May is fast approaching!

* Do you like to twitter? Well, Ink Monkey does, too! If you actively tweet, consider adding us to your friends list! http://www.twitter.com/inkmonkeymag

* The mag is pretty close to being full! That's good news because it means I can get down to work on the final layout! I still have a to do list as long as California (okay, not really, but it feels like it!), but I'm still confident that I'll have the first issue of the magazine out on time.

* I'm also finishing up with the first couple zine issues as well! I'm almost done with issue one, and I'm partway done with issue two. If that sounds weird to you, it's because I made an executive decision. I have three different distribution channels willing to try the zine, so I'm going to issue the first two issues simutaneously. This is a massive amount of work, so it will almost certainly never happen again.

The good news, though, is that I am looking for submissions for it right now. Yes, I know that I'm always looking for submissions, but this is time sensitive, so I'm looking for submissions that will run sooner rather than later - especially flash fiction of 100-ish words. If you have any, please help!

Issue 1

As you can see, the authors list for issue 1 is filling up fast! Those seven names account for about half of the available space.

Even cooler, the authors in that list span the entire range of skill/qualifications/etc. From published Novelists to authors who are submitting the first story they've ever written, to stories in a variety of genres, we have it all.

An intersting note, though, is that there is so much "literary" fiction v. "genre" fiction submitted so far. If you happen to write genre fiction, please submit something!!!

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And, a couple more small notes.
A story about Ink Monkey ran online on the website for the Nashville Examiner. View It Here!

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Also, I would like to take a moment to talk about Four Square Creative Services.

Four Square is a new startup company that designed our logos. They do everything from logos to editing to children's book illustrations, and probably a few things in between. If you need help, I'd go to them first. You can contact them by email at: FourSquareCreative [AT] Gmail [DOT] com.

Myspace and a few notes!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we do have a Myspace page. It's far from perfect, though, and Myspace has a few bumps in its road. Okay, a lot of bumps in its road. But, if you're on Myspace, please add it!
Link To Myspace


Other than that, I'm still taking submissions. I have a few more coming in, but I would love to see my inbox full! The more submissions I get, the better that this magazine will be. I would love to have it as full as it goes!
Please, if you write almost anything, consider sending in something for the blog and the zine.

Speaking of the Zine, I have channels in place to distribute the entire run of the first issue. Get in as soon as you can! We totally want you!

Looking for Short Short Short Fiction for Promo Materials

Okay, everyone. Ink Monkey is moving right along. I have a graphics person on board (and more about that later) to make my cover art, I have the first few submissions in and already in place in the mag. The Facebook group hit 60 people today!

In other words, I'm in an extremely good mood!

And, I've had another idea that means a lot of work for me. In my ongoing quest for great advertising ideas that aren't going to cost lots of money, I came up with the idea of a free Zine that I could distribute. Here's how the Zine is going to work.

1. I'll only accept very short stories - think under 100 words here! - and poetry under 20 lines.

2. Each Zine will be limited to 100 copies, no exceptions.

3. I will distribute most of them through non-Ink Monkey chanels, but will also distribute a few through the Ink Monkey site.

4. If you would like to contribute, please send an email to Ink Monkey with Zine contribution in the subject line. You may put your story in the body of the email, but please make sure to include your mailing address! Because of the nature of the Zine, I will actually send a contributor's copy to each person I chose for it!!!

5. Once an issue of the Zine is gone, it's gone, but since this is an ongoing project, I will always be working on one!

We have a Website and a FB Group!!!

Well, everyone.. Ink Monkey is moving right along with everything it needs to get out there.

We've opened our website, and it's getting there, although there are still viewability probelms and I am totally on it. I know it will be a work in progress for a while, but for now, it has everything it needs. If for some reason it's not working, please check here and/or facebook. I'll make sure to post a lot of the same info on both pages.

Also, there's now a facebook group. The support we've received so far has just been phenomenal! I encourage you to try both.

It looks like the only thing we still need is submissions!
The good news is that I have finally settled on a format. While I want this magazine to be mostly fiction, I am also allowing a small percentage of poetry, drama and even creative non-fiction (think memoirs, not book reports) into the magazine. Keep in mind, though, that there will be a minimum 80% fiction content in Ink Monkey at all times.

So, please check us out on FaceBook and our website.

What Is Ink Monkey?

Greetings!

If you're a writer, you will truely understand what I'm about to say next. Getting published is sometimes harder than finding needles in haystacks. Especially if you're a genre writer.

I'll admit it. It didn't take too many rejections and "literary fiction only, no genre" notes for me to get fed up with most of what was out there. Is there really anything that wrong with the occational mystery? Can't sci-fi and romance coexist?

So, I toyed with the idea for quite a while. The final straw came when I showed a rejection letter to a published author friend of mine who started poking fun at the gramatical errors in the note. You know, I'll totally admit to not being perfect. I'll even admit that you're going to find the occational spelling mistake, typo or wrongly placed comma on here in the blog. But in the rejection letter? Not a chance.

Businesses need to be run professionally, and that is what Ink Monkey is - a business dedicated to the advancement of the writer.

I can accept the fact that we're not all going to be the next John Grisham. I'll settle for the next Eric Wilson or Jeff Markowitz. Because of that, I started this magazine will help all the other small time writers out there realize their dreams as well.

There it is, the dream and realization of Ink Monkey. In case you couldn't already tell, I'm doing this with a next to nothing budget. For now, Ink Monkey will be published twice a year for $10 an issue.

Watch this space for more updates.

~Mandi M. Lynch, editor
Ink Monkey Magazine