BackSpace Writers Conference! |
By MacAllister Stone, on December 25th, 2011
May your holidays be filled with light, joy, and love. Merry Christmas, everyone, and very happy New Year!
By MacAllister Stone, on December 16th, 2011
I’m a registered Democrat. I vote, I canvass, I caucus. As a Website owner and as an American, I’m dismayed by Congressional attempts to censor the internet. I’m appalled and chilled that we have a former Senator who publicly asserts that the U.S. should take a lesson from China to establish internet censorship and stifle the free exchange of information.
 The House just acknowledged “legitimate concerns” about SOPA — its version of the PROTECT IP Act (pdf link) — and backed away from a vote that looked certain to occur. The Senate needs to do the same: PROTECT IP will kill jobs and innovation, undermine cyber security, censor the Internet, and provide ready justification to foreign regimes that want to crack down on dissent and political reform.
PROTECT IP won’t catch or punish internet pirates. They’ll simply move shop, work on darknets, or code workarounds. Online piracy won’t even slow as a result of this legislation. Legitimate sites, however, DO have a great deal of reason to worry.
It should be instructive that Universal Music incorrectly and abusively used the DMCA take-down process to stifle and censor content they did not own, just recently.
As flawed as the DMCA is, there IS recourse built into the process for site-owners who are improperly censored and/or interrupted by competitors who abuse the legal process.
I direct your attention to a December 8th, 2011 article in Techdirt:
The US government has effectively admitted that it totally screwed up and falsely seized & censored a non-infringing domain of a popular blog, having falsely claimed that it was taking part in criminal copyright infringement. Then, after trying to hide behind a totally secretive court process with absolutely no due process whatsoever (in fact, not even serving papers on the lawyer for the site or providing timely notifications — or providing any documents at all), for over a year, the government has finally realized it couldn’t hide any more and has given up, and returned the domain name to its original owner. If you ever wanted to understand why ICE’s domain seizures violate the law — and why SOPA and PROTECT IP are almost certainly unconstitutional — look no further than what happened in this case.
PROTECT IP and SOPA would both make these sorts of abuses devastatingly likely, remove the fragile existing protections for independent Websites and small Internet businesses, while doing nothing to effectively prevent piracy.
Harry Reid and Patrick Leahy: Don’t bring this bill up for a floor vote.
To my Senators: Please vote NO if the bill reaches the floor.
(Some text remixed from original letter here.)
Please feel free to remix and reuse this post to contact your own Senators. No attribution necessary.
By MacAllister Stone, on December 3rd, 2011
Happy Holidays, AWers! I thought some of you might be interested in this:
Win a literary agent or acclaimed author’s feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers. This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation. See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.
You could win a manuscript critique from:
Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot
Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau
Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse’s Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust
Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe
Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey’s Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue
All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation’s new anthology, What You Wish For. Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012. If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven’t finished, or started, your manuscript). You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.
If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss. To enter, follow the instructions at http://bookwish.org/contest.
Good luck and best wishes,
Logan Kleinwaks
President, Book Wish Foundation
What You Wish For (ISBN 9780399254543, Putnam Juvenile, Sep. 15, 2011) is a collection of short stories and poems about wishes from 18 all-star writers: Meg Cabot, Jeanne DuPrau, Cornelia Funke, Nikki Giovanni, John Green, Karen Hesse, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Powell, Sofia Quintero, Gary Soto, R.L. Stine, Francisco X. Stork, Cynthia Voigt, Jane Yolen. With a Foreword by Mia Farrow. Book Wish Foundation is donating 100% of its proceeds from the book to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to fund the development of libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.
——————————–
By MacAllister Stone, on November 9th, 2011
Final DEADLINE: November 15th
Every screenplay entered is read by two readers and receives two written analyses
We provide each writer who enters BlueCat two written analyses, ensuring each entry is reviewed by two readers, while supporting screenwriters of all levels and stages of development with the constructive feedback all writers require.
“How great to get these analyses — and from astute and careful readers. Their comments both encourage and challenge me to really examine how to make this script as good as it can be. Thanks again! – Cornelia R., 2012 Entrant
ABOUT
BlueCat is an international community that has been discovering and developing writers since 1998. Our Winners and Finalists have been signed by major talent agencies like UTA, CAA and WME, sold their work to studios like Warner Bros., Paramount and Universal, and won major awards at the Sundance, Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals, all after being discovered by and winning BlueCat.
Judged by award winning Screenwriter and Director, Gordy Hoffman.
PRIZES
Winner of the 2012 Competition will receive $10,000.
Four Finalists will receive $2000 each.
Best Screenplay from the UK: $1000.
Best Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada and UK: $1000.
One writer will be awarded a live, staged reading with professional local actors at Screenplay Live in Rochester, New York, as part of the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival.
BlueCat Alumni News
BlueCat Winner The Man in the Rearview Mirror sells for low six figures.
Michael Fassbender (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) attaches to BlueCat finalist Aaron Guzikowski’s Blacklist Script.
Jim Beggarly BlueCat Finalist (2005) currently has two feature films in post-production; FREE SAMPLES which stars Jesse Eisenberg (THE SOCIAL NETWORK) and Jason Ritter (Oliver Stone’s W.) and THE KITCHEN, which stars Laura Prepon (THAT 70s SHOW).
SUBMIT YOUR SCREENPLAY: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
www.bluecatscreenplay.com
www.facebook.com/bluecatscreenplay
www.twitter.com/bluecatpictures
By MacAllister Stone, on November 7th, 2011
Hey, AWers! If you write screenplays, this may be for you.
From the Good People at BlueCat:
Submit your screenplay to BlueCat Screenplay Competition! This year’s submission deadline is November 15, 2011. For more information about BlueCat, please visit www.bluecatscreenplay.com/
ABOUT:
BlueCat is an international community that has been discovering and developing writers since 1998. Our Winners and Finalists have been signed by major talent agencies like UTA, CAA and WME, sold their work to studios like Warner Bros., Paramount and Universal, and won major awards at the Sundance, Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals, all after being discovered by and winning BlueCat.
- Each screenplay submitted to our competition receives two written analyses, each averaging 600 words of valuable insight.
- All screenplays are eligible to be re-submitted after receiving notes.
- Entries for our Final Deadline must be postmarked or received by November 15th, 2011.
BlueCat offers awards to our outstanding finalist and Grand Prizewinning entries. The winner of the 2012 competition will receive $10,000, and four finalists will each receive a $2,000 award.
For complete entry rules and details, an overview of our competition, please visit our website at www.bluecatscreenplay.com/
Questions/Comments: info@bluecatscreenplay.com
By MacAllister Stone, on November 7th, 2011
Hey AWers!
Welcome to November—and writers everywhere know that November means NaNoWriMo. Do you NaNo? If you are, swing by the NaNoWriMo and Beyond room on the AW Forums, and say howdy to all the other masochists.
I’ll confess that I’m already seven days behind. I’m currently putting together our first AW Anthology, and that’s definitely eaten into my available time. NaNo just isn’t happening for me, this year.
But whether you’re attempting a November Novel or not, you might take a look around the NaNo site, and you investigate the associated specials, check out NaNo swag, or look into shiny new writing tools like Scrivener (it’s flexible and friendly software for writers, available for NaNo at a significant discount).
If NaNo is just a little too ambitious for you, but you’d still like to set some achievable goals and find some support, check out the AW Forums Write One/Sub One room. At the very least, consider November a great time to let yourself be re-inspired about your own writing goals, whatever they may be!
By MacAllister Stone, on August 30th, 2011
We’re back online over at the AW Forums – welcome back, AWers!
By MacAllister Stone, on August 30th, 2011
The AW forums are down right now, folks, and will be down for a few more hours. We’ll update you when we have some news! Thanks for your patience.
By MacAllister Stone, on August 22nd, 2011
Happy Monday, AWers – got this press release over the weekend, with a request that I share it with all of you:
These are difficult times for writers – and for the media, which employs them.
Magazines, especially, fight for mindshare and to stand out on crowded newsstands in order to survive. Writers, who wish to write for them, need to be aware of all the constantly shifting nuances magazines adopt to differentiate themselves. But the information is seldom available in writer’s guidelines or in traditional market lists.
To give writers a fighting chance, Wooden Horse Publishing began a series of interview/analysis reports, taglined “The Perfect Pitch.” This month we interviewed and explain Working Mother’s unique fusion of journalism, research and advocacy. And why the magazine feels it is appropriate to call its top editor Editorial Director – not Editor-in-Chief.
Wooden Horse’s unique report is available through August 23 for free. Just go to http://www.woodenhorsepub.com/writers-working-mother-PR.html and use coupon P10PR.
“We can’t continue to offer this exclusive information for free, but it will be available after August 23 for only $3.95,” Says Publisher Meg Weaver. “Since this is the second installment in our “Perfect Pitch” series, we also have the same insider information for Hemispheres, United Airlines inflight magazine . It is available for only $3.95 at http://www.woodenhorsepub.com/writers-hemispheres-magazine.html.”
About Wooden Horse Publishing
Wooden Horse Publishing helps freelancers and small business owners succeed in a changing world – with an emphasis on marketing. Originally for freelance writers, its website’s popularity has grown to encompass other creative freelancers, professionals and partnerships. The company provides education, tools and services that demystify the often confusing and abstract business concepts and processes that guide successful businesses.
By Bartholomew Klick, on August 19th, 2011
Alternative Title: Why Aren’t You Reading Query Shark?
Query writing is hard – that’s why our SYW forum for queries is lovingly titled “Query Letter Hell.” But I think writers (myself included) get so wrapped up in writing 1 to 3 perfect paragraphs that capture our novels in the prettiest nutshell possible that we lose sight of how important it is get the right query (and the right flavor of query) onto the right desk.
Some agencies, like the Waxman Agency, make it easier on us by posting brief agent biographies, and listing the books they’ve represented right on the front page. One agent there, Holly Root, is described as actively seeking Urban Fantasy. That’s amazingly interesting to me, since it’s my genre, but my next step is not to roll my query off the press and fire it into her inbox. I might as well flip a coin if I do that.
Agents Tweet. They’re on Facebook. They blog. More importantly, they go to conferences and sit on panels, which are often recorded in some fashion, and they freely express opinions all over the internet. When an agent says something that rings true in your heart, that’s someone you want behind your novel. That’s who you query.
But you can’t use that in your query if you don’t look for it.
Search terms to increase your Google-Fu:
Agent’s Name + panel + 2011 (or 2010, 2009, etc.)
Agent’s Name + spotlight
Agent’s Name + interview
Agent’s Name + Name of novel they represented (See what, if anything, they’ve said about what they represent)
|
Connect With AbsoluteWrite on FaceBook
Interview With Agent Evan Marshal
Available from American Writers & Artists, Inc.
|
Recent Comments