Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Suggestion for how to get published

I was looking through some old posts of mine, and found an interview I did last year on Amber's blog. It struck me as funny because this was before I got my book contract. Here is the revised version:


When I took an online writing course from Winghill, my first assignment was to research the submission guidelines of my fav magazines. I ended up submitted an article for both Dogs in Canada and Adventure Kayak magazine.

These were my very first articles. One was a personal essay about one of my strange sled dogs - Frozen Turd Wars.

The other came about from my own research to a personal problem. I was planning an extended kayak expedition and wanted to know how the rock-star kayak women attended to nature while crossing huge stretches of water. After I emailed one of my hero kayakers, she sent me back three suggestions:
pee in a sponge,
stand on the back deck of your partners kayak,
or use a funnel into a jar.

Well, I couldn't do any of those things, so I wrote an article about it.

My man had sort of raised his eyebrows at the subject of both submissions, but remained supportive of this new writing thing.

Both articles were accepted!  I felt validated. It led to numerous articles in other magazines and something to put on my resume of previous published work.
Hopefully, one day I'll go to a bookstore, see my book on the shelf and think, it all started in the toilet.

My point in posting this - if you're looking for a pick-me-up, try sending in a short story to a magazine. You get confidence, money and the astonished respect of your man.
And here's the lake this morning after the rain storm. Beauty!

10 comments:

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

Excellent post, Terry! And I learned stuff about peeing I'd never known.

TerryLynnJohnson said...

THanks PJ. Here to help.

Tina Laurel Lee said...

Yes! The advice was nice and that picture gorgeous!

Kelly Polark said...

Those are funny first articles. And now I know about the peeing thing...none seem to be first choice options!
Great pic!

Janet, said...

Enjoyed your info and advice. Publishers are always wanting something different and that is what you sent. . . something different :) That's what I'm trying to do now, build a resume for myself. I submit to contests (and cross my fingers), write a column for children (for free) and send to anthologies. All while waiting for that big moment of getting a book published.

Laura Pauling said...

We kayak during the summer but never long enough to have to pee in a funnel. I'd rather hold it!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Yes, funny articles!
And LOVE the photo.

LeSan said...

You know I think it was a good post but I really can't remember. Everything fell right out of my head when I got to the picture of the lake!

Oh, and really, starting in the toilet is a whole lot better than ending up in it.

Jemi Fraser said...

You live in Heaven.

Love the articles! Gotta admit I never really thought of writing articles before. One of these days...

Susan Fields said...

That picture is gorgeous! I have a good friend who runs long, long races (longer than marathons), adventures races through woods, kayaking, etc. etc. That girl can pee anywhere. I think you just have to get used to it.