Special Feature

The Importance of Writing Challenges

Someone told me about NaNoWriMo for the first time when I was 19. I had never heard of a writing challenge before, but the idea of there being a National Novel Writing Month, where writers attempted to complete a manuscript in just one month, was very exciting to me. I really liked the idea of…
Issue Three Hundred Ninety One Special Feature

6 Common Publishing Myths

As a writer who receives multiple emails each week about publishing, there are a number of myths about publishing that I encounter repeatedly.  Different writers tell them to me as if they are fact. Some myths are ones I believed when I was starting out. Some contain truth. Many are entirely false. Believing in one…
Issue Three Hundred Ninety Special Feature

5 Paying Literary Markets to Submit to in November 2020

These markets pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of both literary and genre markets. LampLightThis is a magazine of dark fiction, both short stories and flash fiction. They want work that is dark, literary — creepy, weird, and unsettling. Their guidelines say, “No specific sub-genres or themes, just good stories. For…
Calls for Submissions Issue Three Hundred Eighty Nine Special Feature

How Often Should You Expect Literary Rejection?

Various readers have emailed me over the years asking about how often they should expect to be rejected. They phrase it different ways. Sometimes they ask if a ratio of four rejections to every one acceptance is good. Sometimes they ask if one acceptance a year is good. The one single factor that affects your…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Nine Special Feature Special Issue

How to Evaluate a Publisher for Your Book

When you’re finally ready to submit your book for publication, it can be overwhelming. There are so many publishers out there. There is so much information about some of them and so little about others. How can you check the legitimacy of a publisher if you don’t know much about the industry? Even if a…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Eight Special Feature

Announcing the Second Recipient of the Authors Publish Fund for Literary Journals

Earlier this month we made an announcement of a new fund for literary journals. You can learn all about this fund here. We selected the recipient of the fund using a random number generator. We are happy to announce that Arsenika is the second receipt of our fund and will receive 150 (US) dollars. Arsenika…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Eight Special Feature The Authors Publish Fund for Literary Journals

How to Negotiate Your Way Out of a Publishing Contract

By Dawn Carrington As disappointing as it can be, sometimes the relationship between authors and publishers can sour. Maybe you’re not happy with the way the company is being run or the way you’re being treated. You’ve decided you want to leave, but it’s not that easy since you’ve signed an enforceable contract. That doesn’t…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Seven Special Feature

The Problem with Mass Submissions

I’ve touched on this issue before in all my books on submitting, both in terms of literary journals and manuscript publishers, but I’ve never focused an entire article on it before. Mass submitting is a term used to describe when an author, or a company working on an author’s behalf, submits their work to a…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Seven Special Feature

Assessing a Publisher’s First Contract: 3 Ways to Know if it’s the Right One For You

Dawn Carrington Receiving an offer of publication is an exciting time for an author. Maybe this is your first one, and you’re eager to sign and get the process underway. Before you do that, consider that you and your book could potentially be with this publisher anywhere from three to seven years as that is…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Six Special Feature

10 Literary Magazines Accepting Hybrid Submissions

These literary magazines accept submissions of hybrid or cross-genre submissions of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They’re accepting submissions now, and are listed here in no particular order. Some of them pay writers. Bending GenresThis magazine publishes flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and they like work in all categories that blends genres. Details here. The…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Five Special Feature

How to Evaluate and Use Feedback From Agents, Editors, and Other Writers

Adele Annesi Among the most agonizing aspects of being a writer is getting feedback, especially if it’s unexpected or negative. Equally difficult is analyzing comments in order to decide which to use, how to implement what we accept (when we can choose), and what to do with what we put aside. To use feedback from…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Five Special Feature

5 Paying Literary Markets to Submit to in October 2020

These markets pay for submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre markets, and are open for submissions in October. Translunar Travelers LoungeThe editors of this speculative fiction magazine want fun stories. Their guidelines say, “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things…
Calls for Submissions Issue Three Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

Warning Signs: How to Avoid Submitting Your Work to the Wrong Publisher

This article is all about how to avoid signing a book contract with the wrong publisher. It is hard to find good publishers, and it involves a lot of research just to find a legitimate publisher that accepts work if you do not have an agent. However, there are great options out there, particularly for…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

The Most Common Mistake Writers Make When First Submitting to Publishers

There is one mistake that most authors make when submitting their work to literary journals and magazines for the first time. It is a mistake I made when I first started submitting work. It is a mistake that most of the serious authors I know made. What is that mistake? Is it a terrible cover…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Two Special Feature

Hiring and Firing Actors for My Novels

By Mark Marderosian When beginning my first draft, I can hear the characters relating their adventure to me and I type away furiously with no qualms about typos or spelling.  After the initial draft is when the fun work begins. I picture for the first time that I’m now hiring actors to play the roles…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty One Special Feature

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