Articles by Emily Harstone

Emily Harstone is the pen name of a published writer. Her work has been published in ten countries, four continents, by over fifty different journals. She is a professional submissions adviser and editor. If she owned a dog it would be named Wystan.

29 Famous Writers’ Writing Rules

Most writers have their own special “rules for writing,” even if they don’t talk about them. Mine is to never write without having coffee first. I find other writer’s rules fascinating, even when I don’t agree with them. A lot can be learned by reading about other authors’ approach to writing. The New York Times…

Jolly Fish Press: Now Accepting Book Manuscript Queries

Updated June 25th, 2025: They are not doing their June and July open reading period this year, but said they will reopen later. Their parent company recently expanded, which is probably a good sign. Jolly Fish Press was started in 2012. They are based out of Provo, Utah. Their authors have won numerous awards. They…

Hydra: A Digital First Imprint of Random House

UPDATED January 2019 – Hydra it is not open to direct submissions any longer. It does not seem likely that that will change at any point. Hydra is a digital first Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror imprint of Random House. That means that they publish manuscripts in an e-book format that is available everywhere (Amazon,…

How to Submit Your Poetry for Publication

If you’re ready to get your poetry published in literary journals, then you’re going to need to go through the process of submitting your work. This article will guide you through the most important step in the process so that you can start submitting your work, and get published. What is that step? Putting together…

Three Anthologies Seeking Submissions

Three upcomng anthologies, one about language, one about music, and the third about motherhood (however you define it) and traveling, are featured this month. This Bridge Called Language Anthology This Bridge Called Language is an upcoming anthology of real-life stories, each inspired by an “untranslatable” word from around the world. They are seeking personal stories/memoir…

18 Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishers

Last year we published a shorter list of Science Fiction publishers open to unsolicited submissions. Since then we have reviewed quite a few more more Science Fiction and Fantasy publishers who do not require agents. Most of these publishers are interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Some publish just one of these genres.  Others publish…

How to Deal With Rejection

“Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” – James Lee Burke For the past five years I have had an average of 25 poems published per year. That means that I have received a fair number of acceptances.  For every acceptance I receive…

Three Anthologies Seeking Submissions

The three anthologies we are featuring this month are all seeking very different submissions. All are run by relatively new presses. Caution should be used when signing any contract with any new publisher. Tempest: Life Upturned A call for submissions opened up for the third anthology published in The Mind Key Anthologies series. The anthology…

Is a Duotrope Subscription Worth It?

Duotrope is a publisher listing service. They are primarily a catalog of literary journals although they include small presses as well. This year Duotrope is branching out to include more mainstream magazines and publications that are open to journalistic submissions. At the time I am writing this their listing includes 5425 markets that accept fiction,…

Double Dragon: Book Submission Guidelines

Double Dragon Publishing is a publisher currently focused on publishing Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller/Suspense and Dark Fantasy.  This includes Hard (Science) SF, Space Fiction, Future Fiction, Lost Civilizations, Utopias, Dystopias, Disaster Novels, Alternate Histories, Time Travel, Parallel Worlds, etc.  They publish individual novels as well as series. Digital publishers that have been around for 15…

George Orwell’s Tips For Effective Writing

George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm and 1984, among other works, knew how to craft a compelling and memorable novel. He wrote an essay entittled Politics and the English Language that among other things contained a series of tips, or rules for how to write effectively, as a way to share his ideas with…

Angry Robot: Now Accepting Book Manuscript Submissions

Angry Robot is a respected science fiction and fantasy publisher that occasionally dips into related genres (such as urban fantasy, steampunk, and horror). Angry Robot was originally funded by HarperCollins. They are now part of Watkins Media Ltd. They offer advances and good royalty rates. The contract they offer covers print, e-book, and audio book…

52 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Who Do Not Charge Reading Fees

Updated January 2017 I have written before about the fact that most poetry manuscript publishers charge their readers to submit. You can read about that here if you want to know more. This article focuses on a number of poetry manuscript publishers who do not charge submission fees to writers, which is good news for…

Samhain Publishing: Book Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Updated June 13th 2016 Samahin has closed their doors. Do not submit. Samhain Publishing is an independent publisher of romance and horror books.  They publish digital and print versions. They have good distribution. Founded in 2005 as a digital only publisher, they have now published over 2200 titles by over 600 authors. Just from glancing…

2 Anthologies Seeking Submission

Some great forthcoming anthologies are currently seeking submissions. The Shellgame: An essay anthology Submissions are open for an anthology of essays that borrow readymade forms, to be published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2018.  What they mean by readymade forms is essays that borrow their structures from ordinary, extra-literary sources (a recipe, a…

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