In this Issue:

• "Welcome" - Dan Case, editor
  
• Feature "Writing the Historical Biography" by Charles W. Sasser
  
• 18 Paying Markets - High, Medium, and Low
  
• Feature "5 Ways to Break the Rules and Break the Bank" by Jennifer Brown Banks

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Welcome

It's finally here... the new 2nd Edition of The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Magazine Articles. Peggy Fielding and I have gone through and updated everything and even added a section on digital cameras. Best of all, all of the markets were updated and the links checked — we added about 60 more markets so now there are over 350 markets included in the book.

Here are the top-selling writing books at AWOCBooks.com - FREE SHIPPING on selected books! ($2.95 value)

1. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING & SELLING MAGAZINE ARTICLES 2nd Edition by Peggy Fielding and Dan Case. FREE SHIPPING!
   
2. CONFESSING FOR MONEY 2nd Edition Writing and Selling to the SECRET Short Story Market by Peggy Fielding FREE SHIPPING!
   
3. MAGIC STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS by Charles W. Sasser. FREE SHIPPING!
   
4. THE ORGANIZED WRITER IS A SELLING WRITER by Kathryn Lay. FREE SHIPPING!
   
5. WRITING HUMOR FOR MORE THAN LAUGHS by Phil Truman FREE SHIPPING!
   
6. BE YOUR OWN BOOK DOCTOR: So You Can Cure What Ails Your Writing by Robyn Conley.
   
7. THE SUCCESSFUL WRITER'S HANDBOOK by Patricia Fry
   
8. JUMPSTART YOUR WRITING CAREER & SNAG PAYING ASSIGNMENTS by Beth Erickson.
   
9. BOB BLY'S FREELANCE WRITING SUCCESS (How to Make $100,000 a Year as a Freelance Writer and Have the Time of Your Life Doing It) by Robert W. Bly
   
10. WEEKLY WRITES (52 Weeks of Writing Bliss! For Writers Who Want to Develop the Habit of Writing Every Day, Every Month, All Year Long.) by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta
    

Dan Case, editor
editor@writingfordollars.com (put WFD in the subject line)

A friend from Iowa called. He was acquainted with the closest living relative of the famous Sullivan Brothers, all five of whom went down with the USS JUNEAU at the start of World War II, and whose deaths led to a federal act prohibiting close relatives from serving together in the military during wartime. Would I be interested in writing a book about them?

He was talking about a historical biography. Of the more than fifty books I have published, at least a dozen are considered historical biographies. Chances are you have read some of them: One Shot-One Kill; First SEAL; Arctic Homestead; Patton‘s Panthers; Hill 488; Raider... All have been published by major houses like Simon & Schuster and St. Martin’s. All have sold well and several continue to earn a few grand in royalties each year. In print since 1990, for example, One Shot-One Kill still generates annual royalties of about $6,000.

All the more reason to write the historical biography.

The historical biography centers on the life of a figure who, because of his accomplishments or deeds, has contributed in some significant way, who has “made a difference.” That does not mean the subject must be Abe Lincoln, Josef Stalin, or, God forbid, Paris Hilton. First SEAL tells the story of LCDR Roy Boehm, the founder and first commander of the Navy SEALs. Raider is the bio of Special Forces SGM Galen Kittleson, the only soldier in history to make four raids to free American POWs. Both were little-known figures, although both contributed in a major way to the military.

Historical events also fall loosely within this category. Since an event involves people, at least most of the time, it stands to reason that their bios must be included with the event. Here again, the subject does not have to be Hiroshima, the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock, or Tom Cruise’s wedding. In Smoke Jumpers, I tell of the wild fire at Storm King Mountain that took the lives of fourteen smoke jumpers and hot shots. HILL 488 explores a heroic battle in Vietnam and the eighteen Marines who fought it.

In choosing the topic for a history, think small. By this, I don’t mean think small in the scope of the work, but instead in choosing the right subject. You’re not going to sell another tome on Sherman’s March or the early life of Karl Marx. Look for those compelling figures that may not be central to the history of a particular period, but who populate it and contribute to it. My Patton’s Panthers explores the tankers of the obscure 761st Tank Battalion of WWII, the first all-black American armored outfit to see combat. Shoot To Kill looks at cops who have had to use deadly force.

Our world is full of ideas for the historical biography. Newspapers, magazines, friends, acquaintances, neighbors... Any or all may contribute a gem that can grow into the next successful book. I constantly take notes. I look. I listen. Friends in Alaska tipped me off to big game guide Les Cobb and his wife Norman, who were the last homesteaders under the U.S. Homestead Act; their tale became Arctic Homestead. Patton’s Panthers started with a newspaper clipping announcing a reunion of the 761st Tank Battalion. I may write on the Sullivan Brothers because a friend knew a friend of a friend... See how it goes?

Interviews form the core of a new book. For God In The Foxhole, a 2007 book for Simon & Schuster, I interviewed some 40 veterans. I interviewed nearly all of the sixteen surviving members of the 761st. Unless sheer numbers make it prohibitive, I go face-to-face with my subjects. I spent considerable time with both Roy Boehm in Florida and Galen Kittleson in Iowa, for example, enough that we became close friends. I don’t want merely facts. I want to know what happened behind the scenes, who were the other players, how they felt, how things worked, how things looked and smelled and tasted. I want to capture in print my subjects’ personalities, their motivations, their very lives.

No single person--or group--can possibly know, understand, and interpret all that is available about a historical episode. To fill in the gaps, I do massive research, not only by surfing the internet and reading every book and article I can obtain on the subject, but also by questioning historians and obtaining official documents and histories. In addition, I visit sites when possible and quite frequently participate in activities that provide me a better understanding of my subject matter. I actually parachuted into fires with firefighters for Smoke Jumpers.

A friend of mine who penned the more-or-less official history of the 761st Tank Battalion, a heavy book full of facts and figures, wrote to me following the release of Patton‘s Panthers: “I told what happened,” he said. “You made it come alive.”

I write for the popular market, not for academics and fellow historians. History is worthless if no one reads it. I write in the style of what is commonly known as the “nonfiction novel.” I tell the story as though it were, in fact, a novel, fleshing out events and characters, making the scenes live. I want you the reader to be there and understand what it was truly like. Facts are as dry as last autumn’s leaves, and about as useful, unless the reader can be made to live these facts and comprehend what they mean.

A final reason for writing the historical biography is how all that interviewing and research leads to other projects. One Shot-One Kill morphed into a sniper novel, The 100th Kill, now in its third or fourth printing. Patton’s Panthers and other World War II history I have written led to the OSS Commando fiction series, the first of which appears this winter. I wrote the five-novel Detachment Delta series from research conducted for a half-dozen books I research on U.S. Special Operations and Warfare.

I need to stop now and telephone that last surviving relative of the Sullivan Brothers. I know there is a great sea story there. So, what’s keeping you from starting your own historical biography?

© Copyright 2006, Charles W. Sasser

Visit Sasser’s website at http://www.charlessasser.com

• Air & Space - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers. Subjects: Flight. 

• Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks fiction. Subjects: Mystery short stories. 

• American Forests - Guidelines:  .  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: forestry, conservation. 

• Asimov's Science Fiction - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks fiction. Subjects: Science Fiction, poetry. 

• The Atlantic Monthly - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, fillers. Subjects: Book excerpts, essays, general interest, humor, personal experience, religious, travel, poetry. 

• Reform Judaism - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Reform of Jewish Issues. 

Medium - $125 - $500

• The Purdue Alumnus - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Purdue Alumni Association, Campus News. 

• Queens Quarterly - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks fiction. Subjects: General Interest Intellectual, Poetry. 

• Russian Life - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Russian Culture. 

• Shenandoah - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction. Subjects: poetry. 

Low - Less than $125

• AGNI - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, fillers. Subjects: fiction, poetry, essays. 

• Northern Woodlands Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Natural history, Conservation, Forest Management in the Northeast. 

• Planet-The Welsh Internationalist - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks fiction, fillers. Subjects: Welsh affairs, a strong interest in minority cultures elsewhere. 

• Prairie Messenger - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Religious, Interview/Profile, Opinion. 

• Rochester Business Journal - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Rochester Business. 

• San Diego Family Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Family. 

• SCP Journal and SCP Newsletter - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Christianity. 

• Wave-Length Paddling - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: kayaking. 

Most scribes I know adhere to the “cardinal rules” of writing more strictly than the 10 Commandments! Because experts and how-to gurus often give the impression that it’s the only path to publication. However, it’s not long before these wordsmiths discover that there are many roadblocks when venturing down the “traditional path.”

Perfectly crafted queries get them nowhere, and wild goose chases often leave them frustrated and questioning whether or not they have the talent to make it in this business.

Perhaps it’s even you. Take it from someone who knows—there’s a better way.

When I became a freelance writer 15 years ago, there were many obstacles facing me. At the time, I had never taken a class in writing, I had no college degree, no contacts or connections, and I hadn’t discovered my passion until much later in life!

What I did have was a business background and the realization that I had to be strategic in order to overcome what I viewed as potential setbacks.

To compensate for lost time and less experience, I learned to be more creatively clever than the next person. And it worked big time!

What I figured out along the way, is that sometimes “rules were meant to be broken” Here are a few that can increase your productivity and enhance your bottom line!

1. DON’T QUERY, BE HAPPY! Would you believe that I’ve sold about 400 articles, commentary pieces, short stories, and poems without ever once having written a query? Not one. Nada. The trick here is to request writers’ guidelines, produce your best work, research the publication’s archives, be unique, and know intimately the audience of the publications for which you target.

2. DON’T BE AFRAID TO “PUSH THE ENVELOPE” A LITTLE! Last year, an anthology publisher posted guidelines on an online bulletin board for an upcoming book that really bowled me over. I feverishly went to work, and submitted what I thought was a fantastic piece. There was just one problem. No matter how much weeding and revising I did, I couldn’t stay within their specified word count. For me, to dissect my story any more would take away some of the true essence of my work. My solution? I wrote a nice little cover letter to the editor explaining my dilemma. Guess what? The piece was purchased and was ultimately selected from out of more than 600 entries around the country.

3. KNOW THAT “NO” DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN NO. As an avid reader, I sometimes enjoy writing book reviews. A local magazine that previously did not accept book reviews bought mine. The reason? It was well written, featured multiple titles, fit the slant of the magazine, and I had previously established a good working relationship with the editor.

Sometimes you never know until you try! But don’t be pushy or disrespectful. There is a difference.

4. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW, BUT ALSO WRITE WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO DISCOVER. Never limit your creativity to things that you have prior knowledge of. You’ll miss out on some great fun and the opportunity to expand your knowledge base.

5. WRITE EVERYDAY? I wouldn’t dare dream of it! Truth is, sometimes my muse acts as rebellious as a teenager. The more I force, the more she holds out. Still, I do something each day to support my writing career. When I’m not crafting a piece, I read or research markets, or turn on the boob tube to be inspired. You should too!

Rules were indeed meant to be broken. And my long, successful career as a columnist, features writer, instructor, award-winning poet, and author is positive proof that it pays!

© Copyright 2006, Jennifer Brown Banks

Jennifer Brown Banks is a Featured Author (May, 2006) at Anthologies Online.