Writers Education Zoom: Get Your Book Right Before the World Judges You: What Agents, Publishers, and Reviewers Are Looking For by Dawn Brotherton (Parts 1-4)

New and unknown authors have discovered that the book publishing industry can be hard to break into. If an author chooses to self-publish, it can be difficult to know where to start with the editing, layout, and design, whether doing it for themselves or hiring someone else to do it. This presentation gives authors additional information on what is expected in the visual and technical areas of award-winning books. The next presentation in the series will delve into content and style. Industry standards change over time, so even if you think you know what is acceptable, this workshop is for you!

Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. She teaches for the College of William and Mary Osher Lifelong Learning and writes for Williamsburg Next Door Neighbor magazine. A retired Air Force colonel and softball coach, Dawn writes mystery, romance, middle grade fiction, children's picture books, and nonfiction books.

She completed her first novel in 2010. When she realized how hard it was to attract the attention of publishing houses and how much money they received from her hard work, she decided to go it on her own. She set up Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC, and took on other authors. The focus of Blue Dragon Publishing is to help a writer’s dream become a reality. Dawn’s focus is mentoring people through the process and helping them reach their goals.

Dawn’s presentation will be broken down into four separate Zoom sessions covering the four main evaluation areas in MWSA’s review program:

  1. Visual (April 25, 2021)

  2. Technical (May 23)

  3. Content (June 13)

  4. Style (July 11)

Part 1 -- Visual

Slide Presentation

Part 2 -- Technical

Slide Presentation


 

Part 3 -- Content

 

Part 4 -- Style

Writers Education Zoom: Writing Nonfiction by Ruth Crocker

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Ruth W. Crocker is the author of more than sixty publications. Her articles, stories, and personal essays have been featured in The Gettysburg Review, Grace Magazine, O-Dark-Thirty, T.A.P.S. Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Redux, The Bennington Review, Story Circle and several anthologies and trade magazines. Among her writing honors are a notable essay in Best American Essays, a Pushcart Prize nomination, first prize in the Saturday Evening Post’s “Tribute to the Troops” essay contest, and the Lloyd D. Matterson Award for Excellence in Research. Her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, received the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association, and the Silver Medal from the MWSA. Her nonfiction book, People of Yellowstone, received Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award in 2017. She holds a PhD from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Education from Tufts University, and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Bennington College. Presently, she is editor of the National Newsletter of the Gold Star Wives of America, as well as a frequent speaker on the subject of memoir and the craft of writing. She lives and writes in Mystic, CT. Visit her at www.ruthwcrocker.com.

The Zoom session in the video below was recorded on May 15, 2021.

MWSA Visual Checklist

EXTERIOR CONSIDERATIONS

______ Cover art is attractive and draws the eye

______ Cover art relates to the genre and storyline

______ Size and placement of title and author name make them easy to read

______ Back cover blurb, endorsements, and/or bio are legible and interesting

______ Spine information is complete and is the same theme as the cover

INTERIOR CONSIDERATIONS

______ Outside margins allow space to hold the book without covering up words with your thumbs

______ Inside margins allow you to read words in the gutter without prying the book further open

______ Font is serif and large enough to read with ease

______ Space between lines is sufficient that the book lines don’t appear crowded

______ Page numbers appear in the middle or on the outside margin of each page.

______ Odd numbered pages are always on the right side

______ Blank pages do not have page numbers on them

______ Chapter numbers/titles are placed consistently, and there are no headers on that page

______ First paragraph in each chapter is flush left (not indented)

______ Subsequent paragraphs are indented with no space between paragraphs for fiction books.

______ Nonfiction can be formatted like fiction OR no indents, and with a space between paragraphs

______ Length of chapters are approximately the same or intentionally otherwise.

______ Current trend in fiction is toward shorter chapters.

______ Table of Contents must be included for nonfiction but is not mandatory for fiction

______ Paragraphs are blocked (not ragged on the right side) AND without large gaps between words

Writers Education Zoom: Website FUN-damentals by Wendy Meyeroff

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Wendy was the presenter for an MWSA Writers Education Zoom session covering website FUNdamentals.

Learn more about Wendy (from her website’s About Me page)

I started working as a reporter and was the managing editor of health care magazines 20+ years ago. I segued into business-to-business advertising and then to public relations.

Early on, I found I could write not only clinical materials but also for the lay public. Indeed, I found I had a definite knack for "consumer-speak," a skill that is lacking among most medical writers.

​And thanks to my work in editorial, I’ve also honed my skill in strategy and market analysis. After all, how can you keep a magazine successful if you can’t analyze the changes your audience is facing—and adapt your content accordingly? I brought this “What’s the Story?” (always truthful) mindset into advertising and PR and it was that which led to my consistently creating successful marketing campaigns and rescuing failing ones.

​Find out more now. (For a fun marketing story when you call, ask about the Gestational Diabetes pitch restructure. It meant the difference between luring only two reporters at a luncheon and bringing in nearly 30.)

Have a look at Wendy’s slide presentation below, or visit her website:

https://www.wmmedcomm.com/

Fletcher & Co. Publishers

Service(s) offered: Editing

Description of service provided: Exclusively for MWSA members, our team of professional journalists, authors and editors at Fletcher & Co. Publishers can edit your manuscript or draft.

We offer flat rates for editing and charge sales tax.

— Light Copyediting (Punctuation, Grammar, etc.) $2 a page

— Heavy Copyediting (Style & Grammar) $3 a page

Parties will sign a contract agreement if we accept your work for editing. You can break the contract with a $15 cancellation fee.

Half of the total payment will be due on signing, and the other half upon completion of the work.

There are no additional fees.

We do not accept checks; all payments will be made by direct deposit.

Fletcher & Co. Publishers reserves the right to decline editing services for any written work. All written work we agree to edit will strictly follow the MWSA Ethics Policy (http://www.mwsadispatches.com/structure-documents#other) and MWSA guidelines for book listing & review submissions.

CONTACT

editing@fletcherpublishers.com

http://www.fletcherpublishers.com/

On Writing Well, The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet.

Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.

Recommended by Brad Graft

Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

Writing Fiction (6th Edition)

The most widely used and respected book on writing fiction, Writing Fiction guides the writer from first inspiration to final revision. Supported by an abundance exercises, this guide/anthology explores and integrates the elements of fiction while offering practical techniques and concrete examples. A focus on the writing process in its entirety provides a comprehensive guide to writing fiction, approaching distinct elements in separate chapters while building on what has been covered earlier. Topics include free-writing to revision, plot, style, characterization, dialogue, atmosphere, imagery, and point of view. An anthology of diverse and contemporary short stories followed by suggestions for discussion and writing exercises, illustrates concepts while offering variety in pacing and exposure to this increasingly popular form.

The book also discusses key issues including writing workshops, using autobiography as a basis for fiction, using action in stories, using dialogue, and maintaining point of view. The sixth edition also features more short short stories than any previous edition and includes quotation boxes that offer advice and inspirational words from established writers on a wide range of topics--such as writing from experience, story structure, openings and endings, and revision. For those interested in developing their creative writing skills.

Recommended by Brad Graft

Timothy Heck

Company/Group Name: Timothy Heck

Service(s) offered: Editing, Writing help/guidance, Research help and/or guidance, General Veterans' help, guidance, advice

Description of service provided: An experienced freelance editor focusing on military history, foreign affairs, national security, and diplomacy. Services include research assistance, copy editing, ghost writing, and peer-review. Editor has worked with and for multiple think-tanks, university presses, and academic journals. Also works with students on papers and projects. Contact me via email: theckeducator@gmail.com. Mention MWSA in title, please.

Bob Worthington

Company/Group Name: self-employed non-fiction writer

Service(s) offered: Writing help/guidance, Marketing & Promotion, Research help and/or guidance, General Veterans' help, guidance, advice

Description of service provided: I am a non-fiction writer with over 2500 publications. I have a 25-year background with the USMC, US Army and US Navy with three combat tours in spec ops and infantry. I am also a former Army clinical psychologist and one of the pioneer researchers in PTSD. See my web site,www.BobWorthingtonWriter.com or email me at rworthin@q.com. My major writing areas are general aviation, military, and firearms (and small business management). I can help writers with their ideas, doing research, and getting published. I am also a retired university professor where I taught in departments of psychology, business, and writing.

Link/URL to website: http://BobWorthingtonWriter.com

Email Address: rworthin@q.com

Force Poseidon, Publisher

Service(s) offered: Editing, Writing help/guidance, Cover Design, Marketing & Promotion, Video Production, Editing, etc., Research help and/or guidance, General Veterans' help, guidance, advice, Website/Blog/Social Media

Description of service provided: Force Poseidon is a small press created to foster, develop, and publish the works of primarily military veterans unable to get the attention of agents or other publishers.

FP is a new publisher of urban, military/espionage, mystery, and crime novels that engage readers beyond big guns, watches, and helicopter rides. In genres that have often been considered less than literary, we strive to infuse our products with characters as compelling as the plots, and action for people who understand.

But in addition to thrillers, we've also published a retired Navy senior chief's searing autobiography, and this fall we're launching a compelling historical fiction, a thriller sequel, and a new take on superheroes that is a cross between "Mission Impossible" and "Justice League."

And sure, sometimes there are helos.

Are you ready with a finished, smooth manuscript? Is it rough and you don't know where to go with it? Or do you just want to bounce ideas off someone who gets it?

We're ready to talk. No agent required.

Link/URL to website: http://ForcePoseidon.com

Richard Sand,Esq., Multiple award winning author and Creative Writing Professor

Company/Group Name: Richard Sand,Esq., Multiple award winning author and Creative Writing Professor

Service(s) offered: Editing, Writing help/guidance

Description of service provided: 
1138 W Saw Mill Road
Quakertown,Pa 18974
215 233 5377 or 215 285 3941. 
richardmsandesq@gmail.com

I am the multi-award winning author of 12 books,fiction and non-fiction,including "Edison 64-A Tragedy in Vietnam and at Home." I am involved in Veterans causes and also in screenplay projects.

Link/URL to website: http://www.Edison64.org

JL Regen Enterprises

Company/Group Name: JL Regen Enterprises

Service(s) offered: Editing, Writing help/guidance, Research help and/or guidance

Description of service provided: I am ready to provide ghostwriting, editing, and writing services to members. I've done this for 25 years in private, government, and academic industries.

writerjr1044@gmail.com
7100 Kennedy Blvd East
Suite 5N
Guttenberg, NJ 07093

Link/URL to website: http://www.joansbookshelf.com

Valerie Ormond - Believing In Horses Blog

Valerie Ormond is a writer living in Maryland. Valerie’s novels, Believing In Horses, and Believing In Horses, Too, won Gold Medals in the Military Writers Society of America book awards and seven other first place awards in national competitions including the State of Maryland’s Touch of Class Award. Her third novel, Believing In Horses Out West, released in October 2021 as an Amazon #1 New Release on launch day. The National Federation of Press Women awarded the book 1st Place in Young Adult Fiction, and The BookFest Awards selected it as a Second Place winner. Believing In Horses Out West was also named a Finalist in the international Wishing Shelf Book Awards.

Her fiction and non-fiction stories have been published in books, and her articles and poetry have appeared internationally in books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.

Besides her writing, Valerie is a Navy veteran, owner of Veteran Writing Services, LLC, and a horsewoman.

Kathleen M. Rodgers' Blog

Born in The Land of Enchantment, Kathleen M. Rodgers is a novelist whose work has appeared in Family Circle Magazine, Military Times, and in several anthologies. Her fifth novel, Llano County Mermaid Club, will be released from University of New Mexico Press and is represented by Tracy Crow, president of Tracy Crow Literary Agency. The Flying Cutterbucks, her fourth novel, was named a 2022 New Mexico Press Women Zia Book Award 1st Runner-up and a 2021 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Contemporary Fiction from Women Writing the West. She’s been featured in USA Today, The Associated Press, and many other publications. A native of Clovis, New Mexico, Kathleen resides in North Texas and is working on her sixth novel. She presented at Eastern New Mexico University’s Media-Con '21 and '22 and has been invited back for Media-Con '23. A two-time finalist for the MWSA Writer of the Year Award, Kathleen recently gave a talk about "Not Giving Up" at the 2022 MWSA national conference in New Orleans. She is available to speak at events and book clubs.

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