elma's almanac: February 2016

Friday, February 26, 2016

opportunity: Canadian stories

UPDATE FOR

WRITERS! m

From Janet Matthews

Canadian Co-author of

Chicken Soup for the

Canadian Soul

We're accepting stories now for..

Chicken Soup for the Soul

The Spirit of Canada!

Submission deadline:

May 31st, 2016

www.canadiansoul.com

In case you missed my first message, I'm excited to let you, as writers, know about this great opportunity to get published. It would be so great if you could forward this to your members, include it in your newsletter or blog, and/or post it on your website.

Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Spirit of Canada is being compiled to help celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Confederation - Canada Day 2017. For both our most recent Canadian Chicken Soup titles we received submissions from writers across Canada that belong to groups like yours, and many of them were published.

Do you have a great story?

If so, it could get published, and yes you would get paid.

If you've not already submitted a story, here are a few tips: We need true, dramatic heartwarming or inspirational stories, that celebrate our unique Canadian Spirit. The best stories are written in the first person, and might be based on traditional

Chicken Soup themes like:

Overcoming Obstacles
Living Your Dreams
Triumphing in the face of adversity
Love and Sacrifice
Kindness, family, community
...and making a difference

It's vital to remember a Chicken Soup story is not an essay or an article telling about

what it was like in Canada when you were a child, or about how great Canada is, or why you love it. And sadly, we are unable to use an essay that tells about how your parents or grandparents managed to first came to Canada.

While those are both great topics, we do need a single, stand alone dramatic story - written in the 1st person, that unfolds like a movie - to engage and inspire our readers. It should have characters and perhaps even dialogue that draws your reader into the action, creates an emotional response near the end, and leaves them with a gift, and a message they can take into their own lives. Ideally, it will express one of those traditional themes listed above.

We seek stories that inspire and open the heart of the reader; make them laugh or cry, cause goose bumps or make them to gasp and say, "I`m so glad I read that story!"

Please visit www.candiansoul.com to read full writers guidelines and 3 Sample Stories

before you begin writing -and you'll be well on your way to writing a winning Chicken Soup story.

Here are a few suggestions of topics to get you thinking:

Tell a dramatic story about a local hero that inspired you, or how one of our greatest Canadian heroes inspired or impacted your life.
Have you experienced the kindness of neighbours or first responders who showed up in a challenging moment to make a difference?
Are you, or is one of your family members in the Canadian Military? Do you have a story you can share?
Are you an immigrant, or the child of immigrants, who came to Canada for a better life? Is there a touching dramatic story that might involve courage or sacrifice - with a really moving outcome?
Share your favourite holiday stories from our precious summer long weekends, including Victoria Day and Canada Day, the Civic Holiday and Labour Day.
Stories that take place at Thanksgiving and other holidays, and how we do them in Canada.
Tell a great story that happened at the cottage - any time of the year!
Do you have a great story about camping or canoe tripping, or hiking in the Rockies, water skiing of snow skiing or skating? And we LOVE hockey stories!
Tell a story that comes to life in the region you live - from the west coast to the Maritimes, the prairies, the Rockies, the far north, and everything in between.
Did you travel the world - or across Canada - with a Canadian Flag on your back pack? Share your inspiring story or adventure with us!
And any other great topics you can think of where a touching story took place.

We're scheduled for release in May of 2017, right before Canada Day, but we need a steady flow of stories to create the book, so the deadline is May 31st 2016.

Please remember - an essay about Canada, or a heartfelt nostalgic remembering of your childhood summers at the cottage is not a Chicken Soup story, no matter how well written. We need that single dramatic story that touches the heart to engage and inspire our readers. Try and keep it to 1200 words or less.

For full writers guidelines, sample stories and how to submit your story, visit www.janetmatthews.ca or www.canadiansoul.com.

I wish you great success, and I look forward to reading your stories!

Love to you,

Janet Matthews

Co-author of

Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul &

Chicken Soup for the Soul O Canada

The Wonders of Winter & Chicken Soup for the Soul, Christmas in Canada

janet@janetmatthews.ca

PS: One more thing. Could you please pass this message along to your friends and family and other writers who may have a story? EVERY bit of help is really appreciated!

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

John Grisham book about brain tumor

Article about book by famous author John Grisham about a brain tumor: http://tinyurl.com/hzxxpn2 . Link to free download of this 49-page book, The Tumor: http://tinyurl.com/zwfj6rx .

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs . Book trailer at https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

screenwriting contest

Screenwriting contest emphasizing the art of the rewrite: http://www.thewrap.com/new-screenwriting-contest-emphasizes-the-art-of-the-rewrite/ .

John Grisham book about brain tumor

Article about book by famous author John Grisham about a brain tumor: http://tinyurl.com/hzxxpn2 . Link to free download of this 49-page book, The Tumor: http://tinyurl.com/zwfj6rx .

Monday, February 15, 2016

sell books directly

A newish online venture that apparently allows authors to sell books by mail directly to those wishing to purchase them: https://directfromtheauthor.com/ .

commercial or literary?

What’s the difference between commercial & literary writing? Some thoughts here: http://writersrelief.com/blog/2016/02/prose-poetry-literary-enough/ .

Monday, February 8, 2016

Jane Austen's writing workshopped

Imaginary “constructive” comments on Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. What do you think?

http://tinyurl.com/zgclm7l

Monday, February 1, 2016

Don't Talk to Me About Love Debut Contest

A new online literary magazine, Don't Talk to Me About Love.com , accepts submissions of poetry, short stories, and personal essays all about love. The link to the contest is http://www.donttalktomeaboutlove.com/contest/ . Entry fee is $20 for the contest. It’s $3 for regular submissions to the magazine.

Here are more details:

EXPLORE LOVE IN OUR FIRST LITERARY CONTEST:

Fiction (maximum 2,000 words)*

Non-fiction (maximum 2,000 words)*

Poetry (1-3 poems per single submission) (total maximum 75 lines)*

FIRST PRIZE: $1000.00 CDN (per category) plus a full manuscript review** by the literary agency The Rights Factory

THREE HONOURABLE MENTIONS PER CATEGORY: Guaranteed publication in donttalktomeaboutlove.com

What does LOVE mean to you? We want your fiction, non-fiction and poetry, exploring love in any of its myriad expressions: romantic, platonic, parental, and much, much more. We know there is a whole world of love out there, and we want to read about it.

All submitted works must be original and unpublished works. All works that have published in print or on the Internet, including self-published works, as well as works that have been broadcast or delivered in front of a public audience, are considered previously published and are therefore not eligible for submission.

Texts must be written in English. All works must fall within one of the following categories and be within the specified word/line count.*

Participants may submit as many texts as they wish in one or all categories. A writer can win only one prize per category. Each text may be submitted to only one category. For each entry, participants must complete a separate submission form and pay the entry fee. Please see complete Submission Guidelines on the Submittable submissions form.

* Word count includes titles, except poetry. Submissions over the specified word count will be disqualified. Word counts are determined using Microsoft Word’s word counter.

** Manuscript review for up to 75,000 words for Fiction and Non-fiction; 10,000 words for Poetry. Review will be in the form of a one-hour personal/skype/telephone meeting.

Winners will be announced in June 2016

Thank you for your time and consideration

the author as speaker: preserve & share your memories

PRESERVING & SHARING YOUR MEMORIES—my talk Feb 9 at 1:30-3:30 at Chartwell Ridgepointe, 1789 Primrose Ct., Kamloops. It’s part of a Kamloops Adult Learners Society [KALS] series: http://tinyurl.com/jxkz4ox . I’d love to see you there if you’re in the vicinity, but I wonder what new mistakes I can make.

I’m learning from mistakes as I speak on topics relating to my 1940s-era Saskatchewan Mennonite novel CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS. I spoke at a local library to a packed room, but blew the opportunity to sell books by not putting copies out for people to look at though I had read aloud from the book during my workshop [topic Story-writing Strategies]. Duh! How could I be so stupid? After the workshop I did put out copies and told participants: “Now we have tea and cookies, and my book.” Again stupid. I didn’t tell them they could buy it or how much it cost. Several people came to talk to me after the workshop. However, I didn’t give them a chance because I got locked into a conversation with a man who came to tell me about the book he was writing. I found him intimidating so I didn’t break off the conversation as I should have after a few minutes. The upshot: lots of people came to the workshop and nobody bought the book. My fault, at least partly.

Another example of bungling: I spoke at a church social event. This time I put out copies of the book and sold some during the break. However, I didn’t use the half hour allotted to my talk simply because I wasn’t aware of what time it was. I didn’t look at my watch because that can be distracting for listeners. I had practiced the talk at home and it took half an hour, but I guess I did it more quickly at the event. So I missed the chance to say things I would’ve wanted to say if I’d thought I had time. After my talk, the presider needed to put in time in various [albeit useful and inspiring] ways because I had been too brief in my comments. What I should have done at that point is ask him if I could speak for another 10 minutes or so. I didn’t think of this till later. Obviously I have things to learn. But learning is part of life, right?

good Info about memoirs, agents, etc. from Molli Nickell

gent looking for memoirs, Shark Tank looking for queries

from Molli Nickell,
the Publishing Wizard . . .

From

Dear Writer,

Agent Shark Tank: Open for Business~

You get first crack for possible inclusion in a future video episode of the Agent Shark Tank. This means a free, professional evaluation
of your query letter and subject line.

Submissions chosen for inclusion in the Tank will be reviewed in terms of how to revise and restructure to increase the odds that it will be read.

So why request query and subject line? Because, you have to write a captivating subject line to motivate the agent to click and open your query submission. If your subject line doesn't grab the agent, your query flies off to delete-ville and you receive no response not even a standard "not right for our list" rejection email.

BTW: For ease of identification, I use the work "agent"
to describe the person(s) who will be reading your submission. Depending on the number of daily submissions and the size of the agency, your subject line more likely will be read by an acquisitions editor or intern. Once you pass the basic "interest/intrigue" benchmark, your email is forwarded up the food chain. Eventually it will be read by the agent's assistant, and finally, by the agent.

BTW.2 If your query and subject line are selected to be included in the Agent Shark Tank, it's because the portions you need to revise make a great teaching point for other members of Molli's Gang. I never belittle or embarrass writers. Never Ever. I honor your courage to submit your work and grow, as a writer, from the evaluation experience. I invite/challenge you to jump into the water. Submission information is available at Agent Query Shank Tank.

INTERNET TECHNICIAN ASSISTANCE WANTED~

Get Published Now is in the beginning stages of a major overhaul (again). Please think happy thoughts that I (or the trolls) won't intervene and lose most of it (again). I'm open to swapping services with an IT expert, especially one with extensive YouTube experience.

ABOUT MEMOIRS~

This genre straddles the fence between fiction (it is story telling) and non-fiction, since it represents a slice of a real person's. Submission requirements vary wildly from a single query to the entire non-fiction book proposal. I recommend Michael Larsen's book for the most thorough explanation of what must be included in a non-fiction book proposal.

BTW: More detailed comments about memoirs are on my blog. CLICK HERE.

BTW.2 If you would like more frequent updates about all aspects of the learning curve between completed manuscript and agent contract, sign up for the RSS feed and receive brief updates once or twice a week.

AGENT ALERT~

CLICK HERE to meet agent Stacey Graham from Red Sofa Literary who is open to submission of memoirs (especially if they're humorous).

That's it for for now. I'll notify you when the next episode of Agent Shart Tank is posted on YouTube.

Thank you for including me in your writing journey.

May the Words Continue to be With You!