Back to homepage

WRITERS' Journal

Table of Contents
September/October 2009
Volume 30, Number 5

      .....Editor's Note, by Leon Ogroske 

     If your book needs an index, be sure to read Gerben Oosterbaan’s article on page 24. Indexing is an art in itself, so don’t try to do it on your own. When we published Esther M. Leiper’s WIN! Poetry Contests we kicked around the idea of indexing it; but after a few futile attempts, we employed a professional indexer. Gerben is an indexer. Read his article to learn how to find just the right indexer for your needs.

     We have an index of past articles featured in WRITERS’ Journal on our Web site at www.writersjournal.com/Index.htm. This index will help you find articles that you want to review but you can’t remember in which issue it was published. Click on the subject, and you will find a listing of articles that pertain to it. It will help you narrow down your search for that elusive, albeit helpful, piece. It is getting to be a rather long page, so allow time for it to load. We hope readers use this valuable resource to make the most of our magazine.

     Are you one of those who follow the music scene? In my younger days I knew all the top tunes and about the artists and recording companies. I even did a short stint as a DJ on a small college radio station. At the time, I didn’t consider writing for the music magazines that were delivered to the station—as a college student, I had plenty of writing to do. Now that I think back, I should have blended both required course papers with magazine submissions and perhaps I would have helped my parents foot the bill for my education. It might be too late for me, but maybe not for you. Check the market listings Dee Dee McNeil shares with us on page 44. If you attend a summer concert or a grandstand show at a fair, write a review of the event for your local print media and send it out to other interested markets.

     Ah, horror. I must admit that I have a hard time determining whether horror or science fiction is my most loved genre to read. In this issue we have three excellent stories. The “Widow’s Web” was by far the best story. Jennifer C. Martin submitted a nearly perfect story that held the judges’ attention and earned her first prize.

     Our Science Fiction/Fantasy contest deadline is quickly approaching, so turn off your TV and Internet connection and put together a story that will wow the judges. I look forward to reading your entry.

Leon Ogroske, editor

Columns

 4       .....Readers' P.O.V.

 6       .....Marketing Helps, Janet Elaine Smith
          It's a "Cheep" Trick

 7       .....Massaging the Muse, Lynne Pisano
          Legend Has It

 8       .....Effective Screenwriting, by Christina Hamlett
          But Chocolate Beats Are Good for Me!
          It's a fact of life—and perhaps even one of Murphy's Laws—that virtually anything you love to eat is bad for you and will ultimately consign you to a wretched demise. Conversely, anything you can't run away from fast enough (e.g. Brussels sprouts) will invariably be proven to extend your lifespan by 145 years. We, therefore, respond with elation on those rare occasions when the medical community announces that items like chocolate and wine have positive health benefits. It's enough to make you want  to hit the nearest grocery store, grab every candy bar and bottle off the shelves, and go home and consume everything at one sitting....

 11      .....Computer Business, by Angela Render
           Communicating With Your Readership—Part 1: Building an E-mail List
           You've built your Web site or created your blog. You've spent several months creating content and finding links, and you're finally starting to see traffic on your site. Congratulations! You're on your way. Now you ask, "What comes next?"...

 13      .....Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
           Digital Photography: Frequently Asked Questions
           I decided to use a question-answer format for this edition's column in an attempt to answer some of the more common questions about digital photography that I'm asked at my photography seminars. So let's get started....

 57      .....For Beginners Only, by Joyce Finn
          Banish Backstory Deluge
          Good fiction sweeps readers along on a rising tide of tension. If conflict is set up at the beginning, your characters will be so busy battling demons, whether real or emotional, they won't have time of opportunity for reverie. Readers know this from their own lives. When floodwaters are high, we don't stop to ruminate about the meaning of life—we bail. reflection, looking back comes only after the last puddle is squeezed up, the dog calmed, and the carpets drying in the sun....

 59      .....Words...Tools of Our Trade, by Betty Garton Ulrich
           Maybe It's Not Getting Published, but Just Writing
          If you are reading this magazine, you are obviously interested in writing. But how interested are you? I mean, maybe you are not hankering to be a Great American Writer or make the best-seller list with a blockbuster novel. Maybe you are just fascinated with the idea of being able to create something with words. Or maybe there's some nagging urge in you that keeps pushing you to put words on paper, and you found this magazine an bought it—or subscribed—out of curiosity, following that nagging urge....

 60       .....WRITERS' Journal Market Report, by Laurie Graziano
            September/October 2009 Market Report Plus, Angelo Van Bogart of Old Cars Weekly
            Born over a century ago, inventor and researcher Nikola Tesla brought engineering genius from his native Austro-Hungary to the United States. He joined forces with U. S. inventor Thomas Alva Edison for a short period of time—a union that was broken by Tesla's need for independence in his research....

                   Markets: Old Cars Weekly, Coastal Living, WildBird, Log Home Living, Windsurfing, Women's Health, Outdoor Life, Motor Trend.

Feature Articles

 15       .....Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too, by Melanie Faith
            Training in Another Medium Sweetens Fiction
            It all started with a table of graduates on a sun-drenched patio in Charlotte. Newly minted MFA writers, we had all just completed two years of extensive study, including semester-long critique groups. The question what next hung, palpable, in the air. My answer: " I'll write a novel."...

 19       .....Editors Tell about the Writers They Despise, by Dennis E. Hensley
            Be Editor Friendly
            If you attend as many writers' conferences as I do, you get to hear a lot of editors speak off-the-cuff about some of their worst experiences with freelance writers. In fact, most editors have a list of "dreaded" types of writers. In order to avoid becoming one of these undesirables, listen to what the editors have to say about these nuisance writers....

 20       .....Book Promotion, by Patricia Fry
            Facts and Fiction
            Many writers throughout the nation are suffering something that others only dream of. they're experiencing overwhelmingness. They're exhausted. They don't know what to do next. Why? And why would anyone want to suffer this way?.... 

 22       .....Memoir Writers Speak, by Erich Goode
            Listening to Advice from Successful Memoirists
           Writing a memoir seems to epitomize the principle write what you know....

 24       .....Seven Keys to a Quality Book Index, by Gerben Oosterbaan
            How to Find a Capable Indexer
           Not every book needs an index. If the information in the book is ephemeral, likely never to need retrieval by a reader, you might not need one. If the book will not be judged quickly by browsers who are looking for an index, you might not need one. Most fiction books do not need one....

 43       .....Writers' Notebook
           Making the Most of Editor's Comments, by Marge Jesberger
            "Great News, Mom, I got the Job!" by Suzy Amis Haines

 44       .....Got Music?, by Dee Dee McNeil
           Writing Music Reviews
           As a successful freelance journalist, I found my niche using music as a catalyst. Local newspapers are always in need of enthusiastic writers to contribute well-written articles, performance reviews, or CD opinions....

 46       .....Synopsis, by Josi S. Kilpack
           A Four-Letter Word?
           Ask any novelist about writing a synopsis and be prepared to hear words commonly left unsaid in polite company. Writing a synopsis is hard. It feels almost immoral to reduce your brilliance to a page, maybe two....

 48       .....How to Be a Time Traveler Who Crosses the Border, by Karen Martin
           Researching Historical Daily Life in Foreign Countries
           After years of researching United States History, I was asked for advice on finding accurate information on historical daily life within foreign countries. Since I don't know any foreign languages, I hesitated to research areas outside of U. S. borders. However, I'm a time traveler who loves learning about the past, so I was able to come up with ways to acquire reliable data on how people in other countries once lived....

Poetry

 52       .....Every Day With Poetry, by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
           Academic, Systemic—or Just Plain Nuts?
           At some time you have probably heard of ivory towers and the impractical, esoteric individuals who hide in them, spying on the hoi polloi from on high. Relax, it's a cliche generally quoted by those squinting up from the base of the tower. but then again, are some poets, sneering and scornful, looking down on other poets? Are they academics? Actually, they may be greeting-card verse writers instead, cowboy poets, or members of a new movement of which few have heard......

 54       .....Esther Comments On..., by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
           Concrete Poetry—by Sherry Buckett, Rockin' Red, and Esther
            Before I discuss Rockin' Red's "Concrete Poetry" or Sherry Buckett's "Daisy," here's an anecdote from Norma Sundberg. Teaching at the College for Kids at Kent State University, she introduced students to varied poetic forms, including concrete. she recounts:...