Just a Little Longer

Well, I didn't die from the first breast cancer operation. And on Thursday, we get to do it all over again! I finally got mad at this interruption of my writing/editing career and decided to stand up and fight. Ooo, dizzy. Maybe I'll just fight from a supine position. Although this is a major Big Deal in anyone's life, I'm not going to turn this blog into "MyCancer.com"; however, I might start another blog about this particular journey. Stay tuned, and stay in touch. Just a little bit longer, and the posts about writing will begin again.

NOVEMBER 6, 2006: Thanks for all the well-wishes. The second operation was successful (so far), but there's still far to go. I did start a blog about it, but can't keep up the pace. Sorry.

Hiatus

This blog is going on hiatus while the owner deals with a serious medical problem. Think of it as having a "CLOSED FOR REPAIRS" sign hanging in the window. Thanks for all the comments and other communications and participation in Writer's Edge.

News Archive

Google News Archive Search

News archive search provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. Users can search for events, people, ideas and see how they have been described over time. In addition to searching for the most relevant articles for their query, users can get an historical overview of the results by browsing an automatically created timeline. Search results include both content that is accessible to all users and content that requires a fee. Articles related to a single story within a given time period are grouped together to allow users to see a broad perspective on the events.

The News archive search team says that, "Enabling users to read about history as it unfolded allows them to explore and understand the past for themselves." I don't know about you, but I often place my research pieces into chronological order to make sense of an event. Having the results of a search presented this way is a time-saver for likeminded researchers.

[research]

Search for Public Libraries

Buried deep in the bowels of the National Center for Education Statistics lies Search for Public Libraries. This specialized search engine finds libraries in the United States based on the information you already have (name or city or phone number, for example). It also provides information on certain characteristics such as whether or not it's a branch, which library system it belongs to, if there's a bookmobile or books by mail. The information in this locator comes from the National Center for Education Statistics Public Libraries Survey for Fiscal Year 2002, so it's not quite up-to-date.

[resource]

Technorati Flubs

Many people have been wondering what's up with Technorati (the free blog directory, search, and rating system.) Towards the end of September, Liz Dunn posted in their blog: Technorati Weblog: Interruptions Over!: "Interruptions Over! You probably noticed spotty service on Technorati over the last week or so. Technorati is in the last throws of a ..."

I surmise she meant throes (violent pangs of suffering.) Think "death throes."

Apparently the goofs weren't limited to spelling, because a few days later some of us received this message: Technorati Weblog: Technorati Spam? Actually, we just messed up. Sorry!: "Technorati Spam? Actually, we just messed up. Sorry! ... The only problem was that we messed up the link." Posted by Dave Sifry on October 2, 2006.

By then I was intrigued enough to follow the links to Technorati's weblog, only to find the navigational links at the bottom of posts were off by one. I tried monkeying with the URL, but the website didn't recognize the number of the post I was trying to find. It's fixed now and thankfully they didn't blast a message to all and sundry to announce it. If only I could remember the title of the post I wanted to read ...

[Please stand by. We're experiencing Technorati difficulties.]

Subscription Sales

Sorry, no cute graphic to accompany posts until Blogger.com restores function to its "Add Image" feature, or I have more endurance to FTP them to my server. Imagine a stack of books to the right.

Once again agent Richard Curtis expounds on the future of the printed book at Backspace.com in an article titled THE SUBSCRIPTION REVOLUTION

Once the Random Houses of the world see the profitability inherent in the subscription/print-on-demand model, if they're smart -- a condition we cannot always take for granted -- but if they're smart, they'll realize they can do it themselves.

Did you ever notice that Amazon ranks books that have not yet been published? Curtis explains this phenomenon and delves into the book industry, what's wrong with it and how it can be fixed.

[books]

English to Predominate

By 2020, English will be a universal language of global communications, but other languages will not be displaced. Indeed ... other languages such as Mandarin, w[ill] grow in prominence. So says a report of recent research on The Future of the Internet by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Elon University.

[words]

Writing Tightly

While I'm indisposed, we have a guest post. Today's is by Paula Berinstein, producer and host of The Writing Show:

One way writers can dramatically improve their work is by putting their prose on a diet. Every word must count. One bit of extraneous flab will weigh down the whole piece. That means substituting a word for a phrase, eliminating redundancies, and cutting material that doesn't move the piece along.

Common mistakes include saying the same thing in different ways; using throwaway words like "very," "quite," and "certainly;" sticking in words that are understood, as in "the car's headlights" (what other headlights would they be?); and using extra words ("some seven or more hours later" rather than "a few hours later;" "without a moment's hesitation" rather than "without hesitation").

A quick way to check is to look for long sentences, although junk can lurk in the shortest as well. Write tightly, and all your work will seem poetic, even the most utilitarian.

Paula Berinstein, producer and host of The Writing Show, http://www.writingshow.com/

[writing]

Get Respect

While I'm temporarily indisposed, I've asked some guests to fill in. Today Bonnie Boots regales us with some of her southern wit from her website WriteSideOut.com.

Writers Don't Get No Respect

I was at the park, briskly walking off yet another encounter with yet another snippy editor and pondering the Big Question--"Why is it that writers don't get no respect?"--when I walked smack into the answer. There, blocking further progression of my face, was a large, yellow warning sign. "Warning!" it said. "Do not feed the alligators."

Here in Florida, where I live, the landscape is dotted with signs warning of dangers ranging from aggressive alligators and bad dogs to sharks and stinging jellyfish. Consequently, people show these critters some respect. And there you have it. All that writers need to garner the respect they so rightfully deserve is a good assortment of warning signs.

Later, as I sat at my computer designing Warning Signs For Writers, I pondered the cosmic implications implicit in my having been shown, literally, a sign. Perhaps the Universe is more responsive to my thoughts than I ever realized. Maybe the Creator really does listen to the secret whisperings of our hearts and sends us exactly what we need to work our own miracles. Because surely, surely editors have shown me more respect ever since I started wearing a sign around my neck that reads "Warning! Do Not Reject The Writer!"

Our guest writer, Bonnie Boots, has made Warning Signs For Writers available for you to print out and wear or pin to your bulletin board. Download the free PDF file here.

[creativity]

BNU Club

Later this month Barnes & Noble University morphs into a series of book clubs. I asked if they were eliminating courses, but received no answer. Anyway, here's what they say about:

INTRODUCING A NEW BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE

Join us later this month when Barnes & Noble University becomes the new Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, a community for readers and writers.

The new Barnes & Noble Book Clubs will be opening shortly. They'll feature discussions about great books, conversations with bestselling writers, and new special-interest forums inspired by our most popular books and courses.

Our Book Clubs will be available 24/7, easy to join, and all free.

The soonest ones begin October 11, so hustle. You might want to read Hawking's A Brief History of Time, The Power of Nice, The Net Worth Workout, or You've Got to Read this Book to join the early groups.

[books]

Berkley Videos

In an interesting twist of an electronic education, UC Berkeley has made over 200 events, courses and seminars available on Google Video. The section that caught my attention is Arts & Humanities (search by owner:ucberkeley artshumanities.) Therein are 26 videos, free to view and download, including Berkley's famous Lunch Poems series. One that immediately entrapped me is David Lynch: Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain. I'm a fan of Lynch's cerebral/freakish movies, especially Twin Peaks in all its various incarnations.

[resource]

Journaling Tips

Call it a journal, a blog, or even a diary, many writers find regular writing offers positive benefits. At the Creativity Portal, Ruth Folit writes about 10 Principles for Keeping an On-going Journal. A few include:

* Allow yourself regular writing times.
* Provide yourself a peaceful place to work.
* Create a positive feedback loop.
* Learn from your own experiences.

[writing]

Work-for-Hire

The title makes little sense. It brings to my mind visions of standing at an intersection holding a shabby cardboard sign, begging motorists for a job: "Mid-life Crisis Vet needs help". Tim Waggoner explains this type of writing work in a Writer's Digest article, Just Add Writer.

The term means that you're contracted by a publisher ... to write a novel using pre-established characters and settings. These projects often are called "tie-in" work or "media-related" novels because they relate to an existing product, such as a movie, TV show, comic book or game. Authors receive advances and royalties on these projects, but the creators of the original properties—often movie and TV production companies—own the copyright to the finished work.

He has written six media-related tie-in novels that broadened his experience and stretched his skills. He mentions some restraints to cope with and that the writer must be at a professional level already, having some fiction published. He suggests a job search via publishers' websites, conferences, and publishers' contests or open calls. In the end, if you succeed, Waggoner advocates hiring an agent to negotiate your contract.

[fiction]

Writers' Websites

One of the best written and most comprehensive articles I've seen about websites for writers is buried at Poets&Writers, Inc.. This piece is The Writer's Web Site: Build It and They Will Come by Sue Bowness, part of The Practical Writer series at P&W. I wish I had written the article, because it is a difficult topic to present. When I tried, I ended up with two e-Books on the subject. Bowness' piece may lack links to additional assistance, but it shines in presenting a good overview on the process of deciding how to put your site together, whether it's a DIY project or you hire a professional creator.

[websites]

Chicago Style Online

The Chicago Manual of Style Online new and available by subscription of $25 for the first year. According to The Chicago Blog: The Chicago Manual of Style Online:

In its 100th anniversary year, in its fifteenth edition, the Manual has become an online reference work. The online version of the Manual offers the fully searchable text of the fifteenth edition with added features including tools for editors, a quick citation guide, and searchable access to the popular Chicago Style Q&A

which "already gets 100,000 to 150,000 visitors a month" states a post in the University of Chicago Press' blog. Explore the online manual's website for other services for writers and editors.

[style]

Niche Publishing Trends

What a sad prediction by Azita Osanloo in Imperative: The Pressure to Be Exotic, this month's article on The Literary Life in Poets&Writers, Inc.:

At some point or another, every emerging writer comes to the realization that time is finite, that writing may never "earn" its place in our lives, that the novel we've spent the last year on may need to be written all over again, that we might have to go back to school, that maybe we don't want these risks after all. Nevertheless, current marketing trends that stress the importance of the writer's star quality can seduce a writer into stretching the boundaries of his identity, allowing it to fit neatly into an attractive publishing niche. What's the fallout? Little by little, as editors become marketing experts and novels become memoirs, writers will increasingly become sales technicians, and the artists themselves, along with their art, will be lost to posterity.

In this era of increasing pressure for blockbuster memoirs, shrinking markets for all forms of fiction--what's the shy writer to do? Can we band together to buck this trend. Is it a fad that will fade and fall? Maybe the blogging craze is fueling it, with everyone and anyone spewing digital diarrhea across the ether. Who do you trust? Who's your Daddy? Who knows?

[fiction]

Interview Advice

Lately I've seen several pleas for advice about getting and accomplishing media appearances, as well as more basic calls for help in how to promote yourself as a writer or a particular product, like a self-published book.

From Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Amazon Plog for The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't comes this suggestion: "Ask the producer of the radio or TV program if she will record your appearance and send you a tape. Now you can mention that a tape is available in your query and your media kit. " She offers many more ways to make the most of a media appearance in the post TV and Radio as Stepping Stones (scroll down the page to find it.)

If we focus on TV interviews, media guru Deb Sistrunk lists several tips for what to do and what to not do while you're on camera, e.g., lean forward, raise brows, don't fiddle with the microphone, and more. I've asked her for a post on appearances for interviewees (clothing, colors, hair, makeup, etc.) which is still in preparation.
Stay tuned!

[marketing]

Free NYT

Couldn't resist passing along this goody for Windows users: free access to the New York Times until Microsoft releases Vista, its next PC operating system. The access is allowable through the beta test of a new e-reader application, requiring registration.

You can read more about it at TechWeb, which says:

Dubbed "Times Reader," the Windows software also lets users update to the latest news and then read the day's issue offline. Other features include print, save, and e-mail tools; auto-sizing so the display formats to the screen size and resolution; and support for the upcoming Windows Vista.

[technology]

Banishing Doubt

While sorting through comments and checking up on who comments here, I ran across another writer's blog by Beth Ann Allen and happened to read her post on Banishing Doubt. Her opening paragraph really resonated with me these days:

All my life, people have told me, "You can't do that, it's too hard." I believed those people. My mistake. A lot of my self-improvement work, done mostly on my own (and some with therapists), has been conquering the fears that have kept me from pursuing my dreams.

I think this can be the source of many a writer's blocks and the blockage that prevents some from submitting (fear of receiving a rejection.) It also causes some to diddle their lives away dreaming, hoping, wishing rather than expending more effort to bring about success. I wrote a little essay on this topic yesterday at 100 Bloggers. It's the one titled "Positive Spin".

[writing]