How important is your email address?

Over the weekend, I decided to take a look at some pointers on submitting short stories. I ran across two articles that put the focus on your email address.

The main point in the first article was your user name. I would think it would be common sense not to use hornydog@hotmail.com for submitting work to a publisher. The article made me think that maybe it's not common sense. You want your user name to be professional not personal.

The second article had not occurred to me. Its focus was on which email account you used. It suggested not using free email like Hotmail and Yahoo. If your own domain is not available, it suggested using Gmail. Now I wonder does it really matter.

Will an editor turn down your work because of your email address? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Proofreading

I discovered with my last rejection, I am not proofreading and revising enough.

My rejection letter sent me to their blog, Shroud Publishing, with an explanation on why I received a form rejection.

A critique friend, A.R. Braun, then took the time to review the rejected story and was able to point out many red flags I had overlooked.

Aware of being guilty of this in the past, this story had been reread numerous times. It was not enough.

I recently wrote a post, Writing Is Rewriting. I end my suggestion of the editing process with a read through after correcting errors pointed out by critique partners. I'd like to extend that process here.

Once you've corrected those errors, reread numerous times, correct these errors, reread a few more times, repeat this until there are no more errors.

For an added caution, have a critique partner on hand for this final stage. Let them know this is the version you plan to submit and would like to know if they see any errors you've missed.

If they find any, correct and reread a few more times. At this point, you should be safe to submit. Be aware that with each correction, the text around it should be reviewed with a sharp eye. Repetition can creep in at this point.

I know this is easier said than done, but if you want to be published you have to put the work into the story to get the results.

Good luck in your writing adventures. (For you writers who have blogs, do yourself a favor and also proofread your posts. You never know who may visit.)

Critique Group Member Wanted

There is an opening in my critique group, Elysian Fields.

We reside at Authors By Design. The group is made up of multi-genre writers, both published and unpublished. We strive to help each other improve and succeed as writers. Our goals are to be successful published writers.

The posting max limit for the forum is 6000 words per week. Critiques of the posted work are expected in a timely manner. We do understand about life getting in the way. However, we all do the best we can to keep up with current activity.

To maintain activity, the group meets on most Thursdays at 7:30 Eastern Time. To qualify, you need to be available for at least 3 out of 4 chat sessions. At each meeting, a group member has the spot light and feedback is given on their work.

If interested, leave your name, genre, and contact information in the comments. You will need to provide a writing sample and the group will vote on your acceptance. If uncomfortable with leaving your information on the blog, send directly to cher438lynn @ hotmail dot com, Subject: Elysian Fields. I will then contact the administrator and we will go from there.

Have a great Labor Day!

Rejection

My short story, 'Friends Forever' has been rejected by Shroud. I received a form letter earlier this week.

Response time: less than two months.