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Aug31
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Earlier this year, I mentioned how NYU students and web journalist Jay Rosen had launched Blue Plate Special--a project analyzing the current state of newspaper blogs. Now, Rosen has taken his citizen journalism movement a step beyond that, opening NewAssignement.net.
This website will soon be featuring the work of citizen reporters around the world, and you can follow new developments on Rosen's site. He just dished out his first assignment, and any fledgling writer out there can give it a shot.
This is your chance. Don't just talk about citizen journalism anymore, now you can actually do it alongside some of the brightest minds in the business...
 "Anyone want to help out with the launch of NewAssignment.Net? Go to this site, and carefully examine it— how it works, whether it works, what does and doesn’t work, and why… Be sure to look at what’s been written and said about it, too.
"Then write a post capturing the key lessons for NewAssignment.Net. Publish it at your blog—like mrs panstreppon did—and I will link to it, mentioning your name and giving thanks. Or put it in the comments here, or send it to me. (If you’re taking this on do let me know.)"
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Aug31
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The last couple days I've felt like I'm being squeezed between too many projects, and it's hard to imagine finishing anything. I know you know what I'm talking about, because everybody reading this has at least one day job besides...
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Aug30
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Via Miss Snark, we have a hilarious post from Kit Whitfield reminding us that pitching a book is tricky as asking somebody for a date. Nevertheless, we still write the stupidest things when we date or pitch.To avoid this problem,...
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Following Edward Champion's comment "bemoaning podcasting's paucity of radio dramas," here's an inspiring quote from my favorite radio writer of all time, Arch Oboler. This spooky writer had an amazing sense of story pacing and the musical quality of words,...
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As we discussed yesterday, I'm done arguing about whether bloggers or journalists will control the media. The truth is, web writing is a free-for-all with enough work for anybody who's talented. From now on, we will only pay attention to...
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Aug29
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At Tom Kealey's creative writing site, the writing professor stirred up a discussion when he wrote: "it's been my experience that the monster/alien/ghost stories don't tend to go over very well with the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) committees. MFA-ers...
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Over at MediaBistro, Greg Lindsay published an honest, difficult article about the growing pains fledgling writers are feeling right now. He wrote a nuts and bolts piece about how the blogging news cycle (instantaneous, unscheduled publishing) is disrupting the old-fashioned...
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Aug28
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Recently, I've been writing about old time radio dramas outside of this site. I've asked it before in a slightly different version of this post, but I'd love to discuss the subject more with other writers: What can we learn...
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Over the weekend, our buddy Claire Zulkey had a crazy thing happen: a British newspaper plagiarized an entire post that she wrote. Not just any post, but a mock-post that broke all of Copyblogger's rules (read them now, I command...
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It was a lazy weekend, and now it's raining out my window. It's a good day to go back to sleep... But since we can't, here's a quick wrap-up of the action you might have missed last week at The...
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Aug25
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I've received two emails in the the last two days from Peace Corps folks. Coincidentally, I'm heading out tonight to watch two Peace Corps friends get married on a beach. Sooooo, I had to share some link love for all...
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"Keeping a diary is very important for a writer, I haven't missed a day since I started writing, on August 8, 1969. Writing every day gives you discipline. It's also good to get your thoughts down permantently, because things like...
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You are about to have a really good weekend, thanks to me... Start off by entering this flash fiction contest, a chance to win fame and fortune while writing 250 words about a beautiful (or is it ominous?) sunset.Check it...
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Aug24
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I just discovered the blogging Carnival for Book Writers, a rotating digest of the best book posts on the web. This week's installment was handled by novelist Marcella Chester over at Re-Model 4 Life. Besides writing about one of my...
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"As the younger brother takes my picture, he asks why the newspaper is doing a story on me. 'Oh, I'm a writer,' I tell him. I'm too embarrassed to say I'm running for Congress. I make sure he digitally...
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It's been awhile since I sent you over to Miss Snark, the sarcastic, no-nonsense and mysterious agent who dishes out advice about the pitching of books. Recently, our Her Snarkiness had an email conversation with another agent about how to...
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Aug23
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Our buddy Jeffrey Yamaguchi is writing for a new project called SMITH, a site dedicated to personal stories--from sexy secrets to censored videos to gonzo reporters. This project plugs straight into the personal-media boom that created gazillions of blogs and...
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Richard Grayson has an automatic soundtrack, four thousand friends, and three hundred comments on his Myspace page. This prolific writer has built his reading community from the ground up.The Internet literally changed the course of Grayson's career, steering him towards...
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As I mentioned yesterday, I recently published a two-part interview with Travis Campbell, one of the citizen journalists chosen to participate in a brand new project called Team New Orleans.We discussed journalism and the future for fledgling writers, and I...
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Aug22
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In other post-vacation catch-up news, Nick Mamatas is senior-editing a brand spanking new speculative fiction website with an innovative model. Pay attention now, because they pay ten cents a word... "Clarkesworld Magazine is an online venue and chapbook series for...
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"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The preceding was a test from the Emergency Fiction System. The fiction writers in your area, in cooperation with the federal government, have agreed to include this test, designed by Joe Colletti, in their stories."That's just one wacky twist...
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While catching up on a mountain of post-vacation reading, I had a couple must-read posts to pass along...Via MediaBistro (they found it via author and designer Susan Kirkland), I discovered the Resources for Writers page published by George Mason University--...
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As I wrote yesterday, I just came back from vacation. During my time out, I published a two-part interview with Travis Campbell, one of the citizen journalists chosen to participate in a brand new project--Team New Orleans.We discussed journalism and...
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Aug21
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It is official. I have returned, more or less intact, from my California vacation. Be warned: As we jump into our Richard Grayson interview and discuss print-on-demand publishing, I'll flash the occasional vacation thumbnail photo like some annoying friend with...
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"'Tell how despite your distractions and your self-doubts, your lack of confidence and your extreme self-consciousness – your mishigass, as we say in New York – you managed to become and remain a writer.'”That's the opening Richard Grayson's autobiographical essay,...
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Aug20
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Welcome to The Publishing Spot, a writing resource built on a simple premise: with blogging, podcasting, and web publications, there has never been a better time for writers to find their audiences. If you are reading this, most likely...
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Aug18
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Nick Mamatas always delivers fantastical writing gossip, criticism and funny posts on his LiveJournal. More importantly, he's a smoking-good novelist. Last week, he pointed us towards an article about print-on-demand publishing and a new novel from Henry Baum:Check it out......
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Aug17
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Pioneering web-writer M.J. Rose interviews some of our brightest authors every week, publishing the fact-filled narrative over at Backstory. This week she had this honest quote from author Debra Borden. Sometimes we have the simplest, most unromantic inspirations to write....
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Aug16
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Jeff VanderMeer is one of the first writers to support The Publishing Spot, and we won't forget it. Besides that, he's a web-savvy speculative fiction writer offering book and music recommendations, exercise tips and plenty of writing advice over at...
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Tune in next week for an interview with writer Richard Grayson and a very special self-publishing edition of Five Easy Questions. Grayson has published stacks of quirky books and short stories for years, and he's used print-on-demand (POD) to resurrect...
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Aug15
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Erika Dreifus literally wrote the book on writing markets for poets, non-fiction writers, and fiction-ists. Over at her website, The Practicing Writer, she delivers plenty of free advice... "I've been perusing plenty of children's magazines online and, at the same...
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Aug14
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Steve Bryant is a journalist dedicated to web publishing, and his Ziff Davis blog is full of insider-baseball and smart links. Last week, he had Sean Carton post on the state of blogosphere. The essay concluded with some important advice...
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Looking for an author interview to match our chat with the incomparable Christa Faust from last week? Wondering where you can find this week's installment of Five Easy Questions? Well, I'll tell you what. I'm currently driving up the California...
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Aug11
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After publishing her Mexican-wrestling detective story Hoodtown, Christa Faust built a solid reputation with the hardboiled set. Today, through her LiveJournal and Snakes on a Plane novelization, Faust has found an army of fans who write glowing tributes, like this...
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Chartreuse and his team of citizen journalists have stirred up some controversy while organizing a reporting trip to New Orleans. In this post, I've collected the three most provocative questions raised by in the debate. As fledgling writers, we are...
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Aug10
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"At first she thought it was part of her dream, until she looked down into her cleavage and saw a tawny brown and black head with round beady eyes glaring back at her...Then, like some porno-Freudian nightmare come to life,...
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Just in case you're Snakes on a Plane-ed out, here are a few refreshing links to check out. I've been surfing around, trying to broaden our literary horizons... Start with The LitBlog Co-op, a collective effort by some of the...
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As we've noted before, the Snakes on a Plane movie has spawned MySpace promotions, one million viral phone calls, and tons of fan art. Finally, this new breed of movie has spawned some book reviews.First of all, for the biggest...
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Aug 9
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In 2004, Christa Faust blew some minds with Hoodtown, a hardboiled novel about a female Mexican wrestler who turns detective. Just listen Faust's nervy prose and you'll see why this book won her a dedicated fan base:"[T]he city's darker rhythms...
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Via Bookseller Chick, I just found a great essay by Sandra Ruttan about the do's and don'ts of book promotion. You should read the whole thing twice--once for link-full advice from a soon-to-be-published author, and then once again for the...
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My friend Shannon Paige just received a terrific review from The Blog Reader. One year ago, Shannon opened up the website Uncoolkids.com--spotlighting crazy events around New York City that don't get picked up by the cool kids who run the...
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Aug 8
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"In spite of the fact that I took the day off from actual writing, I still got some really critical work done on the final steps of the story. Thanks again to Nathan_Long for listening to me go “… and...
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Edward Champion sends us good tidings of a science fiction show that will revive some classic short story material. No matter what kind of writer you are, these stories will get your creative juices flowing: "Masters of Science Fiction. "Source...
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I try not to talk about myself too much, but I just found out that I won the Moritz Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award for my short essay, "The Rainy Season in Guatemala." It really is an honor to be...
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Aug 7
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"You have an unknown number of venomous snakes loose on a plane. Several passengers, one of your agents, and the pilot have already died and others have been envenomated but are still alive. They are still two hours out of...
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I have a few links to send your way, once again letting my friends do all the work... It's time to settle this flame war raging between Reuters journalists and bloggers, because these two groups should be helping each other. ...
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Aug 4
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Can't decide whether you have a novel you want to make into a movie or a movie you want to make into a novel? Here at The Publishing Spot, you really can have it both ways!Next week we will focus...
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Yesterday, Chartreuse announced Team New Orleans, a group of site-sponsored citizen journalists who will examine the Gulf Coast reconstruction. Mishikea Brathwait, Travis Campbell, Loren Feldman, and Candice Quates. will be working together on the reporting trip, and an army of...
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Aug 3
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Last night I was reading Chuck Klosterman's hoity-toity Esquire article, The 'Snakes on a Plane' Problem. The essay begins with an excellent meditation on populism, but concludes that this upcoming B-movie's interaction between artist and audience will ruin movies....
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Over at InterMedia, Steve Bryant is talking about how Google AdSense might have a "potentially detrimental effect on investigative journalism." As much as this super-company offers any fledgling writer a golden chance to find readers, it also wraps our content...
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In one of my favorite interviews, I spoke with blogger Steve Huff about how he built his popular Huff's Crime Blog--posting breaking crime news with the help of his dedicated audience.Huff started writing for The Crime Library, and he...
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Aug 2
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As Chartreuse chooses two volunteers to report in New Orleans, journalism guru Jay Rosen is figuring out how to build an open-source news bureau from the ground up. All these developments make me giddy. Someday soon, I want to take...
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While researching print-on-demand (POD) and other self-publishing resources, I discovered a place that can help you with book publicity and marketing--my weakest subjects. There's an entire support industry springing up around self-publishing, and the website Write and Self Publish Your...
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I'm not sure when McDonald's sold its one millionth meal, but I bet it was a pretty big deal when it happened. Who knows what happened to that unwitting customer and that lucky server? They were part of history, hardened...
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Aug 1
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Over at Pete Lit, I found a post chock-full of links about the Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference. The essay sums up all the inspiration and intensive advice that a well-run creative writing workshop can produce. Just like I said...
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Following our flash fiction discussion last week, dedicated reader Stephen Berg told us to check out Bob Thurber, "the king of flash fiction." So I did, finding the most hardboiled author page I've ever seen.Dig it:"At one time or...
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You may have noticed that the top of The Publishing Spot has changed over the past few days. I would like to assure you that this is still the same blog written by the same person.My sponsoring blog network...
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David Wellington is one of the original heroes of web publishing. He serialized his novel Monster Island on his blog--a fast-reading adventure set in New York City after a zombie infestation--earning legions of fans and a print book deal.Yesterday, Wellington...
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"Anyone want to help out with the launch of NewAssignment.Net? Go to this site, and carefully examine it— how it works, whether it works, what does and doesn’t work, and why… Be sure to look at what’s been written and said about it, too. 
