Please do not come down our chimney. The previous owners of this old house blocked off the fireplace to make more wall space for God knows what. Use the door.
Second, if you leave anything in this house, dear old fellow, I will hunt you down and hurt you. At my age, I cannot give away stuff fast enough. (Is that why you do it? This Christmas thing?) I get angry at people on NextDoor who claim to want my once beloved artwork/lamps/books/curling iron/ice bag/etc. and do not come when they say they will. WT actual F? Why can't people who seek free stuff show up when they say they will? Correlation between flakiness and desiring or needing other people's shit, who knows? Why am I asking you?
The point is: DO NOT BRING ANYTHING!!! This year, Christmas will be like an Easter egg hunt for you, old man. You're taking stuff away. Here is my list:
- Take away Twitter, for obvious reasons.
- Take away my smartphone. It is not only spying on me, it is also ruining my brain for reading and writing. The only reason I'm on this website typing a note to an imaginary elf is because I haven't looked at it all day.
- Take away that Grammarly shit. It keeps trying to change my sentences into nicer, more normal ones. Fuck that.
- Take away every single pen from this house that no longer works.
- Take away the stacks of lit mags I didn't get to read that are now gathering dust on the piano. Also, take away the ones I did.
- Finally, take away the moldering doubt that makes me think real literature is written by other people, and if I ever appear to write it myself, it must have been a happy accident. You may have to open up my chest to find that one, but please, even if you have to split me open from stern to stem, please take it away.
Thank you, Polly. You can find some of my stuff at dpsnyder.us. Warm holidays greetings to you and I hope Santa brings (or takes away) everything you desire.
Thanks for the link. I read Closing Time and as soon as her hand touches the pair of scissors in her purse the tension meter shot into the red zone and stayed the the whole way. I loved how you knit so many themes so tightly together. Taut! Great read.
I don’t have much on my wish list. What matters to me is to say thank you for all you've done for us all this year and beyond. If we are a community instead of a bunch of random loose cannons, it we are going to matter in these turbulent times, your contribution is going to be a vital part of reasons why we can keep going, we can maybe matter to more than ourselves and a few close friends. So thank you. You successfully accomplish things most of us can’t. Every day from now until the distant future, when you look into a mirror for the first time during the day, flash a superhero smile at yourself. And don’t ever underestimate yourself. In other words, thank you.
To be honest what I would wish for would be for me to know people are actually reading my fiction. It's like I get something in print and I'm all satisfied about it and everybody's happy for me and then - stone silence. Like, nobody read it? Nobody wants to talk to me about it?
I have good friends. When they don't like something I've done they just keep quiet. I'd almost rather they cut into it to my face instead. Just to know people are actually reading it. Anything.
RW, how about sharing a link to one of.your stories when Becky next invites Lit Mag News readers to brag about our recent publications? (In the fall I shared a link to a story I wrote and was delighted that people logged on to tell me they enjoyed it.)
I never expect anyone I know to read my stuff and I let them know they don't have to unless they want to. And it always surprises me when someone tells me they read something of mine, because it's always people I didn't think were thinking about me. Even a few I thought that hated me. My advice is to let it fly and let it go.
Good feedback is hard to find. And sometimes weird. You have to navigate others' preferences when listening to them evaluate your work. But I don't know what to say because I haven't found that kind of community yet either. Maybe one day.
Alas, most writers throughout history seem never to know how much of their work has been read, or the impact it has had. Does Mother Nature know when we revel in her beauty?
I leave that to the publishers, and make myself available for readings and interviews as one should. It's the feedback from colleagues I would like more of.
Since Alien Buddha Press published my collection "Vampire Ventures" (October 2023), I can tell you what ABP did to (ahem) "market" my book: he shared any links that I generated (to my readings, my dozens of reviews, my interviews, my Guest Posts) on his Facebook page and on Twitter. Period.
Alien Buddha Press has one of the lousiest websites of any indie press: no book page, no press releases.
Moreover, no ARCs are generated by ABP, he has no mailing list that he'll announce new releases to, and he only publishes in paperback so K.U. subscribers cannot access ABP books.
So much for your comment about "leaving it to the publishers . . . " THUD!
I'll happily take a notification that one of these magazines will finally publish something I sent. Or John Wick's mustang and the bulletproof clothes.
Since I don't have a first born to offer up as tribute and I have no where to aquire the blood of a virgin, I'd love it if even one of the lit mags that have rejected EVERYTHING I've sent them would publish one piece. Just one.
Dear Santa, Please bring back The Fairy Tale Review. I miss it. I would also love for my most recent story submission to be accepted in the FTR and for that issue to be printed and made available in a timely fashion. Thank you, Jess
On Dec. 09, FTR posted on their instagram a message which begins “We are in a gallop toward Volume 20 for publication in spring 2025. This wild ride will soon be in the sunset for all.” I take that as a sign that maybe there’ll actually be a decision for those of us still waiting (as I have been for 18 months--since June 2023!) Good luck with your submission! Donna
You must have read this one already, but just in case you have not, I recommend: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Avid Reader Press / Simon&Schuster, 2024)
I have three short story collections floating around in different competitions. I would love for one of those to win and get published. Second, that my novel finds the type of publisher that loves socio-political fiction. That some of my stories that have been sitting in Lit mags for almost a year are accepted. That Santa stops eating those cookies and finally gets check for pre-diabetes.
Peace, love, goodwill, joy, etc., of course, but more writerly:
I would love to get accepted for a residency. One month would be perfect, but I will take anything. Must be a place I can drive to, don't have to share a bathroom, pays for everything, and is mobility-semi-disabled friendly.
I would love for more folks in general to read poetry on a regular basis. I honestly believe it would make the world a better place!
I would love if Santa would make sure folks sign up for the online workshops I am leading in 2025. A free one in January and a fundraising, pay-what-you-can one in February. (More info is on my website: mchristinedelea.com)
I would love it if every writer who publishes in small journals got a fan letter from a reader. Stephen King, Ada Limón, Ross Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Colleen Hoover, etc. know that folks are reading their work, loving their work, and being changed by it. And that's fabulous. But everyone can use a little love! (Editors, too!)
I love the idea of fan letters from readers. I could add a wish: that where journals provide a comment box with the work, readers do actually leave a comment!
I share your frustration-- but hopefully a paucity of comments doesn't mean only the editors liked your work-- people aren't appreciated much anywhere for the work they do-- when's the last time a cashier at the supermarket was thanked, or the trash men who take all the refuse away?
When I taught undergrad creative writing Intro to Creative Writing, I had the students write fan letters to an author they liked. Almost all of them heard back, and Chuck Palahniuk sent a box of goodies to the student who had written to him!
Christine, I agree that readers of small journals should send letters to writers whose work they enjoyed. In fact, your post prompted me to click on the link to your website and from there to two poems: "Around Back" in Leon Literary Review & "Central Park Meditation" (Mantle). They are both admirably understated and find fresh ways to link our mortality to the seasons. (I also couldn't help wondering if the title of "Around Back" refers not only to the speaker sitting in back of the house but to Marvell: "at my back I always hear / Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near.")
Thank you so much for checking out my work! I was not channeling Marvell, or if I was, it was very subconsciously. I am a big fan of all of his mower poems, especially The Mower Against Gardens, but I have not read any in years.
Becky, what a fun and helpful conversation you've got started!
My two wishes:
1. For my poetry chapbook to find a home at an indie publisher. I've been submitting it since October 2023 and it's hard not to feel a bit hopeless at times. I've been rejected by about 30 places and longlisted by 3, which is encouraging. It's still out at ten or so publishers and I'll continue to submit. Open to any advice or just hearing anyone's experience who has been through this process.
2. To pick up more freelance proofreading and copyediting assignments. I work with ad agencies and non-profits (after many years spent working in those fields), but have also helped college students with their personal statements for grad school and an MD who wrote a prescriptive non-fiction book.
I would like ideas for a place I could get a biographical essay published. The Morgan Library in NY is having a show about Julia Margaret Cameron in May, and I have a piece I've written about her that is 3,400 words and uses her (out of copyright) photographs as pins in the story. She made pictures that "breathe" but died from doing it.
Looking for a novel incubator (historical fiction) for 2025 and lit mags that accept ekphrastic writing/images. To have the vision and courage to revise a magical realism short story that has stymied me. To read more books like Steve Martin's Object of Beauty and Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Latecomer. To be able to get these prednisone-swollen legs to drive to the post office to register for snail mail workshops and submit snail mail contest entries.
The price is steep but it looks like a good program. Also Sackett Street Writers has some great Novel workshops. I took many classes there with Heather Aimee O'Neill who is a wonderful novel shepherd.
I was in the program in 2015-2017 and loved every minute of it. The instructors were great. The other participants were deeply committed to providing thoughtful, actionable feedback. It was a nice sense of community. I definitely produced more pages than I would have if left to my own devices, but it wasn't just that. I felt I had ongoing guidance.
Barbara, I’m sure you already know The Ekphrastic Review. MacQueen’s Quinterly accepts ekphrastic works too. Wishing you better health in the new year!
My biggest wish is something I can give myself: more time to write and submit short stories.
Wish that Santa or equivalent may be able to fulfill: that the YA novel I’m querying garners me an offer of rep!
Wish to put out in the universe: that the book club I’m starting for children’s and YA authors has people attend! (And that the novel writing classes I’m teaching starting in Jan get a few more students each.) All of this is through KidLit Craft (kidlitcraft.com).
Last wish: more sleep. Does anyone know the Sandman?
In 2024 I had three books published by 3 different publishers. Every day was a constant churn of writer / marketing / awareness boosting chores, etc.
* * * * * *Wish-List: I want to hire a virtual assistant, a person who is detail oriented and equally adept at doing book trailers, eye-catching Press Kits, follow-ups, and tasks like inputting the META DATA of my books. Fingers crossed.
Dear Santa,
Please do not come down our chimney. The previous owners of this old house blocked off the fireplace to make more wall space for God knows what. Use the door.
Second, if you leave anything in this house, dear old fellow, I will hunt you down and hurt you. At my age, I cannot give away stuff fast enough. (Is that why you do it? This Christmas thing?) I get angry at people on NextDoor who claim to want my once beloved artwork/lamps/books/curling iron/ice bag/etc. and do not come when they say they will. WT actual F? Why can't people who seek free stuff show up when they say they will? Correlation between flakiness and desiring or needing other people's shit, who knows? Why am I asking you?
The point is: DO NOT BRING ANYTHING!!! This year, Christmas will be like an Easter egg hunt for you, old man. You're taking stuff away. Here is my list:
- Take away Twitter, for obvious reasons.
- Take away my smartphone. It is not only spying on me, it is also ruining my brain for reading and writing. The only reason I'm on this website typing a note to an imaginary elf is because I haven't looked at it all day.
- Take away that Grammarly shit. It keeps trying to change my sentences into nicer, more normal ones. Fuck that.
- Take away every single pen from this house that no longer works.
- Take away the stacks of lit mags I didn't get to read that are now gathering dust on the piano. Also, take away the ones I did.
- Finally, take away the moldering doubt that makes me think real literature is written by other people, and if I ever appear to write it myself, it must have been a happy accident. You may have to open up my chest to find that one, but please, even if you have to split me open from stern to stem, please take it away.
Oh, and eat all the cookies you want.
Lots of love,
D. P.
Hahaha, this is like an anti-Santa letter. By the way, real literature is written by you. I know this for a fact.
Because you are a trusted and authoritative source, I believe you. Thank you for a wonderful year of lit mag news. ❤️
Love this so much! And same for almost everything on your list!
Thank you, Christine. May your days be merry and bright. :)
I love this. Makes me want to look up your stuff, Ms. D.P. Snyder.
Thank you, Polly. You can find some of my stuff at dpsnyder.us. Warm holidays greetings to you and I hope Santa brings (or takes away) everything you desire.
Same!
Thanks for the link. I read Closing Time and as soon as her hand touches the pair of scissors in her purse the tension meter shot into the red zone and stayed the the whole way. I loved how you knit so many themes so tightly together. Taut! Great read.
Thank you so much for reading “Closing Time” Polly, and for your lovely comment. I love poor Nancy so much. I am glad you and I are now in touch.
I don’t have much on my wish list. What matters to me is to say thank you for all you've done for us all this year and beyond. If we are a community instead of a bunch of random loose cannons, it we are going to matter in these turbulent times, your contribution is going to be a vital part of reasons why we can keep going, we can maybe matter to more than ourselves and a few close friends. So thank you. You successfully accomplish things most of us can’t. Every day from now until the distant future, when you look into a mirror for the first time during the day, flash a superhero smile at yourself. And don’t ever underestimate yourself. In other words, thank you.
Yep, raising a glass to Becky! And to Richard for his toast.
Hear hear to everything said here!
To be honest what I would wish for would be for me to know people are actually reading my fiction. It's like I get something in print and I'm all satisfied about it and everybody's happy for me and then - stone silence. Like, nobody read it? Nobody wants to talk to me about it?
I have good friends. When they don't like something I've done they just keep quiet. I'd almost rather they cut into it to my face instead. Just to know people are actually reading it. Anything.
RW, how about sharing a link to one of.your stories when Becky next invites Lit Mag News readers to brag about our recent publications? (In the fall I shared a link to a story I wrote and was delighted that people logged on to tell me they enjoyed it.)
Next comes up in Summer. I don't usually post stuff that's been up a while for Becky's Brag. :-)
There's no expiration date on sharing your work!
This is so relatable, RW. Thank you for sharing. I often feel this same way about my poetry.
I never expect anyone I know to read my stuff and I let them know they don't have to unless they want to. And it always surprises me when someone tells me they read something of mine, because it's always people I didn't think were thinking about me. Even a few I thought that hated me. My advice is to let it fly and let it go.
Yeah I don't expect anyone in the family to read me. I'm the one who isn't supposed to accomplish anything :-)
Just would like occasional feedback from peers from time to time
Good feedback is hard to find. And sometimes weird. You have to navigate others' preferences when listening to them evaluate your work. But I don't know what to say because I haven't found that kind of community yet either. Maybe one day.
Alas, most writers throughout history seem never to know how much of their work has been read, or the impact it has had. Does Mother Nature know when we revel in her beauty?
Anthropomorphism to sooth the savage beast? :-)
How successfully do you market your novels?
I leave that to the publishers, and make myself available for readings and interviews as one should. It's the feedback from colleagues I would like more of.
Since Alien Buddha Press published my collection "Vampire Ventures" (October 2023), I can tell you what ABP did to (ahem) "market" my book: he shared any links that I generated (to my readings, my dozens of reviews, my interviews, my Guest Posts) on his Facebook page and on Twitter. Period.
Alien Buddha Press has one of the lousiest websites of any indie press: no book page, no press releases.
Moreover, no ARCs are generated by ABP, he has no mailing list that he'll announce new releases to, and he only publishes in paperback so K.U. subscribers cannot access ABP books.
So much for your comment about "leaving it to the publishers . . . " THUD!
This is a long way from the subject of a wish list. I hope you find your peace.
I'll happily take a notification that one of these magazines will finally publish something I sent. Or John Wick's mustang and the bulletproof clothes.
Since I don't have a first born to offer up as tribute and I have no where to aquire the blood of a virgin, I'd love it if even one of the lit mags that have rejected EVERYTHING I've sent them would publish one piece. Just one.
Dear Santa, Please bring back The Fairy Tale Review. I miss it. I would also love for my most recent story submission to be accepted in the FTR and for that issue to be printed and made available in a timely fashion. Thank you, Jess
Hi Jessica,
On Dec. 09, FTR posted on their instagram a message which begins “We are in a gallop toward Volume 20 for publication in spring 2025. This wild ride will soon be in the sunset for all.” I take that as a sign that maybe there’ll actually be a decision for those of us still waiting (as I have been for 18 months--since June 2023!) Good luck with your submission! Donna
Thank you, Donna!! This really did cheer me. Good luck with your submission too! Fingers crossed we are Issue Mates.
You must have read this one already, but just in case you have not, I recommend: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Avid Reader Press / Simon&Schuster, 2024)
Never even heard of it. Thank you, Claire!
What an elegant novel The Safekeep is!
Yes, I read that. Loved the Safekeep and joyfully sobbed!
I have three short story collections floating around in different competitions. I would love for one of those to win and get published. Second, that my novel finds the type of publisher that loves socio-political fiction. That some of my stories that have been sitting in Lit mags for almost a year are accepted. That Santa stops eating those cookies and finally gets check for pre-diabetes.
Luis, I was eating those cookies. Leave more for me and a bigger napkin. Thank you.
Thanks for this Christmas gift, Becky (also my birthday so a double thanks :)
I'm an editor and copy editor (doreenschmid.com) seeking:
—lit mag recommendations for a playful ekphrastic 2K word piece accompanied by images
—a seasoned developmental editor for a long, unwieldy, many years-in-the-making hybrid memoir
—"James"s praise is well deserved
—"The Heart," Maylis de Kerangal, is a moving read
—anything by Jhumpa Lahiri...
With many thanks and warm holiday wishes (I don't have a Santa pipeline but am adding what mojo I can muster to your daughter's xmas list wishes :)
Peace, love, goodwill, joy, etc., of course, but more writerly:
I would love to get accepted for a residency. One month would be perfect, but I will take anything. Must be a place I can drive to, don't have to share a bathroom, pays for everything, and is mobility-semi-disabled friendly.
I would love for more folks in general to read poetry on a regular basis. I honestly believe it would make the world a better place!
I would love if Santa would make sure folks sign up for the online workshops I am leading in 2025. A free one in January and a fundraising, pay-what-you-can one in February. (More info is on my website: mchristinedelea.com)
I would love it if every writer who publishes in small journals got a fan letter from a reader. Stephen King, Ada Limón, Ross Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Colleen Hoover, etc. know that folks are reading their work, loving their work, and being changed by it. And that's fabulous. But everyone can use a little love! (Editors, too!)
I love the idea of fan letters from readers. I could add a wish: that where journals provide a comment box with the work, readers do actually leave a comment!
I share your frustration-- but hopefully a paucity of comments doesn't mean only the editors liked your work-- people aren't appreciated much anywhere for the work they do-- when's the last time a cashier at the supermarket was thanked, or the trash men who take all the refuse away?
When I send notes to authors to say that I enjoyed their work, they almost always write back, which is nice.
But the speed with which they respond seems to suggest that they don't hear from readers very often!
When I taught undergrad creative writing Intro to Creative Writing, I had the students write fan letters to an author they liked. Almost all of them heard back, and Chuck Palahniuk sent a box of goodies to the student who had written to him!
Yes! And make the comment boxes noticeable! I am sure I have overlooked a few!
Christine, I agree that readers of small journals should send letters to writers whose work they enjoyed. In fact, your post prompted me to click on the link to your website and from there to two poems: "Around Back" in Leon Literary Review & "Central Park Meditation" (Mantle). They are both admirably understated and find fresh ways to link our mortality to the seasons. (I also couldn't help wondering if the title of "Around Back" refers not only to the speaker sitting in back of the house but to Marvell: "at my back I always hear / Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near.")
Thank you so much for checking out my work! I was not channeling Marvell, or if I was, it was very subconsciously. I am a big fan of all of his mower poems, especially The Mower Against Gardens, but I have not read any in years.
Becky, what a fun and helpful conversation you've got started!
My two wishes:
1. For my poetry chapbook to find a home at an indie publisher. I've been submitting it since October 2023 and it's hard not to feel a bit hopeless at times. I've been rejected by about 30 places and longlisted by 3, which is encouraging. It's still out at ten or so publishers and I'll continue to submit. Open to any advice or just hearing anyone's experience who has been through this process.
2. To pick up more freelance proofreading and copyediting assignments. I work with ad agencies and non-profits (after many years spent working in those fields), but have also helped college students with their personal statements for grad school and an MD who wrote a prescriptive non-fiction book.
Time. Space. Quiet. View of water. Messages from God.
Annie, you bear a striking resemblance to the young Anne Lamott.
I would like ideas for a place I could get a biographical essay published. The Morgan Library in NY is having a show about Julia Margaret Cameron in May, and I have a piece I've written about her that is 3,400 words and uses her (out of copyright) photographs as pins in the story. She made pictures that "breathe" but died from doing it.
Looking for a novel incubator (historical fiction) for 2025 and lit mags that accept ekphrastic writing/images. To have the vision and courage to revise a magical realism short story that has stymied me. To read more books like Steve Martin's Object of Beauty and Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Latecomer. To be able to get these prednisone-swollen legs to drive to the post office to register for snail mail workshops and submit snail mail contest entries.
Barbara, have you heard of The Book Incubator? https://www.thebookincubator.com/
The price is steep but it looks like a good program. Also Sackett Street Writers has some great Novel workshops. I took many classes there with Heather Aimee O'Neill who is a wonderful novel shepherd.
I recently discovered this lit mag: https://thelightekphrastic.com
Also, just read this fabulous ekphrastic poem in The Maine Review: https://www.mainereview.com/beloved-disciple/
Barbara, I highly recommend the novel writing certificate program through Stanford's continuing ed:
https://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/writing-certificate/novel
I was in the program in 2015-2017 and loved every minute of it. The instructors were great. The other participants were deeply committed to providing thoughtful, actionable feedback. It was a nice sense of community. I definitely produced more pages than I would have if left to my own devices, but it wasn't just that. I felt I had ongoing guidance.
Barbara, I’m sure you already know The Ekphrastic Review. MacQueen’s Quinterly accepts ekphrastic works too. Wishing you better health in the new year!
My biggest wish is something I can give myself: more time to write and submit short stories.
Wish that Santa or equivalent may be able to fulfill: that the YA novel I’m querying garners me an offer of rep!
Wish to put out in the universe: that the book club I’m starting for children’s and YA authors has people attend! (And that the novel writing classes I’m teaching starting in Jan get a few more students each.) All of this is through KidLit Craft (kidlitcraft.com).
Last wish: more sleep. Does anyone know the Sandman?
In 2024 I had three books published by 3 different publishers. Every day was a constant churn of writer / marketing / awareness boosting chores, etc.
* * * * * *Wish-List: I want to hire a virtual assistant, a person who is detail oriented and equally adept at doing book trailers, eye-catching Press Kits, follow-ups, and tasks like inputting the META DATA of my books. Fingers crossed.