Windshift Press
Newsletter Archives
June reminds me of wild roses and fresh strawberries both of which have arrived early this month on the west coast. The period of rain that has followed several weeks of summer weather has brought about a surge of growth in my wild garden. It will take a considerable amount of cutting to bring it under control. The thought of this job reminds me of editing. Editing is one of those tasks that we find ways to avoid or not pursue with enough vigour. In both cases, we convince ourselves that we kind of like the look of things as they are. As a publisher, I can confirm that poor editing is most often the weakest part of the submissions that I receive. Time to grab the pruning shears and think minimalist. ... Sandra
Writing Tip: - It is important that you write for your readers. You must create an emotion that they can respond to as they read your work. You can learn how to use vocabulary, sentence structure and syntax but you need to develop an instinct that tells you that the scenes you are portraying will talk directly to your audience. You need to catch the emotion of events as well as character response to them. Catching the emotion in your writing is true not only of fiction writing but also of non-fiction and poetry writing.
Markets
Windows Publications is inviting submissions from authors who have not yet
had a first collection of short fiction or poetry published. Closing date:
July 2nd 2004. Send a short bio note with ten poems or two short stories [max.
3,000 words] to editors Heather Brett and Noel Monahan, Arts Office, Cavan
County Council, Farnham Street, Cavan, Co. Cavan; E-mail: artsoffice@cavanco.ie
Dogma Publications invites poetry contributions for possible inclusion in forthcoming anthologies. Submit poems [max. 30 lines each, any topic, any form] by June 18,2004. Contact: Mark Lane, Editor, Dogma Publications, Reference A16, 3 Fulmar Lane, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England, NN8 4AE; E-mail: dogma.publications@virgin.net
Red Hen Press is seeking submissions for their Short Fiction Competition. Prize: $1,000 + publication; Entry Fee: $15.00 US; Word Count: 25 pages max.; Deadline: June 30, 2004; Contact: Red Hen Press, P O Box 3537, Granada Hills, CA 91394, USA; Website: http://www.redhen.org
Scribble Magazine invites short story entries for a competition with the theme A Winter Tale. Prizes: £100, £50, £25; Word Limit: 3,000; Deadline: November 15, 2004; Entry Fee: £4.00. Details: http://www.parkpublications.co.uk
Hawk Publishing publishes literary fiction, speculative fiction, non-fiction, poetry and biography. Send a short synopsis and the first three chapters of your book. Hawk's policy is to reply only if they are interested. If you don't receive a response within three months, assume your work does not fit their list. Contact: Hawk Publishing Group, Submission Editor, 7107 S. Yale Ave, #345 Tulsa, OK 74136, USA.
Peninsular Magazine offers £200 first prize for short story submissions. Entry fee: £5.00; Word Limit: 4,000 words; Deadline: June 10, 2004. Contact: http://www.cherrybite.co.uk
A Cup of Comfort for Love is seeking submissions. Deadline: July 15, 2005; Prize: $500 US; word Count: 1,000 - 2,000; Website: http://www.cupofcomfort.com
Cue Time - Every month we include a couple of writing ideas to help you kick start your writing sessions.
1. List all the things about writing that frustrate you. This is a chance to face up to those issues that nag at you in the background of your life. Your list could include physical frustrations as well as creative ones.
2. List what you've discovered about yourself by writing. It is a good exercise to do this every few months. Some of the things you will discover will provide material for your writing. You can have a character in your fiction explore the discovery. The results also lend themselves to creative non-fiction and poetry writing.
Industry News:
Second Booker Confirmed
The Booker Prize is launching a second biennial award. The Man Booker International
Prize is open to any living author published in English. It will recognize
"one writer's continued creativity, development and overall contribution
to fiction on the world stage." The inaugural shortlist will be released
in early 2005, and the winner (who gets £60,000) will be named in the
middle of the year.
Mysteries of Summer
If you are wondering what sells these days the LA Times provides a bell-wether.
It looked at upcoming summer releases and declared, "Politics and mysteries
may make strange bedfellows, but this summer, they dominate the publishing
map."
The answers offered in this column are the personal opinions of the staff at Windshift for Writers. They are in no way meant to take the place of the professional advice you may need to seek for your specific query.
Questions and Answers
Q. My novel was recently rejected by a publisher because he thought that the characters lacked believable motivation. What exactly does he mean and how can I fix it? - Rory J.
A. I think if you look at your favourite novels you will see that good fiction is always character driven. No matter how ingenious your plot is, readers will soon realize that you are manipulating your characters to fit your plot rather than the plot resulting from your characters desires and drives. Characters make your story. It is the characters of great literature who become part of our cultural background.
Win a FREE place at one of our Workshops - Writers who wish to host a workshop can do so by inviting interested friends and acquaintances to a venue (It could be your dining-room table.) and providing the coffee. If you host a workshop, your participation is free. Check the Workshops page for further details.
Home News: Windshift Press continues to grow with many new books destined to be published in the Autumn. Now you know where I will be this summer~! I am also involved in setting up a local Literary Festival Office, which will have a store on the premises selling books and other writing aids. Do coffee mugs count as writing aids? I think so, so I am off to order more Windshift Press coffee mugs. [More details next month]
Note: While every effort
is made to check the markets suggested in this newsletter, writers must use
their own judgment when submitting their work.