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WRITERS' Journal

Table of Contents
November/December 2009
Volume 30, Number 6

      .....Editor's Note

     On page 44, Sylvie Malaborsa gives us ten fields of writing where you can potentially earn money. For some readers this may be boring advice. Don’t shun her suggestions. If you created a piece for each of the ten markets, submitted them, and got paid for them, wouldn’t that make you a happy person? Don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut; tackle a new genre or market and you might find an opportunity that fits you well.

     You should also check out the book mentioned on page 1, 88 Money-Making Writing Jobs. This text is packed with opportunities, some of which I never realized existed.

     Keeping a wordbook, as Kathryn Wilkens suggests in our “For Beginners Only” column on page 56, is a fabulous idea for all writers. We’ve been coached to keep a notebook handy and jot down story or article ideas, names of characters, interesting settings, and other essential writing components. Oftentimes I am reading a story and come across a descriptive phrase that makes me wish I had created it. I jot it down. Maybe it isn’t mine, but I can see the value of using a similar image, name, type of dialogue, story twist, or word. If I don’t jot it down, I will soon forget it because I am being bombarded constantly with information and ideas. Get into the habit of writing in your wordbook, and you will find creating stories a whole lot easier.

     Alicia Stanke’s prize-winning short story “Birthday Wish” is a timely, emotional story that had the judges clamoring for more. Alicia draws us into her story with a scenario that is all too real nowadays. She combines the solemn with the ordinary, mixes in true human emotion, and leaves the reader…well, read her story and find out for yourself.

     Ready yourself for some totally awesome prose, dude. Cappy Love Hanson is taking us snowboarding in the second prize short story “Shredmama.” His grasp of a culture is excellent. I would love to take a peek at his word notebook.

     Our Write to Win! winning story introduces us to siblings who nurture a creature unlike anything they have seen before. April Schoffstall created a delightful story you may want to share with children.

Leon Ogroske, editor

Columns

 4       .....Marketing Helps, Janet Elaine Smith
          Tying It All Together

 5       .....Massaging the Muse, Lynne Pisano
          Dear Cyber Diary

 6       .....Effective Screenwriting, by Christina Hamlett
          Whose Line Is It, Anyway?
          Possession is a funny thing, especially in the craft of screenwriting. There's the actor who makes a role his own, the director who exercises his creative vision, and the bevy of costume designers and makeup artists who define each character's "look."...

 10      .....Computer Business, by Angela Render
           Communicating With Your Readership—Part 2, Effective E-Mailing: Frequency and Format
           The number one question I'm asked when teaching writers about building an e-mail list is, "How often do I mail to the subscribers?" The answer is a definitive, "It depends."...

 13      .....Photography Techniques, by Ronald D. Kness
           A Glossary of Digital Camera Terms
           In digital photography, many of the terms are the same as they are in the world of 35mm film; however, with the digital camera came a group of terms specific to digital....

 56      .....For Beginners Only, by Kathryn Wilkens
          Keep a Wordbook
          I took a walk in a harsh spring wind. Blossoms and new leaves, stripped from hissing trees, flew in my face. An empty Miller Lite box tumbled down a driveway. Stop signs shuddered and street signs shimmied. Whenever I passed a house with wind chimes, I heard what sounded like a janissary band run amok....

 58      .....Words...Tools of Our Trade, by Betty Garton Ulrich
           Language: A Product of Thought
           Or is thought a product of language? I have always tended to think that language is a product of thought. We don't know specifically when humans first began to speak, how they first began communicating with each other. I imagined that gestures and bodily signals preceded speech. But somewhere along the line, humankind obviously began to communicate verbally with one another. How did they begin?....

 60       .....WRITERS' Journal Market Report, by Laurie Graziano
            November/December 2009 Market Report Plus, Katie Tamony of Sunset Magazine
            On June 12, 2009, the country came together to usher in a new wave of communication technology—digital TV. In an effort to free up much needed frequencies, the old analog transmission was being replaced after more than sixty years....

                   Markets: Sunset, Military Heritage, Horticulture, American Woodworker, Runner's World, Scientific American, True Confessions, Glass Patterns, Profitable Glass Quarterly, Natural Health, Four Wheeler.

Feature Articles

 15       .....Copywriter for Hire, by Michael Ricciardi
            Seven Steps to Becoming an Ad Man or Ad Woman
            What is a copywriter?
                I once asked that same question. For the quick answer, pick up the latest issue of any magazine (WRITERS' Journal is a great place to start) and skim the advertisements peppered throughout its pages....

 19       .....Taking the NaNoWriMo Challenge, by Sandy Bernstein
            The 50K Word Race You'll Love
            What drives a writer to take part in a month-long novel-writing contest that involves grinding out a minimum of 1,667 words, or three and a half pages, each day to reach a goal of 50,000 words in thirty days, knowing there is no monetary reward? I can speak only for myself, as I was one of millions of people taking part in the National Novel Writing Month contest known as NaNoWriMo that runs annually during the month of November....

 20       .....Write to Be Heard, by Joe Meledin
            Voices Bring Your Writing to Life
            Long before I became a professional telephone voice and radio news reader and a voiceover talent in commercials, training films, and other media, when I still made my living exclusively as a writer and teacher of writing, I recognized the power of the human voice in nonspoken media.... 

 23       .....Be a Dynamite Writer, by Beth Fowler
           Borrow Strategies from Realtors
           According to Realty Times, 86 percent of Realtors quit in their first year....

 41       .....Make Like an Elephant, by Marion Tickner
            Consider the Anthology Market
           Anthologies have been around for quite awhile, but I never paid them much attention. At least I didn't think about writing for them until I learned that Blooming Tree Press was looking for Christmas stories for children. I submitted two stories, and both were accepted. That was the most exciting time of my writing experience. I had been submitting to various children's magazines, but to have my story in a book...! I talked with the editor on the telephone. I received the proofs, news release, posters, bookmarks, two copies of Mistletoe Madness, as well as a check.....

 43       .....Writers' Notebook
           Overcoming Yon Wryter's Bloque, by Anne Louise
            Find the Quote You Need on Facebook,  by Rene Rosechild

 44       .....Ten Ways to Make Money Writing, by Sylvie Malaborsa
           Diverse, Unique Opportunities for Writers
           To many people, writing is a necessity. It keeps their minds livelyl it is a way of expression. Writing is hard work, but it is also challenging, interesting, and gratifying. Following are ten ways you can earn money from your writing skills....

 47       .....Twelve Points for Successful Book Signings, by Colleen L. Reece
           Author's Dos and Don'ts
           Book signings are a double-edged sword. They can be moneymakers or total embarrassments. My twelve points to successful book signings came from more than thirty years of having "been there, done that."...

Poetry

 48       .....Every Day With Poetry, by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
           Gazing at Gazelles—No, Ghazals; Uh...Ghuzzles?
           The ghazal—which, at least in America, was barely heard of fifty years ago—has now received widespread interest as an ancient and esteemed Persian poetry form....

 53       .....Esther Comments On..., by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks
           The Winners, April 2009 Poetry Contest
            Dear writers: When you enter a contest, please follow the stated rules. My editor informed me that nearly a third of the poems submitted in this round lacked a duplicate copy or reading fee or offered drawings without words. Why disqualify yourself? You waste your time and ours. That's my only gripe, I promise....