"Submit" Buttons

It's a scary thing, pressing that "submit" button. When do you do it? When is the writing ready to go? Is it ever really ready to go? How can one possibly answer these questions, especially when there's still that one paragraph (or stanza, or word, or scene, or whatever) that you, the writer, just know really could be better, and will clear up the writing and all of it's faults.

Eventually though, that submit button must be clicked. It is the only way to ever be published - to send your work out to someone else and say "this is good enough for you to publish."

But, before you can ever click on that "submit" button, a long road must first be travelled. Okay, two roads: the work must first be written, edited, polished, etc. Just for fun today, I'm assuming all that work is done, and you, like me, have an itchy finger looking for a "submit" button.

Where is the elusive submit button found? Googling "submit writing for publication" brings up enough results to make a girl's head spin, not to mention the many results on that search that are irrelevant, unhelpful, or just plain scandalous (that is an incredibly helpful blog right there, FYI). So, where to start?

Start with your writing. What are you writing? Is it fiction? Poetry? A new and exciting genre no one's heard about yet? How long is it? Is it a novel? A short story? A collection? Each of these are treated differently, not to mention publishers tend to prefer if you've published in one before another. (I feel a series coming on here). Send your work to the right place. You really don't want to send the editor of a literary journal your 200,000 word epic fantasy. They just won't publish it. But your 2,500 word short story about ice-cream eating, motor-cycle riding monkeys? Could be the perfect fit, depending on the journal.

Think about yourself. Do you have any publishing credits? While your story or novel could be the next great American classic, it's not likely that the Atlantic Monthly or Knopf will come knocking on your door without previous credits. That doesn't mean you can't get in, just a warning to be realistic about where you're at, and who will be more or less likely to publish your work.

And, of course, don't forget to think about the publisher itself. Is it a place you would be proud to have your name alongside? Are you okay with online-only publication? Do you think your work should be in print?

There are so very many options out there for you to click a "submit" button, and so many more questions to ask yourself before clicking that button and sending your writing out into the world. I'll continue to go over this for my next few posts, and follow that path to clicking "submit" for shorter and longer works, different, publishing mediums, and whatever else comes up as relevant.

New Beginnings

We're back Boise!

Your Novel Orchard is back and alive again on the web, with new and exciting plans for the near and distant future.

What are these changes? You're reading one of them right here (twice weekly blog posts from a different board member). You want more changes? Stick around, and we'll tell you as they're implemented. Keep an eye out, you'll be able to spot some of them very quickly.

Now, writers, why don't you tell us what you're beginning is? Have a new story, or an old one with a new start? Or just something about your writing you want to share? Take the opportunity, and tell us and your fellow writers!

Floating

It's May 16th (though you're probably reading this on the 17th), which means we're just a month away from the deadline for submissions for Bites from the Orchard: Floats. This got me thinking about floats, and what they might be. I know I always think of a cool root beer float in a plastic Tupperware cup on my grandma's patio in the middle of the summer (even though I don't really like root beer).

Or, sometimes a cloud comes to mind. Floating from work to school to home to evening writerly activities. My horse's teeth that need floated.

Though, that's all just me. And I want to hear about you.

What gets you floating? What do you think of when you hear the word "float." We want to hear from you!

Think about a float, and everything that a float can be. Write us something about it. Send us an essay or a story or a poem or whatever it is that you think fits Bites from the Orchard. Check out the submission guidelines (we accept and consider all genres), and send it to us. We'll read it. And, if we like it, we'll print it, and your work will be available to read in a literary journal.

An extra hint: be sure to read all the submission guidelines. Make sure you save in the proper file format. And, if you have any questions, please ask. We like answering questions.

Can't wait to read all your submissions!