Check out the Poets & Writers Database of Small Presses and Publishers

Poets & Writers has a small but growing database of small presses and publishers that would come in handy for any writer looking to submit work for publication.

Find out whether they take online submissions, simultaneous submissions, the genre they publish and their reading periods.

Remembering Parallelism

The Writer's Digest site contains a plethora of great blogs and articles on writing. Here is an refresher article on Minding your P's and Q's when it comes to good sentence structure with an eye toward parallelism. Never a bad thing to remember.

Writer’s Digest - Using Parallelism in Your Writing

Save 30% on Selected Writing Reference Books

Writers Market / F&W Publications is offering the following discount on reference books such as the 2009 Writer's Market and other selected publications:
Use coupon code "T6REF" to receive

We've put together our Top 6 Essential Writing References that we think belong on every writer's bookshelf. Use coupon code "T6REF" to save 30% on these selected titles from Writer's Digest Books now through November 5!

Writer’s Digest - The Anatomy of a Writer's Website

Many writers who find themselves in a place where they need to promote themselves and their work get overwhelmed by the thought of creating their own website. If you find yourself in this position, click on over to Writers Digest. They have an article called The Anatomy of a Writer's Website with tips and lots of resources on how to easily create your own writers website, and what kind of content to include.

Get Ready for NaNoWriMo

Don't forget that November is just around the corner, so if you're looking for motivation to write that novel that's been churning and baking in your loins, then run over to NaNoWriMo.org and log in to solidify your November commitment to write that story. Your goal? 50,000 words by November 30th.

What Agents Hate

Here is an informative article from Writer's Digest about what agents hate to read when reading the first chapter of your novel.

Writer’s Digest - What Agents Hate

LitMatch - Literary Agent Directory, Response Times and Submission Tracking

We found another groovy site for finding agents and tracking submissions. Membership is free and they offer a matching search to find agents suitable to your work.

From their site:

LitMatch - Literary Agent Directory, Response Times and Submission Tracking: "More than just a directory, LitMatch is the FREE source for literary agent information that allows writers to organize their search for representation and track their submissions online!"

They are also currently running a one-year anniversary give-away to current and new subscribers (it's free to sign-up!) who sign and enter up by December 31st, 2008, where you can win:

1 - Grand Prize: One FREE online sales class, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop (a $150 value!) Choose from the following classes:

• Nonfiction Book with nonfiction book editor Stephanie Staal
• How to Sell Your Screenplay with Hollywood insider David Title
• How To Freelance with professional freelancer Cindy Price
• How To Get Published with literary agent Stephen Barbara

2 - One of five, one-year subscriptions to The Writer Magazine.

3- One of three, one-year memberships to TheNextBigWriter.com

Gauge The Success of Your Novels' Title!

Are you trying to decide if the title of your novel will hook potential readers? The folks at Lulu.com commissioned a research team to analyze the titles of every book that topped the hardback fiction section of the New York Times Bestseller List from 1955 to 2004. They used the data gathered from over 700 titles to create the "Lulu Titlescorer," a program able to predict the chances that any given title would become a New York Times bestseller. Simply enter your choice of title in the field at the top of the page, make selections from 3 drop-down menus to define the title's attributes, and click on "Analyze my title!" The score represents the chances that your title will become a #1 hit!

Hire Wordhustler.com to Submit Your Work

OK this has got to be the coolest web-based service for writers I've ever seen, and they're locals, so of course I love them doubly now. As a member of Wordhustler.com, they submit your work for you, poetry, fiction, screenplays, you name it. They print, lick, stamp, mail, and even track your submissions. Don't know where to submit, no problem! They have a thing-a-majigee that helps you match your work with places to submit.

I am seething with jealousy that I didn't come up with this idea, and am always impressed with someone who can not only come us with a great idea but actually invest the time and money to make it a reality, especially when it's something groovy for writers.

The one thing I couldn't discern from the site had to do with pricing. For example, currently their price for a project that is "Under 4 pages (Query Letters, poetry submissions)" is $2.99. I wasn't sure if that meant 2.99 per project per place submitted or 2.99 up to a certain number of places to submit. Perhaps they will chime in here and clear that up. If it is 2.99 per project per place submitted, which I presume it is, I can see that getting rather expensive for the writer, especially someone who is submitting a lot of poetry and short-fiction. In that case, it makes more sense price-wise for the screenwriter or novelist. I'd like to see a subscription based pricing option, where the writer gets X number of submissions a month. It would sure motivate me to keep sending stuff out, if I knew I was paying monthly for it and getting a slightly better bulk deal.

That said, a mere $2.99 in lieu of my time printing, licking, mailing, and tracking seems worth it. In fact, I'm digging into my money jar right now and running to the nearest CoinStar machine. You should check them out too. Run. Hurry. Now.

In their own words:

WordHustler Opens Literary Marketplace to World

California-based WordHustler launches its new service that enables writers all over the world to submit manuscripts to US literary markets without ever having to lick a stamp.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - May 19th, 2008 - WordHustler, a writing services company, today launches a web-based application that enables writers all over the world to submit manuscripts to US literary markets. Formed by two Los Angeles writers, WordHustler, available at www.wordhustler.com, provides writers with a bevy of innovative tools designed to help authors of all genres get their manuscripts into the hands of editors and find publishing success. WordHustler offers a free database of over 3,000 community-moderated US literary markets, a submission tracker, a cover letter composer, a project manager, and OS X dashboard widgets for submission tracking on-the-go.

WordHustler doesn't just help writers find places to publish. Indeed, WordHustler will print, ship, and help writers track manuscripts of any length or genre. "What we've done is significant. The main reason that writers don't send their work out more often is actually quite simple: it's a pain," says John L. Singleton, chief architect and co-founder of WordHustler. "First, you have to write something brilliant. Then there's the costly printing, postage, and SASEs. When you're all done you still have to track those submissions and follow up. Otherwise it just ends up wasting a lot of time and money. We invented WordHustler so writers could spend their time writing."

Helpful Hints ~

Often writers sabotage their chances of getting published without realizing it. Not utilizing the spell-check feature is one way. Another is by not making sure their work is professional-looking. To help guide your pieces to publication, make sure they look good. Jendi Reiter, editor of Poetry Contest Insider and judge of the Winning Writers poetry contests, has listed several important formatting tips to help guide the writer to success. Along with valuable suggestions regarding fonts & paper, front matter, cover & title pages, table of contents, acknowledgments, text, cover letter, and the famous SASE, she includes links to samples that provide a concrete look at what she means. Take a few minutes to read her Manuscript Tips, and help yourself avoid some of the more typical ways writers can unintentionally stand in their own way.

LitMatch.net Launches Upgraded Listing Pages

This just in from LitMatch.net:

LitMatch.net, the largest and most complete database of literary agents and agencies on the web, recently launched a major upgrade to their agent and agency listing pages. The new layout was designed with ease of use in mind, and brings key information to the forefront while organizing the rest in a simple, intuitive format.

The new layout features an at-a glance style, with large, friendly icons that indicate an agent or agency’s submission status, if they accept email queries, and if they accept postal queries. Other important information; like response times, comments, and clients & projects; is arranged in a simple, tabbed format on the right side of the page. The tabs keep things organized and allow users to limit their view to only the information that’s of most interest to them. Everything from layout to colors to fonts has been given an update for a fresh, clean look in order to make searching for a literary agent as easy and painless as possible.

“This upgrade represents a big step forward for us, and addresses some issues with the site that have been nagging me since the site launched back in September.” said Christopher Hawkins, creator and lead developer of LitMatch. “We’re excited about the change because it gives our listings a first-class presentation that matches the first-class quality of their content.”

Other features of this upgrade include:

• Clearer division between content areas for faster browsing and increased readability.
• Contact information that’s more prominent and easier to cut and paste into word processing programs.
• A redesigned “Genre Information” section.
• Flag icons that visually identify an agent’s or agency’s country.
• A reformatted user summary area that keeps all queries to a given agent or agency close at hand.
• More prominent hotlist links.
• An updated look to the submission stats table.
• Reformatted comments and comment entry form.

Writer's Block: Where in Your Head is it Really???

Some of us struggle with where to begin or how to continue making progress with what turns out not to be as simple as it should be: slinging words along a page in a meaningful progression. We're adults, we see movies, we read books, we know what makes something good or great, and there are no gates around the masters built to shut the rest of us out. Anyone with a pen/pencil paper or a computer (you can use them free at libraries!), is faced with the truth that it is only that which is within us that prevents us from writing, from pouring forth what we feel, observations on what others feel; the Great Stifler is our own. Sigh. In her article: "Writer's Block: Is It All in Your Head?", Leslie What tackles this thorny subject with understanding, insight, and -- Hugh Sigh of Relief! -- Possible solutions and recommended reading. Whereas not much research has been done this topic, she has unearthed and compiled enough of it that many of us who have suffered with this affliction may be inspired to take courage and sally forth to the realm of the written word with more confidence.

Get Connected

It was only a matter of time. Variety.com has launched a social networking site focused, of course, on the entertainment industry. Or, as we -- and they -- like to call it, "The Biz."

Think craigslist on caffeine and toting its screenplay or headshot along everywhere. If this sounds a little close to home, know that you're in good company. And now, you know where to find that company online.

Congratulations to Beyond Baroque

Los Angeles is known as an industry town. We are lucky that it is an industry filled with creative people, and we are fortunate to have so many talented and hyper-creative people in our midst, but many industry people have creative interests that extend beyond just movie making and there are also many creative people here who are not associated with the movie industry. Los Angeles poets, for example, are an unsung and undiscovered gem in this town. Poets rarely get the kind of press here (and perhaps everywhere) that they deserve. Because Los Angeles is an industry town, many of the artistic services and support around town are focused on movie making, so when a literary arts center such as Beyond Baroque exists, we must relish and preserve it.

LAwritersgroup.com congratulates Beyond Baroque on it's survival and lease extension, and we extend our literary hand in friendship and well wishes to this Los Angeles gem.

Where to Begin?

Sometimes it's hard to find a starting point to give focus to what we want to write. We feel like writing but don't know where to begin. If this is one of the demons that plagues you, than creativewritingprompts.com may be just what you've been looking for! Here you will find 302 (count 'em) prompts to create stories, poems and other creative pieces. We can be only grateful for that which eases the quest for inspiration!

Paid Markets for Writers

I happened upon this Web site, FundsforWriters, focused on finding "paying markets for writers." From their site:

"Other websites provide guidance on how to write, how to query, how to format manuscripts, and so on. We give you direction on the funding streams. We focus on markets, competitions, awards, grants, publishers, agents, and jobs for your writing abilities."

They have quite a few newsletters so that the opportunities they find are delivered to your inbox or you can peruse the listings on the site. At a cursory glance, their market listings seem to lean toward wholesome content, so this might not be the resource for you if you are looking for places to submit edgier work. Maybe they will ring in here and let us know. In the meantime, I've subscribed to their lists so you might want to check them out, too.

UPDATE: Hope at FundsForWriters did chime in and said that they do list edgier stuff as it comes up. Click on comments below to see her response. Thanks, Hope!

The Basics of Writing Poetry ...

There are many instructive articles about writing, but this one by writing coach Jessica Page Morrell is one of the most thorough and instructive I've come across since I started writing for the LAwritersgroup.com blog. She begins with a quote from the Norton Anthology of Poetry that is worth repeating here:
'A poem is a composition written for performance by the human voice. What your eye sees on the page is the composer's verbal score, waiting for your voice to bring it alive as you read it aloud or hear it in your mind's ear.'
She goes on to offer suggestions and insights into:

• The importance of keeping a notebook
• Joining the writing life
• Looking to your own life for material
• Using poetry to express emotion
• Style tricks
• Style: Line
• Style: Stanza
• Style: Shape and format
• Style: Repetition

She packs a lot of information into short paragraphs, and simply reading her suggestions is inspirational.

Looking For The Write Word?

This handy-dandy website, RhymeZone, that modestly bills itself as a mere rhyming dictionary, is really a doorway to sooooo much more!!! Here you can not only find words that rhyme: you can find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, related words, similar sounding words, quotations, match specific letters, and even search in Shakespeare! As if that weren't plethora enough, you can even type in a word, and search for pictures, which will bring up a whole slew of related links!

Reverse Dictionary

I just discovered this fabulous online writing tool, a reverse dictionary! Type in a concept and out pops related words. I'm sure everyone in the world already knows about it, but I just discovered it - it's mucho fun!

OneLook Reverse Dictionary

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?