April 2009

The Writer

The essential resource for writers

Join thousands of successful writers when you subscribe to The Writer magazine. Each month The Writer is full of features you can use to improve your writing, including before-and-after examples of improved writing, more literary markets than ever before, practical solutions for writing problems, selected literary magazine profiles, tips from famous authors and hands-on advice.

This issue is currently out of stock and will not be reprinted.
Features
Get Connected, Get Published: Tap into writers organizations
By Robert Bittner
The right organization can offer valuable ways to network and develop your work. Plus, read Candice Reed's sidebar on how she has developed a productive freelancing partnership.
pg. 27
Get Connected, Get Published: Tips on finding the right writers conference
By Jennifer McCord
Follow this four-step approach to make your experience a success, from a former conference planner for a top writers group.
pg. 30
Get Connected, Get Published: How to choose an online writing course
By Karen M. Lynch
It's a flexible stay-at-home option for writers who wish to build knowledge, get inspired, or simply explore new paths.
pg. 32
Get Connected, Get Published: Low-cost ways to improve your writing
By Rochelle Spencer
Regional writing groups, writing centers and workshops offer alternatives to a full-degree program. Plus, see Lori A. May's sidebar on how to boost your career with a low-residency MFA.
pg. 34
Get Connected, Get Published: Get the most from a writing course
By Michael Kurland
A veteran author advises you what to consider in selecting a writing course, what to bring, and what to leave behind.
pg. 36
Get Connected, Get Published: How to select the right freelance editor
By Ally E. Peltier
A variety of editorial consultants are available for hire, but the types of services they offer vary. Here's a handy overview.
pg. 38
Get Connected, Get Published: The book doctor is in
By Elizabeth Lyon
A veteran practitioner of the trade offers an overview of what freelance editors can do for your work, and how to choose one.
pg. 40
Get Connected, Get Published: A multimedia roundup of resources
By Chuck Leddy
This collection of books, Web sites, podcasts, online videos and DVDs will help you navigate today's "ocean of information."
pg. 41
Get Started: How to plan for a writing career
By Jane McBride Choate
Our author wishes she had asked herself these key questions before embarking on her very productive writing career.
pg. 13
Breakthrough: Bluegrass memories of a writer's first clip
By Dawn Goldsmith
In writing about the success of a local band on the world stage, our then-fledgling writer saw her own horizons broaden, too.
pg. 14
Poet to Poet: A pantoum playfully links stanzas
By Marilyn Taylor
Repetition and fresh context can deepen your poem's meaning. Give it a try by using an engaging, centuries-old form.
pg. 15
Interview: When craft and storytelling come together
By Elfrieda Abbe
Award-winning fiction writer Lee Smith builds on her Southern traditions in bringing characters and settings to life.
pg. 18
Archive: 5 ways to break writer's block
By Lois Duncan
A prolific author shares her secrets for getting through the slow periods all writers have.
pg. 22
Step by Step: How to write a successful thriller
By Gary Braver
A veteran of the genre lists the 10 basic ingredients you'll need to cook up the perfect story.
pg. 24
Freelance Success: Time is money, so manage it well
By Kelly James-Enger
Increased efficiency nets more dollars per hour and more time to do what you want.
pg. 44
Market Focus: Writing on food and wellness
By Ligaya Figueras
Our writer offers you seven--dare we say fresh?--strategies to help you target publications that help readers make healthy choices.
pg. 47
Literary Spotlight: The Yale Review
By Melissa Hart
This month's spotlight is on the venerable literary journal The Yale Review, describing its tone, preferences and contributors.
pg. 50
Departments
Letters
Letters from our readers
Take Note
Economy dampens publishing
By Chuck Leddy, others
How economic hard times have hit the publishing industry, how the latest mini-laptops easily let you write on the go, plus other literary notes, some juicy literary words from the latest Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, and information on writing contests.
pg. 8
WriteStuff
Homing in on poetic revision
By Erika Dreifus
A review of Poem, Revised, a rich guide to improvement strategies edited by Robert Harwell Fiske and Laura Cherry.
pg. 46
Market listings
Writing conferences
By Compiled by Martha Lundin
pg. 51
How I Write
Meena Alexander
By Gabriel Packard
For versatile author Meena Alexander, writing is essential to maintaining the rhythm of her life.
pg. 66
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