60 Comments

5. Landed with a belly laugh

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Definitely expect an email from me. Expect cutthroat kindness and gratitude.

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It didn't land but the last line did.

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Feb 9Liked by Benjamin Davis

I laughed out loud at the Internet joke ;-)

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author

Hell yeah. Thank you for telling me.

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Feb 5Liked by Benjamin Davis

A book I like to refer to is The Poet's Companion by Kim Addonizio & Dorianne Laux, two excellent poets.

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author

oh excellent! I will check those out

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Feb 3Liked by Benjamin Davis

thanks for running this course. i'm looking forward to it!

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author

Happy to. And welcome!

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

I'm revising a memoir, and as I'm cutting parts, it seems smart to consider building them out and trying to place them elsewhere. NOT a trained creative writer, so so much at that end of writing is new (and hard and sometimes overwhelming and lonely). So my deep gratitude for the smarts, pragmatics, friendliness, and yes, the jokes (loved 'em, htg). Truly.

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author

Yay! Oh good. Hahah there are plenty more coming. I think my partner might be getting annoyed with me as I keep asking, "So is this one funny? OK, how about this new one?"

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

Thank goodness! I have been overwhelmed in my ADD brain with cobbling all of these bits together and it has put a complete halt on my writing. This will be sooooo helpful!

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author

Yay! I will do my best. And the floor is open for questions all the way through so even if I miss something in a lesson, I won't leave you hanging.

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

I was trying to subscribe and got this message from my bank: "Chase Fraud: We declined your card at WRITE OR DIE." Well, when they put it that way...LMAO. (All good now.)

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author

Hahah oh no! Damn Substack/Stripe. Also we just launched this so maybe they're like, "Hey, who tf is this?"

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

Hi! I don’t know if I’m missing something or if it’s brain fog, but I can’t figure out how to register for this workshop. Is there a specific link? Thanks!

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author

Ah! Sorry about that. If you go here: https://writeordie101.substack.com/ and you're subscribed already to the newsletter, then this course will be coming for free. Starts Monday. Just click the free option when you sign up if you don't want to become a paid subscriber.

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Ben, I hope whoever advised you that your jokes wouldn’t land read all of these comments and realized they were so, so wrong. I hope that after that you gave them a smug smile and a big EFF YOU!

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#5 landed. I laughed out loud and startled the dog. So, I like you. TBD on the dog.

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Thanks for doing this! I spent 2023 with a goal to write one short story a month (minus a few months where I dealt with personal stuff) and I'm trying to work up the nerve to submit my work since frankly it's getting out of hand. Very excited for this!

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author

haha I know the feeling. I will cover a LOT and will have every lesson open for questions so no matter what, I think it should help.

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

Ben, you've put together an awesomely comprehensive course here. This time last year, I was almost a complete beginner submitter to lit mags. Now I'm 57 submissions along with 15 acceptances & who knows how many rejections (I'd rather not do that math), & I feel like I have even more questions than when I was a newbie. Methinks you might actually be able to answer some of them - AND make me laugh along the way. WIn-win, in my books!

PS: Glad I'm not "lost", for once. PPS: the more I look at the word "titling", the funnier it gets.

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author

Haha yes. Gosh, I know what you mean. Years after I began submitting I was still confused about so many things. I think I've got most of it now though, and I'll have an open door policy for questions so keep them coming throughout.

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Feb 3·edited Feb 3

Great! One thing I AM confused about is whether I'm actually subscribed to this course yet. I'm a paid subscriber of Sub Club. Do I also have to sign up for "Write or Die" or can I just click somewhere to do this course (for starters)? There are "Subscribe" "sign-up" buttons everywhere - it's a bit confusing. Also, is the course just delivered by email to my in-box every second day?

UPDATE: You say this course is free - how do people access all lessons for free? I just signed up as a free subscriber to Write or Die - but trying to figure out how it can all be free, like you say? (PS: I'm sorry, but for the moment I've reached my limit with paid subscriptions / workshop / submission fees.)

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author

Ah so it will start Monday (02/01) and go through March 1st. It will arrive as lessons in your email with interactions here. The whole month will be free. When you subscribe, the option all the way to the right says, "Free" and that's the option you want.

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Feb 3Liked by Benjamin Davis

So I've "free subscribed" to Write or Die 101. Is that what you mean (above) & is that all I have to do? :) ps: I also shared your course with a few of my writer buddies.

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author

Yay! Thank you. And yep, that is all you have to do. I am going to send out an email soon to go over how it will all work.

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Feb 4Liked by Benjamin Davis

Thanks, Ben. All clear now! And another friend, Lori, is joining in. PS: Have you thought of throwing a quick announcement post up on Medium? My sense from writing there (and publishing my own stuff about lit journals) is that there's a fairly large pool of writers new to submitting, or curious / unsure/ needing guidance about the lit journal landscape.

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So, I am new to substack and have no idea if I am subscribed or how to sign up for this, but I’ve gone a few rounds with both submitting to lit mags (which I didn’t know were even a thing until 2019) and trying to keep track of my sh@t, and I want to punch myself and lit mags in the face. help!

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author

Hey, if you've subscribed to the newsletter, you're all signed up. The first lesson should appear monday. If it doesn't let me know and I'll sort it.

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Feb 1Liked by Benjamin Davis

This is so amazing. I've been "researching" how to submit my weird little poems and stories for years, but I never end up submitting anything because it still just feels overwhelming and unclear. This is exactly what I need— the details, the answers to the unanswered questions, the stuff I didn't even know to ask. Thank you. Also, definitely keep the jokes coming.

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author

I'm glad! I definitely will have answers to questions you haven't thought of...cause I've obsessed over this way too much. And if you do think of them as we go along, always ask. I'll be responding to all questions along the way.

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Feb 2Liked by Benjamin Davis

Thank you! Will this be the best place to ask questions (in the comments of a post)?

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author

yup! and i'll have discussion questions for each post

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Jan 31Liked by Benjamin Davis

5 - Joke landed. You're good.

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author

haha hell yeah. Thank you

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