Women Who Write

[AuntieWOW]

Is there anyone out there who writes - and specifically anyone who has been published - who wants to talk about how to get published and maybe even how to make a living out of it?

Looking forward to hearing from you all out there!

[DrHilieWho]

Can I call myself a writer yet? Should I?

I've been published several places now. The very first was Tapestry That really boosted my motivation.

My tip for writers would be to query any market they can get their hands on. I just sold an article to a bakery magazine. I'm not a baker. I can hardly cook! I can interview and research though.

A good formula, in my opinion, for a query is to start out with an introduction. Give a short summary of your article, why you should be the person to write it, and thank the editor. This is the editor's first impression of you so make sure you 1) address it to the right person, 2) spell everything correctly and 3) point out what is unique about your idea. It's a really great idea to read sample articles, and compare your article to those.

"Hi, my name is Bob. I'd like to write an article for SuperPhat magazine on the poor conditions in music venues around the US. It's similar to "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" (Issue 92, pg 14-16) but the focus is on musicians who are trying to improve bad conditions."

Queries should be at least 2 paragraphs but no longer than a page, and please don't use form letters. If you can't think up your own way to word a query, what is your article going to be like?

I certainly am not "professional" yet, but I've gotten good results with my queries. Now I'll let the writers with more experience tell me how I'm doing something in the wrongest way possible. :-) S'okay. As long as I'm learning more about writing, it's a positive experience.

[DrHilieWho]

Since writing ^ that post up there, I've found I get better responses when I start a query with the first paragraph or so of my article. Then I follow up with the introduction, etc.

Also, a word on backing up your files. Our Superdisk Drive went out in Oct/Nov. We have a cd burner and I was going to back up all my files on disk BUT I don't really know how yet. So, I haven't really been backing anything up. I have a few things printed out but not everything. My list of contacts for instance, and my schedule of when I sent out what and to which publications. A good friend of mine warned me about putting everything on the computer, but being me, I did not listen.

Last night Denn accidentally deleted my entire work folder. We ran a recovery program but he'd already saved something to the desktop trying to get my stuff back. It's ALL gone. I think I'm still letting it soak in, but at this point am ready to start over....kind of. I'm trying not to think of all the stuff I had written, the research and interviews I had stored. Actually it makes me kind of sick to my stomach so I'm going to try and ignore it.

Anyway, back up your files. Learn how to do that before you save anything to the computer. You can also lock your files so they can't be deleted. And install recovery software BEFORE you need it. Norton Utilities (UnErase/Disk Doctor), Tech Tools Pro, Disk Warrior, and Disk Recovery from wildbits.com all work pretty well. They are s l o w but will get your stuff back if you haven't done anything else on your computer yet. You should run them as soon as possible. If you can't, it's best to keep the computer off so nothing gets deleted or saved.

[LiamFan!]

Good advice and a painful lesson {{{Hilie}}}

[DrHilieWho]

Thanks LiamFan. I think I have to learn lessons the hard way for me to remember them at all lol

[LiamFan!]

Back in pre-computer days (oh no!) I had ***my first novel*** in three notebooks. I began a redraft, condensing two of the notebooks into one new draft, then threw out the two first notebooks.

Except I threw out the redraft and the third notebook...LOL...so all I had left were the first two notebooks of the first draft. It was then I gave up on my first novel (good thing, because...well...it was tripe!)

What can I say...I was 15...

[DrHilieWho]

Oh how horrible I can't imagine how I would feel if I'd lost a whole novel..especially as a teenager. Emotions are so amplified then. How long did it take you to start writing again?

I really didn't have a choice as to how soon to start back lol I have an article that needs to be done in a few days.

[LiamFan!]

Oh, I kept on writing right away, just trashed that novel. Which is okay, because it was crap. I swear, I just write the same story over and over anyway. Eventually, I'll get it right.

[DrHilieWho]

lol! That is so frustrating. I have great ideas, but they lack something once on paper. Maybe I should switch to screenplays instead lol

[sun56]

hello all:
yesterday i met a woman who has published two books about children lives. she used to be a journalist, she said she had lots of fun from her job. anyway, writhing is a quite good way of communication not only for express own feeling and understanding about the society, but also reflect some issues about the society. cheers!

[LiamFan!]

cool, sun56!

[DrHilieWho]

This is a new group for emerging or established writers. I haven't joined yet, but I think it might be worth looking into. http://www.designgroup.com/writersbr...orks/index.htm

[rjsfeminist]

Just ran across this thread.

Okay, I consider myself a writer--I've got a novel (& working on a couple of others), two books of poetry (& a third I'm slapping together of earlier stuff), a book of short stories, and one screenplay that I'm trying to get published. Even with occasional writer's block, I swear that writing is the easy part; it's getting published that's difficult. Unless, of course, you're already well known.

Sigh. I know, someday, somehow, I'll managed to get published.

[DrHilieWho]

For me, writing is the hardest part. It's emotionally draining, and it's so frustrating to go back after a month of thinking you've written this perfect story and put it away only to come back to major plot holes, mismatched names and scenes that make absolutely no sense. lol I've been working on one particular story for 3 years ... it's at 1200 words. lol

I'm a member of momwriters, a great yahoo group that boosts motivation and offers a lot of help. Right now they are running a novel challenge and it's making me move my butt a little. I've tried the Nano but always give up because my story falls apart. I've done a lot of plotting this time around so hopefully that won't happen, but I'm still nervous. Why writing leaves me so tired out, I don't know, but it sure is an experience.

[LiamFan!]

Nice to see you again, Hilie!

Haven't been writing much since going back to work. Even though I'm not quite full-time, I still am totally drained by the time I get home. Lately, there've been some rumblings in my brain and I think I'll get back to some works-in-progress.

I did the NaNoWriMo two Novembers ago and did succeed in writing 50,000 words. Didn't end up with a complete novel, but I did like what I ended up with, even though I haven't completed it yet. What NaNo did for me was get me into the habit of writing (one I've already broken, but...).