Tina Haapala, Excuse Editor

Since the last Scoop , I've come across a few more places you may want to submit your writing. Good Luck! They are sorted chronologically by deadline. September 30, 2011 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest Entry Fee: $7/every 25 lines First prize: $3,000. Second prize: $1,000. Third prize: $400. Fourth prize: $250. There will also be six Most Highly Commended Awards of $150 each. The top 10 entries will be published on the Winning Writers website. October 1, 2011 Mighty River Short Story Contest Entry Fee: $15 30 page max Prize: $500 and publication Consequence Prize in Poetry NO ENTRY FEE No More than 3 poems of any length (theme: consequence of war or social injustice) Prize: $200 Prolitzer Prize for Prose Writing Entry Fee:  £4 1500 word max Top Prize:  £130 and publication. Two runners up receive  £30 each. Do you have a book you are looking to publish? Coffee House Press is seeking submissions now through October 31. Please take a look at...

Image from flickr ...or, why FNASR isn't necessarily as scary as MRSA . Sure, many of you would like to just write, write, write, all day long and not have to worry to much about the "business" aspect of the writing world. The catch is, of course, that writing is a business (unless you are just writing for yourself or your family, and most of us want to share, i.e. publish, therefore: it's a business). A writer submitting to contests or markets or signing contracts needs to understand the basics about publication rights. When submitting to a contest, get out your magnifying glass and read that fine print. Sometimes just SUBMITTING is enough for you to give away your rights. (I try to keep these kinds of contests out of the Scoop , or at least give my readers a heads up, but ALWAYS read before sending in your hard work.) If you sign a contract for an essay to be printed in an anthology, you may not be able to sell the essay again, or you may, depending on the c...

The popularity of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books is beyond extraordinary. What started out as a multi- rejected book idea has turned into a multi-million dollar book empire. More than 110 million Chicken Soup for the Soul books have been sold. Many of the books have been translated to 40 different languages. I'm proud that my personal essays have been included in some of these books, and I hope to continue being a Chicken Soup contributor. My Story I thought I would share a bit about being published in these collections. I'm very happy with my Chicken Soup experiences, and part of that may be that I went into it with little expectations at first. I started with them because I had a few stories that seemed to fit what they were looking for, and I thought I had nothing to lose. Unlike some of the other markets and contests I was looking at, submitting to Chicken Soup could be done at no cost to me, and I didn't even need to worry about a postage stamp, because they ha...

For those who have struggled through the 40,000 to 90,000 words to create a novel: congratulations! You have created something from absolutely nothing, and now you want to share that miracle with the world, preferably with a hefty advance, a book tour, and a movie deal, thank-you-very-much. Writing your novel probably wasn't easy, so you shouldn't expect the publishing and marketing of it to be either. Here I touch on some of the major steps when sending out your novel for traditional (not self or vanity) publication. Prepare yourself You are in for a long road. Even if you have already spent months, years, or even decades on your writing, your work has just begun. It's a "new chapter" of your writing life. Do what you need to do to make the challenge enjoyable. Find a way to stay calm, and come back to that place as often as you need to (after your first rejection, or horrible paper jam, for example) Edit Being "done" with your n...

He's tough, brutal and sometimes downright mean, but I think singers with stars in their eyes will miss the unflinching honesty of Simon Cowell on American Idol . Even if you've never watched a full episode of the long running show, you know about Simon. Sound bites and clips of his biting commentary makes us cringe. And sometimes laugh. Until we start thinking, what if that was me? Today's Excuse: I am too sensitive to have my writing criticized. Public speaking is said to cause more fear in the average person's heart that the thought of death itself. One of the oldest tools to conquer the nervousness associated with speaking in front of a group is to imagine them naked. The irony? When you are sharing your ideas in front of others, it is you who is stripped naked, so to speak. You are no longer safe behind the walls of your inner thoughts, now you are exposing who you are. And it feels a bit drafty. It's not much different with writing. Your imagination, ...

The Newest Scoop is blasting through cyberspace and into your inbox right now if you are subscribed to the Excuse Editor Newsletter (if you are not, sign up here ).  There are some unique opportunities, including a chance to get your photograph taken by a famous photographer, a no-fee novel contest  with a self-publishing package prize, and  a contest with over 50 CATegories (the entires all have a 'cat' theme). A few ideas on using the Scoop: Determine if you have something already complete that meets the guidelines, or comes close. If it meets all guidelines (genre, word count, etc.) and has no entry fee, SUBMIT! You have nothing to lose. If if meets all guidelines and has an entry fee, SUBMIT ONLY IF you feel confident in your work and you can afford the fee (see this post for more thoughts). If you have a work that is ALMOST PERFECT for one of the markets, spend some time getting it closer (always adhere to word count and genre guidelines). You may be ab...

Now that I have your attention... I just finished up the latest version of The Scoop, a listing of more than 45 writing contests and markets. One of the contests has a prize of $15,000 (hint: it's for a finished book) and has NO ENTRY FEE. If you are already signed up, you probably noticed that the deadline was coming up quickly. There are many other contests for completed books, short story  or poetry collections, nonfiction books, screenplays, flash fiction, novellas-- even slogans-- and more. I started maintaining this running list last year. I can usually find a market to submit something I've already written--often, more than one (always good to keep send to your top three markets first, as long as the market accepts simultaneous submissions. Always read guidelines carefully.) It's also been a great place to discover new markets to try out. They are often looking for something written to a theme-- it's a great writing prompt! I keep the listing in t...

Here's a jumpstart on your resolution to submit your writing this year. You may have some writing ready to go, or you may be inspired enough to prepare something in time. These are examples of what comes in The Scoop, the monthly guide of 30-50 current paying writing markets and contests you get for FREE with your subscription the the Excuse Editor Newsletter. The new edition of The Scoop will arrive in a few weeks. Until then, enjoy the current one (or sign up if you haven't yet) and Keep Writing! Deadline: 1/7/10 Novellas/short story collection contest 26 to 150 double spaced pages Carpe Articulum Novella Contest $25 entry fee Prize range--$200-$1000 Deadline: 1/15/10 Poetry (Group of Poems) 10 pages "Discovery"/Boston Review Poetry Prizes $10 Entry Fee Snail Mail Entry-- DEADLINE IS RECEIPT DATE, SEND EARLY Prizes: Four prizes of $500 each and publication; winners also receive one night hotel stay in and transportation to and from New York City...

From the desk of the Excuse Editor: First, I decided I wanted to write. That was easy enough. I'd kept a diary since I was a little girl. As a grown up, I attended a few journaling, fiction and poetry workshops. Great, my interest was peaked, my pen desperate to start moving. But, what kinds of writing should I start with? How long should it be? My workshops focused on self-expression, and I was rightly told: write whatever you want to, write what's in your heart, write what's on your mind. Write until it's done. OK. I agree. But... What if I want to share my writing? ...if I want to get published? ...and of course, what if I want to make some money? I started to research writing markets and writing contests. Sure, I could focus on writing the Great American Novel and send it off to Oprah and hope for the best. Or Ellen. Or maybe I could get the "Colbert Bump". Instead, I kept my head out of the clouds and put my butt in the chair. Using the...

It's that time of year again, when thousands of wannabe novelists challenge themselves to write a whole book in 30 days. NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, started 11 years ago and now has a worldwide following. The general idea behind NaNoWriMo is to encourage writers to achieve a lofty word count goal: 50,000 words. The aspiring authors blow the dust off their calculators to forecast their daily targets. As they write, the NaNoWriMo site gives them a visual representation of their work: a bar graph showing them how close, or far away, they are to completing their "NaNoNovel". 50,000 words. If that goal is reached, you would have written a 200 page book! In one month! Sounds out of this world? Well, consider this: A journey of a thousand sentences begins with a single word. Any writing, whether it's War and Peace or a simple tweet , starts with a blank slate. The mystery and the joy of composition: pulling words out of the air, one by one, to give bi...

The deadlines are coming up super-quick, but you may have something that fits the bill for one of these contests or submission requests. All of these are paying markets. Isn't a chance to collect a few dollars (or more!) for your work better than your work collecting dust? Here's the format for this list, Good Luck! Deadline date Quick Description of Contest or Market Word count or page requirements Link to site for more information on how to submit Entry Fee Payment or Contest Prize Range 10/29/09 Under 30 Contest for writers between 18-30 years old 15000 word max http://www.narrativemagazine.com/node/915  $20 fee $100-$1500, eligible for $5000 prize in 2010 10/30/09 Short short story; dark/macabre fiction 1000 word max http://leapfrogpress.com/contest.htm $8 fee $50-100 10/31/09 Unusual Essay 10000 word max http://www.thediagram.com/contest.html#2009essayguidelines $15 fee  $1000 + publication 10/31/09 scary short stories in a ...