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High Hill Press Review

As editor of High Hill Press Review and owner of High Hill Press, a small publishing company, I've noticed a disturbing fact when reviewing manuscripts. Most people can write wonderful stories, create intriguing and memorable characters, and put you into the world they create, but they can't edit. Even if they know the craft, their work is full of simple errors they overlook because they're too close to their own words. Their brains tell them what should be there when they review their manuscripts, not what is actually on the page. I'm guilty of the same thing. I can write clever comments and fast-paced short stories full of zany and wonderful characters, but I can't edit my own work. Dusty Richards, a good friend of mine and author of 110 New York published books, and several High Hill Press books, describes the problem this way..."Our mistakes are like prairie dogs. When we bop one of them back into the hole, another one pops up somewhere else."

But we're writers, not prairie dog hunters, so what do we do? We hire an editor. I often pass up beautiful books because they aren't polished enough to go to press. Unlike New York, I don't have a staff of 30 working on one manuscript. If every manuscript I read had been proof read by an editor, they'd all be accepted and find themselves on the bookstore shelves. But sadly, I've been turning down way more books than I accept.

Whether you're sending your manuscript to a lit magazine, or have a finished book that you're going to start sending out to publishers, make sure your chances for acceptance aren't diminished because of simple grammar errors, or problems with the plot, or mistakes with characters and events.

http://www.writRteachR.blogspot.com

http://bettychenderson.blogspot.com

www.donnasbookpub.blogspot.com

http://thejennypincher.com

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http://lindaoconnell.blogspot.com

Many of you know Dusty Richards, often called the "best living western author" of our time. Dusty and a couple of his cowboy friends have come up with a great idea. A Cactus Country Book Club.  Every other month Cactus Country will offer a book for sale that you can't find anywhere else. These books will be written by people who've made their careers in New York and know how to write books. In between these new offerings, we're also going to have reprints of books that are no longer available. Like Dusty's very first novel, Nobles Way. Watch this site for more information. 

Today's famous author quote!

I'm a salami writer. I try to write good salami, but salami is salami...

Stephen King

To imagine yourself inside another person... is what a storywriter does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.
Eudora Welty

Meet the owner of High Hill Press Lou Turner

This is a pencil sketch that Rochelle Wisoff-Fields did of me at one of Ozarks Writers League's meetings a couple of years ago. At that meeting I was talking about how the publishing industry is again in the pioneer stages. I said I feel like I'm sitting on a wagon heading west and I'm not sure where we're going, but I know the trip is exciting. High Hill is also excited about Rochelle and her talents because we just published a collection of her short stories titled This, That, and Sometimes the Other. The book also showcases more of Rochelle's sketches. You can find Rochelle's book on our bookstore page.

Check out our Meet the Writers page!

highhillpress@aol.com

Last year we contacted by Sharon Tricamo after she read about Nick Nixon, a friend of High Hill. It seems Sharon had not only followed Nick's career, she had written about him for several well-known magazines and newspapers. She also kept in touch with other country stars. Check out Sharon's neat blasts from the past. Patsy Montana

High Hill Press is always on the lookout for great talent. We found it in Becky Povich. Becky is working on her memoir, which should be out sometime in the fall of 2010. In the meantime, to learn more about Becky and her writing, visit her blog.

www.beckypovich.blogspot.com

For a stroll through another writer's great blog, visit one of our most treasured writer pals, Donna Volkenannt.

In the summer of 2011, we received news that a  writing friend we met years ago had passed away in California. The woman was 94 years old, and as you'll read in this essay, a doozy of a friend. The essay was written in 2002, and has won several contests along the way. This is the first time it has been published. The unlikely friend's name is Jo Stainton. Many in the St. Louis area may remember her. Here's to you, Jo!

My Unlikely Friend

High Hill Press Review is a literary online magazine sponsored by the editors of High Hill Press, a small publisher established in 2008 in the heartland of America. The goal of High Hill Press is to showcase the talents of writers who are often overlooked by the big New York Publishing houses. Writers with talent and passion and a story to tell. For information about High Hill Press or to submit to the High Hill Press Review, contact:

 HighHillPress@aol.com

Information about High Hill Press

From time-to-time you'll see pictures on the pages of this site with no caption. We encourage you to write whatever comes to your mind when you view these scenes and people and houses and mountain tops. Let your imagination run wild. Send us the results of those musings and meanderings and we'll publish it here on High Hill Press Review. Let us know which picture you used as your inspiration and please make sure to include a bio. And if you're really daring, send us a picture of yourself.

This one is for all my cowboy friends.

Write Us a Story Contest

Write High Hill Press Review a story about any of the pictures in the right-hand column of this page and we'll feature it on our fiction page.  Send to: HighHillPress@aol.com and put Write Us A Story in the subject line. Make sure and include a 35-50 word bio. If you have a website or a blog, let us know and we'll link you up.

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