They say they are seeking work that is seriously literary, but without pretension. The short fiction they publish is 3,500 words or less, the flash fiction they publish is 1,000 words or less, microfiction must be less than 50 words in length. They are also open to poetry and have a specific interest in haiku.

They list the following in terms of what they are particularly interested in reading:​

• literary fiction
• magical realism
• anything Hemingway related
• writing about nature
• your writing about writing
• writing about drinking
• summer-themed haiku and poetry
• fiction and poetry that is inspired by nature

They are not interested in the following:

• erotica
• anything depicting violence against women or children
• racially/hate motivated narrative

While open year-round to submissions, the deadline for consideration in their summer 2022 issue is July 3rd. They will publish work online on a bi-weekly basis. They also plan to distribute a PDF journal on a rolling basis.

They try to respond to non-expedited submissions within 30 days. They charge for expedited submissions which include feedback, but are free otherwise.

They have detailed submission guidelines on their website. Please follow them carefully, before submitting. It can also help to read what they’ve published previously, which is available here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

Luna Press Publishing is a small Scottish press established in 2015, and you can learn more about their founding here. They were founded by an author who did not appear to have past experience running a publishing house, but they’ve made it this far. It is not clear who their distributor is, or if they have one. You can get a good feel for what they’ve previously published by visiting their shop here.

They also do not disclose royalty rates.

They will open to submissions at 12:00AM UK time on the 16th, and close at 11:59 PM UK time on the 18th of June 2022. Please be mindful of the timezone when planning your submission.

​You must submit during those times.

They ask that all submissions be made via email. In the body of the email they ask that you include  a brief author bio, title, elevator pitch, and word count (50,000 words and up). In the email itself attach a word document containing the first three chapters, and another word document containing a full synopsis of the book – including the ending.

To learn more about what they are looking for, read their detailed submission guidelines here. They will only consider submissions that follow all of their guidelines.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

Your opening line is a crucial part of your novel. It offers readers their first impression of your story, introducing them to the world, characters, and overarching tone in just a handful of words. In a lot of cases, readers use these lines to determine if your book is for them. If you manage to get their attention, they’re more likely to continue reading through to the end.

It’s important, therefore, to get your opening line just right. The question is: how? There are a lot of ways you can potentially open your story — chances are, you’ve already tried out a few different opening lines or a few iterations of your current one, just looking for something that clicks. While there’s not a tried-and-true method for creating the perfect opening line for every story, there are a handful of things you should avoid when trying to craft something interesting and functional. Here are three of the most common mistakes writers make with their opening lines to help you avoid the popular pitfalls.

1) They make it too short

Now, you may be worried about making your opening line too long. This is true to an extent — while you don’t want to bog readers down with irrelevant information, you also need to make sure they have enough information to work with as they continue reading the scene.

Your opening line should introduce readers to your story. Short, punchy, or otherwise vague statements don’t do much by way of introduction, as they rarely give readers enough interesting detail to latch onto. Make sure your opening line is long enough (and detailed enough!) to ground them in your story and incentivize them to keep reading.

2) They begin with dialogue

Dialogue is a great way to jump into a scene that’s already in progress, but it’s ineffective for setting the stage and can leave readers feeling disoriented. Consider all the questions an opening dialogue line presents: Who is speaking? What tone are they using? What’s the context of this line?

None of these are the questions you want readers asking right away. They’ll spend more time trying to get their bearings than they will getting acquainted with your story. Save the dialogue openings for later chapters and make sure your opening line is giving readers information, rather than making them aware of the information they lack.

3) They lie to their readers

While it can be tempting to hook readers with immediate drama that gets resolved quickly and cleanly, it’s not a great way to build your reputation. If you set readers up with high stakes that turn out not to be real (inaccurate or over-the-top descriptions, “joke” opening lines, a beginning that’s “just a dream”), they won’t fully trust you to tell the truth throughout the rest of the story.

The stakes you set up in your opening line should be real, no matter how minor they are. Readers will care about a problem if it’s clear that the protagonist cares about it — all you have to do is establish their expectations and follow through. Misleading readers by hyperbolizing or falsely raising insignificant stakes will never be as effective as simply setting up a scene clearly and honestly. Remember: “dramatic” doesn’t always mean “engaging.”

Your opening lines don’t have to be perfect, but they should be effective. Constructing a line that gives readers the information they need in a clear, accurate, and engaging way will always be well worth the trouble.

Writing that comes to life engages the hearts and minds of readers. Giving your writing life is one way to register it as a relatable, even unforgettable, piece in the minds of readers.

Here are three elements that can help bring your writing to life.

1. Figures of Speech

If your writing is a meal, then figures of speech are its spice, adding flavor when used at the right time. Figurative writing helps show, rather than tell, what you’re trying to describe. It has many uses – it can brighten up a scene, help describe people evocatively, or add a little sparkle.

Here’s an example of a metaphor:

“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellation”. – The Fault in our Stars, John Green.

Here’s personification in action:

“Death meanwhile was constantly onstage or changing costume for his next engagement……” –   from This Old Man, an essay by Roger Angell.

Roger Angell used personification in a remarkable, attention-grabbing way to describe death and its attributes.

Figures of speech use such effective devices as comparison and exaggeration to strike a chord in the mind of the reader, they help paint a vivid image of your writing. But using too many of them or using them at the wrong place will make your writing appear verbose and unappealing. So use them sparingly.

2. Suspense

Suspense triggers curiosity and imagination. It helps readers fully invest in a story by keeping them guessing about what is coming next. Don’t give too much away immediately, instead make it unfold in a way that activates the senses.

That said, suspense can also be a double-edged sword, so it needs to be used wisely. Too much of it could make your writing incomprehensible, and too little makes it predictable. Use suspense at the right place and time to engage your readers.

3. Clarity

All efforts put into bringing a piece of writing together would go to waste or won’t have the desired effect if the writing can’t be quickly and easily grasped. A piece may be spectacularly written, but a reader needs to fully understand it before he can admire it.

Good writing needs clarity, in the sense that you need to present it in a way that the readers easily grasp what’s happening, what’s the plot, what’s the theme, and which scene leads to which. It needs to unfold in a clear, vivid way that can easily be understood. Your readers’ time and attention are valuable, so it helps to take them from one stage to another intuitively, effortlessly, with all difficulties moved out of the way.

Final thoughts

Next time you’re putting together a piece of writing, consider using the above elements to breathe life into it. Don’t just give your readers something to read, give them a piece that ignites their imagination, absorbs them, and takes them to a whole new place.

Bio: Abdulraheem Jameel Ango is a freelance writer with years of experience, who has written for a wide range clients and businesses. Find out more at: https://medium.com/@abdulwrites