Mocha Mind

What can you learn by walking through a bookstore? Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned writer, an author needs to constantly update his knowledge of the book industry.

I have met authors who had no idea that audio books existed or who didn’t know the best format for their books. The knowledge gleaned from strolling through a bookstore will greatly increase the understanding of your business. After all, writing is a business.

What can you learn?

-See your competition. What unfilled niche can you fill?

-See how books in your genre are formatted (size, inside text, covers, etc.)

-What book covers are eye-catching?

-What ancillary products are offered (journals, writing kits, etc.)?

-In what new formats are books being offered (audio books, playaways, Kindles, etc.)?

After you see what’s on the market, you can decide the best way to present your product so it stands out from the crowd. Remember, we can always learn something about the ever-changing world of literature. Have a great stroll!

-Gioya McRae

©2010 Mocha Mind Communications

You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.

- Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006)

Writers Conferences & Centers is conducting its annual competition to provide scholarships for writers who wish to attend a writers’conference, center, retreat, or residency. The scholarships will be applied to fees to attend any of the over 100 members of WC&C, an association of outstanding conferences, centers, retreats, and festivals for writers.

Deadline: March 30, 2010.

Prizes: Two scholarships of $500 will be awarded.

For more info, please visit http://www.writersconf.org/scholarship/index.php

America’s premier amateur philosophy contest, The Great American
Think-Off, releases its 2010 essay and debate question: “Do the
wealthy have an obligation to help the poor?” In writing essays
on this question, potential debaters may address individuals,
groups, or nations as the essayist determines. The Great Debate
will be held in New York Mills, Minnesota on Saturday, June 12,
2010 before a live audience.

Entering the competition is easy. Just submit an essay of 750 words or less by April 1, 2010.
The names of the four finalists, who each receive $500 plus
travel, food and lodging expenses, will be announced May 1, 2010.

NO ENTRY FEE
Deadline: April 1, 2010
Prize: The names of the four finalists, who each receive $500 plus
travel, food and lodging expenses, will be announced May 1, 2010.

For more info or to enter online, please visit http://www.think-off.org

Have you set your writing goals for the new year? Often the question is not “What are my goals?” but “How do I determine my goals?” Where do you even begin? Use these guidelines to set up your 2010 goals.

* Set a daily (yes, I said daily) writing goal by number of words, paragraphs or pages.

* Set a number of books, articles, stories or poems you would like to complete by the end of the year and work backwards to schedule your time. For example, if you would like to complete six stories, schedule completion of a story every two months.

* Set weekly goals
- A day to edit
- A day to start a new piece
- A day to work on a piece in progress
- A day to revise
- A day to submit work or queries to markets
- A day to research new markets
- A day to write something outside of your usual genre
You can substitute other goals as they suit you.

* If you blog, set a number of posts you will publish each week.

* If you freelance, set an earning ($) goal for the year or per month.

* If there are areas of writing where you need work, sign up for courses, seminars or workshops for each area. Schedule them throughout the year.

Review your goals periodically. You may want to revise them as circumstances change. Reward yourself throughout the year as you achieve your goals, even the small ones. This keeps you motivated. Above all, keep writing and have a great year!

-Gioya McRae

© Gioya McRae 2010

Recently, Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA) announced the third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, an international competition seeking fresh new writing voices. CreateSpace will once again host the submission platform for the contest.

What should I do now?

1. Prepare your entry: Visit www.createspace.com/abna and review the submission guidelines, helpful tutorials, and official contest rules.
2. Sign up to receive contest notifications with helpful tools and tips for preparing your entry.
3. Connect with other authors and discuss the contest.

Prizes: Two Grand Prize winners, one in each of our two categories, will receive a full publishing contract with Penguin including a $15,000 advance

Categories: General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction

What type of works are eligible?
- Unpublished novel manuscripts
- Self-published novels (new this year!)

Submission Period: begins 1/25/10 and ends 2/7/10, or when the first 5,000 entries have been received in each category, whichever comes first

The Seventh Glass Woman Prize will be awarded for a work of short fiction or creative non-fiction (prose) written by a woman.

Length: between 50 and 5,000 words.

Prizes:
The top prize for the seventh Glass Woman Prize award is US $600 and possible
(but not obligatory) online publication; I will also award one
runner up prize of $100 and one runner up prize of $50, together
with possible (but not obligatory) online publication.

Criteria:
Subject is open, but must be of significance to women. My criterion is
passion, excellence, and authenticity in the woman’s writing
voice.  Previously published work and simultaneous submissions
are OK.  Previous Glass Woman Prize winners are welcome to
submit again.  Copyright is retained by the author.

NO ENTRY FEE
Deadline: March 21, 2010.

For more details please visit www.sigriddaughter.com/GlassWomanPrize.htm

We’re looking for fiction that is unique, stories with
characters we’ll remember, plots that leave us thinking.
The contest is open to anyone, any race, any country, any
continent. The only caveat? The main character must be of
African descent.

The contest runs from October 1 – December
31, 2009, winner announced February 1, 2010. Entries must
be 1,500 words or less. First Place: $500. Genre Winners:
$25 Borders Gift Card. Each winner will have his story
and a feature article published on myafricandiaspora.com .
The winners and top three entries in each genre will have
their short stories published in a short story collection
at the end of the year.

For more info, please visit www.myafricandiaspora.com