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 Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A small pre-Thanksgiving feast
Posted by Rachel
Here are a few items to tide you over the holiday. I wont be posting again until next week, so enjoy. I'm going to enjoy spending Thanksgiving with my family in Cali, and I hope you have a fabulous holiday as well.
Conferences
Love is Murder is a conference for mystery writers held February 1-3, 2008. Early deadline for registration is December 1.
New Magazines
Alt. His/Steampunk/Victorian SF. Tales of Moreauvia is looking for 10,000 word fiction and comics. They pay 1-3¢ a word and 2 copies. "TOM will feature short fiction, articles, reviews, artwork, and (hopefully!) comics, of interest to the aficionado of the various historical genres of literature. What do we mean by ‘the various historical genres?’ Basically, if a story could be described in any of the following terms, you might find it here: steampunk, alternate history, time travel, Victorian SF, wild west, weird west, gaslamp fantasy, steampulp, retro-futurist, and the list goes on."
Horror/mystery. Parade of Phantoms is a bi-weekly web zine looking for 1500-5000 word stories. They pay $20 flat. "Our emphasis is on supernatural thrillers, psychological thrillers, ghost stories and other subgenres of horror, but we will also consider stories with other speculative fiction influences, plus suspense, mystery and crime fiction. Again, the most essential elements are entertainment value and a distinct, haunting quality. Stories sprinkled with some comedy are welcome, so long as the humor does not subvert the overall tone."
Anthologies
Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery. Carnivah House is looking for 2000-6000 word stories for The Infinity Swords. Pay is $50 flat. "This is a themed anthology, featuring a shared multi-verse. The link is a pair of powerful, dimension-hopping weapons and the entities that pursue them. We have some stories in hand, but we are opening up submissions to fill out the book. If you are interested in submitting, first read the draft of our prologue, then check our guidelines." Deadline of January 15, 2008
Literary Fiction. Wheatland Press needs stories of 4000-10000 words for Polyphony 7. Pay is 4¢ a word ($400 max) and 2 copies. "We will be looking for stories that stretch (or break) the boundaries of traditional genres. Send us your magic realism, surrealism, literary stories with a genre sensibility, and other hard-to-classify stories with strong literary values, compelling characters, engaging tone and unique voice." Submission period of December 1, 2007 through January 15, 2008
Market Info
11/21/2007 11:03:37 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Changing view of books
Posted by Rachel
Just for fun.
Here is a scan of a 1926 version of Perrault’s fairytales.
Here are some favorite covers of the past year.
Note the changes in style over the decades. It's even more distinctive when you look through the entire list of this year's covers. And I highly recommend going through the Perrault; it's a scanned copy of the entire book and absolutely gorgeous.
I just wanted to share.
Oh, and here's an interesting definition of epic fantasy.
11/20/2007 11:47:40 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Where they are now
Posted by Rachel
Two posts in one day? I know it's a bit remarkable. I've had most of this information for a little while, so I figured I should post it before it got too old.
Goldberg McDuffie Communications: Laura Pillar has been promoted to director of publicity.
Skyhorse Publishing: Ann Treistman finished her freelance work with Stewart, Tabori and Chang and Abrams Image is now a senior editor.
St. Martin's Press: Michael Homler has been promoted to editor. He has been there for four years, as an editorial assistant, assistant editor, and associate editor under Charlie Spicer.
Random House/Bantam Doubleday Dell: Deb Futter is now v-p and editor-in-chief of the hardcover division, filling a position left open when Amy Einhorn left to go to Penguin. Amy Pierpont has moved to Hachette Book Group as editorial director for Forever and senior editor at Grand Central Publishing.
State University of New York Press: Effective January, Gary Dunham has been hired as director. He has been director of the University of Nebraska Press.
Scholastic: Abigail McAden has been promoted from editorial director for Point to publishing director, paperbacks, overseeing YA and series paperback publishing for both Scholastic Paperbacks and Point.
Arthur A. Levine Books: Cheryl Klein has been promoted to senior editor.
Revolving Door
11/19/2007 2:54:17 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tales of the Talisman
Posted by Rachel
Can I just say again how much I love this cover? The coloring is rich and the image is so much fun. I smile every time I look at it. This is a larger zine, 8x11 or so, the interior is clean and the pages are split into two columns, which make reading the stories easier.
Art is used extensively, as there is an image to introduce each story as well as others placed throughout the magazine. I was however, unimpressed by the interior images. The images depicted a scene of aspect of the story and some looked like they were done as old-school woodcuts. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t as engaging as they could be.
Here’s a rundown of the type of stories in the magazine: Sci fi; fantasy; translation of Grimm’s fairytale by editor (apparently a semi-regular feature); horror; zombie tale; serial sci-fi with androids and spaceships; poem; sci fi; poems; 5 book reviews (column each). The reviews covered a range of genres and publishers, which is helpful. I enjoyed most of the stories and was suitably creeped out by the zombie and horror stories. Most of the stories were more about the situation than the characters, but the characters were still believable (most of the time). I admit to not reading the poems, so I can't speak to how good they are.
One feature I found interesting was the serialized story. Part three was in the issue I read, and I was a little confused as to what was going on. I was really hoping for a short paragraph to give a basic “here’s what happened so far,” but I had to deal without it. That said, I haven’t really read serialized stories, so I’m not sure if that’s a common device or not. Still, even with being a bit confused, I was impressed with how well author Kenneth Crist managed to make this section of the story stand on its own feet. He used the same character to open and close the section, by opening and closing a story thread, which really helped to make this seem like a complete story.
Overall, I enjoyed Tales of the Talisman and I'm seriously considering buying the next issue so I can see how Mind Games ends.
*I should mention that this is probably not the best magazine to read if you're not a fan of sci-fi or fantasy, or if you're just starting to get your feet wet. There are several characters with unpronouncable names living improbable lives, and technology that doesn't quite square up with conventional wisom. The stories are good, but the trappings might not be to everyone's taste. I'm a total sci-fi/fantasy nerd, so I'm a little biased in favor of the genre.
Mag/Journal Description
11/19/2007 2:32:28 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Friday's Feast got eaten
Posted by Rachel
No, really it did. When I tried to post earlier (after putting in over an hour's worth of work linking and formatting) I was told I had been logged off due to inactivity, the post didn't take, and all of my hard work was lost! ~Sigh~ Fortunately, I type everything in a Word doc before putting it up here, so I only lost the formatting, links and editing. Since I really, really don't want to redo everything, some of the stuff with deadlines in 2008 will be posted next week. Until then, enjoy what I have to offer while I go snack on some chocolate.
Contests
Pen Center USA Annual Literary Awards are offered annually for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, children's/young adult literature, or translation published January 1-December 31 of 2007. Prize of $1,000. Judged by panel of writers, editors and critics. Entry fee is $35. All entries must include 4 non-returnable copies of each submission and a completed entry form. Deadline of December 15. Entries must be professionally published or produced. Open to authors west of the Mississippi River, including all of Minnesota and Louisiana.
Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Contest. Open to undergrad and grad students at accredited US institutions. Unpublished ms. Deadline of December 1. First prize $1000, second $500, third $250. Max 7500 words.
Conferences
New York Is Book Country has been revived for next year, and it’s on September 14, the same day as the Brooklyn Book Festival.
Last week I mentioned the PW "Think Future" panel on comics. Here’s a rundown of what happened.
Submissions
Literary. "Reed Magazine is one of the oldest student-run literary journals west of the Mississippi. We publish outstanding fiction, poetry, nonfiction and art as a service to the South Bay literary community." Wants stories of 2000-6000 words, literary essays, book reviews, poetry. Writers receive free subscription to the magazine. Pays on publication. Acquires first North American serial rights. Sends galleys to author. Publication is copyrighted.
Fantasy. "Juno Books is a small independent, but professional, publisher of a wide range of fantasy featuring strong female protagonists." Publishes hardcover originals, paperback originals, paperback reprints, e-books. "We welcome a cross-genre mix of contemporary and traditional FANTASY with mystery, thriller, paranormal romance, sf, adventure, historical fiction, detective, sensual, etc. Right now we're looking for contemporary and urban fantasy featuring strong female protagonists with 'kickassitude.'" Pays 6-10% royalties, average $1000 advance, author's copies. Advance is negotiable.
Fantasy. Simian Publishing is looking for a dragon themed novella to be paired with a current story for publication in their Gemini Novella series.
New Magazines
Spec Fic/Suspense. Wrong World produces themed quarterly DVDs. The next one is Tenants—Liquidated Damages. Submissions deadline December 5, 2007 for next issue. Needs stories of 2500-3500 words. Pays 7 1/2¢ a word. "Any genre as long as the story is on some level scary." Register online to submit.
Spec Fic. Golden Visions Magazine is a quarterly print/Web zine looking for 1000-5000 word stories. Pays ¼¢ a word ($20 max) for print; $3-5 for web. "We are looking for flash fiction or short stories in the following genres: Science fiction, fantasy, futuristic settings and other unusual stories...but if you think you have something to offer-send an inquiry. (No horror or gore)."
Horror. Necrotic Tissue is a quarterly Web zine looking for 5000 word stories until the end of November. Pays a flat $10-25. "We are into horror, both speculative and psychological. We assume all stories submitted are fictional, so if they aren’t, don’t ever tell us. Any cross over genres with a horror element will be considered. Dark humor that is done well (how is that for subjective?) is always appreciated."
Anthologies
Paranormal Romance. Juno Books is looking for 40,000 word previously published stories for their third annual Best New Paranormal Romance. Pays 1¢ a word and shared royalty. "We are looking for stories from all branches of sf/f that also include a strong "romance" element or, conversely, romance that is fantastic, supernatural, paranormal, futuristic, etc. Definitions are ambiguous. If in doubt, send it. Erotic romance and alternative sexuality are acceptable but the emphasis must be on well-written stories." Deadline of December 1, 2007
Genreclectic. Chimericana Books is looking for 2000-4000 word stories for Chimeraworld 5. Pay is 50% shared royalty. "The theme of Chimeraworld 5 (THERE IS NO GOD, YOU'RE ALL ON YOUR OWN, *UCKERS) allows the 'genreclectic' writer to fully explore man's animal nature devoid of religious dogma or moral debate. The problem with no God (arbitrarily defined good) is there's no (arbitrarily defined) Evil. That means there is no Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, Sikh, Baha'i, Jain and so on..." Deadline of Christmas 2007.
Horror. Simian Publishing is seeking 4000-10000 word stories for Dastardly Deeds. Pay is $25 flat ($5 rep.). "The vilest deeds are the ones that forever live in infamy. More than two thousand years later, we’re still telling stories of Brutus stabbing Caesar. Why are these deeds remembered? Dastardly Deeds is a horror anthology that will explore the nature of the hideous. Why is vengeance so tempting? Why is murder in the hearts of so many? There are plenty of places to read about heroes. This anthology is for the bad guys. Stories can be from any genre as long as they have some sort of dastardly deed as the main focus of the plot." Submissions will close when enough stories are compiled.
Updates
Dreams and Nightmares has a new url.
Fear and Trembling Magazine's web site is up and working now.
Nocturnal Ooze is dead, so go submit to AlienSkin instead
Dana Literary Society Online Journal closed due to personal time constraints
Re-opened to submissions
Flashing Swords; The Lorelei Signal; Fantasy Magazine.
Temporarily closed to submissions
Paradox; Strange Horizons (closed Nov, will re-open Jan 2008); Down in the Celler (closed until Dec 1); Flytrap (issue #9 won't be open to unsolicited submissions); Farrago's Wainscot; Demon Minds (until Feb 2008).
MIA
Web site gone to search engine and email not working: Lullaby Hearse, The Glut, Ambitions, Prose Ax, La Belle Lettre.
Website gone: Surreal Magazine, Amalgamae Magazine.
Son and Foe has been closed to submissions for over six months with no web updates or activity on the site--could be dead.
Update on 2008 NSSWM info
Gothic Chapbook Series has a new address:
Gothic Press, 2272 Quail Oak, Baton Rouge LA 70808-9023
Another Chicago Magazine (aka ACM) has a new web address.
Word Riot has a new eddress for prose submissions: wr.submissionsATgmailDOTcom
Stray Light has a new eddress: straylightATlitspotDOTnet
Small Beer Press has new address, phone, fax:
150 Plesant St., #306, Easthampron MA 01017. (413) 203-1636. Fax: (413) 203-1636.
The new address is also for the mystery zine Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet (it's published by Small Beer Press).
Market Info
11/16/2007 3:22:26 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The publishers have to sell, too
Posted by Rachel
A while ago I saw this article that mentions sales reps speed dating with booksellers (similar to the speed pitching writers do to agents/editors at some conferences), and that coupled with my recent influx of magazines got me thinking about how books get into bookstores.
Most writers know they need to sale their book to an agent or editor and to readers, but don’t realize there’s more to the selling process than that. Getting your book into stores can be a lot like getting your book published in the first place. Publishers have to give great pitches and hope someone takes this wonderful book they’ve produced. They have a book that they know is great, and they just have to convince the buyer to order it in good quantities. Also, the publisher gets to try and convince the buyer to feature the book in some way.
Sales and marketing spend a lot time building a rapport with buyers. Reps need to know what the buyers want and require, and buyers need to trust that when the reps say something is excellent it truly is.
Reps go into meetings armed with a couple different things. One is some sort of form that has all the basic information for a book (title, author name and bio, book description, price point, release date). Frequently they’ll bring in sales or market data to support their arguments. Covers, if already designed, are brought to the table. For some books, BLADS are made. BLAD stands for Basic Layout And Design. A BLAD is basically a 6-12 page pamphlet with the book cover and a sample of the interior. It gives buyers an idea of what the book is going to look like when it’s done. This is more important for nonfiction books, children’s books and graphic novels than adult fiction.
The sales reps use these tools and their knowledge of the market to convince buyers to order copies of the book, and to agree to promote it in some way.
My previous ignorance has gotten me thinking. What are some of the aspects of book publishing you didn’t even think about for ages? Or, what part of the mysterious process do you want to know more about? If I don’t know, I do know who to ask.
Inside Peek
11/14/2007 11:39:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Making connections
Posted by Rachel
If you’ve been published, you know the value of having booksellers love your book. Oakland's independant bookstore Great Good Place for Books has sold 1000 copies of Jonathon Tropper's The Book of Joe in a massive handsell campaign. They loved the book and decided to let their patrons know it.
This is an example of why it can be important for authors to connect with book sellers. Booksellers wont recommend a book they haven’t read, and with all the books out there, it’s hard to get their attention. But if you form personal connections with the ones actually selling your book to the multitudes, they're much more likely to read your book.
How do you connect with booksellers? Well, you can walk into your local bookstores and go talk to them. I remember reading on an author’s blog about how their family has gotten in the habit of stopping at bookstores while on vacation so he can go in and talk to the manager. Another author shared how her teenage daughter will talk to clerks in bookstores and ask if they’ve ever read her mom’s books.
You don't have to drag in your family or journey across the country visiting bookstores, but wandering into the ones in your neighborhood is never a bad idea. Unless you're a jerk in person; then stay away.
Readings are also a great tool for you. Yes, your publisher might set up some of these, but go ahead and call up your local bookstore and ask to do a reading. Even if you don’t get many people there, you will get those working in the bookstore to know who you are.
In the same vein, you should also be familiar to local librarians. People love reading local authors, and librarians are frequently asked for recommendations. Some libraries do readings (and not just for children's books), so that might be an option in your area. Does your local library even have a copy of your book? If someone borrows your book from the library and likes it, they’re more likely to go buy more of your books (or get their own copy). And who doesn't want more people to do that?
Those are just a few of the tips and suggestions I've seen from published writers. Are there any others I might have missed? Any input from booksellers?
Speaking of connections, Julia Wertz is collecting b&w comics for an anthology based off Craigslist and newspaper missed connection ads. She's accepting submissions until December, so move fast if you want to be involved. Check out some of the ones already submitted. Oh, and here’s the story behind it all.
11/12/2007 3:16:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 09, 2007
Friday's Feast
Posted by Rachel
One of the fun parts doing verifications is the mail. I asked the magzines and journals to send me a recent issue for my archives. I have so much fun opening my mail and seeing the magazines I've known of for years. The first time you look at magazine or journal after hearing about it for years can be a surreal experience, and sometimes it's just plain fun. I started laughing with glee when I opened the envelope containing Tales of the Talisman this afternoon, and I had to show the terrific green, flat-footed, one-eyed alien cover to my neighbor Terri. She's one of our designers, and sometimes I just have to show her the especially beautiful, creative or ugly covers. I'm having to force myself not to rush this post because I am going to read Tales of the Talisman as soon as I'm done.
So here we go.
One item to update a listing in 2008 NSSWM: Literary agent Helen McGrath died over the summer and her contact info is now obsolete.
Contests
Annual Atlantic Writing Competition. Sposored by the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia. Award's purpose is "to provide feedback to emerging writers and create a venue for their work to be considered against that of other beginning authors." Prizes are in Canadian money: $200, $150, $100 for adult novel; $150, $75, $50 for children's literature and YA novel; $100, $75, $50 for short stories and essay/magazine article. Entry fee is $25 per novel entry ($20 for WFNS members); $15 per entry in other categories ($10 members). Deadline is the first Friday in December of each year. Entries must be unpublished. Length: story 3,000 words maximum; novel 100,000 words maximum; children's writing 20,000 words maximum, YA novel 75,000 words maximum. To be eligible, writers must be residents of Atlantic Canada, older than 16 and not extensively published in the category they are entering
Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction. Sponsored by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Offered annually for fiction published January 1-December 31. Contest aims "to encourage examination of the Civil War from unique perspectives or by taking an unusual approach.” All Civil War novels are eligible. Publishers should make nominations, but authors and critics can nominate as well. Prize: $5,000. No entry fee. Deadline of December 31. Judged for presentation of unique perspective, use of unusual approach, effective writing, contribution to existing body of Civil War literature.
Fish Short Story Prize. Purpose is to "find and publish new and exciting short fiction from all over the world; to support the short story and those who practice it." Offered annually for unpublished fiction mss. Prize: 1st Prize: 2,500 Euros (approx. $5,000); 2nd Prize: 1 week at Anam Cara Writers' Retreat in the west of Ireland plus 250 Euros; third prize is 250 Euros. The top 15 stories will be published in Fish's anthology, which is launched at the West Cork Literary Festival in June. Entry fee is $30 per story. Deadline of November 30. Length of 5,000 words maximum. Open to any writer except those who have won before or who have been a runner-up twice. See Web site for additional contests, including "One Page Story Prize," "Short Fiction Prize," "Short Histories Prize," and "Fish-Knife Award."
Long Story Contest, International. Sponsored by White Eagle Coffee Store Press. Offered annually since 1993 for unpublished work to recognize and promote long short stories. Open to any writer, no restrictions on materials. Prize (A.E. Coppard Prize) of $1000 and publication, plus 25 copies of chapbook and 10 press kits. Entry fee is $15, $10 for second story in same envelope. Length: 8,000-14,000 words (30-50 pages double-spaced) single story; may have multi-parts or be a self-contained novel segment. Deadline of December 15. Accepts previously unpublished submissions, but previous publication of small parts with acknowledgment is okay.
The Trollope Society Short Story Prize has been suspended.
Kurt Vonnegut Fiction Prize is on hiatus.
L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest is one of the foremost competitions for new and amateur writers of unpublished science fiction or fantasy short stories or novelettes. Open to new and amateur writers who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, more than 1 novelette, or more than 3 short stories. Eligible entries are previously unpublished short stories or novelettes (under 17,000 words) of science fiction or fantasy. Quarterly awards of 1st place: $1,000; 2nd place: $750; and 3rd place: $500. Annual grand prize: $5,000. Judged by K.D. Wentworth (initial judge), then by a panel of 4 professional authors. Deadlines are December 31, March 31, June 30, September 30. Limit one entry per quarter. No entry fee; entrants retain all rights to their stories. Open to any writer.
StoryQuarterly Fiction Contest deadline for submission is November 30. The contest offers a First Prize of $2,500, a Second Prize of $1,500, and a Third Prize of $750. Additionally, ten Finalists will each receive $100. Winners will be announced by December 31.
James Tait Black Memorial Prizes' deadline has changed from Jan 31 to Dec 1. "Two prizes each of £10,000 are awarded: one for the best work of fiction, one for the best biography or work of that nature, published during the calendar year January 1 to December 31." No entry fee. "Eligible works are those written in English and first published or co-published in Britain in the year of the award. Works should be submitted by publishers." Open to any writer.
Conferences
The first ever ICv2 Conference on Anime and Manga will take place on Thursday, December 6th on the eve of New York Anime Festival. “Meet, mingle, and learn from confirmed panelists including top executives from anime and manga companies; from intellectual property houses; digital content and youth marketing experts; and trade buyers. Publishers, producers, toy and game companies, retailers and distributors, and librarians and educators can all benefit from this informative programming. Register today.”
Openings, closings and changes
Tales of the Talisman has a new website. "Tales of the Talisman is a literary science fiction and fantasy magazine published 4 times a year. We publish short stories, poetry, and articles with themes related to science fiction and fantasy. Above all, we are looking for thought-provoking ideas and good writing. Speculative fiction set in the past, present, and future is welcome. Likewise, contemporary or historical fiction is welcome as long as it has a mythic or science fictional element. Our target audience includes adult fans of the science fiction and fantasy genres along with anyone else who enjoys thought-provoking and entertaining writing."
Seek has a new address: Standard Publishing, 8805 Governor's Hill Drive, Suite 400, Cincinnati OH 45239. "Inspirational stories of faith-in-action for Christian adults; a Sunday School take-home paper." They want religious fiction and religiously slanted historical and humorous fiction. No poetry.
Freefall Magazine has new email and website. E-mail: freefallmagazine@yahoo.com. Web site: www.freefallmagazine.ca
PSI no longer takes short fiction.
Cosmos, A Magazine of Ideas, Science, Society and the Future is heavily overstocked; consider submitting elsewhere.
CrossTime is closed to submissions due to a backlog until further notice. They are still accepting submissions for their science fiction contest.
Gate-Way SF, Challenging Destiny, New Fantasy & Science Fiction and Lorraine and James are on hiatus.
The Funny Paper was discontinued with the Sept. 07 issue. There is a website with pages for stories, poems, jokes, announcements and comments but no payment at this time.
Unknown Writers and Walstan are dead.
Pikeville Review's 2007 issue was the last. They’re having technical difficulties with the website, so the notification of closure hasn’t been put up yet.
The email addresses and Web sites for the following magazines/journals aren't working: Stark Raving Sanity, Liquid Ohio, and Piper’s Ash.
I would greatly appreciate any information you might have about the status of these publications.
Market Info
11/9/2007 3:56:12 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Amoskeag
Posted by Rachel
Put out by Southern New Hampshire University, this annual literary journal strives to reach the typical, and atypical, readers of lit journals. I read the Spring 2007 issue.
The journal is perfect bound with black and white photos on the cover and interior. The body text was readable, had a good white space ratio, and I didn’t catch any typos. Visually, this is an appealing journal. My only complaint is the TOC looks cramped. They jammed it onto two pages, which looks odd since the second page of the TOC is facing a blank page.
One story I really enjoyed was “Deception” by Dolorus de Leon. A grandmother bored with Heaven tries to make sense of the one-word counsel given by an angel. This is probably the best written of the issue, and the most original.
Most of the other stories were decent, but one of the authors gave a supporting character the same name as one of the main characters. I beg all writers: please don’t do that unless you have a good reason for it. It’s confusing, even if the minor character is only mentioned a time or two.
Amoskeag also features the winning stories of their contests for high school and university students. The high school story read more like creative non-fiction, but it had nice imagery and tied together well. The stories from the university students were better than some of the others in the issue. It’s always interesting to see the difference between contest winners and other stories published in the same issue.
Overall, about equal space is given to poems and stories, with 8 photographs included. The stories tended to be on the shorter side, with about half of them being flash-fiction, and literary in tone and plot. While the stories were good, “Deception” is the only one I can still remember.
To look at it yourself, contact editor Allison Cummings at Amoskeag, 2500 N. River Road, Manchester NH 03106.
Mag/Journal Description
11/7/2007 2:05:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 05, 2007
How NSSWM comes together
Posted by Rachel
Last week I mentioned starting work on verifications, but didn’t really explain what that was. The backbone of NSSWM is the listings, and a large part of my job is making sure those listings are up to date. Year round I’m looking for and contacting publishers, magazines/journals, contests and conferences we don’t have in our database. (If you want to be listed, our forms can be found here.)
I started working on the 2009 edition (which comes out in the fall of 2008) over the summer. The articles and interviews were assigned in August/September, and I’ve already gotten a few drafts from some of my freelance writers. Right now I’m working on the debut authors feature (some good books in there) and doing an email interview with sci-fi author Elizabeth Moon. Soon I'll be getting more interviews and articles from my freelance writers, and I'll need to edit those.
The current phase is verifications. Verifications are the emails/letters we send to those listed in NSSWM with their current information to ask if the data is correct. If it is, we get an “All correct” response, and if not, they write back with the changes clearly indicated by using bold, caps, brackets, colored font or a combination thereof. (Well, most people follow the instructions.)
So if a publisher wanted to change how many debut novels they've published recently, they would do so like this: Plans [2-3] first novels this year.
Sometimes people respond with a request for us to remove their listing. The reasons range from the fact they no longer publish fiction to they're going out of business to wanting fewer submissions, or sometimes we’re not told why. Fortunately, I don’t get very many of those.
As I get the responses I enter the changes in the database and mark the listing as verified. Since this is my first time doing verifications, I have had to decide the best way for me to keep track of which verifications I have or have not entered. In a few weeks I will send out a second email to those who haven’t responded yet. In late December I will send letters to those don’t have email (~sigh~ join the 21st century please) and those who aren’t responding to their email.
Every time I send out verifications I get many eddresses bounced back as invalid, so I get to go to the publisher's website and see if I can track down an accurate email address for them. If not, they get snail mail.
The bulk of the verifications will be done by the end of January, but I’ll be doing these follow-ups through March. It’s a long process because so many people don’t bother to respond or they change their contact info and I have to track them down, plus I’m adding new listings the whole time-just not as many as I was over the summer.
That’s a brief peek into some of what goes into getting this book published, and an explanation as to why I might not be blogging every day.
Inside Peek
11/5/2007 2:27:41 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, November 02, 2007
Friday's mini-feast
Posted by Rachel
Short list this week. I didn't have much time to search for new info between catching up after my vacation and starting to take care of verifications. Anyway, here are a few items for you. Have a good weekend!
Conferences
Publisher’s Weekly has started hosting breakfast discussions panels, and the second one is coming up November 14th, titled “Comics & Graphic Novels: Harnessing the Power of Visual Literature.” It costs $45 (including breakfast). If you’re in the NYC area, it looks to be an interesting panel, especially if you’re not familiar with the genre. Here’s the description I pulled from their site: As the web, mobile content, social networking and video games become the language of youth culture, many feel that graphic novels will become an even more important tool for literacy and education. Our panel will explore the growing impact of comics and graphic novels on the book market and will discuss the latest domestic and international trends in comics publishing. MODERATORS: Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, PW, and Co-Editor, PW Comics Week and Heidi MacDonald, Writer, The Beat, and Co-Editor, PW Comics Wee. PANELISTS: John Cunningham, V-P of Marketing, DC Comics; Dan Frank, Editorial Director, Pantheon Books; Rich Johnson, Co-Publishing Director, Yen Press; Bill Schanes, V-P of Purchasing, Diamond Comic Distributors
Submissions
General. Water~Stone Review is accepting submissions through December 10th. Novel excerpts are accepted but all submissions are limited to 5000 words.
International. All the way from Hong Kong, Yuan Yang is looking for short stories in English. Submissions are now until Dec 3.
Literary. JMWW wants fiction for the winter issue. They’re looking for “ strong characters whose motivations are not always known to us but can be explained within the confines of common sense. We like surprise endings but not gimmicky ones. Any genre is accepted as long as the story is well-crafted.”
Literary. Oracle, Brewton-Paxton College’s lit mag, is looking for stories (4000 word limit) for their spring issue. Deadline is February and they ask for first American Serial rights.
Literary. A very topic focused magazine, you are here: the journal of creative geography, is looking for mss about what place means to you and the differing perceptions of place. The deadline for the next volume if January 20th.
Books. Denlingers is closing its doors in 2008. Pedlar Press is only taking submissions from Canadian authors.
Revolving Door
Taunton Press: Don Linn, former owner and CEO of Consortium will succeed Jim Childs as publisher.
Free Press: Starting next week, Hilary Redmon will leave Viking to join Free Press as a senior editor.
Doubleday: Religion editor-in-chief Trace Murphy has been given the additional role of associate publisher, reporting to Doubleday Religion director Kevin Tobin. His assistant Darya Porat has been promoted to assistant editor.
Norton: Brendan Curry and Tom Mayer have both been promoted to associate editor. Mayer will be acquiring books on literary, cultural, and historical subjects.
Little, Brown Children's: Rachel Wasdyke has joined as a publicist. She was previously an assistant publicist at Bloomsbury Children's.
Ballantine Books: Kate Collins has joined as a senior editor, reporting to editorial director Linda Marrow. She was at Pocket, focusing on women's fiction, historical romance and romantic suspense.
Atlantic Books: Founder Toby Mundy will become ceo and publisher, while continuing to acquire 10 to 12 books a years. Deputy managing director and sales and marketing director Daniel Scott will become managing director; publishing director Ravi Mirchandani becomes editor-in-chief; with both reporting to Mundy. Sarah Norman is being promoted to editor, and the company will hire a new sales manager.
Granta Magazine: Adelaide Docx has been appointed US associate editor. Alex Clark has been hired as deputy editor. For the past two years she has been the Observer's deputy literary editor.
Grand Central Publishing: Jaime Levine has been promoted to executive editor. She's been with the house for ten years.
St. Martin's Press: Jason Pinter is leaving to focus on his career as a novelist and Lyons Press editor Ronnie Gramazio has left editing to pursue other related fields in New York.
Market Info | Revolving Door
11/2/2007 2:59:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, November 01, 2007 |