writerly world: news & tidbits

January 2024

In this issue: tiny giant success, flash submissions, encouraging words, a workshop & reading

tiny love story

My new year began with a Tiny Love Story published in The New York Times Modern Love column (aka modern love in miniature). “How to Repair” appeared online January 2 and was selected for the following Monday print issue. What a thrill to see!

I didn’t initially set my sights on the NYT. In fact, I’d just discovered Five Minutes, a new-to-me lit mag that explores five minutes of a life in 100 words: “There should be one identifiable moment (approx. 5 minutes) that’s the crux of the piece… formatted as one paragraph.” This missive came to mind that I’d recently generated from a prompt in my December workshop series. So I tinkered with it, revising and reshaping, which proved to be an excellent exercise in concision, paring the story down to essentials.

After I submitted the piece to the lit mag, I shared the resource with a writer friend who replied that she’d already sent a flash essay to TLS. On a whim I sent mine, too. Twenty minutes later (!!!) I heard back from the Modern Love editor, Miya Lee:

"I was moved by your submission and would like to publish a slightly edited version…”

She suggested additional phrasing, but it seemed implicit and therefore redundant. Yet I could see her point that a beat was missing. So I sent her another version, then altered it once more the next morning when my brain began word-smithing upon awakening. Afraid of being that pain-in-the-butt perfectionist writer, I apologized.

“Thank you very much for your thoughtful responses!” she replied, then deftly edited something closer to my first draft while borrowing a line I’d added for the title. Voila!

Note: Be sure what you submit is how you’d like it. With 100 words, each one counts.

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in a flash

Two days after my micro-essay appeared online in the NYT, I was notified that an experimental essay previously rejected by several journals (Midway Journal, Shenandoah, The Journal of Compressed Arts, Atticus Review, and New Letters), was longlisted (yet ultimately declined) for the 2023 Flash Prose Prize at CRAFT:

“We loved reading "There Was a Man Who" in particular... Indeed, your piece stood out to our team as one of the best. But we cannot take all our favorite entries into the next round, and we're sorry that your entry has not advanced to the shortlist. We hope to see more work from you soon…we'll expedite it to our editors for a faster response.” — Courtney Harler, Editor in Chief

About a week later I submitted the 700-word prose poem to The Palisades Review, an online lit mag founded in 2022 that celebrates short form nonfiction in 1,000 words or less. I’d read a couple of essays with similar subject matter (sexual violence) in nontraditional forms written by founding Editor in Chief, Mea Cohen, such as “Forgetting,” published in Gordon Square Review as an excerpt from her memoir Girl, In Fragments. I thought “There Was a Man Who” might be a good fit. (I had shared the piece aloud last May to a receptive audience at Da Salon, a literary arts incubator for “written work that longs to live beyond the page.”) Four hours later, I heard back:

“Thank you for submitting this incredible piece. We would love to publish.”

Due to budgetary constraints, the journal will no longer be publishing complete issues, but my flash piece should be published online in March as a single feature.

Reading “There Was a Man Who” for Da Salon at Vibe Gallery

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weebles wobble

Once in a while I see this treasured phrase from a literary journal that declines a piece but encourages a writer to submit again: “We would love to read more of your work.” I received that very note from River Teeth’s weekly series, Beautiful Things, but another try in the spring brought the standard rejection letter, nothing special.

Five months after Gordon Square Review took “special notice of your submission” I sent them “Roadside Markers,” which placed among 15 finalists in Midway Journal’s Flash Prose and Poetry Contest. It was rejected: 13 times now. Undeterred—encouraged, in fact, by its finalist status and a note (below)—I just submitted the piece to three more.

“While this particular submission is not quite what we’re looking for at the moment, please know our team enjoyed it… I hope you'll consider sending us more in the future.” — Flyway, A Journal of Writing and Environment

Becoming a successful writer certainly requires skill, but even more so, perseverance. Just like that 1970s TV commercial jingle: “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.”

Weeble Wobble: Hasbro Toy 1973

Last week, while a cold/cough kept me hunkered down at home, I diligently revised “Dissolution,” an epistolary essay largely drawn from my father’s divorce diaries. Four months ago, an editor at A Public Space “found something very special” in the writing:

“The writing in this piece was strong and I admired the structure. I hope you will keep A Public Space in mind for future work.” — Lydia Mathis, Editorial Fellow

I intended to send a more polished draft to CRAFT’s Memoir Excerpt and Essay Contest, judged by Sarah Fawn Montgomery, author of Quite Mad: An American Pharma Memoir, who uses experimental forms such as in her lyric flash essay, Dash. Reading her Author’s Note now, I’m disappointed I didn’t make the deadline. Thinking my piece was ready, I ran it past my wife who acts as my first reader. She pointed out many places where the prose stalled, where sentence structure needed ironing, where paragraphs could be tightened. Worst of all, the ending fell flat.

Back to the keyboard I went, for another week’s worth of cutting and restitching. I may have missed the contest, but I’ll honor their invitation to submit again soon. No matter how many rejections one receives, it’s worth remembering how subjective it is:

“Our having to decline this submission may be because we have published work similar to the work you present here, or we have already accepted for a future issue work that is similar to your submission.” — Brevity

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last call: queer youth

I still need a minimum of four young writers in order to run this introductory 4-week creative writing workshop for LGBTQIA+ Youth (8th–12th grades). It’s offered via The Intuitive Writing Project, a writing-based empowerment program for girls and gender-expansive youth. Thanks to all who enthusiastically shared the information!

In this program, we provide brave space for LGBTQIA+ teens — including anyone questioning their identity — to explore alternative forms of writing in an affirming community that values the diversity of self-expression.

To register or to read a class description, click on Intro to The Power of Queer Community: Creative Writing for LGBTQIA+ Youth. Otherwise, we’ll postpone it…

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healing powers: anthology launch

Last month I co-facilitated another writing workshop with Dr. Mary Simmerling for staff & volunteers of RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). Using the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) method, each 2-hour session is offered in partnership with the AWA Caregiver Project — designed to reduce isolation, stress and overwhelm for those who provide care on a personal or professional level.

On Monday, January 29, 2024, from 1-4 pm PT, I plan to attend a free online literary event celebrating the publication of We’ve Been Put Through Fire and Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope and Survival—an anthology compiled from a series of Simmerling’s writing workshops, “Write Where We Belong,” for survivors of sexual assault.

“The anthology is a testament to the healing powers of expressive writing, where survivors are invited to weave words from their memories and experiences in response to prompts, using craft tools such as metaphor and poetry to narrate their stories. It is a celebration of reclaimed voices, speaking truths that have long been silenced, and to the resilience and strength of survivors.”

Registration is required to attend this reading (or to see a recording). RSVP here.

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glancing back, taking stock

In last month’s newsletter I mentioned that I’d joined Show Up Squad, “a year-long program/accountability group/community that helps small business owners and entrepreneurs,” developed and led by Michelle Ward of Hello Business. Some of the best advice I’ve received from her so far is to Experiment, which is my word for 2024.

As I look ahead at my writing aspirations and business goals for Paper-Pencil-Pen (I’m brainstorming new workshops and other offerings such as manuscript review), I compiled a list of 2023 accomplishments that it’s all too easy to dismiss or even forget.

Inspired by Amber Petty’s Year of Yay’s (student bylines), here’s what I’m celebrating:

freelance writing:

• Successfully pitched & published Stories of Quarantine and Upheaval in Longreads and Accepting Editorial Suggestions in Lit Mag News

• Wrote Literacyworks article for Sonoma Gives section of The Press Democrat

• Drafted my first op-ed (~800 words) and submitted to 15 news outlets (declined)

• Generated ideas in Amber Petty’s Pitch Sprint with a shout-out in her year of yays:

  When she’s not putting together a newsletter or teaching, Nicole racks up bylines!

writing workshops:

• Filled seven 8-week workshop series, including many repeat (& new) participants

• Offered LGBTQ+ Affinity Group Write session and Discovering Your Inner Child workshop for Write Around the World fundraiser via Amherst Writers & Artists

• Offered 3-week December series, Illuminations: Writing Toward Winter Solstice

• Co-facilitated two AWA writing workshops for RAINN staff and volunteers

• Received excellent testimonials from series and one-time sessions:

“You get 100 stars out of 100 stars!” — workshop participant feedback

memoir manuscript:

• Received beta feedback (thanks to Belinda Edwards!) on my memoir in progress

• Spent 30 hours mapping the manuscript with notes on restructuring each chapter

• Revised, submitted, and received positive responses for “Dissolution” (A Public Space) and “Reading Comprehension” (Sonora Review’s 2023 Nonfiction Contest):

  “Unfortunately we did not select this piece as a finalist, but it did receive positive responses from many of our readers.”

• Revised and submitted “Big Brother” to First Pages Prize (declined)

• Revised and submitted “Love, Unconditional” to New Ohio Review and Passages North nonfiction contests (both declined)

• Submitted previously published “Double Life” to Winning Writers and Lascaux Review awards in CNF (both declined)

• Narrowed down list from 60+ uni presses in spreadsheet of submission guidelines

• Wrote a book proposal and submitted it (or a book description with writing samples) to three small presses and two university presses:

“I found so much to admire here.” — University of Georgia Press CRUX series

creative writing:

• Creative excerpts + Lit Mag News reprint accepted for publication in AWA craft book, A Writer Is Someone Who Writes

• Reprinted flash essay “Church Street Beat” in Defuncted Journal

• Read flash essay “There Was A Man Who” at Da Salon with enthusiastic response

• Flash essay “Roadside Markers” selected as one of 15 finalists for Midway Journal’s -1000 Below: Flash Prose and Poetry Contest; declined by a dozen more.

• Submitted "Saybrook Says Goodbye" to Gordon Square Review, declined:

  “We found much to admire in your submission.” — Gordon Square Review

competitive funding:

• Applied to 8 grants and residencies, all declined:

  • Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund: “All the work we received this year was powerful and worthy of consideration.”

  • The de Groot Foundation Courage to Write grant: “Grant applications were outstanding and inspiring this year!”

  • 2023 A Public Space Writing Fellowships: “Nearly 1,500 applications were submitted this year.”

  • Fellowship to Writing By Writers Workshop in Tomales Bay:

    “We regret that we are unable to award a fellowship to every deserving writer. Unfortunately at this time we can not provide you with a fellowship, but we are pleased to accept you to the workshop.” — Writing By Writers

  • NEA 2024 Creative Writing Fellowship: “The Literature Fellowships Program received 2,184 eligible applications, 35 of which were recommended to receive fellowships. The selection process is extremely competitive and many worthy applicants must be turned down each year.”

  • First Pages Prize: “Unfortunately, your submission was not selected to move forward to our second round.”

  • Spruceton Inn Artist Residency: “We received just shy of 400 applications.”

  • Lori White Non-Fiction Fellowship at Porches Retreat Center:

    “Committee was impressed with your strong personal statement as well as your craft.”

social media & professional development

• Migrated TinyLetter to Substack, publishing monthly, now with 330 subscribers

• Increased Instagram posting and followers (& sadly deleted all X/Twitter posts)

• Learned to create media using Canva (thanks to Ashley Schein of Wild Writes!) 

• Attended Amherst Writers & Artists annual professional development retreat

• Facilitated bimonthly publication networking group for second year in a row

• Attended Rebirth Your Writing online intensive & more with Allison K. Williams

• Joined Show Up Squad with Biz Coachsultant for Creatives, Michelle Ward