Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

S is for Submissions

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Join me as I blog through the alphabet. We post every day in April except Sundays. There are many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge too, which is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. I’d like to encourage you to visit their entertaining, informative blogs. I’m amazed at the many talented people who participate in the A to Z Challenge.

Today I’m blogging about Submissions. I haven’t submitted anything to publishers or agents lately. Writing has been minimal because of wedding plans and home renovations. I’ve barely been online except for this A to Z Challenge. I love it, so it has my undivided attention–when it comes to posting. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to visit a lot of other blogs every day. Some days, I can visit up to eight or ten, but yesterday–nothing.

But, back to Submissions.

A few weeks ago I got frustrated and killed myself in a short mystery. When I say I killed myself, I mean I had someone else (a fictional character) kill me. It was fun to write and geared toward Woman’s World Magazine. That’s the colorful tabloid that’s on the racks at grocery store check-outs. They publish one romance and one mystery in each issue. Remember I told you my friend Janie had  a mystery accepted and published last month.

These short stories are only 700 words. Tricky. Every word must count. I’m not certain I was very successful. We’ll know soon, because that’s my one and only Submission, other than my assigned article to Southern Writers Magazine.

Oh, and by the way, Woman’s World Magazine requires the traditional stick-it-in-an-envelope-with- an-SASE. Feels strange to do it that way, but when I get it back, I’ll know they’ve read it.

Have you submitted anything in the past month or two? If not, take a look at the markets below. You might have something that fits. If you have submitted, share what you have out and how long you’ve been waiting for a response. Or share the last thing you submitted and got accepted.

Good luck with the markets below. They’re good ones!

Suddenly Lost In Words is a digital anthology looking for short stories, memoirs and poetry for Young Adult readers. Stories should be no more than 3,000 words. Payment is 5 cents a word. No deadline for submissions is listed, but you can find all the guidelines here.

Hofstra Law is sponsoring a mystery writing contest for the best crime story featuring a lawyer as the main character. First prize is $500, second place gets $200 and the third place winner receives $100. Stories should be no more than 3,500 words. The deadline for entries is May 1. See the details here.

MeeGenius, the top-selling ebook ap for children 2-8, is looking for book manuscripts geared toward this age group. Manuscripts should be 15-20 pages, with 20-70 words per page. You do not need to illustrate the work, but you may include illustration descriptions/suggestions. Find more submission details and see a sample manuscript here.

R is for Respond, Response (A Rant)

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I’m blogging through the alphabet. There are many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge too, which is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. My weekend wasn’t long enough.

I’ve struggled to come up with an R word. I thought about it all weekend. I played around with the word Rewrite but since I’m not doing any rewriting, I figured my words might sound forced. Renovation certainly plays a huge part in my life right now, but I’ll save that discussion for another day, with before and after pictures.  I thought about doing a Review of a book I just read but felt no passion for that either. When I finally crawled into bed with nothing to show for R, the word RESPOND flashed into my mind. It felt right.

I have a pet peeve. I absolutely detest getting NO RESPONSE from people I send gifts to, or articles or manuscripts. In this day of email, an acknowledgement is a breath away. There’s no need for someone to totally disregard a stack of new towels, some mixing bowls, a hundred dollar bill or 200 pages of my heart and soul.

What are they thinking? Or are they thinking? Of course, I always hear “the parents didn’t teach them to write thank you notes… or be responsible… or care… or work, or love… or RESPOND.” And to that I say, I’m so tired of everything being blamed on parents. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s true to a certain extent but at some point these young adults have to take responsibility for their own actions.

As for not acknowledging a manuscript, sometimes a paragraph stating If you have not heard from us within three months, you can submit elsewhere is included in the submission guidelines, but that’s just a CYA kind of thing. I think it’s a terrible policy. It gives them free rein with the delete button.

I remember always sticking self-addressed, stamped envelopes (SASE) in with my manuscripts. Those were the good old days. Doing so almost always guaranteed a response. At the very least, there was a certain amount of responsibility on the part of the editor/agent/office manager to acknowledge our stamp. I miss those days.

Email makes everything so much easier: easy to delete. easy to ignore. easy to say we never got it. But hey, just as easy to respond!

Writers everywhere deserve a response regarding that novel they slaved over, the article for which they interviewed three professionals, the query letter.

Aunts, sisters, moms, cousins and friends deserve a response to the gift they spent time choosing and mailing. So much for sharing in the joy, huh?

I realize I probably sound like my mother (and I’ve always fought that!) but I accept it now. I don’t accept rudeness and inconsiderate behavior. I don’t accept being ignored.

Do you send thank you notes? Are you an editor or agent who prefers not to respond? How do you feel when you don’t get a response and why do you feel that way?

P is for Pinterest

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. The A to Z Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays.

P is for Pinterest. What it is it? What does it do? How and what’s the point. Here’s an article that will answer those questions and tell you why you’ll become addicted. 

And believe me, addicted is the correct word. I believe my daughter has planned her entire wedding by searching Pinterest. We’ve figured out our table centerpieces (three books tied with twine), our literary couples–the happy ones! Yes, it’s a literary wedding. The groom has selected his groom’s table–pies, pies and more pies! Pinterest can “help” you do anything. While looking for a recipe with a certain ingredient, all I have to do is put it in the search engine and I find hundreds.

More importantly, Pinterest is great for writers. Authors are taking full advantage. Some have their entire books on Pinterest. They build visuals. In the old days we created graphic poster boards to inspire us, with everything that reminded us of our stories, but now, we post the hero and heroine’s homes, their jewelry, their clothing, their faces, the city they live in with its landmarks. I haven’t done it but only because I haven’t found the time. I hear it’s great promo!

Other authors have writing tips. I hope you can go to this page to see what it’s all about. And here’s a good one too! So much fun! So informative. 

I have several Pinterest boards: Praise, Prayers and Observations is filled with quotes and a few insignificant things I fancy. My second board is Heroes and Heroines I Think of While Writing. Beautiful people. My last two boards are Someday Recipes (vegetarian) and Someday Fun Projects. You can take a look at all my boards at this link.

If you have to sign in, it’s simple. Don’t worry about doing so. I’ve never received any spam or unnecessary messages from Pinterest. They do notify me when I have a new follower or someone has pinned one of my pics.

You’ll have a great time creating your own writing world … or any kind of world for that matter. You can also make it private so you don’t have to share with the rest of us.

Do you pin? What’s the subject of your boards? If not, why don’t you give it a try? It’s a new experience. It’s inspiring! I love it. I know you will too!

If you pin, leave a link to your favorite board.

O is for Organized

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. The A to Z Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays.

I’ve made it all the way to the letter O. That makes me seem pretty Organized, doesn’t it? I’m not. I’m choosing words as they come to me–sometimes the day or night before. Sometimes I can’t think of anything and go to sleep tossing around in my head, only to get up the next morning and frantically write something.

I should be organized. Any one who salivates over pastel colored index cards, white binders and all notepads should definitely have the gift of organization. Unfortunately, a place for everything and everything in its place doesn’t apply to my life. My filing system leaves much to be desired. Most of the time, I use the stacking system: stack it on the bookshelf, stack it on the file cabinet, stack it on the floor. Stack it on anything that’s flat!

My file cabinets are full–all three of them. Don’t ask me what they contain because I don’t have a clue. I’ve been writing for 100 years. Okay, slight exaggeration, but I got my first file cabinet (a gift from my husband) 30+ years ago. I was so sure I would fill it with great research, manuscripts and book contracts. I can’t remember where the second 4-drawer file cabinet came from, but a few years ago I happened upon the third one at a Goodwill Store. I was so excited you’d have thought I’d found a diamond ring in their basket of cheap costume jewelry.  It doesn’t take much to thrill me–just mention office supplies and I twitch.

Our kids love to hear the story about how hubby and I left the Justice of the Peace and stopped by the nearest office supply store so I could pick up a few things. When asked what I want for Christmas, birthday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, I ask for a gift certificate to Office Depot but it hasn’t happened yet. Do they think I’m kidding?

I know I can be Organized. It takes effort. Sometimes I’m so organized I surprise myself so I know I have it in me. I meet all deadlines. I take responsibility seriously. When it comes to the really, really important things, I’m Organized. All I have to do is focus, make lists and check them twice. I have to devote time to planning.

Are you a born organizer? If it doesn’t come naturally, how do you manage it? What keeps you on track?

Usually people who manage kids, a spouse and a job or pretty organized, aren’t they? They live by a schedule. I have loosey-goosey days and my schedule changes daily. What should I do?

Happy Thursday! Happy O-day!

 

N is for Noise

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. The A to Z Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays.

Today we’re tackling the letter N and for lack of a better word, I guess I’ll choose Noise. Noise has been defined as a sound of any kind. Seems like I always have noise going on in my head. A back and forth dialogue about something or other.

In restaurants I listen to those around me, try to tune in to what they’re saying. While driving, I’m plotting stories and imagining my characters talking to each other. Way too often, I’m constructing a response to questions I know are coming. To me, thinking feels like noise. The only time my mind shuts down is when I sleep.

Silence.

Since we’re undergoing massive renovation in our house, I’ve been hearing a different kind of noise. Scraping. Buzzing. Hammering. Sawing. Boisterous female laughter. Rhythmic Spanish voices. Humming. Even an occasional whistle–from a human. Sometimes a phone.

These new sounds inspire me.

The only noise I can’t stand is when someone tries to talk while the TV is blaring. Now, that’s unpleasant Noise. I can’t understand what all the voices are saying. I feel panicky. My head wants to explode. Figure that one out!

I found a quote I like, and I think I might agree. At any rate, it stirs my imagination.

“People who make no noise are dangerous.” Jean de La Fontaine, French Poet

What’s your favorite noise?

M is for Manuscripts (and their Middle)

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. The A to Z Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays.

Our letter today is M and in my mind, that means Manuscripts. We probably all have many unfinished or first drafts tucked away in a drawer or on a hard-drive. What do we do with them? Why did we give up on them? How many times did we revise them? Are they finished, but were rejected over and over again? When do we know it’s time to discard them?

I’ve read that a lot of authors are bringing their old manuscripts out as ebooks, but honestly, I don’t have the courage to do that. My thought is, if a traditional publisher didn’t want them, then something has to be wrong with them. I know that’s not always the case for rejection but I’m not taking any chances.

All of my manuscripts need rewriting. The Middle–another M word–is what weakens my books. There’s something about the middle that’s a real challenge for me–even though I know that’s where the action is, the heart of the book. I’ve noticed once I get past chapter three or four, my characters tend to get silly. The scenes seem forced. They can’t think of anything to do or say to each other. I have to focus, outline, visualize, put myself in each character’s place for the middle of my books to be logical. When I start writing … I dread getting to the middle!

Some writers construct each scene with such precision. I understand that each scene has a beginning, a middle and end, that it’s supposed to further the story, add complications and tension. I think some of this writing stuff we just do naturally. If I work with such precision, I get lost or overwhelmed. But maybe I’m looking at this from the front-side of my manuscript, not the backside. Not after it’s written and I’m delving into the layering.

Tell me how you approach the middle of your book. Share any tips you have. Do you outline extensively and know what the middle will bring, or do you sit down and start writing and worry about the middle after the fact? Do you ask yourself any specific questions when you’re approaching your middle? Do you recognize when your middle is too easy and unemotional?
Teach me something!

L is for Liar (or Lie)

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. The A to Z Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. We post every day in April except Sundays.

Today is L day, and I’ve chosen the word Liar. I don’t like liars. Maybe I should say … lying is a pet peeve, and I don’t trust liars. Unfortunately, we all come in contact with them. We might even have family members who lie. I always feel when I catch someone in a lie, I can never trust him or her again. I’m always suspicious of everything they tell me.

Of course, sometimes we’re a little confused about what a lie really is. There are no half-lies. A lie is a lie.  We get into the situational ethics thing, an idea that suggests the end justifies the means when dealing with a crisis; that the law can be set aside if a greater good or lesser evil is served. I really don’t think we’re going to be able to rationalize or explain ourselves when we stand before God. Isn’t that a little scary?

One of my books deals with situational ethics. My main character is forced into a situation where she lies to get a job to save her self and her nephew, and to achieve a dream she had in high school. In her mind, she’s justified. Sadly, her actions destroy someone else’s dream. It’s not your typical happy ending. The book has been rejected by Christian publishers because they don’t want a book where the heroine lies. At least that’s what they said. Okay, I guess they don’t like liars either–even if the main character grows and changes and repents.

Lies and Liars are all around us. We deal with them every day.

When I researched liars in public office, I learned that a congressional investigation several years ago uncovered almost 500 federal employees who had credentials from unaccredited schools giving bogus degrees. This included three individuals with high-level security clearance. That was several years ago … just think how that number has increased today!

I won’t name names but a university football coach admitted he lied about his academic and athletic background. He claimed to have a masters in education and he claimed the have played football for three years. Neither was true.

An athletic director from another university neglected to correct his resume. He never completed his master’s degree yet it was listed there. After exposed, he had to resign.

The president of a very important U.S. committee resigned after it was discovered she didn’t receive her bachelor’s degree or her doctorate, as claimed.

One politician in Texas was defeated for re-election because she claimed to have a bachelor’s degree when she did not.
 
A CEO of a well-known electronics store resigned because he claimed degrees in theology and psychology from a university.

Needless to say, these people would still hold their positions if they had not been found out. I’m not saying these people weren’t qualified or capable of holding down these jobs. The problem is their lies. Actually, lying is akin to theft. They stole these positions from people who actually worked hard in college to get such jobs.

I guess a good question is, why weren’t their resumes checked out? Why weren’t references called?  But I suppose that’s another story.

When we talk about lies and liars, we always revert back to something silly like, “You mean if my wife asks if she looks good in a particular dress, I’m supposed to tell the truth?” Look buddy, just say what my husband says, “I love you, to me, you look good in anything and everything.”  If he believes so do I! Lying is a serious thing and we shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.

And if you’re a Believer, you probably agree that we won’t.

How do you feel about Lies and Liars? Is it a worthy topic or one you don’t want to deal with or know about?

 

J is for Janie

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I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge. For me, it really is a challenge because of all that’s going on in my life. I spent today trying to design wedding invitations while painters painted and workers cut granite. I took a short break to run to Lowe’s to pick out bathroom faucets.

We’ve been busy ever since moving back to Louisiana from Oklahoma. I thought retirement meant a lot of free time on our hands. Not so.

I miss Oklahoma. I especially miss my friend Janie who met me at the library for a writing day two or three times a month. She drove about 45 minutes one way for our writing day. We’d meet at 9:00 a.m. and at noon, we’d break for lunch. I’d usually take apple and cheese but Janie packed a real lunch of tuna or chicken salad. After lunch, we’d write for another hour or two. Here are a couple of pics I snapped of Janie while she focused on her manuscript. I guess you know if I’m snapping pics with my iPhone, I’m not focused on writing. I’m people-watching.

Janie used to live in Cameron, Louisiana but after her husband died, she moved to Oklahoma to be near sisters and was there to welcome me when hubby’s work took us there. What a treat to have a writing pal, a brainstorming buddy … someone who is fun, smart, loves to read and loves to laugh. That’s Janie, fearless Janie, I-can-do-anything-I-put-my-mind-to Janie. What an encourager! I wrote my novella at the Mustang Library in Oklahoma with Janie sitting across from me … just like in these pictures. If we were still there, I’d have another book finished. I have no doubt!

Janie and I keep in touch by email, but it’s definitely not the same as sitting across the table from each other. I can’t see her crazy expressions or hear her wild laughter. I miss that.

Do you have a special pal that cheers you on when you’ve been rejected way too many times? Someone who’ll read over your work, and tell you honestly if it is good, if a scene works, if there are plot holes? Janie wrote a little mystery short story that I had the pleasure of critiquing for her. She targeted Women’s World Magazine. We were so excited when they offered her a contract. A Safe Bet came out in March. I felt like Janie’s success was my success too.

Tell me about your writer friends. Anyone special?

I is for Inconvenience

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Definition of inconvenience (n)

  • in·con·ven·ience
  • [ ìnkən véenyənss ]

lack of convenience: the quality or fact of being inconvenient or causing discomfort, difficulty, or annoyance
annoyance: something that causes difficulties or annoyance
cause difficulty to somebody: to cause somebody difficulties, especially relatively minor or unnecessary ones, or ones involving unwanted extra effort, work, or trouble

As some of you know, hubby recently retired after working 47+ years for the same company. We’ve looked forward to renovating our home, getting wood floors, ceramic tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, new appliances and kitchen cabinets and tearing out a totally useless wet bar to make bookshelves. Wet bar to the right.

We’ve been under construction (demolition) since March 6th. What an INCONVENIENCE. I almost feel as if this
is self-inflicted pain. I know once everything is completed, we’ll be thrilled, but until then … I’m not able to put my mind in writing mode. Or maybe I should say rewriting mode since that’s what I’d hoped to do during this time. We have two more bedrooms to move stuff out of, but there’s no place to put their contents until we get some floors down. Our garage is full.

Here are a few pics so you’ll understand what I’m going through and if anyone has questions about how and what they should do to “prepare” for such a renovation, just ask. I have a few answers. Hubby is standing in what used to be our kitchen, playing with his iPhone. Twitter keeps him sane. To the right is the bathroom. Very INCONVENIENT when they decide to tear up both bathrooms at the same time! The other night we took a shower is our smaller bathroom by flashlight. Wow, new experience!

Renovation is a lot like tearing a novel apart and putting it back together again–correctly–or maybe the new way you see it in your mind. What do you think?

To the right is in my office. The path leads to my desk. We stored most of our books and breakables here because renovation is NOT happening in this room. I can only take so much … INCONVENIENCE!

Do you have any tales of inconvenience? Do you think you could write while this is going on? Have you renovated before? Maybe I could learn a few things from you. Share!

I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with more than a thousand others who are doing the same. Please support the bloggers of the #AtoZchallenge by visiting, sharing or commenting.  It’s fun! Certainly more fun than this INCONVENIENCE!

H is for Hand-marking a Hard copy

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For those who don’t know, I’m blogging my way through the alphabet with more than a thousand others who are doing the same. Please support the bloggers of the #AtoZchallenge by visiting, sharing or commenting.  It’s fun! 
                                         
Today, we’re blogging an H word and I’ve chosen Hand-marking a Hard copy. That’s when I go through the pages of my manuscript and mark it up, edit, flesh it out. I critique myself. I wish I didn’t need a Hard copy because sometimes I’m away from home (like this past week) with no way to print out an article or short story for revising, and I find myself in a pickle–especially if I’m on deadline. I wonder if needing a Hard-copy to Hand-mark is a bad habit I acquired years ago. Or if it’s common practice.
 
I’m curious to know what you all do. Do you edit on your laptop. I can do that to a point, but I prefer a print copy so I can move away from my work area to a clear, comfortable place to read, proof, absorb. If I need to cut pages and paragraphs, I just slash through it and write myself a little note. If I need to fill in with description or introspection, it’s easy to do. Here’s a picture of a book I’m working on. I put it in a three ring binder then give it a read-thru, making changes until I feel I can get back to the computer to do final edits. 
Is there an easier way?  If so, share with me so I can quit killing trees!
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