Substack Workshops, Upcoming Closings, and more Chill Subs Updates
Updates, lit mag lists, new Write or Die workshops, recommendations, and more
Lighter fare this week! Settling in to our new smooth website. How is everyone liking it? No more slapping! Yay!
This week:
Karina & Marcin are working on our Super Marcin, turning Marcin from a front-end to back-end developer.
Shelby and Kailey have been working on our Write or Die 101 project flow. Right now, Courtney Kocak is teaching about how to launch your writer’s newsletter. Next month, Andrea Firth will be teaching personal essays, and we’ll be announcing May’s course soon! Here is what Courtney taught this week (all free lessons on Substack)
We have several new bits of content from Ben in our Sub Club and Startup Diary:
And we’re finishing up a new comprehensive Help Desk! All of your burning questions about us, our projects, processes, and policies in one place. Finally! (Definitely should have had this sooner).
Essay
Up in the Air by Molly Wadzeck Kraus
I wish I could stop complaining, but I don’t like doing hard things. I'm not someone who inspires or possesses great ambition.
Interview
Rachel Lyon: On the Ancient Problems of Women, Writing Monstrous Men, and Her Novel ‘Fruit of the Dead’ by Ashley Rubell
I had an early reader, a man, read the book as a draft, and he said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Is it ok that you’re making this man so charming and seductive on the page? Is that unethical as a writer?” Girls do have to be seduced. They’re not dumb. People who find themselves in these scenarios are not stupid.
The Write Together Retreat: Motherhood Edition featuring Aimee Suzara
When: Saturday, March 23
Time: 11:00 AM- 3:30 PM EST
Where: Zoom
Details: Join us for a day of writing during our monthly virtual retreat! This special edition is for the moms! Our featured writer, Aimee Suzara, will provide a special craft chat and Q&A session on the 'labor of othering'—a concept tied to the often invisible tasks associated with caregiving and work, and how these responsibilities can conflict with or undermine one's creative practice.
If you need something to get started, Tamar and Kailey will provide generative prompts at the top of each writing hour.
Bring your ideas, your drafts, or your revisions and we will use this precious time together to get some writing done.
Saturday, April 13 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (EST)
Small Press Publishing with a Debut Seminar with Emily Jon Tobias
Looking for a publisher to call home for your manuscript? Emily Jon Tobias will share her successes and failures along the journey to find a home for her debut story collection, MONARCH. You will learn about writing query letters (agents vs. presses), tracking submissions, the research process, fees, red flags, green flags, how to best navigate technology with productive, simple tools, and, perhaps most importantly, how to handle the emotional pressure of rejection after rejection.
Sunday, April 14 from 2:00 PM- 4:00 PM (EST)
Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns with
In this workshop, Courtney will explain the crux of popular columns for top publications. You'll do a brainstorming exercise for each, and there will be an opportunity to workshop your ideas and ask questions. You'll receive a list of potential columns and editor contact information for each. By the end, you'll have a game plan for landing your best bylines yet!
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