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!