January 30, 2014

Review of Danse Macabre

Most of the journals we have been reviewing lately accept very few creative works; most only accept around 1% or less of the work submitted to them. When you are first starting out, sometimes you just want to get your name out there and have your work published. Danse Macabre accepts almost 70% of the…

Writing Prompt: 50/50

Some writers pepper their books with dialogue, some rarely add any dialogue: Conversations are mostly recapped, and they don’t actually happen live. I love dialogue. You can add wit to an otherwise dull section of the book with dialogue, and you can give a character more dimension through the words they choose to say out…

January 29, 2014

Review of Lightspeed

Lightspeed is an established monthly electronic publisher of science fiction and fantasy writing. Many of the works that have been published there have gone on to be nominated for prestigious genre awards, including the Hugo and Nebulla awards. They pay their authors 8 cents a word and publish stories of up to 7,500 words in…

January 23, 2014

Quote Of The Week

Quote of the Week

Why a Writer Must also Be a Salesperson

You’re a writer, just like I am. Perhaps you’ve always known you had a natural talent for grammar and an ear for tone and flow. When your English teacher was diagramming sentences, you just knew what was correct; not because you could name all the parts of speech, but because your intuition told you where…

Writing Prompt: Rear Window

Rear Window is a classic Alfred Hitchcock movie. It stars Jimmy Stewart as a professional photographer stuck in his tiny New York apartment because of an accident. He has very little to do all day, which has turned him into a watcher. The rear window of his apartment faces a courtyard where he can see…

Whiskey Island Review

Whiskey Island Review is a non-profit literary magazine that has been published by students of Cleveland State University for over 30 years. They accept original poetry, prose, and art submissions during two reading periods. They publish two issues a year. They are established, respected, and produce wonderful print issues. Whiskey Island Review accepts less than…

January 20, 2014

3 Ways Promote Yourself As A Writer (Even When You Don’t Want To)

“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”  ― John Green As an introvert, a writer, and a very reluctant self-promoter, this quote has always struck me as being particularly profound. Not just because of…

January 16, 2014

Quote Of The Week

Authors Publish Guiding Principles

Authors Publish was founded by creative writers who wanted to encourage other writers to publish their work and establish themselves as authors. Since the very beginning our principles have guided every review we have ever written and every article we have ever published. For the first time we are formally publishing our principles along with…

Rust + Moth: Accepting Chapbooks

Rust + Moth is a literary journal that has been publishing some excellent artwork, poems, and short fiction in print and electronic editions since 2008. They are currently open to short fiction and poetry submissions for the journal. Visit their website if you want more information about that. However, this review is instead focusing on…

Writing Prompt: The Insomniac

Your main character can’t sleep. They can eat, they can talk, they have a job, they are like most other characters, except for one fact: they cannot sleep. Not even a little nap. Maybe they used to be able to sleep, but something has changed, and they can no longer close their eyes and dream….

The Five Best Literary Journals That Have Re-opened to Submissions This Month

Every month journals open and close their reading periods. At the start of the year, several great journals re-opened their doors to submissions after taking a great deal of time off. The journals are listed in no particular order, it would be a great achievement to have work accepted by any of them. 1. LIT…

January 9, 2014

Quote of the Week