June 9th, 2015
_______________________________________________________________________________________
In case you guys were wondering about the latest developments of CTS' Next Anthology which will feature my work "Polaroid Memories," They sent me an email regarding setbacks that they faced. Instead of it being slated for Winter 2015, they have push it back to the Spring 2015 Anthology.
Take a look:
Dear Chris,
We wanted to contact you with an update regarding your work in our CTS Anthology. Unfortunately, we've faced some serious delays in the production of our latest print edition, but we wanted you to know that we do still intend to publish the book. Due to the delays, we intend to release the anthology under the title "Spring 2015" as opposed to "Winter 2015." We will email you the week of June 22 with digital proof copies of your work within the anthology for your review.
We apologize for the delay and any inconvenience.
Best regards,
Crack the Spine
Never Fear, it is still coming out!
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March 4th, 2015:
So on March 4th, I received some very exciting news about a phenomenal venue that once represented my work through an online format. Furthermore, I'm very elated to announce that Crack the Spine will be including me in their Quarterly Anthology for their 2015 winter issue. As the email states, they will also be nominating selected works in this anthology which includes the pushcart prize and the Houghton Miffian's "best of" Anthologies.
I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for this honor. No, it isn't the New Yorker (such a lucrative publication would be very difficult to come by anyway) or Poetry magazine, or even the Atlantic, and it probably won't drastically alter my writing career. but it does mark the first time my work will be available for purchase through a retailer. (amazon.com)
in fact, this year and a half has marked a whole bunch of firsts in my life. Not only that, but prior to 2013, I was an unpublished author who had been getting rejection notices almost chronically. Submitting at the tender age of 17 in 2009. at one point I thought I was a horrific writer, that I wasn't good enough to improve, that my writing ability just wasn't up to snuff with the rest of the community. I would look up the best poets and wonder if my work ever stood a chance. Even today i look at my work and say "What kind of trash is this?" and I arrogantly submit it in hopes that some journal will proudly accept my work. I mean this sincerely when I state this, but felt like I would never improve as a writer or even get one publication anywhere. My main objective was to always improve as a writer, to write with my heart and hope that I can contribute beautiful language to this world.
it's been a tumultuous year and a half, so very many ups and downs and I''m so very thankful for this gift that was given to me. (publication.) I'm thankful for Burningword, The Commonline Journal, and of course, Crack the Spine for taking a risk on a writer like me and choosing to publish my work. They didn't have to, and in fact, these pieces that you may find in those periodicals, have been rejected by other places as well, but hey, i'm very happy. I don't know where my writing journey will take me from here...but I hope that whatever I continue to do, I continue to write with that same fire and quality as I have before...and most impotantly, improve. I still didn't think even the pieces that were published at times were good enough, or quality pieces, but you know what, thats okay. because i want to improve with each piece of writing.
peace out.
- Chris Ozog
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Dear Chris,
We've sorted through hundreds of submissions over the past few months and of those, only a small percentage was selected for digital publication. Now, we've narrowed the field a bit further and selected the pieces we would like to include in our Winter 2015 print anthology. Your piece "Polaroid Memories" has been selected for publication in this Crack the Spine anthology! This print anthology will be available for purchase on Amazon.com. As a part of our anthology, your work may also be submitted for consideration for various awards nominations including the Pushcart Prize and Houghton Mifflin's "Best of" Anthologies.
Please respond to this email and let us know if you are willing to allow inclusion of your work in our anthology. If so, we simply need another confirmation (via submittable or direct email to [email protected]) stating that you accept our terms of publication found below. Also, include an updated bio (please keep it brief and note that any email or URL information will not be included in our print edition bios!)
Also, consider visiting our website to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on Twitter @CrackTheSpine.
Thank you again for submitting to Crack the Spine!
Best regards,
Kerri Farrell Foley
Crack the Spine
http://www.crackthespine.com
_______________________________________________________________________________________
In case you guys were wondering about the latest developments of CTS' Next Anthology which will feature my work "Polaroid Memories," They sent me an email regarding setbacks that they faced. Instead of it being slated for Winter 2015, they have push it back to the Spring 2015 Anthology.
Take a look:
Dear Chris,
We wanted to contact you with an update regarding your work in our CTS Anthology. Unfortunately, we've faced some serious delays in the production of our latest print edition, but we wanted you to know that we do still intend to publish the book. Due to the delays, we intend to release the anthology under the title "Spring 2015" as opposed to "Winter 2015." We will email you the week of June 22 with digital proof copies of your work within the anthology for your review.
We apologize for the delay and any inconvenience.
Best regards,
Crack the Spine
Never Fear, it is still coming out!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 4th, 2015:
So on March 4th, I received some very exciting news about a phenomenal venue that once represented my work through an online format. Furthermore, I'm very elated to announce that Crack the Spine will be including me in their Quarterly Anthology for their 2015 winter issue. As the email states, they will also be nominating selected works in this anthology which includes the pushcart prize and the Houghton Miffian's "best of" Anthologies.
I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for this honor. No, it isn't the New Yorker (such a lucrative publication would be very difficult to come by anyway) or Poetry magazine, or even the Atlantic, and it probably won't drastically alter my writing career. but it does mark the first time my work will be available for purchase through a retailer. (amazon.com)
in fact, this year and a half has marked a whole bunch of firsts in my life. Not only that, but prior to 2013, I was an unpublished author who had been getting rejection notices almost chronically. Submitting at the tender age of 17 in 2009. at one point I thought I was a horrific writer, that I wasn't good enough to improve, that my writing ability just wasn't up to snuff with the rest of the community. I would look up the best poets and wonder if my work ever stood a chance. Even today i look at my work and say "What kind of trash is this?" and I arrogantly submit it in hopes that some journal will proudly accept my work. I mean this sincerely when I state this, but felt like I would never improve as a writer or even get one publication anywhere. My main objective was to always improve as a writer, to write with my heart and hope that I can contribute beautiful language to this world.
it's been a tumultuous year and a half, so very many ups and downs and I''m so very thankful for this gift that was given to me. (publication.) I'm thankful for Burningword, The Commonline Journal, and of course, Crack the Spine for taking a risk on a writer like me and choosing to publish my work. They didn't have to, and in fact, these pieces that you may find in those periodicals, have been rejected by other places as well, but hey, i'm very happy. I don't know where my writing journey will take me from here...but I hope that whatever I continue to do, I continue to write with that same fire and quality as I have before...and most impotantly, improve. I still didn't think even the pieces that were published at times were good enough, or quality pieces, but you know what, thats okay. because i want to improve with each piece of writing.
peace out.
- Chris Ozog
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Chris,
We've sorted through hundreds of submissions over the past few months and of those, only a small percentage was selected for digital publication. Now, we've narrowed the field a bit further and selected the pieces we would like to include in our Winter 2015 print anthology. Your piece "Polaroid Memories" has been selected for publication in this Crack the Spine anthology! This print anthology will be available for purchase on Amazon.com. As a part of our anthology, your work may also be submitted for consideration for various awards nominations including the Pushcart Prize and Houghton Mifflin's "Best of" Anthologies.
Please respond to this email and let us know if you are willing to allow inclusion of your work in our anthology. If so, we simply need another confirmation (via submittable or direct email to [email protected]) stating that you accept our terms of publication found below. Also, include an updated bio (please keep it brief and note that any email or URL information will not be included in our print edition bios!)
Also, consider visiting our website to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and follow us on Twitter @CrackTheSpine.
Thank you again for submitting to Crack the Spine!
Best regards,
Kerri Farrell Foley
Crack the Spine
http://www.crackthespine.com