E D I T O R  N O T E S

Over Thanksgiving I enjoyed conversations with people who travel. One person floated an idea for a coffee book. "A colorful travel book on the best commodes in the world."

And she began to tell me her tales of the globe's toilets, from France to Mumbai. Her favorite was high on a hill in Hong Kong with a little slit in the wall that allowed her to be entertained by the lights of the great city below.

Not only does she travel, she reads travel writers like Frances Mayes. And she represents millions of people who travel and are enriched by it and have every shade of experience. It's a very large market.

One of the keys is to bring a fresh perspective to an old subject. Every spot of latitude and longitude is layered in natural and human fascination. I had fun relating to out-of-towners some of the local history of the area I live in. You could take any one of several significant layers, Native American, Spanish, or gold rush settlers and come up with a variety of slants to old stories.

One tip that seems universal in travel writing: Learn photography.

People who travel a good deal tell me that if you take to the waterways of any place, just sit and observe the gestures or listen to the native language. You can tell what is gossip without understanding a word of it.

Another good piece of advice is to try and be alone with the city and its treasures. Get up before dawn and travel out into the streets before they are packed with cars; listen to the city, breathe it in deeply.

Laundromats and department stores are recommended as places to check out. One of the great travel stories I ever heard came from an aunt who went into a beauty shop in India to get her hair done.

Last month we mentioned Salmon Rushdie and his remarks on a sense of place. The travel writer attempts to express this sense of place in a clear but comprehensive way. Some of the great travel writing comes from fiction writers. They transform the objects of place into fresh metaphors.

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Travel Writing Resources
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Online travel sites:
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A quick review on the current state of writing:

1. The job scene is still depressed. Magazines are having a hard time of it. Writers, like everyone else, get snarly when the money is tight. The publishing industry is gearing itself to serve two demographics. The aging boomers and the upstart generation Y. Things will definitely pick up in 2004. Contract writers are in the avant-garde of the free-agent nation.
2. Electronic publishing has not taken off as we, and others, had predicted. However, its future is stretched fully in front of it. Blogging and micro-payments will become more prominent in the next year.
3. Reading remains a favorite pastime among adults.
4. The spirit of journalism is being determined by clowns and commentators who accuse each other of having bias. In no discussion of journalism do I hear opponents explain what fact-finding means to them.

What will happen in 2004? We hope to add to the uniqueness of the publication. I've been entertaining myself by reading back issues of what used to be called Cyber Oasis. In the first few years of this publication the focus was on the cultural significance of the Net. In those years I used an obsolete Visual 1050 computer and its clanky modem. However, the adrenaline was running hot at the time. The enterprise was, to quote the wonderful poetry editor, "a hoot."

I definitely feel that Sunoasis has not run its course. Sunoasis was intended to be an expression of what the Editors value and have some fun doing. We think we've just scratched the surface of possibilities.

Have a great Holiday!

The feedback we've gotten is superb. We're proud of the quality of people who have subscribed to Sunoasis 2003. So, please continue!

R E S O U R C E S

I was told as a young man, "your generation will be the first that has to learn new things to the day you die." I would say that is fairly true. The complex world throws a lot of nonsense in the road. For a writer, it's simply knowing what to write and for whom. We offer these links in the spirit of expanding the resource base.

C r a f t :
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Guide to Grammar and Writing
Old Farmer's Almanac
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
Infomine
AskOxford.com
Thesaurus.com
Rejectioncollection.com
The Anagram Server
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O r g a n i z a t i o n s :
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Children's Book Council
The Freedom Forum
Modern Language Association
National Association for Poetry Therapy
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e p u b l i s h i n g :
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An excellent survey of writing and the Internet in a roundtable discussion with Mark Glaser and others.
A list of journalism bloggers.
Full coverage of the Online News Association conference in Chicago.
According to Andrew Sullivan, blogs will replace op-ed columns.
Are dot coms making a come back?

Blogging reveals "the power of participating in media ... the average citizen out there has something to say," says Tony Perkins, creator and editor of AlwaysOn, at a blog panel discussion.
According to the new book, "Digital Journalism," journos can no longer assume that because they work in one medium (say, a newspaper), they don't need to worry about how their story should be presented in another (on TV or the Web).
All about ebooks.
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M e d i a:
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Magazines continue to suffer a declining readership.
For the first five months of this year, leading up to the FCC's June 2 vote to relax the media ownership rules, virtually no coverage of the issue aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox and CNN.
New research finds that advertising sometimes outranks editorial in luring newspaper readers. Also, readers want fewer stories on some topics (crime), but more on others (lifestyles, community activities).

S U N O A S I S  O P I N I O N

There are two boxes on my desk. One has been around for half a century and is rapidly losing credibility.

He was ready to admit that his political thought was a mere whimper in the temper of the time.

C A R E E R  A D V I C E

We get a lot of questions about what it takes to be an editor. The editor does to a whole publication what a writer does to a piece of writing. That is, she takes full responsibility for it and uses measured steps to complete each task that needs completing.

A wonderful article was written in CareerJournal.com about the prospects on the editorial side of things.

It emphasized one point: Writers and editors are staying put in their jobs as hiring at media companies occurs a drop at a time. Next year the report may be completely positive. One thing a job bust does is prove to its victims that steady, slow, healthy growth is better on the nervous system than a wild, speculative boom.

There's another article from the same publication about salaries, especially for magazine editors.

S u n o a s i s   Q & A

I was almost five years into a PhD in Biomedical Science when I decided that my kids needed me more at home than in the lab. Can you tell me if there are telecommuting technical writing positions? What training is required? What are some good resources to check out? Any other ideas for me?

I was wondering if you could point me in a good direction for fact-checking jobs? Thanks!

I am very interested in becoming either a copywriter or proofreader for educational publications. I have a BS is special Education and love to write. I'm unsure how to get started. Thanks for your time.

How idealistic is it to begin a whole new career in writing or editing, without an inkling of experience or schooling in either field? I simply want a change; one that more reflects my talents in writing, reviewing, or in the arts. Crazy?--

I keep reminding people that Sunoasis Jobs is filled with a great deal more resource than it first appears. On every regional page there is a link to an association or group that hosts free writing, journalism ads.

Take advantage of the fact!

Ask a question about your career!

A T    C/ O A S I S

One of the harder feats for the creative writer is getting back to the original intention. Most of it is contained in a grand vision of some sort; if not the Alpha and Omega, then a fantastic project that will fire up the full capacity of the writer. The fictionalist has one supreme difficulty and that is separating out the real from the unreal, including the character who narrates his or her tales. And then convincing himself that the unreal is realer than the real.

I recommend the tidy little book, "Letters to a Young Novelist," by Mario Vargas Llosa to anyone who thinks about writing a novel. He mentions an interesting technique that Flaubert used called, "la gueulade," or the shouting test. The novelist would take something he wrote out into the woods and read it as loud as he could among the trees until his ear told him whether he had succeeded in writing what he wanted.

This article by David Poyer, outlines "seven habits of highly effective book marketers." He says something provocative and true toward the end of this article. "To place your fiction in the coming years, you’ll have to work harder and know more than writers did in years past. You’ll need to study the market, the selling process, contract law, the impact of technology on publishing."

Sometimes the fate of a novelist is in the hands of a very small group of people. He is in the water while the strangers talk among themselves about how to save him or if, indeed, he should be saved. That is the fate of many good novelists in this day and age. Richard Yates fits that category; an author I read avidly in my college days.

And so we're thankful that Jeff Stimpson has prepared a review of a book on Yates, the man. Added to that are two stories, very different, but alike in the way they show the power of the story to take us anywhere, including The Road to San Rosario.

Ecce veritas! Ecce humanitas!

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

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Copywriter, Freelance
Monarch Design, a design and advertising agency, is in need of writer for websites and brochures. Copywriter must have advertising/design agency experience. Must be located in Los Angeles, CA area.

Please submit Resume and PDF or URL of samples to: jobs@monarchdesignsite.com

Location: Bradenton, Florida
Gevity, the leading provider of outsourced human capital solution, has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, talented individual to join our Marketing team as a Content Producer. This role is integral to our marketing department and communications, both internal and external. This position pays a salary commensurate with experience. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision, paid vacation, paid holidays, 401K, short and long term disability and other benefits.

The Content Producer will be responsible for writing, managing, and editing content for Web sites, online publications, and marketing collateral. We are looking for an individual who is able to write for various audiences and styles, including marketing communications, business-to-business and employees. For full ad click here.

Editor/Writer

NewHomes Realty, the nation's leading online Realtor wishes to ccommission a professional (Tampa Bay area) free-lance writer to create an in-depth magazine article profiling the spectacular success this Clearwater-based company. With this year's Reported Sales of over 1/2 BILLION dollars, we have defied the dot-com bubble burst. Visit us at www.newhomes.com and then send your writer's resume to Don@newhomes.com

QVC Inc., the nation s #1 electronic retailer with 4.8 billion in sales, broadcast in over 80 million households, and the 2nd Largest revenue generating television station in the country we re proud of our prospects for the future. To help continue our success, we are in search of a talented and experienced Internet Copywriter for our Promotional Content Team in West Chester, PA. For full ad click!

Job Links for new leads!

Colossal Directory of Children's Publishers

How to find foreign writing markets.

The National Writer's Union has a list of markets that pay $1/word and up.

Story on the coloring and activity book market.

Job Links for new leads!

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

C O M M U N I T Y

Shaw Guide for Writing Conferences in December.

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Want to keep Sunoasis going? Donate through the Amazon Honor System and wonderful things will happen!

Thanks to Lynda Lester from the Digital Information Group of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado for her generous contribution to Sunoasis! Thanks Lynda!

F Y I

Put an ad in Sunoasis 2003 and reach its 4,400 subscribers. Just $25 a month! Contact mailto:eide491@earthlink.net

Alphabet Experts.
Experienced editor, currently employed with major U.S. publishing house. Will proofread, copyedit, develop, and/or critique your manuscript. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Electronic or hardcopy. Reasonable rates. Contact (317) 336-6377 or e-mail: alphaexpert1@yahoo.com

Freelance writer and editor. Author of two business books. Former managing editor at Datapro Information Services. Current managing editor of "Security Management Practices," an online security journal. Expensive experience in business continuity (disaster recovery) planning and documentation. Presently seeking engagements writing business features, white papers, and business continuity plans. Contact:
James Barr
Email: jgbarr@msn.com
Phone: 856-435-2068

What's the difference between good writing and great writing? Professional editing. Let me help you get your book-length manuscript into shape for submission to an agent or for self-publication. Structural, stylistic and copy editing are my specialties; inspiration is the energy my clients say I bring to the process. Reasonable rates, timely service!

Email me at gaylv@yahoo.com

Freelance pro available for any and all writing challenges. Writer with over 15 years experience and over a dozen books and 250 articles published ready and willing to write for you. Experienced in press releases, ad copy, marketing material - you name it, he's probably written it! Fast, accurate, and easy to work with.

Extremely reasonable rates. You could do worse looking for a writer but you can't do better! Contact Russ Roberts at 609-298-9652 or russrob@erols.com

Team of experienced professionals, which includes a Pulitzer Prize nominee and several published authors, will edit your fiction or non-fiction manuscript for today's tough market. Reputable firm. References. First-time writers our specialty. See us at http://www.a1editing.com

Sunoasis--You're amazing! A mere five hours after I sent in the text for my classified ad I got a call for a writing project, and within two days, the project was mine. Thanks so much for your invaluable services! Debbie Lerman, freelance writer
http://www.sunoasis.com/classif.html

E T C/ E T C/ E T C

Editor/Publisher: David Eide
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Sunoasis 2003 is fully protected by copyright. Sunoasis 2003 can be distributed in any way deemed intelligent by the reader as long as it is distributed in full for non-commercial uses. Reprint rights belong to the authors. Contact them if you wish to use their material. Unauthorized use of any material is strictly forbidden.

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Let's all meet again in January 2004!

David

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