 Mystery: September 06, 2023 Issue [#12163] |
This week: Rules. Why Bother? Edited by: Carol St.Ann  
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| “You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else”. — Albert Einstein |
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Greetings, everyone!
I hope you’re all having a wonderful WDC Birthday Week!
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Contrary to apparent popular belief in today’s society, rules are not made just to give the masses a laugh and/or something to break.
Since this is a site for writers and wannabe authors, like myself, let’s consider some of the Submission Rules and Guidelines agents and publishers declare.
These matter when submitting a novel to an agent or publisher, or, for that matter, even a self publisher. (This includes short stories and poetry submissions for electronic and hard copy magazines, as well.)
Here, at the WDC, we could use a little practice in this area. Think about it as a great time to start learning to pay attention to the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of rules, guidelines, and regulations. (To put it another way, if you cannot (or will not) follow the simple rules and guidelines for WDC competitions, how will you follow the sometimes seemingly senseless and/or illogical guidelines set forth by agents and publishers?)
For the record, I know of a few agents and publishers who intentionally set up certain rules just to test a writer's attention to detail and ability to follow through on task. This is not done as a game to catch a fool; but rather to weed-out and reveal who they want to work with and who they don’t. To spotlight who’s lazy, and who’s willing to do what it takes to get ‘er done. And, yes, sometimes we do that here, as well. (But most WDC contest rules are incredibly simple.)
Understand, failure to follow the rules and guidelines, when entering WDC contests and activities can (and should) result in the same fate as your manuscript would with an agent or publisher. Your prose or poetry or manuscript or memoir or essay or world class mystery will hit the slush pile. Your submission will not advance to the judging phase, and this chance for a contest win - or real world publication will have reached its conclusion.
Indeed, I dare say, contests that do not slush submissions for failure to follow rules are not doing favors for anyone, because this the the training arena, and they are failing to train you up properly. There, I’ve said it.
That’s a real shame.
When you see these words: “RULES for SUBMISSION” pay attention.
Make it your all-the-time practice for creating your personal real world policy. And the short story, article, or novel you save, could be your own best seller that, otherwise, might never see the light of day.
Happy Birthday WDC, with so much love! I’ll never know or understand how I lived without you!
Happy writing until we meet again!
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One Last Thing!
Remember to nominate great mysteries and great mystery contests, and how-tos!
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If you’ve got a mystery in your head:
Try out your mystery chops here:
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Flesh out your mystery story here:
or here:
Workshop it here with dedicated, in-depth reviews:
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