Often, when writers have completed what they feel is the final draft of their work, they attach it to an email and hit the send button with some degree of trepidation. To avoid that feeling of angst and to submit with confidence, it is always advisable to put your writing away for several days before one final reading of the printed piece with fresh eyes.
Review Your Story
Proofread! Proofread! Proofread!
- Print your story and read each word aloud. Look again for typos, spelling, and punctuation errors.
- Check for missing words, incorrect homophones, or inconsistencies (i.e., names, dates, weather, etc).
- Replace adverbs with more active verbs. (i.e., Replace ran quickly with raced.)
- Tighten your writing by eliminating unnecessary words, phrases, and repetition of thoughts.
Choose a Good Title
Once you have made your final corrections and changes, it is time to consider a good title. A title can carry a lot of weight. You want it to lure in the reader without giving away the ending. Remember to capitalize first and last words and important words in between. Conjunctions and prepositions should be lowercase unless used as first or last words.
Reread the Submission Guidelines
- Has your work followed the theme?
- Have you used the correct font, format, and spacing?
- Have you added your email address and 3rd person bio to the end of your story?
If you answered yes to all the above, you are ready to email the best version of your work. Attach your story as a Word doc to an email, add your name, genre, and story title to the subject line, and submit to [email protected]