Category Archives: publishing
Protected: Links to Fred and Joe stories for the Fan Fiction contest
Notes from Ken Baysinger’s Talk in June 2016
Notes from Ken Baysinger’s talk, June 2016
Ken’s road to writing began early when hi English teacher gave him an F for writing too well (his teacher wouldn’t believe the piece was Ken’s own work and Ken, being stubborn, wouldn’t rewrite it). Writing was replaced by a language of 2-syllable words when Ken joined the Navy, but afterward he took an elective in expository writing at Washington State, just to see if he still had any literary skills. Luckily for his readers, he did. A degree in English led to work in creative advertising, but the white shoes and golf stories didn’t fit, so he moved into other areas. But… Continue reading Notes from Ken Baysinger’s Talk in June 2016
Protected: It’s Never Too Late – Notes from Jim Stewart’s talk May 2016
Minutes 201605
Writers Mill Minutes May 15th 2016
21 members attended May’s meeting and listened to an excellent discussion on all things writing, led by poet, short story writer and novelist Jim Stewart. Jim has generously agreed to a return engagement to lead a poetry workshop for us soon. We really appreciated meeting with him, and notes from his talk will be included in a separate post. Continue reading Minutes 201605
Submissions Closed – Watch this Space!
The Writers’ Mill Journal, Volume 5, will be released in time for our November meeting.
Writers’ Mill Members will have emailed their (edited) submissions BEFORE THE END OF JULY to
admin@portlandwritersmill.org
Please send any questions to this address!
Stories, poems, essays, pictures, photos, snippets, etc… to be included in one of the following journal sections – please interpret the section heading as loosely as you wish!
- Murder, Mystery and Mayhem (based on November)
- White (based on December: anything related to white – clothing, weather, peace, Christmas…)
- January’s contest was “A Year” – we’re pretty sure you can find another section in this list for your timely tale.
- Misunderstood (based on the February, It’s not what you think contest)
- Windows (based on March)
- Irresistible temptation (April)
- Switching places (May’s contest was just people, now includes places)
- Home and away (June’s contest was home, now includes travel, time, and any other homes and aways that inspire you)
- Just for kids – Enter your kid-safe pieces to this section
- Just for inspiration – Enter your inspirational pieces here if you’d prefer this to another section. But remember, entries for Joe’s Inspirational Journal should also be sent to Joe.
Please include the following information in your email:
- Title of your piece (story, photo, poem, essay, snippet, whatever…)
- Section to which it is being submitted
- Author name (this is not always clear from your email address!)
Illustrations should include the same information. If you have illustrations to go with your piece, please send them as separate files with the piece (not as part of the word document). Make life easy for us, then we’ll do a better job for you!
Word count limits? Ugh! We’d rather not impose any, but if you keep your total word-count to below 10,000 words, we might avoid ruinous print costs when we put it all together. If we end up with something that takes too many pages, we’ll look forward to your helpful cooperation in fixing it!
Happy Writing!
Protected: When the Book’s Published – notes from Steve Theme’s talk in April 2016
Minutes 201604
201604 minutes Sunday April 17th
Nearly twenty people gave up two hours of a sunny Sunday afternoon to attend April’s Writers’ Mill meeting and hear the talk from Steve Theme. Of those, many were able to buy copies of his book, and we hope you’ll remember to post reviews when you’ve read it. Steve would like you to know he’s happy to be contacted with questions at any time via the “contact form” on his website: http://stevetheme.com/contact/ Continue reading Minutes 201604
Interesting Links for March/April
You’ve guessed it. Walt is the source for many (but not all) of these links. Follow. Read. Learn. Enjoy! (Oh, and join Facebook, where you’ll find much more on our private Writers Mill page,, with thanks to Catherin!)
Get writing!
Be both inspired and inspiring. There are some really cool ideas in this: http://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/03/simple-ways-to-repurpose-content/
A nicely imaginative post suggests how to deal with those obstacles keeping you from writing: http://willamettewriters.org/2016/02/4-obstacles-keeping-finishing-manuscript/
If the book feels too big to tackle and you’re not sure where to start: http://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/03/three-things-before-you-write-a-book/
Follow the rules to become an author? http://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/2015/08/24/become-an-author-5-basic-rules/
Describe your book!
From back-cover copy to elevator pitch, how would you describe your book? http://buildbookbuzz.com/amazon-book-description/
Print your book!
Fonts are scary stuff. You may not be hugely wiser after reading this, but you’ll be better informed: https://designschool.canva.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-font-pairing/
Meanwhile, here’s an interesting e-conversation about fonts: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1697027/1697027-6120823027480485892
Practice better writing!
What shape is your story? This video’s well worth watching (only 4 minutes) http://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/03/simple-shapes-of-stories/
Want to outline your book? http://self-publishingschool.com/11-ways-outline-book/
A checklist to help your story: https://mystorydoctor.com/12588-2/
Use Point of view to create good writing https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/want-a-page-turner-you-need-deep-pov/
Create that summary: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bd398af5e14b804a37b7f273a&id=ba869c80d6
Tell the world about your writing!
A letter to librarians – if you’re trying to get speaking engagements, or get books into libraries, this one might help: http://indigoseapressblog.com/2016/03/20/library-book-tour-letter-by-christine-husom/
How to pitch, which also helps with how to query: http://willamettewriters.org/wwcon/pitching-with-confidence/
Lots of book marketing comments from real authors: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/book-marketing-shots-in-the-dark/
Use the Internet!
Is there a way to effectively use blogs, facebook, twitter etc? http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/20-plus-social-media-hacks-and-tips-from-the-pros/
A cool way to look at platforms, with lots of practical advice: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2016/03/jason-gracia/
Some great stuff about what to put on your author website: http://writetodone.com/creating-author-websites/
And on the “about me” page of the site (or blog): http://buildbookbuzz.com/an-about-me-page-that-sizzles/
Go to conferences!
August 12-14 Willamette Writers conference: http://willamettewriters.org/wwcon/
November 5 Wordstock: http://www.literary-arts.org/2016/03/wordstock-2016-news-and-updates/
Send that query letter!
Master’s review – deadline March 31st – reading fee $20 http://mastersreview.com/short-story-award-for-new-writers/
Women only (sorry, men), WoW is inviting queries for short sweet non-fiction posts before April 10 http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101417136261&ca=35072501-8a54-4708-885e-2a3376bed932
This month’s interesting links
February contest deadlines: https://mastersreview.com/february-deadlines-14-contests-and-lit-mags-with-deadlines-this-month/
Plus lots more deadlines in this free download. If you’re writing short pieces, you really should get this: https://mastersreview.com/free-download-literary-calendar-jan-june/
All about ISBNs http://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/01/book-isbn-answers-to-frequently-asked-questions/
How to write a picture book. This is wonderful – just read it, even if you don’t want to write one: http://www.buzzfeed.com/macbarnett/how-to-write-a-picture-book-i066#.ecqKzERxn
Prose poetry? Poetic prose? Find out more https://madmimi.com/s/18f647?o=tm
You’ve written the book. Why is no one reading it? http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1d3577f0f5a155c4813f5ff47&id=530b5d9c2c&e=a3918d2369 or for some serious thought-provoking suggestions http://www.macgregorliterary.com/blog/what-does-a-writer-need-to-know-about-marketing/
Want to avoid some blogging mistakes? http://www.writersonthemove.com/2014/06/4-major-mistakes-to-avoid-when-writing.html
become a successful blogger http://thewritelife.com/how-to-be-a-successful-blogger/
or are you still wondering why you’d want to blog? http://buildbookbuzz.com/how-to-blog-your-way-to-discoverability/
Interested in copy editing? Be sure to read down the page for useful advice – it’s not just an ad for the course. http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=edd09410-d4ff-4ad1-ab2a-29ad8b015a43&c=6551b3e0-156d-11e5-acb5-d4ae52724810&ch=655a3f60-156d-11e5-acb5-d4ae52724810
Is your manuscript too long… too wordy…? https://lewiseditorial.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/10-tips-for-trimming-a-lengthy-manuscript/
Are there any song lyrics in your manuscript? http://indigoseapressblog.com/2016/01/20/using-copyrighted-song-lyrics-by-christine-husom/
Using all your senses: http://blog.bookbaby.com/2016/01/use-all-five-senses-to-enrich-your-writing/