Hello,

Here we are, another spring, and Mother Nature is busy all around us bringing a dormant landscape back to life. It's a time of renewal and rebirth – which fits quite nicely with this month's lead article from Lorraine Mace.

Lorraine, one of our runners-up in this year's Writer of the Year competition, has written an extremely useful article that shows you how to rewrite abandoned material and recycle current material to really get the most out of your portfolio. Our Top Tips section then shows you how to approach editors to capitalise on this approach successfully.

Before I leave, for those of you who may be working on a poetry entry for the Poetry and Short Story Competition, why not have a look at this beautiful poem for some springtime inspiration!
http://poetry.eserver.org/spring-is-like-a.txt

Have a great month,

Teresa.

PS. You have until the end of this month to take advantage of free P+P on competition books. If you did not receive the offer, or would like more information, see below:

Writing Competitions, The Way To Win:
'Make your competition entries stand out from the crowd with the help of this indispensable guide. Compiled by top judges, Alison Chisholm and Iain Pattison, it is packed with a wealth of insider tips and winning techniques.'
Order now - only £9.99 No P+P to pay
www.writersbureau.com/wctwtwof.html

Cracking the Short Story Market:
'Packed with insider tips from top short story writer, Iain Pattison, this step-by-step guide shows you how to create stunning characters, dazzling dialogue and ingenious plotlines that will impress both fiction editors and competition judges alike.'
Order now - only £12.99 No P+P to pay
www.writersbureau.com/cssmof.html

THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES

"I’d always dreamed of working as a writer, but like many people got sidetracked by keeping pace with the rat race.  The birth of my first daughter caused me to take stock of my life, though, and it’s thanks to her that I decided to take the plunge and pursue my dream with help from The Writers Bureau.   A second daughter and only six completed WB assignments later, I’ve amazed myself at what I’ve achieved; all the more remarkable to me as looking after my daughters (aged one and four) full-time, as well as providing online support to my English language students, means writing time has to be postponed until my part-time teaching duties have been fulfilled and the girls are tucked up in bed.   Below are my major achievements so far:   • I’ve steadily gone from writing for free to earning £150 for my latest 1500-word non-fiction piece – all within the space of 11 published articles   • My writer’s profile is to be included in an upcoming e-book by UK author Carol Anne Strange   • I’ve set up my own blog, “The Writing Mum”, to help other time-stretched, stay-at-home writing parents http://write-at-home.blogspot.com/   • I’ve single-handedly set up my own writer’s website to showcase my work (no mean feat when you don’t know anything about website design or functionality).  Actually, writing the content was even more difficult than crafting an article.  Have you ever tried writing about yourself? www.melaniebucher.com   • I’m now successfully querying instead of submitting complete manuscripts, saving me a great deal of precious time   • I’ve placed all articles (bar one, but I’m working on it!) that I’ve written since starting The Writers Bureau course   • Closely following the advice of my tutor, I managed to earn back my WB fees relatively quickly – from four articles and two readers’ letters   • I’m also currently working – albeit at a snail’s pace – on two books: a non-fiction book on trying to be a do-it-all mum and a historical romance.   I can’t ever have imagined achieving the success I have if it weren’t for The Writers Bureau and, in particular, the outstanding support and encouragement from my WB tutor, Heather Cooke.  And if this is where I’m at after only six completed assignments and snatched writing time, I can only imagine the successes that are in store once the girls become more independent and I’ve completed the WB course." Melanie Bucher, Switzerland.

It's easy to share your success stories with others. Just send an email to ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Success Story' in the subject line.

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:
MINDING YOUR Ps AND A Q!

Rewrite, Recycle and Rejoice!

When I received an acceptance from The Lady magazine for a short story I'd submitted, needless to say I was ecstatic, but not simply because the story had pleased the fiction editor. I was also overjoyed because my policy of rework and recycle was paying dividends.

The piece of fiction in question was originally written nearly four years ago. It had done the rounds, and been rejected by every magazine to which it had been submitted. And believe me, I had submitted this (and several other stories) to as many publications as I could think of.

So what had changed over the four-year period? My writing style for one thing. When I read my story I was struck by how good the idea was, and how badly it had been written. The characters were vague, with no physical descriptions or mannerisms to make them come to life; there was little dialogue and the plot was drawn out over 3,000 words (the rewrite lost a thousand of them).

I was so pleased with the finished piece that I decided to see what else was lurking on the computer in need of a revamp. I found several short stories that I'd previously given up on. Some of them were fit only for the delete button, but others were worthy of a rewrite.

The ones I decided to work on were basically good stories poorly told. After the rewrites, an American magazine accepted one of them and another was published by Ireland's Own. A third finished as a runner-up in a competition. All three stories (as with the one accepted by The Lady) had been rejected countless times when I'd first written and submitted them.

As you become more experienced don't despise your early work, rewrite it and send it out again. Acceptance could be just around the corner.

The same goes for non-fiction. Don't delete articles or reviews written as assignments for a writing course, or pieces that were written 'on spec' but not taken up by the intended market. You can use bits of several different pieces to create an entirely new (and saleable) article. I have had an article accepted in America that was a combination of two filler pieces (one published in the UK and one rejected). Put together they made an interesting article.

Another success was a restaurant review that had been turned down by France's only English language newspaper on the grounds that restaurants should advertise and not receive free publicity. As I lived in France at that time I thought about deleting the file, there being no other conceivable market for the piece. Or so I thought. I'm glad I kept my finger off the delete button because several months later I spotted a competition for a restaurant review in Freelance Market News. The word count was completely different, so a rewrite was required, but the £50 that I won made the extra work worthwhile.

But rewriting rejected pieces should be only part of your strategy. You should also be recycling fiction and articles that have already been accepted for publication. Everything that I write, I rewrite for the American market, and vice versa.

I have had several articles published by France Today in America, all of which were originally written for the UK market. When I emailed my first commissioned piece to France Today I immediately afterwards rewrote it and submitted it to a UK magazine. It was later published by Ireland's Own.

Apart from rewriting and recycling, give yourself every possible opportunity to rejoice by investing in yourself as a writer. Buying handbooks and taking out annual subscriptions to top quality writing resources greatly enhance your chances of success.

For the British market, The Magazine Writer's Handbook and The Writer's Handbook are essential reading (but don't forget to study several copies of the magazines you intend to target before submitting any material). Use the information in Freelance Market News on magazine requirements and guidelines, details of prose and poetry competitions and markets for fillers. Always search for new ways of using existing material.

For information on American magazines, a subscription to The Writer's Market at www.writersmarket.com is invaluable. Up to date online information on every aspect of writing and publishing is available at the click of the mouse. Payment category, publication topics, types of article, fiction genre, submission method, or a combination of all or any of the above, makes searching for the right market a piece of cake (or American apple pie). For most entries there is also a section giving details of how to obtain back copies, thereby enabling the prospective contributor to carry out a thorough market analysis.

So what are you waiting for? Dig out all those old pieces of work, and look at them objectively. Ask yourself (honestly now) if you would bother to read them, had someone else written them. If the answer is in the negative, what can be done to improve each piece? Look again at your published works, and rewrite them for the US market.

Remember, if you continually rewrite and recycle, you'll soon have plenty of reasons to rejoice.

AUTHOR'S BIO

TOP TIPS

If you're feeling inspired to start submitting work after reading our feature article then here are our ten Top Tips on approaching an editor:

1. Take the trouble to find out the editor’s name so that you can address them personally.
   
   
2. Make sure your presentation is as perfect as possible, whether sending by post or electronically.  Check for – and correct – typing errors.  Avoid fancy fonts – settle for something plain, like Times New Roman, and always include a word count.
   
   
3. If you are submitting by post, attach a cover sheet, as it enhances the presentation and gives the editor all the necessary details at a glance.  If you are submitting by email put something sensible in the subject line e.g. ‘Proposed article on fly fishing’, otherwise it will probably be deleted as spam.
   
   
4. A covering letter is not strictly necessary with an unsolicited manuscript, but enclosing one will do no harm.
   
   
5. If you have had previous contact with an editor and he/she has asked to see an article or outline, then a covering letter is essential.  Otherwise, your manuscript could be read by someone else in a busy office who doesn’t know that the editor has expressed an interest and they may reject it.
   
   
6. If it says that unsolicited articles are not accepted then you can get round this by sending an outline and a query letter.
   
   
7. Make sure your query letter exudes a quiet authority.  Don’t tell the editor your life story – but make it clear why you think your piece is ideal for the magazine’s readers and why you are qualified to write it.  The rule of thumb is: if it makes you look good, put it in.  If it makes you look inexperienced, leave it out.
   
   
8. A good outline is essential.  It should be a skeleton of the finished product, showing the main topic areas to be covered and in what order.  Don’t make it too long, or so short that it is disjointed and difficult to follow.
   
   
9. Don’t overwhelm an editor – so only send one idea at a time when first approaching them.  This may change if they start accepting your work, but build up a relationship first.
   
   
10. Don’t send the same article to two editors at the same time.  If they both accept and then publish it will lead to embarrassment for them and it is most unlikely that they would ever accept work from you again.  So don’t double deal!

The £2,000 Biographers' Club Prize, sponsored by the Daily Mail, aims to finance and encourage uncommissioned first-time writers researching a biography.

Applicants should submit a proposal of no more than 20 pages, including a synopsis and 10-page sample chapter (double-spaced, numbered pages), CV and a note on the market for the book, sources consulted and competing literature, to the prize administrator: Anna Swan, anna@annaswan.co.uk or by post to 119A Fordwych Road, London NW2 3NJ.

The deadline for entries is 1 August 2007. Entry fee: £10 (cheques made payable to the Biographers' Club). Further details at www.biographersclub.co.uk

Has the blog phenomenum passed you by? It's easy to get started and a great place to keep an on-going journal of thoughts and ideas. www.blog.co.uk/

Suite101 is a site where freelance writers can earn while they post online articles. It will be of particular interest to writers with a specialism. For full details of how to earn, plus issues such as copyright and payment, check out their extensive FAQs page: www.suite101.com/freelance_writers/

That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month, Simon Whalley tells you how to go Dating With Non-fiction!

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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