The First Line

The First Line is a literary magazine in which it's relatively easy to get published. They provide you with a first line, and you write your short story with that. The sentences can always be found at their website and they welcome all genres.

They publish four times a year and are quite well-read. The guideline for entries is usually between 300-3000 words, but there aren't hard and fast rules where this is concerned.

They pay US $30.00 for fiction and US $20 for non-fiction. They will also send you a copy of the magazine your work appears in. You can see the submissions page here. And here is what they've said on their page:

Short Story Submissions

Do you write short stories? If you do, here's an opportunity you don't want to miss out on. Dream Catcher - an international magazine - is looking for short stories of about 2,000 words. 

There's no mention of payment as far as I can see, but this is a good chance to get your foot in the door and be published. I've published a lot of calls for submissions on this blog. And I always try to ensure that they're paid positions. I think that a writer - like every other worker - deserves payment for his/her work. 

Nevertheless, once in a while we have to bite the bullet and give away some of our work to set the ball rolling. Here's what Dream Catcher has said on their site:  

Compass Books Call For Submissions

Compass Books is a publisher looking for authors who write instructional books. So if you're a writer who speaks at conferences or workshops about your chosen discipline, this publisher may be a good fit for you. They have international authors on their books and are interested in writers who tutor in how-tos like travel, sport, food, writing etc.

You need to submit your manuscript through their website or email (a short proposal). There's a submission form on the site and I would use this in the first instance if I were making an application.
Just so you're prepared, you'll need to send a synopsis, opening chapters, author biography, and full chapter breakdowns (so create this if you haven't got one).

Children Publisher Call For Submissions

Andersen Press is a specialist children's book publisher. They publish children's picture books (mostly pictures with little text for infants) and other children's books (older fiction - up to 75,000 words).

If you're a children's writer or have a kids' manuscript in a drawer somewhere, it's time to dust it off, give it a once over and send it away to Andersen Press.

It's not often that publishers are calling for submissions, so when you see one you have to take the plunge as soon as possible. The only drawback is that Andersen Press only accepts paper submissions by regular post. This means you have to print out your submissions/drawings and spend money on stamps to send them away.

Submissions and Updates

As subscribers and readers know, there's a regularly updated page on this blog called, Writing Opportunities.  This is where writers, blogers, verse makers, tip givers etc, can find paid jobs available (mostly) in hard copy opportunities.

Go to that page to see if there's anything there suitable for you. Don't forget we've also got some on-the-spot  call for submissions posts as well. Just type in the term submissions in the search panel at the top, right of this blog (the link will give you some of those search results) to find ongoing call for submissions in the hard-copy publishing field. (Or you can go to the new call for submissions page linked below).

Call For Submissions: Alfie Dog Ltd

Here's another call for submissions. This is my last for a while. A Blogger's Books will be going back to normal how to write articles tips and blogging tutorials. Alfie Dog is a new publishing company that publishes a range of short stories and books. They're different to other publishing companies because they allow readers to download your short story or book from their website for a fee. You, the author gets 50% of the royalties - less fees. 
If you're write short stories and are looking for a way to get them out into the public eye, this may be the break you were looking for.

If you are interested in this kind of publishing and you're looking to extend your reach and build your platform/writing reputation, here's a little of what Alfie Dog publishing has said on their site:

The site has two aims, firstly to be the best place on the web to download quality short stories and secondly to return as much of the royalty as possible to the authors. Payment for the downloads will be through Paypal and allows a single download to take place. Stories which are accepted go live on the site within four weeks of acceptance.

Submissions Now: Vanilla Heart Publishing

I'm running some calls for submissions over the next few weeks. I've already told you about John Hunt publishing calls for submissions. They have a huge range of imprints, so no matter what your chosen genre is, they may have something suitable for your work.

This week I want to focus on Vanilla Heart Publishing. They're an American independent publisher interested in romantic suspense, mystery, thrillers, fantasy etc.
In my opinion, Vanilla Heart Publishing is a house that isn't completely traditional (they're certainly not vanity). However, I believe that if they choose to publish your book, it will be start-up you were looking for to kick-start your writing career. They claim to give higher-than-normal royalties, so that's a great start. They also edit and help with marketing - another plus to the struggling writer.

They require a query letter to be submitted first, so don't submit your manuscript just yet. This is what they say on their website:

Romantic Fiction Publisher

Romantic Fiction publisher calling for submissions. Are you a romantic fiction writer? Have you got a romantic fiction manuscript hidden away in the forgotten drawer? I recently gave you some news about Bang, crime novel publishers on A Blogger's Books. I hope that those of you with crime manuscripts were able to submit yours to them. This week I have a new publisher of romantic fiction to tell you about. 

Romantic fiction publisher

Choc Lit is an independent publisher for romantic fiction. They've recently made the call for new submissions. All submissions must be previously unpublished. Here's a snippet of what they've said on their site:

Submissions: Do This Now

I've just discovered that Mslexia runs a fabulous 'Get Published' workshop on their website. This is just a very quick post to get this out to you so you can get your submissions ready. This page on their site covers the submissions process, literary agents, finding an agent/publisher etc.  Before you click off to that page, make sure you look at the note below. Get published page.

Mslexia also invites writers to submit their work, both for their online and hard copy versions of the magazine. Their contributors' guidelines are very detailed so make sure you look at the relative information before sending in submissions. 

New additions to writing jobs page

Before I go off to enjoy the rest of my week-end, here are a couple of writing opportunities to add to my writing jobs page. Follow the link for some amazing writing and verse jobs.