Blurring the Line Between “Writer” and “Expert”
This week I’m happy to share a letter I received recently from someone seeking slave labor, along with my response. Enjoy!
Letters To The Editor For December 1st
This Week:
- Inspiration
- The Shy Writer
Reviewing Your Ideas – Just Keep Stirring By William Meikle
Let’s talk about ideas. Ideas exist in a soup in your brain, and like all good soups, ideas need time to stew. The trick is to keep stirring. As the idea churns around in what passes for your creative capacity, you should periodically review it and ask yourself some questions.
Who’s Afraid of the Big Blank Page? By Daphne Dykeman
Having left full-time paid employment to become a mother, I still wanted to contribute in some way to the family budget. I saw that the local paper printed book reviews by a number of freelancers, and I felt that, with a degree in English and a passion for books, it would be a natural fit.
I checked out the most recently printed book available at my local library and began thinking about my sample review. And continued thinking about it for four months. I played around with openings and phrases, but it was impossible to actually commit anything to paper.
Ah, Gluttony…
Trying to get an early start on the holiday preparations, we put up some of our Christmas decorations last Sunday. Max doesn’t remember Christmas from last year (he turned three in September) so we’ve been having fun reminding him about the season. He seemed to understand the “Santa” concept and even said he’s going to ask Santa for a new train.
Shy Writers Unite!
Hi Angela,
Boy am I glad you published that shy writer story. I was so shy I used to write with a pencil that had an eraser on both ends.
I am doing the blog thing now, too.
See: https://tenniesup.blogspot.com/
Best wishes!
Kenny
Shyness-Busters By C. Hope Clark
If you’re a shy writer, you should know that shyness is who you are, as much a part of you as eye color and lobed ears. Learn to incorporate it into your writing world. Learn how to recognize your limitations and your abilities and define your ills and your cures.
ISBN or ISSN?
Angela,
I was referred to you by Mark McCann, an author who published through your program. I am putting together a one-time literary magazine and I wasn’t sure how to get an ISBN # for the magazine. What is the procedure for doing so?
All the best,
Elizabeth
ISBNs are actually assigned to books. ISSNs are for periodicals.
You can apply for an ISSN at:
https://www.lcweb.loc.gov/issn/
You’ll be happy to know that, while ISBNs are quite expensive, there is currently no charge for an ISSN assignment.
Blotch’s Diagnosis
We did finally get a diagnosis on Blotch’s condition. The news was not good, but we are coping. The story is here: https://www.angelahoy.com/archives/002189.html
I have set a near-impossible personal goal to have all my Christmas shopping and gift wrapping finished before December 9th, which is when Richard’s grandmother is arriving for a one-month visit. She has diabetes, is almost blind and sometimes forgets things that happened yesterday, but she was a nurse in WWII, serving on a ship (and suffering from constant seasickness!), and the kids love hearing her war stories! In fact, she met her husband that way. But that’s a romance story for another day…
It’s always fun to have guests for the holidays and I’m looking forward to tricking her into sharing some of her secret recipes with me. Heh…
Hugs to all!
Ang
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
Another Bad Byproduct of Sp*m Filters
When this service was first implemented, I received up to 5-6 submissions per day that required that I “register.” Now, I don’t bother. If a writer wants to receive feedback from us on the status of his/her submission, they will need to pre-register our domain as one that they will allow mail from or they won’t hear back from us. I have yet to bypass a submission we selected for publication because of this maddening practice, but I am prepared to do so if the need arises.