March/April 2003, Vol. 24, No. 2 Table of Contents

	Columns
2	..... Editor's Note
5	..... Marketing Helps, by Janet Elaine Smith
	Revving Your (Search) Engine
4	..... Massaging the Muse, by Lynne Remick
	............ A Bird's-Eye View
6	..... Effective Screenwriting, by Jerry McGuire
	............. Need to Know? "Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie." —Kipling [1865 - 1936] Probably, our dear pal Rudyard did not write a screenplay, but his comment about questions fits nicely at this point in our discussion of scripts. You have been a patient audience, but this is a time when those who want to write for the screen have specific problems....
8	..... Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
	............. Six Tips to Improve Your Photos In this issue's column, I'm suggesting six ways you can improve your photos. So with that said, let's get started....
10	..... Computer Business, by Robert Anthony Robinson
	................. Online Writing In coming years, productive publishers will find it necessary to adapt to an ever-savvy online writing force if they are to remain competitive. This trend will push the number of online-employed writers ever higher. Even in a soft employment market, the demands for online writing talent remains high. Needy employers turn to an expanding pool of independent freelance talent to fulfill the responsibilities once completed by laid-off or down-and-out-sized employees (one of my previous employers called it corporate restructuring).
56	..... For Beginners Only, by Ruth Smalley
	..... How I Became a Book Publisher—The Education of an Amateur It started out as therapy—something for the children to remember him by. And it became a life preserver and a profit maker for his community.
58	..... Words...Tools Of Our Trade, by Betty Garton Ulrich
	.............. It's Almost Like Time-Traveling Beginning writers who intend to become published have a hard time realizing how magazines operate. Editors plan their issues months in advance. Many publications have a theme for each issue. So you not only have to know how far in advance to submit your article, but also what the theme of your article is and when a given magazine will have an issue devoted to that theme.
59	*..... Writers'* Journal Market Report,** by Laurie Graziano
	Some writers skim the market column and see magazines. Other writers see great possibilities. It all depends on why you are looking and for what you are looking. So, let's take a minute and go inside your world.
	Feature Articles
12	..... The Stepping Stones of Research, by Tom Jenkins
	............... Links in a Chain In an abandoned cemetery near the remote town of Alma (pop. 900) in central Colorado, a solitary gravestone stands amid the scattered and decayed wooden crosses where 96 people are buried (see cover). the inscription on the stone reads, "Leola M. Noel, Dau. Of Francis and Mary Noel, Born March 30, 1882, Died April 18, 1883, Our Darling Sleeps." There are wild grasses and wildflowers, but no other gravestones; no signs; no entrance gate or road, no office; and obviously, no caretaker....
14	..... Using Loglines to Focus Your Fiction, by Dennis E. Hensley
	............... Synopsize In Hollywood it is common practice for scriptwriters to "pitch" their screenplay ideas to editors in two sentences. These succinct summaries are called loglines. The idea behind thins is, since so much of what is marketed in Hollywood is a rehash of what has been done before, a producer can tell in two sentences if an idea is original or not....
16	..... Beyond the Web, Part II, by Julie Duffy
	............... e-Newsletters Getting Web-fatigue now that the Internet is so big? Well, it's time for a refresher course on three often overlooked, non-HTML methods of Internet communication: List Servers, e-Newsletters, and newsgroups. This article, the second of three, focuses on e-Newsletters, explaining what they are, how to use them, and giving a few examples of the best....
19	.....You Want Sales? Go Country, by Alf B. Meier
	............... Think Rural, But Forget the Stereotypes If you live out in the country, you can do more about it than just enjoy the clean air. Write about it! Even city people enjoy rural tales. Maybe it brings out their pioneer spirit....
21	..... Hone Your Writing Skills With a Critique Group, by Sharon Sheppard
	................ Beef Up Sales Through Others' Input "Park your egos at the door," megabestseller Terry Brooks warned our small group at the Maui Writers Retreat. "I'm not here to make you feel good."
23	..... Fine-Tuning, by Terry Loncaric
	................ Making Your Words Sing Call me weird. But I thoroughly enjoy fine-tuning a story...
24	..... When It Is Time to Give Back to the Community, by Marge Jesberger
	................ Enhance Your Life by Sharing Your Talents Sometimes you feel the need to write without any ulterior motives and for no monetary gains. You just want to share your talents to benefit others. Whether you are a prosperous published poet or a freelancer experiencing a temporary lull, you can make a difference....
41	..... Writing for the Reluctant Reader, by Jane Priniski
	................ Create New Readers for Your Work "Golly, Peggy Sue, the cute boy in the letterman sweater sure is sweet on you!"...
46	..... Successful Signings, by I. J. Schecter
	................ Autographing Your Work The hour has seemed like minutes. Your pages are stacked together on the opposite side of the podium, last page on top. Taking a moment to reflect, you realize your reading was a hit. You didn't bungle any words. The audience laughed in all the right places, There wasn't any murmuring, shuffling, or discreet watch-checking, and the public address system interrupted you only once. Your concluding joke hit the mark perfectly....
45	..... Reading, Writing, and Variety, by CJ Lockman Hall
	................ Broaden Your Horizons for Writing Success Do you constantly thumb through the thesaurus searching for the right words? Is your spelling a little iffy? Do your articles, poems, or stories have the same layout, style, or tone? If you're nodding your head, try these five tips to improve your vocabulary, spelling, and breadth, to shape yourself into a well-rounded writer....

	Fiction
27	..... A Shot in the Dark, by Lorraine Elizabeth Hemingway
	Honorable Mention Winner of 2002 Fiction Contest
28	..... Gardening Angel, by Sarah E. Parrott
	Honorable Mention Winner of 2002 Romance Contest
30	..... Grace, by Andrea Miles
	Honorable Mention Winner of 2002 Fiction Contest
32	..... Terror Through the Glass, by Steve Muscato
	Honorable Mention Winner of 2002 Horror/Ghost Contest
36	..... Herb's Home Run, by Rick Murgittroyd
	Honorable Mention Winner of 2002 Horror/Ghost Contest
	August 20, 2002 Write-to-Win Prize Winner
38	..... "With a smudge on his cheek...," by Jeanne C. Masella
	......October 20, 2002 Write to Win Winner

	Poetry
47	..... Every Day With Poetry, by Esther Leiper-Jefferson
	................. Tropics of Conversation A friend of mine suggested to her husband, "Let's go Tropical—like to the Caribbean or Hawaii for vacation—where rum is served with fresh pineapple and mango, and the sun sets with the famous green flash." Her husband, however, had an equally definite idea to go fish in Alaska. When she told me this, an idea for light verse came to mind:...
54	..... Esther Comments On..., by Esther Leiper-Jefferson
	................. The Winners—August 2002 Poetry Contest Each of our three winners in the August 30, 2002, Poetry Contest addresses the theme—in one way or another—of rising up and letting go. In the First Prize Winner; readers are offered a spunky lesson in human relations by means of a bunch of balloons and an astute salesman....