i might have a short story (actually one that's already been published in meanjin, and is available for your reading pleasure on the fiction sampler section of my site) published online soon, and i have submitted another piece (that i have been dying to see in print for as long as it's been written) to somewhere else. here's hoping they say yes. it's weird - this particular short piece has nearly been published two times. once it got through the first round, hence nearly making it into an anthology. then the second time it was accepted, typeset and matched with artwork - then the publication went under. so maybe this submission will be third time lucky for my little story...
ok, so anyway. like every other blogger, i was checking out my site traffic stats today and i saw something that made me go 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the same time. it seems that earlier this evening, my website was visited by someone from the bbc. the bbc! i love the bbc. i love pride and prejudice and meera syal and ha ha hee hee and white teeth and little britain and the office and gurinder chadha and colin firth and gurinder chadha and goodness gracious me and gurinder chadha and some of the kumars at no 42 and the bbc.
so whoever you are, if you do decide to come back, leave me a hello-message - that would be really, really nice.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
show & tell part II
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2 comments:
Congrats on the book deal!
I have a few novice questions for you, if you don't mind showing a wayward soul a pointer or two.
How do you go about shopping around your short stories to magazines or other publications? Is there a specific etiquette involved that will actually get your work read, even if you're not an established writer like me (as opposed to spamming tactics)?Should you copyright your work first?
Thanks, in advance
hey b.j., thanks for that!
apologies for the lateness of this reply...
now, as far as shopping your short stories around goes, it shouldn't matter if you are an emerging or established writer - most places ask that you only include your details on a cover sheet and not on evey individual page so they can judge each individual piece of writing on its own merits.
apart from that, the few pointers i can offer you are these:
- whoever you submit to, follow their submission guidelines. if there is a cover sheet, make sure you use it; if they specify not to email submissions, don't! make it as easy as possible for them to read your work.
- good places to find submission guidelines - a book called 'the writers marketplace' or something similar. your library should have a copy. also check online - there are a few sites that collate opportunities for writers. maybe also get in touch with/join your local writers centre.
- copyright - can't hurt to chuck a copyright symbol on your work somewhere. check out what rights you retain and what they get if your work is published.
- as for getting your work read, make sure it is in the best possible shape it can be in before you send it off.
- i know it sounds obvious, but triple check for spelling or grammatical errors! nothing will turn an editor off your work quicker.
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