2009 Amy Writing Awards

Celebrate with me, friends! I was awarded a 2009 Amy Writing Award for "thought provoking, skillful presentation of biblical truth, reinforced with scripture in a mainstream, non-religious publication." My article, "Ready for the Storm," which appeared in the April/May 2009 issue of McKinney Kids Magazine, received 5th Prize and publication in the Amy Foundation’s booklet. The winning article is posted on my website, and can be accessed directly here. It will be available online at The Amy Foundation Monday, May 3, 2010.

I tell you this because yes, I am excited to be honored with this prestigious recognition, but also because I want to encourage you as writers. You see, “Ready for the Storm” was the first article I ever published! It first appeared in a Christian magazine, Living with Loss. I retained the rights and submitted it to McKinney Kids. When it goes live on the Amy Foundation website and is printed in their booklet, it will continue to take God’s message out into the world to places I may never go.

Keep writing, friends. Keep submitting your work. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23). Keep writing for Him!

Click here for more information about The Amy Foundation.

Have You Done Your Research?

We covered the query letter in the last post, but let's back up a step. Let’s say you have an idea for a magazine article. You might even have a draft written. Before you query, you need to research. I don’t mean the research involved in sufficiently covering your topic. Of course, you need to do that, but  I’m talking about researching publications that produce your type of material.

I recommended this book for the query letter clinic, but the current year’s Writer’s Market is invaluable for this type of research! These books sell for about $30-$35 new, but you can find a used copy at Half Price Bookstore for $10-$15 or peruse the library's copy for free. I wouldn’t buy anything more than 2 years old, because editors change often, as do requirements and contact information. If you have an older version, it is still useful for providing websites to look up to get the current information. Plus, a lot of the other information in here is timeless, like the query letter clinic, agent query advice, and numerous helpful articles. They also offer an online subscription service.

Sally Stuart’s current year Christian Writers’ Market Guide is another essential tool. She lists publishers and agents who either work primarily in the Christian market or are mainly secular but also print for or represent the Christian market. She provides a lot of helpful resources for writers, like Bible research, songwriting resources, instruction courses, etc. 

So, let’s say your idea is an allegory on fishing for sport versus fishing for Jesus. What is your target market? Who might read this article? Men? Fishers? Outdoorsmen? Christian? Non-Christian? Pastors? Pick one & open up your Writer’s Market. 

Look for the proper outlet for your subject matter, whether they accept freelancers, whether they accept new/unpublished authors (if that’s you). Note their response time, whether they accept simultaneous submissions, and what rights they buy. A page near the front provides rights definitions. Typically, you want to look for those who purchase first rights, or first North American rights, or one-time rights. AVOID ones that buy all rights, or you forfeit ownership and the ability to market your material elsewhere in the future.

Narrow your search to a few specific targets, research their requirements, and review a copy. You can view some magazines online. You can request a sample copy of others. Or, you could always go to the library and/or bookstore to find a recent copy. You want to make sure your material is a good fit. Otherwise, you’ll waste the editor’s time and your own.  

Once you know the desired outlet, submit. But, check the publisher’s guidelines first! I can’t stress that enough. Very few accept unsolicited manuscripts. Most want a query letter first. Some want a query with previous published writing samples called clips or tearsheets. Guidelines are posted online or you can request a copy by mail. Also, those who want queries are specific about how they receive them. Some accept them by email (even that is picky – some want it in the body of the email; others as an attachment), some by fax, some by snail mail only. Very few accept telephone submissions. 

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. A friend in my writers' group has had great success with calling editors and publishers directly. BUT she researches her market and her target publisher BEFORE calling.  She is prepared with information in front of her before she picks up the phone. Based on my experience and what editors and publishers state in their guidelines, their articles, their books, and their blogs on the subject, most prefer the query letter.

Alright, get to work!

Query Components

Obviously, the first step to getting published is to write…then rewrite…then rewrite again, and again, and again.  You want to put forth your best effort.  First, or even early drafts are NEVER best effort. I've talked about that a couple times on this blog, here and here, and probably in a few other posts as well. But what do you do once you've reached "ready"?

Query.

Now, with magazine articles or other periodicals or nonfiction books, you don’t always have to have the entire piece written beforehand. This is good news! If you have an idea for an article but haven’t written it yet, you can submit a query letter and hope the editor then asks you to write it. Keep in mind, though, first drafts of query letters are NEVER best effort, either.  So, it’s very important to take time to edit yourself and look for ways to improve the piece. Have others read it and give their suggestions.  Participating in a writers’ group is very beneficial.  I would not have gotten my first article published if not for the gentle wisdom of my writers’ group peers.

So what is a query letter? It is a one-page letter used to get an editor or agent interested in your idea. When you query magazines, you’re trying to get the editor to buy your article or idea. When you query book publishers and agents, you’re trying to get the editor or agent interested enough to request a full proposal or the entire manuscript. It’s basically a sales pitch, and it needs to be very well-written. 

Writer’s Market, put out annually by Writer's Digest Books, contains a query letter clinic which gives examples of good and bad queries and details what made each good or bad. According to their experts, a successful query letter consists of four key components:  Be as sharp and concise as possible.

1) Author’s authority/qualifications: The author's authority is simply your expertise. The editor might like your idea, but why should he trust you to write it? What makes you the person to write this article?

2) The need for this book/article: Why do readers need this information? In this information age, it's relatively easy to get answers to pretty much any question, so why should this editor print this story?

3) Specifics about the book/article/story/idea: Ok, here is where you tell the editor what your article is about. Here is your hook. In ONE sentence, in a very interesting and appealing way, summarize your idea. This takes practice. In fact, I've had writers bring one-sentence summaries to critique meetings and work on that one little sentence the entire time.

4) Suggested word count: This is self-explanatory. Tell how long you anticipate the finished article to be. Please be sure to check the publication's writer's guidelines before you query! You want to make sure your topic is a good fit, but you also need to know what they expect, their word count limits, formatting, etc.



As I mentioned in a previous post, always be formal and professional. Address the editor by name (Mr. or Ms.), and make sure your name and contact information are complete. If mailing by snail mail, be sure to sign your letter. Editors and agents receive several hundred submissions each week. You want your letter to stand out because it is well-written and your idea is well-presented. Fancy fonts and pretty stationery are unprofessional and will usually land your submission in the garbage. Small details, like misspelling the agent’s name or mixing up your words (i.e. I’ve written a nonfiction novel… huh?) make a poor impression and can quickly lead to rejection. 

Are you ready? Get set. Query!

Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure, by Susan K. Marlow

I finished reading Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure today. It's a nail-biter! Lots of suspense, lots of action, lots of trouble. This fifth book in Susan K. Marlow’s Circle C Adventures series for ‘tweens continues to showcase the author’s readability and appeal to the younger audience.

Main character Andi Carter has recently turned thirteen and is struggling with the idea of growing up. After innocent horseplay lands Andi and her friends in jail, they venture into the Sierra Nevada mountains to pan for gold and leave their troubles behind. But trouble finds them. A shootout with bank robbers leaves her brother seriously injured and sheltered in a remote cabin. Andi must nurse him to health and fend off some serious dangers while keeping hope alive.

Andi is able to count on her friends to get through the tough times and comes to find out that treasure is more than just a handful of shiny gold.

Once back home on the Circle C Ranch near Fresno, California, with her brother on the mend, Andi realizes growing up might not be such a bad idea after all. She recalls her brother’s words to her from their first night on the trail, “I’d rather have a sensible young woman around—one who can think clearly and do what’s got to be done,” and rather likes the idea of being considered sensible.

While this book is the fifth in the series, Trouble with Treasure is quite enjoyable on its own and can stand alone. I do recommend reading books one through four, though, to get to know Andi, her friends, and her family, and to catch a glimpse of the Old West and 1880s America.

For further study, a FREE enrichment study guide is available for Trouble with Treasure and includes a geography study, a vocabulary list, and a recipe for Andi’s Beef [Jerky] Broth, as well as web links of period photos, an Annie Oakley word puzzle, and a creative rattlesnake craft. Click the PDF graphic at the bottom of Susan’s website to download. Lapbooks are available by separate purchase for grades 3-6. You can sample Susan’s panning for gold activity at this Magical Mouse Schoolhouse feature.

Read more about Susan in this Aim for Perfection Editing interview or by visiting her website. Be on the lookout this fall for Susan’s sixth and final Circle C Adventures installment, Andrea Carter and the Price of Truth. Andi's adventures are not concluding, however. Soon younger children can learn to read with Circle C Beginnings, an upcoming series of early reader chapter books that introduce a six-year-old Andi to the elementary audience. Each Circle C Beginnings book will have color covers and illustrated pictures. Look for Pony Trouble next winter. Visit Andi’s blog for an adorable treat to hear little Andi herself tell all about it.

The Circle C Adventures series is wholesome reading for the entire family.

Compensation Disclosure: I received one complimentary copy of this book from Kregel in exchange for reviewing it on my blog.

When the Picture Fades

Has this ever happened to you? You start a project with great energy. Your fingers fly across the keyboard. You write a page or two or fifteen. You down a pot of coffee to stay alert and try to keep up with the action. Your characters speak—and you hear them. You watch them dance. You fear for their lives. You cry their tears.

Then the picture fades.

What do you do? What happens when the spark goes out? Do you quit? Give up? Take a nap?

Here’s what you do. You clean the toilet, scrub the shower, and mop the floor. When you’re done, you wash your hands, of course, then you sit back down and stare blankly at your computer screen. You read your piece out loud very slowly, noting strong areas and highlighting weak spots. You listen to your own inflections and mark the sentences you tripped over. And you ask yourself the following questions:

• Who cares? Is your story worth a reader’s time?
• How did this happen? Did I exploit nouns and verbs?
• Does it matter? Is every aspect significant?

You want to write something that people will read. Reading a book, short story, or article is a time investment. Offer something of value to your audience.

Eliminate as many gerunds and participles as possible. Minimize adverbs and adjectives. Reduce clauses. Show, don’t tell. Appeal to the senses.

Give your reader credit. Trust that he/she knows things like tears are salty and oceans are sandy, but do authenticate your characters with unique details. If your characters came to life, you’d want your readers to recognize them.

Now take another look. Has the vibrance returned? If not, go eat a snack, start a load of laundry, and give the dog a bath. And try again tomorrow.