SJWG at the Philadelphia Writers' Conference

Mark Doenges, Gail Priest, Amy Holiday, Mark A. Smith, Betsy Heinz, Dean Dobkin

Several members of the South Jersey Writers' Group attended the writing event of this area - the Philadelphia Writers' Conference. In attendance from our group were president Amy Holiday, Gail Priest, Patti O'Brien, Betsy Heinz, Vincent Sparks, Mark Doenges, Mark A. Smith, new members Frederick Doot from the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers and Dean Dobkin, PWC registrar Jim Knipp, and membership director Glenn Walker. Here's what some of them had to say about the PWC experience:

"The most valuable part of the conference for me was hearing about the successes and struggles other writers and realizing I was not alone. I enjoyed talking with people and hearing about their works and getting to know the folks from SJWG who attended. Thanks to all who made this conference such a success!" ~ Betsy Heinz

"This was my first experience attending the Philadelphia Writers' Conference. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to better know the other members of the South Jersey Writers' Group better. They made me feel welcome, and we shared a lot of laughs. I met many new people, too. The schedule offered enough free time to chat, network, and support. The energy from everyone was very positive.

"Don Lafferty's Social Media/ Marketing three day workshop was a highlight for anyone fortunate enough to have signed up for it. The wealth of knowledge he shared was inspiring and a bit overwhelming, but his personality made it fun, too.

"Another highlight was the Open Mic during lunch on Saturday. Autumn Stephens Konopka facilitated, and she also set an encouraging and upbeat atmosphere which put people at ease. I enjoyed hearing writers share their work. I felt supported by the audience when I read. There were several authors on the wait list, and by some miracle everyone had a chance to share. I hope they offer two days for the Open Mic next year. I think more people will want to take advantage of the opportunity to read and listen to others.

"Both the Self-Publishing workshop taught by Merry Farmer and the Research workshop taught by Janice Gable Bashman were extremely enjoyable and informative. Both these instructors knew their stuff and how to communicate well. Their students were appreciative.

"Those are just a few of the many highlights. PWC2015 was a great experience for me." ~ Gail Priest

Mark A. Smith and Frederick Doot

"One of my favorite experiences of this past weekend was the opportunity to network and get to know not only others within the Greater Philadelphia Writers Community but the folks that are members of the SJWG. I knew most of the folks from the meetings but it was just recognizing who they are and a brief hello and goodbye. Having our 'own' table or meeting spot was great because I really had some good conversations and got to know the members of our group a little bit better.

"I thought the seminars, the speakers and the whole 'vibe' of the conference was a positive experience that has definitely given me an incentive to keep writing and working harder to improve my writing. The speakers were extremely helpful and informative. Since this was my first writing conference I have ever attended, the bar has been set and it is high. After all, what better place to start than Philadelphia and the longest running writers conference in the country?

"As we say in Boston, 'that is my story and I am sticking to it!'" ~ Mark A. Smith

" When I woke up Monday morning my brain hurt from knowledge absorption, but I was exhilarated. It felt appropriate, because I attended the 67th Annual Philadelphia Writers’ Conference this past weekend. There was much to learn, and I soaked it up.

"As a scholarship winner and first time attendee, I knew it would be a good place to network and meet other writers. What I discovered was so much more than I anticipated. From Friday through Sunday, there were opportunities to learn, share, discuss and explore a ton of information about the art of writing.

"Sitting in a conference room of peers at all different stages in their careers, with the common goal to learn, was inspiring. At last, I felt established and validated as a professional. Although writing is a very solitary process, it is great to know that from published author to novice, we all struggle with similar issues.  
"The conference schedule allowed me to choose what workshops best served my particular interests. I attended outstanding sessions on developing social media skills, plotting and outlining your novel and self-publishing essentials. 

•  I’ve learned that I don’t know enough about metadata and marketing myself, but now I have resources.  
• Book Architecture is an excellent way to plot my work and that I’m a “Pantser” – I write by the seat of my pants without a written outline. 

• Self-publishing is on the rise, and Smashwords is my friend. 

Mark Doenges, John Fahl, Amy Holiday, Vince Sparks, Gregg Feistman, Patti O'Brien

"I emerged from the conference with valuable information and solid resources. Also, having a chance to connect with fellow members of South Jersey Writers’ Group was a bonus. Being together gave everyone a chance to get to know each other better. We discussed our work, shared stories, had lunch and chilled with a few drinks.

"I certainly look forward to attending the conference again, and would urge everyone looking to perfect their craft to add it to their calendars. There’s nothing like the support of other writers to remind you to just keep writing. 'Get out of your head and put it on the page - WRITE.'" ~ Vince Sparks

The Philadelphia Writers' Conference was a whirlwind of excitement, information, and networking. If you're a writer in this area and haven't attended, you have no idea how much you're missing. This is the best writing opportunity around. Make your plans for next year as soon as possible!

SJWG Member Roundup for May 2015

Compiled by Jessica A. Walsh and Glenn Walker

There is so much talent in the South Jersey Writers Group, and as we've mentioned in the past, so many bloggers. And many of these bloggers produce content on a fairly frequent basis, so we thought it would be a cool idea to highlight some of each month's more intriguing and interesting blog posts and present them here.

Please give a click and a read, and we hope you will like the samples enough to become regular readers. Check them out!

Jennifer M. Eaton wraps up her wonderful series Lessons from a Manuscript Red Line, so much to learn here!

MK England's great two-part feature on the pros and cons of fan fiction can be found here and here.

Ron Geraci compares cooking to writing here.

Marie Gilbert took a look at church, trains, the film Ex Machina, and also found time to interview Snake Blocker.

Barb Godshalk ponders motherhood in her special Mother's Day post here.

Amy Holiday of Hypothetical Press reviewed the Young Adult books Vagabonding, Still Just Grace, Fangirl, and No Passengers Beyond This Point at her blog here.

Victoria M. Lees talks about revision over at her excellent Adventures in Writing blog, and you can read that post here.

Rosanna Martella talks about Our Macrobiome on her blog right here.

Patti O'Brien rails against traffic and traffic radio in this post.

Robin Renee remembers B.B. King by reminiscing about interviewing him in 2004 in A Few Words with B.B. King.

Randy Ribay shares a personal story about a recent tragedy in Nobody Taught me to Mourn.

Kevin Stephany had a busy month reviewing several books and plays performed in the South Jersey area, including Bonnie and Clyde: A New Musical at Burlington County Footlighters.

Loretta Sisco uncovers the truth of James Franco and Jonah Hill in True Story for Biff Bam Pop in this post.

Vince Sparks writes about ageism in this post.

Rich Voza shares Chapter 16 of Dreamlands.

Glenn Walker continues reviewing "Marvel's Daredevil" on Netflix here.

Jessica A. Walsh holds the first-ever Cracking Nut Contest. Enter by June 1 for a chance to win one of two prizes.

Janice Wilson shares a song that soothes her and reflects on personal motivation and missions in Mission (almost) Complete.

Mieke Zamora-Mackay shares exciting news of her new venture teaching private knitting classes in Handmade Love & Joy.

We hope you liked this month's selections from SJWG member blogs, and will not only read more at their respective sites, but also come back here next month for more. Don't forget to Like the South Jersey Writers at Facebook, Follow us at Twitter, and check us out on Pinterest. Thank you!

SJWG April Blogfest

Every third Sunday of the month the South Jersey Writers' Group gets together for a work session dedicated to the art of blogging. If you noticed in the SJWG Social Media Database (seen here and here) many of its members are also bloggers. This month, once again, we have decided to put our money where our mouths are, so to speak, and promote here, on the SJWG Blog, what we accomplished at this monthly work session.

Loretta Sisco spotlighted her cat Ozzy on her blog/website The Mirth and Madness of My Mind (and Other Musings). You can read this terrific love letter here.

Writer/editor Patti O'Brien returned to her blog A Broad Abroad with a post about her recent car accident. You can read it here.

Marie Gilbert worked on an upcoming piece for Intertainment Hub.

Marie, Loretta, Jenny, Joanne, and Kahlil hard at work.

New member Howard Kleinman used the friendly peer pressure of the write-in style work session to get him working on rewrites for his novel.

Kahlil Weston of Mad Writer Publishing continued editing on a book set for release later this year.

Joanne Costantino crafted a new post for her blog The Life we Claim we Didn't Sign Up For.  

Jenny Barnes revised chapters of a novella she has been working on.

Glenn Walker helped out a couple new members, and also wrote and posted an entry for two of his blogs. He reviewed the Logan's Roadhouse franchise in Florida for French Fry Diary, and a recent episode of "Arrow" for Welcome to Hell. Please click on the links to check them out.

And that's just some of the creative magic that happened at this month's Blogfest work session…

What Inspires You?

By Glenn Walker

This has been a busy week for the South Jersey Writers' Group, and Kathryn Craft as well. She can't seem to get rid of us! Thursday she spoke at our regular meeting, and Sunday she was the Philadelphia Liars Club representative at this month's Writers Coffeehouse. She moderated a terrific session on inspiration and motivation.

Kathryn's prelude to the meeting came via the Writers Coffeehouse Yahoo! Group where she posted before the meeting:

Since I'm getting the impression we've all about had it with winter, let's think inspiration and renewal—and tap into our inner child by having show and tell! Bring one or two quotes or small items along to share that you keep in your writing space for inspiration. We know you have them. If propriety suggests this item not be brought (no booze or pets, please!), then you can just tell us about it. BECAUSE WE NEED ALL THE INSPIRATION WE CAN GET!!

Sure enough, come Sunday afternoon, all of the writers in attendance brought something from their workspace, whether an actual object or a description of same to share with the group. It was like a mad, creative game of show and tell. I have to say, it was wonderful and inspiring just hearing about all the things that inspire other writers, full of unique items, motivational quotes, pictures, and even Legos.

It's worth mentioning that the Writers Coffeehouse is always in itself an inspiring and motivational experience, just hearing what other writers are doing and going through, and meeting and networking with folks you already now or only know online - in person. I got the chance to finally meet in real life Uriah Young, who I've known only online for some time. He's a terrific young writer who has a bright future ahead of him, you should all check out his blog and Follow him on Twitter.

When it came around to me to talk about what inspires me, I blathered on about making music playlists, and how I had some action figures and Legos on my desk, but it wasn't until after the meeting that I realized what really inspired me. As fellow South Jersey Writers Patti O'Brien, Dawn Byrne, Robert Repici, Tom Minder, and I sat around talking writing at Panera Bread, it came to me. I'm inspired by the presence, encouragement, and support of fellow writers. I think we all are. As much as writing seems like a solitary sport, it's really a group effort. That's why get-togethers like the Writers Coffeehouse are so important.

Now, what inspires you?

A Day of Writing, Blogging, Schmoozing Over Coffee

By Marie Gilbert

I'm having some "me" time with my fellow members of the South Jersey Writers' Group. We are at Audubon, New Jersey's Treehouse Coffee Shop and we are all either working on our blogs, or learning how to set up a blog, or writing period. Amy Hollinger is at one table helping new bloggers set up their blogs and giving helpful hints on how to manage and share their posts.

While our president is busy doing this, Glenn Walker, better known around the writing community... oh okay... to the other members of South Jersey’s writing group as the ever patient, ever helpful, all knowing Patron Saint of Blogs, is helping the already established bloggers with any problems that we may have with our blogs.

Blogging is fun, especially, if you know what you’re doing and if you are somewhat tech savvy, but if you’re like me and a few of the other bloggers in our group, blogging is somewhat of a challenge; not the writing part, because I have plenty of ideas, but the settings, links and whatnots that help you to share or enhance your blog. This is where St. Glenn Walker, shines!

He helps everyone sitting at his table with whatever questions they have, and let me tell you, we all appreciate his help, and glancing over to the other table where Amy is helping the new bloggers, I’m seeing three very happy faces. Amy has launched a new troop of bloggers. Welcome aboard!

If you are a writer and you want to publish or have already published a book then you need to promote yourself by blogging, Facebooking, Twittering and Googling and you should belong to a writers’ group. Trust me, this is important.

Writers who attended today’s blogging meet-up: Victoria Marie Lees, Robert Repici, Kahlil Weston, Rosanna Martella, Loretta Sisco, Krista Magrowski, Linda Deininger, Kevin Stephany, Robert Schmus, Katrina Janco, Michael Christopher, Alex Jones, Patti O’Brien, Bob Cook, Marie Gilbert, and of course our heroes for today, Amy Hollinger and Glenn Walker.

Editing is Everything

Guest Blog by Patti O'Brien

Editing is a funny business. As an editor, I am basically telling writers that I can present their own thoughts better than they can, which sounds silly, right? But that’s what I do, and people pay me for it!

It’s not that we can do it better, of course; it’s just that we can do it…better. Let me explain.

You are a writer, a storyteller, a litterateur, a scribe. You have characters to think about, action to perform, verbs to choose, plotlines to plot. You type away, thinking about everything that’s going into your story, agonizing over dialogue, trying to get your hero to the climax before he dies, or is bitten by a rabid wildebeest, or quits the team. It’s a lot to deal with.

So you do the best you can, then you read it over and it sounds pretty good—or not. If not, you dive back in, saving your hero from the depths of the ocean before he drowns, along with your story. Even if you like it as is, you keep rereading, or give it to your mother/best friend/wife/husband/garbage collector to read and when they return it with rave reviews (for what else can they do?), you declare it well and good.

But is it ready for publication? Probably not, and that’s where an editor comes in. No matter what you or your good-hearted reviewers say, your story needs work. It just does. Trust me.

Your readers are not professionals and YOU are no judge of your own work. You read what you think you wrote: you know what it’s supposed to say, and so you read it that way, oblivious to the fact that other readers will not know what you’re talking about. You’re the only one in your own head; you’re the only one who truly knows what it all means. The rest of us? Sometimes, we just have to guess.

And that’s not what you want. You want a piece that is clear, consistent, concise and correct. You want the reader to be mesmerized by the story, not distracted by errors, or inconsistencies, or—gawd forbid—out and out plot flaws! “What the hell is going on here?” is not the question you want your readers to ask. “What is going to happen next? I can’t wait,” is what you’re after.

Your editor is your friend. She will find the problems and help you fix them. Because she is not in your head, she will ask the questions future readers will ask; she will point out what is confusing so you can fix it before you send it out to publishers or agents who are way too busy to sift through a problem-riddled manuscript. I am willing to bet the farm that many good manuscripts have been overlooked because overwhelmed agents just can’t get through the first few paragraphs without throwing up their hands in disgust. The story might be great, but they’re never going to find out because they can’t get past the mechanics.

Yes, we’re talking mechanics here, the English class rules that you’ve forgotten. Most adult writers cannot punctuate, that’s a fact. And hardly anyone knows when to use a semi-colon. But I do, and people like me do. We are blessed—or burdened—with the ability to see errors wherever they lurk. We are the folks who call you out if you dare to misspeak, or put a comma where it clearly doesn’t belong. We are trying to help the world with our gifts, but more often than not, we just tick people off. Sigh.

However, we are the people you want to read your ms, your college entrance essay, your letter to the mortgage company, because we are the ones who will make it shine, get you in, promote your cause. We can do it when you can’t because we know how. Good editors are born, not made. Like piano tuners…and Steven Spielberg.

Yes, we are the Spielbergs of the writing world. We know exactly what we want, and how to get it. And it’s not that you don’t: it’s just that it’s really hard to see it clearly when you’re in the movie, or writing it. We’re behind the camera; we see it all because we’re not in it, we’re just watching. Really closely.

And because we’re not you, but we’re working for you, we want your story to be the best it can be—just like you. We want the plot to work, the characters to be engaging, the dialogue to sparkle. When you’re writing dialogue, you’re thinking about moving the plot along. When we edit dialogue, we’re thinking of that, too, but also we’re making sure that it’s believable, interesting, sensible, and not in contrast to something that was said on page 42. Consistency is hard for the writer, but it’s one of the things editors focus on.

How can we focus on your work better than you can? Because we’re not writing the dialogue, we’re just adjusting it. Ever hang a picture on a wall? It’s hard to get the nail just right, level it, hang it just so. Know what’s easier? Standing across the room saying: “a little to the left.”

Now, you may be thinking, at this point, that I’m wrong. You may think that you have taken everything into account and have written a damn good story, and maybe you have. But I assure you there are mistakes, inconsistencies, punctuation errors and tense problems. Most assuredly, actually, there are tense problems. I see them in every ms, every essay, every everything I read. Tense is a tough one; nearly every writer has trouble with it. But your editor will not. Your editor will fix all that, and make sure that singular subjects have singular verbs; that there are no errant apostrophes in your plurals and “its;” that you don’t say a kid is five years old on page 432 when you said he was only three on page ten.

It’s hard work editing someone else’s story, but it’s impossible to edit your own. Every story/magazine article/newspaper column/published book that’s ever been has been professionally edited (don’t get me started on self-published authors who don’t use an editor!). So why should yours be any different? Why shouldn’t your story get the same star treatment as JK Rowling’s do?

You’re a writer? Great. Finished a story? Get an editor.

And pay him well, because you want him to do a really good job. You want him to care about your story as much as you do. You want him “on your team” because he’s good at the one-yard line and will help you get into the end zone (you know, onto a publisher’s desk).

Writers write; editors edit. Focus on your story, and let an editor fix your grammar so you don’t have to worry about stuff like that while you’re creating a zombie apocalypse.

Here’s how it should go: Write. Revise. Get an editor. Revise. Send it back for a final edit. Reread. Submit.

You shouldn’t skip a step when your goal is publication, just as you shouldn’t skip a step when making a soufflé, because in either case, you could end up with a flat, dead thing. And ain’t nobody got time for that.

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About today's guest blogger:

South Jersey Writers' Group member Patti O'Brien is an award-winning writer and editor extraordinaire. Be sure to check out her excellent editing service Editing Is Everything, Follow her on Twitter, find her on LinkedIn and Facebook, and read her always entertaining blog, A Broad Abroad.

Keith R.A. DeCandido at SJWG

"This crap is hard."

That’s the tough truth that guest speaker Keith R.A. DeCandido opened with at the October 2013 SJWG meeting - The Business of Writing and Publishing - in Bellmawr on Thursday night. Wearing an "ironic" black tee under a NY Yankees Hawaiian-inspired shirt, the Bronx-born author of more than fifty novels reiterated what we’ve heard many times at writing conferences and from people in the industry.

Writing? Getting published? Self-Publishing? Yeah, all difficult stuff, he said, requiring a lot of work and discipline. In 1999, only after he’d successfully published four novels, was he "allowed" to pitch his Star Trek tie-in novels to an interested party. He’s since fifteen Trek novels, not to mention a ton of short stories and comics and stuff, he told the large, appreciative crowd who came to listen and learn. Many new members - and some of the usual suspects - took notes and listened intently. He is what we aspire to be, after all: a successful author.

Still, he gets rejected all the time. "One acceptance is just that; one," he said. Getting published does not automatically open the door for your next one. No matter what success you’ve had, you still have to work your ass off. Being a freelance writer means you must constantly be thinking, keeping up with things, and understand tax structure!

"If you treat it like a hobby, that’s all it’s ever going to be. Want it as a profession? Treat it like a job." He still gets the same thrill, he said, after fifty novels as he did when he saw his name on the cover of his first book in 1996. Although he has gone the "small press route" a couple of times, he says that writers should try to sell to the New York houses because we have nothing to lose.

DeCandido, who’s also a member of the Liar’s Club, said self-publishing is not for him because he doesn’t have time to market and promote his books. "I’m too busy writing," he said.

"To self-publish, you have to become the sole proprietor of a small business; that’s a full-time job and you have to treat it like that. So many writers don’t realize that going in." If you do choose to self-publish, he added, take care with the cover.

"The truth is that everybody judges a book by its cover!" he said, suggesting that writers work with graphic artists. When asked how publishing contracts work, he said that they’re all different. "In fact, the answer to nearly every question about publishing is: it depends."

"If we knew what was gonna be successful, we’d all be much richer right now." DeCandido went on to say that it’s better to get rejected by someone who’s not enthused by your book than to be accepted by them. "Editors have to work for you, be seriously behind your book, get it in front of the publisher’s eye." The good news for us is that he said publishers look for new writers because we’re 'cheap' and 'get paid the smallest advances possible.'

Still. JK Rowling was once an unknown. The Help was only accepted after more than 100 submissions; now that was a relentless writer who believed in her story! Publishers will not, however, be interested in a book that’s already been published online or through self-publishing. But that is just one of many reasons your book may not make it to the show.

A publishing house may already have too many books like yours. Or, maybe they think their sales force won’t be able to sell it. Yes, it’s tough to write; it’s tough to market and promote yourself; it’s tough to get published. Still, we do it and hope for the best. His suggestions:

FINISH WHAT YOU START

"The ratio is like six-gazillion to one - novels started to novels finished. Don’t worry about going back to rewrite all the time; forge ahead and finish the damn thing. It’s like your mother told you: if you keep picking at it, it’ll never heal. Get to the end; fix chapter four later."

READ YOUR STUFF OUT LOUD

You’ll hear the repetitions, the word you used five times in the first two sentences.

FIND YOUR OWN PROCESS

"It’s up to you when and how you work. Make your work place free from distractions like the internet. I listen to music, some people like it silent. Whatever works for you is what’s right."

PROOFREAD

GET AN EDITOR

For more info on Keith DeCandido and for a list of his books, visit his website.

Also, DeCandido’s fiancée, Wrenn Simms, offered this: The L. Perkins Agency is apparently looking to publish ten erotic romance books per month for the next year. Manuscripts should be 125 pages and up, and she’s paying between $600 and $1,000 for each. So get your Shades of Grey on and get writing.

About today's guest blogger:
South Jersey Writers' Group member Patti O'Brien is an award-winning writer and editor extraordinaire. Be sure to check out her excellent editing service Editing Is Everything, Follow her on Twitter, find her on LinkedIn and Facebook, and read her always entertaining blog, A Broad Abroad.