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The free teleclass Five Reasons Why Editors Won’t Buy Your Great Ideas, taught by Diana Burrell, turned out great! Diana didn’t insult attendees’ intelligence with reasons like “You didn’t spell the editor’s name right” or “Your idea was no good” — she came up with five reasons for rejection that many writers don’t already know about. Not only that, but the 40 writers on the line asked some wonderful questions during the Q&A portion of the talk.

My favorite part was when a writer asked about why her idea was rejected by American Girl — and a former American Girl editor, who just happened to be on the line, jumped in to answer her question.

Missed the teleclass? Don’t worry — we recorded it and you can download the recording here. (The link to the sound file wasn’t working on the teleconference site, so I uploaded the file to a service called SendSpace.)

Be sure you don’t miss future classes by signing up for the e-mail list, which is where I announce new teleclasses. As a bonus, when you sign up you’ll receive a free packet of 10 query letters that worked.

I hope you enjoy the teleclass! [lf]

Just a quick reminder that the free teleclass Five Reasons Why Editors Won’t Buy Your Great Ideas, taught by Diana Burrell, is tonight at 8:30 – 9:30 pm ET. For more details and to learn how to sign up, please visit the teleclass page. We hope to see you there!

I have a new free teleclass scheduled for January 6, 2011: Using Fear as Fuel When Writing and Querying, taught by Sage Cohen, author of the upcoming book The Productive Writer (Writer’s Digest Books). Fear is a huge problem for many freelance writers, so I’m excited about this teleclass! To get the details and learn how to sign up, please go to the teleclass page.

Also, a reminder: There are only 6 spaces left in the January 10 session of my Write for Magazines e-course. It’s filling up really fast this time! So if you want to learn how to generate a salable article idea, target the best markets, and write a kick-butt query letter, now is the time to sign up! You can get more details and reserve your space here.

Happy holidays — and here’s to a successful 2011!

If you write for children and/or teenagers – or you yearn to write for them – I’m sure you’ve noticed that paranormal stories AND movies are really, really HOT right now!

Children’s author Simon Rose is a master at creating stories that include all sorts of paranormal elements, and he’s presenting a teleclass this week called Magic and Stories for Children: Part 1 – Fairy Tales and Familar Faces.

Find out more about this exciting LIVE teleclass and how you can register for it here now!

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There are all sorts of markets out there for your holiday and seasonal articles, but how do you find them? And how do you know which market to send your holiday or seasonal articles and stories to?

Find out the answers to these questions - and much MORE - during this week’s teleclass from the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club. Nancy I. Sanders will talk about Writing for the Holiday and Seasonal Markets tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, 2009, at noon CST.

To register for this special teleclass go to www.getrealresources.com. If you can’t attend the LIVE class, don’t worry. On Friday, you’ll receive a link to the recording of this special event.

Ahhhh...summer when you're a teenager. I don't care if you lived in city or in country, chances are you were wandering the streets with a group of your friends getting into various amounts of trouble. You were free of adult constraints answering your parent's question of "Where are you going?" with the simple word "Out!"

This is the summer scene for sisters Claire and Natalie. Claire is soon heading off to university. She's ready to dump her boyfriend for an unknown future full of promise, and she cannot really wait to go off on her own. Natalie, on the other hand, is a bit anxious. She's never been without Claire, and cannot imagine going from sharing a room to seeing Claire occasionally. But Natalie is spending her summer like she always does. She's hanging out at the Ding-Dong where Audrey works with the rest of her friends. She's playing hideous games of "Would you rather..." with them, waiting for everyone to show. You know...how gross can it get? The rest of the night is spent pool hopping when the owners aren't around.

And then everything changes.

After the accident, Natalie doesn't know what to do. Is it wrong to go to work while your sister lays comotose in the hospital? Is it wrong to kiss a boy when your parents are so distraught that they can't even talk to you? Would you rather see your sister die, or be hooked to machines for the rest of her "life"?

Written in sparse prose, Marthe Jocelyn brings the reader into a family tragedy, and introduces some amazing teenage characters. Natalie's feelings are so raw, and her life with her friends is incredibly realistic. They are smart, and sharp, and genuinely care for one another. While this is a sad story, readers will find themselves hoping that Natalie can find her way and hoping that her family can keep it together. Would You is a perfect choice for the teens who have recently enjoyed Before I Die, by Jenny Downham

Again, in the interest of full disclosure, I do know Marthe Jocelyn, but rest assured, this book would not appear on my blog if I didn't think it was great!