Anthology | Cathy C. Hall Writes

As it’s the first of the month, I had to check a few sites I visit to find interesting things. That’s what Finding Something Friday is all about, right? So, without further ado, I give to you…a poetry market! (C’mon, you had to see that coming.)

I don’t know if I have the mad skills to write a scathingly brilliant poem, using these words: pillow, break, tantrum, silver, roof, vacant, atlas. But, I do know a Junior Hall who professes to be a poet. So, I think it’s high time that boy proved he learned something on his way to an English degree. He can send in 1 to 5 poems to usethesewords@gmail.com by January 1 and maybe see his name in print (right next to your name!) in the next issue of Use These Words. (Check out the last issue here).

And for you fiction writers, check out the Oceanview Short Story Contest here. And yes, I know it’s a delightful, oceanview scene at the website, but they want un-delightful, twisted stories. And they want them by November 17th.

Oh, and if you have a dog or cat essay, or funny college story essay, or, um, any number of other essays, check out Chicken Soup for the Soul for their latest needs. Click on “Submit a Story” and find out more.

Finally, the beneficent Mr. Hall found the t-word slapped on my arm. And he didn’t find my antics nearly half as funny as I did.

Whenever I call a submission a “sub,” I get a little hungry. Which is kinda funny, since hunger has something to do with the simultaneous sub, grasshopper.

After all, the hungry writer wants to make money. Rather than send his or her submissions out one at a time, the writer hungry for success may be tempted to send those submissions out willy nilly, hoping one will land in a cash-paying market all the sooner.

Of course, many editors are not fans of the simultaneous sub. Some editors go to a lot of trouble to give each sub a fair reading. And after investing that kind of time, an editor is not happy to get a note from a writer saying , “Oops! I’ve already sold that submission elsewhere!”

If a writer’s guidelines say “No Simultaneous Submissions,” I generally follow that little rule. Mostly, because I’m afraid that a little thing called karma will catch up to me and smack me around if I don’t. But also because I don’t want to have to say to an editor, “Oops! I sold that piece somewhere else.”

Just like I had to do the other day. In my defense, I’d sent that story out months and months (and months) ago to an anthology. I’d completely given up on it since I’d assumed that the anthology editor had given up on it, too. But I’m a hungry writer. So I sent the same story back out into the world to a magazine market that just happened to be a “No Simultaneous Subs” market.

I sent an “Oops!” email to the magazine editor and he was quite nice, actually. I may even work up the nerve to submit to the magazine again. I mean, I’m still a hungry writer.

But you can’t always depend on such kindness from a stranger. Or in your case, grasshopper, an editor. So follow that “No Simultaneous Submission” rule and good karma will come your way. Or maybe just a good sub with plenty of pickles and onions and mayo.

Mmmmm. I’m hungry just thinking about it.