I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was CC had accepted an article on the public request topic I had chosen to write for. I was so disappointed! I worked so hard on that darn article. Not only did I write it once but I also wrote it a second time after the article was “rejected”.

I don’t know what else to call it but rejection, yes it is a learning opportunity but right now as I look at the other writers article it doesn’t feel like an opportunity for anything. I am sitting here stinging. I did not realize that the word count and title are only suggestive and I took them literally. So I wrote 1,450 words on a subject that I know pretty well but even so 1,450 words about anything can be hard to write. The article that was accepted was about 900 or so words and the title was not the title the customer had suggested. I learned from this experience but I am not sure that I want to keep on trying to write for CC.

Which brings me to the reason I wrote this blog to begin with. I like to write and my friends have enjoyed my little “notes” on face book, where I just comment on the human condition and sometimes share short stories. I do not write articles as a rule and now I am wondering just why I ever thought I could do it in the first place.

I am very discouraged this morning and maybe I expect too much too soon. If this blog is a bummer, I am sorry. I just thought sharing the good and the bad about what I learn along the way is a true reflection of the life and times of a Newbie Writer.

Call for Submissions
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We are looking for writers to share their marketing tips, spotlight on successful small business owners and the ups and downs of starting a business. We are launching a new website for start up businesses in March. Unsolicited submissions are welcome. Contact Cecilia Wheeler at ceciliaw@wheelerdm.com for specific writer’s guidelines before submitting. This is not paid; however, we offer a byline and short bio of writer or their business following the article.

New US Magazine Seeks Writers
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New North-American lifestyle publication is looking for writers. Illustrious Magazine, a gentleman’s guide to the finer things in life, is seeking people who have experience in writing articles, and editorials. Chosen candidates would be selected for fashion, business, technology, and entertainment categories.
Please submit resume, examples of your work, along with your area of expertise to: nbryan@illustriousmagazine.com

Nonfiction and Fiction Required
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Dragondreamz Publications is currently looking for fiction and non-fiction for inclusion in their first periodical, Full Armor Magazine, which is set to debut in June 2010. It will be published quarterly and includes fantasy, slipstream, and mystery stories with a strong Christian-Judean message; or Christian-Judean symbolism at the core of the story. Think in terms of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Oscar Wilde…etc. They are also considering: Spiritual Poetry (any style; up to 20 lines) and Non-fiction pieces (testimonials, book/film/music reviews and short essays). A token payment is offered: $0.01 per word for stories up to 3,000 words for both fiction and non-fiction. $1.00 per line for poetry. View website for details.

http://www.dragondreamzpublications.info/submissions.html

Restaurant Reviewers Wanted in the UK
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Itchy is working with the malaysiakitchen.co.uk to promote Malaysian food throughout the UK. They are looking for talented journalists who would be interested in taking part in some restaurant reviews. They are currently looking for writers from the following cities: Surrey / Birmingham / Manchester / Chester / Brighton / Nottingham / Canterbury / Coventry / Norwich / Edinburgh / Glasgow / Stratford Upon Avon / Warwick / Milton Keynes / Peterborough. Please email your interest and CV, stating which city you are based in, to Emma Salt, Editor at: editor@itchyonline.com

New Magazine Seeks Fiction and Nonfiction
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Dragondreamz Publications is currently looking for fiction and non-fiction for inclusion in their first periodical, Full Armor Magazine, which is set to debut in June 2010. It will be published quarterly and includes fantasy, slipstream, and mystery stories with a strong Christian-Judean message; or Christian-Judean symbolism at the core of the story. Think in terms of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Oscar Wilde…etc. They are also considering: Spiritual Poetry (any style; up to 20 lines) and Non-fiction pieces (testimonials, book/film/music reviews and short essays). A token payment is offered: $0.01 per word for stories up to 3,000 words for both fiction and non-fiction. $1.00 per line for poetry. View website for details.

http://www.dragondreamzpublications.info/submissions.html

Writers Wanted to Write Tutorials
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Tuts+ welcomes written tutorials on a range of creative niches including Photoshop and Graphics, Vectors and Illustration, Web Development and Design, Motion Graphics, Flash and ActionScript, Computer Graphics, Photography and Audio Production. If you have the skill to write an excellent tutorial for one Tuts+ then they’d like to hear from you. They pay $150 for each tutorial that is accepted, and you’ll have the honor of being published on the best tutorial blog network around! View website: http://tutsplus.com/about/write-a-tutorial/

The Oldie Seeks Submissions
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UK based The Oldie is an antidote to youth culture but, more importantly, a magazine with emphasis on good writing, humour and quality illustration. Well-written articles on any subject are always welcome at The Oldie and they are particularly interested in pieces for our ‘I Once Met’, and ‘rant’ slots. View website for details.

http://www.theoldie.co.uk/detail.php?item_id=162&page_id=30

Personal Experience Essays Wanted
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Underwired publishes personal essays (800-1200 words) every month and is always looking for new contributors. Essays should somehow relate to the chosen theme for the month and be on topics of interest to women. Underwired buys one-time rights, and payment is $100. http://www.underwiredmagazine.com/submission-guidelines-mainmenu-39.html

Call for Short Stories and Poems – Australian Authors Only
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We are a media agency and have just launched our new project “The Story Bag”.

“The Story Bag” will create a new and innovative channel for authors in Australia to reach the public. We produce different kinds of bags and cups that have a piece of literature – a short story, a poem or a short saying – on one side of the bag and a content rich, engaging advertisement on the other.

The bags are distributed by cafés, wine stores and retail outlets.

All published work of authors will be paid.

http://www.storybag.com.au

Seeking Fantasy Authors
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JoRi Publications is a new traditional publishing house. Our first publication will be an anthology of fifteen to seventeen short stories in the Fantasy genre. If you would like your Fantasy tale considered for our new publication, read the following guidelines and submit your entry to us by March 1st 2010.

All submissions must be in the Fantasy genre
Stories must not have been previously published
Your story must be 5000 words or less in length
Stories cannot contain erotic content or hard core profanity
All work must be edited prior to submission.
Electronic submissions should be made in *.doc,*.wpd or *.txt format
Hard copy submissions must be typed and double spaced with 1″ margins
Each submission must have a cover page with the title of the story, the author’s name and contact information.
Subsequent pages should only have the page number and title of the story in the header
Stories that fail to meet the above criteria will not be considered for publication.

Mail Submissions to:
JoRi Publications
850 S. Boulder Hwy., Suite 436
Henderson, NV 89015-7564

or submit electronically to: JoRi@joripublications.com

JoRi Publications will pay $25.00 USD for each short story (1 story per author) selected for publication in the anthology.
Authors selected for this collection will have the opportunity to purchase the collection at $10.00* per copy prior to printing and $12.00* after printing. The retail price will range from $17.95 to $19.95 depending on the size of the book. Authors may sell pre-purchased copies at the retail price for additional compensation.
JoRi Publications will place the collection online to generate book sales. A short author-supplied bio will be requested upon acceptance for publication in order to recognize their contribution to the project. JoRi Publications will also handle coordinating distribution to other outlets. accepted

*Plus shipping and handling costs which will vary based on the number of books ordered and destination.

Content Writers Wanted for AOL Seed
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I can’t get much information on how much you’ll get paid, (they’re only hiring US writers so I don’t get to know,) but AOL are setting up their own content site and need writers to provide content for 80+ AOL channels. If you are interested in this type of writing work, and many do find it a useful sideline, then visit: http://www.seed.com/writers/

Women’s magazine seeks submissions

Sasee welcomes editorial submissions from freelance writers. They are looking for new, unpublished, first-person, non-fiction material that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are of primary editorial focus. Diversity of subjects that reflect all age groups and variety of writing styles are invited. Payment for articles varies. View website for contact details.

http://sasee.com/submissions/

History Articles Wanted

History-on-the-web is an online publishing site that publishes all things historical. Whatever the topic, whatever the period, they want to publish your work. Their requirements are simple:

*It must be referenced.
*It must be original.
*You must submit a profile.

Writers receive 50% Royalties and bonus.

View website for details.

http://www.history-on-the-web.com

Origin Magazine Calls For Submissions

UK based Origin Publishing Ltd are always looking for dependable, quality freelance writers to work on their magazines. View website for contact details.

http://www.originpublishing.com/vacancylist.asp

Articles on Computing Wanted

Worldstart.com are looking for tips for their e-mail newsletter, Computer Tips & Techniques. They are also seeking feature articles for the website covering any and all aspects of computing. Check out the guidelines on their website.

http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines

Good morning!

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted as a blogger for this fantastic site, and I am looking forward to the coming weeks and months. Newbie-writers is a source of inspiration and support for many writers – both newbies and ‘veterans’ – and to be able to contribute in some small way is a pleasure.

For my first post, I thought I would just introduce myself briefly. My name is Jim Grange,  and I am a PhD student researching in the field of Cognitive Psychology. I have a fair amount of writing experience during the course of my studies, but I recently set out on a mission to start writing general interest pieces for the layperson. 

Science is my passion. I love all aspects of the scientific process, and I want to share my passion with the world (OK, perhaps just a few people who may happen to stumble over one of my articles, but hey, it’s a start)! Fiction has never grabbed me in the same way that science writing has. What I particularly love about popular science material is that quite often, truth is stranger than fiction.

For example – just from physics literature alone – which of the following do you think is physically impossible theoretically:

• Time travel
• Teleportation
• Single atoms being in more than one place at a time
• There are more than 4 dimensions (up-down, left-right, forwards-backwards, and time)
• The atoms in your body disappearing as a whole, and reforming the other side of Mars

You may be thinking “All of them, Jim!”. But the beauty is, they are ALL theoretically possible!! Time travel is not only allowed by Einstein’s Special and General Relativity, it INSISTS that it happens all the time (in fact, geo-positional satellites that communicate with your mobile phones and GPS have to compensate for time travel every few seconds in order to work)!  You will have to look out for future articles from me to read about the rest in more detail. But you get the point, there is so much weirdness and wonder in the world in which we actually live, I have never felt the urge to get lost in a fantasy world. But we are all different, and that’s fantastic!

Over my next few blogs, I hope to be able to share some of my writing experiences with you. Academic writing is very different to the writing I am engaging in now, so I am a newbie also. Let’s all learn from eachother’s experiences!

I look forward to writing for you soon. Until then, keep writing!

Jim.

P.S. My academic website can be found here:  http://jimgrange.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

Hey everyone,

Dawn has some high quality posts and me not being a writer probably shouldnt post up on here! However being the nerd I am, I was never ever happy with the Writer’s Quill theme I chose for our blog. It became one of those things whereby we decided on a blog, I got it running and searched for “writing themes.” Only one available I installed it and put a “must get to that” note in my head.

So months later I happened to be at the WordPress site for some tech help (which is useless I might add) and thought “may as well check out the themes” to which I found this one. I edited the header (which I’m not keen on, might design a distinct blog header) and tweaked it a bit. What do you think? I seriously need your opinions on this as im a perfectionist.

I too am sick with the ‘dreaded lurgy’ or bronchitis and sinusitis (but you didnt REALLY need to know that), why do I decide to tweak our blog when I should be in bed? Who knows!? I know now I’ll be awake most of the night thinking “hmm need to fix that header.. not happy with it.”

I welcome your opinions. Also spammers (and yes you do exist I’ve deleted ten so far from our database) go ahead and post, it’ll be deleted and karma will get you in the form of a bus hurtling towards you next time you cross the street. Get a real job!

Damien

I have decided, seeing as my brain is currently, as Edward said on the forum, full of cotton wool, to see what famous authors have to say on the topic of writing and what we can learn from them.

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” So said James Michener, Pulitzer prize winning author of over 40 books.

What I love about this quote is its honesty. I know that I am not a very good writer – not where first drafts or blogs are concerned – but I do know that with careful editing and re-writing I can usually turn out a sell-able article. Yet when it comes to writing fiction I suddenly expect myself to get it right the first time.

I’ve lost count of the number of short stories and novel chapters that I’ve given up on because I wasn’t happy with what I’d written. I never give up on articles that easily; I work at them until they are right. Yet I’d never even thought of doing that with my fiction, I’d just assumed that I was no good at writing fiction. Looking back, I’d never even given myself a chance!

In my new free-writing run up to Christmas I’ve decided to keep all the words produced and then later see if I can’t develop them further. I also have decided not to be so harsh on my fiction attempts, but to continue to work at them and rewrite them just as I would with my nonfiction articles. Who knows? With a lot of rewrites and attention, I might actually get one that can be published.

Hey, it’s advent. Which as my daughter and I learned today in our home-school session, comes from the Latin adventus which means arrival. And the first day of advent saw the arrival of a new illness for me – sinusitus! Yeah! Now I have a aching face to add to my symptoms. Woo. Incidentally, if you’re planning a Christmas story set in Malta at Midnight Mass be sure to have a young boy aged between 7 and 10 doing the sermon – that’s another thing we learned today. And if your story is set in India, do note that Christmas is known as bada din (big day).

No, I’m not suddenly going to share home-school facts with you but I have decided in the mad days of Advent to pick up a little fact like that, or a face I see on the street, or a line from a song and use it as the start point of 5 – 10 mins maximum free writing. Just writing without editing for 10 mins max and seeing where it goes. Even I can fit 10 mins writing in a day and in what will soon become a more rushed and hectic advent, I know I will need those ten minutes too. Ten minutes of just me and my laptop – bliss.