WritersTrack

At any rate, one of my intrepid students did. She happened to write an incredibly inspiring letter as well, and also to bring up a very good question--here's her note:

Julie,

I found a New Orleans writers group on Yahoo groups. The url is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NOLAwriteclub/. I haven't been brave enough join yet, but from the postings it looks like they meet at coffee shops around New Orleans to write and support each other.

I am a GANtrack alumni (Dec 2006) and have just finished the third draft of my first novel. I just let my husband read it and he gave me some great feedback. I think a fourth draft and a dental draft should do it - I just hope that I will be able to part with it. What a learning experience. I had to keep reminding myself to "show, don't tell" and I would read over my notes from the class as I went along.

Thanks for keeping up your blog. The writing opportunities and workshops keep me motivated. I was considering entering my novel in the 2008 William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. Would you recommend this to a novice? I figure nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Thanks,
Hilary Toups

I hope Hilary isn't embarrassed that the world now knows she's about to start the fourth draft of her novel--I for one am deeply impressed. Way to go, Hil! The writers' group sounds good to me and as for the Faulkner contest, you can't beat it. It's available not only to New Orleanians, but anyone, anywhere. If you win, it's a great feather in your cap, and something good to drop when seeking an agent or editor. But by then, you might have met one already, because going to the Faulkner Words and Music Festival is part of the prize, along with actual cash and a gold medallion with Mr. Faulkner's face on it.

Here's something else--Hilary (or any entrant) can actually choose between two contests and I want to put a plug in for my favorite--the Evans Harrington Grant given for a novel-in-progress. It's my favorite for two reasons--first of all, it's named after my creative writing professor at Ole Miss, someone who was a great inspiration to me and many others. Second, I founded it! I really did, which is how it got named for Professor Harrington. I founded and then funded it for several years, till I absolutely couldn't any more, but the Faulkner people, bless them, have kept it up.

They were kind enough--just because they know how interested I am--to forward this year's judge's notes on the winners and runner-ups. My lips are sealed, of course, but the one thing I CAN say in good conscience is that she was waxing absolutely ecstatic about the entries.

So,listen--say you were one of this year's entrants, but didn't win--but say that judge liked your book a lot. Suppose you went to the festival and introduced yourself and then kept up the relationship--you'd then know an influential writer who wishes you well. Do you think she'd be happy to help you with advice, perhaps even steer you to a good agent? I'd be willing to bet she would. So you don't even have to win to benefit. Plus, there's the great experience of going to the conference, period. You can meet tons of editors, agents, and writers. Those of you who don't know it, check it out at www.wordsandmusic.org .

Oh, and one final thing--some of you might not know what a "dental draft" is--that's a phrase coined by a writer friend of Anne Lamott's for the draft "where you check every tooth." Enviable place to be.

Aunt Julie says--join that writers' group, enter that manuscript, and put your hands together for Hilary! (Even if you ARE Hilary.)

Just got this note and it reminded me of all our previous discussions about writers' groups--did anyone manage to start one? Still interested? Here's some new blood for you. (See e-mail address below.)

Failing a group that came out of my classes, does anyone have any other ideas where Marc could start? If so, e-mail Aunt Julie at julie@casamysterioso.com , or reply to the entry.

Hello Julie,

Bev Marshall gave me your email address. I'm new to the area and am looking
for a writers' critique group to join. She suggested you would be a good
liaison to start with since the book I just finished writing was part
mystery. Do you have room in a group or know of other writers groups that
are open to me?

thanks,
Marc Maxson
marcmaxson@yahoo.com

I got this press release a few days ago--for a retreat in New Orleans in May, 2008! A long time off, and not a place you normally think of as a retreat, but the program sounds fabulous.
Check it out:

About Pen to Press
Announcing a one of a kind writers' retreat that you simply can't pass up! Come excited and leave inspired, ready to improve your writing and get that manuscript published!

Pen to Press Retreats are five intense, hands-on, inspiring days that teach participants how to shape and present a saleable manuscript. You'll learn in a variety of settings, from workshops to one-on-one mentoring sessions to seminars. To that end, you will write and revise, have your manuscript critiqued, and revise some more. This is a remarkable opportunity to transform your writing!

To top it off, throughout the last two days of each retreat, all of our participants are given exclusive, one-on-one time with agents and editors to whom they can pitch their work!

With this retreat under your belt, who can stop you? You'll be off and ready to publish in no time!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Activities
Participants will be assigned to a class of 20 and a team instructor. (Our instructors are all successfully published authors, many NY Times Best-sellers, award-winners, and excellent teachers.). With this group, you will spend five days working on specifics to improve your manuscript. During classes and panel discussions, you'll learn details about characterization, plot, dialogue, pacing, voice, marketing, pitching, contract negotiations, etc., all of it geared around your specific work.
Agents and editors will be on hand the last two days of the retreat, and they'll be there to spend one-on-one time with you, our participants . . . writers who now have a polished pitch for a promising work!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Join Us
Interested writers must submit a two page synopsis of a completed novel or novel in progress along with the first five pages of that novel. From those submissions, 160 participants will be selected. Good luck and we hope to see you there!

For more information on our 2008 Pen to Press Writers' Retreat, visit:

http://www.pentopressretreat.com

This could be the best opportunity for a writer I've ever heard of. You've got a whole month to research it

“101 BEST New Orleans Drinking Stories!”

This book will be published this fall by Bacchus Books.
It will include a link for a FREE download of a special version of “Sorry Mom (But I’m a Drunk)” by Morning 40 Federation. It will be available at Barnes & Noble and Borders stores nationwide!


Email your 500-1000 word (1-2 pages in MS Word) BEST New Orleans drinking story to us for consideration. Wild pics welcome! Poems welcome. Email stories, poems and pics to: RexBacchus@yahoo.com by July 30. Those selected will be notified by August 29, 2007!

Hey, guys--this is a biggie. Aunt Julie knows you can do it! That is, if you already have the book--looks like there's not much time till the deadline. So get on it.


HILLERMAN MYSTERY COMPETITION
------------------------------------
DEADLINE: July 1, 2007
GENRE: Books
THEME: Submit an unpublished mystery novel set in the Southwestern US by an author with no published books in that genre
LENGTH: 60,000 words max.
PRIZE: $10,000 advance against royalties, & publication by St Martin's Press
URL: http://www.hillermanconference.com/pdfhillermanprize.pdf

Got a note from Mary Fitzpatrick of the Preservation Resource Center asking if any of my students would be interested in this:

BOOK: "My Favorite Shotgun" -- 104 pages including introduction, history, floorplans for adapting shotguns and lots and lots of photos with quotes

Similar in layout to "New Orleans: Life in an Epic City" which has so far raised $80,000 to restore homes damaged by the hurricane. This book will also be underwritten with all proceeds going to rebuilding.

WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE FROM MY WRITING PALS: A short (less that 100 words) rumination, thought, vignette, funny incident, human story that happened in a shotgun and that helps explain in a small way about living in this particular type of house. Some of the best sources I have found so far are old people but it's hard to get them on the right track of thinking about a small happening, a human anecdote. We prefer humorous to melancholy and would just as soon avoid too many Katrina stories.

CAN YOU HELP ME? I would appreciate so much if you would have the time to send me something by June 10, but if more thoughts come later, keep sending them as well. Also, if you have specific shotguns that go with the story, we can photograph them if I have the address from you.
Thanks so very much, Mary

Mary Fitzpatrick
Editor, Preservation in Print
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans
923 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, La. 70130
504.581.7032
504.636.3052
fax: 504.636.7063
mfitzpatrick@prcno.org

Aunt Julie sez: Go or it, guys!

Well, something like that. It's something to do with betting with fake money. What I can't figure out is what's to stop an author from just betting zillions on themselves. But these people did get a partnership with Simon & Schuster, who are actually putting up money.

I went to the website (www.mediapredict.com) and found it unbelievably cumbersome, plus I kind of lost interest trying to read proposals this way--it just didn't seem a good use of my time. I went back a few days later and thought no new proposals had been added--though I can't be sure. And everything on there is made to sound very hot indeed--as if one's very own agent had written the content. Not sure what exactly is up here, but in my never-ending quest to provide useful service to my students and readers, I feel I must report on it. Take a gander:

Another Internet Publishing Contest
MediaPredict.com is working with Touchstone Fireside on a project in which internet visitors "vote" with fake cash to predict the success of posted book proposals. The publisher will "evaluate the fifty top scoring book proposals in the prediction market," select five finalists, and negotiate to publish the winner. Published contest rules give that contract an "approximate minimum value $2,000" and promise to provide that amount as a cash prize if the winner and the publisher can't come to terms. And Touchstone does not have to offer a contract if it believes none of the finalists "are of publishable quality."

Where it all gets a little muddier, however, is in the business relationship between MediaPredict and the submitting authors. The site's terms indicate that submissions are evaluated by "partner literary agents who review submissions and recommend whether they're right for Media Predict." They also say "some of the best agents in the business have agreed to represent authors discovered through Media Predict," though further details are not posted.

Stinski told us the "core group" of agent partners comprises Matthew Guma of The Guma Agency, Mollie Glick from the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Melissa Chinchillo and Christy Fletcher from Fletcher & Parry--quoted in today's NYT piece, though not identified there as having a relationship with MediaPredict--and one other young agent. Stinski says that all of the agented proposals posted as part of the site's launch come from these agent partners. But the agents we spoke to characterized the relationship with MediaPredict as informal and advisory.

Stinski assembled the group by "cold-calls" to a variety of agents. "Some people thought 'this is crazy'; others thought this is very interesting and we built up relationships" with that group.

When unagented writers have their submitted work accepted for the contest, they need to sign an agreement--not posted, and which Stinski declined to provide--based on "a standard literary agreement" that he says makes MediaPredict the "agent on a temporary basis." Stinksi says the company's intention is not to actually engage in literary representation itself, though. "We want everybody to have access to literary representation.... If you want to sign on, we'll put you on the site, and if you score well we'll find an agent for you."

I always tell my students you can market your book while you're writing it-- the three important steps are these:

1. Take a class (preferably mine). That way you meet people who can help you. Two other ways:
2. Join writers' organizations.
3. Go to writers' festivals and conferences where you can meet agents, editors, and other writers.

Here's one coming up:

Murder in the Grove takes place June 8-9, 2007 in Boise, Idaho. Robert Crais is the Guest of Honor. Over 30 additional mystery professionals will join Crais to impart their knowledge regarding mysteries to attendees. Agent Katharine Sands will present a workshop on pitching. Rhys Bowen will present a workshop titled Instant Build-a-Mystery. Sharan Newman will present a workshop on research. Other topics will include editing, depicting use of force in your writing, the writer’s life, and more.

The deadline for early registration fees for Murder in the Grove is Monday, April 30th. The basic conference fee goes from $100 to $125 on May 1st, so register soon!

There is also still some space left in the full day Master Class presented in conjunction with Murder in the Grove. Empowering Characters’ Emotions, taught by psychologist and acclaimed instructor Margie Lawson, helps writers better incorporate emotion in their writing to create page turners. The Master Class is priced separately at $65 through April 30th. May 1st the price increases to $100.

For more information on the conference or to register, please visit www.murderinthegrove.com.

Two things, guys--a new session of Aunt Julie's fabulous, fun phone fiction class, the Great American Novel Track, begins this Tuesday, May 15, at 9 p.m. Eastern time, 8p.m. Central, etc.

ANYBODY ANYWHERE can take these classes, using only that ancient implement known as the humble telephone. I emphasize this because it's recently come to my attention that no matter how often I say "conference call" or "telephone", people hear "online." When actually the only thing you do online is sign up--which you can do at www.writerstrack.com . You guys wannabe published, get on over there.

What we do, we just all dial the same number at the same time, which rings at a conference call center; then we punch in an access code and bingo! we're talkin'. Well, actually it's mostly me that's talkin' but that's because I want you to get your money's worth. You get to talk too, just maybe not as much.

Okay, thing two--Aunt Julie has another writing exercise for you, the kind that could pay off with tremendous gratification, but alas, no cash. This comes from Tony Burton, editor of Crime and suspense ezine:

If you write crime shorts and would like to take a swing at a NO FEE
contest, the Crime and Suspense ezine is holding one right now.

The full rules, requirements, prize list, etc., are all listed on the
Crime and Suspense web site. Just click on the link for the contest
on the main page.

http://www.crimeandsuspense.com

Good luck to all y'all! (That part comes from Aunt Julie.)

Hey, we've got a great new thing on the Writerstrack website. We're now offering the Great American Novel Track, Aunt Julie's signature course, on CDs. We've actually had the ability for sometime, but only offered them to our students (at a nominal price).

But now anybody can buy them for $150 -- that's just $25 a disk between you and getting that novel on the market! It was my assistant's idea. See, I thought a telephone class was the ultimate in convenience; but she pointed out that it still has a time element attached, and some people might like to take the course whenever they damn well pleased. Maybe even while driving, which is not recommended while holding a phone to one's ear. None of you would do that, would you?

Great idea, I thought! So get 'em while they're hot--at www.writerstrack.com .

And by the way, if you'd rather have that personal contact, with all Aunt Julie's motherly cajoling and nagging, the next GANtrack is May 15 -- you can sign up at the site.

I have a note from a modest and honest writer who said I should set the record straight about Chris Roerden's award nomination:

Hi Julie:
There's a line in the item titled Contest -- Two Weeks Left that's got me winning an award that hasn't been voted on yet. Could you correct the line that says my book, Don't Murder Your Mystery,won the Agatha Award, and change won to is a finalist for the Agatha Award....
I'm embarrassed that anyone would think I'd been so confident as to have declared myself the winner.
Thank you--I appreciate all the good information you provide on your site.
Best,
Chris

Clearly Chris is an exemplary person with excellent judgment. Aunt Julie wishes him or her (you never know with "Chrises") best of luck in the voting!

In my continuing search to find ways for you guys to get read, I've come upon--for the mysterious among you--"HARD-bOILED hEROES AND COZY CATS," an annual three-day weekend sponsored by the Southwest chapter of Mystery Writers of America (my chapter, as it happens.) They have agent and editor sessions, plus a twenty-minute session with a writing coach, something called a "fast pitch contest", and a short story contest. Not to mention a plethora of terrific workshops with names like "Free Publicity" (I'm so there!) and "Finding an Agent." Truly valuable stuff.

That fast pitch thing is a contest for the best query, and the winner gets--get this--a reading of the FULL MANUSCRIPT by an agent or editor. That's a big deal, guys. The three days costs only $99, plus extra for the extras (like the contests), but still--such a deal. It's in Dallas June 15-17 --go to www.mwasw.org to register.

You know, guys, where there's a will there's a way (a cliche you should avoid like snakebite). Two of my students are going to those lit lunches I blogged about to get agent critiques (one today--I have more butterflies than she does). And here's a really original way to get a professional edit--you have to win a contest. Why not? You're creative. You've got two weeks...


WIN A PROFESSIONAL EDIT FOR YOUR WORK IN PROGRESS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you fancy a professional editor looking over your work for
*free,* then simply think up the winning title for the second book
in a series of writers' guides for getting published: a new,
all-genre/mainstream edition of Don't Murder Your Mystery, the
book that won the 2007 Agatha Award for best nonfiction book.

To the supplier of the winning title, author Chris Roerden, an
editor with over 43 years' experience, will edit 200 pages of a
work-in-progress. Contest ends April 25th.
http://www.marketsavvybookediting.com/contestapp.pdf

This is kind of a continuation from yesterday...

The library program to which we’re contributing our NEW ORLEANS NOIR money is one that provides books for newborns and literacy info for their parents. Stop yawning and listen up--this is a terrific thing! Sure, you're thinking, high-minded, but…well, just another program.

Not so fast. Actually, it’s about as relevant as you can get to crime, which is what NOIR is all about, right? Here’s the thing—did you know that eleven states plan their penal building programs around the literacy rate of their fourth graders? It’s true. Because if you don’t learn to read by fourth grade, there’s a good chance you’re going to end up thuggin’.

And, for kids to learn to read, it’s really important that parents read to them—something about rhythms and familiarity—I’m not sure I quite get it, but think back to when your parents read to you—it’s probably one of your best childhood memories, and why you turned into a reader and writer.

Another good thing about this, from our point of view, is that we know exactly where our money’s going. The library is a very big bucket and our money’s going to be a tiny drop. But even if we only had a hundred dollars to contribute to the baby book program (and please, God of Books, let us have much, much more), that would be ten copies of GOOD NIGHT MOON, say, for ten kids.

Oops--I nearly forgot--bloggers are supposed to promote their new works, or else what's the point? Actually, we usually try to promote the solution of writing problems here, but let's take a break while I conform to the profile. NEW ORLEANS NOIR, a book of short stories that I edited, is just out from Akashic books. We have 18 all-new hair-raising tales therein, each set in a different neighborhood. A percentage of the royalties goes to help New Orleans' destroyed libraries, so you really have no excuse not to go out and buy a few copies. In fact, the library money is earmarked for a special program that I should probably tell you about later. I'm trying to stay on point here.

We've already begun our round of signings and were among the top five panels (attendance-wise) at the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, and the second best-selling book. We thought we had first place nailed, but that damn Tennessee Williams and his "Memoirs" beat us out! Well, to tell you the truth Tennessee's book has a forward by John Waters, who was also at the festival charming the socks off everybody, so that could have done it. At any rate, here's more (from our promo material). plus our remaining events:

"Beneath the glitter of Mardi Gras lies the sleaze of Bourbon Street; under the celestial sounds of JazzFest, the nightmare screams of a city once at war within its neighborhoods, but after Hurricane Katrina, seemingly at war with nature and the rest of the country as well.

New Orleans is a Third World country in itself, a Latin, African, European (and often amoral) culture trapped in a Puritan nation. It's everyone-s seamy underside, the city where respectable citizens go to get drunk, puke in the gutter, dance on tabletops, and go home with strangers, all without guilt. It's the metropolitan equivalent of eating standing up--if it happened in New Orleans, it doesn't count.

The city was always the home of the lovable rogue, the poison magnolia, the bent politico, the sociopathic street thug, and, especially, the heartless con artist--but in post-Katrina times it struggles against . . . well, the same old problems, just writ large and with a new breed of carpetbagger thrown in. Combine all that with a brilliant literary tradition and you have New Orleans Noir, a sparkling collection of tales exploring the city's wasted, gutted neighborhoods, its outwardly gleaming "sliver by the river," its still-raunchy French Quarter, and other hoods so far from the Quarter they might as well be on another continent. It also looks back into the past, from that recent innocent time known in contemporary New Orleans as "pre-K," to the mid–19th century, the other time the city was mostly swampland.

Brand new stories by: Ace Atkins, Laura Lippman, Patty Friedmann, Barbara Hambly, Tim McLoughlin, Olympia Vernon, David Fulmer, Jervey Tervalon, James Nolan, Kalamu ya Salaam, Maureen Tan, Thomas Adcock, Jeri Cain Rossi, Christine Wiltz, Greg Herren, Julie Smith, Eric Overmyer, and Ted O’Brien."

[2007 Events:


--Thurs., April 12, 5pm--JACKSON, MS--Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4455 I-55 N.)
*Featuring editor Julie Smith and contributors Greg Herren, Patty Friedmann, and Ace Atkins.
--Sat., April 14, 6pm--NEW ORLEANS, LA--Octavia Books (513 Octavia St.)
*Featuring editor Julie Smith and contributors Greg Herren, Jim Nolan, Eric Overmyer, Ted O'Brien, and Jervey Tervalon.
--Wed., April 18, 5pm--NEW ORLEANS, LA--Square Books (160 Courthouse Sq.)
*Featuring editor Julie Smith and contributors Ted O'Brien and Ace Atkins
--Sat., April 28, 3pm--NEW ORLEANS, LA--New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Book Tent).
*Featuring contributors Ted O'Brien, Jim Nolan, Patty Friedmann, and Christine Wiltz. Moderated by editor Julie Smith.
Oh, and we're doing the Saints and Sinners Festival in New Orleans too, but I don't have the exact date yet.

Thought you might be interested in this (posted On the Sisters In Crime listserv):

Calling All New England Mystery Writers or Writers With a New England Story:

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SUBMIT to the AL BLANCHARD SHORT CRIME FICTION CONTEST. The deadline is April 30, 2007, and right now we have only received twenty-some submissions, so the field is wide open! The story must be a crime story by a New England author OR be set in New England. It must also be previously unpublished (in print or electronically) and not more than 5,000 words. Story sub-genres include mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror but with no torture or killing of children or animals.

First prize is $100 plus publication in Level Best Books' 5th anthology of short crime fiction. The winner will be a guest of the Committee at the November 2007 New England Crime Bake, where the award will be presented. If we receive enough submissions, we will also award honorable mentions with plaques, as was done last year.

If not yet published, you may submit the same story again; you may also submit more than one story, but no more than two, please. For submission guidelines, visit contest@crimebake.org. This is a blind contest and there is no entry fee, so you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain!

AUNT JULIE SEZ: So you've never written a mystery? Try it, you'll like it!

Here's the second e-mail from Marika, with the all-important link:

http://www.hotelmonteleone.com/literaryschedule.htm

That is the link that has all the writers and all the agents that will be there. The girl I spoke to is Sarah .. She told me that I need to bring 15 pages, double spaced, and a cover letter with the ms. The only thing the cover letter needs to include is contact information ... name, address, phone number, and e-mail. The meetings with the agent will take place BEFORE the luncheon ... at 1030am ... this can change depending on how many people will be present.


Aunt Julie sez: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS, GUYS! It's a rare opportunity.

Just heard from Marika, who went and signed up--you should too!--and learned that apparently they do the critiques before the lunch. She says you have to be there at either ten or ten-thirty. And you can only give them 15 pages, which is admittedly a little scary, but the first ten or so are the ones you're depending on to hook an editor, right? Why not an agent?

Marika said she was nervous, so I'll tell you what I told her: If the agent doesn't like it, it means nothing--or, if she has suggestions, maybe you'll learn something valuable, But if she does like it, you just got your first lead on an agent.

If you live in New Orleans, or close enough enough to get here, this is an amazing deal. I found about it when I was asked to introduce the speaker at one of the literary lunches co-sponsored by the Monteleone Hotel, the Garden District Bookshop, and the New Orleans Public library.

What they do is, they bring in nationally recognized authors as speakers, plus well-respected NEW YORK AGENTS, who do critiques for those who ask for them. So you could say the critique isn’t exactly free—you do have to buy lunch—but $30 gets you everything—lunch, a chance to meet and hear an author you admire, and a critique.

They do say the critiques are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and I’m not sure how many they offer at any given lunch, so give them a call if you’re interested—504-681-4452. They have four lunches coming up—March 29, April 12, May 7, and June 6--and you can reserve a place thirty days before each lunch. Aunt Julie wants to tell you frankly—this is the best deal she ever heard of on a critique

Well, okay, maybe it’s not really me, but if you’ve ever taken one of my classes, I guarantee you this’ll remind you of somebody you know:

Go to www.youtube.com

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