Act Your Age: Why the age of your character is important

by Zetta Brown

When we create a character for our story, we usually start with a typical laundry list of traits: eye color, hair color, height, weight, gender, ethnicity, occupation. We may even go so far as to detail their habits, likes, and dislikes. But when we assign the character an age, we need to think about more than just a number.

In my experience as an editor, it is sometimes possible for me to guess if an author is older or younger than their main protagonist by the way they portray their characters. There are mistakes that belie the character’s age.

For example, I edited a manuscript where the protagonist is roughly the same age as me, but the character had certain likes and used words that are not common for someone my age. What really gave it away? The character had musical tastes that were older than her years.

There is nothing wrong about a character liking music that is older than they are. How many people today enjoy classical music that is many centuries old? But in this case, it was a valid clue that something did not quite jibe. As the story progressed, this and other details made the character come across as older than she was meant to be. I pointed this out to the author and made suggestions on how they can correct this in order to make the character more believable.

Do not think that these “chronological anachronisms” is only important for historical writing. You do not want to have your twenty-five-year-old character in 1985 describe something as having “Wow factor” when “totally bitchin’” would be more appropriate.

Personally, I think it is harder to write contemporary fiction because the changes are so subtle, whereas it is easier to show historical changes from a time decades or centuries earlier.

It does not take a huge gap in age to create a different outlook on life. Think about when you were a senior in high school and the incoming freshmen. By the time those freshmen graduated four years later, their tastes in music, movies, fashion, and language will have changed too.

When creating your character and trying to determine the character’s age, if you are not drawing from memory and personal experience, ask someone who was there, or do research at the library and the Internet.

So the next time you are creating a character’s profile, take as much care when picking your character’s age as you would their name, or at the very least, put it at the top of the “laundry list” of traits.

Zetta Brown is editor-in-chief for LL-Publications (http://www.ll-publications.com/) and was the editor of the 2009 EPPIE Winner for Best Horror Novel, Pit-Stop, by Ben Larken. She holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of several short stories and the erotic romance novel Messalina – Devourer of Men.

Poetry Corner March 2010

Write It Out

Write out the memories
write out the pain
write out confusion
and blot out the stain

Write out the hurt
and the heartache and stress
write out the love
and the tenderness

Write out the feelings
that no one has known
write out the fears
and the hopes that have flown

Write out the nightmares
write out the dreams
sew up the broken heart
tear out the seams

Write out the tortures
that ravage your soul
write out the passion
that makes you feel whole

Write out the people
who tear at your heart
write out the friendships
that make a new start

Write out emotion
and yearning and yen
write out your life
and then write out again

Melissa Kesead Author of the Walter the Dreamer Series www.melissakeseadpublishing.com

My Old-Timey Road

I’m so lucky to live on my old-timey road.
Oh, the things that I see and the people I know.

Border collie waits while his best friend takes a run,
When the dog’s in the yard, I know I’ll see the man.

Two girls practice cheer-leading, and wait for their bus.
Right behind them, dear daddy keeps watch from his truck.

Little old couple fix their yard for holidays;
Christmas lights, pumpkin heads, bright red hearts, Easter eggs.

It’s doggie in the yard and Daddy in the truck.
Precious little couple hanging lights in their trees.
I’m so lucky to live on my old-timey road.
Oh, the people I know and the sights that I see.

Jan Bossing © 2010

All Night Long

You’ve been sitting in your lonely room
Staring at an empty wall,
Waiting silently and wondering
If you should or shouldn’t call.

Now it’s late and you still hesitate
To pick up the telephone.
Don’t you worry; you can take your time.
I’ll be waiting all night long.

I hate it when we disagree and
You storm out in rage
Leaving me to search my empty soul
Like a tiger in a cage.

And your words keep running through my head
Like some long-forgotten song,
When all I want to do is hold you near
And love you all night long.

Maybe I should just forget my pride
And the hurtful words you said.
I just need you back here in my arms
Before I go out of my head.

We need to make this go away.
I don’t care who’s right or wrong.
Everything I have I’ll gladly give
Just to hold you all night long.

More lyrics from Rhythmic Notions by Dennis S Martin
Website: www.iwritesome.com
Blog: www.iwritesome.blogspot.com

Safeguard

Cold and hard
your body
the table they’ve laid you on
Skin mottled and blue
reminds me of Italian marble
the foyer of Michael Donato’s house
that you built when I was nine
A year-and-a-half of chemotherapy
They said you had six months

Navy blue suit
from a store you wouldn’t be caught dead in
Not blue jeans
faded and torn at the knee
Not the Notre Dame sweatshirt
I gave you at nineteen
I was never a fan

Black wing tip shoes
polished like brass
look brand new
Not sneakers stained green by the grass
with no laces
easier to slip on and off
and leave by the door

I lean close and inhale
Familiar scent of Safeguard
fills my lungs
You read Green Eggs and Ham
in a voice low and soothing
small child on your lap
I fall asleep against your sweater

Evelyn T. Kalinosky

As Founder & CEO of Evelyn Kalinosky LLC, Evelyn’s coaching practice specializes in helping high-level women executives 40 and older who want to achieve a more sacred kind of success. She is currently writing a book about women navigating through midlife, and is a speaker, author and poet. Visit her at http://www.evelynkalinosky.com/.

Shades of Brown and Beige

I weave in shades of
brown and beige, earthy tones
in ecru and fallow, sienna
and raw umber; a serene canvas
to offset the tumultuous flow
of coppery auburn and
bittersweet sepia-tinged hue.

It once held black and white,
brilliant splashes of red and gold,
purple warmth and variegated shades –
the tapestry a vivid fusion, overwhelmingly
suffocating with its weight.
The colors still call to me;
the palette not yet clean.

I incrementally lose myself in shadows of brown and beige.

Pamme Boutselis is a writer from Litchfield, NH. She is a regular contributor to The Telegraph daily newspaper and other publications, a former admin of two poetry sites, and the director of programs and content for TrackAhead.com, an education and career focused social network.

See What WITS Has "Slid" in To

Leave a comment to let us know what you think of our slide show about our team of writers, editors, book marketers, administrative assistants, transcribers, Web master, and children's manuscript critiquer.

Does It Help to Have a Literary Agent?

by Yvonne Perry and Stephanie Gunning

If so, how do you find the right one?

I’ve asked Stephanie Gunning, a bestselling author, editor, and publishing consultant with over 25 years of experience in the book business to answer this question and here is what she wrote:

It does help to have a literary agent because an agent is constantly in touch with publishers and the needs of the marketplace. They are the sales people of our industry, a bridge between creatives and business people. They are often good developers themselves. Editorial thinkers. And they can also be great marketers. Many are escapees from publishing houses, people who rose to a certain level and wanted more creative control over their career trajectories. So they have different kinds of backgrounds. I love asking agents how they got where they are.

I recommend four main ways to find an agent. Communicate with other authors and find out if they will introduce you—hang out at industry events and http://www.aaronline.org/Find speak to people. Make friends. 

Look inside the books in your category and see who represented them. You can also search for references to agents in the Literary Marketplace and Writer’s Market, two guides, which I believe are both online now. If not they are in the library.

The association of author’s representatives is also a searchable database. The website is . You can search by genre of literature. Only qualified agents are listed. Never pay potential representatives money to read for you. Agents should not be reading for authors. They earn their money by commission.

I am more of a mentor and a strategist. I say, “Do this, do that, and don’t monkey around so much,” as you find your way. I have seen many successful strategies and I am a good person to brainstorm with because of my marketing experience and editorial experience.

An agent has a responsibility to connect you with a publisher and then to make sure you honor your end of the bargain and they honor their end of the bargain. They are matchmakers and they only take on clients who they are absolutely sure they can sell, because they earn by commission.

Unlike an agent, I am paid by fee and once I am in, I am in for as long as we are agreed. I have a coaching program for book proposals called Get a Book Deal Coaching. I also do editing and ad hoc consultations. For instance if someone wants advice on finding a book distributor we might walk through the decision process together. I am good at locating appropriate resources and knowing which ones are legitimate. I help my clients shortcut their processes. I speed the learning curve. And I do this in the context of real mainstream industry practices.

We look together at the marketplace and what could be really and truly viable. During a three-month period, I walk people through several aspects of publishing a book: Mission, Editorial, Marketing, Creativity, and Relationships.

Stephanie’s Get a Book Deal Coaching Program is a powerful proven system that she strategically developed from her background as a senior acquisitions editor at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and editor at HarperCollins Publishers. If you missed our call, The Insiders Guide to Getting a Book Deal, you can listen to the recorded call now.

I encourage you to check out Stephanie’s services for authors:

Get a Book Deal Coaching Program http://ow.ly/18Q7F
7 Quick & Easy Steps to Write AND Sell Your First Book Proposal http://ow.ly/18Q84
Partner with Your Publisher http://ow.ly/18Q8N
Want to Get a Book Deal in 2010? http://ow.ly/18Q9n

Book with a View March 2010

LeaveLight: A Motivational Guide to Holistic End-of-Life Planning
Authors: Marilyn L. Geary & Jacqueline Janssen
ISBN Number: 978-0-9825378-1-7
Publisher: GingerAle Press, 2010
Genre and Target Market: Mind, Body & Spirit
Pages: 220
Reviewed by: Sarah Moore for WITS

I currently sit before my computer screen presented with the challenge of reviewing one of the most beautiful books I have had the pleasure of reading in quite some time that confronts an issue most of us would rather ignore—death. The reality is that every single one of us will reach a day when we no longer exist on this earth. Why are we so afraid to discuss an activity in which everyone must participate? Perhaps it is because we fear what happens to us after we end our time in this physical realm. Perhaps we fear that nothing happens at all. However, through their new release LeaveLight: A Motivational Guide to Holistic End-of-Life Planning, authors Marilyn L. Geary and Jacqueline Janssen approach the sensitive subject of dying with compassion and what amounts to a literary embrace. It did not take much time spent in the pages of the book to discover the happiness and peace that can come with accepting and even engaging the issues that arise when we reach the end of our lives.

LeaveLight is divided into sections that allow the reader to plan for every aspect of her death, from the distribution of the physical property to the decisions concerning relationships to the way in which she wants to be remembered. And, each step is introduced with an understanding of the difficult emotions that accompany the reality of these choices. Geary and Janssen always keep the focus on the human who is behind the power of attorney paperwork and the organ donations. The authors include exercises which require the reader to focus solely on herself, if only for fifteen or twenty minutes of the day, including a quiet moment to enjoy a visual that brings peace or allowing some time to reflect on the personal meaning that a specific chair has in her life. LeaveLight ends with more than seventy pages of resources for the reader, including helpful book and internet resources and forms that will help to organize all of the end-of-life details.

One of the target audiences for LeaveLight is people with aging parents, and I am a member of that demographic. For several years, I have been searching for the “right” way to broach some difficult subjects with my parents and my efforts were always ignored with a palpable sense of discomfort concerning the topic. I believe this book may be the tool that I need to start these necessary conversations. With compassion clearly at the core of the book, my parents and I should be able to use its pages to break down the walls that have previously stalled a discussion of this inevitable journey.

While I understand this is not the intended purpose of the book, having recently experienced a painful divorce that left me the single parent of two small children, I also found applications within the text to my own life and the death of how I expected my family to develop. Who among us could not spend some more time discovering forgiveness and gratitude? These should be lifelong endeavors. I cannot say enough about LeaveLight and I sincerely hope that anyone who is searching for peace in the face of imminent death—of themselves or a loved one—will purchase this book and starting their planning today.

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Lucifer Rising
Author: Barbara Fifield
ISBN Number: 978-1-4327-4478-6
Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com, 2009
Genre and Target Market: fiction; psychological thriller
Pages: 83
Reviewed by: Sarah Moore for WITS

Here are several elements that perhaps you never expect to find contributing to the evolution of a single story—dance lessons, Reiki healing, drug-dependent freeloaders, Italian food and, to top it all off, the rebirth of Satan into an earthly form. However, all of the factors are essential pieces of the plotline in the new release Lucifer Rising by Barbara Fifield. This short novel, which totals only eighty-three pages of text, wastes no time in taking its readers into a world of psychological depravity and dangerous charisma. If you are ready to invest your energy into a book that may leave you with a lingering feeling of discomfort and more questions left unanswered than resolved, then Lucifer Rising is for you, as it is these very elements that make this second novel by Barbara Fifield such a powerful piece.

Lucifer Rising focuses on the power wielded by Tyrell, a local religious leader who uses his magnetic personality to bring the most vulnerable members of society under his spell. He comes to the rescue of those suffering from drug addiction, abusive relationships, and loneliness with promises of healing and security. A local reporter, Elsa Eldridge, is given the task of uncovering what makes Tyrell such a popular figure and, instead of remaining an objective journalist preparing a story, finds herself in a relationship with the mysterious figure. The more time that Elsa spends with Tyrell, the more she realizes that his charm is not actually anchored in a sense of philanthropy, but a much more sinister motive.

Fifield’s extensive writing background, which includes a previous novel and published works in newspapers and literary journals, is obvious throughout the content of Lucifer Rising. She creates characters that come to life with her carefully selected language and finds a way to have her readers (at least this reader!) committed to discovering the outcome of the story within the first few pages. In Elsa, we find a woman to whom most of us can relate in some way. She is struggling through personal loss, anxious to make a name for herself in her profession, and approaches new situations with a healthy skepticism. I certainly can relate to these characteristics. Therefore, when Elsa falls under the spell of a cult leader whose intentions are endlessly more nefarious than one initially realizes, it is not impossible that readers may be able to imagine themselves in such a terrifying yet enthralling relationship.

In Lucifer Rising, Barbara Fifield has created a novel that dances around many issues surrounding religion and absolute good and evil without offering clear conclusions. Instead, her writing leaves the audience the opportunity to sit with their own emotions concerning the characters and the relationships that develop. In more than one instance, I found myself questioning how I would have reacted when confronted with the emotional and physical challenges put before Elsa Eldridge when she simply wanted to write a newspaper article. I like to think that I would have maintained more distance from the dangerous figure of Tyrell, who is revealed to be the embodiment of evil, but so goes the inexplicable power of charismatic leaders. Whether or not you believe Satan actually exists, I offer that the cult of personality in our world is undeniable and on full display in Lucifer Rising.

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From Beer to Maternity
Maggie Lamond Simone
Brodman Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9780615289922
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views

The author gives readers laughter, sarcasm and humor in this incredibly funny but true book. She admits that she writes today the way she wrote in college; the only difference she wasn’t drunk this time.

Ms. Simone writes what most of us, especially women, think but dare not speak out loud. She addresses topics such as: why women are jealous of each other, how men think, if one is single they are out to find Mr. Right, and being an older mother.

One of my favorite chapters was entitled “Cooties” and deals with how to tell if your date is bored, and how dating companies will check out a potential date by looking at their resume, education, credit scores, and criminal records. She tells us that we all have made stupid mistakes in our life, but do you really need all that information to consider dating someone?

Her chapter titled “Tick Tock” is one that many of us have been through. When our mother keeps pestering us as to when she is ever going to have grandchildren. Ms. Simone relates that raising children is like raising dogs - you feed them, water them and talk to them in baby talk.

Readers will find that the author is saying things we have always wanted to say or question. One will laugh, cry and make notes on witty things to say the next time one of these topics come up. From Beer to Maternity by Maggie Lamond Simone was such a funny read; once you start you can’t put it down till you reach the last page and then you want more.

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The Evolutionary Glitch: Rise Above the Root of Your Problems
Dr. Albert Garoli
Loving Healing Press (2010)
ISBN 9781615990177
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views

If you’ve ever wondered why you keep recreating the same problems over and over again in your life, you will find the answer in The Evolutionary Glitch. The author, Albert Garoli, MD, has an interesting and varied background in specialties that include Internal Medicine, Ayurvedic traditional medicine, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Acupuncture, Electro-acupuncture, Phytopharmacology and Homotoxicology. Through his studies he developed a theory that humans have developed a “glitch” in our neural network. He states that this glitch, “…is at the root of human physical and mental suffering.”

Negative conditioning has caused many of us to develop a persona that leads us into creating negative patterns by which we live our lives. These personas are separated into six categories: The Sanguine Persona; the Lymphatic Persona; the Nervous Persona, the Melancholic Persona; the Bilious Persona and the Phlegmatic Persona. By exploring our conditioned neural networks, we can identify which persona we have embedded in ourselves, and use the techniques offered to overcome the glitches. In doing so, we will be able to live the life that we were meant to live, not the faulty one which find ourselves stuck in.

I found “The Evolutionary Glitch” to be absolutely fascinating. It is written in a manner that combines science with philosophy. Rather than calling it a “self-help” type of book, Dr. Garoli refers to it as “self-challenging.” The process of identifying our personas so that we can overcome our glitches is going to be challenging, because our personas do not necessarily want to change. Even identifying which persona we have takes some in-depth thought and discovery. However, the idea that I can get past those, “Why do I keep doing this, or thinking this way,” thoughts is incredibly appealing and makes me realize that it will be well worth the effort required so that I can live the life that I was meant to live, instead of the one that I find myself stuck in.

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What Size and Length Should a Book Be?

by Yvonne Perry

The length of a book depends upon what type of book it is and what publishing route you decide to take. If you plan to sell your work as an e-book, you can have as many or few pages as you like. You can probably do the layout yourself in Word and then convert it to a PDF. If you want to have your book printed, there are other things to consider such as the genre, weight, size, and price point of the book.

A center-stapled chapbook (quite popular with poetry, but difficult to lay out) can be printed on your home printer if you only need a few copies. If you plan to market the book, it would be more cost effective to publish it on demand with a service such as Published by Westview. In that case, you will get more bang for your buck by adding more poems and filling the book to about 100 pages.

Shipping costs are dependent upon the size and weight of the book. Weight can be cut by using thinner, uncoated paper; such is the case with mass market paperback novels. Even though they are thicker than a standard 6x9 book, six and a half by four-inch novels weigh about the same or less than their counterparts. That’s because the typical paper used for nonfiction book interiors is a 60# smooth stock, while mass-produced paperbacks are printed off-set rather than digitally. Off-set (high quantity) printing costs about 80 percent less than digital printing that produces one book at a time.

For a perfect bound (glued spine) book, you should also consider your genre. I highly recommend a strolling research through your local bookstore to see what size and page count your genre is currently averaging. A nonfiction book usually has a word count of about 82,000, which equals about 300–350 pages when printed to 6x9 standard size. This number is based on 275 words per page using 12-point type. A nonfiction book with 350 pages will have a spine width of about one-half to three-quarters of an inch.

Since novels tend to have more pages than nonfiction works, it’s not uncommon for a novel to have 500-600 pages. The font or type size in a paperback novel will be much smaller than the average self-help or how-to book. That means more words per page.

Also note the retail price of the books in your genre. You want to price your book within the genre price range in order to sell your book. If you have to mark the book up in order to make a profit, you would do well to reduce the page count and thus, the print cost. This can be achieved by using a smaller font.

Remember, books layout in blocks of four. If your book has an odd number of pages, you will undoubtedly have some blank sheets at the end. Hint: use these extra pages to market your other books or services.

Yvonne Perry is the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services. She enjoys creating Web text, business documents, résumés, and bios. She also writes articles, press releases and non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics. http://writersinthesky.com

Marketing Secrets of a Bookstore

Most of us meander into a bookstore, maybe grabbing a latte from the nearby coffee vendor and sauntering up and down the aisles looking for our desired title. For the savvy author, a bookstore is a great way to not only get to know your market, but to research your competition and get a better understanding of the sales space. Since each book in your genre will tell you a little something about the author and publisher: the cover, book jacket, book size (both dimensions and page count), as well as endorsements, back cover copy, this is one of the best and least expensive ways to do your market research.

Know Your Market

First off, if you've written a book for which there is no market (read: there are no books that cater to this audience), you may have a problem. Unless you are already a brand, meaning that you're a published author with a significant following, it's unlikely that you will be able to create much momentum for a yet unserved market that a publisher will consider you. If it hasn't been written there is likely a reason why. Now there are always exceptions of course, my other book: Red Hot Internet Publicity is not a title that I would have published in 1976, mostly because there was no Internet back then.

You should fit into an existing genre and find the best one for your market. Since books can sometimes straddle different markets, a change in title can take your book for women wanting to succeed in business and move it from the business category into self-help and/or spirituality. Be clear on where your book belongs. Remember, a confused mind won't make a choice so if you confuse your reader, you're likely to lose a sale.

Who Else is Sharing Your Shelf Space?

Getting bookstore shelf space isn't easy. Generally bookstores won't keep books on their shelves that aren't selling, so getting to know books that are doing well in stores can really benefit your title as well. This is all part of your market research: know your competition and know who shares your space. This is not important just to know other competing titles, but for marketing and media positioning this is critical. Also, you should take note of all other recent titles in your category and visit their Web sites. If you're really eager to watch your competition, you could also get Google Alerts on their name or book title to see how much traction they are getting. I will usually do this for any major author in my market as well as all their book titles. Not only can you keep an eye on their hit rate, but these sites and media targets could be good for you as well.

Books that make it into and onto a shelf in a bookstore need to "look" the part. Yes, your book may be the best out there but if it doesn't meet the needs of the genre, it simply won't get put on a shelf. In order to play in the publishing sandbox you must play by the rules. While it's nice to be a maverick and to hear stories about authors who "bent the rules" and claimed success, if you read the backstory to any success, you'll find that following the rules and playing to the market is vital to success. There are 1,500 books published each day. Yes, you want to stand out, but you also want to look the part.

Bookstore checklist

Here's a checklist to get you started in your bookstore research. You'll want to expand on this as you find more titles or more ideas to research. I suggest for example adding in URL's from the book jacket so you can research the author's website, etc.

• What genre does your book fall into?
• Is there a sub-genre and if so, what is it? (for example, my books fall into reference/writing, writing being the sub-genre)
• List the top five titles and authors in that market:
• Key points each book has in common? (for example, all cookbooks you noted had nutritional analysis on each page)

Excerpted and reprinted from The Book Marketing Expert newsletter, a free e-zine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.blogger.com/goog_1268002165438

Network with Us March 2010

Get a FREE 30-day trial of Allison Maslan’s life coaching software for personal development and goal setting at http://ow.ly/KoxX

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Want to learn how to get your book on the shelves at libraries? See The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries.

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Greetings, Friends and Colleagues! I invite you to read my new blog, Recipe For Life. I am very excited about this new direction with my writing, and wellness coaching and Reiki will soon follow. Please enjoy and share with others, if you feel like doing so. Love and Blessings, Barb Hunter

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Schall Adams' GirlfriendMentors.com membership site is the place for business women to connect, mentor, coach, and inspire one another. Let us help you reach your dream of becoming a writer!

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Need help with using Twitter? Check out Dana Lynn Smith's Twitter Guide for Authors.

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Accomplishments by Velda Brotherton http://www.veldabrotherton.com/

In March, two of my books will be published by two different small presses.

First is The Boston Mountains: Lost in the Ozarks from Old American Publishing - a compilation of stories from lost communities of the Boston Mountains. These come from interviews and research over the past ten years or so. Last summer my husband and I visited these lost communities to take photos and make sure they are accessible. Included in the book are directions to each site. The stories tell how people settled in Arkansas when the Territory was opened to white settlement in 1828, how they lived, worshiped, worked and played in the remote wilderness of the rugged Arkansas Ozarks. The book contains 137 photos, some very old.

The second book is Arkansas Meals and Memories from Goldminds Publishing - a combination of 150 authentic Boston Mountain recipes and menus for two full weeks plus special foods for Dinner on the Ground during Decoration and all other holidays. Interspersed throughout the recipes are stories of growing up in the Ozarks, some as told to me by others, some my own experiences as a child living in these beautiful mountains. Many of the recipes come from my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother collected over the years and passed down to me by my mother. Others are from some of the greatest cooks in Arkansas, women who were born and raised here and learned to cook on wood cook stoves.

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The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful art of poetry or to write a short story that is worth telling everyone! And to all who have the ability to dream. Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes. All works must be original. http://www.dreamquestone.com/

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Announcing our new series: The Writing Show Slush Pile Workshop

The Writing Show announces a new podcast series designed to help you practice capturing readers’ attention: “The Writing Show Slush Pile Workshop.” Inspired by literary agent Kristin Nelson’s two-page pitch sessions, Writing Show host Paula B. and freelance editor Ann Paden will play agent and comment on your anonymous submissions on the show.

We’re sure you know by now how important it is to hook a prospective agent or publisher in your first couple of pages. But if you send your work out before it’s ready, you could squander an important opportunity. Don’t risk it. Try your material out on us first—for free!

For more information, see http://www.writingshow.com/.

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To All Literature Lovers in the New York City or Nearby Area

Irene Brodsky is teaching a literature class Spring semester 2010 at Brooklyn College City University of New York. The name of her class is "Plato - Trial and Death of Socrates" and is being held every Thursday from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. in 503 Whitehead Hall. Thanks to Abe's Books, we have textbooks for only $1 each. And we are also planning a class trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the famous paintings of Socrates and have tea/coffee afterwards. Registration for my class is at 3160 Boylan Hall. For more info or travel directions to the college, please call (718) 951-5697.

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Focus + Meaning + Choice = Your Desired Experiences

Is it time to learn how to more effortlessly have desired experiences in your life as a writer? Let the 4-week Reinvent Yourself coaching program or e-book of the program materials show you how. You Are More! Empowerment Coach and author Joyce Shafer (jls1422@yahoo.com). Details at http://tinyurl.com/yljhw4b.

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Calling for Submissions for April 2010 Ezine

It's time for me to start putting together the next fantastic and information-filled e-zine for April 2010. That means I need you to send me your articles, contest announcements, and brags to be included in the next issue. We have more than enough book reviews, but if I have room for them, I'll include them.

Read our guidelines for submittal here. Remember, the better your piece is written, the better attention and credibility it receives--and the less editing I have to do.

Editor's Corner March 2010

Welcome to another issue of Writers in the Sky E-zine. We are one month closer to spring and to celebrate, we have decided to put together a blog chain for St. Patrick’s Day. Would you like to join us for a round of blogging March 11 through 17?

A blog chain involves about a dozen people who have a blog and want to participate in a fun group activity. Each participant visits the blog of every person on the chain within one week of being sent the list of URLs. When visiting each blog, participants read and comment on one post they find interesting. When you leave a comment on the other eleven blogs you will in turn receive eleven comments on your own blog. And, the search engines smile upon you because this kind of activity increases your blog's popularity and raises its ranks in search engines.

When linking blogs, it’s a good idea to connect with ones that are similar in theme or subject matter. If you have a blog with a “green” environmental focus, or one about leprechauns (or any magical being), springtime, beer, or anything to do with St. Paddy’s Day, let us know and we'll include you in this fun activity and help you promote your blog and writing. You may sign up for the next blog chain by selecting "WITS Special Event" when you use the contact page of our Web site.

If you missed “The Insiders Guide to Getting a Book Deal” with Stephanie Gunning, you may listen to the
recorded call on how to get a book deal now:

Stephanie Gunning is a bestselling author, editor, and publishing consultant with over 25 years of experience in the book business. Her Get a Book Deal Coaching Program is a powerful proven system that she strategically developed from her background as a senior acquisitions editor at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and editor at HarperCollins Publishers, and her subsequent career helping create, place, and market books for dozens of non-fiction writers, including New York Times and national bestselling authors Gregg Braden, Arielle Ford, Ruby Payne, and Hale Dwoskin, among others.

During our call, Stephanie shared some valuable information and answered questions about the following:

* What makes an author or a book concept attractive to a publisher?

* The way publishers run their numbers when deciding how much to pay an author for a book project they want to acquire

* Book advances and book contract * Does it help to have an agent? If so, how do you find the right one?

* How does a publishing consultant differ from an agent?

* Why you need to write a book proposal

* Why you should never pay literary representatives money to read for you

She also mentioned the association of author’s representatives, a database where you can search for a literary agent by genre of literature. That Web site is http://www.aaronline.org/Find . Only qualified agents are listed.

Want to Get a Book Deal in 2010? Stephanie will work one-on-one privately to coach you to help create your book proposal.

I appreciate your contributions and thank Barbara Milbourn for proofreading this month's e-zine.

Podcast Schedule for March 2010

Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/ and go to my blog. On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to open the audio file. For information about being a guest on Writers in the Sky Podcast, see http://writersinthesky.com/writing-podcast.htm.

March 5

Author Jennifer Chase will discuss her new novel Dead Game. Jennifer has an educational background in forensics and criminal psychology, which she brings to her writing. Emily Stone and her partner, Rick Lopez, try to track down a serial killer who has been terrorizing followers of a certain online networking group, but they end up becoming targets themselves. Chase will be discussing why she decided to focus on the online community as her chosen environment, what she learned about the writing and marketing process that she was able to apply the second-time around.

March 12

Marilyn Geary and Jacqueline Jannsen sit down with Sarah Moore to discuss their book LeaveLight: A Motivational Guide to Holistic End-of-Life Planning. This book is designed for those who are facing death, or who are planning to assist a loved one through the dying process. While providing all of the necessary checklists and forms, LeaveLight also offers readers the opportunity to reflect and focus on their own spirituality. The authors will be sharing how their own backgrounds led them to write this book, how they see its content being used, and why death is such a difficult subject to address in our culture.

March 19

Lewis Tagliaferre to discuss his book Voices of Sedona. Tagliaferre lost his wife to cancer several years ago and went searching for a way to cope with his grief. During a business trip to Sedona, the spirit of Sedona Schnebly introduced herself and, over the course of subsequent visits, put him in touch with other spiritual teachers. Through these channeled teaching episodes, Tagliaferre learned the five universal principles that now comprise the philosophy known as Theofatalism.

March 26

Bestselling author, editor, and publishing consultant Stephanie Gunning has developed a coaching program to help authors land a book deal, and she draws on her experience as a senior acquisitions editor at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and editor at HarperCollins Publishers to create her winning ideas. During her interview, Ms. Gunning will be discussing what makes a book concept attractive to an editor, why to write an effective book proposal, and what is involved in book contracts and advances. To learn more Stephanie Gunning and the services she offers, please visit her Web site.

Writers’ Podcasts for March Offer Action, Advice, and Affirmation

Writers in the Sky Guests Discuss New Books That Provide Listeners with the Opportunity to Get Lost in a Fictional World and How to Excel in the Real World

Nashville, TN, February 25, 2010—The team members at Writers in the Sky are pleased to share a series of interviews this month that confront the difficult issue of death from several perspectives and also to end the month with an interview that focuses on how to bring your own work to life. The month begins with an author who is making her second visit to the podcast and who will be sharing details about her new thriller. March continues with a holistic guide for those who are confronting the reality of death. The following week features an author who was taught an entirey new theology while coping with the death of his spouse. The month ends when the podcast welcomes an expert in the book business to share how to make our work appealing to publishers.

On March 5, Author Jennifer Chase will be returning to the WITS podcast for a second time to discuss her new novel Dead Game. Jennifer has an educational background in forensics and criminal psychology, which she brings to her writing. Emily Stone and her partner, Rick Lopez, try to track down a serial killer who has been terrorizing followers of a certain online networking group, but they end up becoming targets themselves. Chase will be discussing why she decided to focus on the online community as her chosen environment, what she learned about the writing and marketing process that she was able to apply the second-time around, and what the future holds for Emily Stone. Please visit the Amazon website to purchase Dead Game.

Marilyn Geary and Jacqueline Jannsen sit down with Sarah Moore on March 12 to discuss their book LeaveLight: A Motivational Guide to Holistic End-of-Life Planning. LeaveLight is designed for those who are facing death, or who are planning to assist a loved one through the dying process. While providing all of the necessary checklists and forms, LeaveLight also offers readers the opportunity to reflect and focus on their own spirituality. The authors will be sharing how their own backgrounds led them to write this book, how they see its content being used, and why death is such a difficult subject to address in our culture. You may purchase LeaveLight by visiting the Amazon Web site.

The podcast series continues on March 19, when WITS author’s assistant Sarah Moore will be joined by author Lewis Tagliaferre to discuss his book Voices of Sedona. Tagliaferre lost his wife to cancer several years ago and went searching for a way to cope with his grief. During a business trip to Sedona, the spirit of Sedona Schnebly introduced herself and, over the course of subsequent visits, put him in touch with other spiritual teachers. Through these channeled teaching episodes, Tagliaferre learned the five universal principles that now comprise the philosophy known as Theofatalism. During the conversation, Tagliaferre will be discussing how these teaching sessions occurred, what we all can learn from Theofatalism, and how he continues to receive messages from Sedona. Please visit the Amazon Web site to purchase Voices of Sedona.

On March 26, our last podcast of the month will feature bestselling author, editor, and publishing consultant Stephanie Gunning. Stephanie has developed a coaching program to help authors land a book deal, and she draws on her experience as a senior acquisitions editor at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and editor at HarperCollins Publishers to create her winning ideas. During her interview, Ms. Gunning will be discussing what makes a book concept attractive to an editor, how to write an effective book proposal, and what is involved in book contracts and advances. To learn more Stephanie Gunning and the services she offers, please visit her Web site.

“I believe that the series of podcasts offered by Writers in the Sky this month offer many opportunities for personal reflection,” shares Yvonne Perry, owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services, which produces the podcast. “From confronting our innermost feelings about the taboo subject of dying and death to considering where we stand in our own journeys with the written word, WITS podcasts provide plenty of material for consideration this month.”

About Writers in the Sky: Writers in the Sky blog, podcast, and newsletter is a three-fold production filled with information about writing, publishing, and book publicity created by Yvonne Perry as part of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services.

Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Go to http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/. On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file. 

Are You Considering Writing a Book Series? Author Yvonne Perry Shares the Pros and Cons

My good friend and multi-published author Yvonne Perry has just released The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. In this special interview with Yvonne, we’ll learn the good, bad, and the best tips about publishing a book series.

Carol Denbow: Yvonne, long time, my friend! It’s always a pleasure to have you as a guest at A Book Inside Blog. I was so happy to hear of your new release, The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. We have many visitors to this site who are interested in writing children’s books as well as numerous seasoned authors wishing to continue their published book saga into a book series. I have several questions for you, but let me start by asking you about this book series. Please tell us a little about The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. Such as, what are the books about, how many are there, and where do you make your books available for purchase?

Yvonne Perry: Each story in The Sid Series a collection of 12 body-mind-spirit stories that gives insight on some mature subjects such as recycling, being who you really are, overcoming the fear of storms, helping others, listening to one’s inner guidance, caring for the body, accepting and appreciating diversity, dealing with family change, and coping with the death of a pet. See http://thesidseries.com/

Carol Denbow: When one writes a series of books, do they write them all at once? For instance, is the entire story line written as one bundle, and then divided into several books, and how did you personally go about this?

Yvonne Perry: I began writing The Sid Series when my grandson, Sidney, was very young. The stories were inspired things we did together. I typed the stories into a Word doc, and would later read the stories to him while he sat on my lap in front of the computer. He wanted pictures to go with his stories, so I attempted to illustrate them and bring them to life with colored backgrounds.

Next, I formatted the first three stories and printed them in black and white since my printer was out of color ink (as usual). I didn’t have a stapler with an arm long enough to reach to the centerfold, so I stapled the left edges together to hold the pages tight. It looked like a kindergarten term paper! It just didn’t “feel” like a book. I wanted a better way to bind them, and the pages needed to be in color according to Sid.

I took the file to Kinko’s thinking I would have the stories printed in color on both sides. Gasp! It would cost about $15 per book to print 15 pages and a cover! I decided if I was going to go to the trouble of printing and binding the stories, I might as well go ahead and publish them. I found a commercial printer that offered to produce the books in color with a center staple for about $7 each. I printed about a dozen copies of each title thinking I would sell the ones I didn’t need. However, printing them at $7 each didn’t allow any room for profit because folks weren’t willing to pay more than $7 for a 15-page book. Since it cost me another $2 to ship them, I would actually be paying people to buy them.

But none of that mattered. I didn’t write or publish them with the intention of getting rich! I was happy that we could hold and read the books together when it was time for bed. Sidney was so proud of our books that he took them to school for his teacher to read to his kindergarten class.

As time passed, Sid and I added more stories to the collection. He would dictate a story while I typed it. Sid became interested in the computer and was able to play games and get around quite well on the Internet. Once he learned to read, I formatted some new stories into e-books that he could read to himself any time he wanted. I still offer the e-books on my Web site for $3 each.

Still, I wanted the new stories in printed format. That’s when I decided to put all twelve stories in one book and publish them as The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. I’m glad I did. Now I have a lasting and tangible reminder of the times Sid and I spent together and we have a way to share them with other children and adults.

Carol Denbow: Is it considerably more expensive to publish a series at one time, or can it actually save you money in the long run?

Yvonne Perry: It is much more expensive to do the stories one at the time.

Publishers/printers charge a setup fee and catalog fee for each book title/ISBN. Plus, if you are unable to design your own cover, you will need to pay someone to do a cover for each title rather than for one cover for a book containing all the stories. That is why I published the stories as individual e-books until I finished writing all twelve. Then, I laid out the stories as one book and self-published using Lightning Source.

Carol Denbow: If a writer is considering a book series, would you recommend they complete and publish one book at a time, or write and publish them all at once, and how did you make your own decision to publish them all at one time?

Yvonne Perry: It depends on whether you plan to self-publish or query a conventional publisher, how many pages your book will have, your budget, and whether you are going to print the books in color or black and white. Printing in color is more expensive than black and white.

I self-published through Lightning Source which gave me distribution through Ingram and the ability to offer Amazon a 25% short discount rather than the 55% discount most publish give them. The Sid Series is a 54-page picture book with color illustrations. Each story has 15-18 pages. I paid a $95 setup fee, a $12 catalog fee, and each time I order a new supply of books, I am charged a $1.50 per-book handling fee plus shipping. Now, times that amount by 12 titles and you will quickly see why I decided to publish the entire series as one book/title! However, had my book been a children’s chapter book with 150 black and white pages, I would have published each title separately.

Carol Denbow: Do you think a traditional book publisher would be as interested in publishing a complete series at one time, or publish the first of a series to test the waters before committing (assuming the first book is not labeled or written as a Part 1 book)?

Yvonne Perry: It’s hard to answer that because large publishers with large budgets might do something more risky than a small house with limited resources. Large houses seem to publish in volumes or sets. For example, Random House published the 44 books of Mary Pope Osborne’s Tree House series by issuing 4 or 5 books per year as boxed sets. The books are for sale individually as well. The same is true of Daisy Meadows’ Rainbow Magic Fairies (published by Scholastic Paperbacks) and Gertrude Chandler Warner’s Boxcar Children books (published by Albert Whitman & Company).

Carol Denbow: I hope this interview has helped our interested viewers. Yvonne Perry is the author of several other books as well. Yvonne, please tell us a little about the other books you have authored.

Yvonne Perry: Besides the books I’ve ghosted, edited, or proofread for clients, I have published the following titles. The ones with an asterisk (*) are available on Amazon.

Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy is an e-book designed to help authors promote their books online.

* Right to Recover ~ Winning the Political and Religious Wars Over Stem Cell Research in America is available as a printed book (Nightengale Press) and for the Kindle Reader on Amazon.

* My Mother's Bipolar, So What am I? co-authored with Angela Grett provides help for adult children dealing with the aftermath of being raised by a bipolar parent.

Email Episodes ~ A Hilariously Honest Look at Life is about a woman who is having a midlife crisis while her teenagers are raising reptiles in the basement.

Both an e-book and printed book, * More Than Meets the Eye about Death, Dying and Afterlife was written to comfort those who have lost a loved one or is caring for someone who is dying. Tips for Freelance Writing is an e-book that provides information for starting a free-lance writing business. Both of these e-books are free to those who subscribe to my free monthly newsletter.

I have published several poetry chapbooks and e-books about trips I have taken. All my books and e-books are available at http://writersinthesky.com/books-by-yvonne.html and several are free!

Carol Denbow: You also have a Web site and I’m sure more to share with us?

Yvonne Perry: I provide mentoring/consultation on writing and publishing; My team and I offer ghostwriting, editing, and proofreading services as well as marketing assistance to businesses and individuals http://writersinthesky.com/.

You’ll want to check out our blog, podcast, and newsletter while you are there. All three provide more information about writing, publishing, and book marketing.

Carol Denbow: Yvonne, thank you so very much for visiting us on the Blog. Your information has been extremely helpful and is very much appreciated. Have a happy New Year everyone!
Thank you for interviewing me for this blog. I would be happy to answer questions. I will stop by later today to see if anyone leaves a comment.

Poetry Corner February 2010

Dust Speck

It’s a fine day
And I’m talking with the sun.
"I don’t think there’s only one sun,"

I say. "There are no end of you,
And of course there are the stars:
To be means to be numberless.

"And yet, O magnificent,
I delight in your heat.
Dust speck, I adore you."

Shinkichi Takahashi poem "Sun" opens several portals that are attached to my belief structure. These portals are like the sun peeping around the clouds, and I begin to see something other than gray-white smoky configuration of my sheltered and protected fear filled reality. I sense the presence of other aspects of my self; I feel like a new year that comes rolling out of a calendar filled with rational symbols that have not been touch by my thoughts and beliefs physically, but have already been experienced in another intensity of my consciousness.

To "be" does mean to be numberless, when I allow this self the opportunity to look at a dust speck and sense another reality filled with the ingredients of life. Remembering to delight in the heat of my own energy, I discover a new aspect of awareness that fragments into selves, which experience consciousness in a series of sequential realities that occur simultaneously.

And yet this cornucopia of selves hides from my reality and forms independent focuses that dance through the stars of other realities and express their energy in random impulses and reconfigure my beliefs and choices in obscure and subtle ways. I know them, yet these strangers from my essence intermingled with my ego consciousness like the minute life forms that automatically support my physical structure. I know these cryptic partners, yet disown them like a modern day Judas with no cause.

The message that Takahashi sends me is a simple one; I am much more than I think I am, in fact, I’m many more than I believe I am. When I tie my religious and scientific beliefs to my metaphysical anchor of awareness and let them sink into the clear water of consciousness, I find dimensions and realities that patiently wait for my awareness. In this world of crystal clarity, a dust speck of my consciousness floats through the life of another self and forms a frequency of vibrations that repeats itself in the redundancy of a fine day.

Hal Manogue
http://www.shortsleeves.net/
http://halmanogue.blogspot.com/

 

---

Come into Your World

I’ve been in lust before.
Well, I can handle that.
Toss out a little tease.
And see if it comes back.
Sometimes it does.

But this loving you thing,
That’s a whole other deal.
Want to touch you, taste you,
Want to see how you feel
It might be good.

If you would hold my heart,
Then I could see your soul.
We could love a long time,
And never have to go.
I want to try.

What do you like for breakfast?
What do you do late at night?
Can I come into your world?
Well, wouldn’t that just feel right?
What do you say?

Jan Bossing © 2009 Joelton, Tennessee

---

No excuse

I am utterly selfish with time.
Ask for my failings
My mother, sister, even
The cat left wailing.

But everything I do
Hangs on the weather.
I scan the morning cloud
A burning feather

Whose rain will blind.
I hear the quick hooves chime
Caught on the darkened road,
Where we have no more time.

---

The Coach Passes Chelsea

Here is the bridge they strung with lights
which blazed and wasted longer nights.
Not yet switched off, its harp unfurls
too low for stars, too warm for pearls.

The lit boats swing. You long to be
seated and served, eat greedily,
stroll moneyed dark streets, without haste,
a stranger’s arm around your waist.

But having gnawed your apple core
you watch the river fade, before
the motorway where late shifts work;
the modest door you push from dark

upon a man who goes nowhere
on cats who blink and scarcely care,
into the river of your nights
to skies like orchards, hung with lights.

Alison Brackenbury’s seventh collection is Singing in the Dark, Carcanet, 2008. “A quiet lyricism and delight,” says The Guardian. New poems can be read at www.alisonbrackenbury.co.uk

---

Looking for the cat

It is the time of night when the blood slows
The time of cold when steel grinds in the locks
The time of moon which wakes, on street’s dark side,
The distant icy barking of the fox.

Alison Brackenbury has recently produced a chapbook of new animal poems, Shadow, available from www.happenstancepress.com.

---

Valentine’s Day

Roses of every shade
Pink, yellow, red and white
Planted on my college campus
Such a lovely sight.

Romance is all around us
as their aroma fills the air.
Students hold hands
with a care.

Birds sing their song
from branches way up high
as young lovers kiss
and sigh!

And I think of you!
The love of my life
And why I am glad
to be your wife.

Submitted by Irene Brodsky, Author of Poetry Unplugged (Outskirts Press.2008)

---

Sir Algernon and the Poets

An Anthology of Modern Verse (pub. 1921 & reprinted 48 times to 1959).
The copy I picked up today for 50p in Cancer Research has penciled in: Diane Campkin neat above the faded ink stamp of County Grammar School, Windmill Lane, East Grinstead. The edition we used, and another.

A New Anthology of Modern Verse, 1920 – 1940, but this time i/c poets.
These (and hymns, I suspect) taught us what poetry is: metered, neat, and as the Introduction says, no danger to rectitude & respectability. Sir A. Methuen hands on the baton to C. Day Lewis and Strong, L.A.G.
No wonder in late 50s & Shock of the New 60s it was pop we hummed. What was Diane Campkin like? Blonde, brunette, or redhead with the whitest of teeth, flashing eyes, and the risk of mascara for school, hmm?

And who nowadays recalls A.E (George Russell) or Eva Gore Booth, Austin Dobson or Helen Parry Eden (Mrs. John Lane)? Bygones they are now, just as, like Ozymandias, we shall be next century.
East Grinstead is Scientology Central, is it not? And is the Grammar there still on Windmill Lane, or bulldozed for commuter pods, desirable?

But not all of it is utterly forgettable:
Eliot, Blunden & W.H. Davies jog my forty-five-year-later brain: La Figlia che Piange;
Rain-sunken roof, grown green and thin
For sparrows’ nests and starlings’ nests;
Dishevelled eaves; unwieldy doors,
Cracked rusty pump, and oaken floors

And my favourite W.H. – What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare? Not while you have to cram for exams, you wretches. It is only, only poetry, and all of you have livings to earn. Poetry? Pah!
Copyright April 2009 C.J. Heyworth

---

 When You Fall Asleep

This one is for all those people who are far away from the one they love the most.

Daylight slowly fades into the western skies
Putting on a show to tease my wondering eyes.
Imagination takes me to wherever you might be,
Even if it’s a million miles beyond reality.

I can hardly wait for sleep to ease my mind,
Hold you in my arms and leave the world behind.
And I whisper a silent prayer offered up on bended knees,
When you fall asleep tonight
I hope you’re dreaming of loving me.

Never wanted to be so far from your loving arms
In a place a world away from you and all your charms.
But there’s one thing I know for sure
No matter how it seems,
When I fall asleep tonight
I’ll be walking in all your dreams.

I’ll be there for you…
When you fall asleep.

I can hardly wait for sleep to ease my mind,
Hold you in my arms and leave the world behind.
And I whisper a silent prayer offered up on bended knees,
When you fall asleep tonight
I hope you’re dreaming of loving me.

Dennis S Martin
Website: http://www.iwritesome.com/
Blog: http://www.iwrtiesome.blogspot.com/
Storefront: www.lulu.com/dsmartin

St. Patrick's Day Blog Chain!

Thanks to everyone who participated, our Valentine's Blog Chain was a huge success. We all had so much fun, we have decided to put together another one for St. Patrick’s Day. Would you like to join us for a round March 11 through 17? This is a great way to help one another promote our blogs and writing.

In case you missed the last event, you may be wondering, "What is a blog chain?"

A blog chain involves about a dozen people who have a blog and want to participate in a fun group activity. Each participant visits the blog of every person on the chain within one week of being sent the list of URLs. When visiting each blog, participants read and comment on one post they find interesting. When you leave a comment on the other eleven blogs you will in turn receive eleven comments on your own blog. And, the search engines smile upon you because this kind of activity increases your blog's popularity and raises its ranks in search engines.

You may sign up for the next blog chain by sending an email to katie at writersinthesky dot net. Notice how I posted my admin's email address here. You'll have to use your imagination to put the pieces together, but that makes you smarter than the spamming software that normally grabs exposed email addresses.

Join Us for Spirit Authors Grand Opening Webinar Week

The final countdown is on for the big Spirit Authors Grand Opening Webinar Week.

It all starts TOMORROW, so register NOW for the free education from some of the leading experts in the writing/book industry.


If you are a mind-body-spirit author, or have a dream of being one some day, or even if you just love to blog or keep a personal journal, and you haven't yet checked out the Spirit Authors Grand Opening, make sure you do so. From Monday February 22 through Friday February 26, my good friend Lynn Serafinn will be hosting a VIP panel of 18 top mind-body-spirit publishing professionals, for five days of FREE webcasts about writing, publishing, promotion and beyond... and I'm one of them!

If you've ever wondered how to keep your spiritual focus while becoming an Amazon bestseller, or how to turn a book idea into a whole career, you'll want to check out this grand opening. You can read about the event, the VIP guests, and sign up to attend for FREE at http://ow.ly/13c8t.  You can listen either via telephone or via live webcast online.

AND.. Lynn just told me there are going to be some very special bonuses on offer to everyone who takes the new Spirit Authors site for a $1 "Test Drive" during the launch. I've been sworn to secrecy on what the bonuses are (sorry), but I can tell you that they are NOT just your run-of-the-mill offers, and the bonuses alone can really help you achieve your goal of becoming a self-published author, and build a business from your publishing success.

If you cannot make the live calls on that day, be sure to register anyway, because you can download the audio recording later.

See you next week!

Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience

Hi, WITS Community!

Yvonne Perry here. I wanted you to have this special invitation to a truly exciting event in which I am participating. I have been asked to be one of 18 leading names in the world of mind-body-spirit writing and publishing for a week of FREE webcasts, Feb 22-26.

What’s the event? We are celebrating the Grand Opening of the brand new Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience by my friend and colleague, Lynn Serafinn. Lynn’s a bestselling mind-body-spirit author, transformation coach, book promotion coach and award-winning teacher who helps unlock authors’ potential to become Number-1 bestsellers.

Here are the details:

SPIRIT AUTHORS GRAND OPENING

Register for free!

• Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February (one webcast per day), from 3pm – 4.30pm Eastern / 8pm – 9.30pm UK

• FIVE unique broadcasts on different topics including writing, publishing and marketing your book and beyond

• FREE to attend; FREE to listen (via webcast)

• A superb VIP panel of 18 spirit-based industry professionals, all leaders in their fields

• Panellists include top-selling mind-body-spirit authors, editors, marketing specialists, ghost-writers, literary agents, publishers and basically wonderful people.

On the broadcasts, you will…

• Hear the experiences and insights of 18 leading mind-body-spirit publishing professionals

• Learn lots of new things about spirit-based writing, publishing and promotion

• Have the opportunity to direct questions to the VIP panel via our webcast

• Find out how you can “Test Drive” Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience for only $1

• Receive some great free gifts just for checking it out.


Can’t make it to the live broadcasts?

No problem! Register for the webcasts you want, and you will receive a link to download the MP3 after the event. But don’t leave it too long before you listen to them… we’ll be giving away some freebies that will be available only during the week of the Grand Opening launch.


Whether you're experienced author, a brand new author, or someone who is dreaming of the possibility of writing an inspirational book some day, I think you'll want to check out all 5 of these FREE webcasts.

I’m really looking forward to the event, and to getting to speak with all these fascinating people. I hope to see you there too.

Yvonne Perry
Owner, Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services

Book Fair Blues? Thirteen Tips to Make Book Booths Better

It's very wintry right now, but spring will be here in about six more weeks. My friend, Carolyn Howard-Johnson,has wome good tips about book promotion in the warmer weather.

The spring season for book promotion will soon be upon us. I have some advice for those who are looking for tips to get the most out of your marketing dollars at the book booth.

Don't rent a booth at a book fair. Don't host an event. Don't do anything! Not without assuring its success with a savvy public relations campaign. Here's how:

1. Join with other authors to cross-promote.
2. Send out invitations to readers and to the media.
3. Produce a catalog or brochure to give to the press in attendance and attendees. Try to give your gift more substance than a mere flier. It will be less likely to get tossed.
4. Tie sales to a charity relevant to writing or literacy.
5. Schedule book signing times even though you will be manning the booth for the full day. It adds credibility to your appearance.
6. Use signs, lighting and other effective display techniques.
7. Give a gift to those who purchase your book. Go to http://redenginepress.com/ for a journal that can be used to increase your profits as an add-on sale or as a gift-with-purchase.
8. Offer snacks to those who drop by.
9. Take photos for use in post-publicity.
10. Design a media blitz including queries, releases, and personal phone calls.
11. Schedule a special offering or entertainment in your booth. At the 2008 LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books my booth partners and I offered mini-videos by Rey Ybarra (reach him at rybarra106@aol.com) at a special price. Your offering could just as well be a poetry reading or a performance.
12. If you can afford to do it, give out totes or bags with your book cover, logo, and Web site printed on them. Toss into them your bookmarks or business/postcards.
13. Get a video of your event to post on your Web site, blogs and YouTube! That gives you after-the-fair value (and credibility!) for the work you've gone to.

And, of course, get a copy of The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't for practical suggestions for hundreds of other ways to brand yourself and promote your book. Look up book fair related words in the index including "book fairs," "book signings," "book expos," but don't neglect related subjects like "media releases," "building a contact list," and more.

It's an awful thing to ponder, but it boils down to this. Promotions don't work unless you promote the promotions. So here's to a great spring of 2010.

Carolyn is the author of the award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/.

The Insiders' Guide to Getting a Book Deal

If you missed my call, “The Insiders Guide to Getting a Book Deal,” with Stephanie Gunning (a.k.a @AudaciousEditor on Twitter) about how to get a book deal, you can listen to the recorded call now.

Stephanie Gunning is a bestselling author, editor, and publishing consultant with over 25 years of experience in the book business. Her Get a Book Deal Coaching Program is a powerful proven system that she strategically developed from her background as a senior acquisitions editor at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and editor at HarperCollins Publishers, and her subsequent career helping create, place, and market books for dozens of non-fiction writers, including New York Times and national bestselling authors Gregg Braden, Arielle Ford, Ruby Payne, and Hale Dwoskin, among others.

During our call, Stephanie shared some valuable information and answered questions about the following:

• What makes an author or a book concept attractive to a publisher?
• The way publishers run their numbers when deciding how much to pay an author for a book project they want to acquire
• Book advances and book contract
• Does it help to have an agent? If so, how do you find the right one?
• How does a publishing consultant differ from an agent?
• Why you need to write a book proposal
• Why you should never pay literary representatives money to read for you

She also mentioned the association of author’s representatives, a database where you can search for a literary agent by genre of literature. That Web site is http://www.aaronline.org/Find. Only qualified agents are listed.

Want to Get a Book Deal in 2010? Stephanie will work one-on-one privately to coach you to help create your book proposal. 

Book with a View February 2010

Book Title: Dead Game
Author: Jennifer Chase
ISBN Number: 978-1-4327-5128-9
Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com
Genre and Target Market: thriller; fiction; criminal psychology
Publication Date: 2010
Book Length in Pages: 370
Reviewed by: Sarah Moore

As someone who is involved in the world of writing and publishing for a living, I am presented with dozens of books every month by authors whose names I did not know before their work was placed on my desk. In most instances, I enjoy the writer’s individual expression of talent and appreciate the great deal of time and effort that was required to share a story. While I am always pleased at having a new book to add to my collection, the relationship with the author normally does not extend much after my completion of the review. Occasionally, however, I am introduced to an author whose work I am compelled to share with friends and fellow book lovers. These exciting moments of discovery create one of best instances of personal satisfaction that I experience in my line of work. Jennifer Chase is one of those authors for whom I want to offer praises and publicity. With the release of her second novel, Dead Game, Chase has only solidified my opinion.

Dead Game brings the readers to the next episode in the life of Emily Stone, a protagonist who was introduced to all of us in Chase’s first book, Compulsion. Stone is a stealth vigilante who tracks down the rapists, murderers, and pedophiles that live among us and then anonymously collects the evidence needed to bring these criminals to justice. In Dead Game, Emily learns about a serial killer who also likes to work behind the protection of anonymity, but for very different reasons.

Author Jennifer Chase has decided to feature the world of online social networking for her new release, and the plot here does not involve rekindling a romance with a high school boyfriend through Facebook or sharing opinions about controversial political decisions on a MySpace blog. Instead, Chase creates a virtual world in which serial killers are able to connect and share their disturbing obsession with the torture and murder of others. One man in particular enters the radar of Emily Stone and her boyfriend and fellow investigator, Rick Lopez, when his penchant for violence reaches Lopez’s mentor. What unfolds over the next 370 pages, in both the virtual and physical worlds, will keep readers guessing and anxiously turning the pages to allow the story to unfold.

As she did with Compulsion, Jennifer Chase has created with Dead Game a novel that literally took my breath away on multiple occasions. She does a masterful job of revealing just enough details to keep you invested in the plot and characters without ever showing her hand too quickly. In several instances, I made assumptions concerning who was behind the savage kidnapping and murders of unsuspecting men and women only to have my instincts betrayed by a new piece of absolving evidence.

With her sophomore effort, author Jennifer Chase proves that she has real staying power in the world of thriller and mystery writing. Whether or not you have already met Emily Stone through Chase’s first novel, you will be able to become fully engrossed in the storyline of Dead Game. With a plotline that develops through the perspective of several characters to the authentic psychology of serial killers that Chase is able to provide from her own educational background to a heroine who is relatable in both her courage and her flaws, Dead Game is a novel that is not to be missed.

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Voices of Sedona: A Spiritual Path to Serenity and Contentment
Author: Lewis Tagliaferre
ISBN: 0-595-39367-5
Publisher: iUniverse, 2006
Genre and Target Market: self-help; theology; spirituality
Book Length in Pages: 317
Reviewed by Sarah Moore for WITS

When Lewis Tagliaferre approached me to write a review for his book Voices of Sedona: A Spiritual Path to Serenity and Contentment, I was automatically intrigued by the tagline for the publication. Tagliaferre offers the invitation to “Feel Good Inside No Matter What Happens Outside,” and that entreaty could not have arrived in my life at a better time. After talking with the author on the phone and learning more about his journey, I became even more convinced that his work was finding its way to me for a reason. Since our initial conversations, I have twice requested more time to complete my evaluation. This delay is not due to a lack of interest in the material. Instead, the five lessons and the amazing details that accompany each principle inspired extended reflection and a desire to read certain segments time and again.

Lewis Tagliaferre shares the five principles of Theofatalism®, a philosophy that was shared with him during various trips to the beautiful part of Arizona that we all have seen captured in photographs. During each visit, the author received teachings from guides who were channeled into his subconscious through the spirit of Sedona M. Schnebly, the wife of the town’s founder and its namesake. I know that Sedona has long been known for its spiritual offerings, but I will admit to some skepticism upon hearing about the author’s claimed method for developing the principles he shares in his book. Five spirit teachers came to you at the behest of a woman who passed away a half-century earlier? However, as the material unfolded and the meaning behind each principle was explained, I became more and more convinced that Lewis Tagliaferre has an important message to share.

Voices of Sedona is beautifully written in a style that is captivating in both its emotion and logic. Tagliaferre, who began this journey of spiritual exploration following the untimely death of his wife from cancer, is a talented writer who carefully uses language to share his story without it ever becoming cumbersome or without direction. And, he finds wonderful ways to integrate relevant information from the worlds of religion, current events, history, and other fields of study in a way that makes the material engaging to as wide of an audience as possible. From the life of Mike Tyson to the distribution of wealth in our country to the proverbs offered in Buddhism, Tagliaferre ties together so many distinct points of reference into a comprehensive philosophy that makes sense for everyone.

As the book reaches its conclusion, the author encourages his readers to join together and teach the five principles he shares with others. Voices of Sedona is a reference book that is meant to be reviewed, discussed, and hopefully marked up with notes and underlining. Combined with the ongoing essays that are published on his blog, http://www.sedonavoices.blog.com/, Tagliaferre has developed a comprehensive work of study for those who are ready to learn. Acknowledging the idea that we are right where we are meant to be and embracing the role we were given to play in the universe, just two of the concepts that are revealed in this book, has quickly become an important act of ongoing practice for me. I strongly believe that other readers will find the same significance to the text as I have and I look forward to seeing how the philosophy shared in Voices of Sedona multiplies in its effect as the book’s audience continues to grow.

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Book Title: Kim’s Confessions
Author: Wilson Awasu
ISBN Number: 978-1-4327-4463-2
Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com
Genre and Target: religion; Christianity; personal reflection
Publication Date: 2009
Book Length in Pages: 136
Book Review by: Sarah Moore

Have you ever been in the middle of a large group and wondered what the people around you were thinking? Maybe you were at a conference for work and tried to decide how many others were hoping that it was almost time for a lunch break. Perhaps you were attending a debate between two candidates running for the same local office and you hoped to catch the eyes of your neighbors to see if you get a read on their opinion concerning each politician. In his new release, Kim’s Confessions, author Wilson Awasu offers his readers this very opportunity—to get inside the mind of one woman who is witnessing the same event as many others. When his title character reluctantly attends a seminar at her church that causes her to question the depth of her faith, an insightful inner dialogue is the resulting product.

When we meet Kim, she is operating under the belief that her faith is beyond reproach. She is a ninth-generation Presbyterian and she is the choir director at the church that her family helped to found. She believes that these credentials speak for themselves and she uses these labels as an excuse not to think about her faith and personally test its strength. When a pastor is welcomed into her church to share a series called “Radical Growth,” Kim instinctively puts up her guard and warns her friends not to fall for the brainwashing schemes of this stranger. We soon learn, as does Kim, that her defensive posturing is simply a cover to mask her own doubts and insecurities.

Awasu creates in Kim a woman to whom many readers will be able to relate. She is accomplished in many ways and carries herself with confidence, but still holds onto a nagging sense of self-doubt that she does not want others to see. Whether connected to our faith, our profession, or our personal relationships, I know that most of us have an area of our lives that we do not want to question out of fear for the answer. As the book evolves and Kim comes to accept that she still has so much to learn and embrace, perhaps you will allow Awasu’s words to provoke some personal soul searching as well.

In many ways, Kim’s Confessions reads like a Bible study. Kim takes us through each concept that is being taught in the seminar and shares direct Scripture passages that are used by the pastor to emphasize his message. When a reader comes upon an element that he or she wishes to study more beyond the pages of Kim’s Confessions, as trust or loyalty, these Biblical reference points will provide further context. For those who are not Christian and may be apprehensive concerning the focus of the book, Kim’s Confessions still offers great insight into how any belief system is developed and strengthened in our minds and spirits.

Kim’s Confessions by Wilson Awasu is a well-written, concise book that serves as a guide to one life-changing weekend for its main character. The content is well-researched and the characters, from the church elders to the pastor to Kim herself, are believable in their positive attributes as well as their flaws. Mr. Awasu has done a nice job of putting a new spin on the popular idea of Biblical guidebooks by allowing a fictional character to host the thought process, and I believe this unique perspective will lend itself to future study topics if the author so chooses. If such publications are made available, I certainly will be one of their readers.

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Beyond the Stars: Kataria
Kelly Beltz
BookSurge (2009)
ISBN 9781439222805
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views

Even though she has most of her career working for the Space Island Group (SIG), Physicist Samantha Gerris has always managed to keep her feet on the ground. SIG has been developing a space resort for years. SIG is also secretly involved with working with aliens and studying alien technology. Samantha doesn’t discover this part until after she suffers a great loss. At this point, her children are now young adults who also become employed by SIG.

When Samantha discovers that her kids have decided to work off planet, she knows that she will desperately miss them, so she agrees to follow them up to the off-planet resort site. This is where the secrets begin to be revealed. An emergency situation lands Samantha on an alien space craft that is headed home, which happens to be across the universe. This turns out to be the trip of a lifetime for Samantha. On this ship, she learns about the alien technology, the alien’s culture, other aliens that are not so nice, and most important of all, she finds love again.

I loved reading “Beyond the Stars: Kataria.” The author, Kelly Beltz, has combined the perfect blend of science fiction, adventure, mystery and romance. The story is a pleasure to read. It is interesting to see how Beltz uses her imagination to create technology that actually seems like it could be plausible. She also takes you deep into the heart and soul of the main character. Through Samantha’s eyes we get to share her experiences, her fears, and her new love. The character has to transition through a variety of stages to be able to move on to a higher level of her self. In spite of the science-fiction elements, I found myself really being able to relate to this character. I highly recommend “Beyond the Stars: Kataria.” I also think that it would be a great selection for a reader’s group. I look forward to the next adventure in the series.

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THE SID SERIES ~A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children
Author: Yvonne Perry
Published by: Write On! 2009
ISBN: 9780982572207
Reviewed by Penny Ehrenkranz
The Sid Series is a collection of twelve short stories for children written by author, Yvonne Perry. The model for Sid is Yvonne’s own grandson, Sidney. These are his stories and span about 5 years of Sid’s life. Yvonne, Von-Von in the stories, is the one who helps Sid by answering his questions. Each of the stories was written to help parents and children deal with issues children encounter in their lives.

“A Ghost in My Closet” is about communicating with angels. Sid sees something in his closet. Upon inspection, he thinks he sees something alive. It seems friendly, but was it? Von-Von comes at Sidney’s call. Read the story with your child to see what Von-Von tells Sid about his mysterious visitor.

“A Powerful Potion” is about the power of imagination. In this tale, Sid’s puppy, Blue Girl hurts her leg. Using his imagination, Sid brews up a magic potion of weeds and water. Read this magical tale to see what magic Sidney works.

“A Stormy Adventure” helps children face their fear of storms. Sid and Von-Von go on a kayaking adventure. Sid learns about manatees and their babies. He sees many different types of water birds, but then the sky gets dark. The group wants to see dolphins and they press on. There is a flash of lightning. Sidney learns about being on the water during a lightning storm and how to be safe. With Von-Von’s guidance he learns to face his fears.

“Always Be Honest” shares Sid’s story of learning to tell the truth. Sid takes his bat and ball outside to play. He accidentally breaks Von-Von’s glass gazing globe. He’s afraid Von-Von will be angry so he tries to fix the globe. Instead, he cuts his finger. When Von-Von finds out what happened, Sidney learns a lesson in honesty.

“Ask Your Body” helps children understand about their body’s needs. It’s time for lunch, but Sid isn’t hungry. Von-Von wants him to eat vegetables, but Sid wants cookies. What will his body tell him? When it’s time for bed, Sid wants one more movie, but his body is tired. What will happen when Von-Von compromises by reading Sid a story?

“Making Room for Brother” is about dealing with changes in the family. When Sid is 8 years old, his mom announces there will be a new baby. His family includes Sid in all the preparations. He goes to the doctor with Mom and learns he will have a brother. He gets to choose which room will be his and helps paint his new room. He even gets to take a class to help him be a big brother.

“My Friend’s Skin” tells a tale of accepting and appreciating diversity. Sidney goes to the beach with Von-Von. He has to put on sunscreen so he doesn’t burn. He doesn’t want to because he wants to be brown like his friend, Bree. Von-Von explains why Bree’s skin is a different color and why Sidney will never be brown like his friend. Sidney hears a mom call her child in Spanish and Von-Von explains about how interesting differences can be. When he meets a Japanese girl in the water, he learns more about languages and differences. Finally, Sid sees a woman wearing a sari. Von-Von explains about variety and how important it is.

“Old Things and New” teaches children about recycling. Sid helps Von-Von clean up trash and they take the glass and newspapers to the recycling center. A garage sale helps Sid to learn more about using recycled items both by buying other people’s and selling his own. He even learns about organ transplants and this unique form of “recycling.”

“Puppy Love” deals with the death of a pet. Von-Von and Ran-Ran’s old dog dies. Sidney helps bury the dog and learns about losing a beloved pet. Soon Von-Von and Sidney find a puppy. They try to find his owners, but when no one claims him, they decide to keep him.

“Sid’s Fairy” is a tale intended to help children learn about inner guidance. Sid and Von-Von sit in the garden in the early evening. Von-Von tells Sid if he’s quiet the fairies will come. When he relaxes and closes his eyes, he learns about meditation. As he opens his eyes, he sees twinkling colors and hears a small voice singing a silly song. Here Sid learns to listen to the tiny voice in his mind and to feel love inside of him.

“The Pirates Treasure” is about finding the treasure within. At the beach, Sid and Von-Von pretend to look for buried treasure, but all they find is sand. When the sun shines through a gazebo and leaves the shadow of an “x” on Sid’s shirt, Von-Von tells Sid the treasure is inside of him. What is the treasure? Read and find out.

“You Can Be!” The last story in this collection is about understanding destiny and making choices. Sidney goes to Von-Von and Ran-Ran’s farm for a visit. While he’s there, he gets to try many new things such as making cookies with farm-fresh ingredients, drawing pictures of Ran-Ran, planting seeds in the garden, and helping care for an injured pet. Each thing Sid does, Von-Von tells him how it relates to something he could be when he grows up.

This is a book delightfully illustrated by both Ms. Perry and others. It is a book your young reader could read by himself or you could read to your younger children. It is a collection of stories which beg to be discussed. Pick up your copy at http://thesidseries.com/.