2013-2019 Meeting Place – IHOP on Stevens Creek

This IHOP has closed, so I’ve altered this post to avoid confusion. For our current meeting place, see sidebar.
From October 8, 2013 to March 2019, we met at
IHOP Restaurant
5403 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 996-3393
We meet every Tuesday except the first Tuesday of the month. We begin writing at 7:00 pm, so try to arrive a little earlier so you can get settled. Hope to see you soon!
New and prospective members: We welcome all writing. Work on your latest writing project in the company of fellow writers. Members write in all different forms and genres, so come to share and learn! Please bring pen and paper or whatever you use to write. You do not need to bring completed work–just show up!
Tips for IHOP:
  1. Wear layers. The restaurant is often quite cold.
  2. Order and pay at the counter when you first arrive. It is okay to order something small, such as a drink, but please do support our host by buying something. The staff has been very accommodating and tries not to disturb us as we write. Ordering and paying when we first enter means they do not have to interrupt the group.
  3. Where we usually sit: After you enter the restaurant, walk to your right and go all the way to the back.
  4. If it is a financial burden for you to buy something every time, please contact Keiko and we will figure out a solution.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: The Killer Wore Cranberry

Here’s another call for submissions from Untreed Reads.

The Killer is back!

We had so much fun with The Killer Wore Cranberry back in 2010, and The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping in 2012, we have to reset the table this year with The Killer Wore Cranberry: Room for Thirds.

As in the previous anthologies, all the stories contained within must be about murder and mayhem happening at Thanksgiving, and must feature a typical Thanksgiving dish as a vital part of the story (i.e.: turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie). Most importantly…it must be funny! This anthology is all about making people laugh while enjoying a great mystery short at the same time. The anthology will be edited by Editor-in-Chief Jay Hartman.

And now, the rules:

1. All stories must be between 1500-5000 words.
2. Deadline for submission for consideration is September 1st, 2013. This is a firm date; no submissions after this date will be considered.
3. All submissions should be sent to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads with the word THANKSGIVING in the subject line.
4. Submissions must be in DOC, RTF or ODT format.
5. We will not be publishing the stories individually. Only the anthology will be available.
6. Authors will receive royalty, but not upfront payment. Authors will each receive a share of royalties of 50% of net (net = cover price – vendor commission) based on the number of authors in the final anthology.
7. Characters appearing in other Untreed Reads series or other series not published by us are strongly encouraged. If you are published outside of Untreed Reads, please check with your publisher to ensure you have the rights to create a new story for a different publisher with your character(s).
8. Your story MUST have humor in it, feature a Thanksgiving dish and have a great mystery or crime at the heart of the story.
9. Stories not accepted for the anthology may be resubmitted in the future for other submission calls.
10. Previously published works are fine providing that electronic rights have reverted to the author and the story is not currently offered for free anywhere on the Internet or currently published through a self-publishing venue (i.e.: Smashwords, Amazon KDP, etc.).
11. There are no restrictions whatsoever on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, etc in the work.. Just tell us a great story!

Please direct any questions to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads.com. We recommend looking at the original The Killer Wore Cranberry and its sequel The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping for an idea of the types of stories we’re looking for.

All decisions on material will be made by September 15th, 2013. Every attempt will be made to notify all authors of the status of their submission at that time. Please do not inquire about status prior to September 15th, 2013.

This anthology has an expected publication date of October 15th.

This is an open call, and may be reposted anywhere and everywhere.

We enjoyed Snake & Butterfly

We stopped meeting at Snake & Butterfly in October 2013, so I’ve altered this post to avoid confusion. For our current meeting place, please see sidebar.
Snake & Butterfly is a lovely place, so please visit them, even though we won’t be there on Tuesday nights. It’s an owner-operated local coffee shop / gelateria / chocolate factory in downtown Campbell. There is a 3-story free parking garage right behind it (entrances on 2nd and 3rd Streets), which usually has plenty of spaces empty, and the surrounding neighborhoods are also easy to park in.

Moon Shot: Murder and Mayhem on the Edge of Space Anthology Call for Submissions

Untreed Reads is pleased to announce a call for submissions.

Moon Shot: Murder and Mayhem on the Edge of Space will be a short story anthology showcasing mystery and crime stories that combine the genres of science fiction and mystery/crime/suspense. We’re looking for great stories that take these genres into new territory, whether on our planet or another.

Please note that we have already accepted a story that takes place on the International Space Station, therefore we are not looking for any other stories that do (it was the inspiration for this call).

This is an open call and may be reposted anywhere and everywhere. This anthology is expected to be published in August of 2013.

This anthology will be edited by J. Alan Hartman, Editor-in-Chief of Untreed Reads and the editor of the bestselling anthologies The Killer Wore Cranberry, The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping, and Year’s End.

1. All stories must be between 1500-5000 words.
2. Deadline for submission for consideration is May 30, 2012. This is a firm date; no submissions after this date will be considered.
3. All submissions should be sent to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads.com with the words MOON SHOT in the subject line.
4. Stories may take place in the past, present or future of our galaxy, but may not introduce aliens or undiscovered planets. Stories may take place on Earth, but must be somehow related to the space program if they are.
5. Stories should lean more towards mystery/suspense/thriller than the science fiction side.
6. Submissions must be in DOC, RTF or ODT format.
7. We will not be publishing the stories individually. Only the anthology will be available.
8. Authors will receive royalty, but not upfront payment. Authors will each receive a share of royalties of 50% of net (net = cover price – vendor commission) based on the number of authors in the final anthology.
9. Characters appearing in other Untreed Reads series or other series not published by us are strongly encouraged. Please check your contract with your publisher to make sure you may legally do so.
10. Stories not used for the anthology may be resubmitted for future calls.
11. Previously published works are fine providing that electronic rights have reverted to the author.
12. Stories currently published through a self-publishing venue (i.e.: Smashwords, Amazon KDP, etc.). will not be accepted.
13. There are no restrictions whatsoever on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, etc in the work.. Just tell us a great story!

Call for Submissions: Thanksgiving Mystery Anthology

Here is a call for submissions for an e-book anthology to be published in the fall. They’re looking for short mystery stories that take place at Thanksgiving. See below for details. Write to the End member Betsy Miller has a few stories published by this publisher.

Call for Submissions from Untreed Reads

We had so much fun with The Killer Wore Cranberry back in 2010, that we felt it was time to revisit the anthology. So, we’re happy to present The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping.

As in the previous anthology, all the stories contained within must be about murder and mayhem happening at Thanksgiving, and must feature a typical Thanksgiving dish as a vital part of the story (i.e.: turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie). Most importantly…it must be funny! This anthology is all about making people laugh while enjoying a great mystery short at the same time. The anthology will be edited by Editor-in-Chief Jay Hartman.

And now, the rules:

1. All stories must be between 1500-5000 words.

2. Deadline for submission for consideration is September 1st, 2012. This is a firm date; no submissions after this date will be considered.

3. All submissions should be sent to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads with the word THANKSGIVING in the subject line.

4. Submissions must be in DOC, RTF or ODT format.

5. Unlike the previous anthology, we will not be publishing the stories individually. Only the anthology will be available.

6. Authors will receive royalty, but not upfront payment. Authors will each receive a share of royalties of 50% of net (net = cover price – vendor commission) based on the number of authors in the final anthology.

7. Characters appearing in other Untreed Reads series or other series not published by us are strongly encouraged (i.e.: Wade J. McMahan’s Richard Dick, Beth Mathison’sMobsters or Young at Heart or Albert Tucher’s Diana Andrews)

8. Your story MUST have humor in it, feature a Thanksgiving dish and have a great mystery or crime at the heart of the story.

9. Stories not accepted for the anthology may be still be considered for other publication.

10. Previously published works are fine providing that electronic rights have reverted to the author and the story is not currently offered for free anywhere on the Internet or currently published through a self-publishing venue (i.e.: Smashwords, Amazon KDP, etc.).

11. There are no restrictions whatsoever on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, etc in the work.. Just tell us a great story!

Please direct any questions to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads.com. We recommend looking at the original The Killer Wore Cranberry for an idea of the types of stories we’re looking for.

 All decisions on material will be made by September 15th, 2012. Every attempt will be made to notify all authors of the status of their submission at that time. Please do not inquire about status prior to September 15th, 2012.

This anthology has an expected publication date of October 15th.

This is an open call, and may be reposted anywhere and everywhere.

Best,
Jay Hartman
Editor-in-Chief

Untreed Reads Publishing

One Hip World Event

I’m happy to announce that as part of the One Hip World Event, from June 15 through June 30, 2012 all sales of my book The Parents’ Guide to Hip Dysplasia and sales of my short stories in ebook format at the Untreed Reads Store will benefit the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IDHI).

To participate in this fundraiser:

  • Purchase a copy of my book The Parents’ Guide to Hip Dysplasia, and I will donate $1.00 to the IHDI. (It is available through online booksellers or you can order it at bookstores.)
  • Buy my short stories in ebook format at the Untreed Reads Store, and for each story that is sold, I will donate 25 cents to the IHDI.

If you’re new to ebooks and don’t have a reader, don’t worry. You can choose the format that you prefer—PDF, Kindle, or epub, and then read the story on your computer, e-reader, or tablet.

Three stories are available:

  • Equilibrium, a sweet romance in the Candlelight Romance Line.
  • Half and Half, a short work of crime in the Fingerprints Line.
  • Negative Space, a story about loss in the Nibs Literary Line.

My Author Copies of The Parents’ Guide to Clubfoot Are Here

The Parents' Guide to Clubfoot, box of books

As many of you know, my book The Parents’ Guide to Clubfoot was originally published as a print-on-demand (POD) book through a small publisher last year. Then Hunter House Publishers acquired my book. Hunter House specializes in health information, and they are better able to deal with international orders, translation rights, ebooks, and so on in addition to the print edition.

Long story short, the new edition is finally done! They sent me my author copies and even included a nice note signed by the Hunter House editors and production staff. The books look great! I’m really happy, and wanted to share the news.

Why Write to the End?

manuscript with "The End"

Often new members come to our writing group and ask for feedback on their as-yet-uncompleted novel. Or someone who’s been with us a while will get an idea for a story while at the group, write a few scenes of it during the writing sessions, and then ask everybody what we think. This seems perfectly reasonable on the surface, and is, I think, why many people start going to writing groups in the first place.

However, as a group we have learned that giving feedback on the actual writing is not helpful in these situations. What we invariably say to people is, “Have you gotten to The End yet? Have you finished the first draft?” And if the answer is no, then our feedback is “Keep going! Get to The End! When you get there, you’ll be able to answer your own question.”

There are quite a few variations on this advice. For example,

Writer: I’ve just realized I need Character X to be an insurance salesman instead of a knight, and the book needs to start off in Palm Springs two years earlier!
Group: Write yourself a note to that effect, pretend you already made all those changes and they are wonderful, and KEEP GOING! Get to The End!

Or

Writer: Do you think I should structure this story as a series of flashbacks, or would it make more sense to do it in chronological order?

Group: Finish the story however you can. When you reach The End, then you’ll be able to figure out what story you’re actually telling and whether it will work better told in flashbacks or chronologically. Don’t waste time deciding that now. Just KEEP GOING! Get to The End!

Or

Writer: Should I use first or third person? Past or present tense? I keep switching as I write.

Group: Use whatever gets the story out. Switch all you want – that’s easy to fix later. Anything that helps you get the story out is the right thing for that moment. KEEP GOING! Get to The End!

We’ve been together for quite a while (I started running the group in 2004, and some of our members have been with us since then), but we didn’t name our group for over seven years. Why did it take so long? I don’t know.  Maybe it had something to do with wanting the name to reflect our identity as a group. Why did we choose the name Write to the End? That’s easy:  It’s the advice we most often give each other. As soon as we thought of that name, we knew it was a good one for our group. And we’re also experiencing an unexpected benefit: It’s very satisfying and motivating for the name of our group to be a sort of rallying cry. When one of us is getting bogged down in a story, another of us can say, “It’s going to be okay. Just write to the end!” I think it has already made our group stronger and is probably helping our members with their writing projects.

Of course “Write to the End” has other meanings too, which as writers we appreciate and use. But its most useful meaning is to always prefer finishing what you start over worrying about what you’ve written, which I would encourage you to apply to your own writing. Remember, don’t fix it—finish it! Write to The End!

Creating Your Own Style Guide and Editing List

In this post, I’m passing along some thoughts about tools that work for me and might help some of you too—creating your own style guide and editing list.

Style Guide

One of the most well-known style guides is the Chicago Manual of Style. You can use the book or the online version to look up editorial conventions. For instance, if you are writing a fantasy story or novel and the characters have titles, you can use Chicago to see how and when the characters’ titles ought to be capitalized.

If I am working on book, I like to take this process one step further, and make my own style guide that lists the words that I’ve already looked up, and also specialized words that might not be covered by Chicago. I jot down words I’m not sure about as I go along. That way I can look them up later without having to remember what they are.

When I have my first draft, I go back through my manuscript and check to make sure everything on my style guide is consistent throughout the book. Search and replace is great for this, but I recommend that you check each instance instead of making a global change. Otherwise you might accidentally change part of a word. For example, if you want to change king to King, you wouldn’t want to end up with maKing or similar words in your manuscript.

Editing List

When I first started writing fiction I found that I used certain words in my first drafts that could usually come out. I made a list of them, and after I’ve written a new story or book, I search for these words and see if any can be removed. Some of the words on my list are really, very, so, and then, because I know from experience that I overuse them.

You might have different words on your list. Based on your own experience, you can create a list that fits your writing style and use it to check your work. I prefer to wait until I have a first draft before doing this because if I edit too soon I find it distracts me from writing.

If you give it a try, post a comment to let me know how this went for you. I’m also open to hearing how other people edit their work, so feel free to post your suggestions as well.