Windshift for Writers:
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October Newsletter
What an extended summer it has been here on the west coast! I simply can't get my mind around the coming of winter. Recently, a friend reminded me that it was only twelve weeks until Christmas. It is hard to stay in my office and not look for excuses to go outside. One of the few things to return my focus to writing and book publishing has been the current speculation that a first novel from a small press is a front-runner for the Booker Prize. Now that spells hope for us all.
Writing Tip: - Are you thinking of publishing your novel next year or submitting it to a publishing house? Besides having a great book and being a marketable author publishers, editors and book reviewers look for writing credits. They want to know about your writing track record. I hear you say to me that you are in a 'catch 22' situation. All you have ever written is your book. No problem. There are a number of ways to capitalize on that.
You might consider writing an article about how you researched your book or some other aspect of writing it which authors would find interesting or helpful. You can sell these articles to writing magazines. Does one chapter of your book stand alone or with a small amount of work can be made to stand alone? You can sell this to fiction markets [novel] or trade magazines and magazines in your subject area [non-fiction]. I cannot stress too strongly, how much having a writing track record will open doors for you. Some agents and editors use the lack of one to dismiss your work unread.
Markets:
Dark Tales - Autumn 2003 short story competition- sci-fi, horror, dark
fantasy. Max: 2,500 words. 1st prize - £100.00 [c. $240.00]. Closing
Date: October 10th, 2003. All winning entries published in Dark Tales
magazine. Entry fee: £3.00 per story. Contact: Editor, Dark tales
Autumn 2003, 11 Lower Chestnut Street, Worcester, WR1 1PB; E-mail: competition@darktales.co.uk;
Website: http://www.darktales.co.uk
The New Writer Magazine - seeks previously unpublished stories to 4,000 words and novellas to 20,000 words on any subject in any genre except children's. Short story prizes: 1st- £300.00 [c. $700.00], 2nd-£200.00, 3rd- £100.00; Novella prize - £300.00. Entry Fee: £4.00 [short story], £10.00 [novella]. On-line entries possible. Closing Date: October 31, 2003. Contact: Editor, The New Writer, P O Box 60, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 2ZR; E-mail: editor@thenewwriter.com; Website: http://www.newwriter.com.
Park Publications - seeks stories up to 3,000 words with a 'Breakdown' theme. It can be a car breakdown, marriage breakdown etc. Prizes: 1st - £100.00, £50.00, £25.00. Entry fee: £4.00 per story. The winning story will be published in the December issue of Scribble. Closing Date: November 15, 2003. Contact: Editor, Park Publications, 14 The Park, Stow on the Wold, Cheltenham, Glos. GL54 1DX; E-mail: parkpub14@hotmail.com; Website: http://www.parkpublications.co.uk
Guideposts Magazine - is seeking stories of inspirational personal account that demonstrate humanity, faith and/or spirituality. Fees range from of $100.00 - 500.00 [US] for 250 - 1,500 words. Contact: Editor, Guideposts, 16 East 34th Street, 21st Floor, New York, NY 10016; Website: http://www.guideposts.com
Gin Bender Poetry Review - is seeking winter themed poems although all themes are considered. On-line submissions. Contact: Editor, Gin Bender Poetry Review, P O Box 406, Huntington, Texas, TX 75949; E-mail: submissions@ginbender.com; Website: http://www.ginbender.com.
Michigan Quarterly Review - seeks poetry and short fiction. Pays $8.00 - $12.00 [US] per page. Contact: Editor, Michigan Quarterly Review, 3574 Rackham Building, 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, MI 48109-1070; E-mail: juliat@umich.edu; Website: http://www.umich.edu/~mqr.
American Poetry Review - seeks poetry on any theme. No e-mail submissions. Contact: Editors, APR, 117 South 17th Street, Suite 190, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. Website: http://www.aprweb.org/
The Pedestal Magazine pays $50.00 [US] per poem.
Check website for submission details. E-mail: pedestalmagazine@aol.com;
Website: http://www.pedestalmagazine.com.
Freelance Greeting Card Writers Wanted: Humorous Birthday and Christmas
cards with a golf theme. Payment: $50.00 [US] per card. For guidelines
contact Rob Conn at rob@imchome.com
[A subscriber sent this in]
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Cue Time -Every month we include a couple of writing ideas to help
you kick start your writing sessions.
1. Next time you are standing patiently in a grocery checkout line, read those tabloid headlines and find one you could develop into a story. Let your imagination flow freely.
2. Take a cartoon from the Sunday papers and write a story about it. Challenge yourself to get it published in the next three months. A seasonal bonus.
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Industry News: London's bookies have made Clare
Morrall's book Astonishing Splashes of Colour a favourite for winning
the Booker Prize this month. Published by Tindal Press in Birmingham,
UK [15 titles; two employees] it had a 2,000 copy first printing and a
5,000-copy reprint. Now they have ordered another 10,000 copies. Thirty-three
agents are said to have passed on her as a client but since being short-listed,
Clare has signed with Laura Longrigg at MBA Literary Services. Other first
novels and small presses have been sharing the limelight of the short-list.
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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. I have a large collection of poems written over the past few years. I would like to get them published. Is a publisher likely to be interested in an unknown poet? - Anthony P.
A. Congratulations on amassing such a large body of work. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that any bona fide publisher would be interested. Think about getting some of your poems published in journals first. Beware of offers to publish your work in the meantime.
Q. Why is the beginning of a novel so important? - Tanya T.
A. A reader's interest needs to be captured in the first paragraph or he/she will move on. It is vital that a new novelist attract the attention of an editor right away. They are busy people and have more submissions that they can publish. Your book needs to be more engaging than the last book they have read.
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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.
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Home News: October and November are filled with
book launches and book events. As well as publishing two books for Windshift
Press, I am also managing the publication of a book for Running L Productions.
Laura Hesse, author and owner of Running L has written a YA book with
a disabled main character. Look for One Frosty Christmas through the BC
Disabled Riders Association or from Running L. in the beginning of November.
Windshift Press authors Laura Waldie and Mino Pavlic have books coming
out in November. Laura's Requiem for the Shadow Keepers is a fictional
account of her Grandfather's adventures in WWII. Mino's autobiography
No Obstacle Too Great charts the challenges and successes of his life.
Further details of these and other books published by Windshift Press
can be found in our Autumn 2003 catalogue [www.windshift.bc.ca/press.htm].
Book launch details will appear in the Newsletter as they are arranged.
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