What happens when you try to tell that story, with Zita Podany

What Happens when you have a Story to Tell, with Zita Podany

First step:

Zita had a story to tell. But life, as it does, kept getting in the way. Then she read the back of an Arcadia book where it said “Write for Arcadia.” She looked on the website and decided to contact them with her ideas.

Continue reading What happens when you try to tell that story, with Zita Podany

Writers’ Mill Minutes 201708

Writers’ Mill Minutes  August 20th 2017

Despite the approaching eclipse, August’s Writers’ Mill meeting was well attended with 16 people present to learn about research, photographs, permissions and publishing specs from Zita Podany, author of VanPort in the Images of America series. Notes from Zita’s talk can be below. And our thanks to Zita and the library staff for the excellent use of technology. (One day I’ll have to learn how it’s all done!)

Walt, who will be speaking and using technology in October and December, handed around a “reading assignment” for us all. In case you weren’t there, Walt very highly recommends “To Sell is Human” by Daniel H. Pink; also “How to Publish your Book” by Jane Friedman. We should all try to read Pink’s book, or at least to look at it, before October’s meeting (which gives us lots of time).

Continue reading Writers’ Mill Minutes 201708

Journal – Check for your entries here!

Entries have been received from 16 members.
Please check below to make sure your entry has been received.

Email sheilad at portlandwritersmill dot org, or journal2017 at portlandwritersmill dot org, or both(!) if something is missing or wrong.

We will start choosing entries and formatting the journal over the next few days. If you volunteered to provide more images, we will do our best to make our requests in a timely manner. Thank you everyone!

Continue reading Journal – Check for your entries here!

Writers’ Mill Minutes 201707

Writers’ Mill Minutes, 16th July 2017

  1. Are you reading this on the website? Did you receive the email? If you did not receive the email, please check your spam, deleted, update and other random folders. Try using “search” on your emails for admin@portlandwritersmill.org, then set is as a “safe sender.” And if none of the that helps, contact admin@portlandwritersmill.org
  2. Send journal entries to journal2017@portlandwritersmill.org before the end of the month! Read on to learn more details
  3. Send 100th contest suggestions to admin@portlandwritersmill.org before the 1st of August!
  4. Send What If…? Contest entries to contest@portlandwritersmill.org before the end of August 6th. Read on to learn more details.

Continue reading Writers’ Mill Minutes 201707

Meet the Author – Tim Applegate

Tim Applegate on Being an Author

Tim Applegate gives around four poetry readings per year, plus novel presentations, plus speaking engagements at writing groups such as Writers’ Mill. We were delighted to welcome him to our July 2017 meeting, and he assured us that writers’ group engagements were pleasantly lowkey and fun.

Continue reading Meet the Author – Tim Applegate

Writers’ Mill Minutes 201706

Writers’ Mill Minutes June 18th Fathers’ Day 2017

Around 20 members attended Sarah Hall’s Fathers’ Day presentation of the DIY book launch and learned not only how to create a good book “product,” but also how to reach an audience, prepare that audience to receive and read the book, and how to use technology! Notes from Sarah’s talk will be included below.

Continue reading Writers’ Mill Minutes 201706

Writers’ Mill Journal 2017

Timeline for our 2017 edition

  1. Deadline for submissions: last day in July
  2. Deadline for edits: last day in August
  3. Deadline for formatting: last day in September. Then eproofs will be posted to website.
  4. Deadline for orders: October’s meeting—October 15th. All orders must be paid by then.
  5. Delivery at our November meeting, Nov 19th, or make alternative arrangements.

If you’ve entered or will enter a Writers’ Mill contest between last August and this July, you already have a piece of writing ready for submission to the journal. If you’ve not, please consider this your chance and inspiration to WRITE. Don’t forget, we love to include pictures as well so start looking through your phone/camera/computer (same submission instructions – let us know the name of the image and artist, and which section you hope to find it in. Createspace recommends 300DPI for images, but it’s not something we’ve worried about in the past).

Topics (based on contests) for our 2017 edition

Submission Guidelines

  • These are guidelines. We will try to produce a balanced journal, representing the writers of as many members as possible. Limits are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.
  • Guidlines for written entries (currently no limits on art):
    • No more than 10 entries per person
    • No more than (approximately) 20 pages per person (it was pointed out that my old computer was the only one producing 1,000 words per page)
    • No more than (approximately) 10,000 words per person
  • Entries should be sent to journal2017 at portlandwritersmill dot org. Each entry MUST INCLUDE
    • Author or artist name
    • Entry title
    • Preferred section for your entry
  • All documents MUST BE READABLE in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, NOT .pdf for example)
  • Editors will perform simple copy-editing for format and style. Our aim is to produce a journal of the highest possible quality, in a timely manner, including entries from as many members as possible. Editors reserve the right to
    • reject entries if we have too many
    • beg for more entries if we have too few, and
    • reject entries that would require too much work on their part.

Please consider whether you would be willing to volunteer as an editor. Thank you.

Let’s make this journal another book to be proud of!

Leave your comments and suggestions below!

How To Choose A Publisher/Agent/Self-Publishing Site with Jim Elstad

Taken from Jim Elstad’s talk, May 21st 2017

For anyone using editorsandpreditors.com to check up on publishers, don’t. The site is going/has gone down. Other sites you might use are:

Continue reading How To Choose A Publisher/Agent/Self-Publishing Site with Jim Elstad

Writers helping writers