Getting Paid…How Much is Enough?

Figuring out what your work is worth as a freelance writer is sometimes difficult. Here's a brief guide to the average pay rates for freelance writers.

Do you charge by the hour, by the project, by the word?

This all depends on what you're doing. Certain tasks just lend themselves to different pay styles. Here are some samples.

By the hour:

• Publicity/Public Relations
• Advertising or copy writing
• Evaluations, critiquing, editing
• Research, fact checking, proofreading

By the project:

• Speech writing
• Press kits, press releases
• Brochures, Newsletters
• Presentations to groups

By the word, line or page:

• Magazine/newspaper features
• Reviews

How do you decide what to charge?


That's different for everyone and for every task. The first thing you should do when you decide to freelance, part-time or full-time, is figure out how much you're going to charge. There are several things to consider.

First, look at your experience level. If you're a beginning freelance writer, remember that the byline and the clipping or résumé item are part of your salary. Yes, you'd like money in your pocket, and you should always be paid some amount for your work, but the experience can help you secure your next assignment. However, just because this is your first day as a freelancer doesn't mean you're completely inexperienced. Don't forget your educational background and if you have experience in certain fields from your past jobs.

Next, consider how much you need to make from your writing. Look at all aspects of your life. Is your writing going to pay for living expenses, your health insurance, car payment? Or is it supplemental income? For instance, if you spend two days doing a promotional brochure for a new dance school, you need to know how much those two days are worth to you and be prepared to ask for that amount.

Research what other people charge in your area for the same or similar work. Simply ask for a rate sheet from companies or other freelancers. You don't have to explain why. You can also join local writers groups or professional groups or search the Internet.

Are there national averages for pay rates?

Google "what writers are paid" and you'll get a number of websites for all different types of writers, from technical writers to screenwriters. WritersMarket.com has a pdf file entitled "How Much Should I Charge?" that has nine pages of charts showing pay rates for 10 different categories from advertising to audio visual to newspapers. This pdf is only available to subscribing members, but it is only about $3/month to subscribe. The document is well worth $3 if you don't use the site again. If you want to write for T.V. or film, the Writer Guild of America also has a pdf called the "Schedule of Minimums" that outlines the pay rates for a variety of tasks in T.V. and film. Although this is accessible to anyone, it applies only to WGA members, but it will give you an idea.


We can't consider every mitigating factor here, but generally, working from the lists above, hourly rates for such tasks as public relations, evaluations and research, the rates can run from a low of $20/hour to a high of $200. By the project rates vary even more widely between the tasks, locations and potential exposure. A press release may run as low as $125 while a presentation at a national event (if you have the right credentials) could earn you $30,000. Publications sometimes pay by the piece, in general smaller publications like city magazines pay as low as 10¢/word or $25 per short front section articles, while slick national magazines can pay $3/word and up for feature-length articles.

When planning your rate sheet, be realistic, but don't sell yourself short. Then when facing a client, be flexible when the potential is high, but be firm in your negotiations. Finally, keep moving forward to have a solid career as a freelance writer.

Waxing Poetic…Competitions for Your Poetry

Would you like to try poetic parody?

Before getting down to business, here is a bit of fun. Phil Kloer, the book blogger on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website, posted Monday about a recent feature from "This American Life" on National Public Radio. The feature was on apologies that weren't really apologies and on the poem "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams. Kloer wrote "…the show then jumped to the proliferation of parodies of this poem" and listed some of them. He ended by inviting readers to leave their parodies of the poem in the comments section. Check out the blog and try your hand at poetic parody here.

Can you make any money in poetry competitions?


There are thousands of poetry competitions waiting for your latest creation. The prize money varies from contest to contest, but most usually include publication of the winning poem or poems. The prizes in the competitions below range from a low of $35 for first prize for a single poem to $3000 and publication for first prize for a collection of poems.

Where do you start?

Contests sponsors can be newspapers, magazines, some civic groups, poetry societies, writer's groups and even book publishers. WritersMarket.com lists over 200 poetry contests. Poets & Writers' online database had over 300 grants and awards. The National Federation of State Poetry Societies has 50 contests lined up for 2008 on its website and ByLine Magazine sponsors at least one, more often two, poetry contests each month.

Below is a short list of some competitions, including their entry fees, deadlines and prizes. Click the contest names to go to their websites. Good luck!


Blue Lynx Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $25; Prize: $1500 + publication; Deadline: May 15.
ByLine Magazine Contests: all entry fees: $3/poem, $5/ 3 poems; Prizes: $35-1st, $20-2nd, $10-3rd.
New Talent Form Poem - Deadline: May 3.
Heavenly Poem - Deadline: May 17.
Water Poem - Deadline: June 7.
Time to Rhyme! - Deadline: June 21.
Deane Wagner Poetry Contest - Entry fee: $10/first poem; $5/ever additional; Prizes: $200-1st, $150-2nd, $100-3rd; Deadline: June 14.
Fineline Competition for prose poems, short shorts and anything in between: Entry Fee: $10; Prize: $1000 + publication + engraved contest pen; Deadline: June 1.
Gival Press Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $20; Prize: $1000 + publication; Deadline: December 15.
Literal Latte Poetry Awards - Entry fees: $10 for up to 6 poems, $15 for up to 12 poems; Prizes: $1000-1st, $300-2nd, $200-3rd; Deadline: July 15
Morton Marr Poetry Prize - Entry fee: $5; Prizes: $1000-1st, $500-2nd; Deadline: September 30.
Red Hen Press Contests: all entry fees: $20.
Benjamine Saltman Poetry Award - Prize: $3000; Deadline: October 31.
Ruskin Art Club Poetry Award - Prize: $1000, Deadline: September 30.
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize - Entry Fee: $20; Prize: $2000 + publication; Deadline: May 1.
White Pine Press Poetry Prize - Entry fee: $20; Prize: $1000 + publication; Deadline: July 1.

(above - detail of the engraving "The Distressed Poet" by William Hogarth)

Meet…playwright and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II

What should you know about Oscar Hammerstein II?

Born in 1895 in New York City into a prominent theatrical family, Oscar Hammerstein II contributed more to American musical theater than any other single person. His grandfather, whom he was named after, was an opera producer. His father managed the Hammerstein's Victoria, a vaudeville theatre, and his uncle was a successful Broadway producer. Though encouraged by his father to study law at Columbia Law School, he couldn't deny the draw of theatre, and he soon talked his uncle into hiring him as an assistant stage manager for his current production. He soon was promoted to stage manager for all his uncle's productions.

He began writing books and lyrics for musicals, although primarily for operettas. His first play, "The Light", produced by his uncle in 1919, ran for four performances, but Hammerstein kept writing with a series of collaborators. His two most successful partnerships were with Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers. With them, Hammerstein would change musical theatre forever.

What were Hammerstein's greatest contributions to American musical theatre?


Hammerstein wrote eight musicals with composer Jerome Kern, including "Show Boat" which is widely considered the first modern American musical play. Produced in 1927, "Show Boat" transcended previous musical comedies with rich, dynamic songs that served to move the plot, developed the characters and helped to reinforce the setting and time. Later, he and Kern later won Best Original Song Academy Award for "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the film "Lady be Good" in 1941, making him the first Oscar to win an Oscar.

In his partnership with Richard Rodgers, Hammerstein won a Pulitzer Prize for "Oklahoma!" in 1943 and a second Academy Award for "It Might as Well be Spring" in the film "State Fair" in 1945. "Oklahoma!" broke new ground in musical theatre. It was a musical without humor, without sight gags. It drifted into tragedy, killing one of the main characters at the climax of the story. Instead of showgirls dancing in scant outfits, it incorporated an extended ballet sequence. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen.


With their seemingly simple and accessible lyrics and music, the duo tackled social issues in many of their musicals. "South Pacific," which won the duo a second Pulitzer in 1949, examined racial and social prejudices, as did "The King and I" two years later. Hammerstein's last musical "The Sound of Music" in 1959 dealt in part with the pervasiveness of the Nazi movement through Europe in the late 1930s.

Oscar Hammerstein II died in 1960.

What is Hammerstein's legacy?

With Rodgers, Hammerstein produced numerous plays, musicals and revivals including Irving Berlin's widely popular "Annie Get Your Gun". He was a mentor to Alan Lerner, who wrote "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot" with composer Frederick Lowe, and a mentor and close friend of Stephen Sondheim, who penned such hits as "Sweeney Todd" and "Sunday in the Park with George."


Hammerstein served on the board of directors for many theatrical and film professional organizations, won five Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Academy Awards and received five honorary degrees. During the centennial anniversary of his birth in 1995 and 1996, three of his musicals played simultaneously on Broadway. "Show Boat" and "The King and I" took home the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival in 1995 and 1996 respectively, while "State Fair," which was the only musical Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote for film, was nominated for the 1996 Tony Award for Best Score.




Sources: Broadway: The American Musical on PBS.com, Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, TheatreHistory.com

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Workshops & Retreats…2008 Backspace Writers Conference

This column briefly profiles writers' workshops, retreats, seminars and conferences. Inclusion in this column is not an endorsement.
What is the Backspace Writers Conference?

Backspace is an online writers organization with hundreds of members around the globe. Their 2008 Writers Conference will be August 7-8 at the Radisson Martinique in New York City. Although its agenda is not finalized, the conference offers two full days of workshops and panels with authors, editors and agents in the areas of fiction (novel and short stories), nonfiction, memoirs, children's books, promotion and marketing.

Manuscript evaluations will not be offered, but there are workshops called "Two Minutes, Two Pages" where two agents will meet with small groups of writers, who will read the first two pages of their manuscripts for the agents' cold reaction. There will be multiple workshops and they will run concurrently with the rest of the conference. There is no additional cost, but there is a limit of one session per person and it is scheduled on a first come/first served basis. Agents and editors will also be available between sessions and during lunch to meet informally with attendees to discuss their work.

Who are the instructors?



The faculty list isn't finalized either but visit "Faculty" on the conference website for the current list. This will be updated as new faculty confirms their participation. Some highlights are:

Keynote Speakers:
Lee Child - NY times best-selling author
Mark Tavani - Senior Editor at Random House

Editors:
Charis Conn - Contributing Editor for Harper's Magazine
Hilary Rubin Teeman - Associate Editor at St. Martin's Press
Kristen Weber - Senior Editor at New American Library (Penguin Group)
…and others


Literary Agents:
Stephany Evans - Fine Print Literary Management
Ronnie Gramazio - Martin Literary Management
Scott Hoffman - Folio Literary Management LLC
Elisabeth Weed - Weed Literary LLC
…and others

Authors:
Reed Farrel Coleman
Harry Hunsicker
Pam Jenoff
Caroline Leavitt
Jason Pinter
…and others

How much will this cost you?

Tuition for the conference varies. For Backspace members it is $355. Nonmembers pay $395. If you’re a member of the Mystery Writers of America, you can get a $50 rebate from MWA on the nonmember tuition. You can pay online, but there is a registration form you must fill out for either online payment or mail-in payment.


If you'd like to stay at the Radisson Martinique, the conference rate is $249/night plus taxes for a double occupancy. Choices of accommodations include: King bed, Queen bed or two Double beds, smoking and nonsmoking. There are other rates for more than two people in a room and there is a upgrade rate as well. Visit "The Hotel" on the conference website for more information about the Radisson and about less expensive alternatives.

The Details:

2008 Backspace Writers Conference - August 7-8 - Radisson Martinique, NY, NY.
Agenda includes - panel discussions, workshops, "Two minutes, Two Pages" cold readings with agents.
Faculty includes - agents, authors, editors, other publishing professionals.
Tuition - $355/Backspace members; $395/Nonmembers. $50 rebate from Mystery Writers of America to MWA members paying full tuition. Registration from required.
Hotel conference rate - $249/night double occupancy, links to other alternatives on the conference website.

Interview with...poet Paul Siegell

"(I) woke up, had a thing going in my head and reached for a piece of paper." Paul Siegell describes writing his first poem after attending a pair of Phish shows his sophomore year in college. "(The poem) wasn’t very good - at all - but I liked the way it felt to me, to write like that, to make something up, feel like an artist."

Twelve years later, Siegell published his first collection of poetry, Poemergency Room, which illustrates the emotions and challenges of the poet's "realworldolescent."

"It's those in-between years when you're out of college and thrown head first into the working world," he explains, "It's a transitional stage, a sometimes grueling maturing process that's chockfull of growing pains…I know I'm not the only one who feels this."

How did he get from a really bad teenage poem to a 64-poem published collection?

Once bitten, Siegell kept writing for a year on his own, "mostly awful yet kinda (sic) quirky poems." Then during his junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, he enrolled in Introduction to Poetry Writing with Jeff Oaks, an award-winning poet and professor in the University's English department. Siegell went on to publish in the school's literary magazine, Three Rivers Review, then published professionally at the age of 22 in 5AM, the Magazine of Contemporary Poetry. His work has appeared in nearly two dozen online and print publications.

He wrote the poems in Poemergency Room at different times throughout the last 10 years. He credits his girlfriend with helping him define the eight sections and with plotting the development and progress of "the story" within the poems.

He found his publisher, the Australian-based Otoliths, through Coconut, an online poetry magazine. He has published with the magazine and also uses the links page to research markets when he has a new poem ready.

His first submissions to Otoliths, the journal was in October 2006. After publishing a handful of poems in the journal, Siegell asked the editor if he'd like to see a manuscript. The editor accepted, and earlier this year, the book was published.

Where does he get his ideas?

Music holds a great influence over his poetry. His first poetic venture and many poems since have been written about rock concerts.

"Music teaches me how to listen, and one who writes must listen. Not to just other people and events or even yourself…but also to the words themselves." He quotes a line from one of his poems: "all I want is for my page to play the piano."

"I mean it kinda (sic) kick-started my writing," he adds. "Without my ear, I'd have no sense for all these crazy words."

When asked if there are any other muses, Siegell lists nearly every other aspect of his life: love, the city, friends…"Things I can wrap my brain around and articulate." He admits he doesn't necessarily write every day, but he comes close.

"I don't get up at 5:00 a.m. every day and force expression. I take it as it comes," he says. "At times, I can go two or three weeks straight where I write…a complete poem every day. It's an incredible feeling to be that productive, to be that tapped in."

If he isn't writing, he's revising, a process he takes very seriously. "I reread and reread my work until I don't resist a single word. If I feel any amount of unwanted tension…then the piece isn't finished and I can't move on."


That includes how the poem looks on the page. His poem "Antibiotics" was already with his publisher when he decided it wasn't finished. "I just knew the piece could be, and do, more," he says, "I felt the narrative was about as solid as I could make it, so the only thing left to change was the layout."

"The runner was pretty much always there, in the poem. It just took a few years and a little nagging feeling from my better angels to get it out." At the left is a picture of "Antibiotics" from the book.

Can he make a living writing poetry?

Siegell writes ad copy for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. He tries to sneak an idea or some poetics into the print ads or radio commercials he writes for the newspaper, but most of the time they get shot down. He admits his day job and his art don't mesh.

"They push up against one another," he continues. "I've found that when I'm asked to write some pretty dry stuff at work, the next piece I write for myself is as out there as the work stuff was dry. But without my passion for poetry, I'd never have been able to land any of the writing jobs that are on my résumé. Poetry does pay after all!"

He has another completed poetry manuscript, jambandbootleg, the first of a trilogy of sorts, he says, a portion of which has been published online by BlazeVOX. Poemergency Room is the second part. The third, Trombone Bubble Bath, "continues with the maturing process." In addition, he has started a fourth.


"And ya don't stop."

Poemergency Room is available from lulu.com or from Siegell. You can learn more about Siegell and read his poetry at ReVeLeR @ eYeLeVeL.

Literary Reviews and Selling Your Short Fiction

Where can you sell an individual short story these days?

The short fiction market is getting smaller and smaller. Yes, there's The New Yorker and various genre fiction magazines, but many consumer magazines, like Redbook, have dropped their short fiction feature. Others will only consider work submitted by an agent or solicited directly.

Literary reviews are the last strong-hold for literary and mainstream fiction. These book-sized periodicals house some of the best short fiction written today, which makes them highly competitive. In addition to fiction, the reviews also publish poetry, personal essays, literary articles and critiques, and interviews.

What do the submission guidelines say?

Most publications these days have websites with their submission guidelines available. Although there are some variations, here are some common points:

• Don't send a sloppy manuscript. If the manuscript format is described in the guidelines, abide by it.
• Don't send previously published material, including stories published online.
• Short story length is usually from 3000 words to 9000 words, however the Colorado Review listed below has no specific word count.
• Genre fiction generally is not considered.
• Most have submission or reading periods and will return manuscripts unopened if they arrive outside of the announced submission period.
• Many reviews have themed issues or editorial calendars.
• Often a review will sponsor a contest with one part of the prize being publication. This gives you a second opportunity with the magazine.
• Payment is often on publication and ranges from about $10/printed page to $25/printed page. Smaller reviews sometimes pay a flat honorarium or even offer a free subscription in lieu of payment.

Why should you try to publish in a literary review?

Because they are so competitive, getting a short story published in some literary reviews can boost your writing career in ways that other magazines can't. For instance, the literary reputations of Threepenny Review, Ploughshares or Prairie Schooner (all listed below) means that publishing a story with them is like having a billboard on Times Square. Your work will get noticed and appreciated by professionals in the publishing industry. When an agent or editor sees it on your bio when you submit your novel, they will know your writing potential before turning the first page.

Here are some literary reviews to check out for your next short story: click the name to go to the guidelines page.

African American Review - will also consider critical essays on African American fine arts and culture, book reviews and bibliographies.
Arts & Letters - will also consider poetry, dramatic works, and creative nonfiction.
The Bellingham Review - will also consider poetry and essays.
The Chattahoochee Review - will also consider poetry, nonfiction, interviews, and reviews.
Colorado Review - will also consider poetry, personal essays and queries regarding book reviews.
Glimmer Train - considers only short fiction stories.
Iowa Review - will also consider poetry, essays and reviews.
Mid-American Review - will also consider nonfiction, translations, poetry and book reviews.
Oyez Review - will also consider creative nonfiction, art and poetry.
The Paris Review - (based in NYC) will also consider nonfiction and poetry.
Ploughshares - will also consider poetry and "a limited amount of nonfiction."
Prairie Schooner - will also consider poetry, interviews, general interest essays, and reviews of fiction or poetry books.
The Southern Review - will also consider poetry and novel excerpts.
Threepenny Review - will also consider poetry, articles, and reviews.
The Virginia Quarterly Review - will also consider poetry, nonfiction, travel essays, criticism and analysis pieces.

Black and White and Read All Over…

An effective reader can be instrumental in turning your manuscript pages into printed pages. A reader is a person you trust to read your manuscript in its later stages, when you think it's almost perfect, to help you smooth away the flaws before you send it out to meet its public.

How do you know if you need a reader?

If you sell every word you write, you don't need a reader. However, if your sales are sporadic or if you have a tendency to revise and rewrite and then revise some more, a reader could offer new insight to help hone your talent and build your writing career.

Next, look at your limitations. Let's say you have the tendency to skim over simple errors and typos because your brain fixes them for you, or maybe you overuse one word or phrase without realizing it, or you're just not completely confident when it comes to grammar. A reader's fresh eyes can help you clean up those little problems that trouble an otherwise solid manuscript.


Heavy research can lead to "writing short" for the sake of the assigned word count. You learn far more in your research than you'll ever fit in the final piece so you may leave out important information inadvertently. You know the backstory, but your audience can't read your mind. A reader can point out areas where your 1000 words don't add up to a picture for those outside your brain, and he can work with you to get your point across without busting the word count.


What should go into the selection of a reader?

Your reader could be a spouse, a friend or acquaintance you may buy dinner or babysit for in exchange, or it may be a stranger you hire for cash. That's up to you. There are a number of qualities you should look for in a reader to insure a productive relationship.

1) Look for someone with literary experience.

That doesn't mean you need to shell out the bucks for a professional editor. A fellow writer is a good choice if that writer can keep himself off your page and not try to remake your manuscript in his image. If you know a college English professor or are still friends with your sixth grade English teacher, they would be good choices. Finding other people's mistakes is a big part of their jobs.

Another good bet is an avid recreational reader. This person knows what's on the store shelves and what the current trends are. The higher the book count, the better because he won't differentiate between your manuscript and the book he just bought. A story's a story to him. If this person reads in multiple genres and mediums, he will bring even more experience and objectivity to the process. He will be especially helpful with content questions and marketing.

2) Look for someone detail-oriented.

If you have trouble with misspellings, using synonyms or typos, you need someone who will go through your manuscript with the proverbial fine-toothed comb. Nothing turns an editor off quicker than careless mistakes. Mistakes immediately stamp your manuscript "AMATUER." Even if your story has Pulitzer written all over it, the editor's eye will land on that typo or that misused word and it will see nothing else. A person with an eye for details will help eliminate such petty mistakes.

3) Look for someone who can give detailed opinions and reasons behind those opinions.

Hearing someone say, "Oh I like it" or "It didn't work for me" doesn't help very much if you want to know if your plot gives the promised payoff or if your story just stops. If your reader can tell you why he thinks this is not working or that character needs cutting, then you have something to think about and play with.

4) Insist on honesty.

The risk of hurting your feelings may keep the people closest to you from giving you an honest critique. Your reader has to trust that you're not going to throw a tantrum at the first negative word, and you need to know he's not sprinkling sugar all over your manuscript. You two should be able to question each other openly and play "what if…" to help fix the problem areas.

Do you need more than one reader?

Sometimes that is helpful. Not all fiction readers can evaluate nonfiction and vice versa. If you also write scripts, your novel reader may find the format too distracting to give you a objective opinion about the plot. You may have one reader who is great at grammar and another who really understands characters and plot. And of course, what if your reader's sick when you get a dream assignment with a super short deadline. It's always a good idea to have a Plan B.

Communication and trust are the keys to a successful writer-reader relationship. So evaluate your career, recognize recurring problems, then look for someone with the traits, skills and personality to help you make you manuscript shine and give your career the boost it needs.

Meet…author/journalist Joel Chandler Harris

Why should you know Joel Chandler Harris?

If you ever saw the Disney movie "Song of the South" or heard the story of the Tar Baby, you've experienced the talent of Joel Chandler Harris. His Uncle Remus tales have been translated into more than 20 languages and many of the collections have remained in print more than 100 years since the original was published.

Harris was born in Eatonton, GA, in 1848 to an unwed mother. His illegitimacy may have been the cause of his shyness, a slight stammer and his self-effacing manner. He was gifted with a fantastic memory and a love of books and reading. As a teenager, he apprenticed with a small plantation newspaper called The Countryman, run by Joseph Addison Turner on his Turnwold Plantation. Here Harris developed his talent for writing under Turner's encouragement, and by the time the paper was shut down after the Civil War, he had published more than 30 poems, book reviews and comic paragraphs.

Journalism had a firm hold on Harris and he took jobs in Macon, GA, Forsyth, GA and New Orleans before becoming an associate editor at the Savannah Morning News in 1870. There his "Affairs of Georgia" column grew in popularity with many of his comic and human-interest pieces being reprinted around the state. When a yellow fever epidemic hit Savannah in 1876, Harris moved his young family to Atlanta, where he would work for 24 years with the Atlanta Constitution. Harris died in Atlanta in 1908.

How did he come to create Uncle Remus?


Harris was an ardent champion of reconciling the South after the war. He often wrote about political and social reform in an attempt to heal his wounded country. When he was asked to fill in for another writer, Harris created Uncle Remus, basing him on some of the slaves he met on Turnwold Plantation. Uncle Remus first related tales of postwar Atlanta, but Harris soon had him telling old plantation folktales and slave songs. His stories humorously addressed the racial tensions of the day through wily Brer Rabbit, sly Brer Fox and the brutish Brer Bear. Harris' ear for dialect and his talent for literary imagery made the Uncle Remus stories favorites of both children and their parents.

He published Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings from the Old Plantation in 1880 and collected five more books full of Remus tales. In 1946 Disney made a water-down version of Uncle Remus in "Song of the South" which mixed a live-action Uncle Remus with cartoon Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. In later years some people labeled Uncle Remus and Harris as racist, when in fact the characters represented both whites and blacks and their relations in the postwar South.

Did Harris write any other books?


He wrote a variety of collections of children's stories, including Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer Country, and other story collections for adults, which focus on some of the darker social issues of the day, including Mingo and Other Sketches in Black and White and Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches. He also wrote some novels and a fictionalized memoir and tribute to his mentor Turner, called A Plantation Printer: The Adventures of a Georgia Boy During the War.

Many of Harris' books are available today. I found several editions of the Uncle Remus books on both Alibris and on Amazon. Many of the other titles were also available. His Atlanta home the Wren's Nest houses the Joel Chandler Harris Association and museum. The Uncle Remus Museum in Harris' hometown, Eatonton, GA, contains memorabilia from the author plus dioramas of scenes from the folktales and is housed in authentic slave cabins.




Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, All American: Literature, History and Culture, Wren's Nest Online, Answers.com

Workshops & Retreats…Harriette Austin Writers Conference

This column briefly profiles writers' workshops, retreats, seminars and conferences. Inclusion in this column is not an endorsement.

What is the Harriette Austin Writers Conference?

In its 15 years the Harriette Austin Writers Conference (HAWC) has grown and changed from primarily a mystery/true crime themed conference to one that features all areas of writing, including romance, poetry and writing for children. The dates this year are Friday, July 18 and Saturday July 19 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education on the University of Georgia campus.

The HAWC holds two sessions of three-hour Intensive Workshops on Friday. Each session has three topics from which you can choose. Saturday conference is a day of hour-long seminars. Each hour has eight seminars offered. In addition, you may submit a manuscript to be evaluated by one of the agents or editors present. (click here for manuscript guidelines)

Who makes up the faculty? (click here for HAWC faculty bios)


Keynote Speaker - Sharyn McCrumb, author of Once Around the Track
Dinner Speaker - Ralph McInerny - author of the Father Dowling mysteries series.

Doris Booth - Authorlink Literary Group
Andrea Brown - Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Barbara Casey - Barbara Casey Literary Agency
Zoe Fishman - Lowenstein-Yost Agency
Chip MacGregor - MacGregor Literary Agency
Cherry Weiner - Cherry Weiner Literary Agency

Tony Burton - editor/author - Wolfmont Press
Jane Friedman - editor - F+W Publications
Patrick LoBrutto - editor/author
Susan Mary Malone - Malone Editorial
Chris Roerden - editor
Brian Seidman - managing editor - NewSouth Books


Robert Alan Black - creativity expert
Andy Garrison - police procedural expert
Alex Graves - law enforcement expert
Ginny Stibolt -website for writers expert

Evelyn Coleman - children's author - White Socks Only
Susan Dansby - author/television writer - Guiding Light and other daytime dramas
Wally Eberhard - freelance writer/journalist
Darrell Huckaby - author/columnist - Need Two
Judy Iakovou - author - There Lies a Hidden Scorpion
Terry Kay - author - Taking Lottie Home
Tanya Michna - author - Necessary Arrangements
J.L. Miles - author - Roseflower Creek
Bobby Nash - cartoonist - Life in the Faster Lane
David Oates - poet/author
Frederick Smock - poet/author
Robert Vaughn - author - Brandywine's War
Dana Wildsmith - poet/author

How much might this cost you?


If you want to go to two Friday workshops and Saturday's conference it is $385 or $395 late registration after July 1. If you register before May 1, you can get a 10% discount. This two-day package includes lunches both days, Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and the conference dinner Saturday night. One Friday workshop is $80/$90, two is $145/$155. The Saturday Conference alone is $190/$195. Manuscript evaluations are $50.

Lodging at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education runs from $89-$99 plus 7% sales tax. Rooms are standard hotel style rooms with double, queen, king sized beds.

The Details:

HAWC - July 18-19, Georgia Center for Continuing Education, University of Georgia, Athens GA
Tuition - from $80 for single 3-hour workshop to $385 for a two workshops and the conference day. (10% discount if you register before May 1 - add $10 if registering after July 1)
Manuscript evaluations - $50 - deadline - June 1 (received) - click here for details
Lodging at the Georgia Center - hotel style rooms - $89-$99 plus tax

Interview...with author Mary Kay Andrews

In 2001 Mary Kay Andrews was born with the publication of Savannah Blues. The New York Times bestselling author is not a seven-year old prodigy, who has dished out a total of six books in her young life. In real life Mary Kay is the alter ego for Kathy Hogan Trocheck, a former newspaper reporter in Savannah and Atlanta, and the author of 10 successful mysteries, including the eight-book Callahan Garrity series.

"It's no secret," she says about her true identity. "I just felt I had done everything I could with mysteries and I had an idea for a different kind of book."

"Mystery readers are very brand conscious," she explains. "If they see a book with my name, they're going to expect a Callahan Garrity book." She could lose readers in the confusion. So Mary Kay Andrews was born by combining the names of Trocheck's daughter: Mary Katherine, and her son: Andrew.

Although Andrews admits her sales of the mysteries were good, she wasn't satisfied. "I was impatient. I wanted bigger numbers." She got them. Sales of Savannah Blues beat the sales of all 10 of her mystery books combined.

"That told me - definitely - that people liked the book and that they would buy more."


She went on to write two other Savannah books and may one day do a fourth. But when she set out as Andrews, she intended just to write stand-alone books and contends that the trilogy titles can be read individually, too. She hit the NY Times bestseller list multiple times. Her latest, Deep Dish, about a TV chef, rode the list for four weeks after its release in February.


What kind of books does Andrews write?

She has a hard time pinning down the genre of her books. "Some call them women's fiction. Some call them chick lit," says Andrews, but that doesn't sit well with her. "In chick lit, the heroine's main purpose is to find a man. My books have women who are in transition. Their lives have been turned upside down and they're trying to find a new way. If a man is involved in that, that's ok, but it's not their driving purpose."

The transition from mystery to women's fiction was a little rocky, admits Andrews. She had to teach herself how to write in a new way. Fortunately, she stayed with her publisher HarperCollins and her editor there, which helped.

"We had a definite idea of what kind of book we wanted Savannah Blues to be," she says, "but that was probably the most rewrites I ever had to do."

What are some of the other differences in her career as Andrews?


Her book tours are slightly different. "I mostly signed in mystery bookstore, but now I do the larger independents and I do a lot of the chains," Andrews says, "I do a lot of Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders." Her reader demographics are a little different too. They're mostly women and somewhat younger than her mystery readers.

Although she really doesn't have a "Mary Kay persona," Andrews admits that she has to be a bit more out-going and bubbly with her readers. "Since I write women's fiction, some people feel like they know me even though we've never met."

Andrews loves meeting her fans as well as the bookstore owners and managers. In fact, she likes meeting people so much, she allowed some friends to throw a Savannah Breeze Weekend in 2007 and then again in 2008, where she got to meet, mingle and party with 80 fans in 2008. The 2009 weekend is already being planned as is a Hissy Fit Weekend for this July.

"It's a fun weekend for women to get away and have some fun," she says, but admits with a small laugh that the numbers surprised her. "But it's always surprising when someone picks up my book."

Will she go in another direction with another pen name in the future?


"I go with the flow. Right now these books are selling really well," she says. She is already working on another book and plans to stay with Mary Kay for now. "But you know the thing about publishing is that things change and people's tastes change so I try to stay fluid."

You can purchase Mary Kay Andrews' books from major bookstores and online. Amazon.com has several of Kathy Hogan Trocheck's mysteries.


To learn more about Mary Kay Andrews, visit her website.

Fade to Black…Screenplay Competitions

Should you enter a screenwriting competition or try to get your script produced?

As has been said (right here) before, contests are one of the best ways to get your work in front of industry professionals. After all, the judges work in the field and production companies, film festivals and such are the ones who sponsor the competitions. Even if you don't win, film industry professionals will read your script, or at least sample pages. That's a guarantee and you won't get that guarantee when submitting to an agent, studio or production company cold.

What if the contest isn't in Hollywood or New York City?


Just because a contest is based outside of film hubs like New York and Hollywood, it doesn't mean it isn't legit. Film festivals, like Sundance and Austin, draw some of the elite among film industry professionals. Besides an award is an award and will look good on a resume. Always do your homework before entering any kind of contest, be it screenwriting, novel writing or jingle writing even.

First, look at the entry fee:

• Can you afford it?
• How does it compare to the prizes?
• How does it compare to the judges' credentials (the more prestigious the judge, the more money it costs to get them to participate)?
• Bottom line are the judges and prizes worthy of the entry fee?

Then, look closer at the judges:

• Have you ever heard of them or can you find out anything about them through Google or another search engine?
• Have they been involved in films similar to yours?
• How long have they been in the film business?
• With whom have they worked - studios, actors, directors etc.?

Finally, read the fine print:

• Does entering this contest limit the future and potential of your script?
• Does the contest require any signing over of rights for non-winning scripts?
• Does the contest offer any benefits to non-winners, such as a reader's critique?

Is the Internet the best place to look for screenwriting competitions?

It's a great place to start. Google screenwriting competitions or contests or use screenplay instead of screenwriting. Either way, you'll find pages of sites touting directories, databases and links to regional, national and international contests. Often these databases aren't up to date so when you find a contest, go to its website to get full information.

You can start with the list below. 3 Questions…and Answers does not endorse any of these competitions, but each website has been checked to ensure the contest is ongoing and that there are current guidelines. Click the competition's name to go to the website.




Austin Film Festival and Heart of Film Screenplay Competition: Entry Fees/Deadlines: $40/May 15, $50/June 1, Teleplays - $30/June 1, Multiple categories of screenplays and teleplays, Prizes: $1000-$5000 plus hotel/airfare reimbursement plus AFF Bronze Typewriter.
Endas International Screenplay Competition: Italy based, Entry Fees: €45-50, Deadline: July 31, Grand Prize: €1000
FilmingFolk Productions 2008 Short Film Script Competition: United Kingdom based, Entry Fee: £25, Deadline: May 31, Grand Prize: full professional production.
Final Draft's Big Break International Screenwriting Competition: Entry Fees/Deadlines: $50/June 1, $60/June 15, Prizes: 10 finalists, then top three picked from there, cash awards $500-$15,000, plus multiple prize packages.
Great Lakes Film Association Screenplay Competition: Entry Fees/Deadlines: Shorts - $25/May 31, $35/July 27, $55/September 27; Features - $35/May 31, $45/July 27, $65/September 27, Prize: $500 plus exposure to industry professionals.
Hangman Productions 3rd Annual Screenplay Shootout: Entry Fees/Deadlines: $35/May 15, $50/June 30, Grand Prize: $2500, $500/2nd, $250/3rd.
Horror Screenplay Competition: Entry Fee: $35, Deadline: July 15, Prizes: $1000 plus "industry submissions"/1st, $250 plus "industry submissions"/2nd, Screenplay Software/3rd.
Howling Moon Productions 1st Annual Horror/Thriller Screenwriters Competition: Entry Fees/Deadlines: $25/May 26, $50/August 26, Grand Prize: $200 plus production.
The Movie Deal Screenplay Competition: Multiple categories/genres, including TV, Entry Fees: $50/features, $20/shorts, Deadline: September 30, Prize: production.
Praxis Screenplay Competitions: Canadian citizens or landed immigrants only, Entry Fee: $75 Canadian, Deadline: June 30 (fall 08 competition), December 1 (spring 09 competition), Prize: 4-6 scripts chosen for workshop with a veteran story editor or screenwriter.
Screenplay Competition by Repped: Entry Fee: $45, Deadline: June 1, Prize: representation by Reppd Management plus meetings with studios such as Universal, Fox and Warner Brother, among others.
Slamdance Film Festival Screenplay Competition: Entry Fee: $40 and up depending on the deadline, remaining Deadlines: April 21 (2nd early) and June 2 (final), Grand Prize: $7000.

Penny for Your Thoughts…Markets for Essays

What constitutes an essay?

There are different kinds of essays but the common denominator is that it reveals the writer's opinions or personal experience with a subject. As you learned in freshman English class, an essay can be used to compare and contrast to issues, or to related one subject to the other or to relay an experience, among many other things.

Who wants essays?

A variety of publications seek essays. In newspapers, the op-ed pages are full of political and social essays. A lot of magazines have a "back page" essay, which is somehow related to the theme of that issue, and of course, to the readership.

Chicken Soup for the Soul spurred a keen interest in the personal essay. Similar book series followed including A Cup of Comfort. Literary magazines favor more scholar essays, sometimes call criticisms on authors and books as well as cultural or philosophical topics.

What do editors want in an essay?


First in foremost, the guidelines qualify their needs as "well-thought-out essays." A common mistake with new essay writers is that they can write whatever they think. Like that college English class, you need to have support for what you write, especially when writing an op-ed piece or a literary essay. Yes, your opinion matters, but the reader wants to know how you formed your opinion before he/she is going to agree with you.

With personal essays, you do rely on your personal experiences, obviously, but say you're writing a personal essay for a travel magazine. You want to make sure you have the correct name for that exotic local dish you ate at that hole-in-the-wall restaurant on such and such street. The more facts you have and side notes, the more interesting your essay will be.

The word count varies depending on the market. For most consumer magazines, the word count is 300-700 words. Literary magazines might push that to 1000-1200 words. The anthologies like their essays to be about 1000 words.

Especially in consumer magazines, the essays fall under "the departments," sections in the front of the magazine that are topic specific. If you are going to submit to them, be sure to read several issues to get a feel for the specific department, then submit to that editor. If no specific editor is listed, you can put "Attn: department name" on your proposal/query, and of course, explain your purpose in your cover letter.

Here are a few markets that publish essays: click on the names for more information

A Cup of Comfort - book series that seeks "real stories of extraordinary experiences in ordinary lives," editions are themed.
Angels On Earth Magazine - seeks first person stories of "heavenly angels and…humans who have played angelic roles."
Atlantic Monthly - a general interest magazine that says to check past issues to see what they want, has a web-only journal as well.
Chicken Soup for the Soul - a book series with themed editions.
Christian Science Monitor - seeks op-ed essays on politics, family, society and culture.
Creative Nonfiction Foundation - seeks complete essays (no queries) that are informative or instructive.
God Allows U-Turns - a book series that seeks "true faith-filled stories" about life, editions are themed.
Newsweek - seeks personal essays for both print and web editions of "My Turn."
Open Spaces - regional magazine in the Northwest but is not limited to topics of that area, seeks personal experience, observation, and humorous essays.
The Sun Magazine - a literary magazine looking for essays on political, cultural and philosophical themes. (also seeking a part-time manuscript reader: click here)

Meet…author Louisa May Alcott

What should you know about Louisa May Alcott?

Louisa May Alcott is one of the most prolific female writers in the 19th century. She published more than 30 books and collections. Born in Germantown, PA in 1832, she always had a passion to write and a flair for drama. As a child, she wrote stories for her and her sisters to perform. As a young adult, she published poetry and short fiction in magazines, but it was the novel Little Women that sealed her place in literary history.

Assigned by her publisher to write a book for girls, Alcott broke the mold of children's fiction with the headstrong and independent Jo March. The book has been filmed numerous times with such actresses as Katherine Hepburn, June Allyson and Wynona Ryder in the role of Jo.

Like her mother, she was committed to many social issues, including the abolition of slavery and equality for women, and through her books and characters became an inspiration to young women for generations. However, her strongest commitment was to her family. After her father's attempt at an Utopian community, Fruitlands, failed, leaving the family impoverished, Alcott vowed at age 15 she would do anything to help her family and worked as a teacher, governess, house servant and other positions for many years. She also wrote what she referred to as "rubbish novels" anonymously or under the pen names A.N. Barnard and Flora Fairfield to add to the family income.

Who were Alcott's greatest influences?


Her parents - Bronson, a philosopher and teacher and Abigail, a feminist and social reformer - were naturally her first influences. She spent her childhood in the company of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. She also was a fan of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the Brontë sisters. Her first book, Flower Fables, was a collection of stories for Emerson's daughter, Ellen.

Alcott drew from her own life for a lot of her work. Hospital Sketches was adapted from letters she wrote during her time as a nurse during the Civil War. Work: A Story of Experience tells of her experiences as a house servant. And of course, she retooled her own family into the March family in Little Women.

How long did Alcott publish?


Her first book, Flower Fables, was published in 1854. She was 22. Her last book was published in 1996. (That's not a typo.) A Long Fatal Love Chase was thought to be too scandalous in post-Civil War America. It was originally written for serialization in a magazine. The story of obsession and deception was not published in book form until 108 years after her death. A Garland for Girls was the last book published in her lifetime. Alcott died in 1888, two days after her father.

Many of Alcott's books can be found on Alibris and on Amazon, but not in great numbers on Amazon. Alcott's work has been a favorite of Hollywood since the silent movie days. In addition to many incarnations of Little Women, Little Men, The Inheritance, Primavera, Onawandah and An Old Fashioned Girl made it to film or t.v.




Sources: