Topic: Newsletters
I subscribe to several newsletters each month that deal with writing. Some I don?t give more than a cursory glance through; others I read avidly. I haven?t canceled the ones I only glance at simply because I don?t know that I won?t need it tomorrow.
One such newsletter is the Poetry Market Ezine. Now, each year, a new softbound book is published that proclaims to have the latest and greatest markets for publishing poetry. I believe there are similar books for short stories, etc. This newsletter gives me a select few entries each month similar to what can be found in the book. This newsletter may actually be more accurate since it is updated monthly. The book published for the year 2005 is actually released 3 to 6 months prior to 2005.
Let?s say I?ve written a phenomenal poem. I can go back to my email newsletter and see if my masterpiece fits any of the guidelines currently being advertised. If I find something that works, I can go ahead and submit. If not, I still have a good piece of poetry under my belt. In another month or two, someone may be looking for it.
Let?s say that I don?t have a phenomenal poem, but I want to write. I can look through the guidelines to see if a particular theme for a publication appeals to me. This may give me the incentive I need to write. This doesn?t mean that I will necessarily submit, but it lets me know what people are looking for and gives me some incentive to produce.
Other newsletters get a thorough read. I have once from WriteSuccess that fascinates me. I read to find out what other writers are doing. I read about their successes and their failures. I find out about new products and services as well as new ways of looking at things. I make mental notes of things I want to look into in more depth. I store any new ideas that I might read for a future date.
Newsletters are a great way to explore the particular world you have an interest in. If you have an interest in science fiction writing, subscribe to some science fiction ezines or newsletters. Whatever your interest is, do a search to see what you can get your hands on. Even if you don?t read them faithfully, reading just one might send you flying through space.
Web sites for the two newsletters mentioned are listed below:
The Poetry Market
Write Success