All Writers Need Encouragement and the Occasional Win

August 22, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 16 Comments

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All writers, regardless of their level of expertise, need encouragement and the occasional pat on the back. Today, I awoke to a pat on the back and a congratulatory email.

“Congratulations! Thank you for your submission to Donut Factory. We would be delighted to include “Maggie’s New Beginning” in the upcoming Fall 2016 print issue, as well as the 2016 year-end collection.”

To say I’m thrilled is insufficient. This story is one of my favorites and one I always believed I would, eventually, find a home. Thank you Donut Factory Press.

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Check out their latest issue, here or by clicking the image below.

Do you have news to share? I’d love to hear about it.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Do You Find The Submission Process Stressful?

July 11, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 13 Comments

I don’t know about you but submitting my work has become very time-consuming, confusing, and stressful. The sheer number of journals, magazines, and contests from which to choose is overwhelming. Where to start? Which one is the best fit for me?

In the past, I’ve used Duotrope, NewPages, and The Review Review to help narrow my selections, but hell, by the time I get through reading and researching, I’ve missed the deadlines. And, it seems I’m not alone feeling so frustrated with the process.

In the June issue of the Literary Hub, Erika Dreifus discusses the submission process and provides a list of 13 questions to ask before submitting to any literary journal. You can read her article and the questions, here.

Want a way to stay up to date? Get the details on awards, contests, general submissions, and deadlines? Now you can.

Download your free copy of the 2016 Literary Calendar from The Master’s Review. Click to Tweet.

What methodology or resources do you use when deciding where to submit? Share your pointers with us.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram.

Recycling From The Fail Pile

May 17, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 2 Comments

Do you have a pile of old stories or a manuscript gathering dust? Don’t throw the away – repurchase them.

Bare Knuckle Writer

Not Pictured: That Manuscript. This is a completely different one.

I wrote a scene for a book ten years ago.

Shit. Writing that sentence was the first time I stopped to do that particular math. Fuck. That was longer ago than I thought.

Anyway, this was my first finished book. It sucked. I mean, it’s not spectacularly bad– it doesn’t physically hurt me to read it, like some of my earlier, unfinished stories–but it still sucks. It will remain in cold storage indefinitely, or until the sun explodes and burns us all to a crisp.

But there was this one scene. I liked it. I still like it. Not the way it was written, because, dude, I was just starting out then. I had spent the previous six years writing academic papers. My fiction writing was not great, to say the least. I could over-explain like a boss, though.

But…

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Stories to Share From the SmokeLong Quarterly

May 9, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 5 Comments

It’s time to get back on schedule, and one of my favorite things to do is to share stories from other writers.

The selection this week comes from the SmokeLong Quarterly – “an online literary magazine dedicated to flash fiction.”

An interesting fact about SmokeLong Quarterly is how they came up with the name.

Founded in 2003 by Dave Clapper, the name “Smoke-long” comes from the Chinese – “who noted that reading flash takes the same length of time to smoke a cigarette.” According to the staff, all the work they accept for publication is “precisely a smoke long.”

Never having smoked, the amount of time its takes to smoke a cigarette, is not a time frame familiar to me. So, I’ll stick to word counts. Whichever method you prefer, SmokeLong Quarterly publishes great stories. Here are three of my favorites:

Interested in submitting to SmokeLong?

They publish flash fiction of 1000 words or less. Never charge a reading fee, and submissions are open 365 days a year. You can check out the guidelines here.

Good luck and let me know what you think about today’s stories. More importantly, let the authors know what you thought – stories are meant to be shared.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.