Welcome!

What a long, draining week! I'm glad to make to the weekend. Working full-time sure does put a damper on other activities and commitments. I don't have enough time any more to write during the week. Even if I came up with a great idea or series of ideas for stories I wouldn't be able to develop until later. My job is a killer...standing up way too long and doing meangingless work. What can I do, I've got to make money.

I've been receiving updates lately about film festivals. These Hollywood types are determined about getting their message out about contests and film events. The problem for most writers is the entry fees. It's expensive just to register a script. This turns writers away and rightfully so. I know I don't have $50-$100 to hand out. The film festivals always list the big name agencies that will be in attendance, interested in new feature films and shorts.

News and info. about various film festivals can found at the following links:

www.moondancefilmfestival.com

www.donedealpro.com/members/listing.aspxontent_type=10

www.inktip.com/festivals.php

The writing bug for short stories and scripts has departed from me momentarily. My concentration, more or less, is on my sports blogs. The web pages have took up most of my limited free time. Since starting a new job I've been able to stick to a writing schedule. This sucks! I'd like to read a few books too. The weekends are the only time for such a leisure activity. There are screenplays I'd like to read as well. I'm in the middle of finishing Death to Smoochy.

I wish coming up with great ideas for stories was always easy. The conflict is carrying out everything (plot, characters, stakes, conflict, resolution) so that it well structured yet entertaining. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, does the beginning or middle sounds dry and boring? Does the whole story make you want sleepy? If that's the case you've got work to do so get cracking. To get help with formulated and carrying out stories it's smart to join writing workshops. Plenty are circulating online, usually traceable through other writing sites through resource links. Below are links to writing workshops.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mikeswritingworkshop/

www.internetwritingworkshop.org/

www.critique.org/critters/

Writing ad copy for online auctions

A few weeks ago I found out about this business opportunity to make money by writing ad copy for Ebay. This sounded like a writing gig I'd be interested in doing. Well, it turns out the Ebay seller only paid $3 per auction. Plus your had to do extensive research on each item then write a 3-5 paragraph description which included everything from the exact title to various background information such as year created, logos, models in existence, and series no.

Creating such web content for sales on auction sites do give writers exposure in another area and further experience. On the other hand, the endeavor should be worth your time and resources. The easy route in writing item descriptions is by looking at other listings for the same item. Then ad copy can be duplicated or altered enough to stand out from the rest of the pack. The idea is to convince potential customers to buy your product. It's all has to do with wording and how a great visual image is created in a reader's mind.

It can be fun to experiment in different areas of writing and step out of the write-what-you-know zone. This will only lead to growth as a writer and maybe a decent paying gig in the future. Garnering recognition and credits is key; the more the better so expand your horizon to get the most of out writing skills. Best wishes to all writers out there. Readers, thanks for visiting this page and feel free to return each week for a new post.

Markets for publishing books

Welcome!

I'm still searching for a publisher for my baseball novel. I've had no luck so far. Research and time are valuable assets of any writer. That's why it's so important to scour the Internet for the latest book deals, market listings, and finding out about publishers' background. Corruption is always out there in business, but you can avoid falling into a scheme by discovering a small press or publisher's creditability. I've mentioned it in early posts that Writer Beware is an excellent source for knowing what companies are legit and those who are scammers.

There are tons of databases with listings for publishers seeking manuscripts. Again, it's smart to do your homework to find out about their practices and relations with authors. The following links provide listings for E-Publishers, Traditional House Publishers, and Publishers specializing in Print-on-Demand.

http://www.fictionaddiction.net/publishers.html

http://www.writergazette.com/linkspublishers.shtml

http://www.writerswrite.com/books/bookpubs/

If you're considering publishing a book or even a short story collection check these sites out. There are numerous resources with great links to other educational writing sites!