MySpace

Two Pages Away From Greatness There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. Flannery O'Conner

Dawn



Last Updated: 12/13/2006

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

City: ATHENS
State: GEORGIA
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/31/2006
Thursday, January 18, 2007 

Category: Writing and Poetry
Sorry I haven't posted in so long. My DSL line has been down since I got back from my MFA residency and myspace is murder on a dial up connection, so my posting will be brief until I'm back to high speed!
The residency went well. I have David Payne as my pod instructor this semester and his comments were very insightful at the residency, unfortunately I workshopped the novel that is out with publishers now, so I feel like the book is total crap and I'm sure no one will buy it. If only I had him last semester!  Oh, well. At least the manuscript will be better when I had it in for my thesis.
I've had 5 rejects on the novel so far. Still 17 editors to go. I've convinced myself that the novel won't sell, so the rejections are expected and a sale will be a pleasant suprise. I have a feeling the genre novel that I haven't put as much effort into will probably sell and the one I slaved over won't. Such is the publishing world. On the bright side, I do get to attend the AWP conference in Atlanta in Feb for free! Queens University had 10 free spots and I got one of them! There are some interesting panels (some meet at the same time, so I may want to buddy up with someone and exchange information!) and I'm looking forward to going.
Check out Borders.com for the first chapters contest. In conjunction with Touchstone-Fireside (they rejected me, not that I'm bitter) Borders is running a contest where the 1st prize is  a $5000 advance and a publishing contract with Touchstone-Fireside. Finalists also have their first 3 chapters critiqued by board. Good luck!

Literary Monthly

 

I know you will succeed if you believe in yourself. But it would be nice to read some of your prose, if that’s possible. Gather.com also has a publishing contest, but they want exclusive rights until May. And I’m always hopeful of finding an interested agent in the meantime.


 
Posted by Literary Monthly on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 6:37 PM
[Reply to this
Dawn

 
It is the same contest as Gather.com. That's an important point about the contest--if you submit your work and you are chosen as a finalist, you can't send the manuscript out anywhere else until the judging is over.
 
Posted by Dawn on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 11:32 PM
[Reply to this