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January15, 2005 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine -- Issue Nine >> |
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Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine - a FR*E*E monthly ezine for writing parents. ******************************************************************* You are receiving this e-zine because you subscribed through e-mail. Unsubscribe information is below. ******************************************************************* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. WELCOME NOTES 2. QUOTES FOR THE MONTH 3. EDITOR'S ARTICLE: NO ORDINARY LIST: TURNING THINGS YOU KNOW INTO A BOOK by Dawn Colclasure 4. ADVERTISEMENTS ??“ Check out these GREAT DEALS! 5. GUEST ARTICLE: BUILDING YOUR WRITING BUSINESS by Sara Webb Quest 6. WHAT'S UP WITH THE BOOK'S WRITERS? 7. BOOK NEWS 8. FREEBIE CORNER 9. WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR DECEMBER 10. FORUM NEWS 11. UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS ******************************************************************* Welcome Notes Welcome to this issue of the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine! I'm thrilled to have you as a subscriber! Thank you for giving my E-zine the chance of appearing in your inbox! If ever you have any suggestions, please feel free to E-mail them to me at BurningMidnightOil@hotmail.com. In this issue, Sara Webb Quest, who is interviewed in Volume One, talks about why having a writing business is ideal and how (and where) you can market your skill with words. I enjoyed reading this interview and I hope you do, too. Today marks the release of my second nonfiction book, 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbocharge Your Creativity (Filbert Publishing). I don??™t yet have the link to the book??™s sales page, but keep an eye on my Web site, http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ , as well as Filbert??™s site, http://filbertpublishing.com/ and click on ???What??™s New,??? for this info. I wrote this book for any kind of writer (freelancer, novelist, poet, etc.) for all ages and stages. But not seeing a book like this isn??™t what prompted me to start writing it. In truth, this book started out as a list of tips (interestingly enough, started on Post-It Notes(R), which are on the book??™s cover!) that turned into what I now have as a book. You can turn any list you make into your next book and my article below will show you how! And if you happen to buy a copy of this book, I really hope you enjoy reading it. Please feel free to shoot your comments my way! And for those who are wondering, there just might be a second/revised edition in the future. Stay tuned! This year marks quite a few successes for me: Two books published in the same year, an E-zine started up (and still running!), a novel I??™ve struggled with for YEARS finally getting finished and sent off to a publisher, and articles getting into print magazines (with more scheduled for publication next year). Though I am grateful for my successes, I plan to charge on ahead into 2005 with more goals, more books and more writing accomplishments! And because I want your new year to be brimming with success as well, I have included quotes on success to inspire and motivate you to keep kicking in 2005! Here??™s wishing all of you a happy and safe holiday season. May the new year bring you everything you aspire for ??“ and more. Enjoy this issue! Hugs, Dawn Colclasure Editor and Publisher http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ ******************************************************************* Quotes for the Month ???Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.?????”Abraham Lincoln ???A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.?????”Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi ???To follow, without halt, one aim: There's the secret of success.?????”Anna Pavlova ???If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.?????”Anna Quindlen ???Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were/?????”David Rockefeller ???Aim for success, not perfection.?????”Dr. David M. Burns ???Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.?????”Henry David Thoreau ???Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture.?????”Norman Vincent Peale These quotes came from: The Quotations Page http://www.quotationspage.com/ ******************************************************************* EDITOR??™S ARTICLE No Ordinary Lists: Turning Things You Know into a Book Copyright ?“ 2004 by: Dawn Colclasure Writers love to make lists. If anything, lists are a constructive, free-form way for a writer to jot down everything they can think of that belongs with a subject or category. These notes can be anywhere from one word to a short sentence and they give any writer struggling for ideas an opportunity to focus on something to write. But the thing about lists is that they can also serve as a springboard for your next book. The next time you write a list of something (especially your Christmas list), ask yourself how this can turn into a story or book idea. Not every list will do the job for you but, when you notice your list growing a little longer than just a few pages and you can??™t stop writing, chances are you??™ve got a book idea on your hands. When I started writing my book, 365 Tips For Writers: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbocharge Your Creativity, it started out as a list. As I gave my daughter her bath, I started mulling over all the times writers and aspiring writers were asking me for advice. These questions ranged on varying subjects, from the craft of writing, technique and the business of being a writer, and as I started to mentally check off each one with an answer, I got the idea to write them down instead. (After all, my mental list didn??™t stop growing!) After several Post-It Notes(R) and notebook pages started getting crammed with these answers, I realized that, instead of making this a list, why not turn it into a book? After all, I had enough work to fill a small book. That??™s how my book was born. You can do the same with your own lists. Read on to discover how: 1. Examine what you??™ve written to see if it??™s enough to turn it into a book. Your short list can be expanded later on, of course, but you need to be sure you can write enough on your topic to turn it into a book or even an E-book (50 pages can suffice as an E-book). 2. Do some research to see if there??™s already a book on your topic. If there is, what new information can you bring to the subject with your book? If you don??™t have anything different now, take some time to look over your list again to see if you can fit in anything that will make your book unique. 3. Pick a number. Decide how long you want your list to be. In my case, I thought having a writing tip for every day of the year would make the book more valuable to readers (and add to its unique angle). If your book is about X number of something (such as 50 Best Fishing Spots in the U.S.), then choose a commonly used number like 12, 50, 101, 365 or even 500. Some may go as high as 1,001. (Notice there??™s never a 100 or 1000? Watch for things like that.) 4. Keep your list in one place. It??™s a good idea to limit your list to one notebook or a computer file, but if you??™re not able to do this, keep all of your material where you won??™t lose any of it later. 5. Don??™t edit as you write. List writing is supposed to be relaxed and uninterrupted. Taking time to rewrite a sentence can throw off your inspiration. 6. Keep adding to your list as much as possible. Even if you think you??™ve written a certain idea or sentence before, write it again then take it out later. 7. Be brief. Keep notes in your lists short. You??™re not writing your book yet; all you are doing is drafting out the rough sketch of what your book will cover. 8. Use subcategories. Think about your notes and see where you can add subcategories to your list. For example, suppose your list is about how to write a book. Some subcategories for this can cover fiction writing, writing a how-to book or a children??™s book. 9. Watch out for special cases. Suppose on the list for the above subject would be, "Find a subject to write about.??? What happens if that subject??™s already got a thousand different books already? You could use this as a boxed area to offer suggestions on how to write a book that would stand out against the heavy competition. 10. Don??™t rush the list. I didn??™t write my list in one day; no book ever is written in one day. Even if you finish your list in one sitting, chances are you??™ll get an idea for something extra to add later on. Jot down anything that comes to mind right now and hold on to your list for when more ideas come later. Using the above methods, you can be on your way to writing your next list ??“ and your next book. *** Dawn Colclasure edits and publishes the Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine, which is a product of her book: BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents (Booklocker). She is also a poetry editor for Skyline E-Magazine, contributing writer to the newspaper SIGNews and a staff writer for the Web site, The Shadowlands. Shes been published both on and off the Web, in magazines such as Mothering and American Fitness, and Web sites such as Absolute Write, Writing Etc. and Writing World. Visit her on the Web at http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/ . ******************************************************************* ADVERTISEMENTS My good friend PETER BOWERMAN is offering a FANTASTIC, DO-NOT-MISS Holiday special! Check out this great offer: Happy Holidays, Everyone! A few last-minute gift ideas for you OR the aspiring writer on your list: 1) THE WELL-FED SPREAD - NOW Shipping!! Both Well-Fed titles, personally signed to the recipient, handsomely slipcased, and with FREE Priority Mail shipping through 01/05/05! Just $39.90! Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/wfspread.shtml. 2) SPECIAL FOR WELL-FED E-PUB SUBSCRIBERS ONLY! (Info NOT on Web Site) The Well-Fed Writer OR The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds, personally signed and FREE Priority Mail shipping through 01/05/05! (And FREE e-book download!) IMPORTANT: Place order by end of day, Monday, 12/20/04 (or after 12/28/04). When ordering, choose regular USPS Book Rate, then immediately send note to peter@wellfedwriter.com requesting FREE Priority Mail shipping AND specifying how you??™d like book signed. To order, visit: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/books.shtml. 3) The BIG Banquet (ebook) Just $11.95 through 1/15/05!! (Regularly $17.95) The first 26 issues of THE WELL-FED E-PUB, the critically acclaimed ezine and companion publication to The Well-Fed titles - all organized and categorized for easy reference. Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/thebigbanquet.shtml. 4) The Well-Fed Seminar on CD - Just $89 and FREE shipping through 1/05/05 (regularly $119). 6 CDs, 40 page Course Materials Guide (add a book for $11 more!) Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/cd.shtml. I wish you and yours all the joys of the holiday season and a most successful and Well-Fed New Year! Peter Bowerman, Author: "The Well-Fed Writer" (award-winning, Book-of-the-Month Club selection, 2000) "The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds" (Now available!) Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/bfs.shtml ************ PAT FARENGA, Co-author of TEACH YOUR OWN: THE JOHN HOLT BOOK OF HOMESCHOOLING (Perseus, 2003) www.holtgws.com, announces his speaking schedule for 2005: WHEN: Saturday, January 22, 2005 WHERE: 1st Parish Unitarian Church, 50 Church St., Waltham, MA. TOPIC: TEACH YOUR OWN: AN UNSCHOOLING SEMINAR. Stories, research, and answers to your questions from one of the most experienced writers and speakers about homeschooling today. Pat worked with the best-selling author and teacher John Holt and, with his wife, homeschools their three daughters. Pat's work with homeschoolers has been written about in The New York Times and The Boston Globe and he has been interviewed about homeschooling on The Today Show, CNN's Parenting Today, and WGBH's Greater Boston television shows. 9 AM - 12 PM Beginner's Seminar. Getting started with homeschooling/unschooling and how to work with your children to create successful family time. Geared to people thinking about or starting to homeschool, we will explore John Holt's ideas and practices about learning and how they have been successfully used by homeschoolers around the world since 1977. 1 - 4 PM Advanced Seminar. Among the topics we will cover include: Homeschooling through high school, earning diplomas/credentials for college and work, grown homeschoolers. _______________________________________________ WHEN: February 6, 2005 WHERE: The Asheville Arts Center, 308 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 TOPIC: TEACH YOUR OWN: AN UNSCHOOLING SEMINAR. 9 AM - 12 PM Beginner's Seminar. 1 - 4 PM Advanced Seminar. See above for details about these seminars, or visit www.holtgws.com to download a registration flyer. Contact Joan Humphries for directions and local information about this event: 828-252-8183 _______________________________________________ WHEN: Sunday, June 19, 2005 2 presentations - one for FREE! WHERE: Ethical Humanist Society, 38 Old Country Road, Garden City NY 11530 TOPIC 1: Panel Discussion. FREE to the public. 11AM - 12PM. "Ethics and Education: Public, Private and Home School" TOPIC 2: TEACH YOUR OWN: AN UNSCHOOLING SEMINAR. Beginner's seminar only; tickets required for admission. 2 - 5 PM TEACH YOUR OWN: Beginner's Seminar. Seminar Cost: $60 per person. Save up to 35% by using Early bird, group and family discounts. Visit www.holtgws.com for details. SEMINAR SPACE IS LIMITED. To register for a seminar please download a registration form from: www.holtgws.com Or call or email me with your address and I'll mail a form to you. You can also just send me your name and address, the seminar date and time you wish to attend, and payment to: Pat Farenga Holt Associates Inc. PO Box 89 Wakefield, MA 01880 ************ Australian author CHERYL WRIGHT is offering a discount on her journaling course! Here is the info: Easy Way to Write Journaling Course with M. Kenyon Charboneaux Here's a quick re-cap of what the course involves: Week 1 - Introduction & First Assignment Week 2 - The Mechanics of Keeping A Journal Week 3 - A Concise Look At The Different Types of Journals Week 4 - The Writer's Journal as Seedbed, Way to Unleash Creativity & Cure for Writer's Block and Writer's Lock Week 5 - The Writer's Journal as Journey into the Personal Life Mythos Week 6 - The Writer's Journal as Immortality The course is conducted via a private Yahoo group (via email) and is totally interactive. There is also a members only chat group which past workshop participants have found very helpful. As previously advised, Rob Parnell (of Easy Way to Write) has offered a special discount to subscribers of "Writer to Writer". This six week course is normally $94. You can claim the discounted price of just $47 for the entire course by clicking here now: http://tinyurl.com/5hdpa Best always, Cheryl Wright http://www.writer2writer.com http://www.cheryl-wright.com Email: cheryl@writer2writer.com ************ BRENDA NIXON, who has an essay in Volume One, has a special for her book going on FOR DECEMBER ONLY! Check out this great deal that has me jumping up to buy!: Bookstores sell PARENTING POWER IN THE EARLY YEARS by Brenda Nixon for $12.95 but in December Only the author is personally offering Autographed Copies for an unprecedented $7 -- including FREE SHIPPING! Sample Chapters: Handling a Biter How to be a Successful Parent To Spank or Not The Toilet Teaching Hurdle Clinging Toddlers Soothe Separation Anxiety The Right Preschool? Bedtime Resistance Remedy Kindergarten Readiness Quality Childcare Checklist Mail orders/$7 payment for each autographed book to Brenda Nixon P.O. Box 1302 Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050 Parenting Power in the Early Years (ISBN 157921343X, soft cover, 96 pgs), a handy resource for Early Childhood Parents, Daycare Directors, Teachers, Grandparents, Parent Educators Books will be mailed within 24 hours to any United States address ******************************************************************* GUEST ARTICLE Building Your Writing Business By Sara Webb Quest Professional writing is the future -- start NOW. The U.S. Bureau of Labor foretells a 28% augmentation in writing jobs by the year 2010. Professional writers work online, in print (magazines, newspapers), for advertising agencies and publishers -- and these are just a few writing jobs now available. To write professionally, you should be able to market your work. A superb way of doing so is by writing a column you are sincerely passionate about. Your column should follow one or both of two rules: ?·It should be read by a large audience Online databases like Suite101.com, About.com and iVillage.com that attract some two million visitors per month are the first choices selected and displayed by search engines. Evidence of this is Suite101.com's ranking: 3,000 of all websites. So, it is a wise writer that chooses a site like this to show off his/her column and article writing skills. ?·It should pay well In the July 2003 issue of Writer's Digest Robert W. Bly, a high-income writer wrote an article on "10 Ways to a Six-Figure Income." I was amazed at how easy it was to pull in the bucks for doing what you love. Basically, he tells writers to decide how much money per hour our time is worth. (He decided on 35-50 dollars per hour) It is crucial to target high-paying markets like Fortune-500 companies, develop our productivity by using email and telephone instead of in-person meetings wherever possible, and take advantage of royalty-producing projects. Yours truly came away from the article with a financial plan. After browsing the local grocery store lobby's free publications and taking home a parenting newspaper, I email-queried Rabideau Publications, who was in charge of the paper and three local magazines. The name of the newspaper is Cape Cod Parent and Child. As it turns out, I have just completed my third "Off the Shelf" book column for Cape Cod Parent and Child. While the column only pays fifty dollars a piece, I have this column for Suite101.com to publicize it and direct people interested in receiving my writing services to http://www.authorsden.com/sarawebbquest a freelance writing site. So, your name is out there and you're making money ... Now that you've shown your talent off, ask that local editor for more assignments. Because of the Rabideau affiliation, I now have an upcoming feature-article assignment that will earn 300 dollars for 1800 words, for their sister publication, Cape Cod Magazine. This translates to about 38 dollars per hour. And, recently the free writing newsletter I receive ??“WritersWeekly.com -- offered an article on high-paying educational markets, complete with submission links, from which my humble tutoring experience for tutor.com (any writer can apply here) will gain me a job for. Now I'm focusing on targeting Suite101, Suite University and Fortune-500 companies and so should you: ?·Go to our Biz Center at http://www.suite101.com/businesscenter/ Here, you will find everything from becoming a Suite101 Editor / Course Developer to creating a royalty-generating "Suite e-book" to becoming a Business Affiliate. As for Fortune-500, go to "Free Trial Offer" at http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fortune500 and you will receive three free issues of Fortune Five Hundred,??? the magazine containing America's biggest corporations. After receiving the magazine, find their website address on one of the first few pages, go to it then ask for guidelines! ABOUT SARA: Sara Webb Quest is a freelance writer, author and editor. Her books include THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD (Suite101.com, 2004), BECOME A WELL-PAID BOOK REVIEWER (SelfHelpGuides.com, 2003), MOON OVER MADNESS (IndyPublish.com, 2001) and A MOUNTAIN PLACE (self-published, 2001). Her columns appear in CAPE COD PARENT & CHILD, she edits and publishes the PARENTS ADDICTED TO WRITING newsletter and teaches at the Professional Writing Hub at Suite101.com University. You can find my interview with Sara in the first volume of BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents. She lives in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter. Visit Sara on the Web at http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?AuthorID=2092 . ******************************************************************* WHAT'S UP WITH THE BOOK'S WRITERS? No news this month. ******************************************************************* BOOK NEWS What's the latest with the first volume of BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents? No book news this month. ******************************************************************* FREEBIE CORNER Get the FREE E-Boo 34300/61381_239s.pdf : True Tales of Trials and Tribulations Parenting Teens by Kimberly Ripley: www.booklocker.com/pdf/239s.pdf Get three free E-books when you subscribe to Web Marketing Today Free Weekly: http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt/ Get free bi-monthly book writing tips in your inbox! Subscribe here: http://www.bookcoachpress.com/signUp/index.html SPECIAL THIS MONTH: My gift to you... http://www.iflowers.com/?CODE=15-5598burningmidnightoil (click on ???Pick up your virtual gift???) ******************************************************************* WRITING PARENT TIPS FOR DECEMBER: Tip: Take advantage of this holiday season to create stories/songs/plays with your children that are about how you celebrate your special holiday or what this holiday means to you. Tip: Plan out how you hope to meet your writing goals in the new year. Circle playdates and babysitting days on your calendar. If you have young children, be sure to check that your office space is childproofed in case little ones sneak in. Tip: Happy Holidays to all of you and enjoy your New Year??™s! ******************************************************************* FORUM NEWS Check out our forum at: http://p197.ezboard.com/babsolutewrite The password is: multitask Check out our message board for a link to Skyline E-Magazine, where you can download your free copy of the Holiday, 2004 issue (which was previously down but now back up and running!) and see a very nice advertisement for the book! ******************************************************************* WANNA SUBMIT TO THIS E-ZINE?? I am always open to submissions for the E-zine!! Feel free to submit any of the following: 1. An article. Any style and length (can be broken into parts). Articles must relate to writing, being a writing parent or successful business/marketing ideas. If the article is a reprint, you must own the reprint rights. 2. Tips for writing parents. 3. Advertising info, a freebie link, fan mail or, if you are included in the book, news and updates on what??™s going on in your writing life! I prefer to use free reprinted articles whenever possible but I do offer payment, as well. Payment is only allotted to article submissions. You may choose any one of the following for compensation: --$5, paid in the form of a money order. On acceptance. --Generous bio --A complimentary copy of the book, BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents (available in September, 2004). ******************************************************************* You are subscribed to this E-zine because you requested a subscription or signed yourself up on your own. To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 59308-unsubscribe@zinester.com |
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| << November16, 2004 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine -- Issue Seven |
January15, 2005 - Burning the Midnight Oil Book Zine -- Issue Nine >> |
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