“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”
― Maya Angelou
Firstly, I hope you’re all thoroughly enjoying the festivities and have had the chance to enjoy a little peace and quiet away from our usual busy lives.
I love curling up and hibernating with a good book or ten and this is the perfect time.
This lull between Christmas and New year is also brilliant for collecting our thoughts on the year ahead.
During 2022, I’ve made a dedicated effort to sending more poetry out there. And the boost I received when I achieved success (like being shortlisted for the Bridport Prize), was well worth the time it took!
This coming year, I’m going to aim for 100 rejections. It’s an idea I picked up from somewhere on social media years back – which helps to reframe your attitude towards sending out work. Knock-backs can be painful, but this challenge helps desensitise you to rejection. If a piece isn’t accepted into a literary magazine or doesn’t place in a competition – it just means you’re free to send it elsewhere! It’ll find a home someday.
So often, when people chat with me during a one to one, they tell me that they don’t think they’ll have an audience. That nobody will be interested in their work. They dismiss the value of their own voice and experiences and creativity!
Deciding to share your work with the world is helpful as a writer because it helps you dismiss these daft notions. Every writer struggles with insecurity, but if we all were completely hobbled by it all the time, imagine how many wonderful poems and novels and plays and films would never have come into reality!
So get your writing out there. Build your confidence, build a reputation for yourself, build a readership, and show future publishers that you mean business.
Just do it because it’d be a shame not to. Sending a little more beauty out into the world, a little more humanity, is never a bad thing.
See below for an insider's view and some tips:
I love curling up and hibernating with a good book or ten and this is the perfect time.
This lull between Christmas and New year is also brilliant for collecting our thoughts on the year ahead.
During 2022, I’ve made a dedicated effort to sending more poetry out there. And the boost I received when I achieved success (like being shortlisted for the Bridport Prize), was well worth the time it took!
This coming year, I’m going to aim for 100 rejections. It’s an idea I picked up from somewhere on social media years back – which helps to reframe your attitude towards sending out work. Knock-backs can be painful, but this challenge helps desensitise you to rejection. If a piece isn’t accepted into a literary magazine or doesn’t place in a competition – it just means you’re free to send it elsewhere! It’ll find a home someday.
So often, when people chat with me during a one to one, they tell me that they don’t think they’ll have an audience. That nobody will be interested in their work. They dismiss the value of their own voice and experiences and creativity!
Deciding to share your work with the world is helpful as a writer because it helps you dismiss these daft notions. Every writer struggles with insecurity, but if we all were completely hobbled by it all the time, imagine how many wonderful poems and novels and plays and films would never have come into reality!
So get your writing out there. Build your confidence, build a reputation for yourself, build a readership, and show future publishers that you mean business.
Just do it because it’d be a shame not to. Sending a little more beauty out into the world, a little more humanity, is never a bad thing.
See below for an insider's view and some tips:
The Scottish Writers’ Centre Chapbook: Mountain & Glen
It’s helpful to know what a publication’s editors are looking for – and I just happen to be one of the editors of this gorgeous wee labour of love! So here’s an exclusive sneaky peak behind the scenes.
And think fast, because the deadline’s the 31st December!
Size matters
Because chapbooks are very small, only send in your littlest pieces. Up to 300 words of prose or 25 lines of poetry – but think like an editor/typesetter. If you have a lot of short paragraphs or stanzas requiring a lot of white space in your 300 words/20 lines, then your piece may still not fit. For this chapbook, send in only very little pieces.
Novelty
When a magazine or competition has a theme, there will often be many subs on the same kind of thing. It goes without saying that quality of writing is the top priority for any editor, but beyond that, consider sending in something that sparks curiosity and interest. Unusual layout. Prosetry (prose/poetry). An original take on the brief.
Pay Attention
It always needs to be said. Follow the submission guidelines closely. Otherwise you’re wasting your time and the editors’. (Even people with plenty of experience have subbed to me before and caused an unnecessary tangle of emails afterwards to get the required info such as the Bio and contact details and so on).
See below for the SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - and good luck!
It’s helpful to know what a publication’s editors are looking for – and I just happen to be one of the editors of this gorgeous wee labour of love! So here’s an exclusive sneaky peak behind the scenes.
And think fast, because the deadline’s the 31st December!
Size matters
Because chapbooks are very small, only send in your littlest pieces. Up to 300 words of prose or 25 lines of poetry – but think like an editor/typesetter. If you have a lot of short paragraphs or stanzas requiring a lot of white space in your 300 words/20 lines, then your piece may still not fit. For this chapbook, send in only very little pieces.
Novelty
When a magazine or competition has a theme, there will often be many subs on the same kind of thing. It goes without saying that quality of writing is the top priority for any editor, but beyond that, consider sending in something that sparks curiosity and interest. Unusual layout. Prosetry (prose/poetry). An original take on the brief.
Pay Attention
It always needs to be said. Follow the submission guidelines closely. Otherwise you’re wasting your time and the editors’. (Even people with plenty of experience have subbed to me before and caused an unnecessary tangle of emails afterwards to get the required info such as the Bio and contact details and so on).
See below for the SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - and good luck!
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage
to lose sight of the shore.”
- William Faulkner
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- The theme for this edition is Mountain and Glen.
- Eligibility: writers living in Scotland, or writers writing about Scotland. Whether professional, part-time or just starting out – we’d love to hear from you.
- Maximum word count: 25 lines for poetry and 300 words for flash fiction.
- Please send all submissions to: [email protected]
- Writers who are successful will receive a copy of the chapbook and a fee of £10.
- Everyone and anyone may submit one piece. Members of the Scottish Writers’ Centre may submit up to three pieces per chapbook.
- Copyright will remain with the writer.
- We will only accept work that has not been previously published.
- Submissions failing to follow the guidelines will be discounted.
- Entries should be submitted as one double-spaced Word attachment in Times New Roman, 12pt, (if submitting more than one entry, please include all in the same attachment).
- Please include a title sheet on the first page with your name, word or line count, title (s), a 50-word bio and your preferred contact details.
- We regret that we are unable to provide feedback.
- Submission emails should be titled ‘ Poetry submission + YOUR NAME, ‘Prose submission + YOUR NAME’.
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