Welcome to the first newsletter of the year, and I imagine
you have got past the first flush of making, and hopefully
keeping, some of your resolutions. Time to look forward to a
year of creative challenges, delights and the realisation of
deeper levels of your own personal development. This time I am
calling all children's writers and also all of us who have
been stalling on doing any writing for lack of time, because I
have a project that is tailor made for you! If your ambition for
2008 is to have your own website, but you have been put off by
the cost and/or difficulty, then I have a suggestion about that
too, and if you have been thinking about romance - in the
literary sense - then February could be your month to start.
Plus, this is when you might be thinking/planning your holiday so
I have ten unusual suggestions for your trip. To your continued
love of life, creativity, and all that is around you.
Best wishes from AnnA

IN THIS ISSUE:
New Opportunity for Children's Writers
Free Websites
Romance Pays!
Go before it's Gone!
Creativity Coffee Break

NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN'S WRITERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because of the high costs of producing children's illustrated
books, it can be a hard market to break into. Publishers are
open to new ideas, but they often work with the same tried and
trusted authors and illustrators. If this is a market you would
like to write for, then there is an opportunity with one of the
smaller publishers who will consider work from newcomers.

Little Tiger, an imprint of Magi Publications, will accept
unsolicited manuscripts and artwork, and this is so unusual I
wanted to flag it up for you. They produce mostly picture
books of a colourful and imaginative nature aimed at children up
to 7. If this might be something for you, then contact them
initially with a manuscript of no more than 750 words double-
spaced and a sample illustration and send BY POST ONLY to
Laura Roberts at Little Tiger Press, 1 The Coda Centre,
189 Munster Road, London SW6 6333.

I also suggest you have a look at their website first at www.littletigerpress.com before you submit anything.

FREE WEBSITES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you thought of having your own website? These days you
would be amazed at how many people do and it can be a lot
easier than you think. How does free grab you? There is a
website which will help you to set up a simple site and has
over 300 templates so you don't need any design skills either.
Whether you want to tell the world about your writing and post
your own work, have a commercial site to sell products, or just
have a site to upload photos and news of you and your family,
this really is easy. With over 17 million sites already in use
with this system it obviously has hit a chord and if you visit
their website at http://members.freewebs.com/ you can see why.

A TIP - once you sign up for a free site, unless you want to be
offered lots of other offers just click the 'No thanks' and go
straight to building your site using the beginner's templates.
Of course the website isn't enough, if you want people to see
it you will also need a web host, but these are very cheaply
available depending on what you want from as little as £5 a year
and up. Just Google cheap web hosting and explore those, or the
site offers a pop up for hosting that you could try as well.

If you do go ahead, let me know and I will pass it on for other Catalyst subscribers to have a look at.

ROMANCE PAYS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you think romance novels are for sissies, read no further, but
if you want to break into one of the most lucrative niche markets
in writing then stay with me. Oh, and don't imagine this is just
for the girls, an astonishing number of successful romance writers
are men, though they usually write under a female pseudonym as apparently that sells better. Why does romance pay? It's because romantic fiction accounts for over 20% of all fiction books bought
in the UK and that's a big market that is always hungry for new writers. Don't believe me? I will let that old favourite Mills and Boon's figures tell their own story:

** 50 million readers worldwide
** 200 million books sold each year worldwide = 6.6 books a second
** 3.2 million regular readers in the UK
** 13 million books sold each year in the UK
** 1500 authors worldwide; 200 authors living in the UK
** 600 new titles a year; that is 50 a month

One of the most successful in the field is American author,
Nora Roberts, who makes her fellow authors look like slackers.
She has written 175 novels, the majority of them best sellers,
and there are nearly 300 million copies of her books in print -
imagine the royalties on that?

If you think this might be something you could do, then the month
of romance, February, sees a writing weekend that will help you do
just that. It is being held on 8-10 February in Bristol - just in
time for St Valentine's Day - so you could at least write a romantic short story to your beloved! It will be led by Roger Sanderson
who has written 42 Romantic Novels since taking early retirement
and is now writing 4 a year. Told you they weren't all women!
He will cover surveying the market, plotting, characterisation,
the importance of dialogue and the page turning quality - in
other words the hook.

Want to know more? Visit http://www.malagaworkshops.co.uk/or
telephone 01464 773579 for further information and booking.


GO BEFORE IT'S GONE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travel broadens the mind, opens the senses and is a journey of
self-discovery, particularly if you go somewhere that offers you
more than just lying on a beach. There are some great holiday destinations that may not be around forever, and in some cases
not for very long, so if you are looking for an unusual break
here it is. The top ten destinations that might soon disappear
due to environmental causes, over-tourism or conflict, this is
a list of ancient and treasured sites at risk

1. Dampier Rock Art Complex, Murujuga, Australia has the
largest collection of rock art in the world thought to date
back to 10,000 BC.

2. Sonargaon-Panam City, Bangladesh has a range of
architecture from the Sultanate, Mogul and colonial periods
of Bangladesh from the 15th to the 19th century and is now in
serious danger of being wiped out through a series of natural,
and man-made, disasters.

3. Chinguetti Mosque, Mauritania, West Africa is in one of
Islam's seven holy cities and was constructed in the 13th
century. This UNESCO World Heritage site is under constant threat
from flash flooding, extreme temperatures and soil erosion.

4. Panama Canal, Panama City, Chagres River is one of the
most impressive modern engineering feats but because of the ever-increasing number of ships a day that pass that through this canal
the average amount of water in Gatun Lake is decreasing. Also,
largely as a result of deforestation, an increasing amount of
silt is on the bottom of the lake, which reduces the number of
ships the passageway can take.

5. Dhangar Gompa, Himachal Pradesh, in India is one of five
major Buddhist monastic centres, this temple, built some thousand
years ago, is found on a remote region of the border between India
and Tibet. As a result of neglect in addition to erosion of the
hill upon which the temple rests, this important and ancient site
is deteriorating.

6. Old Damascus, Syria is one of the oldest, inhabited cities
in the world and is slowly being demolished by modern construction.
The area is home to a wealth of ancient sites, including eight
city gates and many sites referenced by Christian and Islamic
religious texts.

7. Babylon, Iraq, was originally a city of Mesopotamia, a
region regarded by many as one of the cradles of civilization.
This ancient site is certainly a significant one in human history
and is one of the numerous historic sites in Iraq damaged by recent conflict.

8. Leh Old Town, Ladakh, India is the ancient capital of the
kingdom of Ladakh, Leh and is an intact and rare medieval city in
the Himalayas but changing weather patterns that include heavy rain
are damaging the city

9. The Coral Triangle, Sulu and Sulawesi Seas lies between
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines and has the richest variety
of coral reef, plant and animal life in the world, with over 450
types of coral here alone. A recent study from Johns Hopkins
University found about 70 percent of coral reefs in the seas of Southeast Asia are endangered with the culprits including fishing practices that use cyanide and dynamite, as well as over fishing,
coral bleaching, sedimentation and pollution.

10. Greenland's ice sheet covers about 81 percent of the island,
and comprises 1/20 of all the ice in the world. Should it melt,
the country will split and become an archipelago and the famed
glaciers of the region will no longer be a tourist attraction and
means loss of their habitat for polar bears.


CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No time to write? How about just 200 words? You can manage that
can't you, and especially if you have an interest in crime fiction
then this is for you.

Writing Magazine is running a free competition, no purchase is necessary, you just have to think about writing a 'mini-crime
story' in just 200 words.

To help you out here are the prime requirements for a good plot
for a mystery story as outlined by Janet Laurence's book
'Writing Crime Fiction':

** Must keep the reader guessing
** Evoke strong emotions
** Characters that involve the reader
** Have reader identification with plot and settings

If you want to enter you just type your 200 words in double
spacing on one side of A4. Write/print on the back your name,
address and email if you have one. Put it in an envelop
addressed to Fiona Berry, Ref: WR10170, Competitions Dept,
Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street,
Bourne PE10 9PH to arrive by 18th April and cross your fingers.

If you win you get published in Writing Magazine and a copy of
Janet Laurence's book, so what have you got to lose? If you are
still hesitating, here's some good advice from one who knows:

'I get a lot of letters from people. They say "I want to be a
writer, what should I do?" I tell them to stop writing to me
and to get on with it.' Ruth Rendell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any creative questions? Please do contact me either via
my website: http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/ or email to anna@creativecatalyst.co.uk


 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catalyst News and Views from AnnA
25 January, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How are your communication skills? One area that is so needed,
and misused, is the common old email. This issue I would like to
offer you some tips on how to get the best out of emails - and
improve how your communications are received. It's not always
easy to get a publisher interested in your masterpiece, but some
are willing to hear from you before you have even written a word
so I am pointing you towards one of those in case you have the
idea, but not the text yet. To your continued love of life,
creativity, and all that is around you. Best wishes from AnnA

IN THIS ISSUE:
-UPGRADE YOUR EMAIL SKILLS
-IDEA FIRST, WRITE LATER!
-SHORT AND SWEET
-CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK

UPGRADE YOUR EMAIL SKILLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today many businesses, and certainly many editors, ask for
submissions by email so they can quickly establish whether you
have something to offer that interests them, and you don't want
to scupper your chances before you even begin. The temptation
with emails is to hit reply and let the free flow of your
thoughts wing back to your correspondent - or is that just me?

To get the most out of your emails then check you follow these
simple rules - or at least know you are breaking them and make
a conscious decision to do so.

1. Be headline-specific
Do you actually put anything in the subject line at all?
It really helps to put a brief and descriptive header that
will quickly convey what your email is about. Just putting
'hi' does not help your email stand out from all the others
that find their way into a busy person's inbox.

2. Keep it short
The thing about emails is that people see only a small portion
of the screen with a paragraph or so of your message and often,
they don't scroll down! Sad, but true especially if someone
gets a lot of emails so do get to the point quickly and
don't go on and on. If you have lots to say, write it as a
separate document and attach it. Or, dare I suggest it, why
not write them a letter? Because we all mostly get junk mail
these days a personal letter has rarity value, and is usually appreciated.
If in doubt remember what François Fénelon, the
18th century French Catholic theologian had to say on the
subject: "The more you say, the less people remember."

3. Never assume
The reverse really of keep it short - don't make it so short
that it is open to misinterpretation. 'Yes, OK' is wonderfully
brief but if they have asked several questions are you saying
yes to all of them or just the first one? Don't sacrifice
clarity for brevity and don't assume they will automatically
know what you are talking about/referring to.

4. Getting the tone right
Balance is the key here, and like your writing your email needs
to have your authentic voice. Think about who you are writing
to and adapt your style to that. Being too formal can make you
seem rather old-fashioned, but that doesn't mean you abandon
good manners or adopt a completely casual and offhand manner.
What you are trying to do, as in all communication, is to build
rapport, so keep it friendly, simple and relaxed. If you feel
nervous, take a deep breath, smile and imagine you are writing
to someone who is going to be very receptive and approachable - and
they probably will be.

5. Check the details
I have lost count of the number of emails I receive from people
wanting some information or help from me but giving me incomplete
information. I have their email address, but nothing else and
sometimes I need to actually speak to them. If you want to build
a relationship with a prospective editor, client or publisher
then make sure they have ALL your contact details and that they
are correct!

6. Stop and check before you hit the send button!
Please read it through for typing errors, or vital information
you haven't included, but meant to. One of the most common errors
is saying 'attachment enclosed' and then not inserting it into the
email - I got one of those today from a print on demand publisher
I had asked to send me a quote. He sent a nice email saying they
hoped to do business with me and if there was anything I needed
just to get in touch - and he forgot to attach the quote! I hold
my hand up as guilty of that myself as I am much too quick on
the button, and once got a very nicely gentle reprimand from a
client to whom I had sent an email giving her my website to
download some information from and she couldn't get it to connect.
I am a fast typist, didn't check thoroughly and had missed out a
vital letter so the link wasn't active.

7. Follow the string
When you get an email do you start typing at the top of the screen
so the original email is below, or do you not include the original
in your reply? It can be helpful to the recipient to see the
original message as well as your reply and you select this option
from your mail options in Outlook or whatever your mail server is.
It's particularly important to do this if you are a master of the
laconic 'no problem' type of reply as the recipient then has to
think/search out their message to you to see what you are
talking about. Many people get large numbers of emails a day so
don't assume they will immediately remember what you are talking
about.


IDEA FIRST, WRITE LATER!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am often asked if publishers ever just buy ideas and the answer
is virtually never because they want individual writing and a
personal voice, ideas sadly are common currency - it's how you
execute them that can make all the difference.

However, occasionally a publisher does want to hear your ideas
first before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and one
such is White Ladder Press. They publish non-fiction lifestyle
books with a very original, rather quirky style and although
they only publish 15 books a year they could be the one for you.

Their website will give you a clue about the kind of thing they
like but as an example they publish books on parenting such as
'How Teenagers Think: An Insiders Guide to Living with Teenagers.'
This would have made a perfect Christmas present for one of my
friends if I had known about in time as she is likely to be bald
before her son reaches the age of twenty as she will have no
hair left to fall out. Other titles include 'Earning Money After
You Are Retired' and 'How To Go To Sleep And Stay There' - another
one for my shopping list I think.

If their style sounds like a fit for you, then they like to see
a proposal with a brief synopsis of the book together with an
explanation of how it would benefit the reader. Include some
sample text, a chapter list and a CV but not the usual three
chapters, as they prefer you to write the book after they have
accepted your proposal so that you can more easily adapt it to
their house style.

If you are not sure how to write a proposal they even give you
a sample one on their website at www.whiteladderpress.com that
you could adapt to your own idea. Just click the link at the
top of the page marked 'submissions' and you get lots of good
information in a really excellent, light and entertaining
writing style. Worth reading as an example of a particularly
successful style, even if you don't want to submit an idea!

Their suggestion for how to submit to them is also a good guide
for other publishers so keep this information to hand for future
use (apart from the address of course):

Proposal submission form:
Author information
Name
Address
Phone
Email (essential if you want a reply)

Proposed book
Working title
Working subtitle
Approximate length

Ten second sell (1 sentence description of what the book is about)

Why it will sell/how it will benefit the reader
(bullet points please)

Brief Synopsis

Contents (if relevant)

About the author

Market indicate what size/where you believe the market is)

Competition (list the main competing titles and brief
information about each)

Why this book will stand out/what makes it quirky

Thank you. Once you have completed this form, please post,
fax or email it to
White Ladder Press
Great Ambrook
Near Ipplepen
Devon TQ12 5UL

Fax - 01803 813928
Email - roni@whiteladderpress.com


SHORT AND SWEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever bought a greetings card and thought, 'I could write a better
verse than that'? Well there is a British company who would like
to hear from you. If you think you could write poems, verses,
jokes, inspirational or sentimental verses - the choice is yours,
and it's a nice brief assignment that won't cut into your time
too much.

Interested? Well they are looking for verses of between 4 and 24
lines - apparently the average is 8, 12 or 16 - and need to
sound personal, but not so specific that the card won't have
general appeal. Send some sample verses to the Editorial
Department and enclose an sae for their return if you want them
back. DO NOT send your only copy and like all editorial submissions,
you have to be patient. Their website will give you more ideas, and
the address to send your submissions to, so go here first:
http://www.wishingwell.co.uk/artists.cfm


CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur Rubinstein, the great 20th century Polish-American
pianist, said one of the most profoundly uplifting things I
have heard. At the risk of sounding like a school examiner,
please use this phrase and discuss with yourself what it brings
up for you. Does it make you feel good, sad, angry, or perhaps
bring up a memory or spark an idea for a story? - follow the
thread wherever it leads.

"If you love life, life will love you back."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any creative questions? Please do contact me either via
my website: http://www.catalystonline.co.uk
or email to anna@creativecatalyst.co.uk


 

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