Words Live Long - Elaine Ingalls Hogg

We're pleased to have Elaine Ingalls Hogg as our Guest Blogger today on InScribe Writers Online.


I am trying something new this winter, something I wish had been available to me when I started writing a few years ago. I’ve had little formal experience in beginning this new adventure, but it feels right for me to try.

What am I going to do and how does it apply to my writing? Well, I’m not sure but on two occasions this week I’ve experienced promptings which have caused me to wonder. Are these signs, I’ve asked myself, signs to encourage me to try again, to carve out a few minutes in my day in order to find some time to write? You see, family commitments and illnesses this year have slowed my writings to a trickle.

My first prompting came to my attention through a posting on Facebook. My niece, who lives several thousand kilometres away from me, messaged me saying while she was visiting at her parents’ home over Christmas she read the story From My Window Seat, The Story of My Ancestors.  She went on to say, "And in doing so, I have learned more valuable and far greater things, because of you. I Love You, Auntie!”

 Sarah Maude Shepherd

This surprised me seeing distance has kept us apart for so many years. I wrote the story she was reading a few years ago. It’s not a published book or a grand magazine article, just a simple story of my great grandmother who sat in a big wooden armchair by her window and read her Bible. I wanted my younger brothers to 'meet' this godly woman even though she had died long before they were born. Now my niece was learning about Sarah Maude Shepherd’s life and faith too.

Another reminder to encourage me to get back to writing came today, early this morning in the middle of chaos in my kitchen. It came by the way of a phone call from Florida from a woman I had met at the church I attend in my home town of Sussex, New Brunswick. She told of picking up some old books at a second hand store and today she read a devotional I wrote five years ago for The Upper Room. She called to say the words had been an encouragement to her.

On New Year’s Eve my friend Lea shared her dream of becoming a writer. ”I’m not sure if I’m ready to write or who would want to read it, but it is something I’ve been thinking about.” Lea has a story to tell, a story of a broken home, of a pre-Christmas fire a few years ago that took three members of her family, a story of a number of other hardships that would have defeated most people, but Lea is one of the friendliest and most thoughtful people I know for she has allowed God to direct her path.

Perhaps you are like Lea, you’re a 'wanna be' writer; you have all these thoughts romping around in your head but family commitments, illness, young children or not knowing where to begin has kept you from actually getting words down on paper.

I understand these thoughts for this past year other commitments have left me with very little time to write, something I did faithfully for twelve years. But after hearing Lea’s story and the other promptings mentioned above, I’ve made a decision. I’m going to offer to be a mentor to anyone in my community who wants to write their stories for their family or their friends. Who knows, maybe they will be the ones to bless a faraway friend or family member in the near future.

Elaine Ingalls Hogg
Award-winning author and inspirational speaker


author@nb.sympatico.ca
http://elainehogg.com
Blog: http://elainehogg.wordpress.com
Read Janet Sketchley's interview with me on her blog here

To Market, To Market by Sharon Espeseth

I keep a record of my submissions and pieces published. Over time, I've had approximately 100 pieces of writing published in a variety of magazines. Across the top of my submission notebook, I write the headings:

          Date, Title, Market, Contact person, Method of 
               Submission, Returned, Accepted,
               Published, Copy Received, Expenses, 
               Payment.

Using a suggestion from a past Fellowscript, I colour-code what happens to each article, poem, or story I submit.
       
          Yellow means gold for payment.
          Pink means red for the red light of a submission being 
               rejected.
          Blue means sadness for a rejected query.
          Green means the green light on a query.
          Orange means your piece was returned for any reason 
               besides rejection--like no reply,
               publisher no longer exists, etc.
    
The Rule of Two is another tip I picked up from an InScribe Conference workshop some time ago. I can't remember the speaker, but I do recall him saying he always has two items submitted. If one comes back rejected, he still has one hopeful writing piece 'out there.' He knows he needs to get another one sent.

Looking over the past year of submissions, I realize I didn't follow this Rule of Two. I hereby resolve to adhere to the rule again. In the past, I have made it a rule of three, four, or even five, because, if I am serious about writing, those are reasonable goals to score.

Another thing I learned from my submission notebook is that I have developed a working relationship with a few editors, but I have not maximized my opportunities with them. Some business gurus operate on the 80/20 rule. Briefly stated this means a business person--let's say a writer-- will generate 80 percent of his income from about 20 percent of his clients; the remaining 20 percent of his income comes from a number of less profitable clients.

Here are some markets that have worked for me, sort of.

Although the Western Producer has published several of my stories, I believe I have under-served this market. Their editor believes in brevity and she has coached me on journalistic style, but I have let my pen drop by not sending more pieces her way.

Grainews are using more regular columnists, which limits, but doesn't eliminate opportunity with them. They did publish a 100-year farm story I wrote, for which they paid fair compensation. Good Times only pays for poetry with a literary journal, but they offer exposure. Esprit published one poem of mine, but why haven't I sent more?

For the Western Catholic Reporter, I have written a few news stories and a few meditative or inspirational pieces. Just before Christmas I queried the editor on two items. One of my stories has been published and a news item should be coming out soon.

The Edmonton Journal used to be an acceptable market for me. By writing for their Voices and Offerings columns, plus doing book reviews, I had checks of $50.00 to $75.00 coming in regularly. Even small checks add up. A few years ago, they stopped paying for freelancers like myself. I still write occasionally for the Journal as I believe writing with a Christian worldview should be included on the Religion page. I also send writing there to maintain my readership. The editor of this department welcomes my writing, but the Journal won't budge when it comes to payment.

I've had a few stories published in Celebrate Life, an American pro-life magazine. Because my husband and I have three adopted children, I like to write anything that shows adoption as a preferable option to abortion. Celebrate pays well and I enjoy working with their professional and congenial editor.

Although some of you will be much further ahead in your writing careers, I hope my sharing a few of my writing experiences will make you, who are beginners or reluctant, more determined and more confident to send your writing to market, to market.

Not Good Enough - Shirley S. Tye

When I had a regular writing freelance gig for a local magazine, sometimes the editor would assign a project and other times I’d pass an idea her way for approval. She always liked my ideas.

One day when I had an idea to interview an organic dairy farmer, the editor suggested I try pitching the article to a farmers’ magazine. She gave me the name of the editor who she knew well. Wow! That was the first time I’d had a writing referral. I’m moving up the ladder, I thought. My article was sure to be a shoe-in since I was recommended.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite the case. To my surprise the editor wanted a hard-nose-in-your-face reporter with a “rise from the depths of despair to glory” story. I’m not a hard-nose-in-your-face reporter. I’m a wimpy yes-please-thank-you writer trying to make it in the freelance writing world, hoping someone will buy my soft happy stories of people’s successes. Everyone liked my stories, except this guy. Not good enough.

I went back to the farmer and asked the pointed personal questions as politely as possible. Questions such as: Was your decision to turn to organic farming methods a last resort because you were about to lose the family farm? How far in debt were you? Did you sell any equipment or a few acres to put food on the table? How sick were the cows? How many cows did you have to destroy? Was your family suffering ill health? Were your children malnourished? Was Children’s Aid about snatch your children and send them to a family who could afford to properly cloth and feed them? It must have taken years of hard work and suffering to get on the organic trail, right?

Well, guess what? This farmer and his wife had foresight and they knew how to read their bank statement. Yes, they were experiencing financial difficulties but before things got out of hand they prayed about their situation and discussed it in detail and then made their move into organic dairy farming. It turned out to be one of their best decisions. The cows became healthier, they lived longer, provided more milk than ever before, veterinarian costs and other expenses went down while profits went up.

Yup, this simple little story of a few bumps in the road of farming turned into a happy ending. I thought it was great! But the editor and I weren’t on the same page. He sent me back to the farmer a few times to dig up dirt. But there wasn’t any dirt to dig up and I refused to fabricate some to please him. After all, it wasn’t a work of fiction. I finally said, 'No sale'! Well, at least not to him. I sold the article to the editor who had referred me. She was glad to publish the article and the photographs.

What a relief!

Choice 'Bones of Advice' on Publishing - Donna Fawcett

We're pleased to have Donna Fawcett, with Duke the Chihuahua, as our Guest Blogger today on InScribe Writers Online.





Duke and I have both enjoyed seeing some of our work published. We have both been published in print and electronically.  Either way there are a few choice bones of advice we offer.

Our first tidbit is this: Make sure your manuscript is as finished as you can make it. Set it aside a few times so you forget its contents and then take it out and read it aloud. You will be shocked at what you have missed.

The second tidbit: Find an editor before sending it off. I was surprised at the number of editorial mistakes that are made by editors. It isn't on account of them not knowing what they are doing. It is due to the overwhelming number of manuscripts they edit. At some point, the brain switches off and mistakes are not seen. By having a second editor, we eliminate that to a certain degree.

Also, make sure the editor you hire is accredited by the Canadian Editors Association or has worked in a legitimate publishing house and make certain they edit in your genre.  (Editor's note:  You might want to read something Duke learned on that very subject in a posting here.)

As to e-publishing, the jury is still out on that. Duke and I have sold far more print copies than e-books in spite of the hype about e-books sweeping the market. It appears that readers do want all the sensory input that comes with a print book -- smelling the ink, touching the paper etc.

Having said that, my latest book, a tutorial entitled Duke the Chihuahua Writes! has now been released on Smashwords. I'll be better able to answer the e-publishing question in a year or so to see how things worked out.

~ Donna Fawcett

Duke and Donna have recently published their fun, new book entitled Duke the Chihuahua Writes! A Tutorial for Beginning Writers.

It's available on smashwords.com and can be purchased for $.99 US.