Thursday, January 18, 2018

Publications Submission Timelines


Lynne M. Hinkey

Lynne M. Hinkey, author and marine scientist and long-time member of Internet Writing Workshop [IWW], says, "Different publications have different submission timelines. Some accept continuously, some list the themes of upcoming issues and ask you only submit stories meeting the theme, others have specific query/submission periods based on publication times (monthly, quarterly, annually, biennial)."

She keeps a list of publications based on the yahoos posted on IWW that have exposed her to markets and publications she might never have found otherwise.
Hinkley said, "One of IWWs most successful short story writers is probably Wayne Scheer." She suggests joining IWW so you, too, can keep a look out for his yahoos to get your own list started.

Hinkley also said, "Of course, we have Google which can be a writer's best friend if used well. I just searched for 'publications for short stories.' That came back with 4,310,000 results. The first 3 are:

1. Short Story Magazines: Where to Submit Short Stories:  25 Magazines and Online Publications: www.thewritelife.com

2. How (and where) to Get a Short Story Published: www.writersdigest.com

3. 46 Literary Magazines to Submit to: www.letswriteashortstory.com

IWW Yahoos and Google are how she's found homes for the short stories she's had published. She's been paid for about 1/2 of them.

Hinkley also says, "Rejections can be helpful. Almost every successful writer out there has a story about how many hundreds of rejections they received first.


"Rejections can tell us either we, as a writer, or our story, isn't quite
 ready. I think it was someone on IWW who posted---way back when I joined in 2005 or 6--that until you've written a million words (that have been tucked in a drawer, only shared with family and friends, or rejected) you aren't ready to be published.


"On that bit of advice that stuck with me, I have 3 novels tucked away in drawers that never saw the light of day. (OK, I did share one--I'm embarrassed to say now--with a few friends. It deserved to stay in the drawer.)

"I just Googled that bit of advice (Google search: "Write one million words before publishing") and got a number of interesting articles. Karen Woodward's website summarizes the quote, who it's been attributed to, and its general history.)

"That's not to say you or any of us aren't ready to be published, only an interesting item I picked up on the IWW list that's stayed with me all this time.)

Good luck!"
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              Lynne M. Hinkey
 Author, Marine Scientist, Curmudgeon
         
www.lynnehinkey.com

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Interview Freelance Editors Before Making Your Commitment


In her guest blog, editor and author, Jeannette de Beauvoir, gives the following advice.
"My recommendation is to "interview" three editors. This is a special and important relationship. Many of us editors do offer a sample edit of a page or two along with comments about the manuscript in general.

"I do two passes; other editors vary in their process. Choose three, ask them questions about how they'd work with you, if they've edited in your genre before, etc., etc.

"You can generally find a plethora of great candidates through the
Editorial Freelancers Association. You can post your project there and then see who seems to be the right editor for you. That's a lot less anecdotal and hit-or-miss than other ways of finding someone."


Jeannette is a long-time member of Internet Writing Workshop.

Jeannette de Beauvoir writes mystery, historical, and general fiction; her  novels. Read more about her work on Goodreads, her Amazon author page, Facebook, and her website. She offers editing services through CustomlineWordware and is the founder and director of the Cape Cod Writing Workshops.