Literary Journals/Memoir

Thought for the Week: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~ Winston Churchill 

JOURNAL OF THE MONTH

We can subscribe to all sorts of “of the month” clubs: book, fruit, cheese, wine, or even pig. Now we have literary journal of the month. Editors often read literary journals to find new talent. Interested in writing for literary journals but can’t afford to subscribe to more than one? If you live in the USA or Canada, you can sample more than one journal by subscribing to Journal of the Month. For $33, you receive four different journals. You select the frequency – one every month, every other month, or quarterly. Other options are available, up to 24 journals for $170. I’m going to give it a try.

MEMOIR(AND)

http://Memoirjournal.net/submissions

http://www.memoirjournal.net/downloads/submission-guidelines.pdf

The current reading period ends August 16, 2012 at noon Pacific Time.

No entry fee. One entry per author per submission period.

Seeks memoir in prose, poetry, or graphic form. Does not accept previously published work but does accept simultaneous submissions. (A personal blog is not considered previously published.)

Prizes: $500/$250/$100 and publication.

Organization/Fantasy and Sci-Fi Contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.  ~ Lawrence Kasdan

TWO WAYS TO ORGANIZE

Whether I’m researching for my nonfiction work or sorting out details for my “someday novel”, organizing and reorganizing notes and information can be tedious. I’ve yet to find the perfect answer, but here are two options I’m exploring. Both have versions for Windows and Mac.

Evernote is free software that lets you save notes, audio, images, and web clippings. It automatically synchronizes between your computers, iPad, phone, and the Web. You can even access your notes from your mobile phone as well as e-mail a note to a special address that you can retrieve on your computer. You can set up separate notebooks for different types of notes as well as assign multiple tags to individual notes.

Scrivener is a combination word processor and project management tool. You can outline, use virtual 3-by-5 cards, structure and restructure your work using the virtual “corkboard” feature, and more. It even has some scriptwriting features. Try it using the free download. If you like it, the Windows version is $40 and the Mac is $45.

How about you? Any tips on organization you’d like to share?

STONETHREAD FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION CONTEST
 

Deadline July 31, 2012
No entry fee.

Seeking fantasy and sociological science fiction short stories (1,500 to 15,000 words) to create an anthology in Ray Bradbury's honor. Previously unpublished fantasy or sociological SF only. You may enter as often as you wish, but each entry must be in a separate e-mail. All winning entries will be included in the StoneThread anthology.

Winners will receive a free copy of the anthology, plus 1st Place: $50; 2nd through 6th: $20; Honorable Mentions: $10.

Are Traditional Publishers Getting the Message?

Today, Penguin announced the acquisition of  self-publisher Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI). Penguin’s CEO stated, “Self-publishing has moved into the mainstream of our industry over the past three years. It has provided new outlets for professional writers, a huge increase in the range of books available to readers and an exciting source of content for publishers such as Penguin. No one has captured this opportunity as successfully as Author Solutions, which has rapidly built a position of world leadership on a platform of outstanding customer support and tailor-made publishing services.”

ASI consists of AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, and Hay House. Its revenues increased at an average annual rate of 12% over the past three years. The company provides publishing, marketing, and distribution services, with the majority of its income coming from services to authors.

You can read the full press release here  http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pressrelease/asi_071912.html

Media Privacy/Poetry Contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you. ~ Mortimer J. Adler

PRYING EYES

When signing up for various social media, I try to check on what access they seek to my personal information. That’s not always easy to determine, and sometimes privacy policies change. To see who has the ability to snoop or post on your behalf, go to mypermissions.org. It’s free.

OPEN AGES POETRY CONTEST
http://www.poetryinstitute.shawbiz.ca

http://www.poetryinstitute.shawbiz.ca/htdocs/forms/contest%20rules%202012.pdf

Deadline: July 31, 2012.
No entry fee. One entry per poet.

Open to poets from Canada and USA.

Submit one poem, 24 lines or less.

Prizes: 1st $500; Five 2nd prizes ($50/each); Ten 3rd prizes ($25/each)

Free time tracking/Call for prose poems and flash

Writer’s Thought for the Week: The best kind of writing, and the biggest thrill in writing, is to suddenly read a line from your typewriter that you didn't know was in you. ~ Larry L. King

Myhours.com has free web based time tracking software for both personal and business use. Currently it’s free, but in the future they will charge for business accounts. The personal account features are all a writer should ever need. If you are billing clients by the hour, the software adapts to different country date and currency formats.

The Marie Alexander Series is open to submissions during the month of July. An award of $500 and publication will be given for a chosen collection of prose poems or flash fiction written by an American writer. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages, one poem per page, along with a cover letter with complete contact information and an SASE for notification only.

GalleyCat/Zoetrope Short Fiction

Writer’s Thought for the Week: “A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.” ~ Helen Dunmore

MediaBistro has GalleyCat, a list of almost 1,000 writers who visit bookclubs. It’s in a spreadsheet format so you should be able to download it and sort it by different categories. Book clubs are often a good way to promote your books.

ZOETROPE ALL STORY Short Fiction Contest

Open for submissions July 1 to October 1. Accepts all genres of literary fiction, 5,000 words or less.

1st/2nd/3rd prize: $1,000; $500, $250.

Entry fee: $20 per story

The prizewinners and seven honorable mentions will be considered for representation by William Morris Endeavor, ICM, Regal Literary, the Elaine Markson Literary Agency, Inkwell Management, Sterling Lord Literistic, Aitken Alexander Associates, Barer Literary, the Gernert Company, and the Georges Borchardt Literary Agency.

Results will be announced at the website December 15 and in the Spring 2013 issue of Zoetrope: All-Story.