We occasionally hear from local businesses who provide services to authors. One such message arrived recently from Fawzia Burke, author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors, founder of FSB Associates, and co-founder of Pub Site.

Pub Site is an online framework that enables every author, irrespective of financial situation, to have a beautiful, expert website. Pub Site, a brand-new, simple DIY website builder made especially for books and writers, was developed by FSB Associates , a company with extensive experience in the book industry. No matter the amount of books you've written or how many there are, Pub Site makes it easy for you to create, design, and update your website.

With their co-founder Fauzia Burke, they are thrilled to invite you to a free forthcoming virtual event on Zoom on Wednesday, May 17, at 12:00 p.m. PDT.

This event is for anyone interested in Pub Site, whether you've been a member recently or for some time. It's the ideal chance for you to connect with other authors who have used Pub Site to develop their online presences and ask any queries you might have.

You'll have the chance to view an actual demonstration of Pub Site at the event and discover how it can assist you in creating a website that genuinely shows your work and engages your audience. Additionally, you'll see how simple it is to use Pub Site and how their committed support staff is here to help you at every turn.

Take advantage of this excellent chance to upgrade your author website. Don't let it pass you by. Register right away for their free event to find out how Pub Site can assist you in making a name for yourself online. As space is limited, sign up right away.

Note: This information is provided for your information. SDWEG does not endorse any author services provider but shares information for members to consider for themselves.

Register Now 

Small Fiction Contest:

The Master's Review have long admired the mighty power of the compressed form, which is why they are expanding their search for the very best in small fiction. The Masters Review is excited to announce the new Spring Small Fiction Awards! This contest will honor a grand prize winner in three categories—Microfiction, Flash Fiction, and Sudden Fiction—by awarding $1,000 and online publication to each winner selected by by the magnificent K-Ming Chang! This year’s judge will be announced next week. A runner-up in each category will also be honored with a $200 prize and online publication.

For this contest:

• Microfiction is any story up to 500 words.
• Flash Fiction is any story between 501 and 1,000 words.
• Sudden Fiction is any story between 1,001 and 1,500 words.

The Master's Review welcomes up to two stories per submission, in any combination of the three categories.

Please include both stories in one document.

DEADLINE: June 1, 2023

Novel Workshop:

Writers are invited to submit the first fifty pages of their novels to the Master's Review  2023 Novel Workshop! Enrollment is open until May 2, 2023.

Please include a brief synopsis of the novel, any challenges you may be facing, and any specific feedback you are seeking in your cover letter.

After registration, writers will receive their assigned editor, along with instructional materials compiled by The Masters Review. Manuscripts will be processed in the order they are received.

All participants will receive feedback no later than August 31, 2023.

Registration is $497

Participants will receive:

• an editorial letter with specific suggestions and developmental analysis that will help elevate their novel to the next level;
• a PDF of a self-guided learning curriculum on fiction and novel writing, featuring workbooks uniquely built by their team around such foundational texts as Naming The World edited by Bret Anthony Johnston, The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway, and Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody;
• an opportunity to join a curated writing group with other participants;
• a free submission to one of their upcoming contests;
• and an archived copy of The Masters Review anthology.

REGISTER NOW

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It concerns all areas of life, requiring equal access to education, employment, and businesses, and more. 

Similarly, the Rehabilitation Act outlaws discrimination that affects access to government programs. Section 508 of this act states that federal electronic and information technology should be available to people with disabilities.

Websites belonging to state and local governments, as well as businesses open to the public, must comply with these laws. 

Currently, there aren’t federal standards that define exact requirements for an accessible site. As a rule of thumb, most follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(or WCAG). The WCAG outlines international standards for accessibility on the web.

Why should I care if my website complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act?

One in four Americans struggle with some kind of disability. Having an inaccessible site would alienate a significant portion of your audience. The web should be a place that is inclusive to all.

Another reason to make your site more accessible is that it can improve your site for people who don’t have disabilities. Originally, curb-cuts were designed for wheelchair access to sidewalks. Although unintended, the change has improved mobility in general, helping people with strollers and scooters navigate more easily.

The same can be said about video captions, which are used by both deaf and hearing people. Better web accessibility can benefit everyone!

How can I find out what problems my website has that I need to fix?

WebAIM, an organization dedicated to improving accessibility issues, provides several useful resources and tools. 

One tool called WAVE (https://wave.webaim.org/) will evaluate a webpage and catch potential accessibility errors. 

Try it with your own webpage to see the types of issues it flags. But keep in mind that any online tool is only as good as the knowledge the person who uses it applies. WAVE highlights issues the web designer should look at and then decide if correction is needed.

Other helpful accessibility checkers useful for website developers:

• Accessiblity Insights

• WP Accessibility

• Google Lighthouse

• AXE

Note: These tools should NOT be used on their own to ensure ADA compliance. There is no application that can catch every accessibility problem (if an app claims to, you should avoid it). These resources should only be used as an aid to manual testing. 

How can I fix them or find someone who can fix them?

You can enlist a specialist to find and correct potential accessibility problems. But keep in mind that correcting problems isn’t a one-time and you’re done activity. It’s better to understand the potential problems and address them as you add content.

Alternatively, you could also refer to the WCAG guidelines and try to fix the problems on your own. This would require some familiarity with HTML and CSS.

To improve the accessibility of your site, here are a few changes to start with:

• Add alternative text to images. See the screenshot below for an illustration:

Note the gray “tooltip” that appears below this image in the screenshot. It contains two double quote marks as the alternative text for the graphic image. This indicates to a screen reader that there is no information in the image that is not also available within the text so no text needs to be read. Without the alt text, the screen reader will read the filename for the image. Image file names rarely contain useful information.

• Add HTML labels to form fields

Clear HTML labels make selected form fields identifiable to users with screen readers. 

• Use video captions

• Apply color contrast 

Color contrast makes text more readable.

• Use descriptive text for links

Screen reader users often skip through the links on a page to find what they’re looking for. To make the process easier, links should make sense out of context. 

This would be considered inaccessible: 

Check out the article here.

To improve accessibility, make your link more specific:

Check out this article on writing accessible links.

And overall, keep things clear and concise.

We’ll include more specific information on how to make your websites compliant with Section 508 in future blog posts.

In his native San Diego, California, Corey Lynn Fayman has made a career out of staying out of the sun. He has toiled away as a keyboardist for local bands, a sound designer for the renowned Old Globe Theatre, and an interactive designer for various businesses. He holds degrees in educational technology from SDSU and a BA in creative writing from UCLA. He has taught technology and design courses at a number of Southern California schools and institutions. Fayman developed the idea for Rolly Waters, the guitar-playing detective first seen in the mystery Black's Beach Shuffle, which was nominated for a San Diego Book Award. As a result of this early success, he was inspired to write a second Rolly Waters mystery, Border Field Blues, which went on to win the 2013 Hollywood Book Festival's Genre Award.

The third book in the series, Desert City Diva, took home the bronze medal at the 2015 Indiefab Novel of the Year Awards. The most recent book in the series until now, Ballast Point Breakdown, won the Geisel Award for best in show at the San Diego Book Awards in 2021. Fayman had adventures while working for the controversial Internet startup MP3.com which inspired the March 2023 release of the latest in the series, Gillespie Field Groove. Fayman took advantage of marketing programs through Authors Cross Promotion to get the word out. We asked Corey about his experience with Authors Cross Promotion and whether he’d recommend their programs to other authors.

SDWEG: How did you learn about Authors Cross Promotion or AXP?

CLF: I don’t remember, exactly, but I suspect it was because I received a promotional email or newsletter from a fellow author who had signed up for one of AXP’s list-building giveaways. I clicked on the ad, entered the giveaway and then decided to investigate the service to see what it could do for me as an author.

SDWEG: Which of their many programs have you used when promoting your novels?

CLF: I’ve used the Mailing List Builder, Spotlight, Daily Deal, and Read & Review services. The Mailing List Builder does exactly what it sounds like it does. You add one of your books (ebook or paperback) to the list of prizes being given away by AuthorsXP as part of themed giveaway (Mystery, Romance, Cozy). You post the giveaway ad they provide for you on your social media channels. When the contest ends, you send your book to the winner and receive a list of clean emails from AuthorsXP which you can add to your own mailing list for promotions, newsletter, etc. The Daily Deal program is for promoting discounted book sales you may be running on Amazon or other sites. Spotlight Is a way to highlight your books to the AuthorsXP mailing list. It costs a bit more than the other programs

SDWEG: Have you been able to evaluate the programs against sales of your books or do you have a different goal than increased sales?

CLF: I use the Daily Deal program when I want to boost an individual book’s sales. It’s very easy to evaluate its effect since the deal runs on a specific date. You can then check the numbers for that date in your sales reports in Amazon’s KDP center. It’s very much an eBook, Amazon-centric sales approach. I always get some kind of boost in sales, usually enough to at least pay for the service. I plan to experiment more with my book pricing to see if I can boost my margins a little more.

SDWEG: Would you recommend specific AXP programs over others?

CLF: The Mailing List Builder has been the most consistent and useful for me. In the last three years I’ve increased the contacts in my email database from 750 to over 4,000. AuthorsXP hasn’t been the only service I’ve used, but it’s been an effective one, bringing in 200 – 400 new names for my list each time I used it. A few of those will drop off but most of them stay subscribed, even after I’ve sent them a couple of newsletters.

SDWEG: Have you used other marketing promotion programs offered by other companies? If so, how would you rate AXP against them?

CLF: AuthorsXP is my first pick, but BookSweeps runs an email collection program that's been almost as effective. Bargain Booksy has also been useful to me for promoting discounted books. If you have the budget for it, running campaigns on more than one service at the same time can be even more effective. It takes a little practice.

Our thanks to Raquel Damus, a student volunteer, for providing this interview with Corey Lynn Fayman. Raquel is a student at Florida International University with a Public Relations major. Raquel is working with Guild Board members to enhance our communication efforts.

Over the course of March there are multiple contests or submission opportunities for aspiring writers, check them out below!

Creative Writing Fellowship

Given by the National Endowment for the Arts, this program awards $25,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) to published writers. These published works can be anything from short stories to creative essays to a novel. 

Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: March 8

Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

Here’s an opportunity for your short story to be more than just words on a page, when it could be read aloud by stars of stage and screen! Sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts, the winning submission will be performed and recorded live, receive $1000, and win a free 10-week course with Gotham Writers.

Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: March 10

Bellingham Review Contests

All three of the Bellingham Review’s contests are ending this month, so begin writing now if you want to receive one of the three $1000 first-place prizes! Corinne Manning is judging the Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction, Susan Nguyen is judging the 49th Parallel Award for Poetry, and Sasha LaPointe is judging the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction. All of the winners and a selection of the runners up will be published! 

Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: March 15

First Novel Fellowship

Created in honor of the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity, the James Jones Literary Society will award $10,000 for a novel-in-progress by an unpublished US author. Submissions must include a two-page synopsis and a 50-page excerpt from the manuscript. 

Entry Fee: $33 Deadline: March 15

Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency

This is a unique chance for any author who feels the need for unparalleled solitude while working on their current project! In return for an hour a day of maintenance, the resident receives a $5000 stipend and the use of a comfortable house in the Rogue River backcountry of southwestern Oregon for up to 7 months. Applications need to include a brief resume, a 20-page writing sample, and a letter explaining your suitability for the experience.

Entry Fee: $30 Deadline: March 15

The Non/Fiction Collection Prize

The Journal is looking to publish the best collection of short prose written this year, and they are very upfront about their plan! The contest, judged by Lee Martin, is open to writers of fiction and creative nonfiction, and entries must be less than 350 pages. The winner receives $1500 and a publishing contract from The Ohio State University Press. 

Entry Fee: $23 Deadline: March 15

Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize Contest

This is an opportunity for all living writers, writing in English, who just so happen to have an unpublished manuscript in poetry or fiction! Poetry manuscripts ought to be at least 50 pages long, while fiction manuscripts ought to be at least 150 pages long. Winners will receive $3000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press. 

Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: March 15

2023 Creative Nonfiction Prize

This is a call to all writers, who think that their work can make the cut! The winner receives $1000 and publication in Indiana Review. All entries receive a year-long subscription to the journal, and all entries are considered for publication. Submissions should be less than 5000 words, but there are no restrictions on theme or subject. 

Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: March 31

The Hudson Prize

If you have an unpublished poetry or short story collection, this could be your big break! Black Lawrence Press is currently accepting submissions from new, emerging, and established authors. The winner will receive book publication, $1000, and 10 copies of the book.

Entry Fee: $28 Deadline: March 31

Prime Number Magazine Awards

With an emphasis on brevity, this contest for poetry and short fiction is meant to be a challenge! Make sure to note that the short story limit is 5300 words, as a nod to their parent organization Press 53. Judged by Felecia Mitchell and Dennis McFadden (for poetry and short fiction, respectively), the first-place winner in each category receives $1000, publication in Prime Number Magazine, and a Pushcart Prize nomination! Enter here.

Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: March 31

Winter Story Contest

This contest from Narrative is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers, writing anything from short stories and memoirs, to essays and literary nonfiction! The entries need to be less than 15,000 words and previously unpublished, while containing a strong narrative drive and intense insights. First prize is $2500, second is $1000, and third is $500.

Entry Fee: $27 Deadline: March 31

Upcoming Events with SDWEG Member KC Grifant

Sat May 20 at 3pm PT (in-person, San Diego)
KC Grifant will be in conversation with Dennis K. Crosby at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore for an interview and book signing of MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER (Brigids Gate Press).
Signed and personalized books will be available.
Details: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/event/52023Grifant

Sun May 21 at noon PT (in-person, La Jolla)
KC Grifant will be at the “Weekends with Locals” author event at Warwick’s bookstore, 7812 Gerard Avenue, La Jolla,  to sign MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER (Brigids Gate Press)
Details: https://www.warwicks.com/event/grifant-2023

June 13 at 6pm PT (virtual)
Join for an interview and reading of MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER (Brigids Gate Press)  with KC Grifant at Space Cowboy Books on June 13th at 6pm PT.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/547947083477

Event/appearances details at www.KCGrifant.com/appearances.

Writing Day Workshops is excited to announce The 2023 San Diego Writing Workshop — a full-day “How to Get Published” writing event in San Diego, CA on April 29, 2023.

This writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (200 total).

This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Diego Bay Downtown. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome.

This event is designed to squeeze as much into one day of learning as possible. You can ask any questions you like during the classes, and get your specific concerns addressed. We will have literary agents onsite to give feedback and take pitches from writers as well. This year’s agent and editor faculty so far includes:

• literary agent Ameerah Holliday (Serendipity Literary Agency)
• literary agent Lesley Sabga (The Seymour Agency)
• literary agent Annie Bomke (Annie Bomke Literary)
• literary agent Ben Miller-Callihan (Handspun Literary)
• literary agent Lindsay Auld (Writers House)
• literary agent Carlisle Webber (Fuse Literary)
• literary agent Antoinette Van Sluytman (Irene Goodman Literary Agency)
•  and more to come.

Online events are also available; each online event has more than 30 literary agents attending:

http://www.writingdayworkshops.com/event-locations--dates.html

For more information about the event regarding schedule, details and registration, please visit sandiegowritingworkshop.com .

Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. It was named, in part, for a transcription of gh’è minga, meaning “it’s not there.”

With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less.

Close: March 31, 2023

Entry fee: $10

Authors and artists can view the guidelines and enter via Submittable: https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit/246999/geminga-2023-500-for-tiny-prose-poetry-graphic-novels-or-art or Duotrope: https://duotrope.com/listing/31906/geminga-contest-tiny-fiction.

Opportunity provided by:
Sunspot Literary Journal

Every year The Masters Review opens submissions to produce their anthology, a collection of ten stories and essays written by the best emerging authors. Their aim is to showcase ten writers who they believe will continue to produce great work. The ten winners are nationally distributed in a printed book with their stories and essays exposed to top agents, editors, and authors across the country. Their third volume was awarded the Silver Medal for Best Short Story Collection through the INDIEFAB Awards in 2015, and their fourth volume was an honorable mention for best anthology. Check them out on Amazon!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

● Previously unpublished works of fiction and narrative nonfiction only

● Up to 7000 words

● They accept simultaneous submissions as long as work is withdrawn if it is accepted elsewhere.

● Multiple submissions are allowed

● International English submissions allowed

● Emerging Writers Only. Writers must not have published a novel-length work at the time of submission (authors of short story collections and self-published titles can submit as can authors with novels or memoirs with a low distribution [no more than 5000 copies]).

● Standard formatting please (double-spaced, 12 pt font, pages numbered)

● $20 entry fee

● Deadline: April 2nd, 2023

● Please, no identifying information on their story

● All submissions are considered for publication in the anthology as well as New Voices.

● If requesting an editorial letter, please indicate on the cover letter if the submissions is fiction or creative nonfiction.

● A significant portion of the editorial letter fees go to their feedback editor, according to the rates established by the EFA.

● All submissions will receive a response by the end of June.

● Winners will be announced by the end of July.

● To view a list of their most commonly asked questions regarding submitting to The Masters Review, please see their FAQ page.

● Friends, family and associates of the final judge are not eligible for this award.

● Writers who have earned an Anthology Prize before and whose work appears in their printed book cannot submit to this category but are welcome to send us work in other open categories

GUEST JUDGE: Each year The Masters Review pairs with a guest judge to select stories. Their editorial team produces a shortlist of stories, which the judge reviews to select winners. Their past judges include Lauren Groff, AM Homes, Lev Grossman, Kevin Brockmeier, Amy Hempel, Roxane Gay, Rebecca Makkai, Kate Bernheimer, Rick Bass, Diane Cook, and Peter Ho Davies. This year’s judge is Toni Jensen!

Toni Jensen is the author of Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, a finalist for the Dayton Peace Prize and a New York Times Editors’ Choice book (Ballantine 2020). An NEA Creative Writing Fellowship recipient in 2020, Jensen’s essays have appeared in Orion, Catapult and Ecotone, among others. She is also the author of the story collection From the Hilltop. She teaches at the University of Arkansas and the Institute of American Indian Arts.

DEADLINE: APRIL 2, 2023

SUBMIT NOW

Check HERE to see if you are listed.

If you are not listed, use this Quick Guide to add yourself or learn why your information does not appear.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The website is structured so that only members may see the entries. It is not necessary to remove your profile or details within your profile to protect your information from the public.

Your Step by Step Guide to Joining the Directory

To ensure your information is protected and shared according to your wishes, please follow the instructions below to make yourself searchable to other SDWEG members on the SDWEG website membership directory.

Click the MEMBER LOGIN icon which looks like the profile of a person at the top right of the home page at SDWEG.org.

Click HERE to go to SDWEG.ORG

Click the VIEW PROFILE link in the pop-up window.

Click on EDIT PROFILE

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You can always come back to this page to update your personal information.

Keep scrolling till you find
OK TO LIST CONTACT INFORMATION IN THE 
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY.

Click on the radio BUTTON in the Members column, then click SAVE to add yourself to the directory.

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Since the Directory only displays to members who have logged in, there is little practical difference between active radio BUTTONs in the Anybody or Members columns. To be certain only members can see your profile, select the Members column for the fields you wish to display and the No Access column for those you do not wish to display.

The Board of Directors prefers that members display at least their names in the directory to make verification of membership simple.

Be sure to click SAVE at the bottom of the screen to make your choices effective.