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"E" is for...

Margaret I. Carr

Editors, editing, economics and electronic almost anything. E-publishing, as you may have noticed, is something I have mentioned before. You can expect to see more under this heading in the future. That does not mean that e-publishing will be the only "e" mentioned.

E-publishing Contracts

I've been collecting sample contracts for a while now. In contrast to the long, loaded-with-legal-language, long-term contracts used in paper publishing, e-publishing contracts are mostly short and simple and for fixed terms of one to three years. Most of them are limited to electronic rights and specifically reserve all other rights to the author.

Royalties

No paper, no ink, no warehouse space, no shipping or other distribution costs

So why do most of the electronic publishers only pay royalties of 30 to 40 percent? (The sites that pay more all seemed to be more booksellers rather than publishers. Editing and formatting are either solely the responsibility of the writer or offered as additional services for which the writer would have to pay.) What other expenses are there? After thinking about it for a while I came up with a little list.

  • Editing
  • Converting to HTML, PDF and other formats
  • Cover design
  • Distribution (even on-line you still have to get your book to the purchaser somehow.)
  • Promotion
  • Collecting payments
  • Keeping records
  • Distributing royalties

If you were to do everything yourself, there would still be costs. Skipping editing for now let's look at the other expenses. First, conversion. Either you buy software or you pay someone to do it. (You can use Adobe's service for up to three books if PDF is the only format you intend to use.) Let's throw in an arbitrary figure of $20 here. That would pay for one HTML conversion and we'll assume you can get the other formats you want to have available for free or do them yourself.

You might be able to do the cover design yourself. If you are going to show your cover on a website, your own or someone else's, a simple cover design will load faster and be easier to view.

Distribution means providing a place where readers can find your book and buy it. There are hundreds or even thousands of places where you can get a free website. Whether any readers will find your  website or not is another question. You can also submit your book to the nonexclusive booksellers. They will make available on their websites, for a cut of from 30 to 50 percent. They will also insist that you register your copyright and get an ISBN number. (You really should do both of these even if you are only going to sell from your own website.) In the U.S. registering a single copyright will cost you $30. ISBN numbers for single publications in a single medium are now $50. You are now up to out-of-pocket cost of $100.

Promotion! More and more, promotion is the author's responsibility, even in conventional publishing. One of the simplest, although time-consuming, methods is a newsletter. Your newsletter advertises your book and you can swap ads with other newsletters. Let's not even think about paying for advertising at this point. Keep in mind that you are working with found time. You don't have to make a mark in a month or less, as is common in paper publishing. You're also using time that you would spend trying to sell your book to conventional publisher and then waiting another year or two for it to be printed.

Then what? A reader has found your website, likes your sample or your cover, and wants to buy your book. Now what? How is a reader going to pay for your book? If your potential reader has to send you a check or money order and wait for authorization before downloading, you've lost most sales. You're going to have to get a merchant account to handle credit and debit sales. So far I haven't found any that will charge a new business less than 15 percent per sale. Most also have other charges. For our simple cost estimate, only the 15 percent will be considered.

(One model contract I found which was based on the ideal from the writer's perspective called for a royalty of 90 percent of the retail price of the book. Unfortunately, the site did not include any advice on how to find a merchant account that would allow that.)

For the do-it-yourselfer, record keeping can be fairly simple. You want keep track of all costs that you can deduct at tax time and you must keep track of all income. The specifics of what you need to keep on file and how long will vary according to the tax rules where you live. Royalties distribution is not something you have to worry about if you are the sole author.

Profits will start once your initial costs are covered. How many sales will that take? And what sort of sales can you expect?

Facts and figures are hard to find. A mention here and there of e-books that have cracked the 5000 barrier and the implication that this is not an easy sales figure to reach, plus some mentions in renewal clauses of figures of 100 or 200 books sold during the year create a rather discouraging picture. Of course if getting rich was your main objective you would have spent your time on something other than pounding a keyboard.

My guess is that the 100 figure is a realistic expectation for the first year if you work at promoting your book. Ignoring pricing for now and setting an arbitrary price of $10 (because it makes the arithmetic simpler) what do we get?

Your merchant account deducts $1.50 from each sale and sends you $8.50. After 11 sales you have covered the hundred-dollar startup cost. If you do sell 100 copies you make approximately $750. Whatever you do, don't try to figure out what your hourly compensation is. You would have spent just as many hours promoting a paper book. (To earn $750 from royalties at 10 percent on a paperback book priced at $10, you would have to sell 750 copies.)

We`ve accounted for 15 percent of the 60 to 70 percent an electronic publisher keeps. The rest of it would go to pay for editing, formatting, maintaining a website and advertising, whether in a newsletter or on other sites. The big advantages you are paying for are most likely the editing and the established site where your book will not be the lonely only but will have company and will be seen by returning customers. It is also much easier and cheaper to promote a line of books than just one. The online bookstores provide the traffic and promotion, but not the editing. Which is best for you? Only you can decide that and I recommend that you do your own research before deciding.

Search tip.

  1. Search on "e-publishing" and
  2. "e-publishers" and
  3. combine them with the genre you are interested in.


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Craft Feature:
What's In A Name?
Betty Kreier-Lubinski
Names tell more than we realize!

E-publishing - ISBN
Margaret I. Carr
ISBN correction and more!

Fiction short story:
Home Sweet Home
Judy Hunt
Extended family members you never knew you had!

 

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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

Curried goat anyone?

MY FATHER SWORE that this story was true. We were never able to pinpoint who it applied to, but there was always this long dead airy fairy person in the background who it might have been! Let's call him George.

George came from a large family of eight children. A couple of them died along the way in childbirth, as was prevalent at that time. They lived on a large plantation and could and did do what they felt like doing at all times.

The eldest, Sam, had gone to live and work in the city and had carved a niche for himself in the merchant world. He had built a very profitable business and had made quite a name for himself as a business man.

George continued to live at home, not making much headway in life. After a while, his mother, much to Sam's dismay, suggested that Sam should take George under his wing in the city. Against his will, but to please his mother, Sam did so. He gave George easy jobs, tried to keep him out of mischief and gave him accommodation over the store. Sam also agreed to pay him a nominal stipend and to try to teach him the rudiments of finance.

George took to the city like a duck to water. Sam's store was situated on the 'better' side of the river and was surrounded by large trees and grassy areas where goats grazed happily during the day and George could be found napping regularly.

After the first month, payday arrived and George received his month's pay, $5.00. George had never been paid for doing nothing before before and was in seventh heaven. He ran outside cavorting and waving his money for all to see, chasing the goats in all directions. Finally he collapsed on the grass and began to daydream about what he would spend it on.

George dozed, until a gentle tug on his hand woke him and he opened his eyes to see his five dollars disappearing into a goat's mouth, the goat chewing happily. With a shout of dismay George grabbed the goat's head and tried to pry its mouth open, but the goat had swallowed the money. Four hours later George could be seen sitting disconsolately next to the goat, closely watching the tin he had tied to its tail.

CURRIED GOAT, ANYONE?

Curried Goat is very much a Jamaican dish; mutton may be substituted.
To serve 4.

Using the mixture of spices known commercially as "curry powder" is a way to speed things up. I have included a recipe for making your own curry paste which is usually what I do, more time consuming but nicer I think.

CURRY POWDER

  • 6-8 cardamom pods
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 2 × 2 inch stick cinnamon
  • 2 TBS whole fennel seeds
  • 1½ TBS whole cumin seeds
  • 4 TBS ground coriander seeds
  • 1½-2 tsp. chilli powder or to taste
  • 1 TSB paprika

Grind all the seeds as finely as possible and add the coriander, chilli powder and paprika and you have your curry powder. I usually sieve it to clean it up, as if I grind the coriander seeds myself, they leave a lot of husk.

Blend half the powder with 4 TBS water and store the rest of the powder or store the balance of the paste in the fridge. Would also suggest that when you make your own curry powder that you are careful with the chillies called for in the recipe unless you like it super duper hot.

Now, onto the main recipe!

  • 1½ lb. goat or mutton, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes.
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 TBS. curry powder
  • 4 TBS. oil
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1¼ cups stock
  • 2 chilies, de-seeded and chopped
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced

Season the meat with salt, pepper and curry powder sifted together and rubbed into the cubes. Set aside for an hour. Heat oil in saucepan; add the meat, onion and garlic and brown lightly. Add the stock and chilies, stir, cover and simmer over a low heat till tender. Add the potatoes and simmer for a further 20 minutes till the potatoes are cooked and the gravy thickens.

Serve with rice and salad and your favourite red wine.

Bon Appetit!

Cath


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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Is truth stranger than fiction?

Ever heard an urban myth? How about the rumour that there are alligators in the New York sewer system? What about the one where police accidentally aim their speed testing radar gun at a plane from the local air base, triggering a missile attack. Lucky for the policemen, the plane isn't carrying any missiles. Was the University of Surrey's library supposed to have an extra two floors, but the designer forgot to include the weight of the books in his calculations?

It could have happened. It didn't, but it could have happened.

The most effective urban myths contain a grain of truth that makes them seem all the more real. Military aircraft can carry radar-detecting missiles. You do have to think about the weight of the books when designing a library. It's the exaggeration that makes them myths. Computer virus hoaxes are a specialised form of urban myth. Again, they sound plausible. Real computer virus's do exist, and can cause havoc on your computer.

Why am I telling you this? Because urban myths can be great inspiration for stories. What if someone did find an alligator in a New York sewer? Who would believe you if you told them? What if people believed a myth, then you found out it was actually true after "proving" it couldn't be real? What kind of story would you get if you toned down the myth a little?

So for a little inspiration, take a look at these sites:

Happy hunting!

Drabble of the Month

Thank you to all who sent in drabbles about identity. This month's winners are Catherine Bannon and Dawn Arkin.

Beauty at Dawn
by Catherine Bannon

He knelt by her slender, naked body.
No resistance was offered as he lifted her, arm behind her shoulders. He tilted her chin gently, raising her face closer to his. Brushing back a few stray hairs, he stared deep into her brown eyes. Slowly he let his eyes wander over every detail of her pale face.
In the brightening sunlight, water rainbowed in her hair.
Finally he laid her gently back on the riverbank. Taking a deep breath he stood, and turned to face his fellow officers, huddled, hushed.
"It's not our mis-per. Take her to the morgue... identity unknown."

Wouldn’t it be nice?
by Dawn Arkin

Hello, you don’t know me. In fact, nobody knows me. I’m an obscure man from an obscure town with no desire to ever be recognized when I’m out. When I would go out with my other credit cards, there was always a big fuss made. Everybody seemed to know who I was. But now, thanks to the Anonymity Express card, I never have to worry about that again. At a store or restaurant I’m totally protected from recognition. I fade into the background like bad wallpaper, completely inconspicuous. And that’s just the way I like it. Thank you Anonymity Express.

The theme for July is incompatible (due June 10th), the theme for August is observers (due July 10th) and the theme for September is waiting for...(due August 10th), suggested by Peter Keane of New Zealand. If you have any ideas for Drabble themes, please email me.

PLEASE read the drabble submission guidelines before sending in your entry. Only one entry per person per month.

Email your Drabbles to me at drabble@technologist.com.


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Healthy Horizons

Laurie Lupold

Ramblings!

I guess when you are a person diagnosed with dysthymia, a chronic form of depression, having this accompanied by bipolar is a blessing. You might wonder why I could bellow out such a statement. I'm about to tell you. Having established that dysthymia is a chronic form of depression, let me also add that one of the mood swings which bipolar bestows on me is depression. As you can see, that is quite a dose of negativity.

I can imagine you might be saying how sad this is for me but please don't feel that way, it's a blessing in disguise. I say so because this combination of mood disfunctions has allowed me to see life in its utmost beauty.

What others might take for granted, I hold close to my soul and grasp its depth and meaning. Then there are those few days when I reach what is called a manic stage. In most cases this is a feeling of euphoria but to me it is undeniable happiness. I have to admit I like these times better, though someone of higher knowledge might find these occurences to be unhealthy.

The only thing I have found to be a bit of a bother when I am experiencing the mania is I tend to get insomnia. After a couple days of that you can imagine that my body is pleading for mercy, but my mind is complimenting my successes. By successes I mean that when I am in a manic period I tend to write more fluently. I can't seem to get enough of it. In fact, I haven't slept tonight, to be perfectly honest and I'm not feeling all that drained thus far.

Being slightly intoxicated by the lack of sleep, I have to wonder if my writing will come out sensible or if I need a bit of a splash upside my head to make it appear more intelligent. Let's hope for my sake it is not the latter.

The one thing I guess I learned that made so much of a difference in my life was acceptance. That was the key. Along with that came the knowledge that I wasn't any of my illnesses, they were part of me. If we know of someone who has cancer we do not call him or her by that name or disparage them, thus we should not hold anyone in disregard. I am simply a 37 year old woman with multiple illnesses.

The accepting part is when the blessings begin because you quit depressing yourself over what is wrong and focus more on what is right. If we could all see the world in this context, wouldn't it be wonderful? As quoted in Morgan Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled, "Life is a series of problems". We have the ability to choose to either stress our minds, adding on to the problem or reduce the problem by reaching a substantial conclusion. In closing I'd like to quote one more passage, "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

Laurie Lupold


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Living History

Glimpses of biography and autobiography

Editor's Note: "Living History" (dual meaning intended) is the column title for biography/autobiography pieces.

Tex and the Bicycle is the first.

Battles and catastrophes, kings, presidents and dictators are featured in the history books, but history is more than disasters and 'big' names. Some of the most interesting history will never make it into the textbooks. Diaries, autobiographies and biographies give us more of the intriguing details omitted from the history books. They also provide invaluable backgound for fiction writers.

Hidden away in our own, our families', our neighbors' memories are many treasures of 20th Century history. This month we present Tex and the Bicycle by Pamela Mary Baker, a special glimpse of Living History.

Tex and the Bicycle

Author Pamela Mary Baker was born in England 1938. She has lived in the USA since 1957 and now resides in Robles Junction Arizona. Pamela has a son and three grandchildren Sarah, Holly, and Ian.

Preface

In preparation for the Invasion of Europe, the Allied Forces started a troop build up throughout the British Isles during the spring of 1944. My mother worked in a small restaurant which, being close to the main transportation depots and the cinema, was a favorite coffee spot for many of these Servicemen. Separated from friends and families and aware of the fighting to come, many of these men "adopted" English families. This is a story of one of these Blessed Souls.

 

Tex and the Bicycle
By
Pamela M. Baker

I met Tex in the spring of Nineteen-Forty-Four. He sat at the table next to me in the restaurant where my mum worked. He was a tall lanky fellow with bright blue smiling eyes. I stared at him. I'd never seen an American solder up close before.

"Hi, what is your name?" he asked.

"Pamela Mary," I whispered, shy and not used to adults addressing me directly.

"That's a real pretty name. I'm Tex." He held out his hand. I reached out, but instead of shaking my hand he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it.

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Pamela Mary." I wanted to die of embarrassment, but Tex had a kind and gentle manner and, despite the difference in our age, (Tex was eighteen and I almost six), I was in love.

Whenever Tex got a pass, he rode to town on a rusty girl's bicycle. My birthday came a few weeks later, and I begged my mother to let him come to our house for tea.

Finally, tired of my pleading, she said, "There's no extra food Mary. We have nothing to feed him."

"Mum said you can't come for my birthday 'cause we don't have enough to feed you," I told Tex. I remember the look on his face as he realized we did not have the things he took for granted. He was quiet for a long time.

"What do you want for your birthday, Little Sister?" That's what he'd started to call me.

"I want to learn how to ride a two-wheeled bike, and I want you to come to tea," I answered.

"I'll be there, Little Sister, I promise. You tell your mom not to worry. Tex will take care of everything."

I got out of school on my birthday to find Tex standing outside the fence with his bicycle. True to his promise, he was going to teach me how to ride a two-wheeler. First, though, we had to find a flat spot. He sat me up on the handlebars while he peddled the bike. He had lowered the seat and his knees almost came to his chin as we wobbled back and forth. I gripped the handlebars tightly as we made the turn and went whizzing down Mill Road hill. Tex laughed and I squealed with delight.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, Tex rolled the bike to a stop.

"OK, Little Sister, now it's your turn." He lifted me onto the saddle. "You steer and I'll hold you up."

The front wheel of the bike would not stay straight, and even with the saddle lowered, my feet barely reached the pedals.

"Don't let go!" I said, afraid I'd fall off. We almost crashed when I turned around to see if he was still holding on.

"Don't turn around, just watch where you're going."

He ran along beside the bike, which was easier to steer as it went faster. It wasn't until he yelled, "Put the brakes on, Little Sister," that I realized I was riding alone. I squeezed the brakes as hard and promptly fell off.

"Are you all right, Sis?" Tex called as he ran over to me.

"Oh yes, Tex. Did you see I rode it all by myself?"

He picked up the bike and helped me get back on. We turned toward my house.

"You can't come in." I told him.

"It's OK," he said." Everything's taken care of."

We went inside. I could not believe my eyes. My cousins were there and the best tablecloth was on the table. The good china tea service, which I had never seen out of the cupboard before, had been washed and set out. Even the best knives and forks, usually hidden away in a box, were laid out. There were pull crackers with paper hats and prizes inside, but what I could not believe was the food. There were Spam® and sardine sandwiches, real eggs, hard-boiled, glasses of milk made from powder, enough for us all. After we ate our sandwiches, Tex went into the kitchen. He returned a few moments later with the most beautiful cake I had ever seen. It had pink icing and seven green candles on it.

"One for each year and one to grow on," Tex said.

I never knew how he talked the cook on the base into baking that cake. It wasn't something I thought about back then. All I knew was it was the best birthday I'd ever had.

Tex did not get to town much after that, but one afternoon he came riding along the street. His bike was all polished and shining, and all the rust spots were gone.

"Hey, Little Sister," he said as he picked me up and hugged me. "How would you like to have my bike?"

A two- wheeled bike was something I had only dreamed of. I spent the next hour riding it back and forth in front of the restaurant. When I went in for a drink, everyone was crying, including Tex.

"You can have your bike back," I told him when I saw how sad he was.

"No, Little Sister, it's yours."

When mum and I left for home, Tex picked me up and gave me a big bear hug and said, "Goodbye, Sis", instead of his usual, "So long, see you later."

During that first week of June, it rained so much I could hardly get out to ride my new bike. Suddenly most of the American soldiers disappeared. Tex went with them to a beach they called Omaha. He never came back.

© Pamela Mary Baker 2000


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Poetics

Christine

Break Out!

We are all wannabe's. We wannabe the next poet laureate even if we don't admit it. O.K. Start small. Aim for fame among your writers' group. Then go for the City. Then the County, the State and eventually the BIG one - move over Robert Pinsky, here I am! Actually, we have probably all been bestowed with this title. I have been my parents' laureate for years - and just recently have pursued this talent that for years they professed I possessed.

Of course, on the other side of that coin, my children just shake their heads and say "Good, Mom. I'm glad for you" as they back out the door.

Who are your admirers? If you are lucky, your family is behind you (and not just retreating behind your back). Barring that, do you have friends that ask you to compose for them? Are you part of a writers' group, or a member of the fine arts club in your town? These organizations can really work for you if you let them. Do not be afraid to expose yourself. Don't be offended if they do not swoon with emotion at every line you have written - remember, the object is to improve, improve, improve. Ask them what needs to be worked on. Ask them if they understood your poem and find out which lines didn't work. Take their advice and rewrite, then take it back to them a second, third, fourth time. Remember, they represent the people that you want to actually read your stuff when you are published. We all need support and encouragement from our peers. Nothing can beat the feeling that you get when someone whose work you admire reads or listens to your poem, then turns and says "Gee, that's really good! You need to do something with that."

O.K. Now what? You're ready to break out of your cocoon, crack the egg and peek out.

If you want to try something different, write a poem to the editor instead of a letter, or respond to an article with a poem instead of just a paragraph. This works - I've done it. Don't know if they liked what I had to say, or just the way I said it, but they PUBLISHED it! I probably doubled their circulation that month, just to send all my relatives copies with little yellow notes attached saying "Check out page 13!" I confess I do this with T-zero, also. It gets forwarded to all my relatives every time I have a column.

That suggestion is good for new stuff but if you are like me, you have lots of things taking up space in your files or on your hard disk. What about that poem you wrote for that exercise on 'color' that you did for Monday night's class? Certainly, everybody raved about it. Do you feel it has something special?

Enter a contest! I am addicted to them. Whenever I find a contest, I pay my $5 and send in whatever I've just finished, sure it is my best work yet and that it will be recognized for what it is - the poet's ultimate creation. I also admit that I have more canceled checks than awards - but I'm still trying! I figure the law of averages will allow me to break even eventually.

By the way, contests are a great way to focus your writing. Sometimes it is harder to write on specific subject or to fit a particular format than to just let yourself go and write what you feel like writing that day. When writing for contests, you have to discipline yourself if you want to submit something new, or learn how to categorize your stuff so that you are able to find something in your files that will fit the requirements. One word of caution, though. Be wary of contests, especially those that don't charge an entry fee. There are some good ones out there, but a lot of traps for those of us who really, really want to see our stuff in print. Some will send you a letter stating that you didn't win anything, but they are going to use your poem in "the book" and how many copies would you like to order? When you get it you will have a hard time finding your poem in the crowded pages. Somehow, I have a feeling that the number of poems in the book is directly related to the number of books they sold. Just be careful.

Have something a little off-the wall? Go to a poetry slam and boldly take your place behind the microphone. I'm going to expose my age here, but the coffee houses that were popular when I was a teen are making a comeback with cappuccinos and espressos, and along with them the poetry readings and jazz nights. When done right these things are great fun. You can listen to college students, housewives, company presidents, janitors - people from all walks of life who for this night have a common bond. Sometimes they can be very encouraging, and lest I get your hopes up, sometimes they can be very brutal. But pick yourself up, dust your poem off, clean it up a little, and try again! Next week it could be a big hit.

Send something in to your favorite magazine. We all have seen them, those poems that 'fill' spaces on the magazine pages. Well, they got them from someone, why not you? Check out their requirements and, of course, what they pay. Don't be disappointed, but most don't pay much - the contests have larger prizes. But as I always say, it looks good on your resume. When you submit things it is great to be able to say "poetry published in John Smith's Journal, Fish Tales, and Cats and Dogs". It's the old catch-22. The larger magazines would rather publish someone who is already published than break out an unknown, (sort of like companies want to hire a 25 year old with a 7-year degree and 10 years' experience) so start with small ones and work your way up.

Submit it to T-zero. I saved the best for last, of course. We have been getting some great submissions, and would like to see this increase. Variety is the spice of life, so even if you don't see your kind of poetry, send it in - you might be the first! We try for a personal response to every presentation, so check out our submissions guidelines, and show us your stuff!


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Poetics

Glennis Hobbs

Fun Poetry

ee cummings once said "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." The Quotations Page.

One way to bring some laughter into your day is to try writing some fun poetry.

If you like playing with words and can’t think of anything to write, magnetic poetry is a fun place to start.

Magnetic poetry kits come with words printed on small squares of durable paper or magnetic squares. These squares can be arranged to form poems. You can stick them on a whiteboard, your wall or even the fridge. One good book to start with is The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry by Dave Kapell and Sally Steenland. (New York, Workman Publishing).

There are several good online sites as well. Check out Jim's Java Magnetic Poetry Kit or A Writer's Choice Magnetic Poetry Page

These sites are both interactive, but require Java. Imagine a cyber bulletin board with words pasted on it and all you have to do is click and drag to write the poetry. Alix’s Magnetic Poetry Page tells how to make a magnetic poetry kit. There is even an anthology at Online Anthology where you can read or submit magnetic poetry. You’ll find poems on friends, love, nature, pets, everyday life, spiritual, existential, absurd, and other topics.

Another fun thing to try is sausage poems. These poems are formed by using a string of words with matching endings and beginnings. It is better to use either letters or sounds for the word boundary matches in order avoid confusion. Examples of these may be found at the at Leslie Opp-Beckman’s PIZZAZ creative writing site.

SAMPLE SAUSAGE POEMS -- WITH MATCHING LETTERS

Good dogs shouldn't tell lies.

Twenty yellow waterlillies

skunked Donald Duck's snake.

SAMPLE SAUSAGE POEM -- WITH MATCHING SOUNDS

Dad drives Zara and Della around Dallas.

Lovely
Exquisite
Otto Eric's sister
Nicholas' Loni
Infinite joy

Heavenly
Angelic
New-born daughter
Now
And forever
Herrmanns' delight

A good web site to check out is Acrostic Poems for Children (Teachers and other Poets).

Limericks are fun way to introduce yourself to rhyming poetry. Glossary of Poetic Terms defines it as "a light or humorous verse form of five chiefly anapestic verses, of which lines one, two and five are of three feet and lines three and four are of two feet, with a rhyme scheme of aabba." The rhyming is catchy and the form easily lends itself to satire and humour.

There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And the smile on the face of the tiger.

-- Anonymous

With my online gardening group, Gardentown.com, writing fun poetry is a tradition that we follow every week. Many of us write humourous (and serious) poetry about friends, gardens, seasons and events in our life. Because we post them on Fridays, the poems are called “Friday Follies.” This is one written by Judi Zimmer:

Oh, lovely April:
The blooms you bless
With sun's first soft rays
And rain's caress.
But now I ponder,
With thoughtfulness,
Why is it spoiled by
The IRS?

Copyright © 2000
Judi Zimmer

One really fun poem to try is a tone poem or a group poem. I was first introduced to this by author Charles Wilkins. This poem is written and performed as a group. First, the facilitator chooses a topic. Every participant then suggests about five possible lines. The group votes on the lines to be included in the poem and the order in which these lines appear. After the poem is written comes the performance. Each participant is assigned their lines to be read. Each reader is stationed in a different place around the room and takes a turn at reading the lines of the poem. Different placing enables different tones of voices, hence the name tone poem.This type of collaboration is more complicated in cyberspace.

However, the poets of the T. S. Eliot group and later Word Weavers are always ready for a challenge. In January, 1999, iniated by Tom Spencer, we decided to hold a festival of children’s writing. As part of our festival we had a group poetry challenge. Each participant in the challenge contributed ideas for what could be found under a child’s bed.

These were the suggestions: A dinosaur egg rocking and ready to crack; A silver-blue kite impatient to fly; A secret book of wishes; A dirty pair of socks. A stone age man stealing my homework at night; A bag of skittles I'm hiding from my greedy brother; An old dog Chew; A bunch of marbles in a sack; The missing piece to the railroad track; Winged shoes to travel theworld; Notes from friends; Pet rat hiding from cat; A whiny black cat with a white pirate patch; A ball of string; and An emergency flashlight.

Each participant then wrote their own poem describing the world under the bed. These are two that were submitted:

THE WORLD UNDER THE BED

Oh gosh, oh golly
what's a guy to do?
I'm in trouble
'cause I've lost my old dog Chew.

I'm sure I saw him
under my bed.
My mom went looking,
or so she said.

She found a dirty pair of socks,
Then touched my white pet rat
who was hiding
from our whiny black cat

with the pirate patch;
Screaming loudly she said:
"GET OUT THE SHOVEL!
CLEAN UNDER YOUR BED!"

My homework's missing
and Teacher is mad.
If I give more excuses
she'll think I'm bad.

I did my homework
by emergency flashlight,
but a stone age man
stole it last night

along with the skittles
I'm hiding from my greedy brother.
I tried to explain, but teacher yelled
"I'M PHONING YOUR MOTHER"

There's a private kingdom under my bed,
a dinosaur egg rocking, ready to crack,
winged shoes to travel the world,
and the missing piece to the railroad track.

A book of secret wishes,
notes from friends
a bunch of marbles in a sac,
If I stop to play
I'll be on the rack.

The dragon escaped with the rat and the cat
There's nothing left under my bed.
I feel so alone,
My heart's filled with dread.

My room's passed inspection
from my mom and my dad
who said "NOW DON'T TELL US
CLEANING YOUR ROOM WASN'T SO BAD."

I found a silver-blue kite impatient to fly
a ball of string to tie on its tail.
I'm going to the park
to watch it sail.

When I come home,
I'll have lots of space.
The world under my bed
is a wonderful place.

Copyright © G. Hobbs 1999

 

CLEAN YOUR ROOM

My mother said, to clean my room.
Here’s the Dustpan, here’s the broom.
Mother said, “I’ll not show you how,
But, you will clean your room, I mean, right now.
Clean your room or you can’t go out.
There is no need, for you to pout.”

Her hands on her hips, that look in her eye,
I knew, it wouldn’t do, for me to cry.
I worked and stuffed and put away.
I never even stopped to play.
The floor was clean, the dresser clean,
I even washed the TV screen

I ran to the kitchen as proud as can be.
I told mom, “I’m finished, now come and see.”
With her hands on her hip, a glint in her eye.
She said, “That was fast, I wonder why.”
She walked in the room. sat on the bed
“You did a good job,” is what she first said.

Then she looked at me puzzled and said,

"What in the world is this lump in your bed?"
She reached under the bed and pulled out a shoe.
She said, "does this wing-tipped shoe belong to you"
She reached in again saying "This will not do.
I have just found an old dog chew,
I don’t suppose it belongs to you?"

I have found a dinosaur egg that is ready to crack,
Maybe a Stone Age man is coming back,
Will he steal your homework you did for school?
Should I feed him these skittles,
you hide from your brother?
Sometimes I wonder why I am a mother.

An emergency flashlight rolled into her hand,
My pet rat was running as fast as he can.
A whiny black cat gave her a scratch
When she picked up his Pittsburgh Pirate patch.
She found my secret book of wishes,
Now I'll have to do the dishes.

A ball of string and dirty socks,
Notes from my friends in a raggedy box,
The missing pieces to my old train track,
A bunch of marbles in a sack,
I said "Thank You mom
You found the stuff, I didn't see.
There's my silver blue kite
Just impatient to fly.
I promise, I really will try.
I'll put everything away
After I go out to play."

Copyright ©Tom Spencer 1999

These are not the only poetry challenges we have done on the poetry board. Other challenges have taken the form of words (such as drilligate, tellurian), themes, most recently the Ides of March.

Another way to have fun with poetry is to read, read, read. The best way to have fun with poetry is to write, write, write.


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Poetics Presents

Arlene Lawson

Arlene Lawson became a member of WVU in August of 1998. She began mentoring in November of '98. Presently, she's the Study Group Coordinator for Writer's University and is mentoring her seventh beginning fiction Y2K class.

Arlene's writing interest lies in poetry. She's a member of Word Weavers at WVU, Open Mike, and The Shiki List. Several of her poems have been published on Writer's Choice and Ric Masten's, My Cup of Tea. Arlene lives in Richmond, B.C. Canada. She holds a degree as a Speech and Hearing Therapist from the University of Washington, U.S.A..

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Arlene's work.

SENTINELS

On wet pewter sky days,

seeking solitude,
I petition lonely places.

Sadness reflecting sadness

lake banks once harboring
revelers, giggling children,
now lie silent....

I indulge myself.. .....

silver sky
reflects lake, grass, sand
picnic tables anchored in sogged grass
perfected rows
silently guard grassfields.
fir boughs
weighted from night rains,
touch earth.

misted breath from water thickens air

obscured tree stumps are disembodied specters

remnant raindrops

echo silence

match beating heart to soul

more sadness than desired

I quicken.

 

By Arlene Lawson
Copyright © Arlene Lawson 4/24/2000


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Poetics Presents

Christine Henderson

Christine has two children and two grandchildren. She lives in the country with four cats and two dogs, many birds and other living things. Has loved writing since her teens, but just since her divorce six years ago, she has been really stretching her wings. Christine loves poetry first, but is dabbling in short stories and will maybe attempt a full-length book. She is Past Treasurer, Past Secretary, and currently Vice-President of her local writing group, and contributes to the Poetics column at T-Zero. Christine offers two poems Immortality and Houstory, this issue.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Christine's work.

Houstory

The creaks and the groans in the stately old homes
        some folks say are the sound
        of the settle and shift, the lower and lift
        of the house as it moves with the ground.
But the houses aren’t just filled with mildew and dust,
        there are lives that were changed while within.
There are loves won and lost, tales of time's sure, slow cost
        to the souls, minds, and bodies we're in.

Attics are great! For lying in state
        is the true, unglossed history of man.
There children can play on a dark, rainy day
        and discover the treasures at hand.
They will find books and clothes and things to disclose
        tales of fortunes once lost and then found.
Legends of knights; tales of ancestor's plights;
The stories will keep them spellbound!

The kitchen's sweet smells- all the stories they tell
        of youth and the secrets they shared.
        Here they gossiped at night in the pure, pre-dawn light
        while the bread for the day was prepared.
Porches were there for the public to share.
They said "Come, see what I've done!"
The parlors - they, too, were beckoning you
        to enter and join in the fun.

But the rooms with the tales of how life wins or fails
        are the bedrooms, the heart of the home.
There's where the truth, the follies of youth
        and wisdom of ages is known.
The joy of life's birth, all the laughter and mirth-
        the glory of living acclaimed.
And windows conceal what hearts can't reveal
        of the tragedies, sorrows, and pain.

Yes, the creaks and the groans in the old, empty homes
        are not only the sign of their age.
They're the whispers and sighs, the truths and the lies
        of the lives time has yet to assuage.

 

Copyright © 2000 Christine Henderson

Immortality

"Clara's Baby"
Written with a flourish
on the back of the ancient photograph
in Grandmother's album

Three volumes
Dozens of faces
Stern, stiff gentlemen
Wistful ladies
Children balanced in skillfully carved chairs
Angelic

Anonymous

"Clara's Baby"
The only clue to
generations stored for remembrance.

Who was Clara?
Who am I?

 

Copyright © 2000 Christine Henderson


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Poetics Presents

Glennis Hobbs

Glennis Hobbs is a retired library technician, now a full-time poet-writer. She has written short stories, meditations, book reviews and has a novel on the back burner. Glennis is secretary of a local writers' group which she helped to start. She is also a Regional representative for Canadian Authors Association Manitoba. She is also a member of the Manitoba Writers Guild and Saskatchewan Writers Guild. She has been a member of WVU since 1997, and has taken Fiction 98 as well as the poetry courses. She has been a member of the T. S. Eliot Room and is currently a member of Word Weavers.

Her work has been published in Bridges, HERizons, Flin Flon Reminder, Library Cat Newsletter, Pulse Magazine, and in our own T-Zero.

She maintains a websites for: her writers' group, Flin Flon Writers' Guild; a writers' help site, Writers' Resources on the Web; a poetry resource page The Poetry Inglenook; and her own poetry website, Glennis's Poetry Inglenook.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Glennis's work.

POETRY SERVICE

my friend and I sit at a small table
in the cellar-restaurant, sip wine
discuss the forthcoming poetry service
see the table-altar overed with burlap sacking

cries of impatience
"where is he?"

this poet: my Mentor--
with him, I have discussed, argued
metaphors, juxtaposition, enjambment

moments frozen in time, dreams shared
glimpses of a writing gift
a poet-genius

hushed silence
clapping

he has arrived

pages recollated at a corner booth
the service begins
his apologies that only 2 of l7 sonnets are
just good enough to read

my friend remains silent
his face that of an enthralled child
we forgive the frustration
for the sake of those few poems

the poetry Mass has ended

we raise wine glasses
eat pizza wafer
and afterwards, we discuss
imagery,
the mundane

 

Copyright © Glennis Hobbs 2000


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Poetics Presents

Karli Shanklin (Celt)

Mrs. Penny, teaching third grade in Seattle, Washington, once told a small, brown eyed little girl that she was a poet and that she must never stop writing. The child finished school, married the man she loved, and brought four children into the world, but Mrs.Penny's words lay like seeds in the back of her mind, awaiting the proper environment in which to grow.

Karli Shanklin was that child, and now, nearly 29 years later, she has finally found the confidence necessary to let those seeds sprout, her imagination to take root. Thanks to the encouragement and advice so abundant here at WVU, Karli sees her life's dream to become a published author finally within her reach.

More importantly, she wants people to open their minds to think and feel when they read her work. It is for this reason that she writes, more than any other. Karli is a member of the Word Weavers study group here at WVU.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Karli's work.

REFLECTIONS

from out the mist
peat pools ripple awareness of what canna be seen
repository of past knowledge
denied existence in a modern world

through bone
ancestors call out
writing their message in colored darkness
'cross a prominent brow

a woman's body
broad of hip and deep of wisdom in the ways of men and children

no
apologies
made

would the mist would part
the pools be lit as a bonfire in celebration of life
as it should be lived
as it once was lived

passion simmers impatient upon the coals of life
awaiting the inexorable shift
in the winds of promise...

in the tide of change...

Karli Shanklin (aka Celt)

 

Copyright © Karli Shanklin 2000


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Poetics Presents

Rolando S. delos Santos

Rolando S. delos Santos, known as Rolly, is an Art teacher at De La Salle Zobel School in the Philippines. He joined WVU in Fiction 98 and the T. S. Eliot room in 1999. He is presently a member of the Word Weavers Study Group. Rolly describes himself as "a visual artist who does poetry for fun."

He has four children and a very loving, supportive wife.

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Rolly's work

Rites of Passage

I have camped on
these grounds when
I was young,
braved the thick forest
to test if I
could be a man.

Leaves relentlessly fall
raining down on my tent
weave a golden mat on the dirt
just like it did before.

Insects stubbornly
invade the silence
unfazed by the dark night
or the snores from
other fathers
tending their sons.

Inside my tent
two growing boys
saturated with play
innocently asleep
carelessly sprawled
on the sleeping bag.

How I envy the trees
defying the wind outside
with each offspring
a success,
they stand
sturdy and proud.

I come back
to camp on these grounds
once more
to test if I
can be a father
to these youthful boys.

 

By Roland delos Santos
Copyright ©2000 Roland delos Santos


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Poetics Presents

Tom Spencer

Tom Spencer started writing poetry in the eighth grade because he had a teacher who made a difference and encouraged him. He worked as a millwright for several years and also operated a sewing business with his wife Kathy. They currently own a bed and breakfast business in Indiana that caters to writers.

By age 40, Tom dreamed of writing once again, but by this time he had started to have vision problems. Eventually he was able to acquire a talking computer, went back to writing. Spencer disciplines himself to write for a minimum of two hours a day. Tom served a stint as mentor for a fiction course. He is a very active member of the WVU poetry sections, first in the T. S. Eliot Room Poetry Workshop and now Word Weavers.

Spencer says that a person should: "write about what you see and when you have written enough something will come up that makes it worthwhile."

Writers' Village members look forward to reading more of Tom's work.

Lost Love

Most often in the fading light of day
When becalmed the lake, like glass it be
Your image deep within my soul will stay
A ghostly moon creates a dream of thee

My mind will reel in distant reveries
Of life and youth of love, indecision
Aspirations then, now but memories
Of foolish youth and grandiose visions

While in this depth of idle thought, I stand
Clear the winter's air, sharp the bite of frost
Alone upon this fallow barren land
I think of you, reviewing what is lost

Love of you, so very deep entrenched
From life, from me, tragic death, has wrenched

 

Copyright © September 1, 1999 Tom Spencer


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Sparks

Karen (Karenika) Grunberg

Spice up your Dialogue

In today's world of electronic communication, it's easy to leave the interpretation to the reader. As there is no annotation on written words, there are unspoken implications to the written format. A net-novice often makes the mistake of sending e-mail using all capital letters. When I receive such a message, I generally try to kindly let the sender know that capital letters imply screaming in net-language. In my opinion, one of the biggest disadvantages of writing to someone, instead of speaking to them, is how much we leave open to interpretation. Imagine the following sentence:

"Isn't that amazing!"

This simple sentence can be read so many ways. It might be conveying sarcasm, happiness, anger, boredom, all depending on how it's read.

When we talk to someone, we hear the way they pronounce the sentence, making it simple to know exactly what they mean by it. In writing, this is a difficult task. There are several ways to leave less room for interpretation. One is to pick your words carefully so they are precisely what you want to say. But, realistically, how often is dialogue that clear? Another common trick is to put the speaker's thoughts in italics after the dialogue. Depending on whom you ask, this is a neat trick, or cheating. Either way, it's hard and confusing to use this trick for each person without running into some viewpoint problems.

Obviously, in a book, where the reader has had time to get to know the characters, the reader will be able to judge what kind of person the character is and interpret accordingly. Even then, unless you mean to leave things blurry, it's difficult to make dialogue to-the-point.

An idea that I've recently been playing with is trying to make the reader hear the conversation. The difference between spoken dialogue and written dialogue, in my opinion, differs in two distinct places: tone and facial expressions. The way the character says a sentence is almost as crucial as the words she says. Therefore, this month's exercise will concentrate on displaying these extra traits to the reader.

Your first exercise is to write a dialogue: plain dialogue with no descriptions and no tags.

"I can't believe you did this."

"I kept telling you I would."

"I know, I know. But I never thought you'd actually quit the job."

"Well, now you do."

"You bet!"

It's a pretty plain scene. All you know at this point is Character B quit his job and Character A didn't know it. Depending on what kind of day you're having and what your feelings about your own job might be, you put emotion into Character A's words.

Now let's take this piece of dialogue and try to show some of the emotion the writer has in mind.

Catherine's eyes shone. A smile spread over her pale face and she wrapped her arms around me. "I can't believe you did this."

I broke free of her embrace. "I kept telling you I would." Her lack of faith was disturbing, but I fought hard not to let my disappointment show.

"I know, I know," she muttered, almost to herself, "but I never thought you'd actually quit your job. My stomach flipped on her mocking tone when she said the word 'actually'.

I felt anger rise to my throat but managed to come out with a weak, "Well, now you do."

Her relief must have masked her insight. She continued in her cheerful tone, "You bet!" and threw her arms around me one more time.

Slightly different than how you imagined? Look at this one:

Catherine glared into my eyes. "I can't believe you did this," she screamed.

I tried to stifle my giggles, "I kept telling you I would."

"I know, I know," she hollered, "but I never thought you'd actually quit your job." She spit out the last word I was in too good of a mood to let her ruin it. I smiled and said, "Well, now you do."

She slapped me across the face as her tears strolled down and murmured, "You bet!"

A completely different scene, yet the same exact dialogue.

The second part of the exercise is to write your dialogue over and over in as many different contexts as you can. Let the reader hear the words, not just read them. Tell us the character's facial expressions, her tone, her movements. Make the scene come to life!

After completing this exercise, go back to your other pieces and try to add some of this sparkle into your dialogues.

As always, make sure to have fun, fun, fun!

Karenika

This month's sparkling ideas are from Aby:

"I think it is a good idea for writers to keep a dream diary; maybe they could get a story idea from their dreams."

"Something else I like to do that helps is act out my stories so I got a clear vision of what I want to write. Acting the story out from different characters' viewpoint helps too. I do this by myself of course; you want everything to be your own ideas."

Thank you, Aby!

If you have any Sparkling Ideas, please email karenika@wvu.org so I can share them with our readers.


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Recognitions

N'omi Rose

T-zero Xpandizine is proud to announce these WVU members who have gained recognition in their writing achievements.

Congratulations to Dorice Nelson who has earned an Honorable Mention in the historical category for her medieval romance novel, Much-Married Bride, in The Heart of the Rockies contest! This novel is also a finalist in the "Daphne du Maurier Award" in the Mystery/Romantic Suspense RWA chapter. Her Scottish historical, THE GUNN OF KILLEARNAN (ISBN #1-58697-234-0),has just been accepted by Starlight Writers Publications. She says even though she has only been a member of WVU since last January, "the help from all has been tremendous!" Dorice hangs out in Wordslingers!

Congratulations to Joe Haymes! He has sold his first book, a suspense novel entitled, Desperate Summer to Xlibris Corp! Joe has been a Writers' Village University member since January of this year!

Congratulations to Sonja Botes as her work entitled Harsh Lands is being published by Mapleink. She has been with WVU since October 1999, "The best birthday present I could ever have given myself." She started and finished this novella in Julie's Romance class. She says she "just can't boost Julie's class enough." She participates in the study groups Romantics and Mystery Writers!

Kudos to our WVU writers, Doris, Joe, and Sonja for their impressive accomplishments, and best wishes for many more successes!

 

Special for Writers' Village University members:

If you, or someone you know at WVU, has gained recognition in their writing achievements, please send the information to: Recognitions.

Thank you.


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Submissions Guidelines (Updated)

Until further notice, only plain text submissions in the body of the email will be considered.
NO ATTACHMENTS.

What We Pay For

Fiction: Stories should be of interest to writers in general, not just a narrow group.

Fiction should be submitted to fiction@thewritersezine.com. Payment starts at $15.00.

If considered for publication, you will be asked to return an email agreement including your name and address.

Craft Features: Queries about Craft features should be sent to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Payment starts at $15.00, and, if considered, you will be sent an email agreement to fill out and return.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Please do not email us to ask what we pay for in other categories. When we can add to our list, we will include it in these guidelines.

What We Publish

Original short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, particularly non-fiction related to the craft of writing and interviews.

For fiction we prefer something with a plot and resolution. If we like the main character, we are more likely to accept the story. If the main character has a problem to resolve or has to make a choice, that's conflict, and we love conflict! Too many writers confuse conflict with fight scenes. Don't be one of them. Give us a protagonist who acts, makes choices no matter how hard they are to solve his or her dilemma, not a wimp who drifts along and has to be rescued.

Non-fiction should be related to the craft of writing or be good resource material for writers. Accuracy and originality are vital. No reprints. If it has already been published somewhere else, our readers will spot it and let us know.

What We Won't Publish

Anything that inspires "hate," is defamatory or is pornographic.

Simultaneous submissions.

Material that has appeared elsewhere (reprints).

Seasonal material submitted during the same month (i.e., a Christmas story in December). Our lead time is short compared to print publications, but we do need time to edit, html and proof submission. A good guideline is to submit the manuscript by the first of the preceding month (i.e., submit a Christmas story before November 1st).

Length Recommendations

  • For Fiction, under 1500 words is preferred. We will consider excerpts from longer works.

  • Poetry should fit on one printed page if possible. A maximum of five poems may be submitted at one time (when the hold is lifted).

  • Non-fiction or Craft features have the most leeway in word count. In general these manuscripts should be 750 to 2,000 words. We like to take advantage of the hypertext capabilities we have available and link to charts, graphs, lists and so forth. Thumbnail versions may be included in the body of the article.

Rights

All rights other than first electronic, non-exclusive 'anthology' (for collections of T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine works only), and non-exclusive archival rights (we keep back issues online) are and remain the sole and exclusive property of the author.

Formats We Will Accept

Plain text in the body of an email.

T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine is an HTML publication. This gives us access to a variety of options but it is also a limiting factor.

  • Underlining is used exclusively for links in HTML. Please do not underline in your manuscript. It you are including a link to a webpage for reference, please mark the link the following way: (WEB LINK) http://thewritersezine.com (END WEB LINK).
  • The less than (<) and greater than (>) signs are used to enclose HTML encoding. If you need to use brackets, please use the square [ ] ones instead.
  • Paragraph indentation requires time consuming insertion of multiple HTML symbols. Please separate paragraphs by inserting a hard, blank line between them.
  • Fonts need to be simple. No multiple fonts. We prefer standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Courier or Arial set at 12 point. If your subject matter requires something else, ask us first.
  • The curly (smart) quotes, apostrophes, the em dash (two hyphens together) and ellipsis … (three periods) become strange and exotic characters when copied from your word processor into email. Check your preferences or options to see if you can use straight quotes. 
  • Text formatting such as bold, italic, centering, bullet list, etc., should be noted in the text by using all caps in parentheses. For example, if you wanted to italicize the word submission, you would type: (ITALICS) submission (END ITALICS).

Editing

We expect you to run spell-check and to check your grammar and punctuation before submitting. We will not reject a submission for a few typos or errors, but will if there are an excessive number of errors.

Note: Since our reading audience is international, we do not require a specific version of English. Use the spelling appropriate to your region.

We will automatically correct obvious typos such as “ton” for “not” and may correct simple agreement problems. For anything beyond that, time permitting, we will return the submission to you with a request for corrections.

Getting to Know You

Fiction and Craft features published in T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine include brief third person biographical notes on the writers. For all submissions, please compose your own bio and include it to save our editors and yourself time later if/when your piece is accepted for publication. We suggest sharing a little about your background, occupation, geographical location and what inspired your story.

How and Where to Submit

We do not accept submissions via US mail. Email submissions only, to the appropriate department, in the body of the email. No attachments accepted.

Fiction should be sent to fiction@thewritersezine.com.

Craft Non-fiction should be queried first. Send query to nonfiction@thewritersezine.com.

Poetry: Due to the large number of recent poetry submissions, a temporary hold on further poetry submissions is in place until early 2008.

Include the type of submission (fiction, non-fiction) in the subject line.

Be sure to include your name and email address in the body of the email.

If you do not receive an acknowledgement that your submission or query was received within a week, please send a follow-up query with “Did you Receive?” in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include your name and email address, the title of the work submitted, and if different, the email address sent from. Do not resend the submission unless we request it.

Good luck!


T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine
http://TheWritersEzine.com
Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 

© Copyright 1998 - 2007, Writopia Inc. All rights reserved