How to Submit Manuscripts for Publication

blah b b blah (jrovira@juno.com)
Fri, 26 Mar 1999 16:31:04 -0500 (EST) 

I sent this off to my writer's group February 21st, may help someone...

Jim

______________________________________________________


I've been reading my Writer's Market and let me tell you, it has a world
of
useful information.  If you've never submitted an article for publication
before, here's a quote from one of the contributors that you may find
informative:

"The things that attract Alfano [the senior editor of "B&A" Magazine] to
an
unsolicited fiction submission package may seem small and superficial,
but,
she says, 'they are the things which tell me that the writer cares about
the
work.'  She wants a clean, legible manuscript, double-spaced ('a single
spaced
manuscript is a nightmare to get through when you have 20-30 submissions
in
front of you!') and a brief cover letter with the appropriate return
postage
if you've included a SASE ('Candian stamps if you're in the US -- hey,
we're a
separate country, guys!').  Alfano also likes some indication that
writers
submitting stories have read "B&A".  'Don't, for instance, send us
vampire
Gothic fiction; we never publish work of that type.'"

Other things to keep in mind while submitting work:

1. ALWAYS submit unsolicited manuscripts (ones they didn't assign to you)
or
queries with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) within your
country or
a self-addressed stamped envelope with International Reply Coupons (IRC)
purchased from the post office for other countries.

2. Most manuscripts do not use a title sheet or cover page.  Fasten
multiple
pages together with a paper clip, NOT staples.  

3. In the upper left hand corner of the first page, include your name,
address, phone number, and e-mail address.  Even if you're writing with a
pseudonym, be sure to put your real name in this space.

3. In the upper right hand corner of the first page, include the
approximate
word count of the manuscript, the rights you are offering to your work
(First
Rights would be appropriate for most works sent by our members.  This
means
you give the publisher the first time publishing rights, but you own the
manuscript after that).

4. Center the title one-third of the way down the first page.  Change to
double space.  Go down one double space and put in "by..." and your name,
or
the name under which you want to publish the manuscript (your pseudonym
would
go here).

5. Go down two double spaces below that, indent, and start your work :)

6.  Be sure to have your name and page number in the upper right or left
hand
corner of your work on every page after the first.

These are good general guidelines for submitting work.

Alfano is an editor for "B&A" magazine -- a Canadian mag touted as a
"break-in
market for talented new writers."  (This is a good one to submit
"Translation"
to, Camille).  If you're interested in submitting work to "B&A," you can
mail
your submissions to PO Box 702, Station P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4
Canada.
You may be able to ask for guidelines at fiction@interlog.com.  If not,
send a
SASE (remember the right postage, this is in Canada) to the above
address,
asking for submission guidelines.

Another good place some of our members may want to submit work is:

BOMB MAGAZINE 594 Broadway, #905, New York, NY 10012  (212) 431-3943.
Contact: Jennifer Berman, senior editor.  Quarterly Literary magazine
covering
art, literature, film, theater and music.  Estab. 1981.  Circ. 12,000. 
Pays
on publication.  Publishes ms an average of 6 months after acceptance. 
Byline
given.  Buys one-time rights [this means you can submit works elsewhere
at the
same time -- Jim].  Reports in 4 months.  Sample copy for $4.50 and ten
first
class stamps.  

Nonfiction -- Book excerpts.  "Literature only"  Query.  Length: 250-5000
words.  Pays $100 minimum.

Photos -- Pays $100.00 minimum.  Captions required.  Buys one-time
rights.

Fiction -- Experimental, novel excerpts.  "No commercial ficion"  Buys 28
mss/yr.  Send complete ms.  Length: 250-5000 words.  Pays $100.00
minimum.  

Poetry: Avant-garde.  Buys 10/yr.  Submit maximum of 5 poems.  Pays
$50.00.

(the above was from the 1999 Writer's Market).


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