About Book Contracts and Slipstream By Bobbie ChristmasQ: I know there are lots of books on this subject, but I was wondering if you could streamline it for me. When you are signing a book contract, especially as a first-time author, what are the germane things you should be on the lookout for?A: Your best course is to run the contract by an entertainment attorney, but if you wish to bypass that step, here is a little layperson’s guidance. Be careful what rights you are signing over and...
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Tag, You're It!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Last night I flopped down on my loveseat and stared expressionless at the television—a ritual I do at the end of a busy day to empty my brain. After a few moments of "brain-drain," commercial grabbed my interest:A woman stood on a busy corner and waited to cross. A young man was about to run into the intersection when the woman pulled him back just as a car sped around the corner. In the next scene, the same young man helped a woman struggling with her groceries. As items started to fall...
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WOW! Chats with Author Hazel Statham
Friday, September 28, 2007
Welcome to WOW!'s little corner of the blog-o-sphere. Let's start with a little bit about yourself.I live in England and have just 'officially' retired. I have been married to my husband since 1969 and have a daughter and a beautiful five-year-old grandson. Apart from writing, my other ruling passion is animals and until recently I was the treasurer of an organisation that raised money for animal charities. I write mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras but occasionally stray into...
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Tis' the season...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
I love this time of year. The leaves are changing from green to brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. It's a bit cooler, especially at night and the air just seems to have a different feel to it. Plus the holidays are coming soon. The fall festivals and Thanksgiving will be shared with family and friends and Christmas will be here all too soon so we won't think about that yet.One of my favorite things...
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The Power of Words
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Remember at the start of the Harry Potter saga when Harry was taken to get his wand? The shopkeeper searched his "stock", had Harry try several different makes and models so to speak until he found the perfect match. In Harry's hands, that properly fit wand made a powerful tool. Words are just like that wand. In the right hands, words have an amazing power. Consider these words. "I have a dream!" Just four little words but what power they held when first spoken many years ago by...
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A GREEN WEB HOST! WOW!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
As an intern for WOW! I want to share a woman-run success story. My web host is DrakNet, and they’ve made an amazing announcement I’d like to share:We wanted to send out this special announcement that as of today, DrakNet is now 100% Carbon Neutral, and you can now brag that your website is truly green.DrakNet now purchases Green Tags monthly for the amount of energy that is used to run the servers,...
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Going Seamless
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tessellations--shapes repeated again and again to fill a plane without gapping or overlapping--create intricate and seamless pieces of artwork, like M.C. Escher’s work shown here. A reprint of this specific work hangs on a wall near my desk. My eyes drift toward it whenever I’m tired of working with words. The blend of animals, people, and fantasy creatures transports my mind to different places,...
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What do I do with all these links?
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Q: Andie writes, "I enjoy and learn from the blogs in the Muffin. I am not a techno-whiz, so there is much that I don't understand. What's this stuff at the end of each blog that relates to "subscribe to this feed?", "save to del.icio.us?", "share on Facebook?", and "Digg this!" What am I to do with all of these links? I really want to know....they look like fun. After you all quit laughing, let me know because I am laughing, too. Thanks for your attention, and again you're great...
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My Essay For The Newest WOW Contest
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Happy Saturday WOW Blogesses!I can’t wait to see the entries for our new Fall Nonfiction Essay contest. The prompt is a great one—and I’d have several stories to choose from—but alas; I can’t enter. However, I can share one of my stories with you here.When I was in Grade One—about seven years old—my English teacher exposed us to the wonderful world of publishing. Each student got to create their own Pulitzer Prize winning story and be taught what happens during the publishing process....
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Look Up
Friday, September 21, 2007
Have you noticed when people are stressed they tend to look toward the ground? I know I do it. Maybe I’m “odd” this way. But when I feel exhausted by my kids’ moods or trivial-but-annoying problems, I just tend to curl up like knotted ball of yarn. Most people smile where I live--mild climates are conducive to them--especially when people are walking their dogs, golfing, playing soccer, or simply...
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Wednesday's Announcements
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
This just in from LA Writer's Group ( http://www.lawritersgroup.com )Fall session writers groups are starting up in just a few weeks! If you live in the Los Angeles area and are looking for ways to spark creativity, fill that notebook, and get feedback on your writing in a safe environment, check them out at: http://www.lawritersgroup.com/schedule.htm. Happy Writing!---------1 Day Left to Order Your Discount Copy of Patricia Fry's Latest Book!Whether you're planning to write a book or...
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Angela Mackintosh, WOW! Founder
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Just the other day our own Angela Mackintosh was interviewed by Mom-Writers Literary Magazine. How very cool!It's a very nice site so check it out.Here's the link to Angela's interview.Jean
createSummaryAndThumb("summary8884017553229768746","https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2007/09/angela-mackintosh-wow-founder.html","Angela Mackintosh, WOW! Founder...
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Spotlight on Paula Schmitt & Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine
Monday, September 17, 2007
I had a chance to pose a few questions to Paula Schmitt, Founder and CEO of Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine. For readers who are unfamiliar with Paula and her magazine, read on…she’s an inspiring business woman, a successful author, and a super busy mom…Paula Schmitt, award-winning author of Living in a Locker Room: A Mom’s Tale of Survival in a Houseful of Boys (2005), has been published in hundreds...
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Writing and the Purple Cow
Sunday, September 16, 2007
What is a purple cow and how do we find one? Seth Godin writes:When my family and I were driving through France a few years ago, we were enchanted by the hundreds of storybook cows grazing on picturesque pastures right next to the highway. For dozens of kilometers, we all gazed out the window, marveling about how beautiful everything was.Then, within twenty minutes, we started ignoring the cows....
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Associated Content: A Great Place To Start!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Happy Saturday fellow Bloggers and Bloggesses!I just put my latest article up on Associated Content (AC) when it hit me: I should really share the AC experience with our WOW Blog readers (if you're interested ;o) ).Some of you may have read the tips I offered on how to start up your own at-home freelance business in my Start Me Up article in WOW’s current issue (at least I hope so!). Another great...
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2007 ZOETROPE: ALL-STORY SHORT FICTION CONTEST
Friday, September 14, 2007
From our friends at Zoe:website: http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi e-mail: contests@all-story.com THE JUDGE: Joyce Carol Oates, the National Book Award-winner and Zoetrope contributor, will award the top prizes. PRIZES: The first-place prize is $1,000, second-place prize is $500, and third-place prize is $250. LITERARY AGENCIES: The winner and seven finalists will be considered for representation by the William Morris Agency, ICM, Regal Literary, the Elaine Markson...
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Online Book Publicity Workshop
Friday, September 14, 2007
Hey all,Just had to share this with you. Sounds like a wonderful workshop. Now, if I only had a book ready:--)Online Book Publicity Workshop by Sandra BeckwithGot a book coming out you want to hype? Has your publisher’s publicist moved on to other projects? Do you have a book in stores that you know deserves more media attention than it’s getting? Are you working on a proposal that would benefit from a better understanding of what you can do to promote your book? You need “Book Publicity...
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Who's your favorite...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Today during my normal chat time at Long Ridge we were discussing writers and our favorite authors. Discussing the writers was easy. Deciding on a favorite was much harder though.I know most writers, as they learn their craft become more selective with what they read. I'm the same way. Now, instead of settling into the story I tend to notice how the story was written and pick apart the author's choices. There is a good side and a bad side to this.The good side is I've become much...
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Interview with Carol D. O'Dell, author of Mothering Mother
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Carol D. O’Dell’s latest memoir, Mothering Mother, deals with a timely topic that we as women and mothers have to consider.** How do age-related changes affect our parents?** What should we do if a parent goes through Alzheimer’s? And how can we tell?** What do we do if our parents can no longer take care of themselves?** I know all of you have thought of this at one point or another, I know I have....
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
We have heard from so many of you just how much you love WOW! and appreciate all the great information in each issue.Now, we ask that you help us spread the word to the whole world... at least to the folks over at Writer's Digest anyway.Please nominate WOW! for the Writer's Digest 101 Best Writer's Sites. It's simple, painless and won't take long.Just send an email with your nomination to writersdig@fwpubs.com...
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WOW! Women On Writing Sponsors Award for Best Book in Women's Literature
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Annual Literary Awards 2007 The annual literary awards were established to honor writers who self-published or had their books published by a small press, university press, or independent book publisher geared for the North American reading audience. POD books are accepted.http://www.readerviews.com/Awards.htmlEligibilityReader Views Literary Awards are open to all authors regardless of residency,...
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Calling all YA writers...
Monday, September 10, 2007
Hey all...I discovered this really great deal in my email not long ago and just had to share it with everyone.Nephele Tempest at the Knight Agency has decided to take queries for completed YA manuscripts through her LiveJournal. She says this will continue until at least the 14th of this month so here's your chance to get your idea before an agent without going through the whole submission process. She says she's looking especially for some great urban fantasy. Here's the link. ...
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Find Your Striker
Monday, September 10, 2007
I’m one soccer mom among many. I’ve been cheering kids on for eight years this season. But I’m proud to say I’m a civilized one. I don’t yell at kids when they err or shout critiques across the field. I do know a few “back-seat blabbermouths” though. I’d like to muzzle them.Being well-mannered is easy; we just focus on the positives: the good efforts, the tricky foot maneuvers, head shots, dribbles,...
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Ants in my Kitchen, Traffic to Your Blog
Sunday, September 09, 2007
For over a week now a relentless colony of ants have been invading my kitchen. I’ve always been the type who doesn’t like to kill anything. I see a spider and I scream, but will still ask my hubby to take it outside. So this has been particularly annoying! My theory is that if I find the source and get rid of it, the ants will pack up their bags and move elsewhere.I quickly discovered they were going...
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