Author: Gary McLaren

This author has written 143 articles

Are You Sure Your Query Is Ready?

One magazine. Hundreds of writers. Thousands of queries.

One editor. One desktop ... and a trashcan that appears to be incredibly, almost unimaginably deep. Where exactly will your submission go?

It has all the makings of an editor's nightmare. Stacks and stacks of submissions, and some of them are dreadfully inappropriate and unprofessional. It's enough to give our poor editor a splitting headache at the very least. No wonder that some of these submissions have only a brief existence before being filed in the circular bin. (more…)

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Writing in Rhyme

This is a guest post by Laura Backes, Publisher, Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers.

© Copyright 2001, Children's Book Insider, LLC

Dr. Seuss did it, and in the process changed the face of the publishing industry and became a beloved household name to children for several generations. So why do so many editors say they don't want stories written in rhyme?

Many beginning writers ask about this well-known submission "Don't". The truth is, some publishers do have a strict policy against rhyming stories - they simply don't publish them. But most would snap up a good rhyming story in seconds. The problem is that reading bad rhyme is like listening to nails on a
blackboard, and it's so easy to write bad rhyme. So if editors say they don't like stories in verse it's probably a way of discouraging the people who don't know what they're doing.

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Get Into Your Writing Space

This is a guest post by by Christine Stewart.

I know, you're brilliant, you don't need any touchy feely advice on how to create an altar to your writing. You're doing just fine, thank you. If this is true, great! But I hope you'll read on anyway, because I may say something interesting (it has happened at least once that I know of).

It's important to have a space set aside in your home for writing. It can be a big cushion in a corner of your closet with a notebook and pen, if that's all you have room for, but it should be all yours, waiting for you whenever it's time to write.

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Working From Home – 10 Keys to Survival

This is a guest post by Anne Varia.

Conference calls in your pajamas. Two-hour lunches. Unlimited vacations and endless sick time. Indeed, working at home is every writer's dream.

The truth is, writers and non-writer's alike tend to glamorize the notion of working at home. And the obvious perks don't always outweigh the unique challenges of being your own boss. In fact, many work-at-home writers I know share the same complaints: disorganization, isolation, and lack of motivation, just to name a few. But none of these challenges is insurmountable. Here are just a few suggestions to get your home-based writing business on track. (more…)

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