After I finish my novel, and before I let anyone else see it, I edit it twice. The first draft of editing is just for spelling and grammatical errors. I often mess up my tense shifts so I try to keep an eye on that.

During the second round of editing I am more focused on the content. I want to make sure that the characters come across as authentic. I want to make sure the plot is interesting and doesn’t have any gaping holes. I do not change anything significant at this point, because I want feedback first.

The second step is to arrange a small group of readers. Try and choose at least five people whose opinions you trust, and give them a copy of your manuscript. Do not expect feedback from all five, but handing out your manuscript to so many people will guarantee that you get at least some feedback.

If you want any feedback on specific elements of the manuscript, type up a list of questions for the reader to keep in mind. This will help them focus on giving you the feedback that you need.

Make sure that when they give you feedback you appreciate the compliments as well as take in the criticism. Read over all the feedback carefully and then let it set for a little bit. Don’t do anything drastic to your book for at least two weeks.

The third step is editing the book based on the feedback you received. You don’t have to take every nit picky suggestion your readers made, but make sure to address any of the legitimate concerns they may have had.

After this draft and one final review for any minor errors your manuscript should be ready to be submitted to agents or self published. After being so thorough during the revision process you can be confident that your work is up to the publics standards.

That doesn’t mean that your agent might not offer revision suggestions, it just means that your work is now polished enough for people to read and enjoy it easily.

This is an easy exercise to clear your mind, but it is also a good exercise to try if you are just getting used to a new character.

What you do is place any or all of your characters in a new and very different setting. I suggest the circus because it gives you a lot of options. If that setting does not appeal to you, or your story is already set in a similar place, change it to the jungle, or a submarine.

If you do not have a character in mind already, you can borrow one of your favorite characters from another novel.   You could place Sherlock Holmes at that circus, or play around with what Tom Sawyer would do in that situation.

This is a good exercise to try because it stretches your writing muscles and helps you understand your characters better. It is also a lot of fun.

It is free to submit to the journal, but a small fee is charged for the chapbook contest, it is also good to keep in mind that poets they publish in their journal will probably receive preferential treatment when it comes to the chapbook contest.

Keep that in mind, so that if your work is accepted by Paper Nautilus this year, you might want to submit to their chapbook contest next year, even if you are not ready to do so now.

Paper Nautilus accepts around ten percent of the work submitted to them. It takes them around three months to respond to submissions. The print journal itself is beautiful to look at.

They are a print journal, but you can get a good feeling for the work they publish by visiting the featured work section of their site. That is where they post some of their favorite work that has appeared in the magazine

The work they publish tends to be narrative with strong images. They also tend feature a lot of metaphors.

They accept up to five poems at a time. Fiction can be up to 6,500 words in length. They also accept “aphorisms”: Stories that are no longer then 150 charioteers in length.   They ask that you do not submit more then once per submission period.

Paper Nautilus uses the standard submission manager, Submittable. You use the same submission manager to submit your chapbook to the Vella Chapbook Contest.

A chapbook is a small book with a limited print run (under 500). The contents of a chapbook can be reprinted as part of a larger book later on by another publisher. Most poets start out with chapbooks, but regardless of what you write, it is a good way to get your work out there.

The chapbook contest is open to poetry, fiction, and mixed- or hybrid-genre works. The manuscript must be between 16-24 pages in length. Thematically linked work is encouraged.

It costs $11 to submit a manuscript for consideration. The deadline of August 15th is fast approaching, but if you have a chapbook ready to go it is well worth submitting. A prize winning chapbook is a valuable thing to have written.

This is the third year of the chapbook contest, so it already has an established reputation.

In conclusion Paper Nautilus is a good place to submit to because they are established and eclectic. Also if your work is accepted by Paper Nautilus you are putting your foot in door for the chapbook contest.

For more information on the contest visit this page: https://papernautilus.submittable.com/submit/21067. Visit the home page for more information on Paper Nautilus in aligner: http://readpapernautilus.wordpress.com/

Lunch Ticket has a well formatted website that makes the work accessible and appealing. It is easy to navigate the issues on the site.

Lunch Ticket has a low acceptance rate. They accept under 5% of the work submitted to them for consideration. They also have varying response times. They take between a month and half a year to respond to most submissions.

When submitting to them manuscripts cannot contain any identifying information. Your cover letter should include name, email and physical address, as well as a 50-word bio. All submissions should be 12-point Times New Roman or Arial type, double-spaced (poetry can be single spaced), and paginated.

Only submit three poems at a time. Short stories and essays can be no longer then 5000 words. They do not accept previously printed material but they accept simultaneous submissions. Lunch Ticket uses the popular and easy to use Submittable service to manage their submissions.

The work they tend to choose is timely, sharp, poetry and prose. Like most online journals. They do not pay their authors.

Lunch Ticket is also one of the few journals that focuses on adults but still publishes a category of work they call writing for young people. These are usually straightforward tales, with a youthful focus.

If you are interested in submitting to Lunch Ticket I encourage you to read a few works in the same genre that you are submitting it, before proceeding. Since it is a free online journal this step will only cost you time.

In conclusion Lunch Ticket is a good journal to submit to because it is established, dynamic, and easily accessible.  You can visit their website here: http://lunchticket.org/.