Bayou Serenade

by Kittie Howard

If you’re like me, there are times when life’s challenges need a time out. My crash and burn site is a comfy sofa an interior designer would laugh at. Never mind. I shutter my eyelids and exhale into a silence that soothes. If only for a few minutes, my grandmother’s swing creaks into an August evening on the family farm in South Louisiana. Cicadas sing for a mate in a shadowed bayou. As dusk deepens, my legs stretch on the wooden steps.

My grandfather’s light cough signals a story is coming. Like my siblings gathered around, I don’t know which story in a family that first came to Louisiana in 1679, I just know one of my ancestors will draw us into the familial whole and am comforted by the linkage.

Much of the person I am today evolved from evenings spent sitting on the stoop and listening to stories. Long before Kenny Rogers sang “you gotta know when to fold ‘em,” I learned my grandfather’s father, Tilly, a professional gambler, rode on horseback into the marshes and won most of Louisiana’s oil-rich southern parishes the first night of a three-day poker tournament. Tilly never made the second round. A competitor shot him dead while he slept. Even though I never bothered with poker, Tilly’s lone-rider persona influences my stronger characters.

My great-grandmother kept a pitcher of lemonade in her ice box. Yes, ice box is the correct term. She refused to get one of those “electric boxes,” continued to wear a prairie bonnet and long skirts despite changed fashions, and baked meringue pies in a wooden stove’s oven. I thought she was stern and kept my distance, until my parents decided I’d spend a weekend at her house. My great-grandfather, a man of few words, terrified me.

After a glass of lemonade on the porch, swings and chairs turned into the stoop. Though neither of my great-grandparents spoke fluent English – both spoke French in the home – the barriers of language and fear faded into an evening of adventure-filled stories. Great-grandfather had traveled the world as a merchant seaman. When I need a character with a façade that belies the spirit beneath a perceived sternness, my great-grandparents whisper in my ear.

Last year, when I wrote “Remy Broussard’s Christmas,” I knew Remy would sit where I had sat in a rural classroom with two grades to a room. When Remy looked out the window, he saw the pasture I saw. Even though Remy and his classmates were fictitious, I drew from the times. In 1952, rural kids lived in a world where dreams, laughter, and closely-knit families softened much beyond subsistence living many endured. I remember classmates, sharecropper kids, who wore their parents’ tattered clothing to school and ate lard sandwiches for lunch.

On my journey as an author, memories influence everything from setting to theme. How about you? Do you pack your memories in a suitcase to help you on your journey as an author?

_______________________________

Kittie moved 19 times in 30 years with her Marine Corp husband but her heart has always longed for home and she plans to soon return to her Louisiana roots that go back as far as 1679, when her family first arrived there.

On her blog Kittie's Stories, she shares a slice of her life. Kittie will also be releasing Jacob's Birthday Party, a 1950s story of Louisiana during the tumultuous KKK years. She plans to self-publish this work in September. 

Besides writing, Kittie is also passionate about traveling, languages, and comparative religion studies.  To get the dust bunnies out of her head, she fast-walks and gardens.

A Rejection Can be Better Than Acceptance

by Sherry Perkins

Have you ever entered a writing contest only to never hear from them again? Most of the time, well all of the time, I keep my eyes open trying to pick out the frauds. Perhaps I think too big in this regard, because I feel like I have stumbled head first into the “sucker” abyss with my eyes wide open all the way to the bottom.

In the summer of 2010 I submitted a piece to what I thought was a reputable competition; it was for an anthology. The sponsor had a website, a blog, an award-winning book, and taught at a university. She had even published other anthologies. I felt good about submitting for free and I had heard about the opportunity at my writers’ group. Plus, I had never had a bad experience, except for the rejection letters we all get. Those are good experiences if you think about it.

I came up with a submission, worked on it, edited it, made sure it was within the word count, and sent it by the deadline. Then, I received an acceptance letter. Yes, my piece was accepted for inclusion! The prize for acceptance was copies of the anthology.  A follow-up email to me said something like, “...looking forward to working with you in the editing process.” I was on Cloud 9 for days, weeks. Sadly, this is where the story ends.

What was to be published by Christmas 2010 is still not published. I’ve send emails and posted on her Facebook page all with no response. Stupidly, I never got a contact number. At first, after a few months of no replies, all I wanted to know was the status of the publication. Now, I want to withdraw my piece so it can find a home elsewhere. I am beyond disappointed and passed being mad a long time ago, but what am I to do? Is there a statute of limitations on what someone promises versus what they deliver? I don’t know. I’m no literary attorney. Are any of you by chance?

The point is although we are careful where we submit, these situations are bound to happen. Do I feel cheated? Yes. Do I feel like I’ve wasted a year and a half waiting patiently on a piece to get published, only to realize I’ve been duped? Yes. Has this ever happened to me? No! Although I don’t have children, this experience makes me feel like one of my fictional kids has disappeared and I don’t know where he is. So, please be cautious of your submissions.

We writers work hard on every word. We constantly edit. We’re open for suggestions to make ourselves better writers. And when we do submit, no one should ever just leave us hanging. At least have the courtesy to say, “No thanks.” For the first time, I would’ve been happier with a rejection letter.

P.S. Here’s a follow up:

Just a few weeks ago I finally heard from the sponsor. Was this coincidence since I was preparing this piece for the Suite T blog? You got me. Naturally, she apologized for not getting back to me and agreed I should submit my story elsewhere. She said she did not receive enough good submissions for the anthology and got busy with other things. However, mine stood out and was well written. (At least that’s what she said.) I accepted her explanation and chalked it up to experience. We ended the back and forth emails on good terms.

_____________________________________

Sherry Perkins is president of Bayou Writers’ Group of Lake Charles, Louisiana,  and has had several articles and photographs published. She resides in DeRidder, Louisiana, with her husband, stepdaughter, two cats, a fish, and a ball python named Richard Pryor.  Visit Sherry at www.sherryperkins.blogspot.com







Have you gotten your free online copy of Southern Writers' anniversary issue yet? Get it now! http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html  

Putting on a Happy Face

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

Car insurance is no laughing matter.  But watching today's TV commercials, one might think so.

There once was a time when insurance ads took their mission seriously.  However, in recent years, cavemen, gekkos, and perky girls in white uniforms have populated the advertising landscape.  Some are even accompanied by jingles as silly as Yahoo's. 

The few remaining insurance companies who hung onto a shred of dignity have begun dabbling in humor as well, e.g. the "I am Mayhem" guy, or car owners suddenly speaking in the voice of the company spokesman.

The reason, of course, is because nobody really wants to buy car insurance.  So rather than approach reluctant customers with a stuffy message about premiums or a re-enactment of their next accident, why not make buying from them look like fun?  It's a brilliant tactic, really.

I should point out that the cavemen, while becoming famous enough to earn their own (failed) TV series, didn't sell a lot of insurance once they were overexposed and simply got on people's nerves.  The gekko is approaching that status currently, and if he doesn't crawl back under a rock soon, I predict a rival insurance company will do an ad in which a snake swallows a lizard whole.

That said, this same company wisely elects to diversify, with simultaneous campaigns involving rhetorical questions that end with Charlie Daniels playing a mean fiddle, or my favorite, "so-and-so is a real customer, not an actor. So we hired (celebrity)," who proceeds to interpret their testimonial in their own outrageous style.

It isn't just insurance companies whose ads have gone from blah to better.  Want to know your credit score?  Me neither.  But an amiable young songster wearing a pirate hat might lure you in with his catchy ditty.

Doing an online search for the best deal on a Mexican cruise may not be our idea of a fiesta, but if Captain Kirk chooses to boldly go south of the border to entertain us, all I can say is, “¡Ay, caramba!”

Hopefully the books we write aren't such a drudge that it takes an over-the-top pitchperson to peddle them.  But in advertising, comedy is the new tragedy, so if you've written something along the order of The Complete Guide to Nursing Homes in the Northern Hemisphere, Betty White could be just the ticket.
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Have you gotten your free online copy of Southern Writers' anniversary issue yet? Get it now! http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html

Authors Helping Authors: Sell Books for Steve Day

by Jeffrey "Hammerhead" Philips 

(For the last couple of weeks, Suite T has been sharing different ways in which Southern Writers Magazine is dedicated to helping authors. Today we're proud to spotlight a special group of authors who also believe in supporting a very good cause. Here's guest blogger Jeffrey "Hammerhead" Philips:

It started with a simple request.

Non-fiction author Steven Kerry Brown, my friend and fellow blogger at www.handcuffedtotheocean.com, has been fighting Leukemia for two years. A few weeks ago, he asked if I would send an e-mail out to the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Florida chapter. He wanted to notify his fellow members that his chemo was no longer effective, and that he had decided to enter Shands Cancer Hospital for a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT).  

That was the bad news. Almost as discouraging, however, was the fact that the cost of the program would exceed $500,000.00, all of which would be coming out of Steve’s own pocket, as he no longer had health insurance. And so, reluctantly, Steve decided he needed to ask for help. He set up an online fund seeking donations to help offset some of that treatment cost and asked me to spread the word in hopes that some of his fellow writers might be able to spare a few dollars.

The e-mail was sent. The next Saturday was the monthly MWA meeting, and our chapter president, Neil Plakcy, asked if I would say a few words about Steve’s condition. I was grateful for the opportunity. After my announcement, many members stood and said how helpful they found Steve’s book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating”, and how Steve (himself a well-known private investigator) had helped them with P.I. characters in their books. Many members were glad to donate to his fund, and several wanted to do even more. This is one fantastic group of people.

The next week I received e-mails from fellow writers asking the same question: how else can we help Steve? With the assistance of Neil and another MWA Florida board member, Diane Stuckart, an idea formed. What do authors like to do the most? Sell their books. And so we decided upon a one-day event where participating authors agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds of their sales of a particular title to Steve’s fund. It would be called “Sell Books for Steve Day”. But, who would spearhead this endeavor? Of course, I said I would.

Step one was to find authors willing to take part and give up their hard-won royalties for the cause. A request was sent to our MWA chapter’s authors. Many of whom, in turn, sent word about the event to other organizations.

In the next few days, fifteen generous authors from the MWA and Romance Writers of America volunteered for the event scheduled for Monday, July 16^th. WOW, I love these people.

The next steps quickly fell into place. Book covers and story blurbs were collected, links to Amazon were created. The blog “Handcuffed” was updated with information about the event. Everyone announced the event on the social media networks and Tweets were sent. The love was felt. Steve is at a loss of words for his gratitude. And now, we’re waiting to see just how successful our efforts will prove to be.

Yes, sometimes a simple request grows into something more profound. Steve’s appeal sent me down a road where I found any number of people willing to help, wanting to do more. It does my heart good knowing so many are helping.

I want to thank Southern Writers Magazine for space and willingness to help this cause. I’m asking its readers to go to www.handcuffedtotheocean.com today, July 16^th and review all the fine books (and in my opinion, the best authors in the world) being offered to raise money for Steve. Buy one, or two, or all fifteen knowing that a portion of your purchase (in some cases, up to 100%!) will go directly to Steve’s fund.

But remember, to count for this event, your purchase must be made today, July16. You also can donate directly to the BMT transplant fund any time you like at www.handcuffedtotheocean.com, where Steve is blogging about his treatment and progress. And even if you can’t buy a book or make a donation, spreading the word about this event will help Steve out as well.

_______________________________________

 

Jeffrey “Hammerhead” Philips strapped on a scuba cylinder (when Clorox bottles were BCD’s) for the first time in 1967. He dove for two years, decided he liked the water and obtained his scuba certification from NASDS, then became a PADI instructor. He hasn’t stopped diving since. In 1980 he married the prettiest mermaid in the ocean, Kitty. Today, he lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, writing fictionalized events of his travels.

   

Bless Bernie's Heart

by Annette Cole Mastron

If you like to analyze creative storytelling, and are a fan of Southern satirical comedy that is regrettably and tragically true, run to your local theatre before the movie Bernie has come and gone. Bless his little heart. 

During the opening scene, Jack Black plays beloved Bernie and is seen driving through town waving and greeting everyone, while singing a gospel hymn at the top of his lungs. Shirley MacLaine plays the meanest woman in town (think Old Man Potter in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life). This story has it all: a rural, dying, once oil boom town of Carthage, TX, a horrendous crime, family and friend greed, and courtroom scenes with the tension of a verdict. 

There is also a would-be hero, a district attorney played by cutie Matthew McConaughey.  His character through the townspeople’s perceptions and feelings is portrayed almost villain-like, even though he is the seeker of justice for the victim. Poor old Matthew’s character, Danny Buck Davidson, never called “Danny” or “Buck” but always “Danny Buck”, has an obvious streak of dramatics fueled by political ambitions.

Matthew McConaughey's real life mom, K-Mac, is Tassie, one of the quirky townsfolk. The laugh out loud moments come while the locals tell their views on events as the story unfolds, with unspoken questions answered by their flavorful and candid responses, witticisms voiced as only true Southerners speak. Some memorable movie quotes are as follows: "I'm not fond of cremations, I just don't like the idea of someone spending eternity in something the size of a motel ice bucket;" "it's like he cast a spell over the entire area;" "she used to tear up my toys, she'd pull the heads off my dolls” and Bernie responds, “well there's some goodness in there, too;" "there are people in town that would have shot her for five dollars;" "frozen like a popsicle;" "counting-cousin rednecks with more tattoos than teeth;" and the revered Southern phrase "that dog don't hunt".   

This kaleidoscope of a movie has something for everyone and started out simply as an article for Texas Monthly entitled “Midnight in the Garden of East Texas” written by co-screenwriter Skip Hollandsworth. Are you paying attention, writers? A mere article in a state publication based on a true crime with real people became a bona fide movie starring award-winning actors and actresses. The writer of the article had his writing career change from article writer to co-screenwriter. 

Never say, “I have no story ideas.” We are surrounded by stories. Unfortunately, in our society, true crime events occur everyday. Find one that interests you and write about it. Who knows, the movie makers could knock on your door one day; but you have to write the article or they for sure won't come. Pick up that pen, put pen to paper and "bless your little heart," start that article.

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Have you gotten your free online copy of Southern Writers' anniversary issue yet? Get it now! http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html

Getting the Word Out

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

I hope you are celebrating our anniversary with us this month. It is so exciting to see the manifestation of something you create. I know you experience the same feeling every time you have a new book published and hold it in your hands for the first time.

Southern Writers has had the privilege to meet wonderful authors and be part of their excitement when their books are published and awards received. It has been our pleasure to promote 178 authors our first year.

We have created many venues for authors to promote their books, such as Suite T, the author’s blog. Here we come and blog about writing and all the facets connected to it. This gives authors another place to interact with each other and to help each other. 

Becoming a member of Southern Writers family, you will find people who work to promote your books and promote you as authors. The author’s stage, Open Mic Nite, is such a great place to promote that new award received; the book signing event; announcing the debut date of your new book along with the cover. Introduce yourself here using your bio.  There are many things you can put here about you and your books. We even included audio for you to use to enhance the promotion of that book.  You can then take that link and post it on your social media, blog and or website. This gives your fans, followers, editors, agents and publishers another venue for you.

The same is true of our newest promotional tools Take Five and Must Read TV. These venues are fantastic to use to give your followers more information about you and your books. Reading from a chapter in your book is perfect to entice people to want to buy your book. They get to hear your voice style and from that five minute teaser they want to buy that book to learn what happens. Take Five is a great way to give people a treat. It’s a great way to sell a book.

And you want won’t to miss putting your book trailer on Must Read TV or how about a TV interview you've done? Readers love to see videos. People are visual; we want to see what we are buying. 

Take the links to these appearances and use them on your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Authors know the more places they have their name and their book’s name appear, the higher their internet ratings go and the more prominent they'll be in search engines. 

  

Let us help promote you and your book.  Become a member of the Southern Writers family and take advantage of all the promotional tools we've created to help you promote your writing and sell more books.

To get started, here is your link to our free online anniversary issue: 

http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html 

We hope you enjoy this gift. And we hope to see you in Southern Writers soon!

Space Invaders

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

Comedian, producer and author Jerry Seinfeld knows a few things about communication, and he's shared some interesting insights over the years. One of his more thought-provoking quotes once appeared in a Parade interview:

"You have to invade the space of the audience a little bit. I learned that early on. It was a very helpful thing to learn. You have to invade them just a little bit. Not too much, because then it’s obnoxious. But you can’t be short of them either, or you won’t control them."

Invading their space. What does that mean? To a standup comedian it can mean the difference between a standing ovation and getting heckled off the stage. A master performer knows one has to be bigger than life to take ownership of the room and keep all eyes on them. Singers and musicians are especially known for exaggeration and a flashy presence.

But when it's just you standing there talking to an audience—as in public speaking—mastery of volume is one critical skill to develop, as Jerry explains:

"The volume at which I’m speaking now is the right volume for where you’re sitting. I’m almost performing, in a way. There’s this kind of voice, and then there’s this kind of voice, and then there’s this kind of voice. I wasn’t a natural performer at all, so I learned. I was always a pretty good writer in the beginning, but I really had to learn how to perform."

Communicating through writing is a lot like doing standup. It's just you, the lone voice, trying to reach a vast audience whose faces you can't even see in the dark. You can only rely on their feedback to tell you if you've hit the mark. Jerry's voice of experience provides us with some food for thought:

•  Invade their space — Go beyond your comfort zone and into theirs, with ideas that challenge them and can't be ignored.
• "There's this kind of voice" — Determine the most effective "voice" to reach your audience. Not too soft and mushy, not too loud and preachy, but just a bit above the communication level they're used to.
• Listen for their feedback — Social media is today's equivalent of the old audience applause meter, which determined the winner on game shows. Blogging and other online promotion is how savvy authors build an interactive, loyal following.

They say standup comedy is one of the hardest professions in entertainment. I say writers are no slouch either. That's why Southern Writers is so intent on encouraging authors and helping them promote themselves, through our magazine, through this blog, and through the many online venues available to subscribers, like our new Must Read TV and Take Five.

Over the last year we've featured 178 exceptional wordsmiths in Southern Writers Magazine. In the coming year that will grow to over 300, and I hope you'll be one of them.

Begin by getting your free online copy of our July anniversary issue, and then become a member of the Southern Writers family. There's a standing ovation with your name on it!

Do You Need Help Promoting Your Book?

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

Wouldn’t it be great to hear what other authors have done to promote their books? Just to hear from someone who has “done it” is always a great benefit. To hear what has worked for them can give you an idea of a direction, or even a new direction to go in. Well you can, in each and every issue of Southern Writers Magazine.

In our current anniversary issue stop in at Magnolia Corner and sit with us on the front porch. We have eight Southern Writers joining us to share their favorite way to promote their books. Talia Carner, author of Jerusalem Maiden, likes to speak directly to her audience. Christy Barritt, author of Death of a Couch Potato’s Wife, responds to readers person to person and lets them know how much she appreciates them. Shelia Lipsey, author of My Sister, My Momma, My Wife, promotes by word of mouth. Marybeth Whalen, author of The Guest Book, promotes through the connections she makes online. Jennifer Hartz, author of Conception, does it through bloggers who review her books. For B. J. Robinson, author of Whispering Cypress, networking on Facebook is the answer. Kimberly Lang, author of Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet, puts out excerpts and invites readers to sample her book. Karen White, author of Sea Change, uses her website and Facebook fan page. Each author has a different approach, which you can read about in more detail in this issue.

Each of these authors is promoted by Southern Writers Magazine. They know our mission is to help authors promote themselves with articles, guest blogs on Suite T, our Bookstore, Open Mic Nite, Must Read TV, Take Five and social media support. Our 178 authors have recognized the value of these formats. We increase our services and the number of authors we help with each issue. The way you can get started is to take a look at our free anniversary issue http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html and then join our family of authors.

In this issue we celebrate those 178 exceptional writers we have promoted and feature them on a three page photo spread. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SOUTHERN WRITERS MAGAZINE!  We know you will enjoy our ANNIVERSARY GIFT!  

"F" Words

by Annette Cole Mastron

Fourth of July week often finds us appreciating the joys of summer. As your holiday develops, grab a notebook or your camera phone and record events of the day. 

Try to remember the funny hat and feed sack dress Aunt Susie had on at the family and friend finger lickin’ good picnic.  You'll have a picture and can write a whole paragraph about her. The placing of your family's flag on your front porch celebrates our freedoms as Americans. If your family cleans off the graves of fallen patriots and Cousin Josie gets chased by a cow while the whole family watches bent over belly laughing, a picture can help you build a chapter highlighting the event. As kids raid the freezer for Fudgesicles and the frosty frozen fudge goodness drips down their now chocolate faces; describe it in a scene for your next story. 

Does your neighborhood have a parade complete with fire trucks, floats where minor celebrities hang on for dear life? Children ride in a convoy on red, white and blue-decorated bikes with streamers fluttering on the handlebars and cards clothes pinned to the tire spokes? File in your mind, parents following to get candid photographs of the decorated bike winners. Savor the experience so you can write about it. Parades are almost passé, so it's worth writing into your stories.  

Is the Fourth a scorching fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk kind of day with fluffy fleecy clouds? Or will you escape the heat by retreating to catch the latest blockbuster film in the comfort of a freezing theatre? Do you celebrate by floating around at the closest swimming hole or pool? After the celebration of the day, when everyone kicks back talking in quiet circles, observe the peace and harmony of the day. Try to capture the day's activities by jotting some notes that you can later use in your writing. 

As suppertime approaches, food is reorganized, kids and grands awake from naps while the setup process begins for the evening fireworks. At dusk a firefly lands on your father's finger, he carefully finagles his catch in a Mason jar, complete with a holes-punched lid. Children pass the prized jar, laughing each time the glowing light appears and grows brighter as the evening falls. 

Scenarios abound for your writing. The trick is to remember so a few pictures or scribbled words in your notebook will help when all alone sitting at your computer with the blinking cursor. When fireworks begin, if you have a sound app you could record the boom a firework makes just before they light up the sky. Could someone time a murder and the sound of a shot to be completely covered by the firework boom? How will you the writer know if you don't record the sounds? Remember the Brian De Palma written and directed film Blowout with a young John Travolta ? About a "B movie" sound recordist in the right place at the wrong time, who records the sound evidence that proves a fatal car accident was actually murder, and is thrown into danger. Hey, writers, does this give you any ideas?

Holiday-only moments come about 10 times a year. I count Halloween and my birthday. Holidays are the perfect opportunity for a writer to develop an unlimited personal resource library of ideas and events that can be developed, enriching their work. So for me this holiday is all about the "F" words; Fourth of July, flag, freedom, funny, feed-sack, family, friends, finger-lickin’-good-food , fallen patriots, fire trucks, floats, fluttering, file, following, frosty frozen fudge-sickles, faces, fry, fluffy, fleecy, film, freezing, floating, father's finger, finagles, fireflies, falls, and fireworks. To name a few.

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This month Southern Writers is also celebrating our anniversary, and we want you to enjoy every page of our latest issue, for free!  You can access the online edition immediately at: http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html

A Futuristic View of Books

by Scott Anderson

What is the future of books? That’s a good question.  Right up there with: What is the future of art? Or, what is the future of music? The answer to all of them is, I don’t have any idea, but I’m not afraid to make some guesses.

To draw reasonable conclusions of what the immediate future holds for books we need to look backward at the history of commerce. Mankind throughout time has placed value on things based on the perceived rarity of the object under consideration. Gold, diamonds, oil, even Van Gogh oil paintings are all valued based on this same yardstick. Virtually any commodity or service derives its value through the public’s perception of its availability or exclusivity.

Is a digital print as valuable as the original canvas painted by Van Gogh? Of course not. Anyone can have a digital print of Starry Night. The same isn’t true for the painting.

The devaluation of music and the shift from recorded music to live performances as the dominant source of musical artist’s income today is based on an unmitigated flood of digital musical output into the marketplace for little or no cost. There were gems in the flood somewhere, but pirated, copied, and downloaded versions being offered for virtually nothing rendered the legitimate versions almost worthless to the merchants offering them. The outcome was the demise of the local record shop most of us grew up with.

Self-publishing, e publishing, mass-market hardbacks and paperbacks, all of these things are a part of the flood of supply that is pushing the publishing industry, and bookstores in particular, to the brink. Gutenberg didn’t start off selling 80,000 copies a month of his bible, but he revolutionized the printed word and started us down the path that led to digital downloads and the creation of electronic media. With each step on that pathway the unit price of “the book” has diminished. That’s good; a lot of us have learned to read because of it. But it didn’t help Guttenberg who underestimated the effect of competition and as a result ended up penniless.

Books, as we know them, will survive for the foreseeable future. They may become rarer as many readers flee to the simplicity of the digital download, but that very rareness will, in the end, enhance their value. Perhaps at some point almost no one will start off being published as we currently perceive it and only those that have demonstrated value in the electronic sphere will ever be considered for paper publication. Who knows?

Hardback volumes will fare better than paperbacks, cheap and disposable paper loses to digital in a heartbeat. Textbooks and reference books are more difficult to predict. I still have my old copy of the first edition of Johns and Cunningham, a physics textbook covered with underlining and notes made in my own hand and decades out of print. But modern students will have different values I suspect.

I am an author with a book out in e-format right now. I run IsoLibris Publishing, we started with e-books only and have only just started to venture out into the world of POD.  A friend of mine, a book collector, asked, “What are you going to do, sign my Kindle?” I understand his concern because I collect signed first editions, too. I love books. They have value to me and I am willing to pay to own them. I think some people always will. 
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Russell Scott Anderson M.D. is a Radiation Oncologist who serves as the Medical Director of Anderson Cancer Center in Meridian, Mississippi. He is a former Navy diver who worked in operations in the Middle East, Central America, and in support of the Navy’s EOD community, SEALS, the US Army’s Green Berets, the Secret Service, and the New York Police Department at various times during his time in the service.

He has written the family oriented literary columns Una Voce and The Uncommon Thread in the JOURNAL of the Mississippi State Medical Association as Scott Anderson M.D. for the past five years. He has also written as screenwriter R. S. Anderson on several feature films and written novels as Russell Scott. Time Donors Wanted was his first novel and his second, The Hard Times, is due out in the Spring of 2012.

Connect with the good doctor online at Facebook, Twitter, his blog or his website. 

Copyright and Wrong

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

I heard on the radio last week that the song "Happy Birthday" was celebrating its own birthday.  You've probably heard the story of how it was written by a school teacher and her sister, only to be copyrighted 40 years later by a publishing company which had nothing to do with the composition. One of the sisters, Patti Smith Hill, lived to see that day, and I always wondered if she felt cheated, being the rightful owner but having never earned a penny herself from that unforgettable tune.

Anyway, moments later on the radio, I heard a commercial for a mattress store using the Beatles song "Help!" as their jingle. John Lennon must be rolling over in his grave, for I doubt that Yoko needed the money so badly that she would let her husband's classic be used to hawk Posturepedics. That sort of thing should be reserved for novelty songs, like the clever use of "Takin' Care of Business" for an office supply chain a while back. 

Artfully and respectfully handled, a well-known melody like Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" makes a perfectly good, evocative airline commercial. But in most cases, one can argue that using a famous composition for commercial purposes diminishes its reputation and future sales potential, especially if—as in the case of  Lennon/McCartney hits—it still has a shelf life.

This past week Kim Kardashian was said to be suing Old Navy because a girl in their commercial looks like her.  Not long ago, J.K. Rowling filed a suit (and won) against an author publishing a Harry Potter encyclopedia.  The author turned the idea into a website, which now has Rowling's endorsement.

There are often fine and fuzzy lines surrounding the copyright subjects of intellectual property, infringement, fair use, improper use, name and likeness, etc. But it makes for some pretty interesting conversation between writers, musicians and attorneys.  I only wish the Hill sisters had gotten some of the $5000 Disney paid to use "Happy Birthday" in one of their theme park attractions.

Mostly I'm hoping we never have to hear "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on a plumbing commercial.

But getting back to happy birthdays, Southern Writers Magazine is celebrating ours, and you get the gift!  During July we want you to enjoy every page of our anniversary issue, on us.  You can access the online edition immediately at: http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html

Just be careful not to sing "Happy Birthday". 

Happy Anniversary Southern Writers Magazine!

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

Southern Writers Magazine, The Author’s Magazine, is celebrating its anniversary with the brand new July issue, and as our anniversary gift to you we would like you to have an online issue. Just go to our website http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html and follow the directions. In this issue we celebrate the 178 exceptional writers we have featured during our first year with their photos on a three-page spread, and introduce you to many new ones.

Southern Writers Magazine’s purpose is to help authors promote themselves with articles and interviews, guest blogs on Suite T, our bookstore, Open Mic Nite, Must Read TV, Take Five and social media support. Our 178 authors have recognized the value of these formats. We continually strive to increase our services and the number of authors we help with each issue.

In our anniversary edition you will find an excellent article by Samantha Ryan Chandler on Going Global: How to Sell Your Book Internationally. In it Samantha writes, “If you are courageous enough to write a book, then you must be unflinching in promoting it.” So many authors are not ready to promote themselves or their book. Their focus has been and continues to be solely on writing. Many are unprepared for the business end of the literary world.

Samantha goes on to say, “I remind myself often, that John Grisham was not the John Grisham when he started.” Southern Writers Magazine wants to help take you, as an author, from (your name goes here) to the (your name goes here). The way to get started is to check out our anniversary issue at http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/july-gift.html, and then join our family of authors.

 
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and we know you will enjoy our ANNIVERSARY GIFT!