Indholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2019 i Writer's Digest

1 A Family Affair Dima Ghawi won WD’s 26th Annual Self-Published Book Awards (Page 46) with her powerful personal memoir, Breaking Vases. In this interview, she discusses the challenge of writing about your personal life for a public audience. 2 Late Bloomer Min Jin Lee, bestselling Pachinko author and the subject of this month’s “WD Interview” (Page 42), shares why it’s sometimes best to take your time while writing and more in this extended Q&A. 3 This Is Me In these outtakes from their spotlight in this month’s “Breaking In” column (Page 22), Sissy author Jacob Tobia contends that publicity is as important to an enterprising writer as the actual writing process. To find all of the above online companions to this issue in one handy spot, visit…

AMY JONES (“The WD Interview: Min Jin Lee” Page 42) is the managing content director of Writer’s Digest Books and the former managing editor for North Light Books and IMPACT Books. She can most often be found with her nose in a book, traveling around Italy or volunteering at her local no-kill cat shelter—all of which she does in an effort to find her novel idea. Find her on Twitter at @AmyMJones_5. MINDY MCGINNIS (“Reader Friendly,” Page 39) is an Edgar Award–winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery and fantasy. While the settings of her books may change, you can always count on McGinnis to deliver grit, truth and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us. She also produces a blog…

Martine Fournier Watson 1 The Dream Peddler (literary fiction, April, Penguin) “A traveling peddler claiming to sell bottled dreams arrives in a small farming town rocked by a child’s disappearance, and his wares awaken the long-buried desires of the townspeople.” WRITES FROM: Midland, Mich. PRE-PEDDLER: I’ve been writing and publishing poetry and short stories since I was a teen. In 2005, I published a chapbook of poetry after I had my first child, and that was the last thing I wrote for eight years. TIME FRAME: It took six months to write a first draft, but in some ways it took a quarter century. It was inspired by a fictional work called A Seller of Dreams that appears briefly in an L.M. Montgomery book. That title sparked my imagination,…

Those quoted endorsements from high-profile names that appear on a book jacket really do make a difference. If you are able to bring blurbs or even a foreword to the table, editors will be surprised—and impressed. Blurbs and forewords from big-name experts in your category are helpful for two primary reasons. Blurbs improve your book’s salability by providing a third-party endorsement, while forewords improve salability as well as discoverability, meaning they can make it easier for readers to find your book. Forewords enrich the metadata that publishers upload to various online retailers, and much of this metadata impacts search results. For example, last year I published a mixology book entitled I’m Just Here for the Drinks. The author was very well-known to those within his profession, but not to a…

If you want to see writers clam up, say the word “platform.” Whether established or pre-published, we all get a little tense when those two syllables are dropped. For established writers, it’s a business aspect of our creative careers that requires daily maintenance. For aspiring authors, it’s another hoop to jump through along the path to publication. It helps to define what exactly a platform is. For the purposes of this article, let’s call it your established audience. Ditch the industry buzzword and turn it into something with a human component—the people that you have the opportunity to interact with every day. You might be thinking: OK, building a platform once my novel is on shelves makes sense, but doesn’t cultivating a readership require you first have a book to…

Tell me about your day job. How did you make time to write Breaking Vases? After my TEDx [in which I told the breaking vases story], I had tons of positive input from people. I started getting conferences and organizations asking me to speak to their employees, which was impossible to do in addition to my day job at IBM. So after resisting for a year and a half, I resigned to write and build my business. I had to debate to myself: Do I want to write [the book] first, or build my business first? It would be hard to do two big processes at the same time, but I decided to do both. So I built the business during the day, but at night and on weekends,…

The late afternoon sun is dipping into evening, and the market is painted with hazy light. I’m tired from walking too much in my cute sandals; I don’t know why I always forget that 40 isn’t the new anything. I’m bending over to adjust an ankle strap when someone bumps against me. His bare leg brushes mine. That’s all it takes. I can see his future in a flash—he’s gazing off into the distance and doesn’t see the car barreling into the market. It’s all over in an instant. I don’t want to see the aftermath, but I see it anyway. I’ve had this “gift” ever since puberty—with skin-on-skin contact, I can see a person’s final moments. At first I tried to use my visions to save people—chasing, begging, crying—but…

Write three verses, each one ending with the line “ashes, ashes, all fall down.” (Call the line a refrain, because it’s a part of the verse rather than a separate section.) You’re writing a three-system song: verse/refrain/verse/refrain/verse/refrain. Each verse/refrain system should advance the story line to the next place. Certainly “ashes, ashes, all fall down” has the element of childhood games in it. But where else could it go? 1. As a child, he sang in a circle with his playmates. 2. He volunteered to serve his country in the Great War. In the trenches, he suffered from shell shock and battle fatigue. 3. ? Childhood games Ashes, Ashes Battlefield Rockets Ashes, Ashes ? Ashes, Ashes You could research World War I and life in the trenches, looking for images…

SURVIVING BAD BOOK REVIEWS Negative reviews of your work can cut deep. Author Pamela Jane offers five proactive measures you can take to stay strong and move forward when dealing with bad book reviews. bit.ly/badreviewsWD OLD-SCHOOL TOOLS In this episode of “The Writer’s Digest Podcast,” Gabriela Pereira talks with contributing editor Elizabeth Sims about how writing tools have evolved over time. bit.ly/oldschoolWD TECHNOLOGY TROUBLES Today’s writers have little choice but to surrender themselves to laptops and smartphones—a complicated predicament for the dreamers of the world. WD editor Cassandra Lipp breaks down the writing world’s love-hate relationship with tech. bit.ly/techtroublesWD…

1. The competition is open to all English language self-published books for which either the authors have paid the full cost of publication, or the cost of printing has been paid by a grant or as part of a prize. 2. Entrants must submit a printed and bound book. Entries will be evaluated on content, writing quality and overall quality of production and appearance. Proofs, Ebooks, handwritten books and printed pages compiled in a binder will not be accepted. 3. All books published or revised and reprinted between 2014 and 2019 are eligible. (Writer’s Digest may demand proof of eligibility of semi-finalists.) 4. All books must be accompanied by an Entry Form. You may enter more than one book and/or more than one category; however, you must submit all materials,…

Lisa Grubka describes herself as “Midwestern girl comes to NYC and tries (and sometimes succeeds!) to keep some of her Midwestern sensibilities while enjoying life in the city to the fullest.” Upon graduating from the University of Michigan in 2000, Grubka worked as an assistant at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and then moved over to William Morris Agency in 2002 and worked her way up to an agent role. “I figured out pretty quickly that I wanted to be the first person to get my hands on material I was excited about,” she says. “I love the jolt of discovering a new talent (or helping an existing client find their next idea) and matchmaking the author with the right editor. It’s the best feeling to call an author with the…

For a well-informed author, there are few things that are as stressful—or that strike as much fear into the heart—as the quality of their first 10 pages. Initially, you might think querying is the scariest stage of the publishing process. But with a query, there’s a tried-and-true formula. You can go to entire day-long seminars on how to pitch your idea online or in-person. There are endless opportunities to get critiques and feedback in as little as 10 minutes. And while there are 101 reasons an agent might pass on a query, none of them have to do with how good of a novelist you are. Consider that your query readers haven’t even seen your book at this point, so all they have to work with are five paragraphs and…

Here’s a vital truth that many writers do not realize about the process of submitting work to literary journals: You are in control. Yes, submitting to a literary magazine can feel like a game of wait-and-wait-and-wait-some-more, and after many months, a rejection may arrive with little or no explanation. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. You wield far more influence than you imagine. For instance: • You decide when the work is ready to submit. • You decide where to send it. • You decide how many magazines to submit the work to simultaneously. • You decide when a magazine has held onto your work for too long and when it is time to politely withdraw your submission and send the poem, story or essay elsewhere. Let’s take these one…

Before becoming the acclaimed author of two bestselling books, Min Jin Lee was used to working outrageous hours as a lawyer in a New York firm. So it should be no surprise that as a full-time writer, Lee now throws herself into researching and promoting her books with that same relentless rigor. When Lee spoke with WD, she was on the last leg of a 12-day tour that included conducting research for her next book at a punk-rock bar in Minneapolis, giving a speech about women in the workplace at the Wall Street Journal conference in San Francisco and accepting the fiction runner-up award for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Dayton, Ohio. “I do have an agenda—to make you all Korean,” she said during her acceptance speech at the…

GRAND PRIZE Breaking Vases: Shattering Limitations & Daring to Thrive BY DIMA GHAWI ($18.95) Dima Ghawi LLC. breakingvases.com. CHILDREN’S BOOKS FIRST PLACE Little Rosa BY MR. E AND COLETTE ALEXANDRATOS (ILLUSTRATOR) ($9.65) Perky Penguin Press. HONORABLE MENTIONS The Inn at the Edge of the World BY JEREMY J. GRITTON ($9.24) Mascot Books. The Prince of Twindleland BY MARY RHEE AND ELISA CHAVARRI (ILLUSTRATOR) ($8.60) Outskirts Press.outskirtspress.com/ThePrinceofTwindleland. GENRE FICTION FIRST PLACE Death by Armoire BY ALBERT A. BELL, JR. ($16.95) Claystone Books. albertbell.com. HONORABLE MENTIONS A Promise to Keep BY CHRISTINA TETREAULT ($6) christinatetreault.com. Ardmore Green, A Zeke Traynor Mystery BY JEFF SIEBOLD ($12.99) jeffsiebold.net. Death’s Intern BY D.C. GOMEZ ($9.95) dcgomez-author.com. Guilt Trip…

WRITE A SHORT STORY of 650 words or fewer based on the photo prompt below. You can be poignant, funny, witty, etc.; it is, after all, your story. TO ENTER: Send your story via the online submission form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or via email to yourstorycontest@fwmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened). NOTE: WD editors select the top five entries and post them on our website (writersdigest.com/your-story-competition). Join us online in April when readers will vote to help rank the winners! The winner will be published in a future issue of Writer’s Digest . DON’T FORGET: Your name and mailing address. One entry per person. DEADLINE: April 8, 2019…

We’ve all seen travelogues. They might go something like this: “Ah, fabulous Hawaii—majestic mountains, pipeline surfing, luxury hotels, exotic cuisine” and so on. A travelogue not only makes for a dull movie, it also makes for dull verse development in a lyric. For example, look at this lyric summary: VERSE 1: Police brutality is a common problem in large cities. REFRAIN: Streets are turning deadly in the dark. VERSE 2: Car bombs are becoming more common as a terrorist weapon. REFRAIN: Streets are turning deadly in the dark. VERSE 3: More prostitutes carry AIDS every year. REFRAIN: Streets are turning deadly in the dark. What’s going on here? What does police brutality have to do with car bombs or AIDS? Nothing, except that they are all part of Streets are…

1 The Muse and the Marketplace Explore new perspectives at this long-running conference, which enthusiastically embraces LGBTQ writers and authors of color. WHEN: April 5–7, 2019. WHERE: The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston. PRICE: $535; $395 for single day attendance. Opportunities available for an additional fee include critique meetings with editors and agents, and a “Shop Talk Happy Hour,” which allows writers to meet with industry professionals in an intimate setting. See website for details. WHAT MAKES THE CONFERENCE UNIQUE: “We’re known as an artistically rigorous but unabashedly fun conference, with a finger on the pulse of what writers need today,” Conference Director Sonya Larson says. “Christopher Castellani set this vision when he founded the conference 18 years ago, emphasizing both the ‘muse’ and ‘marketplace’ sides of the writer’s life.”…

CALIFORNIA GENRE-LA™ CREATIVE WRITING CONFERENCE, February 22–24, 2019, Los Angeles, CA. The Conference for Literary and Screenwriters of Genre. Take your writing to the next level by learning the secrets of success from more than 30 published masters, literary agents, editors, publishers, bestselling authors, industry experts, Hollywood veterans, educators, and publishing professionals who will share their expertise to help guide you on the path to success over three days. No matter what you write, this is a unique opportunity to learn how to brainstorm and develop new ideas, visualize brave new worlds of wonder, create compelling, memorable characters (both human and otherwise), plot and structure amazing story lines of imagination, and develop stand-alone award-winning novels, screenplays and graphic novels. Learn how to edit and polish your novels and screenplays, then…

TOPSY-TITLE TURVEY Draw a line from the actual book title on the right to its alternate title on the left. 1. Here’s Your Martini 2. Don’t Talk About It 3. The Man Behind the Curtain 4. Speed and Sleeping Pills 5. A Rational Mind 6. French for Blueberries 7. Stay Gold 8. All the Phonies in the World 9. A 10. Some Pig A. Bluets B. The Scarlet Letter C. The Outsiders D. Fight Club E. The Catcher in the Rye F. Valley of the Dolls G. Charlotte’s Web H. Breakfast of Champions I. Catch-22 J. The Wizard of Oz DIY DESIGNS Imagine you’re the art director at a major…

When I started as the new editor-in-chief of Writer’s Digest, I titled my first Editor’s Letter “In Medias Res.” The Latin phrase means “into the middle of things,” and in that letter I described a plan to carry on the craft tradition that this publication has so effectively celebrated for nearly 100 years, while also ushering in a future-focused vision to ensure that it would last another century. Over the course of my tenure, I’ve worked to execute that vision—and as a writer myself, I’ve also worked to live the mission of this magazine to the best of my ability. It’s from putting my own work out into the world that I was presented with an exciting and unanticipated new adventure, one I simply couldn’t refuse. It thus seems fitting…

“You’re an oceanographer?” The librarian shakes his head, incredulous, his spectacles tossing a circle of sunlight on the floor between us. “I always knew I wanted to be a novelist,” I reply. “So, naturally, I spent the first two decades of my adult life studying science and math.” He laughs and then asks, “Ever wish you hadn’t become a scientist?” That’s harder to answer. My path to writing has been a long, meandering river instead of a short, straight highway. If I were to live life over again, would I still take the scientific detour? Even after the publication of four novels, I’ve often found myself at a disadvantage because, unlike author colleagues with degrees in writing or literature or related fields, I don’t have a literary network or connections…

After more than a decade of sharing poems and prompts (more than 1,000 and counting) on the Poetic Asides blog on WritersDigest.com, I’m excited to share the news that some have been collected in a new book. Smash Poetry Journal will be released in April—just in time for National Poetry Month—and encourages people to write poetry. Here’s a sample of what you can find in the book. Feel free to poem along below (and while you’re at it, share your poems with @WritersDigest on Twitter and Instagram). Happy poeming! Password Protected Write a “password” poem. Write about someone using passwords, someone creating a password, or you could hide a password (or words) in your poem (perhaps, ft la an acrostic poem). Have fun with it. Robert Lee Brewer is the…

We are in the midst of a revolutionary shift in publishing—an era in which independent authors can work with greater agency than ever before. It is also an era in which writers must position themselves as brands and equip themselves with the business savvy to succeed beyond the parameters of traditional publishing. This new landscape was born of a three-part wave of industry changes starting more than two decades ago. It was this landscape that led to the formation of organizations such as the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), which I founded to encourage ethics and excellence in author-publishing after a 20-year career in writing, publishing and media. This column and the ones to follow will address self-publishing opportunities for authors and dispel myths about this still-fresh pathway to publication.…

If you have an idea for a nonfiction book, now is a great time to pursue it. Industry statistics are on your side: Publishers Weekly reported in January 2018 that unit sales of adult nonfiction titles had increased 3 percent from 2016 to 2017, with juvenile nonfiction up a whopping 8 percent. Though the final figures for 2018 sales weren’t available at the time of this article, through October adult nonfiction was up 5.7 percent over 2017. Unlike querying a novel, which you wait to do until your manuscript is completely finished, nonfiction books are sold to agents and editors based on a strong proposal of what the book could be (you’re not expected to write the entire thing in advance). As publisher of Media Lab Books, compelling proposals cross…

Dear FYSA, What are your favorite productivity hacks from high-volume clients? Sincerely, Seeking Shortcuts Dear Shorty, Ah yes, the age-old question: How do I get the most by doing the verrrrry least? It’s basically my zen kōan. Oh how I wish I could say, “Well, since you asked, there is this secret code you can enter into any Word document that writes your novel for you while you binge-watch Netflix and eat pastries.” Alas, lift your sticky fingers from the keys—no such code exists. A writer writes. That’s how the words happen. Ain’t no hacking there except away at the pages. And that, my friend, is how high-volume authors produce all those books at such a ferocious clip. However! Being a writer is one thing; being a published author is…

In its simplest form, the basic rule of songwriting is to keep your listeners interested all the way through your song. The trick is to hook them from the beginning with a strong opening line, then keep them with you the rest of the way. In most songs, you’ll repeat a line (refrain) or a section (chorus) two or three times. The danger here is that once your listeners have heard something once, it will be less interesting to them the second and third time—like telling the same person the same joke three times in a row. Once you’ve heard it, it doesn’t give you anything more the second or third time. Thus your job as a songwriter is to make your repetition interesting and productive so that the same…

In poetry, as in songs, the sound of words and phrases are put under an intense amount of pressure. Unlike in a novel, you don’t have the luxury of pages upon pages to explain your ideas. Every syllable needs to compel the reader forward. So, if you are a songwriter interested in writing poetry (or vice versa), here are some questions you can ask yourself as you compose and revise: • IS THE SONG/POEM NARRATIVE OR LYRIC? A narrative piece tries to tell a story. A lyric piece tries to express personal emotions or feelings. Of course, those are oversimplifications, but identifying what form your piece is in can help you push your song or poem to be the best it can be. • IF YOU ARE RHYMING, ARE YOUR RHYMES TOO…

Many writers dream of taking the leap from conference attendee to presenter. In doing so, they hope to share their knowledge with others. The following are a few tips on getting a conference director’s attention. • REACH OUT EARLY. Writing conferences typically begin the planning process several months to a year in advance, and one of their first priorities is confirming their presenters. If you’re interested in presenting at a specific conference, make contact a minimum of six months ahead. • CONTACT THE RIGHT PERSON. A conference planning committee can be large, with every person or group responsible for a specific component. Make sure your introductory email goes to the person who actually has the authority to bring you on, such as the guest coordinator or conference director. If you’re…

MARCH/APRIL 2019 • Keep in mind that there may be more than one workshop in each listing. • These workshops are listed alphabetically by state, country or continent. • Unless otherwise indicated, rates include tuition (T) only. Sometimes the rates also include airfare (AF), some or all meals (M), accommodations (AC), ground transportation (GT), materials (MT) or fees (F). • When you find workshops that interest you, be sure to call, email or check the website of the instructor or organization for additional information. • All listings are paid advertisements.…