SUBMISSIONS for ANTHOLOGY

On a misty 4th July morning a well-known local boat set sail from West Bay harbour. However, after encountering engine problems, it was forced to land on Chesil Beach.

These events have sparked inspiration, and I am looking for fellow writers to join me in my quest to compile an Anthology of new and original fictional writing.

The current Working title for the anthology is: Have You Heard the One About the Boat?

All being well, there could be follow-ups to the Have You Heard... ? series, so keep a look out.

Looking for submissions of:

A Poem ~ up to 25 lines

Flash Fiction ~ up to 250 words

A Short Story ~ up to 2,500 words.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN 25th JULY - 18th AUGUST.

Please email to express any interest or ask any questions before 25th July:

info@inasmanywords.com

All proceeds raised will be donated to the RNLI (More info on that coming soon)

You can write in whatever genre you want. Give us a mystery, crime, drama, thriller, comedy, and so on. Let your creativity take you any way. When it comes to the topic, you don't have to stick strictly to the factual events. As long as the work is original and entirely your own work, and there is some link in the themes, let your muse whisk us away.

There is no target audience in mind, but please ensure the content doesn't include anything inappropriate for younger readers.

Most of all, this is NOT a writing competition, so there are no fees or prizes involved. Just creative sharing and fun. Poets and writers whose work is selected will get a FREE COPY of the anthology. (The price of the anthology has yet to be set.)

• Who can submit?: Open to local writers or poets of all ages, backgrounds, and experience. Please note submissions must be in British English. Anyone under 18 must have parent/carer consent as a matter of safeguarding best practice. 
• Submission Window: 25th July for 25 Days, closing on 18th August. Submissions must be sent to info@inasmanywords.com
• Word count: is the maximum limit, and sending shorter submissions is fine. e.g. a poem of 10 lines, a Flash Fiction of 200 words, or a story 1,500 words. 
• Multiple Submissions: Only one piece per category. I'd like to get as many people involved as possible, so if you do wish to submit to 2 or 3 categories, please express which is your preferred entry. (The other pieces might still be used if we have enough for more than 1 Volume.)
• Formatting: You don't need to format the document for publication as this will be done anyway. However, please read the "Notes on Formatting" below.

Here are some important tips and guidelines for when your work will be formatted for publication:

• File Type: Submissions must be sent as an attached Word .docx 
• Page size: Please submit on A4
• Font Style & Size: Use Garamond 12pt with Line spacing of 1.5pt.
• Poetry formatting: If you wish to explore the layout of the text on the page as well as the words and language itself, please bear in mind the published anthology is likely to be 5" x 8" (127mm x 203.2).
• Word count: This is stipulated as a maximum limit, and sending shorter submissions is fine.
• Please DON'T use: TABS, double spaces, or repeated spaces to move text around. Leave that to the formatting stage I will do.  

Spelling and Grammar

Take time to check your submissions for basic spelling and grammar errors. Even though a certain amount of editing will take place to ensure the texts are of high enough standard to be published, it's important you submit your best work. We want your writing to keep its personal style, and that won't be challenged, but if any submission doesn't meet with basics we won't be able to use it. But don't worry - if you need help with this, let me know!

Poetry: Sometimes poets like to experiment with punctuation, words, line and word spacing, and so on. You're welcome to do this, but please note poetry will be taken as submitted, so check and double check what you send.

Any use of AI to create ideas, write the fiction, or develop your work is not permitted. Using spelling and grammar checks such as MS Word's inbuilt ones, or the basic features of Grammarly is not considered AI because all they do is compare your writing with a database of dictionaries and find typos.

Using features such as speech-to-text where you dictate your work and the programme types it out is fine as it can be a helpful tool for people with disabilities. 

Use of AI to create ideas defeats the point of writing in the first place. I will soon be writing various blogs on this issue, so please subscribe to keep up to date with this, and follow my page on Facebook to join in this discussion.

I am currently raising funds on my Just Giving page in order to cover the costs of printing the Anthology so that as much of the proceeds as possible can be donated to the RNLI.

If you need any more questions answering, please contact me by email at info@inasmanywords.com and I will respond as quickly as possible. I will also be adding FAQs to this page, so keep checking back.

(And please feel free to point out any typos on my page - sometimes they sneak through in my haste to get the info out.)

Copies of the Anthology will be sold in paperback and I intend to create an eBook version, too.

The Anthology itself will be subject to copyright for Colin Ward/In As Many Words, but all contributors will retain all rights to use their own contributions without any further permission or royalties payable as long as the original anthology is cited and linked to the work. 

• Does my poem/flash/short story need to be new? Yes. I could give a long answer to this, but I'm not sure it needs one. All submissions should have taken inspiration from the local events and then theme. Therefore, it's not possible to just use a piece you wrote five years ago.
• Can I write under a pseudonym? Yes. 
• What theme does my submission need? The genre, theme, or subject matter of the submission is entirely up to you as long as there is a clear link to the original inspiration of the project.
• What does "not inappropriate for younger readers" mean? Although you aren't expected to be writing specifically for children and young people, it is important than no content could be considered for "adults" as this would have to be declared when I publish. This isn't normally a problem, but a good way to test this is to ask yourself: "would I be shocked to find this in a school library?" If you're answer is "no," you're fine. Steer away from gratuitous violence and sexual content, and don't include Politics - just aim to make it an enjoyable read.