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Friday, July 25, 2008

Writers Wanted

Birthdays tend to stir me into action, and this year is no different. Almost every birthday, you will find me creating something new and different somewhere in my life, or traveling somewhere I’ve never ventured before. Since August is my birthday month, and there are currently no travel plans, so we’re going to be making some changes here at Pix-N-Pens.

First off, all scheduled special guests are still on the schedule, and I’m still adding more guests as books are released. (We’ve got some really special ones coming up, starting as early as next week!)

In the coming months, Pix-N-Pens will offer more content, more helps, hints, tips, and more guest bloggers than ever before.

Beginning Monday, August 4th, we’ll be covering specific topics each day, geared towards writers, photographers, and even foodies, travelers, and techies!

Here’s the schedule:

Mondays: Writing for Magazines
Tuesdays: Writing Non-Fiction Books
Wednesdays: Freelancing & Marketing
Thursdays: Photography
Friday: Fiction
Saturday: Variety

I’m looking for writers willing to share their expertise in the above topics – for all skill levels, from beginner to professional. The more specific the article, the better.

Right now, the Photography expert is already on board – readers of my newsletter may recognize Suzanne Williams’ name. She’ll be sharing photography tips with us each Thursday, beginning August 7th.

Saturdays will be fun days, filled with all sorts of different things from food to travel to technology to faith, to whatever strikes my fancy any given week. I’ll do some of the writing and I’ll invite guests for other weeks. I’m open for suggestions, so if you’d like to see us cover a particular subject, just pop me an e-mail.

Most of all, I want Pix-N-Pens to be a place where readers come to learn, fellowship, grow, encourage, laugh, play, and pray together in community. And yes, we’ll still have the occasional contest and giveaways! I hope you’ll come join us.

Submission guidelines:


* All entries must be submitted to tracyruckman[at]gmail[dot]com as an attachment, Word document file, and must be accompanied by a cover letter stating a brief description about your article. Please put “PNP Article Submission” in the SUBJECT LINE.

* Single space sentences within paragraphs, double spaces between (in the style of this article.)
Times New Roman, 12 pt. font.

* Contact info (name, state, and e-mail address(es) in upper left corner, word count and article category (below) in the upper right, then skip a couple of spaces and center the title and byline.

* Please include a 50-100 word bio at the end of each article submission, and you may also include a photo if you wish. In your bio, feel free to include your Web or blog address, and the title of your current release if you have one.

* You must own the copyright to the piece you submit. If the piece is a reprint, you must state so when you submit the article.

* Articles should be 300-1200 words.


* No payment at the present time, but your participation could turn into a weekly column at a future date.


* You will receive a reply within 2 weeks.

Articles must fit one of the following categories, but the subject matter may vary within that category:

* Writing for Magazines – how-topics for query letters, ideas, formatting, breaking into the bigger markets, online markets, market leads, building a clip file, conferences, etc.

* Writing Non-Fiction Books – how to topics for queries, proposals, synopses, ideas, publishing leads, conferences, platform building, and more.

* Freelancing & Marketing – this category is wide open and I’ll consider a wide variety of articles here. How-to’s on building a freelance business, how to find customers, how to develop a niche, how to market your business or your book, marketing yourself as a novelist, or a non-fiction author, or speaker, or photographer – like I said, it’s open.

* Fiction – this category will be a how-to for writing fiction. We’ll cover all different genres – mystery, suspense, romance, general fiction, science fiction/fantasy, women’s, lits, etc.; different lengths – novels, short stories, flash fiction; different markets – CBA and ABA. Also open for conference lists and market leads, contests, and more.


Your participation in this new change is encouraged – let us know if you like something by leaving a comment for the author; if you don’t like it, send me a private e-mail. If you have questions about something in an article, feel free to post it in the comments, or if you have questions about this new format, drop me a line.

I’m excited about the changes, and hope you are, too. Help spread the word!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know what a Snoopy dance looks like, but it sounds like fun. : ) Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Suzie

Stacy said...

I wandered in here from the Bloggy Giveaway page, and I'm SO glad I did! I love to write, but need to do some major work to hone my craft. I've subscribed in bloglines and am looking forward to reading and learning here.

Renee G said...

I think that hosting a different topic each day is a great idea. I'll be back to read your tips.

rsgrandinetti@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

This looks like a great resource, and something I should push myself to do.

I love to read and write but often find myself finding other ways to occupy my time but this will definitely get me moving in the right direction.



delicatetruth3@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Awesome opportunity! I'm def going to see what I can get together to submit in the near future.

Ronnica said...

This sounds like a great place to learn more about writing. I'm always in need of help. I'm not necessarily looking to be a big time writer, but I want to get better at what I do (primarily writing on my blog). I'll probably stop back to get help in the future as I pursue my dream of writing a novel!

TinaW said...

I'm so pleased I looked around your site. I know a couple of people that would love an opportunity to write for your blog. http://pixnpens.blogspot.com/2008/07/writers-wanted.html

"Deal"icious Mom said...

This blog is a good resource for writing and I am glad i found it.

Peculiar said...

I searched your post list for something interesting to read about, to count toward the giveaway, but let me tell you, I can see now that my search was for more than just the giveaway.

This post caught my eye because I thought this might be an opportunity for me to eventually leave some of my "work" for someone to read, critique, or enjoy.

I'm just a little hobby writer who has loved poetry, short stories, other imaginative writings, and Christian studies and/or devotionals. I would like to get better at the "craft." I would like to get feedback, just to improve, even if my writing never "goes places."

This post encouraged me to at least "think" about doing that. I guess in my mind, I'm not good enough to even attempt this, but what could it hurt? If my writing is bad or worthless, I'm not afraid to hear that, and at least I'll know it, and I'll know why. I can choose at that point to try and improve it or just leave the whole thing alone. It sounds like a good deal to me.

I will be putting this blog in my favorites, and I'm sure I will be checking back. I'd like to look at more posts and pray about entering some of the things you have offered. I want to take advantage of some of the opinions or advice that might be posted too.

Thanks for this opportunity. I honestly appreciate it. I'm interested in the giveaway, but I'll be back regardless.

Debbie said...

Great idea for the different topics for each day of the week. I have some other blogs I regularly visit that do that and I really enjoy it.
fourkidsrgreat(at)gmail(dot)com

Jodi said...

I enjoyed writing so much when I was younger; however, work and kids, and well... life.... just gets in the way. I will be checking out your blog often, hopefully it will motivate me to start writing again.

purehrt555(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

Karen said...

I too came across this post via the Bloggy Giveaway. I am hoping to start freelancing soon and these articles will be of great help to me! I am going to subscribe through email so I can keep up;) Thanks!

kpuleski at gmail dot com