Las Vegas Writer’s Group
Meeting Notes
May 20, 2010
Guest Speaker:Stephen Bates, Professor of Journalism, UNLV
Topic: “Walking the Talk and Getting the Deals Done”
Group Organizer Richard Warren welcomed everyoneto the evening’s presentation and encouraged everyone to arrive early to mix and mingle with other writers.
The reader for the night was LVWG member Morgan St. James and she read the opening of “Trust No One”, a short story about a woman’s retribution that appears in the anthology “The Mystery of the Green Mist”. She didn’t have time to finish reading the story so if you want to know what happens you’ll have to contact Morgan at <>.
After Morgan’s reading, there were several announcements:
1)GrassrootsEv.com is looking for a volunteer to help with their monthly newsletter, press releases, etc. The group’s focus is electrical vehicles. Contact LVWG member Jon Hallquist at for more info.
2)A panel of five road trip experts will share stories of their favorite road trips and offer to tips to making your next road adventure memorable at the Clark County Library on Flamingo on Wednesday May 26 at 6:30pm. Admission is free.
3)Anyone interested in forming or joining a critique group should contact Critique Group Organizer Terri Rosen.
Mark Sedenquist, the LVWG Program Director then introduced the guest speaker for the night, Stephen Bates. Stephen is a professor at UNLV’s Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies. He graduated from Harvard Law School, is a contributing editor to the Wilson Quarterly and author of four non-fiction books, including his collection of anecdotes on American journalism, “If No News, Send Rumors” which was on sale in the back of the room for the modest price of only $10.
Stephen started out his presentation by saying that journalism schools are trying to figure out the future of journalism and that they are generally exploring four key areas of research:
1)Re-building the advertising base both on-line and in print editions.
2)Setting up “pay walls” on-line where content can only be reached after paying a nominal transaction fee (both the NYTimes and Fox “News” are working with this idea).
3)Finding non-profit endowments.
4)Seeking government subsidies.
Stephen then reviewed some famous quotes about the death of the newspaper business back in the 1800’s and offered some hope for the resiliency of the industry. Back then the telegraph and pneumatic tubes, the latest inventions of the day, were supposed to be the death knell for newspapers. Instead of succumbing to the march of technology though, the newspaper industry grew and thrived for another hundred years. So perhaps the challenges the internet causes for journalism also include some opportunities.
“We will always need people who tell good stories, whether it’s non-fiction or fiction.”
In keeping with the evening’s theme, “Walking the Talk and Getting the Deals Done” Stephen avoided further analysis of the journalism industry and instead presented:
“Stephen Bates’ 21 Lessons Learned from a Career in Journalism”:
1)Have lots of ideas.
2)Collaborate with and learn from an established writer.
3)Know what’s out there – read!
4)It’s possible to sell a book w/o an agent.
5)First book got published because of collaboration.
6)Don’t over-reach to get a scholarly book published – publish an article instead.
7)Found an agent through friends
8)Got to write “Battleground” because of first publishing a book of anecdotes about American journalism.
9)Grant money is out there! Contests with cash prizes too!
10)Don’t get married to your pre-conceptions. Be flexible.
11)Freelancing and clips open doors.
12)Learned the power of story through his experience writing the Starr Report.
13)Sometimes you have to accept defeat – not everything works.
14)Write reviews of other books on subjects you want to write about.
15)With time, he built up his own contacts, not just those of his mentors.
16)Over the transom works! (“One-third to one-half of all submissions are rejected by the first page because of grammar and spelling, so your chances are actually pretty good.”)
17)Be nice to editors. Respect deadlines. (“Nobody is indispensible.”)
18)Be creative when thinking about outlets for your writing.
19)Know what your target publication looks for, what they generally publish and what they generally don’t.
20)Keep trying! There are a lot of setbacks.
21)Be realistic.
Stephen concluded with a few more thoughts. “Moving forward requires small steps. Don’t abandon hope but think strategically about where you are and how to get to where you want to be,” he advised. Stephen hopes his next project will be about re-forming the press industry.“The news industry hasn’t quite figured out how to deal with the advent of having a constant deadline on the internet,” he concluded.
Maybe that concept is at the heart of journalism’s future.
Although he didn’t discuss it, Stephen encouraged everyone to take a look at his (four page!) hand-out of resources for building your marketing toolkit. (ATTACHED) It’s a very useful list for any writer serious about trying to sell their work. Thanks, Stephen!
After Stephen’s presentation, Quizmaster Megan Edwards presented the group with twelve intriguing questions about authors and the words they’ve made up that have become part of our lexicon. Very fun topic!
Richard closed the formal meeting with a great quote from Graham Greene, “The moment a character says or does something you haven’t thought of, that character becomes alive.” So true.
Many people, of course, stuck around and mingled thoughts and commentary about writing, life and cheese, but all of that was off the record.
(Meeting Notes by LV Writer’s Group Scribe: Eric J. Miller)
Stephen Bates
Professor at UNLV’s Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies.
Walking the Talk and Getting the Deals Done
Las Vegas Writers Group, May 20, 2010 7:00 pm
Mr. Bates isa HarvardLawSchool graduate, contributing editor of the Wilson Quarterly, and author of four books. He has published articles in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, American Heritage, the London Spectator, and elsewhere. Last year he won the Public Relations Society of America’s prize for best technology journalism. Mr. Bates will discuss the evolving role of journalism schools in the 21st century and the enduring importance of telling a good story, regardless of platform or genre. In addition to being able to produce commercial prose on a consistent basis, a professional writer needs to create and support a marketing platform for their work. Most writers also need to develop an understanding of interviewing techniques, even if they write fiction or screenplays because elements of the art of interviewing can be used to strengthen characters and plot development. Over the course of his literary career, Mr. Bates has become an expert interviewer and will share some tips that every writer can use in their own literary work.
Here are some resources for building your own marketing tool kit:
MARKETING RESOURCES
Stephen Bates
Books
Larry L. King, None But a Blockhead (1986). A writing-centric memoir by a renowned journalist (one of his articles became the musical Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Includes candid, gossipy accounts of money troubles, duplicitous editors, and getting punched by Norman Mailer.
Cork Millner, Write from the Start: A Proven Program for Writing and Selling Nonfiction--Even If You've Never Been Published Before (1992). Covers the full process, including selling articles and getting book contracts. A bit basic but insightful.
Susan Rabiner (and Alfred Fortunato), Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction--and Get It Published (2002). From a longtime editor who's now an agent, a detailed overview of publishing from the writer's perspective: preparing an appealing submission package, working with an editor while writing, and publicizing the book once it's out.
James B. Stewart, Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction (1998). A Pulitzer winner and bestselling author covers every aspect of writing narrative nonfiction, including a chapter on proposals.
Katharine Sands, ed., Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye (2004). A collection of 40 essays and interviews featuring agents, editors, copywriters, and others, with info on selling novels, nonfiction books, and children's books; pitching to editors and agents at writers' conferences; collaborating; and much else.
Carolyn See, Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers (2002). The author teaches at UCLA and regularly reviews for the Washington Post. Chapters address coping with rejection and navigating the publishing process. Geared mainly toward fiction writers, but much of it applies to nonfiction.
John Wood, How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters (1996). Wood was a senior editor at Modern Maturity. He includes actual queries and explains what worked and what didn't.
Cheryl Sloan Wray, Writing for Magazines (2005). Textbook; somewhat basic.
Magazines
Poets and Writers, Bimonthly, $14.95/year. Emphasizes fiction and poetry, but also features some articles on narrative nonfiction as well as comprehensive listings of writers' conferences, grants, awards, and other nuts-and-bolts info.
Writer's Chronicle, Published six times a year by the Associated Writing Programs at GeorgeMasonUniversity, $20/year (more expensive if you buy AWP membership too). Some nonfiction info alongside material about fiction, poetry, and especially teaching. Good lists of grants and awards.
Online
Association of Authors' Representatives, Has a directory of agents.
Featurewell, Syndication service that will try to sell your already-published pieces to different markets or in reprint form. I don't know how successful they are, but they have some first-rate writers signed up.
More Online Resources: Stephen Bates
Mediabistro, Sponsors courses, parties, and events (none, alas, in Las Vegas). The website features interviews with editors plus media-related job listings, sometimes including freelance opportunities. Some of the website articles require a pricey premium membership, but most of it's free. They also do a free daily newsfeed, with links to articles about journalism. You can sign up on their website.
Narrative Magazine, Online only. Publishes fiction (as short as 500 words), poetry, and essays. Pays $150 to $1,000 (more for book-length manuscripts), and offers a $5,000 prize for the best work by a new or emerging writer published during the preceding year. Requires a $20 reading fee except for the first two weeks of April. Lots of links to agents, writers' organizations, and other useful info at
Poets and Writers, The mag's website, with lots of good material and links, including on writing contests.
Illinois Literary Network, Links to literary journals, small presses, agents, and writing organizations.
Writers Write, Useful links to magazines and their submission guidelines at
Writers' Conferences
Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, June 17-23, 2010. Addresses fiction, poetry, and screenwriting as well as nonfiction.
Wesleyan Writers Conference, WesleyanUniversity, Middletown, CT, June 17-21, 2010. A mix of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Emphasizes effective storytelling, but with at least one panel on marketing, featuring agents and book editors. Scholarships available.
Here are some tips and suggestions for becoming a skilled interviewer:
RESOURCES ON INTERVIEWING
John Brady, The Craft of Interviewing (1976). Excellent overview.
Denis Brian, Murderers and Other Friendly People: The Public and Private Worlds of Interviewers (1973). Incisive Q&As with leading interviewers of the day, including Alex Haley, George Plimpton, Gay Talese, Truman Capote, and Studs Terkel.
Barney Collier, Hope and Fear in Washington (The Early Seventies): The Story of the Washington Press Corps (1975). Turning the tables: interviews with reporters featuring catty comments on their acne, halitosis, and table manners.
Dave Eggers, clarification of New York Times feature, February 14, 2001. Archived at Lengthy email exchange between a Times writer and Eggers that, in Eggers's view, "illuminates the journalist's mind: how a writer starts by telling me he is a fan of my work, supports my company's endeavors, etc., then writes a snippety little thing full of sneering and suspicion."
Malcolm Gladwell, "The Naked Face," The New Yorker, August 5, 2002. "Microexpressions" and detecting lies.
Kim Hart, "Inbox Journalism," AJR, December-January 2006, Pros and cons of email interviews.
David Lodge, Home Truths (1999). Novella about a savage interviewer. One interviewee, after the article appears: "I feel as if I've been shat on from a great height by a bilious bird of prey."
Janet Malcolm, The Journalist and the Murderer (1990). Erudite if overdrawn meditation on the journalist-source transaction. Its famous opening: "Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible. He is a kind of confidence man, preying on people's vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their truth and betraying them without remorse."
Jessica Mitford, Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking (1979). Collection of her investigative journalism. The introduction provides splendid tips for interviewing and research.
Susan Palerno, "Question Man," AJR, October 2000, Excellent feature on Canadian investigative reporter John Sawatsky and his theory of successful interviewing. Among his teachings: "Colorless questions usually provide colorful answers."
Massimo Polidoro, "Notes on a Strange World," Skeptical Inquirer, January 2005, Reveals and analyzes false memories about JFK's assassination. A useful reminder that people who provide misinformation aren’t necessarily lying.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Can We Tape? (2004). State-by-state summary of laws on taping telephone and in-person conversations.
John Rodden, Performing the Literary Interview: How Writers Craft Their Public Selves (2004). Q&As with prominent writers, interspersed with lit-crit reflections on interviewing as genre and performance.
Other resources:
David Shedden, "Interviewing Bibliography,"
MediaBistro interviewing section,