There's a call for writing contest judges out. If you might be interested in being a judge for a writing contest, contact me privately through the "Contact Me" form to the left, and I will email you more specifics on what they're looking for.
IWSG! Held the first Wednesday of each month, the Insecure Writer's Support group is the brain child of Alex J. Cavanaugh. Intended for gaining and giving support for insecure writers. Anyone can join; just click on Alex's name and sign up.
Our co-hosts this month are Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass! Be sure to stop by and visit them.
My insecurities this month mostly have to do with putting myself way outside my comfort zone and pushing myself into new things in the world of publishing. I'm buried in research right now, but excited to be trying new things. It's time to start putting together a collection of short stories I've gotten the rights back on, which I want to self-publish, and I want to do it right. I talked about that a bit last month. I'm also working on a craft book on writing, submitting, and marketing short stories. I haven't decided if I'll self-publish that or try to go through a traditional publisher first. Decisions, decisions. And, of course, I'm querying a novel for the first time, while still writing and submitting short stories. Shew. I feel like I sound busier than I actually am.
All of this is good, but overwhelming, new, and different. I can't wait to see what the next year brings! It's time for me to make a business plan and timeline.
That brings us to ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo. I've been doing this for years now. Instead of doing NaNoWriMo, I hitch myself to the energy created by everyone doing NaNo by setting my own goals for the month that make more sense for my career, seeing as how I'm not primarily a novelist.
Without further ado, here are my ShaNo goals:
1. Create a business plan and timeline for the next year.
2. Finish Nuts! (horror comedy) (about 20,000 words)
3. Edit three short stories currently pending edits.
4. Write two new short stories.
5. Submit newly edited stories.
6. Outline craft book.
7. Get all rejected stories resubmitted.
8. Send five more queries for Wendigo Nights. (current novel on submission)
Doable? We'll see. It's been a super busy few months, and I mostly want this to help me get back on track.
Each month at this time I do a summary of my submissions the previous month in order to keep myself accountable.
In October, I:
Submitted 6 stories
Got 1 acceptance
Got 7 rejections
Got 1 story shortlisted
I currently have 11 short stories on submission. There are several I need to turn back around and resubmit, but haven't had a chance, so the number's a bit low for me.
Okay, time for links! Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.
Accepting Submissions:
Splickety Spark is seeking topsy turvy romance stories for the theme Sadie Hawkins. 300 to 1000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline November 24.
Baltimore Review is seeking short fiction. Review editor's preferences for more information on what they're seeking. Pays $40. Deadline November 30.
Owl Hollow Press is seeking high-seas short stories from teens ages 13-19. Up to 7000 words. Will be published in the anthology Band of Misfits. Pays $30. Deadline November 30.
Primordial Magazine is seeking "stories and illustrations depicting plausible alien life." They also take articles and reviews on the topic. 1000 to 16,000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline November 30.
Ninth Letter is seeking short fiction (currently open for poetry and essays, too). Up to 8000 words. Pays $25 per printed page. Deadline November 30.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking short essays with the theme Love Stories. Must have happened to you or someone you know. Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline November 30.
Things in the Well is seeking short stories for the anthology Behind the Mask: Tales From the Id. Must involve masks. 6000 to 10,000 worse. Pays $50. Deadline November 30.
What are your insecurities? Have you submitted anything this month? Are you doing NaNoWriMo or some variation of it? Any of these links of interest?
May you find your Muse.
*All artwork except IWSG badge came from clker.com, OCAL.
20 comments:
Hi Shannon!
Self-pub a short story collection, work on the craft book and query a novel for the first time...plus write and sub your short stories as per usual? That spells B.U.S.Y.
Love the vibe of productivity here at your place!
Happy IWSG Day!
Nuts! I like that title.
A book on writing and submitting short stories would be very helpful.
ShaNo - love it! Those sound like great goals for November. All the best with your ShaNo.
Great title! And I'm with you. I have real stuff to work on. The challenge I'm looking forward to is the A-Z Challenge next April. Thanks for all the links.
I like the idea of--instead of setting word goals--setting writing goals. That would work better for me.
Good luck with ShaNo!! The goals you have set seem pretty doable. I especially want to say good luck with the business plan. Those are always a bear to do.
So exciting you're working on getting all your short stories together to publish under one cover! (I'd missed that you needed to get the rights back. Glad you did.) Oh, yes...the dreaded 'putting myself out there more' thing. I feel you. I swear I had more guts to step out of my comfort zone before my first book was published. Now I want nothing to do with being seen. It's so strange. I'm really struggling with it. Best of luck with these goals! Very awesome. I'm sure you'll succeed. And when you're feeling stressed feel free to vent to me.
I love your independent way of managing your own NaNo. Great idea, Shannon. Good luck and happy writing.
If you have any publishing questions, please ask.
I agree with Alex. Best of luck to you.
Hi Shannon ... lots going on - but good luck with all your projects and ideas ... as Lee says - love the independent aspect of your life ... cheers Hilary
I love your ShaNo idea. And how cool about your collection of short stories! That is bound to be a great collection. Good luck with all you have going on.
ShaNo - what a briliant concept! That really sounds more like my cup of tea (or glass of wine). I tend to track my goals as segments, rather than word count. You have an impressive goal list - best of luck!
Holy moly, that's ambitious. The writing goals thing is a great idea, too.
All the best things happen outside your comfort zone! Horror writers of course will know this :-) An impressive list, I love a good list. And for me self-pub means I get a particular body of work out of me and into the world with minimal effort (not no effort, but not waiting on other people!)
Awesome idea for a craft book. I already had my first short story rejection of the month. I need to get on top of resubmitting my rejected stories too. Good luck with your goals!
Great title, and great goals. Congrats on having another story accepted. Mostly, congratulations on setting and KEEPING those goals!
MY, you're so busy. Good luck with all your projects. I'm also thinking about self-publishing a collection of my short stories, but I don't know when this idea becomes reality.
You've got a lot going on! Congrats on the story acceptance, and I love your idea of putting all those with rights back into one cover. It's so sad to let them just stand around with no new place to go. Good luck!
No Nano for me although I am working on a new novel.
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