Pushcart Prize Nominee Shares Winning Writers Resources with Sharing with Writers Blog

Jendi Reiter, Poet and Novelist, 

Shares Talents with Fellow Creative Writers

Interview by Carol Smallwood

Jendi Reiter, vice president of Winning Writers, a “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer's Digest) pick , oversees the Winning Writers literary contests. The website, founded in 2001 to help poets and writers, is located in Western Massachusetts. Jendi is also an award-winning author with a new book of short stories, An Incomplete List of My Wishes (Sunshot Press/New Millennium Writings, 2018).

 Smallwood: How long did it take to organize the help so many poets and writers depend upon in Winning Writers? What was the spark that started it?

Reiter: WW is always evolving and refining our features, which include a monthly e-newsletter, four writing awards, and a database of the Best Free Literary Contests.

Nearly 20 years ago (!) my husband, Adam R. Cohen, and I were working in the publishing industry in NYC, but wanted to start our own business that we could take outside the big city and corporate life. He brought his marketing expertise as the Atlantic Monthly's former circulation director. I had been winning professional awards for my writing since high school, so I was familiar with many contests and could guide writers to find the best ones for their particular style and experience level. It took us half a year to get the business up and running. 

More than simply another directory, WW's mission was twofold: to educate emerging writers about contest scams, and to bring writers together to shed light on important social issues. The former objective was accomplished through the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. The latter goal has informed all our contests, from the War Poetry Contest we launched after 9/11 to our current North Street Book Prize for self-published books.

Our two-person shop has grown to a staff of about 8 freelancers who help judge our contests, keep the database current, and do marketing research and diversity outreach. We find some of them through our local writing community, and others by approaching writers we admire and asking them to be guest judges. The benefit of an all-online business is that our talent pool isn't limited by geography. Our former next-door neighbor now screens the North Street Book Prize entries from her home computer in Poland, where she is researching her graduate thesis!

Smallwood: Please tell readers about “Hand-Picked Resources for Writers” that you edit:

Reiter: Adam and I read a lot of books and social media, which we're constantly harvesting for interesting links for our website. By curating these resources pages, we help writers find the best deals for self-publishing packages, book design services, stock photos, and other services for putting their work into the world.

Reading widely is essential to growing as a writer. We review our favorite books on the website, and also link to magazines and online archives of classic literature. In recent years we added a category called "Writing for Social Change", which spotlights journals, contests, and articles that promote minority voices or social justice issues.

Smallwood: the website requires a great deal of work to keep the literary contests current. How do you manage?

We are very grateful to our assistant editor Samantha Grace Dias for maintaining the database. So smooth, it's like it runs itself! Sam thoroughly understands the contest landscape and often alerts me to changes in contest guidelines that merit a ratings upgrade or downgrade. Hire her to edit your book or academic paper (samantha@winningwriters.com), but please don't steal her away from us!

  

Smallwood: When did your annual humor no-fee contest begin? Please share with readers how they may enter and also about the other contests Winning Writers sponsors:

Reiter: To enter any of our contests, go to the WW homepage, click on "Our Contests" at the top menu bar, and select the one you want. The submission period for each one is listed on the rules page for that contest. We prefer to receive entries through Submittable, but will consider mailed entries if you do not have Internet access.

The humor contest began in 2001 as a fun way to expose vanity contest scams: those "free" contests that accept nearly every entry and expect you to pay for a copy of the winners' anthology. We invited people to write the worst imaginable poem, submit it to a vanity contest, and then send it to us with their "acceptance" letter full of fake praise from the vanity sponsor. I believe we played a role in driving the largest scam contest, Poetry.com, out of business. Now our Wergle Flomp contest is just a free contest for the best humorous or parody poem.

The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest and the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest are open-theme contests that we took over from our former affiliate, the Australian novelist John H. Reid. Mr. Reid passed away earlier this year and we are glad to continue these contests in his memory.

In 2015 we launched the North Street Book Prize for self-published books of fiction and memoir; in the 2018 contest (entries currently being judged) we added categories for poetry collections and children's picture books. Self-published and small press books face unwarranted prejudice from review outlets, bookstores, and awards committees. This prize allows us to signal-boost excellent books that are excluded from mainstream distribution channels.

 Smallwood: I first enjoyed reading your award-winning poetry chapbook, Swallow (Amsterdam Press, 2009) and have followed your progress. Please tell us about your most recent book that the Midwest Book Review noted has “Astute windows into society’s secrets, prejudices, double standards, and individual purpose.”

Reiter: My debut short story collection, An Incomplete List of My Wishes, was a runner-up for the Sunshot Prose Prize from the literary journal New Millennium Writings. These pieces, which I wrote over the past decade, won contests from journals such as the Iowa Review, Solstice Lit Mag, Passages North, and Bayou Magazine. Some of them began as character sketches for my novel Two Natures (Saddle Road Press, 2016), a coming-of-age story about a NYC fashion photographer during the 1990s AIDS crisis. The short story form allowed me to understand other perspectives apart from the novel's first-person narrator. 

Other stories grew out of my journeys through Jewish and Christian spirituality, weighing the comfort of collective belonging versus the danger for those who don't fit in—exiled because of our queerness or our refusal to be silent about abuses of power. Is love ever not conditional, and what price are we willing to pay for attachment?

Over this same period, I was trying to adopt a child, while becoming estranged from my family of origin. So there is a recurring theme in these stories of broken or never-formed bonds between parents and children, though sometimes life on the other side of that loss is better (or wiser) than what was left behind.

 Smallwood: your prize-winning books include poetry and fiction. Do you find it challenging to switch from one to the other?

Reiter: I always have several projects going simultaneously, because it's very easy for me to get bored or lose my confidence in whatever I focus on for too long. I don't necessarily recommend this as a strategy—it's just how my brain needs to be fed! My history as a poet makes me more attentive to the sound of every word in my prose. And I'm now discovering, upon my return to poetry, that my near-exclusive focus on fiction in the past four years has given me a better grounding in the details of our current cultural moment, and an increased interest in narrative and persona poetry to expand my poetic subject matter beyond my personal feelings.

Smallwood: do you have another book in mind? How much note taking, planning do you do before beginning your books?

Reiter: I am working intermittently on Origin Story, the sequel to Two Natures, as well as a chapbook of politically inspired poetry. Most of these poems aren't "ripped from the headlines" exactly, but are informed and energized by current themes (such as my gender transition, climate change, and the #MeToo movement), in a way that's different from my earlier, more philosophical and inward-looking poetry.

Disclaimer: The owner of this SharingwithWriters blog supports Winning Writers' North Street Book Prize as a way to help the general writing community know more about  how to avoid unethical contests and other scam and to help them judge contests and participate in them in positive ways. This interview, however, was acquired through serendipity and is offered solely on its value to SharingwithWriters visitors and subscribers.   

 MORE ABOUT JENDI REITER:

Read Jendi's books: 

•  Bullies in Love (poetry)

https://www.amazon.com/Bullies-Love-Jendi-Reiter/dp/1935656368/

• Two Natures (novel)

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Natures-Jendi-Reiter/dp/0996907424/

• An Incomplete List of My Wishes (stories)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1944977201/

MORE ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER

Carol Smallwood’s most recent poetry collection is In the Measuring (Shanti Arts, 2018). A recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, she’s founded, supports humane societies.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-wining author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter (http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), now offered by Modern History Press in its third edition. Carolyn's latest is in the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page (http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile). Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers (http://bit.ly/Last-MinuteEditing) is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal (http://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) helps writers who want to be traditionally published. The Frugal Editor (http://bit.ly/FrugalEditor), now in its second edition, is the winningest book in the series. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques (http://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com)

#WinningWriters #NorthStreetBookPrize #SharingwithWriters #TheFrugalBookPromoter #CarolynHowardJohnson

Lois Stern Shares Back Story Secrets for Presentation and More

It’s Easier Than You Think to Become a Winning Author: 
Give Us Your Back Story

Guest Blogger:
Lois W. Stern

As authors, we work so hard to polish our stories to perfection, often devoting years to polishing ourmanuscripts before they go to press. Hopefully, our readers enjoy the fruits of our labors. But as a presenter, I often find that sharing my back story is one technique that really engages my audience, helps them identify with me on a personal level, ultimately  resulting in the sale of more of my books.

I’m probably best know as the creator of Tales2Inspire, anAuthors Helping Authors Project/Contest, as it’sbeen going strong for the past seven years.As a result, most people are surprised to learn that my first full length book had nothing to do with inspiring stories. Its title, Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery,was a groundbreaker in many ways- even meriting a few paragraphs on a front page of the Sunday Style section of the NY Times. 

So here’s how my ‘Back Story’ begins. I tell my audience that it took me five years to write this book. I had a premise that cosmetic surgery was more than skin deep. . . that there was a strong correlation between cosmetic surgery and sexuality, and set out to confirm or negate my theory. I began with serious research, guided by articles in professional journals. I noted that many were written by Dr. David Sarwer, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pa. School of Medicine, who pretty much confirmed my premise. (Dr. David Sarwer liked my work and ultimately wrote the preface for Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery - one coup for me.)

But I wantedempirical data as well. Through the able guidance of Denise Thomas, premier NYC Cosmetic Surgery Consultant, I was able to interview over 100 women, often touching on some of the most intimate aspects of their lives.

But I wasn’t finished yet. I wanted input from some respected, highly credentialed  plastic surgeons. Dr. Leo McCafferty, clinical Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, and later president of the most  prestigious organization for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, was one of them. He was so impressed with my manuscript that he endorsed it with a wonderful blurb for its back cover.

Well, it took me another year before I secured a contract with a NYC agent, but despite a lot of publisher interest, ultimately they all turned it down. Why? Word was that I didn’t have a strong enough platform, (and I was so green, I didn’t even know the meaning of that word at the time!).

That’s just the first part of my back story, the wake-up call that started me on my search for alternate paths to publication. It seemed a no-brainer that this must be happening to many other talented authors who were not being given a chance, simply because they lacked that elusive author platform. That’s when I began to envision creating an alternate path for all of us, seeking ways to help strengthen our opportunities for discovery and name recognition. 

So when I tell my back story,I often start with the reminder: “When one door shuts, another one often opens.” My open door led me in a new direction - to create Tales2Inspire®, an Authors Helping Authors contest/project all in one. We critique one another’s work and the best stories get published in one of the Tales2Inspirecollections, now seven books and counting. And did I mention it is FREE?

So now it’s time for you to share your back story. What compelled you to write?

And if there is a particular event that happened to you, so memorable that you needed to write about it, tell us about it. Who knows, you might even have an inspiring story to submit to Tales2Inspire. If so, check out the  submission guidelines at www.tales2inspire.com/contest.and learn why I call this an Authors Helping Authors project that pays multiple dividends. 

MORE ABOUT THE TODAY'S GUEST BLOGGER

Lois W. Stern generously contributes to this blog on a regular basis. Learn more about her Tales2Inspire project at the tales2Inspire website: www.tales2inspire.com/contest.

MORE ABOUT THE SharingWithWriters BLOG



Carolyn Howard-Johnson runs this SharingwithWriters blog and writes fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Chrys Fey Encourages Would-Be Authors!

If you are a regular visitor or subscriber to this #SharingwithWriters blog (and I hope you are!), you know that I believe it is never enough to read only one book on marketing a book.  That will answer your question about why, as the author of the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books, I am touting someone else's book!  Read, reread, and read anew! So, here is an excerpt for another book of advice based on the true-to-publishing experiences of the writer--the very best kind of experience! I loved Chrys Fey's new "Write with Fey" so much, I asked if she would let me reprint this piece on  what you to not need to be a writer with the hope it will encourage more would-be writers to follow their dream!

What Do You NOT Need to Be a Writer?

By Chrys Fey

1. A Degree in English Literature

I have a GED. I’ve never even taken a college course.

2. A Laptop

In the beginning, I only wrote in notebooks and then on my family’s clunky computer.

3. Money

Many times, I was poor, using coffee filters as toilet paper (because it was all I had), sleeping on the floor, being without cable and the Internet for over a year, and sometimes without electricity for a week. And, yet, I still wrote.

4. A Support System

Your family may not understand why you want to write, and your friends may laugh, but that’s fine. You don’t need anyone’s permission; write for yourself.

5. An Office or Desk

Write at your dining room table, at your kitchen counter, on the couch, in bed, in the bathtub! Write anywhere.

6. A Home

I was never homeless, but I sure felt like it at times. I lived with one sister then the other. I lived with my mom, and then we both lived with my sister. For years, I never felt like I had a home, a real home to call my own. Writing was my true home during those years.

7. A Critique Group, Writing Group, or Mentor

These groups are great, for sure, but they aren’t necessary to write. As far as having a mentor goes, you only need yourself. There will come a time when you’ll need beta readers, and writing friends are the best, but you don’t need someone to tell you how, when, or where to write. You don’t even need them to answer your questions. Many answers can be found in books and on websites if you put in the effort.

8. An Interesting Life

You don’t need a bad childhood or a strange or broken family to write. Whatever you have is enough.

9. An Extrovert Personality

As a matter of fact, most writers are introverts. I’m an introvert. It’s true.

10. Love

You don’t need to be in love to write romance. You could write believable romances as someone who’s never been kissed. Believe it!

BIO:Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. This excerpt is from that book! She is also an editor for Dancing Lemur Press. In addition, she runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips and connect with her on Twitter

Also by Chrys Fey:

Hurricane Crimes

Seismic Crimes

Lightning Crimes

Tsunami Crimes

Flaming Crimes

30 Seconds

30 Seconds Before

Ghost of Death

Witch of Death

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER


Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

A Little Lesson on Writing Bios from Dr. Bob Rich

I am always unsure about the level of communication I'm achieving when I talk about biographies--in my books or with my clients.  I often say "bio or credit line."  I mean, biography could mean anything from a full book to a twenty-five word pitch at the end of an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times!  Because bios (or credits) are so important to the marketing of a book, I include information on them in every one of my #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books.  Still, when I saw this from Author Dr. Bob Rich, I fell in love. He both stretches the idea of bios and limits them.  His input on bios as fact or fiction is something I doubt many writers have considered.  So, enjoy!

Dr. Bob Rich's Take on Writing a Bio That Inspires

The Bio

As a writer, you may be asked to provide 'a bio'. It goes on the back of the paperback or the dust jacket of the hardcover, and is part of your e-book. It is needed when you win in a writing competition. Your book may be reviewed, or you may review someone else's. Publish an article, essay, poem or story in a magazine or newspaper, and they will want a bio.

More prosaically, you should have one on your website, or when joining an email list.

A bio is short. Usually 50 to 200 words are specified. The shorter a piece of writing, the harder it is, so producing a bio is often a form of torture.

What is a bio anyway?

It is a prose snippet designed to induce people to read your writing. You are not in court, required to state the Truth, All the Truth and Nothing But the Truth. You are writing something with the theme 'Me!' in order to get people to read your books, stories, essays, poems, whatever.

Above all, a bio is A SAMPLE OF YOUR WRITING. Therefore, it should not consist of stodge.

Joanie Smith lives with her husband, Bill, son, Jason, and daughter, Cindy. She has a Dalmatian named Spot. Joanie has written a romantic suspense that every reader so far has loved, and she would love to have it published.

If a publisher of romantic suspense happened to stumble across this, would she instantly dash off an email to Joanie, demanding to see the manuscript? Not on the basis of this sample of Joanie's writing.

All right, let's try again.

Joanie Smith often has to deal with evil kidnappers, torturers of children, drug-crazed psychopaths. She helps young women to rescue the poor victims against all the odds. These girls start as naïve and apparently with few resources, but Joanie coaches them, and helps them to find tough, attractive allies who inevitably fall in love with them.

Well... this is what she does when she is inside her computer. The rest of her life is none of your business.

Isn't that more fun? Or how about:

Joanie Smith has always wanted to write. She remembers, as an ovum hidden within her Mom, watching this crowd of pointy things coming at her. She chose the one that most looked like a pen, and gave him all her love. But, typical male, he didn't hold any ink.

That's why Joanie prefers to write on a computer.

She is a full time writer, making up stories while helping her husband to run their business, and while he helps her, reluctantly, to run their household. She is the author of twenty-seven romantic suspense novels, though twenty-six have not been recorded yet. The one completed book is eagerly waiting for a discerning publisher. Being only twenty-two, Joanie is happy to wait for this, as much as six months, before she pickets the Publishing Industry.

Should a bio be true? I don't see why. Read this:

Bob Rich is from a different galaxy. He looks like a huge maggot with six suction-capped feet, a great gaping mouth with cilia around it, and no eyes or ears. He doesn't need those because he reads electromagnetic patterns like those thoughts generate.

Not wanting to shock humans, he hides within a Terran body, and travels through Earth's history. Currently he is studying the most bizarre period of all time: the early 21st Century.

One excursion took him 1500 years into the future. His report from there is in the award-winning book Sleeper, Awake.

Another trip was to 700 BC, where he met the Ehvelen, his favorite humans. Their stories are at http://bobswriting.com/series.html reported within an adventure series.

Bob's most dangerous expedition was to the years surrounding the Second World War, in Hungary. This resulted in the multiple-award-winning Anikó: The stranger who loved me. 

Another series of Bob's time travels is recorded in Ascending Spiral.

Recently, he visited the mid-18th Century, where he met a wonderful Aboriginal girl. Her story is Guardian Angel.

Look him up at http://bobswriting.com, but only if you have the time to enjoy a few hours of reading.

Note that this bio is exactly 200 words long.

This bio is true in the same way that Joanie's second and third bios are true. But is it good writing? Does it make you want to read more? I hope so.

MORE ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER

Bio from Dr. Rich: Dr Bob Rich is a professional grandfather. Because he wants his millions of grandchildren to survive, and have a world worth surviving in, he is a passionate environmental and humanitarian campaigner. Unfortunately, he has no sense of humor whatever, as you will see at his blog Bobbing Aroundhttps://bobrich18.wordpress.com

A little extra from me because one of the beauties of blogs is we don't waste paper when when we include a little more! 

Dr Bob Rich's website is http://bobswriting.com. Be has an eclectic newsletter called

Bobbing Around http://wp.me/P3Xihq-1. He tells you about what he considers his best book at http://bobswriting.com/guardian.html.  And his two favorite mottoes are: 

Commit random acts of kindness and Live simply so you may simply live.  

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER



Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )