The Care And Feeding Of Editorial Assistants By Allyson E. Peltier

Few writers know this, but Editorial Assistants (EAs) are the gatekeepers of publishing. In the world of towering slush piles and deep agented-submissions bins, EAs are often the first to look at submissions. They screen calls and fend off anxious authors and would-be authors.

Editor’s Procrastination Shouldn’t Be Your Problem

Hi Angela,
What do you do with difficult editors? I just ran into two situations with two different editors that have set my teeth on edge. It’s one of these situations where their procrastination becomes my problem. Essentially, I messed up by agreeing to do an article with a very short deadline, but I did let the editor know that I was concerned about my interviewees not cooperating with me in such a short time period.

I Knew I Couldn’t Write a Whole Book…But I Did! By Kristen J. Tsetsi

A few years ago, I knew I would never, ever write a book. I’d written short stories, a few plays, even a screenplay or two, but a book? A book was two-hundred (plus!) pages. A book had characters doing God-knows-what, chapter after chapter, and staying interesting at the same time. A book had the interweaving of types and archetypes with subplots and symbols and…
Preposterous.

Whispers And Warnings For March 21st

McGraw-Hill and author Jan Goldberg – Writer alleges copyright infringement. WritersWeekly loses patience after McGraw-Hill gives us the run-around. Author Jan Goldberg never responded to WritersWeekly or to the writer.
Creative TECHniques / creativetechniquesmag.com / All American Crafts Inc. / allamericancrafts.com – Writer alleges she’s owed $350; publisher got upset with writer and terminated the contract…after the articles were finished and submitted. What do you think? Does the publisher owe the writer the money? WritersWeekly would love your opinion on this one!
Deep Magazine / DeepMag.com / Kelly Degnan – Writer alleges she’s owed $250 and editor says she’s no loger employed by this magazine.

Spring Cleaning and Spring Building

It’s finally warming up a bit in Maine. The thermometer actually got above freezing last week and it was over 50 today! Some of the snow is melting, but there’s a ton of it so it’ll take awhile.

Letters To The Editor For March 14th

  • Add a “Publish-By-Or-Pay” Clause to Your “Pays On Publication” Contracts
  • Promote Your OWN Website, Not Your Publisher’s
  • Giving Writers Leverage

Help Leaping from Newspapers to Magazines

Angela,
I have been reading your newsletter on and off now for ages now and I’m always amazed at your fluid personal style, but this was absolutely the cutest thing so far…”As her emails came faster and with more anger, she stopped using any capital letters at all. Can you imagine how embarrassed she would be if I published her emails?”

My Writing Journey With Booklocker: Help When There Was None By Rickey E. Pittman

Several years ago, I had completed my first novel, Red River Fever. Discouraged from having wasted a year with an editing/agent scam, I didn’t know what to do with my novel. I knew it was a good novel, and wanted to get it into print so I could move on to other books I wanted to write. My best writing friend, who had read my novel, recommended that I take a look at Booklocker.com, and consider using them.