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The Rosebud Fast-track Initiative (RFI) offers advantages to authors:
* Approximately 45 day response from date of manuscript receipt
* FOR PROSE PIECES ONLY: An acceptance or rejection notice or, in some instances, an indication why a given piece was not a match for Rosebud, and/or how you might better target future work.
A $1 handling fee (cash or check) must be included with mailed PROSE submissions. (Poetry submissions are without charge) After January 1st, 2001, we will only read prose submissions with a $1 handling fee included.
We must be able to easily contact you by phone, e-mail or regular mail. Fiction and non-fiction submissions must be typed, double-spaced; poetry must be typed, single spaced. The writer's name should be at the top of each page. Only send hardcopy; if your piece is accepted be prepared to send an electronic file by e-mail or on disk. We use The Chicago Manual of Style and Webster's Dictionary (10th Edition) as editorial guides.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN PROSE:
We publish short stories and a very few essays. The ideal length for prose is 1000 to 3000 wds. Send one to three of your strongest pieces. We like good storytelling, real emotion and authentic voice. On rare occasions we publish essays, but we do not publish conventional travel, political, or religious material, sentimentality, “inspirational” essays or nostalgia. Most of the stories we receive read like stories submitted to journals 50 years ago, and often are too generic and predictable to publish. Many start too slow and spend too much time up front telling us what the story is about. Get us interested first, then weave in exposition as you go.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN POETRY:
Send three to five one-page poems representing your best work. IF you send an SASE and sufficient postage we will return the poems. Otherwise, the paper will be recycled. You should be well-read, as much as possible, in contemporary poetry and criticism. Avoid excessive or well-worn abstractions, not to mention cliches. Present a unique and convincing world (you can do this in a few words!) by means of fresh and exact imagery, and by interesting use of syntax. Explore the deep reaches of metaphor. But don't forget to be playful and have fun with words. Never tell the reader what to think.
IF WE PUBLISH…
Rosebud purchases one time rights of original or previously published pieces; this means you are free to sell that same piece to another publication. For stories or articles, Rosebud currently pays a flat fee of $30.00, and three issues. At this point in time, Rosebud pays for poems in issues only: generally three, depending on supply. Aside from compensation, however, the benefit of publishing in Rosebud can be enormous. Your piece will be read across the U.S., Canada, and to some extent, around the world. Literary agents often ask us about writers they have seen in Rosebud, and sometimes we can make connections. A significant number of Rosebud writers later publish collections or novels elsewhere.
For an annotated sample story click here.
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