A BIG thanks

A big thanks to everyone who took part in Making it in Changing Times on Saturday. This means all the writers who took time for themselves along with Karen Karbo, Sage Cohen, C. Morgan Kennedy and Therese Patrick. Great day, great writers, sun swashbuckling in through the windows. Good coffee and homemade cookies and laughter added to the mix.  

We'll be back next January with more inspiration and innovation.
Keep writing, keep dreaming,have heart

Love what you do and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life.

 - Ray Bradbury

Poetry call for submissions

Please consider submitting (and please share this widely — the call is open to all poets, not just those in Washington state).
Help Wanted: The Poetry of Work
Work – or the lack of it – shapes our personalities, our days, and our health. For some, it defines our status. Floating Bridge Review #7 seeks poems concerned with the interplay of labor and identity: first jobs, lay-offs, job hunting, unemployment, hard labor, happy hour, housework, sex work, volunteer work, retirement, the multiple and never-ending labors of parenthood.
Submission guidelines:

• E-mail up to three previously unpublished poems as a single Microsoft Word document or single PDF file.
• Put FBR7 SUBMISSION in the subject line of your e-mail and be sure to include your mailing address.
• Send to floatingbridgepress (at) yahoo (dot com).  No cover letter needed, but please include a brief bio.

Still time to register for Making it in Changing Times

It's me again. The Pacific Northwest has been experiencing another streak of sunny, glorious weather. In the past week I could swear there was a hint of spring in the air and my allergy symptoms seem to bear this out. And I'm fascinated how the shade of blue in the winter sky is so much less intense than in the summer sky.  Lovely, subtle color.

The other good news is that there is still time to register for Making it in Changing Times coming up this Saturday on the 25th. Perfect way to jumpstart your career and writing practice. Jammed with practical information you can immediately put to use. You can find more information here 

Did I mention it's a mere $99 and that includes a Continental breakfast and lunch?

Karen Karbo as our keynote, Sage Cohen, Rhonda Hughes of Hawthorne Books (don't you want to know why she started a publishing company?) C. Morgan Kennedy and Therese Patrick of Author Marketing 101. Talk about a brain trust. And I'll be talking about Secrets & Lies and 10 Techniques for Great Beginnings. Actually, I don't think that's quite the name of the workshop, but you get the idea. It's Monday morning. I had a lovely, lovely weekend at the coast and got to speak to the Pacific University MFA students. Then there was the endless sky and briny sea air.....and the salt water taffy and seafood (a bit too much I'm afraid)...well, I'm just not quite back to my usual state....my heart is still near the Pacific.

Seriously, join us on Saturday.

2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Announcing the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

We'll start accepting entries on February 16, 2014. Visit CreateSpace to learn more.

The Seventh Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest is right around the corner. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to win a publishing contract with Amazon Publishing.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with a $50,000 advance, and four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with an advance of $15,000. Visit the Prizes page for the full list of prizes and details.

The categories include five popular genres: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction. For complete eligibility details, view the Official Contest Rules, or read details on how to enter. Visit CreateSpace to learn more.

Preparing Your Entry

1) Prepare a strong Pitch. More than a summary, your Pitch should highlight your concept, protagonist, setting, and writing style—all the elements that make your story unique. View sample Pitches from past entrants.

2) Select the genre that best fits your book: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, or Young Adult.

3) Stay within the word count limits—Pitch, up to 300 words; Excerpt, 3,000 to 5,000 words; Manuscript, 50,000 to 125,000 words.

4) Remove all identifying information from your Pitch, Excerpt, and Manuscript, including: your name and/or pen name, author bio/resume, and any awards received for your book.  

5) Submit all materials in English.

6) For complete entry requirements, view the Official Contest Rules.

7) Create an account with CreateSpace (if you haven’t already).

"Painters have paint, choreographers have bodies, sculptors have bronze, musicians have chords and tunes. Writers have sentences. Not words, sentences, because a word which isn't in relation to another word can only be something, not do anything. In a letter Flaubert once described himself as "Itching with sentences", that is, with chains of words connected up to make a meaning. Flaubert's itch wouldn't be cured until he got the sentences - the meanings - out, and heading towards readers." Emma Darwin

The January 2014 issue of The Writing Life newsletter was emailed today. If you didn't receive a copy, please contact me. 

I don't link

Too much social media, too little time.
If I haven't responded to your Linked In requests (I get a bunch every day) please don't be offended.

Still time to Register for Making it in Changing Times

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014

Keynote speaker Karen Karbo will talk about how blaze your own trails as you shape a writing career. She should know as the author of a popular series about how famous women followed their passions and lived without compromise (Katherine Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Georgia O’Keefe and Juliet Childs).Her short stories, essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in Elle, Vogue, Esquire, Outside, The New York Times, Salon.com, and other magazines. She writes a middle grade series, is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and a winner of the General Electric Younger Writer Award.

Here’s some wisdom from Karbo: “Nothing I choose to do is dictated by the marketplace, because unless you’re a brand name author—I’m thinking on the order of Dan Brown—no editor will automatically green light your proposal for a book about dogs, sex, and knitting. We are operating in a tough market, but the editors I deal with are still exacting. They need to know how a book is going to be executed, what the voice and structure is going to be like, and how my approach is a different take on the subject. Also, you have to write the thing; if it’s not something you believe in with all your heart, those hours at the desk can feel like doing time in a minimum security prison.”

Here's a rundown of events. Sage Cohen begins the day by showing writers how to be Fierce on the Page. Then it's Jessica Morrell with 10 Tips for Openers that Captivate, covering those crucial first few paragraphs that make or break a book's sale. During lunch, it's Blaze Your Own Trail and Other Wisdom for Kicking Your Career into High Gear with Karen Karbo, author of the best-selling Kick Ass women series, describing how to build and sustain a career writing what only you can write. Next, Jessica Morrell spills the Secrets & Lies behind fascinating characters and storylines. Rhonda Hughes of Hawthorne Books will talk about how Independent Publishing has Never been Better.  Finally, C. Morgan Kennedy and Theresa Patrick will teach a workshop, Pull, POP, Seamless Self-Promotion, or how to take control of your promotion in only 10% of your writing time.

For still more information about the presenters, see their websites as linked above and their bios on this page.

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: Tabor Space, 5441 S.E. Belmont

Cost: $99 with continental breakfast and catered lunch

Registration: Space is limited and  registration closes January 23. Contact conference coordinator Jessica Morrell at jessicapage@)spirtone.com. Payments accepted by check or via PayPal. Mailing address: Jessica Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141.

Website: http://makingitinchangingtimes.com

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: Tabor Space, 5441 S.E. Belmont

Cost: $99 with continental breakfast and catered lunch

Registration: Space is limited and  registration closes January 23. Contact conference coordinator Jessica Morrell at jessicapage@)spirtone.com. Payments accepted by check or via PayPal. Mailing address: Jessica Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141.

Website: http://makingitinchangingtimes.com

Dialoge advice from Elizabeth Bowen

1. Dialogue should be brief.
2. It should add to the reader’s present knowledge.
3. It should eliminate the routine exchanges of ordinary conversation.
4. It should convey a sense of spontaneity but eliminate the repetitiveness of real talk.
5. It should keep the story moving forward.
6. It should be revelatory of the speaker’s character, both directly and indirectly.
7. It should show the relationships among people. ~ Elizabeth Bowen

Making it in Changing Times conference, January 25

A new year, new possibilities. 

For inspiration and practical advice, please join us on January 25th for Making it in Changing Times.

Keynote speaker: Karen Karbo

Go to the site for registration details.

A new year to write....

Fabulous wishes for 2014

  Plant your seeds, start that book, clean your office.

Now is the best time to write.