25 December 2015

How to keep your work from being stolen


4,720 search results found for "Devyani Borade" says Google. I run my eye over the first page of results. My own website appears at the top, followed by many of my articles on various others. Click. Next page. More of the same. Next page. I am getting complacent. Ah, so many publication credits! They make me so ha--hang on. What the heck is this? It is my article on the website of a popular established parenting magazine, posted under my by-line. Except that it has been published there without my knowledge, consent or compensation.

'It's awful to have one of your stories stolen,' says freelance...


Read the full article in the December 2015 issue of Freelance Market News

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p!
(T&C apply)



750 words
Nonfiction

UK publication


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Words from the Wise

"I like a lot of the piece"
Hope Clark
Editor
Funds For Writers


"The article is excellent. I wanted to publish it"
Caitlin Jans
Editor
Authors Publish

15 December 2015

Faith

‘I am invincible!’ cried the King.

The Lord slept in His Heaven. His Gatekeeper stood guard at the gates of His abode and kept a close watch. Nothing should interrupt his master’s rest. A beautiful pigeon, snow-white and pure, fluttered onto the bough of a nearby tree and cooed. The Gatekeeper soundlessly shooed it away. A spider, eight spindly legs splayed, crawled up the Gatekeeper’s leg and began to weave a web. The Gatekeeper did not brush it off. A scorpion skittered across the dry ground, sensed his toe and struck with its venomous stinger. But not a whimper of pain escaped the Gatekeeper’s...

Read the full story in the December 2015 issue of Hypnos

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)




2100 words
Fantasy
US publication


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Words from the Wise


"An ambitious almost epic piece that puts me in mind of Paradise Lost with the Godly motif... The underlying story is engrossing and interesting with definite entertainment."
Elsa
Senior Poetry Editor
Page & Spine


"Tales of wonder, especially those involving religious or metaphysical questions, intrigue us, and we appreciated your story's unique blend of folklore and almost Biblical language. The story is sprinkled with marvelous details and "Easter eggs" that further engage and delight the reader---the Gatekeeper's remarkable request ("Then grant me this...") is a favorite. Congratulations on crafting such a memorable work."
Kristen Marie
Editor
Hypnos


"This is a very good piece... I enjoyed reading it"
RMC
Editor
Phobos


"The idea behind 'Faith' is a very interesting one, and there are moments when the tale comes across as unique..."
Anonymous
Manuscript Reader
Bards & Sages Quarterly


"It is a good story"
Julie Ann Dawson
Editor
Bards & Sages Quarterly


"I found the story original"
Shalene
Associate Editor
Shimmer Magazine


"Your folktale style of narration was done well"
Lillian
Editor
Ideomancer


"Your writing is strong"
Courtney Pondelick
Assistant Submissions Editor
Dark Discoveries


"I like much of this... It's kind of bold and deals with topics that interest me. I do especially like the riddle-solution ending to this tale and the allegorical feel of the prince story."
Stephen Ramey
Editor
Parsec Ink


"I enjoyed the story"
Nick L.
Editor
Bastion Science Fiction Magazine


"This was an interesting story"
Rose Lemberg
Editor
Stone Bird Press


"You've got a strong opening line"
Katrina S. Forest
Manuscript Reader
Urban Fantasy Magazine

10 December 2015

Launching a blog? Start with this checklist!

Once upon a time, I had a blog. It was my online debut in writing: a small piece of electronic real estate that belonged to me. My own little blank canvas on which my imagination would run wild. My stage, where I'd be "discovered" and hailed as the next big literary sensation.

At first I posted to it every day. Diligently. Joyfully. Then I ran out of energy. The blog went into a coma from which it roused occasionally with a stray post or two, then relapsed. Today it is officially dead. Despite this, I say my maiden blog was very successful, though not in any way I had imagined. It didn't make me rich or...


Read the full article in the December 2015 issue of Writing World

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Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)


1500 words
Nonfiction

US publication

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Words from the Wise

"These are EXCELLENT questions, and really, I had not thought things through to nearly this extent. We have some other pieces on blogs but nothing that approached it in quite that way!"
Moira Allen
Publisher
Writing World

5 December 2015

Debora's Pen

Enjoy the full cartoon in the December 2015 issue of Ducts



or

NEW!
Enjoy this and other Debora's Pen cartoons via email FREE every month! Just sign up for our newsletter.
 (T&C apply)

6 panels, 1 cartoon
Humour/Writing
US publication


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Words from the Wise


"I've started trying to put some logos/photos in the feature piece, and your little girl seemed perfect... I think Debora is very cute. Clean and to the point. You ought to start a newsletter about Debora - brief with a lesson of sort. I think writers would love it. Excited about reading them!"
C. Hope Clark
Editor
Funds For Writers

"I enjoyed your cartoon series"
Brian Scott
Editor
Freelance Writing

"These are cute, I like them."
Lee H. Wilson
Art Editor
Feathertale Review

"Charming! I obviously like the cartoon, tailored-made to fit the theme, even including the date of the emails to coincide with the publication of the journal."
Virginia Howard
Editor
Thema

"This is cool"
Linda Formichelli
Editor
The Renegade Writer

"That was a good comic you sent me. I liked the line drawings, and I thought it was clever."
Bill Kenower
Editor-in-Chief
Author Magazine

"These are definitely cute"
Moira Allen
Publisher
Writing World

"These are very well constructed and interesting"
Leon Ogroske
Editor
Writers' Journal

"These are adorable!"
Nicole Cliffe
Editor
The Toast

1 December 2015

Beware the editor

‘We may slightly edit your story to fit the space and style considerations of our magazine,’ caution the submission guidelines of many a popular publication. Having always had the good fortune of stories being published without too much being changed, I didn’t think twice about that sentence. My mistake, I had no clue what lay in store for me. My story? A typical pot-boiler romance, something along the lines of:

“Boy meets girl… they fall in love… evil villain captures girl… boy kills evil villain and rescues girl… boy marries girl… boy and girl live happily ever after.”

When the story was...


Read the full article in the December 2015 issue of Writing

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p!
(T&C apply)


750 words
Nonfiction

UK publication

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Words from the Wise

"This is cute"
Moira Allen
Publisher
Writing World

25 November 2015

3 Quick and easy ways to know your market

Imagine trying to sell apples to a stranger off the street. You don’t know who he is, whether he likes apples, or if he even wants apples. You don’t know how many he’ll take, what kind he prefers, how much money he has in his pocket to spend on your apples, and if he needs a little left over to buy his dinner too. You don’t know whether he wants the apples now or later, if he has any allergy to apples, what he plans to do with them in turn (sell, eat or throw away), if he has a friend who is equally hungry for apples, or whether apples are in season in his part of the world. Heck, you don’t even know if he knows what...

Read the full article in the November 2015 post of Walrus Publishing

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

680 words
Nonfiction

US publication

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Words from the Wise

"It has some good tips"
Moira Allen
Publisher
Writing World

"I really liked your article"
Brian Scott
Editor
Freelance Writing

"This looks great. I'd love to run it in our (upcoming) issue."
Bill Kenower
Editor
Author Magazine

10 November 2015

Getting the hang of love

I am standing at the edge of a steep precipice with wobbly legs protesting and knees knocking together like the prongs of a tuning fork. Never before has vertigo seemed so real! Never before has my comfortable chair at home seemed less boring! Strapped into various harnesses and helmets and things, I am beginning to fully appreciate the “gravity” of the situation. I scarcely have time to further contemplate what is starting to look like a foolishly hasty decision, before I am being instructed on what to do and how to do it. I, however, am too busy concentrating on being able to breathe properly...

Read the full essay in the November 2015 anthology A Pink Suitcase from World Traveler Press

or

Request to read the original essay via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)



2020 words
Nonfiction/Humour

US publication

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Words from the Wise

"Your essay was chosen for its strong writing and compelling tale."
Janna Graber
Editor
A Pink Suitcase, World Traveler Press

"I like your essay, and it flows well"
Derek Alger
Essays Editor
Ducts

"It's nicely written, which counts for a lot."
Ed Ewing
Editor
Cross Country Magazine

"It's a nice piece"
JK Nickell
Associate Editor
Southwest Magazine

"Your memoir is charming"
Jonna Semeiks
Editor-in-Chief
Confrontation

1 November 2015

Is writing every day a bad idea?

We've all heard the arguments: Practice makes perfect. Writing every day will force us to develop a habit. It's a great way to get over writer's block. Writing more improves writing. It achieves the aim, gets the job done. We've all believed it. Even tried it. We start off by setting ourselves ambitious goals. After doing the maths we arrive at a magic number. An "ideal" goal. Like writing 2000 words a day. Perhaps for the first few days we even manage it. And we feel proud of ourselves. Gradually, though, we start to slip up. Miss a day here, two there. An ill child. A surprise visit. An overflowing...

Read the full article in the November 2015 issue of Writing World

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)


1050 words
Nonfiction

US publication

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Words from the Wise

"OH, yes!  I was just thinking along these lines recently - ... the idea that you can get something meaningful done when you're carving off a 15-minute sliver of time here or trying to write something in line there.  Creativity does NOT come in 15-minute spurts."
Moira Allen
Publisher
Writing World