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Hi, you are receiving this message because you told us you would be receptive to contact from WritersNet when you signed up as a member. You're asking: "What has WritersNet got to say for itself after all this time?" Are you? Anyway... We wanted to get in contact with our members for two reasons:
 Housekeeping We all know we have to do the housekeeping. Been to WritersNet lately? It is six months since we introduced our new look and feel and boy how traffic has grown. More than 50,000 visitors converge on WritersNet every month. The discussion forums are livelier than ever. We challenge you not to learn something from fellow writers there. Go on; have a look: http://www.writers.net/forum We are reviewing our content with a view to making WritersNet an even more valuable resource for writers and will introduce new initiatives as fast as we can. If there is something we should be doing please let us know. Things in the pipeline include:
Do your bit to help
us keep our house - renovations and all - in order. Why not take the
time to update your
free WritersNet homepage. We envisage (sorry guys American English is not my first language and I just can't "envision" anything) a biweekly (or "fortnightly":-)) newsletter designed to provoke thought and debate by being informative about the writing life. It will tell you what is happening at WritersNet. Our newsletter will also keep you in touch with things in the writing and publishing worlds that you should know about. Our focus is not on instructional and "how to" information but there will likely be some of this traditional writers' publication fodder. Depends on you because we will be encouraging our readers to contribute content. We know you all have something valuable to say. Why do it all ourselves when we can enlist your help? What else? We've arranged for Beelzebub's Attorney to contribute some controversial views on making it as a writer. We'll let you know about the best of our discussion forums (see below). There'll be highlights from writing related writing as it appears on the Web and nuggets of interesting content appearing on other sites. We may offer reviews of writing related books. Finally, we think one can teach oneself a lot about writing without paying others; so we'll be suggesting exercises (see the forum's hidden treasure, below) and asking you to suggest some too. Got your own ideas?
We'd love to hear them. Contact
us Technology is not always a help to writers The image of the
writer pounding words out of a low-tech typewriter endures. Remember
the film Wonder Boys? In reality, most writers make the most
of word processing and other modern technologies. But, as writer David
Galef suggests, technology can make writing a contemporary novel tough.
More...
Fiction is dead. Long live non-fiction. Well at least that
was what Andrew Marr decided after judging the UK's prestigious Samuel
Johnson prize for non-fiction books. More...
Dead But Popping Up in the Strangest places Editor & Publisher
Online reports that the Wall Street Journal has sponsored a fiction
serial available on its free Web presence. Is this the return of the
nineteenth century model which saw Dickens and Thackeray, among others,
publish novels in parts before they were pulished in whole? More...
Epublishing
Lead The Ecommerce Times reported at the beginning of the month that Ebooks were to be considered for the National Book Foundations's National Book Awards... with conditions More... (Perhaps, epublishing is gaining in kudos). Pioneer epublisher,
OnlineOriginals has already
had some prize success with a nomination for the prestigious Booker
Prize. They publish only a small proportion of work submitted to them.
Some of you may have difficulty with their 60 pound (approx. US$84)
fee for peer reviews before submission but this epublisher acts more
like a traditional publisher than most. Their
site is worth a look anyway... The WritersNet Forum Word on Writing
What are they talking about in the WritersNet forums? Well... Dubious Agent
Practice: Copyright: Epublishing: A Hidden Treasure: Words on the Web They are talking about writing and books all over the Web. Here are some snippets of an ongoing conversation: British newspaper, The Independent, interviewed, publisher, Peter Owen. The result is name dropping fun but also an insight into the ways of publishing past. More... Book Magazine revealed that Joyce Carolyn Oates is a well organized woman. She would have to be to achieve such prolificacy... (N.B. Books Magazine only reveal all to subscribers and print mag buyers). More... Writer Diana Clancy, who is of Cherokee Indian decent, listens to contrasting inner voices when writing. More... Booksonline reports that Jane Rogers' Good Fiction Guide goes some way toward answering the question: "Just what makes a good read?" This essay collection takes a relaxed attitude but offers insight into fiction at beginning of the 21st century. More... Writer Paul Theroux told the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn't like literary society but he does like Hawaii. More... The Village Voice Literary Supplement profiled writing stars of the future from very different backgrounds. More... The Associated Writing Programs offers a primer on technical writing... More... Michelle Goodman's
suggests, in her Venue Spotlight, that online writing opportunities
still exist but pieces are shorter and you'll be paid less for them.
Don't miss the link to a May piece on online markets by Steve Outing.
More...
It may not be perfect
yet but it can be with your help. Share
your views on our newsletter prototype.
Well that's it for now. I hope you have found something of use here. Please don't hesitate to let me in on your ideas for this newsletter and WritersNet. We want to know what writers want from us; so, we can deliver it. Hamish Gilbertson
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