Womag news
I've still not heard anything from Stylist magazine, nor do I know of anyone who has. I did spot that they've changed their submission requirements a little.
Lipstick and Lies have temporarily closed to submissions. They've contacted everyone who has had work accepted. Were you one of the lucky ones! (I hadn't even decided whether or not to sub when I discovered they'd closed.)
My womag news
This kind of thing doesn't happen often, but I currently have a story in Yours, The People's Friend and People's Friend special.
Free entry competition news
This competition is for literary novels over 30,000 words and offers £1,500 plus publication to the winner.
Any questions?
If you have any womag or other writing related questions I'm very happy to try to answer them – provided you do it as a comment on this blog. Sorry but I simply don't have time to answer individual queries by email and social media. Often more than one person asks the same thing and even when it's just one person the chances are that someone else was wondering. If you ask on the blog, not only can others benefit from the answer, but more people will see the question so you're more likely to get a helpful reply.
Whether you have questions or not, please do leave a comment if you find the blog useful, interesting or otherwise worth me taking time out from all the other 'stuff' I have going on!
Here's how to leave a comment. (It's free and you don't need to create an account.)
22 comments:
That's great news re your trio of stories, well done Patsy. I'm barely writing anything at the moment no less submitting so I can't complain. I must have a go at submitting something to Stylist though, I see where they say 'Due to the volume of submissions we receive, you will only receive a reply if you have been successful' so that's fairly clear though I don't think it says how long that judgement process takes, maybe I am wrong?
Although I'm not doing much writing at moment I love your blog and its what keeps me hanging in there, I absolutely love to hear of others submissions and successes. It's brilliant to be able to connect with other writers without having to leave the house so keep up the good work Patsy
Well done Patsy!
Thanks for the Stylist and lipstick and lies info. I haven't heard from either, so I guess it's no for me from both there.
When L & lies opens, I'll try again. I had a feeling that they'd be overwhelmed.
Does anyone know when YOU is opening their submission window again?
I reckon we all ought to think about subbing our Xmas stories soon!
Fancy being in all three at the same time! Well done, Patsy! Hmmm... me too with Lipstick and Lies - found it had closed but, more to the point, didn't know whether I could do that type of story. Had a 'serves you right' type twist and found I couldn't write it down! Pathetic! ;) The hyperlink thingy wasn't working for the novelette one? Not that I have one in my reserves ;)
Thanks for info, as ever, Patsy. Congratulations on your three lots of publication. I'm with you in the special.
I've not heard anything from Stylist either. I rather suspect they want something more literary than I sent them but how you achieve that in so few words...
Thanks
Alyson
Congratulations on the stories, Patsy. I'm looking forward to reading them. I'm another one who didn't hear anything from Stylist, but I will try again.
Congratulations on the story!
Have fun on your travels. Bet it feels good to get out again.
I hope you have a wonderful time on your travels, Patsy!
Shame about Lipstick and Lies. I was looking forward to submitting there!
I've also heard nothing from Stylist about the 2 stories I've sent in. I've just emailed them to see how long we should wait before assuming it's a rejection. If I get an answer I'll let you all know.
Just one question. Has 'In the Moment' closed? According to their website they have, but I might be out of date with my information.
I find the blog both useful and interesting, Patsy. As well as getting all the info, I enjoy the window into other writing lives, and feel like I 'sort of know' your regular contributors. Well done on your trio of stories, all in print together! Hope you have a great trip in the van.
Thanks for the info and updates as always, Patsy. Your blog is always interesting to read. It also allows me to see how other writers are getting on, who’s had acceptances etc. And congratulations on your trio of stories. (Oh, if only I could get one in print - after a unpublished 2021). Happy travelling!
Michael D
Congratulations Patsy on your story publications, quiet here for me and I also haven’t heard anything from Stylist but not giving up hope! Enjoy your travels.
Thanks for info Patsy, I did sub to Lipstick and Lies late in April but haven't heard, so will assume that's a no. Congrats on the trio of current story pubs - great news. I've sold a poem and a story this week - one UK and one US market- neither are womag but one, Sylvia is nature/people themed stories and pays.
Well done on having three stories in those magazines at the same time, Patsy. Thanks for all the info and updates. I too was still considering what to submit to Lipstick and Lies. Hope you enjoy your travels.
Thanks for all the info Patsy and congrats on your three stories! How wonderful.
New Girl on the block - that's exactly what I was wondering about Stylist...how long do we wait. I do hope they reply to you.
Have a good weekend all.
Michael D, have you thought about asking a womag writer to look at your work? They might be able to shed some light on why it hasn't sold.
I did send two (previously published) stories to Lipstick & Lies which I thought fitted their brief - hey ho ...
Sharon Boothroyd, I don’t know how to go about doing that. My aim is to continue writing and hopefully improving. I have tweaked a few of my older stories. One of them was accepted by WW, but no date for publication as of yet. As editors are now inundated with submissions, it seems that they can afford to be choosy. I had two stories published by Yours Fiction in 2020, when they were a fairly new market and not receiving the number of submissions they do now. I also think luck plays a large part in being accepted.
Michael D
Hi Patsy, congrats on your publishing success!
I am about to submit to a womag editor who expressed interest in my previous work and told me to submit other stories. My story is about 9% over the stated word limit. Do you think that is okay? Should I mention something in the main body of the email about it?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
@ Sheelagh – I couldn't see how long the process is expected to take. It would be helpful if they were to state a period after which we could consider the work as rejected, wouldn't it?
Totally agree about it being nice to connect with other writers. It can feel lonely sometimes. Good luck with your subs.
@ Sharon – No idea about YOU. I'm thinking of trying them every few months and seeing what happens. Christmas? Nooooo! Although actually you're right.
@ Marguerite – Now the pressure is off maybe you can right it for a different market?
@ Alyson – I think you're right about them wanting literary, and it being very difficult in a short word count.
@ Marian – That's the spirit!
@ Alex – so good!
@ New Girl – It looks as though it's been replaced by online mag Calm Moment.
@ Eirin – I agree on the sort of knowing people through blogs etc. I've even got to know some online friends in real life. Now I can travel again I hope to do more of that.
@ Michael – I'm glad you find it interesting. I'm never sure whether to brag out my acceptances but on balance I think people do like to know who is getting published and where, so they can try to do the same.
I don't tend to mention rejections. Maybe I should, as they'd give me plenty to blog about!
@ Anonymous – Not giving up is the way to success!
@ Alyson – well done on those acceptances! Despite the blog's title I'm interested in hearing about all types of writing.
@ Wendy – Thank you.
@ Lexi – Thank you.
@ Sharon – You're right that getting feedback can be very helpful.
@ Kate – I get the impression they got a huge number of submissions, so no acceptance doesn't mean you weren't on target.
@ Michael – You're right that editors can now be very choosy. I'm sure they're having to reject perfectly good work simply because they don't have space. Luck can also play a small part - eg if they've just bought a romantic ghost story involving apples in France then they won't buy another for a while, even if yours is as good or better than the first one.
I'll see what I can do about arranging some kind of feedback exchange. Giving feedback to others might seem daunting, but we can learn a lot from it as well as benefitting from the feedback they give us.
@ Kathrin – A leeway of up to 10% is generally OK if the guidelines say something like 'approximately 1,000 words'. If they state a maximum word count then they may not be happy with even a few words more. Keep in mind that if you're over they will cut the story to fit and A - this takes time and they're busy so you can't blame them for preferring not to have to do it and B - they'll decide which bits to cut and you might be disappointed your favourite bit is left out.
Thanks for the info about 'Calm Moment'. Do you know if we can sub to them and whether they pay?
Michael D, I run a womag writing crit group called Fiction Addiction.
It's run via email and it's free to join.
If you joined, you'd receive regular feedback on your work and you'd give feedback on other's work in the group, along with encouragement, chat and support (I've needed this myself recently!)
Yes, fiction eds can be choosy, but they've always been choosy.
If your work fits the mag, story sales are not out of the question!
How do we join?
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