Newest best seller for S. Lewis

Sharing over two decades of writing and publishing knowledge, which includes tips on tackling your life story, and step-by-step guidance on every aspect of compiling a manuscript for publication or legacy. It also includes writing prompts and 365 days of morning pages to help you work your writing muscles. This is the fledgling writers guide for all things pertaining to writing and publication. Perfect for first time solo projects, workshops, writing or critique classes, elderly/VFW/DAV groups and any other individuals interested in recording their life story. An absolute must for writers considering publication.
Order by clicking HERE

 

A Tiny Spotlight

 

The owner of Proper Publishing has battled extensive health issues over the last ten years, with multiple surgeries, and an enormous amount of medication taken daily just to keep her barely functioning. 

It's safe to say we were all concerned with the increase in the time she was spending in hospitals and convalescing.

We're proud to say she has her health back, finally, and is slowly tapering off the ridiculous amount of medication she has been prescribed over the years.

Mrs. Lewis is beyond important to all of us and although she demands the spotlight remain on the authors, we feel it's imperative we acknowledge the strides she's made by showcasing a sister site. Again, she has tried to keep it separate from her job but leave it to us to sneak a tiny spotlight onto her...and pray we don't get fired when she finds out. She's trying to help others who struggle the way she did for so long. How can we not help this woman?

Please visit the site, request her on Facebook, ask her questions, get information from her... and show her the love she so readily heaps on everyone else. Thank you so much, in advance, for helping us give back to this very humble woman who has dedicated her life to giving to everyone else. 

Click HERE to go to Mrs. Lewis' site.
And thank you for helping us, again.

-The Proper People

Contributor's copies mailed

All of the contributor's copies were mailed off yesterday, INCLUDING the copies which will be flown overseas to Spain, the Philippines, the UK, Korea, and Austrailia. 
We are all so proud of the first edition of Minnie's Diary and hope you fall in love with it, too.
If you happen to post videos or photos on Facebook after receiving your copy, please tag Proper Publishing so we can celebrate with you.  

 

Minnie's Diary -- A Southern Literary Review

     The bulk order has been sent to the printer and we should be mailing out books the first week of October, right on schedule. If you are interested in ordering extra copies for loved ones, Minnie's Diary has just now been made available for purchase HERE on Amazon.

     Thank you to everyone who submitted and has made Issue #1 a beautifully powerful tribute to silent sufferers everywhere. 

      You are not alone.

Selected works for Minnie's Diary-Issue I

     A huge congratulation's to everyone who was selected by the judges. The work is stunning and we are thrilled to have you all be part of the inaugural issue. We have refrained from listing the names of writers, as we have only just sent out notifications. The names of the pieces are below...in no particular order. Also, the pieces selected to be nominated for a Pushcart have also been indicated.

"Where you end and Where I begin"
"Blender" & "Place of Flat Water" (Pushcart)
"Dear John" & "In the Hospital"
"The Bully" & "Gareth"
"Not your Slave Master"
"Watch your Back"
"Understanding Intimacy"
"How the Story Goes", "Drowning Double" & 
"Naming Mother Bi-Polar" (Pushcart)
"A History of Deaths"
"Tinnitus" & "Marriage"
"Even a Little"
"Fine"
"The Market Rules Us All"
"Packed"
"Havana Soil", "Under the Sun" & "Little People" (Pushcart)
"Waves"
"A Fashion Statement" & "The Granny Gene"
"Too Early Transition"
"Drowned Relief"
"Chicken"
"Slices of Secrets"
"I Went to the City Today"
"Nobody Knows Anyone" & "Slammed Doors"
"My Father Taught Me Three Rules To Live By", 
"My Father Speaks After Too Much To Drink or Tuesday" 
& "The Knowledge of a Rainbow" (Pushcart)
"Phantom Limbs", "Second Selves" & 
"Prescription" (Pushcart)
"The Burning Question"
"Watching, to know Love" & "The Cutting"
"The Cult Follower" (Pushcart)

Notifications

All notifications have gone out. 
Please check your spam/junk folders and watch your mailboxes.
Thank you for submitting such amazing work.
A list of pieces to be included in the first issue of Minnie's Diary will be posted next week.

Notifications starting to go out

Notifications will begin going out today.
Thank you for your patience and thank you to everyone who submitted entries.

The judges, editors and owner of Proper Publishing, Mrs. Lewis, have all been shocked at the quality of work sent in and although we would love to include every piece, we must adhere to the strictest of content guidelines, which we feel is the best way to honor Minnie Hatfield's life.

If your work did not get accepted, please understand it is NOT a reflection of your writing abilities. We encourage you to submit different work to Minnie's Diary when it is time for Issue II. Every piece we read was truly stunning.

  Minnie Hatfield 1942-1994   

Judging is underway

     Minnie's Diary is no longer accepting submissions for its inaugural issue. It would be impossible to nail down Minnie's Diary's writers/readership to one country. Entries have come from Spain, North Korea, UK, Egypt and the Philippines. We had pieces submitted from all over the United States...Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado and the list could go on. Minnie would, no doubt, be shocked.

     Dr. Nalley and Dr. Downes will be reading your submissions over the next few weeks. As they work their way through poems, short stories and essays, we will be sending out notifications and feedback. 

     We will do our best to get this anthology out well before Christmas. What better gift to give our contributors than the opportunity to share their work with friends and loved ones for the holidays?

Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review...deadline in one week

Only one week left to submit to Minnie's Diary. Guidelines follow:

April 1 through May 1, Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review invites submissions. No submission fee and final decision will be made within eight weeks of the cut off date.
Submit only previously unpublished works. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us promptly if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

Multiple submissions of the same genre are not accepted and will not be read or responded to. One submission per genre may be entered. Please wait until you receive a response from us before submitting again.

Stories and essays should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated, with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the first page, title on subsequent pages. We are unable to read submissions of more than 5,000 words.

Poems (up to 3 per submission) should be typed with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address in the header on each page.

Email is our preferred method of submission, though we do accept postal submissions. Before submitting, make sure you paste your intended piece(s) and cover letter into a single .rtf or .doc document, and attach that document to your submission email.

Submit all email entries, subject heading Minnie's Diary, to:
minniesdiary@yahoo.com

Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review will announce its release near the end of 2018 and will feature work associated with the unspoken realities of life.

All writers who have their piece/pieces accepted will receive one complimentary copy of the anthology which contains their printed work.

Postal Submission

Minnie's Diary prefers that you email your submissions. But if you need to submit via post, please note the following:
Specify genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) on the outside of your envelope and send submissions addressed to Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry respectively. Submissions without a genre indicated on the envelope will be delayed in their processing.
Enclose a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope with your submission. We cannot respond to postal submissions without an SASE. Manuscripts will not be returned, and Minnie's Diary cannot be held liable for lost or damaged manuscripts. If you are submitting from outside the U.S., please submit via email.
Mail to:
Minnie's Diary
(genre)
P.O.Box 634
Cantonment, FL 32533

Our Second Guest Judge...

     Again, because we are demanding quality for our publication, we must bring in individuals with education, talent and drive the likes of which most of us only dream.

     Dr. Downes had to be one of the judges, and we all held our breath until he agreed. We are beyond proud to have him as a guest judge. His life speaks to Minnie's Diary:
 
    Dr. Brent T Downes is a multiple award-winning community development facilitator, educator, and author. Proudly born and raised in Brisbane, QLD Australia he has over ten years of experience working with disadvantaged, marginalized, oppressed and vulnerable groups.

     He has extensive experience and passion for connecting all forms of art and creative expression to social change and is profoundly interested in the possibilities that storytelling, theatre, and other art-forms offer to heal, reconcile and transform individuals, communities and societies.

    He has multiple publishing credits across various mediums and is an award-winning vocational and higher-education educator. He currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal where he is engaged in humanitarian aid, capacity and community development.

Our First Guest Judge...

    You've probably been wondering who will be reading your entries.

     Minnie's Diary will be publishing only the best work, so it stands to reason that we will bring in some serious literary experience to choose pieces for our first publication. We are so honored to have the expertise of Dr. Nalley for our first release.

     Dr. Donna B. Nalley has served as the Director of the English Program at South University Online since 2012 and has taught at the school as an assistant professor since 2008. Prior teaching experience included visiting professorships at Winthrop University and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Additionally, she served as the Director of Publications for the SERVE Center, an education research organization at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There, she managed a group of writers, editors, and graphic designers and published books, magazines, websites, and other materials, disseminating information on education research. Dr. Nalley earned her BA and MA in English from The University of North Carolina-Charlotte and her PhD in American literature from The University of South Carolina, where her dissertation focused on the symbol of the ruined garden in the American novel.      
     Dr. Nalley has published and presented in the areas of literature, writing, and education. Recent presentations include talks on first-year composition strategies, learning dynamics in the online classroom, working with at-risk students, and applications of belonging and growth mindset theory. Dr. Nalley resides in Florida with her children, where she enjoys reading, creative writing, and photography.

What are we looking for?

"work associated with the unspoken realities of life."

What does that mean?

Everyday life involves events that are never addressed, not once spoken of to friends, family, spouses. Those events taint the soil of our soul, yet we never speak of them. Maybe out of shame or regret. Maybe it's rage or just pure survival that keeps the words locked away. We hear about it. We see it. We endure it. But for some reason...we've never told.

Teacher, taunted by the student body for being gay, commits suicide.
High school country boys, slapping girls asses as they walk by.
The nice neighbor, wound up in jail for beating his wife to death.
Uncle Joe, the cross-burning racist who goes to monthly "meetings".
Handsome youth minister, whose son smokes pot and bullies all the fat kids.
Small town mayor, hand-shaker, everyone's friend, goes home and molests his little girl.

It is there and it has always been there. Women lowered their voices and whispered such things because they were evil. They were monstrous.

THAT is what goes in Minnie's Diary. All of the things that actually happen in our world, but are never discussed and rarely discovered until it's too late.

Put YOUR entry in Minnie's Diary.

Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review

April 1 through May 1, Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review invites submissions. There is no submission fee and final decision will be made within eight weeks of the cut off date.
Submit only previously unpublished works. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us promptly if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

Multiple submissions of the same genre are not accepted and will not be read or responded to. One submission per genre may be entered. Please wait until you receive a response from us before submitting again.

Stories and essays should be typed, double-spaced, and paginated, with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the first page, title on subsequent pages. We are unable to read submissions of more than 5,000 words.

Poems (up to 3 per submission) should be typed with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address in the header on each page.

Email is our preferred method of submission, though we do accept postal submissions. Before submitting, make sure you paste your intended piece(s) and cover letter into a single .rtf or .doc document, and attach that document to your submission email.

Submit all email entries, subject heading Minnie's Diary, to:
minniesdiary@yahoo.com

Minnie's Diary - A Southern Literary Review will announce its release near the end of 2018 and will feature work associated with the unspoken realities of life.

All writers who have their piece/pieces accepted will receive one complimentary copy of the anthology which contains their printed work.

Postal Submission

Minnie's Diary prefers that you email your submissions. But if you need to submit via post, please note the following:
Specify genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) on the outside of your envelope and send submissions addressed to Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry respectively. Submissions without a genre indicated on the envelope will be delayed in their processing.
Enclose a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope with your submission. We cannot respond to postal submissions without an SASE. Manuscripts will not be returned, and Minnie's Diary cannot be held liable for lost or damaged manuscripts. If you are submitting from outside the U.S., please submit via email.
Mail to:
Minnie's Diary
(genre)
P.O.Box 634
Cantonment, FL 32533