is the street address).
The WWW address is similar to a street address. It specifies exactly which street on the Internet to go
to.
Example: The address www.sjoanpopek.com/index.html (The www is like the city, the
sjoanpopek.com is the street address and the index.html is the apartment number inside the site.)
While email addresses are simply called "addresses", a WWW address is called a URL. For a more
detailed description of the term URL, see the glossary.
Everyone has certain specific needs, but there are a few common resources which everyone can
use. The first type of resource concerns searching the Internet. Basically there are two types of Search
Engines, Web Crawlers and Directories.
Some examples of the best crawlers are:
HotBot (www.hotbot.com/)
Infoseek (ultra.infoseek.com/)
Alta Vista (www.altavista.digital.com/).
Directories are the Yellow Pages of the Internet.
Some examples of Directories are:
YAHOO! (www.yahoo.com)
Linkstar (www.linkstar.com/)
InfoHiway (www.infohiway.com/way/index.html)
Book Marking
Nearly all of the Internet web browsers available today have a feature which is like an automated address book.
Bookmarking allows you to store a copy of a URL so that you can easily go back to the site at a future time by just clicking
on the bookmark. Below I have provided instructions for bookmarking using two of the most popular Internet web
browsers:
Netscape Navigator
Go to the First Page of the Site.
Click on the Menu Option labeled "BookMarks"
Move the mouse pointer down to the option labeled "Add a Bookmark" and click on it.
Pic10.gif
Pic10.gif
Microsoft Internet Explorer (Version 3.0 or better)
Go to the First Page of the Site.
Click on "Favorites" in the button bar, then select "Add to Favorites."
Pic4.gif
To use a bookmark, open the Bookmark menu in the same way you opened it to add a bookmark, and
select the site you wish to go to. Click on the bookmark link that you made earlier. Your browser
window will open to the site you had bookmarked.
Pic5.gif
SEARCHING THE INTERNET
What can you search for on the Internet? Anything! Use one of your new Bookmarks and surf
over to one of the search engines you previously visited, or in Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
Explorer, you can click on the icon marked "Search." Most Web Browsers also allow you to type a key
word in the address bar and it will search for sites with those keywords.
Once at a search engine page, you will be presented with a Webpage which has a form which
allows you to type words directly into page. You can enter terms (or keywords) for it to search for. All
of these systems have a help section or FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page clearly marked so if
you get into trouble, you can either hit your "back" icon on your toolbar or click the link to the site's
help file.
How Do I Start The Search?
You begin your search by entering some sort of search criteria into an editable field (the form
which allows you to type words) on your screen, then click on the "Search" button on the page.
Searching the Internet for some particular information can be both a frustrating experience and a
rewarding one. It is best to start with a particular search engine or directory until you are comfortable
with the process, then you can experiment with different search engines.
All Search Engines Are Not Created Equal.
There is a considerable overlap between the contents of one Search Engine and another so you
will find similar references among them; however, in doing research for this book, I found that when I
typed in my name, one Search Engine gave me 746 possible sites, another gave less than 100 and yet
another gave me over 1,000. This means that some had not "Spidered." (The process given to an
automated program that surfs 24 hours a day looking for keywords in WebPages.) All of the sites with
the name "Popek" somewhere on the page that had been listed with the search engines either manually
(where the owner of the site goes to the search page and lists his or her own page) or by being spidered
came up.
Sometimes, the information from search engines can be overwhelming and bring up a lot of
pages that seemingly have nothing to do with the subject you are seeking information on. This is
sometimes caused by “keywords.” Keywords are words or phrases on a page that the search engines
use to find information. Let's say you are looking for information on microwave ovens. By going to a
search engine like Yahoo, you can search their database, but the real question is what keyword do you
use?
Start by looking for "microwave ovens." If you are near your computer, while you are reading
this book, go ahead and turn it on. Now go to a search engine. Type in the words “microwave ovens.”
What did you get? You most likely will get a lot of sites about microwaves. Perhaps even hundreds of
sites will come up (not all on your screen at one time, but if you look at the bottom of the page, most
search engines will have links at the bottom saying something like "Page 1, Page 2," and so on. You
will need to exercise your imagination in picking search terms or key words. For example, looking for
items with the word "Book" will also return references to "Booker T. Washington," "Bookmarks" etc.
As you can see, the steps to finding your desired information can seem daunting at first. Here
is how to search for what you want to find. Most search engines allow special symbols to help you
narrow down your search. Symbols like a + (plus) sign are very helpful. For a list of symbols that can
help, check the search engine’s help page. The + sign is the most common. If you type
microwave+ovens, in the search field, that tells the program to look for WebPages that contain both the
word “microwave” and the word “ovens.” That works in theory of course. When it comes to search
engines, theories are impressive, but in fact, they are only theories. Most of the time, you can be sure
that you will get what you are looking for without having to wade through lines of information you
don’t really want if you follow these basic steps.
1.
Start Specific, (i.e. Search for "Microwave+ovens".)
2.
Broaden your search if you don't find any reference or if you find too many unrelated sites. (i.e.
Search for "oven")
Broaden further if you still don't find anything. (i.e. Search for "electronic+oven") If you still
don’t find what you want, try “kitchen appliances” without the + sign. See what I mean about specific
and broad searches? Play with your search engine pages. Type in any word you like and see what you
get. Now play with other words and phrases and see what you get when you use specific and broad
searches.
The best way to learn to use a search engine on the Internet is to use a search engine on the
Internet. Play with it, experiment and learn by doing.
Section Summary
In this section we discussed bookmarking favorite sites and how to search for the information you need
on the Internet.
You should now be able to:
Use the search engines.
Bookmark interesting places on the Internet.
Return to old book marked locations.
Off-Line Operations & File Downloading
In this section, we will discuss saving information, viewing a document off-line, saving a
graphic, downloading programs and how to download files.
Saving information
Let’s say that you've found a site online that contains information which you find extremely
useful. What can you do? Do you have to return to the site every time you need to reference the
information?
No.
One little known and least used features of most browsers is the ability to load and view web
pages off-line. You can view a web page off-line, but unless you specifically construct a directory to
save all of the associated graphics and links. You won't see the images for the page without it;
however, you will be able to see all of the text. This may sound difficult, but it really isn’t. Many
browsers can make it easy for you.
Here are some of the steps you would need to follow in order to save this page and view it offline with all the graphics and links intact. These instructions are for the most popular Web Browsers,
but some of the others have similar commands and capabilities.
In either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer:
1.
Click on File Menu.
2.
Select the option "Save as" (Note: Explorer users, select the "Save as File" option).
3.
Name the file and save the file. (Be sure to remember the file name and its location) It is
usually best to have a file folder dedicated to your off-line Webpages. To create one, from
the pop-up menu that comes up when you select the “Save as” or "Save as File" option,
before you save the file, click on the “File” menu of the pop-up and select “New” then
select the “Folder” option. (Or you can click on the “New Folder Icon” see the first arrow in
the graphic below.) The screen will ask you to name the new folder. Name it and double
click your mouse button to open the folder. Look down at the “File Name” line (See the
second arrow in the graphic below.) and name your file. Click the “Save” button. You only
have to create a new folder once. After that, when you want to save a Webpage to read
offline, just save it in this folder.
Pic3.gif
Now you have created a new file folder and saved your first Webpage file to your local hard drive.
The cache directory or folder is used by the browser to speed loading of the web sites if you make a
return visit, but you are not assured that the files will be safe there as the browsers periodically clean
out the cache directory to prevent it from growing too large.
Normally, Internet files are named using a four character extension (.html), but for a windows 3.11
or MSDOS environment, it should be shortened to ".htm." Browsers have a program that will
recognize the .htm or .html extension and automatically open the file in your browser even if you are
not connected to the Internet.
A Word of Caution About Copyrights
Most web documents are copyrighted material. You may not distribute them without the
permission from the original author. However, in most cases, you may maintain a local copy of the
page on your personal home computer for your own personal reference.
Viewing A Document Off-Line
Now you will want to read the page you have spent so much effort on saving to read off-line.
Once you are disconnected from the Internet, open your browser. When your browser is active, follow
these steps for off-line viewing of the files you have saved.
Netscape Navigator:
1.
Click on the "Open File..." menu option under the "File" menu and move to the appropriate
directory where you saved the .html file.
2.
Click on the file that you wish to view from the list supplied, and it will appear in the main
browser window. Remember, this is just like opening any file on your computer. Just find it
and click to open.
Microsoft Internet Explorer:
1.
Click on the "Open..." menu option under the "File" menu.
2.
Either type the filename, including the full path of where you saved it, or use the "Browse"
feature in this dialog box to move around the folders on your hard drive until you locate the
file.
3.
Select the file that you wish to view from the list supplied, and it will appear in the main
display window.
Saving A Graphic
Found an image you like on the Internet? Check the page to see if you are allowed to copy it.
If the page says the image is free, you can save that image on your computer, or even use it for a
Windows background. If the page does not say it is free, you may not use it. The same copyright
laws apply to pictures as to text or Webpages on the Internet. If you have permission to use the picture,
here is how to get it off of the Internet and onto your own computer.
To save a graphic:
In Netscape Navigator:
L R
1.
Position the cursor over the image, and click on the right mouse button.
2.
Select "Save image as..."
3.
Enter an appropriate file name for the image, and make sure you keep the extension the same. It
is usually .jpg or .gif.
4.
Click on the "OK" Button.
In Microsoft Internet Explorer:
L R
1.
Position the cursor over the image and click on the right mouse button.
2.
Select "Save picture as..." from the drop down menu. Enter an appropriate file name for the
image, and make sure you keep the extension the same. It is usually .jpg or .gif.
3.
Click on the "OK" Button.
Downloading Programs And Files
Downloading is the term used to describe the process of moving software from another
computer into your own hard drive on your computer. Software is the main type of download off of the
Internet, but electronic books and magazines are gaining rapidly in popularity and will most likely
become the leading download product from the Internet in the near future because many are free, and
for those which are not free, the purchase price is usually far less than a traditional print book. Most
hardback books average about $20.00 each, but ebooks average about $5.00 each and require virtually
no storage space as they reside on your computer or on disk or CD.
Downloading software:
Generally, there are four major types of software you can download from the Internet. These
are:
Demoware, (an abbreviated version of a program that you can test.) Usually,
1.
Demoware does not contain all of the features of the software, and just gives you an
overview of what the software program can do then lets you know where you can
purchase the product.
Shareware is another type of software and that is usually the complete
2.
version with all of the components in full working order, but although some have no
strings attached, some come with a time limit that they will actually work on your
computer. Many such programs have a built-in self destruct mechanism causing them to
become unusable after a certain number of days of use. At the end of the "trial" period,
some of these programs will cease to operate, and you may purchase the product or, if
there is no time limit and the product continues to function, you will often receive an offer
to upgrade to a better version for a price. Typically, shareware products are a mix of
freeware and demoware. Many shareware authors rely on the honor system for people to
pay them.
3.
Freeware is free, completely, no strings attached. Usually these types of
programs have been written by government agencies or companies that want you to use
their programs and perhaps be induced into buying something from their mainstream
product line. You usually get the complete product, and the manufactures hope that if you
like it, you will purchase an upgraded version from the manufacturer. Shareware and
freeware programs are often written by individuals and some of the programs are quite
remarkable in their ingenuity and performance.
The last types of download software we will discuss are patches and upgrades. Patches and
Upgrades are not usually complete programs. Basically a patch or upgrade requires that you already
have a particular piece of software on your computer. The patch will alter the software, either
correcting a mistake in the system, or adding additional functionality to the software.
These are simply additions to your present software to take the "bugs" out and allow it to run
more smoothly and trouble free. But use caution when downloading upgrades. Some of the newer
ones are designed for the newest, fastest computer systems and if you have an older computer, the
upgrades may not improve your program's performance. In fact some can actually cause you problems
with your program. To avoid this, always check the specifications of the upgrade before you download
it. The specifications and system requirements are usually listed on the Webpage where you find the
download.
How To Download A Program
First, it is a good idea to have a directory or folder specifically for your downloaded files.
Windows 95 and up has a folder named "My Download Files." If your system does not have this
folder, you should create one and name it "Download" or "My Download Files." This way you will
never have to try to remember where to put a file you want to get from the net. Another good point of
having all of your downloaded files in one directory is that if you always save the downloaded files in
the same directory, locating them to install or remove from your computer will be easier since they are
all in one location on your hard drive.
To create a special folder for your files
Use the instructions in the "Saving a Graphic" section or you can also create folders directly
through windows.
Creating a folder using Windows Explorer
Right click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop. Click on "Explore" from the pop-up
menu. Click on the “File” menu and select “New” then select the “Folder” option. The screen will ask
you to name the new folder. Name it and double click your left mouse button to open the folder.
Pic6.gif
pic11.gif
Downloading and installing Files
Downloading files is only one step in a series of steps that are usually required to make a file
useable on your system. Once you have downloaded a file (the easy part), the next problem is figuring
out what to do with it. In many cases, the download will be an executable file, (have an extension of
.exe. Such as program.exe) so simply double clicking the file with your mouse will install the software
on your machine. Some are not quite so easy, but most work this way.
The main thing to remember about the file is the extension. This identifies the type of program
needed to open the file to your computer. It is sort of like directions to your computer telling it what to
do when it sees this unique set of letters preceded by the period ("."). The extension is the part of the
file name following the period. For example, some files may have a ".zip" extension. This identifies the
file as a particular type of archive file. The following file extensions can be used to identify archives.
.zip
.z
.gz
.pak
.arc
.arj
.uue
Files with these extensions are in almost all cases, archives.
What is an archive?
An archive is a single file in which one or more files have been stored. Usually, they are
compressed during the process of storing the files so all of the smaller files are contained in one larger
file which takes up less space than the large number of files individually would. Think of it like a room
full of a child's toys scattered around on the floor. When you pick up the toys, stuff them all into the
toy box and close the lid, they are all contained in one smaller space.
It is likely that when you download a one megabyte (a term for measurements of size for files)
archive, you will find that when it is extracted (the individual files pulled out by an extraction program)
it may contain ten megabytes or more of files that were originally compressed into the one archive file.
In order to deal with archives you need to obtain a special program which is capable of
decompressing the archive. You do not need to own one program for each type of archive. There are
several highly capable programs available today which handle multiple archive formats with
considerable ease. One of these is Winzip, a free trial program available for download on the Internet
at www.winzip.com/. There are many more, some free and some with a small price tag which are
available on the WEB or in your local software store. Use the search engine skills you learned in the
book about searching the Internet to find more.
The biggest problem with downloading software is that often many people do not realize that
once the file is loaded onto the computer, it almost always requires additional steps before you can use
the software. The process of downloading and using a downloaded program follows is often dependant
upon your software. Read the "help" menu in your browser for detailed instructions about how to
download a file or program. In most cases, the instructions are also on the Webpage where you are
downloading from.
Downloading Other types of files
You will download other files such as ebooks and magazines in the same way that you
download programs. It is a good idea to have a separate folder for them on your hard drive as well.
You would create that folder in the same way you created your "My Download Files" folder. My folder
for books is named "Books," but you could name yours anything you like. Just be sure to keep it
simple. Remember, when you are working with files and folders, simpler is better.
Uploading Files
Uploading a file is similar to downloading a file with one major difference: downloading refers
to taking a file off of another computer or server and saving it to your own hard disk, but uploading
means to send a file to another computer or server from your hard drive to theirs.
Uploading is a bit more complicated as it requires a special program called an FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) program. Do not be confused as this is not like email where you send a message
from your computer to another individual's computer. An email program is a different kind of program
designed specifically to send messages to individuals. Uploading a file to the Internet means that you
send a file to a specific server or computer where it resides until you delete it or change it. A Webpage
is a good example of an uploaded file. Most people create the Webpage in an HTML program offline,
then FTP (or upload) it to the site where other people can surf and look at the page.
There are many FTP programs available at all price ranges. One that is easy to use and has a
free trial is Cute FTP located at www.globalscape.com/. There are others. Use your skills with a
search engine to find more. One really great place to find software that you can try before you buy is at
ZDNet located at www.zdnet.com/. They offer links to all types of software for download. Some of
the program downloads they offer are freeware, some demoware and some shareware as well as
programs you can purchase outright. The site is free to join and has much valuable information about
programs and the internet.
Email
Okay, surfing is fun. Saving graphics to your hard drive gives you a world of color and design
to play with. Downloading files, ebooks and programs are fun and helpful, but most people spend
more time sending and receiving email than they do on any other Internet pastime.
There are many email programs on the Internet and some are free. The disadvantages to having
email on-line (such as hotmail or yahoo mail) is that you have to be online to access it and must remain
online to send or receive email. The advantage to having an email program on your computer is that
you can use it either online or offline. For instance, you can download your incoming email while
connected to the Internet, then disconnect, thereby freeing up your phone lines for regular use. Then
you can read your email and answer it offline. When you get ready to send the email you have written,
just reconnect to your server and click the send button. What could be easier?
There are a lot of email programs out there, but the three most popular email programs that
reside on your computer so you can use them offline are Eudora®, Netscape Messenger® and
Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express®. They all have the basic capabilities to send and receive
email messages, but their features differ. Both Netscape Messenger and Microsoft's Outlook Express
come bundled with the browsers which you can download free from the Internet. If you have Windows
95 or higher, Microsoft Explorer came with your Windows setup and probably includes Outlook
Express.
To Send An Email
Connect to the Internet and open your email program by clicking on its icon on the desktop. Your
screen will look something like this if you are using Netscape messenger.
Pic7.gif
Click on the "New Message" icon. Another screen will pop up that looks like Figure 8.
Pic8.gif
Type the email address of who you are sending it to in the "To" line. Type a short description of
what the message is about in the "Subject" line. Type your message in the message box. (See pic8.gif
above), then click the "Send" button at the top of the page.
TA-DA! You have just sent your first email message. Congratulations.
To receive messages, just connect to your Internet provider, click on the email program icon to
open the program and click on the "Get Messages" icon. Your email program will pull in all of your
incoming mail. To read it, just click on each individual mail and it will open so you can see who sent
it, when they sent it and what it says. (See figure below.)
Pic9.gif
Should You have a Web Site?
In the last five years, the Internet has grown into a major vehicle for communications in this
country and internationally. Individuals and many companies are missing out on a great opportunity to
share ideas, goals and accomplishments, as well as increase business or communication with friends
and family, through the advanced technology we are fortunate enough to have at our fingertips in this
fast paced technological age we live in.
Even Labor unions have taken advantage of this medium. No longer content to surf the Internet
and exchange e-mail, most people, companies and organizations have mounted their own Web sites to
share information with their customers, family and the general public. Many individuals often use their
sites to post contact information, notices of meetings and other events, electronic copies of their
publications, updates, and links to other sites of interest. As a new writer, having a personal Website is
really a must. Even famous authors have one.
To help bring readers and publishers to you, consider the advantages of having your own Web
site. You could have a simple page that people could visit and communicate with each other.
Advantages & Disadvantages
What are the Advantages of having a Web Site?
1.
Instant and constant communication with your family, friends, readers or editors.
2.
Instant recognition and contact information for anyone you would like to keep in touch
with.
3.
Low or no cost for getting the word out about special events and new publications.
What are the Disadvantages of having a Web Site?
1.
They take time, organization and planning.
2.
Someone must build and maintain a working Website.
3.
Could involve some costs.
How do you build a Website?
First, you must have an Internet service provider (ISP). This is the connection you use to get on
the internet, and most of you probably already have one. There are thousands out there that are waiting
for your business. A comprehensive list of these ISPs is available on the Internet at
www.thelist.internet.com/.
Second, you must find a Website provider. Many times, the ISP will offer Web page hosting.
Check with yours first. If they do not, there are many free and low cost Website hosts available on the
NET that are easy to use and require little or no knowledge of website building. Yahoo.com and
Hypermart.net both have excellent, easy to use, free websites and there are many more. The free ones
will add advertising banners to your page, (that's how they can afford to offer free Websites) but you
can usually choose what your want on your site.
If you don't want advertising on your page, you will want to have a paid Website. Most of the
paid sites start at about $8.00 up to about $30.00 per month with a small setup fee.
Paid Versus Free Sites
Advantages of Paid Sites:
1.
Paid sites have nothing on the page except what you want there.
2.
Unlimited support.
3.
Extra features such as several email accounts.
4.
Usually more storage space.
5.
Helpful page building guides and templates.
Disadvantages of paid sites:
1. They cost money.
Advantages of Free Sites:
1.
They are FREE.
2.
No set up fee.
3.
Most feature at least one free email account.
4.
Helpful page building guides and templates.
Disadvantages of Free Sites:
1.
The free ones usually have either pop-up or banner advertising on each page.
2.
Although you do have some say about what is advertised on the page, the ads can be
annoying to visitors.
3.
Limited support.
What about Domain Names?
Domain names are simply a unique set of letters or numbers that identify your site's URL or
address. If you register a domain name, no other person or organization can use that name. An example
of a domain name is www.sjoanpopek.com.
Advantages Of Having A Domain Name:
1.
No other site will have your unique name.
2.
Any browser anywhere in the world can access your site.
3.
A simple name is easy to remember.
4.
If you move your site, you don't have to change your URL.
5.
Registration is easy and fast online.
Disadvantages of a Domain Name:
1.
They cost from about $20.00-$60.00 per year.
2.
They must be renewed each year or you may pay for several years in advance.
Is It Difficult To Build A Web page?
No. With today's technology and software, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to build a Web
page. Simple Web pages can be constructed from templates within the software or from scratch.
Netscape Communicator comes with a program called "Composer" that makes it simple. And it is free!
Also any copy of Microsoft Windows and/or Explorer usually comes with a simple version of "Front
Page Express" and it is free. Both offer FTP (File Transfer Protocol) capabilities that make getting
your page to the WEB easy. Both are WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get.) There are also many
other free Webpage building programs on the NET. Use your search engine knowledge to find some.
Knowing a little bit about HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) that all Web pages are built with
doesn't hurt, but is not a vital requirement. Help is available all over the NET about building Web
pages and using HTML if that interests you. Just go to any search engine and type in "Building Web
pages."
Now it's time to fire up your browser and surf the NET for ideas for your own Web site, gather
information about publishers, guidelines for magazines and book publishers, writers groups and
anything else that interests you. Go to my site on the Web at www.sjoanpopek.com and visit some of
the links and other pages I have to see what kind of information people are putting on the Internet and
which famous authors are using the Net to promote their work.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER AS YOU SURF
ACTIVEX - A new programming standard proposed by Microsoft Corporation which would increase
the functionality of Webpages. Similar in nature to Java and Javascript.
APPLET - The name given to a small binary file which is executed on your computer as part of a Web
Page loading. Applets are created by JAVA. Applets should not be confused with pages which have
JAVASCRIPT in them.
ARCHIVE - (1) A term used to describe a server containing a large amount of publicly accessible
software. (2) A term used to describe a file which contains one or more files that have been compressed
and stored.
BAUD - A term used to refer to the transmission speed of a modem. The higher the value, the faster the
modem. The value is usually measured in Bits Per Second.
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. This is a programming standard which defines how a Web Page
can interact with a user, i.e. fill out a form. Typically CGI applications are written in either PERL or C,
both are computer languages of varying complexity. CGI applications run on the server, not on the
visiting client.
CIAC - Computer Incident Advisory Center. A US Government sponsored group charged with
disseminating information concerning computer security and viruses to other government agencies and
the public. A working group of the US Department of Energy.
CLIENT - There are multiple meanings for this word in computer technology, however in the context
being presented here, a client typically refers to a computer which is temporarily connected to the
Internet via a modem connection.
COOKIE - A small file on your computer in which a web site may write data. The data may be used by
that web site only, to track your choices and custom tailor its responses.
DNS - Domain Name Server. This is a program running on a server which automatically translates
domain names into their correct TCP/IP addresses. A busy DNS server is the most common reason for
Navigator's frequent "Unable to find Domain Name or invalid entry in the DNS" error.
DOMAIN NAME - An English language equivalent of a computer systems TCP/IP address.
DOWNLOADING - The process of transferring a file or program from some source computer to your
computer. Downloading is a controlled process using a protocol to move the file in such a way as to
insure it remains intact and undamaged.
EMAIL - A method by which one person can send messages to another. Distance and location are not
relevant to email.
FILE - Data that is saved in a specific format.
FINGER - Finger is a program which shows you information about your account or other accounts,
not all Internet users have access to finger.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol. A software method by which files are moved from one computer on the
Internet to another. Also, a term used to describe a program capable of downloading and uploading
files from the internet.
GIF - A graphic format commonly found on web pages. Its main claim to fame is its ability to handle
artwork very well.
HITS - A term used by people with web pages. Used to describe the volume of traffic a particular web
site may be receiving.
HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language, this is the computer layout script used to design the look of
each Web page.
HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This is the protocol used by most browsers when reading a web
page.
HYPER LINK - Text or a graphic that is "linked" to a specific page, URL or part of the document with
HTML code. It is a way to jump quickly to another place, and works the same way that a shortcut on
your Microsoft Windows desktop works. Clicking on these links will take you to the page, text or
graphic that is indicated by the code.
INDEX - (Multiple meanings) (a) A term used to describe a web page which contains links to other
WebPages of a specific category. (b) Another term used to describe the means by which a search engine
catalogs a web site. (c) Most commonly, the main or starting page of a website.
INTERNIC - The main source of all domain names issued within the United States. InterNIC is the
controlling agency which handles all of the domain names, and domain disputes within the United
States.
IRC - Internet Relay Chat. Both a protocol and a program type. IRC allows someone on one to talk in
real time to someone else, anywhere in the world.
ISP - This is a company through which you can access the Internet.
JARGON - A general term used to talk about the many abbreviations used on the net. Here are some of
those jargon terms and their meanings:
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
ROFL - Rolling on the Floor Laughing
FYI - For your Information
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
TTYL - Talk To You Later
BBL - Be Back Later
BRB - Be Right Back
PKOL - Passionate Kiss On the Lips
LOG - To connect to the internet or a Website, usually with a user name and a password that you
choose or that your service provider gives you.
JAVA - An object oriented computer language which was developed by SUN Microsystems for the
purpose of enhancing the capabilities of Web pages.
JAVASCRIPT - Formerly called LiveScript, this language was developed by Netscape. Patterned after
JAVA, it's primary difference is that the program is embedded into an HTML file instead of being an
executable which loads when you load a web page.
JPEG - Another commonly found graphic format on web pages. JPEG formatted graphics are
especially good at handling photographs.
LYNX - A UNIX program which allows character based terminals to access websites. Lynx users do
not ordinarily see the graphics on a web page.
MODEM - A device which translates computer signals into acceptable format and then transmits those
signals over a phone line to another computer. Bidirectional, capable of sending
NEWBIE - A term used to describe someone who is new. New to the Internet, or new to a particular
aspect of the internet.
NEWSGROUPS - A general name given to a vast collection of public access bulletin boards.
NNTP - Network News Transfer Protocol. The server you connect to for newsgroups would be your
NNTP server.
PAGE - A web page is not comparable to a real page of printed material. Web pages can be nearly any
length, although for practical reasons most people limit them to less than 400 lines so they will load on
the computer faster. A Web Page is a computer file written in the Hyper Text Markup Language
(HTML).
PERL - Another commonly used programming language used to code server based web applications.
PPP - Point to Point Protocol. PPP is a super set of the TCP/IP protocols. Built upon that foundation,
but instead of allowing one computer to be able to talk to many, it relies on the fact that the other
computer it's linked with has that ability and therefore does not need it.
PING - A Unix command which allows you to verify a connection from the machine you are on, to
another machine on the internet.
PDF - Portable Document Format. A special format for some ebooks. You need a special reader for
this format. You can get one free at www.adobe.com/
SEARCH ENGINES - A Search Engine is a piece of software, available to all users on the Web which
allows the user to locate all related sites using a keyword search. For example a user may search for all
sites with the words IDAHO and REALTY in their description. The Search Engine will return a list of
all the sites that match those words.
SERVER - A Host machine. A server provides connectivity to the Internet and passes files from its
hard drive to another computer's hard drive that's requesting them, usually from a network or internet
connection.
SIGNATURE - A small piece of text which is automatically appended to an email. (Also called a Sig
or a Tag file)
SLIP - Serial Link Internet Protocol. SLIP is a simulation of TCP/IP, except that instead of actual
computer networking hardware on one of the computers, it connects to the network via a serial link,
typically using a modem.
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. One of the protocols used by your server to send/receive email.
SPIDER - An automated program that surfs 24 hours a day looking for keywords in Webpages, then
sending the information back to the search engine's program for listing the URL where the words are
found.
SURFING - The process of reading web pages and moving from one web site to another.
TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This term actually describes two software
mechanisms used to allow multiple computers to talk to each other in an error free fashion.
UNIX - One of the most popular disk operating systems for the internet hosts.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator. This is a Internet address which tells a user where to locate a
specific Web HTML File.
VANITY PAGE - A vanity page is a website placed on-line by an individual, not for commercial
purposes, or as an informational resource, but simple because it tells something about the person that
put the page up.
WEB SITE - The Web Site is a location on the Internet, specifically it refers to the POP location in
which it resides. All Web Sites are referenced using a special addressing scheme called a URL. A Web
Site can mean a single HTML file put up by an individual (called a personal page or vanity page) or
hundreds of files placed on the net by a commercial venture.
ZIP - One of the most commonly used compression formats for sending files via the internet either by
email or by download from a Web Site. You must use a special program to unzip (open it so it is
readable on your computer) a file. There are several such programs free and/or for a small fee.
SAMPLE CHARTS AND A SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
Sample - Submission Tracker Chart
Chart5.gif
Sample - Review Tracker Chart
Chart4.gif
Three types of Character Profile Charts you might use.
Feel free to copy these and use them if you like.
Written Character Profile Chart
Using lined or graph paper, write your answers about your character(s) beside each question. It's a good
idea to keep a note-book of your characters' profile charts so when you begin a story or get stumped,
you can refer to it for a kick-start to your creative juices.
Date:
Character's Name:
Reason for that name, if there is one:
Does your character have a nickname?
If so, why?
How old is she?
Does she look her age?
What does the character look like?
What color eyes, hair, skin, etc. does she have?
Is she tall, thin, short, fat, stocky, lanky, etc.
Does she wear glasses or jewelry?
Does she have any distinguishing marks?
Scars, crooked nose, etc.
Is she in good health?
If not, what's wrong with her?
What does she like?
Music?
Exotic Food?
Shakespeare?
What does her voice sound like? Sweet? Low and husky? High-pitched and whiny?
Other?
Does she have an accent?
Does she speak in a peculiar dialect?
What are her habits?
Does she smoke?
If so, what does she smoke?
Graphic Character Profile
Chart2.gif
Quick Character Profile
Chart1.gifThis is a Sample Press release
You could add your picture and/or a picture of the cover of your book if you like. This one is for local news. For other press
releases, you would not stress the "hometown" angle or the bio as much. Instead, you would stress the electronic angle and
maybe include an excerpt from a review.
[Sample on next page]
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: S. Joan Popek
Address
City and State
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 505-xxx-xxxx
Local Author, S. Joan Popek, joins the wave of the future in electronic publishing with her new
E-Book release From HardShell Word Factory
Join the ranks of the New Millennium Readers. Read an e-book today!
Sound The Ram's Horn
A Prophetic Novel of the Future
By S. Joan Popek
Cover by Dirk A. Wolf
ISBN 0-7599-0481-2
S. Joan Popek, a lifetime resident of Roswell, New Mexico is a seasoned veteran of both print and
electronic publishing. She is proud to announce her newest book from HardShell Word Factory.
She is a prolific writer and describes herself as "An age challenged grandmother with one foot in the
dark ages and the other in the Twilight Zone." Science fiction is her genre of choice, but she writes in
many genres including non fiction. She conducts writers workshops at various conventions and loves
flash fiction. Until recently she wrote a monthly column "Ask Dr. WEB-Write" for Millennium
Science Fiction & Fantasy.
Aliske Webb of Bookmice.com has compared Sound the Ram's Horn with The Celestine Prophecy,
and Patricia White compared Popek's work with some of the great science fiction writers of all time
such as Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein.
Popek has been described as, "A rising new voice in the genre" by Steve Algeri, publisher of Pulp
Eternity. And Greg F. Gifune, publisher of THE EDGE, says her stories "...give even his seasoned
editors a chill, which is hard to do."
Her work has also appeared in several anthologies and has received many awards and honorable
mentions. Joan may be contacted at [email protected] or visit her homepage at
www.sjoanpopek.com
Author's Bio
S. Joan Popek lives and works in Roswell, New Mexico with her husband, Joe, and many children
and grandchildren. She has a large collection of Alien friends but promises that she doesn't have one
single "Little Green Man" in her basement.

Jump Start Your Writing Career

Transcription

Similar documents

AccuPower sTAnDAlone soFTwAre FeATures MInIMuM

A procedural health literacy book based off of the game “Tarzan

Plyometrics Supplement

Full text

Power and Its Importance in Distance Running

ACT-PRE-1207 10YearsACT - Reynolds

Katawa Shoujo, Tomorrow/Today

ChiCago Children`s MuseuM gala 2015 saTurdaY noVeMBer 7

2016 Golf Tournament flyer