Thought Provoking Poets & Writers
| "Where Writers Go" The New Writer's Resource |
Writing is an expansion of views, possibilities, flow and expression. Philip Whalen
describes being literary as "living and writing and picking it up out of the air, out of
books, out of other people." In theory, the writer's resources are all around them.
For instance, I was at an out-of-the-way diner in San Francisco. A group of
energetic young people in the booth behind me were exchanging personal
stories. One person blurted out a simple phrase: "I went on a blind date with a
guy that made his own bullets." Will this phrase be used as metaphor, plot twist or
character development? Whatever the fate of this phrase, it will be saved as one
of my personal writer's resources.
A bibliography of reference material is a must for any good writer. My personal
"writer's resource" contains material to address the three main aspects to the
writing life: reading, writing, and marketing. I have expanded these aspects to
include technology and readily available information. Reading has been
expanded to include author's featured readings, films, and audiobooks. Writing
has been expanded to include formal genre writing, journal entries, blogs and my
favorite - blurts. Blurts are free-form, free-flow free writing, and a great way to
prevent writer's block.
describes being literary as "living and writing and picking it up out of the air, out of
books, out of other people." In theory, the writer's resources are all around them.
For instance, I was at an out-of-the-way diner in San Francisco. A group of
energetic young people in the booth behind me were exchanging personal
stories. One person blurted out a simple phrase: "I went on a blind date with a
guy that made his own bullets." Will this phrase be used as metaphor, plot twist or
character development? Whatever the fate of this phrase, it will be saved as one
of my personal writer's resources.
A bibliography of reference material is a must for any good writer. My personal
"writer's resource" contains material to address the three main aspects to the
writing life: reading, writing, and marketing. I have expanded these aspects to
include technology and readily available information. Reading has been
expanded to include author's featured readings, films, and audiobooks. Writing
has been expanded to include formal genre writing, journal entries, blogs and my
favorite - blurts. Blurts are free-form, free-flow free writing, and a great way to
prevent writer's block.
Getting Into Print
With modern technology, it has never been easier to see your work in print. From
simple chapbooks to blogs to digital printing and ebooks just about anyone can
print and promote their own work.
Blogs - Sites like LiveJournal, UTube, My Space, and Google have many free
features and templates to work with. A blog needs to be viewed in order to be
effective. Communities are often set up within the blog framework for feedback
and sharing.
Amazon.com Advantage Program - If you have books printed with ISBN and
Library of Congress numbers, then Amazon.com has a program to list your
books. The "Search-Inside" feature gives potential readers a chance to glance at
selected pages before purchasing. Using the Advantage program is one way to
build popularity for your books, which is necessary for the major distributors to
even consider your work.
Chapbooks - Chapbooks are small books that are great for poetry or short
stories. Chapbooks are printed on 8.5 x 11 paper that is folded in half and
stapled in the middle. These are great for giving to friends and family or to test the
waters of your talent.
How did these books get printed? The answer to that question really
depends on the quantity of books to be printed. Color laser printers work for very
small quantities and chapbooks. Your local copy center can produce small
quantities with spiral, coil or saddle stitch (staple) binding, but the cost will
increase with every feature (color, collating, binding, graphics, etc.) Print shops
have a minimum quantity in order to keep costs down, but once again, each
feature addition will increase the per book cost. Morris Publishing is an excellent
resource for beginners with templates for book covers, assistance with ISBN &
LCCN numbers, templates for page layout and more. Lulu.com is another online
resource for self-publishing.
simple chapbooks to blogs to digital printing and ebooks just about anyone can
print and promote their own work.
Blogs - Sites like LiveJournal, UTube, My Space, and Google have many free
features and templates to work with. A blog needs to be viewed in order to be
effective. Communities are often set up within the blog framework for feedback
and sharing.
Amazon.com Advantage Program - If you have books printed with ISBN and
Library of Congress numbers, then Amazon.com has a program to list your
books. The "Search-Inside" feature gives potential readers a chance to glance at
selected pages before purchasing. Using the Advantage program is one way to
build popularity for your books, which is necessary for the major distributors to
even consider your work.
Chapbooks - Chapbooks are small books that are great for poetry or short
stories. Chapbooks are printed on 8.5 x 11 paper that is folded in half and
stapled in the middle. These are great for giving to friends and family or to test the
waters of your talent.
How did these books get printed? The answer to that question really
depends on the quantity of books to be printed. Color laser printers work for very
small quantities and chapbooks. Your local copy center can produce small
quantities with spiral, coil or saddle stitch (staple) binding, but the cost will
increase with every feature (color, collating, binding, graphics, etc.) Print shops
have a minimum quantity in order to keep costs down, but once again, each
feature addition will increase the per book cost. Morris Publishing is an excellent
resource for beginners with templates for book covers, assistance with ISBN &
LCCN numbers, templates for page layout and more. Lulu.com is another online
resource for self-publishing.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |