Welcome to my Writing Jungle!

Five Points To NOT Get Published
by Lea Schizas



Every article tells you what to do in order to get published. I decided to go the complete opposite and give you a humorous look on what to do to NOT get published.



* Publishing houses have something called Submission Guidelines. They state their preferred genres, manuscript guidelines, how and where to send it to. Not sure why they post them since most writers prefer to skip this step and send them their ‘best-seller’, regardless if they onl… Continue

Writers are also readers and have a great opportunity to study other authors, to figure out what it is about the book that drew them into the storyline. Figuring out the force behind the book that pulled you in will help define your own writing. Every book needs two things at least: memorable characters and a strong storyline.

Characters are the parts of the engine that move the storyline. When you create memorable and long lasting impressions of them into your readers then you’ve hooked them.… Continue

One foolproof way to close a door, a cyber door or any other publishing door in your face is by sending an editor a query with the following: “My story/article is suitable for all ages.” Now, why would this annoy a magazine editor? Well, here goes:

Go HERE to read the full article.

As parents we've seen or heard about bullying. This can be devastatiting to a child. My novel, Bubba and Giganto: Odds Against Us touches bullying from various angles:

showing the hurt in a victim
offering a reason why a bully acts the way he does
how friends can make a big impact on someone who is being bullied.

Here's an excerpt. LINK HERE:

A novice called Maria once admonished curtain-draped kids to “start at the very beginning…” As writers for children, we fully understand the importance of beginnings, of the need to hook our readers into the tale we’re spinning. We know we have about ten seconds to grab children's attention before they wander to the next book on the shelf.



That knowledge is often at war with our need to introduce our main character, and to set the time and place. As writers, we are so eager to explain our del… Continue