Haven’t dealt with a submission slush pile in many, many years. Nothing new here. Common sense.
- If you nominate your own blog, publish some posts first. Just a thought.
- Be specific. Telling an editor to “browse your site” is not the way to keep their attention.
- Share a link. No one will visit your site and then search for the title of a post.
- Don’t regurgitate your bio. Don’t summarize what you write about. Point to one piece you want me to read, and tell me in a sentence why I should read it right now.
- Don’t insult the person you’re trying to get to read your work.
- Don’t complain about how other writers aren’t as good as you.
- Don’t tell me you deserve something.
- Read what you write. Typos aren’t attractive.
- Be succinct. I don’t need to hear your life story.
- Be timely. Don’t suggest a post about something that happened last week.
- Be relevant. But know that your work can be relevant but still passable.
- Do your homework. Read the publication to which you’re submitting.
- Don’t call me sir.
- Or madam.
The last two points, though 🙂
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This is all good advice.
But to what does it refer?
Are you taking submissions for something, or is this just generic?
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For this (submission form on the About page).
Happy holidays!
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Is it ok to make multiple submissions and if so, do they need to all be on separate forms?
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Yes, but I’d submit something only occasionally, when I *know* I have something appropriate. (This is general advice, not just for this publication.)
Yes. If you put too much info or too many links/examples into a pitch, it’s easy to overlook and move on. In this case, I’m looking for a specific piece from a writer — a single story/post into their world. When someone dumps too much information into a pitch (their life story, their background, why they deserve something, blah blah), I move on. I just want to read something really good right away.
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Ok then. Something immediate and really good on the way. ;~}
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