Erica Verrillo's Blog, page 76

HarperOne Accepts Unagented Manuscripts for Digital-First Fiction Imprint

San Francisco, CA (November 10, 2015) – HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, today announced HarperLegend, a new line that seeks to discover and publish new authors of visionary and transformational fiction in the digital-first format. HarperLegend will publish visionary fiction from new voices that communicates wisdom, insight, and/or personal growth with an overarching theme of transformation. Submissions will be accepted online via www.HarperLegend.com beginning today.

For nearly four decades, HarperOne has been publishing books that transform readers, institutions, and culture. Though the bulk of these books have been non-fiction, HarperOne has helped to create a unique genre of transformational or visionary fiction with such titles as The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma, Buddha by Deepak Chopra, and Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard.

'Call them visionary fiction, spiritual novels, or just stories of change; these are books that not only move us, but transform and illuminate,' said Mark Tauber, senior vice president and publisher of HarperOne. 'We have seen the success of this type of fiction as we watch our sales grow and our authors' influence widen. As we can see from our colleagues at Avon Impulse, and often hear from our readers, digital-first fiction is growing.'

Submissions will be handled digitally via HarperLegend's online system and reviewed by the line's editorial team. If accepted, authors will obtain royalties for the e-book publication of their novels, access to HarperCollins's individualized editorial direction, and custom marketing and publicity guidance. Visit www.HarperLegend.com for more information.

What are they looking for?

"We want to read your visionary fiction. If you have a novel (or a trilogy or a series) that communicates wisdom, insight, transformation and/or personal growth, bring them on. We want fresh voices, great characters, compelling storylines, and original ideas and approaches. These novels may have many different stripes and flavors including Christian, Eastern, or general spirituality, personal growth, wisdom literature, fables, historical fiction, fantasy fiction even paranormal fiction as long it is transformational."

Bottom line

Pros: You get an editor, and you can say you've been published by an imprint of HarperCollins.

Cons: HarperLegend royalties start at 25% and rise to 50% after the first 10,000 copies are sold, which is not wonderful. They do not pay advances. As a financial deal this might be worth it if HarperLegend did any marketing or promotion. However, the most they offer is a packet to help you build your platform, distribution on ebook retail sites (Amazon, B&N, etc.), and the tantalizing possibility of perhaps offering your book in print if it does well.

The Martian: How did a self-published novel become a top-grossing movie?

The Martian, a film directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and starring Matt Damon, has grossed over $385,869,582 in less than a month. This is not an unusual occurrence in Hollywood. But how an obscure, self-published novel chock full of math and science ended up as a blockbuster certainly should be a question on every indie author's lips.


Like many authors, Andy Weir, a computer programmer, could not get an agent interested in his novel, The Martian. Weir, the son of a particle physicist father and an electrical engineer mother, spent years researching orbital mechanics, conditions on Mars, the history of manned spaceflight, and botany in order to write his survival story about a man marooned on Mars. While clearly a work of fiction, Weir, to use his own words, "scienced the shit out of it." The novel is laden with enough math and science to defend his premise, which is that a man can survive alone on Mars.

The plot of the book (and film) is fairly straightforward. Astronaut Mark Watney is lost and presumed dead when a manned mission to Mars is hit by an intense storm. Abandoned by the rest of the crew, and unable to contact NASA, Watney uses his knowledge as a botanist to grow food in the mission's artificial habitat. He figures he'll need to survive for at least three years. (Think Cast Away, but without the volleyball.) Eventually, Watney locates an old probe and uses it to regain contact with Earth. The rest of the plot follows the twists and turns of various disasters, recoveries, and attempts to rescue Watney.

Since Robinson Crusoe, survival plots have been sure-fire hits among readers. There is something deeply engaging about an individual's fight for survival. I believe this is because it is a theme we can all identify with, and, at a metaphorical level, it is one we all experience. Yet, this story was rejected by every agent Weir contacted, probably because of all the science. Science and math are not considered "marketable." (Neither are long sentences and words containing more than two syllables.)

So, how did Weir manage to find an audience?

First, Weir posted his book, chapter by chapter, in serial form on his website. Then he published it on Amazon for 99 cents. After the book had gotten 35,000 downloads in less than three months, Weir was contacted by Crown and offered a contract. The rest is history.

If this story seems pie-in-the-sky to you, it is. In fact, it's a little like the hilarious Monty Python skit, "How to do it."

"This week on 'How to Do It' we're going to learn how to play the flute, how to split the atom, how to construct box girder bridges and how to irrigate the Sahara and make vast new areas cultivatable, but first, here's Jackie to tell you how to rid the world of all known diseases!" 

So, to paraphrase Monty Python, all you have to do is "write something marvelous, and when the world starts to take notice of you, you can jolly well write your own ticket." (Sadly, this is a commonly held delusion among young writers.)

To answer the question "How could Weir's story possibly be true?" I consulted with someone I gave birth to (Spawnling #2). I figured he could give me an insider's view of how on earth someone can end up with a movie deal after posting a novel on his website. After all, there are a billion websites out there. How did readers find his?

The answer, not too surprisingly, was to get onto a bigger platform. Spawnling #2 described reading a serialized book on a website after encountering it on Reddit (/r/books, to be precise). Reddit has a much deeper reach than most individual websites can muster. By garnering attention on Reddit, lots of people began talking about the book, and it gained a readership. (Go here for other writing-related sub-reddits.)

You may be tearing your hair out right now, wondering how your historical romance can possibly appeal to a bunch of 20-something males on the west coast. (That's Reddit's demographic.) The truth is, it probably won't. But there is always a platform (meaning a popular site) for the sort of people who will want to talk about your book. It is up to you to find where your demographic hangs out, and how to reach them.

I've made your job a little easier by assembling these resources:

Top 5 Sites for Science Fiction Writers

Top 5 Sites For Mystery/Thriller Writers

Top 6 Sites for Romance Writers

Top 5 Online Resources for Children's and YA Book Writers

Top 5 Sites for Historical Fiction

7 Agents Looking for Fantasy Writers

Here are seven agents looking for fantasy of all kinds, shapes and colors. All are from reputable agencies, which means they don't charge reading fees. (Never pay an agent to read your work.) All have brokered deals with established publishing houses, and all are seeking fresh, new talent.

Good luck!
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Mary C. Moore  of Kimberley Cameron & Associates

What she is looking for: Adult and YA fantasy and science fiction except dystopian. “If you’re submitting urban fantasy, please no vampires, angels/demons, or werewolves.”

How to submit: Query Mary [at] kimberleycameron.com. Include “Author Submission” in the subject line. Attach a one-page synopsis and the first fifty pages of your manuscript as separate Word or PDF documents.
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Sam Morgan  of Jabberwocky Literary

What he is seeking: “My tastes in fantasy generally run the gamut of the entire genre, but with a twist. I love epic and urban fantasies, but all of my clients approach those genres with a very weird eye. They see the unending beauty of the world we live in and go “yeah… this is great and all, but what if we had to deal with drunk dragons all the time?” I like fantasy that can be explained clearly in the title (i.e. Ryan North’s ROMEO AND/OR JULIET), brilliantly explained in a sentence (i.e. LAMB: Christ had a best friend named Biff and here’s their story), or can’t be explained at all without a map, index of characters, and a thirty minute symposium on the magic system (Discworld, Song of Ice and Fire, etc.)”

How to submit: querysam [at] awfulagent.com. Send the query and your first five pages pasted into the email. No attachments.

____________________ Lane Heymont  of The Seymour Agency

What he is seeking: "In fantasy, I’m open to most genres. High, urban, contemporary, or magical realism, but I love it dark, gritty, and believable. Also, English medieval societies have gone stale for me. Medieval times are great, but I’d like to see some different (read: multicultural) types of societies."

How to submit: Send all queries to lane [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail. Please do not query Nicole Resciniti (also on this list) if querying Lane.
____________________

Sara Megibow of kt Literary

What she is looking for: "In middle grade submissions, I love seeing fantasy novels because the magical world-building and heroic adventures seem to mesh well with the heroes and heroines of that age range. I love characters who are funny and confident and who love their parents. I love dragons, unicorns, magical swords and daredevil princesses. I also love urban fantasy with its awesome juxtaposition of the real world and magic – Michael Underwood has a heroine with a real light saber and Steve Vera has a gun battle on the New Jersey freeway – these are all good things. Avoid common tropes (portals, prophecies, sudden inheritances, super heroes) and go big."

How to submit: ”Please email your query letter and the first three pages of your manuscript in the body of the email to saraquery [at] ktliterary.com. The subject line of your email should include the word ‘Query’ along with the title of your manuscript. Queries should not contain attachments. We aim to reply to all queries within two weeks of receipt. In addition, if you’re an author who is sending a new query, but who previously submitted a novel to us for which we requested chapters but ultimately declined, please do say so in your query letter. If we like your query, we’ll ask for the first five chapters and a complete synopsis. For our purposes, the synopsis should include the full plot of the book, including the conclusion. Don’t tease us.”

_____________________ Evan Gregory of Ethan Ellenberg Literary

What he is seeking: “It’s time to break away from medievalism and embrace different mythologies, weirder magic, different worlds, different perspectives.”

How to submit: Please send submissions to agent [at] ethanellenberg.com to the attention of Evan. “For email submissions, we ask that you paste all materials into the body of the email in the order mentioned below. For example, if you were submitting fiction you would begin with a brief query letter, followed by your synopsis, followed by the first 50 pages of your manuscript. We will not open attachments.”

____________________ Emmanuelle Morgen of Stonesong

About Emmanuelle: Before joining Stonesong as an agent in January 2012, she was an agent at Judith Ehrlich Literary and Wendy Sherman Associates, and an editor at Fodor’s, the travel division of Random House. She enjoys developing long-term relationships with her clients, working closely with them to build their literary careers.

How to submit: submissions [at] stonesong.com addressed to Emmanuelle. Include the word ‘query’ in the subject line of your email to ensure we receive it and it isn’t filtered as spam. Include the first chapter or first 10 pages of your work, pasted into the body of your email, so that we may get a sense of your writing. Please note that Emmanuelle is closed to queries in December. We welcome queries from independent and self-published authors. If you have self-published your book and are interested in working with a publisher for future works, please include descriptions of published and forthcoming works, as well as information about sales and reviews. Our system is set up so that every email query receives an automatic reply confirming receipt. After that, we will be in touch only in the event we would like to request more material. This is because we receive such a volume of submissions that it is impossible for us to respond individually to every query. If you have not received a request from us within 12 weeks, consider that we have passed. If we request additional material, we will of course respond with a specific reply. Please feel free to follow up with additional news about your submission during the 12-week period.”

____________________ Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency

About Nicole: Nicole has been listed by Publisher's Marketplace as a top dealmaker in the country, and named ACFW's 2012 Agent of the Year. She loves discovering new talent and helping established authors to take their career to the next level.

How to submit: Send all queries to nicole [at] theseymouragency.com. The subject line should be “QUERY: (Title)”. Please past the first five pages in the body of the e-mail. Please do not query Lane Heymont (also on this list) if querying Nicole.

Top 5 Sites for Historical Fiction

Historical fiction enjoys a long and vital tradition in world literature. From Ancient Greece to the Ming Dynasty to 19th century Europe, writers have engaged in the task of reconstructing history. In some respects, fiction has had a greater influence over popular conceptions of historical periods than has nonfiction written about the same era.

If you write historical fiction, you are not limited by genre. Historical fiction sub-genres include historical fantasy, historical mysteries, children's historical literature, historically based graphic novels, the ever-popular nautical and pirate fiction, historical romance, and fictional biographies. To expand your reach, see the top resources in these sub-genres:

Top 5 Sites for Science Fiction Writers

Top 5 Sites For Mystery/Thriller Writers

Top 6 Sites for Romance Writers

Top 5 Online Resources for Children's and YA Book Writers
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Historical Novels website and blog 

This site contains tons of valuable information on how to write historical fiction, as well as ample resources for researching whatever time period you are writing about. A side bar contains links to time periods (centuries as well as specific eras), as well as geographic region. You can also search YA novels by time period.

Additional features include:
A list of more than 600 book reviews of historical novels, ranging from prehistory and the ancient world to World War IIBest novel lists and reviewer profiles Many author interviewsArticles covering a broad range of topics  A book release and review blog
Historical Fiction Online Forums

These forums are "a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction." Members can post reviews, reading logs, author announcements, helpful links. This is a very active site, with numerous discussion threads and posts numbering in the thousands.

The Book Blogger List

Looking for a review for your historical novel? The Book Blogger list contains thousands of review blogs - hundreds for historical fiction alone. The list is arranged in no particular order, and doesn't allow for refined searches by sub-genre, so it can be somewhat tedious to compile a list of potential reviewers. But, if you are arranging your own virtual book tour, this list will be invaluable.

Also see my List of Online Reviewers Who Accept Self-Published Books and List of Reviewers for Traditionally Published Books

Historical Naval Fiction 

If you are writing naval fiction, this is your go-to site. It reviews all the latest releases - fiction and nonfiction - and includes an author A-Z, a breakdown of books by sub-genre (e.g. naval fantasy, YA, pirates !), a book title index, and a book timeline where you can search books by time period. For writers, this site contains naval facts and images, a list famous officers, sub-genres of naval fiction, and an incredibly useful glossary of naval terms. To keep abreast of the most recent developments in naval fiction, sign up for their newsletter.

Historical Novel Society 

For historical fiction writers, joining the HNS is a must. Members receive a quarterly 64-page print magazine (available exclusively to members of the society) which includes reviews of every historical fiction novel published in the US and UK. Members also get discounts to the annual HNS Conference. The HNS sponsors several awards, including the HNS Indie Award for excellence in self-published historical novels. Membership costs a reasonable $50 US per year. There are 15 local chapters in the US and UK.

2 New Literary Agents Actively Seeking Clients

Here are two new agents actively looking for writers. Anjali Singh (Ayesha Pande Literary) is seeking character-driven fiction or nonfiction works, literary thrillers, memoirs, YA literature and graphic novels. Tricia Skinner (Fuse Literary) is looking for romance. Anjali Singh of Ayesha Pande Literary

About Anjali: Before joining Ayesha Pande Literary, Anjali Singh started her career in publishing in 1996 as a literary scout. Most recently Editorial Director at Other Press, she has also worked as an editor at Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Vintage Books. She is is best known for having championed Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis after stumbling across it on a visit to Paris. She has always been drawn to the thrill of discovering new writers, and among the literary novelists whose careers she helped launch are Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Samantha Hunt, Preeta Samarasan, Zoe Ferraris, Victoria Patterson, Natalie Bakopoulos, Enid Shomer and Brigid Pasulka. She is a member of the International Committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival.

What she is seeking: She is looking for new voices, character-driven fiction or nonfiction works that reflect an engagement with the world around us, literary thrillers, memoirs, YA literature and graphic novels.

How to submit: Use the agency’s online submissions form here:  http://pandeliterary.com/queries/
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Tricia Skinner of Fuse Literary

About Tricia: Tricia is an writer herself, author of the Angel Assassins trilogy and is represented by her fellow Fuse agent, Laurie McLean. Tricia is an assistant agent with McLean and she is also a project manager for Short Fuse Publishing. Tricia started writing as a business reporter for several publications, including The Houston Chronicle, MSN, and Investor’s Business Daily, before transitioning into media relations and then game industry relations.

What she is seeking: She is only looking for new romance clients.

How to submit: Email your 300-word-or-less romance query letter followed by the first 10 pages of chapter one (no prologues) in the body of your email (no attachments) to querytricia@fuseliterary.com. Response time is 2-4 months on average, but could be longer if they’re deluged.

6 Writing Conferences in November 2015

November is a sparse month for conferences. Holidays are approaching, and people are busy with their families.

Nevertheless, there are some good conferences this month. Next month's conferences span the country and feature pitch sessions with agents, discussions and lectures about writing and marketing, and faculties of writing and industry professionals.

Our motto is: BE PREPARED!! Before you attend a conference, consult these posts:

Valuable Tips for Pitching to an Agent or Editor

What's Your Book About? How to Make a Pitch

Pitches, Pitfalls, and Plotting - Four Authors Talk About How They Got Published

Getting an agent: Schmooze or you lose (How to find conferences in your area)
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Sanibel Island Writers Conference, November 5 - 8, 2015, Sanibel Island, Florida. Presenters: Steve Almond / Andrea Askowitz / Lynne Barrett / Dan Bern / Charles Bock / John Darnielle / Erica Dawson / John Dufresne / Wayne Falbey / Beth Ann Fennelly / Nick Flynn / Gina Frangello / Tom Franklin / William Giraldi / Jim Gustafson / Shane Hinton / Jay Hopler / Leslie Jamison / Kimberly Johnson / Steve Kistulentz / Christina Baker Kline / Kimberly Lojewski / Lyn Millner / Dito Montiel / Alan Michael Parker / Tom Piazza / Mark Powell / Margo Rabb / Deborah Reed / Ryan Rivas / Jim Shepard / Karen Shepard / Christopher Schelling / Darin Strauss /Jay Wexler. Cost: $500 (standard registration), $300 (students with current I.D.), $400 (BIG ARTS members). Limited to 150. 

Algonkian Writer Conference–Write to Market, November 12 - 15, 2015, Corte Madera, California. Lectures and discussions on writing and selling a novel, as well as an agent pitch session. Faculty includes fiction writers Michael Neff, Cary Tennis, and Penny Warner, publishing professionals David Cole and Isabella Michon, and agents Ken Atchity, Elise Capron, Elizabeth Kracht, Michael Larsen, Thao Le, Elizabeth Pomoda, Andy Ross, Pam van Hylckama Vlieg, and Gordon Warnock. Cost: $595. This event is limited to 50 writers. Please apply before completing registration.

San Francisco Write to Market Conference, November 12-15, 2015. "Pitch your work in pitch sessions and interact with top list-building agents who will be present to provide connection and advice in proportion to your needs; and in contrast to other events, you will be trained to properly pitch your novel prior to the sessions."

Connecticut Writing Workshop. November 13, Hartford, CT. “How to Get Published” is one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript. faculty so far includes literary agent Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary), Lane Heymont (The Seymour Agency), literary agent Penny Moore(FinePrint Literary Management), literary agent Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary).

Boston Writing Workshop. November 14, Boston, MA. How to Get Published” is one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript. Faculty so far includes literary agent Rick Richter (Zachary Shuster Harmsworth), literary agent Lane Heymont (The Seymour Agency), literary agent Ruben Pfeffer (Ruben Pfeffer Content), literary agent Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary), literary agent Ann Collette (Rees Literary Agency), literary agent Lana Popovic (Chalberg & Sussman), literary agent Amaryah Orenstein (GO Literary), literary agent Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary).

North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference, November 20-22, 2015, Asheville, North Carolina. Workshops and master classes in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures and panels on publishing and finding an agent. The faculty includes poets Tina Barr, Nickole Brown, and Katherine Soniat; fiction writers Robert Beatty, Tommy Hays, and Lee Smith; and creative nonfiction writers Christine Hale, Jeremy B. Jones, and Catherine Reid. Scholarships are available. The cost of the full conference is $200 or $250 (including meals) for members, and $300 or $350 (including meals) for nonmembers until November 13. Onsite registration is $450 for the full conference, $250 for Sunday-only attendance, and $350 for Saturday-only attendance.

29 Writing Contests in November

There is an impressive number of writing contests during the month of November, some of which offer substantial prizes.

Canadians can win $25,000 for their literary nonfiction. Two prestigious British prizes are awarding 30,000 pounds apiece, and Australian poets can win a $12,000 travel stipend to visit Ireland. 

In addition there are numerous smaller prizes for short stories, poems, creative nonfiction, non-creative nonfiction, essays, as well as prizes for books both published and unpublished.

Good luck!
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Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Restrictions: Open to citizens of the British Commonwealth. Genre: Unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English. Short stories translated into English from other languages are also eligible. Prize: Regional winners receive £2,500 (US$3,835) and the overall winner will receive £5,000 (US$7,670). Deadline: November 1, 2015. Read details here.

Jane Lumley Prize for Emerging Writers. Restrictions: The Jane Lumley Prize will only be awarded to writers who have not already published a full length book. However, they may have published a chapbook, and/or found a home for their works in other literary journals. Genre: Poetry. Maximum of eight poems (totaling not more than ten pages). Prize: $300 and winning entries will be featured in the January issue of Hermeneutic Chaos. Deadline: November 1, 2015. Read details here.

William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grants Program for Unpublished Writers.  Restrictions: Writers must not have published a book, short story, or dramatic work in the mystery field, either in print, electronic, or audio form. Genre: Mystery stories of the Agatha Christie type—i.e., “traditional mysteries.” These works usually feature no excessive gore, gratuitous violence, or explicit sex. Prize: Each grant may be used to offset registration, travel, or other expenses related to attendance at a writers' conference or workshop within a year of the date of the award (no later than May 2016). In the case of nonfiction, the grant may be used to offset research expenses. Each grant currently includes a $1,500 award plus a comprehensive registration for the following year's convention and two nights' lodging at the convention hotel, but does not include travel to the convention or meals. Deadline: November 1, 2015. Read details here.

Vermont Writers' Prize. Restrictions: Open to residents of Vermont. Genres: Short story, poem, play or essay on the theme of Vermont - its people, places, history or values. Entries must be unpublished and fewer than 1,500 words long. Writers may submit only one entry per year. Prize: $1,500 and publication in Vermont Magazine. Deadline: November 1, 2015. Read details here.

Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Restrictions: Canadian citizens only. Genre: Nonfiction book published between August 1 and September 30, 2015. Prize: C$25,000. Shortlisted authors receive $2,000. Prize: Deadline: November 2, 2015. Read details here.

Creative Loafing Fiction Contest. Restrictions: Open to residents of Georgia. Genre: Fiction. The story must incorporate “Space” in some way — as a theme, metaphor, or literal interpretation. Prize: 1st Prize $500, 2nd Prize $250, 3rd Prize $100; winners published in Creative Loafing. Deadline: November 2, 2015. Read details here.

Dylan Thomas Prize. Restrictions: Authors must be aged 39 or under. Eligible books must have been commercially published for the first time in the English language between January 1 and December 31 of the year in which the deadline falls. Genre: Published books of poetry, fiction (novel, novella, or short story collection), radio scripts, or screenplays. Eligible books must have been commercially published for the first time in the English language between January 1 and December 31, 2015. Prize: 30,000 pounds, plus 1,000 pounds for shortlisted authors. Deadline: November 2, 2015. Read details here.

Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Restrictions: Female authors of any nationality. Genre: Novel first published in the UK between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016, but may have been previously published outside the UK. Must be in English. Prize: £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a 'Bessie', created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Deadline: November 9, 2015. Read details here.

Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing. Restrictions: Titles must be published in Canada between September 9, 2015 and December 31, 2015. Self-published books are not eligible. Genre: A book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. Prize: Winner: $25,000; Finalists: $2,500. Deadline: November 11, 2015: For books published between September 9, 2015 and December 31, 2015 Read details here.

A Public Space Emerging Writer Fellowships. Restrictions: Open to writers who have not yet published or been contracted to write a book-length work. Prize: $1,000, 6-month fellowship, and a mentorship from an established author. Deadline: November 15th, 2015. Read details here.

Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize is sponsored by the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival. Genre: Non-fiction essay between 4 to 10 pages, set in Brooklyn about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. (Up to 2500 words). Prize: $500. Deadline: November 15th, 2015. Read details here.

Flo Gault Student Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Full-time undergraduate college students in Kentucky. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $500. Deadline: November 15th, 2015. Read details here.

Work Stew Writing Contest. Genre: List: "Ten Pearls of Hard-Earned, Work-Related Wisdom." Prize: $100 for Pearl #1. $60 for Pearl #2. $40 for Pearl #3. Deadline: November 15th, 2015. Read details here.

Arts & Letters Awards. Restrictions: Residents of the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Genre: Original creative work in literature, music, visual art and digital multi-media may be entered. Prize: $1,000.00 CAN. Deadline: November 20, 2015. Read details here.

We Said Go Travel Writing Contest. Genre: Travel essays of 500-800 words on the theme of 'Gratitude: A Place that Inspires You to Feel Thankful'. You may enter up to 5 essays with a photo. Entries must be unpublished and family-friendly. Prize: $500, 2nd Prize $100, 3rd Prize $50. Deadline: November 26, 2015. Read details here.

Princeton University Poetry Contest for High School Students. Restrictions: Student writers in the 11th grade. Prizes: First Prize – $500, Second Prize – $250, Third Prize – $100. Deadline: November 27, 2015. Read details here.

Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize. Genre: Poetry. Restrictions: Published Australian authors only. Prize: $12,000.00 AUS stipend for an Australian poet to visit Ireland. Deadline: November 27, 2015. Read details here.

Build Your Own Blog New Writer Scholarship. Restrictions: Students aged 16 years and up. Genre: Unpublished short story/poem/blog post/(Any written material you are proud of). Prize: $4,000.00. Deadline: November 29, 2015. Read details here.

Financial Times/Bodley Head Essay Prize. Restrictions: Open to writers 35 years old or under. Genre: Long-form essay. "We are looking for a dynamic, authoritative and lively essay of no more than 3,500 words on a non-fiction topic of your choice." Prize: £1,000, an e-publication with Bodley Head, and a mentoring session with the FT/Bodley Head. Two runners-up will each receive £500 and e-publication. Deadline: November 29, 2015. Read details here.

Fountain Magazine Essay Contest. Genre: Essay. 1,500 - 2,500 words. "Throughout human history, different periods have been captured by a defining theme: the Dark Ages… the Industrial Age… the Nuclear Age… the Information Age… the Space Age, etc. What do you think the theme of the 21st century will be? The age of connections? Rebirth of faith? Clash of civilizations? Age of the internet? Rise of fundamentalism? Interstellar travel? Gender equality? Human trafficking? WW III? Artificial intelligence? Genetics? Cooperation? Competition? Spiritual revolution? Secularism? Values? Ethics? … You may include as many topics as you think are relevant; the possibilities seem endless." Prize: 1st Place - $1,500, 2nd Place - $750, 3rd Place - $300, Two Honorable Mentions - $200 each. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Entry form and rules click HERE.

Best Translated Book Awards for Fiction. Genre: Any work of poetry or fiction published in translation for the first time ever between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. Prize: $5,000.00. Two awards of $5,000: one apiece for the author and translator of the winning book in fiction. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

Betty Trask Prize. Restrictions: Author must be a Commonwealth citizen. Genre: First novels, published or unpublished, written by authors under the age of 35 in a "traditional or romantic, but not experimental, style." Prize: Awards totaling 20,000 pounds. Top prize 10,000 pounds. The prize money must be used for foreign travel. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

Brunel University African Poetry Prize. Restrictions: Open to poets who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African. Genre: 10 poems exactly. Prize: 3,000 pounds. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

Encore Award. Restrictions: Open to British or Commonwealth citizens. Genre: Second published novel. Book must have been first published in the UK. Prize: 10,000 pounds. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

Hudson Review Short Story Contest. Genre: Short story. Prize: First prize is $500. Second and third prizes are $250. Winning stories will be published in The Hudson Review. All entries will be considered for publication. Payment at regular rates. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details  here.

Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers. Restrictions: Open to writers aged 16-18. Genre: Poem (1). Prize: Full scholarship to The Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop, an intensive two-week summer seminar for writers aged 16-18. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

Somerset Maugham Awards. Restrictions: Open to writers under the age of 35. Genre: Published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Prize: 2,500 pounds apiece to four winners. Prize money must be used for travel. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

UNT Rilke Prize. Restrictions: US citizens or residents. Open to authors with at least two prior published books of poetry. Genre: Book of poetry published between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015. Prize: $10,000.00. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry and Short Story Competitions. Genre: Poetry, short story. (No limericks.) Prize: Poetry: $200 in each language category (Welsh and English). Short Story: $200.00 (one English-language entry) Deadline: November 30, 2015. Read details here.

11 Calls for Submissions: November 2015 - Paying Markets

November is coming up fast! (New months seem to be happening a lot lately.)

Next month we have calls for speculative fiction, novellas, parenting advice, short stories, poetry, horror, creative nonfiction - so get cracking!

Tip: Plan your submission schedule ahead of time. Making a list of places to submit your work helps stave off "writer's procrastination."
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Spider Road Press: Approaching Footsteps: Four Novellas by Women

"We seek suspenseful, well-crafted fiction in which the plot strengthens the characterization and tension is maintained throughout the narrative. Novellas featuring protagonists from traditionally under-represented communities (people of color, people with disabilities, etc.) are particularly encouraged. Novellas should be quality literature, yet able to conform to the general themes of the suspense, mystery and thriller genres. One submission per writer allowed. We have a small staff, so it could take us until February to contact authors regarding acceptances and rejections."

Genre: Suspense novella

Length: 9,000- 13,000 words

Payment: $150,  three free copies of the collection, and a full-page bio and author profile on website.

Deadline: November 1, 2015
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Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice from Parents with Twins, Triplets and More

"Megan Woolsey and Alison Lee, both writers and mothers of multiples (triplets and twins respectively), are calling writers who would like to contribute a personal essay and/or advice on their experience with infertility, pregnancy and the first couple of years of raising multiples. Make us laugh, cry, think, and help us learn about multiples through your words."

Genre: Personal essay

Length: 800 – 3,000 words

Payment: $40 per essay

Deadline: November 1, 2015
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The First Line

Stories must begin with the first line: "George pressed the call button and said, 'Mrs. Whitfield, you have a visitor.' " (I find this to be an interesting concept.)

Genre: All genres

Length: 300 - 5,000 words for fiction or a 500-800 word critical essays about your favorite first line from a literary work

Payment: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction (all U.S. dollars)

Deadline: November 1, 2015
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Ellipsis

ellipsis… literature & art is the annual literary journal published by the students of Westminster College, Utah since 1965.

Genres: English language submissions in poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, and art

Length: Up to 8,000 words for fiction, up to five poems

Payment: $10/poem and $50/story

Deadline: November 1, 2015
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Those Who Make Us: Canadian Creature, Myth and Monster Stories

"We welcome stories about classic Canadian monsters, but Those Who Make Us will also explore how monsters from other cultures affect and are affected by Canadian landscapes. The cultural stories that shape our understandings of ourselves and our place in Canada are dynamic and Those Who Make Us will reflect the complexities of these interactions.

The stories submitted to Those Who Make Us may have their foundation in traditional forms of fairy tales, folktales, mythology, legends, and fables – but we will look for contemporary storytelling that goes beyond their foundations so that they represent personal or group identities, social commentary, evolving cultural norms, and history/future history. Those Who Make Us will challenge the idea of the Canadian identity."

Genre: Speculative fiction. All writers must be Canadian citizens (living in Canada and/or paying taxes in Canada) or permanent residents of Canada

Length: 2000 to 7000 words. Under 5000 is preferred.

Payment: 5 cents/word (CAD) for original fiction, and a contributor’s copy.

Deadline: November 2, 2015
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Third Order

Third Order publishes science fiction and fantasy short fiction that deals with faith and religion. There are no other requirements concerning plot, characterization, or genre.

Genre: Speculative fiction

Length: Up to 7,000 words

Payment: $25 per story

Deadline: November 15, 2015
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Shock Totem

"We’re not interested in hard science fiction, epic fantasy (swords and sorcery), splatterporn (blood and guts and little more), or clichéd plots. Clichéd themes are okay. We won’t turn our noses up at the sight of zombies or serial killers or vampires, but there needs to be something that sets it apart from the norm for us to seriously consider it."

Genres: Dark fantasy and horror—mystery, suspense, supernatural, morbid humor, fantasy, etc.

Length: Novels and novellas. Novellas must be at least 17,500 words in length. Anything less will be deleted

Payment: 50/50 split of the net income on all copies sold

Deadline: November 30, 2015
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Buffalo Almanack: Where Thou Art

"Where thou art…that’s a double question when you think of it. Not only do we want to know where you come from, what’s it like or why you love it/hate it, but we also want to know how your connection to that place informs your artistic vision today. As such, we’ve expanded our horizons to include creative non-fiction in addition to our usual fare of short stories and the visual arts."

Genres: Fiction, creative nonfiction

Payment: $100 apiece to the best work of writing and visual art – and a $50 consolation prize to a third runner-up of either genre

Deadline: November 30, 2015
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Vestal Review

Genre: Flash fiction only. Not looking for porn, obscenity or gore, so keep it fairly clean.

Payment: 10 cents/word for stories up to 100 words; 5 cents/word for stories between 101 and 200 words; 3 cents/word for stories between 201 and 500 words

Deadline: November 30, 2015
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SNAFU: UNNATURAL SELECTION

"Anacondas, piranha, giant crocodiles/alligators/lizards, mutated bears near nuclear power stations, prehistoric sharks. These are a few of my favourite things. All of these featured heavily in books and films of the 70s and 80s, when bio-horror was at its modern peak. For this anthology of military-bio-horror stories, we are looking for you to take us back to those days."

Payment: AUD4c/word and one contributor copy in each format released

Deadline: November 30, 2015
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Betwixt

"We particularly like stories that smash genre boundaries to smithereens, but we also love fresh takes on established genres and in-depth explorations of ultraspecific niches. Experiments in form and style are welcomed enthusiastically—but a straightforward narrative with tight, crisp language is just as beautiful. When it comes down to it, we want stories that will amaze us, astound us, provoke our thoughts, and boggle our minds."

Length: Stories of 4,000 to 7,000 words are ideal, but will consider a range from 1,000 to 30,000 words.

Genre: Speculative fiction of all sorts—fantasy, science fiction, speculative horror, slipstream, weird fiction, steam/diesel/cyber/etc.punk, you name it.

Payment: $0.03 per word up to $225, payable upon receipt of completed contract and author questionnaire. 

Deadline: November 30, 2015

19th Annual ���Dear Lucky Agent��� Contest for YA Fiction - No entry fee

In general I am not a fan of writing contests - unless they are free. If it's free you have nothing to lose.

A major benefit of contests is that nothing reveals your manuscript's flaws like submitting it for others to judge. (Usually, those flaws become glaringly obvious as soon as you hit the Send button.)

Another benefit, of course, is that you might just win.

The Writer's Digest contests in particular serve a very important function - they force you to look at the first page of your book. This page is often the only page an agent or editor will read. Before you consider submitting your manuscript anywhere, or even publishing it yourself, make sure that first page is polished.

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From Writer's Digest

Welcome to the 19th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a FREE recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you’re writing any kind of young adult fiction, this 19th contest is for you! (The contest is live through EOD, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.)

WHY YOU SHOULD GET EXCITED

After a previous “Dear Lucky Agent” contest, the agent judge, Tamar Rydzinski (The Laura Dail Literary Agency), signed one of the three contest winners. After Tamar signed the writer, she went on to sell two of that writer’s books! How cool! That’s why these contests are not to missed if you have an eligible submission.

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to dearluckyagent19@gmail.com [this email went active as of 9 am Monday morning]. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT (AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA REQUIREMENTS)

The first 150-250 words (i.e., your first double-spaced page) of your unpublished, completed book-length work of young adult fiction (all categories of YA are acceptable). You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any any social-media. Please provide a social-media link or Twitter handle or screenshot or blog post URL, etc., with your official e-mailed entry so the judge and I can verify eligibility. Some previous entrants could not be considered because they skipped this step! Simply spread the word twice through any means and give us a way to verify you did; a TinyURL for this link/contest for you to easily use is http://tinyurl.com/nz6n2p8 [this links is updated as of Monday morning — sorry]. An easy way to notify me of your sharing is to include my Twitter handle @chucksambuchino at the end of your mention(s) if using Twitter. If we’re friends on FB, tag me in the mention. And if you are going to solely use Twitter as your 2 times, please wait 1 day between mentions to spread out the notices, rather than simply tweeting twice back to back. Thanks. (Please note that simply tweeting me does not count. You have to include the contest URL with your mention; that’s the point. And if you use Twitter, put my handle @chucksambuchino at the middle or the end, not at the very beginning of the tweet, or else the tweet will be invisible to others.)

Here is a sample TWEET you can use (feel free to tweak): New FREE contest for writers of Young Adult fiction http://tinyurl.com/nz6n2p8 Judged by agent @ericsmithrocks, via @chucksambuchino

WHAT IS ELIGIBLE?

Completed young adult novels (any category is acceptable, from quiet contemporary to loud sci-fi and fantasy).

Please note that this is a contest for young adult fiction only. So if your book has a main character who is not in high school, it would not qualify for this contest. Sorry.

CONTEST DETAILS
This contest will be live through the end of Oct 29, 2015, PST. Winners notified by e-mail within three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced at the top of this blog post thereafter.To enter, submit the first 150-250 words of your book (i.e., your first double-spaced page). Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again. All that said, you are urged to only submit your best work.The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA’s publisher, F+W: A Content and E-Commerce Company, Inc.By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms possibly added by me in the “Comments” section of this blog post. If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at chuck.sambuchino (at) fwmedia.com. The Gmail account above is for submissions, not questions.PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)! 3) Their choice of any of Chuck’s 3 new books (mentioned at the top).

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) AGENT JUDGE!

Eric Smith is a literary agent with P.S. Literary. He is the author of the YA novel INKED (Bloomsbury Spark) as well as the nonfiction humor book THE GEEK’S GUIDE TO DATING. (See all the ways to buy his books here.) Along with Tim Quirino, he’s the co-founder of Geekadelphia, a hyperlocal blog in Philadelphia, covering all-that-is-geek in the City of Brotherly Love. In 2011, he co-founded the Philadelphia Geek Awards with the Academy of Natural Sciences, a ceremony honoring local geeks. Before he joined P.S. Literary, Eric could be found at Quirk Books, an indie publishing house in Philadelphia. A native of New Jersey (don’t hate), he currently lives in Philadelphia. You can find him on Twitter at @ericsmithrocks and @geekadelphia. His writing is represented by Dawn Frederick of Red Sofa Literary.

Self-Publishing Success: The Little Rabbit That Could

Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin, the most famous author you have never heard of, has been making the news recently. His children's book, The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep, has been touted as an overnight success after it hit #1 on Amazon's bestseller list with seemingly no promotion.

How did Ehrlin's self-published Rabbit manage to garner the top position on Amazon? There was some speculation that he may have gamed the system by having everyone he knew purchase copies simultaneously (this has been done before) - but 20,000 copies? 

The mystery of how Ehrlin won such spectacular success - including a 7-figure advance from Random House - is finally revealed. Publisher's Weekly has conducted an interview with Ehrlin in which the author revealed how his book became a bestseller - step by step.
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A Self-Published Sleeper: Author of 'The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep' Speaks

By Claire Kirch | Oct 07, 2015, Publisher's Weekly

"Initially, Ehrlin focused on selling Rabbit at seminars he conducted before various groups and the classes he taught at Jonkoping University. The word-of-mouth praise that effort drove, he said, resulted in people talking about the book to the press. This, he said, propelled sales of the book in Sweden. After Rabbit became a bestseller in Sweden, Ehrlin decided to solicit “friends and their friends” to assist him in translating the book into approximately half a dozen languages so that it could reach a wider audience.

After the various translated editions were self-published in 2014, through Amazon’s CreateSpace imprint, the U.K. edition, Ehrlin said, received “the most attention.” This, he assumes, is attributed to the the fact that he gave away e-book editions of the title via Facebook.

"I did some ads there saying the book existed and [people] could try it for free and see if they liked it or not."

Ehrlin thinks that the people who downloaded the free e-books must have recommended the title to their friends, and those friends then sought out the print edition. “There was a correlation there” between the growing number of free downloads and sales of the print book," he noted. “Then the snowball started rolling, I think. There was a lot of word of mouth.”

Read the rest of this article HERE.