Writer’s Guidelines
General Information: This anthology of true stories about people with disabilities and their service dogs is meant to inspire, inform, entertain, and educate the reading public. Writings included in the book will be creative, unique, well-crafted, purposeful, clear, and accurate to the realistic experiences that arise in the partnership between people with disabilities and their service dogs. Consider this an opportunity to reach disabled and nondisabled readers with writings that will make a difference in their lives.
Submission Method: We greatly prefer that you submit your writing using the online Submission Form. If necessary, you may choose to mail your typed submission to the address below:
Kathy Nimmer
PO Box 3075
West Lafayette, IN 47996
Restrictions: We cannot accept file attachments of any kind. Please copy and paste (or type) your submission into the designated field on the Submission Form. Submit only one writing per Submission Form. If you are mailing your submission, it must be typed and double-spaced in plain black font. No handwritten submissions can be accepted.
Required Information: All required fields on the submission form must be completed. These include your first and last name, your mailing address, your phone number, your email address, the writing category of your submission (see below), the title of your submission, word or line count, school where you obtained the service dog in your submission, and general description of your disability (if applicable). If you are mailing your submission be sure that all of this information is typed on the first page of your piece.
Point of View: First-person, second-person, or third-person; your choice.
Genre: Nonfiction stories (1,000 words maximum), nonfiction anecdotes (200 words maximum), tributes to individual dogs (200 words maximum), or poetry (36 lines maximum).
Name Usage: Please use only first names in your actual writing. If your work is accepted for inclusion in this book, you will have the option to provide a short bio of yourself to be included at the end of the book. Your full name will be printed with any writings you submit that are accepted for publication as well.
Photographs: Do not submit any photographs for consideration in this book. If the publisher determines that photographs are needed for the book, you may be notified of such at a future time.
Language: English only.
Tone: Writings can convey emotions such as fear, humor, frustration, encouragement, sadness, happiness, shock, empowerment, and all of the other countless feelings that come when you work with a service dog. Strive to make your writing have meaning and power as it focuses on true experiences, unembellished by exaggeration or excessive sentimentality. We hope to celebrate the magnificence of human/canine partnerships but also demystify perceptions built on stereotypes and incorrect expectations.
Simultaneous Submissions: It is fine to submit your writings for other publication possibilities at the same time you submit to us. However, if a writing you have submitted to us is subsequently accepted for publication elsewhere, please let us know, because it may affect our decision to publish your piece.
Previous Publication: Your work must be previously unpublished in journals, magazines, or anthologies with wide circulation. Please inquire if you are unsure if something is acceptable to submit.
Originality: All submissions must be original, your own work that is not adapted from another writer’s work.
Multiple Submissions: You may submit up to two writings in each of the four genre categories: nonfiction stories, nonfiction anecdotes, tributes, and poetry. Submit only one writing per Submission Form.
Deadline: The first phase of collecting writings and conducting interviews will conclude on September 30, 2009. At that time, a determination will be made as to whether a sufficient number of quality writings has been generated to fill the manuscript well. Therefore, you should view September 30, 2009, as a preliminary deadline for participation in this project. If a satisfactory number of quality writings has not been attained at that time, a second collection phase will be designated.
Finalist Notification:All finalists selected for publication consideration in this book will be notified in writing prior to the book’s compilation and publication. Since the timing will be determined by factors tied to the manuscript’s acceptance by a publisher and that publisher’s printing schedule, check this web site periodically for updates.
Interview Option
General Information: This anthology of true stories about people with disabilities and their service dogs is meant to inspire, inform, entertain, and educate the reading public. Writings included in the book will be creative, unique, well-crafted, purposeful, clear, and accurate to the realistic experiences that arise in the partnership between people with disabilities and their service dogs. Consider this an opportunity to reach disabled and nondisabled readers with writings that will make a difference in their lives.
Interview Explanation: If you are not a writer but you have experience with service dogs, you can still have a place in this book. Kathy Nimmer and her assistant are willing to talk with you by phone (at Kathy’s expense). Kathy will then write something on your behalf. With many writing awards and publications to her credit, you can trust that whatever Kathy would compose for you, it will be meaningful and reflective of what you want to share.
Process: To indicate your interest in a phone interview with Kathy and/or her assistant, fill out the submission form completely, skipping the title and word count boxes. Be sure to check “Interview Option” in the radio box where categories are displayed. Someone will be in touch with you to schedule a convenient time to conduct a phone interview. In the edit box where others will be typing their submissions, write a short note to tell us something about you, your experience with service dogs, which time of day tends to be better for you to talk on the phone (morning, afternoon, or evening), and whether a certain day of the week is usually better for you. No one will call you without first arranging a specific time and date when you can do the interview. It is likely that more than one phone call will be necessary, but it will always be at your convenience.
Approval and Credit: Whatever Kathy writes as a result of the interview with you will not be included in the book without your written approval. If writings about you and your experience with service dogs are included in the final manuscript of the book, you will have the option to provide a short bio of yourself to be included at the end of the book. Kathy will be listed as the author of such writings.
Photographs: We will not be requesting any photographs for consideration in the book at this time. If the publisher determines that photographs are needed for the book, you may be notified of such in the future.
Subjects: Writings will convey emotions such as fear, humor, frustration, encouragement, sadness, happiness, shock, empowerment, and all of the other countless feelings that come when you work with a service dog. As you prepare for an interview, think through incidents that kindled those reactions in you. Kathy will strive to make your thoughts and memories have meaning and power as her writing showcases true experiences, unembellished by exaggeration or excessive sentimentality. We hope to celebrate the magnificence of human/canine partnerships but also demystify perceptions built on stereotypes and incorrect expectations.
Deadline: The first phase of collecting writings and conducting interviews will conclude on September 30, 2009. At that time, a determination will be made as to whether a sufficient number of quality writings has been generated to fill the manuscript well. Therefore, you should view September 30, 2009, as a preliminary deadline for participation in this project. If a satisfactory number of quality writings has not been attained at that time, a second collection phase will be designated.
Finalist Notification: All finalists selected for publication consideration in this book (including those who take the interview option) will be notified in writing prior to the book’s compilation and publication. Since the timing will be determined by factors tied to the manuscript’s acceptance by a publisher and that publisher’s printing schedule, check this web site periodically for updates.
Terms and Conditions
The following terms and conditions apply:
Payment to authors and interviewees whose writings are selected for the final manuscript of the book will be, at minimum, two complementary copies of the published book. Additional compensation is possible but not guaranteed, dependent on the provisions made by the publisher.
Payment will be made upon the publication of the book.
If publication is not successfully attained, no compensation of any type will be made to authors or interviewees.
The author verifies that he/she is the exclusive author of the writing.
The Author verifies that the writing is original (planned and written by the author, not an adaptation of a piece written by someone else.
The Author or interviewee guarantees that the information in the writing is true.
The Author verifies that any prior or pending publication of the writing under consideration for this book has been discussed with and cleared by Kathy Nimmer and/or her assistant.
The Author or interviewee verifies that he/she is the holder of the legal right to grant permission to publish the writing.
The Author or interviewee verifies that publication of the writing will not infringe on any other copyright.
The Author or interviewee verifies that publication of the writing will not violate any rights of any party, including their right to privacy.
If a writing is selected for the final manuscript of this book, the Author or interviewee will be notified in writing. This will include a Contributor Agreement being issued to the Author or interviewee.
No writing will be published in this book without the Author’s or interviewee’s written permission.
If a writing is accepted for publication in this book, the Publisher will reserve certain rights for a certain length of time, as articulated in the Contributor Agreement, after which those reserved rights revert to the Author.
When a writing is accepted for publication in this book, the Author retains the right to publish his/her writing in a book made up solely of his/her own works and on his/her personal Web site or blog.
If a writing is accepted for publication in this book, the Author grants the Publisher or editor the right to condense, edit, and/or alter the writing, including its title, as needed for publication. Facts will never be altered in these edits.
The Author or interviewee will be given the opportunity to review, alter, and approve the line edit of the writing; if the Author and the Editor cannot agree on the line edit, the writing will not be published in the book.
Kathy Nimmer (and those representing her interests in the creation and publication of this book) reserve the right not to publish any writing submitted for publication. If a submission is not published in the book, all rights remain with the Author.
To download a pdf version of the Terms and Conditions, click here.
