Idea to Finished Manuscript, Part IV

A new pair of eyes is needed before sending your manuscript to an editor or agent. Latch onto a writing partner and trade critiques or join a critique group. Either way, you will receive honest, constructive feedback. The feedback will make you look at your work in a new way. It is the most efficient way to strengthen writing skills and brings a new perspective to your manuscript. Choose a partner or group that writes the same type manuscripts as you, if possible. 

Having a writing buddy or buddies keep you working. On days when you procrastinate, deciding to wait until tomorrow or next week or when you feel inspired to write the next chapter, you keep fingers to the keyboard because your group expects you to submit a new chapter. Not only do these groups keep you writing, they keep you writing your best. The quality feedback offers ideas and avenues that you had not considered for your characters and plots.  

Shared resources is another benefit. If one member hears of a publisher requesting a particular type of manuscript or running a contest, the information is passed along. My critique partner and I share lots of information from contests to new publishers to agents. I know her work so well and she knows mine so we pass along timely information that fits our writing.  

Networking with other writers is inspirational. Writers will encourage you when rejection letters pile up, as rejection letters do with everyone who submits.  

Writing is a solitary job but good writing comes from rewriting. With a little help from writing buddies, your manuscript can shape up so you can ship it out.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

OUTDOOR FAMILIES
Features are generally 800-1,000 words in length, and cover travel, specific outdoor destinations, issues affecting children and the outdoors, and how-to articles; they should reflect a wide diversity of outside opportunities in a variety of environments. Recipes, trip reports, and gear reviews should range between 600-800 words. “My Outdoor Family” is a popular segment of our magazine, and a great vehicle for writers new to online publications. Share your family’s outdoor passions, experiences, and goals in 600-700 words. Fifty percent kill fee.

Submission guidelines at http://www.outdoorfamiliesonline.com/writers-guidelines/

Rejection, Writing End to Beginning, Call for Submissions

Rejections letters. Eeuuu, nobody likes them, but a few rejection letters specifically state the problems, such as The ending was not realistic. You now know where your story may be lacking and also more about the type of story the editor is selecting. Seriously consider the comments made by an editor. Editors know what manuscripts work for their publishing houses. The best rejection letters request you to submit a revised manuscript or offer to review some of your other manuscripts.

If rejection slips with no comments flow in like tidal waves, you may want to reevaluate the manuscript. Could the manuscript be lacking in quality? The sheer volume of manuscripts publishers receive is overwhelming and the cream of the crop rises to the top. We become so emotionally attached to our writing it is impossible to be subjective in evaluating our own work. Join a critique group and get professional feedback.

All rejections are not the same. Reflect on the number of rejections, the type of rejections, and the reasons for rejection. Correct the problem by revising your submission list of publishers, the cover/query letter, or the story itself; then resurrect the manuscript with another round of submissions. With a little reflection, you can take your story from rejection to selection.

Writing from End to Beginning

Students sometimes we have great ideas for stories but don’t know where the story should start. Create a plot outline and write the ending, then the middle and finish with the beginning. This activity encourages creative thought long before the first word is written.

Call for submissions:
Once Upon a Day
Deadline: May 15th.
Your protagonist is about to have a day. He doesn't know it yet, but it's going to be a day that, for him, will live in infamy. A day she will point to, years later, as the specific moment when something in her soul changed. It can be a teeny tiny change or it can be a ginormous change. But it has to occur in the light of day.
The first line of your story must begin with: The sun rose...
The last line of your story must end with: ...just as the sun went down.
That which occurs in between—be it drama, comedy, mystery, romance, fantasy, etc.—is entirely up to you. What changes your dawn character to the one we shall see at dusk?
Prize: $100, plus the story will be published in The Verb. More details at
http://www.readingwriters.com/contest.htm

A Cup of Comfort® has once again joined hands with REDBOOK magazine to sponsor a true story contest!

Enter the Cup of Comfort/REDBOOK Your Love Story Contest for a chance to win $1,000, have your story excerpted in REDBOOK magazine, and publish your story in A Cup of Comfort for Couples!

A Cup of Comfort® for Couples: (Call for Submissions)
Stories that celebrate what it means to be in love

This book will feature uplifting true stories with a balanced mix of tones—romantic, poignant, humorous—on a wide range of topics. Story Length: 1000–2000 words.

Call for Submission Deadline: April 20, 2010
Finalist Notification: June 15, 2010
Details at http://www.cupofcomfort.com/callforsubmissions

Rejection, Timed writing, Call for submissions

When I think of my early writing days--seven years to land the first contract; five years to get the second one--I realize that being a librarian and working with kids and books on a daily basis is what kept me inspired, along with the driving desire to write and get published. In twelve years I accumulated two contracts and a mountain of rejection letters. My career momentum has shifted to a higher speed since then, but each time I get a contract, a troublesome little question pops up like a jack-in-the-box and squeezes the life out my confidence: Will I ever get another contract? The doubts are there, but I don't dwell on them; instead I start writing a brand new something or other, either a picture or chapter book.

Rejection letters are never easy to read, but can offer some insight into what works in a manuscript and what does not. Ask yourself these questions: Did I target publishers that accept the genre of my manuscript? Did I research each publisher to determine that they did not already have a book on the same subject or presented in a similar format? Publishers don’t want two of their own books to compete in the marketplace. Was my cover/query letter error free? Did I capture the editor’s attention in the first sentence?

Let’s move on to informative rejection slips, those in which a personal note or letter states why the manuscript was not right for the publisher. The reason stated may be so vague you don’t have a clue as to why the story was rejected; however, if the editor took time from a busy schedule to write a personal note, you have made a positive impression. You’re doing something right. Some rejection slips are in the form of a checklist. What area was marked? That information may give a clue as to why your story didn’t work for that publisher.

Some rejection notes state that a similar story was recently accepted. From that information, you can infer that you’re on the right track with the subject matter or type of manuscript. Some may state the story was too slight. That often means the plot was not strong enough. Others may state that they felt no empathy for the main character. Reread the manuscript to determine how the editor came to such conclusions. If you can recognize the problem, you can find a way to fix it.
Part III of my article, From Rejection to Reflection to Selection, will follow next weeks.

Classroom timed writing:
Allow students to select a topic or title or character and give them a minute or two to think about what they will write. Explain that they do not begin writing until you say, “Go.” At that point they will have three minutes [more time if you choose] to write a paragraph. When you say “stop” students place pencils on their desks. Allow them to share their work. Provide additional timed writing sessions throughout they year. Notice how their writing becomes more creative as they become accustomed to writing in a short period of time.

Call for Submissions:

Carolrhoda. April 1, 2010 and ending April 30, 2010, I will be considering unsolicited complete YA [Young Adult] novels for Carolrhoda Lab. I am interested in YA novels only, including realistic, paranormal, dark fantasy, dystopian, etc. I am not interested in high fantasy. We do not publish graphic novels. For details check here. http://carolrhoda.blogspot.com/2008/12/submissions.html.

Friends of Acadia Nature Poetry Competition (no fee)
Postmark Deadline: April 30
Submissions are invited for the 2010 Friends of Acadia Poetry Competition. Established in 1998, this prize is presented biennially to promote and recognize distinctive nature poetry. The three top-ranked poems will be published in the Friends of Acadia Journal. (print and online), and awarded cash prizes by category ($350, $250, $150).
Details at http://www.friendsofacadia.org/events/poetrycompetition.shtml.

Rejection Letters/Revision/Character Development/Call for Submissions

In the world of manuscript submissions, two simple facts haunt writers of every genre:

Fact #1: Rejection pierces the skin and goes straight to the psyche like a poisoned arrow.

Fact #2: Prepare to be pierced.

If you submit manuscripts to publishers, you will receive rejection letters. The sting of rejection is so painful some writers quit writing altogether. Others fuss and fume but go right back to stringing together more words.

I’ve had two manuscripts accepted without receiving a single rejection: Happy Birthday, the Story of the World’s Most Popular Song and Trouble in Troublesome Creek. Both were requested by editors I’d worked with, and both required at least a couple rounds of revision. I’ve collected enough rejection letters from manuscripts of my published books to wallpaper my house; yet the stories eventually went to press.

If a rejection letter, or a basketful of them, takes a heavy toll on your emotional state, just remind yourself that Dr. Seuss and Stephen King collected a few rejections of their own, so you’re not in bad literary company. Most of all, realize that YOU were not rejected, the manuscript was. But why was the manuscript rejected? Could a rejection, or a series of rejections, shed light on the reason?

In today’s downtrodden economic climate, many publishers are not responding to unsolicited manuscripts, period. For those that respond, even with a one-size-fits-all form rejection, I give them a hearty thank you. Sometimes those form rejections have a written comment or two. For those, I give a heartier thank you, thank you, thank you. So why am I so thankful for a rejection of my manuscript? Actually, I’m not thankful for the rejection, but the acknowledgement, since I now know more about my manuscript.

Parts II and III of my article, From Rejection to Reflection to Selection, will follow the next two weeks.


Grab Bag

Teachers, gather an assortment of small items, such as marbles, pens, and ribbons, and place in a bag. Each student reaches into the bag and pulls out three items. The goal is to write a story about a character who treasured these items. Consider the following:
A. Why were the objects were important to the character?
B. Where did the character live?
C. Did the character need the objects to survive?
D. Did the object have monetary or emotional value or both?


Call for submissions:

"*The Christmas Spirit* is a book project contracted with St. Martin's Press for the fall of 2011, but they want the completed manuscript by the spring of 2010. Debbie Macomber has agreed to write the foreword. We seek *true* stories that emphasize the significance of the Christmas season. We get caught up in the busyness of the season--the shopping, the family drama, and the event planning, and we lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Sometimes, what some call a twist of fate, we're able to step back and grasp the real meaning of Christmas and our lives are enriched. These are the kind of stories we want." Pays: "a $50 honorarium and at least one free copy of the book." Deadline: May 1, 2010. Visit http://www.christmasspiritbook.com for more info.