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:

* * Not sure how your family/flock should be handled? Read COLLECTIVE NOUNS and you’ll be certain.

* * If you want to break into E-PUBLISHING, we’ll give you some free pointers.

* * Read about our NEWEST E-book, entitled UNTANGLING WEB SUBMISSIONS: ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PUBLISHING YOUR WRITING ONLINE. http://www.WritersReliefBlog.com/post/Untangling-Web-Submissions-Essential-Guide-To-Publishing-Your-Writing-Online.aspx

* * THIS ISSUE'S WRITING PROMPT takes you to a concert. The music may even inspire you to write a poem.

* * Do you want to get your submissions in the mail by next week? Our A LA CARTE SERVICE is quick, easy, and affordable. Read more here: http://www.WritersReliefBlog.com/post/Our-A-La-Carte-Service.aspx.

* * 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.

* * We’re giving away a FREE REPORT that outlines industry-standard Manuscript FORMAT Guidelines when you order our E-book entitled REJOICE IN REJECTION. Go to: http://www.WritersReliefBlog.com/post/Rejoice-in-Rejection-e-book.aspx.

* * We’ll teach you how to make the most of your life as a writer in WASTING TIME.

* * 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!! ↓

A collective noun refers to a group of people or things, such as “family” or “flock.” It can be confusing to determine if the noun should function as singular or plural when trying to match a verb with it, so let’s break it down. Learning how to make your collective nouns agree with verbs is important to writing proper sentences.

SINGULAR COLLECTIVE NOUNS:

Mathematics is my favorite subject.

The mob was rounding the corner.

A pair of scissors is on the kitchen counter.

PLURAL COLLECTIVE NOUNS:

Where are my scissors?

The headquarters are located in Boise, Idaho.

EITHER WAY:

Many collective nouns can either be singular or plural, depending on their context, and here is where the confusion often lies.

For example:

The jury have mixed feelings about the prosecutor’s cross-examination. (Where the individual members have differing emotions.)

The jury is sequestered. (Where the jury is a single entity.)

The staff is waiting in the conference room. (Single entity.)

The staff have special qualifications for this project. (Referring to individual members of the staff.)

My family is very dysfunctional. (Referring to the family as a unit.)

My family have always been proud of me. (Referring to the family members individually.)

Reverend Smith’s flock is very devout. (Single entity.)

Reverend Smith’s flock are always competing with each other. (Individual members are competing with each other.)

The distinctions between singular and plural usage can be pretty subtle. Your job is to decide if you want to focus on the individual or the whole, and match your verbs accordingly. As always, once you’ve made your decision, stay consistent.

Writer’s Relief proofreaders are here to help you with your books, stories, poems, essays, and novels. We’ve been helping writers submit their work to literary agents and editors since 1994. Contact us for more information about how we can help you!

The concept of E-publishing has been around since the Internet was born, but only recently has it started to gain strength and widespread respectability in the publishing industry. What does E-publishing (aka electronic or digital publishing) mean to a creative writer? How can writers take advantage of E-publishing trends to publish their books, stories, novels, essays, poems, and other writings?

First, the basics. What is e-publishing? With electronic publishing, a work of creative writing can be published online, on a CD, or in a format that is compatible with a handheld reading device or computer. E-publishing includes all genres: books, poems, essays, and short stories.

(Editor’s note: This article will focus on E-publishing for book authors. But writers of poems, stories, and essays would do well to pay careful attention to the trend in online literary journals and magazines. Learn more: Online Literary Journals: The Cutting Edge Of Traditional Publishing.)

So far there are thousands of E-books to choose from, and this number is sure to increase dramatically if the concept catches on. Nonfiction and how-to books were the forerunners in this new technology, but Stephen King paved the way for more famous novelists to explore the medium.

His E-book, Riding the Bullet, shook up the industry and forced publishers to begin the process of adapting to the changes. It took a big-name author to make publishers sit up and take notice, but E-publishing offers newer writers an alternative to traditional publishing.

There are many methods of E-publishing for book authors. Writers may publish and promote their work solely in a digital format. Or they may publish primarily in a digital format, but also offer the option of POD (print on demand) books for readers who want to hold actual pages in their hands. Writers might also publish primarily in print, but offer readers the option of downloading an e-book.

Writers can research E-presses to publish their books online and offer POD options. Many digital presses are so called “vanity” presses or subsidy presses. If you’re going to work with a publisher that requires you to pay to publish, be sure you know what you’re getting in to. More information: Is Self-Publishing The Easiest Way To Get Published? Decoding The Hype And The Facts.

For writers considering breaking into the world of E-publishing, there are a few things to consider.

ADVANTAGES:

• The author usually makes a higher percentage of royalties for E-books, and royalties are often paid more frequently—but sales numbers can be markedly lower than print, at least for now. And usually there are no advances paid to e-book writers.

• Because there is little financial investment required by the publisher, editors are more willing to take risks on new writers and nontraditional work.

• Electronic publishing is ideal for smaller work, since a print run on a small project is rarely cost-effective for a traditional publisher.

• Printing is the most expensive aspect of publishing, and E-publishing offers a more economical and eco-friendly alternative. E-publishing also offers a much faster turnaround—generally a few weeks or months after acceptance—compared with up to two years at traditional houses.

• It’s extremely easy and cheap to make updates to E-books that are already in circulation, which is invaluable for nonfiction, how-to books, and technology-related work that changes constantly.

• It’s easier to self-publish in E-book format when traditional publishers don’t feel the work would sell well. If E-book sales prove the publisher wrong, they are sometimes willing to pick it up and sell it in print. Learn more: After Self-Publishing: How To Find An Agent And A Publisher For Your Self-Published Book.

• Authors usually retain all other rights to the work, while traditional publishers claim as many rights as possible.

DISADVANTAGES:

• E-book reading devices are expensive.

• E-publishing does not offer all the layers of quality control that traditional publishing provides. You, the author, are responsible for the editing of the book, and you market your book yourself. At a traditional publishing house, there are a host of professionals to provide quality control and up sales for your work.

• E-book publishing credits do not carry the same weight as print credits.

• Piracy is much easier with electronic work.

• You miss out on seeing your baby on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. (However, since e-books have ISBN numbers, your readers can walk into B&N and order a copy of your book.)

Learn more: What Is Considered Previously Published Writing?

There is no substitute for the smell and feel of a brand-new paperback or your dog-eared copy of Wuthering Heights. But be prepared for a marked increase in online reading material and electronic reading habits. You may find yourself reading The Wall Street Journal in bed on Sunday mornings from an E-book reader sooner than you think.

Writer’s Relief has been helping creative writers keep up with changes in the publishing industry since 1994. Feeling obsolete? We can help you too.

Writing prompt: Concerts can be exciting…the anticipation of which songs the artist will play…the unexpected, extended jam sessions and alternate interpretations…the encore. Write about the best song you have ever heard performed live at a concert. Think about it carefully, because this song may be surprising to you. Focus on one specific song performance that had that special something.

Can you remember what you felt as this song was playing? Did it give you goose bumps? Thanks to the content of the song, were you reminded of a person or place or time? It has been said that music is the universal language…how did that language speak to you? Try a bigger challenge and write a poem based on your experience.

Love writing? Writer’s Relief helps creative writers submit their work for publication. To be considered for our client list, please consider submitting your work to our Review Board.

People who work for a living know that being efficient and productive is not always easy. It can be even harder for writers who attempt to work from home or write at home after work. It’s definitely hard to stay focused sometimes. The risk of procrastination and the temptation to make excuses is part of the writing life.

Sure, we start out with the best intentions and with specific goals in mind—edit a novel, revise an old poem—but we soon find ourselves distracted by any number of things.

Take organizing your desk, for example. It may start off as an innocent and sincere attempt to tidy up and possibly focus better, but it often leads to more interesting discoveries, such as that dental appointment postcard for, oops, last week, or a perfume sample, a clipped article, an overdue bill.

Then, resolutely, it’s back to work! At least, that is, until the coffee needs refilling, the pencil needs sharpening, the bathroom needs visiting. Then the dryer buzzes, your neighbor calls, the dogs bark, your kids wail, and the door-to-door weirdos descend.

But that’s not all. Most of us use computers for writing, researching, and corresponding with others. And since the Internet is an integral part of computer use, we are faced with yet one more terrible distraction.

With rehab clinics sprouting up all over the place for those poor souls addicted to YouTube and Facebook, it’s obvious there’s a serious problem. We can only hope that those of us who work with computers can be strong and resist the temptations. And distracting temptations there are! Such fabulous, time-wasting activities abound. We can’t resist giving you a small sample.

How To Waste Time On The Internet

There are plenty of ways to get distracted online, even aside from the usual time-wasters like obsessive e-mail checking, surfing celebrity gossip news, and trolling forums and chat groups.

You can write “articles” for Uncyclopedia.org and feel good about being “published.” Or post something unique for sale on Craigslist, like that two-foot wad of gum you’ve created by wandering Yankee Stadium. (It’s kind of fun to see who will stop by your house or call you about it, and you might even make a few bucks!)

It’s also amusing to bid for strange items on eBay, increasing your bid by increments of 50 cents at a time and hoping that someone outbids you before you become the owner of a pink flamingo bouncy house for the backyard…unless you really like pink flamingo bouncy houses.

(Of course, if it’s classified listings that you’re into, why not kill some time on our Classified Pages for writers? You’ll love our free lists of publishing leads!)

As writers you can disguise some of these distractions by calling it “higher education” or “research.”

Maybe there’s no getting away from online distractions. Maybe we should all devote an hour a day to worthless pursuits—pushing red buttons, bossing guys in chicken suits around, and laughing at pets in clothes—and just get it out of our systems so we can get down to business.

NEED HELP STAYING ON TRACK? Writer’s Relief keeps our writer-clients on track. We manage the submission process and keep you motivated to write. Learn how we can help you submit your creative writing to literary agents and editors! No more killing time!

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.