Writer's Digest May/June 2009 (PDF)

SPOTLIGHT: STAND OUT TO EDITORS AND AGENTS Build Your Power Platform BY CHRISTINA KATZ Get publisher-ready with these smart strategies for becoming visible, marketable and viable. The Must-Have Online Marketing Plan BY M.J. ROSE You've gained admission to the publishing world. But now you have to stand out to an entirely new group: your audience. A Writer's Guide to Social Networking BY THE WRITER'S DIGEST STAFF Find out how hopping on the social networking bandwagon can actually help you stand out. Is Full Time the Key to the Big Time? BY JEFF YEAGER Ask yourself these 10 crucial questions before you quit your day job. Springboards to Success BY JESSICA STRAWSER Steve Berry, Brent Hartinger and M. William Phelps have enjoyed exponential success in the years since their debuts were featured in WD. Now they talk about what they've done right, what they've learned and what they wish they'd known all along. [FEATURES] THE WD INTERVIEW: STEPHEN KING & JERRY B. JENKINS BY JESSICA STRAWSER One is arguably the best-known writer of our time. The other made his name writing the end of the world as we know it in the Left Behind series. If this unique pairing seems unlikely, look closer. 101 Best Websites for Writers BY BRIAN A. KLEMS From word challenges to critique groups to hot markets, our annual list of best writing websites is a one-stop shop for all the free resources you'll need to find success. The Perfect Perfect American Form BY ZACHARY PETIT A competition newcomer channels the war-torn darkness in his past to claim the grand prize in the 2008 WD Short Short Story Competition. PLUS: A list of the top 10 winners. [WRITER'S WORKBOOK: CHARACTERIZATION] Draw Characters From the Strongest Sources BY NANCY KRESS Weave in Backstory to Reveal Character BY RACHEL BALLON Create the (Im)perfect Heroic Couple BY LEIGH MICHAELS Craft True-to-Life Nonfiction Characters BY BILL ROORBACH WITH KRISTEN KECKLER [EDITOR'S PICK] Ask the Pro: Barbara Poelle REVAMPED! BY KARA GEBHART UHL This New York City–based agent is actively on the hunt for genre fiction and platform-driven nonfiction,and might even get in "a monkey knife fight" to represent you. [COLUMNS/DEPARTMENTS] InkWell Edited by Zachary Petit Sweet Surrender? The Roeder Report: Writing Compelling Dialogue? The Freelance Dance? You Are What You Read? Remembering a Great: John Updike First Impressions: Metafiction for Reluctant Readers BY JORDAN E. ROSENFELD MFA Insider: On Learning to Be a Writer BY LIN ENGER Questions & Quandaries BY BRIAN A. KLEMS Writing and taxes, copyright and dealing with writer's block. Your Story: The Truth BY DAYLE JAMES ARCENEAUX Nonfiction: 10 Rules for Op-Eds BY SUSAN SHAPIRO The Conference Scene: Wesleyan Writers Conference BY LINDA FORMICHELLI Celebrating 90 Years of WD: Pop Culture