OK, you’ve selected 15 to 20 magazines that are potential homes for your story. Now the fun begins. In today’s video, I’m going to share with you a few ninja tips to help you get the most leverage out of your submissions. Inside this video you will learn: How to increase your chances of getting…
Author Archives: Nanci Panuccio
Ready for Submission: Formatting Your Manuscript & Cover Letter
You’ve researched the market and selected the magazines that are a good match for your story. Now it’s time to prepare your submission. In today’s video, I’m going to share some guidelines on how to format your manuscript and write your cover letter. Remember, this could be the first impression editors get of both you…
Finding the Right Magazines for Your Work
Want to know which magazines are seeking your best work? Today I’m going to share with you two of my favorite online market listings. Whether you want to publish flash fiction, memoir, novel excerpts, short stories, science fiction, or romance, these tools will help you drill down to the magazines that are most likely to…
Researching the Prose Market: 3 Great Resources To Get You Started
Here are 3 great resources to get you on your way to finding the best magazines for you work. In today’s video, you’ll learn how to identify which magazines are publishing short prose, what they’re publishing, and where to find exactly what editors want. Researching the Prose Market: 3 Great Resources from Nanci Panuccio on…
First Step to Publishing Your Prose: Understand the Market
Sending our prose out to magazines can feel intimidating, especially when we’re just starting out. There are hundreds upon hundreds of magazines out there. And unless we identify the right publications for our work, the outcome can sometimes discourage us. Whether you want to publish short stories, flash fiction, memoir, or novel excerpts, I’m going…
5 Ways to Love Your Villain
A common criticism that comes up in writing workshops is that a particular character isn’t “sympathetic.” I once had a student who seemed pleased with this response. “You’re not supposed to like him,” she said. Her character was the stereotypical bad husband; Tucker cheated on his wife, Gina, and to make matters worse, had initiated…
Thinking Like a Real Writer
Many people define a “real writer” as one who’s published. I’ve always had trouble with this definition because, as far as I’m concerned, one has to become a real writer before publishing’s even on the radar. A real writer thrives, not from raw talent alone, or a list of publishing credits, but from an inner-directed…
Hallmarks Of An Effective Flashback
In narrative, we catch characters in the middle of things but each story has its own history. A flashback moves back in time, catching us up on the significant events that happened before the story’s opening. It can fill in essential backstory, influence the way we view the present, or illuminate a character’s desires and…
Measuring Success
Recently an aspiring novelist told me she would never feel successful unless she published a bestseller. I replied that book sales have little, if anything, to do with literary achievement. After all, if making the bestseller list is the chief barometer of a writer’s success then Jackie Collins and Victoria Gotti are outrageously successful. I…
Revealing Character Through Body Language
The human body is the best picture of the human soul. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein It’s a scientific fact: body language speaks volumes about what’s truly in our hearts and minds. Postures, facial expressions, mannerisms, gestures, movements, the way someone holds his arms, what his eyes focus on — all these things, no matter how subtle,…