Hey Linda! I don't run any publications but as a writer it makes no sense to me that someone wouldn't read the submission guidelines--you provide them so there's no guesswork! I remember in the early days of Medium you often had to hunt around to find a way to submit for the more popular pubs. I think your new publication idea sounds great--definitely interested!
Ah yes, submission guidelines. I couldn't count how many times in my two decades as a licensing agent I uttered those two words. With little effect. But they are an effective filter. A quote from the product director at one of the big greeting card companies (where they get thousands of inquiries):
"The guidelines are on the site for a reason. If they cannot follow those, we won't be working with them. Click--they're deleted."
Knock on wood, right Paul? Thing is, there's a whole lot of people in America and Canada that can barely string a sentence together too, so if we can find some talented writers around the globe, I guess the dross is inevitable no matter where the writers are from.
People are pretty amazing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to type out explanations over and over to a person I co-wrote a book with - it’s maddening - now I just tell him to please go re-read my previous email.
I’m not at all surprised people don’t read the guidelines. As an instructor- so many students don’t read the basic materials.
I read guidelines several times before, and make sure I know all the steps or all of the instructions. I just don’t get people who don’t do that!
I love the explanation for “bat in the subject line.”
Also, I would love to be able to contribute to your personal essay pub!!
That's awesome Jennifer. I am so coming back to send you a link. And the bat thing -- meh, I don't think I could write about myself that often. Bwa haha
The only other person would be Jeannette Piccard, who invited my mom to live with her. I have primary sources. I’d do Betty first because she needs recognition
I like those because there's a personal element to them. Another thing that does well on History of Women is past/present comparisons. I've been wanting to do one on 10 things my grandmother couldn't do that I can. I was lucky enough to find a couple of really old magazines in a used book store and they made great posts, too. Stuff that's got a personal element or is a little off the beaten path does really well. :)
Good grief. Some people are annoyingly ignorant. They refuse to take the responsibility to read anything. Sometimes at previous jobs I’ve had where I didn’t have the time to re-explain something over and over to someone, I’d pull an immature passive aggressive move, and if the instructions were in the email they were responding to, I’d say, “Please read below.” It gets under my skin when people think they’re above reading simple instructions.
A pet iguana publication sounds great! I’m in! Lol! A personal essay publication sounds wonderful.
I totally make mistakes, but I don't get why this happens so often. It doesn't seem like these are people who are unlucky enough to slip up this one time. Hence your 'bat' story.
I also recall someone who put in their contracts that a bowl of brown M&Ms must be provided. This person didn't care about the brown M&Ms, they just wanted to know if someone read the contract carefully.
I jumped on the comment button SO fast. Yes, please start a personal essay publication! I'll read the Write for Us page before asking to be added, I promise.
YOU I don't even need to worry about Amy. I already started -- just need to build the write for us page. Knock on wood, should be ready this weekend. I'll come back and share the link. :)
Following (written) directions? Huh! Try getting freshman, in particular, to read the course syllabus and then guidelines for their first paper submission posted to a course’s website.
You would be scratching your head, pulling out your hair and sometimes laughing your a$$ off at some of the requests you get either in class OR via email.
Yes, I think this tracks with how many (or most?) people do not bother reading bios on dating apps. And on Medium, so many people are confused about what pronouns I use, even though I display them prominently in my bio (both the short and long one).
In articles, people just react to the smallest paragraph (or sentence), and then accuse you of saying what they believed you said. And when you ask them to kindly read to the end of the article before launching such accusations, they say they hate your article so much that they won't waste their precious time reading it. LOL. No obligation for them to read, but if they want to accuse me of having a certain stance, they can at least have the courtesy of reading till the end before assuming what I mean.
So unfortunately, not bothering to read submission guidelines, is more of the same. :( I guess the upside is that it's very easy to stand out if you're one of the few who actually read the guidelines. 🤣 Omg.
At my pub, most writers who submit their first draft to us, neglect something or another, whether it's a subtitle, image attribution, tags, giving us an already published article, etc. Alas. We're very nice and tell them what to do to fix these issues rather than rejecting outright. But we're a smaller pub so we can afford to do this. Bigger pubs won't have the time to remind every writer!
Awesome, Johnny. I've found a few but so many are specific to a topic that I figured I'd just dive in and make a general one. I'll let you know when it's ready. :)
Awesome - you’ve done a great job with The Book Cafe, so please keep it up! A generic personal essay pub could do really well so long as people write their pieces in a relatable manner (tough for any editors!).
I totally get what you’re saying.
Will you add me as a writer?
🤣😂🤣
lol. That made me laugh. If I had a fish, I'd smack you with it. lol. 🤣😂
I would deserve it. A rubber chicken would probably work, too.
It would. In my house, a dead fish is more likely. lmao
Dakota-- if you edit this and add the word "bat" in somewhere, you're in.
Please add me as a bat! 🦇🤣
You found an emoji? Done deal!
lol
Hey Linda! I don't run any publications but as a writer it makes no sense to me that someone wouldn't read the submission guidelines--you provide them so there's no guesswork! I remember in the early days of Medium you often had to hunt around to find a way to submit for the more popular pubs. I think your new publication idea sounds great--definitely interested!
I know, right? Just read. It's not hard. lol. And fyi, I'll let you know when the new pub is up. I can smell a weekend project! lol
Sounds great--thanks Linda!
Ah yes, submission guidelines. I couldn't count how many times in my two decades as a licensing agent I uttered those two words. With little effect. But they are an effective filter. A quote from the product director at one of the big greeting card companies (where they get thousands of inquiries):
"The guidelines are on the site for a reason. If they cannot follow those, we won't be working with them. Click--they're deleted."
Right? Some of them get mad, which makes even less sense. lol
I can imagine how frustrating that must be. I see comments like that too and wonder why they make their lives so hard for themselves lol.
Also, I’m definitely interested in your publication idea! I currently write personal essays too so it would be lovely to join as well.
LMAO. Right? They make it hard for themselves. Good point. And I'll come back and let you know when the new pub is up. Weekend project!!
I wish I could believe this will improve when Medium opens up to a whole bunch of new countries in the coming weeks and months.
But I fear it's about to get a whole lot worse...
Knock on wood, right Paul? Thing is, there's a whole lot of people in America and Canada that can barely string a sentence together too, so if we can find some talented writers around the globe, I guess the dross is inevitable no matter where the writers are from.
People are pretty amazing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to type out explanations over and over to a person I co-wrote a book with - it’s maddening - now I just tell him to please go re-read my previous email.
I’m not at all surprised people don’t read the guidelines. As an instructor- so many students don’t read the basic materials.
I read guidelines several times before, and make sure I know all the steps or all of the instructions. I just don’t get people who don’t do that!
I love the explanation for “bat in the subject line.”
Also, I would love to be able to contribute to your personal essay pub!!
Right? I have worked with people like that. lol. Just read the email. I'll come back and let you know when the publication is up! :)
I like the idea of a pub for personal essays - my favorite.
Awesome Kathryn, I'll let you know when it's ready. Soon!
Hey Linda - big fan here! If you're starting a pub for personal essays, pls sign me up!!
Oh that is so mutual. I will come back and let you know when it's ready!
I'd love to write for your personal essay pub. And read it. Heck, I'd even read your bat - based pub. Although I doubt I could write for that one. :-)
That's awesome Jennifer. I am so coming back to send you a link. And the bat thing -- meh, I don't think I could write about myself that often. Bwa haha
The only other person would be Jeannette Piccard, who invited my mom to live with her. I have primary sources. I’d do Betty first because she needs recognition
I like those because there's a personal element to them. Another thing that does well on History of Women is past/present comparisons. I've been wanting to do one on 10 things my grandmother couldn't do that I can. I was lucky enough to find a couple of really old magazines in a used book store and they made great posts, too. Stuff that's got a personal element or is a little off the beaten path does really well. :)
Good grief. Some people are annoyingly ignorant. They refuse to take the responsibility to read anything. Sometimes at previous jobs I’ve had where I didn’t have the time to re-explain something over and over to someone, I’d pull an immature passive aggressive move, and if the instructions were in the email they were responding to, I’d say, “Please read below.” It gets under my skin when people think they’re above reading simple instructions.
A pet iguana publication sounds great! I’m in! Lol! A personal essay publication sounds wonderful.
I love the bat idea!
Well it's my own fault for saying iguana start a new publication.
Also, iguana come back and tell you when it's ready. lol
I totally make mistakes, but I don't get why this happens so often. It doesn't seem like these are people who are unlucky enough to slip up this one time. Hence your 'bat' story.
I also recall someone who put in their contracts that a bowl of brown M&Ms must be provided. This person didn't care about the brown M&Ms, they just wanted to know if someone read the contract carefully.
So funny, I read about the brown m&ms too.
I jumped on the comment button SO fast. Yes, please start a personal essay publication! I'll read the Write for Us page before asking to be added, I promise.
YOU I don't even need to worry about Amy. I already started -- just need to build the write for us page. Knock on wood, should be ready this weekend. I'll come back and share the link. :)
Following (written) directions? Huh! Try getting freshman, in particular, to read the course syllabus and then guidelines for their first paper submission posted to a course’s website.
You would be scratching your head, pulling out your hair and sometimes laughing your a$$ off at some of the requests you get either in class OR via email.
lol Linda, I can only imagine. If a 3 min read is too much, I can only imagine with a syllabus
Yes, I think this tracks with how many (or most?) people do not bother reading bios on dating apps. And on Medium, so many people are confused about what pronouns I use, even though I display them prominently in my bio (both the short and long one).
In articles, people just react to the smallest paragraph (or sentence), and then accuse you of saying what they believed you said. And when you ask them to kindly read to the end of the article before launching such accusations, they say they hate your article so much that they won't waste their precious time reading it. LOL. No obligation for them to read, but if they want to accuse me of having a certain stance, they can at least have the courtesy of reading till the end before assuming what I mean.
So unfortunately, not bothering to read submission guidelines, is more of the same. :( I guess the upside is that it's very easy to stand out if you're one of the few who actually read the guidelines. 🤣 Omg.
At my pub, most writers who submit their first draft to us, neglect something or another, whether it's a subtitle, image attribution, tags, giving us an already published article, etc. Alas. We're very nice and tell them what to do to fix these issues rather than rejecting outright. But we're a smaller pub so we can afford to do this. Bigger pubs won't have the time to remind every writer!
I find if I have more than one thing to say, it helps to number them. Which sounds nuts, but it seems to work.
Great piece - would love to contribute to a personal essay pub! Great idea. Medium needs a better place to feature that form of writing.
Awesome, Johnny. I've found a few but so many are specific to a topic that I figured I'd just dive in and make a general one. I'll let you know when it's ready. :)
Awesome - you’ve done a great job with The Book Cafe, so please keep it up! A generic personal essay pub could do really well so long as people write their pieces in a relatable manner (tough for any editors!).
Well thanks! I really hope it does well, and glad you're enjoying The Book Café, too. :)