Random House Update/Poetry Seminar and Contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: A study from Britain's National Literacy Trust says that literate people are more likely to be happy.

Random House Publishing Group announced this week that it will "decentralize" trade paperback publishing. Individual publishers and imprints will manage their own trade paperbacks and publish books through their full life cycle: hardcover, eBook, and paperback. Jane von Mehren, trade paperbacks publisher, is leaving the company after more than eight years. She leaves behind an impressive track record in a broad range of categories. She edited Jamie Ford's Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, a book I highly recommend if you have not already read it.

The International Writing Program’s virtual poetry seminar will be offered free to 15 selected applicants. January 28, 2013 is the deadline to submit your application. The online 7-week course begins in February. The course will be conducted in English, but international writers are encouraged to apply.

Spirit First Poetry Contest
Deadline: January 31, 2013

1st/2nd/3rd prizes: $175/$125/$75

Limit of three poems per author
No entry fee

Spirit First’s 4th annual meditation poetry contest seeks previously unpublished poetry of any length and any style but must have a theme of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or silence.

Book Marketing/Poetry Anthology

Writer’s Thought for the Week: A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.  ~ John Barrymore 

Book Marketing: If you have a book to market or writing a book is one of your 2013 goals, here are 21 book marketing tips courtesy of BookMarketingBuzzBlog.

LEAF PRESS Poetry Anthology

Deadline: January 30, 2013

Pays: $50 CAD plus one copy

Takes reprints

Seeks poems for an anthology about the newly born, the almost born, the journey in-between. “We are interested in thresholds and liminal states; in moments that transcend global cultures. We welcome poems from all the continents, asking only that they be accompanied by a translation to English. We may be able to help, in some instances, with translations.”

Resolutions and a Poetry Contest

Thought for the Week: We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~  Edith Lovejoy Pierce 

I don’t normally bother with New Year’s resolutions, but my productivity faltered in 2012 because I lost my focus and took a scattered approach to submissions. My 2013 writing resolutions help me focus on what I really want to do and where I’ve had good results in the past. They are:

1. write magazine articles for both print and e-pubs

2. write nonfiction pieces for anthologies

3. schedule weekly time to work on my novel (includes both historical and writing research) and hopefully complete a first draft by year-end

4. dabble in flash fiction or a short story when the muse strikes

5. create a more professional web site

The third one qualifies on only one count – it’s what I want to do and now feel I must do. I started a historical novel several years ago but never finished. I became bogged down in research and felt I needed to work on my craft by writing short work first. 

I’ve kept the book on the back burner so long it’s boiling over and blocking me from other things. By scheduling a fixed amount of time to work on it, I hope to keep it simmering as a side dish for nonfiction. Don’t all cooks experiment now and then?

What are your writing resolutions? If you have resolution block, check the the list Joe Konrath accumulated over the years.

If you’re still procrastinating about the social media January bootcamp I mentioned last week, you have until midnight Dec. 31 to sign up. (The sponsor is on the U.S. West Coast, so presumably that's western standard time.) I’ll be there.

CHA POETRY CONTEST

Theme: Betrayal

Deadline: January 15, 2013
No entry fee

Each poet may submit up to two unpublished poems (no more than 80 lines long each). Cash prizes and publication in the March 2013 issue of CHA for three winning and up to five highly commended poems. 

Pays via PayPal, which handles currency conversions.

Social Media Smarts

I don't know about you, but I'm still learning how writers make the best use of social media. If getting more social media savvy is on your list of 2013 resolutions, check out the January bootcamp offered by Renegade Writer Linda Formichelli and Carol Tice of The Writers Den and Make a Living Writing.

It's a series of 4 one-hour live sessions with emphasis on LinkedIn and Twitter, and includes a critique of your social media profiles. If you can't make the live sessions, recordings and transcripts are available soon after the calls end. I've attended two of their bootcamps and can tell you they pack a lot of information in them so the downloadable recordings come in very handy.

Between now and Dec. 31, the cost is only $97, which also includes a one month membership in the Writers Den, giving you access to their previous webinar recordings and other writer resources. The Den is currently closed to new members except for people who sign up for this class. The nonmember  price goes up to $197 as of January 1, 2013. You can check out the details here.

Literary Magazines that Pay

Writer’s Thought for the Week: Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

LITERARY MAGAZINES

I often read that unknown writers should submit to literary magazines to help further their careers. Agents and editors read them, we’re told. What bothers me is the “no pay” feature of many of these publications.

Want an easy way to find out which ones pay? There’s a handy list of them at The Review Review.

Getting Ideas/Micro Fiction Contest

Thought for the Week: Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes? Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys." ~ Jim Rohn

IDEAS

Do you ever run out of ideas? Need a plot twist for your novel or inspiration for new stories to write in 2013? Maybe this list of prompts can help.

 

THE MICRO AWARD
Deadline: December 31, 2012
No entry fee

Prize: $500 US

The Micro Award is presented annually for a work of prose fiction 1000 words or less, written in English, of any genre. Stories considered for the 6th Annual Micro Award must have been published originally in 2012. Qualifying venues are any form of print or electronic publication designed for public display. Self-published stories are eligible.

Digital Imprints/Short Story Contest

Writer's Thought for the Week: Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. ~ Lenore Hershey

RANDOM HOUSE has three new digital imprints in addition to Loveswept:

        Loveswept  romance and women’s fiction

Alibi     mystery and suspense

Hydra   sci-fi, fantasy and horror 

Flirt     new adult

Although there is no official word count limit, the editors are interested in short submissions (15,000 to 30,000 words) and full-length works (40,000 to 60,000 words.)

ANDERBO SHORT STORY CONTEST

Deadline: December 31, 2012

Award:    $500, trophy, and publication on Anderbo.com

For an unpublished short story 3,500 to 5,000 words

No fee; limit of one submission per author.