Tip: Retype! (I know, but do it anyway) and Some Online Updates

First, note that Glimmer Train just sent out a notice that their next Very Short Fiction Award deadline is January 31. Contest fee is $10 per submission, which is reasonable. Also, re: my post immediately below, I've found you actually can check something under contact preferences if you don't want them sending you any notifications at all.

Plus, my favorite site Publishers Marketplace has a new feature included in the $15 paid services, "who represents." You can now search their database on an author name to find out what agent represents the author. Not everyone will be in there, but some people will. I think it needs time to grow to get more data, but it could prove to be a really great tool.

Now then, the tip: one of my writing teachers, Chuck Wachtel, told me this and it has proved invaluable. When you're revising, DON'T just go into your original document on the word processor and start tweaking. Make yourself print out the old version, mark it up if you want, and type it back in. You will be amazed at the fresh ideas you have and how much smoother it gets. I'm not sure why. A talented writer friend of mine, Philip Herter, posits that it's because the mind is relaxed while you're doing all that typing, so it's freer to be creatively inspired. I know it sounds like drudgery, but it works. Give it a try.

Will probably be absent from these pages until after Thanksgiving. I'm trying to give myself a computer-free holiday to reduce the stress level. See [figuratively] y'all in December!