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FLASH FICTION MAGAZINE CONTEST
flashfictionmagazine.com/contest/

Do you want to enter a writing contest and not waste your money? Would you like to get feedback on your story instead of a standard rejection?

At Flash Fiction Magazine, we know how valuable feedback is to writers, because writers run our magazine!

Every submission gets in-depth feedback. 

When you enter our contest, you'll get valuable developmental feedback from experienced editors who have read and edited thousands of stories. 

Every submission receives feedback that focuses on: 

Strengths: The editor will identify where the story is strongest and most effective. 
Weaknesses: The editor will address elements of the story that could be stronger. 
Revision Suggestions: The editor will provide suggestions for revising and editing.

Prizes: 
1st prize = $500, publication on the website and in a future anthology
2nd prize = $300, publication on the website and consideration in a future anthology
3rd prize = $200, publication on the website and consideration in a future anthology

FundsforWriters Discount - All FundsforWriters readers get $5 off their submission.
Use coupon code "fundsforwriters" when submitting. 

Learn More and Submit Your Story Here
 

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

I WROTE THIS BOOK. NOW WHAT?


An individual wrote me asking this in pretty much these words. They had a children's book out, a month or more old and hadn't garnered a single review. They asked how to get reviews and how to get their book on a list that others would see. 

So many writers push to get a book out then look around stymied and wonder, What now? Then a few weeks later when they hear nothing but crickets, they wonder, What happened?

I didn't read the book. That horse is out of the barn, and I didn't want to pass judgment on quality of work. I had to assume the book was edited and formatted properly and came off as professionally done. The cover was great. Then I replied with the following (no name listed because they don't need this kind of attention from the general public).   

Dear Friend, 

Afraid you didn't even tell me the book title so I could look it up on Amazon. I had to search for it using your name. Anyway, here you go on what to do from here.

1) Never write anyone without mention of the book (and link) in your byline/signature block.

2) Where is your website?

3) Where are you writing online to give attention to yourself?

4) Where are you speaking?

5) What makes you an expert and the right person to write this book?

6) Are you following other children's authors on social media/newsletters? 

7) Once you develop an online presence, have you requested already published authors to review the book?

8) Have you asked teachers and parents to review the book?

9) Are you giving out enough (free) copies of the book to reviewers? (Do not give the book to friends and relatives unless you are sure to receive a review. Unfortunately, those closest are the least likely to review.) 

10) Have you tried to put the book up for sale at local venues?

11) Are you writing articles for publications?

12) Have you tried to draw attention to yourself in local news and publications and chamber of commerce?

Think of it like any other business. The book isn't going to sell itself. You have to sell the book. 

I had to do a search for your book on Amazon. I found it. The cover looks appealing, but we have no idea what the book is about. You TELL us how it's a good book in the narrative, but you do not SHOW us by divulging part of the tale.  You also don't have an Author Central page on Amazon. As a minimum you need that. 

Lists are fine, but if you don't have an online voice, a website or schedule of appearances, they aren't going to want you. Lists want authors that promote the list in return, and have a reach. It isn't just about the book these days. You have work ahead of you. I see the book but there are no links to who you are, what people say about the book, where you will be presenting.

Start here. 

1) Do an Author Central page.

2) Get reviews. (There are a ton of teachers and librarians out there!)

3) Develop an online site via web and social media. 

4) Set up appearances. 

Hope this helps.
 - - - 

Here's hoping this list to this individual does you, dear FFW reader, a bit of good, too.

= = = 

NOTE: Update on a publisher listing. We've received two notices from authors who claim not to be receiving royalty payments from Propertius Press. Then we found these posts online with warnings. Thought you'd like to know. 

https://absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php?threads/warning-propertius-press.356053/
https://authorsguild.org/resource/publishers-that-have-failed-to-pay-authors-on-time/

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Featured article

Timing Your Query, Article, or Essay Can Enhance Acceptance

By Barbara Weddle

Pitching is an incredibly important part of freelance writing—as important perhaps as the writing itself. That being said, have you ever given thought to the timing of your query, article, or essay?  

Timing your query, article, or essay for a holiday, especially the big holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, is a no-brainer. You submit in plenty of time—say July—when many editors begin planning for their November and December issues.   

Here’s a little tip: During a current holiday—Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, New Year’s Day, and even lesser holidays—I am always alert for stories or articles and jot down highlights of that particular holiday I feel will make interesting articles or stories for the following year’s holiday. 

For example, one year I scribbled a few notes about a tractor/hay ride on a family farm, taken on Christmas Eve. I later wrote “Yuletide Tractor Ride” which was purchased by Northern Ohio Live. 

On the same note, a road trip taken through Georgia one year at Christmas (jotting down notes) to visit a military son was published in Country recently, and “Aunt Gracie’s Valentine,” a story about discovering a vintage valentine card my deceased aunt had hidden away from someone who had courted her after her husband passed away, was published in Smoky Mountain Living https://www.smliv.com>contribute.  

Some stories, without firmly marked boundaries pertaining to specific holidays, also benefit from timely seasonal targeting. My story, “Caboose,” for example, a story about a summer evening as a child waiting with my parents at a railroad crossing in my father’s 1950 Ford sedan for a train to pass, and “Southern Bookstores,” a story about a leisurely drive through the South checking out small independent bookstores during summer were both submitted in time for summer magazine issues because they took place in summer. 

Likewise, my story about sitting around an old coal stove in winter was targeted for mid-winter and, thus, submitted in late summer. And a story for Creation Illustrated https://creation.com>creation-magazine-writing-guidelines about Canada geese nesting on a frozen river was submitted in mid-summer for the magazine’s winter issue.

There are those queries, articles, or essays for which timing rarely, if ever, applies—long-form personal essays, creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry submissions, to name a few. However, there are also publications affiliated with universities close for the summer, so submissions need to be made during the academic year as the publications will not accept them any other time.  

When submitting an article query to a travel magazine, timing the proposed logistics of the article around an event in the city, town, or country in which you intend to write about is a good idea. For example, tying in Keeneland’s (as in Keeneland Race Course) fall race meet (October) or its spring race meet (April) with a proposed travel article about Lexington, Kentucky, and its surrounding area, would go a long way in securing an assignment. And, again, the timing of your query submission itself is important; it should be submitted at least six months in advance of the events. 
 
The timing for your submissions on articles or essays about sports can be advantageous, or, in some cases, completely irrelevant. A story I wrote for Your Teen Media https://yourteenmag.com/, for example, mentions baseball throughout; however, even though baseball is played in summer, baseball wasn’t the theme, but being a good coach was. So, submission timing was irrelevant. On the other hand, a query for a short sidebar on the Packers’ tradition of players riding bicycles with children to and from training-camp practice was submitted in plenty of time to allow the article, though short, to be researched and written before the July practice season began. 

Some aspect of timing comes into play with nearly every query, article, or essay you submit and can mean an acceptance or not, so it is wise (and beneficial) to always consider that facet of your marketing strategy.  
  
BIO: Barbara Weddle is a self-taught freelance writer whose stories, articles, and essays have been published in magazines such as Earth Island Journal, The Blue Mountain Review, Unity Magazine, and many others. Twitter @BarbaraWeddle8 
 

7819715 © Sabri Deniz Kizil | Dreamstime.com

5239308 © Magdalena Å»urawska | Dreamstime.com

COmpetitions

OMNIDAWN POETRY CHAPBOOK CONTEST
https://www.omnidawn.com/contests/omnidawn-poetry-contests/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 13, 2023. Prize is $1,000 and publication with twenty copies. Online submissions are accepted from around the world. Minimum 25 pages and maximum 45 pages. 

GRANUM FOUNDATION PRIZES
https://www.granumfoundation.org/granum-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 1, 2023. The Granum Foundation Prize will be awarded annually to help U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works. Additionally, the Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated into English by a U.S.-based writer. Competitive applicants will be able to present a compelling project with a reasonable timeline for completion. They also should be able to demonstrate a record of commitment to the literary arts. One winner will be awarded $5,000. Up to three finalists will be awarded $500 or more. One translation winner will receive $1,500 or more. Only U.S. residents 18+ are eligible for funding, and prizes must be spent in the U.S. Funds cannot be used specifically for travel or for study at an educational institution. At this time, we are not accepting screenplays, stage plays, or children’s picture books.

POETRY ONLINE PRIZE
https://www.poetry.onl/chap-fell
$9.90 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 15, 2023. The winner will receive $1,000 stipend, publication (Print, audio, & eBook), 10 complimentary copies (from a first-print run of 125), $200 budget for licensing cover artwork through the press. For the fellowship, the winner will curate new authors for one month of poetry.onl’s literary journal. In July 2024, the winner’s chapbook will be published by Poetry Online imprint offline.onl. The winner will also work alongside staff to simultaneously release an audio-book version of their chapbook.

PAMET RIVER PRIZE
https://yesyesbooks.submittable.com/submit
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 1, 2023. The Pamet River Prize is a nomination-based contest open to first or second full-length books of poetry or prose by women-identifying writers, gender-queer writers, and native writers. You may nominate your own work or the work of others through June 30, 2023 or until Submission Cap of 400 is reached. Submit a sample consisting of a) 10 poems, b) single story, or c) a section of a novella, memoir, or short novel. Maximum length of sample: 20 pages. Semi-finalists chosen from nominated samples will be invited to submit full manuscripts. Winner will receive publication with YesYes Books, 40 author copies, $1000 (not treated as an advance), 15%-25% royalties, and $500 toward tour expenses. YYB may also offer publication to manuscripts beyond the winner. Those authors will receive everything listed above except that the $1000 will be an advance against royalties.

MASON JAR PRESS PRIZE IN POETRY
https://masonjarpress.com/1729-prize-in-poetry
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2023. Send us your book-length works of poetry. We tend to prefer work that pushes the bounds of literary norms. Submission cap: 500. The winner will receive a $1,000 award, contributor copies, and quarterly profit-sharing. The contract will stipulate all further details.

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

LONG NOW
https://longnow.org/ideas/pitch-guide/
Long Now is accepting pitches of essays, reported features, interviews, book reviews, shorter articles, fiction and poetry for Ideas, our living archive of long-term thinking. How did we get to now, a Long Now story asks, and where might we go from here? The ‘we’ of any Long Now story is ‘civilization.’ We’re after stories that apply this civilizational lens to inspire, educate, and surprise our readers across a variety of subjects and disciplines: climate change and the environment; the preservation of knowledge; the rise and fall of civilizations; the longevity of institutions; biotechnology and artificial intelligence; the history of science and technology; architecture, design and urbanism; the nature of time; space travel; globalization; migration; economics; governance; maintenance; and infrastructure (both physical and intellectual). Payment starts at $600 for features and ranges between $300 - $600 for essays, interviews, book reviews, science journalism, and news articles. We pay $100 for science fiction stories and $25 per poem (with a maximum of four poems per submission).

AUGUR MAGAZINE
https://www.augurmag.com/submissions/
Deadline May 31, 2023. Give us your most gorgeous fairy tale retellings, your most earnest and subversive fables. Introduce us to your beloved mythical creatures; your trans mages and gay knights; your deeply immersive worlds and dreamworlds and underworlds. We are interested in Fantasy that reflects the reality of our world, and strongly encourage submissions that reject or subvert the colonial and/or Western lens—especially by those with diasporic and/or existing ties to the space and culture they are writing about. We pay $0.11 cents (CAD) per word for short fiction (1000+ words), and a flat fee of $110 per flash fiction piece (1,000 words and under). 

AMBROOK
https://ambrook.com/research/writing-for-us
Ambrook Research exists first for farmers and agriculture professionals. We take their concerns and experiences as our starting point, and are interested in stories that address the practical, financial, and social impact of changes in the ag world. We're looking for relevant stories about modern agriculture. We're interested in innovative advances across the ag world, including from startups. We prefer stories that explain the industry trends that make a new company or technology compelling, over profiles of a specific company. authors — particularly subject matter experts — are welcome to submit op-eds, especially pieces that provide a clear argument on a topic or story we've covered recently. Ambrook Research rates will vary depending on writer experience and the complexity of a particular story, but generally fall between $0.50 and $1.00 a word.

KNOCK LA
https://knock-la.com/write-for-us/
Anyone can pitch to Knock LA, regardless of their level of published writing experience. We’re looking for pitches with a strong focus on LA (we will also occasionally consider articles on Southern California or the state as a whole). We pay on a sliding scale that generally tops out at around $200 an article.

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=Green-Building-%2526-Design&t=Journalist&jk=aaf7d4bbbd885c78
We are looking for freelance writers who are passionate about writing about architecture, buildings, and sustainability. Writers will be required to submit at least two pieces per week—all topics will be assigned by a managing editor and will be written based off a mix of independent research and supplied press releases and materials. We estimate these assignments to take approximately 6 to 10 hours a week depending on experience. Projected annual income is $12,000 USD to be paid in monthly milestones of $1,000. Articles run from 800 to 1,600 words and must be fully prepared in Wordpress—including uploading images, titles, meta info, and captions and following specific guidelines for SEO.

THE OUTLAW REPORT
https://outlawreport.com/
The Outlaw Report provides up-to-date and in-depth coverage of developments affecting cannabis legalization stakeholders in Eastern U.S. markets. Email ljdawson@theoutlawreport.com about DMV Cannabis. Rates between $100-300 per article of 300-1000 words. Accepts pitches on a rolling basis.

THE LEAD
https://thelead.uk/
The Lead is a micro-mag: a lean, mean site on politics, culture, and everything in between. We cover the sharp angles that define our life in the UK today: poverty, racism, climate change, corporate and government malfeasance, the breakdown of our healthcare system and the fracturing of the state. From villains to heroes, we're interested in all. Also welcomes pitches on education and criminal justice, or lack thereof; and on topics crucial but neglected. Rates start at £180 for an op-ed and go up from there. Op-eds are 800-1200 words, features 1500-2000 words. Main focus is the UK, but relevant global submissions welcome.

 

Publishers/agents

POETRY ONLINE PUBLISHING
https://www.poetry.onl/chap-fell
Deadline July 15, 2023. Through this reading period, April 15 to July 15, 2023, we will select: one [1] fellowship-winning manuscript for publication ($1000 honorarium, see more details below*) AND 
up to three [3] fellowship finalist manuscripts for publication ($100 honorarium, 100 print run, & 15 complimentary copies, per finalist). Manuscripts of poetry, visual poetry, and experimental writing are permitted. The manuscript will be published in April 2024 by our imprint, offline.only.

MCSWEEENYS
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/pages/submission-guidelines
Look hard at what they have published. They say no submissions right now, but that post was in March 2020, so I doubt it still applies. Humor is key. Accepts fiction and nonfiction and cookbooks. Complete manuscripts only. 

DOVER
https://www.doverpublications.com/faq/contacting-dover#EDITSUB
Please note that we do not accept submissions for original fiction, music, or poetry. Queries only. In the case of nonfiction book proposals, we prefer an outline, table of contents, and one sample chapter, if available (a complete manuscript is not necessary). Topics include Education & Reference, Math & Science, Picture Book, DIY, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Art, Nonfiction, Children's, Fiction. 

HARPER COLLINS UK 
https://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/getting-published/submissions/
Some of our imprints run ongoing open submissions, so you can send them your work without needing a literary agent. Other imprints run occasional open submissions periods, or even competitions to find new writers. These are advertised on social media so follow the imprints you think might make a good home for your work. Follow @HarperCollinsUK on Twitter too – we share news from across our whole company.

UNNAMED PRESS
https://www.unnamedpress.com/about
The Unnamed Press is a leading independent publisher of fiction and nonfiction, based in Los Angeles. Queries and submissions can be addressed to info@unnamedpress.com. Please include a manuscript. Look at the books published to see what they desire. The Unnamed Press publishes literature from around the world.

SOURCEBOOKS ADULT NONFICTION
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Much of our adult nonfiction is published under the Sourcebooks imprint, including areas like college-bound and study aids, self-help, history, memoir, social science, current affairs, gift books, and much more. Our submissions are currently OPEN to both agented and unagented projects. 

SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK ADULT FICTION
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Sourcebooks Landmark is our adult fiction imprint, featuring many styles and authors. With particular sweet spots in historical fiction, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and book club fiction. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion. 

SOURCEBOOK FIRE
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Sourcebooks Fire is dedicated to publishing quality, break-out fiction and nonfiction for young adults. We are passionate about producing books with authentic teen voices that create – and validate – the teen experience in all of its diversity, whether it's heart-wrenching romance, laugh-out-loud humor, intense and issue-driven drama, haunting mystery, thrilling suspense, or heart-pounding action. Bridging the commercial and the literary, our books have dynamic, engaging, and innovative storytelling that teens want to read, then share with their friends. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion.

SOURCEBOOKS JABBERWOCKY
https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-guidelines.html
Our flagship children's imprint, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky believes in engaging children in the pure fun of books and the wonder of learning new things. Focused on all things children's fiction, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky delivers unique voices, education and entertainment to the next generation of picture and board book readers. Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion. 

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