The IWSG exists to provide support for writers online. Get support, give support, meet fellow writer/bloggers. Just click on Alex's name above to sign up then post on the first Wednesday of each month. Be sure to visit others to lend your support, too!
Speaking of which, this month's co-hosts are Erika Beebe,Sandra Hoover, Lee Lowery, and Susan Gourley! Be sure to pay them a visit.
This month's optional question: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?
Honestly, everything that's happened has been a learning experience that's gotten me to where I am now. The only thing I can think of right now is to not let anything you learn or experience deter you from your writing journey. It's fine to take a break and digest things, but always come back to your art.
Before I jump into the announcements, it's time for my monthly submissions. Each month for IWSG, I post my submissions stats to keep myself accountable. In July:
6 submissions
2 acceptances
4 rejections
11 currently on submission
We at the IWSG have a surprise for you this month. We're announcing the anthology theme a month early!
The 2018 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest
Word count: 3500-6000
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Theme:
Masquerade
A Masquerade can be a false show or pretense, someone
pretending to be someone they aren't. It can be a ball, a fancy dress party, it
can be a mask. Open to interpretation.
Submissions accepted: September 5 - November 4,
2018
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted
(Double spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before
the deadline passes. Please include your contact details, your social links,
and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG
group.
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist
of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges who
will be announced September 5.
Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and
published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will
receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have
the honor of giving the anthology its title.
WEP posts are the third Wednesday of every second month, so the next posting is this month.
This month's theme is Change of Heart. Some suggestions for the theme are as follows:
- a
commitment made when a prospect looked attractive,
- a
decision on a course of action, and then regrets and reluctance to follow
through,
- an
engagement, a date, a diet plan, a chore someone said they’d do and didn’t
follow through,
- a
strip poker-game. Or maybe a gamble with super-high, panic inducing
stakes,
- a
break for independence that once made, gives pause for second thoughts,
- a bolt
for the grass-always-greener pasture and then wanting to vault-n-turn
right back,
- a
broken relationship where one/both parties regret the loss
- something
offered, then withdrawn.
*Flourish One, Horizontal Clip Art by OCAL, clker.com
23 comments:
Taking a break, stepping back, re-evaluating are good things to do once in awhile. Helps us see our writing path more clearly.
I'm taking a break this summer and putting my creativity into gardening. It's nice to actually finish something tangible for a change.
I've been on a long break. I need to get back into the swing of things...
I'm loving this year's anthology theme :-) I'm looking forward to taking a little break once I get the draft of my next book out to beta readers. But I have to make sure it isn't too long of one.
There is so much to learn it can be intimidating. And we keep learning all the time as we try to keep up with all the changes in publishing.
Great things are happening!
I stayed away too long and it's been tough to get back into the flow.
I'm always impressed by your submission schedule.
I'm still not back into social media as used to be, and I'm not sure I will return to my old schedule.
Yeah, learning through experience is what shapes us into who we are!
Some of those learning experiences I wish I could've avoided though.
Actually, I would tell people to stay away from vanity publishing.
There are a few things we can warn new authors away from...but everyone has to find their own journey.
Taking it all as a learning experience is a good outlook. I have had things that have derailed me, but I am trying to find my way back.
There are so many stepping stones along this journey but I haven't been deterred yet either :) Having too much fun!
It can be hard to filter out everything we learn. It can be overwhelming and distracting.
Cool! I hope that anthology cracks it all up!
Some beginners advice:
1) Finish stories so you get practice at all parts of the thing rather than over-exercising your ability to begin things.
2) Don't save ideas until you're "better." Write what's appealing now. Keep growing. You can write another version of the same idea later - if you don't wind up selling this one.
3) Submit. Don't self-reject; let editors and agents do the rejecting.
Yes, perseverance is the key to success for every artistic type. Nice post.
Great advice! Definitely important not to get deterred. And that's awesome how you received two acceptances this month. Congrats!
Nice post! I agree that a writer's number one job is to WRITE! Congrats on a productive July! Have a great weekend!
Hmm... the wheels are turning on WEP... let's see what my creative factory will produce!
https://lexicalcreations.weebly.com/
Excellent advice. So many writers reach points of frustration and think the answer is to quit. But it's not. Stepping away for reflection and rest is good, but we always need to come back to our passion.
I thinking about trying story for the anthology although not sure about the genre, but I may try anyway. Have not done WEP yet. Love the way you include the places accepting submissions. That is so cool. Happy belated IWSG day.
I'm debating penning an entry for the anthology. It's not a super serious thought because life right now is beyond ridiculous, but it is a thought, so that's something. =)
Great advice! Sometimes we just need to take a break and then get back to our art. :)
~Jess
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