Category: Uncategorized

I’m in a mood. The e-mails below are just a sampling of a few I’ve gotten lately. I’ve highlighted in red the parts that made me want to be snarky.

I don’t want to be rude (well, maybe I do want to be rude, but I will refrain because like I said, I’m in a mood and this is more about me than you). . . the answer to all these questions is DO YOUR RESEARCH.

I am just finishing a book I am writing. You can find the first 12 chapters below [link to website]. Can you give me some direction on an agent or publisher?

Snark: No. I don’t have time to go read someone’s sample chapters and then customize a response.

Serious: As to finding an agent, you can look at AgentQuery.com or QueryTracker.com. Make a list of who is looking for your genre. Then go to their website or look them up in Writers Market and carefully read their guidelines. Narrow down your list. Put them in order of who you liked most. Start sending queries.

To find a publisher, go to the bookstore or library and find books that are similar to yours. List and rank the publishers you’re interested in. Then do research online to find their submission guidelines.

Before sending anything off, check your lists against Preditors & Editors to screen out the bad ones. (Although most of the agents you find at the sites I’ve linked to and the publishers you find in the bookstores are going to be okay.)

Just a quick question, I have a fantastic idea for a [book], and I have never seen it done anywhere. A few years ago we had been in contact with another christian publisher and they wanted to publish [it]. When we started asking too many questions about the contract, they backed out! I would love to have an LDS publisher take a look at our idea and draft we have come up with, but I have no idea who is out there and the best way to go about it. If you have any suggestions, that would be great!

Snark: See, there’s this thing called Google and you just type in a search word or phrase (like “LDS Publishers”) and magical things happen.

Serious: When I googled “LDS Publishers” I found a link to to the Storymaker’s list of LDS Publishers near the very top. Scroll through. Visit the websites and see who might be interested in your idea. (A clue to interest: they have published similar but not the same.)

I think you would be a great publisher for my book. I can tell by your posts that you would probably like it. You’ve said to check the publisher website for submission guidelines, but I can’t find any guidelines on your site. Would you prefer I send an electronic copy (is WordPerfect okay?) or should I mail it to your P.O. Box?

Snark: No. No. And no!

Serious: This is an information only website. I do not accept manuscripts through my secret identity. If I receive a mss in the mail, I will throw it away. Same with e-mailed mss.

Snark: And WordPerfect? Really? I can’t even convert those files anymore. Go with Word or rtf. But don’t send it to me.

I feel better now.

Here’s my question. We’ve probably all heard the quote from Orson F. Whitney:

“We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. God’s ammunition is not exhausted. His highest spirits are held in reserve for the latter times. In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.”

In your opinion, how can we as LDS authors reach such lofty aspirations?

This always sparks so much controversy. So, dear readers, have at it. There is room for differing opinions here, just be nice about it. No nasty personal comments.

But before you post your perspective, here’s mine. First off, Milton and Shakespeare are who they are due to time. When they were writing, some of their contemporaries thought them talentless hacks.

And I can see where they were coming from. I love some Shakespeare, and I hate some Shakespeare. What makes Milton and Shakespeare the ‘ideal on the pedestal’ is their survival over time. Who’s to say that something recently published by an LDS author isn’t going to also pass the test of time and be held up in a few hundred years as the ideal for the new writing generation to strive toward? We don’t know. We can’t know. All we know for sure is what we personally like and don’t like, right now, in this moment when we live.

Another thought I have is that we don’t have to “make” Whitney’s prediction come true. As writers, we don’t need to worry about the fact that we’re not writing as well as Shakespeare or Milton. We don’t need to despair over the state of LDS literature or denigrate writers’ attempts at capturing their view of the world in words. We don’t need to fret over not making the best-seller list.

We simply do the best we can. We write the best story we can, in a prayerful manner, and God will bless our efforts and create the masterpieces He wants the world to read for our time, place and circle of influence.

A few practical steps to this are (and these apply to all writers, not just LDS writers):

• Write a lot. The more we write, the better we get.
• Write well. Constantly work to better our skills and talents.
• Write honestly. Put honest thoughts, feelings, emotions on the page. Pray for the spirit to quicken our minds and guide our pen.
• Write about great things. The struggle between good and evil; between the spiritual man and the natural man; the heroic journey of earth life.

That’s what I think. What about you?

My Dad keeps saying I should write books specifically for church members, because he sees them as something of a captive audience. And as far as it goes, I do see his point that the mass market doesn’t seem to be exactly overflowing with books that present positive messages and role models. I am a bit skeptical, and would prefer to write for a wide audience, just keeping the positive role models and messages.

As a publisher, does my Dad’s approach make sense? Is there a huge demand in the LDS culture for fiction written specifically to and for them?

Does your dad make sense? Ummm, yes. I’ve made my living for many years on the demand for books written specifically for the LDS culture. If you go into Deseret Book or Seagull, you’ll see shelves and shelves of LDS fiction. If there were no demand, there would be no one out there making the product.

Also, my blogs are pretty much geared solely toward the LDS fiction writing and reading audience and I average about 2,000 unique visitors a month. I stay plenty busy keeping up with the new releases.

So, yes, there is a demand for LDS fiction. As to that “captive audience” part, yes, there is a group that will read LDS fiction simply because it’s LDS fiction, regardless of the writing quality. There is also a demand from more discriminating readers who want more high-quality LDS fiction.

However, compared to a national market, the LDS market is small. If you want to write for a wider audience, go for it. LDS fiction readers also read national, non-LDS specific fiction. They’d appreciate more good clean books out there.

Item #1:
The good part: Thank you to everyone who is now following me on Twitter. I try to go to my Twitter account at least once a week and follow everyone who is following me. I’m way new to this and am finding it kind of fun.

The bad part: None of you are following me closely. I know this because I twitted a book giveaway with specific instructions and no one entered to win the book. And here I thought I had tens of followers who hung on my every word. I’m crushed.

The future part: I’ll give a book away like this every once in awhile. In the future, however, I’ll give you a full week to enter to win the book. So give the Tweets a quick check every so often.

Item#2:
The Christmas book. Behind schedule. I’m hoping to have it available soon. Please be patient.

Last month’s prize winners announced HERE.

Please take a moment to learn more about our wonderfully generous sponsors.

In the Company of Angels by David Farland

A test of the spirit. A triumph of faith.

A luminous tale that breaks our hearts and sets our souls soaring.

David Farland’s moving masterpiece echoes the drama of Gone with the Wind and the glory of Ghandi, sweeping from the green fields of Denmark to the icy peaks of the Rockies in a saga that elevates and enriches all those who read it.

In the Company of Angels centers on Eliza Gadd, the feisty, sophisticated wife of a Mormon bishop. When her husband answers his leader’s call to abandon his cottage in England and settle in the Rocky Mountains, Eliza’s world comes apart. She may help her husband pull a handcart with everything that they own across the plains of Utah, but she can’t bring herself to bow to a god she doesn’t believe in.

Stalled by setbacks, the pioneers find themselves forced to take their journey perilously late in the season. The lives of Eliza’s children hang in the balance. But how can she reason with people who believe they are in the hands of angels, that their faith can turn back storms, and that their leaders, like the Apostles of old, have the power to raise the dead?

Based on the true story of the Willie Handcart Company of 1856, In the Company of Angels unfolds the triumphant tale of pioneers who struggle against unendurable hardships—persecution, buffalo stampedes, rampaging Indians, lingering starvation, and the early onset of the coldest winter in US history—to find the gentle homeland of the soul.

Dave is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling writer in two fields. As Dave Wolverton, he began his writing career in 1987 when he won the Writers of the Future Gold Award for his short story, “On My Way to Paradise,” and shortly afterward was given a three-novel contract by Bantam Books. His first novel spent several months on the Locus Science Fiction Best-seller List, and won a Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award for being one of the best science fiction novels of the year. Dave continued writing science fiction for the following ten years, writing several bestsellers, until at the end of ten years he decided to follow his childhood dream of writing fantasy, and moved into a new genre. With the move, he changed his writing name to David Farland, so as not to confuse his readers. His first fantasy novel, The Runelords, became a runaway hit around the world and has millions of readers. The third book in the runelords series, Wizardborn, hit the New York Times best-seller list.

Over the years, Dave has won numerous awards for his short fiction in particular, and set a Guinness Record for the world’s largest booksigning–a record that he still holds. In 1991, Dave became a judge for one of the world’s largest writing contests, the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, and for the next several years he read thousands of stories each year, edited an annual anthology, and taught writing classes to new writers.

To date, Dave has written and edited nearly fifty books. These include novels for adults, young adults, anthologies, middle-grade readers, and picture books.

Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a good girl this year. (Well . . . pretty good.) I have a nice life and there’s only one thing that I really want—one thing that’s missing. If you happen to have an extra one lying around your workshop, I would really like a husband. I promise to take good care of him.

Love, Abbie

With a successful bakery to run, super cute nieces and nephews to spoil, and plenty of good friends to keep her company, Abbie’s not about to start crying over the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend to spend Christmas with. But when her sister convinces her to write a note to Santa, Abbie has no idea that a little Christmas magic is about to land her the man of her dreams. Or rather, that man is about to land smack dab on the floor in front of her Christmas tree with no memory of how he got there.

Now Abbie and Ben have to figure out where he came from, who he really is, and if he’s actually available.

Aubrey Mace: I live in Sandy Utah where I have been writing stories for most of my life. In retrospect, the fact that I was secretly scribbling short stories during my medical coding class probably should have been a clue that coding was not my first love.

I graduated from Jordan High School and also attended LDS Business College and Utah State University. I wrote my first Official Short Story of a Certain Length while I was attending Utah State. In addition to Santa Maybe, I have two other published books: Spare Change and My Fairy Grandmother.

I still earn my living in the medical field and when I’m not busy with my day job, I divide my hours between working on my next book and spending time with my wonderful family. I enjoy cooking, traveling, gardening, playing the piano and cello, and last but certainly not least, reading.

CLICK HERE for details on how to win these books.

CLICK HERE for details on sponsoring the contest.

But I really need some questions to spark my posts here. I sit and think and think and think. And then I get tired of thinking and I go eat some chocolate.

PLEASE send questions.

I’m thinking of signing up for NaNoWriMo myself. Think I should?

Last month’s prize winners announced HERE.

Please take a moment to learn more about our wonderfully generous sponsors.

Altared Plans by Rebecca Talley

The perfect day. The perfect marriage. The perfect groom. What could go wrong?

Caitlyn has been preparing for her perfect wedding all her life. But when her fiancé abandons her at the altar, Caitlyn vows she ll never love again.

Going to BYU doesn’t make that easy, however, and avoiding all social contact can only last so long. When her bishop calls her to be the mom of her family home evening group, Caitlyn is suddenly thrust into surprising circumstances that leave her flustered the attention of two unwanted suitors.

Travis, the FHE dad, has plans to woo Caitlyn by using his cowboy charms while Chase has his own ideas for dating her. Will Travis or Chase change her mind about love? Or will it be deja vu?

Rebecca Talley grew up in Santa Barbara, California and now lives on a ranch in Colorado with her amazing husband, 8 of her 10 creative children, horses, goats, and a llama named Tina. She is the author of a children’s picture book, Grasshopper Pie. Her stories have been published in Story Friends, Our Little Friend, The Friend, and Stories for Children. Cedar Fort released her YA novel, Heaven Scent, in spring 2008.

Besides writing, Rebecca enjoys eating chocolate by the pound, dancing to disco music while she cleans all the messes that seem to multiply and replenish her house, and contemplating all the craft projects that still need to be completed. You can find Rebecca at www.rebeccatalley.com.

By Love or By Sea by Rachel Rager

Alice Lind Frank never forgot the boy she loved when she was just six years old, even after he was lost at sea. Now a young woman, Alice has found happiness in living and working with her grandparents, and in the affections of Clarence Hielott, the wealthy shipyard owner who intends to make Alice his bride.

When a ragged sailor appears in town, Alice is reminded of the young boy who once held her heart. Upon learning that the sailor is in fact her childhood love, Caleb, she finds herself yearning to trust him again.

But Clarence refuses to let this ghost from the past destroy his plans for the future. He exposes the secrets of Caleb s past and Alice realizes that the boy she once knew is now a man with a dark history. Soon Caleb and Clarence are locked in a fierce competition for Alice s heart.

Can Alice trust Caleb with her heart once more? And what will she do about Clarence?

Plunged into a musical family at birth, Rachel Rager was exposed to the excitement and magic of musical theater throughout her childhood. Starry-eyed, she attended college musical rehearsals with her pianist mother – imagining herself as the heroine in the spotlight – becoming a hopeless romantic from the start. Though Rachel’s own natural musical gifts motivated her through college and she now holds a vocal performance degree in operatic singing, she has loved writing sweet romance novels for over six years. Creative writing has served as a beautiful escape from the emotional rigors of raising her family.

Rachel published her first novel, By Love or By Sea in April of 2009 and continues to write sweet romance novels. She currently lives in Casper, Wyoming with her handsome husband – the love of her life – where she enjoys curling up by a blazing fire with a good book, getting her own creative thoughts on paper, and singing until the coyotes start howling. She loves picnics in the park and being the mom to three future starlets.

CLICK HERE for details on how to win these books.

CLICK HERE for details on sponsoring the contest.

I apologize for being so neglectful here. I had the flu about two weeks ago and although I’m mostly better, I don’t have my full steam back. I have to spend my energy on my paying clients.

But maybe you can help me out. Do you have a really good post about writing? E-mail it to me. I’ll consider it for a guest post.

Did you attend the Book Academy last week? I heard it was really good. E-mail me one or two things you learned and how it has helped your writing. Be sure to tell me who presented the ideas. (I want basic concepts with your reactions and thoughts, not class notes.)

I promise I’ll try to get it together soon and get back to my regular posting.

Oh, a few people have asked about availability of the Christmas book. End of October.

A few housekeeping types of things for you to be aware of. . .

1. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with Hotmail lately. I am unable to open and/or reply to some of your e-mails. Also, some of you have complained about not getting e-mails from me, when I’ve sent and re-sent them.

   I’ve set up an alternate address: ldspublisher [at] gmail [dot] com.

   I’ll probably eventually switch over to the gmail address and close the hotmail account but it will take me some time to replace all those links on my sites. So in the meantime, you can try me at either address.

2. Did you notice I’m twittering? (Check the pink and blue at the top of the right side sidebar, below all the ads.) I decided to do this after getting a couple of invites from readers. Looks like fun.

   Don’t expect a twitter everyday, but I will be letting you know what I’m reading and a few other tidbits (as I think of them). Also, I might on the spur of the moment and totally unadvertised and unscheduled give away random prizes to those who follow me on twitter.

3. And speaking of prizes. I might also give away some random and unadvertised prizes to those who follow my blogs. Sometimes I’ll aggregate followers from all six sites and draw for a prize. Sometimes I might just pick a follower from one of the sites. So sign up to follow each one of them.
4. And one last prize update. Now that the Summer Reading Things is over, I’ll be going back to two sponsors a month on the LDS Fiction/LDS Fiction Review sites. I’ll give away the final four prizes (currently shown on the sidebars) the end of this month, then post two new sponsors for October.

A few housekeeping types of things for you to be aware of. . .

1. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with Hotmail lately. I am unable to open and/or reply to some of your e-mails. Also, some of you have complained about not getting e-mails from me, when I’ve sent and re-sent them.

   I’ve set up an alternate address: ldspublisher [at] gmail [dot] com.

   I’ll probably eventually switch over to the gmail address and close the hotmail account but it will take me some time to replace all those links on my sites. So in the meantime, you can try me at either address.

2. Did you notice I’m twittering? (Check the pink and blue at the top of the right side sidebar, below all the ads.) I decided to do this after getting a couple of invites from readers. Looks like fun.

   Don’t expect a twitter everyday, but I will be letting you know what I’m reading and a few other tidbits (as I think of them). Also, I might on the spur of the moment and totally unadvertised and unscheduled give away random prizes to those who follow me on twitter.

3. And speaking of prizes. I might also give away some random and unadvertised prizes to those who follow my blogs. Sometimes I’ll aggregate followers from all six sites and draw for a prize. Sometimes I might just pick a follower from one of the sites. So sign up to follow each one of them.
4. And one last prize update. Now that the Summer Reading Things is over, I’ll be going back to two sponsors a month on the LDS Fiction/LDS Fiction Review sites. I’ll give away the final four prizes (currently shown on the sidebars) the end of this month, then post two new sponsors for October.

I just sent e-mails to the authors whose stories have been chosen for inclusion in the Christmas Story Compilation. If your name is listed below, check your e-mail. Let me know if you did not receive the email.

• Angie Lofthouse
• Brian C Ricks
• Christine Thackerey
• Don Carey
• Gussie Fick
• Janice Sperry
• Lori Nawyn
• LT Elliot
• Mary Gray
• Melanie Goldmund
• Roger Bonner
• Sandra Sorenson
• Sarah M Eden
• Tristi Pinkston

Also, if you are the author of

The Cat Who Ate the Quiche

or

A 13th Century Village in Wiltshire, England

contact me ASAP!

All the Christmas story contest evaluation/critique e-mails have been sent. If you didn’t get yours, check your junk box.

If it’s not there, first add me to your e-mail address book or safe list. Then send me an e-mail and I’ll resend your info.

I’m beginning to doubt my chops as a writer. These days I’m pretty certain I’ll never make it, especially as an LDS author. I’ll probably never give up writing–it’s too much a part of who I am–but I’m beginning to wonder if my zeal for language and for LDS literature wouldn’t be better-channeled in a different direction. Why do we all want to be authors? (Oh wait, I know the answer to that one. The writing is the fun part!) Are there other writing related jobs out there in the LDS market? If so what are those jobs and do any of them actually pay? Can I work for you?

Can you work for me? Only if you work for free and give me all the credit. I’m freelance now so I don’t have employees, but you can do what I do or have done in the past. Here’s a quick list of some of the writing-related things I’ve done. Whether or not there are positions available in the LDS market is something you’ll have to research.

• Technical Writing: User manuals and corporate newsletters are often outsourced by companies. You have to be able to write in a clear, concise way—and very fast.

• Internet: I write website/blog content for various sites, mostly anonymously. Corporations pay better than individuals but you have make the connections and have a portfolio to convince them you’re worth the expense.

• Editing or Proofreading: This requires a specific skill set. If you have it, you can usually pick up some work.

• Fact Checking: You do research for other writers and sometimes they let you help write.

• Marketing and PR Work: If you’re good at putting a positive spin on things, this is an idea. I once had a job where I had to write blurbs for product catalogs.

• Hobbies: If you have an interest or hobby, look around for magazines that specialize in that area.

I’m sure there are others. Be creative.

Also, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, but there is a great website, Funds for Writers by C. Hope Clark. She has lots of info on writing markets and jobs and contests. She also has two newsletters: Funds for Writers and FFW Small Markets. I subscribe to both.

Christmas Story Contest Participants:

If you haven’t received the e-mail with attached story notes and score sheet, please be patient. Apparently hotmail does not approve of me sending out a bunch of emails in a row with the same message and attachments in them. It will only let me do a few at a time.

Because I’m currently in the middle of a project with deadline looming, I can only send out a few before work, a few at lunch, a few after work. Please know I am sending them as fast as hotmail will allow me. I will let you know when all have been sent so you can notify me if yours got lost somewhere over China.

As for online critiques, be patient on that too. They’re all done, just need to post them‚ which takes some time.

Sorry for the delays.

LDSP

I’m pleased to say that most of you (although not all) followed the submission instructions carefully. That is a big deal. Good for you! And even better, good for me! 🙂

I will be adding my critiques and comments to each story. It will be in red.

If it’s a common mistake throughout the story, I will usually only mark it once, and assume that you can go through and find similar places to correct.

At the end of each story, I will post an overall critique, what I liked best, and whether or not I feel it’s ready for publication.

I will also e-mail you my story notes and the score sheet I used for evaluating your story. These will usually contain a little more info than what I’ve posted on the website.

What are your favorite LDS novels? Which do you recommend?

Over the years that I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve gotten this question many, many, many times—at least a few times a month. Another variation on theme that I get several times a year is, would I consider creating an LDSP award for the best books?

I’ve mostly ignored these questions because I have a hard enough time finding and reading all the Whitney nominees. The task of finding and reading every novel by an LDS author would be outside my current resources—both in time and finances.

Then there’s the possible backlash—accusations of favoritism to friends and genres; promoting books I’ve worked on, blah-blah-blah. If I give an award to one book, will people think I’m dissing all others? Also, there are a select few individuals who know my secret identity, and I might not give an award to them. Will they hate me forever?

Therefore, my answer has always been No.

But recently I’ve gotten a deluge of people asking me about this, which has caused me to do some rethinking. I want to be seen as a trusted source of general and unbiased information here on these sites—and I think I’ve accomplished that for the most part. Any LDS author can get their novel and author events listed for free, simply by letting me know about it. The networking is open to any LDS author, publisher or group (it is just taking me some time to get them posted). The only site that has judgment or opinion attached is the LDS Fiction Review site, and there are a variety of reviewers there.

So a few questions for you are:

• Do you really care which books I’d recommend?

• If I came out with an award for the best of the best (IMHO), would that skew the value of any other information I post on these sites?

• Would you be willing to send me a copy of your book to read—knowing that it may not be chosen for the award, but that by sending a copy you were guaranteed to:

  —be considered for the award

  —have it passed along to one of the LDS Fiction Review reviewers for review

  —get its spot on LDS fiction

  —move you up on the “Add to LDS Author Network site” list?

  —get you listed on the LDSP Good Reads shelf (which does not yet exist but will be created if I decide to do this)

  —get you added as a friend on the LDSP Facebook account (which does not yet exist but will be created if I decide to do this)

What do you think? Great idea or one to be tossed in File 13? Ideas? Suggestions?

. . . but rather with technology. Which I am currently hating.

Remember this?

The problem is just getting worse. And of course, it happens when I’m up against a huge deadline. I don’t have it in me to think of post-worthy content until I get this resolved.

So sorry. Consider this week my summer vacation.

Do you have any suggestions on getting artwork “published” or to a distributor? Do you recommend any sites with this info?

Uhmmm, I have no idea. Here are some places that I’ve seen at LDSBA. I don’t know if they all publish or if some just distribute.

Altus Fine Art

Foundation Arts

Granite

Sounds of Zion

Readers, if you know anything about this, please chime in.

If I sent you the info for my book but it never appeared on LDSF, to what should I attribute that? Will you be offended if I resend?

You should attribute it to the probability that I didn’t get it. PLEASE DO resend.

I get a LOT of junk mail at the ldsp hotmail account. So much, in fact, that I’m considering closing down that email and opening a new one. Just haven’t gotten around to it.

The first thing I do when I check my email is to weed out the obvious junk mail—you know the ones, where I’ve won the lottery or someone wants to pay me a million dollars to help them sneak their money into the U.S. If there’s a question in my mind, I usually open it, but if you’ve put something really odd in your subject line, I might have accidentally deleted your email without opening it.

The best way to make sure I know it’s a legit email is to think about that subject line. Good ones are:

• Question for LDSP

• Book for LDSF

• Contest for LDSP

• Author Event (or Book Signing or Workshop or. . .)

• From an LDS Author

• Will you review my book

• or anything else that makes it obvious you’re a legit blog reader and not a mail-order-bride from Uzbekistan.

Sorry, Th. Yes, resend.

And about that Christmas Story Contest. Good suggestions everyone. I’m going to update the rules right now.

Hi, LDSP–

Today’s post made me say, Ooo! What other blogs are your “favs”? Or which ones do you think we ought to be reading?

I know I’m going to leave out some good ones because I don’t have a list anywhere, but here are some of my favorites (in no specific order):

• Pub Rants

• Nathan Bransford

• BookEnds

• Writer Beware

• Chip MacGregor

• How Publishing Really Works

• Publishers Marketplace

• Stacy Whitman’s Grimoire

• Booksquare

• Daily Writing Tips

• Absolute Write (forum)

• Miss Snark (her blog is inactive, but still available for browsing)

Readers, what are your favorites?

It seems that every time I make one teensy little change to my computer, all heck breaks loose! I’ve been dealing with network connection issues all day yesterday and today. Sorry for no real post so far this week.

But here’s a good post that I saw when I was surfing some of my favs over the weekend. While this is a specific situation, it happens a lot in the publishing world—the accusations, not the plagiarism.

Also, just a reminder, today’s the last day to comment for a chance to win one of the two books in the sidebar under the “June LDSP Contest Sponsors” label.

I believe writing is a skill. You learn it just like any other skill. Yes, some may have a greater aptitude for it, but anyone can learn to write well if they practice enough.

There are certain things you do to hone your skills, just like practicing drills for the piano. One of those is writing exercises.

Another one is to enter writing contests. This not only lets you practice writing, it also lets you practice following guidelines, submitting, and—if you’re lucky—it provides some feedback from professionals.

That is why I run the occasional short story contest here on this blog. I want to give you a head’s up on an upcoming writing contest, because this time, not only will it act as a writing drill and give you valuable feedback, it will also give some of you publishing creds!

Every year, I host a Christmas themed writing contest here. I will do so again this year—but not in December. It will be coming up the end of the summer.

Why so early?

Because I’ll be taking the best of them and turning them into a published short story collection that will be published and available for purchase on Amazon.

Yea!!!!

So get started on your story. Story guidelines will be very similar to these. (More information coming later this summer.)