Steve Yates, LCRW’s treasurer extraordinaire, likes to learn shortcuts for accomplishing things in Word and Windows without using his mouse. He will be sharing those tips and tricks with us at our September 23 meeting. And yes, he also knows how to do it on Mac. He makes his presentations fun, so bring your laptop and we’ll all learn together.
Query Letter
If you are a writer, you already know what a query letter is. But, there are ways to write an excellent query that you might not have learned yet. The LCRW treasurer, Steve Yates, is always looking for good information to help himself and other authors. While doing research into critiquing what a good letter consists of, he came upon the following website. It is indeed a good source for everyone to add to their important information files.
Remember, twelve different publishing houses said no to Harry Potter before it was accepted. Never give up hope of getting your work published.
https://thejohnfox.com/2021/05/100-query-letter-examples-that-got-authors-an-agent/
Outline Your Novel
Member Rick Taubold will be giving the presentation on August 26. He will be sharing the process Blake Snyder calls “Save The Cat,” which explains how to plot/outline the beginning, middle, and end of your novel. We all need our novels to have the important points of structure to have a complete and satisfying story.
LCRW President is Podcast Guest on “Once Shattered; Picking Up the Pieces”
Sue eloquently and openly shares her experiences and those of members of the Rochester Veterans Writing Group, who find writing about their military experiences cathartic. These vignettes will make you laugh, open your eyes to the perks and challenges of being in the military, as well as the sacrifices made by those who serve and their families. Their books, United in Service, United in Sacrifice, and … NOT Fade Away are available on Amazon.
Critique Rules
Our second of three critiques is coming up on Saturday, July 22. This is a great time to get a manuscript of up to 2500 words looked at. If you aren't a member, this is a fantastic opportunity to see what LCRW can contribute (in addition to the six speakers we have each year.)
This is a LCRW function. You may participate one time only if you are a non-member. This applies to writers and guest critiquers.
ALL manuscripts must be emailed to the moderator, Steve Yates at writingsbysay@yahoo.com by MIDNIGHT on Wednesday, July 12th. (Note, this is ten days before the critique session.) Any submissions received after that will be handled as time permits, at the end of the critique session.
Critiques will be discussed in the order they are received.
You will be receiving a manuscript from each participant and are expected to print it out and have your critique of their work at the meeting.
Your manuscript must be formatted using: Times Roman, Courier, Tahoma, or Verdana font at 12 points. Margins should be to one inch. Double space.
Be sure to number your pages (Insert / Page Number). Also, it makes critiquing easier if you insert line numbers (Open the Page Layout ribbon / Click Line Numbers in the Page Setup section / Select your options from the pop-up menu.)
Save your document in: .doc, .docx, or .rtf formant. (All major word processing programs have this capability.) All manuscripts will be converted to .pdf by the facilitator, with line numbers inserted if you have not already done so.
Please limit your submission to about 2500 words. (You may send as many words as you like. The person critiquing may stop at any time after 2500 words.)
Starting time is 9:00 AM Saturday, July 22th. Please be ready to start then.
1605 Buffalo Rd, Rochester, NY 14624 Enter via the Police Annex. We are the first room on the left. Parking is in the rear.
Please do not submit first drafts. Spend some time editing before you send it out. Also, it is requested you don’t send a modified copy of your manuscript after the original has been dispersed. (When I receive a manuscript, I will send it out to those who have already submitted. I will send all the manuscripts at the deadline.
Everyone who submits a manuscript will be expected to critique all other entries and ensure they receive a copy of your comments. (You are not required to send your critique to the recipient before the critique, but it is useful.) In addition, we always have people who wish to share their knowledge of writing, yet not submit. Those wishing to only critique are always welcome.
NEW: It was decided at the last critique that, no matter how many entries and volunteers we have, we will all be at one table. That may force us to extremely limit your time to present your critique. Therefore, you must be sure to have everything you wish to say on the paper copy to return to the author.
The following information should be on the first page, before your story begins. (You may wish to copy/past this to your manuscript and answer them.)
· Please include your email address at the top of the page.
· Genre: (Fantasy, Romance, etc.)
· Demographic (target audience):
· How long is the final piece (short story, novel):
· Is there back story we need to know to understand what is going on:
· Where does this fit in your manuscript (i.e.: two-thirds of the way through):
· What questions do you want answered:
When critiquing, consider:
· Are the characters developed. (You may not get to this in a limited piece)
· Is there a strong sense of the setting/time.
· Is it original (Not a requirement. Some of the best stories are a retelling.)
FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE
Our next presentation will be on June 24. We will have a panel of three authors who write in different genres, sharing their process of finding their specific target audience.
John Caligiurii will go through a simple 6-step marketing/publishing process and then review a generic marketing plan he uses with a few antidotes “for flavoring.”
Kathryn Shay will present 10 ways to find your audience and give an example of what she uses.
Rick Iekel will demonstrate how a properly arranged marketing plan is a tool that continues to be of value for the entire time a book is being marketed.
Program: Recognizing Head Hopping in Your Writing
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Window Star
By S. Arthur Yates
Resplendent, they appear.
Strangers, unwelcome.
Polite, always polite.
Strangers, unwelcome.
Details few, words hollow.
Strangers, unwelcome.
Notification – complete.
Strangers, unwelcome.
The drape arrives later.
Strangers, unwelcome.
Blue star to gold.
Strangers unwelcome
Do you know what a window star signifies? A blue star is placed in the window when a loved one goes to war. If they are missing in action, the star is changed to silver. If they die, it is changed to gold.
May Presentation — Introduction to WordPress
Sue Spitulnik described the process for creating the LCRWriters website using WordPress.com. An account can be opened for free or for a $92/year premium, where you can use your domain name.com instead of WordPress.com. Sue used her own website as an example, which had the Baskerville Theme and simple menu items: Home, About me, Publications and Contact Page. She walked us through the different WordPress menu options, such as themes, identity, color and background, font, photo, contact information, category of books, edit your material and how a reader can subscribe to the website. Sue’s talk was informative and easy to understand. Additionally, there are helpful tutorials and videos on WordPress to guide the user.
Rochester
by Sally Valentine
Rochester lives for lilac time
when Spring finally gives Winter the boot and
Highland Park develops from black and white
into frames of color.
She’s been silently preparing for weeks
for her yearly Open House,
the biggest splash of the New York festival season.
Dressed not just in purple,
but also white, pink and blue with
pansy accents and rhododendron accessories,
she’s ready to dazzle.
Admirers come from miles around and
Suitors parade back and forth
simply to pay homage to her beauty,
hoping to be favored with a smile
she has reserved for them alone.
But heed this hard earned warning:
Just one whiff of her perfume can be intoxicating,
filling one’s head with ideas of
picnics and poems,
castles and creampuffs,
fables and ferries.
Draw close at your own risk.
It’s a rare man who can resist her charms.
