The Writing Show

From Everything She Thought She Wanted: Join Elizabeth Buchan as she and host Paula B. explore the craft of novel writing, including: * Where she gets her ideas * How she grabs the reader's attention from the very first word * How she uses imagery to illuminate her characters and their conflicts * How she taps into her subconscious to solve writing problems * How she deals with endings * How she makes sure she "shows" rather than "tells" * How she makes her minor characters memorable * When to eliminate minor characters * How she comes up with names for her characters, and why she works so hard to find the right name * How she feels about the use of adjectives * How she keeps herself from being overwhelmed by her research * Why she always writes three drafts of her books * How her preparation and writing process has evolved * What part of writing she finds the most difficult.

In episode 6 of How Not to Run an Online Bookstore, Paula talks about what it was like working through Amazon.com's third-party marketplace, including: * Why they ended up selling through Amazon in the first place * How much it costs to sell through Amazon * What's involved in listing your books for sale * Why the physical condition of a book sold through Amazon is so critical * How to clean dirty books * Why it's so tricky pricing books for sale through Amazon's marketplace * What they did about sales tax * Why customer ratings aren't all they're cracked up to be * How they managed to sell books they didn't have and what they did about it * How Amazon could do a lot better by its marketplace sellers * Why it isn't profitable to sell new books through Amazon's marketplace.

What could be more fun than comic books? In this high-adrenaline interview, comic book writer Buddy Scalera reveals insider secrets of the comic book industry and explains how you too can write comics. Beware: you may be so inspired that you drop everything and start scribbling madly! Join Buddy and host Paula B as they explore the fabulous world of comics, including: * What the characteristics of good comic book writing are * How comic book writing differs from other kinds of writing * What the process is, from idea to production * How comic book writers work with artists and editors * How comic book writers decide on the number of frames per page and what goes in those frames * How long it takes to produce a comic book * What it's like to break into the business * Whether comic book writers can survive financially * How you can produce your own comics * How comic books are marketed * Who buys comic books * How comics have changed over the years.

This week's show is about how to get that green stuff: money. Most of us are familiar with the usual sources: publishing contracts, magazine gigs, selling a script to Hollywood. But there are other ways of making money writing. In this exciting interview, Hope Clark, editor and founder of FundsforWriters.com, reveals: * What grants and fellowships are * Who awards grants and fellowships * How to increase your chances of getting a grant * Why you should contact your local community foundation * What some of the lesser-known markets for writing are and how to find out about them * How you can maximize your earnings as a writer * How to write a foolproof query letter.

In episode 5 of "How Not to Run an Online Bookstore," Paula talks about what it took to get books to customers and what it was like to work with the inscrutable U.S. Post Office.

This week, we visit with screenwriter Josann McGibbon Temkin, co-writer of the Richard Gere-Julia Roberts hit "Runaway Bride," who reveals what it's really like to write movies, work with a partner, and have your script produced by some of Hollywood's biggest names. The writing team of Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott is best known for "Runaway Bride" with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. More recently, the two have been working on the highly anticipated animated movie event "Rapunzel Unbraided" for Walt Disney Animation. They have also worked on the upcoming "Chicken Little" for Disney and "Frankenweenie" for Tim Burton, and they wrote the story for "Three Men and a Little Lady." Join us for this fascinating interview as Josann discusses: * What it's like to work with a writing partner * How she approaches the writing of romantic comedy * Where the story should begin * Where she gets story ideas * How she works on her characters * Why second acts are so difficult * How to collaborate effectively * What it was like to work on "Runaway Bride."

'Tis the season for greeting cards. We all send and receive them, but few of us know how they're produced. Professional card writer Lisa Riggin joins us to reveal secrets from this glamorous world. When Lisa got her job at Hallmark, she had done no professional writing. Now she writes for a number of Hallmark products. In this fascinating look behind the scenes at one of the world's largest card companies, Lisa explains: * How she got into greeting card writing without previous experience * How her assignments are worded * Which comes first, the writing or the art work * How the writers stay fresh * What the lead time for writing cards is (you may be surprised) * How many writers work at Hallmark * Whether male and female writers work differently * What happens after she submits a card * How meeting with card-buying consumers has changed her approach Join Lisa and host Paula B. as they probe the inner workings of the greeting card world.

Nancy O'Neill is Principal Librarian for Reference Services at the Santa Monica Public Library System, where she is responsible for collection development. Every day Nancy makes decisions that affect authors and publishers. Do you know what she's looking for (and what really gets on her nerves)? In this illuminating interview, Nancy explains: * How libraries select the books they purchase * What kinds of books libraries want and don't want * How to approach libraries about giving book talks * What library patrons are reading these days * What you can do to get your books in libraries, and what you should never, ever do

Marty Young is president and founder of the Australian Horror Writers Association. In this creepy interview, Marty reveals: * Why we love being scared to death * How writers can build tension and suspense * How writers can frighten readers * How horror stories from various world regions differ * How horror writing has changed over the decades * Why horror movies are scarier than books--or are they? * What horror writers are really like

Karen Villanueva is a publicist specializing in the promotion of authors. She began her career in the record industry in Toronto, where she held positions such as national buyer for Canada's second-largest retail chain, and went on to become an award-winning national publicity director for a Canadian record company. She has promoted world-class actors; classical, jazz, and rock musicians; comedians; ice skating champions; television show launches; and special corporate and city-sponsored events. Karen now lives in New Mexico and promotes regional and nationally renowned authors through media outlets such as USA Today, CNN, the Associated Press, and various print and electronic media. In this informative interview, Karen tells: * What an independent publicist does (that your publisher does not) * What to expect when approaching the media * How you can effectively publicize an older book * What book tours are really like * The easiest kinds of books to promote...and the most difficult * How much it costs to hire a publicist * The one thing authors on tour (and everywhere) must always do