Fathers and Sons by David Mason

An event almost as exciting as getting your own work published, is seeing a good friend or mentor's work getting the recognition it deserves. Such an event happened today when I came across one of my college writing professor's poems in the September 28th, 2009 New Yorker. Not only was I exuberant to see his work featured in such a notable publication, but I am thrilled with the poem itself--so brilliantly poignant and quietly beautiful. So, here's a link to David Mason's poem Fathers and Sons. 

Happy trails Dave, and thanks for everything.

Secret Agent Man

If you have a book-length manuscript sitting around, waiting for someone to marvel at its genius, then you're probably on the look out for a way to sell that bad boy and watch it take form as a perfect-bound, illustrated cover (with your name on it), bio and all, bundle of joy.

There are certain "publishers" that will offer to print your book (for a nominal fee) and claim they will work to see it off into the world. Sometimes they will be "agents," sometimes they will just provide you with an "editor." Either way, you want to avoid companies that ask you to pay them to sell your book. That's not how it's supposed to work! Sure, getting a legitimate agent is no easy feat, but it sure as hell beats going broke when your "publisher" forces you to buy thousands of copies of your own books because, oh wait, they don't even have a bookstore presence.

WordHustler (see earlier post) recently conducted an interview with Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner literary agent Erin Hosier, and in it she comments on what she looks for in an unsolicited submission. While her preferences may not be universal, I think she has some good suggestions: keep your query letter short, smart, and informative, and never send your full manuscript until they respond to your query.

To learn more, check out A Delicate Balance: An Interview with Literary Agent Erin Hosier.

A Contest for the Canadians

I know you're out there! Canadians, Canucks, whatever you want to call yourselves, it's your lucky day. If you have an unpublished book-length manuscript of short or novel-length fiction then you better get really excited for the Metcalfe Rooke Award. "The object of the competition is to uphold and celebrate the tradition of small press publishing and independent bookselling in Canada and to champion new and up-and-coming Canadian writers." I'm highlighting this award because there is NO entry fee and the prize is simply fantastic: "a publishing contract with Biblioasis, a leather-bound copy of the book, a $1,500 prize, a regional book tour to include festival appearances, a profile in The Quarterly, and a story published in Maisonneuve, summer issue." The deadline is September 30th. Oh, to be Canadian!

Contest for the Young 'Uns!

Speaking of Narrative, this fall they're hosting a "30 Below" story contest. They accept various forms of stories--fiction, non-fiction, even documentaries--click on the link for details. The contest opens on September 21 and closes October 29, 2009, so you've got lots of time to finish a new piece or polish an old one. Online submissions only!

Auden on Writing

Narrative, a non-profit organization that houses a great online catalogue of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from "the best new and emerging writers," has a great link to Writing: An Essay by W. H. Auden (who is obviously not a new or emerging writer, but this seems to fit in the writing guidance section). You can sign up for free to read the essay in its entirety online or print out the pdf. 

Below is my favorite phrase from the essay, which, while a bit long, is quite enjoyable, frank, and as always with Auden, beautifully written:

"Poetry is not magic. In so far as poetry, or any other of the arts, can be said to have an ulterior purpose, it is, by telling the truth, to disenchant and disintoxicate."

Pimping Your Words Out: WordHustler.com

As I was about to submit some poems to a literary magazine today via online submission manager, I saw a third option at the bottom of the page: WordHustler.com. Intrigued, I clicked on the shiny button and signed up. While certain aspects of WordHustler had me tingling in anticipation--smooth submission process, automatic cover letter and project pdf formatting, and submission history organization--the less-than-helpful search engine and the service fee left me rather cold.

The search engine--meant to help you find contests, agents, publications, publishers, and fellowships--provides a seemingly straightforward selection process. You choose a submission type, then a genre and then you click on as many boxes of "market" types (i.e. their predominant subject/reader group) that might fit with your writing. I tried this with publications: poetry, selecting only literary magazines and a few other similar types in an attempt to narrow my search. I still ended up with 392 potential "markets" (WordHustler calls each publication/contest/etc. a "market"). 

Now, perhaps there really are 392 "markets" for my work, however, how am I supposed to whittle that down to a manageable (and affordable) number? Granted there is a small paragraph description and a star rating (which I really don't see the purpose of--who is rating them and on what?) for each "market," but that's still 392 paragraphs to decipher. This may be more helpful if you have a very specific audience/subject: religion, scuba-diving, cowgirls. 

In addition, WordHustler charges for each submission. Signing up is free, but using the service will cost you. I can see using this in lieu of snail mail for those magazines and contests that require an envelope/stamp effort, but there is no point in paying to submit to a review when they already have a free online submission manager...unless you really need someone to organize your submission history for you.

All that being said, I do appreciate the effort on the part of WordHustler's creators. The submission process is a long and grueling one, and dearly in need of a technological makeover. As someone who really hates paper cuts, I will probably look to them as my snail mail alternative in the future.

Opportunity Knocks: Poets, Polish Your Prose!

Robert Lee Brewer, editor of Poet's Market is accepting article pitches for 2011 Poet's Market until September 1, 2009. Put your pitch in the body of an e-mail with an outline of your article idea and a short bio. Send the e-mail with the subject line 2011 Poet's Market Query to robert.brewer@fwmedia.com. He suggests referencing the 2010 Poet's Market to get an idea of what articles have been accepted in the past--you can usually find it on the shelves of most local bookstores. Brewer is mostly interested in business/marketing-related pieces, but craft-related articles are fine, too. He is not interested in poet interviews, profiles.

(Thanks to Funds for Writers--a great resource for contests, job markets, and grants--for the heads up!)