Carroll County Service Guide

Check this out!

I worked with Sarah Grezlik and the folks at Malachi Marketing, LLC to put together this newest edition of the Carroll County Service Guide, OUT & AROUND CARROLL COUNTY. It's a directory of businesses in Carroll County, Ohio. I wrote the articles for the guide (see pages 4, 5 & 12) and helped edit the finished product. See, my name's right there in the Malachi Marketing ad on the bottom of page 2, where it says "Editor". Cool, huh?

Click here to go online where you can view the guide.

You can also pick up a FREE copy of the service guide if you're in the Carroll County area.

Enjoy!

What Do Writers Do?

Those of you who are not writers might very well wonder: What do writers do? The obvious answer to that question is....

They write. Since there are many different types of writers and many different things to write about, a writer might write books, stories, articles, essays, speeches, blogs, recipes, web content, press releases, letters, etc. After these have been written...

They rewrite. Writers are notorious for being perfectionists. It's not enough to simply write something. What is written must be as perfect as possible. To this end, writers will rewrite, once, twice or a dozen times until they feel the piece is finished. But, of course that's not all. Then...

They proofread/edit/correct. Proofreading, editing and correcting entail going over the so-called "finished" piece and checking it closely for misspellings, incorrect grammar, incorrect punctuation, and overall readability. Writers will fix a spelling error here, correct grammar and punctuation issues there, change verbs and nouns, and tidy up the whole before...

They post/submit. If a writer is a blogger, they will then post the finished and polished piece online. If they are writing for a publisher or agent, they will then submit their writing for consideration of publication. Then...

They wait. If the finished piece has been submitted for consideration of publication, the writer must wait for an answer. Sometimes they wait, and wait, and wait some more. But while they are waiting...

They write. Writers are busy people. They can always find something to write about so they can rewrite it, proofread/edit/correct it/ and post/submit it.

But, that's not all writers do. No, not by a long shot.

They read. Good writers are good readers. They read anything and everything related to their subject or genre so they are up-to-date on current trends in their business. They also read for pleasure.

They research. Writers who write non-fiction must research their topics thoroughly to be sure to give their readers accurate information.

They connect. This is the golden age of the Internet. Writers take advantage of this wonderful tool by connecting with other writers on social media sites, through their own websites and blogs, and through professional websites.

They learn. Good writers are curious creatures, and I don't just mean they're odd (though some of us can be). I mean they are curious about the world around them. They want to learn more so they can write more.

They experiment. Some writers write in only one genre or on only one topic. That is fine, if that's what they want to do. But many writers like to branch out and experiment with different types of writing styles in different genres.

And, while writers are reading, and researching, and connecting, and learning, and experimenting...

They write.
 

Do You Twitter?

I know Twitter has been around for some time, but I'm just now really learning the basics of it. I set up an account a year or so ago, but did nothing with it other than post an opening "Tweet". Then, I left the Twitter account alone until recently.

I had the opportunity to participate in a "pitch fest" yesterday's (please see previous post) on Twitter, and I previously participated in another one about two weeks ago. I can see the value of "tweeting" for those events, and to keep in touch with friends and such, but I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work for me as a writer - as a way to promote myself and to connect with fellow writers and those in the publishing industry.

Which brings me to the main purpose for this post. If you're still learning about Twitter, like I am, here's an excellent guide to Twitter, from a writer's perspective. Even though it is geared to writers, there is still a lot of basic info about the Twitter process itself.


The blog is called Inky Girl and it's written by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

Pitch Fest on Twitter

I just participated in another "pitch fest" on Twitter. For those who have never heard of such a thing, it's when writers get to "pitch" their book ideas to editors and/or agents who are participating. It's a great way to get an editor's/agent's attention, but it's also difficult. You have to be able to describe your book/idea in less than 140 characters, including spaces and hash tags. Let me tell you, there's not a lot of wiggle room for beating around the bush with your book description.

Let me show you what I'm talking about. Here is a paragraph from a cover letter for a story I wrote called The Reddle Badge. This paragraph describes the story. Sounds okay, doesn't it?

Long ago, Hardy Thomasin roamed the wild heaths of Wessex.” So begins my story, The Reddle Badge (word count – approx. 3900), which I have enclosed. In this adventure, Hardy comes face-to-face with the dreaded and feared “Reddleman” whom he befriends. Hardy is then a hero to all those who know him. The story is geared for children six to ten years of age. I have also included a page titled “Author’s Note,” which gives a brief explanation of the book’s topic and why I chose it.

Now, here's the same idea reduced to "Twitter" size:

MG - Hardy Thomasin comes face to face with the much-feared Reddleman & lives to tell about it. THE REDDLE BADGE

With the hash tag (which I deleted from this sample), I used 120 of my allotted 140 characters. That's quite a bit different, now isn't it? The "MG" stands for "middle grade."

I pitched several of my stories, but I didn't get any nibbles. There were literally hundreds of pitches (probably over 1000) made during the pitch fest which ran for 12 hours. I'm disappointed, but not too surprised that none of my entries were chosen.

Not to be discouraged, I will keep sending out my manuscripts to editors and agents, and keep honing my "Twitter pitches" in case an opportunity like this comes around again soon.

Wish me luck!

Celia Lee, Assistant Editor at Cartwheel Books, Open to Unagented Submissions from Inkygirl Readers for a Limited Time

Attention Writers:

Celia Lee is an assistant editor at Cartwheel Books, Scholastic’s 0-5 imprint. When she’s not reading, she’s talking about reading. And when she’s not talking about reading, she’s thinking about reading. You can follow her on Twitter @VitellusD.

Read her interview with Debbie Ridpath Ohi on the Inkygirl website.

I've Been Busy

If you haven't visited my website before, welcome to you! Make yourself comfortable and get acquainted with my site. 

If you are a returning visitor, welcome back! You will notice I have been busy since your last visit. I've rearranged and updated my blog by adding pages and adding content. You can visit ALL my pages: About me; Kids; crafts; Book reviews; For Writers; Web Credits; Resume; Home; and Contact Me. I've got lots of good "stuff" on my page now. "Help yourself" and let me know what you think!

From Idea to Print: One Series' Tale, Part Three (It's a long story)

Part Three of the Three-Part Series: I told you it was a long story...

Anyway, before I was finished with the first four books in the series, a couple of things happened. Mark Friedman left Grolier, Inc., so I no longer had any contact with him. And, since things were progressing so well with the first four books, I was offered a contract for another for books. Woot! That was in April 2000. The contact was for EGG CARTON MANIA, PAPER CUP MANIA, PIPE CLEANER MANIA, and PIE PAN MANIA.

I can't find the records, so I don't know the actual dates, but a couple of other things happened before all of the books were done. As mentioned before, my original idea was for a series of craft books for 6-to-12-year-olds using ordinary, household items for each craft. Sometime after the series was approved, Grolier Publishing was taken over by Scholastic, Inc. Sometimes when things like this happen, contracts that have been signed by the previous publisher become null and void. The publisher still has to pay the writer the agreed-upon advance royalties, but the books will not be published. That's a real bummer and I was afraid that would happen to me. It didn't, but Scholastic wanted to make some changes. They decided the series should be for 2nd-4th graders, and the books should be suitable for classroom use. And, they wanted to emphasize recycling in the series.

So, even though I was relieved my series hadn't been cancelled, I had additional work to do. First, I had to change the age level for the projects in the books, so some of the ideas I had come up with wouldn't work for the newly-chosen age group. I had already finished one book in the series, and was starting on the second one when the changes were made. I had to throw out some of the activities I had already written up for the first two books, and adjusting my ideas for the rest of the series meant a fair amount of re-writing was involved to bring all the activities into line with the new guidelines.

And, my original idea was to use more than one type of material to make the same type of craft project. For instance, I had ideas for making different types of flowers using different materials like egg cartons, paper plates, and paper cups. But the publisher didn't want the same type of project repeated in any of the books, even if the materials used were different. That meant I could include ONE flower project, but I had to choose whether to have it for the egg carton, paper plate or paper cup book. I couldn't use the idea in all three books. What this really meant was by the time I got down to the last two books in the series, I was having a hard time coming up with ideas for making things that I hadn't already used.

Oh, and the publisher also decided that instead of having four books come out at one time and then four more books a year or so later, they would launch the series with all eight books. Because of all the changes that were made along the way, the books weren’t actually published for nearly four years after I signed the original contract! Four years!

There were times when I questioned whether or not the books would ever make it into print, but they did. They came out first in hard cover editions, in 2002, and then in paperback, in 2006.

It was a long journey (and a long story!) from idea to the finished product. I learned a lot. Now, I’m ready to do it again!!