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JOIN US: Woodstream Signature Workshop for FWA Conference|
PUBLISHED, LAUDED AND APPLAUDED: Poems Made and Shouted|
HOW NOW, BROWN COW?: Do You Really Need an Agent?|
JOIN US!
Upcoming Woodstream Writing Events
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Visit Woodstream at the Florida Writers Association Conference at the Walt Disney World Coronado
Springs Resort. On Friday, November 9th, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., we'll present our full length "signature"
AWA workshop and on Sunday, November 11th, from 9 a.m.-10:15 we'll discuss the Amherst Writers
approach to making your writing voice sing!
To register, or for more information, please visit www.floridawriters.net.
We hope to see you there!
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Dreaming of a white . . . well . . winter?
We are! Registration for Winter Session is now open, and there's no cozier spot for writers
than our Maitland writing loft.
This winter, pick one of Woodstream's three 12-week workshops (for writers at all levels of experience) or our Bookwriter's Workshop for writers with book-length projects-in-progress.
Whichever you choose, as a Woodstream Workshop member you will
1) learn to reliably produce pages of fresh writing week after week.2) find valuable critical approaches to apply to your own work and that of your peers.
3) discover what makes your voice strong, powerful, and unique.
4) submit a manuscript for extensive group feedback.
5) discuss your work in a private writing consultation with the workshop leader.
About her Tuesday morning AWA workshop, Pan Macmillan novelist Julie Compton says, "A good writing workshop is a wonderful thing . . . it can motivate you to do more than just put pen to paper. It can help a writer to see potential in things that might have otherwise been delegated to the bottom of the desk drawer . . . Thanks, Jamie!"
Visit www.woodstreamwriters.com for dates and times or contact Jamie@WoodstreamWriters.com or 407.644.5163 for more information.
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Woodstream now offers writing coaching services with Jamie Morris.
A CRLA Master Writing Consultant, Jamie works with you on your novel or short story,
your poem or poetry collection, your memoir, your screenplay--your passion.
Jim Shipley, syndicated columnist and YA novelist says, "Jamie is a genius when it comes to the process of writing." Poet Peggy Miller says, "Jamie gives, most generously, guidance which reflects her depth of experience."
Standing at the start of your project? Need a boost mid-stream? Jamie Morris can help you find your voice, your vision, your way--all the way to completion. Contact Jamie@WoodstreamWriters.com or 407.644.5163 for more information.
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PUBLISHED, LAUDED, and APPLAUDED!
Woodstream Writers' Latest Triumphs
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Book Publications
Congratulations to Marge Clauser who, having cut back on her journalistic duties to allow her
time to work on her memoir, now signs off as "Writer and Poet." Marge recently got a little bit of
encouragement in her new role(s) when she received a request from Suzanne Braun Levine,
author of Inventing the Rest of Our Lives. It seems Ms. Levine would like to quote
from Marge's essay, "Not My Mother's Adulthood" in Ms. Levine's new book, Fifty is the New Fifty!
Here at Woodstream, we believe quotation is the sincerest form of flattery! Way to go, Marge!
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Radio Days
Back in September, Woodstream alum Julie Dunsworth, poet, writer, gardener, visual artist, read her
good poem "The Love Space" on AM 1190 WAMT's Bobbie DePew's Show. Bobbie also interviewed
Ms. Julie and Betsy Ross Lytle getting a bit of local creative color out across the airwaves.
Good work, Julie. You make our world a more lovely place to be.
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Making Poems . . .
The Greek origins of the word "poem" tell us that a poem is a thing made. Woodstream's good friend and
official Poetry Mentor has made not just a poem but a whole new book of 'em!
Our greatest congrats, Peggy!
What the Blood Knows, Poems by Peggy Miller
"In What the Blood Knows, Peggy Miller marries poetry to science in order to satisfy her ravishing curiosity about the world . . . . The tension between a love of knowledge and the acknowledgment of how little can finally be known holds this collection together and propels it 'toward the riddle of infinity...never getting any closer' though the achievement of these poems argues the effort is worth it." --Kurt Brown
"A tour de force, Peggy Miller's new collection of poems blazes a way for all who seek to know the universe as it is today, theoretical strings attached. She has taken modern science and contemporary cosmological theory and traced their connections to the humblest phenomena: shallots, alfalfa, bananas and bindweed."--Kelly Cherry
"This is a book to read repeatedly for its myriad riches. It's brimming with splendid insights, surprising cross-species affinities . . . and startling, resonant truths about being human, and the miraculous world we inhabit."--Maurya Simon
ISBN: 978-1933456805, 84pages, $17.00
Find it at www.custom-words.com
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. . . And Shouting Them Out
The Orlando Poetry Troupe will perform Saturday, October 6th, from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Baldwin
Park Arts Festival at the Baldwin Park Village Center on New Broad Street. There October Guest Poet is
none other than Woodstream's girl-with-the-voice, Elaine Person!
Call 407-977-1272 or visit orlandopoetrytroupe.wetpaint.com for more information.
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Periodical Publications
Woodstream pal Gary Holstein is out to smarten us up! He has a series of articles
being published in The Complete Lawyer. The series is called "The 7 Deadly
Sins of Marketing in the Legal Profession." The link to the first article is
atlanta.thecompletelawyer.com/volume3/issue4/index.php. Just scroll
down a bit and you will find it.
We are grateful for the tips, Gary!
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Admittedly, our Tuesday morning workshop drinks a lot of coffee, but that doesn't explain all their literary
steam! Here's Mike Philpott's most recent touchdown: Last month, Look Up Orlando, a monthly, faith-based
magazine, published Mike's article on retirement, "Used But (Definitely) Not Used Up."
If this is what retirement looks like, Mike, we're not sure we can keep up!
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Pati Anderson hopped aboard the periodical train this summer when her company's newsletter featured
her lovely essay on her father for their Father's Day issue. This in itself is nice enough, but the real
take-home to the story is this: One of the secretaries at Pati's firm wrote about Pati in her own essay for an
SCC English class. The secretary explained that the assignment was to write about an author--and the
young woman picked Pati because, as she said, "The Father's Day piece was so vivid [ she] could see and
hear and smell all the things [Pati] talked about."
By the way, the secretary got an "A." That's some workplace leadership style you've got, Ms. P!
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HOW NOW, BROWN COW?
Publishing Information, Tips, and Opportunities
Alice Friedman is always looking out for her workshop mates. Recently, she let us know about
Duotrope's Digest, a database of over 1825 current markets for short fiction, poetry, and novels/collections.
They've already done the legwork; you just search for markets for the piece you just polished.
They update every day and check all listings at least once a week to ensure the most up-to-date
database possible.
New to Duotrope's? They suggest you acquaint yourself with their terms & definitions before running
your first search.
Visit them and see if you can find a home for your work: www.duotrope.com.
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Amy Burns, editor of unbound press, invited Woodstream Writers to respond to unbound's
Open Call for Submissions. Visit their website, www.unboundpress.com
and send something along to Amy if you like what you see.
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The folks who published Letters to Our Fathers, which includes several contributions
from Woodstream writers, are still actively seeking writings "that explore the father-son relationship"
for their second book, Letters to Fathers from Sons: A Road to Courage and Caring. What they are looking
for is a letter (or poem) from a son to a father telling about something significant in the relationship.
Visit www.lettersforhealing.com to learn more.
Questions and submissions can be sent to info@lettersforhealing.com.
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Can you really get your book published without an agent? Maybe!****
A recent AWA newsletter included this article, excerpted from the fifth edition of
How to Get Happily Published by Judith Appelbaum, and we're passing it on down the line!
"'Nobody buys unsolicited manuscripts' is what they'll tell you at every literary lunch and party
you attend -- or hope to attend. They're all wrong. A good query will get you
read at most houses -- even by the eminent publisher at an eminent New York firm
who told a first-time author, 'For the record, we are generally unable to review
unagented material. However,' he went on to say, 'I am intrigued
enough to ask for your proposal.'
"Editors need manuscripts. They need a new list every season. They need you.
But they also need you to approach them in a particular way . . . . Write a query that
gets results. . . . First, it must sell your idea to the editor it's addressed to, and,
second, it must help that editor sell it to colleagues. . . .
"Explain why you believe each editor you're addressing will be interested in the work
you're offering . . . . State your specific idea (as opposed to your general subject).
In addition to a catchy title and a subtitle that conveys the substance of your book,
a "tagline" that expresses its appeal will be useful here. . . . More than any other
element of the query, the tagline can help interested editors convince marketing
colleagues of the project's merits (eventually, it will also help the marketers
sell it to wholesalers, retailers, media people and the public).
"Describe the main point your manuscript makes, the ground it covers and its style, with specifics
by way of illustration. Mention your relevant credentials and connections -- professional
expertise and achievements, publishing credits, mutual friends, mentors and acquaintances
-- whatever makes you more of a known quantity and more credible in terms of promotion
will be helpful. Even beginners should be able to cite some relevant achievements.
"Say where and how you got (or are getting) your raw material (from interviews?
primary sources? personal experience? laboratory experiments? exhaustive research?).
Show how what you have to say is fresh and different from specific books already
in print . . . . Estimate length. A word count that's appropriate to your topic and to the
publishing concern you're writing for gives an editor a clue that you do your homework.
"Provide a tentative delivery date for your manuscript. Convey your enthusiasm for the project.
Enthusiasm is infectious, which is lucky because it's also essential. 'I wouldn't
buy a book I was lukewarm about,' says a VP and Senior Editor at Simon &
Schuster; 'More than ever, enthusiasm is a necessary prerequisite for acquisition.'
"In essence, what you're asking when you send a query to a book editor is, 'Will you look at my
book proposal?' It then becomes the book proposal's job to give editors the information they need
to answer the harder question, 'Will you buy this book?' Editors routinely bid for nonfiction
books on the strength of proposals alone -- including (to be sure the point sinks
in) proposals from writers who don't have agents."
Well, that's all for this issue! Remember to let us know what's news,
and . . . . keep up the good work!
Jamie Morris,
Woodstream Writing Workshops
http://www.woodstreamwriters.com/
or www.woodstreamwriters.com/newsletter/index.html,
where you'll find back issues archived as well.