Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

Let’s Get to Writing!

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Hello, my writer friends! What are you guys doing out there in writing land? This past week I’ve roughly outlined a series of NF books. Oh, please, don’t be impressed. I’m always doing that … I just never sit down and write the books. (slapping forehead).

I received a very powerful email from author (mentor to Christian writers) Shelley Hitz talking about the power of a book series (NF book series.) I’ve read it several times and each read-thru I get a little more pumped with ideas. So what did I do?

I sat down and wrote a short story. (slapping my forehead again!) Maybe some day I’ll seriously hit the nonfiction trail but when your first love is fiction …

This short story has been my first writing endeavor in more than a year. (In all fairness to me, I did edit my novel. The pandemic and the state of our country really messes with my head!) After hubby read through my story, asked his questions, made his suggestions, I sent it off to Woman’s World Magazine. Ten fingers and ten toes are crossed, and prayers are going up. I’ve sold them two stories during the past couple of years, but it seems every attempt is like starting from scratch, relearning how to pull a short romance together, at least for me. 700 words is tricky!

I really need some publishing encouragement. How about you?

For those of you who write mysteries, take a look at these two markets. You might have a story that fits. Please note: these are secular publications.

#1. Mystery Weekly Magazine  

and

#2. Untreed Reads, a publishing house that was founded in 2008. Read the guidelines carefully.

(I Just) Died In Your Arms: Crime Fiction Inspired By One-Hit Wonders

Also, have you heard of the contest that Books and Such Literary Management is hosting in celebration of their 25 year anniversary?  The deadline is May 15th but if you hurry …. Here’s the link:

I sent them my hook, and if I happen to be one of the finalists, I have my proposal all finished and ready to send.

Let me know what you’re writing … see you next week!

Jess

ETBU Christian Writers Conference – Part III

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This is my third (and last) installment of my ETBU conference experience. If you missed them and you’re interested, read ETBU, Part I and  ETBU, Part II to catch up.

Posting my experience has been good practice for getting me back into blogging mode. I started blogging in 2007 and posted almost every day. It was a habit, and I can say with certainty that bllogging helped my writing as well as my confidence. If you don’t blog–try it, even if you do it secretly.

Now about the conference: The ETBU Christian conference definitely wasn’t the norm when it comes to conferences—at least not like any I’ve attended. I wouldn’t say it was really a “How-To” experience. Hubby called it a “conceptual” conference. I guess it was a combination of the two, but without a doubt, motivational. I came away with my creativity fully charged. That had as much to do with the speakers, their friendliness and encouragement, than what they actually said. No one–absolutely no one in any of the sessions I attended offered a negative word. Believe me when I say that’s unusual.

After my one-on-one with Cecil Murphey, I hurried to Kristen Clark’s session on How to Write & Publish the Inspirational Short Story. As you know, I hate entering a session late or walking out early, so here’s a funny story of my own; maybe it’s an inspirational one. After all, God works in mysterious  ways.

Because I missed the first thirty minutes of Kristen’s talk when I met with Cec, I missed her reading a couple of short stories. Hubby was sooooooo glad I wasn’t there. You see, I have the weakest stomach around and Kristen read, in graphic detail, a story about an eating disorder. Yeah, right, you get the picture.

Oh, thank you, Lord, that I missed that reading. If I had met with Cec at ten o’clock on Saturday morning as I was supposed to and been Kristen_booksitting in my front row seat right in front of Kristen … well, use your imagination.

I’m reading Kristen’s book now and enjoying the step by step instruction on writing and submitting. If you have an interest in writing short—especially for Chicken Soup for the Soul—or pulling together compilation books, head on over to Amazon and grab How To Write & Publish The Inspirational Short Story. It’s a good, informative read. Also, visit Kristen’s website.

My fifth session was called Failure: A Necessary Step Toward Success by Cecil Murphey. Okay, who in their right mind wants to attend a session on Failure. We can do that without any instruction, right? Wrong! We need to learn how to fail—pay our dues—and make it work for us. This was one of the most inspirational and creative sessions I’ve EVER attended. Every step we take toward publication is a learning experience, and that including failing. There are actually people (writers) out there who fear failure so much that they never submit anything. Looking back on my writing career, I can see where I’ve sabotaged myself just because I think I might fail. Cec made me realize I need to view failure as another stepping stone to publication–not a nail in my writing coffin.

My last hour of the conference was with James Pence, author of Blindsight, Unseen and Mercy Killer, and the NF book Terror by Night. James’ topic was called 21st Century Publishing: A Word of Exciting (and Confusing) Opportunities. In a nutshell, James advised all of us to take a hard look at where we are in our writing careers, make note of all options then determine the BEST option for us.

Books James recommends: A.P.E. (Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – by Guy Kawasaki

The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levine

The Rise of the Machines by Kristen Lamb

If you’ve never been to writers’ conference, you’re missing out. Doesn’t matter if you attend a big one or a small one, just do it. You’ll come home refreshed, challenged and ready to write.

 

ETBU Christian Writers Conference

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SIGNHubby and I just got back from the 13th Annual East Texas Christian Writers Conference in Marshall, Texas. I’ve known about this conference for years, but I’ve never been. I’ve often considered attending but always talked myself out of it. This year I noticed that a favorite writer would be presenting. He was also there in 2011 but I let that opportunity pass. This time I had the feeling if I didn’t go, it might be my last chance to meet him. More about that on Wednesday.

The event was held on the East Texas Baptist University grounds. It’s a beautiful campus. We registered and connected with my friend Linda Yezak, author of The Cat Lady’s Secret as well as other books. I also finally met Vickie Phelps, an email friend from my home town. postmark from the pastVickie’s debut novel, Postmark From The Past, releases November 6th. Here’s a cover pic.

After visiting awhile, hubby and I went to our pre-conference session with author Frank Ball who spoke on Story Power. I took nine pages of notes! Here’s Frank’s website. Lots of good stuff here.

The next day we attended six—yes SIX—sessions. The day was a rush of great information and very little time to visit and network, but I did meet a couple of people I hope to keep in touch with. Here’s a short rundown on my sessions.

Caleb Pirtle III spoke on The Magic Power of Storytelling. Pirtle is a former travel editor for Southern Living Magazine, a screenwriter with three motion picture and TV movie credits, and the author of more than 60 published books. Take a look at his marketing company, Venture Galleries.

Harold Rawlings spoke on Writing Christian Nonfiction. Dr. Rawlings, author of Trial by Fire, travels the country speaking to churches and schools about how the English Bible came into print. He was fascinating and encouraged all of us to try nonfiction. He says, “Truth and accuracy are the foundation upon which every nonfiction project rests.”

Bruce Gourley’s topic was Writing, Publishing and Marketing in the Digital Age. I have to confess I didn’t take many notes. We got way too techie and I zoned out, but going to Gourley’s website—wow! I sure wish he’d spoken on research.

Writers’ conferences are a necessity for all writers. You learn, but more than that, you rub shoulders with like-minded people. There’s nothing more inspiring than congregating with a crowd that loves the same thing you love—books and writing. But conferences are all different. If you’ve never attended one, do so, but take a close look at each speaker, Google them and look over their websites BEFORE you send in your registration dollars. Make sure there’s something there for you.

I wasn’t disappointed in The East Texas Christian Writers Conference at all and I got way more than I bargained for—but I went to meet one man and I’ll tell you about that meeting on Wednesday. I hope you’ll tune in.

10 Markets, 10 Strategies

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Jessica Ferguson, WriterI love chasing markets. There’s something challenging, invigorating about coming across a magazine issuing a call for manuscripts. Writing shorts—poems, fillers, articles or short stories—teaches us to make every word count. Writing and marketing shorts is how many writers first get published. It adds to our writer’s resume and builds confidence. With a few bylines beneath our belt, we’re not afraid to call ourselves a real writer.

Take a look at the 10 markets below. There’s something here for everyone. Before you send your work to any magazine, newspaper or publisher, study their writing guidelines. That’s called doing your homework.

10 MARKETS, 10 STRATEGIES

  1. The Sun – http://thesunmagazine.org/ – The Sun has been around for forty years. It describes itself as personal, political, provocative and ad-free. Writing from this well-put-together magazine have won notable prizes included in prestigious anthologies. The Sun is extremely “new writer” friendly.
  1. Woman’s World – This tabloid can be found at the checkout counter of most grocery stores. It’s one of the few magazines that publish a romance and a mystery. They have very strict writer’s guidelines but GREAT pay. Here are two blogs that dissect and evaluate WW’s fiction. You can learn a lot from reading these two blogs, and they also have the magazines guidelines posted. http://womansworldstyle.blogspot.com/p/workshop-info.htmlAND http://womansworldstyle.blogspot.com/2013/08/womans-world-mini-mystery-guidelines.html
  1. True Story and True Confessions http://www.truerenditionsllc.com/write-for-us/ – In these two confession magazines, you’ll find approximately eight markets. Check your grocery store or bookstore and browse through them. Don’t be embarrassed to pick up a confession magazine. They published positive, inspirational-type short stories, and some great columns like My Moment with God.
  1. First Line Literary Journal http://thefirstline.com/index.htm – This great little literary magazine publishes stories all using the same first line. This is a great writing credit!
  1. The Good Old Days http://www.goodolddaysmagazine.com/ – A nostalgia magazine that’s really fun. Read the guidelines and remember, if you send a picture with your article, send a copy—not the original!
  1. Regional magazines and Newspapers – Bayou Living Magazine http://www.bayoulivingmagazine.com/ – A new online magazine that covers territory from Beaumont, Texas to Lafayette, Louisiana. Query the editor.
  1. Helping Hands Press http://www.myhelpinghandspress.com/ – A Christian publisher. Visit them on Facebook every Thursday night.
  1. The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ – TWRP has been voted Best Publisher by Preditors & Editors Poll seven years straight!
  1. Listverse   http://listverse.com/write-get-paid/ – Study this online site carefully. It’s fun and self-explanatory.
  1. Letters to the Editor (magazines & newspapers) One of my favorite markets is the letter section of any magazine or newspaper. Sometimes a great letter can evolve into an op-ed piece. The Sun publishes letters, but they also run a column called Readers Write—and that column has a theme. Click the link to read their guidelines and see what that theme is. http://thesunmagazine.org/about/submission_guidelines/readers_write

And good luck!

Markets that Pay

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Just popping in to say … I absolutely love Cindi Myers Market News. She’s posted some interesting markets for you. Check out the Jack the Ripper story request, and the call out from Heroes and Heartbreakers. There’s more, and these are paying markets, people! Always a good thing.

https://cindimyersmarketnews.wordpress.com/

Let me know if you send something. I’ll cross my fingers for you.