Self-Help for Writers
Winners Show You How
by
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Walt likes dining out with his wife, Char. Sometimes he compliments the chef. Sometimes he complains about the food. Reading every restaurant review in sight, Walt thought he could give diners better tips. Learning that a reviewer was moving away, he applied for the column. The editor liked the sample review, but awarded the column to another applicant. Walt kept his eyes open. When the new reviewer quit, he mailed off another sample and got the job. "All expenses paid, plus a monthly check ain't bad;" Walt grinned. Later, Walt followed another lead. On hearing that a business journal needed a writer, he faxed samples of his work with a cover letter listing his credentials. The editor liked Walt’s samples and suggested a subject. Walt said he’d get right on it. The project – an interview with city officials – took leg work. The resulting article needed adjustment to the business journal's formal style. "What the heck," Walt laughed. "The editor now calls me with assignments and the pay is good." Gizella collected tearsheets of her published trade journal articles into a portfolio. Wondering if the old pieces would do any good, she applied for the position of artistic director at a major public relations firm. "You have done that?" the PR people exclaimed. "You have these connections?" Gizella felt dazed. She was hired on the spot. "I was a department editor of a big city paper and thought that would make a splash," she said. "Instead, it was my lowly trade journal articles that saved me a major commute and let me spend more time with my two beautiful daughters." Ethel, a seasoned businesswoman, knows the value of displaying merchandise. "Selling is a matter of tried and proven principles," she says. "Merchants display wares in windows, showcases and strategic places throughout the store. Customers come in and browse before making the cash register ring." Ethel entered her first literary attempt, "Mother's Gift of Music," in the annual contest of Writer's Digest, winning 7th place. The published critique of her article was written by a senior editor of Reader's Digest. Next time around, Ethel entered the story in a contest sponsored by the local branch of the League of American Pen Women and won a prize. "Imagine, I was awarded a plaque at a festive dinner!" Ethel jubilated. .Joyfully, she presented the chrysanthemum plant that had graced her table to her writing instructor. She was happy to see "Mother's Gift of Music" published in St. Louis Jewish Light, "because my mother had lived in that city." Ethel then conceived the idea of tempting local editors with a variety of samples offering interviews, computer tips and business-related matter. She dropped the items off in person and followed up with telephone calls. After making her first local sales, she designed a Writing Resume. Under SALES, she included date sold, article title, name of the publication, and an explanation of the article's content. Under FIRMS, she listed names of businesses she had written for and the type of work done. Under AWARDS, she detailed the type of award, year, and sponsor. PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS make up another paragraph of Ethel's resume, as do EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE, and WORKS IN PROGRESS. Ethel limits the resume to two pages. When she runs out of space, she drops the oldest items. Ethel credits the resume she submits with every query letter for her freelance success. Commitment, thoroughness, and an eagerness to meet editors' needs has netted Ethel more than hundred sales and a place on the masthead of two publications. The evening a major club honored Ethel as "Writer of the Month," she told the audience that the merchandising and display of literary wares will always boost her bank account and give her inner satisfaction.
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About the Book
Based on the author’s study of 1,500 adult students, Self-Help for Writers: Winners Show You How demonstrates how the application of fifteen principles can launch a successful literary career. The book contains a wealth of easy to use ideas and advice not available elsewhere. Case histories and the author’s own example guide readers to find unique opportunities. Anyone who wants to be consistently published will take away practical help, inspiration and motivation from the book’s positive tone. Novices, blocked writers, and freelancers in need of sales can benefit from the success methods described in this book. Students of all ages, re-entry women, retirees and people struggling with the English language will see themselves in the book’s diverse examples. Self-Help for Writers is the result of the author’s twenty-five years of teaching journalism and creative writing in the San Jose Metropolitan Adult Education Program. All along, she wondered why some writers succeeded where others failed. What had the winners going for themselves? What defeated the losers? Observing students’ attitudes, methods, short cuts and clever little tricks, as well as a variety of self-defeating behavior, she identified fifteen factors that can make or break a writer’s career. The book contains pitfalls tripping up unsuspecting writers and shows how to avoid common blunders. Of value to neophytes and professionals alike. A master teacher and widely published writer, the author is uniquely qualified to write this book. Besides classroom lectures, she has given seminars, addressed writers’ gatherings, and helped hundreds of students into print. Her mission is to help writers succeed.
About the Author
Erna Holyer came to America with the dream to write for publication. Believing the Old Country saying, "America is the Land of Unlimited Opportunities," she anticipated success. In California, she immersed herself in the study of English, creative writing and journalism. Her juvenile stories and book-length serials soon appeared in magazines. Thirteen books for children and young adults followed in due time. The Reader’s Digest, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Kendall Hunt featured her stories in anthologies, as did publishers in Switzerland and Japan. Nonfiction articles appeared in eighty publications, including The Writer and The Writer’s Handbook. As an instructor in the San Jose Metropolitan Adult Education Program, she turned novices into published authors. She has received awards for her teaching, won literary prizes and received a D.Litt. from World University. Her vita appears in Contemporary Authors; Who’s Who in American Education; Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets; Something About the Author; The Writer’s Directory, and Who’s Who in America. Her affiliations include the National League of American Pen Women, American Biographical Institute, World University Roundtable, American Federation of Teachers. Her students have cashed a quarter-million dollars for their literary efforts. In addition, they won scholarships and contest prizes, landed editorial positions, enjoyed literary honors, and qualified for membership in professional organizations.