5 Things That Will Increase Your Chances of Publication

Publication is the common goal for nearly all writers. There will always be a few who write only for their own satisfaction, those that have no desire to share their writing with the world. For the rest of us, publication is the gold ring on our childhood carousel rides. Round and round we go, even as adults, reaching out for the treasure. 

I've listed 5 things that will increase your chance of publication. There are others that could be added to this short list but work on these to begin with and see what happens. The first two deal with the actual writing while #3 concerns continuing education. 4 and 5 are ones that are of prime importance. Be as objective as you can in rating yourself on how you do with each category. Rearrange this list for yourself. Put the ones you want to work on most at the top.

1.  write with passion:  Fiction or creative nonfiction that has no passion, no emotion coming through, ends up sounding wooden and boring. If you want your reader to react emotionally, you must write in that same way. So often, those in my online writing group tell a writer that they felt no emotion in the piece. The writer obviously cares about whatever they are writing but it's got to be shown. Not told. Don't tell me you're happy about something. Show me. It's not always easy for us to let our emotions hang out like laundry flapping in a spring breeze. Many of us work at keeping our emotions in check. Not when you're writing. Let your emotion come to the surface and share it with your readers. If you care, they'll care but you must show that you care. 

2.  active vs passive:  We talk about active vs passive verb use over and over in the writing world. You know that an action verb promotes an image while a passive one sits like a lump. Recently, I critiqued a nonfiction story someone wrote to sub to a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book. There was a pretty good story but it got lost in a sea of passive being verbs and repetitions of words. Rewriting the piece with many active verbs and eliminating the repeated words would make the story one an editor might look at more than once. We need to be careful to not become a reporter in our fiction and creative nonfiction. Don't list the happenings as you might in a newspaper article. Use action in every way you can to make the story come alive for the reader. 

3.  continue learning your craft: I've said this many times and you'll hear me say it again. As writers, we never reach a point where we know it all. We need to make time for reading about our craft, attending occasional conferences and to learn by reading the critiques that other writers give to our work and the work of our fellow writers. This last one is reason enough to join a critique group. Learning our craft is an ongoing process. Don't disregard this important tool.

4.  sort out markets: There are so many markets for writers that it can be mind-boggling when you start studying market guides. It is to your advantage to sort them into lists of possible markets for the type of writing you do along with those that would be the most likely to publish your work. Seeing an actual copy of a magazine or ezine is even more helpful than just reading a market guide reference. Read at least one entire issue, more if possible. You'll soon see the type of writing the editors are looking for. Star the ones on your list that you think might work best for you.

5.  study guidelines:  I've harped on this over and over. I'm going to do it again because I think it is of prime importance in your chance of having your submission accepted. Many markets will give lengthy and explicit guidelines for what they seek. They do it for a reason--to keep from getting submissions that come nowhere near what their publication wants and to let you, the writer, know clearly what they want and what they don't want. The publications that have lengthy guidelines run the risk of writers taking one look, maybe scanning, and then flipping them off. Too long some will say. You become your own worst enemy if you do that. Why go to all the work of writing and submitting if you're not going to follow the guidelines given? On the opposite end are the publications that give either no guidelines or very few. Either they are very broadminded and accept a large variety of things or they aren't even sure themselves what they want. In the long run, you're more likely to get published by the market that gives longer and more detailed guidelines--if you study and follow them.

5.  study guidelines

A Poem and An Essay For Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day and there will be no mail, some banks will close, and many towns will have a parade. Our town has a special biscuits and gravy breakfast prior to the parade and the Legion has a dinner in the evening. Besides that, there will be smaller ceremonies held in various places around town. Some restaurants will honor Veterans with a free or discounted meal. 

A friend told me that this past Sunday, an older man in her church congregation recited the poem In Flanders Fields from memory as part of the service. How very emotional that must have been for him and for those who listened. 

Do you know the history of this well-loved poem? I ran across a website recently that has the poem and information about it and the author. You can read this famed poem written at the time of WWI here and also learn a bit about how it was written and by whom. I remember learning in school that the WWI Armistice came on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. It impressed me a lot then and still does. Kansas City is home to the National WWI Museum. To enter the museum, you walk across a glass bridge which goes across a field of poppies. Beautiful!

A few years ago, I wrote an essay for Veteran's Day using a lot of military men all rolled into one fictional personality. I'll finish today's post with the essay for you to read and I hope you'll give some thought to the many men and women who have served in our country's military over the years. 

Any Soldier, Any War—Maybe You Know Him

By Nancy Julien Kopp

Some call it Veterans Day while others say Remembrance Day. They are the same day commemorating the same wars, the same men and women who gave their lives fighting for what they believed in. Some volunteered while the draft nabbed others, but nearly all carried an unseen banner of the country they loved right next to their heart.

Any soldier, any war—maybe you know him.

He left mother and father, sweetheart and friends. Gone were his carefree summer days, spent with boyhood chums. Schoolbooks lay forgotten, dust settling over the covers. Baseball bats and marbles, toy cars and lead soldiers tumbled into a box, saved for the next generation. A letter jacket in the closet, placed there by a boy--would a man return to claim them? 

The boy who braved the high school football field turned into a young man whose hands trembled as they quickly wiped a tear from a cheek the first time he went into combat. Knees quaked and his heart beat double-time until training of both boot camp and a lifetime before that kicked in. The little unseen banner of his country fluttered right over his heart bringing calm and a determination to do all deemed necessary.

He fought in scorching heat and bitter cold, through fields of flowers in spring and myriad fallen leaves in autumn. He battled through daytimes and in moonless nights.

In the quiet moments, thoughts spiraled backward to home, to Mom and Dad, and Christmas trees, and baseball games, and to turkey dinners and ice cream sundaes. He fingered a treasured photo of Carol, the girl he loved, and swallowed the lump in his throat that rose whenever he studied her face. He’d taken the picture on one of the last days before he left for the army camp. A wisp of her dark hair had blown across her forehead, and her hand looked poised to sweep it back into place. She’d posed with her free hand on a hip and a quirky smile on her face, as though she might make a wisecrack at any moment. He slipped the picture into his pocket when the thunder of guns drew closer.

He adjusted his helmet, gripped his rifle in both hands, and scanned the line of trees ahead. Was there some soldier from the other side creeping closer? Did he, too, think of home during a lull in the fighting? Did he have a photo of the girl he loved? Wasn’t he fighting for his country, too? The insanity of it all sometimes swept over him like a wave crashing on the beach.

Countries disagreed and made war, but only the men who fought were lost. Some soldiers died, while others lived to carry the horrors of war forever, to hide them deep within, letting them surface only occasionally. Despite the human loss, countries rose again from the ashes like a phoenix to grow strong, to wait for a new generation, to wage war yet again.

He promised himself to never forget his fallen comrades, the towns and families they’d liberated, the good that evolved from the scathing waste of war. He’d march in every Veterans Day parade until his legs would carry him no more. And he’d wipe a tear from his cheek when other boys left childhood things to cross the sea and fight the next enemy.

He’d wear the poppy in his buttonhole right over the unseen banner that still fluttered across his heart.

For God and country, he would remember, with pride and regret, those who did not return.

Can You Establish A Habit? Or Do You Make Excuses?

Last night, I read Annette Gendler's blog post on taking walks. It made me admire her, made me feel more than a little guilty and also gave me some impetus to get back to regular walking for exercise. 

For several years, I walked on a regular basis. I started when my doctor recommended that I try it to lower my blood pressure and to ease some of the arthritis misery I'd been having. It wasn't easy to establish the habit, but when I did, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed my walks. In the spring and summer, I walked early in the morning and switched to afternoons the other two seasons of the year. Even those winter walks became a pleasure if I dressed in the proper attire. If ice and snow made the walks too treacherous, I drove to the mall and walked inside. I didn't like it nearly as well but it kept the habit going. 

I found that those solitary walks provided me with time to consider new story ideas. For some reason, they popped into my mind as I walked along the wooded trail not far from our house, much more easily than when I sat staring at my computer screen. 

Many days, I spent time counting my blessings as I placed one foot in front of the other for about 45 minutes. Nothing is so spirit lifting as realizing how many truly good things there are in one's life. If I had a problem of some kind, the walking time allowed me to consider it from several angles and to sort it out. I also liked hearing birds trill, the stages of the trees and flowers along the walking trail and the sky that treated me to a new look every day.

I stopped walking when I had some health problems that made if difficult. Once the habit is broken, it's not so easy to get it back.Then came a time that I knew I needed to establish the habit again.  I thought about it many times but I managed to assemble a long list of reasons that I wouldn't walk that day. I'd do it for 2 or 3 days in a row and enjoy it. Then, I'd miss a couple days and start in with the excuses again.I became an expert at finding reasons not to walk. Now, it's been longer than I even want to admit. 

I know I'd feel better. I know that regular exercise is beneficial. I know that I might lose a pound or two if I start walking regularly. I know that it takes discipline to establish the habit once again. I don't want to wait and make it a New Year's Resolution. Instead, I'm going to try short walks to begin with and hope to work up to 45 minutes once again. This is probably a bad week to begin because arctic air is to keep us in its grip from Tuesday into the early part of next week. It could be a good excuse to wait and begin the following week, but....

We get away from writing on a regular basis sometimes, too. If we write a little every day, we've established a habit. It needn't be hours worth. Twenty minutes will do. One of the reasons I started this blog was to make myself write something five days a week. The more I did it, the easier it became. Stop writing for a week or two and guess what happens? It's a whole lot easier not to write on week 3 or 4 or 5 or... Have you ever said to yourself I've got to get back to writing? I think we've all done so at some time in our writing life. 

It's hard work to establish a habit. It doesn't always happen in a flash. We need a goal. We need discipline. We need determination. We need to see the benefit it will bring to us. 

So how about it? Do you have something you want to do on a regular basis but haven't accomplished it yet? I'm going to work on getting that daily walk back into my life. If I miss a day, or even two, I'm not going to talk myself out of walking the next day. 

Veer Off The Path You're On Occasionally

Last night, Ken and I went to a dinner/theater in the Kansas City area. It's one we've been to and have always had a great dinner and a good show. This evening proved to be the same. We were treated to Richard Karns (Al in the old TV show "Home Improvement") in a play called Shear Madness. The play was a mystery/comedy that turned out to be a lot of fun as the audience helped the detective solve the crime. Near the end, the audience had an opportunity to vote for whomever they thought was the killer. The play can end in a different way every night, depending on what the audience decides. A clever twist to the usual mystery/comedy.

As we drove to our hotel after the show, I started to think about the many different avenues a writer can follow. We aren't relegated to one type of writing. It's up to us which path we take. Many writers pursue several types of writing while others find their strong suit and stay with it on a regular basis.

I'm one who wanted to write fiction for children when I started writing. I did and I still do occasionally, but I also ventured into other areas. I dibbled and dabbled until I finally found that my strength centered on creative nonfiction. I liked writing memoir and other true stories that used fiction techniques. I tried poetry and added it to my list, then articles on the craft of writing which led to this blog. Staying with only one area of writing is not for me. I like to have the variation that following different types of writing gives me.

How about you? Have you stayed with one area or ventured into others? What kinds of areas are there? Take a look at the list below, which is not a complete one. I'm sure there are other types of writing that I did not include.

1. Fiction--short story--different genres here like Horror, Sci-fi, Romance, Fantasy, Historical, Erotica, Humor and more

2. Fiction--novels--different genres as in #1

3. Nonfiction--technical

4. Nonfiction--instructional

5. Nonfiction--informational

6. Creative nonfiction--memoir and other true stories

7. Poetry

8. Plays

9. Screenwriting

10. Advertising copy

11. Newspaper copy or columns

12. Political


If you've never ventured beyond one type of writing, why not give it a try? You might find a new passion or you could realize that what you're writing now is what you do best.

What Do You Hear?

 Today, let's consider a third sensory detail. Sound surrounds us in some way nearly all the time. Rare is the moment when complete silence reigns. Even if you're home alone with the TV off, your kitchen appliances make funny little noises now and then. When sitting on a hillside enjoying a natural surrounding, there isn't complete silence. The rustle of leaves, the trill of a bird, the distant horn of a passing train--all can be heard during what you thought might be a solitary, silent time of reflection. 

Hearing is a major sense and one that many writers tend to ignore when writing a story. What better way to bring a story to life than to sprinkle some sounds/hearing details into your writing?  

For this exercise, write a phrase or sentence(s) that allows the reader to hear what occurs. Don't tell your reader that Anne thought the bell sounded loud. Show them through a better description. Perhaps something like Anne covered her ears when the incessant clanging of the morning bell threatened to reduce her to tears. In the second example, the reader knows that the bell kept on ringing and was loud enough to disturb Anne. Try showing the reader something about the following words that deal with hearing/sound:

1. echo

2. screech

3. thud

4. bump

5. roar

6. swish

7. boom

8. cry

9. rumble

10. rattle

11. click

12. sigh

Add The Sense of Touch To Your Writing

Yesterday, I offered an exercise on Smell, a sensory detail that can bring your writing to greater heights. All the sensory details added to what we write will make a more interesting read. 

Today, let's concentrate on the Sense of Touch. How do things feel when stroked or touched? What are some adjectives that describe this sense? You may think of some others, too.

1. rough

2.  soft

3.  hard

4.  smooth

5. cold

6.  hot

7. warm

8. cool

9. velvety

10. sticky

11. gooey

12. slick

For each of the 12 words in the list, write a phrase or sentence showing the sense of touch. Note that I said showing. Don't just tell how something feels. 

Some sensory details are much easier to put into our writing than others. Touch is one of the more difficult ones to show the reader. Work on this exercise more than once. The aim is to make this something you start doing automatically as you write. If you'd like to share with the blog readers, do so in the comments section. 

Exercise on Smell, Odor, Aroma and Even Stink!

Writers should spend time on writing exercises. They flex your writing muscles, bring some creativity to the surface, and often trigger ideas for a new story. This exercise concentrates on the sense of smell and helps with sensory details which are so important in a story or essay. Sensory details bring life to your writing. I have listed words, and you are to write a sentence or two describing or interpreting what the word brings to you relating to smell. Below the list I added my own interpretation of each word. Have fun with this one. It will bring back a few memories for you. WORD LIST What is the smell of: 1. the moon 2. sadness 3. a child's joy in watching a soap bubble 4. grief 5. cowardice 6. snow 7. velcro 8. a nasty letter 9. silver 10. mystery 11. sand 12. a sidewalk in summer 13. the middle of the earth 14. purple 15. a contented dog napping 16. a cloudless spring sky 17. a dollar bill Nancy's Exercise on Smell What is the smell of: the moon: The heady aroma of a strong cheese, for tis said the moon is made of green cheese, and I believed it as a child. sadness: The antiseptic smell of a hospital for it was there where my greatest sadness occurred with a child who never came home. a child's joy in watching a soap bubble: A sweet, clean smell. Not the bleach odor of a laundry day, just that feel-good-because-you're-clean smell. grief: the cloying sweetness of funeral flowers that can be overwhelming cowardice: sweat, because the coward lacks confidence and would sweat up a storm snow: Ah, this one comes up smelling like ice cream with all it's cold goodness. velcro: surely velcro brings to mind the big jar of school paste that resided in the supply closet at my grade school. How I loved the smooth, sweet smell of the paste. a nasty letter: the vile odor of tar silver: this brings to mind the aroma of tea when served from a silver tea set, soothing, satisfying, and appealing mystery: for some reason, mothballs come to mind with this word. Old clothes stored in mothballs and used in a mystery drama sand: Sand brings back waves of baby oil and iodine, the suntan lotion of choice in the 50's when I frequented beaches. a sidewalk in summer: Kool-aid stands the kids in my neighborhood set up on hot, summer days. Fruity aromas. the middle of the earth: I think of mushrooms growing in groups, pungent with clinging soil purple: for me purple smells like barbecue grills set up in the stadium parking lot, purple flags waving in the Kansas breeze, and also popcorn and cotton candy at the concession stands in the football stadium at K-State. Purple is definitely all the aromas found at a K-State football game a contented dog napping: the comforting scent of cedar, which is what our Irish Setter's bed was filled with. Every morning he was our own walking, barking cedar chest. a cloudless spring sky: Lilacs come to mind, their sweet and fresh scent goes well with a cloudless spring sky. a dollar bill: Musty, dirty, and oily

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