Margie Lawson At Publishers Weekly Today

Writer and Psychologist Margie Lawson is doing the Right Brain, Left Brain, Whole Brain thing again at Publishers Weekly today. Margie blogged about this at Magical Musings a couple of weeks ago (see 10 posts down), and it was really fun. She posted a quiz that determines what kind of thinker you are - right brain, left brain or whole brain, and she graciously replied to those of us who posted their quiz score (or made a comment). This time, in addition to the quiz, Margie posted a really cute men's and woman's brain diagram. What a hoot! You have to go and see it. You'll crack up. Margie will also be giving away one of her Lecture Packets. In case you haven't heard of Margie or her lecture packets, visit her website. Her workshops and lecture packets are very popular among writers and she offers them for purchase on her website at the very reasonable price of $20 each. Believe me, they're worth every penny. You can choose from:

• Empowering Character Emotions
• Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors: Allow Writing Productivity and Creativity to Soar
• Deep Editing; The Edits System , Rhetorical Devices and More

For $20 you can't go wrong. To enter the drawing, all you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section. They'll pick a winner tonight at 9:00 PM Mountain Time (that's 12:00 Midnight my time EST) and announce the lucky winner in tomorrows blog. If you missed Margie at Magical Musings last week, make sure you get on over to the PW blog today!

Query Letter Example

The Nelson Literary Agency Website offers some good tips on query letters and has a nice query letter example on their site. You should take a look-see. They also have a MySpace page, so, if you have one, too, maybe you should "friend" them. I did. :) Just thought I'd share. Happy Writing!

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!