Yesterday's post, Why Bother? received a lot of attention and some comments. It confirmed my premise that we have all asked that to ourself at some time or another in our writing life.
Michelle Monet has started a new site for Memoir writers called Women Writing Memoir. She features articles that pertain to memoir writing. I received an invitation to submit an article, so, since I write short memoir, I wrote an essay on the same and sent it to her. It was published today. You can read How About Only A Wee Bit Of Memoir here. Note there is a place on the left side to share or to clap if you like the essay. If you read it, can you clap for me? It would be appreciated. It appears you can clap as many times as you like. Easy enough to stuff the ballot box!
I received notice of a need for new stories for a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book titled Think Positive, Live Happy. An earlier book with the same theme was so popular that they are planning another. Go to the Possible Books page to read more about the kind of stories they are seeking. There are six books listed with this latest one being at the very end of the page. I like that they give a list of possible topics to give you some inspiration or to trigger a memory. I study that list pretty carefully and hope a memory pops up or an inspiration appears like lightning on a stormy day. The deadline date is not until April 30, 2019, so you have plenty of time to write and submit a story. (And also edit and revise a few times!)
My local newspaper did a story about me this week. The publicists from Chicken Soup for the Soul notify the local media of the writers in the latest book. A reporter called and asked if he could interview me. We spent a half hour together and he wrote a very nice article which appeared on the front page of our local newspaper.
As writers, we should be able to write good book reviews on Amazon or GoodReads or for your local newspaper. When we read a book we enjoyed, do we always take the time to write a review? I think there will be lots of answers like Sometimes, Never, Occasionally. We tend to write a review for a fellow writer who hopes we'll give a 'gushingly good' review. They're hoping to sell books, so why wouldn't they want that kind of review? When I review a book for a writer I know, I always tell them that I will be completely honest. I absolutely cannot give 5 stars to a book that I don't feel merits that number. You can help the writers you know and other readers by writing a review. If I hate a book, there is no way I will bother with it. It's not in my nature to hurt others in any way. If interested in writing reviews, take a look at this article.
Have you done anything about joining a writers' group of some kind? I have gained a lot of knowledge and made some contacts with other writers, some of whom I now call 'good friend.' Don't tell me that you are doing just fine without belonging to any writing organization or writing critique group. I might accept that you are doing alright without them, but I think you'll do even better with them in your writing life.
There are a lot of links for you to check out in today's post. I put them there to give you some tips and encourage you to think about your own writing life, too.
I received notice of a need for new stories for a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book titled Think Positive, Live Happy. An earlier book with the same theme was so popular that they are planning another. Go to the Possible Books page to read more about the kind of stories they are seeking. There are six books listed with this latest one being at the very end of the page. I like that they give a list of possible topics to give you some inspiration or to trigger a memory. I study that list pretty carefully and hope a memory pops up or an inspiration appears like lightning on a stormy day. The deadline date is not until April 30, 2019, so you have plenty of time to write and submit a story. (And also edit and revise a few times!)
My local newspaper did a story about me this week. The publicists from Chicken Soup for the Soul notify the local media of the writers in the latest book. A reporter called and asked if he could interview me. We spent a half hour together and he wrote a very nice article which appeared on the front page of our local newspaper.
As writers, we should be able to write good book reviews on Amazon or GoodReads or for your local newspaper. When we read a book we enjoyed, do we always take the time to write a review? I think there will be lots of answers like Sometimes, Never, Occasionally. We tend to write a review for a fellow writer who hopes we'll give a 'gushingly good' review. They're hoping to sell books, so why wouldn't they want that kind of review? When I review a book for a writer I know, I always tell them that I will be completely honest. I absolutely cannot give 5 stars to a book that I don't feel merits that number. You can help the writers you know and other readers by writing a review. If I hate a book, there is no way I will bother with it. It's not in my nature to hurt others in any way. If interested in writing reviews, take a look at this article.
Have you done anything about joining a writers' group of some kind? I have gained a lot of knowledge and made some contacts with other writers, some of whom I now call 'good friend.' Don't tell me that you are doing just fine without belonging to any writing organization or writing critique group. I might accept that you are doing alright without them, but I think you'll do even better with them in your writing life.
There are a lot of links for you to check out in today's post. I put them there to give you some tips and encourage you to think about your own writing life, too.
Hi Nancy, thank you for all of this valuable information! Congrats on your being interviewed and your published work in Chicken Soup too! I agree that belonging to writing communities is both informative and motivate to keep going.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin,for your nice comment.
DeleteI now have my big state writing family with a once a year meeting, a local group with weekly (if we want to) write-ins/write-togethers, and a small group with whom I share critiques and focus on the current work-in-progress. I consider myself a fairly solitary person, but I do value my writing groups to keep me on track and to teach me new things!
ReplyDeleteWe are in full agreement there, Tracy.
DeleteYes, yes, and yes!
ReplyDeleteLovely! Lovely! and Lovely! :)
DeleteAs a new author, I read your post with interest and was thrilled to discover Chicken Soup for the Soul was accepting submissions on a book called "Running for Good". I submitted two stories last Friday and whether or not they are accepted, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I can't thank you enough for bringing the possibility to my attention. Best wishes for your continued success and congratulations on being featured on the cover of your local newspaper!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your nice comment, and Good Luck on the CS story. If this one doesn't make it, don't give up. Perseverance is one of my key words.
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