Monday, December 28, 2009

49 Writers Workshop Registration: Finding Your Voice

January 30 and February 6, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Elim Café, 561 W. Dimond Blvd, upstairs conference room


Authors Deb Vanasse and Andromeda Romano-Lax lead writers in a workshop of strategies, exercises, and critiques designed to help writers discover and enhance the key element of voice in all stages of their craft, from prewriting through revision. In two sessions separated by a week of individual practice, each participant will draft and revise a project that demonstrates the power of voice. This Denali Ventures Inc. workshop is supported by a grant from the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, with fiscal sponsorship from the Alaska Sisters in Crime.

Cost is $35. Prepayment must accompany registration. Participation is limited to the first 15 who register with payment. Pre-payments are non-refundable, but they are transferable.

Name:

Mailing Address:


Phone:

Email:

Genre(s) in which you write:



Brief description of a current writing project:






Highest level of education completed:

Briefly, how you hope to improve your writing by attending this workshop:






Complete your form, save as a Word document, and email as an attachment to debv@gci.net, making payment ($35) through PayPal to Denali Ventures, Inc. If you prefer, you may print the form, fill in, and mail with payment ($35, payable to Denali Ventures Inc.) to Denali Ventures, Inc., PO Box 222451, Anchorage, AK 99522. Questions? Email debv@gci.net or call 907-388-9303.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

49 Writers CCC: Consulting, Critiquing, and Coaching

The well-published 49 Writers team offers consulting, critiquing, and coaching (CCC) services for writers. After reading your manuscript, we will prepare one to three pages of detailed written feedback (single-spaced, typed) pointing out what’s working and what needs work, as well as recommending additional steps to bring the project to publication. We’ll also do careful line edits of one manuscript page to set the stage for self-editing once your revision is finished. We complete the process with a telephone consultation and coaching session based on your work.

49 Writers CCC services are available for the following genres:

• short fiction
• novels
• memoirs
• individual essays
• book-length nonfiction
• journalism
• feature writing
• young adult fiction
• children's fiction and non-fiction

Manuscripts must be submitted by email, attached as Word documents. The Word “Track Changes” feature will be used for the line-edit page and for critiquing throughout the manuscript. Manuscripts must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font, with standard margins. This format will yield approximately 250 words per page. You may submit either a partial or complete manuscript; there is a five-page minimum.

For initial CCC services, rates are by the word:

• 5-10 pages: 4 cents/word
• 11-25 pages: 3 cents/word
• 26-50 pages: 2 cents/word
• Over 50 pages: 1 cent/word

If you’re happy with your initial consultation, we’d love to have you return for additional CCC services, billed at $45 per hour. In addition to standard critiquing and consultation, hourly services may be tailored for your specific needs and interests, such as coaching (planning, deadlines, tasks, recommended reading, and follow-through) or line-editing (developing style with attention to tone, voice, and dialogue).

If you prefer, select one of our submission packages. In Marketing your Manuscript, we provide full consultation, critiquing and coaching on the first ten pages of your book-length manuscript plus your one-page query letter, with an emphasis on how to effectively market your project to agents and editors. Cost: $125. For Non-fiction Book Proposals, you submit a 30 to 70 page book proposal. In addition to standard critique and consultation services, we’ll offer suggestions for market positioning and analysis as well as advice on fine-tuning your submission package. Coaching includes suggestions for approaching agents. Cost: $500.

To request CCC services from 49 Writers, email Deb at debv@gci.net. Include your name, contact information, a brief summary of your writing and publishing history (if any), project description (length, genre, two-sentence synopsis), how and where you hope to publish the manuscript, the type of feedback you need, and which consultant you’d prefer (if you have a preference).

We’ll reply with instructions for prepaying through PayPal and confirmation that your author choice is available. Once we receive confirmation of payment, we’ll forward email instructions for your manuscript. Standard CCC services will typically be completed within a month; if you require a faster turnaround, let us know prior to payment, and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Follow-up services must also be paid in advance, by the hour.

The 49 Writers CCC Team:

Andromeda Romano-Lax is the author of The Spanish Bow (Harcourt), a novel about classical musicians in Spain, published in 11 languages; and Searching for Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez (Sasquatch Books), a travel narrative. She has also written many travel and natural history books, published by Alaska Geographic/Alaska Natural History Association, Alaska Northwest Books, Travelers’ Tales, and Wilderness Press. She consults on the novel, memoir, individual essays, journalism, feature writing, and book-length nonfiction.

Deb Vanasse is the author of ten books; her publishers include Penguin (Puffin), Houghton-Mifflin (Clarion), Globe-Pequot, Sasquatch Books, and (forthcoming) the University of Alaska Press. In addition to books for children, young adults, and adults, Deb publishes articles and teacher guides. Her interests include mainstream and literary fiction, memoir, travel, history, biography, children’s books, and young adult literature. A member of SCBWI and state representative for the Assembly on Adolescent Literature, Deb taught for twenty years in secondary and post-secondary settings. She consults on short fiction, individual essays, novels, young adult fiction, children’s fiction, children’s non-fiction, and memoir.

Andromeda and Deb are the co-founders of 49 Writers (www.49writers.blogspot.com). They also offer writing workshops. 49 Writers CCC Services is a subsidiary of Denali Ventures, Inc.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Advertising on 49 Writers

Well-respected and well-trafficked, 49 Writers attracts a worldwide audience of readers interested in Alaskan and northern authors and books. We’re a great place to reach your target audience.

49 Writers offers limited ad space for products specific to the interests of our market: books, bookstores, and publishers. Current ad rates (beginning July 1, 2010) are $20 per ad-month. Ads will be placed in the right sidebar, congregated with like sidebar content. Specific placement requests cannot be accommodated. The ad may include a brief (50 characters with spaces or less) title, a brief (125 characters with spaces or less) caption, a photo (which will be resized to fit the sidebar space), and one URL link to be accessed by clicking the photo. The word “ad” will be incorporated by us at the end of the caption.

Ads must be prepaid using PayPal (access via 49writers@gmail.com) or by check to 49 Writers, PO Box 221086, Anchorage, AK   99522. At these rates, design options and restyling are limited; the integrity of our page design is our primary concern. Unless advertisers are otherwise notified, ads will post within the first five days of the month and run for at least 25 days (an “ad-month”). It is the advertiser’s responsibility to verify within 3 days of notification that the ad has been posted and is correct in all aspects, including a viable link. No refunds will be issued for any reason after the 8th of each month.

Advertising agreements are established via this notice and an email exchange between the advertiser and 49 Writers. We reserve the right to select and reject advertisers as we see fit. Advertisers agree to hold harmless 49 Writers, Inc..

Ready to get started? Email debv@gci.net stating the book, bookstore, or publisher you’d like to advertise along with the month or months in which you’d like to advertise. We’ll reply with instructions for prepaying with PayPal. Once notice of your payment is received, we will post your ad and advise you by email that it is ready for review.

blog patrol