ADS $10/month (1 & 2), $8/month (3 & 4) & $5/month (5-10)
There’s a new measure of whether or not a book is a book, and that’s: “If it’s on Amazon.com, then it’s a legitimate book.” Notice that it’s not Barnes and Nobles, not Bowkers, not available via Ingrams or any other measure, but AMAZON.COM. Okay. Well, in that case, all books on The Deepening will henceforth [...]
There’s one major publisher who, lately, I’m purposely featuring their book catalog. That publisher is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. What I find so very encouraging about their present catalog is that I have yet to find one book that isn’t worth a good, solid look and, usually, is definitely worth buying and reading, cover-to-cover, too. Their [...]
REPRINT FROM MY FACEBOOK POST:
VERY interesting article for everyone on any side of the table–authors, publishers, readers, booksellers. I love this: ‘“The sense of entitlement of the American consumer is absolutely astonishing,” said Douglas Preston.’ I have to agree. As to going elsewhere, that’s true ANYWAY. But readers love to read. There’s no other experience quite like absorbing and living the written word. TV/movies don’t do it. Video games don’t either. And if you decide not to buy, but get it from the library, that’s just fine.
The article I’m referring to is this one: E-Book Price Increase May Stir Readers’ Passions (Opens in new tab)
I have much more to say about this, but not now. Right now I have to get a brochure done.
Book authors, PLEASE, before you publish, do:
- Get expert help critiquing, editing, and proofing your book
- Get expert help critiquing and proofing your cover, back cover, spine, and flaps
It’s too late once it’s gone to print.
Make it the best it can be.
Finding good books and their authors is always a pleasure. It is delightful to discover some previously unknown (by me) book that is well-written, well-presented, and well worth the effort it takes to build a feature article about it. Of course, each featured book takes at least an hour to prepare (maybe I’m just slow), running down and, in many cases, preparing the cover image, the excerpt, and the author’s bio- and mug shot. Then, of course, there’s finding the reviews, the book’s promotional blurb and buy link, plus the author’s website, if any. It’s often somewhat like a treasure hunt, because independent authors especially lack the knowledge and wherewithal to properly present their works.
I’d like to change that. I’d like authors to understand all the benefits of providing the materials needed so that we can properly vet their books and, if worthy, feature them, but all in good time. Meanwhile, I’m thrilled with the quality of work I’m able to dig up, even if it is sometimes extremely difficult to get all the elements of the presentation pulled together.
Continue reading about Good Books & Authors are Always a Pleasure
I’ve been asked to publicize The Deepening’s schedule and its general operating protocols, so here is “the short version”:
SCHEDULE
Fiction is featured Monday through Friday, along with some editorials and articles. Occasionally, articles, editorials, and features, especially if part of a large series, appear on weekends or at random.
Non-Fiction is featured Monday through Friday.
Poetry is featured [...]
Continue reading about The Deepening’s Schedule & Operations
The Deepening now offers feature spots for small, good, fiction magazines who publish short stories. We offer:
- space to include up to one feature spot a week on The Deepening to qualifing magazines and ezines,
- inclusion in the weekly digest that is emailed to subscribers,
- plus a week’s worth of free banner advertising.
The cost?
Nothing. We’re interested in promoting good short stories and the periodicals which publish them.
The catch?
Your magazine or ezine must qualify, and, to qualify, you have to publish short stories that The Deepening’s editorial staff, that shifting body of active editors, find to actually be stories, not just angst-driven, plotless “stuff”. In other words, the majority of stories you publish MUST have “story”, must have “plot,” and must provoke, and we do mean provoke, the reader to read on.
Here are some samples of what does not qualify:
- “The Happy Ending was a dive bar out in the desert that had no address and no signage. Basically, you could go there only if you’d been there before. The logic of this appealed to me for some reason,and so I agreed to go with my friend Kendall after work…” –Excerpt from Trust by Paula McLain, Narrative Magazine
_ - “THE MIDDLE OF SPRING in Memphis, and it felt like winter. Tonight, setting out the recycling, she shivered and it took a good ten minutes to get rid of the chill. She had him hold her, his breath warm at her neck. They lay in the bed…” –Excerpt from Immigration by Richard Bausch, Narrative Magazine
_ - “It was a dreary time in my life. I was going through a rough patch at work. I was supremely bored, though up till then I’d always been immune to boredom. I was going out with two women. That I do remember clearly. One of them was getting on a bit—she must…” Excerpt from William Burns by Roberto Bolaño, The New Yorker
Here are samples of what is acceptable:
- “This one was good. He could sell this one easily. Framed—a dull flat gold patina perhaps, which allowed the glow of the work to dominate—he could expect fifteen hundred. And that was in Brighton. In the London gallery, three to four thousand. It was ironic. He could really use the money. But this one was not for sale.” Excerpt from The Comeback by Vanessa Gebbie, Rose & Thorn Journal (Winter 2010)
_ - ‘ “…would you mind telling me where we’re going?”
“To stop this nonsense,” replied Quince grimly. “We’re going to find the competition and make it very clear to them that they are simply not wanted. I mean, after all, how popular can oblivion actually…oh!”
At that moment they topped…’ –Excerpt from The Other Option by Jamie Brindle, East of the Web>
_ - “The lottery was conducted–as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program–by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran…” –Excerpt from The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, americanliterature.com
To apply, simply submit your magazine to us at editors@thedeepening.com with the subject line: Fiction Magazine Feature. In your email, include a well-written article about your magazine, including:
- your mission statement,
- your magazine’s editorial perspective concerning short stories,
- a linked list of stories, including titles, authors, blurb, and excerpt which best represents the stories you’ve published,
- a list of the magazine’s owner(s) and editors,
- frequency of publication,
- when the magazine/ezine began publishing,
- a jpeg of the latest issue’s cover,
- the cost to readers/subscribers, if any, or the requirements for access,
- anything else you may consider pertinent, interesting, and enticing.
Of course, the magazine must be available online, and, of course, we must be able to read your listed stories to judge whether or not we think you qualify as a magazine/ezine to be featured…which means giving us access to your stories if they are paid subscriber access only.
Continue reading about Opportunities for Small, Good Fiction Magazines
Here’s the upside of POD…and self-publishing, too. The books can, until the death of the author, and even beyond, always be available. That’s a good thing for readers, especially readers like me who like to return to reread books they’ve read a long time ago. With books which I unthinkingly gave away when my bookshelves threatened to take the house down and with books published by the major publishers going out of print faster and faster, POD and self-publishing offer an excellent way for books to stay in print forever. The reader wins.
