June 2004 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop newsletter

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ERMA BOMBECK WRITERS' WORKSHOP NEWSLETTER

University of Dayton

June 2004

mailto:erma@udayton.edu

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It's all about who you know and asking for help.

Karen Rinehart missed Craig Wilson's speech at the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. She skipped out to watch a NASCAR race televised from Bristol Motor Speedway. Why the keen interest in this race? The cover of Karen's book was a decal on the #25 Marines.com car. For a while, Bobby Hamilton Jr. was leading the race, so the #25 Marines.com car -- and Karen's book cover -- got great camera time.

To give you an idea of sponsorship costs, Karen's decal (about 6" x 9", placed on the drivers side panel) was worth $50,000. That's just the value for one race. But, Karen got it for free.

You might wonder how Karen accomplished this kind of incredible promotion. (I know I did.) Karen knows Sam Rensi (co-owner of Team Rensi Motorsports) with his brother Ed (former President and CEO of McDonalds). Over lunch one day, Karen showed Sam a copy of her book, "Invisible Underwear, Bus Stop Mommies and Other Things True To Life."

"Someday when I'm rich and famous, the Bus Stop Mommies can be a sponsor for the #25 Marines.com car," Karen told Sam.

"Darling, you could never afford this!" Sam said. "But," he continued, "I was just trying to figure out how we can get this on there." Sam had his people call Karen, who provided artwork of the book cover. The rest is NASCAR -- and publishing -- history.

How did Karen know Sam? Sam was a student of Karen's dad at Ohio State University. Later, Ed hired Karen's dad as a consultant. It's all about networking and not being afraid to ask people for help.

You can see the Marines.com car with Karen's book cover at http://www.karenrinehart.net/BSM_Photos.html

Keep writing!

Tim Bete

Humor columnist (http://www.TimBete.com) and director, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (http://www.HumorWriters.org)

P.S. Feel free to forward this newsletter to all your writer friends.

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10 MOST COMMON REASONS BOOK PROPOSALS ARE REJECTED

Marcia Yudkin gives the reasons -- and what they really mean.

See http://www.yudkin.com/rejection.htm

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HUMAN INTEREST WRITING AWARD

Kelley Benham of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times won $5,000 and the Ernie Pyle Award trophy from the Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Awards.

See http://www.scripps.com/foundation/news/newsrelease/04march12.html

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NO MORE AUTOGRAPH PARTIES

Many authors and author-publishers misunderstand the purpose of a book signing and attend unprepared. Dan Poynter sets them straight.

See http://www.humorwriters.org/Poynter1.html

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TONY COCHRAN AT BOOKS & COMPANY

Tony Cochran, creator of the Agnes comic strip, will be at Books & Company (Dayton, Ohio) on June 4 at 7 p.m. to sign his book, "Agnes: I’m Far Too Young to Look This Hot." Tony was on the faculty of the 2004 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. See you there!

See http://www.booksandco.com/events/dayton04.html

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FREE 30-MINUTE LIFE COACHING SESSION

Lynn Colwell, who wrote the only authorized biography of Erma Bombeck, recently started a life coaching business and is offering a no-charge, 30-minute session to subscribers of this newsletter. Help Lynn reach her goal of coaching 100 people by Dec. 2005 by allowing her to coach you for 30 minutes (for free). All you need to do is fill out a quick online feedback form after the 30-minute session. Coaching is fun and there's no obligation. Contact Lynn at www.bloomngrow.net.

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BEST WRITER'S CONFERENCES

Bookforce.com recently picked the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop as one of the "100 Best Writer's Conferences for 2004." Editor Duane Newcomb writes, "If you are a humor writer, this is the conference for you."

See http://www.bookforce.bizland.com/id27.html

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AN INTERVIEW WITH JODIE LYNN

Jodie Lynn, who was on the faculty of the 2004 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, was recently interviewed by Jenna Glatzer. Jodie's syndication story is fascinating.

See http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/jodie_lynn.htm

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STAND-UP COMIC LOOKING FOR WRITER

Michael Banaga (San Diego, Calif.) is a new comedian who goes by the stage name "Sugarfree" the Diabetic Comedian. He educates people about Diabetes through laughter. Mike is looking for a writer to volunteer (no pay) to write some material for him. If you're interested, you can contact Mike at dare2dreamteamsd@aol.com mailto:dare2dreamteamsd@aol.com

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WOMAN HIT BY BAT DURING SAUSAGE RACE RETIRING

Strange but true. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council presented her with a certificate of bravery.

See http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1798222

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NSNC SHOWS FLAG AT WORKSHOP

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists has posted some photos from the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop on its Web site.

See http://www.columnists.com/EBWW/EBWW.htm

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BAD SANTA

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa discuss their background in the movie industry and the idea behind their 2003 controversial comedy hit Bad Santa.

See http://www.scriptmag.com/earticles/earticle.php?298

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WHO'S PUBLISHING WHAT?

2000 ONLINE RESOURCES FOR WRITERS: This guide will help you find genre resources, market guides, grants, experts, book promotion resources, self-publishing tools, and more. See http://www.writing-world.com/moira/2000.shtml

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE FISHERMAN'S SOUL: New anthology includes stories by George H.W. Bush and Patrick F. McManus. See http://www.fishsoul.com

BALES PENS "RANK STRANGERS": Recent college grad, Mark Bales, publishes his first novel. See http://alumni.udayton.edu/np_story.asp?storyID=1584

GENERATION EXHAUSTED: Shelley Divnich Haggert publishes "Thirty Stories For Thirty-Somethings." See http://www.generationxhausted.com

EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES: A very funny book about punctuation. See

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592400876

2004 ONLINE MARKETS FOR WRITERS: Book comes with a $250 Paid & Published Guarantee. See

http://www.marketsforwriters.com/preorders/pre-givegift-home.html

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HUMOR WRITER OF THE MONTH: DICKIE ANDERSON

Columnist Dickie Anderson writes for the New Leader (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) and previously wrote for the Florida Times-Union. She received the Golden Palm Award from the Florida Writer's for her second book, "From the Porch, Share Life's Unexpected Gifts." See http://www.dickieanderson.com

If you'd like to be considered as our featured writer, send an e-mail with a link to one of your columns to: mailto:bete@udayton.edu

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WRITER'S DIGEST BOOK GIVEAWAY

Each month we give away a book on writing to a few subscribers to this newsletter. If you're subscribed, you're entered to win! This issue's winners are:

* Ingrid Cummings

* Christopher Orlet

Each has won a copy of "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass They've also won an Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop mouse pad.

Thanks to Writer's Digest for providing the books for our giveaway. To learn more about the book we gave away this month, see http://www.writersdigest.com/store/booksdisplay.asp?id=10844

Stay tuned! You could be one of next issue's winners!

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MARKETS, CONTESTS AND MORE

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BEST MOVIE ESSAY: DUCTS.org is seeking the best personal essay about the movies. See

http://www.ducts.org/12_03/html/contest3.htm

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GRANDMA'S SOUL: Chicken Soup for the Grandma's Soul seeks inspirational true stories. $200 payment. July 1 deadline. See http://www.leannthieman.com/grandma_ssoul.htm

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MOTHER & SON SOUL: Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son Soul seeks inspirational true stories. $200 payment. November 1 deadline. See http://www.leannthieman.com/solcitation_mom-son_final.htm

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CREATIVE SCREENWRITING: Screenwriting news of the day. See http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/csdaily.html

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RENAISSANCE GREETING CARDS: Accepts unsolicited verse submissions appropriate for Everyday and Seasonal card occasions. See http://www.rencards.com/WriterGuidelines.html

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E-CARDS: Retro e-postcards from Shake That Brain! See http://www.shakethatbrain.com/card-tips.html

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STAIN BUSTERS CONTEST: If you win, your stain tip will be used in the third Toadfern mystery, which will be published by Avon Books in 2005. See http://www.sharonshort.com/stainbusters.htm

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NETWORK WITH OTHER HUMOR WRITERS: Network with other humor writers. Join the e-mail discussion group for past attendees of the Erma Bombeck Writers'

Workshop and those who would like to attend in the future. To join, visit the Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/humor_writers

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SUGGEST A RESOURCE: If you have a favorite book or Web site, let me know at bete@udayton.edu.

mailto:bete@udayton.edu

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2004 WORKSHOP SPONSORS

University of Dayton National Alumni Association: http://alumni.udayton.edu

Ohio Humanities Council: http://www.ohiohumanities.org

AuthorHouse: http://www.authorhouse.com

National Society of Newspaper Columnists: http://www.columnists.com

Andrews McMeel Publishing: http://www.amuniversal.com/amp

Dayton Daily News: http://www.daytondailynews.com

Books & Company: http://www.booksandco.com/events/dayton04.html

ThinkTV: http://www.thinktv.org

Washington-Centerville Public Library: http://www.wcpl.lib.oh.us

WHIO-TV: http://www.whiotv.com

WYSO public radio: http://www.wyso.org

Dayton Marriott: http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage/DAYOH

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OTHER ERMA BOMBECK WRITING WORKSHOP LINKS

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WORKSHOP FACULTY http://www.humorwriters.org/Speakerbios.html

ERMA MUSEUM http://www.ErmaMuseum.org

FREE SCREEN SAVER http://www.humorwriters.org/Screensaver.html

FREE NEWSLETTER http://www.humorwriters.org/Newsletter.html

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