Netwest members

We have a number of writers in Netwest who can and should be teaching workshops. Nancy Simpson, poet and former Program Coordinator is on my list of those who should teach a workshop for Netwest members and for the public. She has so much knowledge about poetry I have asked her to post some of her thoughts on this blog. I hope she will do that soon. Nancy has been a mentor to many of us in western NC and north GA.

Robert Kimsey is another member who has much to offer us in a class on self-publishing or any kind of writing.

Estelle Rice teaches a class on spiritual writing. I hope she will be able to do that for Netwest one Saturday.

Nancy Purcell is teaching at a community college and could teach a workshop also.

If you Netwesters are reading this blog, let me know who among us you'd like to have teach.

We also want to have another computer class soon with Kay Lake.

Meanwhile, I actually spent time today learning how to use Office Publisher, but I also wrote an essay. Even though my house is a complete mess from Christmas wrappings and boxes, dirty laundry, etc., I let it go and worked on my writing. I'm proud of me!

I've not felt I had the time to join a book club, but Elizabeth at Phillips and Lloyd book shop on the square in Hayesville invited me to join the one that meets there each month. She said they are reading Vicki Lane's mystery Signs in the Blood which I already have on my book shelf. I read more non-fiction than fiction, but I've decided to try to read at least one fiction book each month and I'll start with Signs in the Blood. I met Vicki a few years ago and talked with her about her writing. She is from Florida but has lived in NC for thirty years. She writes mysteries that take place in the Appalachian area and she seems to be about my age because she mentions her favorite books when she was a child and many of them were mine also. She was in love with horses when she was small. I dreamed about horses and read all the Black Stallion Books by Walter Farley. I look forward to reading Vicki's books and I've signed up for her newsletter. She gives a good accounting of what her life as a beginning writer is like.
And she brings hope to all older writers who might think their time has passed. I'm proud to see Vicki has three books in her mystery series published and will now do another book that is a "stand-alone."
She also has a blog. Check her out at vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com

Valerie's blogging on myspace

Today while checking out the NCWN website, I saw where Valerie Nieman has a blog listed. Valerie taught a session at the Lights in the Mountains Conference in 2006 and a session on narrative poems at the NCWN Fall Conference in Winston-Salem NC.
I clicked on Valerie's blog and found her posts most interesting. I also found she has a new blog now on myspace, so I went there. Valerie's writing is poetic even in her blog. She will be teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School in 2008. Check your catalog or go online to folkschool.org to find the dates.
Valerie's blog on myspace is http://www.myspace.com/valerienieman

When do we find the time to write?

After a busy Christmas season, I look forward to a quiet new year's beginning. In the next few months, I hope to submit work and create new work rather than take care of a million other things in my life.

Every year I vow to put my writing on the top of my priority list as well as taking care of my health. So far, each year I start out well, but life gets in the way.

I am interested in the new book by Kelly L. Stone. (http://www.kellylstone.com/)

TIME TO WRITE: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life.

I met Kelly at the Blue Ridge Writers Conference. After following her advice on a story I had written, it was accepted and will be published in April, 2008.

In TIME TO WRITE, she says I'll learn:

The 4 characteristics of all successful writers...

Time management secrets from dozens of bestselling authors...
7 unique writing schedules that get results...
Creative strategies for carving out time to write no matter how busy you are...
Ways to write even when you don't feel like it...
Innovative ways to write around family and kids...
How to avoid time wasters like e-mail and Internet surfing...
How to access your bottomless well of creativity...
AND MUCH MORE!

TIME TO WRITE: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How To Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life!http://www.blogger.com/

Read her interview about TIME TO WRITE on WOW! Women-On-Writing:
http://www.blogger.com/

Let me know what you think of her book if you decide to read it.

Nancy Williams, (N.L. Williams) visited in Hayesville last night from her home in Chattanooga to read at the annual holiday event at the library. Nancy had good news and bad news about her book A Matter of Destiny which was published by a British publisher. Seems the British lady has gone bankrupt, but continues to sell Nancy's book on Amazon.com and has yet to send our Netwest member any money. But Nancy has landed a nice paying job with a large company she mentioned in her book. She will write the company history. As many writers find out, sometimes you do writing for money to enable you to do the writing you love. There is a good article on this subject in this month's Byline Magazine.

Sheryl Monks at Press 53 on blogs

Glenda, we actually published an entire blog. Joseph Anderson, a trial attorney in WS, kept a travel log of his trip across India during/shortly after the great tsunami. He was writing home to his mother. His father had just died and the trip became a great spiritual pilgrimage. Kevin came across the blog and couldn't stop reading it, so he thought it would make a great book, and it did. We published The Light Within: A Travel Log of India about a year later. Granted, we don't have the time to read as many blogs as we did then, but we think the internet is a truly fabulous organism and we use it every way we can.

When writers are considering whether or not they should post work on their blogs, my advice is this: Think like a publisher. Will the exposure help the publisher or hurt the publisher? Are you giving a publisher the opportunity to jump onto something that's getting a lot of attention (or has the potential to get some) or are you asking a publisher to promote work that everyone has already seen? Will a publisher be able to sell your work now that it's been made available online? I think that's the bottom line for most publishers and small presses. It's a tough call. Many folks say don't do it. Some suggest you may "get discovered." You have to realize, though, that it's a rare thing for any writer to find a short cut. It happens, yes, but I think the best thing writers can do is keep at it. Keep writing and submitting your work and learning the ins and outs of the industry. I honestly believe that good work bubbles up to the surface one way or another.

As for contests, I think the safest bet is to read each one's guidelines carefully before submitting work that's been posted on a blog or elsewhere. Generally, I think "unpublished" means not published by another publisher, but it's always best to read guidelines and ask contest administrators for clarification.

Hope this helps. Thanks for asking!

Merry Christmas to everyone at NCWN West~~

sheryl

Sheryl Monks
Publisher/Editor
Press 53
http://www.press53.com/

Published or not?

Al Manning and I are wondering if stories or articles written on a blog must be identified as published when they are submitted to contests, presses, or magazines.

Al's posting a short story on amanning.blogspot.com. Can he send it to a contest and say it has not been published?

Ed Southern of Blair Publishing, said this is a gray area and has no definitive guidelines yet. What do you think? If I publish one of my poems on this blog, does that mean I have to say it has already been published when I submit it elsewhere?

I've asked another publisher, but so far have not heard from him on the subject.

At the Fall Writing Conference we were told that your creation, if published on a blog, might be picked up by a publisher who reads it and likes it, and some publishers don't mind that it has been on a blog. Other people post on a blog and hope to be recognized and discovered so that the next thing they do will have a better chance of being published.

Strange things are happening to the literary world, it seems, and more people might have a chance of having their work read and appreciated by building an audience on the internet.

More Impressions on the Conference

I told you about Pat Davis, writer originally from Brevard, who lives in Pennsylvania now. Pat was nice enough to send me her views on the NCWN Fall Writers Conference in Winston-Salem. Pat writes fiction and was there to pitch her novel to an agent or publisher. She attended classes pertaining to her craft. So it is nice to hear her thoughts. This is what Pat Davis said:

I thought "Pitching" was good because it applied to writing queries (which I guess everybody has to do) as well as verbal pitches. I think the most helpful time was "Setting the Scene" since it dealt with the opening paragraphs/pages of writing a manuscript. "Children's..." was interesting (good info and presenters) as was Robert Morgan. I personally liked the ones that were taught like college-level classes.

...The woman who taught the"Setting the Scene" class was well-organized and prepared. She really taught like it was a college class. She had good examples and cited other examplesof good dialogue, POV, making the setting alive and real, etc.The three women who taught the "Children's.." covered the gamut of writing for children, illustrations, publications from the group. Robert Morgan went into depth about the process of research, etc. He's interesting so it was a pleasant hour and half. I like hearing what knowledgeable people have to say. As you know, I didn't like the speed writing class - I much prefer somebody teaching me something I can use.

Pat has been rewriting her first chapter since Bess Reed critiqued her work at the conference.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 3, 2008. This is the date for the Darnell Arnoult Workshop to be held for the benefit of Netwest writers and other writers within driving distance of Clay or Cherokee Counties in NC. Any writer or poet can benefit from this successful writer and teacher from Tennessee. Go to her website darnellarnoult.com to learn more about her.

Time and place will be announced later.

Netwest Poets

With Christmas season upon us, we are all busy and I am traveling back and forth from south Georgia to help my sister move to Atlanta. Posting on a regular basis will be hard if not impossible this month.

Netwest Poetry group met at Tri-County College last night where we had the first opportunity to see Mary Ricketson's chapbook from Finishing Line Press. The cover is her own photograph of the river she writes about and it's beautiful. Another Netwest writer, Robert Kimsey, has been extremely busy in recent months teaching young people in schools in Fannin County GA. Robert was asked by students who met him at the Blue Ridge Writers Conference last year, to come to their school and talk about writing. Now he has so many schools and teachers requesting him, he stays busy all the time. I'm proud we have this caring and generous member of Netwest giving back to his community. Robert has published two poetry collections. They are some of my favorite poetry books.

NCWN announced the new Executive Director

On Saturday at the NCWN Fall Writing and Publishing Conference in Winston-Salem, Ed Southern was introduced as the new Executive Director for NCWN and he will take office on January 1, 2008. Ed is highly qualified to lead the writers’ network. He presently works with John F. Blair, publisher, as vice president of sales and marketing. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the NCWN since July 2005.

Some of you may know that I “announced” his position prematurely. My mistake. But, even though I haven’t talked with Ed, I feel that he is an excellent choice. We will hear more from him after he takes office. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts, politics, (cum laude) in 1994.

In conversations with Cynthia Barnett, present Executive Director, I learned the network had no particular marketing or public relations personnel. I feel that Ed Southern with his marketing background will increase the visibility of the network and then everyone, not only writers, will know what NCWN can do for them, and he will see that NCWN reaches out to writers and those who need writers anywhere in the state. I look forward to meeting him and making him aware of our NCWN West writers here in the mountains.

Poets and Writers and Dreams

Some writers may not feel the need to talk and share with other writers, but the poets and writers I know absolutely love getting together to bounce ideas and information off each other. My closest friends are writers and we are so eager to share, we find ourselves interrupting each other or talking at the same time. I told Estelle Rice today that we would need an entire day for some of us to get everything said that we want to say. Estelle told me about her recent workshop on dreams. She enjoyed hearing the leader explain the spiritual psychology behind understanding our dreams. Richard Argo teaches a class on dreams at the John C. Campbell Folk School in January. It seems our dreams tell much about who we are. I need to pay more attention to my dreams, I guess.

Do you have any comments about dreams you'd like to share?

As I think back on the NCWN Fall Conference, I think it was a mixture of learning the craft of writing and helping those who are ready to find agents, publishers for that book they want to get out there. Nancy Sales Cash said it seemed more of a conference for learning how to write, but to me, it seemed geared toward all serious writers who want to be published someday. I have noticed many writers get to a point where they have had something published, and then think they know all they need to know about writing. I never tire of learning and always glean something from a workshop with a good teacher.



In my newsletter from the Tennessee Mountain Writers Ms Penners asks what were you doing ten years ago with your writing. I had been a member of the NCWN for two years and I had won a first place in one poetry contest and third place in another. I had four poems in magazines and I was beside myself with joy. Before joining the NCWN I had only published one article in a newspaper and I had edited two newsletters. I had no one to share my writing and didn't know if I had written anything anyone else wanted to read. For me, having a community of writers changed my life. I decided not to settle for hiding my poems and stories away in my desk drawers and file cabinets anymore.

My first Fall Conference was in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn. I was in awe of all the accomplished writers, authors of books, and names I knew from book covers. But that event was such a special thing and a special time for me, that I knew I'd go back when I had another chance. I hope all our Netwest writers will go to big conferences when you have the opportunity. The writers I've met have been warm and giving people who share their difficulties and their successes. I think the NCWN is a terrific organization and Netwest is the most special part of it.

Tell me what you think.

As I fumble along trying to learn how to blog, I go to other sites and see what I like. I just checked on Darnell Arnoult’s website and I like the way her links are organized. I will imitate her. I wish the Netwest members would give me suggestions as Al Manning did today. He suggested I list links of our members who have websites or blogs. So a number of you are now listed under my favorite links.
You are free to comment on this blog, and I have changed the setup so you no longer have to have a google ID to get into the blog. For those of you who don’t already have a website or blog, play with this one. We can all learn together

Conversations at the Conference

One of the most important parts of a writing conference is networking, or talking with other writers or people who are a part of the literary world. I enjoyed meeting Jubal Tiner and Lonnie Busch who publish the Pisgah Review. They had a table set up near the meeting rooms and they met a number of writers, I’m sure. Lonnie’s book Turnback Creek as well as the Review attracted attention. I wish more of our Netwest writers had been there making the connections they need to sell their books or stories and articles.

Press 53 is an up and coming southern press located right here in North Carolina. Marjorie Hudson’s book, The Search for Virginia Dare, was published the second time by Press 53. She wore a big pin on her shirt promoting her publisher. Press 53 goes beyond publishing your manuscript. They have contacts with film companies and Marjorie’s book could be picked up by an independent film company. She has been fortunate to have her book become a favorite of book clubs whose members arrive in Manteo, NC where they read about Virginia Dare and visit the places mentioned in the book. More and more writers are trying to take advantage of Literary Tourism. Surely writers in western North Carolina and North Georgia should be able to find a way to do that. We do have some tourists come here in the summer and in the fall.

Sitting with Marjorie Hudson at breakfast on Sunday, I met an agent from Washington, D.C. She had worked in New York and she recommends that your agent, if living outside of the big apple, have experience in the publishing world in New York. This agent had turned down Marjorie’s book, but said she had liked it. She had to consider what her company would want, however.

Sitting at the same table that morning was Amy Tieman who has the blog, mojomom, and also a book by the same title. She is young, but extremely intelligent about her business and the digital world we live in today. She left the table to go and get ready for her panel discussion on blogging, podcasting and other digital matters above my head. Later, I’ll tell more about that session which was full with standing room only.

Diversity at the conference

For lunch on Saturday, we picked up box lunches, took them to the large room upstairs which overflowed with writers. Nancy Sales Cash and I found a table near the stage. Close by were Cynthia Barnett, her husband who kept his camera ready at all times, Nicki Leone, Ed Southern and our own Al Manning.

The program consisted of a dramatic and startling monologue by black screenwriter and performer Nathan Ross Freeman, who discussed the problem of children coming home after school with no one there to talk to about their day. Freeman said the time between the end of school and bedtime was a vast void in the lives of many young people today and that was a particularly important time. He thinks all kids, regardless of race or economic status are at risk during those hours. He works with the Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute. He brought five sharp, poised teens, 14 - 17, on stage. They did not want to be called performance poets, but I enjoyed their "performance." They wrote their own material and the words, rhyme, and rhythm in the stories they told, some brutal and some poignant, drew me into their poetry.
They recited together and individually. Then Mr. Freeman explained "rifs" to the audience and had each student give him a rif with no planning or preperation. "Peace" he said and one child stepped forward and said something like, "lying on the grass and staring at the sky." " Joy." Another stepped forward. "getting an A on my math test."

When the writers understood the rif, voices called out from the audience. "Watching my daughter sleep," a man said. And the process went on and on until it was too late for me to meet with Nicki and Al as I had planned. We postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Saturday morning I began my day with a full breakfast at the Bayberry restaurant in the Hawthorne Inn. I felt I'd need it in order to accomplish everything on my schedule for that day. JC Walkup invited me to sit with her and another young woman. JC and Buffy Queen had gone to an expensive place for dinner Friday night instead of joining us at the Bayberry. I'm sure they had better food, but I couldn't have had better dinner companions.


Valerie Nieman was instructor for writing narrative poems. Michael Beadle, poet from Canton was in that group. I like Val and found the class interesting. I am a story teller and most of my poetry is narrative.


The class, held in the hospitality room with several large round tables was not the best setup. The room was filled with people of all levels of writing. Val had us do some association of words which gave me ideas of subjects for poems I'd not thought of before.


I wish I'd had time to take all the poetry classes and there were a number of them. Keith, of Asheville Poetry Review, and Tony Abbot among many other poets, led classes.


My second class for the day was with Marjorie Hudson, author of The Search for Virginia Dare. Marjorie led us in a marathon writing class. Nancy Cash and I sat together. Pat Davis was also in the class and she hated it. Nancy and I discovered some issues we plan to write about someday. Poor Nancy lost her notebook with all her notes from THREE conferences in that class. That ruined her day. Marjorie invited us to join her for breakfast on Sunday to discuss publishing. That was a generous gesture on her part. Her class turned out to be much larger than she had expected with 48 students. I found the timed writings fun and helpful.
She used Haven Kimmel's books to illustrate her subjects and Haven is one of my favorite authors.

The biggest problem at the conference was the class rooms were separated and on different floors. Our folders had no instructions as to were they were located. We ran up and down stairs a good bit, but it was good for me, I'm sure, since sitting for long hours is the worse thing for me to do.


Later, I realized there was an elevator I could have used. But my adrenaline was super high and the stairs became easier and easier.


We picked up box lunches in the lobby and found seats in the large room where we had met the night before. Nancy Cash and I ended up sitting together again. She is good company, but was still worried over her lost notebook. I'll tell more about the lunch program in my next post. Hope to learn how to include photos by then.

Trip to Winston-Salem

Normally I wouldn't have gone to this conference since it was such a long distance, over six hour drive, but I felt, as the Netwest Program Coordinator I should attend. I'm very glad I did. Much was accomplished for our group, I think, and I'm confident the Network is doing well and on the right track.

Friday afternoon, I met Mary Jo Dyre from Murphy and hooked her up with another western NC native, Pat Davis who lives in Pennsylvania now. Both these ladies were there to pitch their novels. And this was the place to do it. So many publishers, agents and programs for meeting the people authors need to know.

I met Debbie McGill, Literary Director of the NC Arts Council as soon as I entered the registration area. Debbie is a long time friend of Netwest and attended our Lights in the Mountains Conference when it was held in Hayesville. She was interested to hear all that is going on with our group. I had a few of our online newsletters, The Netwest News, with me and I gave her one. Nicki Leone, president of NCWN arrived and I made arrangements to meet with her and Al Manning on Saturday to go over our revised guidelines and mission statement.

Sara Claytor, a member of the NC Poetry Society stood near the NCPS table. She was excited to have her first poetry book published. I meant to buy one later, but never got back to pick it up. We talked about the possibility of "swapping writers" from her area in Raleigh to our area in western NC for readings, workshops, and other events. She said the poetry society talked about our "Coffee with the Poets" at one of their meetings and they would like to look into doing the same thing in their area. Ed Cockrell, publisher of the NCPC Correspondent, included an article on CWP this year.

I had invited Netwest folks attending the conference to join Barry and me Friday night for dinner. I was delighted to have Ken Kinnett and Lana Hendershott of Henderson County, Mary Jo, and Nancy Cash, author of Ritual River, join us along with our new friend Pat Davis. Although Nancy lives in Asheville, she is a native of Murphy, NC. Mary Jo and Pat seemed delighted to have Nancy tell them of her experiences in the publishing world.

After dinner, Jill McCorkle gave the keynote speech and entertained us all with her humor and insight into making your charactors believeable, even if you have to use some bad language to do it.

Jill is one of our outstanding southern writers who hails from Lumberton, NC.

As I left the jam-packed hall after Jill's speech, I was tired but exhilerated from so much creative energy in that room.