How Editors Know if Your Writing Is Good

I need your help!

Ayekah the Damned, first book of Elementals (my four book series) is currently over 69k words, it will be at least 80k words. The next three books are at present over 30K and all are historical/ fantasy/ paranormal: https://www.martacweeks.com/p/on-amazon-on-books2read-warning-this.html

However, I am told the synopsis is too long so I am trying a revised one, please let me know what you think. Than you!

Book one, Ayekah the Damned, starts when Celestials are sent to Earth to witness Creation and the Archagel of Light is Damned after falling for a virgin escaping the First Virgin Survival Rites in a Maya culture marooned in an island. 

After the fall, the Archangel’s name becomes Ayekah; meaning, “what have you done”. The virgin’s name becomes Haya, meaning “life”. From Ayekah and Haya and other virgins, are born generations of angel humans.

The book ends after the Almighties try to destroy all Angel/ Humans. Most of Ayekah and Haya’s descendants are saved by the two headed dragon of eternity that forms the two peaks of Mount Ararat.

The next books start in early modern times and go into the future.

Again thank you, I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards, Marta

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed! 

My Easter Poem

Buckle

Man on the cross on this Easter

Help us recognize that buckled 

Under pompous vulgar leaders

We excused immorality and disdain.

Man on the cross hidden by sashes 

To keep pious signing in praise

Not offended by blood from nails 

Or a crown of thorns.

Help us recall how You

Buckled under lashes of greed

Hung for us to stand strong 

Against borders to build nations.

Not for wigged powdered classes

But for freedom and equality

As You, Moses, Mohamed, Buddha

Rose to give strength and purpose.

For the time has come to end

Rules that topple our nation

And Liberty’s Flame

Under mire and stench.

By @MartaCWeeks 4/17/21

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

When and how to put your  characters in peri!

The emotional peril a character faces is just as important as the physical peril.

http://blog.janicehardy

.com/2021/03/4-ways-to-create-emotional-peril-in.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=last_week_on_fiction_university_march_29_april_3&utm_term=2021-04-03

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

In the world of struggling writers everything costs $ that most of us don't have, but there's hope. Famous authors such as Jerry Jenkins share, for free, a lot of valuable information. Thank you JJ! Here’s is one of his latest posts, more sign up for his email!

https://jerryjenkins.com/creative-writing-101/?inf_contact_key=7fcc4477f626fa901f49d9cc8496ed1d09c74070ac2bf3cfa7869e3cfd4ff832

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

A site for creative expressIon.: A great article on Archetypal types and the Hero a...

A site for creative expressIon.: A great article on Archetypal types and the Hero a...: A great article on Archetypal types and the Hero and Heroine’s journey when writing a series!  https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/a...

A great article on Archetypal types and the Hero and Heroine’s journey when writing a series! 

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/archetypal-character-arcs-pt-1-a-new-series/

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

Beware of scammers; if it sounds too good to be true, it's false.

If you are an author, podcaster or both and someone makes a too-good-to-turn down offer to be famous and make tons of money, they are the only one making the tons.

I get stuff from many writing, publishing and marketing sites. Have learned to delete the ones who bait me by profiting from making me famous. Why? Isn't that what I want? Not necessarily by dishing out $$$ to scammers.

The genuine ways to publish and or get income in your field and mine is via learning and hard work. For me, that means using ”real sites” and licensed agents. They don't ask for up front fees to teach the ins-and-outs of how they did it and how ”they” can teach me to do it. Don't have elaborate sites with long speeches and glowing lures: they don't need that! They make tons from representing real authors, promoting real sites, etc.

Also, avail yourself to Youtube videos where you can find lots of great advice without dishing out your cash. I was looking at publishing and podcasting and amongst the TONS of offer to teach me how to do it by making them money I found lots of free advice.

So you might ask, but ”how am I going to get known and sell my books, my product, etc.?” Certainly not by paying for said services. In this article from a site I trust are some ideas and useful advice:

View this email in your browser

Updates from: Anne R. Allen's Blog. Publishing Scammers to Watch Out for in 2021

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

About “10 Publishing Predictions”

About  Agent Laurie McLean Gives 10 Publishing Predictions for 2021

Thanks for the not-stiff-upper-lip buy the store and you’ll be famous very refreshing article. I do believe that my series will rock and that old gizzards like me who came up from the wild 60/70s and are now retired and writing will rock the publishing industry. We have been there, done that and survived. Amen!

https://annerallen.com/2021/01/10-publishing-predictions-2021/#comment-32459

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

Is the plot different than the subplot?

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/expanding-a-short-story-into-a-novel?utm_campaign=WDG%20-%20NL%20-%20WIR&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=103970085&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-96umDDj9ZlPjqOZw4IokPt8qUTAS47wHMj6Xx-v8v-dzgCRH9gGTy1idY1ZUFilc74yxohfpqvOP2VEITPE7oE1RXZhA&utm_content=103400244&utm_source=hs_email

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

Writers beware of ongoing publishing frauds

Writer Beware®: The Blog

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Spooky Phishing Scam Targets Traditionally-Published Writers Posted: 22 Dec 2020 10:49 AM PST   Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware® The New York Times has published the story of a strange international phishing scam: unknown actors targeting traditionally-published writers, posing as their agents or editors to obtain copies of their unpublished manuscripts. Earlier this month, the book industry website Publishers Marketplace announced that Little, Brown would be publishing “Re-Entry,” a novel by James Hannaham about a transgender woman paroled from a men’s prison. The book would be edited by Ben George. Two days later, Mr. Hannaham got an email from Mr. George, asking him to send the latest draft of his manuscript. The email came to an address on Mr. Hannaham’s website that he rarely uses, so he opened up his usual account, attached the document, typed in Mr. George’s email address and a little note, and hit send. “Then Ben called me,” Mr. Hannaham said, “to say, ‘That wasn’t me.’” Mr. Hannaham was just one of countless targets in a mysterious international phishing scam that has been tricking writers, editors, agents and anyone in their orbit into sharing unpublished book manuscripts. It isn’t clear who the thief or thieves are, or even how they might profit from the scheme. High-profile authors like Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan have been targeted, along with celebrities like Ethan Hawke. But short story collections and works by little-known debut writers have been attacked as well, even though they would have no obvious value on the black market. The phisher, or phishers, employ clever tactics like transposing letters in official-looking email addresses (like "penguinrandornhouse.com" instead of "penguinrandomhouse.com") and masking the addresses so they only show when the recipient hits "Reply". They know how publishing works and appear to have access to inside information, utilizing not just public sources like acquisition announcements in trade publications, but details that are harder to uncover: writers' email addresses, their relationships with agents and editors, delivery and deadline dates, even details of the manuscripts themselves.  And they are ramping up their operations. According to the Times, the scam began appearing "at least" three years ago, but in the past year "the volume of these emails has exploded in the United States." So what's the endgame? Publishing people are stumped. Manuscripts by high-profile authors have been targeted, but also less obviously commercial works: debut novels by unknowns, short story collections, experimental fiction. The manuscripts don't wind up on the black market, as far as anyone can tell, and don't seem to be published online. There have been no ransom demands or other attempts at monetization.  One of the leading theories in the publishing world, which is rife with speculation over the thefts, is that they are the work of someone in the literary scouting community. Scouts arrange for the sale of book rights to international publishers as well as to film and television producers, and what their clients pay for is early access to information — so an unedited manuscript, for example, would have value to them. I heard about the scam a couple of months ago, from an author who was targeted after their forthcoming book was announced on Publishers Marketplace. What they reported to me tracks with the information above, including the credible approach by the writer's own editor or agent (complete with authentic-looking email signature), a credible excuse for why they wanted the writer to send the manuscript again, and the altered sending address. The writer did send the ms., and didn't discover until they talked to their agent that they'd been tricked. Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster have sent out warnings, as have agents, one of whom offers this helpful advice: If you receive an email requesting sensitive information or items (manuscripts, contracts, etc.) to be sent via email, or to follow a link to sign a document, please consider the following steps: 1. Carefully inspect the sender’s email address. Ensure the person’s name is spelled correctly and, most importantly, that the company’s domain name (which is located after the @ symbol in an email address) is spelled correctly. 2. Call the supposed sender to verify that the items/information requested in the email are legitimate. 3. Do not reply to the email. Message headers can look real but have hidden text triggered when “reply” is hit. Instead, start a separate email chain with the sender asking if they did, in fact, request that item/information from you. 4. Carefully look at the email header, which contains detailed information about the email – where it came from, who it was sent to, date, time, subject, etc. To be clear, there's no connection here with the crude agent and publisherimpersonation scams I've been writing about for the last year or so. This is a sophisticated scheme by a person or persons familiar with the publishing industry (including its lingo) who understands the ins and outs of acquisition and production and has access to inside information. There's also no obvious monetary angle--unlike the impersonation scams I've previously reported, where the whole point is to screw as many thousands of dollars out of unsuspecting writers as possible. More reporting at Jezebel.

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Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

Aztec skull tower found

https://www.livescience.com/aztec-trophy-skulls-mexico.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9160&utm_content=LVS_newsletter+&utm_term=6210035&m_i=woFdnEA4n6qZIdXYnEFdieN3z1bxgvA7vl9VTBaJ09k2Euu2ENn3%2BsIZ0jIJY3GUNnM5J7Qgez%2BFiyjpWKjQ3RnRoSEwe58XrWmVYKawwi

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

Are we all foreigners? Where did humanity start?

https://www.livescience.com/are-all-humans-immigrants.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9160&utm_content=LVS_newsletter+&utm_term=6210035&m_i=PnkqQonRLN1ARPDh97BxaSsSqXvVBEEQlG9APVtcKeVSXW0jfda0hcnznG8eGp8zBWQY8GtzN0UIya96NIcqP7FlKv3UCGGXbxw2UgPPPk

Your comments and suggestions are very welcomed!

The Death of the Artist

How poet W.S. Merwin found paradise by planting palm trees

Interview with Marge Piercy

Interview with Marge Piercy

Fiction University: Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Novel's Theme

Fiction University: Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Novel's Theme: By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Theme is an often overlooked tool in a writer's toolbox. Here's another look at finding the gre...

Fiction University: The Impossible Choice: A Surefire Way to Hook Your...

Fiction University: The Impossible Choice: A Surefire Way to Hook Your...: By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy The first job of any story is to hook its reader, but after that initial hook, the story can’t just slack...

How to Write a Short Story in 6 Steps

How to Write Compelling Dialogue: A Proven Process