Write tip : Should I use an exclamation mark?

Recently I came across this nifty chart  and I had to share it.

Publisher Open to Submission: Black Inc Books

Below find the details just as they appear on Black Inc. For more information click the link Black Inc or alternatively check the right hand "Interesting Links" Tab

Submission Guidelines

GENERAL SUBMISSIONS

Black Inc. is happy to consider proposals for general non-fiction, including history, current affairs, biography and memoir, and for fiction. Black Inc. does not accept unsolicited proposals for poetry or children’s books. Please take a look around our website to get a sense of the range of books we publish.

Please note that we do not accept submissions by post. Owing to the number of submissions we receive, we cannot discuss submissions by telephone or in person, and we cannot provide detailed editorial feedback.

If you would like us to consider your work for publication, please send an email tosubmissions@blackincbooks.com containing:

• A short (up to 1000-word) synopsis of your work
• An indication of the total word count of your manuscript
• A list of your previous publications and any other relevant information about yourself
• Attached as a Word document, your complete manuscript

For non-fiction only, if the manuscript is not yet complete, please send a proposed chapter outline and a sample chapter.

We aim to respond to all submissions within twelve weeks.

Friday Flash

Recently an author made me aware of Friday Flashes...below is the information from their site. The link to Friday Flash is on the right hand side under the "Interesting Links" tab as well as below the copied information.

Call for Article Submissions

We here at Friday Flash Dot Org are both proud and honored to be a part of the #FridayFlash community.

We have grown quite a bit since I started a little experiment on Twitter to explore how social media might be used to help writers develop their online presence via the little hashtag, #FridayFlash. The response has been tremendous, with hundreds of people participating over the three plus years we’ve been doing this, many on a regular basis. Since its inception on May 29th of 2009 we have gone on to expand to Facebook, Google Plus, and launched this website. The goal of all these efforts is to help you develop a bit of a following in order to expand your base, while encouraging you to continue to develop your voice and skills as a writer. Toward that end we attempt to provide you with with relevant and worthwhile content on a weekly basis with the Friday Flash Report, the News Flash, and one writing related article each Thursday.

Estrella has been doing a bang up job as our Editor keeping this site fresh and alive week in and week out. However, in order for her to continue to bring you fresh content each week we need contributors to fill the bill. While we have wonderful contributors, both regular and periodic, who share their thoughts with you on a continuing basis we are beginning to feel the pinch for fresh content. Some of our contributing writers have had changes in circumstance, myself included, which prevent them from posting on a regular basis. As a result the number of articles available to fill the editorial calendar is dwindling, and we may not be able to continue to supply fresh content each week without your help.

While this presents us with an editorial challenge, it provides you with a bit of an opportunity.

If you are a current or former member of the Friday Flash community, and you would like to help contribute to the cause, please consider contributing an article or two for our Thursday feature post. We will consider any nonfiction writing related piece that is original, thoughtful, and well written.

Some of the topics we will consider include, but are not limited to:

• General writing tips
• Challenges presented by your current writing project, and how you overcame them
• Reviews on writer’s workshops or conferences you’ve attended
• Your personal writing environment – how you make it work
• Reviews of books on the craft of writing that you have read — what advice worked, what did you find lacking
• Articles about stories, authors, characters, or settings who have inspired or influenced your work
• Success stories – thoughts on your first sale, NaNoWriMo, how you got published or landed an agent, your journey as an indie author

We cannot pay you except via your name on the byline, your bio in the footer, and our eternal gratitude.

If you are interested in contributing to Friday Flalsh Dot Org with an article on writing related topics please contact Estrella or me via email or a Twitter DM and we will give it every consideration as a potential article in one of the upcoming Thursday slots.  

Thanks, and keep on writing.

Friday Flash dot org

Sharpen Your Grammar and Earn!

A handy way to improve your grammar and developing a sharp eye for detail is to do some freelance proofreading work. There is no shortage of people who require the services of a proofreader. Proofreading helps to keep your mind sharp by not only exposing you to various writing styles and thought processes, but also by helping to develop a sharp eye for detail. Inevitably your grammar improves and you become more aware of sentence structuring. It was through some proofreading work that I finally learned what the split infinitive was. We all have our habitual mistakes we make during writing. Whether it is sloppy sentences, concord errors or the dreaded apostrophe, we all make mistakes. 

Proofreading on the side helps to create awareness of how we use language as writers. In the end it helps to enhance our writing. 

Instant romance ruin character development

Today I will be discussing my pet peeve. It is a disease that becomes ever more present in new novels. A sickness of writing called “instant romance”. This is where the characters barely know each other but declare they are soul mates (I had the misfortune to read one such novel where the lead met her love interest and immediately declared he was her soul mate. It killed the story.)

There is nothing inherently wrong with a love element in novels, in fact, novels need that love element or love interest to resonate with the reader on a deeper level. But personally the instant romance thing is kills a story for me. The minute there is instant romance involved I will toss the novel aside like the cheap fodder it is and refuse to read it further. Why? Simply because character development becomes neglected. The author already stated the love interest in the novel between character A and B (and sometimes C, then you get the ever popular love triangle) and thus sees no need to further develop the characters involved. Instead the characters become caricatures of daytime soap operas, where they experience unrealistic emotional angst or simply cannot choose who they want between character B and C.

A good romance or love element in a novel, regardless of genre, will develop with the characters. Even if the characters are introduced from the start as being an “item” that information should not hinder the development of the characters or the romantic connection between them.

Simply put I’m trying to say this: instant romance/love does not happen in real life. Instant lust happens, not love. Feeling attracted to someone the moment you see them, feeling aroused and lustful is something that happened to us all. We all saw a stranger who made us hot under the collar, but we did not run around proclaiming our undying love for said stranger, now did we? So why should our characters do it? Love is something that grows and develops over time. 

The best romance novels and films leave you aching for love and there is no reason the love element in your novel should not develop equally naturally (within the limits of what you are writing). 

The Trap of Stereotypical Characters

Let me describe a plot to you: a gorgeous female who either has a helpless personality or a completely badass one and a mischievous eye-candy, hulk of a man. The female character is heir to the throne but she doesn’t want the responsibility, or she’s a rebel. The man is her companion and they either met along the way and can’t stand one another or fall hopelessly for each other. There is competition for the female’s attention and affection from another male who later appears and a love-triangle develops leaving the female helpless to choose between the two potential suitors as she completes her quest in emotional agony……....

Does that vague plot sound familiar? That is because it is present in numerous Young Adult, Fantasy and Romance novels (with some variations but the gist stays the same). It sounds glamorous at first with the beautiful woman who is either a badass, sensual or helpless being aided by the man who Is often described as eye-candy and being unable to express his emotions. This glamour soon fades when one start to identify these stereotypical characters in other novels and one soon realises that the fiction world runs amok with them.

These typical character types have been moulded into our reading and writing culture so deeply that we come to think of them as preferable. The females must be described with unattainable beauty. The men must have uncommon bravery. Previous authors who moulded these characters rendered them in such a glamor that normal characters seem dull. Who wouldn’t want a heroine whose “slim, dark limbs, dazzling smile and sensuous nature” can make any man melt? Or how about a here whose body is “coved in tight ropes of muscle”?

What I’m trying to get at is this: We are objectifying the male and female characters, either accidentally or purposefully rendering them as desirable sex objects for the opposite sex. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but with the media already saturated with stereotypical images of men and women, you have to ask yourself if you really want to contribute to a culture that values looks over intellect. Apart from contributing to this media culture of appearance, the stereotypical character creates distance between the narrative and the reader. It is hard to identify with a character that fits the mould of glamour and perfection when you are an average Joe.

In all the novels I read over varied genres one thing is painfully clear: few authors give their characters average looks and hardly anyone makes their female leads chubby with stretch marks. The writing scene has become stale. The gorgeous has become mundane due to our obsession with glamour and beauty.

 How refreshing wouldn’t it be if the next novel you read contained characters to which you could relate?  So take a sobering look at the world around you and at what you are writing. We don’t need more stereotypes to add to the mediocrity available in current novels.

Review: Uncommon Effort (Blog/Website)

 The Uncommon Effort is a site dedicated to business and the success thereof. Effective, practical advice and insights dominate the sight, never losing the singular focus of business and improving the success of those involved in business.

The topics are fresh, frank and engaging and one leaves this site feeling well educated and a bit wiser. Certainly the Uncommon Effort is a treasure trove for businessmen and entrepreneurs, but as my reader you may be wondering what a review of this site is doing on an author blog. Would it not be better suited to be reviewed by an entrepreneur? 

Let me put this question to you: What are authors, especially indie authors other than entrepreneurs? Even if you are not an independent author this site will prove to be of some value to you. Practical tips on how to increase productivity and time management can be found on this site. These tips are invaluable not only to authors, but to any individual seeking to increase their productivity whether at work or at home. 

I give this site a huge thumbs up. The sober, unpretentious approach of the Uncommon Effort is something we all can learn from. Sharing freely for the sole purpose of helping. 

You can the link to site under the "Interesting Links" tab to the right or you can connect with them on Facebook, LikedIn and Twitter.

Uncommon Effort - Facebook  

Uncommon Effort - LikedIn

Uncommon Effort - Twitter