Special Feature

3 Avoidable Submission Mistakes that Sabotage Your Acceptance Odds

By Jess Simms It’s not easy to get your work published. I know this from both sides of the table as a fiction writer as well as Managing Editor of the literary journal After Happy Hour. The journal’s acceptance rate is around 3%, meaning we say “no” about 32 times for every time we say…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Seven Special Feature

78 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Authors in August 2024

This list of publishers meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically underrepresented writers or focus on publishing content produced by historically underrepresented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities….
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Five Special Feature

Five Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in August 2024

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They publish a mix of literary and genre works. Not all are open through the month.The Four Faced LiarThis Ireland-based literary journal accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, and art from around the world. Their mission is to showcase emerging writers and artists. They are now reading submissions…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

I Fell For a Vanity Publishing Scam. Here’s What I Learned.

By Gabrielle Brinsmead  When I was nine years old, I was chosen to represent my primary school at a luncheon hosted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Seated across the table from the CBCA’s patron, Lady Cutler, I told her that I was going to be a writer one day. ‘Oh, are you?’ Lady…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

Misheard Inspiration: Turning Mistakes Into Writing Opportunities

By Ellen Levitt Have you ever misheard lyrics to songs? Lines of dialogue in a TV show or film? The tagline of a commercial or jingle? If you have, you might be embarrassed; you might laugh it off; and you might even turn it into fodder for your writing. For all my musical knowledge, I’ve…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Special Feature

Start Small and Write Books Later On

by Thomas Smith I have to be honest. It’s pretty nice to walk in a bookstore and see your novel on the shelf. Or to get a note from your editor saying your novel is still in the Amazon top 100 for the second week in a row. Having written a novel is a big…
Issue Five Hundred Seventy Seven Special Feature

What Novelists Should Do After Rejection

Having taught novel writing for many years now, one of the most common emails I receive from students and subscribers goes something like this: “Dear Emily, My novel has been through years of revisions now, and I’ve shopped it around to most agents and publishers. I could revise it one more time, but I’m not…
Issue Five Hundred Seventy Five Special Feature

How to Find Publishers Open to Direct Submissions

This article links to all of the websites I know of that list or link to manuscript publishers. I use these resources to find publishers to review, in addition to spending a lot of time at libraries and bookstores, finding publishers there. Note that a lot of the publishers you’ll turn up at the following…
Issue Five Hundred Seventy Four Special Feature

Fourteen Famous Authors Who Didn’t Get Published Until Their Fifties (Or Older)

Often people tell me they are too old to become a writer. Sometimes these people are in their thirties or forties, sometimes they are in their fifties and sixties. But the fact remains the same, no matter how old you are, you are not to0 old to become a writer. Many authors started writing later…
Issue Five Hundred Seventy Four Special Feature

How Character Sketches Can Add Depth to Your Manuscript

By Emily-Jane Hills Orford What is a character sketch? Simply put, character sketches are a clever way to really get to know your characters before you even plot them into a story. If you don’t know your characters, how can you possibly convince your readers to know them? Plus, this exercise becomes a good resource,…
Issue Five Hundred Seventy Two Special Feature

Want Your Expressions to Blossom? Translate!

By Nazia Kamali Coming from a family of doctors, I was raised to believe in the power of science and technology, and was conditioned to pursue the field. Writing was considered an extracurricular activity to pad the resume. Furthermore, writing in English was supposed to display my understanding of the second language that I learned…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Nine Special Feature

5 Ways You Could Be Rejecting Yourself as a Writer (And How Not To)

By Ratika Deshpande I’ve been writing for about eight years now, during which I’ve gone through several phases of rejecting my writing before others could do so. Over time, I’ve learned to recognise these thoughts and developed ways to fight them. Here they are: 1. You think you are not ready This thought is especially…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Seven Special Feature

The Pub Crawl: My Journey to Traditional Publication

By Dr. Meryl Broughton The paths to publication are many and varied. Mine was a bit like a lurching tour of different venues, seeking the right ambience where I could find acceptance for my unusual manuscript. When I started out, I was fresh-faced, clear-thinking and naive. By the end I was a seasoned drinker, familiar…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Six Special Feature

Navigating Your Protagonist’s Emotional Journey

By Ley Taylor Johnson Character arcs are tough. There’s no way around it—despite being one of the primary drivers of the story, dealing with your protagonist’s emotions and weaving them into the plot is hard to do. You don’t want their feelings overwhelming the plot and making it seem melodramatic, but you also don’t want…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Five Special Feature

How My Novel Was Resurrected From the Dead

By Thomas Smith My novel, Something Stirs, was one of the first haunted house novels written for the Christian market. Maybe even the first. And as such, the publisher that acquired it had big plans for the launch and subsequent marketing of the novel. In fact, previously a non-fiction publisher, mine was to be the…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Four Special Feature

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