We’re in our final week of the Southbank Writer’s program in Surrey and what a great time it has been. This weekend our writers will take to the podium to read some of their best work before being let loose with their words.

Heidi Greco, who gave us a great class on poetry, has these final words of advice:

Send it out!

No matter how exciting your writing might be, it won’t find publication unless you send it out. And it won’t be accepted once it gets there unless it has the special something that appeals to an editorial board. They’ll be looking for those qualities that make it a match for their particular print or online publication.

Start compiling a list of places that might provide a home for your work. SFU’s library still subscribes to many periodicals. Often, just a look at what’s inside a magazine can help you determine whether it’s for you.

Visit magazine websites, as that’s where you’ll find more examples and – most importantly – specific guidelines for submission. Do they want 3-5 poems? Stories no longer than 2,000 words? Your name on the work – at the top, bottom, only mentioned in a cover letter?

Although many print magazines now accept electronic submissions, not all of them do. And some that do accept e-submissions want the work embedded in a message, not sent as an attachment. Others prefer an attachment. Some even specify a particular subject header. Online magazines are every bit as specific in their guidelines as print ones.

Whatever the process – electronic submission or paper – do it the way they ask you to. If you don’t, your work probably won’t even be considered.

Don’t bug the editorial staff about your work. Many publications take several months to reply.

If your work isn’t accepted (face it, this is the case with most submissions – or magazines would be bigger than phone books), take it as a sign that you should look at the piece again.

Then, when you’re sure the work is the best that you can make it, find another place where it might make a better fit and send it out again.

If you set yourself a goal – and keep it – of always having something (say, three different submissions) ‘out there’ you’ll not only find that the sending out gets easier, it’s likely that your work will be making it into print.

I have been successful in getting published widely in US markets by using the current Poet’s Market guide, as well as searching out submission calls in US market products (e.g., Poetry magazine contains advertising for other reviews). When work has been accepted for publication, get a network going with the editors and they will put you on to new markets. Also, include your e-mail address on all marketing letters sent out, as this will get around as well. Good luck!

Post by Donald Simmers, who has been writing poetry and short stories since age 16. Current work can be found in the Vancouver 125 subTerrain, Poet’s Touchstone (NH), and Prairie Journal (Calgary).

Image courtesy of MS Office Clipart.

We all want to read our work in front of an audience, right? To make it a positive experience, there are a few things to remember. The first is to practice! Print out your piece and read it out loud. Read it in front of a mirror, read it to your animals, read it to anyone who will listen. The second thing is to time yourself and get your story well within the allotted time. This is a mantra of the TWS Reading Series: never, ever go over time! As you read, remember to take a deep breath and slow down. It’s difficult to listen to someone who is reading at warp speed. Try to look at your audience and engage with them–this is supposed to be fun. Practice, breathe, read clearly and slowly…and sign up to read at an upcoming TWS reading!

Post by 2011’s intrepid TWS Reading Series hostesses Esmeralda Cabral and Jennifer Irvine (TWS 2010, x 2).

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

It’s important to track your submissions–even in this digital age, things get lost. If the guidelines invite you to inquire by e-mail about your submission’s status, do it politely at the first opportunity. I recently submitted an article to an international magazine, then waited one month into their turnaround period for a decision before contacting them, only to learn that my piece had been lost on some editor’s desk.

Lessons:

1.       Provide a self-addressed, stamped postcard in your submission’s package. It’s a convenient way for the publication to confirm receipt.

2.      Follow up by e-mail at the earliest possible date. If no date, do it at three months.

Post by David Blinkhorn (TWS 2011).

Image courtesy of www.free-graphics.com.

Consider what you want to get out of self-publishing.

Research self-publishing options: free but you do the work, pay and you do the work but they walk you through it and do the technical work.

When purchasing, there is often more than one package, and payment plans are offered. Prices can range from $300 to $3000.

A good press will get to know you, your work, and your motives, and be available to talk to you in person.

In the end, you as author receive far more in royalties (55% or more), and retain 100% creative control and copyright.

Remember, marketing is the key to success.

Post by Jane Mellor, author of Delicate Availability, a recently self-published book of prose and poetry. To read the whole post, visit http://jane-wordsworthy.blogspot.com/.

Image courtesy of the author.

A few tips on how to win writing contests:

* The judge is key. When I entered this year’s Room contest, I had a hunch Susan Juby (mostly a YA writer) would bond with the young narrator of my story. And she did!

* Get rid of the flab. Take a 6000-word story and hack it down to 4000.

* Start a spreadsheet of contests, your submissions, and results. Keep a cache of stories ready of varying lengths: 300 words up to 6000.

* Start with smaller contests.

* Order The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar.

* Submit! Submit! Submit!

Post by Jan Redford (TWS 2007), whose short story “God or Boys” recently won Room magazine’s creative nonfiction contest. Find more of her work at www.janredford.com.

Image courtesy of MS Office (clip art).

Want to get published, but don’t know where to start? Here are four great tips:

1. Know what you’re offering.
   Write a 200-word summary of your work: genre, length, storyline, intended audience, tone/voice, unique qualities, your qualifications to write it.
2. Know who you’re writing for.
   Who needs to read your work? Imagine that person: age, gender, occupation, interests, values, concerns.
3. Talk to them.
   Keep a blog, show up on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, get a radio gig. . . Tell your audience what you’re reading, dreaming, wrestling with.
4. Hang around.
   Go to readings and launches, volunteer at festivals, join a writers’ group or association. Publishing people do business with people they know, and writers and publishers are great to hang around with anyway.

Post by Mary Schendlinger, an instructor with SFU’s Writing and Communications program. Her class, Getting Published, runs every fall.

Photo by Soft Solutions, Wikimedia Commons

Rhythmic cadences captivate readers. Reading work aloud allows writers to hear what a live audience hears and what a reader “hears” internally. Hearing your work makes it easy to eliminate rhythmic glitches, clunky structures and unwanted repetitions that are invisible to the writer’s eye.

Reading before an audience develops confidence, and performance benefits the writer, who can gauge the effect of the work on the audience. A writer who has memorized the beginning and end of the performance piece and thoroughly practiced the reading ahead of time can look up to assess audience response, and vary pacing and emphasis accordingly.

Post by Carol Tulpar, a student of The Writer’s Studio. Carol acknowledges Brian Payton for this advice.
Image: Annabel Lyon and Timothy Taylor, both local writers, after reading their work at the Write on Bowen festival. Photo by Alison Bate.

Your platform is your public profile—your means of communication with your fans. Agents and publishers will look at a writer’s platform before deciding whether to take him or her on as a client. They need to know that you, the author, are doing everything it takes to make a name for yourself.

Where do you begin?

1. Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

2. Build a website.

3. Blog.

4. Join online writing communities.

5. Give readings of your work.

6. Teach.

7. Write for other markets.

Take some time to think about who you are as a writer. You are a brand—make sure you know what that brand is and whom you’re selling it to.

By Claire De Boer, a current student at The Writer’s Studio. Read her full post. Image from Wikipedia Commons.

1. Practice reading your work aloud in your normal voice for a few minutes for 7 to 10 days. Find the natural rhythm of each piece and the words you want to emphasize. Practice alternate pieces.

2. Buy a folder with plastic pages you can slip your writing into so you won’t be left with a pile of unwieldy pages. You can easily flip through to select what to read for the event.

3. Relax and have fun! People respond to someone who is happy to read his or her work, and it is a privilege to do so.

4. Seek and accept opportunities to read your work. We each carry stories from different communities, so it is important to take those stories back to those communities.

By Meg Torwl of Integrial Media. Photo: Meg Torwl of The Writer’s Studio reads her work. Courtesy of Meg Torwl.