Innehållsförteckning för November 2017 från The Writer

Readers, let’s be frank: I know a fair percentage of you crinkled your nose when you saw this issue arrive in your mailbox. The technology issue. Ugh. And perhaps few other professions are so divided on technology: It seems half of you are merrily tweeting away, designing your own eBooks, stocking and tweaking your author’s website like a pro. The other half swear allegiance to pen and paper, vowing not to let social media or newfangled gadgets waste time that could be spent on the page. And you know what, tech haters? I get it. I do. I may be an Instagramobsessed, analytics-wielding, all-things-digital addict, but every single one of these letters is written longhand. I tap into a deeper well when I pick up the pen, like opening a…

I get being hungry for work – remember it well. One paid gig and – voila! – you’re a professional writer, you’re on your way! But some jobs bring no glory; they bring only the sinking realization that you’ve contributed to moral decay (OK, they might also bring a little money). Among many other things that the internet unleashed (and, yes, I know it brought good things, too, including this article idea) is a spate of such jobs, making their siren calls as we wait for good news from a publisher. Perhaps you’ve been scanning the opportunities on various job boards. You see ads for academic writers, companies eager to hire writers – many, in fact – or maybe you see ads that appear to be from individuals looking for…

Cloud-based software for writing/collaborating 1. GOOGLE DRIVE (INCLUDES DOCS, SHEETS): Free, collaborative file storage system with Microsoft Office-like capabilities for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Accessible on any device via a n internet connection. google.com/drive 2. DROPBOX: Free file storage/sharing service. Excellent for sharing large files, such as high-res photos or lengthy documents. dropbox.com 3. BOX: Offers similar file storage/sharing capabilities as Dropbox, but more geared toward business users. box.com 4. ONEDRIVE: Microsoft’s version of Google Drive. Free for all Microsoft account holders. onedrive.live.com Productivity 5. SLACK: Combines email and instant messaging into one streamlined communication service, with the aim of “fewer meetings, less internal email, all your tools integrated.” Designed primarily for team collaborations, though some individual users find it useful for idea storage and organization. slack.com 6. EVERNOTE:…

Suzanne W. Vincent, editor-inchief of Flash Fiction Online, wants submissions that make her feel like she’s reading chocolate. “Smooth and delicious,” she says of the pieces that delight her. “I have three top things I want to see in a story. I want it to make me feel something. I want the writing to sparkle and take my breath away. And I want to see a complete story.” All this in just 500 to 1,000 words. For the past decade, Vincent and publisher Anna Yeatts have been showcasing the best flash fiction they can find in an online magazine available to subscribers in e-reader format or online as individual downloadable stories for free. Tone, editorial content Editors consider fantasy and science fiction stories, as well as mainstream and literary submissions,…

Continued from page 9 “Academic writing:” This label is the biggest tipoff. Most opportunities for academic writing are invitations to help cheaters. Exceptions include business writing for an academic institution and the rare situation in which a scholarly journal seeks out an article (they usually have their editorial desks full of submissions). Bait and switch: Many offer “help” for writers; once you dig a little deeper, you find the help involves writing essays for customers. One site listed several legitimate services on the search page: “Copywriting, Brochures, Newsletter Copywriting, Web Copywriting” – with no sign of essays. Yet click the link, and a cartoon character offers to write your essays for you. Spelling, punctuation, and other errors: This certainly bodes badly for the finished product! But many of their clients…

“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.” —Truman Capote IN A RECENT ONLINE course about how to navigate the literary magazine world, the instructor gave us an assignment: Cut out a 1-inch square from a piece of paper and write the names of all those whose opinions on our writing we valued. If we couldn’t fit all the names on the paper, she said, we needed to edit our list. When I read those instructions, I frowned. What did they mean? Was I supposed to treat this like some sort of acknowledgments list? Writers used their acknowledgments to thank everyone under the sun: spouses, parents, siblings, writing groups, editors, agents, pets. How could I possibly fit every name…

The mechanics of writing have evolved over the centuries. From using pen and ink to pecking away on a typewriter to fingers flying over computer keyboards, the process has gotten easier. Writers are now more productive than ever. When I first started writing seriously back in the late ‘80s, it was all pen and paper until I got my fancy Brother EM-630 stand-alone word processing machine – similar to a typewriter, with a minuscule text preview window and a rudimentary ability to make corrections before printing. Then, in the mid-’90s, I got my first computer and was able to type away, making corrections with the flick of a key (although the software back then was not as user-friendly, and my dot-matrix printer was far from optimal). Now PCs and Macs…

Dan Sheehan, a recipient of the 2016 Center for Fiction Emerging Writers Fellowship, is a journalist, editor, and fiction writer. Originally from Ireland and now living in New York City, Sheehan currently works for LitHub and Guernica Magazine. His work has appeared in publications including the Irish Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Triquarterly. His debut novel, Restless Souls, will be published in 2018 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT WRITING? Resisting the urge to overuse the weapon in your arsenal that you’re most comfortable wielding at the expense of what the story, in that moment, demands. AND HOW HAS THAT HELPED YOU AS A WRITER? It’s usually a lesson I have to re-learn over and over in the editing process.…

We don’t need much to start a story. At the minimum, a blank surface and a writing instrument. Now, we have more options to bring stories to life, but it’s certainly not the first time writers encountered the new and shiny. We once leapt from handwriting to using a manual – then electric – typewriter. Looking back, that doesn’t seem as drastic a change when you consider the speed at which the ways we create and consume content have evolved in just a decade. Many writers of all ages readily embrace the latest tools and technology. Others are hesitant to enter the digital landscape, whether they fear learning a new skill or are simply comfortable with their routine. But because so much opportunity lies in these advances, writers seeking publication…

For every hobby and interest, there’s a magazine. Passionate about beading? Pick up Bead&Button. Fascinated by sustainable living? Try Permaculture Magazine. There are magazines for sailors, costumers, historians, and hip-hop dancers. A few years ago, I taught at a writers’ conference and lamented the lack of publications to which I could submit an essay about my neighborhood’s wild turkeys. A man in camouflage stood up in the back row. “Here,” he said, and held up a copy of Turkey & Turkey Hunting Magazine. We caught up with five magazine editors to bring you the scoop on what they love to publish, how to wow them with a professional pitch, and why – despite rumors to the contrary – the magazine industry remains an exciting force in publishing. The takeaway? Identify…

Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. Subscribers to The Writer have online access to information on publishers, publications, conferences, contests and agents. Go to writermag.com and click on Writing Resources. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P = Poetry C = Children’s Y = Young adult O = Other »CONTESTS F THE BIG MOOSE PRIZE Submit unpublished novel through online submission manager only. Manuscripts should be 90-1,000 pages in length. Open to new, emerging, and established writers. Entry through Submittable. Deadline: Jan. 31. Entry fee: $25. Prizes: $1,000 and publication. Contact: Black Lawrence Press. editors@blacklawrencepress.com blacklawrence.com F N P THE BRIAR CLIFF REVIEW ANNUAL CONTEST Submit one short story or creative nonfiction piece, max…