—
Over the Transom
—
Welcome to the
Community
By Sandy Raschke
I love a bargain. Perhaps it
comes
from my maternal grandmother, a woman who taught me the fine art
of thriftiness. So, whenever I see an offer that states
“two-for-the-price-of-one,” I have to take a look, be it for
cosmetics, vitamins, food products or subscriptions. Last year
I gave up a number of subscriptions to writers’ mags that I had
taken for over a decade; they were getting too expensive and
generally, offered nothing that hadn’t been in the prior issues
I keep for reference. Then, either through coincidence or
serendipity, I received—yes!—a “two years for the price of one,”
offer (a “professional discount”), on one of the writers’
magazines I had dropped. I couldn’t resist and signed up.
On the same day that the first issue of my new
subscription arrived, I happened to glance—as I do several times
a week—at The Forum on Calliope’s web site. What I
found was that the “old” Forum is now the new “Whiteboard,” and
the “new” Forum is a place for writers to share their views,
upload short stories or novel excerpts for critique, discuss
favorite books, etc. So what does this have to do with my new
subscription? Well, that issue contains a lengthy article
on—Forums—or actually, writing communities; how to join one; how
to network; what they offer both the experienced and novice
writer. And, it turns out, such communities, including our own,
offer much to writers of all genres and styles.
In addition to industry gossip, there is news that most
writers can use, such as who is publishing what, agent
recommendations, who to go to for jacket blurbs, etc.
Some of the organizations that feature Forums on their
web sites have as few as 1,000
member, like the International Thriller Writers (http://www.thrillerwriters.org),
to over 10,000 members, like The Romance Writers of America (http://www.rwanational.org),
or the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, with
more than 22,000 member (http://www.scbwi.org).
I saw a few comments that implied large memberships can make
Forums unwieldy, but then not all members—including Calliope’s—actually
use them.
Still, if you are serious about getting out of
“Wannabe-land,” and becoming a published writer, the use of
Forums may the way to go.
So, take a look at the Calliope forum, as well
as the others; for further information, see the October 2009
issue of Writer’s Digest, which has an extensive list
and descriptions of what you’ll find in writers’ communities.
Then, let us know how helpful they are in moving you toward
publication.
^ ^ ^
By the time you receive this
issue,
the results of Calliope’s 17th Annual Fiction
Contest will be in the mail to the participants. With our
internet exposure, I had expected greater participation, but it
didn’t turn out that way. We received a few more entries than
last year, and none from outside the United States.
Cynthia and I are considering changing the entry fee
structure, in order to cover the costs of running the contest
and increasing the cash awards to the winners. This would
involve a modest increase to the entry fee for both non-members
and members, and allowing members to submit additional stories
for free.
We welcome your comments.
nn