Search

by Milica Filipovic As a teen writer nearing the end of her current work in progress, I begin to think about where I want my work to go and how I want to push it out into the world. One way or another, my train of thought always seems to end up at publishing. For those of you who aren’t aware, publishing is usually split into two categories: traditional and self. It is crucial for each writer — especially young and new additions to the industry — to know the difference between the two and how to choose which direction to take your work towards. Traditional Publishing This type of publishing is most likely one you are familiar with. In short, traditional publishing is the process of collaborating with a mainstream publisher to promote and sell your writing. This process is lengthy and usually requires a literary agent to distribute your work to potential publishers. A literary agent is a key component of getting published traditionally. While you will be getting a lower percentage of royalties (pay) when working with a publisher to market your work, there are additional benefits. For instance, the majority of expenses are handled by the publisher. This includes the placement of your work, professional editors, and designers. Sometimes, publishing houses may provide a marketing team to promote your writing to audiences. It is important to note that you will have less rights to your work if you choose this path of publishing, as it is normal for publishers to make decisions regarding your work. The schedule for your book’s release is also often determined by the publisher and can take up to 2 years. A Quick Guide Finding an Agent First, you must research an agent that suits your work’s genre and target audience. Next, make a list of agents you would like to query. When making your list, be sure to refer back to their previous clients to find which agent best resonates with your goals. Finally, write a query letter, which is essentially an introduction to who you are as an author and what your work consists of. These letters should be formatted with a hook, synopsis of your work, your writing background and credentials, your work’s selling points, and a personalized note. It is vital that each letter’s note is unique to the agent you are writing to. Some agent’s submission guidelines may differ, so be careful with checking the information on their online pages. These guidelines might also state how long a reply may take. Once you get accepted by an agent, you will work on editing the book with your agent. After this, you are ready to begin looking for potential publishers. The agent will pitch your manuscript to potential editors in publishing houses to acquire your work. This may take some time, but after your work is acquired, you will then begin the process of polishing your manuscript with the editorial team. While traditional publishing has some negative aspects, most authors choose this path because it provides a more solid foundation for becoming a bestseller. Self-Publishing Self-publishing is the process of pushing your work into the world without the support of a publishing house behind you. It is also viewed by some as less than or easier to do than traditional publishing since it does not require an agent or rejection process. This is a controversial opinion that doesn’t acknowledge the efforts put into publishing your writing all on your own.The costs of publishing and manufacturing and editing your work will either have to be done by yourself or paid for straight from your pockets. While this can be stressful and hard to organize, there are additional positive aspects of releasing your own work. As a start, every decision will be yours to make. You will get to choose where, when, and how your work will be published. There is no one holding you down to a deadline or schedule, so there is no expectation to meet other than those you set for yourself. According to self-publishing platform PublishDrive, when self-publishing, you make around 60-70% profit in royalties for each sale and the rest of the money goes to the distributor of your novels, whether it be a local bookstore or online shop. The Main Takeaway There is much more to take into consideration such as the type of work you’re looking to publish (book, novella, poetry, non-fiction, genre, etc.) and where you’re publishing from. However, knowing this basic information about both types is a great start to learning more about the industries and how they functions. Make sure to pick your method of publishing based on what most suits your needs and ensures that you’re comfortable in your craft. There is no right or wrong, simply what works best for you and might not work best for someone else. If you’d like to know more about this topic, consider visiting the following resources: Tips for Indie Authors Part 1 by MG Tips for Indie Authors Part 2 by MG On The Write Track (Podcast) - Hosted by two debut authors that discuss the behind the scenes of getting traditionally published Publishing Rodeo: The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody Ugly (Podcast) - Two authors that debuted their novels at the same time, with the same genre and publisher, and had very different outcomes look into how the industry works and how these things happen Manuscript Wishlist (Website) - A resource where editors and agents post their ideal submissions and writers can find agents that align dreams with their work @laurenkaywrites (Youtube Channel and Instagram) - A published author that aspires to aid writers in publishing their work through tips and tricks from an insider @alyssamatesic (Youtube Channel) - A professional editor that provides insights for writers into the editing process and industry tips Citations: Mădălina, Amalia. “Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing: Which One Is the Best for You?” Publish Drive, 25 November 2022, https://publishdrive.com/self-publishing-vs-traditional-publishing.html. Accessed 16 March 2024. Lauber, Rick. “17 Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing.” Writer's Digest, 26 October 2021, https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/17-pros-and-cons-of-traditional-publishing-vs-self-publishing. Accessed 16 March 2024. Bransford, Nathan. “Traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. Which should you choose?” Nathan Bransford, 6 November 2023, https://nathanbransford.com/blog/2023/11/should-you-self-publish-or. Accessed 16 March 2024. “How to Find a Literary Agent (+ List of Directories).” Reedsy Blog, 13 March 2024, https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/literary-agent/how-to-find/. Accessed 21 March 2024. On the Write Track Podcast, https://on-the-write-track-podcast.simplecast.com/. Accessed 21 March 2024. Publishing Rodeo Podcast – the good, the bad, and the bloody ugly, https://publishingrodeo.wordpress.com/. Accessed 21 March 2024. “About MSWL – The Official Manuscript Wish List Website.” Manuscript Wish List, https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/about/. Accessed 21 March 2024. Lauren Kay: Author & Guide, https://www.laurenkaywrites.com/. Accessed 21 March 2024. Alyssa Matesic | Professional Book and Novel Editing, https://www.alyssamatesic.com/. Accessed 21 March 2024. Follow Milica on Instagram @the.writers.guide

by Jason Oftentimes, many writers share their work through sites like AO3, Tumblr, or Wattpad. But some writers have dreams for their works outside of only writing, such as seeing their creation come to life through animation. In many cases, these aspirations are those that would require the skills of more than one person. This is where studios come in. Many writers and those who share those same aspirations have grouped themselves together into studios to be able to work together to make those dreams come true. Here are some studios that would effectively help writers make dreams turn into a reality. Birdhouse Animation Studios A studio for those wanting to learn screenwriting, art, animation, film, music, and any other creative skills used to work in animation, Birdhouse Animation Studios gives an opportunity to learn, grow, and develop new skills from both firsthand experience and one-on-one tutoring by others. Built by aspiring artists and for aspiring artists, the studio is beginner-friendly and focuses on the growth of its teams. Although they are not currently offering paid positions, they are constantly ready to accept the help of volunteers waiting to assist on its production teams. If this sounds like something you are interested in, the studio is currently taking applications to apply for its team at the beginning of each month! Birdhouse Studios runs on a system of team member inspired works, where individual team members can propose an idea to be animated, and should it pass the proposal stage, it can go from idea to a reality with the help of Birdhouse Animation Studios. Birdhouse Studios Discord Server: https://discord.gg/F9ebdD8cGY Black Mond Productions Black Mond Productions is a volunteer driven group that specializes in original fan made projects and aims to produce a variety of content that are all member generated ideas. Inclusive to everyone no matter their skill level, Black Mond Productions is a place to grow and develop. With an active and vibrant community, it’s easy to find friends to voice chat with. Black Mond Studios Discord Server: https://discord.gg/e9VecZcnn5 Kyoshin Studios Kyoshin Studios is a volunteer driven group of those passionate about Soul Tide, a video game created by Lemcnsun Entertainment. Kyoshin Studios is a very driven community, striving to create works based off of Soul Tide. They specialize in the creation of fanfiction, comics, webtoons, and even D&D campaigns. If you want to contribute to a growing community of soul tide fans, or want to contribute to a small studio, be sure to check out Kyoshin Studios! Kyoshin Studios Discord Server: https://discord.gg/WKYJjtaTKP The Opening Of Opportunity Many writers are capable of doing amazing things, but some lack the opportunity to make such realities happen. What these studios have to offer is the availability for such experiences to occur, and to allow writers to do things they alone could not have accomplished. It’s the idea that with a team of passionate people and the ideas of a writer, you can create amazing works! With that being said, may those who write scribe a path continue towards their own success! Follow Jason on Instagram @writer_jasonwu for more!

by Tatum Bunker Most people now frequent social media platforms, which makes their attention spans shorter. This poses a new challenge for writers: How do you gain more attention for my creative works on social media? Since more and more people have been obtaining a shorter attention span due to the shortened length of videos and reels on social media, most viewers expect a video between thirty seconds to a minute. I would even argue that you have about ten seconds before the average viewer swipes away. You need to be able to optimize your short time well. We’ll start with how to gain an interest for your content and ideas. Keywords Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms use hashtags and descriptions as a way to send content to certain algorithms. If you want romance fans to find your account, you may want to use tags such as ‘#lovenovel’ or ‘#romance’. Naturally, your works will have specific tropes and scenarios that people will want to find, such as ‘#foundfamily’ or ‘#onebed’. But video descriptions, while typically being fairly short, are just as important. It can direct people to your bio or a link, describe what your content is and who you are, it may even help convince viewers to follow! Content Short videos are the most common form of social media sharing nowadays. It is crucial that anyone posting about their works has a basic understanding of video editing. Using trending audios will always give you a little boost in the algorithm. Finding videos or pictures that fit the aesthetic of your works to include will always attract fans of that particular aesthetic. While many authors include voice overs and videos of themselves, this  is not a requirement. You can post about individual characters, snippets from scenes, answer questions about the plot, talk about your inspiration for your works, give a general overview of your works, or even show what outfits you think your characters would look hot in. Everyone tends to have different tastes and preferences when scrolling, but do try to avoid using anything that could potentially be offensive, inaccurate, or misleading. People like honesty and accurate information. They like videos that are interesting, creative, and fun. Interaction Eventually, you’ll end up with a decent amount of those interested in your ideas. I strongly recommend adding links into your bio for them to click on and explore. Linktree is a platform used by many authors to keep all their links in one place. These links may take them to your personal website, publications places, or other social media platforms. You can also include polls on your posts and answer their questions in other posts. While follower interaction is important, I would also recommend interacting with others who make similar content. You can use their accounts as a blueprint for your own, providing you with ideas as to what kind of content you should be making. Keep in mind that you should only be taking inspiration from these creators. Plagiarism is never something you want to do, it eliminates your creative thinking and steals work from other creators. Collaboration Similarly to interacting with fellow content creators, you should build a small community with other content creators. You can do this through social media, advice columns, and Discord servers where you can share advice, opportunities, and promotions. Sure, you can view them as competitors, but why do that when you could duet videos and posts, chat through DMs, and make friends? You should make sure to follow and interact with their posts. It’ll boost their engagement and chances are, they’ll do the same for you! With these tips in mind, let’s pretend you are a writer trying to hype up your writing. You have a small following on Instagram that includes other writers and readers. The first thing for you to do is to make a short video about the plot, but you don’t want your face or voice to be in the video. This could be for many reasons; you want to keep your personal life separate from your online presence, you may not want your family or friends to find this account, or it’s just easier for you to edit. After scrolling through Pinterest, you find a couple of photos that match your books’ aesthetic. Using a trending audio, these images, and overlaying a quick summary of your book’s plot, you finish the video. You use eleven hashtags and write more clarifying information in your video’s description. Let’s say that after about a few weeks or so, you post some more videos and your account has gained some traction! It’s helped that you have reached out to other creators who have reposted and interacted with your posts. You are even part of a small group chat with some creators! You have noticed that a certain reel trend has been popular with your mutuals, so you make a similar reel (but NO plagiarism) and get more interactions! With a handful more subscribers, you notice that the links you put in your bio have been getting clicked on a lot more. Thankfully, you added a link to your personal website so those interested can find out more about you and your works. Following these simple steps, you can grow your audience and interest toward your works. Gaining traction on social media takes time; if only it was with a snap of one’s fingers that one could have 1K followers. Just know that you are not alone in your journey to promote your creative works and ideas. Even the most popular writers started with 0 followers. With time, dedication, and post editing, you can slowly climb the ranks. To clarify, you can’t just post one picture and two videos and expect to get popular. You should make a post schedule for yourself. Maybe post one non-video post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and one video post on Tuesday and Saturday. This makes your posts more likely in people’s feeds and they can see what exactly you will post. To wrap this up (before you scroll away), there are more than a few ways to boost interest towards your creative works. Social media is the best way to promote yourself and can be fairly easy using the tips I gave you. I hope that these tips were able to help inspire and motivate you to go boost your account and creative pieces! Follow Tatum @tatum_tot24601 and at her literary magazine @thelettershomecollection

by Smrithi Senthilnathan As founder and editor-in-chief, I’ve been running this literary magazine for about a year and a half now, and it has been the most rewarding experience! We constantly have new people joining our community though, so I figured it would be a good idea to make a list of our likes and dislikes — both for new writers and artists who want to be published in our issues and blog, and for familiar faces who want to orient themselves with our process. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments! Likes Unique Take On Theme Our themes usually tend to be broad overarching themes that can be interpreted through a lot of different lenses. To give you an example, our most recent theme was “dreams of a caged bird”. Some people chose to interpret this literally, and wrote about caged birds of various kinds. Others approached it from a more figurative perspective and spoke of societal restrictions and trapped desires through the metaphor of a caged bird. Our published issues have a good mix of both of these kinds of submissions, but so do the pile of pieces we did not choose to publish. However, our chosen pieces stood out in the fact that each of the pieces had a unique take on a simple theme. We had pieces about closeted queers and pieces about the constraints of choosing socially acceptable careers. A lot of the pieces we don’t publish in our issues tend to be direct and generic and although the writing is excellent, we’re looking for unique pieces that stop us in our tracks and make us rethink the theme we have set (in a positive way!). On this note, please also don’t title your pieces as the theme itself. For example, if you’re submitting to issue vi: dreams of a caged bird, don’t title your piece “dreams of a caged bird”. For you, it may be a unique title, but for us it’s the 10th person who has used the same title. A title can convey so much about a piece, especially because we use titles to tease excerpts on our social media accounts, and intriguing titles hook readers and lead them to download our issues. Try to think outside of the box for your titles, and give your piece a title that would make anyone want to immediately read the issue right away. Humor Humor is not something that comes naturally to everybody and we definitely don’t want you to force it! This is especially true because some of our most wonderful writing comes from the most vulnerable places, and humor can be out of place in a raw emotional piece birthed from your darkest times. However, some of our themes are specifically geared towards a more light-hearted and humorous side (like issue v: jabberwocky, and our current theme games and are meant to solicit humorous works! We’d love it if you used these themes to bring out your writing ability through humorous work. Although we will still accept more serious work for these kinds of themes, we definitely lean towards light hearted work that makes us keel over laughing and brings tears to our eyes from laughing so hard. We also are intrigued by morose and dark humor in pieces for our more serious themes, however be careful about how this is being used. Personal connection to theme Your story is wonderful simply because nobody else can tell that story the exact way that you can. Nobody has lived your life and gone through your experiences, and thus nobody can reproduce your stories like you can. We want to see this personal aspect in your stories. For instance, one of our authors wrote about cooking success and being a chef for issue iii’s theme, “kindle the flame”. At first glance, this may seem unconnected to the theme, but the author explained to us in a note that their parents owned a small bakery which inspired the piece and a passion (or flame) for cooking. This added another layer of depth to the piece that we enjoyed seeing. We want to see your humanity and your personality shine through your pieces! People Who Use Our Submission Form Judiciously Our submission form is quite comprehensive and definitely longer than what you’d see at other magazines! We apologize for this, but we believe that all the questions asked are helpful for us to decide whether your piece is a good fit for our magazine and issue. A lot of the questions are optional but we love people who respond to them. There’s one mandatory question that asks “How does your piece relate to the theme?” and then there are two optional questions that ask “Tell us more about the creation of this piece” and “Tell us a random fact”. The mandatory questions help us understand your piece’s connection to the piece, especially if it isn’t immediately obvious. I do know that some magazines and authors believe that “the piece speaks for itself” and while this is definitely true, since we have a group of different editors with different perspectives, the author’s responses to these questions help contextualize the piece! If the author expanded on their personal connection to the piece and the process of creation, this helps us understand how the work was born and the behind the scenes process of it. Adding to this, we also LOVE when authors type up individual paragraphs for when they submit multiple pieces. Give each piece the respect it deserves, instead of lumping the theme for them all into one sentence. We also adore it when people respond to our optional fact question, because that just helps endear them to us more. Give us all your random facts! Dislikes Not Adhering to Submission Guidelines This is something implicit that all submitters would follow but it baffles me how few people actually do follow it. Our submission guidelines are quite easy to follow and are available on our Submit page. These guidelines are set to ensure uniformity and ease of reviewing submissions for our editors. The next time you submit to any magazine, please look into their formatting guidelines, accepted number of pieces, and the kind of work they publish. Please don’t submit fiction to our non-fiction blog. Please don’t submit 3 poems to a feature when we specify one piece per artist. Please don’t send us work in a cryptic font even the greatest cryptographer of all time wouldn’t be able to decipher. We want to publish your work; please do what you can to make it easy on us. We do have a warning and blacklist system for people who don’t follow guidelines, but we’d really prefer not to enforce it! Not Replying to Emails Our policy at RTS is to respond to all our emails (except unsolicited promotions). Whether we choose to accept or pass on your piece, you will get an email from us when we choose to release decisions. If we choose to accept your piece, we’ll follow up with a lot of communication regarding the layout of your piece, edits if necessary, the issue release party, and how to download the issue once it’s out. We really really appreciate it if you can take the time to acknowledge these emails, since we’ve had cases of contributors wanting to change things in their submission after the issue has been published. We took time to review your piece, so we’d appreciate it if you could take the time to help us publish your work! Even a one word email with “Ok” could work; we just want to make sure you’re in the loop. Pieces That Barely Connect to Theme We understand that as submitters, you submit to a lot of different magazines and that not a lot of magazines have similar themes. It’s okay if you didn’t write your piece specifically for our theme. However, we want to publish pieces in our issue that correlate to our theme. But we do provide a box for you to detail how your piece relates to our theme. Even if it’s not a direct connection, please use this box. We also sometimes get submissions where the responses in this box have no relation to the piece itself. Please try to base your piece around our theme, and tell us your thought process of how it relates! Use of AI We do not condone the use of AI to write your pieces at all. Using it to help with finding synonyms or generating prompts is fine, but please don’t use it to write any of the pieces themselves (due to the newness surrounding AI, we’ll be reviewing submissions that involve AI on a case-by-case basis). We also often see people use AI to fill the questions about how the piece relates to the theme. This is less severe than using AI for the actual work, but it still immediately turns us off. We’ve seen pieces that were splendid, but the connection to the theme part was AI-generated. You guys are writers. We know you can write. Even if it’s 2 sentences, we’d prefer if you wrote it yourselves than sending us a two paragraph AI-generated copy-paste. Do better, guys. To summarize, please go through the submission guidelines on our website, and read our past issues to get a sense of who we are. This goes for any magazine that you submit to, and not just RTS. We may be teenagers trying our best, but we still have a standard we strive to maintain and we’d like for our submitters to respect this as well. Some of the points here are things that don't necessarily make us discard pieces entirely (like not adhering to the theme) but they don't help your case either. Others (like not respecting submission guidelines) will cause us to discard your piece and issue a warning—and it also gives us a bad vibe from you. That being said, if you’ve done any of these in the past, it’s alright. This isn’t a call-out post; we understand people make mistakes. We only ask for accountability and more diligence in the future. At the end of the day, it’s all about uplifting young and upcoming authors, and promoting a love for literature and art. Respect our process so we can respect your work. Thank you for all your continued love and support, we can’t wait to see what the next issue will bring <3 Follow the Smrithi @theunwrittenstories101 for more!

by Prisha Creativity is not easily defined; it cannot be put into boxes of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. It completely depends on a person’s perspective. If creativity is taken as a spectrum, a person could roam back and forth, or stay on the same spot their whole life. The perspective that inspires creativity is unique to every individual. In pieces of literature and art, knowing the perspective and story behind a piece helps us understand and appreciate the piece, as well as the author’s or artist’s creativity. Oftentimes creativity's catalyst is madness. There are long-standing notions that creativity and madness are intertwined in literature and art. Prominent authors such as Sylvia Path, Frank Kafka, Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Lewis Carol, and many more went through mental or psychological struggles, like depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia etc. throughout the course of their life. Each author has suffered something different, and their books highlight their unique perspective on the world. Sylvia Path's "The Bell Jar'' talks about the dangers and repercussions of conforming to societal norms of identity, mental health, and personal autonomy. Oftentimes, readers have thought of it as semi-autobiographical and reflects her own experiences with mental illness. Edgar Allen Poe, the master of gothic and macabre tales, suffered from depression, as seen in stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart", where the protagonist suffers from psychosis or paranoia. "The Fall of the House of Usher " elucidates one of the most haunting stories, highlighting the inherited madness and isolation that may have been a reflection of the author's mental health. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of “The Lord of the Rings”, which revolves around wrong themes of fellowship, corruption and most importantly corruption of war. The author himself was a soldier in World War I. A famous war expression is “The thousand yard stare” which is a pensive or vacant look in the soldier’s eye, due to the corpus amounts of bloodshed and cruelty they have witnessed. This is greatly reflected in the author’s books. The war may not have left physical scars but numerous mental ones. These mental or psychological struggles may also heighten creativity and help one to see the world from a completely different perspective. The effect of this on creativity increases vulnerability and sensitivity that lets you explore your emotions and lets you reflect in more profound and creative emotions. Unconventional thinking includes divergent perspectives and attitudes to shift over time, from understanding your narrative to being able to sympathise and trying to put forward your unique perspective. This expression of creativity would be a means of catharsis for the authors and artists. Yet the vice versa of these struggles can dampen creativity. Lack of focus, excessive emotional turmoil, and emotional exhaustion can be adverse as any creative process uses a range of emotions and may prove to be a hinderance rather than an asset. These hindrances highlight self-doubt and lead to a lack of motivation. All these factors may lead to isolation and withdrawal from social interaction that once may have been a source of inspiration. Sometimes the medication prescribed to those who need it affects them drastically and may impact cognitive functions or dampen the intensity of emotions. It cannot be said that creativity is dependent on their mental health, neurological or psychological issues that seems to heighten emotions and pave a path for creativity. People who may have been victim to any struggle during their lifetime may not have a creative flair, these struggles are in no form the root of creativity but merely a catalyst for what is present. In the same breath, anyone who is going through mental health issues of any type should please seek help from elders or specialists. Please take care, self-love is the best form of love. If you need to take time out, please do, slowly yet steadily work out any problems that you have, communication is key. Do not let anything stop you, you can overcome all types of obstacles and keep creating. "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." - Maya Angelou Follow the author Prisha on Instagram @prishaaa_m

by Car As usual, I will be providing a list of quotes to inspire your writing for our latest issue. In this issue, we want to hear about your point of view on games. We want to read about what games symbolize to you. You could write about the relationships you form and strengthen while playing games, or the challenges the games exhibit. Although this theme is open to submissions that are serious, sad, silly, joyful, and everything in between, it can still be difficult to find writing inspiration. So, I hope these quotes will help to spark your creative mind! “I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.” - Dr. Seuss “Game night: The night that brings out the most excitement!” - Metromag “Don’t play games if you can’t afford to lose.” - Germony Kent “Life is more fun if you play games.” - Roald Dahl “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” - Albert Einstein “It’s your game; make up your own rules.” - Barbara Corcoran “She remembered who she was and then the game changed.” - Lalah Delia “I think the reason that I like so many different games is because I like the way my brain works when I’m playing games. It’s more fun.” - John Romeo “Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism, the way you play it is free will.”  - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” - Babe Ruth “We should always be strategizing our next move. Chess. Never checkers. Unfortunately, some of us are still playing connect four.” - Tola Lawal “The score never interested me, only the game.” - Mae West “Some people play the game, others change it. Which are you?” - Anonymous “I think the worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades.” - Demetri Martin “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.” - Vince Lombardi “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the me for the we.” - Phil Jackson “The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” - Bobby Knight “Gaming brings people together.” - Lisa Su “If you’re playing a poker game and you look around the table and can’t tell who the sucker is, it’s you.” - Paul Newman “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” - Shigeru Miyamoto “Half the game is mental; the other half is being mental.” - Jim Mckenny “Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.” - Ralph Charell “Neon lights and joysticks, that’s where I belong.” - Unknown “I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.” - Steven Wright “It’s not how you play the game, it’s how you place the blame.” - Don Simpson “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is?” The opportunity to play.” - Mike Singletary “It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” - John Wooden “Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry.” - Earl Monroe “Arcades, where dreams are born one quarter at a time.” - Unknown “Playing games is the best time of your life, and the more games you get, the better it is.” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “Games shouldn’t only be fun. They should teach or spark an interest in other things.” - Hideo Kojima “Games are all about taking risks.” - James Altucher “I can’t play your game because I’m always ahead of it.” - Sissy Gavrilaki “The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose.” - John Mcenroe “If you’re not prepared to lose every friend you have over a board game, you’re not playing hard enough.” - Unknown “Life is the only game in which the object of the game is to learn the rules.” - Ashleigh Brilliant Hopefully these quotes will help inspire your writing for Issue VII, and any other projects you may be working on! Submissions will be open from March 1st - April 1st. More updates and information can be found on our Instagram, @rewritethestarsreview. Follow @rewritethestarsreview for more!

by Milica Filipovic By definition, fanfiction is a form of literature that derives its characters and other aspects of the storyline from pre-existing published works. For most readers, fanfiction has become a cure for the heartache of finishing a good story. It gives writers and readers alike an opportunity to follow the characters they’ve grown attached to as they explore new adventures from different writing styles. While fanfiction often cannot be published, it has many benefits for struggling writers. So, how can indulging in fanfiction benefit your own writing? Here’s a few good reasons to pick up this hobby. 1. Instant writer’s block cure: Not having to do all the work Coming up with a world of your own is a challenge to say the least. To go through the process of creating characters and relationships and settings can drain the energy from any hard working writer. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to start with characters and backstories already prepped for you? Well… I think you know where this is headed. When writing fanfiction, you’re simply building off already established characters and placing them in new plotlines. Many writers take this approach to get through rough patches of their WIP. When your main project seems too daunting and puts too much pressure on you to write, fanfiction could be an alternative to get your brain thinking. Additionally, writing fanfiction means you cannot publish any work you create (unless you change the details to avoid plagiarism claims) and it won’t encourage you to abandon your WIP. Some popular novels that started out as fan fiction are the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer and The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. In short, if you’ve got a bad case of writer’s block you should sit down and write a new story set in a universe that’s already created. 2. Reconnecting with your writing While fanfiction is considered “not a real form of writing” by some authors, it has a reputation for taking root in readers’ hearts. Writing fanfiction can be an emotional experience for yourself and anyone you choose to share your work with. For readers, fanfiction lets them connect with characters they love on a deeper level. A well known beloved fanfic that had readers brought to tears is “All The Young Dudes” which can be found on an online nonprofit for fanworks. The story was written in the Harry Potter universe during the time of the marauders and has since grown a large following. This example is one of the ways readers have renewed their admiration for their childhood novels all through the help of fanfiction. However, for writers, fanfiction stems to a greater extent from a longing for more content. Writers have the unique ability to pick up a story from where it left off and make it their own. This type of literature forms personal connections between the creators of fanfics and the stories they’ve adapted. Many writers find joy in reconnecting with the books they cherished when they were younger. It’s a reminiscent feeling to look back on these characters with a new perspective and take them on new journeys. Not only can writing fanfiction help you connect with your childhood novels, it can also help you revive your love for your WIP. By exploring other author’s characters in depth, you are bound to find some similarities to your own characters. Fanfiction can help you dig deeper into your characters’ and make them more 3D for your audience to truly understand their actions. 3. Perfecting your craft The same way writers do exercises or short stories or prompts to enhance their skills, fanfiction can serve the same purpose. If you’re looking to brush up on your skills and style, writing fanfiction could be a fun and creative approach to this goal. A few examples of skills you could practice while writing are descriptive imagery, plot development, and in general, letting your personal style flourish. By taking the pressure off your conscience that your story needs to be amazing, you can freely nurture your hobby and build confidence in your writing without the added risks of failure. While writing fanfiction won’t necessarily make you famous, it can and will benefit you as a writer in many other ways. If you’ve got writer’s block or are just looking for something new to try out, why not fanfiction? We sure think it’s a great idea! References: Sutton, Jandra. “3 Reasons Why I Love (And Write) Fanfiction | by Jandra Sutton.” Medium, 8 February 2017, https://medium.com/@jandralee/3-reasons-why-i-love-and-write-fanfiction-d15c0a140e6e. Accessed 24 February 2024. “Fanfiction: Why Every Novelist Should Write It.” The Novel Smithy, 26 February 2019, https://thenovelsmithy.com/why-write-fanfiction/. Accessed 24 February 2024. McMinn, Jessica A. “5 Benefits Of Writing Fan Fiction (And Why You Shouldn't Dismiss It) – Writer's Edit.” Writer's Edit, https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/5-benefits-of-writing-fan-fiction-and-why-you-shouldnt-dismiss-it/. Accessed 24 February 2024. “The Benefits of Reading Fanfiction for Students' Writing Skills.” The Baltic Times, 11 April 2023,https://www.baltictimes.com/the_benefits_of_reading_fanfiction_for_students__writing_skills/. Accessed 24 February 2024.

by Madhusree and Jason Wu. Oftentimes, we perceive art to be purely instinctual –a writer slaving over his desk while the inspiration strikes its bells, leaving his nights bereft of dreams and flesh devoid of sustenance. We love imagining a poet transcending her body and soul, becoming one with Goddess Saraswati (Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, flowing water, abundance, wealth, art, speech, wisdom, and learning), as she pens down the verses from heart. In essence, the romantic notion of artistic creation is shrouded in purple prose –the darker the hue, the better to encapsulate the artist. The romanticized image of the tormented artist before the canvas, deep in the cups and fuelled by divine inspiration is a narrative deeply ingrained in our cultural perception of art. And while this sentiment is certainly a very romantic one, it often belies the messy affair, that is art. Makers of Works Artists –be it authors, painters or musicians– are often portrayed as lonely figures in the dark, engaged in an intense ritual with their muses and demons. Even in real life, such artists do often engage in intense rituals, of pleading with their landlords for rent pardon. While the affluent can afford to be 'true' to their voice and embrace a "daring" approach in their pursuit of greatness, the majority are more likely to be in a pursuit for actual sustenance, than for perfection. When survival becomes more pressing than being a part of some transcendental revelation, the common folks are often required to turn towards more “commercial” forms of art, i.e. art that is guaranteed to sell moderately well, and not cause much trouble or upheaval with the general public. Necessity is not necessarily the mother of invention, especially when said necessity is leading to unfed mouths and unpaid debts. Creativity Of The Works Creativity is not a divine gift bestowed upon a chosen few. When we turn our noses down at an artist because their art is lacking originality, being “lazy” or not being “serious” enough, we forget that art is not fast fashion. Even paintings clearly made to be hung in living rooms instead of galleries, or stories which faithfully follow an age-old formula, demand considerable acumen and artistry than we realize. “Constructing” art is no easy feat - it often involves being in a staring match with a blank page, grappling with the absence of even inspiration, and wrestling with the challenge of translating thoughts into words. It is a veritable feat in technique to be able to express yourself when you don’t feel the need. Constructing art sometimes involves the generation of entirely new concepts unknown to the world, which in itself, is an incredible feat on its own. The flowy, purple prose that often accompanies panel discussions of great art may satiate the panelist’s imagination, but it is this gritty, unglamorous reality of the creative process that truly defines many of the phases in an artist's journey. Finale The processes that occur behind the works that creators make have many hardships and challenges. It’s often ignored when viewers see the work as they only get the final version. They don’t see the many drafts and mistakes overshadowed by the glamorous finale of the complete work. But as spectators of the works, we need to take in the work as a whole, including its past. The slow process of constructing art is truly what makes it precious. Follow @writer_jasonwu on Instagram for more!

Issue VI: Dreams of a Caged Bird garnered many beautiful submissions, and to honor these wonderful pieces of writing, we decided to feature the inner thoughts of our writers and what their pieces mean to them. Please keep in mind that not all submitters are featured due to their personal preference, but you can read their writing inside Issue VI. Note: Their social media handles are also listed in brackets if you want to support them. Poetry Prose Creative Non-fiction POETRY Afra - March (@zaraapens, @zaraytheartist) My piece "March" touches on the sensitive issue of bullying. It subtly shows how the narrator would have been an entirely different person, had she not been bullied/harassed. Also, this incident somehow prevents her from flying and pursuing her dreams the way she wanted to. Cairo Evans - the musings of a worm My poem is a first person story about a worm who dreams of seeing rain. They die in the rainstorm but are satisfied as it is their life's dream to be in the rain. I was thinking about birds, and somehow got to the phrase of "the early bird gets the worm". I wanted to write about the worm, as I believe even worms have aspirations and dreams as well. I feel like a worm in the grand scheme of the universe, so small, so unimportant. But I have dreams and I want to achieve them. Sumo - Caged spark within (@thesnugglyducklings604) Caged spark within', is about the wish of an artist to not let their voice, their 'spark' to be heard by the world because they think it won't light anybody's skies, and won't help anybody. But after a desperate plea of their inner voice, they decide to let it go into the world on its own, and even if the voice reaches only one soul, the artist's hungry heart and eager soul would get their due, and they would feel heard. Both these poems use flight as a medium of freedom and happiness as a way of breaking their cages. All of us cage our voices into the four walls of rationality or practicality, and so they burn in agony inside. Be it an empty relationship, or a caged inner voice, both of these need freedom from, and so, one should use optimism and happiness to uncage oneself from these. Sumo herself used to cage her voice, as she thought nobody would understand it the way she would. That is certain. But the thought, that many people would listen to her voice and have their own unique ways of understanding it, also drove her to let her voice fly into the sky, and have its own flight. Caged dreams have a way to ease the soul. And so they should be left free, for others to see their awe-some flight too. Kyra Allyson - starved (@lykasticker) I think my piece serves as the embodiment of desperation — similar to that of a caged bird. It illustrates a deep desire to be loved and cared for while highlighting the contrast between people in relationships, and those who drown in the shadows of isolation, which mimic the loneliness of a caged bird. I hope others who empathise with this piece can break out of their cage and seek lasting relationships. Kate Waters - Sandbox (@writinguntil) My piece is a poem I wrote after I lost several friends due to my disability. “She is a sandbox girl” is a poem about marching forward despite the pain that holds you down and escaping to build the life you deserve. Fatima Shad - Caged Lovebird (@fatimashadpoetry) This poem plays a vital role in displaying how the yearning for our long-distance beloveds can shatter us like sand's grains, yet we have all the courage to run towards them, even bare feet, walking on burning coals or a land under our feet that's blazing hot in the fire of our beloved's absence's ache. We do all that we can, but we must know if the person we're doing it for is worth the courage and efforts. Devon Webb - My Diginity (@devonwebbnz) 'My Dignity' is a self-empowering piece about standing your ground & maintaining kindness when 'caged' by the cruelty of others, & daring to dream of a better world. Tatum Bunker - I Plucked On My Own Feathers (@tatum_tot24601) This piece is about not accepting change and worrying about the future too much. Worries can be like a cage, they trap you and attempt to ensure that you can never break free. Ripping off my feathers, as stated in the poem, is a way of saying that I will stay wallowing in my own worries and misery. Ellen Alfredson - Lovely little bird, dream on dream on! (@_ellen.alfredson) My poem is about about being a big dreamer with a big passion for something (in my case writing), but feeling stuck because of where You live and how uninspired your surroundings are, and how they don’t have big dreams like you do, and because of that can’t really understand you. Therefore, the cage, and ”breaking free” means not letting your dreams, passions and goals be limited because of the lack of passion, inspiration, or support in your surroundings. The poem is also encouraging young people to dream on, dream wild, dream big and dream free, and pursue their passions, despite it all. When I saw the theme for this issue I knew immedietly what I wanted to write about. The poem is about being a big dreamer with a big passion, but feeling caged because of where you live and the people surrounding you. It’s about feeling uninspired, unsupported or not understood because of the people around you being ”non dreamers”, but still breaking free from the cage by not limiting your passions, dreams and goals because of them. I think many young artists of all sorts can relate to the feeling of people around you not understanding your passion, and my piece is about encouraging people to dream on anyway. To keep dream on, dream wild, dream big, and dream free, despite it all. I think my poem would fit in the magazine because it showcases the bird’s cage as a specific space where, instead of fueling your passion and dreams, you feel as If your dreams are sinking, but you dream on, dream on, dream on anyway. And you don’t step back from it, because your passion is leading you, and you know you’re going the right way. And so, dream on dream on! Ray Shubert - Heard (@down_the._.rabbit_hole, @the_library_archive) This poem displays the emotions of feeling trapped and alone inside yourself, and dreaming of something more. To me, this poem is about breaking out of your own self destruction and depression to grow and do great things. I was inspired by my own experiences with mental health struggles and how isolating and intense it is, especially feeling like you are facing everything alone and being scared to reach out for help for fear of judgement. I want to make an impact through my writing, and I aspire to help people know that they are never alone, and they can always be more than their struggles. Serennus - V. Morina - The colors of dreams (@serennus) It shows you the felling's of the bird and its efforts toward its dreams. I usually don't make any magazine submissions but this time was different, the theme of this one was what inspired me and gave me the urge of wanting to write something about it. How someone might relate is by listening to the feelings of the character in the poem, how the character felt and wanted to always reach for what they wished for. T. A. Jones - Write You Into Oblivion (@taj.the.poet, @tajthepoet95) Muses live on even when they shouldn't. And we provide them with shelter with our words. With our memories. But not all muses are good. Sometimes they leech, take, and dig themselves into our cores. To be honest, we shouldn't take it. Not when there's better people and things to write about. So I used this piece as a battle cry to let those muses leave through the words. Until they're gone and inspire no more. T.A. Jones - Black Phoenix (@taj.the.poet, @tajthepoet95) I wrote this piece with the intention of transformation and evolution through death. About Black death and how we elevate, intoxicate, and appreciate culture with everything we do. Black, brown, and forgotten communities fight for the right of remembrance and all that we do to be seen. I’m just happy that through this piece, the words got something out of me. Michelan "Mi·I·Mi" Le'Monier - When Did You Last Look at Heaven (@mi.i.mi07, @thinkingpositive07) "When Did You Last Look at Heaven?" is about remembering a time of peace. Often we get stuck in this endless cycle of "grind culture" for the sake of survival; which, while it is important to have a livelihood, the constant motion of work takes us away from moments of stillness, rest, and appreciation creating a sense of martyrdom. In this poem, I sit in the last moment I felt life was still and dream to create a life that is filled with moments like that. And sometimes, that can feel unattainable given the demands of everyday life. This poem was created during a moment of self-reflection. It was inspired by conversations I've had with other adults (primarily young adults adjusting to adult life) who are navigating life changes and transitions, but don't have a lot of space to process said experiences. And because BIPOC people are often under-resourced, there is little support (at least that is widely known) to help them. As someone who is fortunate enough to have had support at a young age and straight out of college, I think it's important that I provide support where I can. These poems are meant to provide new perspectives and a softer lens on periods of growth and change to alleviate a lot of the hopelessness that can often come with new phases of life. I hope that people will read these and feel they are not alone in being frustrated while trying to find themselves, what makes them happy, and their way through life. Elisabeth D. - Watching you from afar (@elisabethdwrites) 'Watching you from afar' is about not being able to reach someone, or, more precisely, having to stay far from them, here in a 'golden cage' because the relationship isn't healthy anymore. It's about taking distance to find peace, but finding pain in it too. And it is also about dreaming of a different life, where you could be happy together. I think that is why it fits the theme pretty well. This poem is actually a very personal one, because it's vaguely inspired from my own experience in a friend group when I broke up with my ex boyfriend, who also is a part of this friend group. It's a strange experience and, at some point, I had to take some distances. I think that's what this poem is about: having to watch someone from afar to avoid self destruction. Overcomer Olajide - Dreams in Broken Bottles (@Titilope.olajide) Dreams in broken bottles reflect yearning for aspirations that seems out of reach like a caged bird desire for flight. it depicts the fragility and vulnerability nature of dreams, the doubt associated with unfulfilled dreams. It encourages reader to embrace their inner self, find solace and get a hold of their dreams no matter the circumstances. Shu J. Liu - dreams of a high-achieving dove, yet no more than a pigeon (@wlvshuu) "dreams of a high-achieving dove, yet no more than a pigeon" was inspired from my own personal academic struggles and high-achieving academic expectations. I wanted to express the contrast between how society in general views pigeons and doves, when they are technically the same creature. Doves are held at a higher regard with far more love than your average pigeon receives. It's similar academically; students with higher grades are held up with more respect by authority, while those with lower grades could be looked down on. It causes all "pigeons" (here representing your average student) to pretend to be as wonderful as a dove (representing a model/straight A student) in order to achieve academic validation. I hope other teens can relate to academic pressure (well, "hope" wouldn't be the right word, to be fair), and for all those who do: you do not always have to be perfect. One grade does not define who you are. Take care of your mental health before your academics — trust me, it'll help you a lot in the long run. Eli Ernst-Fontaine - Escapism (@starboy_eli) "Escapism" is a metaphorical piece I wrote about the teenage life I am not able to live due to my disabilities. The poem in itself paints the portrait of two boys, with a seemingly ambiguous relationship. In reality, the poem is about writing a story, perhaps based on a blurry dream the author had one night. I chose this to stay an ambiguous metaphor because I am not sure what my dream truly is. After all, the caged bird ignores what lies in the outside world. Cheryl Tan - Rainbow Sister (@implausiette) Rainbow Sister is about being queer in an Asian conservative country, and the problems that arise with it. Any dreams of love and marriage are instantly quashed beneath discriminatory laws enacted. Rainbow Sister also happens to be the title of a traditional Mongolian-Chinese song. Alex Gemstones - Barricade boys (@alenon_alenin) 'Barricade boys' is dedicated to those who are willing to go as far as putting their life on the line in standing for what they truly believe in. This piece is inspired by several characters from the French novel Les Misérables by Victor; to be precise, it features a group of young revolutionaries, including students and working class men, in 1830s France, who started an uprising with the aim of overthrowing the monarchy and bringing back the French Republic. However, their revolution was short-lived, as they were greatly outnumbered by the national guard who quickly extinguished the opposition, leading to the death of almost all of the revolutionaries. The characters whom the poem is based on are very special to me, as they are an inspiration to keep fighting for my beliefs and to stand my ground even when the circumstances are against me. I hope that 'Barricade boys' will inspire the readers to take a stand and to be fierce and proud of what they believe in; however, in no way do I encourage the readers to die for their cause! Zac Hudson - The parakeet dreams of being a cassowary (Zac.writes) Birds are a wide and varied concept, from wild birds to domesticated or caged ones. My poem is told from a caged bird idolising the wild and undomesticated cassowary which is native to the rainforests of Queensland Australia. Your prompt, I have been trying to be more adventurous with my writing and one of the easiest ways I've found to do that is by tackling literary prompts I wouldn't normally gravitate towards. My poem has a major theme of freedom and I think that resonates with teenagers because we often crave that sense of independence as we grow older. I'm also really proud of this piece specifically because I was able to use an Australian symbol like the cassowary which I think lends this work a new voice that really reflects me as a person and what I want to achieve with what I create. Ellie Coul - Tick, Tick, Tick (@elliecoul.writes) No matter your species, income, social status, or will to live, no one can stop time from passing. "Tick, Tick, Tick" emphasizes time's unforgiving nature as an inescapable boundary. Portraying a snapshot of a moment in a hospital waiting room, the poem describes various people living different lives who find themselves in the same situation: desperately wishing they could grant the person they love more time. When the theme, "Dreams of a Caged Bird" was released, I thought about the universal boundaries of the world. Having experienced loss, my mind automatically went to the concept of time, which controls nearly every aspect of life. Embracing the idea that a heightened awareness of the passing of time evokes a feeling of being trapped, I wish for my poem to speak to anyone who yearns to break free from the bounds of time. Maryam Hedayat - Drained Success (@06oliver.twist) I can’t swim and as a result of that I’ve grown an aversion to deep waters and being in water in a larger sense .In the same way I can’t swim, I can’t give merit to any of my achievements and thus feel as if I’m drowning in all my failures regardless if they hold any substance to my work.This feeling of drowning is then reaffirmed with my metaphorical ‘poseidon’ , god of the seas’.The poseidon in the poem can be anything to anyone reading , teachers , friends , family , critics, just anyone who consciously or unconsciously pins you down back to those feelings and essentially controls your motivations like the seas.The poseidon for me is myself and how i ‘hem myself in’ into my feeling of underachievement whenever I feel as If I am going to rise or when I even try to do so.To neatly summarise , ‘Drained success’ was inspired my own aversion to water and failures and thus also created the meaning. I think teens these days will understand this same fear or disappointment to failures academics or otherwise to the point they feel trapped or drowned. But I do not think they should deny these feelings nor feel any regret or shame in having them as everyone will have them when falling down and getting up through the course of life , such feelings can also make you strive for more and break barriers in doing so enabling you to create from ashes. Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Alice - An Ode to the Lost (@aliceswips) My poem relates to the theme of Issue VI by using the metaphor of a caged bird to portray a person with a wonderful voice who is trapped by society for the sole purpose of entertaining it. As a result, not being able to escape, the person becomes a mere shadow of themselves. However, this does not stop them from guiding other birds like them to prevent them from being caged, even if it means doing so with a whisper. Although their dream of singing is unattainable, they hope others can achieve theirs. The inspiration came from one of my characters: Caroline, from TNIC. She is indeed a caged bird who couldn't escape her own destiny, but kindly helps lost souls to find their light again. I hope that when the novel is published, Caroline will be able to help people find their way in real life too. Teresa M. Medina - Elephant (@louvre_in_blue) It is about the feeling of being closeted for a long time and the inability to say it while you feel that you can't hold it inside for any longer. I think it fits the theme in the way that queerness is a rather beautiful thing (bird) but it's inside a hostile and constrincting place: the world (cage), and at the same time the whole metaphor represents the lack of freedom of the whole situation. It is maybe a little bit gore in some way, but I felt like realism was a key part of this and I thought that sugarcoating it would make it look like less of an issue, which wasn't what I wanted to convey. This poem is about how painful it is to be closeted as a queer person, which is something that people often see as easy or light, but is actually excruciating at times. I think it can be a topic that resonates with many young people that might find themselves it this situation and are feeling or have felt any of these things. And I think it may be helpful to everyone struggling to get rid of their own elephant, crocodile, or whatever beast is consuming them. I hope they know they're not alone in the cage. Prose Geneviève Laprise - In the Dark (Writer_Gen) In the Dark is written from the point of view of Happiness. Happiness is trapped in the darkness when depression arises; therefore, it is like a caged bird that is asking to be released. Happiness is like a caged bird, but the cage is of our own making. Happiness is understanding and requests he is let out when Depression is ready. I wrote this story because I was feeling a little down, and I started thinking about how we make our own happiness. If Happiness is a person, what happens to them when the dark thoughts begin? I was also thinking about the struggles we go through to let happiness back in. Phoebe B.H. Mercury - The road is long (@spitewantsmealive) It is a piece about a man who is too afraid and to weak-willed to accomplish his goal. He is compared to a caged bird because of his own incompetence to become free or to at least, overcome his pitiful condition. He does not desire change, even though he suffers because of his constant mediocre state. It illustrates how the human can be its own enemy and that even a devil, may be less ditstructive than one's own self imposed limitations. It showcases the consequences of a plain life and how fear and maybe superficiality becomes a trap. Leslie Teel - Exploding Kittens and the Experiential Ferris Wheel (@leslie.teel) Young people with dreams of education and becoming good adults can also be trapped by them. By others' and their own expectations. By all the work necessary at such a young age to fulfill those dreams and expections. Obligations to peers, families, school, the very future. Sometimes they might just want to be a kid for a night. Adia Reynolds - So Falls the Cuckoo Bird (@cryptic.cryptid.writes) This piece is about being thrown from all you've ever known and trying to fly. This lesson is bittersweet. Learning you are capable, but only being forced to do so because others stopped supporting you. I wrote this from the perspective of an original character who I'd associated with a cuckoo bird even before this prompt was released. This character is a testament for standing up for what you believe even if it means being expelled from the gilded cage that you had grown to love. Ayumi Inoue - Outside the Zoetrope (@in.iyoume, @peniyoume) "Outside the Zoetrope" follows a young girl trapped to her responsibilities as a daughter and child to a poor family. While she hopes to live like other children her age and go to school like it was a matter of course, she remains by her mother's side to help her with the house as she is aware of their reality. It might not be about dreaming big or dreaming wide, but it is about dreaming free - like a caged bird does. While I originally thought of writing a piece about hoping for freedom and dreaming big, I became interested in the idea of dreaming for a normal reality - a mediocre daily life where one can simply live and not be bogged down by pressure and expectations. Sometimes the chance of living a mundane life is really all people want. However, sometimes, experiencing a mundane life is not a luxury that people can afford. Thus, I write about a caged bird trapped in her responsibilities as a daughter and child to a poor family, who can only hope for a normal life. Perhaps people who feel the same - pressure from having to succeed, provide for the family, or be a reasonable child - will be able to see themselves in the child. Owl - the Bird and the Girl (@owl_writes) the Bird and the Girl is written from two POVs - that of a bird (an owl) and that of a girl. There is a parallel of the bird freeing other birds, and the girl freeing children from their respective cages, but not leaving themselves. It ends with the bird's dream of flying free. Everyone has their own cages that they need to break out of. Mine is the cause of all my recent problems, but also my main source of motivation. Birds symbolize freedom but this owl has accepted that breaking free may not be possible. Roukia Ali - Laney is Leaving (@roukiaa9140) The real main character of my piece, Laney, is indecisive about leaving the certainty of her old life behind, and the only one she feels understands her, her younger brother Eddy. However, she knows she wants to leave for new adventures and horizons, as symbolised by her obsession with a bike she gets herself. Caged by feelings and enforced ideas of responsibility and rationality, it is only through encouragement and empathy that she can be "free to roam" . I was inspired to write this piece when I was sitting near a park one day, watching people go by on their bikes. Some people walked alongside their bikes, and some sped by on them. I think it's a great symbol for individual freedom and how attached we are to it, and taking your freedom into your own hands by your own merits. I hope Laney herself is a relatable character in terms of her passion, but also her emotionality. Not wanting to seem selfish, but also wanting the freedom of one's own path, has always been a contention in my life---I sometimes feel like a bird in a cage, yearning to fly, but scared to fly away, wondering if maybe the cage is safer, or even expects my conformity, and I want my story to relieve anyone who feels similarly. I think it's a great fit overall for this magazine because Laney passes on this lesson of leaving your cage to grow onto Eddy so he can reach his own personal definition, which I think embodies spreading the message to a wider community, like ourselves as writers. Just as we all have our own personal definitions of what being a caged bird means in this issue, the same applies to how we have all taken in that message. Lauren D. Fulter - Cheeseburgers and Dragons (@laurendfulter_author) Inspired by my own experiences working a fast food job while longing to be a full-time writer. It deals with a more realistic side of "chasing your dreams" in the sense that the characters can't afford to chase their dreams just yet...but are driven and motivated by their dreams of seeing their dreams of dragons become a reality one day. I had been eyeing this magazine submission ever since the theme was announced. I loved the theme, and toyed with multiple different ideas. Nothing really struck a chord with me, and I ultimately decided to skip out of this magazine. That was until the night of January 2nd, when I woke up around 2am with an idea. I quite literally pulled out my laptop and wrote it right then and there. The story turned out far simpler than my original drafts (which consisted of fairies trapped in glass jars in a world far more fantastical than a burger restaurant). I don't see many young writers talking about the realities of BEING a young writer. We aren't established yet, and hardly any of us can afford to write full-time just yet. Working a day job is a necessity for so many, even if it's something as simple as fast food (which I worked on before going to college!). While making burgers wasn't my dream job and was merely a means to an end, I found an unexpected treasure working there. I got to meet real people and hear their stories. Many of which inspired me and taught me so much about the real world. The story is simple, but the message is very personal to me and so many other creatives dreaming out there. Kathryn Harry - The Boy and the Butterfly Net (@kathyrn._.jane) My piece focuses around a timid young boy who struggles with both his fear and the pressure of appeasing his father, feelings which make him feel trapped within himself. I wrote this piece at the Lewis & Clarke Fir Acres Writing Workshop last summer and was inspired to write it by the friends I made there. It was a piece I wrote very freely, tapping into my inner child. I wanted to express the growing pains we begin to experience at very young ages, when the bright world of our own making begins to clash with a solemn reality. My friends were very encouraging as I wrote it, and I am very thankful to them. Creative Non-Fiction Heetal Binwani - Life Cycles (@heetalofalltrades, @StarSpeckledSkies on Wattpad) My piece is about my own life, and how the expectations of society and family have made me feel trapped. Art is a passion of mine - I have loved to make art for as long as I can remember. However, as I grew up, I gradually came to realize that there was no viable way for me to chase a career in art, even though art was what I loved, even though it was my dream. I picked my college major only recently - and I remember confiding in my friend that I had never felt as trapped as I did while researching majors and narrowing down my options. Because even though I had an interest in the STEM field, and in neuroscience, my chosen major, it wasn't really what I wanted. Art was. But jobs in the arts can be incredibly unstable, and they don't pay all that well - it wasn't an option for me, and it certainly wasn't an option for my parents. I felt like I was being backed into a corner while picking my major - and it absolutely terrified me. It was that conversation with my friend that inspired this piece. This work covers my life, from age 5 to age 17, and explores how my dream of becoming an artist first flourished, and then died, as well as where I am regarding that dream now. I think other people will relate to this piece because it's a fairly prevalent problem in our society. STEM fields are often the highest paying, for good reason - but that means that it's often hard to justify the cost of going into an art field, considering that STEM fields have so many more opportunities. Even the friend I confided in struggled with the same thing; if money weren't a problem, she said, she'd go into music. But she's going into psychology, because music, with its high risks and no guarantee of a payoff, is simply not viable for her. People shouldn't have to choose between what they can live off of and what they love - but they do, because that's the society we live in. I think my piece is a good fit for your magazine because it is raw, it is real. You say that you want work that makes you feel something, and that is exactly what I aim to do, with each of my stories. Although I usually write prose, I chose to submit creative nonfiction this time, because the story I'm telling is one I've lived through - it's going to be more real than any fictional world I could think up for this prompt. Follow @rewritethestarsreview on Instagram for more information about upcoming issues.

Many people simply enjoy writing as a hobby, but have you ever thought of taking it more seriously? If writing is already something enjoyable to you, why not get benefits and rewards for it as well? There are many opportunities to publish your writing and there are multiple benefits to sharing your work. In this article, I will be sharing some of these benefits and opportunities. The Benefits of Sharing Your Writing Having your work published or submitting to contests can have many benefits. For example, having your work featured in literature magazines can help to spread your name and look good on resumes, applications, and as past experience. Furthermore, submitting your writing to contests can result in cash prizes and publication. In my experience, successfully sharing my writing with others is a huge confidence boost. When I first started submitting my work, I was nervous that nobody would like my work and I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone. I had to go through many rejections, but it paid off. After time, my submissions and applications were accepted. Now, I have much more confidence to share my writing! I also have much more confidence to try new things in real life as well. Additionally, sometimes editors at literature magazines would provide feedback on my submissions. This helped me improve and reflect on my work. Oftentimes, sharing your intimate work can be nerve-wracking. There will be some rejections, but also plenty of success. If you aren’t ready to experience that, don’t push yourself! Keeping writing as a hobby might be better for you right now, and that’s ok! However, if you’re looking for more opportunities and chances to broaden your writing portfolio and boost your confidence, look no further for a list of places to submit to. Opportunities for Writers If you've ever looked for writing opportunities, you may have had some difficulty. So, I will be providing some opportunities for writers to share and publish their work. Please note that there are many more opportunities out there, and you should do whatever works best for you! Online literature magazines. Online literature magazines such as @rewritethestarsreview, @wavesofwordsmagazine, @luxurylitmag, @bottleddreamsmagazine, etc. are great resources for writers. Most magazines accept a combination of poetry, prose, art, fiction, and creative non-fiction, although it can vary. Some online literature magazines even have blog submissions, which typically accept non-fiction and fiction work. These magazines can be found on Instagram and other social media platforms. One website, called ChillSubs, is very helpful with finding magazines. It shows literary magazines with open submissions, and provides more information on them. These magazines often have submissions for issues, collaborations, blog submissions, special contests, etc. Additionally, if you’re looking to grow as a writer through working in teams, many literature magazines have staff positions that handle or create writing. Writing competitions. Writing competitions accept many different genres of writing. Some even have cash prizes, publication opportunities, and other rewards for winners. To find writing competitions, you can look on social media or through a search engine, and find what works best for you! Writing scholarships. While some people believe writing scholarships are only for essays, there are also plenty for creative writing. Writing scholarships typically reward winners with money towards college and other education programs. These scholarships can be found through a search engine, social media, and are sometimes offered by high schools. Some popular writing scholarships include the Dennis Etchison Young Writers Scholarship ($500), Profile in Courage Essay Contest ($1,000 - $10,000), and ACES Scholarships ($1,500 - $3,000). Writing careers. If you’re old enough to seek out a career in writing, that is also a great option to pursue your passion. Some writing careers include journalism, author, editor/proofreader, English teacher, marketing, etc. Writing a book. Although writing a book can be a long and difficult process, it can also be worth the work if you’re ready! Some benefits can include sales, getting recognition for your writing, getting to create and share your ideas, and gaining experience. For more information on how to publish and write a book, check out both part 1 and part 2 of MG’s Tips for Indie Authors to learn more. In conclusion, sharing your writing can have benefits such as confidence boosts, cash prizes, publication, and help with resumes. I hope this article helped motivate you to share your wonderful writing, and provided resources and opportunities for you to share and benefit from your writing. Works Cited Coffey, Sandra. “30 Exciting Careers in Writing (with Salaries).” Indeed.com, 30 July 2023, www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/careers-in-writing. Accessed Feb. 2024. Follow @claywithcar for more

Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you're feeling as single as a Pringle or basking in the warmth of your lover, enjoy some beautiful poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction this Valentine's Day. Poetry What is love? What is love? I ask the flowers they tell me that it is searching for the sun even when it's night I ask the moon she tells me that it is reflecting the sun because she hopes to be as beautiful as her one day I ask my grandparents they say it is holding each other through gritted teeth and through adoring smiles I ask the trees they say it is waiting years with the hope that their roots will intertwine I ask you but I only receive silence neither of us know we want to learn together by Ray Shubert More Information: It relates to the idea of love, and how this ideal is chased, but sometimes it is important to focus on the smaller, more "insignificant" sides of love, as that can be what builds a relationship the most. Instagram: @down_the._.rabbit_hole Bio: Ray Shubert is a teen writer from Utah. She has been writing for many years and is very inspired by gothic literature. Feedback: Smrithi: I audibly gasped after reading this because this piece is so beautiful! It truly conveys the idea that love is about the simple and small joys. I love how the poet both conveys the beauties of nature, and also the joys of human love. The last stanza is bittersweet and definitely uplifting. Wonderful piece! Bri: I love the idea of asking nature something associated with people, not nature. Ava: This is everything to me. Feels almost like a children's rhyme with its formulaic repetition(in the best way). Each section has its own take on love, I like the multiple perspectives. Sunflowers When one day she asked me my favourite plant I told her, sunflowers I loved how they stood tall in summer fields, their petals painted vibrant golds. How they’d turn to face the sun, welcoming its rays with each new day. And most of all, how the flowers coped, on the days the sun wasn’t out In the absence of its light, turning to face one another. She smiled softly, tucking a hair behind my ear And I thought to myself that when the sun chooses to hide She was, and always would be, the one I would look toward. by Ivy Janes More Information: I wrote this poem based on the time someone who I care a lot about told me that if I was to be a plant, I would be a sunflower, saying that to her I was vibrant and warm and 'sun-like.' She is who I would call 'my person,' so sharing these kinds of moments with her always fills me with so much joy and love, that I thought it would be a perfect sort of thing to share here: a short poem about love that means a lot, about a short moment full of love that meant a lot. I also think (or hope) that other people would feel the same sort of warmth reading it, reminded of or inspired to imagine sweet moments of casual domestic bliss. Instagram: @ivyallegedly Bio: Ivy has been an avid reader and writer longer than she can remember, particularly of epic fantasy novels, and pieces that allow her to explore the love and loneliness of our world. She also enjoys being with friends, sketching, baking, taking her dog Jax on walks, and spending every waking moment with music blasting from her headphones. Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is beautiful. I smiled reading it, and I definitely relate. The sunflower metaphor is cute and I love the last line that conveys that small feeling of love. Those moments where you just realize wow i love this person. Wonderful piece and truly goes to show how you only need 100 words to make someone feel happy. I hope you send this piece to whoever it's about! Bri: The idea of having a conversation with someone is so intimate and special. I love it! Ava: Very sweet! I love the metaphor of sunflowers facing each other. My Sweetheart’s Power We’re seven billion on this ball. I know full well I can’t Make each soul heed my words at all, Although that’s what I want. But when my bae prepares to read Some of my new-oozed ink, That moment’s stupendous indeed— Not even once she’ll blink. By some miracle, she compresses All literary journals, Poetry magazines, and presses Into her eyes’ lit kernels. Once read, there’s silence for a while. Then, gently, she will raise Her awed face, saying, “God!.....” and smile— True editorial praise! by Shamik Banerjee More Information: My piece is on love or on the different aspects of love excluding heartbreak. Instagram: @where_tales_end Bio: Shamik Banerjee is a poet from India. Some of his poems are forthcoming in Ekstasis Magazine, Willow Review, and Modern Reformation, among others. He is a formalist poet. Feedback: Smrithi: This piece brought a smile to my face and I think it's something a lot of people can definitely relate to. We often don't write to please the world but rather to please specific people in our lives and I think this piece does a great job of conveying that. Great work! Bri: The desire to share your adoration with others is so sweet! Ava: This is so sweet! Reminds me of the line from Sweet Nothing by Taylor Swift: "I wrote a poem. You say what a mind. This happens all the time." It isn’t easy loving a poet It isn’t easy loving a poet For he will not love me with a look Instead, write me in the pages of his book. He will not hold me in his arms But bind me in rhyme that forever charms; He will not bring flowers at my door, Instead, inscribe our love in metaphor. Though it isn’t easy loving a poet, There is little I regret, For if our love will be writ in his pages, We’d be remembered for ages. If he will bind me in rhyme, Our love in heaven would forever chime; And though he may not bring me flowers, I would dwell forever in metaphor’s bowers. And what would love be if a quest for ease, For it does not slacken or seek to appease. by R.S More Information: The poem talks about falling in love with a poet. Instagram: @thepoetrywindmill Bio: R.S. resides in India and writes poetry to find harmony in life. She graduated with Honours in English and loves to read and write poetry. She is greatly influenced and inspired by the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, W.H. Auden and William Butler Yeats to name a few. She loves nature walks and rises early to feel inspired with the morning star and create new rhymes. Feedback: Smrithi: This poem is absolutely splendid. I love the rhyme scheme so much and I love how the poet has captured the beauty of poetry and loving a poet. As many of our readers are poets, I'm sure they'd be able to envision what loving them might feel like. The writing and language usage is also marvelous! Bri: I love how romantic the tone is. Ava: I love the questioning of if this kind of love is one that works for the narrator. Bleeding Heart Dove I wear my love On my chest, Raw and bloody, For the world to see. So full, am I, I cannot help but show it. If I lay still enough, On a bed of rotten roses, You would think me dead; Lovestruck suicide, My own undoing. Affection seeping out of me Like milk- I am prepared to give you my all. I am not wounded. Please, Believe me. Crimson stains, A curse or a blessing? You need not Claw my heart out. I will present it for you, On silver. Do not hurt me; I am already bleeding For you. by Jeahnelle Garcia More Information: This poem is based on the bleeding heart dove (bird), with a red stain on her chest. She contains so much love and hurt that it seeps out of her heart, staining the feathers on her chest deep crimson like blood. She look vulnerable, as if she was born hurt. This piece is for people who were born loving "too much" or were taken advantage for it. At the end of the day, love is vulnerable, and it is beautiful, and people who love "too much" have a beautiful gift that does not deserve to be taken advantage of as it so often is. Instagram: @_ante.mortem_ Bio: Jeahnelle Garcia is a 17 year old writer from Trinidad. She has been a writer for as long as she can remember (no matter how questionable the quality of said writing was). She loves to make weird art, listen to music, and play with Beans, her beloved cat. Feedback: Smrithi: This is a little less optimistic than we expected for this feature but I still do think it conveys a nice message of how those who "love too much" aren't flawed or wrong in any way. It is a little vulnerable but it also shows that these people deserve to be seen. Lovely writing! Bri: I love how lovestruck this piece is. Ava: Such a cool metaphor to describe a very vulnerable way of giving love. Really beautiful. Intangible If you were carved from smooth marble I’d shine your skin and wear that glimmer like gold around my neck, your stone-touched embrace still light with warmth and the beating of a butterfly’s wings. If you were a poem I would recite every stanza into the turn of my elbow, the twist of your lip and the magnetic sheen of your doe-eyes until you became one with the energy that bonds us. Every sentence drilling smiles into crows feet. Every metaphor a mere flickering candle, bowing in shame when held to your beauty. Your burns as exquisite as your voice. by Ari More Information: It discusses topics of admiration to the point of putting another individual on a pedestal and how the love for this person is almost intangible, unable to be expressed except through metaphor. Instagram: @ari.kanji Bio: Ari likes to write sometimes. Or all the time, actually. It's a problem. Feedback: Smrithi: The writing in this piece is marvelous and I love the idea behind it! We all definitely have once in our life "fell too hard" to the point that it becomes unhealthy, but this piece captures the optimistic side of loving someone so much that you'd do anything for them. Wonderful! Bri: The attention to detail is done well and holds an intimacy we are looking for. Ava: This is really well written, I love the power of the adoration that comes across. Fiction Bus ride, early august she sits next to me in the back row, hands interlocked. the sun is setting: the same golden light which inspired countless painters settling on a face more perfect than any art. she laughs, and i want to capture the sound, let it loop through my head for eternity. i lean over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and when her gaze meets mine i understand that the love which has been written, painted, and sang of for millennia is right here, in the form of two girls pressed against dusty moquette fabric. by Rebecca Walker More Information: My piece is about my girlfriend who I love very very much! Instagram: @beccamkwalker Bio: Rebecca is an avid reader and writer based in the UK. When not immersed in a book she can be found baking, playing guitar or listening to music - she is especially inspired by Sylvia Plath, Carol Ann Duffy and the lyrics of Phoebe Bridgers. :-) Feedback: Smrithi: Aww this piece is lovely. The writing is picturesque and I love how we're immediately able to capture this image in our mind's eye. The last line is beautiful and almost brought me to tears (in a positive way). Love this feeling! Bri: I love the line about understanding now why writings, paintings and songs are about love because in a way, we don't know until we experience it ourselves Ava: This reminds me of that Andrew Garfield quote about Emma Stone: "She was like a shot of espresso. She was like being bathed in sunlight". I love the feeling of gentle love that radiates from this piece. Love Prevails One. The first sentence I heard from him was ‘my wife cooks the best’. His eyes light up every time she walks into the room, and every time he thinks of her. Two. She meets him. She falls in love and walks the path of rehabilitation with him. Three. When he had a stroke, and his family left with all his money, his former employee returned to his life. No words were needed for her to understand him. The stars are jealous of the human capacity to love. How do they lose everything but love? by Owl More Information: All three men have aphasia. A stroke may have taken away their words, cognitive functions, jobs, families… But somehow, love prevails, sometimes where you least expect it. We all need a reminder of that every once in a while. (I should add that the third relationship is purely platonic.) Instagram: @owl_writes Bio: Owl is a speech therapy student. She has been working with people with aphasia and hearing stories. This piece consists of three of those stories. Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is AMAZING! I love the short yet crisp descriptions that tell us everything we need to know by using only absolutely necessary words. The last line really ties the piece together well and I think this will be a splendid addition to our feature! Bri: My favorite aspect is their story and how it is told in stages. Ava: So uplifting! I adore that last line. Best kind of love The best kind of love is one that is unexpected. One that catches both partners off guard.  It’s one where you think that the other won’t like you, a simple fear of rejection. And once that feeling of rejection passes due to acceptance, it’s a beautiful feeling. It’s feeling refreshed, a feeling of completion, and a feeling of excitement for what’s about to arrive. It’s when both partners feel safe to share their feelings, without any hesitation. It’s one where both partners put forth the best effort they can muster towards the relationship. by Anonymous Staff Member More Information: N/A Instagram: N/A Bio: N/A Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is simple and elegant and definitely something a lot of people can relate to! It made me smile and I hope others find this kind of love as well. Bri: The idea of having a best concept or version of love is sweet and personal. Ava: I love this idea of love: simple, unexpected, filling. Cockatoo When you first became my lover I was sitting alone in my room at eleven at night listening to my favorite song, texting my favorite girl (you). You asked me how my night was and I realized I loved you. I teared up every time I saw your face knowing my butterflies would never be yours. I first became your lover after you carefully caught each one with a net, fed them sweet songs and honey, and wrapped them in a bouquet with a pink bow. I keep them by my side and promise to keep you safe too. by Cairo Evans More Information: This story is about my girlfriend. She reminds me of a cockatoo, hence the title. I had liked her for over a year, but at first she was girlfriends with my ex-best friend (awkward). We started dating in September last year and we're going strong! I wrote about my process of falling in love with her. Instagram: @abductedcowmag Bio: Cairo Evans is a young writer. She enjoys theater, reading, drawing, skiing and skateboarding. Her work has been featured in several publications, and she runs her own literary magazine (abducted cow magazine). She is currently directing her first show and loves penguins very much. Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is sweet and I love how personal yet broad it is. We can clearly see the author's love for their girlfriend in it, but we can also see our own love and adoration for people in our lives mirrored in the piece. The butterfly analogy is splendid and the writing is marvelous. I love the last line! I hope the author and their girlfriend stay together forever <3 Bri: The second-person perspective is done well. Ava: This is so cute. I love the progression of unrequited love to mutual love. Really well described! Creative Nonfiction The Heart On My Sleeve I used to think that writing to your love was too much labor. Your hands would start to tremble from gripping the pen, and how many sonnets could you spout before the recesses of your soul became empty? But then came him. Sitting in the back of algebra class with his heart on his sleeve. Suddenly, I was writing. Pages. My poems became his, my writing dedicated to his soul. Sonnets, love songs, and all the romance I’ve read were all...him. Now, the ring on my finger follows my pen as I write, and my words are still... all his. by Elizabeth Dueñas More Information: The inspiration for this piece of prose came from my experience of falling in love with my husband. Shortly after we started dating, he went away to boot camp for the army, and the only way to talk was through letters. I had the obstinate idea that writing letters to someone I love wasn't worth it or that I couldn't do it. But then, I couldn't stop writing to him. At one point, I sent him four letters in one day, all multiple pages long. I fell in love with him through his letters, and I continue to fall in love with everything he says today. Other people might relate to this piece because, as writers, readers, and consumers, everything around us turns into them when we fall in love—movies, songs, poetry, books, etc. Every thought we have is theirs, and as a writer, it is hard to stop once we start professing our love for them through our words. This piece would be a good fit for this feature because it highlights the raw emotion of love on a universal level. It celebrates our connection and holds my heart deep within it. Instagram: @literarylizzy_ Bio: Elizabeth Dueñas is a budding, young writer at the start of her publication journey. She has been writing for many years with a strong focus on poetry and prose, drawing inspiration from the connections she has with others. Her work is authentic and captures the essence of the human experience. She is excited for wherever her writing journey will take her. Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is beautiful! Truly shows that within 100 words, you can convey a complete love story in itself. I love the writing and phrases like "my writing dedicated to his soul // the ring on my finger follows my pen as I write" - they really portray the simply joys of love. I also adore the inspiration behind this piece and I definitely think a lot of our readers will be able to relate to it! Bri: I love that it shows how love changes people in the best way. Ava: A beautiful devotion of love and how it can fuel you. "Now, the ring on my finger follows my pen as I write" is utterly gorgeous, love the feeling of pure bliss that comes from this one. Faded Friendship Bracelets (we each have two) Seven years ago, we were the slowest runners in PE. We talked about video games, about shows. We still do. I fell asleep on you in a limo after prom. Abandoned together at Disney. Calling on your commute home, facetiming on work breaks. Our silly characters. You’re leaving soon, for a while. You know I’ll miss you. And message you constantly, right? I’ll miss your curly hair, music flare and sweater vests in june. You’re the music to my lyrics, my poetry. You are my best friend. I love you. Part Ners I N Cri Me by Tatum Bunker More Information: My best friend is leaving for a church mission soon. Since we are currently in different states, it's hard to connect with one another as much as we would like. This piece is dedicated to our platonic love and to a friendship that will never die. I think this is a good fit for the feature because it highlights what we consider to be the stepping stones of becoming closer. Instagram: @ Bio: Feedback: Smrithi: This piece is cute and definitely captures the true spirit of platonic love. I love the little memories the author talks about, and the final few lines definitely bring the message home! The partners in crime thing is so cute lol because I love matching things between best friends (I have a necklace with my bsf!) Bri: Reminiscing of the past is really cute. Ava: Platonic love is just as powerful as romantic love. I like the formating at the end to look like friendship necklaces. Touch Touch had always been a sacred thing. So, when she first met them, she refused to touch. It took years - years of gentle guidance, of conversations, of jokes that became inside jokes and small secrets that became big ones. But finally, she let herself touch. It started small; fingers tapping on an arm, a palm on a shoulder. And then fingers became hands, and hands became hugs, until touching them wasn’t so strange anymore. To touch was to trust, and to trust was to open her bricked up heart. She didn’t even know when they had torn the walls down. by Heetal Binwani More Information: This piece was based on my personal experiences with touch, and how it has evolved with my relationships with my friends. I've always been very uncomfortable with touching people - it's something that's reserved for the people closest to me. So, when I first met my friends, I avoided touching them as much as I could; I simply wasn't close enough to them at that point. But, as I grew closer to them, I slowly grew more comfortable with touching them, too. And, at some point, I realized that they weren't just friends to me; they were my confidantes, my supporters, my rocks whenever I felt like I was drowning in a raging sea. I'd grown to love them, deeply - and I wasn't so hesitant to touch them anymore. For me, this was a huge revelation. I hope that other people can find themselves and their own friendships in this work - having the love of friends is the greatest thing in the world. Instagram: @heetalofalltrades Bio: Heetal is an artist, musician, and creative writer who lives in the US. When she's not in school, playing her flute, making art, or writing, she usually does homework, reads, bakes, or spends time with her friends. She also has a passion for science, especially chemistry, astronomy, and psychology. In her creative works, she particularly enjoys exploring the human condition. Feedback: Smrithi: Aww omg I love this piece. It's such a small thing but going from being averse to touch to opening yourself up to hugs is a major transformation that the author has captured beautifully here. I especially love the last two lines! I hope everyone finds friends like this :) Bri: The idea of touch being sacred or valued in a certain way is beautiful. Ava: I love how it shows the development of a friendship through something that is seemingly as simple as touch, but also highlighting the weight it carries for the person. Follow us @rewritethestarsreview and these remarkable writers for more!

We've talked about how you can increase your chances as a self published author. But we're not nearly enough so here we are with the second part! Create Buzz Before Release: Have you realised how famous books like A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber have been the talk of the social media town months before its release? Learn from them and do the same. Get as many people as possible to talk about it, even before the book is released. Make sure to hype it up, and get others to hype it up, too. In fact, build up the hype even before you finish the book. How? You can: Collect Reviews From Early Readers Get ARC Readers Make Hype Teams Be Your Own Cheerleader Collect Reviews from Early Readers: Remember your alpha and beta readers? They can prove more valuable than just editors. Make sure to ask them to review your book before publishing. Why the Reviews? Platforms like Amazon and Goodreads won't push your book to the top for no reason. One of the things you can do so that these platforms will get your book to be seen by more people is to collect reviews. That aside, readers also check the reviews and will judge the book accordingly. The books that have no review at all are probably not worth a read, after all, no one even has anything to say about it. What If They Posted a Bad Review? Don't be afraid of bad reviews, because whilst it may hurt you to see a one star review along with a paragraph explaining why your book sucks, a mix of bad and good reviews make your book look more authentic. After all, what book is loved by every reader on Earth? NONE. Look at the review section of your favourite famous books. You'll find plenty of good reviews and lots of bad ones as well. But do the bad ones deter people from loving the book? Nope! Books with all 5 star reviews make people doubt the book because it looks fake, as if the author paid those people for the reviews. Instead, establish trust from readers by having a variety of reviews. Now, how can you get more reviews? The most common and easy way is to ↓ Get ARC Readers:* (ARC: Advance reading copy. Advance review copy, advance reader's edition, advance copy, or a reader's edition is a free copy of a new book given by a publisher to booksellers, librarians, journalists, celebrities, or others, or as a contest or school prize, before the book is printed for mass distribution. ARC readers are those who read these copies.) By getting these ARC readers, you can get their reviews and also generate buzz for your book as more people who read your book mean more people will talk about it. How Can You Get ARC Readers? Similar to alpha and beta readers, you can get them by announcing that you need ARC readers throughout your socials, or from author websites. You can also approach some bookish influencers/reviewers yourself and ask them to be your ARC reader. Of course, do it kindly and respectfully. Check their linktree/website first if they have a form for ARC reading requests. If they don't, you can DM them. Keep your message short, to the point, and don't forget to sum up your book in as few words as possible. Remember also, that you may be rejected and don't take that personally because their schedule just may not allow them to do it. For a higher chance of 'yes sure's, you can stalk them beforehand and see if they seem to like the kind of story your book is or not. Do they get your book for free? Yes. Won't that mean less people will buy your book then? Darling, no. A misconception I've heard from some of my indie author friends is that the more ARC copies you give means the less people will buy your book, which is of course, false. Unless you are living in a secluded space with only 10 people without the ability to interact with the rest of the world, then yeah, if you give 6 free copies you'll only have 4 who buy the book. But there are 7 BILLIONS of us. Giving ARCs will help you spread the news of your book to their friends, family, and in the case of content creators, their followers, who may take interest. Without sending those ARCs, those followers wouldn't know your book exists. Do you know how many ARCs publishing houses usually give? 50-100. Books by a moderately popular author may even have 5,000 ARCs. With that many ARCs, most of Booktok and Bookstagram will be talking about said book. This gets more and more people interested in the book. At this point, it's like an ever growing rolling snowball. You invest a bit in ARC readers and the return will be ever growing! Won't It Be Costly? In the past, yes, Simply because you had to send a physical copy to all your ARC readers. But now, you can simply send them the ebook file. Make Hype Teams When people have an event (like revealing their book covers for the first time), they want everyone to know of it. To do this, they usually assemble a hype team. How do I do it? Simply announce it on your social media or kindly approach some people if you have a specific person you'd love to hype you up. What does the hype team do? Hype you up, of course. This can be in the form of posting about your said event in their social media, or any other way fit for the event. How do you make people interested to join your hype team? Give them treats! Everyone loves free gifts! Examples: Bonus scenes of your novel Merchandise design of your book A shoutout Side story of your novel Excerpts of the book Be Your Own Cheerleader Yes, go and hype yourself up because if you aren't hyping it up, who will? At first, promoting yourself may seem awkward. Not to mention how many people view self promotions as disturbing and annoying, thus making most of us feel apprehensive towards promoting ourselves. While that is true, self promotion will only be annoying if you do it in a boring, self centred way. For example you DM someone something like these: ‘Hello, I just published my book and it'll mean the world to me if you can check it out.’ ‘Hi, I'm a new indie author and I would be really happy if you can help me promote my book!’ ‘Hi, I am Karen and I'm a romance drama writer who just published my debut novel a few weeks ago, can you check it out?’ No one will care if you approach them this way. First of all, who are you? Second of all, what is the book even about? Third of all, I don't even like romance-drama, Karen. Now please don't do self promos like the examples above, it's just annoying. As a content creator who has met with many self promoters before, I always tell my people that self-promoting to me is fine, but don't do it in a boring manner. I would be happy to hype you up anytime BUT—first give me a reason to hype you up. Everyone hates boring self promos. But we encourage creative self promos. Here's what you can do instead: Make fan edits kind of posts and reels about your book Share facts/quotes/excerpts about the book Stalk your ideal readers and genuinely engage with them Hype other people up “MG, just give us a clear way to self promote please, not just prompts like those.” Sure. You can: Upload your book on Goodreads and fill in the quotes section with your awesome quotes. DM @rewritethestarsreview a short info about your book and ask them to include your book in their next issue. Rewrite the Stars Review chooses several indie authors for every issue they publish, then promoting them in the special ‘Authors Spotlight’ section and also throughout their social media. Follow me on Tiktok @melifluousgelatoo.writes and take inspiration from my posts to make your own! (of course, do credit me for the idea) Hype Up Your Old Releases Again: If you're an indie author with multiple books published, do not let your old releases collect dust in the background while you pour all your love to the new releases. You can revisit your published book and hype them up again! How? You can: Publish your old release with a new cover Give discounts or giveaways Make special packages Sell merchandise Publish your old release with a new cover. Notice how famous books tend to have a lot of different covers? Yes, while it helps you hype back up your old release and make another chance for new people to know your book, it can also make your existing fans want to buy it again! Give Discounts and Giveaways: People like discounts and giveaways, and you can also hype your old book up this way. For giveaways, you can give the book itself, or special bonuses. As for discounts, here's some ideas you can use: A certain event special's discount (example: discount in honour of the new years, your birthday, or the date the book is first published.) Discount for the lucky ones who made it in time. Hold a huge discount for only a short moment (say, an hour or two. Or a day.) You can also make it more fun and design some games for it! For example, you can give a riddle related to the book and those who can answer it can get a special discount. Make special packages. If you analyse the marketing techniques of traditionally published authors, you will realise that they often sell special packages. Traditionally published authors usually include merchandise from the book such as bookmarks or art prints.  Some even contain tissues as a sign that you'll definitely be weeping after you read the book! These special packages not only appeal to those who haven't bought the book yet but also to your existing fans. Sell Merchandise: I've been mentioning merchandise very often throughout this blog and that just emphasises the importance of them. What kind of merchandise can you have for your book? Here's a long list ↓ Bookmarks Character art Mugs Phone/laptop wallpaper Scarf Keychain Pins T-shirt Cap/hats Totebag Phone case Page overlay Water bottle And many more! Do You Design the Merch Yourself? You can do it if you want or you can also work together with a graphic designer to bring those merchandise out! This will help a lot especially if you don't have a clear vision of what your merchandise will look like. What About Print and Delivery? Some authors choose to handle all these themselves and if you think you can do it, sure, do it! However, do keep in mind that you will still invest some money even if you decide to do it all alone and also, a lot of effort is needed. Not to mention that it's easy to mess up if you're not familiar with the process. To ease this process, you can have the help of merch-based websites like RedBubble that will provide help on printing and delivery. Some graphic designers (like me), provide a bundle option for you to have us take care of it all (design, printing, & delivery). So you can just get our report and your share of the profit. Of course, you'll still have a say on the progress! How to find these graphic designers? Usually, your book cover designer will have an add on option of merchandise. Other graphic designers and artists who are dwelling in the bookish area are also inclined to accept a merchandise design request. If you would like a recommendation for a graphic designer, check out Prose to Print @prosetoprint on Instagram! It is a bookish merchandise focused business made by authors for authors, and co-owned by me. They sell book related merchandise and also accept merchandise design requests. You can have them help you in the process of printing and delivery and even have your merchandise sold through their website, reaching their existing audience! An additional advantage of them is that they keep their prices affordable for all, making them a very great solution for many self-published authors. The cons are that they have strict rules on what kind of design they're willing to take. They will deny your request if it is considered not safe for work (NSFW) or controversial. So do ensure that you're not making a problematic request! Do Not Rush: Lastly, you have to remember that no one can make a masterpiece overnight. With people pressuring teenagers to succeed faster, writers are pressured to publish their books faster. As a result, too many books waste their potential. Rushing to the end goal is not being efficient in using your time. So stop pressuring yourself so much. Especially for all the teenage writers out there, remember that you don't have to publish your debut novel at 13. You can, of course, if you want. But don't publish a book just because of the pressure. Here’s some advice: Write a lot, learn more, write more. — And after over two thousand words, you've reached the end of this blog. Thank you very much, I hope these tips help and if you want to know more, do read our other blogs! You're also welcome to DM me anytime (@melifluousgelatoo.writes) if you have any questions or things to discuss, or if you just want to be friends with me lol. If you're looking for book cover or merchandise designs then do check out my designing account @mgsdesiigns Love, MG.