HOT OFF THE PRESS!  We love to share our information with writers, and we’re happy to pass some of our INSIDER’S SECRETS along to you. This FREE newsletter may help improve your writing and your acceptance rate! Feel free to print these posts to use as a reference. Pass the links to these articles along to your writer friends. It’s packed with great information this month. DEADLINE-DATED lists of anthologies, theme issues, and contests are included at no charge!

* * We’ll cover the weird words of the literary world in LEARNING THE LINGO.

* * By the early 1930s nearly every nation in the world had sunk into depression, and there was marked growth of mass culture as citizens sought diversion from their troubles. Read WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM GREAT WRITERS DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES.

* * WANT US TO CREATE YOUR COVER LETTERS? We know writers hate to create cover/query letters, so we have created a new A La Carte PLUS service just for you.

* * DO YOU HAVE AN ARTICLE FOR OUR NEWSFLASH?

* * When should your sentence contain repeated words? You’ll find out in DOUBLING UP.

* * Read our NEWEST E-book, entitled UNTANGLING WEB SUBMISSIONS: ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PUBLISHING YOUR WRITING ONLINE.                                                                                                                                                          

* * LOTS OF HELP for CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS—100 CONTACTS and Everything You Need To Know To Submit Your Children’s Book.

* * We’re giving away a FREE REPORT that outlines industry-standard Manuscript FORMAT Guidelines when you order our E-book entitled REJOICE IN REJECTION.

* * A professor shares what she learned at WRITERS’ CONFERENCES. 

* * Up for a challenge? Try writing YOUR LIFE IN SIX WORDS?  

* * Use a deceptively simple concept to increase your acceptance rate by RAISING YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SUCCESS.

* * Banish your low expectations with THIS MONTH’S WRITING PROMPT.

* * See what Writer's Relief clients are up to in DECEMBER NEWS OF INTEREST.

* * You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming ANTHOLOGIES, SPECIAL-THEMED JOURNALS, CONTESTS, and EVENTS.

↓Scroll Down to Read These Exciting and Useful Articles!!↓

There are weird words in every industry, and the literary world is no exception. We’ve listed some of the stranger-sounding industry-specific jargon common to writers, editors, and agents that may need some clarification.

Anaphora. Too many sentences in a row that begin the same way. Sometimes this is deliberate and effective. Sometimes this is sloppy. Sometimes it is simply irritating.

Avant-garde. Usually associated with artwork, this term can also be applied to literature that is considered new or experimental. If your work has been labeled avant-garde, you can be proud of your innovation. Much better than “same ol’, same ol’.”

Backstory. The history of your characters before the book's present action.

Blurb. This sounds like a bodily function, but, in actuality, it refers to the synopsis on the back cover of the book. Its function is to “hook” the reader like a fish.

Dead metaphor. This is a poor little metaphor that is no longer relevant (“long in the tooth”) and has been overused.

Head-hopping. Jumping from one person’s thoughts to another's or switching back and forth between points of view. This is just another way to give your audience a headache.

Hook. Whether it’s the first line of a query, a novel, or part of the blurb, a hook is designed to capture the reader’s attention. We know that readers aren’t fish. But it paints a cool mental picture.

Novella. Sounds like something vaguely racy. In actuality it is a short novel (approximately half the size).

Round file. A nice word for trash can. A not-so-nice place for your manuscript to end up.

Slush pile. If you live in northern climes, the slush pile usually refers to the pile of slushy snow that threatens to grab your tires or fill up your boots. In writer’s lingo the slush pile is where the hundreds upon hundreds of unsolicited or misdirected manuscripts go—usually a dusty pile in the corner of an editor’s office.

Widows and orphans. A “widow” is the last line of the paragraph floating alone and lonely at the top of the next page. An “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph that languishes at the bottom of the page, all alone.

YA. Young adult. Or “Yikes! Anaphora!”

Feedback from critiques, editors, and agents can also contain some confusing notations we should clarify. Your MS is voicey and organic but switches POV indiscriminately. What the heck? Translation: Your manuscript has a strong, well-defined voice and rings true and authentic, but your point of view switches back and forth. Comments like “Boring and too long” or “I hated this” are fairly self-explanatory. Others are not quite as clear.

No legs. Can your idea or novel stand on its own in the big, scary market? If not, your work may suffer from “no legs.” (You see the metaphor.)

Organic. No, not vegetables. This is writing that is authentic, uncontrived. If your character is organic, it means he comes across as real, not as an artificial, unrealistic protagonist with zero faults and great, big muscles.

Quiet. This work has been labeled as more literary than commercial and, therefore, harder to sell.

Stale. Again, a food reference. If your story has been labeled stale, it’s time to take a “fresh” approach.

Tight. Good job! You’ve eliminated all the unnecessary filler and made it nice and concise and really tried to be spare with your words and things like that, which makes your writing not too padded and fluffy, and you have taken out all the nonessentials.

Our A La Carte Service, our BRAND NEW A La Carte PLUS Service, or our Full Service? Choose the one that works best for you and suits your budget. All services include targeting your work to the best markets. We outline all three services and costs at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

Call us between the hours of 8:30 and 2:30 Eastern Time, and speak to one of our personal submission strategists.

Full Service: Your work must be presented and accepted by our review board. If you don’t have time to take care of all the tasks required to get your submissions in the mail, this service is for you.

A La Carte Service: Get started right away! This is a more do-it-yourself service, with Writer’s Relief targeting markets and guiding you through the process. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, our a la carte service is quick and easy. We provide the best market research available to creative writers. Info about our a la carte service may be found at http://writersreliefblog.com/post/Our-A-La-Carte-Service.aspx.

A La Carte PLUS Service: Everything fast and affordable about our regular a la carte, but with the added bonus of full service cover/query letter preparation. We will target the best markets for your work, prepare mailing labels, and create 25 to 30 personalized, professional cover/query letters. More information may be found at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp

It’s simple AND affordable. Keep reading.

Included with ALL services:

** Targeting 25+ literary venues that specialize in YOUR type of writing. (Your work will be targeted to the best markets based on the topics, word count, etc. of the particular piece [or group of poems] you’re submitting.)

** An online database that lists all your submissions. You'll have access to your submission list 24 hours a day.

We invite you to give Marissa or Kriste a call to discuss your needs. They are trained as personal submission strategists here at Writer's Relief and will be happy to speak with you.

John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Margaret Mitchell found themselves writing during some of the most difficult—and arguably the most historic—years in our nation’s history. When things get rough tenacious American writers step up to the plate to produce meaningful and dramatic works of art that live on for generations. Where do readers and writers turn when times get tough? Click the link below to read about trends in art and entertainment during The Great Depression. Maybe you’ll discover something inspiring for your own writing at this time in our history!

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter17section3.rhtml

Our A La Carte PLUS Service:
You have already heard about the affordable alternative to our Full Service—our A La Carte Service. You may be interested to know that we now offer an A La Carte PLUS Service. Writer’s Relief will prepare your COVER/QUERY LETTERS in addition to targeting markets and preparing preaddressed mailing labels.

Clients have been requesting this service:
We are delighted to offer you an additional service that helps to fulfill your personal submission needs. We can now prepare a succinct cover/query letter and provide printed cover letters for each of the markets specially targeted for your work. You’ll save lots of time and avoid errors.

We know what editors and agents want in a cover/query letter:
Editors and agents want you to follow industry standards when composing these letters. We’ve been creating successful cover/query letters for clients since 1994. We’ve happily provided clients with information on how to do this themselves. In spite of your fear, there is no big mystery involved. If you love to create cover letters, great! If not, we can alleviate the stress associated with developing and addressing these letters. You’ll also save hours of worry and preparation. We know, if you’re like most writers, what you want is more time to write.

Here’s how the PLUS part of this service works:
In addition to the way you’ve already proceeded with your A La Carte submissions:

1) We’ll ask you for the information we need to insert into your cover letters. This will include your name and contact information, as well as some biographical information and publication/writing credentials (if you have acquired any).

2) Writer’s Relief will create the template for a universal cover/query letter for you. This will be based on the information you give us in addition to the standards set by our industry.

3) You will review the letter, return it with your feedback, and send any proposed changes or your final okay. (Pricing allows for one back-and-forth or revision before we prepare final letters.)

4) Writer’s Relief will target submissions for your work and prepare an individually addressed cover/query letter for each of your 25+ submissions. (Please note that industry standard now requires letters be addressed to the editors’ full names. Example: Dear Ronnie L. Smith, as opposed to Dear Mr. or Ms. Smith. This is the format that we follow.)

How much will it cost?
If you wish to sign up for our A La Carte PLUS Service and receive printed cover/query letters, the total cost of this service is $200 – $250 (plus $6 for US postage and handling; international rates vary) to target and prepare cover/query letters and labels to 25 markets.

Stop spending your time wondering if your cover/query letter will do its job, and stop worrying whether you’ve typed all of that contact information correctly. Let us help you by providing this additional service that so many of you have asked for—just think how amazing it will be to send out professionally prepared cover letters with your submissions in a matter of days! A list of itemized services and prices may be found at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

If you would like to sign up for this service, please call us toll-free at (866) 405-3003, and ask to speak with Marissa or Kriste. They are specialists in handling A La Carte clients and cover/query letters.

We’re always looking for great articles and useful information for writers in all genres. If you can make grammar and punctuation fun, we want to hear from you. Articles should be approximately 500 words in length. If you’d like to be a contributor to our Newsflash, please contact Lisa@wrelief.com. Please send us a few sentences describing your idea, and also include the first 100 words of your proposed article. Do not send attachments.

When a sentence contains repeated words, most spell-checking programs will highlight the extra word. It’s a fairly common form of typo. But there are also times when a sentence has been deliberately constructed with double words:

I assured them that that wouldn’t happen.

The spell-checker flags this as a mistake but is it incorrect?

Another example: They were instructed to give her her job back.

Both of our examples are grammatically correct, but some may find them a bit awkward. A simple rewrite can often eliminate the problem.

I assured them that it wouldn’t happen.
They were instructed to reinstate her job.

One other source of confusion is the construction of “had.”

They had had some trouble with their neighbors long before this lawsuit.
If I had had an extra pencil, I would have finished the exam in time.

These are examples of the correct usage of the past perfect form of “have” when it refers back to an earlier past time.

A more troublesome usage of double words involves “is,” as in, The trouble is is that you are from out of town. Or The fact is is that the weather won’t cooperate.

This is incorrect, as well as awkward, and should be rewritten. The trouble is that you are from out of town. The subjects of the sentences are “the trouble” and “the fact,” which require only one verb—“is.”

Sometimes writers try to fix the problem by adding a comma. The question is, is the man going to stick around? The general construction of these “the problem is, the question is” sentences is inherently ungainly and should probably be avoided.

So, do not be unnecessarily troubled by doubled words. If you are unhappy with them, reword your sentence.

As soon as I wrote it, it started to make sense.

We’re so excited to announce the publication of our E-book that will teach you all you need to know about making online submissions. Our staff has been working night and day to get this prepared and into your hands.

You’ll learn our easy-to-use system and have all the tools you need to properly tailor your online submissions to the best available markets. This valuable information can be in your hands within minutes!

This latest E-book includes:

* Detailed plan for submitting your work through the mail or electronically. Do you need an agent for your book? Do you still include your SASE if you’re including your e-mail address? Do you know the proper etiquette when e-mailing your work to agents/publishers?

* Cover/query letter tips to help ensure your chances of a good read by agents and editors. Do you want to know the secrets of preparing a good cover/query letter? Which type of cover letter gets the best results? Do you know how you should address your letter and to whom?

* Online opportunities and submission guidelines.Which online markets are better than others? What are the benefits and risks of submitting online? What are the accepted formats to e-mail your work to agents/publishers? Should you use an attachment?

(SPECIAL Introductory PRICING of $25.99.) Regularly $49.99.

Plus, as an EXTRA BONUS, you’ll also receive your FREE comprehensive and easy-to-read report containing over 150 editors and agents who accept online submissions. Included in these contacts are a number of journals that only publish online. You’ll also receive current Web sites and e-mail addresses in an interactive format. That is, you can click and access them directly from your report once you are connected to the Internet. There isn't an easier way to make submissions.

Click HERE to order Untangling Web Submissions: Essential Guide To Publishing Your Writing Online (In E-book format).

We're so excited to present this information to you. When you download Insider's Secrets: What You MUST Know To Submit Your Children's Book, you'll also get a FREE REPORT that contains contact information for 100+ agents and publishers who specialize in children's books. 

Click here for more information: http://www.writersrelief.com/children.html

The NUMBER ONE reason that writers don’t succeed (other than not writing well) is a lack of understanding about rejection. To help you overcome the most difficult hurdle for writers, we have written this E-book, entitled Rejoice in Rejection: The Art of Surviving the Submission Process. When you order this E-book, you’ll also receive a FREE REPORT that includes manuscript FORMAT guidelines for poetry, short prose, novels, nonfiction books, and plays. These guidelines will ensure that you are submitting your work using industry-standard formatting. 

Click here for more information: http://www.writersrelief.com/rejection.html.

by Gilda Haber, Ph.D., Department of English Composition, Literature and Professional Writing

As instructors some of us love to write, and some of us also enjoy attending writers’ conferences. This summer I attended three writers’ conferences—one in Manhattan at Marymount Manhattan College, one at UDC, and one at Georgetown University, held by Washington Independent Writers (WIW).

Prior to the conference registrants receive a program and a list of available agents. It is wise for participants to choose the panels they wish to attend and to research and make appointments with agents in your genre prior to the conference. The writing conference is a good opportunity for the serious writer with an idea or a manuscript to network.

We meet other writers and authors, share our interests, attend specific panels of choice (such as a fiction, nonfiction) or meet, one-on-one, with literary agents. Each member of a panel speaks on his or her expertise and takes questions on how to write and sell one’s work. Most importantly, serious writers usually sign up to meet agents who attend the conference. Although hard to get, agents are interested in finding new talent.

One of the goals of a writers’ workshop is to meet agents in person. But both panel speakers and agents are relentlessly focused on writing as a business. Either work is well-written and has possibilities of selling to the public or it isn’t. You may have one but not the other advantage. Agents and publishers also put in long hours without compensation for the love of bringing a book from conception to birth. You must seek out the agent right for you, one who has sold books in the field that interests you, and one with whom you feel comfortable. The agent not only judges your work, but judges you personally, as to whether he or she likes you. You do the same.

I came armed with business cards and with queries, hoping, in 60 seconds, to seduce some agent with the excellence, uniqueness, excitement, and salability of my work. Who else but a writer labors intensively, creatively for months or years for the love of writing, to create a work of art and with no sure reward in sight?

Frankly, I was terrified of meeting some of these agents in person, especially those who have represented famous people. So far I had only read agents’ credentials on paper and seen the kind of deals they made, the kind of books they sold. The agent I most feared seeing turned out to be friendly but strictly businesslike. From my experience and from agents met at writing conferences, I learned the following:

One needs talent to write but, to paraphrase Edison: "success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration." Work hard and be persistent in sending out your work.

Do not copy anyone else’s style. Be yourself and develop your own. Welcome constructive criticism. It is the highest form of friendship. Give constructive comments to friends’ writings. If your grammar is weak, find a good copy editor.

Writing groups are very useful for feedback. (I, myself, run a writing group.)

Find out which books are written on subjects that interest you and who was the agent, editor and publisher for those books. Such information is often found in the book’s acknowledgments or by Googling the book’s name and author. Get to know that agent’s background, even his/her hobbies and interests.

There are books in public and school libraries on publishing markets. Buy one.

Do not send work sloppy in appearance or make spelling mistakes.

Be professional. Make sure to spell the agent’s name correctly. Read the agent’s rules for submission, and strictly observe those rules.

Do not unduly flatter the agent or boast about your own work.

Research dates, times, names, events, even names of paintings for authenticity.

Use verbs. Avoid adjectives and adverbs; show and do not tell readers what happens. Where appropriate, use dialogue; but dialogue must move the action.

Prepare a query before writing to an agent. Your query can refer to one or two books that agent has sold but not to all the agents’ sales. This is gratuitous.

Your query should consist of: why you chose this agent; why you are writing this book; what the book is about; why you are qualified to write this book; and how it differs from other books written on the same theme; say who will read your book and what you can personally do to promote the book’s sales. All this information should be written on one page. This is one of the hardest parts of writing.

If the agent answers your one-page query and says he/she is interested, either you know what the agent wants you to send next or ask the agent what he/she wants you to send. Do not get too excited. This is only the first of many steps.

Only send material when it is your very best work. There are no second chances with an agent. Revise and share it with peers and/or an editor relentlessly.

Fiction should be complete before sending; nonfiction has different rules.

Do not expect to be accepted at once. Expect many rejections. Some famous books were rejected as many as 50 times before becoming best-sellers. Some great books never become best-sellers. Do not leave your job or expect to become rich unless, besides being a good writer, you happen to be lucky. When it is rejected revise, revise, and share your work with other writers. As you revise early work, you will become more adept; writing ages like fine wine. Revisions with constructive peer comments or editorial assistance will refine your writing.

Keep a journal or a diary to write down interesting material, even dialogue as it occurs.
This will make your writing fresh, even if you use the material years later.

Write what you know about, but be careful in writing about someone you know. People may sue a writer if they recognize themselves and object to your presentation of them, especially if their personal lives are revealed.

There are grave challenges and risks to take as a writer. One exposes all of one’s skills and charms, as well as one’s weaknesses and foibles to others. But what joy when I see one of my 40 articles or stories in print, and what a joy it is to write!!

Good luck! See you at the next conference!

Could you write your memoir in six words?

Check out the the six-word memoirs written by writers in all stages of their careers at http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/. Some are evocative and mysterious, others are side-splitting fun.

Here's ours: Writer's Relief helps you, write on. 

Jerry is a man who expects to be robbed. He has set up cameras and motion detectors all around his property. He patrols the sidewalk and glares at passing teenagers. He expects the worst from people, and that is what he receives. His neighbor Mary, however, sees the best in people and has a loving attitude toward them. Her house has never been TP’d, and when teenagers pass by, they greet her with a smile instead of a scowl.

Writers can use this deceptively simple concept to up their publishing success, simply by expecting success in their writing careers. If it sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that many people have found that positive energy and high expectations have improved their relationships and even their health—why not their careers?

Writers are often paralyzed by fear: fear of failure, rejection, poverty, humiliation. This fear leads to low expectations for success, either from low self-esteem or as a protective device against rejection. And these low expectations are apparent to others in your work and attitude. A query letter from a writer who has set high expectations for himself will be more enthusiastic, positive, and generally more intriguing to an agent than one from an insecure writer with low expectations of ever being published. Most people aren’t aware that the energy they project has a direct effect on their own success and failure. Send out negative energy—you can expect negative results. Most writers will encounter rejection along the way, more so than other professionals, but focusing on these rejections as we learn our craft slows down the process and impedes positive results. If we focus on the end goals and the positive things that come our way, the path to success is smoother.

It’s a harsh reality that getting published is a difficult task. Give yourself a little compassion and know that it’s a tough business, but don’t let it affect your motivation. Send out positive energy and keep your expectations high—imbue your work with that feeling. Negative energy is draining and nonproductive. Like Jerry, you will attract what you project, and no one wants a front yard full of toilet paper.