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WHEN YOU HAVE AN EDITOR'S EAR

Editors juggle a lot of balls in finding literary material for publications. They have multiple deadlines for multiple editions and all the administrative nuts and bolts that come with putting a publication together. When finally obtaining the ear of an editor, keep your moment(s) brief, because others just like you are vying for that editor's attention, too. 

A few words of advice. Although we are a small-time publication and only online, FundsforWriters' editorial issues apply to most editors of any type of publication. 

1. Send one version of your submission. 

An editor receives so many emails that say, "use this version" or "I forgot something so use this instead," adds to an already hectic day. For all you know, the editor has already edited the original submission to their satisfaction. These subsequent versions also show you don't proof properly.

2. Include all requested information with the submission. 

Sending one email with the article, then another with the bio makes for double work. Forgetting the method of payment (in our case PayPal) in the submission adds more work. Worse yet is not sending all the information and making the editor ask for it. Because the editor is easy to work with doesn't entitle you to more of their time. If working with you involves four emails versus one, you may not land that second assignment. I have quit working with writers for that very reason. I have also reduced the amount I'd pay a writer based upon the extra time they require.

3. The guidelines say no attachments. 

Or the guidelines could say only certain types of attachments. Yes, attachments matter to the editor. They have economized their time by this guideline. In the case of FundsforWriters (FFW), when proofing a dozen submissions, those without attachments get read first. Open, read, decide. 

4. Don't ask for the status of a piece. 

At least until it's been a ridiculously long time. Say...a month in the case of FFW. I'd say six weeks for any other publication unless they state in the guidelines it takes longer. FFW is booked into September now. We often hoard pieces until we have the downtime to review them. That might take three days or other times two weeks. 

5. Don't come back and argue with the editor.

"I followed all the guidelines, so why did you turn my piece down?" One gentleman even added, "I just reviewed a few of the latest articles you accepted and published. I guess the rules are for others to ignore and still see their articles published." Cough, cough. Um, yes, I told him in no uncertain terms that to tell me I got it wrong in my own newsletter was the worst way of making me want to ever consider him again. My nice rejection didn't appease him, so I told him point blank why he was rejected. But in the real world outside of FFW, editors delete this guy and he never gets another chance. A writer can never fully know the big picture of why an editor turns down a piece. There are too many reasons that the editor isn't obligated to say. 

6. Minutes matter for an editor sculpting a publication.

There are some writers we love to hear from, and you'll see their presence repeated in FFW. Wham, bam. . . they submit everything in one beautiful package. We welcome those names in our email box, knowing they will usually offer good material and be efficient in doing so. Easy peasy. Then there are others. . . after a difficult time of back and forth, lots of questions, revisions. . . well you get it. If one of those writers submits when I'm having a particularly hard week, I'm likely to just reject them outright based upon difficult past experience. 

Keep in mind editors also might not be only editors. Some write novels, make appearances, handle printers and staff issues. They even have a personal life. Guidelines are not just to educate a writer on how to submit. They are there to economize an editor's job. And yes, if it's listed in the guidelines, it matters to someone, and that someone may make or break your acceptance.

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HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 
SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hope, 

I just wanted to thank you for providing FundsforWriters. Through the dark, early days of writing my Father Jake Austin Mystery Series, your positive energy, suggestions, and how-to articles kept me engaged and motivated. I'm proud to announce that the third book in my series, entitled Absolution, was recently released, and large-print hard-bound editions are now also available. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work. 

Best, John A. Vanek
www.JohnVanekAuthor.com


- - - 


Send us your success story, telling us how FundsforWriters made a difference, opened a door, helped you get someplace you wanted to be. 

Email [email protected] 

 

Featured article

How to Deal with Your First Bad Review 

By Dan Brotzel

Amid all the euphoria of getting published for the first time, and all the good wishes from friends and family, it’s easy to forget that your book is now out there in the world, alone and unprotected, and must sink or swim on its merits. 

Soon enough, all that positivity will be challenged by your first negative review. It stings, of course, especially as it’s your first. But what happens next is up to you. Here are a few ideas. 

Feel what you feel.

It’s perfectly natural to be upset by a first bad review, and to feel hurt or even angry about it. Don’t try and stifle the feelings, or they could become toxic or disproportionate. Just process them fast so they don’t take over your head space. Go for a walk or a swim, smash a few balls around, cry on the shoulder of a pal, whatever works for you. Then move on.  

Congratulate yourself.

Why not? Getting published is a massive achievement, and only a fraction of those who claim that their ultimate ambition is to write a book ever manage to do it. A bad review is a milestone that many will never get to enjoy! 

Learn from it.

Some reviews reveal things you secretly knew or worried might be true. Perhaps you find it hard to write from the point of view of the opposite sex; perhaps you’re great on plotting but not so strong on dialogue. No book is perfect; no author can please everyone. Then again: there are no exams in this! Take whatever constructive feedback you can from the review and apply it to your work in progress. 

Don’t catastrophise from one bad review.

Writers notoriously ignore the stack of positive reviews and only pay attention to the one bad one. But if one person (or a handful) is rude about your book, that hardly amounts to a tendency. When people read through Amazon reviews, they look for a consensus, and a book with nothing but perfect, bot-like five-star reviews looks very suspicious. Not only that, but I often buy books after reading negative reviews – because the kind of things the reviewer disliked are the very things I like in a book!  

Don’t take it personally.

It’s tempting to look up the reviewer, to impute dubious motives to their comments, to privately trash what they’ve written. I’m sure that some reviewers do over-egg their sarcasm in order to draw attention to themselves. But reviewers are book-loving people too, and sometimes, with the best will in the world, they just don’t dig what you do, or your book is just not a good match for them. It doesn’t have to be personal if you don’t let it, and nothing good will come of toxic brooding on their words. Don’t get into defensive self-justifications; everyone has the right to their opinion. Wish the reviewer well and move on. 

Grow that thick skin.

Here’s what Hope thinks about bad reviews: ‘I’m one who doesn’t care about a bad review. Frankly, I don’t think a book has ripened until it’s received a certain number of them. I hold my breath with mine until I do!’ This is a fantastically wise attitude, and definitely one to aim for. Getting a bad review is a bit like getting a rejection, after all. Each time it happens, you grow your writerly resilience a little more, take it a little less personally, until you can learn to embrace and even welcome those knocks. 

BIO - Dan Brotzel is the author of Hotel du Jack (Sandstone) and Kitten on a Fatberg (Unbound)


 

COmpetitions

PAGE ONE PRIZE
https://gutsygreatnovelist.com/page-one-prize/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 23, 2020. Submit the first page of your novel-in-progress. First prize wins $200, a full year of Master Class, and free tuition for Writing Great Dialogue, an online masterclass. Second prize wins $75 and free tuition for Writing Great Dialogue. Submission are open internationally to any writer writing in English.









NICKIE'S PRIZE FOR HUMOR WRITING
https://nickiesprize.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline: August 1, 2020. The University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is seeking funny, nonfiction essays about sisters. All previously unpublished material will be considered, including pieces that expand on the theme, such as close friends who are like sisters. In the spirit of Erma Bombeck, the tone can be humorous, absurd, even offbeat. Pieces must be 1,000 words or less. Up to 20 winners will receive a $300 cash prize each, with the possibility of your work published in a future anthology. For more information, read the eligibility guidelines at http://humorwriters.org/nickies-prize/. 



BLUE MOUNTAIN ARTS POETRY CONTEST
https://www.sps.com/contest-3
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2020. First prize $350, second prize $200, third prize $100. Winning poems displayed on the website. Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better.



LOUISE MERIWETHER FIRST BOOK PRIZE
https://www.feministpress.org/louise-meriwether-first-book-prize/
Deadline June 30, 2020. Open to fiction and narrative nonfiction by women of color and nonbinary writers of color. We do not accept poetry, plays, or academic texts. One winner will be awarded a $5,000 advance (half at the time of the initial award and half upon publication) and a contract to publish their book with the Feminist Press in print and digital editions in spring 2021. 



THE NOVEL PRIZE
https://www.thenovelprize.com/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 1, 2020. A new biennial award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers around the world. The Novel Prize offers $10,000 to the winner, and simultaneous publication of their novel in the UK and Ireland by the London-based Fitzcarraldo Editions, in Australia and New Zealand by Sydney publisher Giramondo, and in North America by New York’s New Directions. The judges will be looking for novels that explore and expand the possibilities of the form and are innovative and imaginative in style.



THE BROKEN RIVER PRIZE
https://platypuspress.co.uk/brokenriverprize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2020. For books between 35–50 pages in length (including section breaks). Receive publication and $250/£200 prize money. Finalists and winner will be announced late 2020. Finalists will be considered for publication. The contest is open internationally. The winner will receive ten copies of the published book as well as the $250 prize money.



INSTITUTE FOR WRITERS SILVER LINING POETRY CONTEST
https://instituteforwriters.lpages.co/ifw-silver-lining-poetry-contest/
$19 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2020. The entry fee will also entitle you to free entry to an instructional and educational workshop with the judge of the contest to be held after the winners have been chosen. Any original, unpublished piece not accepted by any publisher at the time of submission is eligible. Entering this contest means you acknowledge and agree that IFW may read aloud and (kindly) critique all winning entries during the webinar held after the deadline. Poems can be no longer than 500 words. (Entries can have a lot less than 500 words.) Entries must be a poem. First prize $1,000. Second prize $200. Third prize $100. 


 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

MARYLAND HUMANITIES
https://www.mdhumanities.org/grants/grant-programs/
Mini Grant deadlines are March 1, July 1, and November 1. Maryland Humanities is accepting applications from Maryland nonprofit organizations and schools for its Mini Grant program. Through the program, grants of up to $1,200 will be awarded in support of public humanities projects, documentary films, and civic education initiatives designed to engage and benefit Maryland residents. 



THE WRITER'S CENTER COMPASS FELLOWSHIP
https://www.writer.org/get-involved/contests-2/
Deadline November 1, 2020. Our renewed fellowship program will introduce a new writer each year to our writing family, to help guide them along the next steps on their path, with $1,000 in credits toward any TWC workshops within a two-year period, a $300 cash stipend, and opportunities to be published in The Writer’s Guide and featured in TWC events. No previous publication experience is necessary. Please attach the following in a single email submission, including your name on each attached document. A 1,000-word Statement of Purpose to [email protected]. The statement should explain how the Fellowship will benefit you as a writer personally and professionally. Contact information for two references who can speak to your creative work and promise. A work sample in a single genre. Poetry – eight pages, no more than one poem per page. Fiction – 20 pages or less, double-spaced, 12-point standard font, no more than one work or excerpt. Nonfiction (essay, memoir, etc.) – 20 pages or less, double-spaced, 12-point standard font. No more than one work or excerpt. Screenplay/Script – 25 pages, standard formatting.



NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS GRANTS FOR ARTS PROJECTS
https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/gap/grant-program-description
Deadline July 9, 2020. Grants for Arts Projects is the National Endowment for the Arts’ principal grants program. Through project-based funding, we support public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation, the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. Projects may be large or small, existing or new, and may take place in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Cost-share/matching grants generally will range from $10,000 to $100,000. No grants will be made below $10,000. Grants of $100,000 or more will be made only in rare instances, and only for projects that we determine demonstrate exceptional national or regional significance and impact. In the past few years, well over half of the agency's grants have been for amounts less than $25,000. Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the goals of the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

MUSKEG PRESS
https://muskegpress.com/pages/call-for-submissions
We are putting out a CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for any author out there who would like to spend this time in self-isolation to write a story for a forthcoming publication of Muskeg Press. We'll select ten stories from all the submissions and publish them in a book around Christmastime of 2020. If your story is chosen for the book, we'll pay you $350. Please note that our preference is to receive stories that have nothing to do with this strain of the coronavirus. Instead of a personal history of how you dealt with being isolated from your community, we would prefer stories of a more distracting nature, similar to those ten storytellers in The Decameron. Limit 5,000 words. 



THE BARE LIFE REVIEW
https://barelifereview.submittable.com/submit
Deadline June 15, 2020. The Bare Life Review is pleased to accept unsolicited manuscripts for both our print journal, and our new online platform, The Latest. We now offer $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces (limit 8,000 words), $300 for accepted poems or shorter print journal prose (<2,000 words), and $100 for The Latest. Please note that our eligibility criteria have been amended for Volume 4 only. For this special climate-themed issue, we are accepting submissions not only from immigrants and asylum-seekers, but also from non-immigrant artists who have experienced displacement as a result of climate disaster.



OCEAN GEOGRAPHIC
http://www.ogsociety.org/journal/submissions.html
Ocean Geographic focuses on getting to know who’s who in the sea, allowing readers to appreciate the complexity of the oceanic life that make up the vast biospheres. Our stories provide a better understanding of environmental influences and climatic conditions that make our water planet a hospitable place. Ocean Geographic promotes awareness, beauty, and the importance of preserving the health of our ocean environment through the latest scientific knowledge, illustrated by the imagery by the world’s leading underwater artists and photographers. Our contributors are typically professional writers or scientists with experience writing for popular audiences. However, we encourage first-time authors to pitch stories for our departments and will give each story submission full consideration. Writing should be lively and geared toward a popular audience. 



READERS DIGEST
https://www.rd.com/contact-us/
We accept regular submissions of jokes, cartoons, and 100-word stories. We'll pay you $25 for any joke, gag, or funny quote and $100 for any true funny story published in a print edition of Reader's Digest unless we specify otherwise in writing.

 

Publishers/agents

BELCASTRO AGENCY
http://www.belcastroagency.com/about_us/
Belcastro Agency is a full-service literary agency representing authors writing in adult and young adult fiction. We are a passionate, hands-on, editorially-focused agency and work closely with our writers in developing manuscripts and proposals for submission. In addition, we actively manage subsidiary rights for the projects we represent including foreign translation, audio, and film/television rights. We work hand in hand with our authors to develop lasting careers through website development, social media strategies, and promotional assistance. 



TRANSATLANTIC AGENCY
https://www.transatlanticagency.com/about-us/about-our-agency/
Transatlantic Agency is a leading literary management company with a vibrant and diverse team of 14 experienced agents based in cities across North America. We offer a full spectrum of career representation to authors (Adult, Children’s & YA, and illustrators) and storytellers (Speakers, Industry leaders & Influencers) across all genres and formats for book, content development, speaking and TV & Film. 



KATE NASH LITERARY AGENCY
https://katenashlit.co.uk/submissions/
Founded in 2009, the Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd. has gone on to become one of the UK’s foremost independent literary agencies, specialising in bestselling commercial fiction and nonfiction for adults, young adults, and children. We are based near Oxford and thrill at providing the best service to our authors and seeing them succeed.



DEADITE PRESS
https://deaditepress.com/submissions/
Deadline June 30, 2020. Deadite Press is seeking original novellas and novels 20,000 to 100,000 words in length that fit into the extreme horror and splatterpunk categories. We want striking, well-crafted manuscripts with original horror themes. Deadite Press is an imprint of Eraserhead Press. 



ERASERHEAD PRESS
https://eraserheadpress.com/submissions/
Deadline June 30, 2020. Eraserhead Press is seeking original novellas and novels of 20,000 to 100,000 words in length that fit into the Bizarro Fiction category. We want surprising, unique, well-crafted weird stories with compelling plots, eccentric characters, and never-before-seen concepts. We are looking for entertaining and accessible stories that speak to a specific audience. Will your book appeal to vegan punks? Riot grrls? Overworked airline pilots? Cos-players? Fans of 80s New Wave? If you’ve identified the audience for your work, please tell us in your book description. Our publishing schedule is already full through mid-2021, and we are only looking to accept a small number of submissions during this open period.



HISTORICA
https://levelbestbooks.wordpress.com/historia/
Historia is a new Level Best Imprint. They are actively seeking mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction novels that take place in any time period up to the 1950s.



NEW ARC BOOKS
https://levelbestbooks.wordpress.com/new-arc-books/
We are actively seeking submissions, from agents or authors, of novels between 70,000 and 100,000 words. We will not consider manuscripts that are currently on submission to another publisher, or previously published manuscripts in the genres of Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Literary Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. 
Works of fiction should be complete and have undergone extensive editing and revisions.



LEVEL BEST BOOKS
https://levelbestbooks.wordpress.com/submissions-novels/
We are seeking crime fiction novels in the following categories: mystery, thriller, suspense, historical, traditional, and contemporary. We are not considering works of erotica, science fiction, or cozy-themed mysteries.

 

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Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact [email protected] for permission. Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish.

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

Copyright 2000-2020, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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