CreateSpace website

In the world of self-publishing, createspace.com is a website through amazon.com that does this very well.  This is an independent self-publishing website for writers who wish to publish their works online.  Of course, if a writer wishes to join, they have to sign up, but they don’t have to pay any money as far as what is seen on the website.  Unless they publish something on the website, then, part of the proceeds from the work published goes to the website.  Once signed up, a writer can either set up their book to be published or talk to a consultant.

Many features on the website include talking to publishers, looking at other people’s works, and looking at professional services like editing and marketing.  This gives the writer the opportunity to get a second opinion on their work before turning it in and to allow them to fix any mistakes in their manuscript.  This website provides convenient features like free publishing services as well as music and film services, which add to the website’s usefulness.  Createspace.com was originally started as a DVD on demand website in 2002.  Then, in 2007, the founders changed the name to fit the publishing needs of filmmakers, musicians, and writers.  For English majors, this is a good way for them to get their work noticed while they are still in school or while they are working a different job.

For writers in the past, editing had to be done with a publisher in person.  Today, with computers being as popular as they are, there are now new ways to publish a book, short story, or poem.  One of those ways is through self-publishing, online being a lot faster than having to send in a manuscript to a publisher and wait for a few weeks or months of waiting before receiving a reply or whether or not the author’s work was accepted.  Also, on the website, writers can read critiques that other people have posted about their works.  This gives the writer the opportunity to make some changes to their manuscript if they so desire.  It gives the writer the opportunity to perfect their craft without having to wait to hear from a publisher.

However, a writer must decide whether or not self-publishing is for them.  If not, they can go about getting their works published the old-fashioned way, which could take several weeks or months at a time.  With this website, getting published can happen very quickly.  Also, millions of people will be able to read a writer’s work by downloading the story onto their Kindle instead of having to buy a book.  Of course, some writers wish they could publish both through a website like createspace.com and through seeing a publisher face to face.  Nonetheless, for writers who don’t want to wait for many months for a publicist, this website is a good place to get started in the world of writing and self-publishing.

Library Journal

        Library Journal is a journal that came out twice a month and has run from 1928-2005.  The editor-in-chief for this edition is John N. Berry III, and the editor under him is Francine Fialkoff.  The articles are generally one to two pages long.  The most recent edition of the journal that can be found in print was July to December 2005.  However, while it may not be in recent print form, it can be found online.  It is located through the TN Tech Library link under Journals on the school website.  This means that Tech students and non-Tech students can get use out of the articles this journal has to offer.  There is no doubt that this journal is still going strong, even after 85 years despite the fact that it went out of print after 77 years in business.  Most of its subjects deal with science, nursing, and history.  Library Journal has also been known to cover English, business, and teaching.

This journal, both in print and online, is useful for a project that a student must take on in a specific subject.  However, depending on the topic of the project, the resources this journal can turn up are very limited.  For example, one student could find plenty of journal articles on a subject for their biology project, but another student might only be able to find a handful of information on topics for a project in music, theater, or English class.  For those interested in the arts, one article that will capture their attention is about Roy Lichtenstein and how he changed the face of art in the 1960’s (Doring, pages 96-106).  Despite this minor setback, this is still a great resource for students to use for their classroom needs.  Teachers can also use it when they want to show their students some kind of review on a book or journal article on a particular subject, they can show the students an example of what kind sources they can use for their projects.  There are many journal articles that derive from different journals like National Geographic.  Poe Studies in novel form can be found either in the library or in e-book form at the Library Journal website.  Every year, they put out twenty issues.  With the range of topics this journal covers, any teacher or student can find an article that interests them on the topic they search for.

For these reasons, this journal is an excellent resource to be used by students and teachers alike.  With its wide range of subjects and usages for various projects, it has proven to stand the test of time despite having to resort to being online instead of being in print.  It is truly incredible to know that a journal has been used for 85 years by students and teachers of all generations.

Works Cited

Doring, Jurgen.  Lichtenstein Posters.  Prestel.   (134.10, 2009): pages 96-106.

Web.  December 4, 2013.  http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA202012930&v=2.1&u=tel_a_ttul&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

Poe Studies

      Poe Studies is a yearly journal that is published through the Washington State University Press and contains articles about the works of American writer and poet, Edgar Allan Poe, and it is accessible through the TN Tech Library.  When it was first started in 1975, it was independently published through the Poe Studies Association, and the editor was Alexander Hammond.  In 1992, the Washington State University Press was not the only place that published it.  It was also done so with the help of their HumanitiesResearchCenter and Division of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Department of English.  For the 1975 and 1992 issues, the editor and editing staff had remained the same.  The editing staff included people like Richard P. Benton and many others.

In 2008, their most recent publication had made quite a few changes such as changing the location of publication, the editors, and the number of editing staff.  The place of publication was now Wiley-Blackwell with help coming from the WashingtonStateUniversity’s Department of English and College of Liberal Arts and also from the College of Charleston’s Department of English and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The editors are now Jana L. Argersinger and Scott Peeples for the newer editions of this journal.

At the present time, Poe Studies can be found online at the Wiley Online Library as well as a few other websites.  In fact, there is a website known as The Poe Studies Association, dedicated to the life and work of Poe much like this journal where fans and writers can talk about his great works of literature.  It still comes out once a year just like before, but now, readers can find it easier.

The mission for this journal can be found in this statement.  “History, Theory, Interpretation provides a forum for dialogue about Edgar Allan Poe’s life and writings and about the cultural and material contexts that shaped the production and reception of his work.  The editors wish to define “Poe Studies” broadly—to include articles that engage the period in which Poe wrote, writers with whom he was affiliated or whom he inspired, theoretical and philosophical issues raised by his work, and artistic movements associated with him such as Gothicism, detective fiction, symbolism, and metafiction.  The journal invites submissions or original articles and notes, welcomes work grounded in a wide range of theoretical and critical perspectives, and encourages inquires proposing submissions and projects” (Poe Studies, 2008).  The target audience of this journal is students because if they intend to study about Poe and his many works as a writer and poet, this is where they would find some excellent information for their projects.  However, it is also useful for professors who want to teach Poe in their classroom.

Some of the articles included in this journal are about Poe’s stories and either comparing them to other writers or writers’ opinions about his works.  The articles can vary in length between only 1 page to 27 pages.  Some examples of the titles from the 1975 volume include “Poe’s “The Business Man”: Its Contexts and Satire of Franklin’s Autobiography” by J. A. Leo Lemany, “Guiomar’s Poetics of Death and “The Raven”” by David Baguley, ““ MS. Found in a Bottle” and Sir David Brewster’s Letters: A Source” by Burton R. Pollin, who is one of the editors of the journal, and “On First Translations of “The Raven” into German” by Erika Hulpke (Poe Studies, 1975).

This journal can be of much help to any student who is interested in studying about Poe and his works.  Poe Studies is excellently written and handled with much care and attention.  There will continue to be writers and readers who will enjoy reading and talking about the great works of Edgar Allan Poe, even after so many years.

Works Cited

Reilly, J. E.  Poe Studies.  WashingtonStateUniversity.  1974.  Journal.  Volume 1. October 2013.

Reilly, J. E.  Poe Studies.  WashingtonStateUniversity.  2008.  Journal.  Volume 41.  October 2013.

Christian Fiction annotated bibliography

Christian fiction is a genre of fiction in the world of writing that has Christian elements in the story like characters having religious backgrounds or a religious journey a character has to make in order to become a better person.  It is a very small genre because it is unrecognizable by most readers who are fans of more contemporary fiction.  That is not to say that Christian fiction doesn’t have good stories or characters.  It does, but it is underrated in the world of literature.  One of the reasons why it is this way is because of the content.  Christian fiction does not contain the profanity, violence, and premarital sex that most books describe.  This is what sets it apart from those other books and what makes it so unique in the eyes of its writers, scholars, and readers.  Today, Christian fiction is gaining an audience despite not being as well recognized as works like those of writers such as Stephen King and Nora Roberts.

The main focus of this annotated bibliography is to look at the history of Christian fiction and how it is represented by writers and scholars alike.  There are a variety of sources from web reviews, books, and journal articles.  They describe certain works that happen to be in the genre of Christian fiction such as works like that of Loving Liza Jane by Sharlene MacLaren.  For example, there are the various subcategories found in this genre like romance and suspense with a more Christian element to them and how significant they are to our society.  These eleven sources can be used to help someone who is writing a paper on this genre of writing.

The people who would benefit the most from this bibliography are students in a creative writing class or English research class and teachers who teach said classes.  For an English research class, if Christian fiction is a genre the students are interested in, they can use these sources to write a paper on it and its history.  For a creative writing class, students can write a short story or any other kind story with elements from this genre to allow their story to reach out to other readers, who are interested in the genre.  Teachers can use this bibliography to show their students that literature doesn’t have to be vile, disgusting, and cruel to be entertaining, and how it can inspire those students to become successful writers without falling into the trap of following other writers who don’t use Christianity as a main or supporting character in their stories.

Benrey, Ron.  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Christian Fiction.

New York, New York: Penguin Group, 2007.

In print.  30  September 2013.

Ron Benrey describes the origins of Christian fiction and how a writer can go about writing in this genre.  The book even deals with the subcategories of Christian fiction from mystery to romance to young adult.  There is an interesting look into writing in this particular genre.  Also, the writer can learn at his/her own pace as opposed to being in a classroom and having to work at times when he/she can’t do anything else.  This book would be great to use for a paper on the origins of Christian fiction.

Butler, Tamara.  “Christian fiction.” Library Journal.  128.10 (2003): page 78.

Web.   23 October 2013.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA202012881&v=2.1&u=tel_a_ttul&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1

Tamara Butler is a librarian at the Olean Public Library in New York.  She writes in this article about how she has been looking to inspirational books to help her readers.  Many of those inspirational books come in the form of Christian fiction.  She has used these books to touch the lives of many students who have walked through her library doors.  This shows her dedication to them and the great literature being written in the genre of Christian fiction.

Cahn, Jonathan.  The Harbinger.  FrontLine.  2011.  In print.  2 October 2013.

In this story, a man discovers that the most recent American disasters from the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to the stock market collapse in 2008 were hinted at in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible.  This is a different kind of Christian fiction.  It combines elements of a thriller with that a Biblical verse found in the Old Testament.  Also, it combines fictional events with real-life events that happened not too long ago.  This is what makes the book so interesting.  It allows the reader to look the events described and come to the conclusion of the Bible verse’s truth on their own terms.

Conkling, Micah Levi.  “Where Did Good Christian Fiction Go?”

Relevant Magazine.  10 May 2012.   Website.  30 September 2013.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/blog/29167-where-did-good-christian-fiction-go

Conkling proposes in this article that good Christian fiction is hard to find nowadays.  There are plenty of other genres doing very well on the market, but Christian fiction basically goes unnoticed by the general public.  He goes on to say that books, especially those of the Christian fiction genre have the ability to change the lives of certain people, especially those who lead troubled lives.

Crosby, Cindy.  “Sizzle, sizzle … fizzle, fizzle … amid shifting genres, Christian fiction finds inspiration in nostalgia and timeless themes.”  Publisher’s Weekly.

259.7 (2012): page S1. Magazine.  2 October 2013.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA280192207&v=2.1&u=tel_a_ttul&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

This article looks into different Christian fiction stories from writers like Klassen and Tricia Goyer.  Cindy Crosby takes a look at these books and writes about what other editors and writers have said about them.  She even talks about how some of these books are gaining attention among readers with their versatility, especially the historical Christian fiction books like Echoes of Titanic and many others that are set in early America.

Dacus, Kaye.  “Christian fiction.”  The Writer.  123.3 (2010): page 7.

Academic OneFile.  Web.  30 September 2013.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA217040758&v=2.1&u=tel_a_ttul&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

The writer of this article begins by thanking an editor for publishing an article called “The spirit of Christian fiction today” written by Randy Rudder.  He then goes on to explain what Rudder mentioned in his article about a group called Christian Writers Guild, and the largest branch of it was the American Christian Fiction Writers.  They seem to be an interesting group of people, who get together and talk about their Christian fiction.

Duncan, Melanie C. Christian Fiction: A Born-Again Genre.  Library Journal Reviews and Genre Spotlight.

14 February 2012.  Website.  30 September 2013. 

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/02/collection-development/genre-spotlight-christian-fiction-a-born-again-genre/

Melanie Duncan talks about the advantages to Christian fiction as a genre, seeing as though it has low emphasis on profanity, sex, and violence.  She mentions that the demographic for these books are mostly middle-aged women.  Plus, she even mentions Christian romance fiction that has certain qualities a story of that genre must have.  Of course, that is not to say that Christian fiction cannot have some kind of reality in its message.

Hill, Nanci Milone. “Christian fiction.” Library Journal. 138.14 (2013): n/a.

Popular Magazines. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1417945126

In this series of book reviews, Nanci Hill talks about the different variety of Christian fiction novels from a tale about Amish vampires to a murder mystery, all touching on Christian elements.  For each review, she gives a brief synopsis of the story and what it deals with.  Then, she talks about whether it is good or not, or rather she gives what she calls a verdict.  Many of these stories revolve around Amish communities, but they still show Christian elements such as lack of profanity, violence, and premarital sex like any good Christian fiction book would do.

Miller, Donald E.  “The Truth of the Christian Fiction: Belief in the Modern Age.”

Christian Century.  N/A (1979): page 97.  Journal article.

30 September 2013.  http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1209

This article deals with many subjects that are not usually touched upon in the religious world.  Dr. Donald E. Miller splits this article up into seven different sections. They are A Crisis of Faith, Form and Substance, The Reification Process, Fiction and Myth, Vessels of the Holy, The Symbolic Form of Jesus, and Toward a More Mature Theology.  He starts off by talking about how perplexing Christianity can be for certain denominations like the Protestants and Catholics.  Then, he goes into the seven different sections, describing each one in great detail. 

Neal, Lynn.  Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction.

Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1 February 2006.

In print.  30 September 2013.

Lynn Neal writes a book with interviews from writers and readers on the subject of Christianity and Christian fiction.  Also, in her tale, it talks about romance, but not just any romance.  It’s the kind of romance where God is in the center of the relationship and is the rock for the man and woman in the relationship during hard times.  For many romantic couples in literature, that relationship with God seems to be missing, and therefore, the romantic relationship will eventually fall apart.  That is not to say that all relationships are like that, but in a true, loving relationship, God is the glue that binds the love between a man and a woman for all eternity.  That is what Lynn Neal is trying to get across in her book.

Schaap, James Calvin. “On truth, fiction and being a Christian writer.”

The Christian Century.  114.36( 1997): page 1188.  Academic OneFile. Web.

           23 Oct. 2013.

Not only touching upon the themes of Christian fiction, this article also talks about what it means to be a Christian writer.  James Schaap introduces this to the readers by taking them back in time to when he was a child and had grown up, going to a Christian school in a Christian community.  At first, he didn’t like reading, but like most children who did not enjoy reading, he eventually came to like it upon growing up.  Upon becoming a writer himself, he soon discovered what it truly meant to be a Christian writer by reading Christian novels in which he could relate to the characters.  This shows that even if a person does not gravitate toward Christianity in literature, God’s grace will find a way into their heart through a thoughtful and enjoyable book.