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Newsletter for Writers By Chris Goebel, Humdinger Literary E-zine's Editor-in-Chief and
I had a dream that I’d send out my newsletter for writers, Jack of Genre: Newsletter for Writers, weekly. But I couldn’t make it weekly because I can’t stop until I’m sure there’s something useful, fun, inspiring—lucrative—for everyone in each issue. The newsletter’s free; I don’t sell anything. I’ve always wanted to earn my keep as a writer; that’s why I went to college. I once visualized myself at bookstores with people asking questions about my education and I just sat there, embarrassed to be a writer without an English degree. Honestly, what I learned after my degree was experience teaches best (and if you don’t have a degree, there's more than one way to learn!). I’ve researched so many aspects of writing—the process, politics, and promotion—that I’m certain I can inspire you, educate you, save you money and--best of all--teach you how to make more money! Let this be the beginning of a wonderful literary relationship. Pen to Paper~ Chris Goebel Author, Jack of Genre: Newsletter for Writers Editor-in-Chief, Humdinger Literary E-zine
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What does the FREE Jack of Genre: Newsletter for Writers provide? Once a month, you’ll receive a large newsletter including the following: Literary News: Who's doing what to make money? How much are those writers making? Articles about Writing: You need inspiration to keep going and ideas about how to keep writing. Articles about Marketing or Promoting Your Book/Future Book: Make more money sooner! Freebies for Writers: links, pens, books and other free things I can find. Grammar Points: Avoid painful mistakes. Creative and Inspiring Ideas: Wake up the sleeping writer in you! Writing Humor, such as Top 10 lists and “Excuses for Not Writing” SUBSCRIBE NOW: IT'S FREE! |
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Click here to sign up for Humdinger's monthly Newsletter for Writers, Jack of Genre. Jack of Genre. For all kinds of writers in all kinds of genres. For you. Help yourself, literally. What does Jack of Genre mean? You've heard the term Jack of All Trades, someone who can do almost anything. Well, a Jack of Genre can write almost anything! Below, read a recent edition of Jack of Genre.
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Welcome to Jack of Genre Newsletter, All kinds of writing for all kinds of writers. Third week of April, 2006 You deserve Jack of Genre! Give yourself quality time and read through this newsletter now. Why pass over this e-newsletter about something that means more to you than scores of e-mail—writing! Print Jack of Genre to save for future reference (10 pages). This month’s Members’ Only Secret Gifts and password follow the introduction. WELCOME TO APRIL’S JACK OF GENRE OVERVIEW: Writers tell me they need help getting started, so my article, The Only Way to Make Sure You Write, undermines dangerous misconceptions that hinder our writing progress. Get inspired in a new way and start writing after you read my article (with the help of Amy Tan, Ernest Hemingway and Jack London). If you’re an established writer, you’ll enjoy this month’s debate over Traditional versus Publish on Demand (online) Publishing, presented by two authors with slightly different views. Literary News is back with sex, coffins, and presidents’ wives and Gifts for Writers follow this introduction. You’ll also be the first to learn about the topics for June’s Writing Contests! Lately, many interesting topics have come up in my blog, and I urge you to keep in touch with me weekly through my weblog (online journal) at: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Eclectic-Editor-Blog Pen to Paper~ Chris Goebel Editor, Humdinger Literary E-zine My Blog: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Eclectic-Editor-Blog Jack of Genre Newsletter provides timely and useful information for writers about writing, simple editing, hot Internet links and outstanding promotional techniques to help you promote yourself and your book. Chris Goebel’s Gifts for Writers (sans cost) For April, get links to sample office supplies, marketing and publishing newsletters, and books on Print-on-Demand publishing, all sans cost! Oh, and a recipe for perfume? Check this stuff out now and enjoy it for weeks to come! Here’s the link to the page, which is password protected:
CONTENTS:
LITERARY NEWS: Sex, Coffins and Presidents’ Wives Sell Books!
ARTICLE: THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE YOU WRITE! By Chris Goebel WRITING CONTESTS AT HUMDINGER LITERARY E-ZINE FOR FUN: Top 10 List of Writers’ Excuses to Use the Word Good
ARTICLE: With Print-on-Demand, Anyone Can Be Published--And I Mean ANYONE! By Glenn Haertlein ARTICLE: How Should You Publish Your Best Seller? A Case Study By Glenn Dietzel Creativity Culture: USE ART TO ENHANCE VISUAL IMAGERY IN YOUR WRITING Excuses for Not Writing Your Book In Our Next Issue LITERARY NEWS
Promoting a book---from a coffin? Learn a whole new type of self-promotion with the man whose hair preceded him. http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2005-11-1110-006.shtml Chris at Humdinger recommended http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2005-12-1230-002.shtml Sex still sells books. Jessie Jamie Coleman’s play “Sex on the Side” entices http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2006-04-0404-002.shtml Article: THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE YOU WRITE! By Chris Goebel The only way to make sure you write (as opposed to hoping you write) is to force yourself to do it. Let’s kill some misconceptions to build our confidence. But first, your part of the deal starts this minute. If you care about writing and really mean it, then you must read this article through to the end. Do it for you and for me. Now that you’re committed to this, here’s one misconception to shoo out the door faster than a flesh-eating fly: I can’t write until I’m inspired. The truth? Jack London, author of the classics Call of the Wild, White Fang and one of my favorites, The Seawolf, said: “Don't loaf and invite inspiration: light out after it with a club, and if you don't get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it.” He also said, “Set yourself a 'stint,' and see that you do that 'stint' every day.” In other words, don’t wait for inspiration. Set a writing goal and make it happen! Writing comes from inspiration. Ri-ght… You might recall The Hunt for Red October by bestselling author Tom Clancy. Think this bestseller made it because of glorious inspiration? In a letter, Clancy said, “I have been working my glutei off on the 3rd . . . 4th . . . on the SUBMISSION draft of The Hunt for Red October” http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/clancy2.html . He worked both sides of his behind off writing that novel! Writing’s a business, an awesome, exciting, inspiring business and it’s also a career. The difference between most writing and a regular Of course, writers must suffer. Maybe at some point so they can understand humanity, but not as a lifestyle! Ernest Hemingway’s quote makes me envision writing in a new way: “"Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure only death can stop it. Financial security then is a great help as it keeps you from worrying. Worry destroys the ability to write. Ill health is bad in the ratio that it produces worry which attacks your subconscious and destroys your reserves." I love the part about writing being a vice. I guess I’ve reached that point, because I’ve been reprimanded several times for what? For writing. I can’t stop it. But Hemingway also points out something I’ve discussed with other writers recently: finances and your health. Some writers have been notorious spendthrifts and others have abused their bodies as if out to set world records. Get rid of the dangerous—lethal!—mindset that writers need to suffer and be broke. Instead, plan ahead wisely to profit off your writing and set financial goals. Also, take plan times to comfortably write and share with friends and family—even have other hobbies. In fact, other activities writers participate in may lead to a new idea for a book! I skip sleep once in a while (as do many of you because you’ve told me). However, recognize when too much is too much. Rest when you’re sick. Sleep when you’re exhausted. Write when you’re not resting, sleeping, or making money! Amy Tan said, "As a storyteller, I know that if I don’t like the ending, I can write a better one." Tan’s got a point. I write to wrestle with my frustration about life and to create something beautiful out of meaningless. For me, writing is an art, a science, a passion, a job, a tangible dream that rises when I wake, begging me to chase it to the horizon—to beyond my understanding into exciting, adventurous places of the world, body, and mind. Instead of focusing on the perfect mood and moment, focus instead on the right reason and routine. You’ll write to produce a book, and hopefully because you love literature. The routine has to fit your schedule but there’s one solid rule. You must write regularly, sitting down somewhere to draft something because you have to do so, not because you’re waiting for the emotions to spill forth like adolescent hormonal surges. Just like when you read an excellent novel, the picture reveals itself after so many pages of page turning. In essence, we make ourselves read because we know the pleasure of “getting into a book.” Now, make yourself write and discover the euphoria! of completing manuscripts. Once hooked, you’ll never stop! Pen to Paper~
Chris Goebel Editor, Humdinger Literary E-zine You can subscribe to Chris Goebel’s newsletter, Jack of Genre: Newsletter for Writers, at: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Jack-of-Genre.html Would you like to use this article in your e-zine or on your website? Just include the author’s blurb (above) with the article. Do you find articles in Jack of Genre useful and inspiring? Forward it to a friend! HUMDINGER WRITING CONTESTSThis month’s contests:MUSICAL NOSTALGIA (MAINSTREAM FICTION), OPEN FICTION CATEGORY: WHAT IN THE?, POETRY: LOOKING BACK AT YOUTH Visit this page to learn more: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Writing-Contest.html *Check our More Writing Contests page. http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Writing-Contest.html OR TOP 10 LIST FOR WRITERS
Top 10 List of Writers’ Excuses to Use the Word Good By Chris Goebel
10. I was running out of time and had to reach my word count for the day. 9. Good rhymes with should, doesn’t it? 8. There wasn’t a better word for the sentence. Good’s good. 7. What other word could I use? 6. Who walks around saying fantastic, awesome, spectacular and incredible? We all say good all day long! 5. I use good because if someone told me “Incredible morning,” instead of “Good morning,” they may have to endure a good, solid pow! in the kisser. 4. “He was a marvelous boy” doesn’t exactly represent his masculine side. 3. Don’t knock good; it’s in the dictionary. 2. Everyone uses good, so I wouldn’t be plagiarizing, would I? 1. Hey, good’s still a four-letter word! Pen to Paper~
Chris Goebel Editor, Humdinger Literary E-zine www.humdingerzine.com You can subscribe to Chris Goebel’s newsletter, Jack of Genre: Newsletter for Writers, at: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Jack-of-Genre.html DO YOU HAVE A TOP 10 LIST FOR WRITERS THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE PUBLISHED IN JACK OF GENRE? IF SO, SEND AN E-MAIL HEADED WRITING TOP 10 TO: Editor@humdingerzine.com Article: With Print-on-Demand, Anyone Can Be Published - And I Mean ANYONE! In my previous article, "Writing: It's a Crowded, Lonely Business" we discussed briefly what POD, or print-on-demand is, and what to look for in a POD publisher. In this article we will look at the pros and cons of POD publishing. To state it briefly, print-on-demand's strengths are also print-on-demand's weaknesses. Let me show you what I mean... · Anyone can be published -- even idiots and crackpots. In the world of POD publishing, the rule of the day is caveat emptor, or "buyer beware." Because POD allows just about anyone to print just about anything, the books offered by POD publishers are a mixed bag. Some POD sites offer user ratings and reviews with their books, and that's a definite plus, just pay attention to who is doing the rating and reviewing. It might just be the author himself! · You can write what you please. Just remember, that doesn't mean people will be pleased with what you write. Traditional publishers will go with what is safe and proven ninety-nine percent of the time. With POD, the sky's the limit. Got an experience you want to write about and share with the masses? Have a particular interest you enjoy writing about? Have an experimental style of writing that you'd like to try out? Did you come up with a killer idea for a cool novel? Great! Go for it! Just remember that there is a reason so many manuscripts receive rejection notices from the big-name publishers: they just won't sell to a wide enough audience. Traditional publishing houses are about taking manuscripts, turning them into books, and making money with them. It's a gamble. Even with the books they do publish, there's no guarantee they'll turn a profit. Given the risks involved, going forward with an unusual, or eccentrically unique book is a rarity amongst traditional publishers. Self-publishing through a POD let's you write pretty much what you want, with a few limitations, but that does not mean people are going to beat the doors down just to get a copy of your book. Sadly, you may learn the hard way why so many "regular" publishers turned you down. But please don't let that stop you from writing! If one thing doesn't work, try something else. Keep perfecting your craft and let your mistakes teach you, not discourage you. · You can write about any topic you please. Their are plenty of folks with specific interests who would love to have just one more book on their topic of interest. You could become their next favorite author. Just remember that niche markets are characterstically small. But a well-written work can garner you a loyal following, and that can spring board you into larger projects. · You get to be your own editor. The downside of that is that you get to be your own editor. One reason traditional publishers carry more clout than POD publishers is that the authors and manuscripts of books produced by traditional publishers must endure a long and drawn out process before a book ever sees light of day. Beyond the query letters, proposals, rejections, and final acceptance of a manuscript, there is the editing. Then there is the editing. And finally, there is the editing. Did I mention editing? Everything about the manuscript is examined, picked apart, and re-examined. The author may have to do re-writes. He will definitely have to endure the agony of seeing his work ruthlessly scrutinized and questioned. It's a necessary part of the process. With POD publishing it's all on you, unless you hire someone to do it for you. If you are your own editor, be sure you know what you are doing. If your excuse is, "Well, I'm just a storyteller. I'm not good at grammar," then you may just be writing your book for yourself. Your command of the written word is a reflection on you as an author whether you care to accept it or not. And that only covers the mechanics. As author you need to be passionate about your writing. As editor you must be brutal. Does everything in your story really belong there? Are all your characters necessary? Does everything they say make sense? Are they and their dialogue believable. Will anybody even care about this particular story? There is more to editing your own work than just spelling and grammar check. · Brick and mortar stores may or may not be interested in your book. Because POD books do not need to pass through the same filters as books produced by traditional publishers, most bookstores, particularly big-name bookstores, are reluctant to feature POD books on their shelves. Who can blame them? POD books are varied in quality; some are superbly written, some are just no good. Then there is the problem with returns. Most POD's do not have a return policy except on damaged books. They won't take a book back simply because a customer decided they didn't like it. So if a bookstore agrees to sell your book, what are they supposed to do if a customer wants their money back? This is a problem. One solution is to offer your books to smaller bookstores on consignment. You provide the books at your own cost, and you split the profits with the bookstore owner, plus you agree to buy back any unbought or returned books. It isn't the best solution, but who said this was going to be easy? Besides, look on the bright side. People may LOVE your books and want more; and if that happens, the bookstore will want more of your books, too. That could lead to big dividends later. There is nothing more exciting for an author than to see his name in print. It's like seeing your name on the marquee for an actor. Having people read your work and like it is an excitement that extends beyond words even for the best of writers. POD publishing is one way to accomplish that dream. Glenn Haertlein is a teacher at a Christian school for children special needs. He is also a freelance writer. To see his latest work, visit http://www.imglenn.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenn_Haertlein Would you like to use this article in your e-zine or on your website? Just include the author’s blurb (above) with the article. Do you find articles in Jack of Genre useful and inspiring? Forward it to a friend! Article: How Should You Publish Your Best Seller? A Case Study Let’s take a look at how you would get published via Traditional Publishing methods. First of all, you would need to get the attention of a publisher. Therein lays the first of many obstacles. You see, every week, publishers are inundated with thousands upon thousands of manuscripts from talented hopefuls just like you! Imagine entering your office on Monday and being greeted with over one thousand packages, all with your name on them. Obviously, the chances of one manuscript rising to the top of the pile are slim to none. But say for a moment that somehow the publisher DOES select your manuscript. There are a few caveats that you need to be aware of before you order up the 1. Firstly, the publisher controls ALL aspects of the book-to-be. It is, in practicality, HIS book that YOU are writing, so you must defer to him regarding the content, the look etc! 2. You need to be aware of the long window of time between when you hand in the completed manuscript and when the final copy of the book is stocked on the shelves for sale. If the focus of your writing is in any way time-sensitive, your work may well be out of date before it is even published! 3. Don’t plan on making MILLIONS. The standard fare for most authors is a measly 8% commission per copy! When a book sells for $29.99, you get a whopping $2.40-enough to go to Starbucks! 4. Now the good news is that IF a bookstore decides to carry your book, they will pay for all of the books that they stock. However, don’t cash the cheque just yet! The bad news is that whatever they DON’T sell in 90 days, they will return and expect a refund! SELF-PUBLISHING Now don’t despair! There is more than one way to get a book out to the hungry masses! Consider the example of Marjan (pronounced Mar-yahn) Glavac. In 1997, Marjan was teaching in a high school in Despite the letdown, he decided to press on and finish the project and see where that would take him. Marjan knew that, once complete, the book had to be printed, then distributed, then sold if he were to make any money (assuming, as he did, there was a market for his book). One Thousand Hours Later… It took Mr. Glavac about one thousand hours to complete his work. This gave him 200 pages of material that his wife faithfully edited. The next step was to send a perfect sample of each and every page to the press that was waiting to start the print run. This was where they ran into trouble: “For some reason, my printer at home suddenly refused to work properly! I couldn’t believe it! Here we were with a book waiting to be published and the clock was ticking and my printer was smearing every page that I printed. I finally had to run across town in the middle of the night and borrow a laser printer from a friend of mine!” Head North, Young Man By himself, Marjan had found a press that agreed to print his book. The deal worked in this way: to cover the printing of a minimum number of books, Marjan would open an ‘account’ with the press by depositing a minimum of two thousand dollars with them. When they had more money, they could deposit it and get more books printed. The more books they wanted, the more money it would be. Imagine their excitement on the day that their first shipment of books arrived! Three thousand copies shipped and stored in the Glavac garage! Unfortunately Marjan discovered a huge glob of ink in the centre of every single book. The entire shipment was useless and had to be returned! The Do-It-Yourselfers To get his books sold, Glavac then contacted local bookstores. “The first question that they ask you is ‘Do you have a distributor?’ Bookstores make no bones about the fact that they really do not want to deal with self-publishers. It was very frustrating! I thought that my original contact with a real publisher would have made some kind of difference-boy, was I wrong!” So he set about contacting distributors, which was almost another road block in itself. “Distributors, like presses, are not willing to take on any risk themselves. They all want a minimum of ten thousand copies which, of course, I would have to print at my expense. Plus, if they go bankrupt, you are in danger of losing all of those books that you just paid for!” After some thought, Marjan decided to forego the risks and simply sell their product out of their garage. This required spending more money and more time! They needed to purchase envelopes, postage and labels. Whenever an order came in, it had to be packed up and mailed out again as quickly as possible. Against All Odds-A Best Seller! Despite the obstacles, Glavac printed over 9000 books and sold 7000 of that number between 1998 and 2005. That equates to a best seller in Knowing the risks and labour involved, would Best Selling Author Marjan Glavac self-publish a book again? “Not likely! I’m still going to follow my dreams and continue to publish, but I’ve found a better way to do it that carries no pressure, no risk, little labour and ensures that everything I publish always up-to-date, no matter what!” E-BOOK AUTHORING The ‘better way’ that Marjan is referring to is called eBook Authoring. Its fans and its benefits are many. For starters, there is no overhead cost and no inventory of product to keep on hand. Also, as an electronic file, it can be sent as a Portable Document Format (PDF) to any editor in mere seconds, making it easy to shop around. One of its best features, though, is that copies of it can be bought literally 24/7 without you lifting a finger! And when some of the material becomes dated, you, the author, simply update it, re-PDF it and continue selling it: a true living document! “I love e-books because they are so practical and easy!” exclaims Glavac. “My last e-book was over 100 pages but it took me only 150 hours to complete it including editing, graphics and setting up a website to sell it! And in the last eight months, I’ve made over $6800, some of it while I slept! In fact in my first 24 hours, I sold 123 copies and earned $2 948.31 USD.” So Easy, and Still Legal! The road to successful e-book authoring is radically different, and much more practical, than that of traditional publishing and self-publishing. It all begins with finding a market. “The first thing that you need to do is make sure that there is a market out there for what you want to sell.” says Glenn Dietzel, of awakentheauthorwithin.com. “Send out surveys to peers, business people, anyone connected to your area of interest and find out exactly what they are looking for.” Once you know there are people willing to buy what you are offering, you need to get their email addresses. Usually this is done by offering a newsletter or a smaller eBook which the prospects will receive in exchange for their address. Through this process, you build a list of willing, interested people who gladly receive your emailed newsletters about their topic of interest. They will be a great resource to you as you survey them in search of content or even a suitable title for your projected e-book. Once the book is complete, you know that you already have a large list of potential customers waiting to make a purchase from your website! Price-wise, you can charge $27 to $97 for every product you sell with NO costs to cover. And the more you market the book to your list, the more you will sell! So do yourself a favor-when you decide that it’s finally time to show the world what YOU have to offer, become an e-book author and let your market make you a success, even while you sleep! “What If You Could Instant Access To A Glenn Dietzel, a former Vice Principal with Two Post-Graduate Degrees, replaced his income and his wife's income with a Proven, Breakthrough System he created. He now teaches his clients how to replicate his proprietary program. Glenn also provides keynotes, seminars, workshops, teleseminars, and bookcamps(TM), and is an international speaker. He consults entrepreneurs and business owners on how to successfully create a digital product and then to build an online business that produces consistent, multiple streams of income. Email: mailto:glenn@AwakenTheAuthorWithin.com http://www.AwakenTheAuthorWithin.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenn_Dietzel Would you like to use this article in your e-zine or on your website? Just include the author’s blurb (above) with the article. Do you find articles in Jack of Genre useful and inspiring? Forward it to a friend! Creative Culture: USE ART TO ENHANCE VISUAL IMAGERY IN YOUR WRITING Need to get a jumpstart on sluggish writing? Look at some art online at http://www.yessy.com or some other website. Dig out old pictures. Let color, shadow and beauty inspire your words and descriptions. Sometimes, I even sketch what I’ll write about so I can better communicate the imagery to the reader! In our next issue: Setting Literary Goals: Get that Book Written! Freelance Writing More Useful Links More Creative Idea More Members Only Secrets! Link to Humdinger Literary E-zine: <A HREF="http://user98512.websitewizard.com/">Click Here to visit Humdinger Literary E-zine: All types of Writing for all types of Readers</A> Excuses for Not Writing that Book: Excuse #222: Someone lost my computer key for the letter E. Any idea how many words use the letter E?
Thanks for sharing Jack of Genre with us. In each issue, take advantage of our surprisingly simple and successful writing tips, useful links and energizing creativity activities. If you have suggestions for articles or possible submissions for Jack of Genre Newsletter, e-mail me at: If you get homesick, visit Humdinger's website at: www.humdingerzine.com Chris Goebel
Editor of Humdinger Literary E-zine Unforgettable Fiction and Poetry Did a friend forward this to you? Would you like your very own Jack of Genre every month? Subscribe at: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Jack-of-Genre-Registration.html Keep up with Chris’ most recent escapades at The Eclectic Editor’s Blog: http://user98512.websitewizard.com/Eclectic-Editor-Blog List our address with your Internet provider so that our next issue is not sent into your bulk mail folder. If you wish to Unsubscribe, please send an email with Unsubscribe typed in the body of the document: Editor@humdingerzine.com
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