Innehållsförteckning för November 2016 från The Writer

When the going gets tough, I get takeout. When the going gets really tough, I roll up my sleeves and start cooking. Perhaps my mother's meatballs or my grandfather's marinara can't heal a broken heart, but they can sure as hell keep my hands busy. Food is so much more than fuel for our bodies; it's a tool we use to explain our origins, our family, our values. It's also the closest thing we mortals have to time travel: In a single lick of a rainbow-sprinkled ice cream cone, you're a third grader once again, sitting on the curb by the ice cream truck. It can be a memory-jogger for memoirists, a scenesetter for novelists, a focal point for essayists. Food is universal and yet wholly specific: We all eat,…

"The life of the professional writer — like that of any freelance, whether she be a plumber or a podiatrist — is predicated on willpower. Without it there simply wouldn't be any remuneration, period." —Will Self It's a common problem that comes up in the adult-education classes I teach: What do you do when you don't have any clips? Don't worry, I assure my students ­ no one was born with clips, and editors know this. The most effective way to overcome a lack of writing credentials, I tell them, is to write the story that would not be written if not for you. Story proposals such as these, based on a writer's personal experience or professional expertise, have a far greater rate of success. Why? These stories offer a…

I was just a typical graduate student trying unsuccessfully to get my own books published when I struck gold with an edited anthology, American Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement. It was my first book, and its publication through the University of Iowa Press helped launch my writing career. Realistically, though, I got lucky. I stumbled onto a good idea as well as a press that liked poetry, anthologies, and issues of identity/ethnicity. Fortunately, you don't need luck like mine to get your own anthology under contract ­ a terrific idea and some insider knowledge is enough. Let's be clear, however: publishers are flooded with illconsidered ideas, such as 101 Poems from Left-handed Writers, Deli Belly: Stories Against Sandwiches, or Meta: Essays on the Meta of Meta, etc. So it's no surprise…

Elissa Altman began her wordsmith career as an editor of cookbooks, but today Altman is better known as the proprietor of the blog Poor Man's Feast and the author of two memoirs, Poor Man's Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking and Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw, which was released in September. Poor Man's Feast began as a food blog, but Altman's thoughtful and often lengthy posts helped the site grow into something else entirely. "Food is about so much more than just the table and eating and assembling one's plate," Altman says. We spoke with the James Beard Award winner about the evolution of her writing, what it's like to open up online, and writing about food without always posting a…

"Cut your manuscript ruthlessly but never throw anything away: it's amazing how often a discarded scene or description, which wouldn't fit in one place, will work perfectly later." —Robert Harris "I'M GOING TO MAJOR IN JOURNALISM," I announced to my mother the summer before my junior year in college. Her response: "I'm not paying tuition unless you major in something more sensible." Her reasons were complicated. Growing up in an orphanage from the age of 2 to 15, she was the daughter of a poverty-stricken, widowed Russian immigrant in Jersey City. Mom's fantasy of becoming a physical education teacher was derailed when she had to get a job right after high school. Sensible. I'd hated that word ever since Mom insisted on buying me hideous brown lace-up oxfords in seventh…

Anisse Gross' one-day boot camp on freelance pitching helped me demystify the process and get over my phobia. These are some of the invaluable things she taught us at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. DO's 1.Seek out a good fit. Think about what you like reading and writing ­ what publications feature similar work? 2.Always, always read the publi- cation before pitching. See if they've published anything similar recently. Nothing is worse than pitching a story and having them respond, "We just ran that story two weeks ago." 3.Pitch a story, not a topic. Be as specific as possible. Offer a fresh and interesting angle. A pitch is a story idea, not a vague topic like "parenting." 4.Keep the pitch under a page in length. Editors are busy people. 5.Include…

Own your URL and hosting (vs. a free, third-party host) Invest in a customizable template (or hire a designer) Mix evergreen and timely content (pages AND blog posts) Implement dynamic elements to keep content fresh Find compelling imagery to complement your words Include contact information (or method of contact, such as a simple form) Consider accessibility and search engine optimization Remember the medium: write for the web, not for the printed page Use analytics tools to measure your success or find ways to improve Full name Email Comment(s)…

Sometimes it's Painful to be a Gay Parent in Public." "What We Tell our Daughters About Body Hair." "Parenting in the Shadow of PTSD." These are just a few of the article titles from Motherwell, a new online magazine founded and edited by Lauren Apfel and Randi Olin. While Olin lives in Connecticut and Apfel resides in Scotland, they're united by their desire to provide a literary forum for mothers and fathers interested in more than just planning the perfect birthday party for a third-grader. "We're aiming to help parents navigate the complexities of modern parenting by publishing pieces on the most relevant issues," they note. "We want to acknowledge the validity of different perspectives and that there's no single right answer to the many questions parents face." Tone, editorial…

You've written, drafted, and redrafted your novel. You've shared it with your writing group, your parents, and your best friend. You're now ready to take the plunge and submit it professionally ­ but are you ready to receive critical feedback? Whether you get the criticism from an agent, an editor at a publishing house, or an editor who you hire, learning to receive it is an important step on your writer's journey. And the very first thing to do is... nothing. Don't react, begin drafting a rebuttal, get upset, or fire off a hasty email. Allow the feedback to sink in. Sleep on it. Remember that every writer gets something wrong, so if your editor feels your dialogue isn't snappy or that every character's voice sounds the same, this isn't…

Less than three months before my release date, I was getting nervous. Not because come June 22 nd my debut novel would be out in the world, six years after I started writing it. Not because I'd have to do a live reading at my launch party, a feat that for now I'd only accomplished in front of the mirror with all doors firmly shut. Not because readers might hate it, the FSB (KGB's successor) might go after me, and I may have to spend a few years hiding a la Salman Rushdie. Not because of any of that. I was nervous because I still didn't have a cover. My publisher's designer was running late. After sending an email to inquire, I got a laconic "don't worry." "We still have…

Think multiplatform: "People who are pitching should use every tool that is available to them," First says. That means video, online, print, graphs, sidebars, and photos. "Think about the various aspects that could be presented. Tell me what medium you see your piece lending itself to and why." Take time to read: "When I find myself lacking inspiration, I will go back to a 1992 issue of Gourmet and say, That's a story that hasn't been told for awhile! or There's something that needs an update," says Pandolfi, who keeps stacks of old food magazines around his apartment for reference and for finding ideas to pitch. Include an element of surprise: "I want something that is concise, to the point, and has something about the story that surprises me," Birnbaum…

T he assignment from The Atlantic was vague: what do men's worsening economic prospects mean for the future of dating, family, and marriage? The editor encouraged the writer, Kate Bolick, to draw on her personal observations and relationships to supplement the research, which struck Bolick as a grand idea. For years, she'd used her own experiences to explore larger issues, such as what it means to be an aunt and the impact of Facebook voyeurism. But this was much bigger, and the more she researched, the more she reflected, and the more complex the story became. In her late 30s, she'd had more boyfriends than she could count, and no burning desire to marry. But why? She talked to sociologists and psychologists and anthropologists. She flew to Amsterdam to an…

Writing contests keep your mind fresh, your writing skills sharp and your creativity pumping. And winning could score you new readers, notoriety and even some extra cash. The biggest thing to keep in mind before submitting your work to a contest is following the rules. Here are some deal breakers to keep an eye out for: The following contests are a small sampling of what the industry has to offer. Find more listings at writermag.com. WriterMag.com 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. Information in this section is provided to The Writer by the individual markets and events; for more information, contact those entities directly. F = Fiction N = Nonfiction P =…