Be patient (AKA get used to waiting)
Hahaaaaa yeah, so this whole submissions thing is not a game for impatient people, or anyone of a particularly sensitive disposition who is not prepared for the rollercoaster of emotions […]
Make sure your story has a point
Errr, duh – that’s kinda obvious, no? Well, dear writer. Well, well, well (three holes in the ground)… You would be AMAZED at how many stories we’ve read that start […]
Do your research
The second most important rule for submitting your stuff is KNOW WHERE THE FUCK YOU’RE SENDING IT. If you’ve read the guidelines (which you should definitely have already done several […]
1. Thinking of submitting something? READ THIS FIRST!
Welcome, welcome to the WHQ guide to sending your writing out into the big wide world! Having run and judged a bunch of writing comps in our time, we’ve seen […]
Keep. On. Truckin’.
In the immortal words of Shia LaBeouf, JUST DO IT. Write, read, edit, tweak, submit, get rejected, deal with it, and try again. ‘Cause you will get rejected. EVERYBODY does. There: something you already have in common with all the award-winning authors in the history of the world. Everyone gets rejected. It’s the nature of the beast. […]
Don’t put yourself down or sell yourself short
Seriously, this is possibly our biggest bugbear in the history of bear-shaped bugs. Look. Rejection is part of the deal. It’s gonna happen. That’s just a given. But you need […]
Keep track of your subs
Babies, if you’re gonna send out more than one story in your literary lifetime, you’re gonna need some way of tracking what you’ve sent where and when. Enter the subs […]
Proofread and edit your work
Most editors/competition readers will let a rogue typo slide. I mean, we’re not monsters. But a piece that switches tense six times in one page, spells the protagonist’s name several different […]
Read the fucking guidelines
The first rule of submissions club is to READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR THE LOVE OF EVERLOVING FUCK. That’s why they’re called guidelines. They literally tell you what you need to […]
