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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Goodreads Readers - This is For You

Many people on Goodreads also have blogs.  Why aren't more of us following each other?  We may enjoy different genres but we're united in our love of reading and writing.  I would love to have more followers on my blog: http://jeanettethewriter.blogspot.com/ and I will gladly follow those who follow me, as well as those who have a blog I feel I could learn from and contribute to.  If you are on blogger it's very easy to do.  So many of us have good (and bad) experiences with writing, publishing, and promoting, so let's share them!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

My Posts Now on Amazon

When I post now, it will also appear on my Amazon Author Central site.  This is a new feature, so all of you who have books for sale on Amazon, make sure you have an author central site first, and then link your blog to it.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Writer's Digest Award

I learned today that my entry THE JOY OF WILDERNESS CAMPING (a fairy tale) took 81st place in the feature article category of the 79th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition.  Finishing in the top 100 is quite an honor as there are several thousand entrants each year.  Last year I entered in two categories, feature article and short story, and placed in the top 100 in both.  I'm currently working on my second novel and had terrible writer's block yesterday.  This news today spurs me on.  If you love writing, keep doing it.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Let's Write Right!

Most writers have pet peeves, and I have mine.  Long before texting made correct spelling and grammar a thing of the past, I had my own concerns about certain common mistakes.  During my working days I dictated many letters and reports, which various secretaries typed.  I carefully proofread them and seemed to always have a correction or two.  More than once I was asked if I had been an English teacher.  No, just someone who likes to see English used correctly.  For example, "your" shows possession, such as your house, your coat.  "You're" is a contraction of  "you are", such as, you're so nice.  How many times have I seen, "your so nice", or similar.  Too many.  I'm sure anyone reading this has not made that mistake, but just in case......    Anyway, I have more pet peeves, but I'll save them for later.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Serious Writers - This Will Amaze You

Simon and Schuster, a publishing company I've always respected, will be publishing a "novel" by Snooki of the Jersey Shore TV program.  I'm not a fan of the show, but I've read enough about Snooki to know she admitted to reading her first book only recently.  I think she's now read two.  Although it is an imprint of Simon and Schuster that is doing the publishing, I can no longer look at that publishing company in the same way.  Serious writers who have worked months or years on their novels, and would probably donate body parts to be published by Simon and Schuster, apparently need not apply.  Forget all those writing classes and critique groups.  Forget that we're told the publishers are having a hard time selling books.  Just do something stupid, repeatedly, on a TV show, then scribble something down, and call it a novel.  Publishers will be knocking on your door. Even though we try to aspire to something higher. I guess money is always the bottom line.

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