Posts Tagged ‘editors’
Hi writing community! I’m really close to wrapping up my long-awaited comprehensive workshop on “Savvy Submission Strategies for Writers”. Writers often struggle with consistently submitting their work to agents, publishers, journal and anthology editors, etc. and dealing with the fear of rejection. We often don’t have efficient processes in place to keep track of our submissions. This workshop addresses those concerns and provide folks the tools to double their submission rate and feel confident while doing so and MUCH more. I’ll be offering my workshop in Nov. But before I offer it, I have a couple of questions. Can you help me out? You can answer the questions in this super short survey (and get a little more detail about the workshop).https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/…/SV…
THANKS, I really appreciate it!
P.S. We’re still in a pandemic and we’re still dealing with its impact on our writing habits, routines and motivations. My free guide may be helpful to you. Have you checked it out?: Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19 go to: https://mailchi.mp/creativetickle/tenways
Finally Finish Writing Your Book: Join Me at ‘Be a Bestseller: Structure Your Story of Success’ Series
Posted on: April 11, 2021
Feeling stuck in your writing and storytelling? Are you not finishing things because you get overwhelmed with keeping track of your characters and plotlines? Frustrated with how you are plotting your novel or memoir? Are you painting yourself into too many story corners that you don’t know how to get out of?
Want to know how to bring a story full circle, connect the dots and create a fantastic ending? Want to know more about ‘story beats’ and how to effectively employ them?
Want some inspiring writing craft and mindset tips?
Great, my writer friend, Emma Dhesi can help! She is hosting a cool series that you’re going to love.
Emma has brought together 20+ writers, creatives, editors, and publishers for this complimentary training series.
The Be a Bestseller: Structure Your Story of Success series is guaranteed to ignite your creativity. Many speakers will be sharing their expertise for better plotting and story structure and others will be focused on mindset issues. It is geared for novelists, memoirists and short story writers. She is a fantastic interviewer.
And, I’m ALSO one of the speakers! I’ll be talking about how positive self-talk can supercharge your writing life (as you know one of my favorite topics)!
And it’s totally free. Sign up here and see all the speakers: https://masterclass.beabestseller.net/MicheleTBerger
BTW: If you are struggling with motivation and momentum in your writing, you might like my free guide: Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19.
I’m teaching a writing workshop through my local community college on Saturday, October 27 called: Write Faster, Write Better: Author 2.0
I came up with the idea of this workshop as a way to encourage people who have always wanted to try National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) but wanted more guidance. As I was thinking about it, however, it occurred to me that it would also be the perfect place to share ways to “level up” in one’s writing life. So, even if someone doesn’t want to write a 50,000 word draft, they may want to play with upping their productivity in November. As the description below states, I’ll be sharing some powerful techniques and tools to hack your brain to write better and faster (without loss of quality). The workshop also will provide people an opportunity to discuss their writing aspirations, goals and strategies and evaluate what’s working and what needs refining.
So dear reader, my question to you is: What Does Leveling Up in Your Writing Look Like?
I really want to know the areas that you struggle with in your writing life and the goals you are working on. So, I have designed a very comprehensive poll. Would you be so kind as to take my poll? Getting this information here would be really helpful as the readers of this blog are writers and creators at all different stages. My workshop will be in person (see details below to register), but I also plan to create an online version, too. So even if you’re not local and can’t take the workshop, you may be able to take an online version of it later this year.
Thanks in advance! I will be sure to report back on the results!
Write Faster, Write Better: Author 2.0
Do you want to write faster? Do you want to write better? These goals are not in contradiction with each other! This workshop will teach you some fun ways to “hack” your brain to support increased productivity, outwit pesky inner critics and unleash your inner storyteller.
This workshop will help both discovery writers (also known as “pantsers”) and writers that outline find new ways to approach their work.
Write Faster, Write Better is also geared for writers wanting to try National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). We’ll spend time talking about how to best prepare for NaNoWriMo and how you can produce a 50,000 word draft in a month.
We’ll spend time exploring new ways to combat what stops us from writing including: procrastination, perfectionism, imposter syndrome and feeling overwhelmed with creative ideas. We’ll explore how other successful writers have found ways to write faster and better including Austin Kleon, Chuck Wendig, Jake Bible and Rachel Aaron.
This workshop is about busting through our own self-imposed limiting beliefs about our writing life.
Writers of every level, genre, and background welcome.
And, of course, there will be door prizes!
Register here
As many of you who consistently read this blog know, I have been teaching a variety of workshops about the submission process. I started teaching this kind of work because becoming more savvy about submission (and doing it more often), has made such a tremendous difference in my writing life.
My interest and desire in upping my submissions game began with my teacher’s suggestion that emerging writers should actively (and quickly) strive for 99 rejections. And, they should think of those rejections as part of their apprenticeship. As I note in this post, at the time my writing teacher shared this, I thought surely I had racked up 99 rejections. Boy was I wrong! The other reason why I have begun teaching on this subject is that while there are a number of writing books, few discuss the submission process and all that it entails.
Recently, I realized that since December, I haven’t devoted much time to my own submission process. And, time is passing—it’s already the second quarter of the year!
Last Saturday, I sat down and dived in. Wow, was I out of practice with a process that I know well! I was reminded of many of the things that my participants tell me they struggle with regarding submitting their work
It takes time to research new markets (ideally, you’re reading a few issues of the journal or magazine before you submit), it also takes time to adapt cover letters and reformat your materials (there is, unfortunately, no uniform submission standard and every venue wants the materials formatted slightly different—from no contact information in the manuscript to contact information in the manuscript, etc.).
What I thought would only take me an hour or two (as I had several pieces ready to go), took almost four hours from start to finish. This submission thing isn’t easy or speedy.
I wound up submitting work to 5 new markets and 1 market that I already knew. To the majority of these markets, I submitted both prose and poetry. Last year, I had little time to get my poems circulating and I wanted to correct that oversight.
One strategy, however, that I came up with after my four hour adventure was to schedule a reminder in my calendar for the 5th and 25th of each month. Instead of trying to do everything in one sitting, it makes much more sense to spread the work out over the month. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this before! I also like the fact that on the 5th, I can scan everything I find for the month, bookmark it and make a decision to submit then (depending on the deadline) or later. If you schedule in twice a month submission adventures then you’re more likely to find great opportunities and follow through on them.
The reality is, if I don’t start scheduling this kind of stuff, I’ll wind up binge submitting and feel exhausted afterward.
I have become a fan of Todoist, a scheduling app. I’ve already added my reminder for the 25th.
Submitting one’s work shouldn’t feel tedious! I’m excited about my new plan.
Do you have tips for managing the submission process? If so, I’d love to hear them.
- In: creative writing | creativity | reviews | writing
- Leave a Comment
This isn’t a book review. It’s an appetizer. You know when you start reading a book and you feel like it’s about to reshape everything you’ve thought about a subject? And, you can’t wait to tell everyone about it? That’s me, right now. I’m obsessed with the new book, Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living.
It’s an amazing book exploring raw vulnerable truths, myths and contradictions about writing and making a living. The collection includes essays and interviews. Every piece moves me.
Last fall, I heard an interview with the editor, Manjula Martin, on the wonderful DIY MFA podcast, hosted by Gabriela Pereira. I bought it and have been devouring it this past week. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about it soon. Right now, please excuse me as I curl up with Scratch until the wee hours of the morning.
LOCAL WRITERS: How to Take Action On the One Thing That Matters Most for Your Writing in 2018
Posted on: January 15, 2018
Most writers delay doing the one thing that concretely helps move them toward their goal of publication—submitting their work consistently.
No one knows about your work until you take that step of sending it out into the world.
Sometimes writers delay because they find the process of submission difficult, confusing and intimidating. They have trouble finding time to submit their work, finding venues for their work, and keeping track of submissions. Many writers don’t submit their work consistently, going through binge and bust cycles. They often don’t know how to build relationships with editors.
Sound familiar? Is this you?
I’ve found in teaching my ‘Charting Your Path to Publication’ workshop several times that many writers feel daunted navigating the submission process and often find themselves stymied by periods of rejection.
My workshop, Charting Your Path to Publication teaches strategies to beat the odds of rejection. Participants learn how to select markets for their work, track submissions, and find great resources.
I’m thrilled to be offering CYPP again as longer workshop this Saturday from 10am-4pm.
This workshop is designed for writers at all levels.
If you’re a local writer and interested in learning how to take consistent action to get your amazing work out into the world, this workshop is for you.
You’ll discover where to submit short literary and genre fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry as well as how to submit to agents and publishing houses. You’ll also learn how to compose cover and query letters (and the differences between them).
We’ll also spend time exploring the role of author mindset as vital to publishing success. There is no one path to publication, but we can follow and replicate the strategies of accomplished writers. You will leave with an action plan with concrete steps toward publication (or, if already published with a plan about how to become more widely so).
Charting Your Path to Publication, Saturday 1/20, 10-4pm, Pittsboro Campus
You can register for this workshop by calling the Pittsboro campus (919) 545-8048) or signing up online.
Feel free to email me with any questions! mtb@creativetickle.com
Crafting Speculative Poetry and Prose: Author Interview with Tonya Liburd
Posted on: August 15, 2017
Tonya Liburd is a speculative fiction writer and poet. Tonya is having a fabulous writing year. She’s had several short stories published and one of her poems was nominated for the Rhysling Award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Her new story, “A Question of Faith” with Book Smugglers Publishing was recently released. [Another win for the Book Smugglers family! ]We’re in some of the same online writing circles and I noticed that I kept seeing her name pop up and her work mentioned. I read her essay, “Adventures in Gaming” in Mosaics: The Independent Women Anthology, and was blown away. The essay explores her experiences as a gamer spanning two decades and highlights the chronic misogyny, racism and homophobia that are endemic to gaming culture. I also am inspired by the fact that Tonya moves between writing speculative poetry and fiction. I wanted to know more about her work and writing practices.
I’m excited to welcome her to The Practice of Creativity.
-You write both speculative fiction and poetry. Can you tell us a little about your work?
Well, my first love is music; and I’ve been told that my writing leans on the literary side, and can be lyrical. I don’t have a favourite piece that I’ve done, because I have a good feeling about several pieces, but I do think the best thing I’ve written, craft-wise, is “Through Dreams She Moves”. It made the longlist for the Carter V. Cooper (Vanderbilt) short fiction competition in 2015. Author Nisi Shawl uses my first ever published piece, “The Ace Of Knives” – which was reprinted as part of People Of Colour Take Over Fantastic Stories Of The Imagination Magazine – in her workshops to demonstrate “code switching”. Last year a literary poem of mine, “You Don’t Want to Know Me”, won 4th prize in Ve’ahavta’s 2016 Creative Writing Competition, and this year my poem “The Architect of Bonfires” was nominated for a Rhysling Award. So here’s hoping I keep getting noticed for these things as I work harder on my writing!
-How did you get bitten by the ‘writing bug’? Did you always wish to become an author?
Ever since I could remember, English has been my best subject. My mother encouraged me to write down things in a journal, so it would improve my writing skills. I remember knowing three things I could be when I grew up: a singer/musician, a writer, or an actor. Well, one of the three panned out!
-You are the Associate Editor of Abyss & Apex Magazine. What do you enjoy about this position? What lessons have you learned about being an editor that you apply to your own writing?
I enjoy finding new voices and pioneering new things – Like I did with Celeste Rita Baker and her story “Name Calling” – and I have learned SO MUCH, thanks to Wendy Delmater (editor and publisher), being so hands on. My learning curve is still happening. I have learned that a lot of my writing was, in first draft and edited by myself, fell into the ‘so close (but no cigar!)’ territory, and I got to see what that looked like, via submissions. I have learned that grabbing an editor’s attention and making everything tight from the get-go is crucial when dealing with the sheer amount of subs they have to deal with; and that’s an important step, learning how to tighten one’s writing. Ask me this time three years ago if I would say I could write flash fiction and I’d laugh right in your face. I wrote LONG. The first thing I seriously sat down to write outside of high school was a horror novel.
-What do you say to yourself on days when the writing feels especially difficult?
I go to friends and seek emotional and moral support, and in this case they will remind me -and I will try and remind myself – that some days are easier than others. But it’s hard sometimes to tell yourself that, and just having that validation outside yourself makes the negative thoughts easier to dismiss and the positive ones harder to.
-What’s on your bookshelf, next to your bed (or in your e-reader)? What are you reading right now?
Burning Paradise by Robert Charles Wilson, and Hunger by Roxane Gay are on my bookshelf. I’m reading The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco on my kindle right now; so good!
– What’s your best writing tip that you’d like to share?
Keep writing; make it a habit and it’ll come even though you don’t feel “inspired”. Edit, edit and edit some more!
Tonya Liburd shares a birthday with Simeon Daniel and Ray Bradbury, which may tell you a little something about her; and while she has an enviable collection of vintage dust bunnies to her credit, her passions are music (someday!) and of course, words. Her poetry has been nominated for the Rhysling award, and her fiction has been longlisted in the 2015 Carter V. Cooper (Vanderbilt)/Exile Short Fiction Competition. Her story “The Ace of Knives” is in the anthology Postscripts to Darkness 6, and is used in Nisi Shawl’s workshops as an example of ‘code switching’. She is the Associate Editor of Abyss & Apex Magazine. Check out her Inspirations and Influences essay about the story, “A Question of Faith” here. You can find her blogging at spiderlilly.com or on Twitter at @somesillywowzer.
Affirmations-366Days#357
Posted on: December 23, 2016
Affirmations-366Days#357: I am grateful when I work with a skilled editor and can see my work improving.
For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.
The Practice of Creativity 