Main Street Rag's
Novella Series
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These days, many of us suffer from a short attention span. We want everything right away, and we don't want to have to wrap too much time into getting it. We at Main Street Rag think the Novella is the perfect format for busy folks who like their stories fast-paced and quickly digested. So, basically, we think there is a market in today's world for this genre, and we want to be at the forefront of presenting it to readers.
In 2008, we published our first novella, Suzanne Baldwin Leitner's Sessions with a Cheater's Wife. It was a great story, and we liked the format so much that when another of our authors, Rob Boisvert, proposed a short fiction collection that contained one story that was 43,000 words long, we suggested he split it out as a publication by itself. Golgotha by Rob Boisvert will be released in April, 2010.
* * * Novellas published by Main Street Rag (Mint Hill Books imprint) * * *
We like this format because of its accessibility and because it fits the way many of us live our lives. It's the kind of read that can be taken on a plane because it's light and compact. It will keep the reader occupied for the entire flight and can be finished by the time the plane touches down. It's also something we can produce and distribute at a relatively low cost.
From writers' perspectives it fills the niche for those manuscripts that a writer doesn't want to dilute down to the length that fits most literary magazines' guidelines. It doesn't need to be bulked up with filler to fit someone's definition of a novel. It is a complete story unto itself, but because of its length, it's difficult to place with a publisher. Around here, that spells opportunity.
Guidelines
1) Reading Period. ***NEW*** We will accept manuscripts for consideration between May 1 and July 15. Report time: before the end of September.
2) Number of Submissions. Authors may submit ONE manuscript per reading period. Even if we report before the deadline, we will only read one submission per author per reading period.
3) How to Send. Novella submissions are EMAIL ONLY. Manuscripts need to be sent as a single WORD file or .RTF attachment (formatted for PC) to: editor@mainstreetrag.com.
4) Length. Between 30,000 and 50,000 words. These are FIRM number. It has to do with the price we can put on a finished product and what the market will bear in regard to sales. We realize there are a lot of very good stories that are slightly longer and even more that are slightly shorter and wish we could accommodate everyone, but we can't.
5) Contents/Subject. It doesn't matter. Tell us a story. Tell it well. Make it character driven and cohesive.
6) Presentation. Type should be 11pt or 12 pt (Times New Roman preferred), double space or space-and-a-half--no single space, please.
7) Report. Obviously, since this is email submission only, we will report via email. As per guideline #1, we will make our selections and report by the end of September.
If you have any questions in regard to this or any other opportunities at Main Street Rag, please don't hesitate to contact us. Contact information is at the top of this page.
The Algebra of Snow by Ginger Moran (2012)Airboat by Dennis F. Bormann (2011)
Atlanta by Loreen Niewenhuis (2011)
Attorney at Large by Gaynell Gavin (2012)
The Dying Horse by Jason Jordan (2012)
Fall of the Rock Dove by A. Rooney
The Hands of Strangers by Michael F. Smith (2011)
Instructions for Living by Laurie Blauner (2011)
The Masked Demon by Mark Spencer (2012)
The Mimic's Own Voice by Tom Williams (2011)
My Father's House by Ben Tanzer (2011)
nothing or next to nothing by Barry Graham (2011)
A Prayer to Saint Jude by Vicki Salloum (2012)
The Radiance of Fossils by Pat Carr
The Restaurant at the End of the World by Kenneth Womack (2012)
Seafood Jesus by Julie E. Townsend (2011)
Three Cubic Feet by Lania Knight (2012)
The War of the Crazies by John Oliver Hodges (2011)
Wicked Hill by Ed Sams