HOT OFF THE PRESS! We love to share our information with writers, and we’re happy to pass some of our INSIDER’S SECRETS along to you. Feel free to print these posts to use as a reference. Pass the links along to your writer friends. It’s packed with great information. DEADLINE-DATED lists of anthologies, theme issues, and contests are included at no charge!

In This Issue:

* * Learn the etiquette of successful submissions in CREATIVE WRITING SUBMISSIONS ETIQUETTE: SUBMITTING TO LITERARY AGENTS AND EDITORS.

* * THE R'S OF RESPONDING TO REJECTION will help you reevaluate your frame of mind and increase your acceptance rate.

* * Discover our 20 GROOVY WEB SITE RESOURCES FOR WRITERS, and have the world at your fingertips.

* * LOTS OF HELP for CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS—100 CONTACTS and Everything You Need To Know To Submit Your Children’s Book. Click this link to get our insider's tips and tricks: http://www.WritersReliefBlog.com/post/For-Childrens-Book-Authors.aspx.    

* * You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming ANTHOLOGIES, SPECIAL-THEMED JOURNALS, and CONTESTS. Visit: http://WritersReliefBlog.com/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx.

↓ Scroll Down to Read These Exciting and Useful Articles!! ↓

Literary agents and editors are faced with mountains of fiction submissions on a daily basis. Creative writers know it’s tough to get their poetry, short fiction, and novels published, but there are things you can do to increase your chances of getting more acceptances. Knowing the etiquette of submitting your writing to literary agents, publishers, and editors of literary journals is key.

When submitting your fiction to agents or editors, always follow the submission guidelines to the letter for the specific literary agent or editor you're approaching, or you risk losing the opportunity to have your work seriously considered.

At Writer’s Relief, we specialize in targeting your writing to the right markets. The following are a few pointers (based on our experience since 1994) that can help you avoid the slush pile.

** Do NOT bind your manuscript in any way (no staples or clips).
** Do NOT force a literary agent or editor to sign for your package, query letter, or any delivery. This is an inconvenience. First-class mail is fine.
** Do NOT send your only copy of your manuscript. Be certain you have another hard copy and a backup file or three.
** Do NOT annoy editors and agents by calling or e-mailing them to verify they received your package.

** DO include your SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) with every submission. Send only a business-sized envelope (#10) with appropriate postage for a response.
** DO thoroughly research your markets. Check Web sites, market books, send for guidelines, or have a reputable submission service like Writer’s Relief do it for you. Avoid agents or editors who require "reading fees" or any up-front money.
** DO become familiar with submission terminology.
** DO your best to comply with requests from agents and editors. An agent or editor does not want to sign a contract with someone who is difficult to work with.

If you're making submissions to literary agents and editors, the above etiquette tips can help you avoid embarrassing mistakes that just might take you out of the game before you’ve even started. Writer’s Relief can provide time-saving help in preparing your submissions, preparing professional query letters, and targeting the markets that are most likely to accept your work. For other useful tips of the trade, sign up for our FREE newsletter for writers.

Creative writers must learn to deal with rejection as a normal part of submitting their fiction to editors and literary agents. When you take into account that it can take up to a hundred submissions to garner one acceptance, writers simply must develop a thick skin.

Rejection slips from agents and editors can provide useful information that can help writers fine-tune their work, and rejection letters are a natural part of the submission process. The following article is excerpted from our Rejoice in Rejection: The Art of Surviving the Submission Process.

Reaction: First, take a look at how you react to rejection. Do you wail and thrash about? Do you fall limply into bed, vowing never to write again? Do you snarl and immediately blame the stupid editor who failed to see talent when it fell right into his or her mediocre lap? Or do you go back to look at your work and see if you followed the instructions carefully? Was your cover letter error-free? If all your "i's" were dotted and "t's" crossed, the all-important SASE included, and you cannot find anything wrong with your submission, then accept the gift of rejection from the editor-gods and go to the next step.

Release: Do find a way to release your first reaction. There is no need to suppress hurt or anger. Once you foam, scream, and/or eat a pint of ice cream, it's time to get on with your writing life. Best is to find a constructive way to release your rejection-reaction: exercise, talk it out with another writer or a writing group, paper your bathroom wall with rejection letters, or throw darts at a picture of the editor or the front cover of the magazine from whence came the rejection.

Resist: Resist the temptation to stay stuck in the awful feeling of rejection. Resist the temptation to avoid sitting down at the keyboard. Once you've allowed yourself to go through the emotion of rejection and release it, it's crucial to move past the grief at the letdown and see what you can do to increase your odds of acceptance. Find a mentor or a writing group if you don't already have one. Even if your work doesn't need anything more, it's always good to have the support of someone who understands the writing life to lift you up when those rejections come. It's not a bad thing to commiserate with other writers before stepping back out into the cold submission world or the lonely writing world again.

Recap: Take a look at how far you've come. Going over your list of past successes can help soften the blows of rejection. If you don't have a list of your past victories, make one. If you are not yet published, review your piece and see if you can rearrange it or expand it for a new market. Go back to earlier manuscripts to review your own growth as a writer. If you don't see a difference in your writing, you might consider improving your skills by taking some writing workshops. And, don't be afraid to rework a piece. It's also a good idea to step back from your work a bit. Take a few days away. Don't stop writing; work on a new piece. Taking a break may give you fresh perspective and allow you to see your work with new eyes. At the very least, it gives your emotions time to cool down so you can get a better perspective of what you already have and of what may need revising.

Revisit the Market: Take another look at the market in which you are trying to publish. Is it already saturated with your topic? What will make your piece or proposal stand out in the crowd? How can you adjust your piece so it's more unique and less the same old stuff?

Reach for Help: Consider help from an editing service or a writing group. Writer's Relief has the expertise to help you ensure your work is grammatically accurate and well-proofed. We provide samples of cover letters, queries, and proposals. We know industry standards for your genre. The majority of rejections are based solely on presentation. Do your homework, and if you don't have time, pay someone else who knows what agents and editors require in order to take your work seriously.

Repeat: Submit extensively and on a regular basis. Again, a good assistant or submission service can help with this. Writer's Relief clients have work circulating to over 60 markets at a time. If you make one submission at a time and wait six months for a form rejection, it will hurt. Our clients find that making extensive submissions helps take the sting out of the process. Find the best markets, make sure your submissions follow industry standards, send your best work, and keep submitting. Don't get caught like a deer in headlights with the shock of rejection. Go through whatever steps it takes to get your work out there. There is no substitute for a writer’s virtues of persistence and patience.

Resilience: Using the steps above will help you develop the ability to recover and adjust easily to the rejection that is a necessary part of your writing life.

Dealing with rejection is hard, and so is the business of submitting your writing. If you find the submission process to be frustrating and tedious, Writer's Relief can help ease that burden. We tackle the many time-consuming tasks of the submission process for you. And we have a literary submission service for every budget.

We’ve compiled a list of 20 Web sites that are invaluable for writers of fiction. But if you’re looking for MORE information about publishing, check out our FREE newsletter. The Writer’s Relief Newsflash is sent monthly via e-mail, and it’s full of advice for creative writers, as well as resources and links designed to help you succeed in getting your fiction published.

Academy of American Poets http://www.poets.org

This is a supportive site for contemporary American poets at any point in their writing careers. Come here for publishing FAQs, poetry events, writing, and information about other poets.

Authors Guild Online, The http://www.authorsguild.org

Catering to those authors who want to brush up on the legal side of writing, such as contracts and legal rights of work.

Blue Book of Grammar, The http://www.grammarbook.com

Invaluable source for anyone who wants to brush up on their grammar, punctuation, and capitalization rules with the quizzes provided.

Fiction Addiction http://www.fictionaddiction.net/

This site provides articles, advice, listings, and workshops for writers.

Funds For Writers http://www.fundsforwriters.com

You don't have to be a struggling writer all of the time. This site provides markets, contests, grants, etc. for writers to actually earn money from their craft.

Google http://www.google.com

Looking for the artist who sings the song that you're writing about in your short story? This is quite possibly the best internet search engine to find the most relevant site that you're looking to help you. In addition, their image search is an excellent source of inspiration if you are a visual person.

Grammar Bytes http://www.chompchomp.com

Excellent site with interactive tests on commas, fragments, pronoun agreement, and other grammatical information.

Grammar Girl podcast and transcripts http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

Still confused about whether to use its or it's? You're or your? This site discusses these and many of the other mistakes people make in their writing.

Guide, The http://writingguide.geneseo.edu/

Sponsored by SUNY-Geneseo, this is a wonderful site for beginning writers for essay-writing information, form, and grammar & usage.

Guide for Postal Addresses http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/postal.html

Need help in how to address your submission to Canada or to the UK? Check out this comprehensive site for any international submission you may make.

Merriam-Webster http://www.m-w.com

Want to find the most accurate use or definition of a word? M-W will tell you the word's etymology, its function, as well as what it means. M-W also updates with a word of the day.

Preditors & Editors http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

Vast information for any artist, writer, or composer. Most helpful for the writer looking for quick information about a publisher or agent.

Social Security Baby Names http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames

Looking for a popular name for your historical novel that takes place in the beginning of the 20th century? This site will tell you the top 1,000 names from years 1880 - 2006.

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators http://www.scbwi.org

Priceless for anyone interested in promoting children's literature. An organization that works to connect writers, librarians, agents, and publishers together for a common goal. Plenty of industry information also on this site.

Today's Woman http://www.todays-woman.net

This is an excellent site for the women's writing community and for promoting women's creative efforts.

Urban Legends http://www.snopes.com

Are you wanting to write a story based on an urban legend, or you're not sure of the legend's history? Check out this fantastic site listing urban legends, ranging from the silly, to the supernatural, to the serious, to the political.

U.S. Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov

Official site to find the answers to everything dealing with copyrights.

Writer's Digest Prompts http://www.writersdigest.com/writingprompts.asp

Looking for something to write? Test your hand with one of the daily prompts that Writer's Digest provides here.

WritersWeekly http://www.writersweekly.com

An excellent resource for writing freelancers--jobs, markets, books, and courses, etc.

REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF WRITING CONTESTS and ANTHOLOGIES! You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming anthologies, special-themed journals, and contests. Find it by visiting:
http://www.writersreliefblog.com/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx