Back when I was a high school English teacher, I required my Sophomore students to give a how-to speech as a major part of their final grade. The purpose was to teach them how to speak in front of people, how to communicate, and how to give clear directions. As you can imagine, the speeches … Continue reading How to write a short story in 5 easy steps
As a writer, nothing is better than an acceptance. And nothing is worse than a rejection. Of course, sometimes a rejection includes a bit of silver lining that might soften the blow a little. This comes in the form of an invitation to submit again. But what does a publication really mean when they ask … Continue reading What you should do when a publication asks you to submit again
Submitting your writing is both an art and a science. There’s a lot more to it then making a lasting impression on the editor. You also need to create a submission strategy that will help you get more acceptances and fewer rejections. At the heart of your submission strategy is the way you track your … Continue reading Why writers must track submissions carefully – FREE template included
Being published isn’t the sign of a great writer, but it is the first step toward being a successful one. If you’ve been writing and sending out your work for awhile but haven’t been published yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not a good writer. It probably just means you aren’t doing all the little … Continue reading 7 things published writers do differently
The more you write, the more you learn about how to write. The more you "learn" about writing, the more you realize every writer thinks he or she is an expert. Ultimately, you end up with a lot of contradicting "facts" about what you should be doing to become a better writer (of course, better … Continue reading 57 Things I’ve Learned Not to Do As a Writer
I had never read any of Jonathan Franzen’s work until I saw his list about how to write like him, or whatever the hell it was. I would link it here, but I don’t want to give him any more attention. But if you haven’t read it, it wasn’t very memorable other than to make … Continue reading Bad Writing Advice You Should Ignore
People often ask me how I've managed to get so many short stories published. Getting a short story published is surprisingly not that difficult—as long as you have a good story and put some effort into your submission process. Even mediocre stories have a decent chance of getting published with the right submission strategy. However, … Continue reading How to get a short story published
A good submission strategy requires significant time and thought. There’s certainly a lot more to it than sending your poetry or fiction to every single publication you stumble upon. Unless you want to be rejected constantly or end up with a bunch of bad publications, you need to be selective. You need to make sure … Continue reading The 6 most important things to consider before submitting your work to a publication
Lit mag editors are under a lot of stress. We have to read a ton of submissions, and we usually don’t get paid anything. And we’re doing that while balancing our full-time jobs, our families, and our own writing. So give us a break from time to time. Here are the 10 biggest pet peeves … Continue reading 10 biggest pet peeves of lit mag editors
The author bio is a highly important part of being published, right? Well, yes and no. Yes because you usually need one, and you should make it good because anyone who reads your story will presumably see it. On the other hand, the author bio almost never has any bearing on whether or not you … Continue reading How to Write a Great Author Bio with Free Template
