The Portable Writers Conference

Description

More than 45 agent, editor, and author-written chapters--called workshops in the book--provide instruction on the writing craft and the business of getting published.

Informations

• Publié par: Linden Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781610351126
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 1997, 2007 by Stephen Blake Mettee
All Rights Reserved.
Quill Driver Books
An imprint of Linden Publishing
2006 S. Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
Printed in the United States of America

Quill Driver Books books may be purchased at special prices for
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ISBN 1-884956-57-2 13-digit: 978-1884956-57-7
Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press Project Cadre:
Doris Hall, Linda Kay Hardie, Stephen Blake Mettee, Carlos Olivas

The portable writer’s conference : your guide to getting
published / edited by Stephen Blake Mettee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-884956-57-2. -- (pbk.)
1. Authorship--Marketing. 2. Authors and publishers. 3. Publishers and publishing. I. Mettee, Stephen Blake, 1947-
PN155.P67 1996
808′ .02--dc21
96-45131 CIP
To Josh,
Annette,
Christopher,
Hannah Marie,
and Grace Lynn
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Workshops
The Mother of all Attitudes
What fiction writers can learn from football players
By James N. Frey
Telling Tales
A short story workshop
By Shelly Lowenkopf
How to Write a Dynamite Love Scene
Sizzle sells more than just steaks: Learn how to add steam to your novel or short story
By Suzanne Forster
Selling Your Novel to An Agent
Develop a High Concept Pitch to Hear an Agent Say Yes!
By Adam Marsh
K EYNOTE
Literary Agents
Getting and working with the right one
By Natasha Kern
Writing Every Magazine & Newspaper’s Staple
How to craft the feature article
By Donna Elizabeth Boetig
Unforgettable
Seven secrets to creating memorable characters
By Sara Ann Freed
Humor Impaired?
The hows and "wise" of humor for writers
By Roger Bates
So, You Want to Be a Columnist?
Learn what periodical publishers look for and how to supply it
By Frances Halpern
Watch Your Language!
Taking the groan out of grammar and the yuck out of usage
By Sierra Adare
Meet a Jerk, Get to Work
Find your fiction characters and settings in everyday life
By Jaqueline Girdner
Once You’ve Climbed Over the Transom
A book’s progress from proposal to finished book
By Georgia Hughes
Writing the Compelling Novel
How to produce a page-turner
By Larry Martin
Write for the Trades
Mine this 6,000-plus magazine market for clips and cash
By Mary E. Maurer
K EYNOTE
Listen!
How to use dialogue to light up your characters until they attract readers like moths to a flame
By Parke Godwin
Romancing an Editor’s Eye
How to pen the splendiferous salable romance novel
By Patricia McAllister
Selling Yourself in a Query Letter
Not the time to be modest
By Betsy Mitchell
Write from Your Roots
Creating fiction from genealogy
By Marilyn Meredith
Write Nonfiction Using Fiction
In the tradition of Capote, Mailer and Wolfe, dare to blend fiction with nonfiction and create prose with both substance and verve
By William Noble
Your Publishing Options
Why You Should Consider Self-Publishing
By Dan Poynter
K EYNOTE
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal
Sell Your Book Before You Write It
By Stephen Blake Mettee
Bring Her On and Let Her Scream
Use colorful description to enliven your nonfiction
By Thomas Hunter
The King Is Dead; Long Live the King
Your therapist and confidant: The cathartic value of the small press
By Frederick A. Raborg, Jr.
Atmosphere, Imagery & Figures of Speech
Delight your reader with singular images and compelling moods
By Ardath Mayhar
Can These Bones Live?
Writing good period dialogue
By Leonard Tourney
K EYNOTE
Quit Your Day Job?
Fifteen secrets to running a successful home-based writing business
By Terri Lonier
Alternative Presses
Or: Why am I lying here with a tulip sticking out of my ass?
By Patrick LoBrutto
Good Writing + Self-Promotion = Best-Seller
Thirteen things you can do to help yourself become a best-selling author
By John Kremer
Show, Don’t Tell
Turn the cold recital of facts into live vivid scenes
By Marsh Cassady
Keys to Crafting Your Nonfiction Book
By far, most books published are nonfiction. Learn how to join the ranks of successful nonfiction book authors from a pro
By JoAnn Roe
K EYNOTE
Solving the Protagonist Puzzle
Just sit down at your computer, open a vein, and let your character flow out
By Lesley Kellas Payne
Slice Yourself a Piece of Mud Pie
Writing for the children’s book market
By Andrea Brown
How to Earn $50,000 from Your First Book
Niche publishing
By Gordon Burgett
Writing Self-Help Books
A 12-step plan for the non-Ph.D.
By Eric Maisel
Make It Sizzle
How to write great queries without resorting to threats, bribery or coercion
By Wendy Keller
Paradise Beckons
How to overcome cutthroat competition, absurdly low pay, greedy publishers and other impossible obstacles and actually sell your travel writing
By Lan Sluder
Researching & Writing History
Or: The money’s not important when you’re having so much fun!
By William B. Secrest
Making a List and Checking It Twice?
Ten-point checklist for your screenplay
By Kathie Fong Yoneda
Scoping Out Magazines
Use a magazine’s own pages to learn how to hear "Yes!" from its editor
By Ania Savage
Interviewing & Quoting
"Judge a man, not by his answers, but by his questions."
By Cork Millner
The Hidden Hazards of Being an Author
What they don’t tell you in creative writing class
By Persia Woolley
Giving Up?
When to toss in the towel and when to keep trying
By Beverly Engel
The Book Doctor Is In
The seven most-common first-novel problems and how to avoid them
By Sherry M. Gottlieb
Copyright
What every author should know
By John D. Zelezny
Writers’ Resources
Questions to Ask Literary Agents
Suggested questions to ask agents when offered representation
Submission Tracking Sheet
Standard Manuscript Format
Proofreader’s Marks
Royalties and Advances Some Benchmark Figures
Average Book Print Runs
Sample Magazine Writer’s Guidelines
Sample Book Publisher’s Writer’s Guidelines
Magazines and Newsletters of Interest to Writers
Selected Books for Writers
Associations for Writers
World Wide Web (WWW) Sites of Interest to Writers
Software for Writers
At-Home Writing Courses
The Author’s Bundle of Rights
Glossary
Index
Foreword

E VERY WEEK IN THE UNITED STATES SOMEONE, somewhere, is holding a writer’s conference, and anywhere from a couple of dozen to several hundred writers or would-be writers are putting down their money to attend. For some, it is a chance to meet professional book people the all-important editors and agents on whom one day they will have to depend. For others, experienced, long-published authors, it is a matter of networking, keeping in touch, polishing a sense of the marketplace.
But not everyone who wants to go can get to such conferences. Perhaps there isn’t time, the nearest one is too far away, they cost too much; perhaps a would-be writer is even embarrassed at being perceived as such, sharing his hopes and fears with dozens of fellow hopefuls he has never seen before. What then?
The Portable Writer’s Conference is here to solve just that: to bring together a list of qualified and experienced contributors who can deliver on the page the same kind of no-nonsense advice they would offer from the podium during lunch or dinner, or in the workshops that take up much of the time at writer’s conferences. Here between book covers, without the hassle of travel and reservations and sitting through presentations that aren’t really very helpful, just because you’ve paid to be there, is the best of all possible worlds for the would-be writer: An anthology of advice that is very specific to the needs of many different kinds of writers, that can be referred to at will, where you don’t have to take notes or buy tapes or struggle to stay awake.
I’ve been to many writer’s conferences in my time to speak my piece about how authors can best relate to book publishers including ones in locations as glamorous as Maui and Lake Tahoe. This book may not transport you to such idyllic spots, but I can safely say that none of these conferences has offered so wide a range of speakers and subjects as this book does. You can learn in the following pages about dozens of subjects, from improving your grammar to researching online, from writing for kids to writing for romance readers, from putting down authentic sounding dialogue to conducting interviews that sell, and lots of excellent information on tough subjects like copyrights and contracts. The contributors are the kinds of people who are often invited to conferences: publishers, editors, literary agents, authors with a proven track