Updated Resources and Links

FYI, I've updated the Resources For The Non-RWA Newbie (pt 3) post with additional resources and links. You can check it out here, or by clicking on the title in the November 2007 section of this blog. Again, if you have a question, have a resource you'd like to share, or if you can't find something I've listed, just let me know by leaving a comment. Also, if this post has helped you in any way I'd love to know about it (still working on my writer's karma). :) Happy Writing!

Free Pitch Critique Offer Still Open at Bookends

I just came from the Bookends blog, and it appears that Jessica Fausts' offer for a free pitch critique is still open. A few posts ago it sounded as though she'd just about had it and was giving up on the remaining submissions, but now it looks like she's decided to keep at it. I submitted my pitch a couple of weeks ago, so I'm waaayy down at the bottom of the list. I hope she gets to it before she really gets burned out and decides to stop doing the critiques. :) If you want to submit your pitch you'd better get over there before she changes her mind! And remember, you have to submit your pitch in the comments section of the original post. Good luck! Bookends Blog Bookends Website Original Bookends Post - Perfecting Your Pitch

PNWA Literary Contest

I ran across this contest at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association website today and thought I'd share. This looks like a great contest, and I plan to enter. PNWA LITERARY CONTEST Featuring $12,000 in prize money Every qualified entry receives two critiques Finalists critiqued by and Agent or Editor First-place winners are invited to attend the Agents & Editors Reception 12 Categories: 1. Mainstream 2. Inspiration 3. Romance 4. Mystery/Thriller/Horror 5. Science Fiction/Fantasy 6. Young Adult Novel 7. Non-Fiction Book/Memoir 8. Screen Writing 9. Poetry 10. Adult Short Story 11. Children's Picture Book/Short Story or Chapter Book 12. Adult Short Topics (Article/Essay/Short Memoir) Awards and Benefits Finalists (eight in each category) will be notified prior to the PNWA Annual Summer Conference, July 17 - 20, 2008. Award Winners will be announced at the conference. Awards will be given for: First Place: $600 and the Zola Award. The Zola Award honors founding member Zola Helen Ross for her vision in creating a writing community over 50 years ago. Second Place: $300 Third Place: $150 Every entry accepted in the contest will receive two critiques, a valuable tool for any writer. Finalists who attend the PNWA Summer Conference will receive a Finalist ribbon for their name tag, giving them high visibility to the agents and editors at the conference. In addition, their manuscripts will be made available to these agents and editors. First-Place winners will have the opportunity to attend the Agents and Editors Reception at the PNWA Summer Conference. $35.00 entry fee for PNWA members and $50.00 for non-members and you don't have to have a completed manuscript to enter. Entries must be postmarked no later than FEBRUARY 22, 2008. Go here for the submission guidelines and rules. Visit http://www.pnwa.org/ for details, or send an email to: staff@pnwa.org or you can call: 425.673.2665 The deadline is February 22, 2008 Zola Helen Ross article

I Made It To Round Seven!

OMG, I made it to round seven in Karin Tabke's First Line Contest! Woo-hoo! I can't believe it - again! I just checked the site to find out who made it to the next round, figuring this was it for me, but lo and behold, there it was...my entry! Woo-hoo! Because of the holiday, Karin posted the next round entries a day late (understandably so). Therefore, we had an extra day of waiting. It was worth the wait, though! You can read my entry here. I'm number 4. Well, I'm off to post my next line. Wish me luck! First Line Contest rules

Get A Free Cover Letter Critique

The Ellora's Cave Publishing Editors are offering free cover letter critiques. All you have to do is email your cover letter to redlinesdeadlines@gmail.com. They'll select a few cover letters to critique and post them to the blog in a couple of weeks. Also, if your letter is selected you'll win a free download of an Ellora's Cave or Cerridwen Press ebook. How cool is that? Visit Redlines and Deadlines for more details.

What's Your Writing Voice?

I need another diversion like I need a hole in the head. If you need one, too, here's a cool quiz that determines your writing voice. Here's my results:

Mostly D's: You are Jackie Collins. And you are naughty.

I can live with that. What's your writing voice? Taken from THE WRITER'S LIFE blog by Kevin Alexander

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing all of you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving day!

I Made It To Round Six!

Woo-hoo! I made it to round #6 in Karin Tabke's First Line Contest! Yes! Wow, I can't believe it - I'm so excited! I can't believe I managed to make it another week. I will admit that I'm starting to get nervous. Also, it doesn't help matters that I'm undecided about which next line to submit next. When I entered Leah Michaels Chase the Dream Contest, I added a new paragraph to the opening scene and I still haven't decided if I should keep it or not. Since my entry didn't make it as a finalist in that contest, I can't help but wonder if it would have made a difference had I left the new paragraph out. Guess I'll never know. :) Well, I'm off to post my next line. Wish me luck!

Whole-Brained, Left Brained or Right Brained Thinker - Which One Are You?

Psychologist and Writer Margie Lawson guest blogged at Magical Musings today. She posted a really fun quiz that showed if you were a whole-brained, left-brained or right-brained thinker. Those who took the quiz posted their results and Margie Lawson kindly replied to each one. My test score was 11, which indicated that I was a Whole-Brained thinker. Margie went on to say that a lot of writers were. Then someone mentioned the dancer test, which I had recently read about (and tried). According to the test, if your dancer turns clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain (creative and intuitive) if your dancer turns counter-clockwise, you use more of the left side of your brain (logical, linear-thinker). My dancer started out going counter-clockwise, then she randomly switched directions. Apparently, this indicates what?I don't know, the test didn't say (I believe it's a whole-brained characteristic), but, some saw the same as me, including Margie Lawson (Margie's a Whole-Brained Thinker, by the way). Which one are you?

What I Read Today...

I received the new issue of Cynthia Sterling's Market Newsletter a couple of days ago. If you read the newsletter you'll know that every month since the RWA National Conference in July, Cindi's done a "spotlight" on a different publishing house. This month her spotlight is on St. Martin's Press. As I mentioned probably a hundred times already (and I'm sure, if you read my blog, you're getting pretty sick of reading about this), one of the reason's I'm so excited about the First Line Contest is because Bookends, LLC Agent Jessica Faust said in a recent post that a certain editor at St. Martin's Press would be interested in finding "a really good western historical" and a St. Martin's Press editor is the final First Line Contest judge. The thing is, Jessica didn't mention which editor that was, so, I could only guess. But...being that Hillary Teeman is a ST. Martin's Press editor and she's judging the First Line contest, I'd hoped that she was the mystery editor that Jessica referred to. But, I didn't know for sure. So, the question is, which St. Martin's Press editor is it? Good question, huh? Well, guess what? I found out who it is. This issue of Cindi Sterling's Market Newsletter kindly answered that question with her St. Martin's Press spotlight. Cindi reported that, and I quote, "BLANK (insert mystery editor here) said she'd be interested in finding a really good western historical." The bad news is, the editor in question is not Hillary Teeman (sniff, sniff). The good news is, I know who the mystery editor it is (*grin*). Wanna know who it is? Do ya, huh? Do you wanna know? Do ya wanna know who it is? Okay, I'll tell you who it is. Drum roll please... The St. Martin's Press editor who's looking for a really great western historical is...Jennifer Enderlin. Yes, that's right folks. It's Jennifer Enderlin. Mystery solved. Cindi also went on to say that: These editors will consider queries from unagented authors. Monique also prefers one chapter with the query letter, but she stressed this only applies to her. Jennifer wouldn’t mind “a few pages” of the first of the book with the query. Word count for manuscripts is ‘generally’ 100,000 words, but that’s not set in stone. Even first-time authors are offered multiple-book contracts from the beginning with St. Martin’s. You'll have to read the newsletter to find out more. You can subscribe by sending a blank email to cynthiasterling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Th, th, th, that's all folks...

Pitch Critiques at Bookends, LLC Blog

Over at the Bookends, LLC blog, Jessica Faust is taking the time out of her busy schedule to give pitch critiques. I'd thought about submitting mine when I first heard she was offering to do this, but I admit, I'm a chicken. I'm also a glutton for punishment, so, lo and behold, I bit the bullet and submitted my short pitch. :) It'll be interesting to see what Jessica has to say, if she happens to pick my pitch to critique. Jeez, one more blog to remember to check every week. :) Wish me luck!

I Made It To Round Five!

Woo-hoo! I made it to round #5 in Karin Tabke's First Line Contest! Yes! Here's my week 5 entry: “Betrothed…you can’t be serious!” Calvin O’Donnell watched his daughter jump to her feet, knocking the chair to the floor. He knew this would be difficult and she would be unhappy, to say the least, but even so, he was shocked by her outburst of anger. “Now, Mairin, lass, calm down.” He had to be firm or else he’d never go through with it. Whaddya think? Will it make it to round #6? Wish me luck!

Now That's L'Amour

Every so often I get in a nostalgic mood. I was feeling that way today, so I decided to listen to some of my favorite music. Usually, when I get in this mood, I go straight to Country. But today, for some reason, I wanted to listen to rock (classic rock, I guess I'd be called these days). I never did know all the words to some of my favorite songs, and a few of the ones that I did know the words to, I'd forgotten. So, I did a google for song lyrics and ended up spending the better part of the morning listening to music and reminiscing (I know I'm weird). A lot of the lyrics to some of these songs really got to me (probably due to pre-menopausal hormones *grin*). Some of them really tugged at my heartstrings. But, the one song that got to me the most was Bon Jovi's I'll Be There For You. I don't know why I felt this way about this particular song. I've never really been a big Bon Jovi fan (sorry all you BJ lovers out there). I mean, I like them, but they've never been one of my top favorite rock groups. Now, Lynard Skynard, Bad Company, The Allman Brothers, Led Zepplin, The Stones...those are my #1 favorites and the ones that bring back memories of my teen years. Bon Jovi just isn't up there for me. But, for some odd reason, when I listened to this song today, and read the lyrics, I was just blown away. Because this song affected me this way, I thought I'd share the song with you all and see what you think. I'm sure that tomorrow or the next day, when I come back and read this post and listen to the song again, I'll probably ask myself where in the world that came from. But, until then, I'm a Bon Jovi I'll Be There For You fan. I posted the lyrics below. If you'd like to listen to the song just scroll down and click on the player. Pay special attention to the chorus - that's the good part. Enjoy! I'll Be There For You by Bon Jovi I guess this time you're really leaving I heard your suitcase say goodbye And as my broken heart lies bleeding You say true love in suicide You say you're cried a thousand rivers And now you're swimming for the shore You left me drowning in my tears And you won't save me anymore Now I'm praying to God you'll give me one more chance, girl Chorus: I'll be there for you These five words I swear to you When you breathe I want to be the air for you I'll be there for you I'd live and I'd die for you Steal the sun from the sky for you Words can't say what a love can do I'll be there for you I know you know we're had some good times How they have their own hiding place I can promise you tomorrow But I can't buy back yesterday And Baby you know my hands are dirty But I wanted to be your valentine I'll be the water when you get thirsty, baby When you get drink, I'll be the wine Chorus Solo And I wasn't there when you were happy I wasn't there when you were down I didn't mean to miss your birthday, baby I wish I'd seen you blow those candles out Chorus Again The End Now that's L'Amour... *sigh* Note: I took out the player because I couldn't get my song to show up, then somehow it magically appeared with a whole playlist that I didn't create. Sorry about that, folks.

Resources for the Non-RWA Newbie Part 3

I think I've just about exhausted my advice in parts 1 and 2 so I'm going to keep part 3 short. I left off in Part 2 of Resources for the Non-RWA Newbie (see post below) by suggesting you join as many writers groups as you can, visit each and every writing website you can and read lots and lots of blogs... and keep up with them! Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. That's the best advice I can give. Knowledge is power and where there's a will, there's a way, I always say. :)

Below I've listed some of my favorite resources. I'm not going to post the links to all of them because it's just too time consuming, but I will add to it from time to time, so please check back often. For additional resources check out my favorite blogs and links on the sidebar of this page. If you find a site you're interested in visiting and the link isn't on my sidebar or listed below, do a google search. 99% of the writing eloops and groups that I have listed are hosted on Yahoogroups. You can do a search for any of the groups right from the Yahoo Groups home page. If you do the above, you shouldn't have a problem finding any of these resources on google or yahoo groups, but if you do, just leave me a comment and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction. And, if you know of any resources that I haven't mentioned or that you think might be of interest to me or if this post has helped you in any way, please leave a comment and let me know. I'd love to hear from you (plus, I'm working on my writing karma and I'd like to know how that's coming along). :) Again, I'll be adding links and resources as time allows, so check back often. Happy writing! Contests (These are all free or, at the very least all they ask for is a donation)

• Chase the Dream Contest
• First Line Contest
• Gather First Chapter Romance Writing Competition
• American Title
• 2007 Brava Novella Contest
• Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest
• Wild Rose Press Through the Gate Contest

Resources in General - these include magazines, forums, critique groups, etc.

• Cata-Romance and Cata-SingleTitles.com Board and email loop CoffeeTime Romance Board and email Loop Author Vicky Hinze Website- Lots of good articles and she offers the email list AIDS FOR
• WRITERS. It's not very active, but the mini courses you do get are great. Lovestory-L Critique Group - This online/email critique group offers separate eloops for other genres as well
• NOR - Night Owl Romance Forum (also offers a newsletter)
• Between Your Sheets - Forum and newsletter
• Western Romance Writers
• Romantic Times Magazine - offers free newsletter, tips and more
• Writer's Digest Magazine - offers free newsletters, market news, wititing tips, home of the 101
• Best Writer's websitessites, forum and much, much more
• Write Literary Magazine
• The Writer Magazine - offers free tips, forum, newsletter
• Stephie Smith, Internationally Published Author - Great writer's resource website, including
• contest listings, articles and more
• RWA Site - Lists publishers, Agents and more
• P&E - Preditors and Editors Book Publisher Listings
• eHarlequin - Learn to Write
• Historical Romance Club
• Rom Critters - Critique Group
• HollyLisle.com - Great Resources, articles, workshops, free ebook downloads and more
• The Internet Writing Workshop - Critique group
• Romance Writer's World (RWW)
• Charlott Dillon's Resources for Romance Writer's
• Romance Writing Tips - MSN Group
• Agent Query - Online Agent Database
• The Agent List
• Authorlink.com About Editors-Agents-Writer's-Books-Author's
• The Muse Online Writers Conference - Online conference
• Character Building Workshop
• Tara K. Harper Writer's Workshop
• He Wrote, She Wrote: How To Write Workshop
• Forwriters.com
• Vivian's Notebook
• Author Mia Zachary - Great Resources
• Writing in the Margins The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation - Link to order the book, but website has links to grammer rules, resources, articles and a newsletter
• Lisa Gardner - Lisa has a great lecture packet, The Dreaded Synopsis
• Critique Circle - A really nice critique forum. You have to register, but it's free. They also offer a paid membership, but the free one is just as good.
• WriteRomance Critique Group
• Historical Fiction Books Forum
• Novel Sisterhood (Forum)
• Novel Sisterhood (Yahoogroup)
• Rose Colored Glasses (Yahoogroup)
• Write,Read,Romance (Forum)
• WriteReadRomanceWriters (Yahoogroup)

Newsletters NOTE: A lot of newsletters offer free ebooks when you subscribe. FundsForWriters especially.

• Cynthia Sterling Market News - This is the best market newsletter I've ever come across. If you don't do anything else, make sure you sign up for this newsletter. Publishers Lunch (paid & free)
• Funds for Writers
• Fiction Factor
• Fictionwise
• Freelance Writing Organization
• Literary Liaisons
• The Write Way
• The Writer Gazette
• Writer2Writer
• Write Success
• Writer's Digest Newsletter(s) - there are several Romantic Times Newsletter
• All About Romance
• Literary Liaisons
• Scribe & Quill Newsletter
• Vision A Resource For Writers (online newsletter)

Writers eLists, eGroups and eCourses (HINT: Look in the file section of these groups and lists. Many keep handouts and archive classes and courses there). EroticRomanceWorkshop - This is not just for erotic romance writers. Since I joined a couple of months ago, they've offered courses on POV, 1st Person POV, Plotting, Description, Idea to Outline, Query Letters, the Tortured Hero and more. This is a GREAT resource.

• MotivatedWritersLife
• WritersWorkshop
• FinishTheDarnBook-writers support group
• RW-C - Charlotte Dillon's group. Also, check out her romance writers resource website. This is a great starting point, one that helped me in the beginning (and still does). Charlotte also offers a critique group.
• JoAnnRoss
• romancelivesforever
• LoveRomancesCafe
• Carmel's Group
• Western Romance Writers - also offers Western Romance Wrtiter's critique group
• WritersResourceCentral
• Marketing for Romance Writers - also offers free courses
• Samhain Cafe
• Wester Romance Writers - and critique group, too
• World Romance Writers
• Writers Resource Central
• Contest Alert
• Earthly Charms
• Edit Tips
• WRW - World Romance Writers
• Romance Contests

Blogs (HINT: Once you visit a favorite blog, check their favorite blogs and links. This is how I found a lot of my favorites. For more of my favorite blogs, check my sidebar.

• Bookends, LLC - right now Bookends agent Jessica Faust is offering a FREE Pitch critique.
• The Knight Agency
• The Rejecter
• Single Titles
• Miss. Snark
• Lit Agent X
• Writer Beware!
• Cruse'n With Lonnie

Note: I don't consider Cruse'n With Lonnie a writers resource per se, but I listed it anyway because every time I stop there, I'm glad I did. Her blog is a refreshing break from the usual research, learn and read, read, read routine. Her posts are fast paced and humorous and I actually feel refreshed after my visit. We all need a break every once in a while. :) Lonnie writes the Metropolis Mystery series set in the real city of Metropolis, Illinois. And the new '57 Chevy series featuring Kitty and Jack Bloodworth and Sadie, their fully-restored, trophy winning 1957 Chevy Keep in mind that there are tons more resources available. This list is meant as a starting point. Again, check out the links on the sidebar and check out the links on every blog, website, MySpace Page, Facebook, Shelfari or wherever you visit. You'll be surprised at the treasures you'll find. I wish you all the best in your writing endeavors ~Carol