In the olden days I used a photocopied form for collecting information on various submission opportunities. When money permitted I bought the most recent issue of a magazine. I’d comb though it looking for hints at themes of upcoming issues. I would note the name of a particular editor
and worry over names without obvious gender clues. The library is a great place for viewing several issues at a time.
After market research I would take out another photocopied sheet and I’d note the who, what, when and where to send it. I’d put together a query letter with a paragraph to clearly show I had looked through past issues of their magazine. Sometimes I would mention an article well done. I’d put a note on the sheet of paper as the submission
and SASE dropped into the mailbox. This is how I tracked my submissions. I’d make a note to myself when time ran out and I assumed I ended up in slush and went to the next publication on my list.
I’d spend time between submissions, re-writing things with different slants or cleaning up 10% of the words in a short story.
Today, there are plenty of ways to track your submission.Computers, cell phones and actual programs are everywhere.
Tonight’s topic will look at Query Tracker, Writer’s Database, Duotrope, The (Submission) Grinder and the Story Tracker Mobile App.
Celebrity Sunday Presents Penny Sansevieri
9 December 2018
Penny C. Sansevieri is our Celebrity Sunday Guest.
Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon and Red Hot Internet Publicity,
which has been called the“leading guide to everything Internet.” See more about her on our Previous Guests Page.
I admit I am not good at long term goals but I am pretty good at breaking things into steps. Each step leads to another and if I celebrate each step I will eventually get to the first floor landing. Once there I may reassess the situation and advance or retreat accordingly.
Our first topic chat will sort out 3 types of goals. During the month we will also take a look at how to keep track of our writing projects and submissions.
Our Calendar Page has the list of December topics and Penny is coming back to chat with us on the 9th.
After chat on Wednesday the 19th we will be on vacation until the first Wednesday in January. During this time the room will be available but unmoderated. I’ll be updating the website during this break.
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