Writerly Wednesday ~~ Resources: Check These Out!

Gotta whole lotta nuggets for my blogging writer/poet/artist buds today, so let's just get to it. Sit back, read a while, and enjoy!

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Roni Griffin talks about the pros and cons of pre-published authors constructing a website vs. blogging, and other matters of social networking.

"You don't have to be insane like me and have a website, blog, twitter, facebook, and goodreads. A website can be static, so once you have that up, it's not any work. And then if you like to blog--blog. If not, then just do twitter or facebook (I'd recommend Twitter over Facebook if you're only going to do one--it's more effective IMHO). But do whatever works for you."

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Carrie Link tells us about friend Deb Shucka's editing services and memoir writing classes. Visit Deb's new blog: Writing the Breathings of Your Heart. Carrie's got an awesome, thought provoking blog to follow, if you don't already. Ditto Deb's.      

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Need a splash of vivid color in your life? Visit Steph Jordan's Living in Color blog, watch her shows, get some new recipes, browse the beautiful original items in her Etsy shop. You won't be sorry. I've already done some Christmas shopping, and hooo-boyyyy, there are some great items ON SALE right now. (One of a kind, artsy, lovely things.) **Look for an interview with Steph coming soon right here!

Steph says, "Art is created with Passion and Hope. When I create my originals it's with the desire that anyone that receives will feel the love and inspiration and enjoy it the same! Lots of unique items for sale on my Etsy show."  And this for you frugal shoppers: "One of a kind Original Art by Steph Jordan. Jewelry, Mixed Media Art, paintings and more. All purchases come with a free goodie!"

Follow her blog, and click on the "About" tab for more on Steph.

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Our beloved Rose & Thorn Journal's newsletter creator, Susan G. Kramer, has finally joined the Blogosphere with her brand spankin' new Coffee Girl blawg! Please help welcome her, and follow her coffee-licious blog. Another cool place to buy gifts for your writerly friends. She creates the nicest cards from recycled materials, greenie that she is. Here's some that I'm proud to have: 

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For you local home girls in and around Baton Rouge, don't miss author Ronlyn Domingue's seminar in connection with Women's Council of Greater Baton Rouge annual Women's Week. Another "don't miss" at the event is Poet Extraordinaire Ava Leavell Haymon.
Date: Sunday, October 3 Time: 4 - 6 p.m. Baton Rouge Gallery at 1442 City Park Ave. Her talk is entitled: Life Terms, No Insurance: Women Writers on Resisting, Relenting or Embracing What the Universe Delivers. More info here.


                                            
If you missed my popular  interview with the author lady, it's HERE, and she gives plenty good scoop to writers about the process and other how-to tips. 

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Just so y'all don't think I'm only touting the ladies, don't miss Chuck Sambuchino's (Guide to Literary Agents) upcoming post wherein expert Jane Friedman explains how to increase your blog following and building your author platform. Mark your calendars for Sept. 16.

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I know y'all are following Lynn Price's Behler blog, right? FULL of great info. on publishing and all things writerly. Oh, and you'll lurve her bartending beagle sidekick!

Lynn's posts are witty, sassy, and savvy; her thoughts on book promo will get your juices flowing. Don't miss the editorial director of Behler Publications post: Promo is like Costco. Here's a snippet --

I know many authors are shy and would rather hunker down and write and never have to meet a single fan or do a lick of promotion. Good luck with that.

And look for our friend Kim Richardson's soon-to-be-on-shelves The Unbreakable Child. Behler is the publisher!     

 [NOTE TO SELF: Get Lynn's book pronto!] 

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So...whatcha working on? Do tell...

Writerly Wednesday ~~ Recipe for Breaking Out

Great linkage on tap today for what it takes to really make it in the writing world, boys and girls. 

The four main characteristics I think it takes to break out from the pack are listed below. I'd love to hear your opinions, whether you agree or disagree with my "secret ingredient" list, or have some items of your own to add.

Read, enjoy, sound off!

1. Sticktoitiveness (Endurability): Ingredient #1 is explained nicely in this new article from the LA Times. Author Dani Schapiro writes, "Call it stubbornness, stamina, a take-no-prisoners determination, but a writer at work reminds me of nothing so much as a terrier with a bone: gnawing, biting, chewing, until finally there is nothing left to do but fall away...I tell [my students] they are embarking on a life in which apprenticeship doesn't mean a cushy summer internship in an air-conditioned office but rather a solitary, poverty-inducing, soul-scorching voyage whose destination is unknown and unknowable." (Longish, but well worth the time invested in reading.)

2. Knowledge Truly is Power: Writers never reach the end of their studies, so best to put noses in books and get busy. You poets will especially enjoy this new post at Rose & Thorn Journal's blog by Managing Editor and Senior Poetry Editor Cynthia Toups on why form matters. (Most of her points are applicable to prose.) The question of rule-breaking is answered well in her post.

3. Craft Mastery: How do you master your craft? By emersing yourself in what's going on in your genre(s) of preference and building on your base knowledge. Blogaritaville is rich with awesome connections and teachers. Get to know them. Pick their brains for the riches they unselfishly share. Keep abreast, then put what you've learned to the test by practicing! Read fellow blogger and primo writing instructor Roni Griffin's tutorial on Author Intrusion. You'll be glad you did. (And there are plenty of wonderfully helpful posts at her blog.) Another blogger you should follow if you don't already is Harvey Stanbrough. He covers all things poetry, prose & editing.

4. Aim Carefully Before Shooting: Research your market and know who/what/why you're submitting to a particular journal, magazine, agent, publisher. If you don't, you'll be wasting time and setting yourself up for unnecessary rejection. Read guidelines closely. Follow instructions. Be pleasant and professional. Taking care with your submissions is one way to set yourself apart from those who scatter-shoot their work wildly, hoping something (anything) will stick.

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Ready to submit?

Rose & Thorn Journal is reading for the spring issue through 2/28. Got some bangin' poetry or prose to send us? Please consider yourself cordially invited.

If you've got a completed manuscript with at least a small element of romance in it, check out agent Nephele Tempest's current "submission fest."