Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: Confession Time

I hope that most of the time, these Thursday posts are upbeat, optimistic, and even inspirational. I’ve certainly received some wonderful feedback on last week’s post, for instance, both in the comments and offline, and that cheers me. But some weeks, it’s a little more difficult to find and focus on the positive. I guess this is one of those weeks.

Here’s a sampling of this week’s writing-related challenges and/or disappointments:

  • Although I’d sent myself multiple draft/test versions of the July Practicing Writer newsletter, when the actual newsletter went out to subscribers yesterday morning, ye-olde-spacing-gremlins returned with a proverbial vengeance. I always want the newsletter’s appearance to be as flawless as I can make it (to match the excellent content, of course!). So that was disappointing. (If you’d like to see a “clean” copy as it was intended to be published, please click here. As usual, you’ll find many paying calls for submission and no-fee competitions for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction listed, in addition to all of our other newsletter goodies.)
  • I found out that I did not win a fellowship I applied for months ago. I didn’t really expect to win this particular fellowship, but wouldn’t it have been nice if I had?! Perhaps I should add that I also received a couple of rejections on more typical submissions this past week–but at this point, those barely make me blink.
  • As much as I love the Fridays-off part of my day job’s six-week summer schedule, I am finding it a little tougher than usual to adjust to the longer M-Th workdays. Simply put, the days really do feel longer. I’m tired, and I’ve been finding it more difficult to squeeze in writing, workouts, or anything fun on the margins of my workdays. (And yet, I know how lucky I am to even have a day job!)
  • Yesterday, the Jewish Book Council sent me an email saying that they’d received the initial round of requests for authors from most of its NETWORK members. Suffice to say that the requests for me and Quiet Americans were underwhelming. So that’s a big disappointment. (On the other hand, maybe I’ll be able to use all of those banked vacation days for a residency or for a New York-based “staycation” that allows me to do some research for my fledgling fiction project.)
  • And last, but not least, today (June 30) closes out the second quarter of the year, which means that I’ll soon be able to begin calculating my quarterly contribution to The Blue Card. As you may recall, sales of Quiet Americans dictate the size of the contribution, and thanks to the author-friendly structure of my book’s micropress publisher, I already know that I’ll be able to give The Blue Card less than half of what I sent last quarter.
  • Of course, as a certain literary heroine was wont to pronounce, tomorrow is another day. Things are likely to look up soon (and they’re really not that bad in the first place). Thanks for indulging me today!

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • Charging admission for bookstore events. What say you?
  • On The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Arts & Academe blog, Elise Blackwell spotlights independent presses.
  • Natalie Wexler wonders if characters must be likable.
  • Unsure about connecting with editors on social media? Consider this.
  • In a similar vein, check out these sensible tips from Kelly James-Enger on how not to make a freelance friend.
  • Nice shout-out from the NewPages.com blog re: a new literary journal, Adanna. (I have a poem in the inaugural issue.)
  • Until tomorrow, everyone can access all contents of the Publishers Weekly Fall Announcements issue (excellent for book reviewers seeking a heads-up on new titles).
  • And once again on a related note: Coffee House Press has a lot to share about its “Fall Fiction Preview, BEA Recap, and Fall Fiction Galley Giveaway.”
  • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

  • Opportunity for a long-form nonfiction writer: “Gothamist is interested in adding long-form non-fiction features to our website. Since we’re new to this game, we’re going to dip our toes in the water slowly, by publishing a single feature next month. How it will work: We will pay one journalist $5,000 to write a long-form non-fiction piece in the 5,000 to 15,000 word range. Subject: Something relevant to our audience of over one million 20-36 year-old readers in New York, timely but with a shelf-life longer than a week. We’re open to any topic, although we would like something that could be well-illustrated with photos or infographics. We’ll cover the editing and production and then publish the piece to the various eBook singles platforms (Kindle, Apple, etc.) with a reasonable price: $1 to $3. Then we’ll handle advertising the piece on our NYC site. If this experiment makes a profit, we’ll share them with the writer once we’ve recouped our initial costs. Will this work? We’re not sure—but we want to find out.” Proposal deadline is coming up fast: July 1. (via GalleyCat)
  • Since I’ve long believed that “To Build a Fire” is one of the all-time great short stories in existence, I’m sorry to share news of a fiction contest named for its author only a few days before the July 1 deadline! But better late than never, right? From Up Here magazine (Canada): “Can you spin gruesome, harrowing and heartfelt tales of misadventure and drama in the spirit of legendary Klondike gold-rush era adventure writer Jack London? If yes, we want to hear from you. Here’s your chance to write the next best North of Sixty adventure story. The contest is open to all, and the winning story will be published in the September 2011 issue of Up Here. Along with publication, the first-place author will win $750, second-place wins $250.” (Prizes are presumably conferred in Canadian dollars.) There is no entry fee. (via @femministas)
  • Attention, Britons: English PEN is offering “a fulfilling three month internship from July to September/October 2011, working on a range of challenging issues with a diverse team based in an exciting new centre for literature, literacy and free speech.” Even better: This is a paid internship! Application deadline is July 1. (Are you getting the idea that July 1 is a popular deadline date? I sure am!)
  • Underwired publishes personal essays (800-1200 words) every month and is always looking for new contributors. Essays should somehow relate to the chosen theme for the month and be on topics of interest to women. Underwired buys one-time rights, and payment is $100.” Upcoming themes include “The Budget Issue” (deadline is–wait for it–July 1) and “The #5 Issue” (the latter celebrates the publication’s fifth anniversary). (via @femministas)
  • Do you know about The Evertalis? “We accept flash fiction (max. 1000 words) and short poetry such as haiku, senryu, tanka, Englyn etc. We will also accept non-formalist and custom construct short poetry no longer than 15 lines – it is expected that your submission has a gradient of surrealism, or at the very least is not overly conformist to any specific genre.” Pays: $10/poem and $.01/word for flash fiction. No simultaneous submissions. (via Duotrope.com)
  • From the Community-Word Project: “CWP is looking for energetic teaching artists who are committed to bringing the best, high quality arts programming to grades 1-12 in NYC public schools. In addition to dedication to practicing their own art form(s), Teaching Artists (TAs) interested in working with CWP must be 1) committed to working with young people from underserved communities, 2) committed to continually improving their teaching practice and 3) interested in collaboration and experimentation with other artists and art forms, as our residencies are multi-disciplinary and designed and implemented by two teaching artists (i.e., writer and visual artist) working in collaboration with classroom teachers.” Apply by July 5.
  • By this time next week, The Practicing Writer newsletter will have gone out to nearly 3800 subscribers. As always, it will be packed with opportunities and submission calls. Are you on the subscriber list?
  • Southern New Hampshire University seeks a Digital Publisher, Northwestern University (Ill.) is looking for an Associate Director of Editorial Content, and Duke University (N.C.) is advertising a position for an Associate Director of Communications.
  • Friday Find: Social Media Tips from Shelley Hitz

    When I give a presentation on social media strategies for writers at the Manhattanville College Summer Writers Week next Thursday, I’ll be citing lots of online resources that I’ve found helpful. Among them: a free 10-day e-course, “Social Media in Just 15 Minutes a Day,” from Shelley Hitz (also known as the Self Publishing Coach). True, even 15 minutes a day can really add up if you utilize all of the social media platforms (15 minutes for Facebook+15 minutes for Twitter+15 minutes for LinkedIn, etc.). But that worry aside, the e-course provides quick, clear, and common-sense guidance. Scroll down this page to sign up.

    Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday!