Penguin's Book Country Launches Self-Publishing Service By Jeremy Greenfield, Editorial Director, Digital Book World, @JDGsaid Penguin’s online genre fiction community, Book Country, has launched a self-publishing service, signaling the intention of big publishers to develop additional revenue streams in the face of a changing book-publishing landscape, even if it means letting authors bypass the traditional publishing process. The self-publishing tool provides prospective authors with the option of either professionally producing their print and e-book or doing much of the production work themselves. “We’re at a point in the industry where there’s an understanding that there are multiple paths forward for authors,” said Molly Barton, Book Country president and newly appointed Penguin global digital director. Related: Q&A With Molly Barton on Her New Position and Digital Books Since its April launch, BookCountry.com has nearly 4,000 members who have posted 500 pieces of fiction, according to the company. Write to Jeremy Greenfield Related Posts:
Lindsay Ribar | Greenburger Associates Rotator powered by <strong>EasyRotator for WordPress</strong>, a free and easy jQuery slider builder from DWUser.com. Please enable JavaScript to view. Associate agent Lindsay Ribar began her career at Greenburger Associates in 2007, working primarily with science fiction and fantasy authors. In addition to representing her own clients, she co-reps a select number of authors with senior agent Matt Bialer. Lindsay is actively seeking new authors of young adult and middle grade fiction, and is particularly drawn to smart paranormal romance; contemporary realistic; fantasy;soft sci-fi; mystery; and anything with elements of music, musical theatre, dual identities, and LGBT themes. A graduate of New York University and the Columbia Publishing Course, Lindsay is also an author of young adult fiction, and is represented by Greenburger Associates. To submit your work… Due to the high volume of submissions that Lindsay receives, she is unable to respond personally to each individual query.
7 Platforms Changing the Future of Publishing and Storytelling by Kirstin Butler Cutting out the middleman, or what the Nobel Peace Prize has to do with harnessing the potential of tablets. Depending on whom you ask, these are either the best or the worst of times for the written word. As with every other branch of traditional media, the Internet has pushed the publishing industry to a critical inflection point, something we’ve previously discussed. Disrupting the mainstream marketplaces for journalism, literature, and the fundamental conventions of reading and writing themselves, here are seven startups that promise to reshape the way we create and consume ideas. Byliner, whose beautifully designed site officially launched last week, is easily the most ambitious of the initiatives featured here. The startup’s first original offering, Three Cups of Deceit, tells the story of the now-disgraced Nobel Peace Prize nominee and bestselling author Greg Mortenson. Bringing a crowdfunded model to books, the U.K. Read our full feature on 40K Books here.
Matt Bialer | Greenburger Associates Rotator powered by <strong>EasyRotator for WordPress</strong>, a free and easy jQuery slider builder from DWUser.com. Please enable JavaScript to view. Matt has been in the publishing community since 1985, and worked at two major literary agencies before joining the Greenburger team in 2003. He represents fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, and mysteries as well as a select group of literary writers, and also loves smart narrative nonfiction including books about current events, popular culture, biography, history, music, race, and sports. To submit your work… Please send query letter in the body of your email, and then send the following as an attachment: the first three chapters of your book (for fiction) or your complete book proposal (for non-fiction). Tad WilliamsTad Williams has held more jobs than any sane person should admit to—singing in a MORE…
...Portfolio of scripts by Anikó J. Bartos + Alan C. Baird Scripts for sale/option/representation, by Anikó J. Bartos & Alan C. Baird[AW-nee-ko BAR-toesh & AL-an Bayerd](download free Adobe reader to open the PDF files) (script download page) Contact: HotTip [at] Gmail.com (replace [at] with @) Merlinsky [98-page feature screenplay: American Zoetrope quarterfinalist, Writers Network quarterfinalist] Log line: Imagine the Lord of the Rings meets Harry Potter and they go back to the future. Synopsis: The endless hordes of Hollywood tourists in the late 1940's are easy marks for a con-man magician like Harry Merlinsky. Lineage: 12th-century folklore myths begat The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which begat a tone poem by composer Paul Dukás, which begat Disney's Fantasia, which inspired Merlinsky, a magical action-adventure. Genre: Action-adventure, w/magic. \\\ BackslasherBlog.com \\\ [feature screenplay] Log line: Surfing for romance in cyberspace can be murder. Genre: Teen suspense-comedy. [10-page sample, HTML] [Facebook]
The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency, Literary Agent Submission Guidelines We are very excited to see new work. We consider work from everyone, and every year we take new clients based on their unsolicited submissions, including clients with no prior credits, recommendations or other kudos. That said, it is very important that you follow our submission guidelines precisely. We ask that you please DO NOT CALL to inquire about your submission status. What We’re Looking For How to Submit by Mail How to Submit by email Dos Don’ts FAQ What We’re Looking For We are actively looking for established and new writers in a wide range of genres. We’re interested in all kinds of commercial fiction, including thrillers, mysteries, children’s, romance, women’s fiction, ethnic, science fiction, fantasy and general fiction. We are also interested in literary fiction as long as it has a strong narrative. We accept unsolicited manuscripts and seriously consider all submissions, including those from first time writers. Top How to Submit by Mail Also: Dos Top
A Writer’s Guide To Free Apps For Inspiration & Organization Any creative writer should have three main aims: write, stay organized and get published. The following list of free websites and apps for writers aims to help you do just that. Get Inspired Sometimes inspiration hits and you know exactly what your next story, poem, or dare I say it, novel, is going to be about. There’s no limit to the number of online idea generators out there, but to get you started, here are a few good ones: The website Archetype offers a variety of idea generators, depending on what you need help with. The Big Huge Thesaurus, a resource for looking up synonyms, antonyms and rhymes, is another place where writers can get free prompts. A special mention also goes to McSweeney’s for their Thirteen Writing Prompts feature. Start Writing Now that you have your idea, and want to get started on your story, it would be a good idea to use a distraction-free writing app like OmmWriter or a minimalist text editor. Stay Organized You could also use MakeUseOf’s popular Gmail tip.
cyoa As a child of the 80s, the Choose Your Own Adventure books were a fixture of my rainy afternoons. My elementary school library kept a low, fairly unmaintained-looking shelf of them hidden in one of its back corners. Whether this non-marquee placement was an attempt by the librarians to deemphasize the books in favor of ‘serious’ (children’s) literature or was simply my good luck I still haven’t worked out. A lot of what I read in those days served a similar purpose. In practice this meant a lot of genre fiction, books where the author spends as much time explaining the rules of the form’s world (be it film noir, sci-fi, etc.) as documenting the characters’ progress through it. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but it’s a decidedly one-sided affair. It is less surprising that this kind of interactive, hypertextual book happened at all than that it happened so late in the life of the book as a medium. Historically, reference books have made use of this aspect most directly. colophon data
Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers How to Write a Terrific Author Bio Posted on Jul 5th, 2011 | 247 comments Sometimes it’s hard to believe how difficult it can be to write about yourself in a bio—after all, you’re a writer! But I understand it’s not as simple as that, so here are a few tips to make it easier. Write your bio in first person for query letters, third person for most other purposes including proposals, book jackets, article bylines. Make it professional but you also need to convey personality and writing style. What gives you credibility? If your book centers on something specific—the Civil War, for example—are you a member of a Civil War society? Try not to include too much “resumé” type information–education, job history, etc. because it tends to be boring. As you write a bio, consider carefully the purpose of the bio – who is the audience? How to write a bio if you have no publishing credits: If you’re a member of a writers’ organization such as SCBWI, ACFW or ASJA, you can mention it. A bio for a query letter: Be Sociable, Share!
3 Ways to Add Pizzazz to Your Author Bio | Keli Gwyn's Blog Is your author bio boring? Mine was—until I took a workshop from social media guru Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media. She taught my fellow workshop participants and me how to make our bios lots more fun. I think of it as taking a plain vanilla bio and turning it into a delicious sundae with plenty of yummy toppings. Kristen gave us 3 great tips, which I’m paraphrasing. 1. We’re writers. 2. Who reads our books? Yes, readers read our books, but our bios often sound like little more than a recitation of our writerly accomplishments. Nope. Kristen said we can include the writer-related facts and a little about our families, but she suggested putting that type of information at the end of the bio and keeping the beginning fun for the reader. 3. If we want to reach readers, we need to give them what they want: good stories. Our bios are our opportunities to sell ourselves as writers of stories readers want to read. Confession Time Examples Like this:
Very Short Story Contest #1 Portraits Of A Young Artist In Istanbul (I&II) by Gene J. Parola Six hundred-forty-seven word short-short story about a young woman artist astride the cultural divide between her and her father, presented as two Points of View: I and II. Dr. A mother mourns the loss of her only child. Waynesboro by Susan Quinn Sagarmāthā by Leah Wilcox The Death Mask by Amanda Grunder Crusader by Jessica Stoops Bonfire by Teia Powell A Living by Laine Scheliga The Trials And Tribulations Of An Outsider by Laetitia Chatelain The Biggest Four-Letter Word by William Corpening Sir Falen by James Conright The Spleen Of Punishment by Guthrie Scrimgeour Judging Period: Ends March 1st, 2012 Prizes: First Prize = $50, Editor's Choice = $50, Plus Honorable Mentions Judging is open to all AuthorStand Members, as user ratings are a part of the judging criteria.
The Writers' Deadline!! - Ottawa Writing Resources American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)- Canada Chapter AOE Arts Council (formerly Gloucester Arts Council) Arab and Muslim Writers Union (A&MWU) Association des auteures et auteurs de l'Ontario français Association des auteures et auteurs de l'Outaouais l'Association des communicateurs scientifiques du Québec (ACS) Bad Moon Books | Bourque Newswatch | Bywords Canada Books Online Canadian Association of Journalists | Canadian Authors Association Canadian Church Press | Canadian Community Newspaper Association Canadian Content | Canadian eAuthors Association Canadian Media Guild | Canadian Newspaper Association Canadian Poetry Association | Canadian Science Writers' Association White Mountain Publications | Writers Block Ezine The Writers Union of Canada | Ygdrasil - Poetry [ NOTE: If you want to keep up with the many writing related activities and events, get on the Writers' Deadline!! | American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) - Canada Chapter | | AOE Arts Council |