The Fabulist Flash

Issue 53

Red Mum Mug

In This Issue:

1. This Week
2. Feature Article
3. Feature Article
4. A Writer Tidbit
5. About The Fabulist Flash

1. This Week

Welcome to Issue 53 of The Fabulist Flash.

The Fabulist Flash turns the one year odometer this week. When I started this newsletter, my goal was to share information on the writing life and process with other writers. I hope I've done that for many of you. What I didn't expect was to make friends with so many of my subscribers. Over the past year I've met many of you through Email correspondence. Some have offered praise, others have contributed suggestions and articles, and some of you have offered corrections and criticism. Thank you all for your interest and enthusiasm.

Word is that my book, 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live has survived all the stages of edits and design. An interactive, searchable CD will accompany the book and that database is now complete. So, the book is now in production. It won't be long before that box of books arrives at my door. It's going to be an exciting fall. I'm pushing through to the deadline for my next book, Bus & Truck: The Theater Guide. With only got three weeks to finish the manuscript before it's due on my editor's desk, those feelings of being on top of my game are gone.

One of my author "jobs" was to come up with back of book blurbs and endorsements. When I went in search of information on just how to find them I didn't discover much information either online or in print. I created my own path and came up with several great endorsement comments that made my editors happy. I realized there was a hole to fill. Other writers need to chase endorsements, too. That's where the idea for my new eBook The Endorsement Quest (www.EndorsementQuest.com)came from. The Endorsement Quest, is filled with great ideas and tips for chasing those all important book endorsements.

This week, Bonnie Boots returns with Professional Writers Dance Between Passionate and Impersonal to confront the feelings of rejection while Timothy Ward does a River Dance in Why Ezine Articles Make Me Dance.

Until next week,

Gregory
=================================================================

Gregory A. Kompes is a writer, photographer and professional speaker. Learn more about Gregory and his work at www.kompes.com

2. Feature Article

Professional Writers Dance Between Passionate and Impersonal
by Bonnie Boots

People that love to write often feel being paid for publication is the benchmark of a “real” writer. So they read all the books on writing and dutifully send off queries, filled with hope and fear that one will be accepted: hope they’ll get the chance to be a real writer, fear they won’t live up to the challenge. Sadly, for some, their fears will turn out to be well founded. The emotional highs and lows of writing for pay will be more painful then they can bear. Shocked, wounded, these natural writers will put their dreams behind them in the mistaken belief that they’re not good enough to write for publication.

Why does this happen? Because books on writing often fail to tell the aspiring writer the one thing they most need to know: the marketplace demands more than talent. It demands that the writer be skilled at dancing between the emotional states of passion and detachment. It seems like a conundrum, and it is, so let’s unravel this riddle.

The writer filled with fervor for the process of writing produces the best product. And in the marketplace, that’s just what your article, poem, short story or novel is—a product. Products, whether they are romance novels or car wax, are pretty much processed, pimped and put on the shelves the same way. All sorts of people, from editors to advertising sales managers, have their hand in the marketing process. They have the power to tweak, alter and otherwise transfigure the product. As a writer, it takes emotional detachment to watch, even help as your beloved work is worked on.

The ability to call forth and control your emotional states is a primary survival skill if you hope to write for print. Can it be learned? Yes. In his book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ,” Daniel Goleman says the ability to master emotions often makes the difference between success and failure in people of equivalent intellectual abilities. He suggests these steps for increasing self-control:

(1) Pay attention to your emotional states. Don’t just let excitement or fear run riot over you. Use your writer’s “inner eye” to observe and record your own emotional states. Simply being aware of your emotions is the first step to controlling them.

(2) Get it off your chest. Rejection hurts. Seeing your carefully considered words edited for publication is painful. If your feelings have been hurt, by all means vent, but do it in a journal and not, under any circumstance, in a nasty email to an editor or a hastily posted blog. Nothing is learned from burning bridges, and you could seriously injure your chances of ever being published. Editors and publishers read the net, too, you know.

(3) Consider the other person’s point of view. Editors and publishers have to deal with issues you know nothing about. Before you take personal offence, stop to consider their side. If an editor doesn’t quickly answer your query, stop and imagine the view from their desk. If you got 1000 letters a week AND had to handle the work of 2 because of staff cuts, might you put mail on the back burner?

(4) Try not to take it personally. This can be especially difficult for writers, because our work is so very personal. But when your feelings are hurt, it’s important to take a step back and realize that in business, decisions may need to been made that have nothing to do with YOU, personally.

(5) Stay well-mannered and self-motivated. Being polite and persevering even when your feelings have been hurt is a definite sign of emotional maturity. The ability to keep your cool and keep moving ahead will take you places talent alone can only dream of.

Like any skill, learning to waltz between passion and dispassion takes practice and persistence. Some writers tap a tentative foot, then withdraw to be wallflowers the first time someone steps on their toes. But you can survive and even thrive by joining the dance with passion and purpose, accepting the thrills as well as the spills as you learn to step with the tune.

About the Author
=================================================================
Bonnie Boots (www.BonnieBoots.com) is an award-winning writer and designer who says all writers should show off their talent by wearing their Write Side Out! Her wise and witty product line of gear that shows the world you're a writer is at www.writesideout.com

3. Feature Article

Why Ezine Articles Make Me Dance
by Timothy Ward

I wrote my first ezine article in December 2001. I titled it 'The Power of Online Friendship'. It was five paragraphs long and contained 3 typos. I used it to promote 'The Free Promotion Tips Ezine', an ezine of mine that has long since faded into the Great Void of Cyberspace. I still think it's one of my most moving articles.

I danced around the house, riverdance-style, for about 10 minutes when I read the email from Chuck Bowden, the editor of Your Ad Space Ezine, who promised to use my article. That was quite possibly one of the happiest days of my adult life.

I'm aware that most of you have more thrilling lives than me and, therefore, would not find getting an article published online to be a crowning acheivement in your life. I, however, live a life of loneliness and solitude and would thank you not to rub your lives in my face.

I've written many more ezine articles since then and have had most of them used by various ezines and websites. Sometimes when I'm tired of sorting out spam or signing up for free promotional programs just to get 50 free visitors to my site, I like to type my name, followed by the word 'articles' into Yahoo or Google. I take a few moments to go throught the results and see where some of my articles have been used.

Sometimes I find that my articles are being used in some very interesting places. For instance a few of my articles have turned up on religious websites, even though I have never written an article with a religious theme. I guess the Good Lord really does work in mysterious ways.

I find that a lot of my articles get published on Work At Home Mom websites. I find this interesting (1) because as a male I cannot, technically, be a mom and (2) as a poor, blue collar, working class stiff I do not, technically, work at home. But my message still carries weight with all those housewives. They must be despaerate...

My overall point is: Writing ezine articles is a great way to get your name, website, product, etc. plastered all over the World Wide Web. No matter how well you promote and advertise there are just some dark corners of Cyberspace that you will not reach. You articles, however, over time, can find their way to these nooks and crannies and illuminate them with your words.

So my advice to everyone? Keep writing ezine articles! Not only do you get the satisfaction of writing them but you also get the joy of seeing your name (and you words) all over the Net. And then it'll be your turn to riverdance...

About the Author
=================================================================
Timothy Ward moderates Free Ezine Articles, an announcement list for quality ezine articles. All ezine article writers are invited to submit there works. For more info visit: < href="http://ezinearticles.20fr.com">http://ezinearticles.20fr.com

ADVERTISEMENT
=================================================================
Promote your latest book or project with t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, totebags and more. Just upload a picture, and quickly create a complete storefront - completely FREE. It's easy and doesn't take long - plus it's a lot of fun. Try it out!

4. A Writer Tidbit

Here's a website filled with information, on just about everything. Warning: Don't head to this site if you don't have some serious exploration free time!

Writing Tools (http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~dreveskr/WT.html-ssi)

5. About The Fabulist Flash

ISSN: 1554-0804

The Fabulist Flash is dedicated to helping writers find resources and inspiration.

When you forward The Fabulist Flash to your friends please do so in its entirety.

If someone forwarded you this copy and you'd like to begin receiving The Fabulist Flash in your own inbox go to www.FabulistFlash.com to join the mailing list.

We’re open to ideas and suggestions for future issues. Let us know if there’s something you’d like to see or learn about, what you’ve enjoyed and would like to see more of, or just want us to know you think The Fabulist Flash is fabulous. Send your comments and ideas to editor@fabulistflash.com.

-------------------------------

Interested in being a guest columnist? Published Guest Columnists receive $25 for their 500-600 word article, plus a byline credit. Visit The Fabulist Flash Writer Guidelines for more information.

-------------------------------


The Fabulist Flash thinks your privacy is important. We NEVER lend, sell, or distribute our email subscriber list to anyone.

Contact The Fabulist Flash:

Email
Editor@FabulistFlash.com

Snail Mail
Gregory A. Kompes, editor
The Fabulist Flash
PO Box 570368
Las Vegas, NV 89157