Just Chillin' With Kate Hanley
 By LuAnn Schindler

What if stress could disappear just by swallowing a chill pill?

Kate Hanley, author of The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide: 77 Simple Strategies for Serenity, is the perfect teacher to show women how to decompress from stress. Join LuAnn Schindler as she chats with Kate about writing her book, creating a successful platform, and the exercises that will help you destress. Be sure to check out the video at the end of the interview for exercises you can do right now in your chair!

MORE >> 

 Break Out Slam!
 How to Land Gigs & Make Money as a Freelance Writer

If you are on the fence about starting a freelance writing career, these two articles will help you decide whether or not it's right for you, and provide you with a solid plan to get started.

Ten Ways to Make Money Writing by Sylvie Malaborsa explores the markets available to freelance writers.

Interpreting Want Ads by Devon Ellington provides you with proven strategies for decoding job board opportunities and tricks to working with potential employers.

These articles are not to miss!

MORE>> 

 Susan Shapiro is Only as Good as Her Word
 By Krysten Lindsay Hager

Do you want to write for newspapers and magazines? Do you want to learn how to land your first clip? Then, this is your interview!

Join Krysten Lindsay Hager as she chats with Susan Shapiro about what it takes to make it as a freelance writer, editor, and published author in this ultra-informative interview!

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 Spring 2008 Flash Fiction Contest Winners Announced!
 Drum roll...

Okay, you may be wondering why we're announcing our Spring 2008 Flash Fiction winners now. Well, we'd saved a spot in the July issue for the winners' page, but didn't get the results in until mid-August. So, we posted the winners in the July issue (where the page was held), and also in our Sept/Oct issue (this issue) so they'd get full exposure! We're playing a little catchup. But that doesn't mean it's any less exciting! So let's kick off the congratulations!

Congratulations goes out to everyone who entered the Spring 2008 Flash Fiction Contest, Sponsored by Seal Press. All your entries were incredible this round, and our esteemed guest judge, Wendy Sherman, of the Wendy Sherman and Associates Literary Agency, did not have an easy job! But with her expertise, she dutifully picked the winners, and we thank Wendy!

Ladies, I know you've all been waiting patiently, so here's the results!

-- 1st Place Winner: Amy Fuster
-- 2nd Place Winner: Gerry L. Cofield
-- 3rd Place Winner: Rachel McClain

Runners Up (in no particular order):

-- Caryl Cain Brown
-- Shannon Caster
-- Pauline H. Gill
-- Jill Pertler
-- Grace Marcus
-- Andrea Kahn
-- Donna Vokenannt

Read the top 10 winner's stories in our contest feature!

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

-- Kathryn Schleich
-- Wendy Lombardi
-- Sadie Worth
-- Catherine Trizzino
-- Julie Layne
-- Kelli Wheeler
-- Lynn K. Radford
-- J. L. Swingle
-- Martha Helton
-- Rita McSweeney
-- Deirdre Woytek
-- Alesha L. Blauer
-- Elena Petricone
-- Mary Kolesnikova
-- Andrea Dennin
-- Laura Miller Edwards
-- Verna J. Wilder
-- Natalie Rhymer
-- Karin Gastreich
-- Ellyn Laub
-- Pamela Maddin
-- Lisa Kenney
-- Rebecca Hazleden
-- Sandra Gail Abbott
-- Sandra Gail Abbott

Congrats ladies! And congrats to everyone who hit the send button--we know it's not easy, but each season provides a rebirth of opportunity!

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A HUGE thank you goes Brooke Warner and Krista Lyons-Gould, of Seal Press, for their generous book donation that you ladies will be receiving. When you finish reading the book, and would like to thank the Seal Press authors, please show your appreciation by writing a review on Amazon.

Also, visit Seal Press and sign up for their newsletter to receive the latest!

So, go on already! Read the winning entries!

READ THE WINNING ENTRIES HERE>> 

 20 Questions: Anti 9-5 Freelancer, Michelle Goodman
 By Susan Johnston

Michelle Goodman helps women writers escape from their cubes! Her latest book, My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire, is chock-full of tips from the trenches that she generously shares with WOW! readers.

Join Susan Johnston in an ultra-informative interview with Michelle Goodman and learn how you too can break out of your cube!

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 Get Published! 13 Strategies for New Writers
 By Sarojni Mehta-Lissak

For new writers, there's nothing more important than having a compass to act as a guide in an unfamiliar field. Breaking into the writing profession can be a challenging, if not daunting task. Sarojni Mehta-Lissak rolls up her sleeves and paves the way with these proven strategies!

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 Funds 4 Writers: Magazines: Bytes vs. Paper
 By C. Hope Clark

So, you've decided you want to write for a magazine that has an online and a paper presence. Does it matter? Absolutely. The choice of an online or paper publication impacts how you write your article. C. Hope Clark examines the differences and provides you with writer's markets that provide both sets of guidelines so you can decide which is best for you!

MORE>> 

 How 2 Successfully Repurpose Your Articles
 By Marcia Peterson

What if every time you came up with an article idea you could turn that effort into multiple assignments, doubling or tripling your earnings? Successful freelancers do it all the time and you can too. Marcia Peterson shares her secrets of repurposing articles and gives you examples from the pros. This is an excellent article every freelancer should read!

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 Inspiration: Kyle Zimmer Gives Children Their First Book
 By Annette Fix

Can you imagine growing up without books and bedtime stories? With only one book per 300 families in low-income neighborhoods, that is the reality for many children.

Join Annette Fix as she speaks with Kyle Zimmer, founder and president of First Book, who has made it her mission to provide books for every child. And be sure to check out the heartwarming video to see the excitement in children's eyes as they receive books.

MORE>> 

 Give Yourself the Ultimate Gift that Gives Back
 ALL YEAR ROUND!

Are you tired of markets newsletters that simply "list" a bunch of markets without any personal guidance?

Get the Guide That Helps You Grow Your Freelance Writing Career!

PREMIUM GREEN MARKETS

The Ultimate Guide for Freelance Women Writers

Will Show You the GREEN!

Premium-Green isn't just market listings, it's a guide with community benefits. For only $4 a month, you get a 100+ Page Ebook delivered to your inbox every month, and you'll have access to a private community of women writers just like you!

We know that becoming a freelance writer takes more than just market listings. You'll need the opportunity to network with your peers and have a support system to help you reach your goals. And that's exactly what your Premium-Green Markets Subscription will do.

Here's what you get when you subscribe to PREMIUM GREEN:

• Monthly 100+ page ebook in friendly PDF format: Easy to print, easy to save. No need for storing emails to find links and articles you missed!
• Articles to grow your Freelance Career: These are articles not found anywhere else: More than Your Magic 8-Ball, I.T.T. In the Trenches, Tips & Tricks, Meet Your Mentor, Get Writing Mamas!, Project Workbook, and more...
• Access to the PG Subscribers Group: Network with your peers through the Google list-serve, post discussions, ask questions, and receive insider tips.
• Documents for PG Subscribers: Upload, download, and share content with the group. We put up f*r*e*e* articles, contracts, and ebooks for the group each month, so take advantage!
• First Calls from WOW!: We give you immediate calls for what we need on the spot (or when we're in a crunch) to fill each issue. Get on the ground level and write for us!
• Pink & Green: Find women's markets only, and get insight from the editors and what their needs are right now.
• Markets, markets, and more markets. We provide markets for all aspects of freelancing. One example is, "Niche Quiche," which includes greeting card markets, slogans, and anything you can write in a few words and get paid! Check out our markets page for more details.

Earn the money you deserve, and get a real support team who will help you grow your freelance career.

Join Now and Download all 10 Premium-Green ebooks Instantly!

The subscription price is $48 a year, which is $4 per month. We want to support you! Let's make this a banner year for all women writers. We can only do it by helping each other and creating a strong network and community for ourselves. Together, we can do it!

VISIT OUR MARKETS PAGE >> 

 When Book Sales Are Getting Musty
 By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Timeout for Author Promotion! Have you thought about using booksellers' organizations to help you as an author or publisher? Carolyn Howard-Johnson wrote in to share this fabulous article with WOW! readers.

Excerpted from The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't

Use booksellers associations to your advantage. You may wonder why authors would want to have anything to do with associations that exist to help bookstores with their business. It goes without saying that we authors have enough to do with writing and promoting. Booksellers' associations won't help you with writing but they sure enough can help you with promotion.

You do that my marketing your books to their member stores. Yes, even if your publisher is already doing that. Yes, even though your book is a bit older and past its prime. (If your book is an older copyright date, you may have to use the marketing skills you've learned in this book--skills like zoning in on current events, or specific interests of their customers or designing workshops, panels and seminars that will bring them more business.)

You may have to join some of these organizations to take advantage of the perks they offer but you may not. Go to each website (see below for website addresses) and poke around to find those requirements.

So, when you see an opportunity, here are some of the things you might consider:

• Advertise in their directories.
• Participate in their Christmas catalogs. By doing this you reach book buyers--certainly an important audience for you--as well as retail consumers. That's because the associations member stores pass these catalogs out (or mail them) to their retail customers.
• Take a booth at their tradeshows. Those who attend these tradeshows are people who sell books.

Caveat: Reread the section in this book on book fairs. I don't advise renting table space at tradeshows unless you can be there to pitch your own book.

• Submit articles complete with your byline and tagline to their newsletters. If you choose to query, be sure you tailor your article idea to their mainstream membership group, i.e. bookstores.
• Advertise in and send announcements to these same newsletters when you have something of interest to booksellers.
• Rent the lists of their bookstores/book buyers members to blast out your own sell sheets.
• If you qualify, enter their book award contests.

Here are some of these associations:

American Booksellers Association (ABA) (www.bookweb.org) is the largest. Their website lists 12 regional associations, sort of mini associations that will help you target your efforts. The regional organizations within this larger one will be especially useful to you if you have a book set in a specific region, or a nonfiction book about a certain region. Some of them are Great Lakes Booksellers Association, Midwest Booksellers Association, Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association, New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, New England Booksellers, New Orleans South Gulf Booksellers, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, Southern California Booksellers Association, Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. Find them through the ABA site or Google them individually.

Here are some specialty booksellers associations:

Canadian Booksellers Association: www.cbabook.org.

Catholic Booksellers Association: www.catholicbooksellers.org.

Episcopal Booksellers Association: www.episcopalbooksellers.org.

Museum Stores Association (they almost always carry books!): www.museumstoreassociation.org/resources/.

National Association of College Stores: www.nacs.org.

Northern California Booksellers Association: www.nciba.com.

The Independent Online Booksellers Association: www.ioba.org.

Mystery Booksellers Association: www.mysterybooksellers.com.

The New Hampshire Antiquarian Booksellers Association: www.nhaba.org.

You may want to do an online search for others and don't neglect other kinds of associations as well. Here's my best frugal advice: If you choose to join one and must pay for membership, have a plan of action for utilizing it before you send in your application form. Like anything else, what you get out of your money and efforts when joining organizations of any kind will be commensurate with what you put in.

------

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor, is the author of The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't, winner of USA Books News Best Book Award and the Irwin Award and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success, also a USA Book News winner as well as winner of Reader Views Literary Award. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less." Learn more at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

Email Carolyn at hojonews@aol.com

 

 WOW! BLOG: THE MUFFIN
 Find out the latest from the Bakers of WOW!

Have you checked out what we've been baking for you on the daily Muffin? We've stirred together some traditional ingredients with new ones to deliver more interviews, enlightenment, thought-provoking ideas, and inspirational messages to help you through those gray writing days.

----------

Never Stale! Here's the Latest:

Blog Posts of Interest:

Understanding a Writer
By Margo L. Dill
We know what we're passionate about, so what's wrong with leaving clean clothes in the laundry basket for a few days before we put it away? Non-writers and our moms may say, "How can you live like that?" Well, Margo has the answer to that very question in this inspiring post!

Publishers Go Green and Give Away F*r*e*e* Digital Magazine Subscriptions
By Angela Mackintosh
Want a F*R*E*E* 1-year subscription to your favorite magazine? Get it here, and read green.

Putting Yourself Out There As A Writer
By Jill Earl
We writers must put ourselves out there to let the world know we exist. How else will they learn about us and our work, read what we produce, hear our voices? If you are an introvert, don't worry! Jill's post will help give you courage.

Quote Starters
By Marcia Peterson
When you're not sure what to write about, pondering a quotation can be a useful way to get started. Marcia shares a great freewriting exercise for you to try.

Volunteering Your Time and Talents
By Alison Diefenderfer
Have you heard the saying "Pay it forward"? It's a racy topic, especially with today's economy, but that doesn't mean we should forget it entirely. Alison shares a wonderful word game that you can play for f*r*e*e* and each correct answer will help the United Nations World Food Program. What a great find!

Newspaper Writing: Not So Boring and Good For Your Craft
By Margo L. Dill
Margo shares the benefits of working as a news correspondent for her local paper. If you ever wanted to know what you'd gain from working with a newspaper, this is a great inspirational post!

The TMI Dilemma
By LuAnn Schindler
If you are afflicted by the too-many-ideas dilemma, LuAnn shares her strategies to help you focus on the cream of the crop.

Word Trivia
By Marcia Peterson
I love word exercises. Take this quiz and see how many answers you get right.

The Slush Pile: Can We Get Out?
By Margo L. Dill
Nobody wants to be in the slush pile, but when you are starting out in the world of trying-to-get- a-book-published, you might just wind up there. So, what can we do to help get out of slush piles and on to book shelves? Margo has some answers!

Writing the Well-rounded Profile
By LuAnn Schindler
LuAnn shares some ideas to break out of the auto-pilot profile mode and create memorable stories.

Our Libraries
By Carrie Hulce
Many libraries are going through cuts and serious changes because of the economy. What can we do to help? Carrie offers some ways to help your local library stay alive.

Are You Looking For An Accountability Partner?
By Angela Mackintosh
Recently in the Premium-Green discussion group, a member asked how she could find an online accountability partner for her writing. She'd been doing well with querying and submitting, but felt she needed that extra kick in the butt. We've all felt that way, haven't we? Angela shares a few simple steps to help you find an accountability partner and how to hold each other accountable.

~~~~~~~

Want to get blog posts by email?

Subscribe to the WOW! Women on Writing Blog, AKA: The Muffin, by Email

Visit The Muffin >> 

 Upcoming Events
 Get Involved

New York Writers Workshop: 3-Day Pitch Conference

New York Writers Workshop hosts a three-day Pitch Conference for writers of non-fiction. At this unique conference, participants meet with and pitch book proposals to three different editors from major New York Publishing houses!

October 10-12, 2008
Friday-Sunday

Visit: www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com to find out more.

~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to list an event in this newsletter? Contact Jodi Webb jodi@wow-womenonwriting.com for more information.

 

 Classifieds
 Editorial Services, Books, Help Wanted

We've received a lot of requests for classified ads lately, so we added this section to the newsletter. If you would like to post a classified ad, please contact Jodi Webb. We accept editorial services, help wanted, book announcements, workshops, conferences, products, and anything else we think our readers would be interested in. To find out more, email jodi@wow-womenonwriting.com.

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Have you introduced the 5 Essential Elements in your opening chapter?
What are agents/editors looking for when they read your manuscript? If you're not sure why you're getting rejected, or if you feel something is missing, let me help. Get a First Chapter Analysis from expert editor, Brenda Hill, today.

--------------------

Need an editor? F*r*e*e* Sample Edit and Price Quote.
Experienced editor delivers fast, professional service with a personal touch. Free sample edit and price quote. Sundragon Editing www.sundragonediting.com

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~Writing Inspiration~
"Words to Write By"
~~compiled by Robin Bayne~~

Join a variety of well-known authors as they share the Scripture or quotations that inspire them. (They find inspiring to their writing.) The devotionals they've contributed reflect all aspects of the writing life: basic motivation, rejection, publishing and succeeding. Spend some time with the writers you love and discover what words they write by. Order here. Enjoy!

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FPO Magazine Seeks Contributions
[FPO]--For Publications Only--is planning a great fourth issue. It's called "Magazines from A-to-Z." It will be an issue-length grazing section full of tricks and tips, recommendations and resources, profiles, and advice generated from your suggestions.

Here are the 10 subject areas that we hope will generate some great contributions:

1. Recommended or influential book (on design or editing, but any interesting creative book).
2. Tips and tricks that stimulate the creative muscle.
3. Mentor/Influences (Whom do you admire?) in the form of, "If you could ask (provide name) one question, what would it be? Then, we'll try to contact them, if they're still living, that is.
4. Favorite font, unusual typographic techniques in application.
5. Recommended obscure-but-worthy magazine to profile and interview editor/AD.
6. Program tips and tricks (add-ons, system enhancers, utilities, etc.) or smart use of the programs themselves.
7. Go-to Web sites (relevant or just interesting).
8. Applied examples of photographers/illustrators whose work provided a clever solution to a tough creative challenge.
9. Workflow suggestions that improve creativity and productivity.
10. A favorite spread--a great layout and the story behind it (your chance to show off great design and editorial ideas).

Every contributor whose tip(s) is published in [FPO] will be rewarded with attribution, a Web site link and an [FPO] "Get Creative" tee.

Email your ideas directly to me. I'll respond to every one.

Robert Sugar, Editor, FPO MAGAZINE
http://www.fpomagazine.com
robsugar@fpomagazine.com