Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My link: More on Twenty-One (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 50.

For more details on Just Write, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: My kid. :)

Sub Op

Timeless Tales magazine has an open call for short stories for their upcoming sixth issue: "Timeless Tales exclusively publishes retellings of fairy tales and myths. We only accept submissions that are retellings of the fairytale or myth listed as our theme. We don't accept original fairy tales or stories outside of our current theme.

These are the known upcoming themes:
#6. Psyche and Cupid (Submission window Jan 25, 2016 - Feb 25, 2016) -- NEW: Now accepting poetry!
#7. TBD (usually decided by a poll, so subscribe to our newsletter if you want to vote).

Additional Rules:

Length: Up to 2,000 words. Under 1,500 preferred.

Genres: As of 2016, we are now accepting poetry! In general, please be creative! We love to see modernizations, sci-fi retellings, prequels, continuations, mash-ups, etc. Just no eroticism, please (see Content section).

Formatting: Please put your story's title and the author's name in the file name of your submission. Example: "Pandora's Choice by Zeus Smith.doc". Too often, we'll get a ton of submisions all labled "Pandoras Box.doc" and it makes it harder to keep track of them.

Content: While Timeless Tales is not targeted specifically at children, it is a fairly conservative magazine, especially when it comes to language and sexual content, so I intend to keep the stories in the PG-13 range or below. However, I have a deep appreciation for the darker side of many original fairy tales, so don’t assume I only want “happy” stories.

Pay Rate: As of 2016, we have slightly raised our rates. We now pay a flat rate of $20 per piece accepted--both poetry and fiction. You'll also get a free year of our audio narrations (usually reserved for our patrons).

1. We do NOT accept multiple submissions.

2. We DO accept reprints as long as the author has the rights to the story. But please include in your cover letter the details of where and when the story was previously published.

3. We DO accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us by email immediately if your story has been accepted elsewhere."

For more information, check out the submission guidelines page.

Southie

Here's a lovely longish video that takes you on a pretty stunning snapshot tour of the south of France (background music, and a tiny bit of bull fighting at the end):

French Taste from Paul Wex on Vimeo.

Recomposition Book #1

Before I get into the details of my first composition book makeover, I should explain the slightly-off weirdness of the pictures I took. On the day I started this project the little video display window on the fancy new Nikon my guy bought me last year stopped working. Basically I had to point the camera and shoot blind, then download the pictures before I knew how they came out. Fortunately Target has a very nice return policy; they took back the camera and gave me a brand-new replacement without a bit of fuss.

Onto the project: for this one I kept it very simple and uber-green by raiding the paper recycling bin for two pieces of the thin cardboard (mine were inserts from two of the wall calendars I bought for this year), a wallpaper border remnant, and a piece of pretty scrapbook paper. I also used a paper trimmer, scissors, a small paintbrush and some washable school glue:



The covers of the composition book are really flimsy card stock, so I needed to reinforce them first. I cut the two cardboard pieces to fit the front and back covers, glued them on, and let the notebook dry overnight (and to keep everything from warping I sandwiched the notebook between two bigger, much heavier books):



I fit the wallpaper border remnant as the outside cover for both the front and back covers, and folded the ends over inside before I glued that on and left it to dry overnight:



I then covered the insides of the front and back covers with pieces of the scrapbooking paper, glued that down, and left that to dry overnight:



Here's the end result:



I liked how elegant the composition book looks now, and it's certainly sturdier. I was especially happy to finally use that wallpaper border remnant, which is one I found when we moved into this house (the previous owner's wife had them decorating the ceilings in practically every room.) I also didn't have to cut the wallpaper to fit; it was the perfect size for the covers.

More recomposition idea linkage:

Dream a Little Bigger has a tutorial here on how to re-cover a composition book.

Ashley Hackshaw has a post here about turning a composition book into an art journal.

Ellison Lane has directions here on how to sew a quilted cover for a composition book.

Momtastic has instructions here on how to give a composition book a chalkboard cover.

Short Story Prompt Challenge

If you'd like to write more short stories but are coming up short on ideas, here's a list I saw over on Tumblr that offers a weekly prompt you can use:

"52 short stories in 52 weeks
1. A story entitled “A New Beginning”.
2. A story about rising to a challenge.
3. A retelling of a fairytale.
4. A story about three siblings.
5. A story set in London.
6. A story about finding something that has been lost.
7. A story about a journey.
8. A story set during a war.
9. A creepy story.
10. A story featuring a countdown.
11. A story set at a full moon.
12. A story about a contest or competition.
13. A story that takes place entirely inside a vehicle.
14. A story from a villain’s perspective.
15. A story set at a concert or festival.
16. A story that begins with a gunshot.
17. A story set in a country you’ve never been to.
18. A story about a historical figure.
19. A story set in a theatre.
20. A story written in 2nd person narrative.
21. A story set on another planet.
22. A story written from the perspective of someone dead/undead
23. A story about a birthday.
24. A story that ends on a cliffhanger.
25. A story set at the summer solstice.
26. A story about nostalgia.
27. A story that features a song or poem.
28. A story that ends at sunrise.
29. A story opening with the words “F*** you!”
30. A story about a magical object.
31. A story set at sea.
32. A story about a curse.
33. A story set 100 years in the future.
34. A story about loneliness.
35. A story that features a real recent newspaper article.
36. A story written from an animal’s perspective.
37. A story about a scientific discovery.
38. A story set on another planet.
39. A story with only one character.
40. A story about a secret.
41. A romance that ends in tragedy.
42. A tragedy that ends in romance.
43. A retelling of a recent Hollywood movie.
44. A story that takes place the year you were born.
45. A story about a near-death experience.
46. A story about anger.
47. A story about a magic spell.
48. A story set in a strange small town.
49. A story about justice being done.
50. A creation myth.
51. A story set at Christmas.
52. A story entitled “The End”."

I usually write short stories to test-drive my world-building, but I've also used them to help build characters, tell a story from a different POV, or explore a particular theme or myth. Give one of these a shot, see what you come up with on the page, and you might surprise yourself.

Source: Writing Therapy

On the Indy Front

I'm back, and also finally getting into the how of indy publishing. It's a lot more complicated and worrisome than I ever imagined. Everyone has different opinions on which is the best way to go, but facts are few and far between. I think I've gotten more info from comments left here at PBW than anywhere else, so let me thank everyone who has made recs in the past.

The cost involved with using a publishing service is a lot more than I expected. I'm often reminded of the old days of vanity print publishers, and how they used to swindle writers into paying way too much for print books that ended up sitting in boxes in their garages. My sister's father-in-law, who was a university professor, got scammed big time by those folks. Anyway, some of these service providers seem to be doing the same thing, only in electronic version.

Of course I'm cheap, too, but I was willing to invest a little fee-wise in my first title. I already have by commissioning the cover art. However, I don't think I should have to pay a thousand dollars to indy publish in e-book and print on demand. These providers tend to change their pricing and range of services whenever they like, and in most cases the fine print is pretty daunting. I am definitely not interested in giving any service a percentage of my sales, so that also eliminates most of them.

I'm back to the daunting reality that I have to figure out how to do all the publishing stuff myself. Fortunately there are authors who are sharing the wealth, like Bill Peschel, who offers a ton of indy publishing advice on his blog. For example, this post shows you how to create the best .pdf for publishing your book with CreateSpace, with step-by-step instructions along with screenshots (and when you do release that new book for career writers, Bill, you've got a sale right here.) Right now my plan is to write and indy publish a test run short story first under a new byline. That way I can screw it up without disappointing or pissing off my readers. Then, once I've got the procedure down, I'll move on to my own longer byline works. So that's where I am on the indy front.

In the meantime, for those who are interested in indy publishing via Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, I found a simple tutorial here by author Graeme Shimmin on how to do it in (basically) three steps. Also, for those of you who are interested in designing your own covers but don't want to invest in a pricey photoshop program, Dereck Murphy's DIYBookCovers.com has a whole page of interesting free tutorials, templates and tools here that include showing you how to design cover art in MS Word.

Off to Write

I'm taking off today to finish up a big project for a client. See you tomorrow.

No Just Write Today

I'm finishing up a big job this weekend, so I'll have to skip Just Write this week and take Monday off, too. See you on Tuesday.

Something for Saturday

Books of the Dead Press has an open call for Suspended in Dusk 2, a dark fiction and horro antho: "Show me something that plays on the theme of light/dark (Wendy Hammer did this in the original Suspended in Dusk with her story Negatives) , or don’t… show me a person, people, society on the edge of the proverbial abyss (Chris Limb did this with Ministry of Outrage). Show me a story of someone on the grey fringes of normal society (Karen Runge, Hope is Here!). Show me a person, or people undergoing some kind of change,.. willing or otherwise. Knowing or otherwise (Shane Mckenzie, Fit Camp). Show me something that is brought into the light, but everyone would’ve been safer if it had been left alone where it was (Benjamin Knox, Keeper of Secrets).

Submission Guidelines:

1. Try and scare me or creep me out. Or show me something dark and pretty. No subject off limits although try and make sex and violence relevant to the plot and characters. If you’re going with a common trope, put a fresh spin on it.
2. Submit all stories to simon.dewar83@gmail.com with the following in the subject line Suspended in Dusk 2 – –
3. Submission deadline 29 Feb 2016
4. Word count – 3000 – 7500 words.
5. 12 pt Times New Roman. Standard manuscript format.
6. Italicise your italics, don’t underline.
7. No Pictures within your manuscript.
8. Please ensure you’re able to use track changes.
9. No simultaneous submission to other markets.
10. No Multiple submissions. Send your best story.

Author compensation:
$25USD plus print and ebook copy."

For more information see the submission guidelines page.

Over There

Visit Japan in January via this lovely video (background music):

January in Japan from Scott Gold on Vimeo.

Recomposition

One project I started but never finished last year was making over a standard school composition book. I got as far as buying the materials before work dragged me away. It's actually good that I stayed too busy to go back to it, as my initial idea was pretty complicated. While doing some pre-spring cleaning in the office this week I found these two extras:



The composition book, also known as a copy book, study book, student book and a lot of other regional terms, is one of the few things I loved about school. I always had one with me, and they often kept me out of trouble. After using the first couple of pages for schoolwork I would devote the rest of the pages to journaling, short stories and even some sketches. I wouldn't have wasted the first pages except they made excellent camouflage for when the teacher would walk by my desk (which is how they kept me out of trouble.) I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling every time I see one. I think my mom used to buy them for five or ten cents each.

Composition books remain pretty cheap; I always see them at dollar stores, and the two I have here I got on sale at Target last January for fifty cents each. Let's see what I can do with them this week to make them less schoolgirlish and more fun.

PreSpring Clean

I decided to do a little early spring cleaning in the office yesterday, and removed all the books so I can weed out and donate what I don't need and rearrange what I do. Then I started moving the furniture to accommodate the addition of a dresser, and eight hours, two sore shoulders and an aching back later I ended up with this:



There are a couple of paintings I need to rehang, but this is pretty much how it will look for 2016. Although I can't always keep my home office spotless I really love it when it's this clean. The dresser will probably stay, too; after 15 years of faithful service my college kid decided she didn't want it anymore. I can donate just about anything but furniture, especially when it's something that belonged to the kids. So until someone in the family needs one, it will likely become my new office supply storage center.

The sofa folds out into a queen bed, which allows us to use the office as an extra guest room when needed. I always put a quilt on the floor for the dogs, which Miss Skye usually hogs:



My writing space on the other side of the office isn't quite as pretty (and please, ignore the disintegrating old computer chair, scarred work station and wretch tangle of cords I can never arrange neatly):



I do need to replace the chair before it collapses into a heap, but it's so comfortable I'll probably keep it until it does. Same thing with the old work station -- I've had that thing for about fifteen years now, and as battered as it is I can move it anywhere in the house (which is nice when we have noisy visitors.)

Although my spine is singing the Ave Maria now it did feel good to tidy up and change things around a bit. It really doesn't matter if you keep your writing space spotless or cluttered; making sure you feel comfortable in it is the important thing.

Notes Limited

I'm a notebook addict; I use several notebooks every day, read and talk about notebooks online, and even collect interesting notebooks. My latest acquisition came via reading this post over on Notebook Stories about a European notebook maker who incorporates beautiful vintage papers as covers. I fell instantly in love, popped over to Notes Limited's web site and ordered one for myself, which just arrived:



It's a beautiful little notebook, and the vintage paper used to make the cover is almost as old as I am, yet looks pristine and new. The makers included a handy slip cover to help keep it tidy, and a little slip of paper with the edition number and info on the cover:



Definitely not cheap -- I think it worked out to about twelve dollars US -- but to me some things are worth a little extra $$$.

Sub Op

Here's a themed antho open call for those of you who like to pen stories about the addicted dead: "We're inviting you to send us a story so great that we can't resist saying "yes" to it. The only rule is that a tale include some version of at least one ghost who's on some version of at least one drug. And both key terms are broadly defined—e.g., a ghostwriter hooked on cough syrup could fit, and a dead ancient god with an inhumanly intense craving to be worshipped again could too.

Also, a story can run anywhere from 2 pages to 30 pages, so a short-short tale that's a solid fit for the collection will definitely be considered.

This book is designed to be playful and fun, so we're especially seeking stories that are a mix of comedy and other genres—e.g., comedy & fantasy, comedy & SF, comedy & horror, comedy & thriller, comedy & adventure. That said, we'll consider a great tale of any genre, or combination of genres. Whatever the category, we want stories that are fresh, smart, extremely entertaining, appeal to a wide-ranging audience (high concepts are especially appreciated), and provide an emotionally satisfying ending (smartly crafted character arcs/transformations are especially appreciated).

We're aiming to include some of the world's top comedians, a bunch of superb writers, and one or two celebrities who happen to be drug fans.

Some of the advantages of being in this anthology:

Getting a credit for a book that's likely to receive substantial attention because of its cool high concept, wildly inventive range of ideas, and exceptionally fine writing.
Having your name alongside other impressive celebrity talents (if you're a star) or taking a helpful step on your career path (if you're not a star yet).
Receiving payment on our acceptance—15 cents a word for the first 2,500 words and 6 cents a word after that (to encourage tight writing).
Receiving a share of the royalties (based on word count).
Working with Hy—a world-class editor—to make your story the very best it can be.
Fun!
If the above sounds appealing, then please feel highly encouraged to submit material. The initial deadline is May 1st, 2016. (This might get extended, or not, depending on what comes in.)

For the sake of saving you time and effort, we recommend running an idea by Hy first to ensure it isn't redundant with something we've already purchased for the collection. However, if you prefer to just write and send us a complete story, that's great too (no query needed in this case; simply email a cover note and the story as an attached Word file).

Please send anything related to the anthology to Hy Bender at hy@hyreviews.com.

Looking forward to your playful, inventive, genius (or so-stupid-it's-genius) ideas and wonderful writing."

For more information, go to the guidelines page here.

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.

My Link: More on Twenty-One, (click on the title to go to the .pdf), with new material beginning on page 46.

For more details on Just Write, click here to go to the original post.

Image credit: My kid. :)

On Clients

When you're a freelance writer for hire (like I am) you have to find jobs to write for other people who pay you to do so. These people are called clients. Before you obtain a client, you should be aware of what they are -- and what they're not.

Your client is the source of your income. As in, this person pays you to work for them. That doesn't make the client your boss -- as a freelancer, you are the boss -- but signing a contract with your client makes you responsible to work for them until you deliver what you promised in exchange for the payment they promised. If this goes well for both of you, your client may offer you more work. If not, you'll have to find another client.

You know you've done a good job for your client when they pay you. If you do a great job, they will probably offer you more work. If you and your client work together well, and you're consistent with delivering excellent work on time according to their specs, they will likely want you to work for them on a regular/ongoing basis. Building a list of clients who offer you regular work and decent pay is the ideal situation for most freelancers, because eventually you don't have to go out looking for work anymore. About two-thirds of my clients have become regulars over the last year, and have already offered me jobs for the first half of 2016 and the holidays this year. That means I only need one or two more jobs for fall and I'm employed until 2017. I can also plan out my income for the entire year.

Be willing to negotiate with any client, and keep in mind that they're probably not millionaires with truckloads of cash to shower over you. Often unhappy ghost writers say that all clients are making tons of money while paying them pennies, which really perplexes me. First, why would you take a job that only pays pennies? Go for the better offers. Also, while I don't recommend working for pennies, there are some exceptions to that rule. If it's a trial job that the client is offering to see how you'll work together, and offers to pay more on future projects should you be a good fit, that's one. Another is if you have no prior experience. Being willing to work for a low rate may be the only way to get your first ghost writing gigs, but you can build on them. Once you have an established resume better-paying clients will be more inclined to hire you.

It's in your best interests to be picky about with whom and on what you work, too. When I started out, I decided from the beginning to be very selective, and only work for fellow professionals on projects that I would be happy to publish under my own byline. This results in excellent working relationships, invests me in the projects, and keeps the job from becoming a thankless grind. Also, if I'm ever accidentally revealed to be the ghost writer of any WFH project I've done, I'll never feel embarrassed.

When you have a problem with a client, my advice is to think before you pick a fight. The client didn't hire you to argue with them, snipe at them or give them any grief. It can be frustrating, especially when they change their mind about something in mid-project that requires you to do more work, but being nasty with them about it almost guarantees you won't receive another job offer. On the flip side, if the client is an ass, you can choose never to work with them again.

On rare occasions you may have a serious problem with a client. I always try to discuss it first, but some clients are simply problematic. My advice is to finish and deliver all work due, collect your payment, and then politely refuse any new offers. If you can't hang in long enough to finish the job, refund whatever payments they've made, thank them for the opportunity to work with them, and then politely refuse any new offers. The keywords here are polite and refuse. Whatever the situation with a client, always be courteous (even when they're not.) Also, it's better for you to refuse more work than to continue working in a problematic situation. You may be tempted to vent your spleen somewhere public about your negative experience, but given how obsessed people are with Googling themselves, they'll probably find it. All it takes is one disgruntled client to ruin a freelancer's rep. Write about whatever is burning your butt in your personal home journal, and then move on.

If you work through a freelancer site you can leave a negative review for a problematic client, but there may be backlash from the client that can get you bounced or banned. Also, future clients may see those scathing words and go hire someone else who leaves only good reviews for their clients. If your client clearly violates the terms of service at your work site, you can report them to site management, but they can just open a new account under another name and come after you. Bottom line, always think carefully before you play client police.

On the opposite end of the WFH spectrum, networking and client karma are wonderful things, and it's a good idea to cultivate both. Get to know other ghost writers and help each other when you can. I constantly refer good listings that aren't right for me to other ghost writer pals. I also try to help clients find a ghost writer when I can't do the job. For example, I had a publisher client contact me about writing a fairly large series project under a very tight deadline. I would have loved the work, but since my schedule was already full I had to turn down the offer. In my refusal e-mail I also recommended another ghost writer I knew who would be perfect for the job (and I did check with the ghost writer first before I mentioned them.) My pal got the job and was quite grateful, and the publisher thanked me for helping out. Later that publisher referred another client to me, so in the end I got a job out of it, too. When clients and ghost writers network like this, everyone wins.

Winter World

This may be the most stunning, remote, and rather dangerous book promotion video I've ever watched (background music, noises):

Arctique from vincent munier on Vimeo.

Sub Op

Sorry I'm a bit late posting this morning -- I didn't like my scheduled post so I deleted it and had to come up with something more interesting. Which, in these days of Let Me Wheedle Money Out of You However I Can on the Internet, is a bit tough.

I did spot this interesting sub op over in the Paying Markets forum at AbsoluteWrite.Com:

"Speculate! (Submissions Open on 1 Feb 2016 )

Magic and mystery. Murder and mayhem. These are the things we want for Evil Girlfriend Media’s new Speculate! feature. Once a month, we will feature a dark speculative fiction story that embodies the EGM aesthetic. Editor: Jennifer Brozek.
2016 Theme:
Curiosity Killed the Cat. Someone gets curious about something and all sorts of chaos, madness, mayhem, and badness happens. (I.E. Who left me this note? What does this button do? Where are those cries for help coming from? Why do we sprinkle salt around the house once a month? How did she get there?)
Crunchy Bits:
1. Submissions open to original stories on February 1, 2016.
—> Submit to EGM.Speculate@gmail.com. Subject heading of “Submission: Title”
—> Attach the stories in standard manuscript format as an RTF or DOC document.
—> Include name, word count, Paypal address, and postal address in the body of the email as well as in the story document.
2. Stories are to be 4000-7000 words in length. Query for longer.
3. Payment: $100.00 via Paypal.
4. Rights: First North American Rights. Website archives for 2 years. Possible inclusion in a Speculate! anthology with additional reprint payment.
5. One submission at a time. No simultaneous submissions. No reprints.
6. No pedophilia. Rape is not a plot point. No violence for violence’s sake. All horror must have a clear supernatural element to it.
Evil Girlfriend Media is committed to providing high quality, engaging, science fiction, fantasy, and horror that pushes stereotypes, gender biases, and standard tropes out the window to provide a truly entertaining experience for readers."

Off to Write

I'm taking off today to not be on the internet and get some work done. See you tomorrow.

Sub Op

Here's an open call from SF Romance Quarterly for their upcoming tenth issue:

"THEME FOR ISSUE 10: No special theme…give it your best shot!

Length: 2,000 to 7,500 words.

Payment: 2.5 cents/word (US) paid upon publication, promotional biography with two links, and a complimentary quarter-page advertisement.

Deadline for Issue #9: 15 February 2015.

Rights sought: Six-month exclusive world digital rights from date of publication; non-exclusive thereafter.

Other info: One short story will be published per issue. Please send only edited and polished work. Due to time constraints, we are unable to give personalized feedback on rejected stories.

Stories that tie-in to a previously established world will be considered, but story must stand alone.

All sub-genres of science fiction will be considered.

Any heat level, from sweet to erotic, will be considered. Original, previously unpublished fiction only. No fan fiction, please.

Story should meld the Science Fiction and Romance genres, and must have an upbeat (HEA/HFN) ending. Not quite sure what we’re looking for? Read our original fiction in previous issues.

No multiple submissions. No stories that have previously been rejected by us. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please inform us if the story is placed elsewhere."

For more information, see the editor's blog post here.