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:

* * We'll give you some ways to include your protagonist's ideas in WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER THINKING?

* * Break all the rules in BLOGGING—YOUR WAY!

* * Read about our NEWEST E-book, entitled UNTANGLING WEB SUBMISSIONS: ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PUBLISHING YOUR WRITING ONLINE.

* * THIS ISSUE’S WRITING PROMPT takes you on vacation. The golf course or the mountains of Tibet?

* * Do you want to get your submissions in the mail by next week? Our A LA CARTE SERVICE is quick, easy, and affordable. 

* * LOTS OF HELP for CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS—100 CONTACTS and Everything You Need To Know To Submit Your Children’s Book.

* * We’re giving away a FREE REPORT that outlines industry-standard Manuscript FORMAT Guidelines when you order our E-book entitled REJOICE IN REJECTION.

* * Part II of our query letter article: THE QUERY LETTER—FROM A MARKETING STANDPOINT.

* * You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming ANTHOLOGIES, SPECIAL-THEMED JOURNALS, and CONTESTS.

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

Knowing how to punctuate or format your character’s thoughts can be difficult. Should you use italics? Quotation marks? Underlining. What is the best way to show that a character is thinking within a given sentence or paragraph?

When the protagonist of your story pauses to think something, you need to set it apart somehow from the regular text and dialogue. There are a few different ways of formatting characters' thoughts.

The most straightforward way to do this is to paraphrase the characters' thoughts into the narrative.

Methods for formatting characters’ thoughts:

1. Sometimes, you don’t need to do anything to make it clear that a character is thinking, because the character’s thoughts will appear as if they are a part of the narrative—so that the line between the character and the “narrator” is thinned nearly to invisibility.

Example:

When the brothers climbed up the riverbank, their school clothes coated with mud and filth, it occurred to them for the first time that their mom would be furious. Why hadn't they gone home first to change into play clothes? Oh well, they were already in trouble for being late for dinner, and they might as well get it over with. The trio trudged home reluctantly.

2. Another useful technique is to use italics to format thoughts, which is an effective tool when thoughts and spoken dialogue are interspersed. This technique is becoming standard practice among publishers—and for good reason. The different type style makes it quite clear when a person is thinking versus speaking aloud.

Example:

When the brothers climbed up the riverbank, their school clothes coated with mud and filth, it occurred to them for the first time that their mom would be furious. Why didn't we go home first to change into play clothes? Roger thought. "We're already in trouble for being late for dinner, so we might as well get it over with," he told his brothers, and the trio trudged home reluctantly.

This style is also popular with science fiction and horror writers, who use italics to show telepathic communication between characters.

3. Some writers use quotation marks to set off thoughts, but this can get complicated, especially when thoughts and spoken dialogue are mixed.

Example:

When the brothers climbed up the riverbank, their school clothes coated with mud and filth, it occurred to them for the first time that their mom would be furious. "Why didn't we go home first to change into play clothes?" Roger thought. "We're already in trouble for being late for dinner, so we might as well get it over with," he told his brothers, and the trio trudged home reluctantly.

As you can see, there is nothing to differentiate between the spoken sentence and the thought.

4. The problem caused by using double quotation marks can be avoided by using single quotation marks around the thought, but this is an awkward fix, and we don't recommend it. You’ll see that the example of how to format characters’ thoughts below is difficult to read.

Example:

When the brothers climbed up the riverbank, their school clothes coated with mud and filth, it occurred to them for the first time that their mom would be furious. 'Why didn't we go home first to change into play clothes?' Roger thought. "We're already in trouble for being late for dinner, so we might as well get it over with," he told his brothers, and the trio trudged home reluctantly.

A few more notes:

If your character is thinking something to him or herself, it is redundant to say so.

Wow, that sure is a small car, the large man thought to himself.

But if he is thinking out loud, tell this to your reader.

"Wow, that sure is a small car," the large man thought aloud.

Finally, whichever style you choose to follow, make sure it stays consistent throughout your work, and make it easy for your reader to follow what your characters are thinking, as well as saying.

Have you mastered the best way to show what your character is thinking within a paragraph? Writer’s Relief helps creative writers publish their stories, poems, and essays in literary magazines. We also help book authors submit their writing to literary agents. Learn how we can help you.

There are far too many blogs out there that follow a theme and bore their readers with so-called "valuable" information. If you're tired of tagging along behind other, more experienced bloggers, we say follow your own rules and see what happens. Who knows, it could make you popular, famous, and rich!

Avoid themes.

Make sure your blog can't be forced into a box. If you target a specific audience, say, literary types or computer aficionados, think of all the other people who won't read your blog. Don't let The Man give you a label, man.

Provide irrelevant and/or outdated information.

Your readers don't want statistics or helpful hints. They want trivia! Titillate your audience with daily minutiae from your own life, such as the current temperature in your part of the world. What you had for lunch. Gossip about an uncle on your father's side. Good stuff like that. Or you can give hints on making your electric typewriter more efficient or how to clean an eight-track tape machine.

Post inactive and/or irrelevant links.

If it's too easy, it's no fun! What reader wants to click on a link and go directly to the site? Make your audience work a bit—do a little investigative clicking, as it were. It's fun to make up sites too—try hyping a fantastic new site called www.grasshopperlegsforfancytimes.com, and let the frustration and confusion begin! You can also post links that are unrelated to your topic du jour and leave your readers wondering what they're missing...

Get personal.

What better forum to air your grievances? If your best friend or significant other has offended you in some way, start typing. A long, personal, privacy-shattering rant will make you feel much better than an e-mail or a simple phone call would. Everyone else, especially literary agents and editors, will surely be interested in your personal problems too.

Copy and paste.

It's sure a lot of work to come up with new material on a regular basis. Feel free to copy and paste from other people's blogs or Web sites. (It's okay, everybody does it.)

Don't waste your time editing.

This is the number one problem in blogging—overediting! If you continue to waste your time proofreading for typos (which Writer’s Relief can do for you) and checking for libelous statements, you'll never keep up with your blog.

No one really minds wading through the meandering stream of your consciousness, and we know that you do know the basic rules of spelling and punctuation. You just have better things to do—like trying to figure out whose blog to plagiarize next.

We're kidding!! We're kidding!!

At Writer’s Relief, we encourage our clients to start their own author websites and blogs. When done right, having an online presence can help!

Writing prompt: Write about the vacation you're going on this summer. Who are you going with, and what are your destinations at that vacation spot? Or are you the spontaneous type of person who recuperates at home with a good book? What? No plans yet?

Here's your time to get your ideas out and to write your plan into reality. Write about how you will budget your money and/or time to give yourself the treatment you so deserve. Even if you opt not to write a personal essay, writing personal goals on paper can be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself and your spirit.

Writer’s Relief helps creative writers submit their work to literary agents and editors. If you’ve got poems, stories, essays, or books just sitting under your bed collecting dust, it may be time to check out Writer’s Relief!

In a previous issue we talked about what information you should include in a query letter. Now let's look at the business aspects of your query and focus on marketing. How can you be sure you’re pitching your novel or book in a way that demonstrates savvy marketing know-how?

Every day literary agents and editors receive countless query letters and unsolicited manuscripts. As they sift through the backlog (sometimes called slush), they are looking for one thing and one thing only: work that will sell.

Publishing is an industry, and if the editor can't get a clear idea of what kind of work you are submitting, he or she can't tell if it is marketable. It's your job as the author to craft a strong book that will have inherently strong market appeal.

Think of it this way…

Visualize your book or novel as a commodity. Suppose you approach a store and tell Mr. Jones, the owner, you have a brilliant new gadget that would sell well in his store—but you hem and haw and never quite make it clear to Mr. Jones what your product is or who might buy it. There's a long line of salesmen waiting outside to pitch their products, so the owner dismisses you, irritated that you have wasted his time.

Address the following when composing your query letter:

Fiction or nonfiction

It may seem obvious but clearly state what you're submitting.

Genre

Editors and literary agents are pressed for time. So it's important to make your genre clear right away. This is a 100,000-word historical fiction romance.

Horror, science fiction, romance, Western, chick lit, children's lit—if you don't know what genre your work is, learn more: Genre Fiction Rules: Find Out If Your Novel Meets Publishers' And Literary Agents' Criteria For Publication.

TIP: Find other books that are similar to yours. Either do a Google search or go to the largest chain bookstore in your area and hunt down those titles. If your book would fit in with the others on the shelf, you've found your genre.

What makes my book different?

You don't want to approach an agent with a query that says, "I have written something just like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale."

Your book might appeal to the same readers who would purchase Atwood's book, but it must be unique in some way. Compare your book to a similar title that has sold well if you can, but don't expect to sell a Harry Potter knockoff unless you've found a truly original angle.

Marketing

Publishers have their own marketing departments, but you should do some brainstorming of your own. Writers who have significant publication credits are sometimes regarded as writers who are willing to do the legwork to get their work out there. For that reason, it may help to build up your publishing credits before approaching a literary agent. NOTE: Writer’s Relief can help.

It's impressive to note that you're an expert in your field and have some valuable contacts who may help with visibility. Or you have an idea for a Valentine's Day tie-in and have some verbal agreements for book signings. Show the agent or editor that you've been thinking of your work as a commodity, and they will too.

You may consider starting an author website. Or you can follow these steps to build your reputation as a writer.

Making Submissions That Hit Their Target

If you're having trouble determining your work's genre, you'll need to start by researching literary agents. This lends you credibility and professionalism—and increases your chances of a bull’s eye.

Read trade journals to narrow the field, and do your best to find the most current listing and the correct spelling of his or her name. If the editor does not publish horror, do not send horror.

If you're not sure of an agent's gender, do not make assumptions. (Address your letter to the agent's full name to avoid any embarrassment.) Read more: Savvy Salutations: How To Write “Dear Someone” In A Query Letter.

And, above all, give the agent or editor exactly what he or she needs to make a decision. This alone will set your query apart from the others.

One final note: Writer’s Relief can research the literary agents who will be best-suited to read your particular work. We not only cross check ALL public sources for submission guidelines, but we have private sources as well. We have limited openings, but we welcome the opportunity to review your manuscript during a call for submissions.

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, calls for submissions, special-themed journals, and contests.