[Electric Speed] Most popular resources of 2021

A note from Jane

Last month, I began an extensive online search to buy a menorah, a mission that was destined to fail.

I was looking for a specific piece that lives in my childhood memory: a brass menorah that my father placed on the mantelpiece every year, feet away from our Christmas tree. By the time I came along, late in his life, he was not an observant Jew except for this single gesture (unless you count the matzo ever-present in the cupboard).

The menorah was severe and brutalist in design, especially next to the technicolor Christmas decorations. Or, to a child’s eye, it was ugly-ancient. I didn’t know what it represented, or perhaps my dad explained it to me and I didn’t pay attention.

He died when I was twelve, and my parents were separated by that time. My mom and I visited his house to collect a few things, and I had the opportunity to carry away anything I wanted, but I felt blank looking at it all. (I did take away his type case, though.)

Decades later, I still think about that menorah and how much I would like to light it. Finally, this year, I found a menorah just similar enough on eBay, but on the verge of clicking "buy," I stopped. It was too different. Or maybe I’d simply know it was different.

After reading about the phenomenon of "ambiguous loss"—where closure is not really possible—I think it’s an apt description of where I am.

You have a polished essay, short story, or poem, and you are ready to share it with the world. But where, and how? Getting published in a literary journal isn’t a matter of chance or luck—it’s a process. In this 90-minute class taught by Andrea Firth, you will learn the steps to follow and the tools and resources to help you submit work and get it accepted in literary journals. Plus, you will gain the motivation and encouragement to start, get unstuck, and publish more often. We will create a clear and manageable plan to follow and introduce you to a range of potential, new literary outlets for your writing.

In the last issue, I asked you to tell me about self-service publicity or PR platforms you use. Unfortunately, I received no suggestions! So I’m presenting tools I know about.

PodMatch: Find podcasts where you might be a guest
HARO: Help a reporter out. This one has been around for as long as I can remember, but its volume can be hard to keep up with.
Qwoted: A newer version of HARO
SourceBottle: Ditto above
ProfNet: A matchmaking site for experts/professors and journalists that will cost you
Muck Rack: a paid service to help you research journalists
BuzzSumo: to find influencers to partner with
Finally, on Twitter, follow #journorequests

Next question: Your favorite Instagram accounts—go! (But don’t recommend your own, please.) Hit reply to this email or share on Discord.

Dec. 29: Get Published in Literary Journals with Andrea Firth
Jan. 6: How to Get Published: Land a Book Deal in 2022 with Jane Friedman
Jan. 7: Writing Irresistible Picture Books with Mary Kole
Jan. 12: This Is the Year You’ll Finish Your Book with Allison K Williams
Jan. 20: Book Publicity 101 with Barbara Linn Probst
Jan. 28: How Memoirs Resonate with Dinty W. Moore
Feb. 9: Write Your Novel from the Middle with James Scott Bell
March 3: Finding and Working with the Right Literary Agent with Howard Yoon

[Electric Speed] Most popular resources of 2021

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