Write ON! Submission Guidelines
- electronic submissions only
- send to the Editor at info@mississaugawritersgroup.ca
- include submission, a short bio (2-3 sentences only) and an author’s photo
- content must be in English or include an English translation
- if there is a theme (which is rare), ensure submission is relevant to the theme
N.B. Content which contains hate speech or images, extreme violence or explicit sexuality will not be published.
Tips and Tricks for Write ON! Submissions
The purpose of Write ON! is to a) assist Mississauga Writers Group members in building an online presence and b) to give them a taste of the publishing experience. The editors of the ezine offer editing suggestions, and they tidy up unruly writing so it befits the author. The e-zine accepts all submissions (assuming they’re not hateful, or excessively violent or sexual). This does not prepare authors for the reality of the publishing world, where rejection is the norm.
Here are some tips and tricks for avoiding immediate rejection. If you practice these when writing for the e-zine, you’ll find it simple to submit to other publications.
- Make sure you have a unique approach, so your piece stands out.
- Make sure you have a creative title. (e.g. If your piece is about your dog, don’t entitle it ‘My Dog’.)
- Edit your own work for clarity.
- Don’t dash out something the night before the deadline. Leave time to hone it. Pieces that have not been rewritten a couple of times are probably not something you want in your portfolio. Remember that things on the Internet are there forever.
- Make sure all the questions are answered.
- Make sure the transitions are smooth and the piece flows.
- Fact-check! If your piece has a lot of errors, editors will reject it rather than do the extra work to correct everything.
- Proofread for errors.
- A piece with too many errors will guarantee rejection.
- Check spelling, capitals, punctuation, verb tenses. Look for missing words.
- Use the spell-check and grammar-check in your writing programme, or use an online assessment programme (ProWritingAid or Hemingway App) to give you some hints.
- Bribe a couple of friends to proofread it for you. (Perhaps you can trade off with other Mississauga Writers Group members.)
- Format appropriately.
- Use a simple font, size 12
- Double space
- Use the ‘tab’ button to indent, not the space bar
- One space after a period
- Use the ‘formatting’ button (¶) to help check for errors
- If there’s a theme, make sure you’ve written on the appropriate theme.
- Don’t use the theme as a title. Be creative.
Check our previous e-zine to see what other people have done: https://mississaugawritersgroup.ca/