ThePublishingSpot: October 2006 Archives

« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »

Oct31	Every Writer Should Go Through An Agent: Publishing Advice From A Fiction Editor Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Know More: Creative Writing, Five Easy Questions, Sam Douglas, Writing Resources 2.0, Five Easy Questions You would never stick your baby in an envelope and mail them away to some strange family. Still, every day hundreds of writers send their literary offspring to live with editors they've never met. Today, an editor explains the best way to show off your infant novel. Welcome to the second installment of my interview with Sam Douglas, an associate editor at Picador. His firm has published critically acclaimed novels like Michael Cunningham's The Hours and memoirs like Running with Sissors by Augusten Burroughs. This is my deceptively simple feature: Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a serialized set of weekly interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing... Jason Boog: What are the biggest mistakes authors make when sending you book proposals? Any horror stories about bad authors? Continue Reading... Continue Reading Posted at 6:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct31	Calling All NaNoWriMo Writers Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Last year I wrote a 50,000-word novel draft in November. The NaNoWriMo writing marathon (which launches tomorrow) changed my life. As a human being, I realized I had hidden reserves I had never tapped before. As a writer, I realized... Continue Reading Posted at 6:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	I'm Gonna Contest the Heck Out of You Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Everybody at The Publishing Spot loves a good contest. As your writing guide, it is my duty to contest the heck out of you. Start sending those entries!Over at About.com, Ginny Wiehardt published a list of contests with November deadlines,... Continue Reading Posted at 6:11 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct30	An Unorthodox Angle To a Familiar Subject: Inside the Mind of a Fiction Editor Jason Boog October 30, 2006 I've worked hard for you, but not hard enough...Over the last year, I've printed interviews with scores of writers, ranging from first-time novelists to publishing veterans. But until today, I've never interviewed an editor.I would like to introduce you to... Continue Reading Posted at 7:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Publishing Spotted: Newspaper Crashes and Digital Reporter Recorders Jason Boog October 30, 2006 After tirelessly exploring the Internets, I've come back with some shiny publishing nuggets just for you...MediaBistro reports on the best digital recorders in a special consumer reports essay for journalists.Newspaper circulation is dropping like crazy. Fledgling writers of the world... Continue Reading Posted at 7:28 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Books, Books, Books, Booooooooooks Jason Boog October 30, 2006 The good folks over at Newsvine just opened up a book review thread called Bookvine. It's a great link to check when you're looking for new books and it's an even better link to check when you finish reading your... Continue Reading Posted at 7:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct29	Poetry Schools and Blogging Saves: The Publishing Spot Week In Review Jason Boog October 29, 2006 As we watch the sun go down on another week, let's look back at what happened at The Publishing Spot. Tune in tomorrow for an exclusive Five Easy Questions interview with a real live fiction editor who works at Picador... Continue Reading Posted at 2:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	More Six's Than You Can Shake A Stick At Jason Boog October 29, 2006 Wired magazine gave us the idea for little bitty stories last week, having famous writers write six-word science fiction stories. I posed the challenge over at the community reading site, Newsvine, and they scribbled nearly one hundred new stories. For... Continue Reading Posted at 9:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct28	How To Describe Nature In Your Stories Jason Boog October 28, 2006 "In March the running water of the valley is bitter, acid cold, as snow on the fells begins to melt and is brought down over chilled rocks and icy beds. It has in it all the breaking soul of winter,... Continue Reading Posted at 3:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Storytelling During Wartime Jason Boog October 28, 2006 The Iraq War will be mixed up in American stories for another hundred years.I just finished reading this article about cartoonist Garry Trudeau. The creator of Doonesbury has been telling stories about veterans for years now, and his work has... Continue Reading Posted at 11:30 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct27	FIFTY WRITING TIPS! Are They Insane? Jason Boog October 27, 2006 The best journalism website blew my mind today.Poynter Online published a list of FIFTY WRITING TIPS. You heard me right. FIFTY WRITING TIPS, each one with a brilliant explanatory essay attached. With that list, they saved you bazillions of dollars... Continue Reading Posted at 10:09 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Exhausted writer flees on lovely rocketship Jason Boog October 27, 2006 Wired magazine made big headlines with little bitty stories last week. They hired a few of the best science fiction writers in the whole world, making them write six-word science fiction stories. Shortest fiction, if you will.My favorite is this... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	"I had a ludicrous childhood": How To Write Your Most Personal Stories Jason Boog October 27, 2006 Are you swamped by writer's block? Here's how you dig yourself out: "I had a ludicrous childhood, but I feel that I was able to profit from a lot of the idiotic and unfortunate things that happened to me by... Continue Reading Posted at 7:26 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct26	I'm Fearless: Citizen Journalism in New York Jason Boog October 26, 2006 If I've taught you anything over the last couple weeks it's this: fledgling writers need to think local.Last night, I took my own advice and met some of the best political bloggers in my community at a Democratic Leaders of... Continue Reading Posted at 9:20 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Publishing Spotted: Merry Fakesters? Jason Boog October 26, 2006 Here's the best of what's around the publishing scene today, handpicked by me and my worn-out eyeballs...Poetry tour bus gets bad reviews in Seattle. Essential writing knowledge: how to pop a wheelie!The first blogger attacked by a movie star.The political... Continue Reading Posted at 8:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	All-in-One Writing Kit: How Copyblogger Saved My Blogging Career Jason Boog October 26, 2006 A few months ago, I was stuck in a blogging rut--boring posts, low readership, and generic writing style. Then, I began following Copyblogger's serialized writing advice.Today, you can do the same thing without the wait. Just read this one single... Continue Reading Posted at 8:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct25	Publishing Spotted: SOB's and No Kings! Jason Boog October 25, 2006 Here's the best of what I spotted around the publishing blogosphere today...The New York Observer goes deep inside an Iraq War debate that split a major magazine. An SOB turns one year old. Congratulations, you're looking great!No Media Kings teaches... Continue Reading Posted at 8:51 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Steering Your Career Under the Creative Writing Radar Jason Boog October 25, 2006 Over at the Creative Writing MFA Handbook, our unofficial writing school guru, Tom Kealey, is running a special feature about "under the radar" programs at universities around the country. The list is thoughtful, systematic, and extremely descriptive.For anybody looking to... Continue Reading Posted at 8:43 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	What Will News Look Like in Five Years? Jason Boog October 25, 2006 That's something I ask myself every day while loading up new posts. Today, The Blogging Times tells us that a bigtime media machine might buy up the news reading site, Digg.This user-driven model could revolutionize a news organization. I've seen... Continue Reading Posted at 7:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Whiskey Straight from the Barrel Jason Boog October 25, 2006 If reading books is like sipping Scotch in a jazz bar, then reading poetry is like drinking whiskey straight from the barrel--unprocessed, intense, and extremely intoxicating.Still, it helps if you have somebody to guide you through the process. The Poetry... Continue Reading Posted at 6:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct24	Publishing Spotted: Imaginary Stories and Poetry Smackdowns Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Finally, Ed Champion seeks help.Ardith opens up an international poetry smackdown.AftertheMFA asks the uncomfortable question, "Do you love writing but hate to write?" The Self Portrait Challenge lets you tell personal stories through pictures (Thanks to 52 Projects for the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Writer, Know Thyself! Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Before you can write that novel, it helps if you know your own story first...Thanks to Erika Dreifus (an honorary member of The Publishing Spot hall of fame), I found this writing contest that will make fledgling writers and historians... Continue Reading Posted at 8:44 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Videos Politicians Don't Want You To See Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Last week, I wondered why nobody's using YouTube for politics. Today, web journalist Steve Bryant did a better job than me, digging through YouTube for Senate election videos. KEYWORD BY KEYWORD.He came up with all sorts of YouTube wisdom, and... Continue Reading Posted at 8:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	This Is My 501-st Post Jason Boog October 24, 2006 This is my 501-st post on The Publishing Spot.In honor of this crazy landmark, I wanted to share an essay from that mystery blogger, Bookseller Chick. In a few short paragraphs, she reminded me why I read (and, therefore, why... Continue Reading Posted at 7:45 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct23	How To Interpret Different Kinds of Rejection Jason Boog October 23, 2006 The worst part about this job is how to interpret rejection. Editors send everything from cryptic emails to form letters, confusing us and lowering our already low self-esteem. Every few weeks I like to steer my readers over to Miss... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Become A Freelance Investigative Journalist Jason Boog October 23, 2006 Over the weekend, I wrote about how the Sunlight Foundation is creating a place where citizen journalists and journalists can work together to uncover big stories. I asked a simple question: "What are some other databases that citizen journalists can... Continue Reading Posted at 7:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Monday Morning Murder Jason Boog October 23, 2006 If you are working on a mystery novel, it's time to get published. Now!One of our favorite funniest writers on the web--Five Easy Questions escapee Claire Zulkey--just tipped me off to a fantastic writing contest perfectly suited for the fledgling... Continue Reading Posted at 7:46 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct21	Needles In Haystacks: How Citizen Journalists Are Helping Journalism Jason Boog October 21, 2006 Earlier this week, I published a long article about campaign finances in Brooklyn. The research took me weeks to finish, sifting name by name through hundreds of finance printouts and filers by hand. It was worth it. Still, millions of... Continue Reading Posted at 8:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	We Are Newspaper Video Citizens with Super Powers Jason Boog October 21, 2006 As we contemplate the upcoming week, here's some fond memories of bygone days last week at The Publishing Spot. Tune in next week for more citizen journalism discussions and some news about upcoming author interviews...We pondered the future of citizen... Continue Reading Posted at 7:47 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct20	Publishing Spotted: SuperPowers and Poets Jason Boog October 20, 2006 Here's the best web publishing news I've spotted today...Ed Champion ends a super-Powers roundtable discussion with a guest appearance from a very important novelist."What to do when your idea sucks." Copyblogger initiates a discussion with his dedicated readers.British company puts... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Citizen Journalists Chasing Congressional Finances Jason Boog October 20, 2006 Citizen journalism took a gigantic step forward earlier this month. It's one thing to talk about the ways web readers and writers can revolutionize news writing, but it's another thing altogether to develop a practical tool that actually meets that... Continue Reading Posted at 7:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Take a Harvard Media Law Class for Free Jason Boog October 20, 2006 When disgraced journalists speak to law classes at Harvard, you know the world is changing...Thanks to the snarky folks at Gawker, I just found this video of a Harvard Law class discussing "Active Participation in the Media." Besides getting a... Continue Reading Posted at 7:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct19	Another Test of the Emergency Fiction System Jason Boog October 19, 2006 "MMMMMmmmm. 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... Continue Reading Posted at 7:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	No Writer Ever Needs To Feel Alone Again Jason Boog October 19, 2006 Last night I made a whole bunch of writer friends without even trying. You can too. I went to the WYSIWYG Talent Show and Cringe reading, a mash-up of the world's two craziest writer series in NYC. Last night, Lindsay... Continue Reading Posted at 6:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct18	Don't Get Nervous, Get Local Jason Boog October 18, 2006 When one journalist loses their job in this digital economy, all fledgling writers get nervous. According to some people, we need to stop worrying and write about our communities. Instead of wasting our resources on world coverage, write local. Writing... Continue Reading Posted at 8:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Big Secret Plan To Write Your First Book Using Peanut Butter Toast Jason Boog October 18, 2006 Today I discovered a sure-fire plan to write your first book. If you follow this method, I promise you, you will finish your book. It's simple, it's easy to overlook, but you can't ever forget it.If you enjoy this writing... Continue Reading Posted at 7:37 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct17	Do You Want Some Politics With That? Jason Boog October 17, 2006 I know you love contests, and I just found you a good one.Steve Bryant (our video guru) was writing about a new Friendster contest the other day, and he made me think:"[It's] a contest for the best political video ad... Continue Reading Posted at 7:56 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Echo Chamber Jason Boog October 17, 2006 Ed Champion just launched a virtual roundtable discussion on his website, using the combined wisdom of three readers to analyze Richard Powers' new novel, The Echo Maker. On Friday, the author himself will weigh in on the novel.All three writers... Continue Reading Posted at 7:02 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct16	CBGB Is Dead, Long Live CBGB Jason Boog October 16, 2006 As long as we're talking about the rough and tumble New York City art scene in the East Village, we should all remember the unhappy passing of the great music joint CBGB--the thirty-year old club closed last night.In the meantime,... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Getting Evil-er Jason Boog October 16, 2006 Tonight, let's get evil. If you are in New York City, I've got a documentary for you. For years, the Antagonist Movement has published unknown writers, sold art by unknown artists, and generally encouraged fledgling creators in the East Village.... Continue Reading Posted at 8:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Imaginary Reporters: The Completely Foreign Correspondent Jason Boog October 16, 2006 People are blowing thousands of dollars, having sex, arguing politics, and building fantastical new communities in virtual, interactive videogame worlds like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Now, they've earned a completely foreign correspondent.Via Sam Davidson, I just found this... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Is Chartreuse Crazy, Smart, Smart-Crazy or Crazy-Smart? Jason Boog October 16, 2006 Everybody's talking about new media scribe Chartreuse, and his new project that seems to involve secret passwords, new multi-media material, and a monthly subscription fee. Is he crazy? Is he smart? Is he crazy-smart? Smart-crazy? Everybody's got an opinion. The... Continue Reading Posted at 7:11 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct15	Week In Review: YouTube Googled, Web Ethics-ized, Tech Tools Catalogued, Squeezing Time Jason Boog October 15, 2006 As we shiver through the chilliest weekend in recent memory, let's take a moment to bask in the warm glow of last week's posts on The Publishing Spot...We learned how to squeeze a little writing time out of the hectic... Continue Reading Posted at 2:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A Legal Story We All Need To Read Jason Boog October 15, 2006 Bloggers around the world are debating the publishing struggle that just rocked a fellow web writer. Last Thursday, Heather Armstrong--the legendary blogger fired from her job for blogging a few years ago--settled a nasty lawsuit in court over a bungled... Continue Reading Posted at 7:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct14	A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Beatnik Jason Boog October 14, 2006 I'm taking a break from our regularly scheduled Saturday programing to shamelessly promote my humiliation...Next week I'll be reading (and singing) a short selection straight from my Beatnik-imitating, adverb-abusing, woozy high school diaries. If you are in New York City... Continue Reading Posted at 8:34 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct13	ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I Wish I Wrote That! Jason Boog October 13, 2006 Every once in a while, I'll read a post that's so simple and so perfect that I can only yell, "ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I wish I wrote that!"Today, Jeffrey Yamaguchi (a former Five Easy Questions victim) beat us all to the punch... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	"Never Bully an Editor": The LiveJournal Shuffle Jason Boog October 13, 2006 This morning I performed my weekly readings of my favorite writers on LiveJournal--sifting through the collective wisdom of some of the Internet's first web writers and bloggers. Nick Mamatas, one of our Five Easy Question alums, had a piece of... Continue Reading Posted at 7:44 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct12	Welcome Fellow Stumblers! Jason Boog October 12, 2006 I just found out that the amazing user-supported web organizing site, StumbleUpon, has linked to The Publishing Spot. It's a big honor, bringing in the most traffic this little site has ever seen.I'd like to say welcome to all the... Continue Reading Posted at 9:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Web Ethics 101: Act Accordingly Jason Boog October 12, 2006 The toughest part about digital publishing is pretty basic: You know how many readers you have and where they come from, but you never know what they think unless they leave comments. In his essay, "Web Developers Think You're Stupid,"... Continue Reading Posted at 8:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	It's That Time of Year... Jason Boog October 12, 2006 You want write fifty thousand words this year?I just received my first email of the year from the good folks over at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That's the yearly competition that challenges writers around the world to write fifty... Continue Reading Posted at 7:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct11	National Book Award Nominees Hand-Picked by Powerful Lit Blogger Jason Boog October 11, 2006 Today, Ed Champion printed the National Book Award nominees for 2006, offering his own set of "suggestions." I had no idea that he was blowing his blogging riches on book judge bribes!Seriously, it's a great post, worth checking out for... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	One Super Easy Way To Build a Reading Community from Scratch Jason Boog October 11, 2006 Yesterday I noticed people over at Newsvine were talking about my Tony D'Souza interview. It was flattering, but more importantly, it taught me a web writing lesson--how to find seven new readers without even trying!Newsvine is like Digg, a site... Continue Reading Posted at 8:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Write for the Web, Technically Jason Boog October 11, 2006 I spend so much time obsessing over how writing work is migrating to the web, but I don't spend enough time telling you how you can migrate to the web with it. Over at MediaBistro, the funny ha-ha writer (and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct10	My Readers Get On Television, Baby! Jason Boog October 10, 2006 Sometimes, things really work out. Take for instance, Steve Bryant, our Five Easy Questions victim two weeks ago. The guy edits online journalism sites about Google (GoogleWatch) and web video (Reel Pop); and lo and behold Google buys YouTube, putting... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Your Classified Writing Here Jason Boog October 10, 2006 I'm sorry for the three-day weekend delay in posts. I was home with my family, far, far away from this laptop. We're back in business today. I came back in time to see my friend Jesse Sunenblick pitch his writing... Continue Reading Posted at 8:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 6	Poetry Is the Next Big Poetry: Week in Review Jason Boog October 6, 2006 Today I'm headed back to Michigan to visit my family for the weekend. While I'm gone, I urge you to ponder the mysteries we uncovered this week at The Publishing Spot...Tony D'Souza taught us everything we need to know, ever,... Continue Reading Posted at 10:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Keep Your Stories in the Mail: How To Build Relationships with Magazine Editors Jason Boog October 6, 2006 "I followed him barefoot into the forest. For a long time, we walked in that black ink. He led me far into it, to a place I'd never been. Then he said to me, 'Adama, whiteman, telll your people about... Continue Reading Posted at 6:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 5	"Time is the most important thing" : The Best Advice from a Writing Teacher Jason Boog October 5, 2006 Earlier this week, Tony D'Souza told us how he filled up six notebooks with stories about Africa, and then lost them all when he fled the civil war on the Ivory Coast. Dispite that earth-shaking loss, he still managed to... Continue Reading Posted at 8:32 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	I Just Wrote the Word Poetry 25 Times! Jason Boog October 5, 2006 We've been pretty novel and journalism-centric around here lately. So much so that I completely missed mentioning Tom Kealey's special Week O' Poetry over at the Creative Writing MFA Handbook site.For all you poetry heads out there, he had a... Continue Reading Posted at 6:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 4	"Some of these programs really fleece people" : Why (Or Why Not) Join a MFA Program? Jason Boog October 4, 2006 "We ran deep into the corn, she just inches away from my outstretched hands, my pants falling around my ankles. Then, as had to be, my pants tripped me. A girl ran through the corn as I shouted her name... Continue Reading Posted at 8:05 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A Cautionary Tale Jason Boog October 4, 2006 Just when I got done telling you not to shove your work blindly into the hands of bloggers you don't read, I discovered a cautionary tale. Over at the message board oDark.com, an unsuspecting writer (or friend of an unsuspecting... Continue Reading Posted at 7:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Into the Hands of Unknown Bloggers Jason Boog October 4, 2006 As the holiday book-buying season nears, Josh Getlin over at the LA Times interviewed scores of confused and concerned publishers. As bloggers and and lit blog networks create bazillions of new book-reviewing outlets, none of these publishers know who to... Continue Reading Posted at 6:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 3	"Those are the things a writer has to forget": How To Research Your Novel Jason Boog October 3, 2006 "I was a creature set among them from the magical world of television. Even after a year, children would sit in a group on the dirt of my courtyard to watch me do the simplest things as though watching television... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Hot Tonight Jason Boog October 3, 2006 The friendliest blogger on the Internet (and alumni of The Publishing Spot School of Hard Knocks) Liz Strauss is again opening her metaphorical living room for a free-ranging discussion of all things wild and webby.Strauss' open mic night comments section... Continue Reading Posted at 6:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 2	"Do whatever it takes to get yourself seated before the paper": How To Write Your First Novel Jason Boog October 2, 2006 Sometimes I think successful writers must have some secret super-human power. Take Tony D'Souza. He's written one extremely well-reviewed book (Whiteman) and published essays in my favorite publications, and I was sure he knew something that I didn't. Then I... Continue Reading Posted at 8:23 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	More Boogs in the Blogosphere Jason Boog October 2, 2006 My brother Matt has been traveling around Greece as part of a study abroad program for his university. Being related to me, he ended up blogging about the experience. Waking up for work this morning, I was very jealous of... Continue Reading Posted at 7:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Small Is the New Big Jason Boog October 2, 2006 Over at Dylarama, Details magazine scribe Ian Daly is pounding out new posts at an impressive rate, mixing up photos, videos, and his own weird take on life. Most recently, he wrote about a British street artist who created the... Continue Reading Posted at 7:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 1	Boxing, Book Trailers, Bryants, and Better Anthologies Jason Boog October 1, 2006 I'm looking out my window and I see rain, rain and more rain. If you're seeing the same thing as me, take a couple minutes to remember fondly the last sunny week at The Publishing Spot...Steve Bryant stopped by to... Continue Reading Posted at 9:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »

Oct31	Every Writer Should Go Through An Agent: Publishing Advice From A Fiction Editor Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Know More: Creative Writing, Five Easy Questions, Sam Douglas, Writing Resources 2.0, Five Easy Questions You would never stick your baby in an envelope and mail them away to some strange family. Still, every day hundreds of writers send their literary offspring to live with editors they've never met. Today, an editor explains the best way to show off your infant novel. Welcome to the second installment of my interview with Sam Douglas, an associate editor at Picador. His firm has published critically acclaimed novels like Michael Cunningham's The Hours and memoirs like Running with Sissors by Augusten Burroughs. This is my deceptively simple feature: Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a serialized set of weekly interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing... Jason Boog: What are the biggest mistakes authors make when sending you book proposals? Any horror stories about bad authors? Continue Reading... Continue Reading Posted at 6:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct31	Calling All NaNoWriMo Writers Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Last year I wrote a 50,000-word novel draft in November. The NaNoWriMo writing marathon (which launches tomorrow) changed my life. As a human being, I realized I had hidden reserves I had never tapped before. As a writer, I realized... Continue Reading Posted at 6:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	I'm Gonna Contest the Heck Out of You Jason Boog October 31, 2006 Everybody at The Publishing Spot loves a good contest. As your writing guide, it is my duty to contest the heck out of you. Start sending those entries!Over at About.com, Ginny Wiehardt published a list of contests with November deadlines,... Continue Reading Posted at 6:11 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct30	An Unorthodox Angle To a Familiar Subject: Inside the Mind of a Fiction Editor Jason Boog October 30, 2006 I've worked hard for you, but not hard enough...Over the last year, I've printed interviews with scores of writers, ranging from first-time novelists to publishing veterans. But until today, I've never interviewed an editor.I would like to introduce you to... Continue Reading Posted at 7:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Publishing Spotted: Newspaper Crashes and Digital Reporter Recorders Jason Boog October 30, 2006 After tirelessly exploring the Internets, I've come back with some shiny publishing nuggets just for you...MediaBistro reports on the best digital recorders in a special consumer reports essay for journalists.Newspaper circulation is dropping like crazy. Fledgling writers of the world... Continue Reading Posted at 7:28 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Books, Books, Books, Booooooooooks Jason Boog October 30, 2006 The good folks over at Newsvine just opened up a book review thread called Bookvine. It's a great link to check when you're looking for new books and it's an even better link to check when you finish reading your... Continue Reading Posted at 7:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct29	Poetry Schools and Blogging Saves: The Publishing Spot Week In Review Jason Boog October 29, 2006 As we watch the sun go down on another week, let's look back at what happened at The Publishing Spot. Tune in tomorrow for an exclusive Five Easy Questions interview with a real live fiction editor who works at Picador... Continue Reading Posted at 2:37 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	More Six's Than You Can Shake A Stick At Jason Boog October 29, 2006 Wired magazine gave us the idea for little bitty stories last week, having famous writers write six-word science fiction stories. I posed the challenge over at the community reading site, Newsvine, and they scribbled nearly one hundred new stories. For... Continue Reading Posted at 9:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct28	How To Describe Nature In Your Stories Jason Boog October 28, 2006 "In March the running water of the valley is bitter, acid cold, as snow on the fells begins to melt and is brought down over chilled rocks and icy beds. It has in it all the breaking soul of winter,... Continue Reading Posted at 3:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Storytelling During Wartime Jason Boog October 28, 2006 The Iraq War will be mixed up in American stories for another hundred years.I just finished reading this article about cartoonist Garry Trudeau. The creator of Doonesbury has been telling stories about veterans for years now, and his work has... Continue Reading Posted at 11:30 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct27	FIFTY WRITING TIPS! Are They Insane? Jason Boog October 27, 2006 The best journalism website blew my mind today.Poynter Online published a list of FIFTY WRITING TIPS. You heard me right. FIFTY WRITING TIPS, each one with a brilliant explanatory essay attached. With that list, they saved you bazillions of dollars... Continue Reading Posted at 10:09 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Exhausted writer flees on lovely rocketship Jason Boog October 27, 2006 Wired magazine made big headlines with little bitty stories last week. They hired a few of the best science fiction writers in the whole world, making them write six-word science fiction stories. Shortest fiction, if you will.My favorite is this... Continue Reading Posted at 10:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	"I had a ludicrous childhood": How To Write Your Most Personal Stories Jason Boog October 27, 2006 Are you swamped by writer's block? Here's how you dig yourself out: "I had a ludicrous childhood, but I feel that I was able to profit from a lot of the idiotic and unfortunate things that happened to me by... Continue Reading Posted at 7:26 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct26	I'm Fearless: Citizen Journalism in New York Jason Boog October 26, 2006 If I've taught you anything over the last couple weeks it's this: fledgling writers need to think local.Last night, I took my own advice and met some of the best political bloggers in my community at a Democratic Leaders of... Continue Reading Posted at 9:20 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Publishing Spotted: Merry Fakesters? Jason Boog October 26, 2006 Here's the best of what's around the publishing scene today, handpicked by me and my worn-out eyeballs...Poetry tour bus gets bad reviews in Seattle. Essential writing knowledge: how to pop a wheelie!The first blogger attacked by a movie star.The political... Continue Reading Posted at 8:38 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	All-in-One Writing Kit: How Copyblogger Saved My Blogging Career Jason Boog October 26, 2006 A few months ago, I was stuck in a blogging rut--boring posts, low readership, and generic writing style. Then, I began following Copyblogger's serialized writing advice.Today, you can do the same thing without the wait. Just read this one single... Continue Reading Posted at 8:03 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct25	Publishing Spotted: SOB's and No Kings! Jason Boog October 25, 2006 Here's the best of what I spotted around the publishing blogosphere today...The New York Observer goes deep inside an Iraq War debate that split a major magazine. An SOB turns one year old. Congratulations, you're looking great!No Media Kings teaches... Continue Reading Posted at 8:51 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Steering Your Career Under the Creative Writing Radar Jason Boog October 25, 2006 Over at the Creative Writing MFA Handbook, our unofficial writing school guru, Tom Kealey, is running a special feature about "under the radar" programs at universities around the country. The list is thoughtful, systematic, and extremely descriptive.For anybody looking to... Continue Reading Posted at 8:43 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	What Will News Look Like in Five Years? Jason Boog October 25, 2006 That's something I ask myself every day while loading up new posts. Today, The Blogging Times tells us that a bigtime media machine might buy up the news reading site, Digg.This user-driven model could revolutionize a news organization. I've seen... Continue Reading Posted at 7:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Whiskey Straight from the Barrel Jason Boog October 25, 2006 If reading books is like sipping Scotch in a jazz bar, then reading poetry is like drinking whiskey straight from the barrel--unprocessed, intense, and extremely intoxicating.Still, it helps if you have somebody to guide you through the process. The Poetry... Continue Reading Posted at 6:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct24	Publishing Spotted: Imaginary Stories and Poetry Smackdowns Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Finally, Ed Champion seeks help.Ardith opens up an international poetry smackdown.AftertheMFA asks the uncomfortable question, "Do you love writing but hate to write?" The Self Portrait Challenge lets you tell personal stories through pictures (Thanks to 52 Projects for the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Writer, Know Thyself! Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Before you can write that novel, it helps if you know your own story first...Thanks to Erika Dreifus (an honorary member of The Publishing Spot hall of fame), I found this writing contest that will make fledgling writers and historians... Continue Reading Posted at 8:44 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Videos Politicians Don't Want You To See Jason Boog October 24, 2006 Last week, I wondered why nobody's using YouTube for politics. Today, web journalist Steve Bryant did a better job than me, digging through YouTube for Senate election videos. KEYWORD BY KEYWORD.He came up with all sorts of YouTube wisdom, and... Continue Reading Posted at 8:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	This Is My 501-st Post Jason Boog October 24, 2006 This is my 501-st post on The Publishing Spot.In honor of this crazy landmark, I wanted to share an essay from that mystery blogger, Bookseller Chick. In a few short paragraphs, she reminded me why I read (and, therefore, why... Continue Reading Posted at 7:45 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct23	How To Interpret Different Kinds of Rejection Jason Boog October 23, 2006 The worst part about this job is how to interpret rejection. Editors send everything from cryptic emails to form letters, confusing us and lowering our already low self-esteem. Every few weeks I like to steer my readers over to Miss... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Become A Freelance Investigative Journalist Jason Boog October 23, 2006 Over the weekend, I wrote about how the Sunlight Foundation is creating a place where citizen journalists and journalists can work together to uncover big stories. I asked a simple question: "What are some other databases that citizen journalists can... Continue Reading Posted at 7:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Monday Morning Murder Jason Boog October 23, 2006 If you are working on a mystery novel, it's time to get published. Now!One of our favorite funniest writers on the web--Five Easy Questions escapee Claire Zulkey--just tipped me off to a fantastic writing contest perfectly suited for the fledgling... Continue Reading Posted at 7:46 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct21	Needles In Haystacks: How Citizen Journalists Are Helping Journalism Jason Boog October 21, 2006 Earlier this week, I published a long article about campaign finances in Brooklyn. The research took me weeks to finish, sifting name by name through hundreds of finance printouts and filers by hand. It was worth it. Still, millions of... Continue Reading Posted at 8:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	We Are Newspaper Video Citizens with Super Powers Jason Boog October 21, 2006 As we contemplate the upcoming week, here's some fond memories of bygone days last week at The Publishing Spot. Tune in next week for more citizen journalism discussions and some news about upcoming author interviews...We pondered the future of citizen... Continue Reading Posted at 7:47 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct20	Publishing Spotted: SuperPowers and Poets Jason Boog October 20, 2006 Here's the best web publishing news I've spotted today...Ed Champion ends a super-Powers roundtable discussion with a guest appearance from a very important novelist."What to do when your idea sucks." Copyblogger initiates a discussion with his dedicated readers.British company puts... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Citizen Journalists Chasing Congressional Finances Jason Boog October 20, 2006 Citizen journalism took a gigantic step forward earlier this month. It's one thing to talk about the ways web readers and writers can revolutionize news writing, but it's another thing altogether to develop a practical tool that actually meets that... Continue Reading Posted at 7:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Take a Harvard Media Law Class for Free Jason Boog October 20, 2006 When disgraced journalists speak to law classes at Harvard, you know the world is changing...Thanks to the snarky folks at Gawker, I just found this video of a Harvard Law class discussing "Active Participation in the Media." Besides getting a... Continue Reading Posted at 7:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct19	Another Test of the Emergency Fiction System Jason Boog October 19, 2006 "MMMMMmmmm. 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... Continue Reading Posted at 7:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	No Writer Ever Needs To Feel Alone Again Jason Boog October 19, 2006 Last night I made a whole bunch of writer friends without even trying. You can too. I went to the WYSIWYG Talent Show and Cringe reading, a mash-up of the world's two craziest writer series in NYC. Last night, Lindsay... Continue Reading Posted at 6:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct18	Don't Get Nervous, Get Local Jason Boog October 18, 2006 When one journalist loses their job in this digital economy, all fledgling writers get nervous. According to some people, we need to stop worrying and write about our communities. Instead of wasting our resources on world coverage, write local. Writing... Continue Reading Posted at 8:24 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Big Secret Plan To Write Your First Book Using Peanut Butter Toast Jason Boog October 18, 2006 Today I discovered a sure-fire plan to write your first book. If you follow this method, I promise you, you will finish your book. It's simple, it's easy to overlook, but you can't ever forget it.If you enjoy this writing... Continue Reading Posted at 7:37 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct17	Do You Want Some Politics With That? Jason Boog October 17, 2006 I know you love contests, and I just found you a good one.Steve Bryant (our video guru) was writing about a new Friendster contest the other day, and he made me think:"[It's] a contest for the best political video ad... Continue Reading Posted at 7:56 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Echo Chamber Jason Boog October 17, 2006 Ed Champion just launched a virtual roundtable discussion on his website, using the combined wisdom of three readers to analyze Richard Powers' new novel, The Echo Maker. On Friday, the author himself will weigh in on the novel.All three writers... Continue Reading Posted at 7:02 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct16	CBGB Is Dead, Long Live CBGB Jason Boog October 16, 2006 As long as we're talking about the rough and tumble New York City art scene in the East Village, we should all remember the unhappy passing of the great music joint CBGB--the thirty-year old club closed last night.In the meantime,... Continue Reading Posted at 8:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Getting Evil-er Jason Boog October 16, 2006 Tonight, let's get evil. If you are in New York City, I've got a documentary for you. For years, the Antagonist Movement has published unknown writers, sold art by unknown artists, and generally encouraged fledgling creators in the East Village.... Continue Reading Posted at 8:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Imaginary Reporters: The Completely Foreign Correspondent Jason Boog October 16, 2006 People are blowing thousands of dollars, having sex, arguing politics, and building fantastical new communities in virtual, interactive videogame worlds like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Now, they've earned a completely foreign correspondent.Via Sam Davidson, I just found this... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Is Chartreuse Crazy, Smart, Smart-Crazy or Crazy-Smart? Jason Boog October 16, 2006 Everybody's talking about new media scribe Chartreuse, and his new project that seems to involve secret passwords, new multi-media material, and a monthly subscription fee. Is he crazy? Is he smart? Is he crazy-smart? Smart-crazy? Everybody's got an opinion. The... Continue Reading Posted at 7:11 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct15	Week In Review: YouTube Googled, Web Ethics-ized, Tech Tools Catalogued, Squeezing Time Jason Boog October 15, 2006 As we shiver through the chilliest weekend in recent memory, let's take a moment to bask in the warm glow of last week's posts on The Publishing Spot...We learned how to squeeze a little writing time out of the hectic... Continue Reading Posted at 2:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A Legal Story We All Need To Read Jason Boog October 15, 2006 Bloggers around the world are debating the publishing struggle that just rocked a fellow web writer. Last Thursday, Heather Armstrong--the legendary blogger fired from her job for blogging a few years ago--settled a nasty lawsuit in court over a bungled... Continue Reading Posted at 7:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct14	A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Beatnik Jason Boog October 14, 2006 I'm taking a break from our regularly scheduled Saturday programing to shamelessly promote my humiliation...Next week I'll be reading (and singing) a short selection straight from my Beatnik-imitating, adverb-abusing, woozy high school diaries. If you are in New York City... Continue Reading Posted at 8:34 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct13	ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I Wish I Wrote That! Jason Boog October 13, 2006 Every once in a while, I'll read a post that's so simple and so perfect that I can only yell, "ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I wish I wrote that!"Today, Jeffrey Yamaguchi (a former Five Easy Questions victim) beat us all to the punch... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	"Never Bully an Editor": The LiveJournal Shuffle Jason Boog October 13, 2006 This morning I performed my weekly readings of my favorite writers on LiveJournal--sifting through the collective wisdom of some of the Internet's first web writers and bloggers. Nick Mamatas, one of our Five Easy Question alums, had a piece of... Continue Reading Posted at 7:44 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct12	Welcome Fellow Stumblers! Jason Boog October 12, 2006 I just found out that the amazing user-supported web organizing site, StumbleUpon, has linked to The Publishing Spot. It's a big honor, bringing in the most traffic this little site has ever seen.I'd like to say welcome to all the... Continue Reading Posted at 9:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Web Ethics 101: Act Accordingly Jason Boog October 12, 2006 The toughest part about digital publishing is pretty basic: You know how many readers you have and where they come from, but you never know what they think unless they leave comments. In his essay, "Web Developers Think You're Stupid,"... Continue Reading Posted at 8:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	It's That Time of Year... Jason Boog October 12, 2006 You want write fifty thousand words this year?I just received my first email of the year from the good folks over at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That's the yearly competition that challenges writers around the world to write fifty... Continue Reading Posted at 7:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct11	National Book Award Nominees Hand-Picked by Powerful Lit Blogger Jason Boog October 11, 2006 Today, Ed Champion printed the National Book Award nominees for 2006, offering his own set of "suggestions." I had no idea that he was blowing his blogging riches on book judge bribes!Seriously, it's a great post, worth checking out for... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	One Super Easy Way To Build a Reading Community from Scratch Jason Boog October 11, 2006 Yesterday I noticed people over at Newsvine were talking about my Tony D'Souza interview. It was flattering, but more importantly, it taught me a web writing lesson--how to find seven new readers without even trying!Newsvine is like Digg, a site... Continue Reading Posted at 8:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	How To Write for the Web, Technically Jason Boog October 11, 2006 I spend so much time obsessing over how writing work is migrating to the web, but I don't spend enough time telling you how you can migrate to the web with it. Over at MediaBistro, the funny ha-ha writer (and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct10	My Readers Get On Television, Baby! Jason Boog October 10, 2006 Sometimes, things really work out. Take for instance, Steve Bryant, our Five Easy Questions victim two weeks ago. The guy edits online journalism sites about Google (GoogleWatch) and web video (Reel Pop); and lo and behold Google buys YouTube, putting... Continue Reading Posted at 8:14 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Your Classified Writing Here Jason Boog October 10, 2006 I'm sorry for the three-day weekend delay in posts. I was home with my family, far, far away from this laptop. We're back in business today. I came back in time to see my friend Jesse Sunenblick pitch his writing... Continue Reading Posted at 8:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 6	Poetry Is the Next Big Poetry: Week in Review Jason Boog October 6, 2006 Today I'm headed back to Michigan to visit my family for the weekend. While I'm gone, I urge you to ponder the mysteries we uncovered this week at The Publishing Spot...Tony D'Souza taught us everything we need to know, ever,... Continue Reading Posted at 10:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Keep Your Stories in the Mail: How To Build Relationships with Magazine Editors Jason Boog October 6, 2006 "I followed him barefoot into the forest. For a long time, we walked in that black ink. He led me far into it, to a place I'd never been. Then he said to me, 'Adama, whiteman, telll your people about... Continue Reading Posted at 6:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 5	"Time is the most important thing" : The Best Advice from a Writing Teacher Jason Boog October 5, 2006 Earlier this week, Tony D'Souza told us how he filled up six notebooks with stories about Africa, and then lost them all when he fled the civil war on the Ivory Coast. Dispite that earth-shaking loss, he still managed to... Continue Reading Posted at 8:32 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	I Just Wrote the Word Poetry 25 Times! Jason Boog October 5, 2006 We've been pretty novel and journalism-centric around here lately. So much so that I completely missed mentioning Tom Kealey's special Week O' Poetry over at the Creative Writing MFA Handbook site.For all you poetry heads out there, he had a... Continue Reading Posted at 6:33 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 4	"Some of these programs really fleece people" : Why (Or Why Not) Join a MFA Program? Jason Boog October 4, 2006 "We ran deep into the corn, she just inches away from my outstretched hands, my pants falling around my ankles. Then, as had to be, my pants tripped me. A girl ran through the corn as I shouted her name... Continue Reading Posted at 8:05 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	A Cautionary Tale Jason Boog October 4, 2006 Just when I got done telling you not to shove your work blindly into the hands of bloggers you don't read, I discovered a cautionary tale. Over at the message board oDark.com, an unsuspecting writer (or friend of an unsuspecting... Continue Reading Posted at 7:50 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Into the Hands of Unknown Bloggers Jason Boog October 4, 2006 As the holiday book-buying season nears, Josh Getlin over at the LA Times interviewed scores of confused and concerned publishers. As bloggers and and lit blog networks create bazillions of new book-reviewing outlets, none of these publishers know who to... Continue Reading Posted at 6:21 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 3	"Those are the things a writer has to forget": How To Research Your Novel Jason Boog October 3, 2006 "I was a creature set among them from the magical world of television. Even after a year, children would sit in a group on the dirt of my courtyard to watch me do the simplest things as though watching television... Continue Reading Posted at 8:16 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Hot Tonight Jason Boog October 3, 2006 The friendliest blogger on the Internet (and alumni of The Publishing Spot School of Hard Knocks) Liz Strauss is again opening her metaphorical living room for a free-ranging discussion of all things wild and webby.Strauss' open mic night comments section... Continue Reading Posted at 6:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 2	"Do whatever it takes to get yourself seated before the paper": How To Write Your First Novel Jason Boog October 2, 2006 Sometimes I think successful writers must have some secret super-human power. Take Tony D'Souza. He's written one extremely well-reviewed book (Whiteman) and published essays in my favorite publications, and I was sure he knew something that I didn't. Then I... Continue Reading Posted at 8:23 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	More Boogs in the Blogosphere Jason Boog October 2, 2006 My brother Matt has been traveling around Greece as part of a study abroad program for his university. Being related to me, he ended up blogging about the experience. Waking up for work this morning, I was very jealous of... Continue Reading Posted at 7:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Small Is the New Big Jason Boog October 2, 2006 Over at Dylarama, Details magazine scribe Ian Daly is pounding out new posts at an impressive rate, mixing up photos, videos, and his own weird take on life. Most recently, he wrote about a British street artist who created the... Continue Reading Posted at 7:06 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Oct 1	Boxing, Book Trailers, Bryants, and Better Anthologies Jason Boog October 1, 2006 I'm looking out my window and I see rain, rain and more rain. If you're seeing the same thing as me, take a couple minutes to remember fondly the last sunny week at The Publishing Spot...Steve Bryant stopped by to... Continue Reading Posted at 9:01 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

Advertise

Related Resources

recent comments

sponsored ads

topics

subscribe

Current News

resources

Support This Blog

archives

blogroll

Know More Media - Writing / Speaking

know more media network

we support unitus

PRWeb

Influencer

ProductivityGoal

CallCenterScript

AdHurl

TheBizofKnowledge

HealthCareVox

BrainBasedBusiness