Jessie,
I did study German -- four years in high school and two in college. That could explain a great deal.
I have held my book proposal and the volumes of handwritten work on it for three years because I feared getting scammed. I ventured to invite a group to help me with it and have just lately applied and joined the GoingPro Group Forum here at WC. I tried to tell my husband I needed an agent and he said I couldn't afford one. As we sit here on the fourth of July (he on his laptop, I on my PC), you better believe I just turned around and shared the editorial with him!
Part of my fear may stem from sending my son (with a poem that blew me away) to Poetry.Com to learn later what a scam it was. My son quit writing altogether.
Thanks for another great newsletter!!
P.S. Do you ever go through your newspaper with a highlighter and mark the typos and grammar errors? Have I fallen into insanity here?
No, I just go through the newspaper and groan. I do love watching the funny headlines on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Monday nights. I take a professional interest in the typos and badly-crafted headlines. It’s not insanity—just an occupational hazard.
As for your son, please encourage him to write again. Be sure to share with him my point that just because a vanity press loves you doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. It doesn’t mean that your inner critic had it right all along. It just means you can’t fall for everyone’s flattery. –Jessiebelle
Is there a way to see the archives on these newsletters? I accidentally deleted one that I wanted to keep. Thanks!
Starr*
See "Invalid Item" . That’s where I keep my back issues. The other editors may keep their own archives. There used to be a central archive, but it was a manual effort and I believe it’s undergoing renovation at the moment. –Jessiebelle
Just what I needed to know. These hyphens, dashes, and dots have me confused a lot of the time, but your information has helped me no end. Thanks.
If in doubt, keep a good reference guide handy, or bookmark the URLs I’ve given in past issues, if you find them helpful. You can write quite well without dashes and ellipses, most days. But that’s what makes it so tricky to remember how to use them correctly, when the need arises. –Jessiebelle
Jessie, thanks for the great info on hyphens, em and en dashes. I have added the site explaining compound words with hyphens to my favorites.
Thank you also for your indepth article "Avoiding the Agent Scams." I am far, far from worrying about agent issues, but I still see that I will need to know about them!
It’s so much better to be aware of the potential scams before you need to know about them, than to find out after the fact that you’ve been scammed! –Jessiebelle
Jessie, thanks for including my forum in your newsletter. If it ever catches on, someone might just find it beneficial!
I certainly hope so! I think it’s a very encouraging and positive forum, Judie. –Jessiebelle
Jessie,
Based on the piece you included in the last newsletter about vanity presses, I'd like to offer my services. I worked for a subsidy publisher for two and a half years and would be happy to share any insights I can offer from the other side. If people have any questions about how it works or when it's appropriate or anything else, I'd be glad to field them. I've been looking for a place on the site here to make that offer, but haven't really been able to find the right spot.
Point is, let me know if there's something I can do. I love this place and I'd like to help the writers here any way I can.
That’s a generous offer. I think it would be very interesting to hear your perspective on this from “the other side,” and I know there are many misconceptions about how vanity press, subsidy press, and self-publishing work, which is often what leads to writers’ dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the process. –Jessiebelle
Hi! Great newsletter! I enjoy the newsletters where I actually learn something. Some can be vague, with generic advice. Can you (or any of the editors) do a newsletter proper ways to submit to publishers, and query letters?
Thanks,
ShadowDawn
If someone doesn’t beat me to it, ShadowDawn, I’ll attempt it. But for now, the simplest and best advice I can give you is to get the publisher’s submissions guidelines and follow them to the letter. That means write the story, article, or book; format it according to standard manuscript format (e.g., 12 pt. Courier, 1” margins, no cutesy fonts, etc.); print it on a quality printer; write a nice straightforward cover letter; and finally, package it neatly, with sufficient postage affixed and a SASE tucked inside, and send it off. Rinse, repeat. Don’t chew your nails off while waiting for a response – start writing the next thing. –Jessiebelle
Great newsletter! A put a space on each side of my dashes because I don't like the look of the em dash, but I didn't realize there was a difference between an en dash and an em dash. I think Word formats it automatically into an en dash when I leave spaces. Now I know why! Since I'm self-publishing my own fiction, written in my own casual style, I guess it's fine to do it that way. Thanks for the extra knowledge!
From within Word (I’m using Word 2002, so your version may vary slightly): Click Format > AutoFormat > Options. On the Autoformat tab, under Replace, you should see a checkbox “Hypens (--) with Dash (—)” If you uncheck this box, Word should stop changing double hyphens to dashes. Examine each tab under Format > AutoFormat > Options. It’s good to understand what Word’s doing under the hood, so you can stop it if it’s annoying you, or customize it so that it can work for you.
Say you always misspell the word the. Your fingers simply want to type “teh” instead. Word probably corrects this for you automatically, if Autocorrect is turned on. But now, let’s assume that you have a habit of spelling “lovely” like “lurvly.” Word hasn’t seen that one before, so it simply underlines “lurvly,” indicating that it’s misspelled. Click Format > AutoFormat > Options > AutoCorrect. In the text box under Replace: enter lurvly and under With: enter lovely. Now, when you have AutoCorrect turned on, Word should change “lurvly” to “lovely” every time. –Jessiebelle
How do you make an Em Dash or an En Dash? I don't see buttons for them on my key board or ALT commands for them. I only see the hyphen...
~Rin
http://www.aim-higher.net/character-entity-reference.asp provides the character entity data and codes (most of these should work in items on Writing.com). If you’re using Word, try ALT+0150 for the en dash and ALT+0151 for the em dash. Or Insert > Symbol > Special Characters (that’s the easiest way).
I'm glad somebody made a 'colon' joke.
Hyphens etc. Now that was worth reading. Another kickass newsletter.
On the scams: I had someone call me once after I requested information on self-publishing, I believe from Firstbooks.com. She called and asked if I had a manuscript, and I lied and said no but I am currently working on one. This was before I was an English major or had even moved back from Florida. Well, this lady called me back three months later to find out if my manuscript was done yet, and then again after another three months. Never read a word I'd written. Makes you feel as though your tears, sweat, and blood were sacrificed in vain, because they'd call anyway.
Well, now I'm all depressed from the memory. Good newsletter, in any case.
I had the same experience with Firstbooks, after requesting info from their Web site. I wanted info. By mail. Not phone calls, not inquiries. The people who called and wrote were very polite and sounded professional, but after a while, I felt nagged. “No, I haven’t finished the book. Leave me alone, or I never will!” I feel bad. But they left me alone after that. Thanks, Grim. Now that whole depressing trip down memory lane is mutual. –Jessiebelle
Jessie, WOW! What a great newsletter. This one is surely chocked full of info.
Janne
I try! Don’t always succeed, but persistence is the key. –Jessiebelle
I really enjoyed this newsletter. Right now I'm focused on improving my writing, but publication is definately a long term goal. The resources you gave appear to have somthing for every writer, no matter where they are on the path. Thanks!
Great news! A double threat with the hyphen / dashes and publishing advice
I always enjoy when things I am meaning to look for show up before I look for them!
I'm not sure if my keyboard can make an m-dash; I think I have to do this: -- Is that ok, or am I being lazy?
Thanks for your efforts, as always, they are much appreciated.
Oh, the pressure to be psychic!
I think you’ll find the answer to your symbol question up above. If that doesn’t do the trick, let me know. Typing the two hyphens in place of a dash was perfectly acceptable in typewritten material, but if you’re going to stray from a nice, simple Courier font, I’d suggest using a proper en or em dash. –Jessiebelle
Jessiebelle: Goddess of Google: Excellent newsletter. I never knew that the en dash or em dash existed. I thought they were all just hyphens. I suppose that's what happens when you don't practice / study writing very often. Oh well, thanks again for the great information.
-Matt L.
Don’t feel bad. Most of us didn’t learn about en and em dashes in school. They come from old typesetting conventions. They’re expected of professional writers who have occasion to use them and amateurs who want to look like pros, but you can probably get by quite nicely without them 90% of the time. –Jessiebelle
Jessie, your information on hyphens, en dash, and em dash was very interesting. I'm sure that I rattle along inserting hyphens and dashes at random, considering little their proper use. I will try to be more careful now. My, how the rule mount. I don't think I will ever feel as if I have mastered even a small portion of them. However, I do think I have gotten the period down.
Well, periods and commas are the workhorses of the punctuation world. If you’ve got those down, you’re off to a good start. –Jessiebelle
Thank you for your links and info about agent scams. The same goes for some contests also...
Oh, absolutely! For that reason alone, I shy away from contests that require an entry fee. Some that do are very legitimate, and the potential prize makes it worth the risk. But be wary! –Jessiebelle
Great work again,Jessie; you're a gift to someone like me that is bereft of Grammer.
Thought you should check out this web-sight that was advertised on here, write.com. It seems to be a bit shonky.
Childrensliteraryagency.com.
Johnny_mac
I’d rather not comment on any specific agency (unless it’s been proven to be a scam, in a court of law). I can only say “do the research.” Check the Internet, check with the Better Business Bureau, ask for references and check them. Ask for a list of titles they’ve sold and who’s published them. Look for the books. It’s a shame that there are so many people out there who would prey on others’ hopes and dreams. It’s a shame that there are so many naïve writers who would sell their hopes and dreams to the first person to offer the least little bit of flattery. But there you have it. –Jessiebelle
Thanks for the topic! The nomlet understands grammar and punctuation about as well as he does women, but he strives. And, satirically speaking, how much are those comma-splicing permits? (That should be an en dash, right? If only I knew the codes.)
Ah, if only I were in the business of selling comma-splicing permits, I’d be fabulously wealthy! Alas, they’re free, and anyone with a desktop printer can whip one up in a jiffy. –Jessiebelle
Yes, we so want to believe that our writing is good enough to attract attention of someone who can help us market our book(s). I'm glad that you are one of those people who searches and finds out. ~~ Viv
We want it to be true, so we fall for the scams – but remember, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Flattery from a business that’s out to sell you something is not reliable feedback on the quality of your work, one way or the other. –Jessiebelle
Thanks for making that point about all the scam artists out there. I attended an event a few years ago and learned that agents should never make any money until you do, and I have stuck to that advice as it makes the most sense to me. I took my first novel unagented to a small press and got it published, but I am think I may look for an agent for future efforts, so this is a good reminder to me to be careful when searching for prospective agents.
Your newsletter has really helped me. I joined in late May, and this site is the best thing that has ever happened to me as a writer. Thanks to all who work hard to make it!
Hi,
Here's something that you may find useful for your next newsltr: " Invalid Item"
Cordially,
Starr Rathburn
I love getting feedback on the For Authors Newsletter – it lets me know you’re reading, and it tells me whether I’m writing about the subjects that interest you. Please keep those questions and comments coming!
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