Inland Empire (In-Person): Life After Sending a Submission

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Life After Sending a Submission …

This year, a handful of Inland Empire members sent manuscripts to The Literary Review, our state-wide club magazine. They waited over six months for a panel of judges to evaluate their work. As usual, less than 50% of overall submissions were accepted. Every year, the editors ask that we follow submission guidelines and hone our writing skills to generate more compelling stories.

You be the judge! Join us for an open critique of member submissions.

During our September meeting, we will share a few of these submissions. In addition, the club will send you homework… Your assignment is to review, score and rank the submissions based on the checklist the judges used. Please write a few critique notes. Then, we will compare our thoughts to the actual results. As far as we know, only one club member had their story published. Is it the one you would have chosen? Why, or why not? Did you locate areas where the other submissions did not nail the criteria?

We think there are about five manuscripts. Even if you have the time to evaluate only one submission, the exercise will help you grow as a storyteller, editor, and as a judge. Your participation will help everyone become better writers. You will discover why submissions, rejection, and re-submission are part of every writer’s life.

This critique session will be in-person September 24th, at the Ovitt location, also streamed via zoom. The manuscripts and the judging rubric will be sent to members a few weeks in advance. See you then!