But first, a bit about our contest series.

Every week we are going to have a contest on our Facebook Page. The contests will change from week to week but the winners will always be published in the magazine. The contest winner and the runners up are chosen by a voting system, and then the editors of Authors Publish will select several additional entries from the rest to be the Editor’s Choice winners.

Below are all the winners of this week’s contest, their challenge was to write their origin story by answering the question: “How or when did you know you wanted to be a writer”

Next week’s contest starts at 9am PST on Saturday, and ends at 10 am on Monday morning.   

Winner:

“For me, writing has always felt more natural than breathing. Then, on July 13, 2011, my world collapsed when my 46 yr. old husband of 4 years, had a sudden and massive heart-attack, and died. That night, I ran to my computer and started typing furiously. What started as his Eulogy turned into a blog, which morphed into a book, which will be released this November. Writing my pain and saying the truth about death, is what has made me want to begin to live again”

Kelley Lynn

You can visit her website here: http://www.ripthelifeiknew.com/

Runner Up:

“I started writing at 11 I loved the freedom it gave me to speak my mind, express my feelings and hide away for a while. Since then the connection between me and words have become unbreakable. If writing hadn’t of found me, I’d be such a different person. It’s saved me.”

Krystal Jones

You can visit her website here: http://www.wattpad.com/user/Citrus17

Editors Choice Winners:

“Whilst penning excuse notes from my parents, so I could get out of P.E. In later life a Judge praised my ability to tell a ‘good story’ and I made use of my time in solitary confinement, to write my first novel, entitled ‘WHY DO I ALWAYS GET THE BLAME’.”

A.L. Mottley

You can visit her facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/almottley?ref=hl

“In high school my crippling anxiety drove me to spend lunchtime hiding in the library from the adolescent hoard in the cafeteria. As I read more I wrote more, and ended up earning an honorable mention in a regional writing contest. When my it was announced over the PA. There was dead silence followed by a girl saying “who”? It was the first time I felt as if I existed. I was invisible but my writing was not.”

Caitlin Russell

“My mom recently showed me a copy of my first poem, age 5. It went something like this, “I saw a fly, and then it died, goodbye.” No turning back after that masterpiece!”

Erin Henson Croley

You can visit her website at: www.errantintersection.com

“My mother had a severe mental illness. Our family never traveled or had people over to visit. The curtains were always drawn and the house remained thick with the smell of cigarettes and black coffee. My life was full of abuse, spiraling with the fear of what each night might bring. Writing allowed me to create a different course of events with beautiful scenery doused with joy and freedom. So much was out of my hands growing up that being the only one who controlled the characters and plot lines I wrote empowered me. I could also travel to wondrous places in my imagination. If I was able to write eloquently enough, each line dripping with detail, I could revisit them in my darkest days. I did it to survive. I still do.”

Jannine Phelps

But then you are faced with the requirement to write a synopsis of your work.  All of a sudden you not only feel as though you’re in uncharted territory, you realize that you do not understand how to write a synopsis of your manuscript. Yet all publishers and agents require a synopsis.

I’ve come to understand I cannot be satisfied with the “okay.”  If I am, my chance of getting published could become either minimal or not at all.  On the other hand writing my synopsis to the best of my ability could be the key to the publishing of the work I’ve labored on for months.

I’ve learned that the synopsis is the retelling of the manuscript from start to finish.  In a sense it’s the same thing as talking to someone about the movie; “Judgment at Nuremburg.”  You’ve seen the movie, they haven’t, but you want them to see it.

As you tell essentials of the movie, not only does that person learn the plot, they also get to know all the relevant characters.  By the tone of your voice, your facial expression, and the “twinkle” in your eyes, they not only experience the same emotions you did, they then want to see it for themselves.

From what I understand, the goal of the synopsis is for the publisher to have a “wow” moment, to cause him or her to want to know more about what you have written.

I’ve learned that a strong introduction is important, this is also referred to as a “hook.”  To me it is the hook that grabs their attention and propels them into the rest of the synopsis.

As an example, what follows is the proposed “hook” for my manuscript, “Mistake Corrected.”  “The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton; what if the genesis for the plan to remove the states authority over abortion was not 1970 or 1971; but rather as early as 1960 or 1961?  What if part of the plan was to position the right Justice on the Court; to rule their way?  And who was the “their”, the organization behind the plan?  How much of what follows mirrors reality?”

To learn how to write a synopsis there are a number of resources.  I used “The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published” by Evan Marshall and “The Writer’s Digest Writing Clinic” edited by Kelly Nickell.

Through Evan Marshall’s book I learned the importance of using the right words to tell the whole story, words that are strong and convey not only the action but also the emotion of the characters.

Through Kelly Nickell’s book I learned that when I’m mentioning a character for the first time, their name is to be in all caps (JAMES THOMPSON) and confusion can occur when I am “vague” in the use of “pronoun references.”

What I’ve written comes out of my experience in learning to write a synopsis.  Is it a challenge?  Yes, it is.  But, it is a necessary part of paying our dues as writers.

Something else to realize is this, in learning how to craft your synopsis, you are able to help other writers succeed and make their dream a reality.  Isn’t that what it’s all about, helping one another?

1. Stoneboat

Stoneboat is a print journal that tries to publish a mix of established and emerging writers. They publish creative non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction, as well as black and white art work. They accept very few of the creative works that are submitted to them, but if your work is accepted, it is a big accomplishment. It is easy to submit to Stoneboat using the electronic submission manager Submittable. To learn more visit their website here: http://www.stoneboatwi.com/submit.html

2. The Quotable 

The Quotable is one of my favorite journals to read. It is a quarterly print and electronic magazine that publishes short stories, essays, poetry, and artwork based on a theme and a quote. The theme this month is danger and the quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “As soon as there is life there is danger.” If you want to submit make sure to do so before June 1st deadline. To learn more visit their website here: https://thequotablelit.submittable.com/submit

3. Midwestern Gothic

Midwestern Gothic is a thoughtful and fun print journal, but I will never be able to submit my work to them because I do not live in the Midwest of the United States. That is the one catch. If you do live in the Midwest you can learn more about submitting here: http://midwestgothic.com/

4. Four Way Review

Four Way Review is a magazine that publishes poetry, short stories, and creative non fiction. They do a wonderful job curating regular electronic publications. Even though Four Way Review is only a little over a year old, they have a reputation for making good decisions.  They are also attached to the established poetry press Four Way.  To learn more visit their website: http://fourwayreview.com/

5. Thrice Fiction

Thrice Fiction is an electronic journal interested in publishing unusual works, some that are clearly mainstream literary fiction. They also try to publish a fair amount of work that plays with genres by blurring the lines and combining different genres. To learn more visit their website here: http://www.thricefiction.com/submissions.html

But for the purposes of our prompt your sonnet must contain 14 lines. It is up to you if those lines contain rhymes or iambic pentameter. For this prompt your sonnet must also contain a turn, the traditional twist of Shakespearean sonnets, where the last two lines alter the meaning of the rest of the poem.

Now if you want to see a few sample sonnets, I have included links to a number of sonnets below, all follow different guidelines for what it is to be a sonnet, although all contain 14 lines and a turn.

Sonnet, by Bill Knott 

Sonnet 48, by Shakespeare

I will put Chaos into Fourteen Lines, by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Updated September 2020: Vanity Fair published an in depth article on some of their more questionable decisions and business practices.

Skyhorse Publishing is one of the largest small presses in the United States. They were founded in 2006.  Over the past couple of years they have started to acquire other small presses. Skyhorse started out focused on publishing non-fiction and that is still their primary interest. However they have imprints that are interested in publishing work in other genres that you can see on their site. This review is only focused on Skyhorse.

Skyhorse has published a number of well known best selling books within the non-fiction genre. They have wide distribution and you often see Skyhorse books on the shelves of Barnes & Nobles. The books range from serious research based non-fiction, to diet books, to books written by “celebrities”.

In the past year they’ve shifted their strategy to focus more on publishing work by controversial figures the big 5 won’t publish, like Woody Allen.

It is easy to sift through their back catalog to see if your book might fit. They do not require agents or previous publication experience in order to submit a proposal.

They are currently looking for proposals in the following categories: Sports, History, Humor, Adventure and Travel, Health and Fitness, House and Home, Business, Food and Wine, Pets, and Current Events. They are also interested in a number of sub categories so make sure to check their website.

They take around a month and a half to respond to proposals.

They have decent distribution and I have read their books but they have a deeply mixed leaning towards negative reputation because of disorganization and alleged un-payment of authors, that were reported on The Water Cooler. We are actively monitoring this publisher and may update this review at any time to include new information. Authors have also complained of lack of marketing support for their work.

They seem to be doing a better job in terms of paying their authors in the past two years, but the situation has not improved for their employees. They are a number of negative reviews here.

When you send them a proposal it should consist of the following: A brief query letter, a one-to-two page synopsis, an annotated chapter outline, rudimentary market analysis (focusing on what might be your literary competition), a sample chapter or two, as well as a bio containing all previous publishing credits. That last portion is why you should submit to literary journals and magazines. Even if you are not being published in the same genre at all, any publishing experience really makes a difference.

They accept all submissions through email. If you are interested in learning more or submitting please visit their website here.