It was a pleasure to meet you at the Writers’ Conference in San
Diego. Thank you for your feedback on my query letter and the tip to
pitch my literary novel, A Tangible Moment, to Betsy Amster. I’ve
visited your website, Marketing the Muse, and am dizzy at the
possibilities. Thank you for blazing the way.

Warm Regards,

Melissa Fischer

Date/Time: February 28, 2010 11:56 am
Coming from (referer): http://marketingthemuse.com/contact-marla/

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I’m in my post-Women Who Write phase; the rapture part that follows so much satisfaction from spending another afternoon with Ms. Vicki and the girls, (mostly).

Vicki Abelson’s Women Who Write meets monthly. Sometimes held in NYC but mostly Vicki hosts WWW in her LA home, 4 freeway exchanges away from mine though I don’t even think about the drive.  My monthly at Vicki’s is so worth it.

 Women Who Write was born from passion that seeps through Vicki Abelson’s every pore; passion for family, friends and creative expression all blend into one powerhouse of a woman. Each month, we gather to hear women share their art. Almost always, Vicki’s guest speakers include at least ‘one name to drop.’  Last month, SNL founding cast member,  Laraine Newman read from her work in-progress: thoughtful prose mixed with so much funny and signature Laraine Newman. This month, her song writer sister Tracy Newman sang a love song  about her baby sister titled ‘Laraine’ that made me  mist up. 

Jackie Collins joined us this month and though the woman who has sold over 400 million books – by right - took top billing, everyone on Vicki’ Abelson’s family room center stage shines. Kelly Carlin read from Dirty Laundry.  a collection of essays written by writers connected to famous people.  George Carlin was her dad. She  first realized he was famous when she was 9 years old which she writes about in her contribution. Candy Somoza read from Olivia Slept; more misting in the room. Vicki read chapter 16  from her novel, Don’t Jump, which is getting some attention. Not surprising; her protagonist’s voice demands attention–funny, hip, smart and riddled with self doubt. Jackie Collins read from her latest, Poor Little Bitch Girl,  by introducing the  four characters telling this  naughty vs. nice tale that’s vintage Jackie Collins.  Afterwards, she stood in Vicki’s kitchen signing lots of books and hanging out; one of the girls for the afternoon. 

Vicki wrapped up this month’s  Women Who Write by announcing that Jackie Collins volunteered to write a blurb for Don’t Jump. Won’t Ms. Vicki’s publisher be pleased?

In my earlier post,   The Future Is Here, I shared  highlights of David Mathison’s keynote address at SCWC, www.writersconference.com .  The author of bestselling BE THE MEDIA – launched by TWITTER connections – advised authors on the road to ”Do something remarkable.”

Vicki Abelson,  founder of WOMEN WHO WRITE and author of Don’t Jump  is doing just that. 

Kelly Carlin, Vicki Abelson, Jackie Collins

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This Show & Tell is a favorite among writers because they leave with concrete examples of query letters that HOOK and query letters that don’t.

It’s time to take this workshop into cyberspace. Please help me out by sending query letters you’d like critiqued. I can’t promise to critique all but all will benefit from the query letters critiqued here at Marketing the Muse so please send your query letters and stay tuned. I’ll let you know when my quickie query critique workshop is ready for viewing.

Writers, for an on-the-spot critique of your query letter, cut/paste it into the body of your email and send to marketingthemuse@gmail.com

A complimentary critique the prize if yours is chosen.

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Evidently, multi published author Pamela Redmond Satran needed no convincing that the future in publishing is right here on the internet. Check out her latest novel, Ho Springs a serialized novel and multi-media event set in a fictionalized version of Hot Springs, Arkansas..  This is the FIRST online/interactive novel to HOOK me—totally.  If I were a betting writer, I’d bet this award-winning author/writer has offered us the template for writing fiction in the not so distant future. Study this one and learn a lot. http://creating.hosprings.com/2010/02/20/hello-world/

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Mention Marketing the Muse for $50.00 conference discount. I love this conference–it’s run EXTREMELY well and offers   a LONG list of published authors who credit SCWC for making it happen –mega NYT bestselling author of Wesley the Owl is just one of many.

See you there!!!

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Go read the rest of my latest MORE.com column—once again, autobiographically inspired…

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Writers often confuse memoir writing with other narrative non fiction which includes autobiographical writing.

So what is a memoir?

Think of it as a turning point—that time in life when crisis catapulted you in some significant way. Read good memoirs. Favorites of mine include Drinking: A Love Story and Eat, Pray Love. Commonalities to both: pivotal moments that anchor the telling of these tales. For Caroline Knapp, it was the day she almost killed her friend’s daughter during a drunken spree. For Elizabeth Gilbert, the night she ended up in the fetal position on her bathroom floor sobbing; a wretch of a woman she’d become in order to stay in her marriage. That night on her bathroon floor became her turning point.

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Bookstores struggle. A little optimism for struggling writers.

NY literary agent Jason Ashlock ignores Recession and opens literary shop.

While Borders & Barnes & Noble continue to struggle, Amazon Has Big Year-Publishers Weekly

In a recent Publishers Weekly article, BookExpo Canada’s (BEC) representative said the show will go on.

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A recent business experience led me on a search for stories about fighting the good fight against those who know most writers have little recourse except to take what they dish out.

If you have a story to tell, or know a writer who does, tell us about it in the comments. Or if you’d like to remain anonymous, please get in touch. We may be able to use your story in an upcoming muse-letter.

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At the 2008 Santa Barbara Writers Workshop, a writer asked about platform building and branding. Here’s a good example of both. This publish-on-demand author found her market and built her platform squarely on it. Study her website for clues.

Lois Stern is a publish-on-demand author who branded herself as a lay person expert on plastic surgery. One of her speaking engagements resulted in an interview that was included in a NYT story. Hard work over time is what it takes. A good book doesn’t hurt either though plenty bad ones have sold millions as we all know. With the plastic surgery market growing as we grow older, Stern’s timing is spot on.

Lois W. Stern, Author of SEX, LIES AND COSMETIC SURGERY

http://www.sexliesandcosmeticsurgery.com

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