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S o m e    D e f i n i t i v e    T r e n d s   G o i n g   D o w n

1. Ad dollars are flowing from print into the Net.
2. More print publications are developing original, stand- alone digital enterprises, expanding the market.
3. Eventually the writing marketplace will resemble what is happening in the production of news. A ravenous reading world will get it anyway it can.
4. The developing world is producing millions and millions of new readers. They are supporting newspapers and will soon turn to novels to satisfy that quintessential need of newly literate people: "Make my world pass through your words."
5. Print is wheezing and looking in the rear-view mirror but has a few spurts of adrenaline left in it.

Another prediction of the death of the newspaper. "The next few years are going to be very expensive," says Alan Rusbridger, editor of the U.K.'s Guardian

There is a wonderful difference between change and gloom/ doom. Change stimulates growth and a search for new opportunities. Gloom and doom results in stasis, further erosion of confidence, and then the coup de grace.

I like to say that as a reader my loyalty is with print. But as a writer my loyalty is to my writing and the best way for that writing to get around and developed.

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< W e   A r e    A g h a s t >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Young people aren't reading teen-mags, they are writing books:

From the Miami Herald of March 26, 2005:

• A 13 year-old girl gets bored and writes a novel, publishes it through POD
• A nine year-old girl publishes a collection of her bilingual poems the same way.
• 18 year old, home-schooled boy writes a fantasy, it's read by the stepson of a newspaper columnist who gives it to his editor at Knopf who gives 18 year-old a $500,000 advance for the book.
• Teen poet sells 1.5 million copies of his poetry book then dies of muscular dystrophy.

The atrocious beast is devouring the teen- age magazine.

We said it in the past, there is no more powerful cohort than teen-age girls. According to one magazine observer, the teen category "is the first group of magazines that the Internet put out of business."

<<<<<<<<<<<< L A R G E  D I S T R I B U T I O N   T R E N D S >>>>>> 

I came across a comprehensive article on new business models for books by Paula Bernstein, writing in the April '06 Searcher.

The interesting trend is the transformation of full-text databases to provide direct connection between writers and readers. These databases have been around for researchers quite awhile. I use HighBeam and Lexis-Nexis, as well as my effective local library. Now the technology is being harnessed to directly transmit books and text to readers using the search function we are familiar with from Google, Yahoo and so on. Consider some of these programs:

Google Book Search

Even though this has been sued by the Author's Guild, I think it helps writers get linked globally through stores and libraries.

MSN Book Search
This is motivated by Microsoft's stated goal that "over 50% of people's online queries go unanswered today on search engines." This is, no doubt, a dig at Google which commands most of the search queries today. Their effort is coupled to this:

Open Content Alliance

Amazon Pages is a more controlled model for published authors. Amazon gets exclusive rights to the material for six months but the author retains all those rights.

Amazon also has instituted its Connect program. This allows authors selling on Amazon to develop a blog and then have that blog centralized so customers can find it. This appears to me to be a valuable model that will be used in the future by niche sites.

O'Reilly Network Safari Bookshelf As with most things on the Net, the techies are the first adapters and lead the way for less technical types like the writing crowd. They have a powerful system in place.

I've bought a lot of O'Reilly books in the past decade so I like this idea. They have a library of more than 3,000 technical books and a variety of subscription options allow the viewer to download them.

Books 24X7

The search engine and its tools may be the coup de grace for the publishing system as we know it. The publishing system will face the same dilemma as the newspaper. It will have to adapt or die. And the question is, "will this transformation help writers and editors?" It will help them as much as writers and editors understand what is going on.

"Elsevier now offers online access to some of its science and business reference works, handbooks, and book series through Web-based ScienceDirect."

Well, you get the idea. Random House and HarperCollins also are starting to digitize their books.

Obviously some questions arise. For these efforts to work both writers and readers have to change habits. The reader will have to adjust to the fact that he or she will get exactly what they are looking for from the computer screen.

The writer has to get used to the fact that her words will exist in bytes as much as print.

It leaves a kind of global problem out on the table. With so much to choose from, with smaller bits of time to choose, how will writing change? Both the art of writing and publishing will change under the pressure of these models but how? Maybe the flash fiction I get at C/Oasis is a response to this!

Writer's Alert: For your content to find its reader your text will need to be optimized for the search engine. This will be a key skill to put into your bag of tricks.

Possibility: Individual writers partner with Google and other companies that are by-passing the traditional publishing system. Very interesting.

Are you a bibliophile? Go check out MyFineBooks blog and enjoy

Another sign of trouble for print is that amateurs like Bono, Yusef Jackson, and Jared Kushner are buying print properties with no experience in running them. The only question to be asked at this stage of the game is this: Will the shake up in the print world make writing, journalism, and editing any better? Your guess is as good as mine. (Requires free registration.)

Poynter.org is one of the best visits for a writer. I like the columns of Chip Scanlon. Here he lists some quotes from writers that will inspire and zing a few people.

The state of poetry in the mind of Americans is not all that bad.

T R E N D S   I N   T H E   M A R K E T P L A C E

Do you want to be a gossip reporter? "Start a blog," advises a British scribe.

A question came into Sunoasis from a young woman who was about to start her college career and wants to be a "current events columnist." In answering her question I came across this link for anyone who is interested in doing any kind of column.

Are you an obit writer? There is a new site called Eons.com for people over age 50. If you are a freelance obit writer here is a large market to market your wares.

Smithsonian Publishing is creating an Online Publishing Group. This may provide the opening for more writing markets

>>>>>>>>>>>>> I N T E R L U D E <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  

Librarians are a writer's best friend. Here are three resourceful, charming librarian sites where you can find excellent resources.

Jenny Levine's Shifted Librarian
Jessamyn West's Librarian.net
Marylaine Block's Neat New Stuff I Found on the Net This Week
Jane Dysart's InfoBuzzzz

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R E S O U R C E N O T E S

If you are a beginning writer or thinking you want to get involved in the writing life please use the articles here.

There are many useful tips, links, and features that can set you on your way.

There is also a rich array of links for every type of writing resource here.

Sunoasis.com was developed with the writer and editor in mind. Enjoy your stay!
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B u s i n e s s o f W r i t i n g :

Here are insightful new ways writers are marketing online.

Did you know you can now subscribe to Literarymarketplace.com for a week at $19.95?

Advice to writers about making writing web sites.

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B u s i n e s s o f P u b l i s h i n g :

Are you passing near any celebrities? Bild, a magazine in Germany, will pay you for photo's taken with cellphone cameras.

This guy says that the New York Times might have to fold into it's About.com property which the writer calls, "a low-end information producer, harnessing amateurs willing to produce any amount of schlock to feed the page-view numbers." Actually, if you put the talent of the NY Times in a format like About.com it may prove to be an interesting entity, if you took off the obnoxious ads and made a more intelligent interface.

Magazines encounter two stress points. On the one hand a continual saturation of the market and on the other competing with the digital universe. Declining numbers for magazines include Time, Newsweek, O, The Oprah Magazine.

Mr Magazine chimes in with his prediction that magazines should worry more about daily newspapers becoming more like "magazines" than they should worry about the internet.
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W r i t e r O r g a n i z a t i o n s :

American Literary Translators Association

Association of Personal Historians
American Society of Media Photographers
Editorial Freelancers Association
Washington Independent Writers

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M A R K E T S  A N D  L E A D S

Mamm Magazine
Pays $100-$3,000
Medical Economics
Pays $1,200-$2,000 for assigned articles
Modern Physician
Pays up to $1 a word
Physicians' Travel and Meeting Guide
Pays $150-$1,000 for assigned articles
Podiatry Management
Pays $250-$600 per articles
Unique Opportunities
Pays $750-$2,000 per article

Here is an index of writer guidelines.

JOBS

Copywriter/Editor
Location: Paris, France

Present in more than 150 countries, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) is a world leader in business travel management. In order to support the development of its global Corporate and Marketing Communications Department, CWT is recruiting a copywriter/editor. Copywriter/Editor M/F English native speaker

For Full Ad

RECREATIONAL BOATING AND FISHING FOUNDATION POSITION
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Senior Business Communicator
Closing Date: September 11, 2006
Location: Alexandria, VA

The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation seeks an outstanding marketing and business communicator with exceptional writing, editing and project management skills to lead the B2B communications efforts of this national non-profit organization.

For Full Ad

Financial Services Writer
Jacksonville, FL
Fidelity National Information Services, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. (www.fidelityinfoservices.com) needs an experienced financial services/business writer to join its marketing and corporate communications team. The job requires solid and proven writing, editing, creative and organization skills. Responsibilities include writing press releases, employee and client announcements, employee and client newsletters, Internet and intranet information, marketing collateral's, and ad and direct mail copy.

For Full Ad

EXP. BUSINESS GHOST WRITER
Location: Telecommute
Immediate Opening! Top Dollar paid.
Author business workbooks on managing---50-75 pages per workbook-- this is multiple workbooks assignment.

For Full Ad

Sr. Editor - San Francisco Bay Area, Peninsula

Our client provides marketing content and custom publishing to hi tech clients such as IBM, Intel and SAP. We are looking for a Sr. Editor to add to the team that provides quality assurance for all projects. Editors handle a variety of marketing content and many types of projects because of the varied nature of the clients and their products.

Since our clients demand quality, an important skill for a Senior Editor is the ability to focus on details. Most senior editors describe themselves as perfectionists. They spot inconsistencies, typos, and split infinitives at a glance. And most importantly, senior editors contribute their editorial knowledge and expertise to help clients communicate their messages clearly and effectively to the marketplace. Responsibilities include:

Perform developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading of high-tech content for a wide range of marketing deliverables including feature stories, customer success stories, white papers, brochures, newsletters, Web content, magazine articles, and product-oriented materials for a high-level business audience

Provide editorial guidance to help writers create compelling, innovative, and targeted content for clients Work with managing writers/editors and project managers to help ensure that schedules and processes meet client expectations

For Full Ad

Job Links for new leads!

If you have any suggestions about markets you want guidelines for, just drop a line

A T    C/ O A S I S

DIVA by Elizabeth Varadan
"It’ll be nice to see my grandbabies," Renee chattered nervously. Since they’d left the bus depot the taxi driver had only made noncommittal grunts to her comments.

"Six months old," said Renee. "Twins. A boy and a girl." Rose had sent her a picture with the birth announcement. They both had shocks of dark hair like her daughter’s above their wrinkled faces.