June 24, 2009 | Call for Submissions, In General, Teen Writing Buzz, writing

Youthful Wisdom Press is providing a writing opportunity for teens. We are looking for teen writers to contribute to our monthly newsletter:

~ MUST BE a student between the ages of 13-18

~ Material MUST BE writing related (tips, how-to’s, writing routines, how you got started writing, etc)

~ Material can be up to 800 words MAX. Please use the Word Count feature. Material exceeding this requirement will be deleted.

~ Multiple submissions are allowed.

~ Please thoroughly edit and proofread your work before submitting. Material with excessive typos and bad grammar will be deleted.

~ Please send your submissions to: info@youthfulwisdompress.com with “YOUTHFUL MUSINGS NEWSLETTER” in the Subject Line. Send your material in a Word attachment. In the body of the email, please include the following: first name and initial of last name, age, name of school, grade, city and state, valid email address. We will notify you when your material will be published.

~ If you submit, you MUST subscribe to the newsletter.

NOTE: There is no monetary compensation for submitting your material. This opportunity is to hone your writing skills. This is subject to change.

Technorati Tags: Youthful Wisdom Press, writing opportunity for teens

June 24, 2009 | In General, What Not To Do...When Contacting A Publisher

I’m creating a new category called “What Not To Do…When Contacting A Publisher” based on an email I received the other day from an author. I’m sure we’re going to get real doozies every once in a while, so I’m creating a venue in which to remind aspiring authors what not to do when contacting publishers.

Today’s episode of “What Not To Do” is brought to you by: J. Fullerton

From time to time, we get emails from authors asking questions about our company and the process of publishing in general. We’re more than happy to answer them, as there have been good ones. However, the response to an email I received yesterday has forced me to speak out. The exchange started out nice enough…

J. Fullerton: How much does it cost to print and publish through YWP? and what other sevices does YWP provide? Contact please and discuss. Thank you.

My response: For an author, it costs nothing to print or publish through YWP. We are not a vanity press (like iUniverse or Author House). The only cost to the author would be buying copies of their books; and they do so at a discount. We provide a professional editor for their MS and about 50% of the publicity. We expect the author to do their fair share of publicity for their book because no one knows their work better. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thank you.

J. Fullerton: Ok so you could print my work for free but do i have to have a required amount of pages in order to my work published? Also if i publish what guarantees can you offer me?

My response: The questions you ask can be found on our site. Please take a moment to view the FAQ and Guidelines pages. Thank you.

until I got his response…

J Fullerton: Your website can say what ever it wants i wanted to ask you directly and get information straight from the you but thanks anyways…

I didn’t respond because at that point, I was done communicating with this person. However, I will take a moment to answer his questions now. There is never a limit on words in a book. You can write as much as you want and stop when you’re done, but know that once an editor gets to it, it’s going to be pared down quite a bit. Some publishers prefer to set a limit on how big of a manuscript they’re willing to work with and will therefore enforce a minimum-maximum word count.

This is how Youthful Wisdom Press works. We don’t want to take on Bibles. Just books.

As for what guarantees we offer: we guarantee that your book will be listed on BN.com and Amazon.com; and will be available to order through Baker and Taylor, Ingram, BWI Books and Brodart. For the record, all this information is on our website.

What you don’t want to do when contacting a publisher, Mr. J Fullerton, is question their ethics. Especially when you’re communicating with the owner of the company. What you’re going to find, with both small and big publisher websites, is that the content reflects how they do business. Information isn’t slapped up there for our own amusement.

What you’re also going to find, Mr. J. Fullerton, is that if the answer to your question is already on the site, you will be redirected to the site. That’s another guarantee I can offer you. FAQ and Guidelines pages exist on publisher sites for a reason. If for some odd notion you believe the content on a publisher’s site is a complete lie (as implied in your email), then you don’t need to be submitting your material. To anyone.

Based off of this email, we would have declined to work with this author had he queried his material. We want to have long-lasting relationships with our authors and a big part of that is based on respect. I can’t respect you if you don’t respect me and what I do.

Simple as that.

Technorati Tags: Youthful Wisdom Press, BN.com, Amazon.com, Baker and Taylor, Ingram, BWI Books, Brodart, J. Fullerton

June 15, 2009 | In General, writing

Annette Lyon over at Writing on the Wall had a great post last week about rejection. Although the post is referring to rejection in the form of querying to agents, this can also be applied to the submission process in general–whether you’re querying to an agent or directly to the publisher.

Ms Lyon stated:

…not only does rejection happen, but it will happen. Plan on it. Being rejected is part of the business.

If you want to make writing a career, in whatever form of writing you decide, you will have to develop a thick skin. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. No one is going to say yes in the first round. If they do, see it as a stroke of luck, but don’t expect it to happen all the time. In fact, expect rejection. That way, you’ll be more appreciative when you get accepted.

…you have to do the work first. Work hard on your writing. Make your manuscript shine. Write several books to hone your craft.

Not only do I run YWP, but I write young adult fiction as well. I have two books under my belt and am currently working on a third. By the time the second book came along, I could see I had grown as a writer and others could see it, too. As an aspiring writer, you should never keep your writing eggs in one basket. Never assume that your first book will sell. And never assume that the first or second draft will be perfect. It might not happen, and it’s never perfect after two revisions.

It’s best to always have a few stories under your belt, or to be working on few projects at the same time. I wish I could be in a creative frame of mind to juggle projects, but alas, my brain is a one-thing-at-a-time organ.

Never take rejection as a sign that you should stop writing. It may be a detour, a pause, a yield sign. Maybe a moment to take another look at your work or your query to see if you can improve.

But it doesn’t mean it’s time for you to give up.

There have been stories of authors getting over 100 rejections before finally getting accepted. For just one story? It’s possible. Maybe it was after submitting several different projects. Believe it or not, rejection letters can be a good thing. Especially when they come in the form of constructive criticism. Something is always better than nothing.

Just as Ms Lyon says in her post, there are many reasons why your work will be rejected. It’s going to feel personal because they’re rejecting something you slaved over for months/years. The best thing you can do is throw yourself a little pity party, pig out on a pint of your favorite ice cream…and keep on going.

Technorati Tags: Annette Lyon, Writing on the Wall

June 15, 2009 | In General, writing

Julie Wright over at Writing on the Wall had an interesting post last week about following directions . I’m not talking about finding out how to get from point A to Point B. I’m talking about reading instructions and being able to follow them.

Ms Wright stated:

Submission guidelines are important because they prove you are flexible, easy to deal with on a personal level, and they prove that you can take direction. Being an independent thinker with your submissions might make you feel empowered….but it won’t make you look like you’d be easy to work with….It’s a first impression thing. Make your first impression count and follow the submission guidelines when you submit.

Ms. Wright brings up a good point. Being a new publishing house, and working with the age group for whom we plan to publish (young adults, ages 13-18), we’re already seeing signs of authors not following instructions.

I can understand where these aspiring young writers are coming from. “Wow, there’s a place where someone like me can get my stories published.” There’s a lot to see on our site and I imagine not all of it will be read.

However, the most important pages that should be read a few times over–in our opinion–is our Guidelines Page and our FAQ Page. How material is submitted really does depend on whether or not we request to see more.

To date we have received:

~ Query letter with a writing sample included.

~ Query letter for a novel exceeding the requested word count.

~ Query letter sent to the Submissions email address instead of the Queries address.

~ An email asking about whether the author should go ahead and query even though their work isn’t completed.

These mistakes could have been avoided if the author had just taken the time to read the Guidelines Page. Again, given the age range we’ll be working with, we gave these authors the benefit of the doubt and responded. Based on some of the questions that have been asked, we’ve even made some changes to website content.

However, on the whole, if authors don’t submit per our guidelines, emails will be deleted. Guidelines are there for a reason. Follow them.

Technorati Tags: Julie Wright, Writing on the Wall

June 15, 2009 | Call for Submissions, Submission Sundays

BARBARA MANDIGO KELLY PEACE POETRY AWARD—

NO FEE FOR YOUTH ENTRIES ($15 for adults).
The Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award is an annual
series of awards to encourage poets to explore and
illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit.
The Poetry Awards include three age categories: Adult,
Youth 13-18, and Youth 12 & Under. Deadline July 1, 2009.
Awards: Adults - $1,000, Youth (13 to 18) - $200, Youth (12
and under) - $200. Open worldwide. Poems must be in English.

—–

KENTUCKY STATE PARKS 85th ANNIVERSARY POETRY CONTEST
Kentucky Department of Parks
c/o Poetry Contest
500 Metro Street - 10th Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601
—
Poem theme must be related to natural, cultural or historical
resources of Kentucky State Parks. Examples might be like:
–pioneer life at Old Fort Harrod State Park
–geological formations at Natural Bridge State Report Park
–past or present day battlefield at Perryville Battlefield
–general or in-depth observations of flora or fauna at any
park, or feelings for Kentucky State Parks as a whole. Visit
some parks for inspiration.

Age groups (as of November 2, 2009)
–11 and under (maximum 36 lines)
–12-18 (maximum 60 lines)
–19 and up (maximum 60 lines)

Does not accept offensive poems. Prizes include:
–$50 KY State Park gift card + certificate for first
place in each category
–$25 KY State Park gift card + certificate for second
place in each category
–2009 book, The Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks
+ certificate of award for 3rd place winners in each
category.

All winners and honorable mention choices, ages 18 & under,
will receive a coupon for one free admission to a park fort,
museum, or historic site of their choice. All winners and
honorable mention submittals will be posted on website as
well as potentially displayed as part of traveling exhibit
in select state parks throughout 2010. Deadline November 2,
2009.

—–

NRA CIVIL RIGHTS ESSAY CONTEST
—
The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund(NRACRDF) is once again
sponsoring an essay contest celebrating the Second Amendment
as an integral part of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The theme for the essay is “The Second Amendment to the
Constitution: Why it is important to our nation.”

Essays will be judged in two categories: Senior (grades
10-12) and Junior (grades 9 and below), with separate prizes
awarded to the winners in each category. First prizes are
$1,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds; second prizes, $600 in Savings
Bonds; third prizes, $200 in Savings Bonds; and honorable
mention, $100 in Savings Bonds. Deadline December 1, 2009.

Technorati Tags: BARBARA MANDIGO KELLY PEACE POETRY AWARD, KENTUCKY STATE PARKS 85th ANNIVERSARY POETRY CONTEST, NRA CIVIL RIGHTS ESSAY CONTEST