Things, they are a'changin'
By Trish MilburnMore than three years ago, the members of the Wet Noodle Posse, the majority of whom were unpublished at the time, decided to start an e-zine for women. It was the brainchild of Noodler Colleen Gleason, and she came to me since I have a background in journalism. We added a couple more people to the brainstorming, then took the idea to the entire group, who responded with enthusiasm. It was part author promotion -- for those who'd already sold their books and those who hoped to build name recognition prior to selling -- and part supportive and interesting content for women of all backgrounds, writers or not. We've had articles on everything from travel destinations to recipes to ways to improve your daily living. We've enjoyed bringing readers the e-zine each month, so it's with a bit of sadness that we announce that our December 2007 issue will be our last. As you might expect, it takes a lot of time and effort to put out a quality e-zine with several articles each month. And since that launch day in 2004, many more of our members have sold books and now have pressing deadlines. In fact, from this group of writers who were all unpublished in 2003 when we all finaled in RWA's Golden Heart contest, there are now 138 books published or contracted. That's amazing! That group of contracted writers includes myself, editor of the e-zine since its inception, and Esri Rose, the co-editor and newsletter blurb writer extraordinaire. We no longer have the time to devote to creating the quality product we insist on putting out there.
But never fear! The Web site isn't going anywhere -- www.wetnoodleposse.com will remain online with its extensive article archives. So if you've missed some of the issues over the past few years, now is a great opportunity to catch up. Plus, we'll occasionally be rerunning content from past e-zine issues on our blog, which will still be active. In fact, our blog is now going to be our main focus. We're redirecting the focus to writers since we had such wonderful success with our Golden Heart preparation themed month in October and early November. Beginning in December, we're going to have a theme each month. To kick off, we're going to have Call Stories next month -- stories of how published Noodlers found out they'd sold their first books or accounts of the day when they got the call that they were a Golden Heart finalist. Let me tell you, both are very exciting to a hard-working writer. And Call stories are always inspirational to those in the trenches, whether they've sold already or not.
Here's a sneak peak at what we have planned for 2008:
January -- Getting Started (goals, choosing your story idea, focusing, etc.)
February -- Character Development
March -- Plotting
April -- Conflict
May -- Research
June -- The Business Side of Writing
July -- Prepping for Conference (information on preparing to attend the RWA National Conference plus some info on preparing for smaller, local and regional conferences)
August -- Inspiration (for your stories and for yourself)
September -- Writer Health
October -- Preparing to Enter the Golden Heart (after all, the GH is what brought the Noodlers together)
November -- Writing Challenges (National Novel Writing Month, book-in-a-week, Club 100, turning off the internal editor, etc.)
December -- Editing/Revisions
As you can see, we've got a lot of great information coming in the new year. So be sure to bookmark our blog at http://wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com and come back each day to see what nuggets of writerly wisdom the Noodlers have to share. And be sure to bring your friends!
Labels: e-zine, Noodler Blog Schedule
posted by Trish Milburn @ 9:17 AM
16 Comments:
Hi, Trish, popping over from the Romance Bandits to say hello!
Wow, sounds like 2008 is going to be a hopping year for the Noodlers with lots of great topics. I love call stories so I'll be sure to check back in December.
138 books among the Noodlers! That's impressive.
Oops! I forgot to say sorry about the e-zine going defunct, but it sounds like the Noodlers have many exciting changes on the horizon.
I "discovered" the posse in October and learned so much. Your new plan sounds tremendous. Thanks for sharing and teaching from your journeys, and congratulations on such great success!
This site is evolving in a way that looks like it will benefit both you all and your readers--that's wonderful!
Can't wait for those call stories, I just love them.
And my GH entry went (finally) in the overnight mail this morning. I owe all of you so much thanks! Even if I don't final, it's so much fun to participate :)
Hey, Gillian, GOOD LUCK! And congratulations on getting that puppy in the mail!
Trish, I love getting the e-zine every month but I must say I was wondering how you guys found the time to do such a fabulous product. My current theory is you're holding a posse of elves in the basement!
Love the sound of the coming attractions. And wow! 138 books! That's seriously impressive. Go, Noodlers!!! Although I still say a Bandita could take a Noodler any time, even if she had an elf in both hands!
WOW -what a fabulous lineup you have for 2008! I'll definitely keep checking back :-)
Congrats on all the fabulous Noodler successes, and thanks for being so generous with sharing your brilliance ;-)
Trish, it's hard to let a good thing go--and the e-zine is definitely a great thing--but you and Esri will be more sane for it. Brilliant of you to keep the archives active so people can search all the great information!
And what's up with Anna Campbell trying to start a GH posse war? I mean, she's right, a Romance Bandit could take a Noodler any time (despite the elves), but we don't need to brag about it! But if we get in a rumble, I'm going for Jennie Lucas. I plan to distract her with chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. Ha!
LOL!! You guys are cracking me. You do realize I'm in the middle here, right? And funny you should mention elves. Esri's first book, Bound to Love Her, has one seriously hot elf as a hero. Check out her cover in the sidebar on the main page of the blog. (Trish fans self.)
Gillian, good luck on your GH entry! It feels so weird not to enter this year. I feel like I've been entering forever.
Trish, it was about time you retired from the GH circuit. Good lord, woman, you finalled about 50 times!! Let someone else have a stab at it. *g*
Who needs elves?
We Banditas have gladiators and golden roosters!
I've been in awe of the WNP for some time now. You gals have been an inspiration to everyone in RWA.
Thanks
Trish, I think it's a great idea to revamp every so often and I'm sure your readers don't want y'all to expire of exhaustion! I'm so impressed with your collective 138 books. Come on, Banditas, let's see if we can break the noodle record!
Now Anna and Caren...: )
I heard there was a fight....
I admit, I'll be torn....I really like some of the noodlers...
Nevertheless, NO BANDITA SHALL EVER BE LONELY! To ARMS! Or TO KEYBOARDS..
Wait.. There are hot elves on this site....
Dang.
This fight is too hard.
I'm donning my battle gear! ..or maybe its my pajamas...wait...these are my work clothes...my pajamas.
We're all sad about the ezine, but proud we did it and grateful to Trish and Esri and the whole Nitpicky team. I think our web approach will be like a graduate course in the profession of romance writing...and we have talked about awarding prizes of critiques, maybe one a month.
Wow - 138 books! You Noodlers ROCK!! The new line-up looks fantastic and I'll be sure to check back often to see what great information you all have to share *g*
Diane, I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one whose work clothes ARE her pajamas *ggg*
Holy smokes! I'm a Noodler and I didn't know there were 138 books! That's awesome!
Gillian, good luck with your GH entry! You're a wonderful writer, and I'm rooting for you!
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