James D. Macdonald said:
I've done some dumb things in my life (there was the episode with the goats and the peanut butter, for example, on which it is irrelevant to elaborate further), but I ain't never done that.
caw.
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I've done some dumb things in my life (there was the episode with the goats and the peanut butter, for example, on which it is irrelevant to elaborate further), but I ain't never done that.
caw.
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Speaking of simsubs, as we were:
There are two paths here, one going to agents, one going to editors.
If you're looking for an agent, it's normal and expected to query a dozen or fifty at a time. Just spell their names right. If one comes back and asks for an exclusive, make sure you have reasonable time limits and dates on it. A six week exclusive isn't out of bounds.
I keep hearing, "Suppose I hear back from a better agent?" The answer, O seeker after wisdom, is this: Don't query any agent you wouldn't be delighted to have represent you.
The second path is through editors. Here, only simsub if the market explicitly states that it's okay. If they're silent on the subject, assume no simsubs. If they say "No simultaneous submissions," it would behoove you to believe them.
Now on to cases. Suppose you submit to a bunch markets that allow simsubs. Suppose you get an offer back from a 1/4-cent-a-word market, you gleefully accept it, and the next day you get an offer from a ten-cent-a-word market. What then, Pilgrim? Answer: Same as above, don't submit to any market you wouldn't be delighted to have publish you.
You will find folks who say, "Go on, young writer. Submit simultaneously to markets that say 'No simultaneous submissions.' You're only hurting yourself by giving 'em exclusive looks."
I say, "Bah! Humbug!" You don't win a prize for getting the most rejections soonest. You're working on your next piece.
First, that's a form of betting against yourself. You're betting that no one will want your story anyway.
I will tell you a true thing: A story that's publishable by one is publishable by many. If you're writing at a publishable level, you're likely to get more than one offer. What then, sprout?
By the time an offer comes to you, the publisher has already expended time and money on your piece. They've run profit/loss numbers, figured out where it'll fit in the schedule, and are ready to go with it. They won't be happy to have it withdrawn.
Next, you will be found out. Editors all know each other. They talk with each other. One of the things they talk about is the great new writer they just discovered. So if your story is that flaming good (and why did you submit it if it wasn't?), they're going to be talking about it with their friends from other houses while they're picking up their sandwiches to eat back at their desks. (If al Qaeda wanted to destroy New York publishing there's one particular deli they could bomb at lunchtime.)
One of the fictions that you're writing is that the publisher you submitted to is the one among all the publishers in the world that you really, really want to see publish your book. (That's why in the cover letter you want to make sure that not only did you spell the name of the editor correctly, but that the editor works there and you've changed all references to the publishing house to the name of the house you're currently submitting to.) They want to think that they're the first girl you asked to the prom.
So, why not anyway? Because the next time one of your books comes in, the folks who see it will say "Bet he's submitted it to everyone in Writer's Market" and slip it back in the SASE with a pre-printed form. Faced with 18,000 slush manuscripts, editors are looking for easy rejects. "Functionally illiterate from Page One" is good for that, but "Doesn't follow the guidelines" is also fast and easy. Editors aren't cutting you any slack; they're looking for reasons to say no.
Shall we talk about agents and auctions now?
Those are one reason it's good to get an agent. Agents aren't limited to one submission at a time. They can hold auctions, which is a form of simultaneous submission. They are banking their reputations on finding Good Stuff -- so you need an agent with that reputation.
The agent calls up however-many of her editor friends who might like the manuscript, and says "I'm holding an auction ... do you want in?" and messengers the manuscript over to the ones who say yes. It's got a closing date and time. After that, the fun starts.
The first publisher to come in with a reasonable offer -- one that the author would accept -- gets the floor. If no other acceptable bids come in, they get the book. (There are advantages to having the floor, which I'll get to in a minute.) If other bids come in, all the folks who are bidding are informed, and can come back with better offers. Better offers may not be for more money -- they may be for future books, or variations in rights sought, or accounting, or publicity.... and so on, until the auction closes. At that point, the publisher that got the floor gets a chance to trump whatever the winning bit was, by paying 10% more. So whoever gets in the first bid is guaranteed to get the book, if they want it enough.
That's where you want a savvy agent.
There are two paths here, one going to agents, one going to editors.
If you're looking for an agent, it's normal and expected to query a dozen or fifty at a time. Just spell their names right. If one comes back and asks for an exclusive, make sure you have reasonable time limits and dates on it. A six week exclusive isn't out of bounds.
I keep hearing, "Suppose I hear back from a better agent?" The answer, O seeker after wisdom, is this: Don't query any agent you wouldn't be delighted to have represent you.
The second path is through editors. Here, only simsub if the market explicitly states that it's okay. If they're silent on the subject, assume no simsubs. If they say "No simultaneous submissions," it would behoove you to believe them.
Now on to cases. Suppose you submit to a bunch markets that allow simsubs. Suppose you get an offer back from a 1/4-cent-a-word market, you gleefully accept it, and the next day you get an offer from a ten-cent-a-word market. What then, Pilgrim? Answer: Same as above, don't submit to any market you wouldn't be delighted to have publish you.
You will find folks who say, "Go on, young writer. Submit simultaneously to markets that say 'No simultaneous submissions.' You're only hurting yourself by giving 'em exclusive looks."
I say, "Bah! Humbug!" You don't win a prize for getting the most rejections soonest. You're working on your next piece.
First, that's a form of betting against yourself. You're betting that no one will want your story anyway.
I will tell you a true thing: A story that's publishable by one is publishable by many. If you're writing at a publishable level, you're likely to get more than one offer. What then, sprout?
By the time an offer comes to you, the publisher has already expended time and money on your piece. They've run profit/loss numbers, figured out where it'll fit in the schedule, and are ready to go with it. They won't be happy to have it withdrawn.
Next, you will be found out. Editors all know each other. They talk with each other. One of the things they talk about is the great new writer they just discovered. So if your story is that flaming good (and why did you submit it if it wasn't?), they're going to be talking about it with their friends from other houses while they're picking up their sandwiches to eat back at their desks. (If al Qaeda wanted to destroy New York publishing there's one particular deli they could bomb at lunchtime.)
One of the fictions that you're writing is that the publisher you submitted to is the one among all the publishers in the world that you really, really want to see publish your book. (That's why in the cover letter you want to make sure that not only did you spell the name of the editor correctly, but that the editor works there and you've changed all references to the publishing house to the name of the house you're currently submitting to.) They want to think that they're the first girl you asked to the prom.
So, why not anyway? Because the next time one of your books comes in, the folks who see it will say "Bet he's submitted it to everyone in Writer's Market" and slip it back in the SASE with a pre-printed form. Faced with 18,000 slush manuscripts, editors are looking for easy rejects. "Functionally illiterate from Page One" is good for that, but "Doesn't follow the guidelines" is also fast and easy. Editors aren't cutting you any slack; they're looking for reasons to say no.
Shall we talk about agents and auctions now?
Those are one reason it's good to get an agent. Agents aren't limited to one submission at a time. They can hold auctions, which is a form of simultaneous submission. They are banking their reputations on finding Good Stuff -- so you need an agent with that reputation.
The agent calls up however-many of her editor friends who might like the manuscript, and says "I'm holding an auction ... do you want in?" and messengers the manuscript over to the ones who say yes. It's got a closing date and time. After that, the fun starts.
The first publisher to come in with a reasonable offer -- one that the author would accept -- gets the floor. If no other acceptable bids come in, they get the book. (There are advantages to having the floor, which I'll get to in a minute.) If other bids come in, all the folks who are bidding are informed, and can come back with better offers. Better offers may not be for more money -- they may be for future books, or variations in rights sought, or accounting, or publicity.... and so on, until the auction closes. At that point, the publisher that got the floor gets a chance to trump whatever the winning bit was, by paying 10% more. So whoever gets in the first bid is guaranteed to get the book, if they want it enough.
That's where you want a savvy agent.
[note to self]Must... freakin'... submit...![/note]James D. Macdonald said:
I actually have a couple of stories that have hit that mark, and have been putting off revising them and sending them out again.
[note to self]Stoppit, self![/note]
Thank you for the ongoing kick-in-the-butt posts. I pledge to pay attention, even if my current writerly tasklist prevents my following the more specific homework assignments.
I would then guess that one could submit different short stories to the same house, say, a week apart?
Does it hurt to have two stories in the pile, if they are different?
I've been taught to be persistant. Go back until they say, "This guy is serious, hire him."
Of course, if the work isn't any good, you could send a different story a thousand times and not get published.
Then, if you send too much stuff, and they know your name by looking at the envelope, you could get the quick rejection after having improved your craft without them ever looking at the new work. URGGGG.
Send one and wait, me thinks.
Explore the options before posting next time, dummy.
Okay, I will.
Thanks.
No, thank you.
Does it hurt to have two stories in the pile, if they are different?
I've been taught to be persistant. Go back until they say, "This guy is serious, hire him."
Of course, if the work isn't any good, you could send a different story a thousand times and not get published.
Then, if you send too much stuff, and they know your name by looking at the envelope, you could get the quick rejection after having improved your craft without them ever looking at the new work. URGGGG.
Send one and wait, me thinks.
Explore the options before posting next time, dummy.
Okay, I will.
Thanks.
No, thank you.
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Send as many or as few as you want. Just don't put them all in the same envelope.
Some people don't hold with that, saying that you're competing with yourself. So you could come up with a list of, say, 20 places that might take your stuff, and start story #1 with place #1, story #2 with place #2, and rotate around the list until you've hit 'em all (then retire that story for a year).
Or, you could hand-select which market would be ideal for your story, and send it there first. If you write two stories a week apart that would be perfect for the same place, send 'em both to the same place, a week apart.
Seriously, just write and submit. Gaming the system to any finer level gets you into the Avoiding Submission trap.
Some people don't hold with that, saying that you're competing with yourself. So you could come up with a list of, say, 20 places that might take your stuff, and start story #1 with place #1, story #2 with place #2, and rotate around the list until you've hit 'em all (then retire that story for a year).
Or, you could hand-select which market would be ideal for your story, and send it there first. If you write two stories a week apart that would be perfect for the same place, send 'em both to the same place, a week apart.
Seriously, just write and submit. Gaming the system to any finer level gets you into the Avoiding Submission trap.
The New York Literary Agency
I was searching for some dirt on The New York Literary Agency though Google and found a lot of dirt on them in here and I am glad because I found none on them in ripoffreport.com; but they have dirt on them now in ripoffreport.com because I sent the information I found from here to there. I just started getting involved with The New York Literary Agency last week and something did not seem right with their emails so I went into a deeper search to find something on them. I did in here. I am glad because I am cutting off all ties with them before any contract was even negotiated.
Anyways I will get to the point here and ask if anyone knows without a benefit of a doubt who is the most honest, legit company for editing and publishing romance poetry and novels?
I have read so much crap on all these companies on the internet that is makes me think their all crooks. There has to be a company that is on the up and up that will work with you on a royalty type basis and if any moneys needed to be spent out of my pocket, it won't break my bank account.
Does and can anyone here tell me if they know about one?
I was searching for some dirt on The New York Literary Agency though Google and found a lot of dirt on them in here and I am glad because I found none on them in ripoffreport.com; but they have dirt on them now in ripoffreport.com because I sent the information I found from here to there. I just started getting involved with The New York Literary Agency last week and something did not seem right with their emails so I went into a deeper search to find something on them. I did in here. I am glad because I am cutting off all ties with them before any contract was even negotiated.
Anyways I will get to the point here and ask if anyone knows without a benefit of a doubt who is the most honest, legit company for editing and publishing romance poetry and novels?
I have read so much crap on all these companies on the internet that is makes me think their all crooks. There has to be a company that is on the up and up that will work with you on a royalty type basis and if any moneys needed to be spent out of my pocket, it won't break my bank account.
Does and can anyone here tell me if they know about one?
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This is from the RWA site:
As of December 1, 2005, the following publishers and their imprints are RITA-Eligible:
Baker Book House www.bakerbooks.com
Brilliance AudioBooks www.brillianceaudiobooks.com
Broadman & Holman www.broadmanholman.com
Chariot Victor
Cook Communications Ministries www.cookministries.com
Crossings Book Club
Dorchester Publishing www.dorchesterpub.com
Granite Publishing www.granitepublishing.biz
Harlequin Enterprises www.eharlequin.com
Howard Publishing www.howardpublishing.com
Kensington Publishing www.kensingtonbooks.com
Loveland Press www.lovelandpress.com
Macmillan www.mcp.com
Multnomah Publishing www.mpbooks.com
Penguin Putnam www.penguinputnam.com
Severn House www.severnhouse.com
Simon & Schuster www.simonsays.com
Tyndale House www.tyndale.com
Definition of a Publisher:
A RITA-eligible publisher is defined as a royalty-paying publishing house that (1) is not a subsidy or vanity publisher (2) has been releasing books via national distribution for a minimum of one year, and (3) has sold a minimum of 1,500 hardcover or trade paperback copies or 5,000 copies in any other format, including print on demand, of a single romance novel or novella or collection of novellas in book form, in bona fide arms-length transactions, and continues to sell a minimum of 1,500 hardcover or trade paperback copies or 5,000 copies in any other format of a subsequent romance novel each year.
As of December 1, 2005, the following publishers and their imprints are RITA-Eligible:
Baker Book House www.bakerbooks.com
- Baker Books
- Bethany House
- Revell
- Heartsong Presents
Brilliance AudioBooks www.brillianceaudiobooks.com
Broadman & Holman www.broadmanholman.com
Chariot Victor
Cook Communications Ministries www.cookministries.com
Crossings Book Club
Dorchester Publishing www.dorchesterpub.com
- Leisure
- Love Spell
Granite Publishing www.granitepublishing.biz
Harlequin Enterprises www.eharlequin.com
- Harlequin Books
- HQN LUNA
- Mills & Boon
- MIRA
- Red Dress Ink
- Silhouette Books
- Steeple Hill Books
- Avon Books www.avonromance.comhttp://www.avonromance.com /
- HarperCollins Children’s Books
Howard Publishing www.howardpublishing.com
Kensington Publishing www.kensingtonbooks.com
- Brava Dafina Encanto Kensington Pinnacle Strapless Zebra
- Zebra Regency
Loveland Press www.lovelandpress.com
Macmillan www.mcp.com
- Pan Macmillan www.panmacmillan.com
- St. Martin’s Press www.stmartins.com
- Tor/Forge www.tor.com
Multnomah Publishing www.mpbooks.com
Penguin Putnam www.penguinputnam.com
- Berkley
- Dutton
- G.P. Putnam’s Sons
- Putnam
- Jove
- NAL
- Onyx
- Penguin
- Signet
- Viking
- Ballantine Books
- Bantam
- Delacorte
- Dell
- Doubleday
- Fawcett
- Ivy
- Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club
- Random House
- WaterBrook Press
Severn House www.severnhouse.com
Simon & Schuster www.simonsays.com
- Atria
- Downtown Press
- Pocket Books
- Simon Pulse
- Avalon Books www.avalonbooks.comhttp://www.avalonbooks.com /
Tyndale House www.tyndale.com
- HeartQuest
- Center Street
- Warner Faith
- Warner Forever
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There is a lot of good information over on the Romance board:Seattlelion said:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=37
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For poetry you're on your own. Many poets self-publish chapbooks, and sell them via non-traditional distribution (e.g. from a box on stage when they do a reading on Open Mike Night).
Many magazines use poetry as filler. Find their guidelines, follow them to the letter. Never, ever, pay to get published. Don't buy your own books (that's poetry.com's scam).
Where do you find the poetry that you read yourself? Submit your works to the same places.
Good luck with that. You know the most seldom-heard sentence in English? "Hey, look at that poet's Mercedes!"
Many magazines use poetry as filler. Find their guidelines, follow them to the letter. Never, ever, pay to get published. Don't buy your own books (that's poetry.com's scam).
Where do you find the poetry that you read yourself? Submit your works to the same places.
Good luck with that. You know the most seldom-heard sentence in English? "Hey, look at that poet's Mercedes!"
Twice, since I've had this grand revelation have I been told to keep writing novels, and don't count on short story writing if you want to write as your day job. Unless, you've married a widow with millions. When it is your full time job, it isn't fun anymore.
One by e-mail.
Once having read it on the internet at a famous writer's site.
Why?
You'll expend the same amount of time writing short stories as you will a novel.
How?
1. You are still writing at the same pace. X number of pages a day.
2.You don't have to come up with new story lines and plots twice a week.
3. A new writer of a novel length story should garner an advance of around, say 3,000 for an accepted novel.
4. Short stories will bring in 300.00 a pop. How many can you write a year? Get published? 12 months x stories = $3,600 for 12 stories.
5. Short stories are harder to write. Less room for error. There's more, is there ever.
6. If you can write at all, it doesn't matter. The novel will sell. If you can write professional quality tomes they will be accepted if submitted to the right market.
I like to write short stories.
Then do so between novels. You can't take a break writing short stories for a living, no time to waste. Novels at some point, if sold, will continue to funnel money in royalties.
Writing short stories will help your novel writing. Writing novels will help your short stories. Writing anything will help your writing. Writing well will help improve your chances of being accepted.
And, on another note.
So this is why I'm done at 60,000 words, or partly so.
Pacing not plot and storyline.
If your story pace, (not word count typed), is too fast, you chew up your plot like a elephant goes through grass. i.e., you've told the story before you have a novel length book. Hence, sub-plots, internal conflict explained, character relationships exposed, as well as character developement. And, more that I don't even understand what they are talking about.
Oh, Hitchcock, you rascal, who told you to say, McGuffin?
What I don't know can't help me, and what I do know has confused me. The stop light has changed from green to red, and can't be changed back to green until I investigate further.
Put a fork in me!
One by e-mail.
Once having read it on the internet at a famous writer's site.
Why?
You'll expend the same amount of time writing short stories as you will a novel.
How?
1. You are still writing at the same pace. X number of pages a day.
2.You don't have to come up with new story lines and plots twice a week.
3. A new writer of a novel length story should garner an advance of around, say 3,000 for an accepted novel.
4. Short stories will bring in 300.00 a pop. How many can you write a year? Get published? 12 months x stories = $3,600 for 12 stories.
5. Short stories are harder to write. Less room for error. There's more, is there ever.
6. If you can write at all, it doesn't matter. The novel will sell. If you can write professional quality tomes they will be accepted if submitted to the right market.
I like to write short stories.
Then do so between novels. You can't take a break writing short stories for a living, no time to waste. Novels at some point, if sold, will continue to funnel money in royalties.
Writing short stories will help your novel writing. Writing novels will help your short stories. Writing anything will help your writing. Writing well will help improve your chances of being accepted.
And, on another note.
So this is why I'm done at 60,000 words, or partly so.
Pacing not plot and storyline.
If your story pace, (not word count typed), is too fast, you chew up your plot like a elephant goes through grass. i.e., you've told the story before you have a novel length book. Hence, sub-plots, internal conflict explained, character relationships exposed, as well as character developement. And, more that I don't even understand what they are talking about.
Oh, Hitchcock, you rascal, who told you to say, McGuffin?
What I don't know can't help me, and what I do know has confused me. The stop light has changed from green to red, and can't be changed back to green until I investigate further.
Put a fork in me!
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On the other hand, if short stories is what you're good at, and what you love doing, why not?
Very few people make a living at this racket anyway.
All writing is hard. Some kinds are harder for people than some other kinds.
You just mailed a short story, didn't you? You're about to start another, aren't you?
I'm probably going to start on a short story myself this afternoon. Why? Because the idea isn't big enough for a novel.
This is the novels board. There's going to be a prejudice toward novels.
Don't let anything that's said here stop you from following your heart.
Very few people make a living at this racket anyway.
All writing is hard. Some kinds are harder for people than some other kinds.
You just mailed a short story, didn't you? You're about to start another, aren't you?
I'm probably going to start on a short story myself this afternoon. Why? Because the idea isn't big enough for a novel.
This is the novels board. There's going to be a prejudice toward novels.
Don't let anything that's said here stop you from following your heart.
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You want an example of someone who writes only short works? Take Ted Chiang. His complete published works fit in one hardcover anthology.
If he ever decided to write a novel, it would get a serious read very quickly. So far he doesn't appear to have the urge to write a novel.
There isn't any one path. There isn't any one style. At the end, there is only the reader. Please the reader and all will be well.
If he ever decided to write a novel, it would get a serious read very quickly. So far he doesn't appear to have the urge to write a novel.
There isn't any one path. There isn't any one style. At the end, there is only the reader. Please the reader and all will be well.
Yes, I just sent "That" short story out today.
I have written four others, in a series I thought up, in that same genre, and have half of another written.
Re-worked the first of those, and sent it also.
I attacked it with a passion.
It is fun.
I know they are written much better than what I could have done a few months ago. That being said, what mistakes/problems do the stories contain that I don't know about.
I think that I may post one for comments over on the SYW forum, I don't know.
I won't give up, but, I need to find direction. I'm jumping around, (in my writing mind), with unbridled enthusiasm, and grasping at imaginary goals.
I have written four others, in a series I thought up, in that same genre, and have half of another written.
Re-worked the first of those, and sent it also.
I attacked it with a passion.
It is fun.
I know they are written much better than what I could have done a few months ago. That being said, what mistakes/problems do the stories contain that I don't know about.
I think that I may post one for comments over on the SYW forum, I don't know.
I won't give up, but, I need to find direction. I'm jumping around, (in my writing mind), with unbridled enthusiasm, and grasping at imaginary goals.
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How short can a short story be? I'm asking because for an assignment to my Classics of Literature class, I had to analyze a short story. This is the short story I had to analyze:
There was once an invisible man, but no one realized it.
The end. Does that classify as a short story? Can stories really be that short? I mean, I know about flash fiction, but isn't that too short?
There was once an invisible man, but no one realized it.
The end. Does that classify as a short story? Can stories really be that short? I mean, I know about flash fiction, but isn't that too short?
Viable Paradise
With regards to the two batches already sent in, is this highly accelerated from a normal year? In other words, how many 'batches' does it generally take to fill the class?
The reason I ask was that I had planned to submit prior to March 1, which is when you said you first typically get your initial batch of submissions. I don't want to miss the boat if any shot I might have will be gone by that point. I'd like some feedback from a beta-friend, but will submit earlier if my chances would be better sooner rather than later.
With respect the the outline or synopsis, that is the "imagine you are telling your best friend" outline/synopsis, correct? Should the synopsis cover the entire piece or just the content being submitted for the workshop? I know that sounds a bit silly to ask, but I wanted to make sure I didn't deliver something shorter than what was being asked.
Dru, workshop novice
With regards to the two batches already sent in, is this highly accelerated from a normal year? In other words, how many 'batches' does it generally take to fill the class?
The reason I ask was that I had planned to submit prior to March 1, which is when you said you first typically get your initial batch of submissions. I don't want to miss the boat if any shot I might have will be gone by that point. I'd like some feedback from a beta-friend, but will submit earlier if my chances would be better sooner rather than later.
With respect the the outline or synopsis, that is the "imagine you are telling your best friend" outline/synopsis, correct? Should the synopsis cover the entire piece or just the content being submitted for the workshop? I know that sounds a bit silly to ask, but I wanted to make sure I didn't deliver something shorter than what was being asked.
Dru, workshop novice
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A synopsis covers the entire piece, beginning, middle, and end.
This rate of submission for VP is a bit quicker than usual, but may just mean that the staff is more efficient this year than in years past. We always hold open a couple of spots to the very end, just in case something Super Fantastic comes in on the last day.
As to how short a short story can be: My shortest ever sold was four words.
It was to Two-Fisted Writer Tales, the companion volume to Swashbuckling Editor Stories. The guidelines said "Four to four thousand words." So I wrote a four-word one, and got accepted. The editor agreed to buy me a Coke as payment. Alas, the book was never published. Such things happen.
The story, in full, read:
This rate of submission for VP is a bit quicker than usual, but may just mean that the staff is more efficient this year than in years past. We always hold open a couple of spots to the very end, just in case something Super Fantastic comes in on the last day.
As to how short a short story can be: My shortest ever sold was four words.
It was to Two-Fisted Writer Tales, the companion volume to Swashbuckling Editor Stories. The guidelines said "Four to four thousand words." So I wrote a four-word one, and got accepted. The editor agreed to buy me a Coke as payment. Alas, the book was never published. Such things happen.
The story, in full, read:
Writer: "Fist, fist!"
Thwack.
I haven't found a market to re-sell it to.Thwack.
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Speaking of short stories, what they are, how they function:
The king died then the queen died
isn't a story.
The king died then the queen died of a broken heart
is.
James D. Macdonald said:
He writes well, and that is why he garnered the accolades— regardless of length.
Lesson learned: Write well and succeed.
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I've got a question about pennames.
If I decide to write a novel under a penname, that penname would be Jose Pablo + my last name. Does it matter that I use a male name when I'm a woman? Or as long as I don't do any book signings or appear in public I'm okay?
If I decide to write a novel under a penname, that penname would be Jose Pablo + my last name. Does it matter that I use a male name when I'm a woman? Or as long as I don't do any book signings or appear in public I'm okay?
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Pen names? You can be any gender at all for a pen name. Male to female and female to male are so common....
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Well, I figured that if readers read a book by Johnatan and then they saw that Johnatan was really Elise, well they might be confused or something. I didn't know it was that common.
Dept. of Labor's Definition of "Writer"
Hi everyone! I hope I'm posting in the right place. This thread comes within shouting distance of my question.
Jim--I'm filling out an application for an arts council grant & trying to use succinct and vibrant words to describe the members of one of the writers groups I formed. In your experience is the term "professional" writers used only to describe writers earning a full-time living from writing?
Or do most people in the writing industry also use it to describe "serious" writers who are steadily working towards that full-time pay goal? The writers in my group write 3 to 7 days a week, read every day, attend writers workshops, belong to several writers groups, enter literary competitions & submit work to magazines and literary agents.
Most of us have earned some writing income over the past two or three years. The one that hasn't earned anything yet works a full-time "day job" while agent hunting and writing novel number 2.
Thanks!
Ashling
Hi everyone! I hope I'm posting in the right place. This thread comes within shouting distance of my question.
Jim--I'm filling out an application for an arts council grant & trying to use succinct and vibrant words to describe the members of one of the writers groups I formed. In your experience is the term "professional" writers used only to describe writers earning a full-time living from writing?
Or do most people in the writing industry also use it to describe "serious" writers who are steadily working towards that full-time pay goal? The writers in my group write 3 to 7 days a week, read every day, attend writers workshops, belong to several writers groups, enter literary competitions & submit work to magazines and literary agents.
Most of us have earned some writing income over the past two or three years. The one that hasn't earned anything yet works a full-time "day job" while agent hunting and writing novel number 2.
Thanks!
Ashling
I am not U.J, of course, though, I pester him so much one might think I'm his younger brother.
If you write professional quality work. One is a professional writer when their work is being accepted based on its quality and merit as viewed by publishers.
Jim told me that, or something darned close to it.
If you write professional quality work. One is a professional writer when their work is being accepted based on its quality and merit as viewed by publishers.
Jim told me that, or something darned close to it.
Yeah. If you write high quality work that matches the requirements, turn it on on or before the deadline, and get paid for it, you're a professional.
Whether it's fiction, technical writing, poetry, ad copy or whatever.
Whether it's fiction, technical writing, poetry, ad copy or whatever.
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