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WPNews, March 2025
The What’s Next? Issue
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From Sandra Murphy, Editor
We’re all asking ‘what’s next?’ about politics, our rights, the economy, and more. Uncertainty wears on our nerves and weighs on our minds. Writing can be your escape from a current events overload. Whether your character is from a different planet, a different time, or is the killer/sleuth/victim or in love, crafting their world to your satisfaction will give your mind a rest from turmoil. Use it and come back to the real world refreshed and ready to take action.
Breaking news for short story writers: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the four Penny Press fiction digests—Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, Asimov's, and Analog have been purchased by 1Paragraph Media, to be published by agent and IP developer Steven Salpeter. They say no changes are planned—but stay tuned.
Need a laugh? Editors have been approached in the most inappropriate places. At a conference, one editor had a manuscript pushed under the bathroom stall door. A small voice said I wanted to be the first to give you a manuscript, I hope you like it. Sadly, it did not get published.
In times of snail mail and a slush pile, writers used to decorate the boxes/envelopes their manuscripts were mailed in, with hopes they would be eye-catching and jump the line. No success.
According to the following article, the dentist’s chair, a funeral (a pitch from the officiating rabbi!), a TSA agent at the airport, a bridal shower, or during labor are not paths to success.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/96992-children-s-editors-on-the-worst-places-they-were-ever-pitched.html
Good luck with your pitch—and although they call it an elevator pitch, reconsider…
Sandy, Editor, editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
If you’d like to write a guest post for the newsletter, send an email to editor@writersandpublishersnetwork.com
with ideas for articles. Don’t send the full article—we want to avoid duplicates.
If you are not a member yet, join at www.writersandpublishers.com.
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Missing: The Book Doctor: Bobbie Christmas
Sadly, this month we say good-bye to The Book Doctor, a staple here since Writers and Publishers Network began as SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network) many years ago.
A computer fluke ate Bobbie’s email list. Rather than reconstruct it, if possible, or start over, Bobbie has taken it as a sign from the universe. It’s time for something new. What exactly that will be is yet to be determined.
We wish Bobbie the best in whatever comes next. She’ll be missed. She’ll also inspire the rest of us to keep moving ahead, even when we’re not sure exactly where we’re going.
Thanks for the years of explaining how to make our writing better.
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| Marketing Tips and Trends—A New Monthly Column Guest writer, Desiree Duffy |
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You want to give your book launch every chance to succeed, right? You’ve written your book. It’s gone through several stages of editing. The interior is laid out. Your cover art is slamming. You’re so excited. The publishing team has got to be, too, you’re sure. You’re just waiting on them to clue you in on the great marketing plan that’s going to catapult your book right onto the charts.
Only problem? It doesn’t come. Or when it does, it’s pretty bare bones.
New and established authors are often surprised when marketing services they’d expect would fall under the duties of their publisher’s book marketing teams fall through the cracks. Their publisher may be wonderful, and may have hired a marketing or publicity agency, but tasks are neglected.
Why Do Book Marketing and Publishing Services Intersect?
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Desiree Duffy, Founder, Black Château, Books That Make You and The BookFest
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Writers Need Writers by Kathleen Marple Kalb
One of the best investments you can make in your career is dues for professional groups. Which specific group depends on your genre, but every writer can benefit from some affiliation.
If you can afford it, you’ll probably want to join one large national group and one local chapter.
The national group (Authors Guild, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers, etc.) will offer large scale resources: big membership lists, advocacy, member services. Many have online communities, educational programs, and marketing resources like registries or library search engines. Often, they’ll have information about markets or agents or services, and some will even help you understand process issues like contracts.
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Kathleen Marple Kalb aka Nikki Knight is the author of contemporary and historical cozy mysteries and short stories. Look for Hound of the Bonnevilles by Nikki Knight, from Keylight Books and The Stuff of Mayhem from Level Best Books, both launching March, 2025.
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The Publishing Game by Jay Hartman
Imagine you’ve spent years building up an impressive hardcover and paperback collection. You’ve got a library in your home full of bookshelves of all your favorite authors. You’ve supported your local bookstores and bought books online.
One day, you come home to find every single book in your collection is gone. Shelves are empty, nothing left in the library except the faint smell of spine glue and dust. There’s a card on the shelf from the local bookstore saying you can contact them if you have any questions. When you call to find out what’s going on, they explain you never actually owned the books, you were only being given permission to use them under license from the bookstore.
Sounds like a ridiculous idea, doesn’t it? Except, in February of 2025, that’s exactly what Amazon rolled out to Kindle users. Amazon notified all customers they were turning off the ability to download purchased titles to the buyer’s computer. The only access would be through Kindle apps and devices. They went even further by changing the wording on Kindle pages to specifically tell potential buyers they are not
purchasing a book but merely license to use it.
Be part of the discussion! Send your questions to jhartman@mistimedia.com with TPG in your subject line.
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WPN Vice President Jay A. Hartman has worked in the publishing industry for over 30 years. For 13 years he served as the creator and Editor-in-Chief of Untreed Reads Publishing. In 2023 he created Misti Media, a company dedicated to book publishing and author education.
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The Mystery of History by Marilyn Todd
Today marks a milestone in my writing career. I’m celebrating— big time, I might add— the publication of four books and short stories in the space of a fortnight. Not a bad way to kick-start my thirtieth year as a published writer, and between you and me, I’m black and blue from pinching myself. But what’s the one thing these masterpieces all have in common? History.
Today, we take technology for granted. Want to capture the moment? Click! Share news? Pick up the phone. Need answers fast? Google. Pay now? There’s an app for that, too. Roll back the centuries, and it wasn’t that easy. Medusa might have been able to capture the moment. One look and they all turned to stone. Unfortunately, most of her contemporaries didn’t have her skills, and if they wanted to share updates, they’d have to send a living, breathing messenger to do the job. Which was fine, if you lived in Athens. But if you’re in Syracuse and want to send news to family on the other side of Mount Etna, pity the poor runner who has to contend with bears, wolves, volcanic eruptions and the inevitable thunderbolts from Zeus. Answers didn’t come quickly, either. Especially if they involved entrails.
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Marilyn Todd is “one of the best short story mystery writers of her generation,” according to Ellery Queen, the world’s leading mystery magazine. Her short story The Wickedest Town in the West scooped one of their prestigious Readers Awards, as did Blood Red Roses, while Room for Improvement, about quickie divorces in 1950s Brighton, was nominated for a Shamus. Her Roman series features "a gorgeous rich bitch, plotting and spying to survive adverse fortune" (Daily Mail). All her work embraces *humour, suspense and a lively sense of drama, often inspired by the places she visits. She and her husband currently live on a French hilltop surrounded by vineyards and woods, and when she isn't killing people, Marilyn enjoys cooking. Which is pretty much the same thing.
*(Marily Todd lives in the UK where they add extra letters to words, willy-nilly.)
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| Bits and Pieces—News You Might Have Missed |
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Parents Want to Opt Out on Books in School
Pride Puppy, a rhyming alphabet book for children aged three to five has caused controversy among a diverse group of parents who want the choice to opt out for their children on religious grounds. The Montgomery County Public School, Maryland, says no. Pride Puppy, which tells the tale of a young dog lost during a Pride celebration. Children can find items in the illustrations to match letters of the alphabet.
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My Rainbow follows the story of a mother who makes a rainbow-colored wig for her trans-identifying child
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"Simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert pressure to believe or act differently than one's religious faith requires," 4th Circuit Appeals Court Judge G. Steven Agee wrote.
The case has advanced to the Supreme Court who has agreed to hear it.
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Five Literary Journals Open to Submissions for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry
- AGNI (AGNIonline.bu.edu) open twice a year for poetry, short stories, or essays. online Submissions can be sent from September 1 to December 15 and February 15 to May 31. AGNI pays $20 per printed page for accepted prose and $40 per page for accepted poetry (maximum $300).
- Boulevard Magazine (BoulevardMagazine.org) biannual issues for contemporary fiction, essays, interviews, poetry. Reading period is from November 1 to May 1. Prose pieces should be no longer than 8,000 words, and poets should limit poems to 200 lines or fewer. Boulevard pays $100–$300 for published prose and $50–$250 for published poetry. They do not accept science fiction, erotica, westerns, horror, romance, children’s stories, or light verse.”
- The Missouri Review (MissouriReview.com)
- Established in 1978, The Missouri Review is a quarterly literary magazine that publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Based at the University of Missouri, this magazine pays writers $25 per published page. Each issue contains approximately five new stories, three new poetry features, and two essays, all selected from unsolicited submissions sent by writers throughout the world. Additionally, they publish special features and interviews with a diverse body of writers.
- New England Review (NEReview.com) New England Review is a quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College. Established in 1978, NER publishes poetry, fiction, and different forms of nonfiction, including travelogues, lyric essays, and more. two open reading periods during the year: September 1 to November 1 and March 1 to May 1. Submit early as the window closes when enough submissions are received. Writers are paid $20 per page ($50 minimum) for writing published in the journal and $50 for pieces published online.
- THEMA
(THEMALiterarySociety.com) THEMA is a magazine that publishes fiction, essays, and poetry. Publishes three times per year, with a pre-determined theme. Published writers are paid $25 for short stories, $10 for short-short pieces (under 1,000 words), $10 for poems, and $10 for artwork. The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the story, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental.
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Oklahoma Anti-Pornography Bill: What It Means for Romance Writers
A recent bill introduced in the Oklahoma legislature seeks to dramatically expand the definition of unlawful pornography and impose harsh criminal penalties for the distribution of what it deems pornography. Authors fear the bill could include romance books or book covers.
None of Rep. Deevers’s bills have ever passed but should it happen, the Authors Guild will keep its members informed. They stand ready to take swift action.
https://authorsguild.org/news/oklahoma-anti-pornography-bill-what-it-means-for-romance-writers/
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Little Free Library Study Reveals Benefits for Book-Impoverished Communities
Children who are surrounded by books spend more time reading—particularly those in underserved school districts. Publishers Weekly, February 20, 2025
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How Women Keep Reinventing Independent Publishing
Women in Independent Publishing: A History of Unsung Innovators, 1953–1989, an intimate yet thorough oral history including interviews with editors and publishers Lee Ann Brown of Tender Buttons Press, Lindy Hough of North Atlantic Books, Bernadette Mayer of United Artists Books, C.D. Wright of Long Roads Press, and more. Each approached publishing on their own terms.
Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2025
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Foundation Media Partners to Publish Books with Macmillan
The film and television production company behind successful book-to-screen adaptations established Foundation Books, resulting in a multi-year publishing partnership with Macmillan to publish books with potential for adaptation.
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Tundra Books has a new imprint Indigenous Children’s Imprint helmed by David A. Robertson to promote Indigenous talent and champion Indigenous stories.
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One Piece of Advice From 27 Literary Fiction Authors in 2024
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/one-piece-of-advice-from-literary-fiction-authors-in-2024
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September 3-7 Bouchercon, New Orleans, Louisiana
https://www.bouchercon2025.com/
The registration fee is $250.00, which covers:
All panels and special events Guest of Honor interviews Any included food events (on a first-come, first-served basis) Access to the hospitality suite offering coffee and snacks while supplies last on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Bouchercon 2026 registration opens February 1, 2025
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WPNews is edited by Lynn Varon, a professional copy editor working on articles and manuscripts. Varon.com
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