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Submissions: 2010 Submissions and Responses

Submissions Here is the annual look back at my submission record for this year and some stats on my total submissions since I started to record them in 2004. 2010 SUBMISSIONS AND RESPONSES: 22 total submissions *The total is 10 more than 2009 . 6 rejections *All but one were from literary agents on novel queries. 9 non-responders *Six of these were from literary agencies, the other three from magazine editors. 7 acceptances *These are from various sources for a variety of projects. 2010 RESPONSES FROM 2009 SUBMISSIONS: 3 withdrawals - 380/388/390 days *This was for the MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT proposal, which Mike and I placed with Headline Books, Inc. 2010 RESPONSES FROM 2008 SUBMISSIONS: 1 acceptance - 321 days *This was for my poem Starship Stowaways at Beyond Centauri . So this goes against the past two years where I've said that having a sub out longer isn't necessarily a good thing. In this case it was! 1 other - 726 days *I created the "othe

WORKSHOP: Writing with Authority

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WORKSHOPS WRITING WITH AUTHORITY Online Course INSTRUCTORS: Jason Jack Miller and Heidi Ruby Miller DATE: April 1 – May 2, 2011 LIMITED CLASS SIZE. Enroll now. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The easiest way to engage your reader is by using concrete nouns and action verbs. In this one-month online course, Seton Hill University creative writing faculty Jason Jack Miller and Heidi Ruby Miller will show you how to analyze your writing and use easy techniques that will increase the authority of your voice. Participants will: * Discover how to spot passive voice * Scrutinize their writing for generic nouns and indefinite pronouns * Learn to avoid weak verbs and overuse of “be” in all its forms * Practice using strong synonyms to find the best action verb * Apply word cloud research to make their plot come alive FREE BONUS: Course participants will receive a free excerpt (.pdf) from the new writing guide, MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT: LESSONS IN WRITING POPULAR FICTION ( Headline B

Website: Many Genres, One Craft

Websites Co-editor Mike Arnzen launched the official website for our new book Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction at http://manygenres.blogspot.com . Many Genres, One Craft is the equivalent of a graduate program in creative writing captured in the pages of a book...stuffed with great advice, but not stuffy at all. Gathering the voices of today's top genre writers and their published students from Seton Hill University's acclaimed MFA program -- the country's only graduate program specifically focused on writing popular fiction –- Many Genres, One Craft is an academic instructional guide that aims to be the most entertaining textbook a new author will ever read. It targets those who want to write commercial novels of quality, rather than to publish only in academia. And because it is a multi-authored collection, it is like a writing community, a group of like-minded thinkers and kindred spirits, assembled between its covers, focused on ma

Conference: 2011 Pennwriters Conference

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Conferences From Julie Long and Meredith Cohen , 2011 Pennwriters Conference Coordinators 20 Things You’ll Learn About Craft and Career in Just Three Days: 1. How to start, survive and thrive in a critique group 2. Creating a powerful sense of place in your novel 3. The art of social networking and shameless self-promotion 4. How to balance narrative with dialog 5. Why writing for younger audiences is different 6. How to give a great reading 7. Identifying your learning style to become a better writer 8. Understanding your character’s psychological issues 9. Setting and reaching writing goals 10. How to interview for the nonfiction book 11. How to know if you need a prologue 12. Life balance skills for writers * 13. How fixing your first page can improve your entire manuscript 14. Understanding the creative process and the writer’s inner turmoil 15. Taking your writing to the screen 16. How to perfect your pitch 17. What makes a good memoir 18. Using meditativ

PUBLICATION: Sounds in the Jungle by Heidi Ruby Miller in Eye Contact

PUBLICATIONS I received my copy of Eye Contact today for my short story "Sounds in the Jungle" and was pleasantly surprised to see one of Jason 's photos ("Wave Swinger") in there as well. Filled with death, loss, and mourning, this was a beautifully dark issue, appropriate as we come close to the winter solstice. Here is a peek at the table of contents, which includes work from some of my former students and other Seton Hill Writers : Eyes by Patrick Schober Bloom by Passion Hannah Aquila by Christine Telfer Living Grace by Maddie Gillespie Memorial by Stephanie Pikula Kalina by Molly Follmer Sounds in the Jungle by Heidi Ruby Miller Tá Mé I Ngrá Leat by Lyndsey Basham Lesson by Judith R. Robinson Wave Swinger by Jason Jack Miller The Man on Clipper Street by Patrick Schober The Shorts Have Eyes by Matthew Duvall Eye Spy by Aja Hannah Cinderella by Stephanie Wytovich Uh-Oh by Lyndsey Basham Origami Moons by Penny Dawn Dear Summer by Ca

Book Deal: Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

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Book Deals I am happy to finally announce that Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction has been picked up by Headline Books, Inc. . This is the writing guide that Mike Arnzen and I are co-editing. Michael Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller signing the contract for Many Genres, One Craft Photo by Jason Jack Miller Lots of news to come, including a list of contributors, a new website, and a tour schedule. This has been two years in the making, so I am very excited about the project coming to fruition in such a great way.

Event: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

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Events Jason and I had an incredible weekend in Washington, D.C. The highlight, of course, was Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert 's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear . Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Thank you to Jason Jack Miller for taking all of the photos; that way I could just enjoy everything, but still have photographic stock later. FRIDAY This photo was taken on Friday, October 29, but The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority counted 825,437 passenger trips on October 30, the date of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, breaking a 19-year record. We ate lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl as soon as we got into DC. Awesome! Then headed down the street to the International Spy Museum. It's hiding behind that tree. And, that's me acting like a spy in the cafe. Our training allowed us to sneak into the National Portrait Gallery right through the front door. SATURDAY On Saturday, we got to the Mall around 10:00 AM. The first

Reading: Michael Arnzen at Morgantown Poets

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Readings Michael A. Arnzen reading his story from Legends of the Mountain State 4 Last night we headed to the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC, as it is affectionately referred to by resident artists) in Morgantown, WV . The Morgantown Poets were having their monthly meeting, and Mike Arnzen was the guest reader. His ghoulish selections for the Halloween season came from Audiovile , Proverbs for Monsters , Rigmarole: Zombie Poems , Legends of the Mountain State 4 and his inventive tweets . Other readers included Scott Emerson and Ted Webb and Diane Tarantini , who will be sharing their written work at Zenclay in Morgantown on November 5, 2010. A video of Mike's readings will be online soon.

Party: Timons Esaias's 19th Annual Passage Party

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Parties Jason and I recently attended Timons Esaias's 19th Annual Passage Party at his home in Pittsburgh, PA . Lots of wonderful selections were read by lots of interesting people, including some poetry in the original French, sea shanties, Bukowski selections, and "All You Can Hold for 5 Bucks" from McSorley's Wonderful Saloon by Joseph Mitchell from Tim. McSorley's Wonderful Saloon by Joseph Mitchell I chose some pages from Tom Rob Smith's novel Child 44 . It was one of the best books I've read this year. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith Jason went with "Nemesis" a favorite essay of ours from Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman . Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman We're already thinking about our selections for next year...

Book Signing: David Morrell

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Book Signings Thank you to Meline Nadeau for this photo of David Morrell and me during his book signing at the 2010 Seton Hill WPF residency ! Heidi Ruby Miller and David Morrell Photo by Meline Nadeau

Reflection: Sunrise Photo Shoot at Kentuck Knob

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Reflection One weekend last month I got up at 4:00 AM so that I could open the gates at Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Knob for the Westmoreland Photographers Society sunrise shoot. What an incredible experience to watch the world awaken from the top of that hill! While the photographers checked their shutter speed and adjusted their tripods, I wrote. Part of it was for work - facts for my weekly progress report and details for copy to be turned into press releases and articles later - but part of it was for me. Trying to capture a particular time of the day is challenging when you're not writing about it as it's happening, and especially if you're normally sleeping at that hour. You miss the small stuff, those details that let your reader say, 'I know exactly how that feels.' Maybe they'll say that when they read the revised chapter in my recent novel. The setting is certainly better for it and so is the mood. You see, we didn't have the

Photo Series: 2010 Seton Hill WPF Writing Conference and Retreat

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Photo Series and Conferences This June 150 writers gathered "on the Hill" for the combination of Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction MFA Residency and the 9th Annual Alumnae-sponsored WPF In Your Write Mind Conference and Retreat . Guests included New York Times Bestselling Author , Rambo -creator, and International Thriller Writers co-founder David Morrell , FinePrint Literary Agent Janet Reid , Poisoned Pen Press Acquisitions Editor Annette Rogers , Samhain Publishing Co. Director of Marketing and Sales Tina Trevaskis , and Dystel & Goderich Literary Agent Jim McCarthy . David Morrell Photo by Heidi Ruby Miller Sally Bosco , Meline Nadeau , Jason Jack Miller , Chris Stout , Natalie Duvall , and Matt Duvall Photo by Heidi Ruby Miller Maria V. Snyder and Heidi Ruby Miller Photo by Jason Jack Miller Mary Cox and Natalie Duvall Photo by Heidi Ruby Miller Judi Fleming , Meline Nadeau , Alexa Grave , Shelley Adina , Chris Stout ,

Conference: 2010 Pennwriters Conference

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Conferences The 2010 Pennwriters Conference was the first conference or convention that Jason and I have attended since 2008, and I didn't realize how much we needed to immerse ourselves in the writing world again. The hiatus was by choice because we both needed to finish our third novels. It was a good choice, a therapeutic choice, and allowed us to appreciate the creative energy that comes from a group of writers converging at a single location. Jason Jack Miller and Heidi Ruby Miller Photo by Mike Mehalek We caught up with old friends, some from Seton Hill ... Timons Esaias , Heidi Ruby Miller , and Maria V. Snyder Photo by Jason Jack Miller and some (well, one - Jon ) that I shared an anthology ( Sails and Sorcery ) with... Heidi Ruby Miller and Jon Sprunk Photo by Jason Jack Miller and made some new ones... Ruth G. Zavitsanos , Elizabeth Kelley , Timons Esaias , Maria V. Snyder , and Meghan Schuessler photo by Heidi Ruby Miller had some wonderful bo

Poem: Starship Stowaways in Beyond Centauri

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Poetry I was so busy last month that I never had a chance to post this. My poem Starship Stowaways was in the April 2010 issue of Beyond Centauri .

Show: Wilco

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Shows Wilco's album A.M. Jason and I saw Wilco recently with our friends Bruce and Becca at the Carnegie Music Hall in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh . What a magnificent (and I'm not overstating it) venue and what a memorable show. Carnegie Music Hall image from the website The lighting was exceptional with floor lamps and what I can only describe as electric candelabras that pulsated in time to the music. The soft lighting gave the elaborate marble and gold-leaf designs of the music hall a laid-back haunted mansion feel. The atmosphere was perfect for the sounds of Jeff Tweedy and company.

Film Festival: Banff Mountain Film Festival

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Film Festivals Banff, Canada For the fourth time since the Banff Mountain Film Festival has come to Morgantown, West Virginia , we have attended. It is always an incredible experience with lots of friends and family (we take up an entire row in the theater!) that leaves us all uplifted, inspired, and motivated. The Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin Jason even won a copy of The Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin . The line-up this year seemed a bit better than last year with my favorites being Take a Seat Copyrighted photo and synopsis taken from the Banff Mountain site Special Jury Mention UK, 2009, 46 minutes Directed by Ed Stobart, Dominic Gill Produced by Lucy Wilcox View video Dominic Gill’s mission is to cycle the 32,000 kilometres from the northern coast of Alaska to the southern tip of South America, on a tandem bike, picking up random strangers on the way. A gripping tale of two years and two contin