For Women Entrepreneurs

If you or someone you know is

• A small business owner who has been in business for several years, or
• Are either dreaming of starting your own business or have been in business less than 2 years, or
• Are a home-based business owner, or
• Are interested in purchasing a franchise or business opportunity

you may be able to pitch a story and parley your insights into a money-earning venture at WomenEntrepreneur.com. They are looking women-specific content that includes challenges women face, why women start businesses, and articles that are written in a voice that appeals specifically to women.

Free Entry Short Story Competition

The deadline for Words Magazine Short Story Competition is not until December 30th, so you have plenty of time to polish your work, up to 2000 words, for a chance to win £100 (or equivalent in your currency, which, in the USA, equals $206.729). You may enter as many times as you like.

Boulevard Online not only accepts submissions, they are sponsoring a short-fiction contest that will net the winner $1500. Entries must be previously unpublished, and the $15 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Boulevard. Your entry must be postmarked by December 15, 2007, so there's plenty of time to polish up your best work and get it to them. The winning story will be published in the Spring or Fall 2008 issue.

Tongue in Groove Reading - Sunday, Oct. 28

TONGUE and GROOVE- Readings and Music
at the Hotel Cafe, Sunday October 28th - 6:00 to 7:30pm
www.hotelcafe.com


"Tongue & Groove"
A monthly offering of short fiction, personal essays, poetry, spoken word + music. This month: featuring the following writers: Seth Greenland "The Bones", Michael C. Ford "Emergency Exits", Vicki Whicker and others share a poetic collaboration from "Big City Mantra", Kristine Kimmel, Besskepp, and musical guest Chuck Bramlet.

Here's the brilliant and eclectic mix lined up for this months installment of T&G. Seth is gonna read a piece included in the latest Black Clock. He's funny as hell. Besskepp is coming from Pomona to fill the spoken word quotient, another writer is flying in from Central America for his contribution, and Michael C. Ford has been on the scene since reading for Jim Morrison and with Bukowski. The hilarious Kris Kimmel fills the personal essay/story telling slot, and for music Chuck Bramlet is the Johnny Cash for the new millennium. Each and every one is a treasure to behold.

Please invite your friends and family and tell them to get there early before we fill up.

Sunday the 28th of October
6:00-7:30 pm
The Hotel Cafe
1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, Ca 90028
$5.00


Conrad Romo (323) 937-0136 conrad.romo@gmail.com http://www.tongueandgroovela.com

Nothing Cute Or Sweet ~

Kate Harper Designs is a greeting card company that sells to over 2,000 retail stores throughout the country. They will pay $25 for slogans and card samples, up to 20 words, that have an edgy twist and humor. Say what you really think, and don't be afraid to push beyond greeting card stereotypes.

Helpful Hints For Writing Better Poetry

Kara Ziehl has compiled this Top 10 list of tips for writing better poetry. Clear and to-the-point, these helpful suggestions can guide us to streamlining and strengthening our use of words to make them more forcefully felt.

Coal Hill Review Seeks Submissions

Online publication Coal Hill Review is seeking submissions of previously unpublished poetry until May 1, 2008 for its spring issue. They are looking to gather a wide range of diverse voices and styles, and to explore work outside the traditional limitations of popular trends.

A Chance to Thank Those Who Protect and Serve ~

Our LAPD is having an Open House on November 10! Bring your family to the Free Entertainment and Free Food and see first hand how our mounted officers do field operations! Watch as mounted police capture hardened criminals, and see the canine guard dogs bring down bad guys! Watch a SWAT raid, drive the bomb squad robot, pet the horses and meet some of the LAPD officers who put their lives on the line for us every day. Take this opportunity to meet officers in a friendly environment -- one that doesn't involve you being pulled over for speeding or reporting a robbery.

Call for Holiday Stories

This just in from Helen:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Christmas Traditions: True Stories of Holiday Celebration

Send submissions to: Helen Kay Polaski (Szymanski) at hkpolaski@yahoo.com

Christmas Traditions: True Stories of Holiday Celebration will be filled with stories that touch the mind as well as the soul as they take the reader on a magical journey through Christmas—past and present—while giving the reader ideas for traditions they might be interested in adapting in the future. Each story will focus on either a well-known holiday tradition or a unique tradition known only to a particular family or community, as well as a touching story that circulates around each individual tradition. (I love traditions and can’t wait to see how your family celebrates Christmas!)

Stories must be first person, true accountings of either shared or unique traditions celebrated by families, communities, and/or groups during the Christmas holiday season, and all must be based on strong individual family/community dynamics, specific geographical location, and/or different cultures and religion. Approximately 70-80 stories (700-1,200 words) will be gathered. (When writing your story please keep in mind that Christmas is the most magical time of the year. I want to see the magic unfolding on the page before me as I read, and so do my readers.)

Payment: upon publication, $75 and a copy of the book (for each accepted story)
Deadline: November 15, 2007

Heart of Glass?

Glass: A Journal of Poetry, is seeking submissions for their first issue. They are looking for poetry that relates to the artistic and creative purity of glass. All styles, forms and schools of poetry are welcome. Payment is in the form of online publication, and there are no submission deadlines, although they do not accept submissions between June 1 and August 31.

Some Thoughts On Writing Free-Verse Poetry

Full-time author and anthologist Lawrence Schimel has published over 47 books in a variety of genres and media. Here he takes the time to share some thoughts about writing free-verse poetry. He includes useful tips & suggestions that, even if only one of them proves helpful to you, is surely worth the time to read.

Inconceivable? Quite the opposite!

Conceive magazine is for any woman contemplating or trying to start or expand a family, by natural conception, fertility treatments & assisted reproductive technologies, or adoption. They are focused on all aspects of fertility, conception and adoption. If you post your story on their website, they will contact you if they decide to feature it in their magazine. And yes: they pay!

Art Noir Exhibit ~ October 17 to November 17

"Dark Art is indeed enlightening," and, if you're inclined toward the wicked, the brazen, and the satirical, there's a special treat in store for you at the NoHo Gallery LA. An exhibit, kicking off with a free Meet The Artist reception, starts this Wednesday evening. The gallery is located in the Lankershim Arts Center at 5801 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, and there is plenty of free parking available.

Self Publishing and Print on Demand

We've heard a few amazing stories lately from people who've had success getting their books published at a traditional publishing house by self-publishing first. It's a controversial topic amongst writers. The people we've talked to all admitted that it was very tough, hard work, and that they might do it differently next time had they known more, so we've compiled a short list of resources on the topic. When a giant such as Amazon.com's BookSurge jumps on the self-publishing/book-on-demand bandwagon by offering programs specifically for self-published books, we thought we'd sit up and listen for a minute or two.

• The Writing Show has two very informative podcasts on the subject. The interview with writer Jeff DeRego is interesting in that he thinks self-publishing is akin to shooting oneself in the foot if one ever wanted to earn money as a paid writer, and he also talks about the work involved and the pitfalls, as well as the difference between self-publishing and print on demand.
• The Humane Self Publishing Blog by the folks at Blooming Twig Books, an internet book publishing house, has a blog from the publisher's perspective about self-publishing process.
• ASJA (The American Society of Journalists and Authors) has an article about one author's experience.
• Here is another article on The Writer Buzz blog on e-publishing versus self-publishing.
• This article on Beneath the Cover, a Web site devoted to "uncover[ing] the book industry" has some excellent information and even lists writers who've successfully self published.
• Here is an article in BusinessWeek about the self-publishing industry.
• This article from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., offers an alternative to self-publishing, i.e., going directly to a book manufacturer.

There are also quite a few books out there on the topic that are easily found with a quick search on any bookseller site. Ultimately, it seems comes down to making an educated personal decision between going through the traditional submission process or becoming a publisher yourself. If you chose the do-it-all yourself route, you take on multiple roles: writer, editor, designer, layout artist, agent, promoter, printer, and marketer, to name just a few, and now you've become a book publisher as well as a writer, so the question is, how do you want to spend your time?

Crime Writer Contest

Court TV "Search for the Next Great Crime Writer Contest." After a successful 2006 premiere, Court TV has partnered with Borders® and Gather.com to bring the contest back to aspiring authors around the country! Via this unique and innovative contest, Court TV is inviting aspiring authors to submit a complete manuscript of their original idea for a crime novel for the chance to win a publishing contract through Borders, Inc. with a $5000 cash advance.

To learn more about the contest please go to courttv.gather.com for complete details and Official Rules.

Share Your Wisdom

Listen Magazine is aimed toward a primarily teen-age and young adult market, perfect if you've been "through all that", and have wisdom to share that might guide youngsters past harmful influences to a healthy life. They publish six kinds of articles each month: True Stories, Factuals, Positive Alternatives, Personalities & Organizations, Self Help & Social Skills, and Quizzes. Depending on which kind of article you submit, payment ranges from $50 to $150.

For Street-Bike Writer/Riders

Friction Zone, a monthly motorcycle publication with a circulation of 33,000 copies, focuses on local travel, motorcycle information, and rider safety. They publish at least 15 feature articles each month, from 800 to 1500 words in length, for which they pay 20 cents per word. They assign stories based on writer's proposals, and do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Go to their website to check out the rest of their guidelines, and unleash the street-bike-riding wild one inside you.

Allan Ginsberg Poetry Awards 2008

The Poetry Center at Passaic Community College is sponsoring this contest honoring Allan Ginsberg's contribution to American literature. Fortunately, they're asking us not to submit poems that imitate Allan Ginsberg's work ;) Previously unpublished poems should be postmarked by April 1, 2008. First prize is $1000, 2nd prize is $200, 3rd prize is $100, and winners will be asked to participate in a reading in the Patterson Historic District in NJ. So if you're geographically mobile and want some extra incentive to visit your relatives back east, send up to 5 poems plus a $15 submission fee to the address listed on their website.

World AIDS Day Writing Contest

Literary Project Management is sponsoring World Aids Day: A Day With Art writing contest, and is accepting poems, plays and short stories relating to AIDS. Each category will have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. Your emails must be emailed or postmarked by October 15, and there is a $5 entry fee. You may enter as many times as you want, and may win in more than one genre, but not more than once in any genre. All proceeds from the event will go to AIDS charities.

Call for Short Romantic Fiction

Judy Thomas contacted us to post her call for short romantic fiction:
The Long and the Short of It is looking for short romantic fiction (no more than 1000 words). No pay, but web exposure and incoming links are yours. Be sure to check their submission guidelines.

Open Mic Every Wednesday Evening ~

If you're inclined toward being on stage to share your work with a live audience, and/or enjoy being there while others do so, then you're sure to enjoy Open Mic Wednesdays at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake. Sign-ups are from 7:30 - 7:45 for a show-time of 8:00. The $3.00 cover charge includes a free drink (of the same or less value), and all proceeds go to a good cause: The Sunset Junction Youth Program. Poetry and comedy performers get 5 minutes of stage time, while musical acts can play 2 songs.

Have You Been Redeemed?

Have you been redeemed, either in a spiritual or secular sense? Has anyone you know? Your cat or dog? (I don't know about you, but some evil kitties I know -- ahem -- could stand a little redemptive intervention). In any case, the Georgetown Review is sponsoring a writing contest with a theme of -- you guessed it -- redemption, and they are very flexible as to how the use of that word is interpreted. Your story, poem or essay may deal with those who find redemption or those who don't. First prize is $1000 and publication. Submissions must be postmarked by November 15, 2007. There's an entry fee of $10 for your first entry, and $5 for each entry thereafter.

Are You Interested in Seeing Your Work Get Published?

The Sun Magazine accepts submissions year-round for it's magazine, and: THEY PAY! $300 to $1500 for essays and interviews, $300 to $1000 for fiction, and $50 to $250 for poetry. Contributers also receive a complimentary one-year subscription to their magazine.

Brewery Art Walk this Weekend

Go check out all the fabulous artists at the Brewery Art Walk this weekend. It's a super fun day and many a famous LA artist have live/work space there!

Novel Contest

First 5000 submissions only!

Amazon Launches Debut Novel Contest
Amazon is getting into the author-writing contest arena, launching the
first Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award today in cooperation with
Penguin and Hewlett-Packard. Amazon will accept submissions through
November 5 and the winner will have his or her novel published by
Penguin, which is also offering a $25,000 advance. PW will serve as
preliminary judges of the material as well.

The contest is free and open to unpublished authors in 20 countries
who have English-language manuscripts (complete contest rules and
requirements are available at www.amazon.com/abna). Amazon, which will
accept up to 5,000 entries, is assembling a panel of customers who
have posted the most, and best, reviews on its site to serve as the
judges for the first round. After the submissions have been cut to
1,000, a team put together by PW will give a full review to each
manuscript, and the review and excerpt will be posted on the Amazon
Web site where customers can read, rate and review the offerings. The
PW team -- of existing and new reviewers -- will be paid to administer
the reviews, and reviewers will remain anonymous. Amazon is paying
PW's administrative costs only.

More Writing Contests!

Our Echo sponsors many writing contests, all of which have no entry or reading fees of any kind. One of these is offered each month for a $100 prize. Winners are selected from posts on their website. Check it out: you literally have nothing to lose!