December 31, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
As you know, I’ve had much luck these last months in placing my essays and short stories, thanks to you and your able staff. When it came to finding representation for my first novel though, I wasn’t sure I’d be that lucky. In fact, I don’t think I was lucky. I think, once again, the reason I now have representation is thanks to your efforts.
Clearly you have a well-honed system that has withstood the test of time, and I, your client, am the grateful recipient of your knowledge. I so appreciate all you have done from helping me get my materials in shape, to finding the right hands to put it into, and to helping me see the process through to its happy conclusion. Along the way, the comforting voices of Barbara and Meg helped me keep my cool and my perspective. I treasure all of you, thank the day I found you, and hope to work with you for a long time to come.
Happy New Year,
Denise S.
December 30, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
I’d like to thank you and Meg for your wise counsel and encouragement these last few years. You have intuitive good judgment about the publishing process, and I could not have found a reception at Northwest Review, The Chrysalis Reader, or Palo Alto Review without your help.
If you are a writer, whatever one’s career, the important effort should be directed towards writing. And, if one is serious about writing, then publishing must follow. The tedium of submitting work can diminish that effort, while rejection can undermine morale.
To publish, you need an organization like Writer’s Relief to submit one’s work. Your staff never gets discouraged about mailing my work out, as well I might when rejections roll in. Your business is to submit my work. You do it efficiently and with professional detachment. You provide top-notch editing, know the market, keep an excellent database for me, provide tax records, and, most of all, price your time fairly. If anyone wants to publish, they have to help the process along and that costs something.
Many thanks for your friendship.
Sincerely,
Joel H.
October 04, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
Writer’s Relief sent out my book to thirty agents, and I got twenty-nine rejections and that magic call. “Mrs. White, this is XXX. I stayed up all night reading your book.” I would not have found my great agent, who has found me a great publisher, without Writer’s Relief.
Andrea W.
September 15, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
Seven! Count them . . . Seven short story acceptances in less than a year with Writer’s Relief. Acceptances with Gargoyle, Phantasmagoria, The Macguffin, Five Fingers Review, and others.
You and your expert staff have helped me every step of the way in achieving an important life goal to share my work with others in print. Thank you, thank you. You always return my calls, e-mails, answer my questions, meet every deadline, prepare my work, and target markets in the most professional manner.
I am proud and happy with all that has happened thus far and look forward to greater successes in the future, working with all of you at Writer’s Relief.
Thanks again for everything.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth W.
September 13, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
Writer’s Relief has changed my life. In trying to find an agent for my novel, I spent hours researching, more hours calling, and days photocopying, writing cover letters, and proofreading. In two years I made approximately 30 submissions.
Writer’s Relief made thirty submissions for me the first month! This not only freed up my time and my mind, but I found that I stopped feeling that little stab of pain and disappointment every time an SASE arrived in the mail. I discovered that when rejections came in waves of 10, 20, or 30, I actually looked forward to those self-addressed envelopes because that meant I was one step closer to finding an agent. One more person had read my work and sent me a letter. As a bonus, sometimes those rejection letters were thoughtful, positive, and encouraging. Even when they weren’t, I now had some action to take when a rejection letter arrived that didn’t involve chocolate! I could fax that response to you, Barbara, and the staff and know that we were working as a team. I was no longer a lone writer sitting in my studio being disrespected by the literary world!
Writer’s Relief kept well-organized records of all responses, especially noting those with a personal comment attached. Then I got that call. An agent who had declined representation for the book actually passed it on to one of his colleagues whom he felt was a better fit for my work. She loved it. I now have a wonderful agent who loves my work and is enthusiastically working to build my career. Without Writer’s Relief, I would never have persisted and turned my nos into yeses.
I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life.
jill W.
August 16, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
Perhaps experience of other delighted authors has given you some idea of how incredibly thrilled I am at having found representation for my novel.
It is nothing less than the truth to say that “I couldn’t have done it without you.” YOU were the one who came up with the magic name and address, after all.
In addition, credit where credit is due: the agent (MY agent!) told me that they were initially very impressed by my cover letter and that they very often don’t even read a proposal or sample pages because they can tell from the cover letter that the author is “not suitable.”
In my own case, I love writing and hate the submission process. It gives me nervous diarrhea, and it’s incredibly time-consuming. You took most of the hassle out of it.
And, an unexpected plus, the many, many rejections I received before striking pay dirt were made easier to take because I could regard them not as JUST rejections but as assignments: “Right I have to fax this to Ronnie.” That really helped me deal with being turned down so many times.
And, of course, you and your colleagues were uniformly kind and supportive throughout the whole process. I can’t thank you enough!
All the best,
Elizabeth K.
August 13, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
I am happy to recommend that other authors consider using the services of Writer’s Relief. I know that I am a good writer; I also know that I am a terrible marketer of my work and that rejection stymies me from submitting on a more aggressive schedule. Thankfully, Writer’s Relief takes care of the marketing, motivating me to send out more work in two months than I do in one year with good results. Even with probable rejection rate of 99:1, my first publication through Writer’s Relief resulted in publication.
As far as internalizing goes, when the rejection notices come trickling back, I pop them in an envelope, and the sting is diluted as well. When so many submissions go out, the return feels less personal somehow. Women writers may give this service added consideration. One of the most interesting comments from my writing group is that paying for such a service is a way of taking myself seriously. “It’s what a man might do,” said one of my colleagues, and she meant that in an affirming way, putting real money where my vision and voice are. Even with the challenging odds of acceptance, submitting on a schedule is a way of moving forward and anteing up belief in your work. For other scribblers and lost souls, using Writer’s Relief can be as effective as therapy.
S.E. G.
July 13, 2002
Dear Ronnie L. Smith:
I have been using Writer’s Relief services to submit four to six poems to thirty journals every two months for almost two years, and I have had about twenty-five percent of my poems accepted. Prior to that I had not gotten around to submitting work while writing poetry for about six years. The WR process helps me stay on top of the whole sequence of writing, submitting, and tracking in an organized and disciplined way with very enjoyable results.
George S.
July 9, 2002
Ronnie:
I love writing, but I hate the time and effort it takes to get my work out to editors. I rely on Writer’s Relief to do the legwork in identifying those publications which are most likely to be interested in my work. The results have been terrific. In my first year with WR, a collection of essays had been published in the Xavier Review, and my first short story recently appeared in Wind Magazine . . . two well-respected publications I would never have known about without the assistance of Writer’s Relief. I can’t imagine writing without the support of Writer’s Relief.
Judy B.
July 7, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
I remember reading through clients’ testimonials about Writer’s Relief and wondering if it could be as good as you made it sound. It is. Before Writer’s Relief, I had written and sent work out occasionally for about 25 years, but juggling the demands of teaching at a community college and raising a family barely left time to write, much less time for the arduous, mysterious work of researching potential publishers and preparing submissions. Now Writer’s Relief provides thorough, informed research; keeps accurate, helpful records that track each poem; and is ready with friendly, individual attention whenever I need it. In the approximately 18 months I’ve been working with you, I’ve had 13 poems accepted for publication. This is more than in all my previous years of writing put together. Another significant benefit, besides the delight I feel when I receive my copies of another handsome journal with my poems in it, is the way Writer’s Relief deadlines keep me writing, forcing me to take my writing more seriously than I did before. I need to always be thinking about what work I will have ready for the next cycle.
Sincerely,
Pat M.
June 26, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
After a year of being a client of Writer’s Relief, I am so much more organized and focused in my writing. Your services have been consistent and persistent in cycling my fiction toward reputable literary markets. I am getting replies from editors who are recognizing my work and I get to see one of my stories come out this July. Thank you for your always excellent and user-friendly service.
Carol A.
June 26, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
I want to thank you and your wonderful staff for the great work you’ve been doing toward getting my poetry published. You and your team have saved me hours, probably years, of the kind of work I dislike—market research—and given me more time to write poetry.
It’s a pleasure working with such professionals, knowing that as long as I come up with a group of poems, your staff will supply me with labels, letters, and instructions that make the submission process go smoothly.
Seeing poems of mine in print is a truly rewarding experience, one I’d begun to think I’d never have. Without your expertise I probably wouldn’t.
Sincerely,
Linda A.
June 25, 2002
Dear Ronnie, the other people at Writer’s Relief, and prospective clients:
I’ve used Writer’s Relief for my personal essays for just under a year now, sending out four essays in five cycles (I skipped one). To sum it up, I’ve gotten four acceptances through Writer’s Relief’s services in less than a year.
Writer’s Relief has been accurate, efficient, and helpful. When I’ve needed to contact their office with a question, they have responded promptly, helpfully, and pleasantly. I might have been able to do a lot of what they have done for me, but I had been writing for five years before I started to use their services, and somehow, I’d never gotten around to doing it. I suspect I’m typical in this. I am glad that I decided to sign up with Writer’s Relief, and I would recommend it to other writers.
Paula S.
June 21, 2002
RE: Reference for Writer’s Relief
The only thing harder than writing a poem is getting it published. To submit to publishers yourself is time-consuming, frustrating, and costly. Perusing a reference such as “Poet’s Market” isn’t enough, since the entries are seldom clear enough to be sure your work is suitable for a particular magazine. That means sending (and paying) for sample copies; then waiting, waiting, and finding frequently that you guessed wrong and the target publication is not suitable for your work. The cost of those sample copies can add up.
Then there is the record keeping. You must maintain up-to-the-minute files on where each poem has been sent and also what poems have been sent to a particular publication. It’s worse than double-entry bookkeeping!
Ronnie and her crew at Writer’s Relief are a godsend for struggling poets. They not only do the record keeping for you but with their vast library of publications can target the best possibilities for your work in a fraction of the time it would take any poet working alone. AND their eagle-eyed proofreaders can spot those embarrassing errors you missed on your 30th revision.
But that doesn’t mean they try to edit you. Even the most minor (suggested) correction is run by the author for approval before any changes are made.
This is a wonderful service (I wonder who was the genius who thought of it) which frees up hours of time in which you can do what you do best—write poetry.
Duke Y.
June 21, 2002
Dear Ronnie and Staff:
Thank you for helping me get my fiction published.
Although I’ve published 10 books for children and contributed to many textbooks, before coming to Writer’s Relief I was unable to publish any short stories. I was submitting stories to the same limited number of magazines over and over. Your help, both in identifying markets and in organizing the submission process, led to the publication of one of my short stories in Lumina and to positive contacts with other literary magazines. In addition, the structure of your service—the deadlines and services you provide—has caused me to have more stories circulating at any given time, thus making the possibility of publication more likely.
Thank you again for your help.
Sincerely,
Andrew K.
June 21, 2002
Hello All,
As a busy mother of two small boys, my writing time is dedicated to just that: writing. How I often wished for some secretarial support, an accountant, and an office manager. Writer’s Relief provides all of these things and more. The ever-cheerful staff keeps me organized, on time, and moving forward. It’s a wonderful partnership: I write (enough of a task, as any writer can attest) and they do the rest—clean it up, catch all the embarrassing typos, fix the grammatical errors, point out sentences that make no sense, keep track of costs, research the potential markets for the piece, prepare the cover letters, contemplate the trajectory of my career, insist that I get material out on time, and then encourage me to get busy and finish the next piece that I intend to submit.
Blessings on all their heads.
Before I joined Writer’s Relief, I had a half dozen essays stacked up in a drawer and no particular incentive to stop what I was working on next in order to get them out the door and in circulation. Now, most all of them are published (or will be shortly) and this miracle hasn’t taken away from my writing time. If anything, seeing my work in print has improved my ability to produce more and better pieces. There’s nothing like a little success to encourage more success.
At last, thanks to Writer’s Relief, I have a tidy collection of published essays and short stories to my credit. Among other things, this means I can hold my chin up high in social gatherings instead of digging my toe in the carpet, hoping to get by without having to discuss what I do for a living.
I just love you guys. You’ve changed a whole lot of things for me, and all for the better,
Regards,
Denise S.
June 19, 2002
Dear Ronnie:
Despite my overcrowded professional life, Writer’s Relief has kept me productive through firm, regular writing and submissions deadlines. Writer’s Relief’s high volume submissions practices have garnered acceptances for my work in unexpected publishing venues. I would not have submitted to so many sources on my own. The best part is that nothing fosters success like success: each acceptance of my work adds to my self-confidence and becomes a catalyst for more writing and more joy in the writing process.
Cornelia W.
June 19, 2002
Dear Ronnie,
Writer’s Relief is right up there with my computer in helping me to write. They help me to focus on writing by helping me manage the business of sending out submissions and tracking the submissions. I am delighted with the service and would suggest it to any writer who is interested in furthering her/his writing career.
Philip L.
June 18, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Writer’s Relief,
I have been very happy with Writer’s Relief. They not only kept me on a schedule and made it easy to get myself organized, but they helped me create a professional appearance in my submissions. This was the first time I had sent work out seriously and this was of enormous importance to me. They were also supportive, and congratulatory, when my poems were selected (Baltimore Review, Eclipse, and another in The South Carolina Review.) They guided me through that process as well and explained terminology and what is customary. I always had my calls and emails to them answered promptly, they were very precise in their work, and based on the way they selected magazines for me, very skilled at matching people’s work with publishers.
Nancy M.
June 18, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie:
Writer’s Relief first impressed me by doing a beautiful job of preparing and proofing manuscripts. Your second strength was in offering support and encouragement during the submission process. When I read the list of acceptances for a work cycle I felt honored to be a client among this group of successful writers. Now that my work is included in that list I find a third reason to admire the work of Writer’s Relief: your vast store of information and tracking that enables us to find a match for our various styles.
Thank you for making me feel part of an extended family, which proves to be a comfort during the process of seeking publication.
Sincerely,
Elisabeth W.
June 18, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Ronnie:
I’ve been using the services of Writer’s Relief for a year now. For cost reasons, I’ve sent poems only every other cycle. So far I’ve had three accepted; I’m most pleased with one the Louisville Review took. I’m a poor self-promoter. I have often gone years without sending anything out. These regular cycles and deadlines force me to take the weekend to commit to a group of poems and get them out the door. It has proved a very interesting exercise in trying out some of my less accessible poems, which I nevertheless like. I get a sense of whether anyone can hear them. And, spending so much less time on researching magazines and getting poems out the door, I get on with writing. There is more point to it, because what I’ve written is actually in motion. I’m sold on this service, including the record of what’s gone where and with what result. I never managed that well for myself.
Cal K.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie,
As an emerging writer, I approached Writer’s Relief for their assistance in helping me get my short stories and poetry out to potential publishers. Prior to contacting Writer’s Relief, I had not been published and was somewhat intimidated about the process. But Writer’s Relief has relieved the stress and the time-consuming process, and in the few months that I have been working with Writer’s Relief, I have received acceptances from three literary publications, Eclipse, Poet Lore, and Lumina. Without their help I would still be wondering if my work would ever be published!
Sincerely,
Jeri E.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie,
I’m sorry I didn’t take advantage of Writer’s Relief sooner. In my first round of submissions I had a short story accepted. And as a bonus the quality of my rejection letters are always improving. Often I get personalized little notes telling me that the work was great just no room in a current issue or some other words of encouragement. Certainly this makes up for all the form rejection letters.
Without Writer’s Relief, I would still write but probably never publish.
Janet F.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie:
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first signed on with Writer’s Relief, but you and your staff have been extremely supportive, informative, and helpful. It’s a real pleasure to do business with professionals, who also take a specific interest in each writer’s work—and are friendly!
Additionally, when my story, Unframed, was picked up for Porcupine’s summer 2002 issue, I was delighted.
Thanks a lot, and I look forward to a long career with Writer’s Relief.
Sandra H.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Writer’s Relief,
Yes, yes, yes! I have been thrilled, even stunned, at the responses I’ve gotten! There is NO WAY I could have done this all on my own. NO WAY. In the short time that I’ve been a client, I’ve gotten work accepted at Karamu, Appalachee Review, and Fugue, which not only accepted TWO poems but is actually paying me for them! Doesn’t that officially deem me a professional poet?
Writer’s Relief has been a tremendous help, really. There is simply no way I could have done this on my own, not in the short time it has taken. Poets are “warned” that it usually takes about 100 sendouts to get one acceptance. My rate with Writer’s Relief has been, now, on average, one in 30. Wow. WOW.
I’m “on leave” right now, mostly for financial reasons (although I just got a job, so I’ll be back on full-track next round), and the time off has been very productive, so I’m very excited to see where the next set of poems and Writer’s Relief work will take me!
I HIGHLY recommend Writer’s Relief to anyone who wants to get their work out there but feels like they don’t have time to do it themselves. Yes, yes, yes.
Thanks a ton, really.
Andrea D.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Ronnie L. Smith:
About ten months ago, I took stock of my fiction writing goals and realistic prospects and made a concrete decision: I needed help—serious help—if I was going to continue writing on a consistent basis and work towards publication.
In ten months I have gone from being a writer who cobbled together what he thought was his best work and sent it out to 20 randomly-selected magazines, to a writer who has a story set for publication and four other stories in active circulation with a fifth on the way.
The difference between being a “wanna be” and small-scale short story published author can be spelled out in two words: Writer’s Relief.
Your clearly stated, simply organized method of editing, targeting, and circulating my work has done wonders for me as a writer. It has given me a 60-day schedule to pace my writing and rewriting. Without a timeline to measure my work against, I would not be pushing myself to produce new stories and experiment with different writing techniques.
The quality and expertise I have received from Writer’s Relief in editing services is worth every dollar I pay as a client. I believe without reservation that the final read my work receives from Writer’s Relief editors has made the difference in my first acceptance and the half dozen affirmative comments I have received about my work. Professional editing and marketing resources are vital tools that would not have been at my disposal if I was not using Writer’s Relief. I’m a “kitchen table” writer who puts pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard after work and family obligations are done for the day.
That self description puts me in company with thousands of other writers, but Writer’s Relief gives me the professional support and encouragement that keeps me working and has allowed me to stand out in a legion of authors. Your services are outstanding and I look forward to retaining them as I develop book-length work. Thanks Ronnie and everyone.
Sincerely,
Thor J.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie and all of the Writer’s Relief staff:
I just wanted you to know how much being part of your author’s submission service has changed my life as a writer. First of all, I appreciate your support. I no longer feel I am isolated, writing in a vacuum. For many years, I went it alone, submitting stories to different publications. Even though some of my stories were published, I found it difficult to keep up the process on my own, and eventually quit. How could I know the best prospective fit for a story? How could I keep up with current publications and their editors? Writer’s Relief does this and does it well. That is why my short story, “African Song,” has been accepted for publication in Descant.
It is wonderful, also, to have someone professionally edit my work. I realize how difficult it is to publish these days, and that a work that is not in the correct format does not stand a chance. Nor does work with typos and misspellings, and no matter how much this ol’ English teacher tries to prevent it, some slip by. Thankfully, the people at Writer’s Relief use magic red pens to ferret out my problems and correct them.
As a journalist, I am familiar with deadlines for articles. Having a deadline to create a short story or poetry for Writer’s Relief has been so beneficial. I find myself hard at work, creating all the time. On the other hand, I appreciated your caring support during my times of personal crisis this past year and your encouragement to resubmit a story since I did not have time to complete something for the current submission cycle. It helped me feel as if I were still active as a fiction writer.
When I tell people about Writer’s Relief and the success I am finding with you, they always ask me how much it costs. I tell them and say, “It is worth every penny.” This is absolutely the truth because you offer a wide array of services and do what I would never do on my own.
All in all, I feel more confident as a writer. It’s nice to have someone you’re not related to believe in your work. It’s a bonus that you take care of much of the administrative process and show your writers how to do the rest.
Sincerely yours,
Cyndy M.
June 17, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie:
Writer’s Relief helped me place a short story with Confrontation magazine. It is good at finding markets that the writer may not have the energy to look up.
Daniel C.
May 30, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie:
With Writer’s Relief’s help, I have published six short stories and secured an agent for my children’s book. Your staff is unfailingly courteous and helpful. They are honest professionals whose advice has made a huge difference in my marketing efforts. I strongly recommend your services.
Andrea W.
May 20, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie and Writer’s Relief:
Thanks so much for your help in getting my short stories placed in literary journals! With the acceptance of “Meat” by The Distillery last week, all five of the stories I’ve submitted through Writer’s Relief have been accepted for publication—a success rate of one hundred percent!
Writing, especially in the early stages, requires a great deal of faith in oneself, and often recognition from the world is slow in coming. At times it’s been hard for me to keep believing in the importance of what I have to say. The experience of having five stories accepted for publication has given my confidence a glorious boost, and I sincerely thank you for all your assistance.
Yours truly,
Janet T.
March 12, 2002
Writer’s Relief, Inc.
245 Teaneck Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Ronnie Smith:
When I decided to use your submission service, I’d been trying for a year to find a agent for my novel, RECOVERY. Actually, I hadn’t been trying very hard. I’d submitted two batches of query letters, for a total of about two dozen. I’d become a little discouraged and decided to use Writer’s Relief mainly as a way to keep going. I’d also started to run out of ideas of likely agents using the methods suggested by most books about finding an agent.
Although it’s taken a while, the agent I found was in the first batch of 30 queries I sent out with the guidance of Writer’s Relief. I did only one more round of submissions, because by that time the agent I’ve since retained had asked for the entire manuscript.
Needless to say, I’m happy with your service because it did for me exactly what I wanted it to do, helped me to find an agent for my novel. Of course she still has to find me a publisher, but I feel a lot closer to that goal now than I did eight months ago. Thank you for helping me to get there.
Sincerely,
Kathleen N.
February 25, 2002
Dear Ronnie,
Writer’s Relief has made a major impact on my career as a writer. I have gotten representation from three top literary agents (one for my novel, two for my plays—in NYC and in London). I have also gotten two short stories and ten poems and two plays published. Without Writer’s Relief much of my work would be in the attic drawer or on my laptop. Thanks Writer’s Relief for launching my career. Long may you prosper.
Rosary O.
