by Annalisa Parent | Aug 25, 2020 | How to Publish, Publishing Opportunities, Writing Opportunities |
Do you have a story or an idea about this crazy year that you want to share with the world?
As we try to make sense of all that has happened in 2020, writing is experiencing a kind of renaissance. According to The Guardian, a recent study found that adults in the UK have almost doubled their time spent reading this year. 
And more reading means more opportunities to publish.
In many ways, it’s a good time to be a writer.
People want to read about how others are experiencing the global pandemic. They want to learn about social justice and hear stories from new perspectives. Future historians are sure to spend lifetimes studying the moment we are living through right now. The writing that is published today will one day become vital primary sources, quoted in textbooks, and memorialized in museums.
Share your story, go down in history, and add a publication your portfolio.
Here are three publications publishing stories, memoirs, essays, poems, and artwork about the coronavirus pandemic and global social justice movements. Deadlines for some of these are at the end of August 2020, so hop to it!
Deadline too tight? Not the theme you’re looking for? We put out a curated list of the latest publishing opportunities each week. Be sure to check back here in 7 days for more submission calls! Or, you can get on our mailing list to have this list delivered straight to your inbox. Never miss a publishing opportunity again.
Who they are: Journal of the Plague Year was founded in 2020 by renowned American environmental journalist Susan Zakin. They publish writing about the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to understand, document, and react to this unprecedented time.
What they publish: News articles, letters, memoirs, essays and poetry about coronavirus.
Pay: As a new journal, they are not currently offering pay, but state that if they get enough donations they “may change that policy.”
Read their guidelines and submit your work here.
Who they are: “Superstition Review is the online literary magazine published by Arizona State University twice yearly in May and December.”
What they publish: Art, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. For this issue, they want work about social justice. Pieces should “promote inclusion and explores new ways to dismantle racial and social inequality.”
Deadline: August 31st, 2020
Word count: Up to 4,000 words for fiction and nonfiction.
Read their guidelines and submit your work here.
Who they are: This is a journal about nursing, but they pay for personal essays.
What they publish: “Personal stories exploring any aspect of nursing, health, or health care. While many are accounts of memorable nursing experiences, we also welcome the patient perspective, as well as that of other health care professionals.”
Word count: 800-850 words
Pay: $150
Read their guidelines and submit your work here.
Want professional editing and feedback before submitting? Run your work by an experienced writing coach. You can sign up for our five page review here so you can submit with confidence that your writing is in tip-top, publishing-ready shape.
Check out how our services helped Lauren get a short story published in an anthology:
by Annalisa Parent | Apr 10, 2020 | How to Publish, Uncategorized, Writing |
Are Agents still Open to Queries during COVID-19?
I have been seeing this question in our Facebook group Write to Publish and Sell Your Novel:
“Are agents still interested in accepting submissions and queries during this global pandemic?”
The answer is absolutely yes. Many of us are quarantines, spending much time at home, lounging in the living room. Well, guess what? So are the agents.
Like many of us, they are cozying up in their pajamas with the time to read. They’re not going out to lunch. They’re not going into the office. They’re not doing many of the things that we took for granted only weeks ago.
What does this mean? Agents have more time to look at those submissions, and more time to spend reading them, according to the conversation I’ve been having with some agents.
They’re still negotiating rights domestically and internationally. But instead of flying over to London to do it, they’re doing it over Zoom like many of us at this day and age. So, yes, they’re still busy, and certainly need your respect.
But now is a great time to be submitting your manuscript for traditional publication.
What happens over at the Writing Gym are conversations with literary agents and publishers. We’ve been able to get manuscripts on to the desks of the right people and they’ve been taking them in and it has just been wonderful.
And I’ve seen probably a dozen deals happen with agents that I know just last week.
So yes, agents are absolutely taking manuscripts–and they want good manuscripts. They don’t want something that you just threw together during some National Novel Writing Month; they want real quality manuscripts.
For those of you who are interested in publishing a novel–a fiction manuscript–in English and in the American market as soon as possible click here. Put yourself right into my calendar and we can discuss where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
Now is the time to get your publishing journey started and we are here to help make that happen.
Until next time. Happy writing.
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by Annalisa Parent | Mar 30, 2020 | How to Write a Novel, Writing |
Writing during a Time of International Crisis
As you obviously know, we are currently dealing with an international health crisis. People have a variety of feelings about it. Denial, stress, anger, fear, and panic–all of the natural things humans feel when they are faced with a crisis.
However, over here in the Writing Gym, we are all about being real and having real solutions.
I’ve been working with writers for a long time, and one of the most popular statements I hear from writers all over the world is this: “I wish I had the time to write.”
Here’s a new spin: you have been given the gift of time. What writers have always been wishing for is here. So use this time that you have been given to write.
But how?
Perhaps you can find 15 minutes in the morning or after the kids go to bed just to jot down some of your ideas. Think about it. 15 minutes? You could probably write at least 2 pages. If this goes on for a couple of weeks, you’re gonna have several chapters done by the time we are out of our homes, embracing one another and socializing in person once again.
So, please use this time wisely. It’s a real gift to write.
I’d like to give you a tip I usually save just for the Writing Gym members.
When you’re in moment of strong emotions, like fear, anxiety, anger, write it down. Write exactly what you’re feeling. Write it all down and then save that. Save it in a notebook, in a file on your computer. Title it “uncertainty” or “fear” or whatever emotion you were feeling while you were writing. You’re creating for yourself a bank that you can go back to.
Maybe 5 years from now, you’ve got a character who’s feeling really uncertain but you’re not sure how to convey this emotional authenticity into your piece. Well, you’ve created a bank for yourself where you can access a distant memory of that emotion.
Here’s the thing. At the Writing Gym, we always want to reframe things positively. Let me reiterate.
You’ve been given the time to write and you’ve been given the gift of emotional authenticity to really add to your writing.
Take care. Happy writing.
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