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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Writing Jobs for Sunday April 17th

Writing Jobs in Michigan

Advanced Biological Sciences Writer: Ann Arbor

IT Technical Writer: Ann Arbor

Senior Marketing Writer: Ann Arbor

Grant Writer: Ann Arbor

Ghost Writer Needed: Ann Arbor

Copy Editor: Ann Arbor

Grant Writer: Detroit Metro

Technical Writer: Detroit

SEO Intern for Quicken Loans: Detroit

Producer/Writer: Detroit/Wayne State

Local Site Coordinator/Social Commerce: Detroit

Writer for PR/Web Text and more: Detroit Metro/Telecommute

Admin. Assistant for Literacy Program: Grand Rapids

Digital Media Copywriter: Grand Rapids

Service Advisor/Writer: Hudsonville

Marine Service Writer: Kalamazoo

Communications Specialist/Staff Writer: Lansing

Marketing Writer Intern: Okemos

Automotive Service Writer: Traverse City

Desktop Publisher: Warren

Blog Manager/Writer/Editor/Researcher: West Bloomfield Hills

Telecommute 

Superb Prose Writer and Editor

Editorial Production Assistant 

Educational Writers and Editors 

Website Contributor - Local Stew

Beauty and Style Writers

Mobile Technology Writers

Cannabis Lifestyle Magazine Seeks Contributors

Analytic and Conversion Savvy Blogger

Art/Design/Food/Style Writer

Product Review Writer

Social Media Assistance/Writer

Wedding DIY Tutorials Writer 

Unpaid

Contributions for Fashion Magazine

Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A Guide to Using This Blog

Obviously I blog about jobs for writers. However, I started this blog as a resource for writers and I want to give everyone a quick overview on some of the resources that you can find here.


Center Column - Current Blog Post: In the center of the blog, you will find the most recent posts. I  do a lot of posts that are simply jobs for writers in michigan and telecommute writing jobs. Click on the job and follow the link to check out the job's information. I also blog about a range of other topics from writing contests to writing tips.


Top Left Column - Popular Posts: Here you find the post we're currently in (How to Use this Blog) as well as popular blog posts. Click on a few and you will see great independent bookstores in Michigan where you can shop for books, look into getting your own books stocked there and setting up book signings. Other posts include personal essay help, tips for writing a short story, awesome websites for writers and markets to submit to.

Left Column - Writer's Resources: These tabs (Peninsula Writers, Lundington Writers etc) are all links to writing groups and organizations in Michigan. They are awesome resources that connect writers in addition to hosting writing events, conferences, publishing chap books, organizing writing groups and a myriad of other activities that all writers should be a part of. Click on them, join some of the groups, volunteer etc. Networking, as challenging is it may be for the writer that loves solitude (like me), is extremely beneficial to the writing and, more importantly, to the publication process.

Left Column - Michigan Writing Conferences, Classes and Workshops: This is self explanatory and yet I am going to explain it. These are all classes, workshops and conferences held in Michigan throughout the year. I try to give event updates so that these also appear on posts, but clicking on them yourself is an easy and quick way to find upcoming conferences - many of which are held in spring and summer in Michigan.

Left Column - Writer's Toolbox: Ah the beloved toolbox that all writers cannot live without. Here you will find prompts to get the creative juices flowing, grammar guides, query letter help and a quirky thesaurus among other things. Try to click them all once and if they're useful for you - bookmark them.

Left Column - Michigan Markets: These are magazines, newspapers and websites in Michigan that you can send content to. Some of them accept articles, others shorts stories etc.

Left Column - Non Michigan Markets: Markets that are outside of Michigan that accept writer's submissions.

Left Column - My Blog List: Blogs that I follow - most of which pertain to writing and have great writing advice. There are blogs by literary agents and self published authors to name a few. Also, I love to add new blogs by other writers so if you have one, leave me a comment with the link.

Left Column - Blog Archive: This is an archive of all the posts on this blog. Clearly the dates leave much to be desired in terms of "what are they about?" So I recommend that you use the Search Tab in the upper right column and just type in keywords etc.

Right Column - Info: This is simply a quick guide to the information that you will find on this blog.

Right Column - Search Box: Type in what you're looking for and search this blog.

Right Column - Michigan Publishers: These are links to publishing companies that are located in Michigan.

Right Column - Follow by E-mail/Subscribe/Sociable: These are some of the ways that you can follow the blog and share it on other sites.

Right Column - Poets & Writers Blog: Read great blog posts from writers at Poets & Writer's Magazine.

Right Column - Advice from Published Authors: I don't know about all of you, but I really enjoy reading writing advice from published authors. Sometimes I just want to hear them talk about their own challenges and rejection piles. It helps me to put writing in perspective and takes book publishing out of the endless glossy aisles of Borders where someone has already written a book on every topic under the sun. Also the advice can be really beneficial, especially when it's specific - so check them out.

Right Column - Subscribe and Sociable: These are just avenues that you can use to follow my blog or share blog post that you like or want to pass along to other writers.

Right Column - About Me: This is my little bio along with several other blogs that I keep including one that is about my own writing process and progress. I also recently started a new one that focuses on my fiction series Ula - which comes out later this year.

Right Column - Michigan's Many Faces: I am a nature lover and in attempting to preserve this glorious space, I often take photos. Since this blog is for Michigan writers especially - I know that you too can appreciate our beautiful and volatile state.

Videos: The line of videos below the current posts are Youtube videos that offer writing advice. I try to change them frequently, but check some of them out because they are a lot like FREE writing courses, yes free.

In closing I just want to say that I truly hope this blog helps you find a job, get published or connect with other writers. I would love to hear from some of you and even more I would love for you to hear from each other. So if anyone is looking for a writer's group - send me a message. If you have a writing event coming up or know someone who is doing a signing or having a book release party - let me know. I am happy to put it all here. Good luck and keep writing.

Novelists... fashioning nets to sustain and support the reader as he falls helplessly through the chaos of his own existence.  ~Fay Weldon


Lake Michigan 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Writers Events April 2011

Hey writers I just wanted to post a few writing events occurring this month. 


Traverse City: Writer's Potluck: April 7th:
Sorry for the last minute post on this, but for writers in the Traverse City area, Michigan Writers is hosting its annual Spring Potluck tomorrow Thursday April 7th at 6 pm. The location is the Unitarian Universalist Church on Center Road in Traverse City, MI. 

Ludington: Chapbook Release: Friday April 8th:
 Ludington Center for the Arts is introducing two new chapbooks by Ludington area writers. 


Livonia: Michigan Spring Book Festival: Friday and Saturday April 15th and 16th:
Aimed at educating and encouraging youth to read and author books, this festival will bring together hundreds of book writers, role models and teachers of the literary craft. 


Ludington: Story on Stage II: Friday April 22nd:
Story on Stage (SOS) is a program of readings of contemporary short stories written by Michigan writers, but read by actors rather than by the writer.


Traverse City: National Writers Series Presents An Evening with Made in Michigan Writers: Thusday April 28th:





Friday, April 1, 2011

Writing Jobs for Friday April 1st

Happy April (and Aprils Fools) writers. Look below for some new writers' job listings for Michigan and from home.

Writing Jobs in Michigan 

Technical Writer: Ann Arbor

Sports Reporter/Producer: Clio

Service Writer: Dearborn

GLBT Writers Wanted - Unpaid: Detroit Metro

Social Marketing Intern: Detroit Area

Blogger: Farmington Hills/Telecommute

Grant Writer: Flint

Process Documentation Analyst/Writer: Grand Rapids

Spanish or Korean Document Translators: Grand Rapids

Professional Legal Writer for blog and website: Grand Rapids/Telecommute

Head Writer/Editor: Grand Rapids

Creative Grant Writers: Jackson

Pharmaceutical Technical Writer: Kalamazoo

Web Content Writer/E-Commerce Copywriter: Keego Harbor

Business Plan Writer: Plymouth/Livonia/Novi

Technology Blogger Wanted: Romeo

"Nightlife" Writer Wanted: Royal Oak

Technical Editor: Warren

Desktop Publisher: Warren

Technical Writer: Warren

Telecommute (From Home)

Transcriber

Foot Ball Journalist (unpaid) 

Data Review Specialist 

Comedy Show Writers (unpaid):  Grand Raids/Telecommute

Tennis and Facebook 

SEO Content Writers

Savvy Social Media Writer

Music Festival Executive Summary 

SEO Press Release Writer

Online Content Writer 

Indexer

Literary/Culture Bloggers (unpaid) 

Online Editor in Chief/Community Manager

I have great faith in fools - self-confidence, my friends call it.  ~Edgar Allan Poe

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Writing the Short Story


Short stories are a fiction writer's toe in the water. They are short, or can be, poignant and usually must pack a punch if they're going to see publication beyond the tattered notebook in your top drawer. However, any writer who has written or attempted to write a short story knows that those 1,500 words may be the hardest you'll ever write. There simply is not enough space to delve as deeply as you want to - not enough pages to build to climax and then wrap it up in some meaningful way.

I have written and struggled to write short stories for years. I have obsessed over the words, closed the file and then refused to look at it for months afterwards, Eventually when I get some much need space, I can return to the work, edit it and start submitting. I get rejected frequently, but those few journals that say they're considering it and even one that accepted a short story and then later published someone else's - somehow keep the flame alive.

T.C. Boyle, fiction author and English Professor at the university of Southern California, stresses that "there are no rules," when it comes to writing short fiction. Boyle says that fiction is an art (I'm sure we all agree) and that it is merely an individual work by an individual person. Understanding this helps us to let go of a need to mimic greater writers or to drown ourselves in the self-deprecating tendencies that arise when we review and edit our own stories. Boyle, in his courses, advises students to read a lot - and not just the classics, but contemporary writers also. Additionally, he is a supporter of writing what you don't know (not the normal writing advice) because he believes that fiction is a process of discovery. (Read the full article here at Writers Digest.com)

Writing advice is everywhere these days, but read it anyway. Read it because in doing so - you're reading, you're seeing someone else's style and maybe you're gleaning some piece of advice that has not crossed your desk before. Then go for a walk in nature, return to your computer and let the words flow. If you like what you've written - look below for some online journals and magazines seeking submissions. 










Contests 

Echoes of the Right to God - Accepts Essays, Fiction and Poetry - No Entry Fee - Deadline: April 16th

Writer Advice Sixth Annual Flash Prose Contest - Accepts Fiction, Memoir and Creative Nonfiction - Entry Fee: $10 - Deadline: April 15th 

Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.  ~Harvey Fierstein