HOT OFF THE PRESS! We love to share our information with writers, and we’re happy to pass some of our INSIDER’S SECRETS along to you. Feel free to print these posts to use as a reference. Pass the links along to your writer friends. It’s packed with great information this month. DEADLINE-DATED lists of anthologies, theme issues, and contests are included at no charge!

In This Issue:

* * WHOSE (WHO'S?) IS IT? RULES FOR SHOWING POSSESSION will help you clean up those apostrophes.

* * Learn the rules to MAKE A PROPER E-MAIL SUBMISSION.

* * LOTS OF HELP for CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS—100 CONTACTS and Everything You Need To Know To Submit Your Children’s Book. Click this link to get our insider's tips and tricks: http://www.WritersReliefBlog.com/post/For-Childrens-Book-Authors.aspx. 

* * Enjoy our tongue-in-cheek piece entitled, HOW TO BE AN ANNOYING AUTHOR.

* * You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming ANTHOLOGIES, SPECIAL-THEMED JOURNALS, and CONTESTS. Visit: http://WritersReliefBlog.com/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx.

↓ Scroll Down to Read These Exciting and Useful Articles!! ↓ 

The apostrophe. It's a small punctuation mark, but its misuse can cause huge problems in your writing. Here are some rules to guide you as you tell 'em whose it is.

Rule 1: To form the possessive of a singular noun that does not end in s or an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun:

Examples: the doctor's orders, the writer's desk, Tammy's car, my sister's children, her father-in-law's house

Rule 2: To form the possessive of a singular noun that does end in s or an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun:

Examples: Jennifer Lopez's music, the witness's report, James's poetry

One exception to this rule is to add only an apostrophe when adding the apostrophe plus s makes the word difficult to pronounce:

Examples: Sophocles' plays, Mrs. Rogers' new car

Rule 3: To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s or es, add only an apostrophe to the noun:

Examples: the actors' roles, the writers' convention, their doctors' orders, the beaches' cleanliness

Rule 4: To form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s or es, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun:

Examples: her children's toys, the women's dressing room

Rule 5: To indicate separate possession, add whichever possessive sign is appropriate (an apostrophe plus s or an apostrophe alone) to the name of each person:

Examples: Bill's and Tom's cars (two separate cars: Bill's car and Tom's car), James's and Olivia's houses (two separate houses: James's house and Olivia's house)

Rule 6: To indicate joint possession, add the appropriate possessive sign (an apostrophe plus s or an apostrophe alone) to the final name:

Examples: Mary and John's house (the house belongs to both Mary and John), Edward and Madeleine's books (the books belong to both Edward and Madeleine)

One exception to this rule occurs if one of the owners is identified by a pronoun (my, his, her, our, their). In this case, make each name and pronoun possessive:

Example: Erica's and my project (not Erica and my project); Mark's and our dinner (not Mark and our dinner); John's, Edgar's, Lisa's, and my party (not John, Edgar, Lisa, and my party)

A note about the possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, whose. These pronouns never require apostrophes.

Rule 7: To form the possessive of a singular abbreviation, add an apostrophe plus s.

Examples: the FAA's ruling, the MD's diagnosis, USA's stand

Rule 8: To form the possessive of a plural abbreviation, add an s'.

Examples: the PhDs' dissertations, the RNs' orders, the CPAs' convention

A note about apostrophes in contractions: Whenever a word or phrase is shortened by contraction, remember to place an apostrophe at the point where the letters are omitted.

Examples: don't (do not), can't (cannot), rock 'n' roll (rock and roll), ma'am (madam)

Apostrophe placement shouldn't give you any trouble if you just follow these simple rules. So when Maria parks her car in Tom and Jane's driveway, which is next to the Petersons' house and across the street from Edward's and Alfred's apartments, you'll have no trouble at all conveying that information to your reader!

These days, authors have a relatively new venue for submitting their queries. Using e-mail rather than traditional mail, authors can send a speedy electronic query and save not only time but money.

After the anthrax scare of 2001, publishers became more willing to accept these E-queries, as bulky, handwritten envelopes suddenly appeared threatening. Eventually, fears subsided and the realization dawned that the publishing industry was probably not a terrorist target. But the E-query continues to offer authors an alternate submission venue, and many publishers actually prefer it to the US Postal Service.

If you're thinking of using this method, first determine if your targeted publisher, editor, or agent accepts E-queries. Check their Web site, or pick up the phone and ask directly. At the same time, find out the appropriate person (and the correct spelling of their name) to direct your query.

A good E-query should be much the same as a query sent by mail—a short, fine-tuned, well-crafted letter that contains your contact information, a basic premise of what you have written, and the all-important "thank you for your time." But in this world of electronic correspondence, a few rules specific to E-etiquette apply.

Subject line. Use this to make it clear what your e-mail message contains. (You don't want it to be mistaken for spam and deleted before it's ever read.) A simple "Query - Historical Romance Novel" will do.

strong>Salutation. Although e-mails are often more casual than written correspondence, now is not the time to lose your professionalism. "Dear Sam Smith" or "Dear Margaret Robinson" are preferable to a generic "Hi!" or "To Whom It May Concern."

Stationery and Signature Lines. Again, keep it professional. Don't use background stationery, fancy fonts, dancing smiley faces, or purple font. If your e-mail address is CoochieGirl or BeerLover, best to consider a new account. You'll want to make sure to "sign" your e-mail with your full name and contact information (phone, fax, address), but leave off the signature quote that may identify you as frivolous or amateur. If you have a Web site with writing samples, include that address.

Don't send attachments. Leave off the resume (unless it has been requested), and never attach an unsolicited copy of your work. Many office computer systems automatically delete attachments as potential viruses, and sending large documents clogs up systems, especially those without high-speed Internet. Offer to send samples of your writing upon request.

Keep it short. Three paragraphs ought to do it, with the first paragraph giving a brief description of the type of work, word count, and general tone and style of your work. If you're submitting a longer manuscript (novel), give more detailed information about it in the second paragraph. The last paragraph is where you can highlight your credentials—anything that pertains directly to your query.

The last sentence. You may wish to include a sentence offering interesting personal information to grab the editor's attention, such as "I set my historical novel in Ireland, as my family has lived there for over 200 years." And be sure to thank the editor for his/her time.

Multiple queries. Sending multiple queries is fine (and far easier to do electronically), but each E-query should be addressed to just one recipient. It's mildly insulting for editors to see a string of different addresses in the "To" section.

Format. E-mail programs vary, so to be on the safe side, don't indent your query, avoid special fonts (like bold and underline), and never use html. Send a copy of your E-query to yourself first to see how it comes across. Check it carefully for spelling and grammatical errors. If you rely heavily on spell-check programs, write your query in a word-processing program and then paste it into the body of the e-mail once it's been checked.

When your E-query is perfect, hit the send button—now you can congratulate yourself and start working on your next query if you choose. But remember—even though your query has traveled speedily through cyberspace, editors and agents still need plenty of time to wade through both electronic and paper submissions. Be patient, and keep submitting!

As a writer, you have many strategies at your disposal for upping your nuisance factor, but the following are a few surefire ways to get a good, solid reputation as a seriously annoying author!

For the author awaiting acceptance:

Submit work based on a theme that has been overused. Editors hate to see fresh, original work! Make good use of clichés and tired metaphors and similes, and submit characters that are flat and one dimensional.

Be sure that your cover or query letter is filled with grammatical errors and the liberal use of Wite-Out (coffee stains are great as well). Address it: "To Whom it May Concern." As an author, you are far too busy with the creative process of writing to research the appropriate editor's name.

Disregard the publisher's guidelines, such as formatting, word count, and subject matter. Send a sexy romance novel to a Christian book publisher. Use single spacing and a fun font, like Bazooka or a calligraphy font. It may be hard to read, but it sure does make an impression!

Submit nonfiction without fact-checking and without citing references. Make up erroneous data or claim others' research as your own. (You can also make up words and new sentence constructions.) If your work contains URLs that are defunct, that's okay too. That's what copy editors are for.

Call on a daily basis soon after your submission has been sent to see if it was received. Ask what the holdup is. Ask whoever answers the phone to look for it while you hold. Ask again what the holdup is. Don't worry about coming across as overbearing and unprofessional—persistence is what matters.

For the author whose work has been accepted:

Don't return your editor's phone calls or e-mails. Or answer them at your leisure, possibly a week or so later.

Ignore deadlines. If a revision is due in two weeks, make sure you extend that by at least a week, citing several personal reasons for the delay. Publicity and marketing schedules aren't all that important.

Become firmly attached to your idea of cover art or a book title. Refuse to entertain alternative concepts, and never defer to the publisher's expertise.

Be inflexible when it comes to publicity opportunities. You are the author, and therefore you can be choosy about when and where you want to be available.

Complain vociferously, through repeated phone calls and/or e-mails, if any aspect of the publishing process moves too slowly or otherwise offends you. Put your editor's phone number on speed dial.

Take the lead and lend the publicity department a helping hand. Forge ahead and set up book signings and speaking engagements on your own. If they interfere with the publisher's plan, throw a small fit and threaten to sue.

Of course, if you are unable to adhere to these simple rules, you run the risk of getting a reputation as a serious, professional writer. And that would be tragic.

REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF WRITING CONTESTS and ANTHOLOGIES! You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming anthologies, special-themed journals, and contests. Find it by visiting:
http://www.writersreliefblog.com/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx