Issue Four Hundred Eighty Six

Odyssey Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Odyssey Books is a small press based in New Zealand. It was founded in 2009 by Michelle Lovi, and even now has only three listed team members, one who is part time. Their website focuses on selling books over recruiting authors, which is always a good sign. Their covers are a real mix of well…

Random Sample: Now Seeking Submissions

Random Sample is an online journal of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re looking for quality writing that expresses the human experience in a unique and accessible way. They want, “work that is decidedly and unabashedly human.” To get a sense of what they publish, you can read the journal online. Random Sample has been published…

How to Actually Use Beta Reader Feedback (And When to Ignore It)

By Aliya Bree Hall Beta readers are usually the first real readers that you’ll get outside of your critique partners that will offer insight into your story. It’s an important stage of the writing process because their comments will help you determine what’s working in your story and what still needs some work. Once you…

Case Study: How I Published My Debut Novel Off the Yoga Mat

By Cheryl J. Fish This is part of our ongoing series on how authors published their first book. You can read our other stories in this series, here, here, here, and here. I am writing about what happened to me, at the threshold of publishing my debut novel. After fifteen years, after realizing there are notable paths…