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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

WHAT DO YOU ADVISE NEW WRITERS?

Whenever I am interviewed in a podcast, phone interview, online for an article, or in person, invariably this question is asked: What advice do you have for new writers?

I have several answers, and whichever pops into my head is the one I use. I'm not beiong sarcastic. I'm just saying there are so many, but my basic elementary list consists of:

1) Write every day. 

I've seen arguments to this, and I disagree, but then, no two writers are alike. The truth is, however, that if you intend to take writing seriously, then show up to work. Delays and gaps in between only makes your writing atrophy. Then you have to warm up all over again, often rereading and rewriting material because you lost track. Also, writing daily ingrains a habit in you such that every time you sit in the chair your brain knows to start writing. And yes, it does become easier. Not that writing is easy, but getting back into it is easier when you do it daily.

2) Read ravenously. Choose books you wish you'd written.

Some argue they cannot read while they are in the midst of serious writing. You cannot write all day. There comes a time when you have to turn it off. I have learned that the more I write, the more I want to stay in the writing world, so when I tire of writing I turn to reading good books in my genre. It's almost like keeping the gears still turning while resting your brain at the same time. Regardless, you get wiser.

3) Have a website or social media identity you update often.

Yes, even if you do not have a book. Make it professional. It cannot look amateurish or it reflects on the quality of your writing. This is where you start developing your brand.

4) Saturate your writing name locally before thinking you can be a national name. 

Many writers think they have to break-in nationally when they publish. What does it matter if you sell 5,000 copies locally or nationally? Besides, those local people will be more likely to buy future works of yours, plus, they represent very strong word-of-mouth promotion. 

5) Edit until you are sick of the piece. Nothing can be edited too much. 

There does come a point to where you have edited enough, but few writers do that. Very few. Traditional writers have the luxury of editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders to go behind them, but the self-published do not. And if you haven't decided how to publish yet, or if you are freelancing, build into your agenda the time to edit your piece a dozen times or more. Be willing to make huge cuts, major changes, and more. A first draft is nothing more than thoughts on paper. The magic comes out in edits, and the fewer you do, the less magic. 

Agree or disagree. The great thing about being a writer is that you are your own boss. That means the decisions are yours to make. That also means success or failure is solely on your shoulders. But in these early times as a writer, you have habits to build that will determine your future.

6119565 © Alexey Petrunin | Dreamstime.com

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Featured article

AI Copywriting 

By Alex J. Coyne

An AI didn’t write this article, but a human did. Artificial intelligence is taking over the internet, and computers can create thousands of articles (in a single click). Let me reassure you: writers still have real jobs, and we’re all fine. Here’s why us human writers still maintain our grip on the industry.

“No, Thanks.”

I was surprised when a regular market hired artificial intelligence, and rejected an article of mine. A week later, another market reported that less jobs were coming in: artificial intelligence could write simple product descriptions faster.

So I began pitching things that I knew artificial intelligence couldn’t write. An interview with author Dalene Matthee’s daughter, and a post about bridge’s rewritten history.

These stories would need something AI wasn’t good at: human interaction.

AI writes with patterns, keywords, and clickbait. Human writers are still much better.

Why AI Seems Attractive

I understood why artificial intelligence was attractive to the client.

That markets’ budget, for personal reasons, changed overnight. The editor couldn’t devote their time or money, but wanted the site to keep running. Instead of paying writers less, they chose to pay artificial intelligence more.

Cheap content created in an instant is what makes computer-writing attractive.

Flaws [For Business]

Search engine crawlers are good at identifying robotic copywriting, and that’s good for us all. Great people writing shows up higher on search engines, while trobot copywriting gets lower rankings.

If a website replaces all their content with AI, it becomes harmful to the website. Use artificial intelligence too much, and search engines ignore you.

Computer content is also impersonal, and one cannot easily liaise with a client (or change something you don’t like).

There’s a dark side, too: Artificial Intelligence can also be used by scammers to set up websites that look real and operational but never came close to human writers or customers. An entire blog can exist with a click.

Beat the AI

Computers are good at understanding keywords and putting them together, creating articles we’d call ‘clickbait.’ They’d be incredibly easy for an experienced writer. More complicated tasks need a real person.

A human can: investigate stories, and personally follow leads. Computers dig through input at best, and source from (sometimes inaccurate) places. Computers cannot define accuracy in resources. 

Google ran a demonstration of its AI called Bard: but the facts it gave students were wrong. Artificial intelligence doesn’t understand careful fact-checking. It cost Google $100 billion in shares.

Computers are also worse at passing plagiarism testers like Grammarly than people. AI creates sentences from what’s already on the internet or inside their neural maps and might duplicate content without knowing.

AI Flaws 

Article ‘generators’ can also create nonsensical headlines from simple input: ‘[Famous person] does [action]’ can create chaos. Recipe generators using software like ChatGPT can create recipes, but not necessarily recipes that people would dare eat.

Artificial intelligence doesn’t know, unless programmed and taught, what its ‘mistakes’ are. Context is second, and artificial intelligence can get confused. Ask chat-bots something complex, and their responses become evasive or nonsensical.

Would humans make these mistakes? No, not quite.

How Writing Changes

Automatic shuffling didn’t erase dealers from casinos, and AI won’t kill writing careers. ChatGPT exists, and it’s not going away. Human writing adapts, and it’s not about keyword-content anymore (because computers can do that too easily). For instance, avoid loading posts with ranked keywords, as AI is more likely to do this.

Features, like ‘’Frank Sinatra Has A Cold’’ or ’The Kentucky Derby is Decadent & Depraved’, would be harder for artificial intelligence to write. Features have feeling and the writers own neural network, which a computer cannot impersonate, at least not yet.

Don’t Use AI Writing

Publishers and writers can take a stand and refuse artificial intelligence writing. AI passes as writing and is cheaper, but far from better. The best writing is still going to come from a human being, with the characteristics of a being. 

BIO - Alex J. Coyne, https://alexjcoyne.com, is a writer, language practitioner, and bridge author. Occasionally, he also cowrites.

274908176 © Renatasidcode | Dreamstime.com

 

COmpetitions

GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST PAGE ONE PRIZE
https://gutsygreatnovelist.com/page-one-prize/

$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 14. The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening page of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; and 3rd is $250. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers.



- - - 

DIODE EDITIONS BOOK AND CHAPBOOK CONTESTS
https://www.diodeeditions.com/contests
$18-20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 30, 2023. Open to all poets who write in English. Diode considers translations, welcomes collaborations, and accepts simultaneous submissions. Winners announced November 30, 2023. Winning books and chapbooks are to be published within a year. Book contest winners are to receive a prize of $1,500, publication by Diode Editions, and 10 author copies. Chapbook contest winners are to receive $750.00, publication by Diode Editions, and 10 author copies. Select poems from winning books and chapbooks are also to be published in the 17th Anniversary Issue of diode poetry journal. Book length: 55-95 pages. Chapbook length: 25-50 pages. 

WRITER'S DIGEST SELF-PUBLISHED EBOOK AWARDS
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/self-published-ebook-awards
$100 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 15, 2023. Writer’s Digest’s 11th Annual Self-Published E-book Awards honors the best self-published e-book(s) in eight of the most popular categories with $5,000 in cash, a featured interview in Writer’s Digest magazine, and a paid trip to the ever-popular Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City. One grand prize of $5,000 and a $1000 prize in each category. The competition is open to self-published authors of English-language e-books which were published (or revised and republished) electronically between 2018 and 2023.

THE LETTER REVIEW PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION, NONFICTION, POETRY AND MANUSCRIPTS
https://letterreview.com/information/
ENTRY FEES $15-$25. Deadline August 31, 2023. The current categories are Short Fiction (up to 5000 words), Poetry (up to 70 lines), Nonfiction (up to 5000 words), and Manuscripts (Novels, Story Collections, Poetry Collections, and Nonfiction). Each categeory has a prize dollar amount ($800-$1500) that will be split three ways with the top three in each category. 

BARDSY FALL ANTHOLOGY CONTEST - SCINTILLATING FIRST CHAPTERS
https://bardsy.com/contest
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2023. Grand prize: $1000 and anthology publication. All finalists will receive $50 and anthology publication. Original, previously unpublished work between 2,000 and 3,000 words. English only. Send the first chapter of your in-progress novel or memoir. 

JULIA PETERKIN LITERARY AWARD FOR FLASH FICTION AND POETRY
https://south85.submittable.com/submit
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 16, 2023. South 85 Journal is seeking submissions of previously unpublished poems of 50 lines or fewer and unpublished fiction of 850 words or less. We will select one winner in each category to receive a cash prize of $500. Four semi-finalists in each category will be chosen for publication in South 85 Journal.

SERVICESCAPE SHORT STORY AWARD
https://www.servicescape.com/short-story-award
NO ENTRY FEE NOTED. Deadline November 30, 2023. For this award, any genre or theme of short story is accepted. All applicants should submit their original unpublished work of short fiction or nonfiction, 5,000 words or fewer, to be considered. Along with receiving an award for $1,000.00 USD, the winner will have his or her short story featured within our blog, which reaches thousands of readers per month. 

PEN/ROBERT J. DAU SHORT STORY PRIZE
https://pen.org/pen-dau-short-story-prize/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 1, 2023. Recognizes 12 emerging writers each year for their debut short story published in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website, and aims to support the launch of their careers as fiction writers. The 12 winning stories are selected by a committee of three judges who are well-respected experts in the art of the short story. The winning writers each receive a $2,000 cash prize and will be published by Catapult in their annual anthology, Best Debut Short Stories: The PEN America Dau Prize.
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL - POSITIVE THINKING
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/story-guidelines/
Deadline August 30, 2023. How did you “think positive” and how did it change your life? Tell us your success story about using the power of positive thinking! Limit 1,200 words. First person true stories only. Pays $250 and 10 copies of the book. 

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL - FUNNY STORIES
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/story-guidelines/
Deadline November 20, 2023. We are looking for stories about something that happened to you in your life — in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or at home — that made you and the people around you laugh out loud. Limit 1,200 words. First person true stories only. Pays $250 and 10 copies of the book. 

BORDERLESS MAGAZINE
https://borderlessmag.org/pitch/
Borderless Magazine reports on labor, justice and advocacy issues impacting Midwestern immigrant communities. We report using a lens of equity and resilience. We welcome pitches for reported feature stories, comics, photo essays, and as-told-to stories. Our story payment starts at $250 and goes up based on the difficulty of the story. Our photographer assignment rate is $200. We encourage immigrants, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and women to pitch us.

LOOKOUT
https://lookoutphx.substack.com/
Application Form
LOOKOUT is actively looking for stories. As Arizona's only nonprofit news source exclusively covering the LGBTQ+ community, we are looking for hard-hitting news stories that don't just inform, but help keep people in power accountable. Please note: We do not accept opinion or editorial pieces, essays, poetry, or events (arts and entertainment). All of our stories pay 20 cents a word, and provide for reimbursement for gas and records payments. 

BLACK GIRL TIMES
https://www.loveblackgirls.org/pitch
Black Girl Times (BGX) is always looking for thought-provoking stories and content for Black women, girls, and the people who love them. Above all, we want our readers to gain a better understanding of our identity, triumphs, struggles, and the beauty of Black girls and women in the Southeast and beyond. We are Black, Southern girls, women, gender non-conforming, and we are resisters. Our pay rate– $0.25 to $1.00 per word–for writers depends on your level of experience, skill, and other factors. 

THE KEN
https://the-ken.com/write-for-us/
The Ken publishes one story a day. We’re looking for original, analytical and skilfully-narrated pieces-we’re big on granularity, on data and on extensive reporting. We welcome contributors from journalists, subject matter experts, and anyone who has a good story to tell. In terms of subject matter, we’ve been sharply focussed on select sectors-technology (spanning fintech, Big Tech, SaaS, and telecom), startups (EVs, food tech, etc), science, healthcare, retail, and education across India and Southeast Asia. And how policy shapes these sectors. Our preferred story length is 1,500-2,200 words. Pays 25 cents/word. 

WELL+GOOD
https://www.wellandgood.com/pitching-guidelines/
We solicit and publish personal essays, “I Tried It" pieces (like this, this, and this), multi-expert reported features, market and commerce roundups, and op-eds. We do NOT accept previously published articles or blog posts. Topic areas: health and mental health, food, lifestyle, travel, beauty, fitness, and other. 

For reported pieces:
Tier 1: $150-$350 (500-800 words, 0-2 sources)
Tier 2: $350-$500 (800-1200 words, 3-4 sources)
Tier 3: $500+ (1200+ words, heavily reported)

For personal essays and op-eds:
Tier 1: $200-$400 (600-1,000 words)
Tier 2: $400+ (1,000+ words)
 

Publishers/agents

SOURCEBOOKS EXPLORE
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Sourcebooks eXplore is our children's nonfiction imprint dedicated to educating and entertaining young readers on a variety of subjects. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects EXCEPT for those from expert professionals in their fields. 

SOURCEBOOKS YOUNG READERS - MIDDLE-GRADE
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Our dedicated middle-grade imprint, Sourcebooks Young Readers, believes in promoting accessible, fun, and new voices in fiction for ages 8-12. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion.

POISONED PEN PRESS
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Poisoned Pen Press is an adult mystery imprint, featuring exceptional crime writing from hardboiled detectives to cozy, amateur sleuths. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion.

NOBROW 
https://nobrow.net/submissions/
Located London, UK. We are a publisher, not an illustration agency! You should have a specific type of work collaboration in mind when you submit work to us. In other words: would you like to submit a picture book for consideration? Or perhaps a graphic novel? Or maybe a non-fiction picture book for children? Whatever it is you submit, make sure it is in line with something that we actually do. For comics and graphic novels, we will require a full synopsis and sample of writing with brief written character studies with principal character sketches. For picture books and illustrated nonfiction for children, we will accept submissions for picture books that are 24 pages or 32 pages long (story) with a word count 500 words (1000 max) for picture books. For children’s non-fiction submissions we will accept pitches for books of up to 90 pages.

PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL BOOKS
https://papress.com/pages/book-proposal-guidelines
For trade and professional books - Princeton Architectural Press welcomes book proposals for general and professional audiences in the following categories: architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, graphic design, visual culture, photography, craft, and gardening. We do not accept technical manuals or books of purely academic interest, such as unaltered master’s or doctoral theses. Children's Books - We review fiction and general nonfiction picture books for children ages three to eight.

FAMILIUS
https://www.familius.com/author-submissions/
Familius is a mission-driven company. We believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society, and all of our books reflect at least one of our 10 Habits of Happy Families. Our categories include children’s picture books and board books, parenting, relationships, self-help, family fun, education, cooking, and health and wellness for both adults and young adults. Basically, if your book can help us achieve our mission of helping families be happy, we want to talk to you.

FLYAWAY BOOKS
https://www.flyawaybooks.com/submissions
We publish picture books only. We do not consider fiction or nonfiction for middle-graders and teens, early readers, or original board books. We seek manuscripts that reflect themes of diversity, inclusivity, compassion, care for each other, care for the earth, social/emotional growth, and social justice. These would be appropriate for a general trade market and found in bookstores, libraries, and schools. We are also open to manuscripts appropriate for progressive churches, religious schools, and readers who value faith inside and outside of a church setting. 

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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

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ISSN: 1533-1326

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