A cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my writing gave to me…

2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my writing gave to me…

3 published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 4th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
4 magazines
3  published subs
2 new Jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 5th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
5 agent’s calls
4 magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 6th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
6  harsh critiques
5  agent’s calls
4  magazines
3  published subs
2  new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 7th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
7  interruptions
6 harsh critiques
5  agent’s calls
4 magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 8th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
8 bad reviews
7  interruptions
6  harsh critiques
5 agent’s calls
4  magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 9th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
9 subs for critting
8  bad reviews
 7 interruptions
6  harshcritiques
6  agent’s calls
4  magazines
3 published subs
2  new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 10th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
10 chewed off fingernails
9  subs for critting
8  bad reviews
7  interruptions
6 harsh critiques
5  agent’s calls
4  magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 11th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
11 hours of eyestrain
10  chewed off fingernails
9  subs for critting
8  bad reviews
7  interruptions
6  harsh critiques
5 agent’s calls
4  magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

On the 12th day of Christmas my writing gave to me…
12 cups of coffee
11 hours of eyestrain
10  chewed off fingernails
9  subs for critting
8  bad reviews
7  interruptions
6  harsh critiques
5 agent’s calls
4  magazines
3  published subs
2 new jobs
and a cheque under my Christmas tree.

So what’s a playwright to do?

Get a production, that’s what! 

There are lots of avenues to explore when hoping to secure a production of your play. 

CONTESTS are a great way to win a production.  Many theatres offer these contests as a way to receive a large amount of works by new voices.  Any search engine will provide you with an abundance of contests to choose from.  Personally, I avoid contests with fees (unless the fee is a very small reading fee) but if you do decide to enter a contest with a fee, make sure the fee is reasonable in comparison to the prize being offered.

SUBMITTING TO THEATRES is also a viable option.  And now finding them is going to be a whole lot easier thanks to Writer’s Digest books as they are introducing a new market book for 2009 called “The Screenwriters’ and Playwrights’ Market”, available at all major book sellers and also online at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and many others.  ***on a personal note, my article, “The Business of Playwriting”, will be included in the 2009 edition.

SELF-PRODUCING is another option.  Do you have access to a community theatre group or a drama school?  See if you can partner up with someone in your community and get a local production of your piece OR, as some playwrights have done, hold auditions and cast and direct the production yourself. 

It’s up to you to get your play out there and these are three great ways to make that happen.

Check out these great web resources, too:

http://www.samuelfrench.com

http://www.bakersplays.com

http://www.playscripts.com

http://www.lillenas.com/drama

Nothing beats watching your characters literally leap off the page and onto the stage.

So what do I like so much about writing in rhyme?

I guess maybe I can relate to the musical feel of a rhyme, being a trained musician and music teacher.  I like the arc of rhyming lines and the rhythmic bounce to the stanzas.

But writing in rhyme is not easy - at least not if you want to do it well.  Editors and publishers cringe at a vast majority of rhyming manuscripts they receive that include poor rhythm and near rhymes. 

But perhaps one of the biggest “issues” with a rhyming manuscript is that it must still tell the story.  How can you test out your rhyming manuscript and see if it holds up?

Try writing out the story in prose form.  Does it have a conflict and resolution?  Does the protagonist develop and grow by the end?  If you can’t find these structural points in your rhyme, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

Also, join a rhyming critique group and get some feedback from other writers and readers of rhyme.  And above all, read your rhyming manuscript aloud to see if the lines flow.  Also, have someone else read the work aloud.  If they stumble on your rhythm, you need to re-think it.

Here are a few web resources for writers of rhyme:

http://www.write4kids.com/rhyme.html

http://terrypierce.blogspot.com/2007/10/writing-in-rhyme-part-i.html

http://terrypierce.blogspot.com/2007/10/writing-in-rhyme-part-ii.html

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/rhyme-time/posts/tag/rhyme/

http://www.smartwriters.com/content/view/351/

http://www.hopevestergaard.com/rhymes.php

http://skateboardmom.homestead.com/annex.html

http://www.underdown.org/mf-picture-books.htm

With articles by well-known authors like Laura Backes, Dori Chaconas, Harold Underdown and Margot Finke, their advice should get you well on your way to rhyming.

Until later,

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to rhyme I go.

Well for those of you deciding to take the plunge, here are some resources that might help you prepare to start that book length manuscript.

Obviously, having an idea for a book is a must.  Hopefully you have a basic plot scratched out and your main characters picked and named. 

This year, I decided to try a genre I’ve never worked in before:  Chicklit.  I think I have a story that could be appealing to YA readers or adults and I thought I might try participating in Nanowrimo to give me the kick in the pants I need to see where I can take this one.

So now that you’ve picked your genre, plot and characters, let’s see what else can help you realize the goal of creating this new manuscript.

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php
The Snowflake Method

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Novel
A WikiHow article

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/novelwriting/Writing_a_Novel.htm
Lots of links etc. from About.com

http://www.spacejock.com.au/WriteANovel.html
author Simon Haynes shares info. on many aspects of novel writing

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2006/09/06/how-to-write-a-novel/
Advice from published author Justine Larbalestier

http://www.secretgeek.net/NonWriter.asp
A humorous article on how not to write a novel

http://www.deepgenre.com/wordpress/admin/craft/how-to-write-a-novel-part-1
Check out this wordpress blog on novel writing

Also check out http://www.amazon.com and type “how to write a novel” into the search box for thousands of books related to this subject.

There’s also a great online novel writing challenge that you may want to consider for next year.  It runs for the entire month of November and it’s called NaNoWriMo.  Basically, the challenge is that you have to write 50,000 words during the month of November.  One thing about this particular contest of sorts, it makes you realize that you can write several pages every day if you have your idea well thought out and if you dedicate no less than an hour or two per day to do nothing but write.  Check them out at:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I’m just flabbergasted at the growing number of authors who have decided to self-publish.  Now, before you get defensive, let me clarify that I mean the number of fiction authors. 

I totally get that doing a POD book or an ebook that’s an information guide might be a more lucrative way to go for some non-fiction subject matter.  I also understand that some writers may only want to make a few copies of a book for family and friends for a special occasion and self-publishing allows them to do that.

I don’t have anything against POD technology or self-publishing per se.

What I don’t understand is why any author who’s truly stoked about his/her novel being published and available in bookstores would choose to self-publish.  So many vanity press companies have such bad reputations (we’ve all read the countless complaints about Publish America).  And major booksellers won’t stock self-published or POD books.

I know what you’re thinking.  It takes forever to go down the traditional path.  You don’t have to tell me - I know!

I’ve been slugging it out as a writer for many years and started seriously submitting about seven or eight years ago.  It’s frustrating as hell to wait for six months or longer to hear back from a publisher. 

But as I stare at my folder filled with rejection letters, I can’t help but notice a pattern.  More often than not my rejections now come with short, personal notes.  A rejection’s still a rejection but seeing something like “cute story, great character, unfortunately we’ve recently published something similar” tells me that my kidlit PBs aren’t always getting passed by because they aren’t good.  Sometimes it’s just bad timing.

I’ve managed to publish enough magazine clips, both in kidlit publications and also some NF, that I do feel that I’m making headway.  A recent acceptance by Writer’s Digest for an article in an upcoming market book keeps me hopeful that with each rejection, I continue to work harder on making my writing stronger and that it’s only a matter of time.

Nope - I haven’t broken either the kidlit PB market or the adult suspense genre but I’m not willing to feel like a sell-out by self publishing.

Okay, before you throw daggers in my direction, I know that self-publishing isn’t always a sell-out.  But there are a lot of really bad self-published books out there - badly written and badly edited.  I don’t want my book lumped in with those.  Also, these vanity presses charge the author a lot of money and often the quality of the finished product is terrible.  (I have heard positive exceptions regarding the quality of Booklocker.com and Lulu.com)

My philosophy is simple:  If it’s meant to happen for me, it will.

I’m doing the groundwork:

• researching publishers and agents
• following the specific guidelines when submitting
• only sending my very best work
• getting my work critiqued before subbing it out
• editing and revising
• researching the markets
• making contacts at conferences and online
• honing my craft
• never giving up

Will I change my mind one day?

Never say never, but I doubt it!

Self publishing is not for everyone and I really believe it’s not for me.

As writers, we’re often told that we need to create a web presence.  What better way to do that than to start a blog.  You don’t have to be a published writer to blog about topics of interest to other writers.  So what might other writers want to read about?

Have you taken a writing course that offered some great new information about the business of writing?  Do you know some useful websites and could you provide links?  Do you have a favorite author you’d like to introduce to the writing world? 

Personally, I enjoy reading author’s blogs when they share insights into their own writing journeys.  What helped them on the way to publishing success?  How do they tackle revising?  What resources do they use?

And believe it or not, besides today.com, there are other places that pay for bloggers.  Blogging may just be the next big trend in freelancing. 

Looking for a blog job that pays?

You may want to check out this site I just stumbled across.  They update the jobs Mondays and Thursdays so there’s always something new popping up.  Have a peek and see for yourself.

http://blogjobs.blogdrive.com/