takeourword.com Blog: the companion blog to the Take Our Word For It webzine and site.
Melanie and Mike are back in action. Check out the blog. Check out the site. Word-huggers and amateur etymologists rejoice.
May 18, 2007
Writing markets stuff moving in with the writer colony over >>> there
I’ve decided to keep writing markets “stuff” at the writers’ resources site from this day forth. The posts were taking up too much real estate.
The resources blog will carry the markets information I’ve been carrying here. Coolio writer stuff may wind up in both this blog and that. Info on the writers’ resources site will be updated to include new markets information and links wigati. The resources blog will probably be updated from its 2002 look some day as well.
From now on writing markets info will live there not here. Those of you who read here for great apps, interesting sites, San Francisco foodie news and life, the universe and prayer flags can continue on uninterrupted. Those who only cared about the markets info will find their focus more focussed at the other blog.
This has been a management postie. We now return you to the normal blog content, sans writing markets information.
[PAY MKT] The Good Life
The Good Life is both for and about the people of Central Texas who live and work in the five counties (Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell) that make up the Austin metropolitan area. We do not publish articles about folks who don’t live in this area. All the articles we publish must have a local focus and cite local sources.
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We publish a wide range of feature stories, from hard-hitting articles about weighty topics to pieces designed for sheer entertainment. Adventure, the arts, democracy, fitness, health, hobbies, investigative reports, local history, overcoming adversity, parenting, profiles of interesting local people, relationships, spirituality, volunteerism, wellness, and many other topics—from the extraordinary to the off-the-wall—are good topics for features in The Good Life. The features we publish must be written in the style of journalism, that is, to include multiple points of view from a variety of knowledgeable sources.
We rarely publish fiction. We do not publish reprints. We do not publish travel articles. We do not publish question-and-answer interviews. We do not publish stories about businesses (except in our regular short monthly feature called Austin Originals; these pieces are scheduled months in advance and are written by a regular contributor). We do not publish essays except those produced by our regular columnists. We have a talented team of regular columnists covering a variety of topics and we do not envision adding more columns.
PAYS: month of publication
Health, wellness and fitness features that are published in the Gusto section of the magazine are usually assigned at a length of 1500 words and The Good Life pays $150 to $250 for these features, with the higher fees paid to people who have been writing for the magazine regularly or are widely published.
For all other feature stories, The Good Life pays from $100 to $600, depending on the writer’s experience, the assigned length of the article, and the degree of difficulty. The higher fees go to people who have been writing for The Good Life regularly, or are widely published, and who take on more challenging assignments. Features that earn the highest fees address complex topics, require a demanding amount of research and interviews, and provide comprehensive, in-depth coverage.
[PAY MKT] CAPPER’S
CAPPER’S is a nationally distributed biweekly tabloid publication with a national paid circulation of approximately 200,000. It emphasizes home and family to readers who live mainly in the rural Midwest.
CAPPER’S purchases shared rights, which grants the publisher the right to publish or republish the work in any form in any country, at any time. The author agrees not to publish the work in any other media for a period ending one year after the date of the issue in which the work initially appears. After this period, the author retains the right to republish the work in any form.
CAPPER’S publishes manuscripts on average of two to 12 months after acceptance. Seasonal or holiday material should be submitted at least three months in advance. Notification of acceptance or rejection is made within two to three months, six months for serialized novels. No simultaneous
submissions. Query for novel-length manuscripts only; submit all others complete.”
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CAPPER’S uses historical, inspirational, nostalgic, family-oriented, travel and human-interest stories; unusual accomplishments, collections, occupations, hobbies, etc. Approximately 75 manuscripts are purchased annually (not including Heart of the Home). Use journalistic style. Payment is made upon publication at the rate of approximately $2.50 per printed inch. Length: 700 words maximum. Good quality accompanying photos considered.
Poetry
Free verse and light verse, traditional, nature and inspirational poems are purchased. Those selected are easy to read, with down-to-earth themes. Five or six poems are used in each issue. Limit submissions to batches of 5 to 6, length 4 to 16 lines. Payment of $10 to $15 is made upon acceptance; tear sheet sent upon publication.
Also buys jokes.
[PAY MKT] Chronogram
Chronogram is a regional magazine of arts, lifestyle, politics, environmental issues, holistic health and culture published monthly. Chronogram is an outlet for reportage and point of view that are not often found in the mainstream media. We like to think of ourselves as “progressive” in the broadest sense: We believe that an enlightened, democratic society is attainable as long as citizens-our readers a small group among them-are informed with reliable information. Our writers write the critiques, praises, philosophizings and personal anecdotes that provide the detail to the larger picture, the colors to the outline (often coloring outside the lines).The editor’s ears are always open for new voices and all story ideas are invited for pitching. Chronogram welcomes all voicesand viewpoints as long as they are expressed well. We discriminate solely based on the quality of the writing, nothing else. The length of articles we usually run are from 1000-3500 words.
PAYS: on a sliding scale. No kill fees.
[PAY MKT] Literary Traveler
Literary Traveler is seeking articles that capture the literary imagination. Is there an artist or writer that has inspired you? Have you taken a journey or pilgrimage that was inspired by a work of literature? We focus mainly on literary artists but we welcome articles about other artists: composers, painters, songwriters, story-tellers, etc.
Subject matter can be anything artistic or creative. Each one of our articles in some way, is about someone who creates. Some of our articles are subjective first person travel pieces. Some take a meditative slant on a visit somewhere, and reflect on a theme. Others are objective articles about places or writers, or artists. Please read some of our articles to see if your article is right for us.
PAYS: flat rate (but doesn’t tell what that is)
May 17, 2007
RIP Terry Ryan, the author/daughter of the Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio.
Author Terry Ryan, 61, dies in S.F. home
I’ve been sorting through boxes of books lately. Came across Terry’s book just a couple days back. I hadn’t realized she was ailing.
Survived by her nine siblings and Pat Holt, her partner of almost a quarter-century. Pat and Terry were married on Valentine’s Day weekend, 2004. The state nullified that marriage.
That wrong can never be righted now. Here’s to the day things change for those who carry on the good fight.
And here’s to Terry, may she be remembered fondly.
Hocus-Pocus, and a Beaker of Truffles
Is nothing sacred? Daniel Patterson writes about truffle oil in Hocus-Pocus, and a Beaker of Truffles
[NYTimes. Registration required.]
A TRUFFLE by any other name may smell as sweet, but what if that name is 2,4-dithiapentane? All across the country, in restaurants great and small, the “truffle” flavor advertised on menus is increasingly being supplied by truffle oil. What those menus don’t say is that, unlike real truffles, the aroma of truffle oil is not born in the earth. Most commercial truffle oils are concocted by mixing olive oil with one or more compounds like 2,4-dithiapentane (the most prominent of the hundreds of aromatic molecules that make the flavor of white truffles so exciting) that have been created in a laboratory; their one-dimensional flavor is also changing common understanding of how a truffle should taste.
Patterson’s restaurant, Coi, is amazing and just a hop, skip and jump away — four blocks, maybe five, near the corner of Broadway and Montgomery. Delish food in a soothing venue. $$$ or we’d eat there more often than we do. Coi includes service in the bill, one of the few restaurants I know that does. Wish more did.
May 15, 2007
Prayer flags in North Beach: Global Books on Columbus
The flags from Lhasa got old and tatty and finally ripped apart in a storm. I mended them and then searched until I found some more down on Pacific Avenue.
When those needed mending (the weather here is rough on the flags … those flags are still flying mended), I went off to Wonders of Tibet on Lombard, near the condo at Broadway and Laguna. Those flags were cotton and went stiff and sticky in the first rain, needed to be shaken and unstuck after rains and … well, they’re still hanging too.
Haven’t found yet flags like those we bought from the non-Tibetan Han Chinese vendors in the square in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.
But we need more. These are wearing. The guys come next week to tear off the photo-voltaic panels and then more guys to tear off the roof and replace it. Then our solar guys come back to replace the panels.
The prayer flags up on the deck are on their last legs and need replacing. They probably won’t survive the activity.
A couple weeks ago we went back to our purveyor on Pacific and found he was moving up and around the corner onto Columbus. We went up to Columbus, but he wasn’t open yet.
Today for lunch we hied over to the House and had deep-fried salmon roll with a chinese hot mustard sauce to start, unagi and avocado sandwiches with a side salad with sesame seed oil dressing that came with the sandwiches. Tapioca pudding with mango swirl for dessert. Ym.
Afterwards, we decided to check whether Global Books and Art had the Columbus Avenue location open yet.
They did.
“When did you open?”
“Nine-thirty.”
“No, when did you open here, after moving?”
“Last Wednesday.”
The new space is excellent. Large windows onto Columbus. A MUCH larger space (and selection) inside.
Global Books and Art can now be found on the west side of the Columbus block between Broadway and Pacific.
Go thee there. Buy some prayer flags, some pashmina shawls, some jewelry, some thankas, some books.
Or just say hey to the guy who runs the space. He is very happy with the new location.
We really hope he does well. Quite a gamble. Hope it pays off.
May 14, 2007
Butt naked
Jan Freeman’s 13 May 2007 column on eggcorns
[via Benjamin Zimmer’s Language Log ]