Pittsburgh is Having an Online Writers Conference May 31 – June 1, and I’m Going!
Tag Archives: Writing
Write at Rutgers with Dr. Roxanne Gay!
Click here to apply by May 1 for the Fall 2024 cohort!
Liberty State Fictions Writers Conference is coming up March 23, 2024!
Join us on March 23, 2024, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton, New Jersey for the 13th Annual Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference. This is a great opportunity for published and aspiring authors to network and learn from a fantastic line-up of industry professionals. The conference will feature a dozen workshops that cover various aspects of writing including craft, business, promotion, and indie-publishing. Don’t miss out on a full days of education and networking. Visit our website for more info and to register!
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
Pearl Street Press, based in New Haven, CT and edited by Lisa Siedlarz and Vivian Shipley, is seeking submissions from all perspectives on the many challenges of menopause. Submit up to 3 poems (not to exceed 6 pages) and essays (not to exceed 1,000 words) for their debut publication Rising from the Ashes. Email submissions as a single Word document to PearlStPress@gmail.com. Please include a short bio. The submission deadline is January 31, 2024. There is no reading fee.
Liberty States Fictions Writers Annual Conference is March 23, 2024
Mark Your Calendar for the
13th Anniversary
Liberty States Fiction
Writers Conference
March 23, 2024
Hilton Garden Inn, Hamilton, NJ
Liberty States Fiction Writers 13th Annual Conference will feature a line-up of more published authors and industry professionals who will share their expertise and experience. Located at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton, New Jersey, we offer a full day of education and networking for those who are published or want to be published. Workshops will focus on craft, business, promotion and indie-publishing. Love to write? Want to get published? Join us on March 23, 2024.
Liberty States Fiction Writers is now accepting Workshop Proposals for its 2024 Conference
We are now accepting workshop proposals for the 2024 Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference on March 23, 2024. Submit your proposals here no later than September 30, 2023. Looking for craft and industry proposals, so get them in!
A New Direction
I heard somewhere in order to stay fresh and current, you need to reinvent yourself every ten years. I also read awhile ago it takes ten years or 10,000 hours to become a master at anything. Well, I’ve done both–invested both the hours and the years, plus more. So now it’s time to start the reinvention. And I’m starting by writing something new and moving on from what got me to where I am now. And that begins with my representation.
I know the search engines would like to to remain where I was but to them I’m like–sweethearts, no matter what you say I’m overruling you right here. I’ve left my long-time literary agency, and not because they’ve done me egregious, but because I’m moving in a different direction and that’s not their forte. But look, I’m grateful for all the time and effort they put into me to make me a better writer. The time wasn’t wasted because I am.
So to those agencies visiting this as I begin my search, call me on it. If you have my query letter, ask to see more. Make me prove myself. I’m up to it and anything you can toss at me.
So let’s begin.
Hello from the other side of the Air Conditioner
Yes, it’s been a long time since I posted, and I’m absolutely thrilled you’ve been waiting to hear from me! This heat’s kind of baked my brain, and I’ve really nothing original to offer, so consider yourself lucky you’ve been saved from my blather. But I’m feeling pretty full of myself today, as I just sent my agent the final draft of something I’ve been working on for way, way, WAY too long. I suppose I could tweak it a bit more, but to quote a saying I’ve heard lately, I’m not going to let the perfect get in the way of the good. Or maybe I’m underestimating myself. Maybe it really IS perfect. Time will tell if it ever lands on an editor’s desk. As self-deprecating as I tend to be, you’re never going to hear me overselling myself here. That’s what my agent’s for. So if you happen to be an editor on the lookout for suspense, mystery, snark, and a little sizzle of romance (as well as possessing an underlying respect for the Oxford Comma), forget the rest of this post and go to the top of the page. You know what to click next.
As for the rest of you, I’m catch up with you during sweater weather. It’s gelato time.
TIPS FROM THE MFA PIT, PART 16
One of my students referred to a book she read recently that referred to a once-common publishing term known as the “slush pile.” Which led me on a discussion on open submissions and small publishing houses and how a new author can get their manuscript read without first having it vetted by an agent…
In your journal for this week you refer to William Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade and his mention of the slush pile. In any event, the slush pile is a real thing, books (or screenplays) sent “over the transom” as they used to say, which means without an agent or a targeted call for submissions. Some of the smaller publishers—and even some bigger ones, though NONE of the Big Five—will still take unagented or open submissions, which can be considered the slush pile of today. Some editors love them, usually what’s referred to as the “baby editors,” former editorial assistants who work under a senior editor and are now building their own list, as they’re always on the look-out for the next big author or trend.
Young editors/agents are often the best to query as they’re more open to submission, and a good website to keep an eye on is Publishing…and Other Forms of Insanity, as their posts always highlight new agents looking for clients. The site also lists publishers of all genres who accept unagented submissions, and it’s really eye-opening how many publishing houses are really out there. So much emphasis is put on getting published by the Big Five, but in truth, your chances for publication are much better if you query a smaller house. Many turn out to be hidden (or unappreciated) gems as far as how they value their authors, and many are willing to take a chance on new ones. And don’t discount their influence either as far as getting discovered. One of my favorite stories is of a small-house author making is big named Nelson Johnson, author of Boardwalk Empire. He published a book with Plexus Publishing, a small house out of Medford, NJ, and he was just lucky enough to have it read by HBO showrunner Terrance Winter, who eventually turned it into a hit series for HBO!
I guess the moral of this story is you never know where your fortunes lie, and if the opportunity arises, just take it. You never know who’s reading!
Hey! It’s time for Camp NaNoWriMo!
And I don’t mean the kiddie camp! I mean the one that’s mean for pseudo adults like us! Want to get that novel out from under you bed? Or to whip the one in shape that you’ve been to scared to set on the Query Trail? Or maybe just start with a brand new thang? Then Camp NaNoWriMo is for you! But don’t listen to me. This is from their site:
Camp NaNoWriMo is your next, great writing adventure! This month-long writing challenge takes place every April and July, and offers you the flexibility to try something new with your writing. The key differences between Camp NaNoWriMo and our November writing challenge are that during Camp, you can set your own word-count goal (you’re not locked into 50,000 words!), and you can officially tackle any kind of writing project, novel or not.
So get cracking! There’s special interest groups like Camp Memoir and NanNoFinMo–finish that existing novel–you can learn more about by visiting their site. The weather is about to turn balmy, and there’s no better time than to sit by the fire pit, crack open the old laptop and start creating.
Happy Writing!
Gwen Jones Writes 