Divide the Work; Multiply the Joy!

by Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers

Have you ever thought it might be nice to just write half of a book? Have you ever had occasion to celebrate a writing success and wanted to share the joy?  Collaboration might be for you. As sisters and collaborators we have completed five books together and continue working as a team.

Our first collaboration included our mother and the two of us.  We were used to writing individually and wondered how to make it work.  Our different voices would make a traditional novel disjointed, and a round robin novel seemed problematic. (We each like to have the last word, and it would never end!)  Finally an idea surfaced that was perfect for collaboration, MY DOG, MY HERO.  Each chapter would be told from a different point of view.  This meant our different voices would be an advantage rather than a problem.

           

We worked individually on our chapters and then met together, sitting around Mom’s kitchen table where we wrote the first and last chapters to tie the book together.  This worked well for us and we did three more books the same way. When our mother stopped writing we continued collaborating as sisters and have enjoyed the benefits of sharing the work.

Have you ever been “stuck” with no clue how to proceed with a story? One of the best parts of collaborating is that you have someone else to help work out those gnarly problems. We often say to each other, “Would you work on Chapter Six, I’ve done all I can do for now?” or “Chapter One needs to be stronger, will you take a look?” It is a relief to share the challenges with someone else.

           

Brainstorming with your collaborator is fun.We meet one day a week at a coffee shop in a town halfway between us. There is nothing quite so stimulating as sitting with our coffee and scones talking about stories and possibilities. There is always excitement and laughter.

           

The downside of collaboration comes from unclear expectations and boundaries.This can be avoided by being intentional about defining the relationship. Ask the questions up front. How will royalties be split? Who will correspond with agents and editors? How will we deal with disagreements? In the beginning we both decided we would not proceed on the writing or publishing until both of us were in total agreement. This decision has served us well in the writing and in decisions about submissions.

Collaboration only works when we come to each other with respect and trust. There is no room in the relationship for being territorial, defensive or resistant to change. We both wrote for fifteen years before we ever collaborated and this has helped. We were accustomed to change and revision from having editors and critique groups give input to our work.

The pitfalls of collaboration can be avoided with good planning and open communication. Then the benefits can be realized: sharing the load and experiencing the joy together.

____________________________

Writing Sisters, Laurie Myers and Betsy Duffey, have been writing for children for over twenty years, publishing with Viking, Clarion, Simon & Schuster, Henry Holt and Harper Collins.  They have published over thirty-five chapter books for children and have had books on master lists in over twenty states.  Laurie and Betsy are now focused on writing Bible stories in fresh ways for the chapter book audience.

Visit them on Facebook, Twitter, their website or  their blog. 

Helping Others into 2012

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

 “Happy New Year”.  Fireworks went off all around displaying beautiful colors of red, greens, blues and whites. The sounds were loud. Everyone was in a hurry to push out 2011 and usher in 2012. This must mean we are really expecting a great new year.

Let’s all do our part to make this the best year possible in all of our endeavors; especially helping others achieve their dreams. I’ve heard this expression for half of my life, it goes, “if you help enough people get what they want you will get what you want”.  Well, I don’t know if that is true but I do know I feel better when I am helping others. This year maybe you can find someone who needs help with their writing and help them.

In the meantime, Southern Writers Magazine, staff and I wish you the Happiest of New Years for 2012 and are committed to helping you!

Tuning in to 2012

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

In my early teens, my favorite radio station was the kind you don’t hear anymore. They played pure Top 40, had “boss jocks” with echo on their voices, and, best of all, they had a request line where you could record yourself and dedicate a song to a friend. You’d listen all night to see if they played your request with your intro, and it was 15 seconds of fleeting – but very satisfying – fame when they did.

One night the DJ made a comment that I’ve never forgotten. He said he had a board in front of him full of lights that showed all his listeners, and every time someone tuned in or tuned out, a light reflected that. Even as I heard that, it sounded a bit far-fetched, but I didn’t know for sure until I met a DJ who straightened me out.

Many is the time I’ve wished that had been true, so that somebody somewhere would notice how quickly I change the station anytime “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” comes on.

These days – with the advent of cable TV, where everyone’s interconnected by something more tangible than mere airwaves – it’s a credible possibility that our television viewing habits may be automatically calculated via master control computers. Just in case, I leave Nickelodeon on all day for the dog instead of the Game Show Network, lest Baggage get any points for accidental viewing.

In a short time, modern technology has changed everything we know, and is continuing to. In the year ahead, this is especially good news for writers. While corporate greed (and the ability to air 24-hour national programming on all its stations) has broadcasting chains sending local DJs to the unemployment line, the publishing industry is seeing a huge chunk of its power going to the little guy. Writers are e-publishing their own books, and doing just fine.

In 2011 Amazon reported that its sale of e-books is now slightly surpassing sales of print books. This news has brick and mortar bookstores shivering in their Rockports, but despite the demise of Borders last year, there’s no need for Barnes & Noble to get out the white flag yet. A great number of readers still prefer reading from a printed page rather than peering at pixels on an e-reader.

Which, by the way, is one reason we offer both print and online versions of Southern Writers Magazine. Currently our readership is at exactly the same ratio that Amazon reports, with e-subscriptions hovering just above those receiving the print edition.   

What this all means to us writers is, we have more ways than ever to get our words out to the public. We can still pursue the traditional route of going through agents and submitting to publishers, or we can create an e-book and test the online waters ourselves. In addition, there are corporate blogs which hire writers to create their content, and companies willing to advertise on your own site if your blogposts generate a buzz. None of this was possible even a decade ago.

Isn’t it great to be a writer in 2012? I hope all your writing dreams come true this year, and I only wish there was still a radio request line somewhere so I could dedicate “Paperback Writer” to you and your upcoming e-book.

Happy New Year: Celebrating in 2012

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

I am a fan of college football. I especially like SEC college football. I am fortunate that my wife is also a fan. Her being a fan makes for a peaceful Saturday when we watch three games in a row. I am always amazed at the enthusiasm of the SEC fans. They cheer at each and every progression of their team on the field. They can’t wait until the next great play and celebrate once again. This is an outlet for the fans enthusiasm as well as encouragement for the team.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if fans would wait until their team scored to celebrate? What if they waited until the end of the quarter, the half or the game to cheer their team? It would not be the same. The team needs encouragement each step of the way and I can’t imagine the fans sitting on their hands until the game is over.

Tom Peters said, “Celebrate what you want to see more of.” Like the fans we too need to encourage what we want to see more of. What did you see in 2011 that you want to see more of? What excited you in 2011? Did you celebrate it? Did you share it with others to celebrate it? We too need encouragement each step of the way. At each turn we need to share our progress and celebrate. Believe it or not we all have fans but unlike fans at a game they may not be able to see our last play. Share your progress with them. Share it with us here at Southern Writers Magazine. We are excited about our authors and their careers. Let us be a fan of yours in 2012 and cheer you on each step of the way!  Happy New Year and let’s Celebrate in 2012!

The Gift of FREE Marketing

by Jessica Ferguson

When I think of social media, I hear voices. I hear my mother in law saying that  just because something is packaged in bulk doesn’t mean it’s a bargain. I hear my mother’s voice asking: if Sallie Anne jumped off a cliff, would you?  My twin cousins chant that if God had meant us to fly, He’d have given us wings. I find myself nodding, “And if God had wanted us to tweet . . .”  

Last month a couple of my friends queried editors. One friend was told she had no internet presence and the editor was only interested in writers with some kind of following. The other friend received a request to submit her novel, but was told to develop a website and a blog. Two different responses but the same message: an internet presence is crucial.

But what if we don’t have anything to say? To promote? To sell?  It doesn’t matter. If we intend to write and sell books some day, we still need an online presence. Now.

A few years ago, another friend, D.B. Grady, catapulted into the social media blogosphere and popped up on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. At the time, David had one book published by a small press and an article in Boy’s Life to his credit. Yet, he zipped around (virtually) and had great fun. He met many people and made a lot of friends, including an editor with the well known magazine, The Atlantic. David was offered an opportunity to write for their online issue. Doors opened. He got a top of the line agent, and he and his editor wrote a book together. The Hidden Hands, co-authored with Marc Ambinder and published by John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, will release in 2012.  

D.B. Grady says, "Editors, agents, and other writers are very accessible on social networking sites, and chats can often turn into assignments. Some of the best connections I've made in the industry started on Twitter or LinkedIn. It's important to be professional, of course, and to let your words represent the quality of your longer prose. But it's just as important to be natural and friendly -- think cocktail party rather than job interview."

I’ve mulled over social media marketing--examined blogging, twitter and Facebook from all angles and points of view; and while it looks suspiciously like a cliff to me, and even resembles bulk packaging, I’ve pegged it as not much more than building relationships, encouraging others, and participating in conversations with an audience of our choice. If we think of it as something fun to do, we’ll be creating exactly what editors, agents, and publishers want us to create--an online presence.

No matter how intimidating or maddening social media is, the fact that it’s FREE makes it less painful.  More importantly, it might very well be the gift that keeps on giving.  And with it, we will fly! 

The Gift of a Rich Childhood

by Sarah Loudin Thomas

I had a glorious childhood. Lots of love, lots of security and homemade everything. Oh, there were hard times, but it was mostly good. Mostly wonderful. Mostly the kind of childhood that can crop up in my writing without making anyone wish I hadn't mentioned that.

My rich childhood offers a wealth of material for my writing. As a matter of fact, one of my biggest problems is too much reminiscing—; too much nostalgia. In my first novel, I had to cut out great chunks of charming stories from my past. Charming may make the reader smile for a moment, but it rarely does much to move the story forward.

Here are just a few of the things I have or would like to use in my fiction:

Dusan and Masha – Although I grew up in a very rural part of WV, we had international neighbors. Dusan was from Yugoslavia and Masha from Russia. We would hear them out in the pasture calling their cattle in one of the seven languages they spoke. Childless, they showered my brothers and me with affection and introduced us to imported chocolate. Every time I saw Dusan he open his arms wide and say in his wonderful accent, “You are even more beautiful than the last time I saw you!” And somewhere in my overwrought teenage heart, a little piece of me believed him.

Laurel Fork United Methodist Church – We attended a church our family had been going to since it was built. We were related to most everyone who came —and on a good Sunday there were maybe twenty of us. There were no children's programs, no nursery. It was just family coming together to praise God. We held Christmas programs blessed with homespun music and Decoration Sundays with field plucked daisies, roses and ferns arranged on the graves of our ancestors. We argued about whether planting by the signs was a sin and drank homemade grape juice at communion. That church wrapped my brothers and me snug in holy love.

Farming – Growing up on a farm was hard work . . . and I sometimes miss it. We weren't overscheduled with lessons and clubs. We didn't text or play video games or watch cable TV. We picked up rocks when dad plowed the garden. We slopped the hogs and gathered eggs. We put up hay every summer. We helped process our food from green beans to ground venison. We went barefoot, caught lightning bugs, swam in Laurel Fork and built hay forts. How could I not want to write about all that?

Of course, not everyone had an idyllic childhood spent on an Appalachian farm. Some had painful, difficult childhoods. No one told them they were beautiful. No one told them Bible stories or gathered flowers with them. They didn’'t grow their own food—; sometimes they didn'’t even know if there would be food.

But the beauty of the writing life is that those of us with idyllic childhoods, those of us who survived nightmares and those of us who fall somewhere in between all have fodder for our stories. Because everything can be turned to good use. No matter what you have experienced, someone else has, too. And I think the core of writing is sharing stories in ways that makes readers say, “Yes. I know about that. And it’'s good that I'’m not the only one.”

_____________________________________

Sarah Loudin Thomas is an aspiring novelist who blogs at www.sarahanneloudinthomas.wordpress.com. A native of West Virginia, she continues to make her home in the Appalachian Mountains, though a bit further south in North Carolina. Her poetry and freelance work has been published in several magazines including Appalachian Heritage and Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine.

The Gift of a New Year: Have You Prepared for New Year's Eve?

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

I don’t know about you but it is time for me to prepare for New Year’s Eve.  It’s a night of mixed emotions. 

One part of me is wondering if I finished everything that I planned for 2011 and if not, to make mental notes to carry over to the New Year. I think about how fortunate I am to have such great friends.

I am anticipating with much excitement the new year and the roads waiting to be mapped out.

With time and age comes the realization that I want to spend my time productive not only in my career but also and most importantly with my family and friends and give back to my community and help others.

New Year’s Eve is also special because that is my ‘Wedding Anniversary’; this night I will wink at my sweetie and toast with champagne grateful for a blessed 2011 and lift again wishing for 2012 to be a special New Year for all of us.

I thank all of you for being part of Southern Writers' family this year and look forward to our new year together.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU FROM ALL OF US!

The Gift of Goals

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director



Whether we’re out with friends ringing in 2012 this Saturday night, or staying home hoping Dick Clark doesn’t catch a cold, when the ball drops at midnight we’ll be treated once again to that moment of encouragement when we know we have a fresh start. New Year’s Eve is the most universally shared demarcation point between what was and what can be.

If we even remember what our resolutions were at the beginning of 2011, there’s a pretty good chance they’re the same ones we have for the coming year. We start with the best intentions and 365-day commitments, which often manage to fizzle out long before January is through. We might even hesitate to set goals for the new year because of past experience with them. But we can change that with a little know-how.

Many of our resolutions tend to involve breaking a bad habit, which is why they are so prone to failure. Being creatures of habit, we’ve already taught ourselves to do things the opposite way. Like Pavlov’s dog, we salivate whenever we hear our bell. Suddenly requiring a new pattern of ourselves is highly irregular and something our entire being resists. 

Experts tell us that the key to success is “really wanting” to change. Of course, we do “really want” to lose those pounds, or get up early to write five pages a day. The problem is, we also “really want” that piece of Chocolate Sin Cake, or that extra sleep; sometimes even more.  How do we make our chosen want win the battle over our habitual want?

• Reward yourself for the little victories – Each time you resist temptation or accomplish part of your big goal, celebrate! What little treat for yourself will retrain you to keep up the good work?
• Be specific – Set goals that allow you to measure your progress. “Write a screenplay in 2012” is vague. “Write three scenes every day” is easy to track.
• Set achievable goals – You can’t write a novel in one weekend, though you can sure do it in 52 weekends. Shoot for the moon, but remember that it takes a while to get there.
• Creative visualization – Nothing succeeds like success, or even a good mental image of it. Create a vivid picture of where you want be, and dwell on the benefits of being there. I’ve known some people who make a scrapbook filled with success images and words specifically meaningful to them.
• Don’t let one failure ruin everything – That first time you slip or fail to meet your daily goal, don’t decide that all is lost. Why waste your good efforts so far? You have just as much ability to start again as you did on New Year’s Day.

That last one is especially worth remembering if you have many goals you’re working on simultaneously.  Disappointing yourself in one area mustn’t become your downfall in all of them.  Always focus on your successes, not on your failures.

Some of the more popular New Year’s Resolutions, and free resources to help you achieve them, are offered by Uncle Sam at the Usa.gov website.

As a writer, your 2012 goals may include writing more articles or chapters, sending out more submissions, entering more contests, or all three.  Don’t be surprised if we have a special contest just for our readers this year.  In fact, we have many surprises in store for you, because inspiring you to write, network with other authors, and sell more books is our continued goal.

Zig Ziglar said it well: “A goal properly set is halfway reached”.  I wish you luck this week choosing the resolutions worthy of your talents, and invite you – paraphrasing Captain Kirk – to boldly goal where no man has gone before. 

The Gift of Hope Deferred

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

It is now the day after Christmas. The gifts we took days and weeks to find for that special person have been given. As those gifts were opened we watched the expressions on their faces hoping our efforts brought pleasure. At our home the seven grandchildren were playing with the boxes and wrapping paper instead of the toys. One of the two year old twins walked in showing me a baking potato she had found in the kitchen cabinet. If I had only known that was what she really wanted I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.  


Those gifts we wished and hinted for have been opened. We have had time to look them over and enjoy all the advantages of ownership. Now we know if our desires and expectations have been met. Were these items all we had hoped for or are they disappointing? Are we too now playing with the boxes and paper or looking around for a baking potato?

Life can be like waiting on Christmas presents. Like children we wait for that day to come when we receive the gifts we desire. We live each day with hope, joy and expectations of great things to come. But unlike Christmas, where we can count the days, in life we do not know how long it will be until that thing we desire arrives. Proverbs 13:12 NIV reads, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  It is natural that we become heavy hearted or anxious waiting on that which we desire. But as it states here when it comes it is a tree of life. If these things we desire aren’t satisfying we may have hoped for the wrong thing or there may be more.


We must be aware when desire comes it may be the first step toward even greater things to come. This thing you desire may be the door opener that prepares you for many other great things to follow. Londa Hayden wrote in Suite T The Gift of Leadership that her pursuit of her passion to write led to a leadership role in a writers group. The realization of this thing you desire may be the foundation for what is really ahead for you.
What is your “hope deferred”? What is your desire? Better yet if it has come, what could possibly be next? Are you vigilant and open to what it may be? Talk it over with someone that knows you well and share what you discovered and where you are heading. 

The Gift of Leadership

by Londa Hayden

Londa at a BCW Meeting with Southern
Writers' Creative Director, Gary  Fearon
and Managing Editor, Doyne Phillips

I have been honored to be the founding president of Bartlett Christian Writers for the past year and a half and have enjoyed every minute of it. My passion for writing with excellence is stirred every time we meet. When I was first approached with the idea of starting a Christian writers group in my area, my first thought was I'm not qualified enough to tackle such a feat. I wasn't even a published author at that time. My insecurities kept me from following through for almost a year. Instead, I kept driving an hour away to participate in another writers group until the leader asked me again the same question, and I felt the urge within to go ahead with it.

The story of Moses came to mind. When God asked him to lead the Jews out of Egypt, Moses voiced his concerns with stuttering lips. Yet, unbeknownst to Moses, God had been preparing him all his life for such a task. I took a deep breath and plotted out a plan of action to start a local writers group out of my church. To my surprise, the local newspaper editor offered to send out a reporter and write an article about our group. We only had five people show up for that first meeting including the reporter, but we still got a nice article in the paper. Fearing our number was too small to justify our meeting space, a scripture came to mind, “Despise not small beginnings.”

The next month we sponsored a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” workshop, which garnered in a few more members. We got a free website up and running shortly after that and a Facebook page. I made sure to keep the local media posted on all monthly updates and to make announcements. I contacted the local Christian radio station, posted on the special events pages of several websites, and I made a small investment for business cards, brochures, and flyers to have posted at local Christian bookstores, libraries, and churches. In August, we held a new members brunch which brought in even more members. By fall, we had ten to twelve members attending our monthly meetings. Now in our second year, we have twenty-five members profiled on our website and Facebook page.

I enjoy making friends with other Christian writers and seeing how God works in each of their lives. It is my privilege and brings me great joy to help educate and encourage them in their journey to getting their work published. I too have learned so much. Looking back, I now see where God had been preparing me to lead Christian writers for several years by stirring the passion in my heart for writing. Someone once told me, “God doesn't necessarily look for people with great ability as much as He looks for someone willing to do whatever He calls you to do.” With some prompting and a lot of encouragement, I stepped out on faith to lay the ground work and God honored my efforts. I don't get paid, but I've been blessed with more than money can buy. I love my job!

What about you? Is there a way you can use leadership skills you may not even realize you have to benefit other authors? When you give your leadership away, it will be a true gift.

The Gift of Family Heritage

by Renee Rowell 

On December 14, 2001, my in-laws celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary. Like most young couples just starting out, they didn't have much, so their wedding was very simple. He wore a simple suit instead of a tuxedo. She wore a simple skirt and jacket instead of a wedding dress. There was no reception to speak of; just well wishes of close family and friends as they began their new life together.

The year before, my husband and I, along with his three siblings and their spouses, began talking about and planning for the celebration. We decided to give them the reception they never had. To be held at their church in the fellowship hall, I was given the task of decorating the room. There were the traditional holiday trimmings, all reflective of a golden anniversary; gold wreaths on all the windows, Christmas greenery on the tables, gold glitter candles on the guest book table. 

But, there was one display that really put into perspective what the celebration was really all about. 

My mother-in-law had amassed quite a collection of family photos over the years, and I really wanted to come up with a unique way to display them. As part of the decorating scheme, I had purchased a set of two white, spiral LED Christmas trees. At first, I wasn’t exactly sure just what to do with them…then it hit me.

I placed the trees on a table in the back of the room and asked my oldest son and my niece to begin attaching all of the family photos to them using red and green ribbon looped onto ornament hangers.  After the photos were hung, we turned the tree lights on. How beautiful they were! Standing back and looking at the photos in the glow of the tree lights, one could begin to see a story unfold; a legacy of life and love that has been passed from generation to generation.

In moments like these, especially during the holidays, it's a little bit easier to be thankful for our family, even amidst some of the drama and hectic last minute preparations. But...what if we went a little deeper? What if we didn't stop at being thankful? What if we actually considered the legacy we are building? What if we understood that our words and actions toward our family are building blocks in the foundation of our legacy and a springboard for them as they live out their own legacy?

As we approach the new year, let's consider the words of Jesus, "As I have loved you, so you love another."  If you have a heritage of love, you have the opportunity to regift that love to the next generation. If you don’t, why not establish a new family tradition through the written and spoken word that becomes a living diary of love?

____________________________

Renee is a 2011 Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks graduate and has been happily married to her husband, David, for 25 years.  They have two sons; their oldest is currently serving overseas in the Air Force, and their youngest graduated high school earlier this year and is working towards college. Her husband is Director of Worship and Media at their church, and in addition to serving alongside him and blogging, she is currently writing her first book. You can connect with her on Twitter or her blog.

The Gift of Poetry

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

The hustle and bustle of Christmas week is an exciting time for children. The anticipation of the jolly old man in the red suit, long white beard and toys in a big red bag is at an all-time high. It’s been building for weeks. Most of the kids are trying extra hard to be nicer than usual so they won’t be put on Santa’s naughty list. Parents are reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, the poem Clement Clarke Moore wrote in 1822 to their children. It’s a special time.

It is said this poem redefined our image of Christmas and Santa Claus because before the poem St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, wasn’t associated with sleigh or reindeers.

This poem was first published on December 23, 1823 and was an immediate success. Moore’s neighbor sent it in to a newspaper and told them the author had to remain anonymous and he did so until 1844 when he finally claimed ownership and included the work in a book of his poetry. It is now a worldwide tradition in families to read it on Christmas Eve.

This poem has delighted children and parents alike for generations. I hope authors who write good words will publish their writings giving people all over the world the opportunity to read and be thrilled. Something you write can make a difference to someone; it can touch his or her heart, introduce them to new adventures or transport them to another time and place. 

I wish for you this holiday season some time to write the next great poem or story for generations to come. Merry Christmas!