My stories in the Zombie Cookbook!

I just got the contract for The Zombie Cookbook for my two stories:

"Wokking Dead" It's war and love when zombies attack a Korean restaurant.

"My Big Fat Zombie Wedding" So he's undead--doesn't mean he's not the perfect man for a romance that will last 'till death and beyond.

It comes out in September. I'm looking forward to it. I know a lot of the writers through the Writers Chatroom, so I'm expecting some fun and quirky stories, poems and, yes, recipes in this anthology coming from the appropriately named Damnation Books.

(I have a recipe for Intel on Ice. Not for the living. Trust me on this.)

More details as I learn them!

Catholic Writers Conference Aug 5-7

Catholic Writers Guild, Catholic Marketing Network Hold Writers’ Conference

Somerset, NJ--The Catholic Writers' Guild, in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Network, will host its first-ever Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE! at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, Somerset, NJ, from Aug 5-7, 2009. The conference will host publishers, editors and authors from all aspects of the Catholic writing world, including magazines and devotionals, novels and educational materials. The panel discussions, presentations and workshops will cover all aspects of writing including generating query letters, crafting a good story, worldbuilding, marketing finished works and more. In addition, editors from several Catholic publishers will be on-hand to share their wisdom and hear authors propose their works.

The Catholic Marketing Network's International Trade Show, held at the neighboring Garden State Exhibition Center (http://www.gsec.com), will serve as the exhibition floor for the writers’ conference, giving writers a chance to browse the booths, meet with publishing companies, pitch their books to publishers, have their work critiqued at a private critique session and chat with the published authors at book signings at the Catholic Writers’ Guild booth. CMN will also be hosting daily Masses and rosaries at the Doubletree Hotel, and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at the exhibition center. Other CMN events including the seminars and inspirational talks scheduled for Tuesday, August 4 will be held at the Doubletree.
Presenters for the writers’ conference include: author/Sophia Press submissions editor Regina Doman (Angel in the Waters); Pauline Books and Media Editor Sister Maria Grace, CEO of Ignatius Press Mark Brumley (How Not to Share Your Faith), Susan Brinkmann editor of Canticle Magazine, Lisa Wheeler, Executive Vice President of the Maximus Group (PR and marketing firm for The Passion of the Christ), author/Ascension Press publisher Matt Pinto (Do Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons?), Claudia Volkman, General Manager of Circle Press, Tom Hoopes, Executive Editor of the National Catholic Register, and mystery author John Desjarlais (Bleeder) among others.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for both writers and publishers to connect," said science fiction writer and Catholic Writer's Guild President, Karina Fabian. "The CMN has been especially generous in offering to share it facilities and programs with us, which really enhances the quality of the conference for attendee and presenter.”

Conference Coordinator and CWG Vice President Ann Lewis adds “There will be a lot of good information, encouragement and learning opportunities for Catholic authors at our live conference. Our goal is to help good Catholic writers to get published. The world needs their words.”

The Catholic Writers’ Guild has hosted two highly successful on-line conferences.
To register or for more information, go to www.catholicwritersconference.com. Registration is $80 through June 1st, $99 through July 31st and $110 at the door.

Animoto--simple but limited video creation software

I'm working on my book trailer course, and ran across this video creation software. You put in some captions and some pictures, pick music they provide and it mixes it for you. It's kind of neat.

This took me about 2 hours because I first made it too long. (Even though it said use 14 pictures, it would only take 9.) Still it's cute. What do you think?

Video Book Trailer Class Available

The next class at The Marketing Mentor will be on making your own video book trailer. This is a fun and useful marketing tool, and can take as little as a weekend to put together once you know how. We'll discuss:

--basics of an effective trailer
--where to get free photos and music
--the nuts-and-bolts of working with Windows Movie Maker
--what to do with it when it's done

You must have a computer that can handle Windows Movie Maker or be familiar with your own movie-making program. (The only program I know is Movie Maker, so I won't be able to answer questions on others.)

If you do the homework, you should have your own trailer by the end of class! (Not promising Oscar quality, but fun!)

The class costs $30 and runs 4-5 weeks. Register at http://www.karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=24. Payment is via PayPal.

I'd also like to remind folks of my newsletter "The 30-Minute Marketer." Too often we get advice on what marketers should do, but not a lot of direction. IE—we need that coach to tell us "Do this—here's how!" Each week, I give you tasks. You will learn as you do. The newsletter is just $12 for 52 issues. You can sign up at http://www.karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=24 (scroll down)

Going to Ground for the Summer

I've been blessed the past two years with some fantastic writing opportunities and some great online groups. However, the two are coming to a clash this summer. In the next three months, I need to:

1. Finish a school planner, write two supplements, a teacher's guide and a family newsletter--for actual, very nice pay!
2. Edit two books that are in the publishing process. Live and Let Fly will be out late 09 from Swimming Kangaroo; Infinite Space, Infinite God II around April 2010.
3. Write two more books: Discovery needs to be ready to pitch at the Catholic Writers Conference Live! in August. Gapman, the next DragonEye, PI novel, for October at the latest (depending on who's taking pitches at the MuseOnline Conference. We're trying to move DragonEye to the bog publishers who will get them on the shelves!)
4. Help plan and participate in the Catholic Writers Conference Live! Aug 5-8.

This is in addition to the classes I'm teaching as The Marketing Mentor, the three newsletters I publish ("A Dragon's Eye View," "Faith-Filled Fiction" and "The 30-minute Marketer"), my monthly column for Montana Catholic, and the business of being President of the Catholic Writers Guild.

Now, to top that off, we are moving to California in June/July. And we may homeschool. We'll decide that next week.

As a result, I'm going into lurk mode on groups, and am cutting down my blogging. However, since Twitter is so easy, I will keep activity there. You can subscribe to me at http://twitter.com/karinafabian if you'd like to keep up on my happenings. I will keep blogging on VirtualBookTourdeNet.blogspot.com because I want to keep supporting authors.
If you need to contact me for any reason, e-mail me or go to my contact page at www.fabianspace.com

Have a great summer! We will!

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem: Interview with Copy Editor, Jennifer Walker

Jennifer Walker was the copy editor for Magic, Mensa and Mayhem. She not only did a terrific job of catching the silly errors that I missed even after many revisions and critiques. In addition, she noticed a few bad habits that I'm now watching. She's made me a better writer. More about Jen at: www.authorjennwalker.com

How did you get to be a copy editor?

After editing my own work and that of my coworkers, friends and family for several years, doing a lot of studying to remind myself of grammar rules and working with my mentor, who has been an editor at several different levels for several years, someone passed along an ad from Swimming Kangaroo Books saying they were hiring copy editors. I applied and took their test, and was informed a short time later that I was one of the top two scorers on the test. I was offered the job, and I have been working there ever since.

What's the difference between copy editing and content editing?

The content editor examines the manuscript for errors or areas of development related to plot, dialogue, characterization, continuity and style. This is a more high-level approach than what the copy editor does.

The copy editor is one of the last people to look at the manuscript before it goes to print (there are still proofers who come after). The copy editor is primarily responsible for correcting any mechanical errors, such as grammar, punctuation, spacing and spelling. The copy editor is also another set of eyes to catch continuity errors or point of view shifts previous editors did not catch--after all, we're all human and things slip by us!

What do you enjoy about it?

My name is Jennifer, and I'm a grammar nerd. I like gaining a better understanding of grammar through my work, and it improves my own writing as well. I am in the process of editing my first book for the third time after several months' break from it, and I'm finding a lot of things I did not before. By contrast, its sequel, which I wrote this year during National Novel Writing Month, is much cleaner.

What are your editing pet peeves?

Authors who argue with me! Just kidding... I would have to say my pet peeves are sentences that are so long I can't follow them and a point of view that shifts back and forth so fast I feel like I'm reading a tennis match.

Tell us about editing Magic, Mensa and Mayhem—any funny stories you want to share?

I have to say, MM&M, as I resorted to calling it because I could never remember what the Ms were or what order they were in, was the most enjoyable manuscript I've ever edited. It had remarkably few errors, was well written and hilarious. My husband kept demanding to know what had me laughing out loud, so I would have to read him passages. I swear...I didn't say that to kiss up. It was actually that good, and I'm picky!

Vern wants you to feed his ego, so tell us what you thought of him and the book in general.

I think Vern and Grace are wonderful, rich characters. I love the relationship they have--respect and affection in their purest forms. Fun interactions between characters are what draw me into books, and that's one of the things I loved about MM&M. By the time you finish, you feel like you know these "people" and want to live next door to them. Well, not all of them--just Vern and Grace.

Re-evaluating My Blogging

I've been thinking a lot about my blogs lately. I figure I spend 4-6 hours a week on them--writing, posting, cross-posting--but I don't get a lot of commentary or hits. I also don't feel like I add a lot of unique or useful information to the readership, which is probably why I don't get a lot of hits. Do you really need me to repost a YouTube video or give lessons about writing? Really, the only unique thing about what I have to say is what I say about me or my books. And constantly writing about my own writing is kind of obnoxious. (Though, yes, I do it.)

Lately, I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off putting that time into articles I can sell, guest blogs I can give to others who do have a readership, press releases or updates on my social networks. Six hours is a LOT of time; used well, it can do phenomenal things for others and myself. Is blogging really the best use of that time?

I know: I'm tipping the sacred cow of writing and marketing on the Internet. But maybe it's time. The Blogsphere is bloated, and so much of it is intellectual junk food. Do I really want to add my fries to that?

This week, I'm asking all the folks in my groups to take this survey and give me their opinion. I'll take it all under advisement, then give everyone the results and announce my decision.