bending the rules for brilliance

I was surprised by some of what I found out last year when I surveyed various journal editors and competition administrators (for this article). Including how lenient some editors actually are (though I'm not going to tell you which ones).

But the thing that surprised me the most was how many competition administrators or editors actually read a submission/entry that does not meet the guidelines before deciding whether to disqualify it. Except in the case where a piece might exceed the word limit, surely this decision should be made on the guidelines themselves rather than on the quality of the work?

I completely understand those who didn't feel they receive enough submissions to shortlist according to who followed the rules. But this is a blanket decision, everyone is treated the same. Not so for editors who admit to bending the rules 'if a piece is brilliant', and while it was certainly not the case for the majority of those I surveyed, there were enough similar responses to shock.

So I put it to you, as I seem to every year when page seventeen's submissions are open, what do you think? Do you expect editors/administrators to follow their own guidelines?

And, have you or anyone you know ever had a piece accepted when you know you failed to meet guidelines?

2010 page seventeen team and Free Issues

It's difficult to believe April is merely hours away, and with April comes the beginning of the submission period for page seventeen. You'd think with all those months off I'd be ready, but, ahem, maybe not (quite) so.

Because... I haven't told you who the 2010 team is yet. So, that's what I'm going to do now!

Firstly, I'm taking a massive side-step this year, so I need an Acting Editor. Welcome Vicki Thornton. Vicki will handle a huge chunk of the admin, oversee the selection process and be part of the reading team for our short stories. Not to mention all the little fiddly bits that won't be mentioned here.

For the first time, we have a Poetry Editor and a Short Story Editor. I am very excited to let you know that Ashley Capes is taking on the Poetry Editor position and Laurie Steed the Short Story Editor position. Ashley will handle all the general submission poetry, including the short form pieces, while Laurie will share the reading load with Peter Farrar and Vicki.

Of course we are running the popular Page Seventeen Poetry and Short Story Competition again and this year's judges are Graham Nunn (poetry) and Amanda le Bas de Plumetot (short story).

I am so excited I'm almost certain I've forgotten someone or something, so feel free to let me know if that seems to be the case.

Meanwhile, get over here to download everything you need to submit and/or enter the competition.

Oh, and I almost forgot, we're having a little special during April. We're giving away copies. All you have to do is purchase a copy of page seventeen (direct, this won't apply at bookstores). We'll send out a 2nd copy of the same issue, or a previous (in-stock) issue of your choice.

What's the catch? Well, there's only one: we'll be sending both copies together, you can't split them.

But it's just for April, so get moving.

Guidelines schmidelines

You’ve heard it so often your eyes roll automatically when you hear it again: make sure you read and follow the guidelines before submitting. You know about guidelines, you follow guidelines, and you wish everyone would just shut up already. I mean, that’s the easy bit, right? Times New Roman, check; 12 point, check; double space, check. Why can’t they spend those precious minutes telling you about something useful, that pearl of wisdom that’s going to make the ideas write themselves?

It’s because many writers still don’t seem to get it. Sure, we all make mistakes and where editors are rejecting no more than 1% of submissions, perhaps this is the case: writers simply make mistakes.

But what about the editor who rejected 10% of submissions because they didn’t comply with the guidelines? And do we really believe that they are all mistakes when 11 journal editors reported that 2% of submissions don’t follow guidelines? When you consider that literary magazine editors receive anything from 90 to 1000+ submissions, 2% might be quite a lot.
The good news is that most writers do follow the guidelines. On average, 98%. But, even if you’re one of them, you might occasionally make a mistake. And when that happens, what are the chances your submission might be considered anyway?

It depends on the mistake.

If you fail to meet the deadline, forget it. You’re also wasting your time if you email a submission when it's supposed to be in hardcopy, or vice versa.

There’s a slim chance a submission that’s over the word limit might be read.

If you send more than three (or other maximum number of) pieces, you risk the editors reading just the first three or discarding the entire submission. If it’s a newer magazine, they might read all the pieces, but they’ll also remember your name and be wary of your future submissions.

If you’re lucky (and you sent it long before the deadline), the editor may even give you an opportunity to resubmit correctly. But don’t hold your breath. While some editors might try to nurture new writers in this way, most believe that "if you’re serious about being a writer, deadlines, styles, word counts and restrictions are things you’re going to have to get comfy with."

It is less common for editors to be strict about the font used, and several publications don’t include a specific font in their guidelines. For those that do, some will automatically reject and some won’t. But it was noted that these pieces "don’t generally get accepted, more as a result of poor quality writing".

Here are some of the things that editors believe/say:
• People who write well present well
• Most editors prioritise "painless" manuscripts (ie those that are well written and edited)
• Most editors are well read, so multiple submissions are at your own risk: if your submission is published, an editor could well see it in another journal
• If you can’t wait, only send your work to journals that allow multiple submissions
• It’s worth remembering that if your piece is published, it will be published in the style and font of the journal.

One editor said, "If something is poorly edited, I assume:
 the author is a hobbyist who doesn’t care about their work or
 the author is an idiot who couldn’t tidy it or
 the author has delusions of grandeur and thinks they’re above the rules and hence, that
 the author will be difficult to deal with."

One editor made a suggestion that other editors might like to try. Provide a sample document on your website to show writers what you expect.

Some editors who were less strict about general submissions felt the reason might be because money wasn’t involved. Yet, when it comes to competitions, and the introduction of money, administrators are tough.

If you’re thinking of entering your story/poem in a competition, it’s even more important to follow the guidelines/conditions/rules.

If you forget to include the entry fee, mistakenly send work with your name on it, or your entry is late, you’ll be automatically disqualified. There are exceptions. A few administrators might offer you an opportunity to resubmit correctly. One administrator noted that they re-photocopy entries without names before passing them on to the judge(s).

But most administrators don’t go to the trouble. Particularly as many are volunteering their time.

Competition administrators generally agree that most writers follow the rules. Most I spoke to don’t keep statistical records, but of the few who do, they disqualified 0%, 4%, 6% and 14% of entries in their most recent competition, due to incorrect formatting (font type and size, spacing), a name on the piece, theme requirement not being met or due to the piece exceeding the word/line length. This means they weren’t read by anybody.

The administrator who didn’t disqualify any claimed to have been strict in regards to limits and spacing and that all entries received were okay.

One administrator welcomed entries that failed to meet the guidelines as an easy first step in their shortlisting process.

In a competition, the main concern is for the quality of writing and it was noted that "entries that have numerous spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors don’t generally win".

In case you’re still not sure, I’ll leave you with the advice of one competition administrator. "Imagine your entries will be processed by everyone’s idea of an old fashioned, 'stickler for the rules’ bureaucrat. Published rules have to be enforced to give procedural fairness to those who go to the effort of conforming to them."

And, good luck.

This article was originally published in the february edition of the Victorian Writer, the Victorian Writers' Centre's member magazine.

Notes:
Journal submissions
I surveyed, via email, 20 national literary journal editors.
Of those:
- 4 publish poetry only
- 1 publishes fiction only
- 3 are online journals
- 8 had produced less than 10 issues, including 3 that had produced only 1 issue.

Literary competition administrators
I approached, via email, 15 national competition administrators.
Of those:
- 9 responded
- 4 are poetry-only competitions
- 2 are fiction-only competitions
- 3 are poetry and fiction competitions

following up on guidelines

I always look forward to receiving my copy of Victorian Writer (The Victorian Writers' Centre's member magazine) and usually rush home to make a cuppa to sip while I read. This month, I looked forward to it just a little more than usual, because I have an article in there that deals with something that really irritates me (during the page seventeen submission period at least).

Yes, submission guidelines and whether or not writers follow them.

Last year I had a little rant about it after I received one too many that didn't conform and then asked you what you thought. The general consensus seemed to be that everyone agreed that all writers should follow them or expect not to have their work considered.

That got me thinking. If everyone agrees, why are so many non-conforming submissions received or, are we the only magazine receiving enough to drive us to rant in public? So, I asked around, collated responses and wrote about it for the members of the Victorian Writers' Centre.

But it isn't something that only members of the Victorian Writers' Centre should have the opportunity to read about. After all, I approached editors and competition administrators from other states too. So, next week, I'll be posting the article here too, so you can all work out for yourselves whether sending work that doesn't meet a publication's guidelines will even be read, let alone shine through as the piece they just have to have (and therefore overlook your inability to do what they asked).

Anthology of blog writing

Now that December is upon us, there's not much time left to submit to Miscellaneous Voices: Australian Blog Writing 2009.

This will be the first issue of the anthology by Miscellaneous Press, which aims to prove that good blog writers come from all walks of life and that 'blogging produces strong and dynamic talent'.

Submit up to three blog posts you made between January 1st and December 31st, although I warn against waiting until the last minute to submit. I have missed many closing dates that way. Too many. And December would have to be the easiest month to temporarily forget something like that so, you know what to do.

Good luck.

PS. You have to be an Aussie.

Australian Poetry Slam controversy - What do you think?

There was a pretty impressive turnout for last night's Ferntree Gully heat of the Australian Poetry Slam '09, with 28 poets arriving to strut their stuff. Ezra Bix took out first place with Bec Alice Graham the runner-up. Both move into the State final, which will be at the State Library on Thursday 12 Nov. And while both were very deserving of their prizes, the evening was filled with controversy.

Which was perhaps bound to happen anyway with 28 people showing up for just 20 competetition places. But it was more about people claiming to not have been aware of there only being 20. Once registrations opened, the first 15 were automatically included, then the next 5 were drawn from the rest. Organisers insisted this was/is the international rule and that those rules can be found on the website.

I somehow knew there were only 20 spots available beforehand, but now that I'm searching the sites, I wonder how I actually knew. Maybe because I'm a stickler for rules, I might have asked questions of the right people at some earlier meeting? I was in the first 15, so competed, and if you're interested, I scored reasonably well, with mostly 8.somethings, compared to the winner, who scored a 10 from one judge and 9.high-somethings from the others.

While I enjoyed the night and was really pleased that a poetry event was happening out our way (even though I'm another 30 minute drive out), I can't help but wonder if the heatedness of the night didn't do more to deter poetry newcomers rather than interest them in becoming more involved?

I'm going to let you judge this one. The postcard/flyer for the event sends you to the State Library website, (where you can also get details of the other heats and the state final), and here are the rules from the Australian Poetry Slam. Here's the Facebook page too.

What do you think? Did they do the right thing, or should all 28 poets have been allowed to enter?

have your say, influence the editor

In response to the responses of the submission guidelines post last week, I wanted to ask you some questions. Feel free to answer in the comments below or by emailing me at one of the email addresses here, or any other email address you might have fo me. Your responses will help me make decisions.

I want to know what you think is fair.

Should I totally ignore submissions/entries that don't follow the guidelines/conditions? Should I be strict on some rules/guidelines and not on others? And if so, where do I draw the line?

These are some of the competition guidelines/conditions of entry:
- Entries must be printed on A4 paper, 1.5 spaced, in a serif font, 12pt.
- Author's name and/or contact details must not appear on the manuscript.
- Entries must be the writer's original, unpublished work and not have won a prize in any other competition.
- Entries that do not conform to these guidelines may be disqualified from the competition and considered as general submissions...

I am sure everyone agrees that a named manuscript should result in automatic disqualification, and I assure you, I have always done that and, when it has happened (because it always does...I might even post stats for some of these things later), I have allowed that piece to be considered as a general submission, because we have never read those 'blind'.

I have never frowned on double spacing, and perhaps I should change this guideline to an option of 1.5 or double.

Once, when we received a story that had been published elsewhere (before our competition even opened), we disqualified the entire entry (three stories), advised the author, who we believed made a genuine error, and published one of the other stories that we really liked (and which may have otherwise won a prize).

But I guess the real contentious issue is the font. Almost all entries come in the right size (we did once receive a story in size 16 font), so no real problem there. I used to ask for Times New Roman and changed it this year to a 'serif font', trying to be more lenient. But a quick glance through the entries I've so far received suggests that not everyone is paying attention, and the stats would horrify some of you, I'm sure. Do people not know what a serif font is? Should I have offered Times New Roman as an example? Did they come in the right font when I was specific? (...ahh...no.) Does it matter for stories but not for poetry?

Should they be disqualified? Should they be considered in the general submission, where, I point out, I ask specifically for Times New Roman, or not at all?

Is it as important to be strict about guildeines for general submissions as it is for the competition? With those pesky poets who send ten or so poems, do I read three or ignore the whole lot? If I read three, how do I choose which to read? And what about submissions that arrive before we even 'open' submissions? What about word or line lengths? Does it matter if they're over?

I increased the word and line limits for the general submissions this year, after consideration of feedback. But already, people are pushing the boundaries of the new limits. Thankfully, most of you who send in longer work asked first. For each of the five people that have asked this year, I have said 'yes, send in one longer piece' (but not three).

In addition to answers to any of the questions above, I'm also interested to know what other editors and/or administrators/judges of competitions do, or to hear from writers who know they submitted to a publication or entered a competition and realised later (or knowingly at the time) they did not follow the guidelines (particularly re font), yet were published or won a prize anyway. But please don't name the publication/competition.

submission guidelines

You’ve heard it a million times. You know it all. You can’t believe editors and publishers go on about it so much. Don’t they have anything better to do than tell you to read, and follow, their guidelines?

Do you think that if one publication asks for Arial font that it’s okay to use Arial for someone who asks for Times New Roman? To use size 11 with someone asking for 12? To use another publication’s guidelines entirely for any old mag?

It’s true, some people do follow the guidelines, probably even most of you. But there are still a large number of people who think they are above the rules. Enough to make editors go on about it again and again. Those who think it’s okay to send ten poems when the limit is three. Those who use Arial, and other (especially sans serif) fonts when they should use Times New Roman. Those who think the editor won’t mind if they send a story with a few extra words, say 20% more than the limit, because their story is so good that no-one will mind – in fact, the editor will probably be so glad they received it because they couldn’t possibly go without including it in their next issue. Those who feel their piece will look so pretty if they print it on pink paper. You get the idea.

You’ve heard editors say it’s about convention, respect, being professional, etc. You’ve heard about readability, know that Times New Roman is easiest to read. Maybe you think it’s crap, because it doesn’t make a difference to you. You can read Arial just fine.

What if you were sending your work to an editor with a -11.00 prescription in their glasses/contact lenses? One with glaucoma? One needing cataract surgery? Would you think to hell with the rules then? Would you understand that maybe the editor asks for work a certain way because it means they can actually read it?

Because when you send your work to page seventeen, the editor has all of the above eyesight issues. All this at the tender age of thirty-seven – imagine what guidelines she might come up with when she’s fifty. She also has a good memory for the names of people who piss her off by doing their own thing.

Maybe next time you’re preparing a submission, you might think of this. After all, do you know the editor at all, let alone well enough to know there’s no damn good reason s/he might ask you to prepare your work in a specific way? Is it your call anyway? Aren’t you trying to be part of their world by sending them your stuff?

Remember too, editors are likely to notice even the smallest breach. After all, that’s what an editor does. It’s an editor’s job to do things like: notice that a word is spelled one way on page twelve and a different way on page seventy-four; notice tiny things like there being two spaces between words instead of one; actually care about convention. So, all those other reasons are good too.

As for the poets who send ten pieces, well, they’re just plain rude.

Poetry and short story submissions

It's hard to believe it's already April and hence, time to start sorting through submissions for page seventeen Issue 7. I know it's a cliche, but it hardly seems like there's been a break.

Anyway, submissions have already made their way in, so, if you plan to send something along, please do. You have until june 30.

Check the guidelines first, because we have made some changes, including that we now accept longer individual pieces. You will also need to complete the cover sheet, but we still accept, and prefer, email submissions, although you'll need to send competition entries the old fashioned way.