Constructing Crosswords: Publish

Before Submitting | Submit | After Submitting | Response | Self-Publish | References

BEQ
Tip yr. constructor!
from brendanemmettquigley.com

Before Submitting

Will Shortz 2023
Will Shortz at the 2023
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
International license from Wikimedia Commons

Submit

  • Do not submit the same puzzle to several publishers at the same time.
    Only after receiving a rejection should you consider submitting to a different publisher.
    If your puzzle had actually been accepted by both, withdrawing means apologizing for wasting an editor's time.
  • To avoid overloading/annoying editors, check how many submissions they allow in their queues.
  • Is publisher currently accepting submissions?
    NYT may pause submission around holidays and/or to catch up on backlogs.
    Universal accepts submissions only during odd months -- check publisher's guidelines.
  • Many publishers accept an emailed puzzle file: .puz, .ccw (Crossword Compiler) or .cfp (CrossFire)
  • CrossFire: File > Export as > Across Lite Binary/Text (.puz/.txt)
  • NYT requires a particular .pdf format (example) that's submitted online
  • CrossFire: File > Print > NYT submission: fill-in street address, email;
    Author copied from puzzle Info; note: blank grid (1st page) can be removed
  • Crosserville: File > Export puzzle > NY Times Submission format
  • Phil: Export as: NYT submission (.pdf)
  • NYT Submission Editor upload .puz; enter email & address; download .pdf
  • Crossword Compiler: best to export .puz and use NYT Submission Editor

After Submitting

  • Q: What do crossword puzzle editors do to relax?...
  • Editors and their staffs evaluate the consistency/uniqueness of theme, and quality of grid, fill, clues
    -- and compare against other past and current submissions.
  • Quality standards have risen at NYT. "There are puzzles from years ago
    that I probably wouldn't accept today" ~Will Shortz; NYT; 11/16/2023
  • Wait: weeks/months... -- see publisher's estimated 'response time';
    actual response time is sometimes discussed on crossword forums, e.g.,
    does a longer wait mean: they're short-staffed with too many submissions,
    or has your puzzle survived initial triage (no quick rejection), with a serious chance of a closer look?
  • NYTimes Crossword Timing Dashboard avg. time for Reject, Accept, Publish
  • Many excellent puzzles are submitted, by many constructors, esp. to NYT:
    ~200+/week submitted to NYT; Shortz; 4/7/2021
  • e.g., # of unique NYT 'Shortz Era' constructors = 1334 [1993 - 8/27/2024]; Steve's = 1261;
    The Shortz Number is the order each constructor was first published in the NYT during the Will Shortz Era.
  • "We haven't updated our NYT crossword inventory in a while, because it's largely unchanged
    from before. Each weekday (Mon-Sat) has 9 to 12 months of puzzles. That's a little more
    than we like to have on hand, but not by a ridiculous amount.

    We're still light on Sundays -- just 15 on file at the moment. Our response rate on submissions
    is now under three months. Our goal is to reduce this to 4-6 weeks. Almost all contributors
    are now using the submissions portal we introduced last year, and we encourage that.
    As before, we welcome submissions from everyone -- especially from contributors in
    underrepresented groups." ~Will Shortz, 6/7/21

Possible Responses

  • 1. Rejected -- most likely, with an inconsistent or unexciting/reused theme, 'bad' fill, etc.,
    especially if publisher receives many better submissions, e.g. NYT
  • "NYT acceptance rate decreased from ~10% pre-pandemic to ~5%"
    ~Master Crossword Constructor Jeff Chen Creative License podcast; 11/2/2022
  • "Thanks, and please send us more" -- keep on constructing! (17 rejections before being accepted)
  • Editors may provide specific feedback, but revise and resubmit only if requested.
  • Modify and/or submit elsewhere? Self-publish (next subsection)?
  • "My first rejection: April 10, 2009. My first acceptance: July 26, 2012.
    3+ years to hit the big leagues, and then another year before I felt
    confident enough that any puzzle I wrote would be a good one."
    ~Evan Birnholz, Washington Post Sunday crossword editor; 12/09/2023
  • puzzle one hundred and seventeen: rejected puzzle ;-) "Dear newspapers,..."
  • 2. Maybe -- revisions requested, e.g., replace theme/reveal entry, rework some fill, etc.
  • Hopeful -- even after improvements, however, an editor may still decide "no thanks"
  • 3. Accepted -- and (eventually) published, likely with some clues/fill modified;
    clues may be different (shorter) in print vs. online?
  • Wait; register as a vendor with publisher (for eventual payment); proof final puzzle
  • Enjoy fame, modest payment, adulation of solvers, ...
  • One small downside: once you've transferred copyright to the publisher, you can't redistribute it.
  • 2023's Crossword Constructor Debuts 90 puzzle makers' first NYT Crossword published; NYT; 12/11/2023
  • Tips for [NYT] Debut Constructors
    photo and constructor notes for xwordblog.com; 11/9/2021
  • Publishing a Puzzle -- my experience in Universal; Sam Brody
  • Finally, It’s Published! queue, clue editing

Self-Publish

  • If you have crosswords
  • that require local or specialized knowledge for a limited audience,
  • that don't have a novel theme or fit neatly within publisher's specifications,
  • and/or that have been rejected by several publishers even after revisions,
  • you may still want to share your creation with the world.
  • Email to your friends, or post to social media, a puzzle forum or a web site in one or more puzzle formats:
  • .pdf (or .jpg/.png) file for puzzle (grid & clues) and solution -- for printing
  • .puz file -- for solving apps; .jpz files may be necessary for special formatting or character sets
  • web link -- for solving in a browser

puz.pdf

  • CrossFire: File > Print > Puzzle; -- & Solution Grid;
    .pdf > Save to .pdf -- e.g., Mac;
    .pdf > Open in Preview sends to printer -- Java bug
  • CrossFire: File > Export As > Puzzle Image; -- & Solution Image; .png file
  • AcrossLite: File > Open, e.g., .puz or .txt
  • AcrossLite: File > Print > Solve items (fresh grid); -- & Solution Grid:
    select printer, or Save to .pdf; any long clues that might result in missing final clues?
  • e.g., .pdf (puzzle) empty grid & clues; .pdf (solution) numbered grid with solution; .jpg

.puz

Web: external site

Web: your own site

  • Include notes, links to .pdf and .puz files, an interactive applet, solver comments, etc.
  • Maintaining a site is more work, but provides the most flexibility and visiblity, e.g., submit to Daily Crossword Links
  • Examples: OLLI puzzles; Steve's puzzles
  • Starting A Crossword Puzzle Blog: The Complete Guide for 2024 Amuselabs; 2/15/2024
  • Two basic approaches to implementing an interactive puzzle:
  • 1. Embed an IFRAME (HTML) expression for a remote applet inside your page,
    e.g., Crosshare, PuzzleMe, Crossword Nexus, Exolve
  • PuzzleMe: Embed Code (tab): copy IFRAME code, paste into your web page:
  • <iframe height="640" allow="fullscreen" style="border:none;width:100%..."
    src="https://amuselabs.com/pmm/crossword?id=..."></iframe>
  • PuzzleMe is free for personal use; I've used it for many of my puzzles
  • 2. Include a JavaScript (JS) library to access a puzzle file directly on your site
  • HTML5 Crossword Solver: upload .puz to Crossword Nexus site or host code on yours; open source
  • Since it was unclear if PuzzleMe would be free for non-profits or whether they would require a license,
    I began using HTML5 Crossword Solver (installed locally) for Ashland.news and my newer crosswords;
    it's also faster to get the puzzle set up and running. example showing both applets
  • Gallery: Solving Applets in Browsers: * marks IFRAME-compatible sites
  • CROSSWORDS and YOU: Other web-based viewers, solvers, .puz
nyt
from: nytimes.com

References / Examples