Submitting 101!

Guest blogger and exquisite poet/writer Jillian Phillips knows a thing (or eleven!) about getting her work out there and read. Check out this great essay of advice she's written so you can get your work in print and noticed as well:

Submission: Or, 11 Shades of Trying to Get Published

As I continue to submit my work to journals in the hopes of getting published, as well as reading submissions for other journals, I have come to learn a few things about the process. Every “how-to-publish” article gives you the same rules and tips. I am going to reiterate some of them, because there is always someone who hasn’t heard them yet or just doesn’t get it and needs to hear it again. I am presenting these learned lessons in a list to keep them organized. They are in no particular order.

THE BASICS:

1. No matter how many times it gets said, some people just don’t pay attention. The easiest way to get rejected? Typos. Proofread your work! You have pored over your work, agonized over its composition, and finally gathered the confidence to submit it. Do not make the mistake of forgetting to examine your submission like you would a strange-looking mole on your skin. Seriously, in a world where editors have to spend hours reading hundreds of submissions, the easiest way for them to decide between equally great works is to reject the one that spelled a word wrong or used “your” instead of “you’re”. Do not rely on spell check. It is NOT your friend!!! If you need convincing, YouTube “The Impotence of Proofreading”. (Yes, I spelled that right.)

2. Don’t send edits once you’ve already submitted. It should have been your best in the first place. However, revising is good. If it gets rejected, go ahead and throw in that new material before you submit it again. If you’re accepted without the edit, roll with it. You can always use that new material in something else.

3. Know who you are submitting to. Really read the journal. Most are online so you have no excuse for not getting a taste. And pay attention to what they want! Some journals want work similar to what they’re publishing; others, like RATTLE, want work that isn’t like what they’re publishing because they want to publish what’s missing. Which leads to…

4. Do. Your. Research. Be in the know. The easiest way to do this is to follow every journal that interests you on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Often, they will post submission deadlines, new works, and events. Sharing these is good karma and the bonus is that they occasionally post emergency calls. For example, I have seen several calls for creative nonfiction when the submissions they had already received were not up to par. Additionally, FB and Twitter offer suggestions of similar pages and people that you may not have known about. You need that information!!!

5. Read the submission guidelines. Twice, three times, and one more for good measure. Another easy way to get rejected is by not formatting your submission in the way the journal wants. For instance, some journals require a specific subject line for email submissions. It seems arbitrary, but when hundreds, perhaps thousands, of submissions are coming in, the easiest way to weed through them is by setting their system to reject or spam any email that comes in without that subject line. It’s not just about rejection, though. It’s about respect. If you cannot respect someone who is going to decide the fate of the work you put your heart and soul into by doing something as simple as following a guideline, you probably shouldn’t be a writer. Respect may not get you everywhere, but disrespect will definitely get you nowhere. (If you have questions, however, most journals are happy to answer them. Most likely because it demonstrates respect for them and shows that you are serious and professional.)

WHAT IS NOT IN WRITER’S MARKET, POET’S MARKET, ETC…

6. It doesn’t hurt to friend writers of similar genres on FB, Twitter, etc. Some are just awesome people to follow, but the benefit is that it keeps you in the loop of what is going on in your writing area (by that, I mean poetry readings, new books coming out, symposiums, conferences on your favorite topic, et al.) Also, the higher caliber of writer they are, the more likely it is that they edit something. Now, don’t take that to mean “If we’re friends, they’ll publish me.” That is arrogant. Even if you do submit to them, don’t expect them to pull strings. Be published on the merit of your work. But, having friends who are editors means you get to learn about publishing from their side. From posts about pet peeves to interesting articles to events they post, you will learn. Some may even be willing to give you advice. If you ask very nicely.

7. Another tip about getting to know editors/journals: read Duotrope Digest. Most writers know the benefits of this site (acceptance rates, submission trackers) but the editor interviews are incredible. You find their preferences, their pet peeves, what they’re looking for… things you may not get on other sites. Use it!

8. Submit other stuff. If you write fiction, consider doing some essays on craft or book reviews for journals, review sites, etc. While it may not get your creative work published, it serves other purposes: A) People will know your name when your creative work comes out eventually (many book publishers want to see this stuff, it’s almost mandated that you have a presence somewhere). B) By reviewing, at least, you learn how readers see work and how critics examine it. Developing that eye is going to help you.

9. (Also known as 7B) Consider volunteering as a reader for journals. It may give you a confidence complex seeing all the good stuff that’s out there (I’ve been there, it happens, you shall overcome), but using that critical information to your advantage will make you a better writer in the long run. It will teach you what editors are really looking for. Doing just this has made me pay more attention to my own work. I notice issues with my diction, when my images aren’t working together or hard enough, etc. It’s also made me more conscious of when my work is ready. Can it still be improved? Will I feel okay about asking someone to spend their time reading it when that time is precious?

10. Don’t let rejection get you down. It happens. Get crafty and use them to make lampshades or cute decoupage. Really, it happens and does not mean there is no hope for you or your writing. As a reader, I hate having to say “No, Editor, they just don’t seem right” but I honestly haven’t seen anything incredibly bad. If you get comments, listen to them. Readers and editors who care enough to send you comments and actually take the time to do so should be paid attention to. You may not agree with what they say, and that’s fine. But consider them.

And finally,

11. Take rejection gracefully!!! DO NOT write hateful letters, bash the journal, or threaten the editors. A) In the world of social media, word gets around. Don’t be the writer no one wants to work with. B) Honestly, being ass really doesn’t help you. It just turns you into an anecdote. I know an editor who received an email from a guy who said he hoped a poop-shaped meatloaf fell on her head… Judging by that half-assed image (haha, pun not intended), he probably deserved that rejection. I’m sure he could have done better if he had put more time and thought into it.

Strange & Wonderful

Thought you'd all like to know that the books are now available for purchase at a wonderful coffee shop in the antique district down South Broadway (1417 South Broadway to be exact). The owner's name is Frida and she is really great. Make sure and try one of her caffeinated concoctions and talk to her about what cool music and DIY events will be coming through there. There is always something going on! 

November Looms!

I know there are other VERY important deadlines between now and November (insert not-so-subtle cough...Cellar Door: Coloring Book on October 15! ah hem!) but has anybody started scheming and plotting a novel length wonder for this year's NaNoWriMo?

Myself and the brilliant folks of Metro State University's English Honors Society will be working hard to make for an unforgettable month of writing hijinx! 50,000 words will sing out from your laptop like nothing if you come and work with us at our campus events. Fact!

The DEADlines.

The deadline for all content (with the exception of illustrations) for Cellar Door: Coloring Book will be due by October 15. Submit your work through our fledgling website at www.beyondCellarDoor.com. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

A link to the original call for talent can be found in the right hand column.

Big Year Colorado

Today at Leela European Cafe (downtown Denver) our dear friend Jennifer Goodland will be hosting a photo show for her fantastic project, Big Year Colorado. She's been adventuring all around this great state photographing everything from ghost towns to festivals to derelict vehicles and hillbillies ("there are always hillbillies!"). You'll be able to see all her great work compiled into a book this coming September. Come get a preview of it tonight!

Search "Big Year Colorado" on Facebook and Twitter for more information on this project.

Writing the Ghosts (by Jillian Phillips)

      When I first became “serious” about writing poetry, I was all about being pastoral. I found beauty in nature, its simplicity inspired me and there was always plenty of opportunity to use it in various, non-complex ways. I began as the nerdy girl in the front of class, pretending I was taking notes while actually writing bland love poems about my crush du jour (and they were bad). It took years to move beyond my permanently unrequited loves and move towards subjects outside of myself. To write a poem about a tree or a pond became a major event, because it wasn’t about me. The irony is that I began to become uncomfortable talking about myself at all. I would sit in undergrad poetry workshops with poems about vocabulary, nature, you-name-it. Very rarely did I write about myself, and when I did, it was so bogged down with image and diction that I became a secondary focus, the language was what I wanted people to see.

     Flash forward to now, as I sit in the midst of a fantastic graduate program at the University of Nebraska studying for my MFA in writing (my focus is poetry, of course). Every semester, the students are paired with different mentors. These educators are not your typical profs; they are writers, publishers, editors, basically everything a writer wants to be when they “grow up.” Yes, they teach at other programs, and are fantastic, but what sets them apart for those of us in the program, is that they truly care about what we want to write, what we want to study. One girl in my program is the sweetest thing you’ll ever meet, but her dark writing literally gives me nightmares, she is that damned good! Her mentors will steer her towards the dark, grotesque-yet-eloquent writers that best exemplify the writing she wants to produce. Last semester, I wanted to work on developing a feminist voice and examine race, class, sex/gender roles; I read Ai, Plath, Rich, Lorde, an anthology called Gurlesque, and about twenty poets I had never heard of. It was fantastic. I evolved. I became comfortable with these subjects I wasn’t totally sure I was qualified to write about as a white, heterosexual, married woman with five kids. But I did it.

     So what do I want to write about now? My rage. My. Rage. There are writers out there who have made entire careers based on their personal lives. My concern is that I am not entirely comfortable writing about the dark places, and I am so scared of any writing that does come from those places will be too maudlin or, worse, too “flowery.” But I still want to do it. Why? Because no writer truly writes for him/herself, no matter what they say. They always want someone to read their work and connect to it, react to it, feel something. Like my dark friend, the fact that her work gave me nightmares is somewhat of a compliment because she knows that it stuck with someone. So how do I connect when I’m not even sure of what to say?

Here is what I know: there are poets and prose writers (prosets?) that have gone before me. There will be some Etheridge Knight, some Anne Sexton, Plath of course, Sharon Olds and others on my list that have explored/expressed anger in different ways. This is a good place to start, always find someone who’s doing what you want to do.

Second? I’m going to write crap. I believe it was Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird that recommends writing “shitty first drafts.” Now that is not to say that one shouldn’t even attempt to write something good before writing something awful, but that one should feel comfortable with imperfection. Remember this: no one will read your work until you deem it ready to be read. Take all the time you need to revise and make it into what you want it to be, but don’t be worried if it comes out like, well, shit, the first few times.

After that, I’ll cull some of my favorite parts and play around with them. At a lecture during my most recent MFA residency, Natalie Diaz presented a marvelous new technique: IEDs, Image Explosive Devices. These little sweethearts break apart that simple image you have, say, an apple, and blow it up into millions of pieces. Identify all of the things an apple is, all of the things it is not. What is the space it occupies, the space it does not occupy? From three pages of exploring everything you can about this one image, you can retrieve one or two amazing things about it that are completely new. When working with what scares you, a little explosion is always warranted, if only to pick it apart so much that it becomes almost meaningless, like saying “egg” over and over—after the 40^th time, does it even seem like a word anymore? Will this ghost that you’ve built up and given power to still be imposing when you’ve stripped it naked and dissected the corpse it came from? Maybe, maybe not. But there will be some amount of triumph and pride that you got through it.

Another idea to try is the extended metaphor. Write a poem (or story) that has seemingly nothing to do with the thing you are actually writing about. For instance, me being my pastoral self, I wrote a poem about a tree in a forest being overshadowed by a taller tree, shaking beneath it in storms, but never getting the light or water it needed to flourish and basically allowing the other tree to have all the power. It wasn’t about a frickin’ tree. It was about an abusive relationship where someone simply shrinks away and allows it to happen. Only one girl in my workshop got it. But she got it. That’s the person you’re ultimately aiming for, but if you’re scared to address something, do it by using a veil. Eventually, you’ll be comfortable enough to write the next “Daddy” (Sylvia Plath, I do love you so, no matter how cliché our love affair may be). You can’t get to the “Screw you/it/this/him/her/all of it,” without first clearing your throat a few times and mustering up the courage. Extended metaphor is a great thing to try for doing just that.

Finally, don’t be afraid to be funny. Remember that old adage, “If you’re scared to go on stage, just imagine the audience in their underwear?” While odd, and, depending on the audience, disturbing, it has a grain of truth to it. How often do we try to find the humor in the most serious things? At funerals, people tell happy stories about the dearly departed because they want to lighten the mood. It doesn’t cheapen their mourning, but provides an outlet for it. If something about your fear is ridiculous, be ridiculous. Heck, even Harry Potter learned that in Defense Against the Dark Arts (3^rd book, I think thing was called a boggart). Even if it doesn’t work, it may make you more comfortable.

In the end it comes down to the things we want to expose, and how we go about doing it. I am not entirely comfortable trying to write about things that upset me, but I look at it like this: if the ghosts are determined to hang around, they better damn well make themselves useful, give them a chore or two to earn their keep in the recesses of your mind and heart.

In closing, I’d like to share the obligatory anecdote of a writer’s life. I asked a poet to autograph her book, Boneless, for me after a great reading of her work and an amazing lecture on compression and the line. We hadn’t talked about any of this, but she took a couple of minutes in signing my book. You want kismet? Here is the inscription she wrote to me:

“To Jillian—With Pleasure in your wild spirit! Write what scares you—Jan Beatty, 2012.”

Amen, Jan. I plan to.

PALE CROW: Inaugural Issue!

Thanks to the efforts of D.Michael Kingsford and other members of the Cellar Door staff and friends, the first issue of Pale Crow is now available for your enjoyment, inspiration, and education! Pale Crow will be available at the beginning of each month. Its pages include reviews, serials, articles, horoscopes and a calendar letting you know about great local events.

You can get the current issue (and future ones) by clicking the links in the left column of this blog.

Make sure to send any letters, questions, comments and the such to us at Cellar.Door.Boo@gmail.com (for now).