If you want to submit your writing in the new year, we need to receive your work ASAP.

We are accepting e-mail queries, as well as regular mail submissions to our review board. Be sure to include the words “Review Board” in your subject line.

This is a great time to enroll in our services and to energize your submission strategy. If your work is chosen, you'll begin the new year with your writing as a priority. You'll be enrolled in our client list for the current cycle, and your submissions will go out when the majority of agents and editors are reading. It's a great time of year to begin your new submission strategy. We’ll list openings in specific genres below. Please DO NOT send work in genres that are not listed.

If you're NOT a do-it-yourselfer and want to utilize our FULL service (rather than our A LA CARTE services), you need to send work to our REVIEW BOARD.

There are some important differences between the three levels of services. A complete list of pricing and services may be found at http://www.WritersRelief.com/comparison.asp.

If you are accepted into our FULL-SERVICE client list:

We propose, prepare, and proof content for cover letters. (You’ll benefit from what we’ve learned since 1994.)

We review and target your work to specific markets based on content, length, reading dates, etc. (You’ll never again have to spend hours researching markets for your work.)

We proof and prepare your work to industry standards, prepare master copies, and maintain electronic or hard copy versions of the work here at Writer's Relief, Inc.  (If your computer crashes, we’ll have a master copy of every title on file.)

We prepare 25 - 30 submissions for each title (or group of poems) within each two-month cycle.  (When was the last time you accomplished this?)

We print your individually addressed cover/query letters. (You don’t have to create merge files, etc.)

We track every submission. (You’ll know what’s going on with every submission without doing any filing.)

We offer guidance regarding submissions, acceptances, etc.  (Each client is assigned two personal submission strategists.)

How many submissions have you mailed in the past two months? This is a great time of year to focus energy on your writing. If you've been putting off getting your work to us, NOW is the time to send it. Writers submitting their work regularly and extensively increase their odds of acceptance . . . dramatically. This cycle is one of the best times for you to enter our client list.

We have room to invite a few more writers into our Writer's Relief family. We are reading in the following genres only:

Nonfiction (books)—Send chapter outline, proposal, sample chapters (30 pages) of your unpublished manuscript, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, chapter outline, proposal, and sample pages may be in one file.)

Novels—Send synopsis, first 30 pages of your unpublished manuscript, sample query letter, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, synopsis and samples pages may be in one file.)

Poetry—Send 10 - 12 unpublished poems, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, paste poems into one file; one poem per page.)

Short Stories or Personal/Creative Essays—Send three unpublished stories (each under 5,000 words), your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, each story should be in a separate file.)

Our review is FREE. If our review board determines your writing is strong enough (and markets are plentiful enough), they will send you an invitation to join our services. They will quote you FLAT FEES at that time. You may accept or decline their invitation.

Keep in mind that we must turn away 80 percent of the work that comes to us. However, if your writing is strong, don't let procrastination, hesitation, lack of marketing experience, or fear stop you from submitting your work.

Wouldn't it be amazing to get your submissions in the mail to all the best publishers and agents? Writer's Relief has successfully helped writers beat the procrastinator in them since 1994. We help clients find the time to write.

Writers have been looking to us for years to help them alleviate the countless hours needed to research ever-changing writers' markets. We continue to have the most current and best writers' markets included in our database. Because our database is updated daily from information we receive from all of our clients, as well as thousands of journals and agents directly, our lists are more up-to-date than any market book or online source.

Send Writing Samples To:

For e-mail queries: Send to Kriste@wrelief.com. We will accept the samples as attachments ONLY in .DOC, .RTF, or .WPD format. (E-mail submissions MUST include all pieces itemized above, including complete contact information, cover letter, and BIO pasted into the body of your e-mail, and sample pages attached, or they WILL NOT be reviewed. No SASE needed for e-mail submissions.) Include the words “Review Board” in your subject line.

Or mail your submission to: Review Board, Writer's Relief, Inc., 409 South River Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601

We want to be your partner in the submission process. Call us toll-free (between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time) if you have any questions. One of our personal submission strategists will be happy to spend a few minutes with you on the telephone.

Keep Writing And Submitting!

Our A La Carte PLUS Service:
You have already heard about the affordable alternative to our Full Service—our A La Carte Service. You may be interested to know that we now offer an A La Carte PLUS Service. Writer’s Relief will prepare your COVER/QUERY LETTERS in addition to targeting markets and preparing preaddressed mailing labels.

Clients have been requesting this service:
We are delighted to offer you an additional service that helps to fulfill your personal submission needs. We can now prepare a succinct cover/query letter and provide printed cover letters for each of the markets specially targeted for your work. You’ll save lots of time and avoid errors.

We know what editors and agents want in a cover/query letter:
Editors and agents want you to follow industry standards when composing these letters. We’ve been creating successful cover/query letters for clients since 1994. We’ve happily provided clients with information on how to do this themselves. In spite of your fear, there is no big mystery involved. If you love to create cover letters, great! If not, we can alleviate the stress associated with developing and addressing these letters. You’ll also save hours of worry and preparation. We know, if you’re like most writers, what you want is more time to write.

Here’s how the PLUS part of this service works:

1) We’ll ask you for the information we need to insert into your cover letters. This will include your name and contact information, as well as some biographical information and publication/writing credentials (if you have acquired any).

2) Writer’s Relief will create the template for a universal cover/query letter for you. This will be based on the information you give us in addition to the standards set by our industry.

3) You will review the letter, return it with your feedback, and send any proposed changes or your final okay. (Pricing allows for one back-and-forth or revision before we prepare final letters.)

4) Writer’s Relief will target submissions for your work and prepare an individually addressed cover/query letter for each of your 25+ submissions. (Please note that industry standard now requires letters be addressed to the editors’ full names. Example: Dear Ronnie L. Smith, as opposed to Dear Mr. or Ms. Smith. This is the format that we follow.)

How much will it cost?
If you wish to sign up for our A La Carte PLUS Service and receive printed cover/query letters, the total cost of this service is $200 – $250 (plus $6 for US postage and handling; international rates vary) to target and prepare cover/query letters and labels to 25 markets.

Stop spending your time wondering if your cover/query letter will do its job, and stop worrying whether you’ve typed all of that contact information correctly. Let us help you by providing this additional service that so many of you have asked for—just think how amazing it will be to send out professionally prepared cover letters with your submissions in a matter of days! A list of itemized services and prices may be found at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

If you would like to sign up for this service, please call us toll-free at (866) 405-3003, and ask to speak with Marissa or Kriste. They are specialists in handling A La Carte clients and cover/query letters.

Please see individual URLs for complete contest and anthology information and submissions guidelines.

Upcoming Anthologies

Deadline: 12/21/08.
Submit to: The Queer Collection: Prose and Poetry 2009. Fabulist Flash Publishing, PO Box 570368, Las Vegas, NV 89157.
Theme: Gay, lesbian, queer themes.
Type: Poetry (40 lines MAX) and fiction (3,000 words MAX).
URL: http://www.queercollection.com/index_files/Submissions.htm

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: A Generation Defining Itself: Volume 8. E-mail to: mwe@evenstar.net.
Theme: MUST be writers born 1960 to 1982. Topics: “Realities, dispelling the narrow, simplified stereotypes created by the mass media and commercial marketing.”
Type: “All genres sought.”
URL: http://www.evenstar.net/mwe/page2.html 

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: World Swirl Publishing. E-mail (via Word or RTF attachment) to: submit@worldswirl.com.
Theme: True travel scams.
Type: Nonfiction (up to 1,500 words). Will contact only if accepted.
URL: http://www.worldswirl.com

Deadline: 01/01/09.
Submit to: Women’s Studies Quarterly. Submit via various e-mail addresses. See Web site.
Theme: Motherhood.
Type: Prose, poetry.
URL: http://www.feministpress.org/wsq/#callformaterials

Deadline: 01/01/09.
Submit to: Parabola. E-mail to: editorial@parabola.org.
Theme: Water (religious and spiritual issues).
Type: Queries only. Articles (1,000 to 3,000 words). Rarely considers stories and poems.
URL: http://parabola.org/content/view/14/39

Deadline: 01/01/09.
Submit to: Whole Terrain. E-mail to: whole_terrain@antiochne.edu.
Theme: “(r)(e)volution.”
Type: Prose (2,000 words MAX), poetry (3 poems MAX).
URL: http://www.wholeterrain.org/submissions.cfm  

Deadline: 01/01/09.
Submit to: Woodrow Hall Editions. Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf, PO Box 260026, Madison, WI 53726.
Theme: “Lines in the Sand.” Poems that reach across territorial, cultural, or interpersonal boundaries. Nearly lost chances topics will be especially welcome.
Type: Poetry (poems no wider than 3-1/2 inches with a 27-line maximum that includes title, spaces, byline, and credit).
URL: http://poetryjumpsofftheshelf.com

Deadline: 01/31/09.
Submit to: Untitled Anthology. E-mail to: littlesuperheroes@gmail.com.
Theme: Boys 3-8 years old who wants to be superheroes. 
Type: True stories (500-750 words).
URL: N/A. 

Deadline: 02/01/09.
Submit to: Rattle. E-mail (via pasted-in text) to: submissions@rattle.com.
Theme: African-American poets.
Type: Poetry and essays (5,000 words MAX).
URL: http://www.rattle.com/callsforsubs.htm 

Deadline: 02/01/09.
Submit to: Windfall. PO Box 19007, Portland, OR 97280.
Theme: Poetry of place, specifically the Pacific Northwest.
Type: Poetry (5 poems MAX).
URL: http://www.hevanet.com/windfall/index.html

Deadline: 02/08/09.
Submit to: Pockets. 1908 Grand Avenue, PO Box 340004, Nashville, TN 37203-0004.
Theme: Priorities.
Type: Stories (1,400 words MAX), poems (24 lines MAX), and articles (1,000 words MAX).
URL: http://www.upperroom.org/pockets/writer_guidelines.asp  

Deadline: 02/16/09.
Submit to: New Plains Review. Submissions, PO Box 184, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK 73034. Or e-mail (via Word attachment) to: doug@janestreet.org.
Theme: Service. “Military, community service, school service requirements, jury duty, all forms of volunteering, religious services, food service, customer service, serving a subpoena or tennis ball, etc.”
URL: http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/english/newplains/issue.htm

Deadline: 02/28/09.
Submit to: Queer SF Anthology submission. E-mail (via pasted-in text) to: editor@queeredfiction.com.
Theme: Queer Science Fiction (GLBT).
Type: Short stories (4,000 to 10,000 words).
URL: http://www.queeredfiction.com

Deadline: 03/01/09.
Submit to: Thema. Virginia Howard (for fiction). Gail Howard (for poetry). Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747.
Theme: Put it in your pocket, Lillian.
Type: Poetry and fiction (20 pages MAX).
URL: http://members.cox.net/thema/submissions.html

Deadline: Unspecified.
Submit to: Novel & Short Story Writer's Market. E-mail to: nsswm@fwpubs.com.
Theme: The Writing Life, Craft & Technique, Getting Published, For Mystery Writers, For Romance Writers, and For Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Writers.
Type: Nonfiction (see examples of previous editions).
URL: Unspecified. 

Upcoming Contests

Deadline: 12/20/08.
Submit to: Gulf Coast’s Donald Barthelme Prize in Short Prose. English Dept., University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-3013.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $500 and publication.
Type: Flash fiction or prose poems (3 titles/500 words each MAX).
URL: http://www.gulfcoastmag.org

Deadline: 12/20/08.
Submit to: Write2Help.org Inaugural Contest. Submit via online entry form or by mail: Submissions Dept., PO Box 3986, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578.
Entry fee: $10. First prize: $1,000 and online publication.
Type: Short story (1,500 words MAX), ages 13+.
URL: http://www.write2help.org/current-contests.php

Deadline: 12/29/08.
Submit to: Rhode Island Writers' Circle National Poetry Contest. The Writers' Circle, Inc., 1087 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI 02888.
Entry fee: $10. First prize: $200, staged readings, and publication in RI Writers’ Circle Anthology.
Type: Poetry (5 pages MAX).
URL: http://www.riwriterscircle.com

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers. PMB 325, 6614 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights, MO 63117.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $1,500 and publication.
Type: Short fiction (no length restrictions). Writers MUST not have published a book.
URL: http://www.richardburgin.net/1boulevardsfcontest.htm

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: "My Real-Life Story," Glamour, Essay Contest, 4 Times Square, 16th floor, New York, NY 10036.
Entry fee: none. First prize: $5,000 and publication.
Type: True life stories (2,500 to 3,500 words).
URL: http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2008/08/nonfiction-contest-rules

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: The Laureate Prize for Poetry sponsored by the National Poetry Review. PO Box 2080, Aptos, CA 95001-2080.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $300 and publication.
Type: Poetry (3 poems/10 pages MAX).
URL: http://www.nationalpoetryreview.com 

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: Merton Prize For Poetry Of The Sacred. Merton Institute, 2117 Payne Street, Louisville, KY 40206. Or e-mail (via Word 2003 attachment) to: vhurst@mertoninstitute.org.
Entry fee: none. First prize: $500 and publication.
Type: Poetry (MUST be about spirituality, 1 poem MAX).
URL: https://www.mertoninstitute.org/merton_prize.php

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: MWCC Foundation Inc., 444 Green Street, Gardner, MA 01440. Memo: Freedom Tower Poetry Competition (FTPC). Mark envelope: Life Program, Patricia B. Cosentino, Chairperson, FTPC.
Entry fee: $1 per poem. First prize: Publication for one winner and 100 honorable mentions.
Type: Poetry (3-5 poems). MUST pertain to the Freedom Tower (renewal, rebuilding, reconciliation, forgiveness, peace, trade, and commerce).
URL: http://www.mwcc.mass.edu/lll/Life/tapestries.html

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: Seventeen magazine fiction contest. Submit via online entry form at URL.
Entry fee: none. First prize: $2,500, laptop, lunch with Meg Cabot.
Type: Short fiction (500 words MAX). Writers MUST be ages 13-21.
URL: http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/special/2009-fiction-contest

Deadline: 12/31/08.
Submit to: Very Short Story Contest sponspored by Lunch Hour Stories. PMB 1117, 22833 Bothell Everett Hwy., Ste. 110, Bothell, WA 98021. Or e-mail to: editor@lunchhourbooks.com.
Entry fee: $5 per story/poem. Entry fee payable online or by mail. First prize: $100 and publication.
Type: Prose poems or short stories (500 words MAX).
URL: http://www.lunchhourbooks.com/shop/home.php

Deadline: 01/15/09.
Submit to: 2008 Lyric Family Prize, PO Box 2494, Bloomington, IN 47402.
Entry fee: $10. First prize: $300, a broadside, a lifetime subscription, and publication.
Type: Poetry (MUST have strong musicality and lyricism).
URL: http://www.lyricreview.org/contest.html

Deadline: 01/15/09.
Submit to: Sonora Review Short-Short Contest. Department of English, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $1,000 and publication.
Type: Short shorts (3 pieces MAX/1,000 words each MAX).
URL: http://www.coh.arizona.edu/Sonora/contest.htm

Deadline: 01/16/09.
Submit to: Buffalo Carp Flash Fiction Contest. Quad City Arts, 1715 Second Avenue, Rock Island, IL 61201. Or e-mail to: buffalocarp@gmail.com.
Entry fee: $10. First Prize: $250, publication, five copies.
Type: Flash fiction (3 pieces MAX, 600 words each MAX).
URL: http://www.quadcityarts.com/

Deadline: 01/31/09.
Submit to: Fulton Prize for Short Fiction sponsored by The Adirondack Review and Black Lawrence Press. E-mail to: diane@blacklawrencepress.com. Subject line: “[Your last name] Fulton Prize Submission.”
Entry fee: $10. First prize: $400 and publication.
Type: Short fiction.
URL: http://theadirondackreview.com/FultonPrize.html

Deadline: 01/31/09.
Submit to: New Millennium Writings. PO Box 2463, Knoxville, TN 37901-2463.
Entry fee: $17. First prize: $1,000 and publication.
Type: Prose (6,000 words MAX), short shorts (1,000 words MAX), poetry (3 poems, five pages MAX).
URL: http://www.newmillenniumwritings.com/awards.php

Deadline: 02/08/09.
Submit to: Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.
Entry fee: None. First prize: $25,000.
Type: Unpublished novels.
URL https://www.createspace.com/abna

Deadline: 02/15/09.
Submit to: Julia Peterkin Award. Converse College, Department of English, Spartanburg, SC 29302.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $1000 and travel expenses for a reading at Converse College.
Type: Fiction (5,000 words MAX).
URL: http://www.converse.edu/academics/majors/peterkinjuliaaward.html

Deadline: 02/16/09.
Submit to: Tiny Lights Essay Contest sponsored by Tiny Lights Publications. PO Box 928, Petaluma, CA 94953.
Entry fee: $15. First prize: $400.
Type: Essays. (Specify which category: Standard [2,000 words MAX] or Flash [1,000 words MAX]. MUST show the author’s growth/change.
URL: http://www.tiny-lights.com/contest.php 

Conferences

Georgia: Voices of Christ Literary Ministries International will sponsor a conference "An Introduction to The Scribal Anointing" to be held in Atlanta, GA, on January 31, 2009. More information at: http://www.voicesofchrist.org.

Tennessee: Tennessee Mountain Writers, Inc. will host their "Januray Jumpstart" on January 9-11, 2009 in Sweetwater, TN, and their annual conference on  April 2-4, 2009 in Oak Ridge, TN. More information at: http://www.tmwi.org.

Massachusetts: "Writing From The Heart; A Retreat For Women" will be held January 23-25, 2009 in Rowe, MA. More information at www.rowecenter.org.

News of Interest

The Cell of a Soul, Maria Logven's first book of short stories illustrated by a surrealist artist Michael Cheval, is now available at http://www.amazon.com/Cell-Soul-Maria-Logven/dp/1434399966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229530126&sr=1-1.

Naomi Ruth Lowinsky's memoir on being a poet, The Sister from Below: When the Muse Gets Her Way has been accepted for publication by Fisher King Press. Advance orders welcome: http://www.fisherkingpress.com/order.html.

If you want to submit your writing in the new year, we need to receive your work ASAP.

Writer's Relief Review Board Meets: Monday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 16 (Writers enter our FULL-SERVICE BY INVITATION ONLY, so send your work to our review board ASAP).

We will be accepting e-mail queries, as well as regular mail submissions to our review board. Be sure to include the words “Review Board” in your subject line.

This is a great time to enroll in our services and to energize your submission strategy. If your work is chosen, you’ll begin the new year with your writing as a priority. You’ll be enrolled in our client list for the December – February cycle, and your submissions will go out when the majority of agents and editors are reading. It’s a great time of year to begin your new submission strategy. We’ll list openings in specific genres below. Please DO NOT send work in genres that are not listed.

If you're NOT a do-it-yourselfer and want to utilize our FULL Service (rather than our A LA CARTE Services), you need to send work to our REVIEW BOARD. Keep reading.

There are some important differences between our A La Carte Services and Full Services. If you are accepted into our FULL-SERVICE client list:

We propose, prepare, and proof content for cover letters. (You’ll benefit from what we’ve learned since 1994. We know what editors and agents want to see in your cover/query letter.)

We review and target your work to specific markets based on content, length, reading dates, etc. (You’ll never again have to spend countless hours researching markets for your work.)

We proof and prepare your work to industry standards, prepare master copies, and maintain electronic or hard copy versions of the work here at Writer's Relief, Inc. (Proper formatting ensures a good read,  and, if your computer crashes, we’ll have a master copy of every title on file.)

We prepare 25 - 30 submissions for each title (or group of poems) within each two-month cycle. (When was the last time you accomplished this?)

We print your individually addressed cover/query letters. (You’ll simply sign your letters, and they’ll be ready to go. You don’t have to create merge files, etc.)

We track every submission. (You’ll know what’s going on with every submission without doing any filing.)

We offer guidance regarding submissions, acceptances, etc. (Each client is assigned two personal submission strategists.)

How many submissions have you mailed in the past two months? This is a great time of year to focus energy on your writing. If you've been putting off getting your work to our review board, now's the time to send it to us. Writers submitting their work regularly and extensively increase their odds of acceptance . . . dramatically. We have a limited number of openings available in specific genres. This upcoming cycle is one of the best times for you to enter our client list.

Our review board will meet Monday (December 15) through Tuesday (December 16) and make selections for the coming cycle. This means you will have the opportunity to have your work read in a very timely manner. If you would like your work considered, be sure it arrives in our office before this date. After selections are made we will not be registering new clients for at least two to four months. Use the e-mail or street address below.

We are reading in the following genres only:

Novels—Send synopsis, first 30 pages of your unpublished manuscript, sample query letter, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, synopsis and samples pages may be in one file.)

Nonfiction (books)—Send chapter outline, proposal, sample chapters (30 pages) of your unpublished manuscript, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, chapter outline, proposal, and sample pages may be in one file.)

Short Stories or Personal/Creative Essays—Send three unpublished stories (each under 5,000 words), your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, each story should be in a separate file.)

Poetry—Send 10 - 12 unpublished poems, your biography, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (For e-queries, paste poems into one file; one poem per page.)

We will mail our letters of acceptance or rejection before December 18, which means you won't have to wait long for our decision. Our review is FREE. If our review board determines your writing is strong enough (and markets are plentiful enough), they will send you an invitation to join our services. They will quote you FLAT FEES at that time. You may accept or decline their invitation. A list of fees and services may be found at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

Keep in mind that we must turn away 80 percent of the work that comes to us. However, if your writing is strong, don't let procrastination, hesitation, lack of marketing experience, or fear stop you from submitting your work.

Wouldn't it be amazing to get your submissions in the mail to all the best publishers and agents? Writer's Relief has successfully helped writers beat the procrastinator in them since 1994. We help clients find the time to write.

Writers have been looking to us for years to help them alleviate the countless hours needed to research ever-changing writers' markets. We continue to have the most current and best writers' markets included in our database. Because our database is updated daily from information we receive from all of our clients, as well as thousands of journals and agents directly, our lists are more up-to-date than any market book or online source.

Send Writing Samples To:

For e-mail queries: Send to Kriste@wrelief.com. We will accept the samples as attachments ONLY in .DOC, .RTF, or .WPD format. (E-mail submissions MUST include all pieces itemized above, including cover letter and BIO pasted into the body of your e-mail, and sample pages attached, or they WILL NOT be reviewed. No SASE needed for e-mail submissions.) Include the words “Review Board” in your subject line.

Or mail your submission to: Review Board, Writer's Relief, Inc., 409 South River Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601

Be sure to include your contact information including e-mail and phone number.

We want to be your partner in the submission process. Call us toll-free (between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time) if you have any questions. One of our personal submission strategists will be happy to spend a few minutes with you on the telephone.

Keep Writing And Submitting!

Ronnie L. Smith, President
Writer's Relief, Inc.
(866) 405-3003 (toll-free), (201) 641-3003
http://www.writersrelief.com

P.S. Have your work in our office by Monday (December 15).

…will help you get your submissions in the mail by next week! We’ll do the market research and give you clear and simple instructions to properly prepare submissions to industry standards. You’ll have your submissions in the mail within a few days—REALLY! You don't need to enroll in our full services in order to benefit from what we've learned about publishing since 1994. (If you do want a more full range of services—including creating cover/query letters, tracking submissions, proofreading, etc.—you’ll need to apply and send work to our review board. Call for details.)

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, our a la carte service is quick and easy. We provide the best market research available to creative writers.

It's simple AND affordable. Keep reading.

You’ll get:

** A CUSTOM list of 25+ literary venues that specialize in YOUR type of writing. (Your work will be targeted to the best markets based on the topics, word count, etc. of the particular piece [or group of poems] you’re submitting.)

** Self-adhesive labels (one for each contact) containing the most up-to-date address information. These labels make it very easy for you to mail your own submissions.

** An online database that lists all your submissions. You'll have access to your submission list 24 hours a day for 30 days.

** BONUS: We will also include a FREE bonus packet of informational tip sheets that will teach you the insider's secrets we've gathered since 1994. We want you to be successful. Following these guidelines (including sample format sheets, submission do’s and don’ts, etc.) will ensure that your work is well-prepared, which will, in turn, ensure a good read. This bonus packet of materials will include an easy-to-follow checklist for creating a most effective cover/query letter.

In order to create a CUSTOM list for you, we will need you to provide topics covered in your work. We will make this very EASY for you by giving you access to our online Work Cover checklist. We will prepare your specially targeted list of markets after receiving this information.

Call us with your credit card authorization between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and we can get started. We will prepare your submission list within one business day of receiving your completed Work Cover Sheet. Imagine how it will feel to have 25 properly targeted and prepared submissions in the mail within days!!

How much will this cost? Only $100, plus $6 U.S. postage and handling (international rates will vary). Your packet of specially targeted markets will arrive via U.S. Priority Mail. Our a la carte service or our full service? Choose the one that works best for you. Both services include targeting your work to the best markets. We outline both services and costs at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

We invite you to give Kriste or Marissa a call to discuss your needs at (866) 405-3003 or (201) 641-3003. They are trained as personal submission strategists here at Writer's Relief and will be happy to speak with you.

Our A La Carte Service, our BRAND NEW A La Carte PLUS Service, or our Full Service? Choose the one that works best for you and suits your budget. All services include targeting your work to the best markets. We outline all three services and costs at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp.

Call us between the hours of 8:30 and 2:30 Eastern Time, and speak to one of our personal submission strategists.

Full Service: Your work must be presented and accepted by our review board. If you don’t have time to take care of all the tasks required to get your submissions in the mail, this service is for you. http://www.writersreliefblog.com/post/Submission-Guidelines-For-Full-Service-Clients.aspx.

A La Carte Service: Get started right away! This is a more do-it-yourself service, with Writer’s Relief targeting markets and guiding you through the process. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, our a la carte service is quick and easy. We provide the best market research available to creative writers. Info about our a la carte service may be found at http://writersreliefblog.com/post/Our-A-La-Carte-Service.aspx.

A La Carte PLUS Service: Everything fast and affordable about our regular a la carte, but with the added bonus of full service cover/query letter preparation. We will target the best markets for your work, prepare mailing labels, and create 25 to 30 personalized, professional cover/query letters. More information may be found at http://www.writersrelief.com/comparison.asp

It’s simple AND affordable. Keep reading.

Included with ALL services:

** Targeting 25+ literary venues that specialize in YOUR type of writing. (Your work will be targeted to the best markets based on the topics, word count, etc. of the particular piece [or group of poems] you’re submitting.)

** An online database that lists all your submissions. You'll have access to your submission list 24 hours a day.

We invite you to give Marissa or Kriste a call to discuss your needs. They are trained as personal submission strategists here at Writer's Relief and will be happy to speak with you.

Our great-grandparents might not understand, but many of us now wake up to our Yahoo! or MSN home page to get our daily news and celebrity gossip fix. While daily newspapers will continue to be an important part of our lives, there’s no denying the impact of having such an array of online reading material. According to many surveys, more and more people than ever before are using the Internet to read the news, access blogs, articles. Studies also show that people tend to access online journals more frequently than print journals. Again, print magazines and journals aren’t in danger of disappearing anytime soon, but the Internet offers an alternate source of reading material—material that is usually up-to-date, easily accessible, often free, and conveniently waiting for us in our own homes or on our laptops. And as we ease into the world of cyberspace, online magazines and literary journals are quickly earning prestige and increased readership.

Online Magazines and Journals

There is a proliferation of literary magazines popping up on the Internet, and this is changing the way literature reaches readers. Suddenly, literature is more accessible to the entire world, and E-zines are offering more selections to their readers. These online magazines are finding better ways to meet the needs of writers and their readers, becoming a defining force in literature.

Literary journals and E-zines usually publish poetry, short fiction, and essays and offer information about authors and book reviews. Much of the work is written by new writers, so beginning writers take note: The Internet offers greater opportunities than ever before to get your work published. It hosts a variety of smaller-niche publications that offer new writers a forum for their work, as well as a worldwide audience. This translates to more people seeing a writer’s work than ever before. And, as it should be, the goal of these E-zines is to feature the work of deserving writers, both experienced and inexperienced.

Suppose you’ve placed a short story in a respectable print journal. Your story will be in active circulation for a certain number of weeks, and then it will be moved to the archives. If your story appears in an online literary journal, it may be viewed by thousands, and when it is archived, a mere click of the mouse will bring it back to life. No trips to the back rooms of libraries. Plus, your story will be viewed by people all over the world who may not have access to work you’ve published in print. This long-term exposure is a definite advantage for the author. This may explain why many mid-list literary magazines are switching to both online AND print editions.

New writers who are looking to be published in a print magazine would do well to target the mid-list (or second-tier) literary magazines. Obviously, the very best placement for an author’s short fiction would be in first-tier magazines; but if this goal is unattainable, online publications are a great way for new writers to get those first credits.

The Internet also offers writers newsletters, chat rooms, and forums where they can network with fellow writers from all over the world. This is a great way to stay current and glean information about particular editors and agents or hear about new E-zines and what they are looking for.

Blogs (short for Web log) have been on the Internet since the early ’90s. Originally, blogs started as personal diaries online, but that has since evolved and expanded. Not only are blogs for personal use, but blogs are often vehicles for sharing and discussing specific subjects, such as travel, politics, entertainment, and, of course, creative writing. Some of these blogs for creative writers can serve as an online journal, publishing a new poem or short story on a daily basis. Other writer-friendly blogs, such as http://www.writersreliefblog.com, offer information and advice for improving one’s writing skills.

Editors/agents will consider your work published if it’s posted publicly on your blog. Avoid sharing your work until it’s already been published elsewhere, giving credit to where it was first printed. In addition to sharing already-published work, if you’re promoting a book you’ve written, you can have friends and loved ones comment with reviews, announce book readings/signings, etc. Start sharing your blog link—that is, the URL, the WWW to get to your blog—in your e-mails and other communications. The more people you have visiting your blog, the more likely people will spread the word. An added bonus is that your rankings in Internet searches will increase.

Whether you’re submitting your work via postal mail or e-mail/online, it is important to have your computer files organized and properly named, so you can immediately identify what piece to submit and what you have previously sent.

Making Folders

Create a new folder in "My Documents." Name this folder "Creative Work." This folder can hold whatever genres you write, but you want to distinguish it from any academic work that you might write and from other non-creative writing folders.

Within the "Creative Work" folder, make at least three subfolders: Accepted, Drafts, Poetry (Short Stories, Essays, etc.; you want to make a separate folder for each genre that you write).

The Accepted folder will contain work accepted for publication. It’s imperative to keep all of your work, but you also don’t want to make a mistake and resubmit any previously accepted pieces. The Drafts folder can be the holding place for works in progress, brainstorm ideas, work that is in a state of being proofread, and earlier versions of a finished piece (in the event that you’re the type of writer who likes to save every draft). The genre folders will hold completed versions of your work.

Naming Your Files

Imagine that you’ve written a piece called "The Red Stone." You can drop the beginning articles and spaces when you’re naming a file, but we recommend saving the file with the name of your piece. Let’s say you’ve submitted the named file "RedStone" to 25 markets. As some responses come back, you decide that you want to revise "The Red Stone" for the next time you submit. Make a copy of the original "RedStone" file. Rename this file "RedStoneOLD." Back at your list of documents, you will now rename "RedStone" to "RedStoneNEW." It is in this NEW file you will make revisions. You want to maintain the same name formatting so that the two pieces sort together.

It may happen an editor wants to publish "RedStoneNEW," but he or she wants you to retitle it to "The Brick-Red Stone." You, being the compliant writer, agree. In your files, you need to copy the file "RedStoneNEW" and paste the file in your folder. On a PC, the file should read "Copy of RedStoneNEW." On a Mac, the file should read "RedStoneNEW copy." Rename this file to "Brick-RedStoneWASRedStone." Next, rename the original "RedStoneNEW" file to "RedStoneNOWBrick-RedStone." By doing this, you’re able to see that "Brick-Red Stone" is the latest version, but you’re also able to maintain its previous versions. Since X Journal has accepted "The Brick-Red Stone," you now can move all of these versions into your Accepted folder.

On a PC, sort your files by the "List" view. Select a file to see the details of the file, which at the bottom of the screen. It will show the last date modified; that is, to say the last time you worked in that file. This is another way to be sure you are choosing the most current version to work with. On a Mac, choose the "list" view as well and highlight a file to see the last date modified and other information that opens to the right of the document.

This process of naming and saving files this way works well for prose and book writers who make postal and electronic submissions. However, if you’re a poet, there is more to the process.

Poets should keep each individual poem saved in its own file. It is easier to move poems individually and keep track of newest versions this way.

Organizing Poetry Submissions

E-mail/online submissions are a bit trickier for poets. Some outlets want the poems sent in one document as a DOC or RTF file. Other outlets want the poems sent individually via attachment. Then there are still others who simply prefer that your poems be pasted into the body of the e-mail with no formatting embedded. On a PC, the icons for a DOC and RTF file look the same. We recommend putting "rtf" at the end of the poem file names for RTF files so that you can easily identify RTF from DOC. On a Mac, you’re able to see the difference between these two files, so this isn’t applicable. Nevertheless, when you’re submitting via e-mail/online, always follow the guidelines of each individual journal.

It’s important to know that when you are making poetry submissions, literary journals and magazines only accept groups of poetry consisting of 3-6 titles. We suggest that you create subfolders with a group number to correspond with a specific group of poems. Once you’re happy with the way a particular group of poems reads together, keep these poems submitted and organized together in that group until you’re ready to totally revise and retitle (or retire; that is, to never submit it again) a particular poem in the group.

If you’re making poetry e-mail/online submissions and the journal requests that the poems be sent in one file, paste all the poems into one document, then save the file with the appropriate group name. You should also maintain a separate document called "Groups" that lists each set of poems by group.

We highly recommend this strategy since it will save you time and energy when it comes to tracking your submissions. If you mix and match poems with different groups, you’re more inclined to submit a poem to a journal that might have already seen it.

Back Up Your Files

A final note: It is crucial that you always save your work and create backups for your work. You can save your work onto floppy disks, zip disks, CDs, external backup drives, or flash drives. We personally recommend zip disks or flash drives because your work is less likely to get corrupted on these devices. Also, flash drives can be carried in your pocket when you travel or have a few minutes to work on someone else’s computer (with permission, of course.) In addition, there are also various Web storage sites that can hold your work for you for minimal prices a year.

At Writer’s Relief, our full-service clients benefit from having us be a hub for all their electronic files. We also track your submissions and responses, and we’re here to provide you submission strategy and acceptance advice. Our full-service clients have access to their own personal online database (for submission tracking purposes) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call our offices toll free at (866) 405-3003 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the best plan for you.

So, I’m sitting here wondering why the query I sent out last week has yet to be answered. It took several months to compose that query, and another four weeks to track down a suitable agency to send it to. You could say that I have quite a lot invested in this query, and now I need answers as to why I’m being ignored.

Could it be something to do with the post office? I suppose it’s possible the neighborhood letter carrier ran into a shambling group of zombies. When he discovered he had only a banana and a toothpick with which to defend himself, my poor query probably fell to the wayside and became covered with banana goo. It’s also possible that a flock of great horned owls swooped down and mistook my query for nesting material—good taste on their part. Even supposing that the letter carrier avoided zombies, owls, and envelope-eating voodoo doctors, my query couldn’t have made it to the agency’s door, or I would have heard something by now.

Unlike the literary agency I queried, my writing group was lightning quick in responding to my complaint. They’re asking why it took so long to complete a single query and wondering why I only managed to send it to one agency. Are they negative or what? They don’t know what I’ve been facing this past year! For one thing, I had a disastrous accident on my scooter last December. Then my frontal lobotomy didn’t go quite as planned, and things started slipping my already slippery mind. Spent several unproductive months watching the Food Network and buying Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grills from the Home Shopping Network. Oh, and let’s not forget my tragic loss in the national 52-Card Pickup tournament in Vegas.

It’s been a rough year, but I hope to get more writing done, not to mention a few more queries submitted in the months ahead. It would be really cool to sell a story or two. If so, I could pay for a few of those Ultimate Grills sitting in my garage...if any literary agents are reading this, maybe we could work out a deal?

Here at Writer’s Relief, our staff is expert in the business of writing. We’re here to organize, encourage, and facilitate the process of writing for creative writers who don’t have time to tackle the business side of their craft.

Unfortunately, there are a few areas in which we are fairly useless:

We can’t fix your parking tickets, leaky faucets, or that pesky termite problem.

We can’t house-train your new puppy (or your toddler).

We can’t smooth wrinkles, halt hair loss, or lower cholesterol.

We can’t refinance your mortgage, negotiate a raise, or solve the social security crisis.

We can’t change your world view, your mind, or your gender.

We can’t locate lost pets, old friends, or wandering muses.

We can’t make you more popular among your peers or cure the heartbreak of psoriasis.

We can’t school you in the art of flower arranging, give you a position of power, or tone your abs.

And we can’t even hook you up with your true love…or the hottie who lives down the street.

What we can do, however, is save you valuable time and effort researching markets and guidelines and keeping track of submissions. You can focus your time and energy on writing, while we relieve you of the burden of promoting your own work. Here’s how it works.

You send us unpublished samples of your work, which we review for quality. We only accept and submit work from writers we believe have the ability to be published. Our review board takes from one day to one month to contact you, depending on the genre being submitted and the timeliness of your submission. We do not charge a reading fee.

After we’ve completed our review, we’ll quote you flat fees for our various services. You tell us how much or how little to do. Our clients stipulate how much work we will complete, so their fees are not open-ended. In other words, you set the pace and budget the time spent by telling us how much work to do for you.

We’ll help you get your act together. We proofread your work with a keen eye for detail. Then, we target those publishers and agents most appropriate and make certain your writing is professionally prepared. Your writing will be organized and targeted to appropriate markets. We will also help with query and cover letters, and we constantly update guidelines for literary journals and agents to make sure your work gets to the right person. Our database contains the most up-to-date information on creative writing outlets available anywhere.

We keep accurate records of all costs related to your work and provide an itemized list with your billing. This service is invaluable at tax season. And most exciting, we create a personal database for each client that details the status of each submission and all titles, acceptance information, etc. and is available to you online 24 hours a day.

So, if you’re looking for a little help getting your submission strategies in order, give us a shout. But if you’re looking for a little help with your mother-in-law or your wayward garden, you might be better off perusing the Yellow Pages.

http://www.writersrelief.com/
Author’s Submission Service Since 1994

This old adage rings true today: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. In the writing world, as in every industry, there are less-than-legitimate companies out there hoping to separate the writer from his money, promising to get you published without the usual hard work, research, dedication, and learning curve the rest of us writers must endure. Now there's a new kind of service being offered to writers, promising to blast off your queries to hundreds, even thousands of agents and editors, saving you countless hours of hard work. But is this a legitimate route? Most editors and agents don't think so.

One new service aimed at writers offers to submit your query online and send it out to hundreds of editors and agents. While it would be lovely to sit back and have your query "blasted" across the country, there are a few areas of concern. First, these services use only e-mail, which eliminates a large percentage of editors who request paper submissions. Second, these mass mailings are often identified as spam and immediately relegated to the junk mail folder. Many editors and agents automatically delete any submissions from services such as Bookblaster or eQuery Online. Some of them already recognize the cut-and-paste formula and weed those queries out automatically. The general consensus is that these cookie-cutter queries are causing serious annoyance in the publishing world.

Another problem is that there's no guarantee that these services maintain a carefully researched, up-to-date database. And if you're paying good money for this scattershot approach, you'd be better off taking the time to research a more manageable target group on your own. At least you'd have your own best interest at heart.

At Writer's Relief, we offer to edit and format your query, target potential agents and editors, and send your query to the appropriate people on a regular submission schedule. We promise to take a load off your shoulders, but we do not promise to do all the work for you. Our clients are seasoned writers who have already put in the long hours. They simply want a little help with the promotion of their work. We screen our writers carefully and only accept those whose work has promise—and we do not charge a reading fee.

If you are a writer who wears too many hats, you may feel it's worth paying someone to deal with the busywork of submission, and that's the service we offer. We do not promise to get you published, and we do not offer you the luxury of sitting back and waiting for a contract to fall in your lap. What we do promise is to help you get organized and motivated to submit on a regular basis to a carefully compiled list of editors and agents so that you can focus your time and energy on the business of writing.

If in doubt, keep the following points in mind when comparing submission services:

Avoid services that keep you out of the loop. Your work should be submitted in your name, not the service's. The only person who should act as your middleman is your agent.

Check references and testimonials. Does the service provide a list of satisfied clients with publication credits that you can confirm? Does the staff have writing or publishing experience? Resumes and testimonials should be accessible to any prospective clients.

Get specific fee information up front and in writing. (It's a bad sign if this information is not easy to locate.)

Assess the quality of editing services if offered. Find out how stringent the qualifications for proofreading or editing are for this company.

Avoid fancy "extras" like cover mock-ups or 8 x 10 glossies of you by the pool. Editors have enough to sort through without fancy binders and clippings and photos.

And lastly, get a feel for the level of personal service. Are you treated well and your questions answered courteously and promptly? Or are you ignored? Given the runaround? Writing is a highly personal endeavor, and the people handling your work should be sensitive and caring enough to treat it as such.

In general, there are no shortcuts in the business. And there's no way to bypass the hard work and devotion required to be a good writer. But there are some legitimate services that help take some of the frustration out of the process and free up a little time for creativity. Writer's Relief is here to do just that. Our database of editors and agents is constantly being updated so that your work is targeted to the people most likely to accept it. Our fees are up front, and our clients have full control over the level of service they want to pay for, which can include record keeping, personal databases, and itemized expense lists for tax purposes. And yes, all these things you certainly could do for yourself. Our clients are quite capable of writing a powerful query letter and researching the market for themselves—but they relish the opportunity to devote more time to their writing, while we take care of the details.

http://www.writersrelief.com/
Author’s Submission Service Since 1994