[Retros] Publishing Compositions

[andrew buchanan]

 Hi Jack,
Thanks for your email. Welcome to the wonderful world of composition! :D
> 1. When you've composed a problem you're proud of, what do you do next?
If it's a good one, I may send it to a friend to verify for soundness. Retros are particularly prone to cooking, sigh. It's also worth checking that you are not anticipated: there are maybe 18,000 retros already out there, and some ideas have been done to death.
Sometimes, the friend is the editor of a magazine, but you should steel yourself for possible critical response. If you can accept his comments, then this will make you stronger as a composer.
Another thing is that you may still be able to improve your problem, even though it's already very good.

> 2. Why choose one publication venue over another? Are some more competitive or better for certain kinds of problems?
I try to spread things around a bit. Julia's Fairies of Feenschach is for fairies. Die Schwalbe for mathematical stuff. The Problemist for lighter problems because they haven't got much retro space. StrateGems is more focused on top proof games, but surely they have space for others. Phenix & Probleemblad are more general. Problemas for the personal touch of interaction with the incredibly friendly editor Joaquim Crusats. Problem Parade if you want to be published in Japan, etc.
One issue is that for some magazines (e.g. Die Schwalbe) you may have to wait a few months. Some people these days don't care about glory, and self-publish online.

> 3. How do tournaments/competitions work? Often when solving a problem, you see the composer's name, year, and "3rd Prize" or "Honorable Mention" - where do these labels come from? Are these usually "informal tournaments"? Do most formal competitions other than the WCCI have pre-specified themes?
Awards come from tourneys. These may be specific ones with a theme, or looser ones with no theme. I honestly don't know the difference between formal and informal - I tend to send stuff to magazines or self-publish instead. There are not that many retro tourneys - I guess maybe half have themes. There's a split between retros and proof games sometimes.

> 4. Can you publish a problem in a magazine/journal and also submit it to a competition?
No. Each problem gets published as an original a maximum of once. Normally the magazine will have their own annual competition, where all problems published during that period are assessed against one another. So you will get that competition.
Hope this helps,Any more questions, just ask,Andrew


    On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 1:34:22 PM GMT+8, Jack Murtagh <murtagh.jack at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Hello,
I recently finished composing a retro problem that I think is worthy of publication or entry to a competition but I have never published a problem and I'm having trouble understanding the landscape here. Some questions I have are:

1. When you've composed a problem you're proud of, what do you do next? 
2. Why choose one publication venue over another? Are some more competitive or better for certain kinds of problems?3. How do tournaments/competitions work? Often when solving a problem, you see the composer's name, year, and "3rd Prize" or "Honorable Mention" - where do these labels come from? Are these usually "informal tournaments"? Do most formal competitions other than the WCCI have pre-specified themes?4. Can you publish a problem in a magazine/journal and also submit it to a competition? 
I apologize if these things have been asked many times before. I've done a lot of research today and had trouble finding definitive answers to these questions. 

Thank you so much for any help,Jack 


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