As some of you know,
Writer Abroad runs a writing workshop in Zurich. Every year, writers submit
work for critique by our authors in residence, and every year, Writer Abroad is
once again amazed by the number of writers who do not follow the submission instructions—even
those who register for advanced workshops.
Forget great
writing—yes, you must have that too—but as a writer, it’s easy to stand out
from the crowd just by following submission instructions.
Over the last four years,
here are some of the main problems Writer Abroad has observed while collecting
submissions:
1. Writers don’t meet
deadlines and think they should have an exception.
2. Writers submit up to
10 (!) more pages than is allowed.
3. Writers use single spacing
instead of the requested double spacing.
4. Writers mess with
margin sizes to cram as much text as possible on a page.
5. Writers don’t put their
names on their files.
6. Writers don’t send
documents in correct formats (when a .doc is requested, don’t send a .docx or a
.pdf).
7. Writers use strange
fonts (you should have a good reason to use anything other than Times New
Roman).
8. Writers annoy
gatekeepers by going around them.
9. Writers send several
emails with different submissions, each time saying, “I changed my mind, use
this one instead.”
Moral of the story? If
you’re submitting something, make sure to check the guidelines. Then double-check
them. Then triple-check them. Make sure what you’re sending is what you want to
send even though this sounds obvious. Do all of this before you click send. It’s
only professional. Editors, judges, and workshop coordinators everywhere will
have a good impression of you from the start. Isn’t that what all writers want?
If you're an editor, writing judge, or other submission collector, what mistakes do you see writers making?
I agree with you with one exception (not really an exception, but perhaps a bit of empathy). Many of us aren't very tech savvy and wouldn't even know that they were sending a docx instead of a doc. Granted, the ones fiddling around with the margins probably know exactly what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteFunny- I give these EXACT same rules to my high school seniors, and I still get Hamlet essays written in 16 point Comic Sans. It kills me every time!
ReplyDeleteI teach writing and edit too, and I see all the same things.
ReplyDeleteAlso, writers who claim not to know how to get a word count, do spell check, insert page numbers, use left-aligned margins (instead of justified), and all sorts of other very basic word processing functions. I tell them - if you are going to write, then second only to your brain, your word processing software is your main tool and you must learn how it works!
I completely agree, Lisa. Does a plumber show up without knowing what's in his tool belt? As a writer, it's your responsibility to know the technology that comes with the job. If you don't, then "unpublished" is probably what your work will end up being.
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