Hello,

Welcome to this month's E-zee Writer.

First things first: for those of you who have been trying to email your entries to the Writer of the Year competition we would like to apologise for a technical problem that meant your entries DID NOT COME THROUGH TO US. We would therefore ask you to please RE-SEND your entry to woya@writersbureau.com as soon as possible to be sure that it is considered.

Remember, you can find full details at: www.writersbureau.com/resources/woy or you can download a copy of the entry form here.

And now for second things second: Myself and all the staff at The Writers Bureau would like to wish you a relaxing and restful festive and we look forward to working with you in the New Year to help make all of your writing ambitions become a reality.

See you next month,

Teresa.

PS Remember, the deadline for the Writer of the Year competition is 31st December and you can enter by post or online. Read last year's winning entries at: www.writersbureau.com/woy

FREELANCE MARKET NEWS
an essential guide for freelance writers

For up-to-date market information, Freelance Market News is invaluable.

Issued 11 times a year it's packed with information on markets in Britain and around the globe, plus you get all the latest news and views on the publishing world.

Every subscription comes with FREE membership of The Association of Freelance Writers. Your membership also entitles you to discounts on books and competitions, a free appraisal worth £18 and a Membership Card which confirms your status as a Freelance Writer. For full details and to subscribe visit the website at: www.freelancemarketnews.com

IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF FMN:
HOW TO WRITE FOR TRAVEL MAGAZINES
PLUS
HOW TO FIND AN AGENT

Even Happier Anniversary!

We all know anniversary articles are popular with editors looking for topical material. They’re very good for writers, too – if you time them right, they’ll be used promptly, rather than kept on file for use in the distant future. With more and more editors paying on publication, rather than acceptance, that’s worth remembering!

The down side is that lots of other writers will have the same idea, so you have two options. First, you could choose to avoid the obvious anniversaries that everyone will have spotted. The alternative, however, is to produce something a little out of the ordinary, linked to a significant anniversary that all editors will want to mark. But what is significant?

The obvious ones are centenaries or jubilees, whether golden (50) or silver (25). You might just get away with diamond (60) but multiples of 50 or 100 are generally more convincing, once you get above 50. Smaller numbers can also be significant, especially the first anniversary and the tenth, but you’ll often see fifth, fifteenth, twentieth, thirtieth and fortieth commemorated. Just don’t try and interest an editor in an article marking the 34th or 127th anniversary of something.

So how do we produce something that’s original and different and will make an editor’s weary eyes sparkle? The trick is to avoid the general profile and write about something you want to write about! Sounds too good to be true? Read on!

3D Thinking

You’ll know about the value of lateral thinking in this writing business of ours, but what about three-dimensional thinking? Length, breadth, depth.

Length

To a writer, “How long?” usually means, “How many words?” but train yourself to think also about lead times: “How long in advance should I send this off?” With any time-related material, most editors need to see copy even earlier than usual. If you remember that the standard lead time for a monthly is three months, and for a weekly six weeks, you should probably double or even triple that for anniversary material (and seasonal articles, too). Even daily papers that use features will want anniversary copy well in advance. If you leave it too late, then at the very best you’ll need to find another peg to hang the article on. At worst, you might need to wait for the subject’s next significant anniversary – a bit of a problem if it’s a centenary!

Remember, though, that anniversaries don’t need to be linked to someone’s birth or death, or the founding of an organization, or the end of a war. If you do miss the deadline, look for a year that still has some relevance – perhaps the publication of a book by that person, or a company’s new product, or an outcome of that war.

Breadth

Here’s where lateral thinking comes in, broadening the scope in your search for ideas. To use an example, August 2007 marks the tenth anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. No doubt there will be articles going over the circumstances surrounding that crash, but you could use the date to write about almost anything as long as you link it in some way to that anniversary, by mentioning it in the opening paragraph.

Look at one of her charities, or write a piece on bereavement, or a travel article about somewhere she visited. Write an article on what makes a style icon, how to improve your public speaking skills (as Di did), or look at eating disorders like her bulimia, or investigate how other celebrities cope with paparazzi. Almost any style of article can be linked to an anniversary: how-to, personal experience, humour, nostalgia, travel, interviews… and don’t forget readers’ letters, not to mention puzzles, quizzes, even fiction.

Depth

Dig deeper. As with any article, avoid trotting out all the same information as everyone else. Some basic facts are essential, but look for more. Anything original or different will add depth and authority to your article. Use a new quotation from someone who once met Diana, or even saw her at a distance, or your own memory of something she said or did.
Whatever information you do use, remember to check it carefully. If you find something in one source, check it in at least one other. This applies especially to material found on the internet – whatever the subject, you’ll find so-called “facts” circulating that began as supposition but then spread like a virus to other sites.

Want a Date?

“That’s all very well,” you may say, “but how do I find out which anniversaries are celebrated next year?” Once upon a time, the answer was easy: look in the journalists’ calendar in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. Unfortunately, this useful list was dropped a few years back, although the yearbook (itself currently celebrating its 100th anniversary) is still an essential tool for British writers or those writing for the UK market, as is the Writer’s Handbook.

Today, you can still obtain similar material. Try that trusty old warhorse, Whitaker’s Almanack. At the beginning of the book are some very useful tables of the year’s forthcoming events and centenaries. A “dictionary” of dates is a useful source – many of the best (Pan, Chambers, Oxford) are out of print, but available second hand from www.amazon.co.uk… and, of course, the information doesn’t date(!) so for once it doesn’t matter if the book is a few years old. Many encyclopaedias have timelines, too.

The Internet is full of useful sites. Try:

http://britannia.com/history/timelines.html

www.scopesys.com/year

Some “On this day” sites are searchable by year, as well as month and day. If not, scan the list for events that happened in 1957, 1907, 1507 and so on:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday

www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/onthisday/onthisday.htm

www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/this_day_in_history

www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/index.htm

www.todayinhistory.com

www.on-this-day.com

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/onthisday.aspx

www.virago.co.uk/virago/thisday/index.asp?TAG=&CID=virago

Specialist sites include:

www.thisdayinmusic.com

www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worship/wponthisday.htm

www.cinema.com

By looking for unusual anniversaries and/or using three-dimensional thinking, you can produce anniversary articles that you want to write and editors will love to buy. Let this coming year be the one you look back on as the beginning of a successful writing career. Good luck!

AUTHOR'S BIO

Heather Cooke has had hundreds of articles, stories, puzzles and quizzes published in markets ranging from Chat to the Church Times, as well as three novels. She is a Writers Bureau tutor, teaching both fiction and non-fiction.

YOUR FEEDBACK

Contact us with any thoughts, questions or queries at: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Feedback' in the subject line.

THE WRITING CLINIC

If you have a question you want answering then send it to: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'The Writing Clinic' in the subject line.

"I was an account executive-cum-copy writer for more than 25 years in a region of India where English is not very popular. I am now 52 years and would like to switch over to full-time writing for the Internet market and travel related tourism articles as I see tremendous potential in this market segment.

I would like to know how can I sharpen my skills and find the avenues to get tourism articles published on the Internet. I am shortly enrolling myself with The Writers Bureau."
Vijay.

THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER

Dear Vijay,

The best way to sharpen your skills is to do exactly what you’ve planned – to enrol on The Writers Bureau Comprehensive course.  This will give you the opportunity to try out lots of different types of writing and there is a full module devoted toTravel Writing.

In addition, The Writers Bureau offers an online course, Writing for Profit Using the Internet, which is specifically designed for people who already have writing skills but want to concentrate on writing for the Internet – it provides information on how to look for potential markets and how best to approach them.  Have a look at the website to decide whether you feel it would be helpful.

* * * * * * *

"How long is too long to wait for an acknowledgement? My submission to Reader's Digest (Australia) was sent in March 2006 following my tutor's approval. Should I make some attempt at following it up or is it time to look somewhere else for publication?"
PML.

THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER

Dear PML,

If you submitted to Reader’s Digest in March, then it’s definitely time to look elsewhere.  This is a particularly competitive market as they get inundated with material; so it’s not really worthwhile writing to them again to query it.

Just look round for a new market for your work – but before sending it off make sure that you have done any necessary amendments to make it fit exactly the style and requirements of your chosen publication.  By doing this you’ll give it the best chance of success second time round!

* * * * * * *

"I know in the course you say to avoid using a pseudonym, but I really don't want people who know me to know what I write. I'm more than happy to use the same pseudonym for all my writing activities (articles, novels, personal appearances etc.) ie to just be known by that name in my writing career, and take a chance that the odd person might recognise me. But this would at least keep things to a minimum. How bad would it be to use a pseudonym?
 
You also say that some publishers might find it strange to see a pseudonym on certain types of work, but would the publishers need to know the name on the manuscript/article was a pseudonym if that was the only name they saw? ie publishers would only ever know me by that name."
Mike.

THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER

Dear Mike,

If you’ve decided to use a pseudonym for all your writing then this is fine. You will still be able to build up a portfolio of material with the same byline on it.  As you say, there is no need for editors to even know your real name – except of course for payment…  Have you thought this through? Before making a decision you need to talk to your bank to see what arrangements you can make as in these days of heightened bank security and fears of identity fraud you need to make sure that your bank is willing to accept cheques made out to your pseudonym.  So do that now and if they can accommodate you then there should be no problem using whatever name you like to protect your identity.* * * * * * *

Note: If you are a student of The Writers Bureau and have a question relating to your course please contact the Student Services Department directly at: studentservices@writersbureau.com

Regular subscribers to E-zee Writer will know that I have a soft spot for sites that explore the nitty-gritty of language so I couldn't resist recommending that you sign up for the Word a Day Service offered by Wordsmiths at http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html

The Scriptorium is, "a virtual room for writers. In each monthly issue you'll find articles, interviews, exercises, book reviews, and more to help you become the best writer you can be." www.thescriptorium.net/index.html

Want to focus on a writing project to kick-start 2007? Tonto Press are now accepting submissions for More Tonto Short Stories, a further anthology of new writing. They say, "this is your chance to have your story published in a top-quality anthology distributed worldwide." For more details go to: www.tontopress.com/submissions.html

This month's tutor in the spotlight is Elizabeth Ashworth, who contributed last month's feature article in E-zee Writer. Her site contains examples of both her fiction and non-fiction work, along with a section that has really useful tips for other writers. Have a look at: www.elizabethashworth.com

That brings us to the end of this month's issue. We begin the New Year on a positive note with an article from Caroline Deacon that shows you how to follow through on a query when the Editor goes quiet on you. See you then!

As usual, if you've any suggestions or would like to comment on content then please contact Teresa at:
ezeewriter@writersbureau.com

And don't forget – if you've enjoyed this issue of E-zee Writer and found it useful, tell your friends about it so that they can subscribe too!
www.writersbureau.com/resources/ezewriter.htm

THE WRITERS BUREAU, SEVENDALE HOUSE, 7 DALE STREET,
MANCHESTER, M1 1JB, ENGLAND.

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