Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Calling all editors
...of online zines:
Opened up my most recent digest from Wom-Po, and found, among other offerings, notification of a Best of the Net anthology, in the works, and being organized by Erin Elizabeth Smith, founder and editor-in-chief at Stirring, which has been around since 1999. Yes, it's an online anthology. But it seems one well worth engaging.
Don't forget to follow the guidelines. Of course.
Have I mentioned how much I value Wom-Po? Really not flashy, the core of it is a basic list-serv, but very much a go-to source for information on poetry.
Good luck to all in their submissions--tchitch
Opened up my most recent digest from Wom-Po, and found, among other offerings, notification of a Best of the Net anthology, in the works, and being organized by Erin Elizabeth Smith, founder and editor-in-chief at Stirring, which has been around since 1999. Yes, it's an online anthology. But it seems one well worth engaging.
Don't forget to follow the guidelines. Of course.
Have I mentioned how much I value Wom-Po? Really not flashy, the core of it is a basic list-serv, but very much a go-to source for information on poetry.
Good luck to all in their submissions--tchitch
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
It's Just Possible
...that the following stats may be of interest only to me, but as I'm considering writing up a blog entry detailing my experiences from the inside of an independently run literary contest, I thought I'd offer this little tidbit from inside Triplopia's Best of the Best contest: as of the deadline of midnight, Pago Pago time, May 31, we received a grand total of 81 entries. This for a contest that purposely did not stipulate what constituted a previous first place win in a literary contest as a prerequisite. Grand prize, $100, no entry fee charged. What's compelling about these 81 entries, however, is that if a strict reading of the contest guidelines is adhered to, 37 would be eliminated without being read.
We're being more generous about that. This time around.
This is why I enjoy working on the zine. That's about as clear a case as I have ever encountered for following the guidelines when seeking publication, and the hands-on nature of the lesson is something that I respond to strongly. In the hands of a more well-positioned editor, nearly half of the contest submissions would be eliminated without having even been read. That means by reading the rules, and structuring your entry to fit them, there's a good chance that you've already moved into the top 50% of the entries.
That's well worth considering when you're putting your next submission package together, whether it's a contest or not. Time doesn't permit me to make the same observation about general submissions, but I highly suspect that the numbers aren't all that different from what they are in a contest.
I'll write more about the process once we're a bit closer to completion.
We're being more generous about that. This time around.
This is why I enjoy working on the zine. That's about as clear a case as I have ever encountered for following the guidelines when seeking publication, and the hands-on nature of the lesson is something that I respond to strongly. In the hands of a more well-positioned editor, nearly half of the contest submissions would be eliminated without having even been read. That means by reading the rules, and structuring your entry to fit them, there's a good chance that you've already moved into the top 50% of the entries.
That's well worth considering when you're putting your next submission package together, whether it's a contest or not. Time doesn't permit me to make the same observation about general submissions, but I highly suspect that the numbers aren't all that different from what they are in a contest.
I'll write more about the process once we're a bit closer to completion.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Piss Midget
Another YouTube link, and yes, I can relate.
Shamelessly lifted from Miss Snark, whose blog is a source of regular entertainment, and not just a little solid information.
Shamelessly lifted from Miss Snark, whose blog is a source of regular entertainment, and not just a little solid information.
