We are closed until July 1, 2023 for SUBMISSIONS.
GDL is moving to a quarterly publication schedule and will open for submissions in January (March Issue), April (June Issue), July (September Issue), and October (December Issue).
WOMEN WRITERS - SHORT STORY & MEMOIR OPEN SUBMISSIONS Want to get published? CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE. PLEASE.
Grande Dame Literary is for WOMEN WRITERS of any age and their VIBRANT VOICES. There is a Grande Dame in every woman, and we are women writers/editors who support women writers. We do not define age, nor should you. If you like our posts and feel your voice is a good fit, send us a piece. Empowering and encouraging women writers is of utmost importance. Your vibrant voice is the greatest asset to your writing and Grande Dame Literary accepts work based on the strength of the story, the solid arc of characters, and potential appeal to our readers.
We used to say the greatest reason for declines was due to formatting. After a year of posts, the greatest reason for declines has become story and character arcs that need a tweak. Having your work read by someone else, paid or free, can be the greatest boost to helping you get published. Check out our suggestions about how to make your story and characters make it to the pages of Grande Dame Literary or any other magazine.
- WE ARE ENCOURAGING ALL WRITERS TO GET CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK FROM US, FELLOW WRITERS, CRITIQUE GROUPS, WORKSHOPS, OR OTHER PAID SERVICES BEFORE HITTING THE SUBMIT BUTTON
- Sign up for the Grande Dame Literary Newsletter
SUBMISSION PERIOD:
Quarterly Publication Schedule.
OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS: January, April, July, and October.
Short Stories, Memoir and Poetry.
Editing Services are always available.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK IS NOT ACCEPTED
ACCEPTED MEANS YOU WILL GET NOTIFIED AS TO WHICH ISSUE YOUR WORK WILL APPEAR IN
DECLINED YOU MAY OPT FOR FEEDBACK AS TO WHY YOUR WORK WAS DECLINED AND YOU MAY RESUBMIT AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE
RIGHTS We ask for first serial rights and archival rights. After publication, all rights revert to the author.
ACCEPTED GENRES:
literary chick-lit, upmarket women's contemporary, comedy, dramedy, rom-com, romance, drama, magical realism, humorous scary stuff like mystery, suspense, thriller, murder, we relish a good twist
FICTION GUIDELINES:
- 1500-3000 WORDS
MEMOIR GUIDELINES:
- 750-3000 WORDS
- Must be written in the style of a short story.
POETRY GUIDELINES
- 2 POEMS (EACH POEM MAY NOT EXCEED ONE PAGE)
- See fiction guidelines above for specifics
- 50 WORD BIO ON A THIRD PAGE URL ONLY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, NO EMAIL, PHONE, OR HANDLES
FORMATTING AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- 12PT TIMES NEW ROMAN, DOUBLE-SPACED, 1' MARGINS
- KEEP TITLES SHORT
- NOTIFY WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 60-90 DAYS
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS ARE ACCEPTED
- 50 WORD BIO AT END OF LAST PAGE URL ONLY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, NO EMAIL, PHONE, OR HANDLES
- SEND CLEAN DOCUMENTS, WE DO NOT ALLOW FOR CHANGES, NOR DO WE MAKE ANY CHANGES.
DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER:
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR TOPIC, PLEASE EMAIL US. DO NOT ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE IT IS DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER THAT WE WILL NOT CONSIDER IT. WE ARE OPEN TO ACCEPTING DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER AS LONG AS IT ADHERES TO OUR ACCEPTED GENRES.
HOWEVER, WE DO NOT ACCEPT MATERIAL THAT IS DISCRIMINATORY OR PROMOTES DIVISION. MATERIAL MEANT TO INCITE OR PROVOKE IS NOT ACCEPTED.
GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF ABUSE OR ABUSERS IS NOT ACCEPTED. PERIOD.
Marketing your book takes time.
Grande Dame Literary is pleased to offer you an additional marketing platform for your book.
Over 1300 unique views are logged almost every month and that is not including the hundreds of return viewers. The average viewer spends twelve minutes reading and searching out new information. That's a lot of eyeballs checking out your book. The more visibility your book has, the greater the chances of it leading to a sale. And if you are publishing, it is all about getting readers on board to want to read your book.
New Listings that come in before the 15th of the month, post in the first week of the following month.
EXCEPTION: Listings that come in before the 10th of February will post within a few days of being sent.
We offer two options:
OPTION 1 (FRONT COVER & LINK) FRONT COVER & LINK TO PURCHASING PAGE OR AUTHOR'S WEBSITE
COST OPTION 1 $59.95
OPTION 2 (FRONT COVER, EXCERPT, BIO & LINKS) FRONT COVER, 1000 WORD COUNT EXCERPT, AND LINKS TO PURCHASING PAGE, AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, AND SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
COST OPTION 2 $79.95
ALL LINKS MUST BE IN THE FORMAT OF HTTPS://WWW. AND THE URL.
NO HANDLES WILL BE PRINTED.
*AFTER SUBMITTING THE FORM AND UPLOADING YOUR FRONT COVER AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INVOICE FROM GDL, LLC / PAYPAL.
Feedback, or lack of it, might be what is standing between you and an acceptance letter.
THESE SERVICES ARE FOR SHORT STORIES AND MEMOIRS ONLY. PLEASE NOTE, OTHER THAN THE REVIEW, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF PUBLICATION ON GRANDE DAME, BUT WE HELP AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE THE BEST WRITER YOU CAN BE AND WORK WITH YOU TO READY YOUR WRITING FOR PUBLICATION
Word count limits are up to 3K and up to 5K
DEEP FEED FEEDBACK $25-50
- DEEP FEED FEEDBACK -
- A ONE PAGE OVERVIEW OF YOUR SHORT STORY OR MEMOIR WITH SPECIFIED EXAMPLES OF HOW TO TWEAK IT FOR SUBMISSION
EDITORIAL CRITIQUE $40-80
- EDITORIAL CRITIQUE - TWO FULL PAGES -
- A DETAILED ASSESSMENT WITH EXAMPLES, WRITING TIPS, AND REFERENCES TO MOVE YOUR WORK TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WE COMBINE TOUCHES OF A DEVELOPMENTAL/LINE/COPY EDIT TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO REVISE YOUR STORY OR MEMOIR AND PERFECT IT FOR PUBLICATION
DEVELOPMENTAL EDIT $125-250
- THE DEEPEST FEEDBACK IS A DEVELOPMENTAL ONE.
- WE GO THROUGH YOUR WORK WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB AND OFFER DIRECT INLINE COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, AND EXAMPLES. A FEW EXAMPLES OF LINE EDITING ARE PROVIDED IN ADDITION TO THE DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW.