About SharingwithWriters Blog


Named to "Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites," this #SharingwithWriters blog is a way to connect with my readers and fellow writers, a way to give the teaching genes that populate my DNA free rein. Please join the conversation using the very tiny "comment" link. For those interested in editing and grammar, go to http://thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Life and Writers Motto: We’re All in This Together




I’ve said “we’re all in this together” when I’’m speaking to writers about marketing their work--supporting one another.  Over the last decade,  time has changed the way many of us live drastically--for writers and for the support group or groups they are members of.  Today’s post illustrates how some groups in a large metropolitan area have joined their talent, their efforts.  In this post-covid  era (dare I say troubled era), this might be something many groups across the country might consider.  All these groups are strong. Together they are stronger still.  And with this new move, double the events, double the support, double the resources for their members. And maybe not double the writing friends, but certainly a way to come closer to  some than before.
As a longtime supporter and occasional speaker at both groups as well as an instructor for UCLA’s Writer’s Depratment for nearly a decade, I congratulate them. I’m eagerly watching to see more follow their example. Keep reading for  ideas on  how you might apply their ideas to your when-and-if mergers.
Best,
Carolyn

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Dear IWOSC/PALA members and friends:

With great delight, we announce the merger of IWOSC/PALA with WPN, the Writers and Publishers Network, beginning March 15, 2024, and administered under the WPN banner. This joining of three literary nonprofits will benefit all the groups by offering more seminars, webinars, book fair participation, and meetings to an expanded national audience of WPN members.

Kathleen Kaiser, President of the Writers and Publishers Network, will head the board of the newly merged organization. Gary Young and Steven Sanchez are excited about Kathleen’s experience and leadership. They will be stepping down as President and Vice President but will remain on the Advisory Board. They will also continue as hosts for the Green Room and be involved in other activities.

A special Green Room meeting will be held on Monday, March 18. Kathleen Kaiser will join us and answer your questions.

What does this mean for IWOSC/PALA?

  1. All IWOSC/PALA programs will continue, including monthly meetings, Green Room, Brainstorming, Satellites, IWOSC Reads Its Own, etc., as well as all WPN programs. 
  2. Membership prices will remain the same, with the option of changing as economic realities dictate.
  3. Monthly meeting prices will remain the same, again with the option of changing as economic realities dictate.
  4. Current Lifetime Members will continue as Lifetime Members with the same considerations as before. All Lifetime Memberships paid for before March 15, 2024, will be honored. No new Lifetime Memberships will be offered after that date.
  5. WPN and IWOSC/PALA members and friends will share all events and programs originated by each entity.
  6. Our associations with UCLA Extension and IWOC Chicago will continue, unchanged, sharing all benefits of IWOSC/PALA and WPN.
  7. Members will all benefit from an enhanced ability to expand and update our programs.

FAQs

How do I pay for my membership and meetings? 

For now, we will accept payments to IWOSC/PALA or WPN, but ultimately WPN will be processing membership and meeting fees as the new governing entity.

How will I find out about meetings and other events? 

If you are on our email list, you will receive announcements regularly, as you have in the past. The IWOSC/PALA website will also showcase the meetings on our home page at www.iwosc.org.

Will there be as many events as in the past? 

There will be the traditional IWOSC/PALA events, plus the WPN events, which will result in more events for all three organizations.

Writers & Publishers Network
1129 Maricopa Hwy, #142
Ojai, CA  93023

United States of America

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MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER 



 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

Friday, March 08, 2024

A Shout Out for Book Fairs--This One in Tucson


This comes from Torrey House Press and my email box with a reminder to all participating in book festivals to let me know so I can share with readers.  These
 festivals--no matter where they are--are a fun way to get in touch with authors, new books, author services, local bookstores,  and how-to books for writers.  I. E, they’re a real resource for all of us and I’m willing to bet just knowing about this fair will be news to some who didn’t know about it and might be able to make a nice little weekend trip of it!  

Alternate text


Come see us at Booth 419! THP will be at Tucson Festival of Books!


MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER 




 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Writing MG - Outlines and Details

 

 Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

The majority of my clients ask for picture books, but currently, I’m working on two middle grades.

While a middle-grade book can be significantly shorter than a novel, it still has a big chunk of words at around 20-50,000. Quite a difference from the under-800-word picture book.

When I write a picture book story, I use the seat-of-the-pants method. I find it works well with around 600-800 words.

This is not the case with a middle-grade story. Writing a middle-grade is similar to writing a novel, so the same practices should be used. Because of this, I use an outline.

Creating an Outline

With an outline, you can make it as detailed as you like.

Being impatient, I used to write as bare an outline as possible. I've found, though, that writing a more detailed outline is a huge help when getting down to writing the story.

This became particularly apparent to me when a client from five years ago recently called me.

I had written one middle grade for him and started a second one. For some reason or other, the client stopped the project after a month into it.

He now wants to resume the project … after five years.

Fortunately, I keep good records and files. I make sure I have them backed up. In fact, I use Dropbox and Carbonite. I also have an external drive that I back my files up to.

Overcautious?

Maybe, but I've had the experience of losing a client's project – the entire manuscript - due to a computer mishap, so I take extra precautions.

Because I save everything, I have the information from the first book and what I had done on the second book.

Going over my notes, I was THRILLED to see that I had written a detailed outline of Book 2.

Granted, this is an unusual situation as it’s the first time I’ve had a client stop a project, and especially stop one for such a very, very long time, but it helps emphasize the importance of an outline.

Having that detailed outline is going to save me time and effort.

Creating Characters

Along with creating an outline, it's important to develop character details.

Writing coach and children's author Suzanne Lieurance says that if you know your characters before writing your story, you'll write a better novel.

Why?

Well, if you take the time to create your characters, especially the main characters, you can open up other details or subplots within the story that you might not have thought of before.

This also helps you to create unique characters. Characters with their own personalities and quirks that make them easily distinguishable from the other characters.

You'll know that Jeff has a temper, Russell is timid, and they're best friends despite their differences.

You'll know that Marisa has a crush on Matteo, who has a crush on Abby, who likes Jeff.

All this is going on behind the scenes in subplots as the main character struggles to reach his goal.

Knowing all this will allow you to understand how a character will react in certain situations. It'll also help you write particular scenes with ease.

I hope these tips help you write an outstanding middle-grade story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Karen Cioffi
is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, editor, and coach with clients worldwide. If you need help with your children’s story, please visit Karen Cioffi Writing for Children.
 
Karen also offers HOW TO WRITE FOR CHILDREN, a self-guided e-course and mentoring program.

And for those children’s authors who are self-publishing, Karen provides WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS.

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A feature in the right column of this blog lets you subscribe to #SharingwithWriters so you don’t miss any of Karen’s posts on writing for children.  

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MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Winners of One of the World’s Most Generous Contests for Self-Published Books





I am so pleased to be working with Winning Writers’ winners of their North Street Book Prize again this year!  Founded in 2001, Winning Writers is a partner member of the Alliance of Independent Authors. In addition to the North Street Book Prize, Winning Writers also sponsors the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, and the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee). All of these contests are recommended by Reedsy. Winning Writers has also been named one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2023). Here are their winners for 2023 were just announced! 

You’ll also find more about this year’s new contest announcement below and at twitter.com/winningwriters! Knowing more about last year’s selected winners will help authors evaluate the kinds of books (very diverse!) that have won in the past.  And see below for more about WinningWriters, the #NorthStreetBookPrize, what the generous prizes consist of and details for the becoming part of the next round of winners!  

Daniel Victor of New York, New York won this year's Grand Prize across all genres for The Evil Inclination, a tragicomic literary novel about an Orthodox Jewish man and an Italian Catholic woman who fall in love as students at Brooklyn College. Fearing that both families would be horrified, the lovers carry on an affair whose secrecy intensifies their lust but strains their relationship. In an ironic twist, she feels drawn to explore Jewish observance while he is losing faith in it. Victor received $10,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, three months of Plus service (a $207 value) and a $500 account credit from Book Award Pro, and 3 free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $525 value).

Category winners include:

Michael Bracey of Maywood, Illinois, and Ruth Goring of Chicago, Illinois won First Prize in Art Book for Caras Lindas de Colombia/Beautiful Faces of Colombia, a bilingual book of photojournalism celebrating Colombia's African-descendant communities.

Steve Wolfson of Regina, Saskatchewan won First Prize in Children's Picture Book for Aunty Jane Knits Up a Storm, a dynamic and effective tale about how a community supports one of its beloved elders when she is widowed.

Karen Glinski of Albuquerque, New Mexico won First Prize in Middle Grade for Badge of Honor, a lively and well-researched adventure story in which a tween boy and his plucky dachshund rescue Navajo cultural treasures from a gang of thieves.

Dmitri Jackson of Ballwin, Missouri won First Prize in Graphic Novel & Memoir for Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening, the second installment of his comic strip about the staff of an urban record store who contend with unrequited love, addiction, and fallen idols in a compelling storyline inspired by the #MeToo movement. This is Jackson's second win in this category.

Irene Cooper of Bend, Oregon won First Prize in Genre Fiction for Found, a psychological thriller about a grieving mother with a preternatural ability to help the police find missing children.

Lucy May Lennox of Seattle, Washington won First Prize in Mainstream/Literary Fiction for Flowers by Night, an immersive historical novel that explores cultural mores around class and gender in early 19th-century Japanthrough the same-sex love story of a low-ranking samurai and a blind masseur.

Mark S. Robinson of Ridgefield, Connecticut won First Prize in Creative Nonfiction & Memoir for Black on Madison Avenue, a compendium of high points and anti-discrimination battles from the 40-year career of a trailblazing Black advertising executive.

Geof Hewitt of Calais, Vermont won First Prize in Poetry for Only What's Imagined, a meditative collection rooted in the rugged landscape and working-class culture of Vermont.

WHAT CATEGORY WINNERS RECEIVE:
 
The category winners each received $1,000, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a $300 credit at BookBaby, three months of Plus service from Book Award Pro (a $207 value), and one free ad in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $175 value). See what the grand prize #NorthStreetBookPrize wins above in the section on Daniel Victor.

Ten Honorable Mentions of $300 each and three months of Plus service from Book Award Pro (a $207 value) went to Russel RayPhyllis SchwartzSally HinkleyNed GannonJ.H. MannLee CallAnne CalcagnoLin Haire-SargeantSarah Birnbach, and Rick Lupert.


MORE ON WINNING WRITERS AND THE  North Street Book Prize

This contest recognizes the best books being self-published or hybrid-published today. 1,862 books were received from around the world.  
The judges' remarks and excerpts from the winning entries are published at winningwriters.com$21,000 was awarded in all, making this one of the world's most generous contests for self-published and hybrid-published books.

The tenth North Street competition opens today with a deadline of July 1, 2024. The entry fee is $79 per book. All entrants will receive free gifts from the contest's co-sponsors—Carolyn Howard-Johnson, BookBaby, Book Award Pro, Self-Publishing Made Simple, and Laura Duffy Design.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER





 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. 

Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. 

 Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.