Jenna Glatzer, Ghostwriter

I am not the shooter's mother, and I can't pretend to know what that was like. My daughter is the kindest soul I've ever known, and I can't take credit for that, either. Well, partial credit. Here's what I know: Some kids turn out right. Some kids turn out wrong. Sometimes it's the parents' fault. Sometimes it isn't. And there are deranged people in every significant group you can name-- every race, class, level of intellect, etc. Being on the autism spectrum-- if that's the case-- didn't turn this kid into a mass murderer. I don't want to jump to any particular conclusions because I just don't know. Was he evil? Was he hearing voices and completely out of touch with reality? Was the mother also mentally ill? I would suggest that if you're tempted to believe anything you read in the media at the moment, please keep in mind that this is the same media that told us: -The shooter was Ryan Lanza -He was the father of a student -...

I'm updating my book Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer , and in doing so, I'm looking for the most reliable writers' guidelines databases to recommend. Writer's Market ( www.writersmarket.com ) is kept current and is an excellent source, but there are lots of markets they don't feature, too. So I've spent much of today looking around at the online market guides, spot-checking their parenting sections to see if their links are updated. What a disappointment... found very few current ones. What are your favorite online market guides? Anyway, I don't plan to keep this post updated for any length of time, either, but just for the heck of it, I'm going to link here to all the parenting magazine guidelines I come across as I'm surfing tonight. Regional parenting magazines are a great place to sell reprints. Enjoy! ("But how," you may ask, "How, Jenna, can I ever repay you for this great list?" See those books over there on th...

One of my favorite events every year is BEA-- Book Expo America-- held at the Javits Center in NYC. I started going somewhere around 2005, when one of my publishers invited me to join them in the booth. I knew it was a big event, but WOW, it was amazing! It was crowded as a rock concert, sprawled all over the place. Overwhelming, but in such an exciting way. All these people care about books! I thought. I wanted to cry. I remember meeting up with my editor at Writer's Digest, and running over to get a big hug from Fantasia Barrino just before she left-- I was second in line to write her book, which ended up on the Times list... sigh...-- and seeing some of my pals from Absolute Write. There are the crazy attention-stealers every year, like the guy walking around with a toilet seat around his neck, or the people in space costumes, or this year, the person dressed up as the devil making and making weird noises across from a Christian publisher's booth. For the most part, it...