Immediate Opportunities for Writers

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

Whenever a new edition of Southern Writers hits the proverbial stands, I enjoy doing the math and totaling how many different writers we have promoted during our six years of publication. As of the new May/June 2017 issue which debuted yesterday, that number comes to 1100.

What each of these writers have in common is the street savvy to self-promote.  Whether they share their writing experience with other writers via an interview or by contributing an instructional article, we are proud to provide promotional opportunities for veterans and virgins alike.  With that in mind, I'm going to clue you in on some brand new promotional opportunities you can take advantage of right now.

Multi-author articles in the magazine are a crowd favorite with our readers. One of the upcoming special features below would be an entertaining way to promote your latest book.

TITLE WAVE
Sometimes your original book title doesn't make it past the cutting room floor. Got an interesting story about one of your books and how the title changed? Maybe ALL of your books had different titles to start with!  Whether you changed them or your publisher threw you a curveball, tell us all about it (and the philosophy behind the change, if known) in a paragraph or two. Be sure to include a high-res JPG of the relevant cover. This will be a fun article and you should be part of it!
​(Deadline for September 2017 issue: July 17th.) 
http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/promos-2017.html

WHERE WRITERS WRITE
You spend endless hours there every week, slaving over a hot keyboard, creating brilliant sentences. You're probably there right now, reading this. We want to see it!  Writers (and readers) love to see where authors do their thing. Grab your camera or smartphone and send us a high-quality photo of your office, writing nook, picnic table, wherever you spend the most time writing your masterpieces. If you're in the photo, even better! (And if there's a copy of Southern Writers in the photo, even better!) We'll show your latest book cover next to the photo.  Please include a paragraph about why your favored spot works for your writing.
(July feature is full. Deadline for the September 2017 issue: July 17th.)​ 

http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/promos-2017.html

SIGNINGS AND SELF-PROMOTION
This photo op is your chance to show off your mad self-promotion skills when it comes to book signings. Have a high-quality photo of your table or booth at a bookstore or writers conference? Tell us about your strategy in designing the display, or share an interesting story related to that signing. (Yes, we'd love to see you in the photo, too! 

Or perhaps you've come up with a creative giveaway item for your next appearance or online promotion. Bring it on!
(Scheduled for the September 2017 issue: deadline July 17th.)​
http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/promos-2017.html

SUITE T
If you're reading this, you're probably already aware that this very blog features guest authors every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (with staffers on Tuesday and Thursday).  Much like the magazine, posts run the gamut of writing information and inspiration. More than 3 million visitors have visited Suite T, and that number grows by the day. Get your two cents in by writing a guest post. Submission guidelines for Suite T are at http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/p/guest-posting.html

SHORT STORY CONTEST
Tired from typing your latest tome?  Get short with us!  Our annual Short Story Fiction Contest is a chance to win $250 plus other perks including being on the cover of our special short story publication this summer.  The deadline in June 15th, 2017. Entry details can be found at http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/shorts.html

There you have it: five things you can get in on today to get the word out. So grab your camera or start burning up that keyboard now.  You know you want to!

Short and Sweet

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


Yesterday I woke up to the sound of my house phone ringing at 5:30 a.m.  I didn't recognize the area code on the caller ID, but at that hour was too groggy to question whether it was someone ignoring the Do Not Call list, so I answered it.

The man on the line sounded too hesitant to be a telemarketer, and when he asked for me by name I confirmed that I was he.  I prepared myself for bad news about a friend or a distant family member.  However, he went on to tell me he was from Pennsylvania and had found my wallet that I'd lost on a vacation in Hershey over a decade ago.  He found it way back at that time but never turned it in, and instead spent the $500 worth of traveler's checks and cash that were in my wallet.

In recent years, this fellow became so wracked with guilt, he explained, that he replaced the money and vowed to track me down and return it with his apologies.  He offered to either mail it to me or, because he will actually be in my city next month, deliver it in person and treat me to lunch at the restaurant of my choice.  I told him I would indeed like to meet him and shake his hand for his honesty, but lunch wouldn't be necessary.

I'll stop right here because I want to confess that the majority of this story in totally made up.  You may ask where the truth ends and the fallacy begins.  Actually, it's right after "Yesterday I woke up".  No early morning phone call, no lost wallet, and anyone who knows me knows I'd never turn down a free lunch.

Forgive me for taking you on that little ride, but those 229 words were more interesting that what really happened yesterday morning, which involved little more than a bowl of Special K.  My goal was not to mislead but to illustrate that from the moment we wake up there is potential for endless stories, springboarding from the inconsequential moments that occur throughout the day right up to the time we hit the hay.

Countless authors find their inspiration from such things as the daily headlines.  From local crimes to human interest stories, the random mention of someone else's experience is prime fodder to be embellished or reimagined into a sensational story.

As an example, in the above scenario, lunch with this stranger could develop into a friendship that changes lives, or it could be part of a devious plot that turns into a horrible nightmare. Depending on the mood and the intent of the writer, the simplest story can take any fascinating direction.

I'm often reminded of a conversation I once had with author Frank Tuttle.  Although he writes both novels and short stories, he has a special fondness for the short story form because once he sits down with an idea he allows it to take him wherever it chooses to.  Capturing these tales of the unexpected off the cuff with no outline, the short stories he writes can be as surprising and entertaining to him as they are to his readers.

I encourage you to train your writer's brain to be more alert throughout each day for those overlooked moments that could be the nucleus of a great story.  And when you find one, be sure to enter it in Southern Writers' Fifth Annual Short Story contest, which is going on right now.  You'll find complete details at: http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/shorts.html

Entries are being accepted thru June 30, 2016, so you still have time to find that idea and turn it into $250 cash.  Good luck!

A Writers Courage

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

We just finished our 2015 Short Story writing contest. Our judges tell us it’s like Christmas morning with the unwrapping of each story and reading through the pages. One judge said, “It’s like entering a new world each time I read a new story. I hate for it to end.”

This is what each author wants, for their readers to feel as if they have entered an uncharted territory––a new world as they read the author’s words. A world they don’t want to leave. A book they don’t want to put down.

It takes courage to write a story and enter a contest. There is a feeling of vulnerability that is different from the one you feel when you send out query letters.

Yet, a writer has courage or they wouldn’t be writing. An author is someone who steps out of his or her comfort zone and walks into the unknown every day when they sit down to write. They put their feelings onto the paper entrusting their characters with their imaginations to lead them through the story as it begins to unfold on each page.  It takes courage to enter a new world that you create on paper, see it through to the end, and not give up.

It also takes courage when you finish your manuscript to seek out and find an agent to represent your work.  That same courage a writers uses to enter a contest.

Throughout the entire writing process, it takes a great deal of courage to accept rejections and not quit. Instead to sit down again and create a new book, a new world.

Their courage to continue going into this unknown world every day is what makes an author special.

We congratulate each writer whose courage led them to enter the contest. We congratulate writers whose courage continues leading them to write the books that opens new worlds for us all.