I wanted to let you know my new book, Same, Same but Different, will be released on September 13th. My publisher will be sending you a copy, soon I hope.
http://us.macmillan.com/book.aspx?isbn=9780805089462
I am having an event with Uma Krishnaswami at Maria's Bookshop in Durango, CO on Saturday, Sept 17th from 10-11am. I was wondering if you could share this announcement on your show the week before. We'd really appreciate it if you can. I think it will be a fun event!
http://mariasbookshop.com/event/meet-author-saturday-morning-story-time-jenny-sue-kostecki-shaw
Take care and hope your summer has been nice,
jenny sue
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Greetings!
Welcome to our newest newsletter! In this issue, we're pleased to share a writing tip from best-selling and prolific author David Morrell, the creator of Rambo and co-founder of the International Thriller Writers organization. We were honored when David, who has eighteen million copies of his work in print, translated into twenty-six languages, agreed to speak at the up-coming Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. He will share his insights into the future of publishing. Visit this link to find out more about how you can join us for the conference November 10-12 in Santa Fe. Thanks for reading!
Warm wishes,
Anne and Jean
Writing Tip: Watch for the Flow
From David Morrell
A story is a living thing. Our goal should be to serve it and do what it wants, to be its instrument. Its flow from our imagination to the page is impeded in two main ways---if we try to make the story do something that it doesn't want to do, or if something in us isn't ready to face the full implications of the story's theme and emotions. Avoiding those blocks requires developing a relationship with the story, as if it were a person. At the start of each writing session, especially if I'm having trouble moving a scene forward, I literally ask the story, "What do you want to do? Where do you want me to go with you? Why are you stalling?" This is a psychological trick that almost always creates an imagined response, along the lines of "This scene is boring. Why are you making me do it?" or "This scene is full of gimmicks. Why aren't you being honest with me?" The device takes only a minute. It's part of my ritual, and over the years, it saved me from writing a lot of scenes that were either unnecessary or else dishonest.
(This excerpt comes from a piece Morrell first wrote for WRITERS DIGEST. Copyright F + W Media and David Morrell, 2011.)
Morrell, a presenter at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, is the author of numerous best-selling thrillers. He has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards for THRILLERS: 100 MUST READS, which he co-edited with Hank Wagner.
Five More Things to Like About Santa Fe (Besides Our Conference)
The Santa Fe Children's Museum: This family-oriented center offers great, hands-on activities for children from toddler to pre-teens. Evenings often include musical entertainment.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas: "The Ranch of the Swallows" is a living history museum that dates from the early 1700s and was an important paraje or stopping place along the famous Camino Real, the Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa Fe.
Sopaipillas! You can eat these little clouds of fried, yeasty goodness with honey or use them to soak up the final traces of that luscious red and green chile sauce. They come with your meal at many Santa Fe restaurants that specialize in New Mexican cuisine.
The Sangre De Cristo Mountains: The southernmost range of the Rocky Mountains, the Sangre de Cristos sit in Santa Fe's backyard, just a 20-minute drive from the Plaza. Hiking, biking, camping, skiing and more await. The aspen usually turn around the end of September, creating a
wonderful reason for a fall picnic.
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express: Take the Rail Runner from Albuquerque to Santa Fe-no car is needed! (An express bus takes passengers from the airport to the train depot.) Once in Santa Fe, the Depot stop is walking distance to many shops, restaurants and our conference hotel.
WORDHARVEST Contest Updates
Thanks to everyone who entered the Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest and who submitted novels for the Hillerman Prize. Your entries are with our judges. The winners will be announced at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in November and posted on our website afterward.
Editor Peter Joseph of St. Martin's Press will announce the 2011 novel award (we hope the winner will join us!) at lunch, Friday, November 11. Peter will also discuss what makes a good mystery with 2010 Hillerman Prize Winner Tricia Fields. The short story winner will be announced on Saturday, November 12, at the keynote dinner. Author Douglas Preston will be on hand to give an intriguing after-dinner talk. Stay tuned!
We'll leave you with a few words from one of the previous Tony Hillerman Writers Conference participants. She described the conference as, "content rich, fun, lively and informative." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
Sincerely,
Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg
WORDHARVEST
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Welcome to our newest newsletter! In this issue, we're pleased to share a writing tip from best-selling and prolific author David Morrell, the creator of Rambo and co-founder of the International Thriller Writers organization. We were honored when David, who has eighteen million copies of his work in print, translated into twenty-six languages, agreed to speak at the up-coming Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. He will share his insights into the future of publishing. Visit this link to find out more about how you can join us for the conference November 10-12 in Santa Fe. Thanks for reading!
Warm wishes,
Anne and Jean
Writing Tip: Watch for the Flow
From David Morrell
A story is a living thing. Our goal should be to serve it and do what it wants, to be its instrument. Its flow from our imagination to the page is impeded in two main ways---if we try to make the story do something that it doesn't want to do, or if something in us isn't ready to face the full implications of the story's theme and emotions. Avoiding those blocks requires developing a relationship with the story, as if it were a person. At the start of each writing session, especially if I'm having trouble moving a scene forward, I literally ask the story, "What do you want to do? Where do you want me to go with you? Why are you stalling?" This is a psychological trick that almost always creates an imagined response, along the lines of "This scene is boring. Why are you making me do it?" or "This scene is full of gimmicks. Why aren't you being honest with me?" The device takes only a minute. It's part of my ritual, and over the years, it saved me from writing a lot of scenes that were either unnecessary or else dishonest.
(This excerpt comes from a piece Morrell first wrote for WRITERS DIGEST. Copyright F + W Media and David Morrell, 2011.)
Morrell, a presenter at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, is the author of numerous best-selling thrillers. He has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards for THRILLERS: 100 MUST READS, which he co-edited with Hank Wagner.
Five More Things to Like About Santa Fe (Besides Our Conference)
The Santa Fe Children's Museum: This family-oriented center offers great, hands-on activities for children from toddler to pre-teens. Evenings often include musical entertainment.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas: "The Ranch of the Swallows" is a living history museum that dates from the early 1700s and was an important paraje or stopping place along the famous Camino Real, the Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa Fe.
Sopaipillas! You can eat these little clouds of fried, yeasty goodness with honey or use them to soak up the final traces of that luscious red and green chile sauce. They come with your meal at many Santa Fe restaurants that specialize in New Mexican cuisine.
The Sangre De Cristo Mountains: The southernmost range of the Rocky Mountains, the Sangre de Cristos sit in Santa Fe's backyard, just a 20-minute drive from the Plaza. Hiking, biking, camping, skiing and more await. The aspen usually turn around the end of September, creating a
wonderful reason for a fall picnic.
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express: Take the Rail Runner from Albuquerque to Santa Fe-no car is needed! (An express bus takes passengers from the airport to the train depot.) Once in Santa Fe, the Depot stop is walking distance to many shops, restaurants and our conference hotel.
WORDHARVEST Contest Updates
Thanks to everyone who entered the Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest and who submitted novels for the Hillerman Prize. Your entries are with our judges. The winners will be announced at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in November and posted on our website afterward.
Editor Peter Joseph of St. Martin's Press will announce the 2011 novel award (we hope the winner will join us!) at lunch, Friday, November 11. Peter will also discuss what makes a good mystery with 2010 Hillerman Prize Winner Tricia Fields. The short story winner will be announced on Saturday, November 12, at the keynote dinner. Author Douglas Preston will be on hand to give an intriguing after-dinner talk. Stay tuned!
We'll leave you with a few words from one of the previous Tony Hillerman Writers Conference participants. She described the conference as, "content rich, fun, lively and informative." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
Sincerely,
Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg
WORDHARVEST
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Slim Randalls Bok Signing
You are cordially invited
to come and visit with Ol' Slim Randles
on Tuesday, September 6 at 7pm at Bookworks
at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque
for a little sound advice and fun
as he talks about his new book
"A Cowboy's Guide to Growing Up Right"
Hope to see you there, partner!
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
to come and visit with Ol' Slim Randles
on Tuesday, September 6 at 7pm at Bookworks
at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque
for a little sound advice and fun
as he talks about his new book
"A Cowboy's Guide to Growing Up Right"
Hope to see you there, partner!
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Friday, August 26, 2011
September Book Co-op Newsletter
International Literacy Day – September 8, at the Albuquerque Main Library, 10:30am – 4pm
Even if you are not a vendor you are invited to drop in to the all day activities for Literacy Day at the Albuquerque Main Library at 501 Copper NW. Admission to the events and Book Market is FREE and if you park diagonally from the Library on Copper, stamped parking tickets give you 2 hours FREE – just go to the front desk. If you are thinking about publishing, come see publishers and authors at the Market and check out what has been done. If you have kids that are too young for school, the story times will be great! And if you get hungry the Library has a Café. But above all, support literacy because if people can’t read they can’t buy a book!
Book Howl for Halloween in Los Ranchos
There are about 10 spaces left for the Halloween Holiday Howl at the Los Ranchos Barn October 29. Don’t wait too long or all the spaces will be gone! There will be jewelry, books, foods, soaps, and much more and be spooky too!
BOOK NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT...
Internet Book Tour Gone
BookTour will be shutting down on Thursday, September 1, 2011. On that date, all of their services will end and the data will no longer be available. Fewer author tours and changes in book marketing budgets made the company financially unviable.
Another Shoe Dropping…?
We alerted all Co-op members starting in 2009 (it actually may have been even earlier than that) that Borders was in trouble and may close its doors. We advised everyone to monitor any inventory that they may have at Borders so that you would not lose those assets. Well, as we have also told everyone, things don’t sound very good over at Barnes & Noble either. Their big refinancing deal has fallen through. So watch out for any tell-tale signs. Be alert! Find out what is going on.
Book club members increasingly using e-readers
Some 21 percent of reading group members are now reading all or most of their selections on e-readers, up from 11 percent in 2009, according to a Reading Group Choices survey. Groups representing more than 200,000 members were surveyed online and via a traditional mailing in the first three months of the year.
Of reading group members reading e-books, 59 percent use Amazon Kindles, 26 percent use Barnes & Noble's Nook and 20 percent use a tablet. In 2009, only seven percent used the Nook.
Romance, always a popular e-book category, is most frequently read on e-books by book group members: 60 percent of romance fiction read for the book groups is bought as e-books.
One difficulty that may hold back e-book usage by book group members: many publishers' backlists are not available as e-books.
Reading Group Choices owner Barbara Mead commented: "The use of e-books in concert with printed books only serves to reaffirm book clubs' passion for literature. And e-readers are a great investment for avid readers who are consuming books well in excess of their reading group selections or for book club members with a dwindling amount of free shelf-space."
Hastings first quarter earnings slide, will start selling e-books
Hastings Entertainment reported a drop in net income for its first quarter to 5 cents per share compared to 11 cents per share a year ago.
Total sales declined by 3.8 percent, to $124.1 million. Overall book comps decreased 9.1 percent for the quarter, new book sales fell 8.6 percent in the period and used books sales declined 19.6 percent. However, value books (remainders and white sales) gained by 8.7 percent.
The retailer said there was a 22 percent drop in “titles for which we purchase more than 1,000 copies,” blaming publishers for weak releases.
The company said that it is working on a new program to sell e-books through its GoHastings.com website.
Author drops e-book price to $0.99, ups sales by 2,500 percent
An author who remains anonymous, with control of the rights to five of his titles previously published by a traditional publisher, initially listed the titles as Kindle selections priced at $2.99 each.
When the books moved slowly, he decided to drop the price to $0.99 per title, and more than tripled his sales.
The books were formatted for and made available only on the Amazon Kindle and Nook platforms since November 2010.
The books sold an average of 20 e-books a month until the beginning of May.
That’s when he decided to try lowering the price of the five e-book titles to $0.99 each, just to see what happened. He calculated that he had to increase his sales to 120 copies per month to match the small income he was receiving from the same books at $2.99.
Since dropping the price, he’s sold over 400 copies in three weeks, and if current trends continue, estimates he will easily eclipse 500 copies for the month.
“A number of his titles sold in excess of 10,000 copies when they were first released years ago, but to have them find new life as e-books,” he says, “is especially gratifying.”
Publishing revolution: Amazon now selling more ebooks than pbooks
Amazon said on May 19 that “Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books - hardcover and paperback –combined,” adding that “Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition.” Amazon says ebook unit sales are more than three times sales for the same period in 2010. Amazon reiterated that its print book sales continue to grow - taking share from everyone else - and that their U.S. books business overall, including ebooks, is showing “the fastest year-over-year growth rate, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years.” … “The book publishing industry has entered a period of long-term decline because of the rising sales of ebook readers,” reads an April 28 research note from IHS iSuppli, which predicted a decrease in book revenue at a compound annual rate of three percent through 2014 - a reversal from the period between 2005 and 2010, when revenue rose. For the traditional book publishing industry, the implications of the rise of the ebook and ebook reader markets are frightening, given the decline in paper book printing, distribution and sales,” Steve Mather, IHS iSuppli’s principal analyst for wireless, wrote in the April 28 statement. “The industry has entered a phase of disruption that will be as significant as the major changes impacting the music and movie business.” The firm predicts that physical book sales will decline at a compound annual rate of five percent. While ebook sales will rise during that same period, the increase won’t cover the revenue gap created by the decline in the physical book market. By 2014, the research note predicts, ebooks will occupy some 13 percent of U.S. book publishing revenue, more than twice its current level ... E-books were .05 percent of the trade-book market in 2002 and 3.2 percent in 2009. Last year, they shot up to 8.3 percent of the $5.3 billion market, according to the Association of American Publishers, totaling $441.3 million in sales … Barnes & Noble is releasing an upgrade to the Nook reader that allows Nook owners to have authors sign their ebooks using a stylus. Nook owners can activate the autograph function, hand the stylus over, and get the signature. Just like with a paper book… According to an article posted to the Web by Piotr Kowalczyk, of the top-100 Amazon Kindle titles on April 21, 2011, 28 were by self-published authors. Eleven of the self-published titles were in the Kindle top 50. All of the self-published best-sellers were priced at $3.99 or less. Eighteen of the titles were selling at the lowest possible price tag: $0.99… Jeffrey Trachtenberg in a Wall Street Journal article noted that advance sales of a short story by best-selling author David Baldacci hit no. 51 on Amazon's digital best-seller list in April. Grand Central Publishing, a unit of Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, listed Baldacci's original short story "No Time Left," which features Frank Becker, an aging assassin with work-life balance issues, for 99 cents. The work was published May 2. "No Time Left" was originally published in January 2010 when it was included in an anniversary edition of Baldacci's thriller Absolute Power… App maker Scroll Motion will create mobile apps out of Smashwords' "premium" catalog of over 30,000 ebooks at no additional charge to the authors and publishers. The royalty rate on the apps will be 60 percent of list price.
Author recognition: Relationship guru offers 10 tips for writers
Blane Bachelor, journalist, nationally syndicated columnist and author, has 10 tips for wannabe writers and authors.
Bachelor was among 16 distinguished presenters at the Authorship 101-201 workshops held in conjunction with the GABBS Atlanta Spring Book Show at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Center. Bachelor, a long-term columnist with Atlanta's The Sunday Paper, is a former staffer at two metropolitan newspapers. She has written hundreds of articles and columns about dating, relationships, travel and pop culture for outlets including Marie Claire, Women's Health, People.com, Tango.com, Modern Bride, Zink!, the Christian Science Monitor and USA Today. Her popular advice column, "Ask a Bachelor," appears weekly in metro newspapers across the United States.
She offered fledgling writers advice on how to avoid "10 Pitfalls to Avoid on Your Way to Being Published." The Top 10 tips:
(1) Know the trade terminology used by professional writers, authors, editors and publishers.
(2) Always submit clean copy that avoids bad spelling and grammar and punctuation errors.
(3) Do your homework. Avoid accuracy errors. Check to be sure you have your facts correct - accurate names, addresses, ages and other information.
(4) Become a reader. You're not going to become a successful author if you don’t read.
(5) Avoid being short on patience and drive. Writing is a high-energy profession.
(6) Avoid tormented, tortured, insane query letters. Be calm and professional.
(7) Avoid listening to advice from unqualified critics. Your Mom loves you, but she's probably not capable of judging the excellence of your writing.
(8) Have some Web presence. You should be on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like.
(9) Don't assume that your book or writing will sell itself. You have to play the prime role in marketing.
(10) Avoid unrealistic expectations. Believe in yourself, but recognize that not everything you write is worthy of publication.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If a form says write a check to the Friends of the Albuquerque Library do not write it to LPD Press, NMBA, NM Book Co-op, or anyone else. You are an author - READ! Now at this point you may be laughing but it created big problems because the Friends can not cash checks made out to someone else. Was that the point?
Why You Need To Check Our Outlets
This story is so stupid we had to share it with you. One of our books was the exclusive subject of a store and was delivered it to them in May. On another book delivery down the street in August, we decided afterwards to check them out. Upon looking we asked the clerk did they have it? We were told, “No – they never had it and it was not out yet – no one has it!” We knew that was wrong and said it is in display at the store down the street. We were told this store sold things for less than the store down the street. We said, ”How can you, the price of the book is printed on the back?” When we got back to the office we first checked that the store paid their bill and they had. We emailed the owner and told her the book is almost sold out do you want to get a few more for a big event coming up? The email back was priceless. It seemed that ONE copy of the book on display had sold – who knows when – and the box with the rest of the books was in the back room and no one, including the owner, had the common sense to put them out. You can’t sell books you don’t put out for sale!
This is a lesson that you have to drop in to your outlets to see what is going on. It doesn’t help the publisher or author one bit if the books are not put out for customers.
Can you say stores going under?
Congratulations
Congratulations to Marilyn Stablein who received the First Place Award at the National Federation of Press Women's Book Awards for her book "Splitting Hard Ground. Her book had previously won the New Mexico Book Award.
Next Meetings & Events
September 8, Literacy Day at ABQ Main Library 10:30 to 4pm
September 23, Don Bullis & The Finalists Announced for the New Mexico Book Awards
October 1-9, NM Women Authors Book Fair in Santa Fe
October 28, Lynn Baca of SAR Press & Renee Tambeau of Museums of New Mexico Press talking about What They Do For Survival
October 29 - Barn Holiday Howl in Los Ranchos 8am -3pm.
November 18 – NM Book Awards Banquet at MCM Elegante, Reservations ONLY
December 16 - Holiday Party – no business - Just Fun!
2012
January 27 – What We Have Learned in the NM Book Awards & Announcing 6th year of the NM Book Awards ( and maybe get some winners in to meet!)
February 24 - Michael Hice – pr & marketing for books
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
International Literacy Day – September 8, at the Albuquerque Main Library, 10:30am – 4pm
Even if you are not a vendor you are invited to drop in to the all day activities for Literacy Day at the Albuquerque Main Library at 501 Copper NW. Admission to the events and Book Market is FREE and if you park diagonally from the Library on Copper, stamped parking tickets give you 2 hours FREE – just go to the front desk. If you are thinking about publishing, come see publishers and authors at the Market and check out what has been done. If you have kids that are too young for school, the story times will be great! And if you get hungry the Library has a Café. But above all, support literacy because if people can’t read they can’t buy a book!
Book Howl for Halloween in Los Ranchos
There are about 10 spaces left for the Halloween Holiday Howl at the Los Ranchos Barn October 29. Don’t wait too long or all the spaces will be gone! There will be jewelry, books, foods, soaps, and much more and be spooky too!
BOOK NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT...
Internet Book Tour Gone
BookTour will be shutting down on Thursday, September 1, 2011. On that date, all of their services will end and the data will no longer be available. Fewer author tours and changes in book marketing budgets made the company financially unviable.
Another Shoe Dropping…?
We alerted all Co-op members starting in 2009 (it actually may have been even earlier than that) that Borders was in trouble and may close its doors. We advised everyone to monitor any inventory that they may have at Borders so that you would not lose those assets. Well, as we have also told everyone, things don’t sound very good over at Barnes & Noble either. Their big refinancing deal has fallen through. So watch out for any tell-tale signs. Be alert! Find out what is going on.
Book club members increasingly using e-readers
Some 21 percent of reading group members are now reading all or most of their selections on e-readers, up from 11 percent in 2009, according to a Reading Group Choices survey. Groups representing more than 200,000 members were surveyed online and via a traditional mailing in the first three months of the year.
Of reading group members reading e-books, 59 percent use Amazon Kindles, 26 percent use Barnes & Noble's Nook and 20 percent use a tablet. In 2009, only seven percent used the Nook.
Romance, always a popular e-book category, is most frequently read on e-books by book group members: 60 percent of romance fiction read for the book groups is bought as e-books.
One difficulty that may hold back e-book usage by book group members: many publishers' backlists are not available as e-books.
Reading Group Choices owner Barbara Mead commented: "The use of e-books in concert with printed books only serves to reaffirm book clubs' passion for literature. And e-readers are a great investment for avid readers who are consuming books well in excess of their reading group selections or for book club members with a dwindling amount of free shelf-space."
Hastings first quarter earnings slide, will start selling e-books
Hastings Entertainment reported a drop in net income for its first quarter to 5 cents per share compared to 11 cents per share a year ago.
Total sales declined by 3.8 percent, to $124.1 million. Overall book comps decreased 9.1 percent for the quarter, new book sales fell 8.6 percent in the period and used books sales declined 19.6 percent. However, value books (remainders and white sales) gained by 8.7 percent.
The retailer said there was a 22 percent drop in “titles for which we purchase more than 1,000 copies,” blaming publishers for weak releases.
The company said that it is working on a new program to sell e-books through its GoHastings.com website.
Author drops e-book price to $0.99, ups sales by 2,500 percent
An author who remains anonymous, with control of the rights to five of his titles previously published by a traditional publisher, initially listed the titles as Kindle selections priced at $2.99 each.
When the books moved slowly, he decided to drop the price to $0.99 per title, and more than tripled his sales.
The books were formatted for and made available only on the Amazon Kindle and Nook platforms since November 2010.
The books sold an average of 20 e-books a month until the beginning of May.
That’s when he decided to try lowering the price of the five e-book titles to $0.99 each, just to see what happened. He calculated that he had to increase his sales to 120 copies per month to match the small income he was receiving from the same books at $2.99.
Since dropping the price, he’s sold over 400 copies in three weeks, and if current trends continue, estimates he will easily eclipse 500 copies for the month.
“A number of his titles sold in excess of 10,000 copies when they were first released years ago, but to have them find new life as e-books,” he says, “is especially gratifying.”
Publishing revolution: Amazon now selling more ebooks than pbooks
Amazon said on May 19 that “Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books - hardcover and paperback –combined,” adding that “Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition.” Amazon says ebook unit sales are more than three times sales for the same period in 2010. Amazon reiterated that its print book sales continue to grow - taking share from everyone else - and that their U.S. books business overall, including ebooks, is showing “the fastest year-over-year growth rate, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years.” … “The book publishing industry has entered a period of long-term decline because of the rising sales of ebook readers,” reads an April 28 research note from IHS iSuppli, which predicted a decrease in book revenue at a compound annual rate of three percent through 2014 - a reversal from the period between 2005 and 2010, when revenue rose. For the traditional book publishing industry, the implications of the rise of the ebook and ebook reader markets are frightening, given the decline in paper book printing, distribution and sales,” Steve Mather, IHS iSuppli’s principal analyst for wireless, wrote in the April 28 statement. “The industry has entered a phase of disruption that will be as significant as the major changes impacting the music and movie business.” The firm predicts that physical book sales will decline at a compound annual rate of five percent. While ebook sales will rise during that same period, the increase won’t cover the revenue gap created by the decline in the physical book market. By 2014, the research note predicts, ebooks will occupy some 13 percent of U.S. book publishing revenue, more than twice its current level ... E-books were .05 percent of the trade-book market in 2002 and 3.2 percent in 2009. Last year, they shot up to 8.3 percent of the $5.3 billion market, according to the Association of American Publishers, totaling $441.3 million in sales … Barnes & Noble is releasing an upgrade to the Nook reader that allows Nook owners to have authors sign their ebooks using a stylus. Nook owners can activate the autograph function, hand the stylus over, and get the signature. Just like with a paper book… According to an article posted to the Web by Piotr Kowalczyk, of the top-100 Amazon Kindle titles on April 21, 2011, 28 were by self-published authors. Eleven of the self-published titles were in the Kindle top 50. All of the self-published best-sellers were priced at $3.99 or less. Eighteen of the titles were selling at the lowest possible price tag: $0.99… Jeffrey Trachtenberg in a Wall Street Journal article noted that advance sales of a short story by best-selling author David Baldacci hit no. 51 on Amazon's digital best-seller list in April. Grand Central Publishing, a unit of Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, listed Baldacci's original short story "No Time Left," which features Frank Becker, an aging assassin with work-life balance issues, for 99 cents. The work was published May 2. "No Time Left" was originally published in January 2010 when it was included in an anniversary edition of Baldacci's thriller Absolute Power… App maker Scroll Motion will create mobile apps out of Smashwords' "premium" catalog of over 30,000 ebooks at no additional charge to the authors and publishers. The royalty rate on the apps will be 60 percent of list price.
Author recognition: Relationship guru offers 10 tips for writers
Blane Bachelor, journalist, nationally syndicated columnist and author, has 10 tips for wannabe writers and authors.
Bachelor was among 16 distinguished presenters at the Authorship 101-201 workshops held in conjunction with the GABBS Atlanta Spring Book Show at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Center. Bachelor, a long-term columnist with Atlanta's The Sunday Paper, is a former staffer at two metropolitan newspapers. She has written hundreds of articles and columns about dating, relationships, travel and pop culture for outlets including Marie Claire, Women's Health, People.com, Tango.com, Modern Bride, Zink!, the Christian Science Monitor and USA Today. Her popular advice column, "Ask a Bachelor," appears weekly in metro newspapers across the United States.
She offered fledgling writers advice on how to avoid "10 Pitfalls to Avoid on Your Way to Being Published." The Top 10 tips:
(1) Know the trade terminology used by professional writers, authors, editors and publishers.
(2) Always submit clean copy that avoids bad spelling and grammar and punctuation errors.
(3) Do your homework. Avoid accuracy errors. Check to be sure you have your facts correct - accurate names, addresses, ages and other information.
(4) Become a reader. You're not going to become a successful author if you don’t read.
(5) Avoid being short on patience and drive. Writing is a high-energy profession.
(6) Avoid tormented, tortured, insane query letters. Be calm and professional.
(7) Avoid listening to advice from unqualified critics. Your Mom loves you, but she's probably not capable of judging the excellence of your writing.
(8) Have some Web presence. You should be on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like.
(9) Don't assume that your book or writing will sell itself. You have to play the prime role in marketing.
(10) Avoid unrealistic expectations. Believe in yourself, but recognize that not everything you write is worthy of publication.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If a form says write a check to the Friends of the Albuquerque Library do not write it to LPD Press, NMBA, NM Book Co-op, or anyone else. You are an author - READ! Now at this point you may be laughing but it created big problems because the Friends can not cash checks made out to someone else. Was that the point?
Why You Need To Check Our Outlets
This story is so stupid we had to share it with you. One of our books was the exclusive subject of a store and was delivered it to them in May. On another book delivery down the street in August, we decided afterwards to check them out. Upon looking we asked the clerk did they have it? We were told, “No – they never had it and it was not out yet – no one has it!” We knew that was wrong and said it is in display at the store down the street. We were told this store sold things for less than the store down the street. We said, ”How can you, the price of the book is printed on the back?” When we got back to the office we first checked that the store paid their bill and they had. We emailed the owner and told her the book is almost sold out do you want to get a few more for a big event coming up? The email back was priceless. It seemed that ONE copy of the book on display had sold – who knows when – and the box with the rest of the books was in the back room and no one, including the owner, had the common sense to put them out. You can’t sell books you don’t put out for sale!
This is a lesson that you have to drop in to your outlets to see what is going on. It doesn’t help the publisher or author one bit if the books are not put out for customers.
Can you say stores going under?
Congratulations
Congratulations to Marilyn Stablein who received the First Place Award at the National Federation of Press Women's Book Awards for her book "Splitting Hard Ground. Her book had previously won the New Mexico Book Award.
Next Meetings & Events
September 8, Literacy Day at ABQ Main Library 10:30 to 4pm
September 23, Don Bullis & The Finalists Announced for the New Mexico Book Awards
October 1-9, NM Women Authors Book Fair in Santa Fe
October 28, Lynn Baca of SAR Press & Renee Tambeau of Museums of New Mexico Press talking about What They Do For Survival
October 29 - Barn Holiday Howl in Los Ranchos 8am -3pm.
November 18 – NM Book Awards Banquet at MCM Elegante, Reservations ONLY
December 16 - Holiday Party – no business - Just Fun!
2012
January 27 – What We Have Learned in the NM Book Awards & Announcing 6th year of the NM Book Awards ( and maybe get some winners in to meet!)
February 24 - Michael Hice – pr & marketing for books
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Celebrate International Literacy Day
Thursday, September 8, 2011
10:30am – 4pm
At the Albuquerque Main Library
501 Copper NW, Albuquerque
Admission is FREE!!!!
Sponsored by the Friends of the Albuquerque Library, New Mexico Book Co-op, ReadWest Literacy Volunteers, Reading Works Adult Literacy in Albuquerque.
Schedule
All Day – Book Fair Sponsored by the New Mexico Books Co-op – meet local authors and publishers and buy a book for kids and adults. Community Room Lower Level.
Main Library Bookshop – great bargains on books operated by the Friends of the Library. Lower Level.
Literacy information at tables located outside of the auditorium.
ABQ Coffee Connection located at the Main entrance for lunch or snacks.
10:30 am – 11am – Children’s Storytime for babies & toddlers in Children’s Room Lower Level.
Open Ceremony – in Auditorium
11am – Noon – Carla Aragon – Author of Dance of the Eggshells & Emmy Award-winning broadcaster in Auditorium.
Noon – 1pm – Slim Randles – Author of A Cowboy’s Guide To Growing Up Right -2nd Floor Genealogy Area.
Noon – 2pm Book Readings by celebrities & authors in Auditorium.
1-2pm – Anne Hillerman & Don Strel author and photography of the Garden’s of Santa Fe, in the Genealogy Center.
2-3pm – Readr’s Theater – Appear onstage to read a part from a script in Auditorium.
2-3pm – Nasario Garcia – Author of Fe y Tragedias in the Genealogy Center..
3-4pm Book Trivia in the Auditorium.
3:30-4pm – Albuquerque Youth Symphony
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
10:30am – 4pm
At the Albuquerque Main Library
501 Copper NW, Albuquerque
Admission is FREE!!!!
Sponsored by the Friends of the Albuquerque Library, New Mexico Book Co-op, ReadWest Literacy Volunteers, Reading Works Adult Literacy in Albuquerque.
Schedule
All Day – Book Fair Sponsored by the New Mexico Books Co-op – meet local authors and publishers and buy a book for kids and adults. Community Room Lower Level.
Main Library Bookshop – great bargains on books operated by the Friends of the Library. Lower Level.
Literacy information at tables located outside of the auditorium.
ABQ Coffee Connection located at the Main entrance for lunch or snacks.
10:30 am – 11am – Children’s Storytime for babies & toddlers in Children’s Room Lower Level.
Open Ceremony – in Auditorium
11am – Noon – Carla Aragon – Author of Dance of the Eggshells & Emmy Award-winning broadcaster in Auditorium.
Noon – 1pm – Slim Randles – Author of A Cowboy’s Guide To Growing Up Right -2nd Floor Genealogy Area.
Noon – 2pm Book Readings by celebrities & authors in Auditorium.
1-2pm – Anne Hillerman & Don Strel author and photography of the Garden’s of Santa Fe, in the Genealogy Center.
2-3pm – Readr’s Theater – Appear onstage to read a part from a script in Auditorium.
2-3pm – Nasario Garcia – Author of Fe y Tragedias in the Genealogy Center..
3-4pm Book Trivia in the Auditorium.
3:30-4pm – Albuquerque Youth Symphony
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Booksignings for Slim Randles
Slim Randles, author of A Cowboy's Guide to Growing Up Right, will have two book signings in September.
BOOK SIGNING EVENTS
Saturday, September 3, 2011 — 11am to 2pm
Wagon Mound Ranch Supply
6855 4th St NW, Albuquerque, NM
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 — 7pm to 8:30pm
Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM
BOOK REVIEWS
“This cowboy has a hit on his hands...I can say this book is a beacon of hope in troubled times.” — Daily Sun News, Sunnyside (Yakima), WA
“Slim Randles’ advice about living life comes from someone who has endured the rigors of the outdoors and stuck with the discipline of writing. Randles hammers the point with humor.” — The Graham (TX) Leader
Every cowboy knows there is a great deal more to being a grown-up than getting tall and inheriting the ability to reproduce. A cowboy (and by this we’re including girls, too) is simply the pinnacle of evolution, the nadir of American culture. You’ll find there are the right ways to do something, the wrong ways, and the cowboy ways. And this little book will help you become an adult cowboy, a grown-up able to spit in the eye of evil and sloth and be respected—perhaps revered—for your independent thought and kindness to others. These steps are simple and learnable, whether we have had the privilege of growing up with a full loving family or not. You can do nothing good about your past except to learn from it. So take what you have been given, roll up your sleeves, and get ready for a wonderful future.
Growing up right is never easy, even if all the stars line up and you win the parent lottery. If you don’t, it’s even tougher. Since a cowboy is the pinnacle of human evolution (just ask one) he has certain values and responsibilities and attitudes to pass along to help others, even if they are in the city, and regardless of age or gender.
Told with the frank humor of the range and mountains by a master storyteller whose column is read by nearly two million people each week, this book gives unique advice straight from the shoulder for those who would aspire to have a great life.
Looking for work? Work for free. Do the right thing, even when no one’s looking. Courtesy makes the homeliest of us beautiful. And lots more …
Remember: the saddest thing is not that someone dies, but that some people never quite live.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Slim Randles learned mule packing from Gene Burkhart and Slim Nivens. He learned mustanging and wild burro catching from Hap Pierce. He learned horse shoeing from Rocky Earick. He learned horse training from Dick Johnson and Joe Cabral. He learned humility from the mules of the eastern High Sierra. Randles lives in Albuquerque.
Randles has written newspaper stories, magazine articles and book, both fiction and nonfiction. His column appeared in New Mexico Magazine for many years and was a popular columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and the Albuquerque Journal, and now writes a nationally syndicated column, “Home Country,” which appears in several hundred newspapers across the country.
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Slim Randles, author of A Cowboy's Guide to Growing Up Right, will have two book signings in September.
BOOK SIGNING EVENTS
Saturday, September 3, 2011 — 11am to 2pm
Wagon Mound Ranch Supply
6855 4th St NW, Albuquerque, NM
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 — 7pm to 8:30pm
Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM
BOOK REVIEWS
“This cowboy has a hit on his hands...I can say this book is a beacon of hope in troubled times.” — Daily Sun News, Sunnyside (Yakima), WA
“Slim Randles’ advice about living life comes from someone who has endured the rigors of the outdoors and stuck with the discipline of writing. Randles hammers the point with humor.” — The Graham (TX) Leader
Every cowboy knows there is a great deal more to being a grown-up than getting tall and inheriting the ability to reproduce. A cowboy (and by this we’re including girls, too) is simply the pinnacle of evolution, the nadir of American culture. You’ll find there are the right ways to do something, the wrong ways, and the cowboy ways. And this little book will help you become an adult cowboy, a grown-up able to spit in the eye of evil and sloth and be respected—perhaps revered—for your independent thought and kindness to others. These steps are simple and learnable, whether we have had the privilege of growing up with a full loving family or not. You can do nothing good about your past except to learn from it. So take what you have been given, roll up your sleeves, and get ready for a wonderful future.
Growing up right is never easy, even if all the stars line up and you win the parent lottery. If you don’t, it’s even tougher. Since a cowboy is the pinnacle of human evolution (just ask one) he has certain values and responsibilities and attitudes to pass along to help others, even if they are in the city, and regardless of age or gender.
Told with the frank humor of the range and mountains by a master storyteller whose column is read by nearly two million people each week, this book gives unique advice straight from the shoulder for those who would aspire to have a great life.
Looking for work? Work for free. Do the right thing, even when no one’s looking. Courtesy makes the homeliest of us beautiful. And lots more …
Remember: the saddest thing is not that someone dies, but that some people never quite live.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Slim Randles learned mule packing from Gene Burkhart and Slim Nivens. He learned mustanging and wild burro catching from Hap Pierce. He learned horse shoeing from Rocky Earick. He learned horse training from Dick Johnson and Joe Cabral. He learned humility from the mules of the eastern High Sierra. Randles lives in Albuquerque.
Randles has written newspaper stories, magazine articles and book, both fiction and nonfiction. His column appeared in New Mexico Magazine for many years and was a popular columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and the Albuquerque Journal, and now writes a nationally syndicated column, “Home Country,” which appears in several hundred newspapers across the country.
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Latest From Word Harvest
In This Issue
Five great things about Santa Fe
Writing tip
Need a second opinion?
Quick Links
About WORDHARVEST
Anne Hillerman's Books
2010 Hillerman Prize Winner Tricia Fields
Greetings!
Welcome to our newest newsletter. We hope you will find the writing tips of value, and that you'll consider joining us for the 2011 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, in Santa Fe, November 10-12, at the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe, the city's only Native-owned hotel. Jean and I are excited about the upcoming conference. We're happy about our expansion from last year to include more well-known non-fiction and mainstream fiction authors on the faculty, along with our friends from the world of mysteries. Judges are at work selecting the winners of the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery novel and the Mystery Short Story contest.The winner will be announced in November. Stay tuned.
Warm wishes,
Anne and Jean
Five great things about Santa Fe (besides our conference)
The New Mexico History Museum-This recently-opened museum tells the complex story of our beautiful state.
The Plaza-This square is not only the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail but also a great place to buy Indian jewelry or pottery directly from the Indian artist who made them.
Chile-You can eat red and green chile for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sunsets-Take a drive up Old Taos Highway for a great view of the day's end over the beautiful Jemez Mountains.
Three major independent bookstores-The Ark, Collected Works and Garcia Street Books each has its own focus and clientele.
Writing tip: 1,000 words a day brings success
By Sally Denton, 2011 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference Presenter
These are my tips. Although they are all clichés, they work for me:
Write 1,000 words a day, five days a week. Finished, edited, polished, words. Words that you don't go back the next day and change. If it takes two hours to write a thousand perfect words, be grateful and reward yourself by spending the rest of the day doing something you love to do. If it takes 12 or 14 hours, be grateful that you finally did it and reward yourself with a great dinner and glass of wine. Ninety percent of the time it takes 6 or 7 hours, which is a wonderful block of time that leaves you with several hours to also enjoy a hike, read a book for pleasure instead of work, pay attention to your long suffering family, friends, and pets.
Hold this rule inviolable and do not take phone calls, surf the Internet, write emails or emerge from your study until you've got your thousand words. Then, enjoy every weekend with gusto!
Write about what you know. While this adage is typically applied to fiction, it is equally critical for non-fiction. One must be in complete command of one's material. If you don't know the subject you're writing about, immerse yourself in it until you do. Only then will you find your authentic voice.
Trust and respect the reader. Less is almost always more. I just completed a book about 1933 that has stunning, even eerie, parallels to contemporary politics, events, and people. While it is tempting to draw those parallels for the reader-FDR and Obama; the Great Depression and the Debt Ceiling Debacle; the Liberty League and the Tea Party-I find it much more compelling to engage the reader to such a depth that the reader draws the parallels for himself.
Show Don't Tell. I am not of the school of writing-which one often sees in full display in nonfiction writing-in which each paragraph begins with a sentence that tells the reader what she is going to read, followed by several sentences of content, followed by a concluding sentence telling the reader what she just read. I prefer to let the story unfold through the actions of the characters.
Sally Denton's seventh book, The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right will be published by Bloomsbury Press in January 2012. Her most recent book, The Pink Lady: The Many Lives of Helen Gahagan Douglas is being issued in paperback at the same time. She will present "Non-fiction, Fiction and True Storytelling" with Don Bullis, Doug Preston, John Vorhass and Virginia Scharff at the Tony Hillerman conference Nov. 10-12 in Santa Fe.
Need a second opinion?
Being your own editor can be tough, if not impossible. Authors Sean Murphy and Tania Casselle have joined the Hillerman conference this year to offer a second opinion, professional, face-to-face, 20- minute critique. The two authors will evaluate short fiction, non-fiction essays, synopses, and first chapters of novels or non-fiction books. Even better, they will offer a price discount to those who sign up for the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference.
Submission deadline is October 1, 2011. Price is $165 per submission for those registered for at least one day of the conference (or pre-conference workshop) and $200.00 per submission for those not registered for the conference.
Sean and his wife Tania live in Taos and teach writing around the world. Sean has taught at several WORDHARVEST programs, always to rave reviews. You'll find more information here.
Thank you to our colleague Karen S. Elliott. She calls herself a "voracious, nit-picky proofreading shark," and she has kept us out of trouble for months by helping with our newsletter. If you need a second set of eyes for your projects, Jean and I highly recommend
her. Karen has made significant changes to her recent blog and shares grammar, punctuation, and proofreading tips you can use. Contact Karen via her blog.
Sincerely,
Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg
WORDHARVEST
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
Five great things about Santa Fe
Writing tip
Need a second opinion?
Quick Links
About WORDHARVEST
Anne Hillerman's Books
2010 Hillerman Prize Winner Tricia Fields
Greetings!
Welcome to our newest newsletter. We hope you will find the writing tips of value, and that you'll consider joining us for the 2011 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, in Santa Fe, November 10-12, at the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe, the city's only Native-owned hotel. Jean and I are excited about the upcoming conference. We're happy about our expansion from last year to include more well-known non-fiction and mainstream fiction authors on the faculty, along with our friends from the world of mysteries. Judges are at work selecting the winners of the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery novel and the Mystery Short Story contest.The winner will be announced in November. Stay tuned.
Warm wishes,
Anne and Jean
Five great things about Santa Fe (besides our conference)
The New Mexico History Museum-This recently-opened museum tells the complex story of our beautiful state.
The Plaza-This square is not only the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail but also a great place to buy Indian jewelry or pottery directly from the Indian artist who made them.
Chile-You can eat red and green chile for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sunsets-Take a drive up Old Taos Highway for a great view of the day's end over the beautiful Jemez Mountains.
Three major independent bookstores-The Ark, Collected Works and Garcia Street Books each has its own focus and clientele.
Writing tip: 1,000 words a day brings success
By Sally Denton, 2011 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference Presenter
These are my tips. Although they are all clichés, they work for me:
Write 1,000 words a day, five days a week. Finished, edited, polished, words. Words that you don't go back the next day and change. If it takes two hours to write a thousand perfect words, be grateful and reward yourself by spending the rest of the day doing something you love to do. If it takes 12 or 14 hours, be grateful that you finally did it and reward yourself with a great dinner and glass of wine. Ninety percent of the time it takes 6 or 7 hours, which is a wonderful block of time that leaves you with several hours to also enjoy a hike, read a book for pleasure instead of work, pay attention to your long suffering family, friends, and pets.
Hold this rule inviolable and do not take phone calls, surf the Internet, write emails or emerge from your study until you've got your thousand words. Then, enjoy every weekend with gusto!
Write about what you know. While this adage is typically applied to fiction, it is equally critical for non-fiction. One must be in complete command of one's material. If you don't know the subject you're writing about, immerse yourself in it until you do. Only then will you find your authentic voice.
Trust and respect the reader. Less is almost always more. I just completed a book about 1933 that has stunning, even eerie, parallels to contemporary politics, events, and people. While it is tempting to draw those parallels for the reader-FDR and Obama; the Great Depression and the Debt Ceiling Debacle; the Liberty League and the Tea Party-I find it much more compelling to engage the reader to such a depth that the reader draws the parallels for himself.
Show Don't Tell. I am not of the school of writing-which one often sees in full display in nonfiction writing-in which each paragraph begins with a sentence that tells the reader what she is going to read, followed by several sentences of content, followed by a concluding sentence telling the reader what she just read. I prefer to let the story unfold through the actions of the characters.
Sally Denton's seventh book, The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right will be published by Bloomsbury Press in January 2012. Her most recent book, The Pink Lady: The Many Lives of Helen Gahagan Douglas is being issued in paperback at the same time. She will present "Non-fiction, Fiction and True Storytelling" with Don Bullis, Doug Preston, John Vorhass and Virginia Scharff at the Tony Hillerman conference Nov. 10-12 in Santa Fe.
Need a second opinion?
Being your own editor can be tough, if not impossible. Authors Sean Murphy and Tania Casselle have joined the Hillerman conference this year to offer a second opinion, professional, face-to-face, 20- minute critique. The two authors will evaluate short fiction, non-fiction essays, synopses, and first chapters of novels or non-fiction books. Even better, they will offer a price discount to those who sign up for the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference.
Submission deadline is October 1, 2011. Price is $165 per submission for those registered for at least one day of the conference (or pre-conference workshop) and $200.00 per submission for those not registered for the conference.
Sean and his wife Tania live in Taos and teach writing around the world. Sean has taught at several WORDHARVEST programs, always to rave reviews. You'll find more information here.
Thank you to our colleague Karen S. Elliott. She calls herself a "voracious, nit-picky proofreading shark," and she has kept us out of trouble for months by helping with our newsletter. If you need a second set of eyes for your projects, Jean and I highly recommend
her. Karen has made significant changes to her recent blog and shares grammar, punctuation, and proofreading tips you can use. Contact Karen via her blog.
Sincerely,
Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg
WORDHARVEST
Connie Gotsch www.conniegotsch.com Host Write On Four Corners KSJE FM, Farmington NM www.ksje.com Author two award winning youth novels ‘Belle’s Star,’ and ‘Belle’s trial,’ based on the life of a real dog and written from her point of view. Available from Artemesia Press at http://www.apbooks.net and amazon.com, and Anazon,com Belle’s Star was a New Mexico BookAward in 2009 and 2010; First Place for Juvenile Fiction New Mezxico Press Women and National Federation of Press Women Communication Contests 2010’ Silver Mom’s Choice Award 2010.
Belle’s Trial’ won First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2011 New Mexico Press Press Women’s Commuication Contest, and a Silver Mom’s Choice Award for 2011. The book received an Eric Hoffer Award nomination for 2011.
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