From the category archives:
Blog posts
Publication Update: Submission Deadline Set for Travel Anthology, Holiday Anthology Rescheduled/Refocused
To Authors Who Have Submitted Stories to Dream of Things: Thank you for your near-infinite patience. Some of you have waited a very long time for status reports. I apologize for the delay.
Earlier this year, I said Dream of Things planned to publish two anthologies in 2011: the holiday story anthology and one other to be named later.
The travel story anthology is the “to-be-named-later” anthology. We’ve set a submission deadline of October 15, 2011, and plan to publish the book later this year.
Unfortunately, I am going to postpone the holiday story anthology again. For more details, read on…
Finding Fulfillment – as a Writer, and as a Human Being
Today I am sharing something that should be passed around on the Internet until EVERYBODY has read it. Or at least until every writer has read it. I’m posting this in several places, which means some of you may see it more than once. Forgive me. But it’s one of the best things I’ve read in recent years, so I want to share it with everybody.
This was originally written as a commencement address. It’s intended as advice for young people who are just graduating from school, but it’s full of wisdom for people of all ages. Here’s a sample:
“It’s not the privilege of anyone, writer or not, to peak out or burn out or drop out before he or she has given back to this world. So I’ll say right now that you will not fulfill your life until you find out what it is you have to give to the people around you, and have given it, and they’ve accepted it in some way. It may take years to find out what you have to give, and more years to turn it into something acceptable, but if you’re making the lives of the people around you better and happier, you’re going in the right direction. If you’re making their lives worse and more miserable, stop and turn around.”
That’s a quote from a graduation speech that my friend, John Rember, delivered last year. There’s more wisdom where that came from. To read the whole speech, click HERE. And after you read it, pass it on to a young person. Or to an old person. Or to anybody who is striving to live a meaningful life. They’ll thank you for it.
(Photo courtesy of Knox College)
Writers in the Storm
At Dream of Things, we are always on the lookout for great websites for authors and book lovers. Today, we are happy to spread the word about the Writers in the Storm blog and newsletter. Here’s an overview from their website:
We are a group of pro and published genre writers who critique and polish our work for submission. In the process we’ve discovered the benefits of the unique perspectives and strengths we bring to the table.
There’s more to life than writing, but sometimes life can be the richest story of all.
We chose Writers in the Storm as the name of this blogsite because every writer must weather the storm within – of self doubt, rejection, deadlines, and balancing our writing passion with everyday life. Not to mention the storm raging outside – the paradigm shift in the publishing industry.
Subjects will range from our writing processes and critique techniques to fun things we do to relax – like knitting, doll collecting, motorcycling, crafting handmade cards, surviving motherhood, healthy living tips, our trips and travels.
You can follow some of the writers from Writers in the Storm on Twitter as well as follow the site on Facebook. Learn more about this great site by clicking HERE.
Happy writing!
Not Your Mother’s Book
Great news for authors! My friends over at Publishing Syndicate recently announced a new series of personal nonfiction called “Not Your Mother’s Book.” This is welcome news for writers for a number of reasons:
- There aren’t a whole lot of people publishing anthologies of creative nonfiction. There’s the Chicken Soup folks, there’s Dream of Things, and now there’s the Publishing Syndicate. (The folks at Cup of Comfort put an end to that series earlier this year.)
- The owners of Publishing Syndicate are real pros. Dahlynn and Ken McKowen have lengthy resumes when it comes to writing, ghostwriting, editing services and publishing. In fact, Dahlynn was coauthor of several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and series creators Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen called her “one of their most trusted coauthors.” So Dahlynn knows anthologies.
- Dahlynn and Ken are thinking big. They are launching their new series with a call for submissions on 25 topics! I launched Dream of Things two years ago with 15 topics, and quickly realized that I had bitten off more than I could chew. We’ve since published one anthology (Saying Goodbye), consolidated several and canceled a couple so that we are now working on seven anthologies to be published over the next 2-3 years. Anyway, I can tell you first hand that compiling, editing and publishing 25 anthologies is a major commitment, so my hat is off to the McKowens. But I have no doubt they are up to the task – in part because they’ve recruited talented people like Saying Goodbye contributor Terri Elders to help with the series.
To learn more about the “Not Your Mother’s Book” series and other Publishing Syndicate projects, click on the Publishing Syndicate logo, below. And be sure to sign up for their Wow Principles e-newsletter while you’re on their website. (I’m a subscriber!)
