Tag Archives: Newsday

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Why I’m Self-Publishing ‘Baby Grand’

Why am I self-publishing my debut novel Baby Grand? In short, because it feels right.

As many of you know, I’m no stranger to the commercial book world. In addition to being a professional writer/editor for more than 20 years (I’ve had freelance articles written in Newsday, CNNMoney.com, etc.), I served as the “with” writer for the nonfiction title Good Girls Don’t Get Fat (Harlequin, October 2010), authored by Dr. Robyn Silverman, contributed text for the upcoming dessert cookbook, Brown Betty (Wiley, October 2012) and am currently editing a book for a 2012 release. Traditional publishing was something I had always considered for my first novel, simply because that’s the world I worked in professionally.

In January 2010, Stonesong in NYC signed-up Baby Grand, and, after I finished the first draft of the manuscript and three rounds of revisions, we started querying selected publishers last year. When the rejections started trickling in, as they do (as a freelance writer who’s spent many years querying editors, although rejections always sting, you learn that they’re part of the business), I found the nature of the rejections intriguing – some editors just weren’t crazy about the book for one reason or another, which is fine, and others really liked it, but blamed other factors (genre-crossing, etc.) in their reluctance to sign it, which is fine too.

But I have to tell you: The process was frustrating me, especially the waiting. And there’s lots of waiting involved in traditional publishing, mostly because agents and editors have to read your manuscript – and they’ve got lots of manuscripts to read. The thing is, I was willing to wait, had been planning on waiting (although it’s kind of like parenting – you know it’s going to be hard, but don’t really know how hard it is until you’re there, in the middle of the night, wiping up vomit). But I started to question exactly what I was waiting for.

Continue reading →

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Got An Opinion? Don’t Keep it to Yourself!

Opinions, opinions, we’ve all got ‘em. But Jenna Kern-Rugile has turned them into a career. In todays’s guest blog post, Jenna, a friend and fellow member of the Long Island Writers Group, tells of her experience when one of her op-eds ruffled the feathers of Bill O’Reilly.

Sometimes writers accept an assignment simply to pay the bills. In my writing career, I’ve covered topics that I had zero interest in (just about anything to do with the computer industry). I’ve taken assignments that sounded pretty boring but turned out to be fascinating, and vice versa.  And I’ve (mostly) enjoyed writing service-oriented articles about topics that have come in handy in my parenting (“How to Help Your Child With Homework Without Losing Your Mind!”), my purchasing (“Tips on Getting the Best Deal on a Car”) and my planting (“Go Organic in Your Garden”).

But my juices get flowing the most when I write op-eds. I get to do that for Newsday’s Opinion Page, where I’ve been a regular contributor for several years. In August 2008, I wrote an op-ed about an incident in Tennessee, where a man walked into a Unitarian Universalist church and opened fire, killing two people. His motive, as he later told police: To kill as many liberals and Democrats as possible. A police investigation revealed that the man had several books in his home from well-known right-wing pundits, including Bill O’Reilly.

My op-ed took the position that the anti-liberal rants of people like O’Reilly contribute to an environment that can push a crazy person over the edge. I didn’t say that O’Reilly pulled the trigger, but asked that the ratched up “liberals as traitors” speech be toned down. It’s a topic that, unfortunately, is at the top of the news this past week with the shootings in Arizona.

The day the story ran, I got a call from one of Bill O’Reilly’s producers, who asked me to appear on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox.  I gave it serious thought, but I decided against going on the show. I’d seen how Mr. O’Reilly treats guests with whom he disagrees; calm, reasoned discussions aren’t his style.

Fast forward five days later. As I headed to my car, I was ambushed by two O’Reilly staffers, camera running and microphone thrust into my face, asking why I had so unfairly attacked their boss. You can see it here. I’m told (by friends, admittedly) that I handled myself very well, given that I had no preparation for this ambush. O’Reilly’s real target was Newsday and its publisher; I was a convenient excuse. But the experience left me shaken.

So many thoughts went through my head during the next few weeks: They ranged from wishing I’d never written the piece (thousands of emailed death threats will have that effect on you) to being glad that I’d taken a stand. I wondered, do I really have what it takes to be like Anna Quinlan, whom I so admire? After writing about controversial issues, Quinlan received notes on her doorstep threatening her family, but she didn’t allow that to silence her.

Many wonderful things came out of this experience. Despite the numerous blogs calling me every name in the book, and a congressman denouncing me on the floor of the House, I also heard from many people who were very supportive. Keith Olbermann made mention of the incident on his program, which was an incredible blessing during a stressful time.

It’s been more than two years, and I’m still a bit unnerved when I think of the experience. But it hasn’t stopped me from writing op-eds. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Child Nutrition Act, referencing Sarah Palin and her crusade to keep junk food in schools, lest we become a “nanny state run amok” (and it probably won’t come as a surprise that I took a position that wouldn’t sit well with Palin fans). No one has yet showed up on my lawn with camera rolling. But if they do, I’ll stand tall and speak my mind, even if my shaky knees belie my confidence.

5 Tips on Writing An Op-Ed

Want to “sound off” about the issues that matter to you most? Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.      Find a news hook. Typically, editors want your topic to have a connection to a topic of current debate, so soak up as much news coverage as possible and find a new angle on what you’ve been reading.

2.      Write what you know. Okay, it’s a cliché, but when pitching an opinion page—especially to a market that’s new to you—let the editor know up front why you are an expert on a particular topic.

3.      Get to the point immediately. You have (maybe) 15 seconds before a reader decides to keep reading your story or skip over to the sports page.

4.      Embrace controversy. But back up your statements with facts, studies, and/or “real” person anecdotes.

5.      Don’t just rant. Offer solutions to the issues you raise.

From pets to parenting to pesticides, Jenna Kern-Rugile has covered a wide range of topics in her writing career. Jenna is a regular contributor to Newsday, where she’s written about breast cancer survivors for a series called “Life’s Victories”; about adoption for the paper’s features section and, in several pieces appearing on the Op-Ed page, about hate speech, bullying, and gay marriage. She’s also written for the Baltimore Sun, Working Woman and Fortune Small Business, among other publications.


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Music to My Eyes

When I talk to my husband, a guitar player, about writing, he often relates it to music to understand what I’m feeling (anguish, elation, misery, depending on the day) and what I’m trying to evoke from my readers (anguish, elation, misery, depending on the day). Today’s guest post comes from Mary Ellen Walsh, a writing buddy of mine and fellow Long Islander who underscores the importance of “showing not telling” in our writing with a little help from The Boss and The Piano Man.

As fiction writers, our job is to make our characters come alive believably on the page while unraveling a story.  How do we actually do that?  It’s really a mix of both the showing and the telling deftly blended together like a symphony that makes a novel sing.

Let’s use more music to illustrate that. Tell me which one you see better?

Come out Virginia don’t let me wait,
Catholic girls start much too late,
Sooner or later it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one.

– “Only the Good Die Young,” Billy Joel

or

Bobby said he’d pull out, Bobby stayed in,
Janey had a baby wasn’t any sin,
They were set to marry on a summer day,
Bobby got scared and he ran away,
Jane moved in with ma out on Shawnee Lake
She sighed, Ma sometimes my whole life feels like one big mistake.

– “Spare Parts,” Bruce Springsteen

With all due respect to Billy Joel’s incredible song-writing prowess, truly you are pulled into the song with Bruce – you feel Janney’s angst that “his” fleeing caused her. We “see” Janey lamenting to her mother. We even have a setting near a Lake.

Only the Good Die Young is telling, or really begging, with a very wide lens and objective eye that gives a preachy distance underscoring the distance between Virginia and Joel – the whole point of the song, yes, but the listener feels the distance as well.

Another example: What do you see better?

1.  Jeffrey was angry.

2.  Jeffrey slammed the door, threw his coat on the floor and yelled, “Kimmie!”

Which one brings your character to life more vividly?  Which makes you want to read more?

Version 2. By a mile.

Back in 2008, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joshua Henkin author of  Matrimony (Pantheon 2007), a novel just as much about a writer developing his craft as marriage.  We talked about needing both techniques in a novel and how to use them to tell a story. Henkin cleverly pits two would-be writers—main character Julian and his friend Carter—as one rich and one not so wealthy, and these two characters spend time together in professor Chesterfield classroom and become friends.  Here’s an excerpt of their first day as creative writing students.

Chesterfield wrote on the board: THOU SHALT NOT UTTER THE PHRASE “SHOW, DON’T TELL” WHEN DISCUSSING ONE ANOTHER’S SHORT STORIES.

“…why not?”

“Because it’s a lie.” Professor Chesterfield was sitting on his desk his legs swinging back and forth, and between his left thumb and forefinger he held a cigarette….”

“…Where would Proust be if he were not allowed to tell anything?”

Henkin and I discussed how basically telling becomes like a giant rationalization whereas showing allows the reader to be a witness, rather than listener.

“…My mother’s pretentious,” he said.  “She majored in French in college, but that’s no excuse.  Do you know what she called the stroller she used to wheel me in?  A poussette.”  He guided Carter into the guest bathroom, were the faucets said “c” for chaud and “f” for froid.  He was the only child in America, he liked to say, who grew up thinking “c” stood for “hot.”

Here, we see the actual French affects all throughout Julian’s home.

Showing not telling is true in life as well isn’t it?  Didn’t we cringe when our parents told us what to do?  But we thrived while watching them show us, leading by example.  We learned better, didn’t we, when we saw it?

I usually do.

Mary Ellen Walsh is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Daily News, Newsday, Newsday’s Wellness magazine and elsewhere. Mary Ellen pens a wildly popular column, MEWsings, on AOL’s Patch.com. She also plays guitar and is a singer/songwriter who frequents open mike nights with her 12-year-old guitarist son Robert. Mary Ellen is currently working on her first novel, Till Now, about a woman finding herself again through rock ‘n roll. Follow her journey as an MFA grad student on her blog, Fiction 101.


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7 Things I Learned About Networking

No writer is an island. Especially nowadays, when novelists are expected to be their own marketers, and the very nature of blogging and online publishing invites comments and conversations. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, networking was a consistent theme among the professional writers speaking at the Hofstra University Career Mixer for English Majors/Minors this week. Today’s guest blog post is written by author and fellow Long Islander Claudia Gryvatz Copquin, who offers 7 critical tips on growing your professional circles of friends, followers and colleagues.

Although I’ve been a freelance journalist for almost two decades and have written many business features during the course of my career, I knew very little about the true meaning of networking before I was hired to co-write Fast Track Networking: Turning Conversations into Contacts (Career Press, 2010). But thanks to the book’s brilliant main author, business guru Lucy Rosen, who founded the national networking group, Women on the Fast Track, I learned during the writing process that networking is all about sharing – sharing contacts and connections, with no ulterior motives. The idea behind this kind of unconditional networking is that by giving of yourself, you are creating and building positive relationships with others. Ultimately, relationships are what networking is all about.  Here are seven things I learned:

1.      Share your contacts with others. By sharing, you are helping others achieve their goals, but don’t expect one hand to wash the other. Eventually, there will be a cosmic reward for your generosity. But even if there is no payback, you will feel good about giving to others.

2.      When putting #1 into practice, you are entitled to, and should, discriminate. That means that if you are giving X the name of your valued supplier, Y, make sure you know that X is a professional and trustworthy person. Remember that networking is about building solid relationships, so get to know X before you provide him with any of your excellent contacts. That will ensure a positive connection for all parties involved.

3.      Attend networking events to expand your circle of connections. A networking event can mean a large, organized function where people are expected to meet and exchange business cards, or it can mean a small, informal gathering at a restaurant.  The point is, wherever you go, connect with others. Approach strangers, and introduce yourself. You never know where you might make a great new contact.

4.      Listen. When meeting people, don’t do most of the talking. Instead, ask questions and listen.   Only by active listening can you find out how you can help others.

5.      Follow through. If you promise someone you’ll share a connection, take the time to do it. (Do it quickly, so you don’t forget!) You will then be known as the type of individual who can be relied upon.

6.      Don’t neglect social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter. These are important communication tools and offer great opportunities to help others. Don’t lurk – be an active participant. Offer comments, advice, leads and contacts whenever possible.

7.      Say thank you. Remember to thank your contacts for sharing and giving of themselves, and do so at every opportunity. Everyone appreciates acknowledgement and gratitude.

In a career spanning two decades, award-winning journalist, editor and author Claudia Gryvatz Copquin has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Los Angeles Times, Crain’s New York Business and a slew of other magazines and newspapers across the country.  A bridal editor for ten years, she is also the founder of Long Island’s only bridal blog, www.GettingMarriedonLongIsland.com.

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Taking Chances

Today’s guest blogger is Emily Rogan, whose post is a testament to what can happen when you take a chance.

Nothing thrills me more, as a writer, than to see my work published. I get all tingly over every byline – no matter how small the piece. Imagine, then, just how giddy I was last week when Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart: 28 True Stories of Love, Loss and Everything in Between was released — with my essay in it!

Essay writing is a passion for many writers, but markets are limited, and it can be frustrating to find homes for essays. This book was born from several discussions about that subject; Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart is a true labor of love.

Truth is, I was shocked to find out my submission had been chosen for the project. When there was a call for entries over two years ago, I almost ignored it, believing (as I typically do) that my work wasn’t good enough—that I wasn’t the “right” caliber of writer. In the end, I submitted two essays and then waited for the rejection. Even though I’ve been writing practically my entire life and professionally for almost 15 years, I still don’t put myself in the same class as most of the writers I know. They’ve published entire books and meaty investigative stories in national publications. They write award-winning blogs and have agents. Me? Not so much. So imagine my shock and excitement when I was told that my essay would be published alongside the work of some of the finest writers I know. Out of 100 submissions, mine was included in the final 28!

I had no prior experience with book publishing, but I know this project was unique in that it took shape via volunteer committees: selection, editing, marketing and sales, just to name a few. Everyone, chairperson or committee member, is a writer. Beverly Burmeier chaired the content selection committee. Denise Schipani headed the editing group. (The amazingly talented & prolific Andrea Collier King was my kind editor who had surprisingly little changes to my piece. She also has an essay in the book.) Amy Paturel, my essay-writing guru (she runs a fabulous online essay writing class) masterminded the project and, in the end, was responsible for the beautiful, inviting cover. Jennie Phipps, who runs Freelance Success, brought it all together. And there were countless others who gave generously of their time to breathe life into this book.

The book’s theme explores relationships of all kinds – families, friends, lovers, life changers and pets. My piece is about my dad, who died shortly before I gave birth to my son. My father was a hairdresser (that was before we started calling them “stylists”), and the essay explores how we found common ground when he cut and colored my hair. I wrote the first draft of the essay many years ago, and reworked it again and again until it evolved into the published version. So in many ways, Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart holds special meaning to me. It not only thrills me as a writer, but as a daughter.

Emily Rogan is an award-winning writer who covers education, health and wellness, fitness and family topics. She’s written about everything from integrating technology into the classroom to organic beer and cardio kick-boxing. Her work has been published in Cooking Light, Woman’s Day, Newsday as well as several other national and regional publications. Emily is a member of American Society of Journalists and Authors.

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Hello, Byline!

You would think after some 13 years of freelance writing, the thrill of seeing my byline would fade or become rather pedestrian. Nah. It never gets old. My first freelance article for Newsday in about a year and a half ran today, and I made my daughter get dressed immediately after she fell out of bed to go pick up our drippy wet newspaper from the front lawn (luckily it was wrapped in plastic). Hey, she was getting dressed anyway…

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She Works Hard for the Money

I started freelancing again (beyond the one big client I retained while working on Good Girls Don’t Get Fat and Baby Grand).

Those who are loyal readers of my blog (thanks, mom!) know that I was pondering what to do with the rest of my life — go back to freelancing, teach, work on another novel, etc. Well, it looks like I’ve decided to do all three.

After a little sit-down with my husband, who had a little sit-down of his own with our accountant, turns out that if I don’t start cranking out some income-producing writing, I won’t be able to afford some of the wonderful luxuries I currently enjoy, like drinking the premium-brand orange juice that I like, particularly when it’s not on sale. I just finished my first assignment for Newsday in, like, a year and a half, and I have to say I missed it. I missed the adrenaline-pumping stress of being on a tight deadline and having to confirm all those itty-bitty details to make another editor — other than myself — happy. I like working for other editors. It makes me a better editor and writer. And the stories keep me relevant. All good.

And my next “Getting Published” seminar takes place next week — that satisfies the teaching part of the plan, at least for now. I’m looking forward to seeing those enthusiastic writers’ faces in the audience, hopefully even after I tell them about all the work that goes into being published when the writing part is done.

As for Novel #2, “In the Red,” it’s still going, although it’s stalled while I take care of Life Plans #1 and #2. My Accountability Partner probably wants to wring my neck — I’m already five days and counting behind schedule — but I’m not worried. After pumping out 1,000 words a day for six or so weeks on Baby Grand, I see what I can do when I’m focused and motivated. And right now my focus is on staying away from the bargain-brand OJ.