Steve Harvey-- Jump

A little motivation for all you writers out there! Your parachute will open, but you have to jump first like Mr Harvey said.

Zimbell House Publising

Zimbell House publishing offers anthologies leaning more to the novella and novellette categories. Entry is free and selected submissions receive payment. They welcome international authors, but require submissions to be in English.
These guys are perfect to try out if you are itching to write a longer story (but don't feel like a full-blown novel).

Click HERE to view their current anthologies open for submission. The link is as always on the right hand pane as well.

Coffin Tree Hill

Coffin Tree Hill is a blogging site that offers a treasure chest of info regarding anthologies and ongoing submissions. This site is a MUST to bookmark if you want to get your writing game on. All the anthology submissions I spotted offered some form of payment (whether it be token payment, or part of the royalties) which is great motivation if you are starting out.

Click HERE to go to their site. The link is also on the panel to the right.

The Blessing of Dropbox

Any writer's worst nightmare is having your laptop/computer crash and taking all your hard work with it! You know your hard drive is on its way out when your run a disk check and the screen displays the infamous "bad sectors". Not a nice feeling.
Running a disc check buys you some time as it helps to stabilise a failing hard drive, but ultimately it will go. In a previous post I discussed various methods you can use to back up your work, but for those of us who wants to keep writing on the go, despite hard drive failures, Dropbox is a blessing. It allows you to edit your work directly and from anywhere. So, if push comes to shove, you can even continue working on that novel or gripping short by typing away furiously on your phone. Your work is safe!
This option is a bit data-intensive.  Dropbox requires a continuous Internet connection and this is a double-edged sword. It means your latest editing and writing is being backed up automatically, but it also means a constant data leak.

The link to download Dropbox is below and on the panel to the right under "Interesting Links".
Dropbox

Horrors of proofreading....

The prodigal blogger hath returned! YAY....don't get too excited now...

Working as a freelance proofreader (I mentioned in an earlier post that proofreading can help improve your grammar and language skills) I had the misfortune of proofreading a rather horrendous manuscript. No, I shall not divulge who this mutilator of words is, for I am bound by honour ( and a non-disclosure agreement).

I can, however, say that this particular aspiring author was full of it. The interesting aspect about proofreading is that one gains insight into the author's way of thinking (especially if said author wrote a self-help book and elevated himself above the status of "mere man"). Arrogant and very self-absorbed this author managed to disgust me to such an extent that I sent back the manuscript after proofreading it halfway. I simply could not subject my brain to further torture. Poor brain was huddled in a corner like a junkie pleading for me to "make it stop, make it go away..."

Much to my horror the author quoted himself frequently in the manuscript. Said author had no evidence or citations to prove his points. All his points carried the validity of "I believe," and "I recommend." Every single one of them. People, if you are going to write a psychology-based self-help book, then you best have references and citations to validate your argument. What you think and believe does not carry weight, unless it is validated by a credible source in this case.

I still shudder at the memory...absolute horror.

Worst Nightmare for a Writer

This happened to during #CampNaNoWriMo; I was happily working on my novel when the little hated window of "register software" made it's unwanted appearance. Turns out a virus corrupted Office and somehow removed the serial key. That was my worst nightmare.
Although the more common bad experiences with PC's are files bring deleted, either accidentally or by virus. So to prevent your worst nightmare from ruining your progress here's what you can do:

-back up your WIP. Email your work to yourself. Don't trust memory sticks, I learned the hard way that they too can fail! Or use Dropbbox or Google Drive to back up your work  It's safe and private and accessible from your smart phone even.

-Have back up software. If you got a backup of MS Office then great! But if you can't afford to fork out the cash  then rather use Open Office. It's got all the functionality of Word and it's FREE. No worries about licences that suddenly expire.

-if it was accidental deletion you can always try recovery programs with some success.

-print a hardcopy. This sounds nuts, being in the digital age and all. Trust me on this, a hardcopy will save you when all of the above failed. And it makes editing easier too.

Well hope this helps. And may you never have to learn the hard way how important it is to back up your work. PC's fail. We tend to forget that.

Proper Manuscript Format

Unless you are a famous author like J.K Rowling or Stephen King chances are you have to abide by proper manuscript formatting, unless you want your work thrown onto the reject pile. Even the famous authors need to stick to manuscript formatting.
Proper formatting allows the editor to quickly spot mistakes and using the proper format creates a professional impression.
It is always important to follow your publisher's guidelines for submissions.

Here's the link to William Shunn's guide to proper manuscript formatting click here.

I will place the link under the right hand tab as well, under Interesting Links.


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