"The Creative Process of Writing is a Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"
www.virtualwritingcoach.com
January, 2008
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. The Writer's Digest
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Writer's Connection explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in
writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript,
and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be
printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.
2. Publisher's Note
January, 2008
Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,
This month's newsletter features: The
Writer's Digest
3. The Writer's Digest
I've been receiving the above magazine for about two years. It is filled with
helpful ideas for first-time authors about technique, contests, workshops,
and interviews with authors, both seasoned and those with their debut
novels. The current issue features an interview with bestselling author,
Tess Gerritsen, one of my favorite authors. She quit her physician
practice to become a full-time mom to her two children, while her
physician-husband continued with his practice.
Tess is best known for her medical thrillers with her co-protagonists, Maura Isles, the
ultimate pathologist and Jane Rizzoli, the hard-driving detective
who with Maura's help pieces the evidence together to nab the
murderer. Tess's first successful novel,
The Surgeon, featuring
Rizzoli; others followed, including
Body Double,
Harvest,
Mephisto Club,
Vanish, and more.
Her new book,
The Bone Garden, will be out in March, 2008, and is her first
historical mystery, set in Boston in the 1830s. A recently divorced
woman finds a skeleton in her garden and becomes obsessed with who she is and researches
a series of murders against impoverished Irish girls.
Other articles in the current
Writer's Digest issue include: finding
the right editor, how ill-placed humor can destroy a mystery thriller, how
to pitch your book on your blog or website, book reviews from veteran and
debut novelists, and the feature article on how to write your first novel.
Researching for non-fiction, the art of writing Haiku poetry, upcoming
writer's conferences and workshops round out the list.
For example, James Patterson and Sandra Brown will be
featured at Thriller Fest at the Grand Hyatt, July 9-12
in NYC. Aspiring authors can pitch their books to agents.
For more information, contact
International Thriller Writers, Inc.
A new genre, the Eco-thriller is becoming more popular
with readers, given the latest political debate over global
warming. The following agents and publishers are accepting
unsolicited manuscripts:
Chronicle Books LLC,
Tom Doherty Associates, LLC,
Verso,
Folio Literary Management,
and
Richard Curtis Associates, Inc.
Your blog can also produce a novel in progress if you write one page each
day on your blog. Julie Powell while working as a secretary in New York
did just that experimenting with recipes from Julia Child's
Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her resulting book is called
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, published by Little,
Brown, and Company and sold more than 100,000 copies. Blogs can be a
helpful push to get you to write each day or weekly. Most successful
writers write each day. There's no substitute for discipline and
structure in writing your first book.
Finally, the major misnomer about writing is that it occurs only when
one's fingers are on the keypad. Lauren Kessler's interesting piece,
Labor or Leisure, posits the theory that the real work of
writing comes from the diligent research during the incubation period
of your book, and the wistful thoughts with "neurons firing" that occur
while you're between key strokes.
In summary, I highly recommend
Writer's Digest
magazine to any aspiring writer who wants to be inspired
to learn the craft of writing. Anyone can write, but only
a few take their avocation to a higher level.
Helpful Hints:
- Subscribe to Writer's
Digest.
- Go to a writer's conference in your local area or state to mingle
with other aspiring writers; the workshops are well worth the price.
- Start your own blog and write about something you're passionate about
from political commentary to baking cookies.
Subscription
The Writer's Connection
SM is a free publication. If you want to continue to receive this Newsletter, you can
SUBSCRIBE by clicking here or by sending
a blank email message to
keith_barton@att.net
with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
To UNSUBSCRIBE click here or send a message to
keith_barton@att.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
Be assured your name and email address are confidential. We do not sell, rent or share our mailing list with anyone.
Contact Information
Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Voice: 281-583-5005
Fax:281-583-5008
Web: >
http://www.virtualwritingcoach.com
E-Mail:
keith_barton@att.net
(c) Copyright 2008 A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.
Distribution Rights
The Writer's Connection
SMis copyrighted, but you may retransmit or distribute it to
whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed, added, or deleted, including the contact
information. However, you may not copy it to a web site.
Republication of The Writer's Connection
SM in paper media is encouraged and permitted by
individuals, organizations and associations, as long as the issue is reprinted in its entirety,
without change, and includes the contact information.
With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication
also is encouraged under other circumstances. However, the advance permission of A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are desired.
The Writer's Connection SMMission:
The Writer's Connection
SMis dedicated to helping first-time authors create their first
manuscript for publication and to offer an exchange of ideas and opinions from our readers who might be
interested in becoming authors.
The Writer's Connection is a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach and Keith Barton, Ph.D. and a
registered trademark.
We would like The Writer's Connection
SM to be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback,
comments, topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional resources to benefit us all, please email
us at any time. Send your e-mail to
keith_barton@att.net.
Please forward this issue to anyone you think would find The Writer's Connection
SMinteresting and beneficial. Your
recommendation helps us keep growing, and ensures an excellent exchange of information and techniques.
Archives
You can read previous issues of The Writer's Connection
SMin our
archive section.
About Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist
for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach and is accepting new clients.
He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina,
consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded
and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing
group home services to persons with mental retardation. Keith founded
and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest Houston since 1990.
He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate
interest in helping others become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made
presentations and conducted workshops about:
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality
