Hey Publisher

I’ve been working very hard at getting back into writing fiction and getting some of my stuff finished.  I guess I’ve had so many rejections over the years that I’d just gotten out of the habit of submitting any of my work.  That and the fact that this article writing gig pays a lot better, but it’s still not what I want to be doing.  Non-fiction is my livelyhood, but fiction is my love.  So when I found a site called Hey Publisher, I was beyond thrilled.

This is a very cool submission site that helps writers send the work into publishers without having to scour the Internet and beyond just to find someone who’s accepting submissions at that time.  They’ve got an entire list of magazines/e-zines, but it is up to the writer to visit the site and read the guidelines for themselves.  But working the Hey Publisher site is a breeze.  Once you’ve registered for an account (which is free), you’ll be able to visit the publishers page.  There are over 1,200 publishers in their database so you’ll need to choose which category you want and enter a keyword or two so you have a smaller list of possibilities.

The site also offers a community powered support system.  So when someone has a question, they type it in and someone in the know will come along and help answer if they can.  From what I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of activity in there, but enough to know that there are people helping their fellow writers.  It’s kinda cool.

I’ve had a ball going through the publishers and favoriting some of those that I’ll be submitting to at some point.  I did send in one submission so far, but probably won’t hear anything back from them for about another month.  By which time I will have probably forgotten about submitting to them and will wonder who they are and what they want.  LOL

So hey, check them out and see if there isn’t somewhere in their vast list of publications where you can send some of your stuff.  It isn’t all fiction zines, there are some non-fiction places, some for poetry, and so on.  Pick a topic and add some keywords and you’re on your way.  Have fun and tell them I sent you if they ask. LOL

The Bio That Is Me

This is the bio I had started to put together for a new site just released.  However, when it dawned on me that I’d pretty much written a full-length novel of myself, I thought I’d better fix it and start again.  But I didn’t want to loose everything I’d already written, so I’m putting it here.  Enjoy…or don’t…your choice.  LOL

My name is Christine Senter and I’ve been a freelance writer for the past 20+ years.  I began writing as a hobby in grade school and began trying to write professionally at about age 18.
I wasn’t able to go to college as children and life got in the way, so I read everything I could find about the writing field on my own time.  I wrote articles, short stories, and poetry on an old
1950s manual typewriter.  And after several rejection letters, I did manage to get a couple poems published in small chapbooks.

In 1994, I finally joined the online revolution.  My husband got us our first computer and I spent 3 days in my room teaching myself how to work the Internet and how to build a site using HTML.  In 1995, I found a free online site that would help me with my online writing career.  The class was called “Beginning Writing” and the teacher was Shery Ma Belle Arrieta.  She taught me a lot about being a writer online, and soon gave me my own column on her personal website.  Her site was called The E-Writer’s Place and I wrote a column called The Write Sites.  I researched the Internet looking for sites that had anything to do with writing, from free classes to research sites to literary agents.

Within a couple of years, I was producing my own sites through a company called WebSeed Publishing.  It was one of the very first writing communities and I ran 2 different sites.  One was called Finding the Father.com—a site about finding God in today’s society—and the other was called PlantLore.com—a site that looked into the histories, mysteries, and mythologies of the plant kingdom.  When Webseed went under, so did my sites.

It was then I decided to take the plunge and buy my first domain.  It was a site called The Prompt Writer and was filled with writing prompts for my fellow writers.  I also put together a weekly newsletter for my readers and posted each week’s prompts onto the site.  Though I no longer maintain the newsletter, the site has been updated several times and is still filled with free writing prompts.

From 2004-2007, I worked at writing poetry and short stories.  I had a few published on various websites and made a little money along the way.  When I started writing for Associated Content, my writing career took on a life of its own.  I found out that I could make money as a writer, though I didn’t see me making enough to pay off any bills.  I had also started writing for Hubpages and a couple other sites that are no longer in existence.

In 2008, everything changed.  I was contacted by a pro-blogger by the name of Garry Conn.  Garry and I became great friends and he began paying me to write SEO styled articles for his many web blogs.  Up to that time, I had had a blog, but it was more of a play place than a way of making money.  Garry taught me how to monetize my sites and how to run a WordPress blog.  With a year’s time, I owned 3 more blogs—Special Offers Blog, Sapheyerblu Review, and Christine Senter.com.

Today, I still work to maintain my many blogs, though I don’t get it done as often as I’d like.  I do, however, make enough to keep me going by writing for several different content sites such as TextWriter.com and WordGigs.  I also work as a ghostwriter for a couple other bloggers who prefer to remain anonymous.

Outside of being a writer, I also run a couple different online shops.  I run a webstore called Classic Curios Boutique and I’m working on putting together my own Zazzle store.  However these are only as a hobby for the time being.  My real triumph is winning my own EZshoppe called Prairied Treasures, which I’m working on getting put together as I write this.  I want to have enough items made (all handmade items) to make it worth sending people over to see.  My problem is that I’m a perfectionist and I can’t see anyone wanting to buy my jumbles.

So that’s me.  I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff I’ve forgotten about.  Several sites I’ve written stuff on that I can’t remember the address of or even the name of.  I’m sure there’s a lot more out there about me, but some of it’s probably not worth seeing.  If I think of more stuff, I’ll update this page.  Until that time, this is the bio that is me.

Tuesday’s Treasures~Week #2~Autumn Reading

Since getting my new Kindle, it seems I’m finding Kindle titles everywhere I look.  So when I was looking for some new treasures to pass along to you, I was amazed at the number of Autumn titles out there that can either be read on a Kindle, or elsewhere via an online reader or e-book reader.  Here are a few of the titles I’ve run across that are rather inexpensive, which is what makes them treasures.

1.) Autumn Leaves: Original Pieces in Prose and Verse
Being someone who loves poetry and has written quite a bit myself, I think this would be an awesome gift idea for someone who has a Kindle.  It would make a great birthday gift, or even an anniversary gift from a husband to a wife.  Best of all, this little e-book only costs about $1.99 and because it transfers automatically via Kindle’s WiFi capabilities, there is no S&H charges.

2.) Taste Test: Shades of Autumn
This is a book of 3 short stories by 3 different authors.  Published in 2008 and sold through Barnes & Nobles, is can be had for $2.49.  It is downloadable via WiFi and 3G networks.  Add a bit of romance into the cooler days and check out Shades of Autumn now.

3.) Aztec Autumn
And finally, I found a copy of a neat little book about a renegade Aztec warrior who decides he’s not going to give into his Spanish oppressors.  He rouses a band of like-minded warriors and sets out to bring back the glory that was the Aztec Nation.  Unlike the other two books I posted about, this one is a real, cover and pages type book found in the Amazon Warehouse.  Price is $5.49 with $3.99 S&H.  The thing is that you’ve got to get this one while it lasts, because this is a last time deal.

As the weather begins to turn cooler, we set out to find things to do indoors.  And what better to do on a cool autumn evening than curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.  Enjoy the season.