Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art and Writing

Writing: Writing about shoes, and an assignment.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

The writing exercise at today's Lake Region Writers' Group meeting was, strangely, about shoes.

Borrowing a writing prompt from The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspirations for Writing by Monica Wood, our 10-minute challenge was seemingly simple. Write a scene in which a pair of shoes figures prominently.

We had one member write a detailed descriptive scene on giving a spit shine, and two wrote about shoes as evidence in a crime scene. I'll include my efforts below to give you an idea of how you don't have to write like Faulkner just to take part in an exercise. As always, I encourage you to use the comments section to include your efforts and ideas.

Short
by Julie R. Neidlinger

"You didn't walk a mile," she said. "You have no idea."

The short man -- he was barely four feet tall -- shook his head. "I couldn't walk a mile. They don't fit. Besides, I'm British."

"Are you against wearing leather?" she asked.

"No."

"-- because these are leatherette."

"It has nothing to do with what they're made out of," he said, standing up as tall as he could, his stocking-clad feet in the first stages of a chillblaines attack. "You're taller than me. They didn't fit."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then you can't tell me anything; no advice, no judgement."

"Just because I'm short doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to my good advice."

"I'm not against being short," she said.

The man shifted his cold feet. The woman went on.

"Until you've walked a mile in my shoes, you don't get to say anything."

The short man shook his head sadly. He'd never dreamed his height would be such a disability when he had decided to become a priest.

Assignment: The writing group actually wanted me to give them homework, and because power trips are my favorite travel destinations, I obliged. Taking a prompt from the same book by Wood, the assignment for the next meeting is to write about an escalating dispute between two normally polite, upstanding neighbors. The word count should come in somewhere around 500 words. If you get it done, feel free to post your efforts in the comments section.

Labels: writer's group, writing, writing prompts

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Tooting your own horn when it's out of tune.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Taking out a huge ad in the New York Times Book Review for an idea for a children's book seems desperate. I'm in no danger of doing that myself, however, because I certainly can't afford such a method of garnering attention or a publisher.

A friend emailed me this morning and told me about just such an instance. Keith H. Lewis, a wealthy man, has written a children's book about a character named Henry Sparks and has taken out a large ad directing people to his website (a horrible Flash monstrosity, but I'm prejudiced against Flash), and laid it all out on the line.

My friend didn't think the synopsis was very good and frankly, I don't either. However, I'm one of those people who rarely think a summary, or pitch, of an idea sounds good and then when I see the final product I often have a change of heart. With Sparks' synopsis, though, I had the strange feeling I was reading bits out of my favorite books as a child.

Go read the synopsis. I think you might recognize a few of these 1960's era books: Tom Swift, Happy Hollisters, Brains Benton, etc. The idea of making things out of junk reminds me of a series from the late 1970's and 1980's that I can't remember the name of anymore, but was about a group of boys who built stuff, including a cool fort, out of junk in an uncle's junkyard. They solved crimes and such. Perhaps the familiarity of his synopsis was why it didn't strike a chord in me; it's a very 1960's vein of children's writing which has been done.

But back to taking out an ad in order to obtain an agent or a publisher; will it work? Is it just the audacious, daring thing that will land this guy a publishing deal or will it irritate publishers to no end?

Frankly, I don't know. How would I know?

I did read in a book by Noah Lukeman, a book about getting published, warnings to not surround a "pilot" manuscript with too much legal wrapping because editors had enough manuscripts to slog through and weren't interested in stealing every idea that came their way. In fact, he said, they looked for an excuse to reject a manuscript and being too paranoid or too pushy could be just the thing.

The other concerns I have is that letting it be known you have money and are willing to spend it might attract a not-so-honest publisher. There's plenty out there; I've written about a few on this blog. If you have money and are willing to spend it, I'm sure someone will publish your work. Also, Mr. Lewis may never know that his writing was the real thing; it may always be that he bought and paid for the publishing, waving money to attract someone to buy the book. His book may be published but he won't know that it was purely on merit and not a vanity publication, bought and paid for even though through a traditional publishing house. Of course, if all you want is to be published, maybe these finer points don't mean anything.

Again, I don't know. I'll just have to watch the shelves of the bookstores and see if Henry Sparks arrives on the shelves in the future. Who knows. Maybe Lewis' ploy will work. This blog post suggests editors aren't as vicious as Lukeman's book hints at.

Labels: marketing

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Writers' Weekly: Why you shouldn't work for free.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

If you're a writer and aren't signed up for the Writers' Weekly ezine, you simply need to remedy that. There are a million reasons why I appreciate what they do for writers, but one thing that stands out in particular is the fact that they don't run ads or endorse freelance or writing jobs that don't pay. And to back it up, they listen to the complaints of writers who have been taken advantage of and do research to find out just what's going on. Any magazine, publisher, web site, editor, etc. found to not be fully above-board or to be misrepresenting themselves in ads is taken to task, documented fully on the Writers' Weekly forum in the "Whispers and Warnings" section, no holds barred.

Why the refusal to run ads that don't promote paying jobs? Good question.

I know that there are people who fall into the "I'll do my writing or art for free because exposure is important."

I used to be one of those people. I was desperate for a chance to get my name out there; I needed to see my writing or art in some published or used format just so I knew it was "valid." But you know what's come of all those instances of free exposure? Nothing. I've never seen a single thing from them, whether it be allowing my art or writing to be used for charities or ezines or newspapers - nothing.

I got to thinking about what "exposure" was exactly, and whether it was something I needed. I've come to the conclusion that exposure is a blanket term for making people aware I exist but doing it in a non-targeted way. No target, no results. My successes have been targeted, not broad, and in no way fell under the "I just need some exposure" umbrella. Besides, what kind of audience is tuning into freebies? Are they really going to be future paying customers?

Maybe I don't have children to feed, but I do have bills to pay.

I like Angelo Hoy's response in one particular instance to a publication that wanted writers to submit articles for free: To be honest, if you can't afford to pay people to work, you shouldn't be in the publishing business.

I agree. If a bunch of writers get together and make their own publication and do their own writing and are willing to do it unpaid because its their own baby - that's one thing. But in this day and age, no writer or artist should have to get carried away handing out stuff for free for exposure.

Why?

Get a blog. Plenty of exposure, all of your work in one easy spot, edited and set up as you want it. Everything about your work, everything important, is under your control. No one else. My best practice, my best exposure, has been right here on my own blog and web site. Really. Of course, do a good job with your blog.
If you give stuff away for free for too long, your work is cheapened. It isn't worth much because people can get it for free. I've learned this very hard lesson with my art. If you're willing to give it away, people keep on being willing to not pay for it.
Too often the only exposure free-will writing or art gives you is exposure to more places that want your stuff for free. You'd be surprised how few times paying gigs come out of free work.
The kind of company you'll be keeping in free publications and other free gigs simply isn't going to be top-notch. "Exposure" gigs are where writers and artists try their wings. It isn't where a professional garners paying jobs of noteworthy quality. Don't let your good work be overshadowed by the shabby neighbor next door.
What other profession or job is expected to be honored to work for free? So why should you? If someone wants what you create, they can pay for it. Your time and effort is as valuable as theirs.

Just some thoughts on working for free. Don't shoot yourself in the foot just because you're desperate. I've been there, and I sure miss my feet.

Labels: writing

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Watch out for Airleaf Publishing

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 21 comments link this post

Keep Yog's Law in mind, always.

You know you've arrived as a writer when you start getting publishing enticements in the mail and in email.

Airleaf Publishing swears up an down that my self-published book, Of Rats and Men, is going to be a breakout hit if I only spend nearly $7500 with them to help promote it (a second letter offered a similar program for half that; what a deal). In fact, I received the letter in the mail just about two weeks after I finalized and uploaded my book onto Lulu.com. I'm very satisfied with Lulu.com because I'm not really out there to push the book; I'm only interested in a few copies for friends right now. Still, I'd sure hate to think they had anything to do with Airleaf getting a list of recently "published" authors. I know they hadn't read the book. I checked my Lulu.com account and could see I hadn't sold one to them before the letter arrived.

I read the letter with curiousity, but skepticism.

The first paragraph described in glowing detail how Airleaf had, for three years, "blazed a groundbreaking trail" in the independently published book arena. It further described their goal: to market a national bestseller sold in every bookstore.

Then came the paragraphs that seemed hilarious to say the least.

Only 50 titles will be selected! Act fast or miss out! We want to include Of Rats and Men in an intensive six-month program which includes:

Two, fifteen-minute interviews on a nationally syndicated AM/FM radio show.

One television appearance.

Ten face-to-face meetings with television and feature film producers and directors about my book.

An in-person introduction of your book to the decision-makers at five regional bookstore chains including Hastings.

A specific, full-time telemarketer assigned to you for daily calls directly to stores to sell books and to set up book signings.

Representation in a half-page print ad in a national magazine.

A featured position on the home page of our books-to-films website www.marquisbooks.com

A featured position on the home page of our bookselling website www.thebigbooks.com

Only 500 authors have been invited for this offer!

Right. $7500 marketing plan for basically a picture book based on a Blogathon event. I'm pretty sure there was nothing special about their invitation seeing as how most of this over-priced service isn't even appropriate to my book. I don't think they've been so careful at selecting authors; their only criteria seems to be authors that are still breathing.

Would you go see a movie based on photographs of dolls and furniture? I wouldn't.

I was suspicious; I checked out their web site and didn't recognize a single book. I then tried to find out more about them, heading right over to Writers' Weekly first and then further searching on the web, but couldn't find any information about them on the web. Until now.

I got my second letter last week; I've been getting tons of spam from them which I don't think is legal because I never signed up for their service - EVER - but they just added me to their list. They either have someone watching Lulu.com and other self-publishing services full-time or Lulu.com and other companies have sold their customer lists. I'll be making an inquiry into that.

I can't imagine any bookseller appreciating their snail mail and email spam technique because I sure don't.

Either way, just as a reminder, I am not an Airleaf customer. I can't speak for those who have had success with them. I can only speak for my own experience: getting a letter that seemed to want a lot of money for a book they'd NEVER read.

UPDATE: Here's more on Airleaf, and not all of it will warm your heart. In this thread, Airleaf employees and customers do respond, so you can judge for yourself. I do want to point out one little snarky thing: the emails by satisfied Airleaf customers (replies #9 and #10) are, uh, badly written for having been written by writers. I know it should be a small thing but if the happy customers of a publisher are writers who can't put together coherent emails with half-decent grammar, capitalization and thought, there's a problem.

More links on Airleaf (formerly known as Bookman):

Brady Magazine Forum
Absolute Write Forum
Making Light Scam Discussion (you should read this)
Making Light Follow-up Discussion (you should read this)
The Return of Airleaf

UPDATE 1-12-06: Writers Weekly has another forum discussion on Airleaf that you won't want to miss.

If you have a link to a blog post or forum on this topic, please email me.

UPDATE: You might want to check this link out if you're looking for a self-publisher and not sure which one to pick.

UPDATE 2/1/07: I just received this email and thought I'd post it for you to read and come to your own conclusion.

Dear Julie,

As you may have heard, Mr. Brien Jones resigned from Airleaf Publishing and Bookselling on January 19th, 2007, to pursue other goals. We know that there has been conflict, even animosity, between some of your readers and Airleaf, but we wanted to let you know about this important change, and to inform you that we have chosen to treat it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, so to speak: we are taking this chance to rededicate ourselves to open and honest dealings with our clients and, yes, our detractors. I plan to keep these goals in mind as we re-staff Brien’s position and several others within our growing organization.

Please accept our apology for any misunderstanding or lack of respectful communication in the past, and consider this missive an open invitation to you or your readers to contact us with questions about the services we offer and how they are carried out, whether they have never had any dealings with us or are already clients. If you or your readers have any questions or concerns, or if you just want to discuss what changes are on the horizon, please give me a call at 1-800-342-6068 or send me an e-mail at carl@airleaf.com. We understand that it will take some time to rebuild trust with our clientele, but we wanted to take this important first step in reopening the channels of communication.

Sincerely,

Carl A. Lau
President, Airleaf Publishing

UPDATE 9/24/07: There is a new web site where people who have had a bad experience with AirLeaf can get involved. In a direct email, site owner Bonnie Kaye informed me of its existence: http://www.airleafvictims.com

UPDATE 12/29/08: Unbelievably, Brien Jones is still at it. Read more here. Whatever.

Labels: links, publishing, writing

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Writing: Writing about murder.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Though only four members of the writing group braved the near-zero temperatures and icy wind and made their way to the Liquid Bean for our regular meeting, we had a great time.

John brought yet another great book which of course, I quickly grabbed up. He's turning into my regular lending library. You might want to check out the book: The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman.

After the usual discussion on what we've been working on, we got to the writing exercise. I got today's topic out of The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start your Imagination by Jason Rekulak.

The challenge? To write for ten minutes using the following for inspiration: Write from the point-of-view of someone who committed a murder today. Do not mention the murder.

I'll share mine below; it's not great, and that's the point. This was an exercise. I encourage others to share what their own version of this writing exercise in the comments below. Even if you couldn't make it to our writers' group, you can still get in on the fun.

Tart
by Julie R. Neidlinger

The apple tarts had a metallic taste; the weren't up to their usual snuff.

"What's wrong with these tarts?" he asked the waitress behind the diner counter. He didn't bother listening to her reply.

Pennies. The apple tarts tasted like pennies in his mouth.

She was a tart, he thought, his fork scraping against the plate. Tart.

The woman in the red booth across the diner caught his attention. He watched as she poured ketchup over a mound of French fries; thick, red, congealed.

He was angry. His shadow seemed even darker in the bright sun light.

He reached for the slice of bread on the plate next to him, left from his meal of hamburger steak, rare. His knife scraped and cut across the soft surface of the bread, the stiff butter snagging and tearing it. With a sharp jab, he plunged his table knife deep into the heart of the block of butter, scooting the plate across the counter surface with a loud, grating snap.

"Can I get you anything else?" the waitress asked warily.

Tart.

Labels: writer's group, writing, writing prompts

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The art is in the building.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Yes, you'll be happy to know, especially those of you who have been hounding me (you know who you are!!!), that my art galleries are now full. Instead of a blank page, there's art to be seen! Check it out!

Labels: art, promotions

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Writing: An article, an assignment and some recommendations.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

The most recent meeting of the Lake Region Writers' Group was small (three regular members and a visitor) but productive.

First, we told ourselves how awesome we were for finishing up NaNo (four out of five of us did it, and that's none to shabby). One member even printed out the certificate that NaNo made available to those who had complete their 50,000 word novels and had it laminated. I'm going to have mine embedded in a brass placque and hung outside my door.

No, I'm not. But I am still reveling in pride over my personal triumph.

Newspaper article: In talking about the past month of frantic writing, we decided that I would write a short article for the local newspaper telling them about NaNo. You can read the article here (MS Word format, click on NaNo Article.doc).

Homework assignment: We also decided that I would email out a "homework" assignment to all the members of our group, not only the people that show up for meetings but also the many members of our Yahoo! group who are unable to come to our meetings. I decided I would also email the same "homework" assignment to my own Lone Prairie Group and see what kind of response I could get. If you decide to take part and are unable to make it to a meeting of the Lake Region Writers' Group, I encourage you to leave your written efforts in the comments section of this blog post.

Think of it as attending the writers' group by proxy. Anyway, here's the assignment. If you're reading this, whether you're a member of any of these groups or not, you are more than welcome to give them a try!

1. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: Basically, bad writing is rewarded. Check out their website for more information on the details. It's fairly self-explanatory and our group will be working on this for the next few months. The official contest deadline is mid-April, but we are asking members of our group (and non-members, too!) to either bring a few samples to the next meeting or post them here, in the comments section. Write both a worst opening line and a best opening line.

2. Write the best opening "hook" paragraph of a story or novel. There is a 250 word limit on this paragraph. Basic goal? Hook your reader big time in the first paragraph.

Book recommendations: Various members of the writing group bring books and other materials to meetings if they think others might find them useful. You can download a list of these books at the writers' group site or at my own Lone Prairie group site. (MS Word format, click on LRWG Book Recommendations.doc)

Labels: writer's group, writing, writing prompts

Writing: Writing about shoes, and an assignment.

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Tooting your own horn when it's out of tune.

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Writers' Weekly: Why you shouldn't work for free.

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Watch out for Airleaf Publishing

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Writing: Writing about murder.

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The art is in the building.

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Writing: An article, an assignment and some recommendations.

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