ok, so its been a while since I last updated this, but 3 drafts of a paper, one powerpoint, one presentation, and one story submission later, I have just finished my web site and am currently combing over it a fifth time checking for misspellings and making sure that all of my I's are capitalized, which is good because I no longer feel like the stress form my graduation project is going to kill me.

today

today i worked on my powerpoint for my presentation and went over my notes to prepare for the presentation

today and yesterday

went over my second draft of my paper with issac, finished in text citations, edited my paper, looked over information for oral presentation

notes

http://www.sentex.net/~pql/advice.html

We do receive a large volume of e-mail from writers asking how to get published. Not quite as many as the messages I receive each morning advising that my penis is inadequate, but still ... please do NOT e-mail us with samples of your work; you will only be disappointed.

There is no magic formula -- it is very hard work to get established as a writer. You have to go to readings, read everything in sight, acquaint yourself with what types of things magazines and publishers publish, and edit your work til your fingers bleed. If you don't know what magazines publish what kinds of work, find out. It may be discouraging but it's a fact that, these days, no one gets a book published without having first published stories in literary magazines, attended writing classes, and read their work aloud in coffee houses to crowds of three.

Writing is a competitive business; if you are serious about it you will need to work as hard as you would to prepare for any other profession. Many writers find university writing clubs and author's associations to be helpful. Even if you prefer to toil alone, make sure you do your homework. Remember: it is not an editor's job to teach you how to write, or how to prepare work for publication.

We especially encourage new writers to learn as much as possible about their local writing scene. Go to your public library or nearest bookstore and learn when and where local authors are reading. Go to hear them and meet them. BUY books. Ask the books' authors to SIGN them! Read. Write. Finish what you write and edit it.

Ask others to read and critique it. Develop the hide of a rhino.

Re-read your work many times and re-write it. Question the worth of every word on every page.

And keep on writing.

http://www.write-and-publish-fiction.com/fiction-book-publishers.html

Publishers are mainly in it for the money, so if you make your book sound like a best seller and you are confident in your work and abilities, a publisher is going to be more willing to work with you.

You will find that most big named publishers are looking for money in a book that they are putting their label on - is it going to sell? They determine this by three factors:

1. Do they like how your story synopsis sounds?

2. Do they know your name or have you been recognized by any type of writing organization?

3. Have you published any other books that sold well?

when it comes to selling your story idea to a publisher, there are many factors the fiction book publishers are considering. They are mostly looking at how much money they are going to make from the sale of your books. This is a business, after all, and they don't want to waste their time or money on a project that isn't going to pay them back (in the form of royalties - the more books that sell, the more money they will make) in the long run.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/bookproposal.html

Here are several important key sections that most publishers consider in evaluating a book proposal (not necessarily listed in any order of importance):

*Author Info - Include a one-page bio listing your background and expertise that qualifies you to write this book (especially if it is nonfiction); plus a listing of your publishing credits.

*Competition - List several books that are similar to yours with the author's name, publishers' information, etc., and state how your book differs from these and offers something new to readers that will motivate them to buy your book.

*Description/Details - Include the specifications of your book—length, chapters, illustrations, highlights, and the overall organizational scheme.

Note: You should always do preliminary research about the publisher(s) to whom you will be submitting your proposal. This includes getting a copy of their latest catalog or listing of books and reviewing a number of these books to see their content, style, length, and overall "look" how their books are presented.You can then mention how your book would "fit" into their offerings.

*Marketing Plan - Many publishers have limited publicity budgets and may spend no more than three months in publicizing your book, so you should include your own promotional ideas and what your marketing efforts will be such as conducting workshops and seminars; writing and mailing your own press release; sending review copies to designated persons; what media contacts you will be making; who will be endorsing your book, and other promotional ideas you may have. Publishers like writers who they see will be "active" in helping to promote sales of their books.

*Outline/Overview - After your book proposal's title page, you should include a dynamic outline and summary of what your book is about (the outline will be the basis of your table of contents and what you will follow as you write your book).

If you are a new writer or new to this publisher, you should include several sample chapters (nonfiction) and the entire manuscript if it is fiction.

*Potential Readers - Let your publisher know who you visualize your readers to be. Include demographics about them—how many exist (provide statistics if available), and reasons why they need or would want to buy this book. Also let the publisher know if you have a potential for a series of follow-up book ideas on this topic, because if authors develop their name-recognition with readers and loyal following, subsequent books will be sold much easier, and with a possibility your books could be carried by book clubs (VERY lucrative!).

Including these vital sections in your book proposal will not guarantee you a contract, but it will demonstrate to a publisher you are aware of what it takes to write (and sell) into today's competitive publishing marketplace!

key terms

Self publishing-

a form of publishing where the author takes all responsibilities for the cost of the production and marketing of the book, very risky.

Genre-

Categorys based on form or style of the work

Allusion-

An indirect reference to someone or some thing

Alliteration-

Use of many words with the same beginning letter to create a somewhat poetic rythem

Fantasy

featuring magical or unreal elements

Ebook

Books in an electronic format sold over the internet

Short fiction

Fiction stories that are less than a chapter long.

Flash fiction

A fiction story between 150 and 300 words long

Sudden fiction

A fiction story less than 150 words long

Peer review

A review of ones work by a group of their peers where constructive criticism is given

research questions

What are some problems facing teen writers?


How do you go about getting published?
How do you prepare a story for submission?
Who are some well known teen authors?
What are the differences between a teen author trying to get published ten years ago and now?
What are teen writers writing most about?
How as a teen do you get publishing companies to take you seriously?
Are there any organizations out there to help teens get published?
Are there more male or female teens trying to get published?
What is the success rate for teens trying to get published?
How can teens establish themselves as writers?

research/advice

january 4th found some advice form an author about what it takes to get published
http://www.sentex.net/~pql/advice.html
january 8th found information on the publishing process as a whole
http://www.write-and-publish-fiction.com/fiction-book-publishers.html
january 10th tips on getting published
http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/bookproposal.html

possible places to get published

SSF NET http://www.sff.net/
FICTION[NET] http://fiction-net.org/
Publish America http://www.publishamerica.com/facts/index.htm

Second day of the trimester

I have decided to do my graduation project on teen writing. Since I personally like to write and write short stories as well as poetry, i am going to try to get a collection of some of my work published for the tangable product. If i can not get it published however i will have the whole process of trying to get it published as well as the feedback from the publishing companies and web sites about what to change or how to go about things to get published. I also plan on interviewing some authors as well as other teen writers in my school. I hope that i can get my work published and try to encourage other teens to try to get their work out there and to try to get published.